November 16, 2017 “Truth Or Dare” (*1/2 out of four) was a mindless, stupid horror show about eight college friends who go to a Halloween rental house but when they attempt to re-play a game which made the house both famous and infamous, they find that they have awakened an evil spirit which is intent on killing them all. No relation to the Madonna 1991 documentary but owes more than a bit to “Saw”. Some creepy moments towards the end but also some dumb dialogue and uneven performances. Horror fans will note a cameo from Heather Langenkamp who explains the rules of the game but she probably would have fared better collecting her “Nightmare On Elm Street” royalties. Continue reading →
November 15, 2017 “Marshall” (**1/2 out of four) was a respectable if limited biographical drama of Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) in one of his career-defining cases in the 1960’s in teaming with insurance lawyer Sam Freedman (Josh Gad) attempting to get a wrongly arrested African-American off from a rape case and how he later went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court justice. Boseman once again shows he’s first-rate in playing biographical characters (he previously played Jackie Robinson and James Brown in their films), and him and Gad work well together, but courtoom scenes and proceedings are hackneyed and you wish film showed more of his accomplishments later in life. An earnest attempt from director Reginald Hudlin who previously has been known for comedies (“House Party”, “Boomerang.”). Continue reading →
November 14, 2017 “The Humanity Bureau” (** out of four) was a muddled story set in the year 2030 in which the world is in a permanent state of economic recession and global warming, and how one investigator (Nicholas Cage) attempts to help a young woman (Sarah Lind) and her young son (Hugo Lind) stay alive and out of danger. Cage is really good in one of his most quietest and charismatic performances in years but this mix of futuristic drama, social commentary, and action thriller never gets off the ground. Obviously inspired by “Mad Max” but lacking George Miller’s grand sweep and humor. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 “Thor: Ragnarok” (*** out of four) was a nicely done third entry in the Marvel comic series showing Thor (Chris Helmsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who find themselves imprisoned in a gladiatoral arena where they are pitted against the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) but soon find they all must join forces again to thwart the destructive force of Hela (Cate Blanchett) before she eradicates Asgardian civilization. Full of the requisite amount of psychedelic visual effects and large-scale action scenes and Helmsworth is first-rate again. Starts to lose its momentum towards the end and goes on too long but revs up again for a spectacular finish. As usual, there are many other Marvel characters (Dr. Strange, Black Widow) who pop up. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017 “Daddys Home 2” (** out of four) was a tired sequel to the very funny 2015 original about the holiday misadventures of the father (Will Ferrell) and stepfather (Mark Wahlberg) who have to deal with their own intrusive dads (John Lithgow and Mel Gibson) who visit for Christmas. Great cast works well together and squeezes all the humor they can out of a paper-thin script without much of a story which becomes detrimental especially in the second half. Finale in which the cast all rejoice in singing “Do They Know It’s Christmas” really needs to be seen to be believed. More-or-less what you would expect but has enough smiles to make it watchable. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017 “Murder On The Orient Express” (** out of four) was a sputtering remake of the Agatha Christie story about an investigator (Kenneth Branagh who also directed) trying to unravel a murder on a train ride with 13 strangers (Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, and others) and soon no one knows who to trust. Visually lush and well-cast but story isn’t funny enough, suspenseful enough, or simply entertaining enough to come together and make this material worth revisiting. Branagh does a serviceable job on both sides of the camera but is stalled by stale material. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017 “Gold Star” (** out of four) was a languid drama of a young music-school dropout (Victoria Negri who also wrote and directed) whose life is thrown a curveball when her father (Robert Vaughn) has a stroke and she finds herself caring for him and at the same time questioning her aim and purpose in her own life. Well-meaning story plays out like a made-for-tv movie and isn’t all that moving or involving. Vaughn’s final film although it gives him nothing to do. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 “Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You” (** out of four) was a pleasant but forgettable animated trifle about a young girl named Mariah (voiced by both Breanna Yde and Mariah Carey) who dreams of buying a dog for Christmas after seeing a local puppy named Princess at the local pet store and she is then tasked with dog-sitting her uncle’s crazy dog Jack to see if she is ready for the responsibility. Die-hard Mariah Carey fans and very young kids may like this but it’s mediocre at best. This is obviously made as a holiday cash-in on Mariah Carey’s Christmas themed song but other Carey song titles “Languishing”, “The Impossible”, and “Faded” are more apt descriptions of your probable response to this movie. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017 “Singularity” (*1/2 out of four) was a singularly awful futuristic thriller about a megalomaniacal CEO (John Cusack) who engineers a new robotic program CRONOS to end all wars but this soon leads to robots killing all of mankind; 97 years later, two survivors (Julian Schaffner and Jennine Wackner) band together to stay alive and defeat CRONOS and make it to a new world which may or may not exist. Promising beginning soon goes astray, as film becomes obvious and boring and turns into one more rip-off of “Blade Runner”. Some impressive visual effects and Tobias Enhus and Scott Kirkland’s lyrical score are undeniable standouts. Continue reading →
November 13, 2017 “Barracuda” (*1/2 out of four) was a rambling story of a drifting young woman (Sophie Reid) who comes to Texas to meet her half-sister (Allison Tolman) for the first time and to try and stake a claim to their family musical legacy and meet the family members she never knew she had but is she really who she says? Or do we care? Attempt at a family reconciliation drama, a thriller melodrama, and a story on musical powers and redemption comes up pretty flat on all counts. Jobeth Williams has a small but key role as a family member and looks great at nearly 70 years old. Continue reading →
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