May 22, 2019 “Room 37: The Mysterious Death Of Johnny Thunders” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary melodrama which focuses on famed New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders (Leo Ramsey) and his last days in New Orleans when he checked into a hotel to straighten his life out but then died under mysterious and still unresolved circumstances. Interesting at first but becomes so lurid, cerebral, and unpleasant after a while that it winds up trash. Ramsey looks a little like Thunders, and does what he can with a paper-thin script, but you can’t put your arms around a memory. 2014’s “Looking For Johnny” was a much more incisive look at Thunders and his life. Continue reading →
May 21, 2019 “The Professor” (*** out of four) was a rewarding melodrama about an overly controlled college professor (Johnny Depp) who realizes he has terminal cancer and then decides to live his life with reckless abandon regardless of its consequences and then gradually begins to have the looming realization that his life is about to come to an end. Depp’s first-rate (and entertaining) performance highlights this unexpectedly moving and funny film. Uneven at times, with a few scenes that seem unnecessary, but still one of Depp’s best performances and films in years, and an interesting addition to his gallery of eccentric characters. Continue reading →
May 21, 2019 “Hunting Evil” (*1/2 out of four) was a graceless horror thriller about two former college roommates (Lanny Rethaber, Orchid Tao) who reunite years later to try and put an end to a ghost that is incurring paranormal behavior around a household and tearing apart the lives of a suburban family. Too much mumbo and jumbo and not enough scares or thrills in this routine clunker. Corbin Bernsen has a small role as the family patriarch but maybe it’s not a bad idea for him to find out about making “Major League 4.” Continue reading →
May 18, 2019 “Zoombies 2” (*1/2 out of four) was a mindless horror story which is sure to win an award for most unnecessary sequel of the year; when a game ranger (Jonathon Buckley) arrests poachers in the jungle, they soon find themselves surrounded by the title zombie animals and they both must form an uneasy alliance to stop the beasts from leaving the jungle and spreading the zombie virus to the rest of the world. You seen one animal attack, I think you’ve pretty much seen ’em all by now. Film is strictly for those who thought the recent “Pet Sematary” remake was too tame and tasteful. Continue reading →
May 18, 2019 “Tolkien” (*** out of four) was a solidly absorbing biographical drama of orphaned author J.R.R. Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) focusing on his early years in which he was an outcast at school and had to find his own way towards friendship and love and how this alienation gave way to his artistic inspiration which led him to become a legendary writer. Not a great film but reverently told and made and with a captivating lead performance from Hoult. Entertaining just the same but hard-core Tolkien fans will find a lot more value here. Continue reading →
May 18, 2019 “My Killer Client” (** out of four) was a plastic revenge thriller about an aspiring stylist (Tammin Sursok) who becomes friends with her new client (Allison Paige) but soon grows suspicious of her and comes to realize she is the ex-girlfriend of her fiancee (Greg Perrow) and is out for revenge and is trying to kill both of them. Totally artificial and by-the-numbers revenge story is at least nicely shot and well performed. Still, these Lifetime revenge movies are starting to seem like they’re spit out of a computer. Continue reading →
May 18, 2019 “John Wick- Chapter 3: Parabellum” (** out of four) was a flashy but empty third entry in which the title character John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is once again on the run after killing someone from the International Assassins Guild and becomes marked for death by a sinister female underworld crime boss (Asia Kate Dillon). Director Chad Stahelski bathes this in the same extravagant style and ultraviolent action (there are some showstopping action scenes) of the first two but there’s nothing to hang them on, because story is thin and weak and film’s middle lags. As long as the eye-filling action is on screen, film is entertaining but when story and characters take over it slows to a halt. Preposterous ending leaves the door open for yet another sequel. Continue reading →
May 16, 2019 “Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (** out of four) was a serviceable animated action saga about Batman (voiced by Troy Baker), Batgirl (voiced by Rachel Bloom), and Robin (voiced by Ben Giroux) who all realize they must form an alliance with the Ninja Turtles to stop The Shredder (voiced by Andrew Kishino) who has become a deadly threat to Gotham City, especially after he teams with Ra’s Al Ghul and The Penguin (voiced by Cas Anvar and Tom Kenny). Overstuffed plot has too many characters and wears thin after a while but features enough action and colorful animation to keep series fans and kids entertained. Mildly OK for what it is. Continue reading →
May 15, 2019 “Greta” (***1/2 out of four) was a shattering psychodrama about a young waitress (Chloe-Grace Moretz) who befriends a lonely old widow (Isabella Huppert) whose purse she finds but soon finds that the old woman is disturbed and obsessed with her as she begins stalking her and emotionally and psychologically turning her life upside down. Striking, stylish film from director Neil Jordan which is one of his best films ever and one of the rare contemporary films to evoke comparisons to Hitchcock. Both Moretz and Huppert are sensational. Story starts to go astray in the final third but still never loses its vice-like grip. Bullseye! Continue reading →
May 14, 2019 “Long Shot” (** out of four) was a disappointing romantic comedy about a lifelong slacker (who else but Seth Rogen) who reunites with his first crush (Charlize Theron) who is now one of the most powerful women in the world and running for presidency and soon hires him as her speechwriter and they gradually rekindle their relationship and fall in love. Both Rogen and Theron are good and work well off one another but story takes an awfully long time to get going and goes on too long once it does. Some good ”80’s soundtrack gems are a definite plus. Not all that different from 1995’s “The American President” when you think about it. Continue reading →
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