April 28, 2018 “Snake Outta Compton” (*1/2 out of four) was a witless parody of “Straight Outta Compton” (get the title? LOL) and also “Training Day” but it’s the filmmakers and writes who appear to need more training. A rap group (Ricky Flowers Jr., Motown Maurice, Donte Essien, and others) on the verge of making it find out they are the only hope in defending their decaying city against a giant mutating snake monster. No jokes or parodies bring up “Snakes On A Plane” at all because I guess that would have required the filmmakers to be clever and creative. It’s a bad sign when the film’s title provides the biggest laugh. Continue reading →
April 27, 2018 “The Week Of” (** out of four) was a good-natured but heavy-handed comedy about two fathers (Adam Sandler and Chris Rock) whose children are getting married forcing them to spend the week together and havoc ensues. The cast (including regular Sandler co-player Steve Buscemi and SNL regular Rachael Dratch) tries and there are some scattershot laughs but it never builds to a satisfying whole and goes on way too long at nearly 2 hours. Sandler and Buscemi’s first collaboration “Airheads” remains their best. Continue reading →
April 27, 2018 “The Unwilling” (** out of four) was a passable horror thriller about a despised patriarch (Lance Henriksen) who passes away but upon the reading of his will- a mysterious box appears which leads his family (Dina Meyer, David Lipper, Austin Highsmith) to reckon with all of their own sins against each other. By the standards of most direct-to-DVD horror movies, this isn’t bad, with some scares and creepy moments towards the end, but it’s all pretty routine. Queens native Dina Meyer proves again that she’s a strong supporting actress. Continue reading →
April 26, 2018 “Last Seen In Idaho” (** out of four) was a jumbled action melodrama about a young woman (Hallie Shepherd) who awakens from a coma after a car accident and begins to have visions of her future murder and she has to race against the clock to both solve and prevent her own murder with the help of a cop friend (Wes Ramsey) and while trying to hide from a vicious hitman (Casper Van Dien). Violent and unpleasant story moves fast enough but is hard to care about and thus hard to get involved in. An unusual role for Van Dien but his role is too limited to make an impression. Continue reading →
April 25, 2018 “Batman Ninja” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently entertaining animated feature in which Batman (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) and many of his allies and adversaries are transplanted to feudal Japan where his rivalry with the Joker (voiced by Tony Hale) is reignited. Animation ranges from amateurish to colorful and striking but the story gets too lumpy. Highlight is a final action fight between Batman and Joker involving Japanese samurai. Continue reading →
April 24, 2018April 24, 2018 “Confessions Of A Teenage Jesus Jerk” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless comedy about a rebellious teenager (Sasha Feldman) coming of age and discovering many things (masturbation, sex, etc.) that his religious upbringing and family frown upon. Hard to believe that such a cornball script and story could be made in 2018 but seeing is believing. An inauspicious directing debut for noted character actor Eric Stoltz. For no particular reason, this is set in the ’80’s. For no particular reason should you see the movie either. Continue reading →
April 23, 2018 “Avicii: True Stories” (*** out of four) was a powerful documentary of Tim Bergling who rose to prominence as a revolutionary DJ Avicii who took the pop and electronic world by storm but was overwhelmed by the pressures and temptations of success and fame and succumbed to health problems. A very poignant and often sad look at a shy young man who achieved the success he always wanted which later claimed his life. Made interestingly before he died so this film does not cover his death but features plenty of electric concert footage and music and in-depth interviews. Continue reading →
April 23, 2018 “Tempus Tormentum” (0 stars out of four) was a jaw-droppingly inept horror show that looks like it was filmed on someone’s camcorder or cell-phone. A drifter (Dan Grapko) passing through a small town is drugged by three masked psychopaths for reasons known only to them and then is chased in an interminable game of cat and mouse until he puts them (and the audience) out of their misery. Unspeakably awful production and acting make this a real laugh riot but unfortunately this isn’t meant as a comedy. The kind of movie that Ed Wood might have made had he been alive today. Continue reading →
April 22, 2018 “Pass Over” (** out of four) was a tiresome photographed play about two young men (Jon Michael Hill and Julian Parker) who talk about their no-way-out despair in life as they try to escape a life of racism and poverty. Well-intentioned effort by director Spike Lee but it’s neither funny enough, compelling enough, or raw enough to capture your interest and even at only a little over an hour- it starts to grow monotonous. Lee fans should pass this one over and go back and watch “Get On The Bus”, “Do The Right Thing”, or “Clockers” to see his more incendiary work. Continue reading →
April 21, 2018 “Truth Or Dare” (*1/2 out of four) was a silly teen horror thriller about a group of friends (Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane) who play a game of truth or dare and seemingly unleash an evil force that punishes those who tell a lie or refuse the dare. Or something like that. One-note movie runs out of steam (and scares) pretty quickly and goes on way too long. No relation to the Madonna movie of the same name but owes more than a bit to “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” Continue reading →
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