November 22, 2017 “Hangman” (*1/2 out of four) was a wretched horror thriller about two homicide detectives (Al Pacino and Karl Urban) who try to track down and piece together the murders of a brutal serial killer whose crimes are inspired by the game Hangman of which there doesn’t appear there will be any survivors left. Pacino is at his hammy worst and Urban is dull; why these two signed on for this dreary and ugly thriller (which liberally rips off “Seven”) is a bigger mystery than who the murderer is. A Southern accent is simply not to Pacino’s advantage. Continue reading →
November 21, 2017 “Black Luck” (*1/2 out of four) was an incoherent melodrama about a young hitman (Garrett Sheeks) who struggles with the morality of his profession and whose dark past comes back to haunt him in the form of past colleagues, underworld sleaze, and ex-girlfriends. Sheeks holds the screen for a little while but plot and character threads are hard to follow and you’ll eventually be numbed by all the sleaze. Mickey Rourke played a similar role in “A Prayer For The Dying” and he didn’t have much luck either. Continue reading →
November 21, 2017 “Unwanted” (* out of four) was a laughably solemn thriller about a young couple (Wynter Fielder and Julia Foster) who move into an affordable old house…..only to find out that the house is inhabited by (yawn) paranormal activity and evil spirits that make them both lose their sanity. You would think horror filmmakers would get bored churning out the same story in movies on a monthly basis but evidently not. “Unwatchable” would have been a better title for this turkey. It’s movies like these that give independent horror films a worse name than they already have. Continue reading →
November 21, 2017 “Days Of Power” (** out of four) was a grim horror thriller about an international rock star (Jenny Hutton) and her band who travel abroad and mysteriously disappear when they are kidnapped by locals and have to fight, both physically and psychologically, in order to survive. Director Jason Pagnoni shows some promise as he displays a flair for mood but story is so familiar and unpleasant that it sinks. By now, there have been too many kidnapped-and-escaped movies as it is that they don’t carry any surprise. Continue reading →
November 20, 2017 “Cute Little Buggers” (** out of four) was an ugly horror rip-off of both “Gremlins” and “Critters” about hostile aliens in the form of furry rabbits who invade the English countryside and prey on young couples and a group of villagers come together to have them killed and stop their takeover and invasion! Mildly amusing at times but a little of this goes a long way. A few good gory kills but wears out after a while. Continue reading →
November 19, 2017 “Dead Draw” (** out of four) was a tepid crime melodrama about four criminals (led by Gil Bellows) who steal $25 million in a theft gone wrong in Mexico but someone kills the getaway pilot and leaks information and they don’t know who to trust as they all gradually turn against one another to find out the truth and come out alive. Story begins well, with sharp dialogue and clever storytelling, but it gradually runs out of juice and steam, and turns into a tiresome rip-off of Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs.” Bellows is solid as usual. Continue reading →
November 19, 2017 “24 Hours To Live” (*1/2 out of four) was a murky conspiracy thriller which viewers will probably forget in 24 hours or less about an assassin (Ethan Hawke) who is given a second chance at life and seeks redemption for his past wrongs and their consequences. Hawke is OK in the lead but this unwieldy and heavy-handed thriller needed someone with more of an edge. Rutger Hauer has a key supporting role as a Hawke’s father in law. Films like this make you appreciate “The Bourne Identity” series more and more Continue reading →
November 17, 2017 “Spreading Darkness” (*1/2 out of four) was a fairly awful melodrama about a corrupt CEO (Eric Roberts) who begins to suffer a mental breakdown and thinks he is being stalked by his former victims and his psychiatrist (Dominique Swain) who may be even more loony than he is. You may endure a mental breakdown if you make it to the end of this mess as well. Roberts is still an excellent character actor but it’s unpleasant junk like this that killed his career. The kind of movie that makes you want to take a shower immediately afterwards. Continue reading →
November 17, 2017 “Skybound” (** out of four) was a mediocre action thriller about five passengers (Scarlett Byrne, Gavin Stenhouse, Rick Cosnett, and others) who take off in a plane for a fun-filled vacation but are unable to land after a mysterious disaster occurs on the ground and they are stranded in mid-air. Frightening story isn’t played out for full effect and never fully takes off although it remains watchable. Performances range from passable to one note. Not bad but you can only imagine what filmmakers like Roland Emmerich or Walter Hill might have done with this material. Continue reading →
November 17, 2017 “Woodshock” (*1/2 out of four) was a maddeningly pretentious and boring drama about a young woman (Kirsten Dunst) dealing with her mother’s illness and alienation from her partner who gradually loses herself in her fractured mental state and the altering effects of some potent marijuana she begins using and abusing. Genuinely strange movie has long pauses and stretches of Dunst walking around her house and no dialogue; result is arty, stilted, and dull. Second half is particularly tough to endure. Dunst tries her best in an almost unplayable role. Continue reading →
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