December 30, 2018 “He Knows Your Every Move” (** out of four) was an obvious, predictable “Fatal Attraction” knockoff of which the audience will know every move and every twist and turn. A successful career-woman (Rosalie McIntire) finds her laptop is broken so she takes it to be fixed and starts dating the laptop worker (Drew Seeley) who- to the surprise of no one- turns out to be a serious sicko who turns her life upside down. Handsomely photographed and watchable but film even has the gall to rip off the bathtub ending death from “Fatal Attraction.” McIntire and Seeley are decent but won’t make anyone forget Michael Douglas or Glenn Close anytime soon. Continue reading →
December 29, 2018 “The Toybox” (*1/2 out of four) was a grisly and unpleasant horror story about an estranged family (Denise Richards, MIscha Barton, Jeff Denton, and others) who take a trip to the desert in a used RV which (naturally) breaks down in the scorching sun and they soon find that it is inhabited by the spirit of a serial killer which kills them all one by one. Lots of gore but few scares in this rip-off of “The Hills Have Eyes” which offers little you haven’t seen before. Co-star Denton also produced this and did its unremarkable script and story Continue reading →
December 29, 2018 “Lukas (The Bouncer)” (*1/2 out of four) was a flaccid action melodrama about an over-the-hill nightclub bouncer (Jean Claude Van Damme) who struggles to raise his 8 year-old daughter (Sveta Alviti) while at the same time staying alive and trying to find his place in life. Compelling at first then stalls and then goes nowhere as film becomes aimless and dreary. Van Damme is stiff and sleepy as usual. A different type of role for him which combines dramatics and emotional exploration but “Bloodsport” did a much better job of that over 30 years ago. Continue reading →
December 29, 2018 “American Dream/American Knightmare” (*** out of four) was a rock-solid documentary about notorious music mogul Suge Knight featuring interviews with him talking about his upbringing, his initial career as a professional football player, and his mutation into a businessman and street conglomerate who built Death Row Records until his admitted addiction to power and violence proved to be his undoing. Particularly interesting for fans of ’90’s rap as film features tons of interviews and footage featuring Dr. Dre, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Knight’s parents. Directed by Antoine Fuqua who interviews Knight for the film. Continue reading →
December 29, 2018 “The Harrowing” (** out of four) was a sputtering thriller about a series of ritualistic killings which prompt a veteran cop (Matthew Tompkins) to go undercover as a patient in a local forensic hospital under the complete domination of a vindictive doctor (Arnold Vosloo) and soon finds he is losing his mind. Is he actually crazy or are these a side effect of the drugs he has been given? Reasonably well-made and features a few scares along the way but story is more-than-a-little similar to Martin Scorcese’s “Shutter Island” and like that film- it gets more cerebral and lurid (and unpleasant) as it goes along. Michael Ironside has a minor role as Tompkins’ captain but it’s really harrowing at this point what has become of his career. Continue reading →
December 28, 2018 “The Mule” (*** out of four) was a flavorful crime melodrama inspired by the true story of a former WWII veteran turned horticulturist (Clint Eastwood) who became “a mule”, a transporter for the Mexican drug cartel in Illinois, while several federal law enforcement agents (Bradley Cooper, Michael Cena, Lawrence Fishburne) are on his trail and his perplexed ex-wife and daughter (Dianne Wiest and Allison Eastwood) wonder where he’s been getting his extra cash. A perfect role for Eastwood who at nearly 90 still holds and commands the screen with his surly charisma and directs his story eloquently and effortlessly as it weaves suspense, action, and character development. Eastwood’s first starring role since 2012 and his first starring/directing effort in a decade. Continue reading →
December 28, 2018 “Mary Poppins Returns” (** out of four) was a bland sequel to the 1964 children’s classic about the return of Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) who comes back decades after her original visit to help the Banks siblings (Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer) and their family through financial and personal turmoil involving the evil president of the local bank (Colin Firth). Neither the music nor the staging nor the characterizations are anything special or memorable and result is sugary and forgettable as film stubbornly refuses to take flight. Even Blunt just seems to be going through the motions in the lead role. A disappointment from director Rob Marshall who previously directed the smashing musicals “Chicago” and “Nine” Continue reading →
December 26, 2018 “Feral” (** out of four) was a tepid horror drama about six medical students (Scout Taylor-Compton, Olivia Luccardi, Lew Temple, and others) off on a weekend hike in the woods and are attacked by a wild animal and they soon become infected with a deadly disease which turns them into rabid and bloodthirsty monsters. Not bad for this type of movie, with decent performances and crisp cinematography by Christos Bitsakos, but you’ve seen this all before and done better. Taylor-Compton remains a good horror movie siren who needs to find more original scripts and material. Continue reading →
December 26, 2018 “Keeper Of The Realm” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring adventure thriller about three rescuers (Manuel Uriza, Ivan Arana, Phillip Willingham) tasked with finding tourists missing in a cave but instead find a vault of dead bodies and lost treasure. When they decide to take the treasure, they awaken the spirit of the guardian who poisons them with greed and murder. Or something like that. Bolstered by an atmosphere of creepy menace but it leads to absolutely nothing, as film becomes draggy and tedious, and goes on forever at nearly two hours. Yet another “Raiders Of The Lost Arc” rip-off that can’t even close close and ends up resembling “Congo” instead. Continue reading →
December 25, 2018 “Fearsville” (* out of four) was a disastrously lame horror show that subscribes to the philosophy that any moron nowadays with a cell-phone camera can shoot their own horror movie. In the title town of Fearsville, a group of charmless teens (McKenzie Abney, Lilli Allen, Faith Dianne Baker, and others) have a party but (yawn) a psychotic murderer is on the loose and stalking them one-by-one. Even at only 75 minutes, this is pretty brutal. Terrible acting and filmmaking provide the only real shocks and scares here. It’s dreck like this that killed horror movies decades ago. Continue reading →
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