June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “Deadly Sorority” (** out of four) was a standard-issue horror thriller about two best friends (Greer Grammer, Emilija Baranac) who attend college together but soon go their separate ways when one of them begins to join a sorority. Soon, one of them is murdered and the other becomes the prime suspect who begins to investigate the murder herself. Competently made and acted but offers no surprises whatsoever, until the end which is howlingly ridiculous. Moira Kelly has a key supporting role as a college teacher but she would have fared better taking part in the “Twin Peaks” reunion instead. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “Death Pool” (** out of four) was a moody but mediocre psychological thriller about a disturbed young boy who grows up to be a murderous adult (Randy Wayne) who has an insatiable urge to drown good-looking young females when he sees water, due to an abusive childhood incident that he endured. More layers of character development and psychological context than usual for this type of movie but it drowns in its own unpleasantness. Attempts to make comments on childhood trauma and glorification of media violence but is still pretty soft and routine at its core. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017 “Rough Night” (*** out of four) was an often very funny comedy about five college friends (Scarlett Johannson, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Kravitz, Jillian Bell and Ilana Glazer) who reunite for a bachelorette party in Miami and hire a male stripper who suddenly dies. And that’s just the beginning of the story! Starts to lose steam in the final third and become overly silly but features a solid amount of laughs and is carried along by the chemistry and camaraderie among the four leads. Easily comparable to “The Hangover” and “Brides Maids” and also primarily 1998’s “Very Bad Things”. Continue reading →
June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 “Hack House” (*1/2 out of four) was a hack movie about six criminals in a halfway house who must band together and fight when a mass murderer breaks in and turns the place into a slaughterhouse but it turns out he is after a secretive government witness. Sounds a lot more fun than it plays out. Not exactly incompetent but low-rent and (worst of all) boring, and owes more than a little to John Carpenter’s “Assault On Precinct 13.” Continue reading →
June 21, 2017 “The Dinner” (** out of four) was a disjointed melodrama about two sets of parents (Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall) who meet to converse about life and discuss about a horrific crime their sons have committed. Despite good performances, this film often feels like desaturated Woody Allen and Robert Altman and may have worked better on the stage. Film brings up some provocative ideas about politics and privileged family ties but end result isn’t satisfying because script is meandering and unfocused. A disappointment from director Oren Moverman who directed “The Messenger” and a disappointing reunion for Gere and Linney who through off a lot more sparks together in “Primal Fear.” Continue reading →
June 20, 2017 “Counter Punch” (*** out of four) was an interesting Netflix documentary focusing on the waning popularity of boxing and how three fighters (Christopher Colbert, Cam F. Awesome, and Peter Quillin) at various stages of their careers make various sacrifices to become champions and restore the sport to its glory days of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. Far from being groundbreaking or original but a passionate look at how hard some people have to work and train to achieve their dreams, and all boxers are very likeable and ruminative of their struggling. Features interviews with Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Claressa Shields, Paulie Malignaggi, Steve Kim, and others. Continue reading →
June 20, 2017 “Resident Evil: Vendetta” (*** out of four) was a visually dazzling Japanese-animated entry in the series set between the events of parts 6 and 7 about the soldier Chris Redfield (voiced by Kevin Dorman) enlisting government agent Leon Kennedy (voiced by Matthew Mercer) and Professor Rebecca Chambers (voiced by Erin Cahill) from stopping a deadly virus from spreading in New York. Story and script are nothing original but spectacular and eye-popping animation take center stage and makes this a must-see, especially for series fans and fans of Japanese animation. Scenes set in NYC in the final third are a wow! Continue reading →
June 18, 2017 “It Comes At Night” (** out of four) was a tame horror trifle about a man (Joel Edgerton) who lives with his family in the desolate woods apart from civilization after a virus threatens to eradicate mankind but his will to survive and order of things are put to the test by another family who show up and ask for refuge. You keep thinking something substantial will happen but nothing ever does. Yet another pale imitation of both “28 Days Later” and “Night Of The Living Dead” and yet another recent movie that doesn’t end so much as stop. Edgerton is solid as usual. Proficient at atmosphere but deficient in both thrills and scares Continue reading →
June 18, 2017 “All Eyez On Me” (**1/2 out of four) was a flashy but one-dimensional and superficial biography of the legendarily controversial Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Shipp, Jr.) showing his difficult upbringing with his mother (Danai Gurira) to his worldwide and seminal success as a rapper and actor to his eventual death at 25. Cinematic equivalent of a wikipedia entry is fast-moving and watchable but never as compelling or multi-layered as it should have been and doesn’t tell you much about him you don’t already know. Best thing about the film is Shipp who looks and sounds astonishingly like Shakur and Gurira is first-rate as his mom also. Kudos also for re-casting Jamel Woodward as Notorious B.I.G. who also played him in “Notorious.” Better than both Jada Pinkett and 50 Cent have said but lacking the emotional power and fire of other musical biographies “Straight Outta Compton” and “The Buddy Holly Story.” Continue reading →
June 18, 2017 “The Last Starship” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheap-looking sci/fi thriller that clumsily attempts to mix genres of post-apocalyptic action and alien and zombie movies; in yet another futuristic wasteland, the last of natural-born humans are controlled by a race of genetically enhanced humans which leads to an uprising for who will take control. Hopefully, this is “the last” of this post-apocalyptic junk but surely there will be more to follow. It’s movies like these that make you wish “Blade Runner” and “Alien” never existed in the first place. Continue reading →
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