July 14, 2017 “Turbulence” (**1/2 out of four) was a slick and entertaining action thriller about an FBI agent (Dina Meyer) on an airplane flight for a major corruption case who is terrorized by a mysterious woman (Victoria Pratt) sitting next to her who tells her that her family is being held hostage and unless she destroys incriminating evidence in the case- they will all be murdered. Nerve-wracking thriller has the usual plotholes and illogical plot developments but is carried along by tense direction and Meyer’s strong and believable performance. No relation to the Ray Liotta 1997 thriller of the same name but bears more than a little resemblance to Wes Craven’s 2005 overlooked thriller “Red Eye.” Continue reading →
July 12, 2017 “Bank” (*1/2 out of four) was an utterly stupid urban action melodrama about two street rivals (Jah and Cleave Cadle) who must put aside their differences after ripping each other off when they join forces to rob a bank. Jah shows some promise with both his acting and directing but Cadle’s annoying character and performance and some dumb dialogue helps run this into the ground. Plenty of firepower but little in the way of story originality and final bank heist and highway chase is pretty tacky. Both characters actually sit around watching “Set It Off” in one key scene to give them full justification for robbing and ripping that movie off. Continue reading →
July 12, 2017 “Simple Creature” (** out of four) was a simple-minded and predictable story of a college student (Alycia Delmore) who gets into a near-fatal bus accident and is revived and reborn through hybrid technology by her scientist father but this leads to many complications and consequences for the both of them. Potentially intriguing story of science and consumerism and its personal effects on personal relationships has some interesting ideas but never fully takes off. Similar story was better utilized and realized in Wes Craven’s 1986 “Deadly Friend.” Continue reading →
July 11, 2017 “Hickok” (** out of four) was a lackadaisical Western about the legendary “Wild Bill” Hickok (Luke Helmsworth) who rides into a lawless cow-town and is hired by a world-weary sherriff (Kris Kristofferson) to restore law and order but his gunslinging and fighting are put to the test by a corrupt businessman (Trace Adkins) and his gang. Third telling of the Wild Bill legend is too slow-going and familiar although Helmsworth’s charismatic performance and first-rate supporting cast help liven it up. Bruce Dern plays the town doctor and interestingly played a key role in Walter Hill’s 1995 previous biography “Wild Bill.” Continue reading →
July 11, 2017 “Austin Found” (** out of four) was a scattershot comedy about a woman (Linda Cardellini) who hatches a scheme to make her family instant celebrities but things don’t go according to plan and her jealous ex-boyfriend (Skeet Ulrich) gets mired up in things as they go haywire. Mild attempt at satirizing celebrity criminals, news media, and small-town America needed a sharper script and direction to have more sting. Plays like a wannabe “Fargo.” Continue reading →
July 9, 2017July 9, 2017 “Any Day” (*** out of four) was an endearing story of an ex-con (Sean Bean) released from prison after 12 years who moves in with his sister (Kate Walsh) and tries to pick up the pieces of his life with a new woman (Eva Longoria) he meets but finds happiness is a rocky road to start over. Bean’s commanding performance forms the heart of this imperfect but compelling drama. Starts to meander at times but features enough effective and powerful moments. Tom Arnold is also unusually strong as a restaurant owner with his own checkered past who befriends Bean. Continue reading →
July 9, 2017 “Spider Man: Homecoming” (*** out of four) was a dynamic reboot of the Spider Man series showing Peter Parker (Tom Holland) trying to balance out being an ordinary teenager in high school with his newfound superpowers, falling in love with a new classmate (Garcelle Beauvais), and doing battle with Vulture (Michael Keaton) who is out for revenge against New York City. Third retelling of Spider Man is told in the vein of a John Hughes teenage melodrama; awkward at first but it soon gets going and is full of spectacular action scenes and visual effects and makes better use of NYC locations (the Staten Island ferry scene is a wow) than previous entries. Kudos also for incorporating other members of The Avengers and previous members of the Marvel universe into the story and for giving Keaton his best role in years. Welcome back home! Continue reading →
July 7, 2017 “Blood Hunters” (*1/2 out of four) was an anemic horror thriller about a young mother (Lara Gilchrist) who wakes up in a medical facility having no idea how she got there and finds out that everyone else is dead, she’s 9 months pregnant, and it’s apocalypse now. Naturally, an evil priest (Julian Richings) figures into this story and there are religious and exorcism plot points. Naturally also, this time-waster bypassed theaters and went directly to Redbox but it’s hardly worth “hunting” for. Continue reading →
July 7, 2017 “Car Dogs” (**1/2 out of four) was a sporadically funny comedy about the car business and how one salesman (Patrick J. Adams) is offered the opportunity of a lifetime to obtain his own car dealership but this means selling his soul- and his own car team- in the process to his overbearing and greedy father (Chris Mulkey). Occasionally clever and incisive but never as sharp or ruthless as it should have been, and suffers from an uneven script. No Edsel but could have used a tuneup. Regardless, both “Used Cars” and “Boiler Room” covered same territory with more sting and laughs 15 – 30 years ago. Continue reading →
July 7, 2017 “The Night Shift” (*1/2 out of four) was a ho-hum horror thriller about a security guard (Vincent Rivera) who is hired to guard an empty mansion but soon realizes he has been hired as a human sacrifice for the various demons who live in the house and he has to fight to escape and fight for survival. Opening shot is spectacular but from then on- film is visually ugly and tacky, and becomes claustrophobic and boring. No relation to the 1982 Henry Winkler/Michael Keaton classic of the same name which took place in a morgue but this is still a real stiff. Continue reading →
