October 1, 2018 “Jurassic Predator” (* out of four) was a jurassic dud set in England about scientists (Lee Bane, Richard Dee-Roberts, Jason Homewood, and others) working at a government research facility who use prehistoric DNA to resurrect a T-Rex. To the surprise of no one, it escapes to a nearby town and wreaks havoc leading to a violent military team called in to take it down. Routine cheapie is obviously made to cash in on both the “Jurassic World” and “Predator” series but unfortunately has little action or scares. T-Rex itself isn’t bad considering the film’s threadbare budget but is hardly in any of the movie! Continue reading →
October 1, 2018 “3” (* out of four) was a real zero about a man (Todd Bruno) and a woman (Aniela McGuinness) who kidnap a man (Mike Stanley) who raped her years earlier and attempt to extort a confession out of him and the majority of the movie consists of them tormenting him (and the audience) as we wonder whether or not he’s guilty. For anyone who ever wanted to see “Death And The Maiden” crossed with one of the “Saw” movies, look no further. For the rest of us, this is strictly for masochists and is severely unpleasant and uninvolving. Good performances are helpless with this material. Continue reading →
September 30, 2018 “Cruise” (**1/2 out of four) was a stylish but empty melodrama set in 1980’s Queens in which a young Italian-American (Spencer Boldman) falls in love with a Jewish girl (Emily Ratajkowski) from Long Island which leads to an unexpected series of cultural and community clashes because of their different backgrounds and lifestyles. Authentic Queens locale and photography (around which this NYC critic grew up) and Boldman’s charismatic lead performance are plusses but story never coalesces or builds to much. Film buffs will note the casting of Katherine Narducci who played the mother in “A Bronx Tale” of which this film aspires to in some ways but is pale in comparison. Continue reading →
September 29, 2018 “Cain Hill” (*1/2 out of four) was a sub-routine horror show about an amateur group of documentary filmmakers (Gemma Atkinson, MIchael Parr, Alex Zane, and others) who go to the abandoned Cain Hill asylum in regards to a series of unexplained murders and kidnappings that have occurred years earlier but soon find that one inmate is still on the loose and is still thirsty for the kill. Horror fans thirsty for blood and thrills should look elsewhere; this takes forever to get going and isn’t anything special once it does. Can we finally lay to rest the found-footage or documentary-style of horror movies? Continue reading →
September 29, 2018September 29, 2018 “Outlawed” (**1/2 out of four) was a better-than-average action melodrama about a former commando (Adam Collins who also co-directed) struggling to adjust to civilian life when a former girlfriend (Jessica Norris) comes to him to uncover the truth behind her father’s mysterious death and finds himself in a shadow conspiracy involving the governnment and corruption. Story is nothing you haven’t seen before 100 times from Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal but Collins does a reasonable job on both sides of the camera and keeps this moving efficiently with enough gunplay and hand-to-hand combat to make it worthwhile for action junkies. Continue reading →
September 29, 2018 “Inhumanity” (*1/2 out of four) was an ugly serial-killer psychodrama about a woman (Darcel Danielle) who awakens from a coma after narrowly escaping being murdered by a brutal killer and learns that her father committed suicide and this is linked to (what else?) a governmental conspiracy involving corrupt police and the killer himself. Fairly fast-moving but looks cheap and is pretty unpleasant. Yet another film inspired by “The Silence Of The Lambs” but nearly 30 years later that film still leaves its imitators in silence. Continue reading →
September 28, 2018 “High Voltage” (**1/2 out of four) was a flashy and flaky story about an aspiring rock band whose shy lead singer (Allie Gonnino) is struck by lightning and killed but is subsequently resuscitated with electricity flowing through her veins and can put all men in her path in the music business under her electric spell but the group’s veteran manager (David Arquette) starts to wonder if this is morally right and if things have gone too far. Film itself goes too far into contrivances and craziness but is stylishly directed and entertaining while it lasts. Arquette is good but “Airheads” was a much sharper and funnier satire with him about the music industry. Continue reading →
September 27, 2018 “Deeper: The Retribution Of Beth” (** out of four) was a pretty shallow thriller about a woman (Jessica Harmon) who enacts bloodthirsty revenge against two rich losers (Andrew Francis and Matthew Kevin Anderson) who mistreated her in the past. This is what audiences get for having made the remake of “I Spit On Your Grave” an unexpected hit. Not the worst of its kind, and actually gets better as it goes along, but still pretty grimy and predictable. Harmon is solid in the lead role and the East Vancouver scenery is pretty. Continue reading →
September 27, 2018 “Tales From The Hood 2” (** out of four) was a middling sequel to the 1995 cult hit narrated by another elder statesman of horror (Keith David) who tells four horror tales about demonic dolls, possessed psychics, vixens in search of vengeance, and ghosts. None are worth listening to. Occasionally amusing but runs out of steam pretty quickly and is filled with pointless and preachy moralizing. David seems to be having fun in the lead. Co-directed by Rusty Cundiff who directed the original but this is weak stuff compared to “Fear Of A Black Hat” and “Sprung”. Continue reading →
September 25, 2018 “A Simple Favor” (** out of four) was a muddled story about a vlogger (Anna Kendrick) who meets a wealthy free spirit (Blake Lively) and becomes gradually obsessed with uncovering the reasons for her disappearance with clues pointing in all different directions. Both Kendrick and Lively do what they can with hazy material but film meanders and can’t decide whether it’s a screwball comedy or a Hitchcock thriller so simply enough- it becomes neither. Clever final third can’t save it. Disappointing result from “Bridesmaids” and “Ghostbusters” writer/director Paul Feig Continue reading →
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