November 26, 2018 “Countrycide” (* out of four) was a dreadful horror thriller about a young couple (Robin Hodge and Joel Elliott) whose car breaks down in the wilderness where they become stalked and terrorized by (who else?) a bunch of local redneck cannibals who apparently watched “Deliverance” one too many times. Horrendous acting turns this into an unintentional laff riot and film’s most clever aspect is its title. Film is little more than an hour long but sometimes less really is more. Continue reading →
November 26, 2018 “Robin Hood” (*** out of four) was a fast and furious origin story of the Prince Of Thieves (Taron Egerton) and his love for Maid Marian (Eve Hewson) which inspires his grass-roots resistance and battles with the evil Sherriff Of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn) and his desire for equality for the poor. Packed with action and tense swordplay and archery but what really makes this work and carries this along is Egerton’s fun and likeable performance, Hewson’s striking beauty and charisma, and a dynamite supporting cast that includes Jamie Foxx, Jamie Dornan, and F. Murray Abraham. Not quite as rousing as the 1991 Kevin Costner version but a definite improvement over the last 2010 Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe version. Continue reading →
November 25, 2018 “The Good Doctor: The Dwight Gooden Story” (**1/2 out of four) was a well-told, if not revelatory, documentary of pitcher Dwight Gooden who skyrocketed to fame as the Cy Young-winning pitcher for the Mets when he was only 19 but his pitching skills and career derailed in a hail of cocaine and alcohol abuse and arrests. An interesting look at a shy kid with a gift for baseball who was unprepared for the pressures and rush of NYC and fame. Unfortunately, due to time constraints film’s second half of his downward spiral feels truncated and superficial and film’s ending feels rushed. Many good interviews, though, with former Mets stars Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry, and the Doctor himself. Continue reading →
November 24, 2018 “Home Stay” (*1/2 out of four) was a routine and ugly horror melodrama about a young couple (Tiffanie Mims and Kedrick Brown) who spend their honeymoon in a luxurious rental house which unbeknownst to them is under video surveillance from a deranged nutjob (Robert Lasardo who could play this role in his sleep by now) and they soon find that their lives are in danger. Umpteenth entry in the found-footage/home surveillance movie that was inaugurated by (and should have ended with) “Paranormal Activity” and also ends up ripping off “The Strangers”. Film doesn’t end so much as stop, if you make it that far. Continue reading →
November 24, 2018 “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald” (*1/2 out of four) was a lumbering second entry in J.K. Rowling’s blockbuster series about the continuing adventures of magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) as they attempt to thwart the evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp looking embalmed) as they try to stay alive in a more divided wizard world. Liliting and magical at first but soon sputters to a halt and becomes surprisingly dull and only comes back alive at its climax. Some spectacular effects as you would expect but overall comes up empty. Die-hard “Harry Potter” fans may like this better but it’s less-than-fantastic for the rest of us. Continue reading →
November 24, 2018 “Widows” (** out of four) was a murky melodrama set in contemporary Chicago about four wives (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo) whose husbands die in a botched robbery leading them to take the law into their own hands to try and preserve their financial stability and future while elsewhere a corrupt politician (Colin Farrell) tries to live up to the political legacy of his father (Robert Duvall) leading them all on a collision course of moral ambiguity and fate. Great cast is stranded by a screenplay which meanders in unnecessary directions and rarely connects with any emotional power. And how many endings does the film expect us to sit through? Farrell stands out as usual and him and Duvall play well off each other but Liam Neeson and Garret Dillahunt are frivolously wasted in supporting roles. Continue reading →
November 23, 2018 “Graveyard Stories” (* out of four) was an amateurish and inept horror anthology narrated by actors Lloyd Kaufman and Jim O’Rear who tell 5 dreary stories of a masked killer, a mummy, a black magic doll, a hungry goblin, and ghosts haunting a corrupt cop. None of them is worth listening to. Obviously inspired by “Tales From The Darkside” and “Creepshow” but this makes those movies look like HItchcock in his prime by comparison. Terrible acting is by far the scariest element in the film. Continue reading →
November 23, 2018 “Truth Or Double Dare” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster horror thriller about a 2006 graduating class (Shaquita Smith, Gina Hiraizumi, Alyx Libby, and others) who reunite for their 10-year reunion but find that a killer is on the loose and is centering his murders around a game of truth or dare. A more daunting (and more entertaining) game may have involved daring viewers to watch this schlock in its entirety but they would likely have no takers. Co-star Smith also directed but the sad truth is she shows little flair at either Continue reading →
November 22, 2018 “The Perfect Mother” (*1/2 out of four) was a perfectly dismal thriller about a mean girl in high school (Audrey Whitby) who has already killed her own mother and will stop at nothing to make a popular bonding vlogger (Sunny Maybrey) her new mom, even if that means displacing the woman’s real daughter (Lili Sepe)……..and we’re into another bad “Fatal Attraction”/”The Crush”/”The Good Son” clone. Full of the genre’s usual plot holes and contrivances and dumb dialogue. Not exactly ideal Thanksgiving family entertainment Continue reading →
November 22, 2018 “Born Racer” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall endearing look at the live-and-die lifestyles of auto racers (Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Tony Kannaan, and others) and their camaraderie and bonding on-and-off the the track and its multitude of effects on both their mental and physical health and their families and their stability in trying to adapt to regular lifestyles. Interesting and perceptive look at the bond and brotherhood of those who face sudden death every day at work and features some good auto-racing footage, but film is too often superficial and you often wish it would go deeper and would further explore the long-term affects of those who enter in to this dangerous world. Continue reading →
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