August 4, 2017 “Sleeping Beauties” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreadful adult-oriented soft-core version of the classic story about the title character Sleeping Beauty (Pristine Edge) who awakens from a curse and marvels at the wonders of the new century and discovers the joys of repeated sex but complications arise when she begins to fall in love with an architect who is trying to restore the castle she once lived in! Abjectly painful acting and filmmaking make this an unintentional laugh riot. Even the frequent sex scenes soon become monotonous and repetitive. What’s next? An adult sex version of “The Lion King”? Continue reading →
August 3, 2017 “Go North” (*1/2 out of four) was an incomprehensible futuristic melodrama set in the distant future in which an unspecified event has caused global pandemonium resulting in chaos in which there are no adults left in the world and kids are left to fend for themselves; two such kids (Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sophie Kennedy Clark) try to stay alive and avoid being detected and killed. Movie fans should “go” rent “Lord Of The Flies” (the original or its remakes) instead of watching this pallid retread. Some nice directorial touches are lost in film’s overall tedium. Schwarzenegger is Arnold’s son but doesn’t seem to have his dad’s charisma or expansive personality. Continue reading →
August 3, 2017 “It Stains The Sands Red” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster zombie retread about a troubled Las Vegas girl (Brittany Allen) who finds herself stranded in the desert in the midst of a zombie apocalypse with a lone and ravenous zombie on her trail (Juan Riedinger) but is he there to hunt or help her? Yet another rip-off of both “The Walking Dead” and “Night Of The Living Dead” is alternately bizarre and boring and eventually turns into a laughable and loony love story. Vibrant cinematography by Clayton Moore is the only virtue. Continue reading →
August 3, 2017 “Clown Kill” (*1/2 out of four) was a junky horror thriller that only succeeds in killing time about a staff (Roy Basnett, Jessica Cunningham, Stephen Greenhalgh and others) locked in an office building with a sadistic clown on the loose at whom no one will be laughing. Barnum and Bailey Circus (and also “Killer Klowns From Outer Space”) had far more entertaining clowns; cheap-looking photography and some terrible dialogue provide the only scare factors here. Even at barely 80 minutes, there is still hardly enough thrills or story to sustain a feature-length movie. Continue reading →
August 1, 2017August 1, 2017 “Strange Weather” (** out of four) was a hazy, aloof melodrama about a single mother (Holly Hunter) grieving over the death of her son who travels the backroads of the deep South to confront someone who betrayed him and obtain spiritual peace and understanding within herself. Director Katherine Dieckman shows a flair for atmosphere and detail in capturing the South and Hunter is strong as usual but story meanders and doesn’t build to a satisfying conclusion. Story fails to grip and move as it should and by the end- it seems pointless. One of Glenne Headly’s final films as one of Hunter’s drinking buddies. Continue reading →
August 1, 2017 “Girls Trip” (**1/2 out of four) was a lively and uneven comedy about four lifelong friends (Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish) who reunite and travel to New Orleans for the annual Essex Festival and havoc (i.e. plenty of sex and booze jokes) ensue. Raucous female version of “The Hangover” ranges from extremely funny to extremely dumb; either way, it goes on too long at more than two hours but should definitely satisfy its target audience of girls who may want to improve my rating by 1/2 or 1 star. Continue reading →
August 1, 2017 “Atomic Blonde” (**1/2 out of four) was a diverting action thriller set in 1989 during the waning days of the Cold War as an undercover MI6 agent (Charlize Theron) goes to Berlin to find out the murder of an agent and recover a missing list of double agents but finds treachery at every turn. Story is slight and often makes no sense but movie is so full of style, over-the-top action, and electric ’80’s music (New Order, Depeche Mode, etc) that it’s fun to watch just the same. Obviously inspired by the “Bourne” series (and also “John Wick”) but still sleek and entertaining. Propulsive ’80’s synth score by Tyler Bates. Continue reading →
July 28, 2017 “The Wrong Mother” (*1/2 out of four) was a slapdash, predictable time-waster about a mother (Vanessa Marcil) who finally achieves her dream by having twins from an in-vitro procedure but she soon finds out that the kindly nurse (Brooke Nevin) who she has hired to take care of her and her family was the egg donor who turns out to be a psycho who wants to reclaim “her family”! Can we now please put an end to movies with the word “wrong” in its title (there have only been four that I have reviewed over the last 2 months)? Either way, this is the wrong movie to watch. Continue reading →
July 28, 2017 “Wildflower” (** out of four) was a mushy and pretentious psychodrama about a troubled college student (Nathalia Ramos) who begins to have recurring nightmares of an unresolved childhood incident which lead to her confronting her faith and subsequently confronting her sanity. Fittingly enough, the screenplay and story of this seem unresolved as well. Some interesting plot threads and scenes about child psychology and developmental problems are lost in film’s overall bland murkiness. Ramos is good in difficult lead role. Continue reading →
July 28, 2017 “Awaken The Shadowman” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller that will struggle to keep the audiences awake about two brothers (James Zimbardi, Skylar Caleb) who join forces to find their disappeared mother and soon realize they are combatting (yawn) a mysterious and evil force. Interesting opening soon goes astray and leads to another boring story involving paranormal activity and a haunted house. Yet another horror movie that offers no fun and makes you wish horror filmmakers would dispel their evil forces and come up with some original ideas. Continue reading →
