June 10, 2017June 10, 2017 “Brain On Fire” (***1/2 out of four) was a wrenching drama about a rising young journalist (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is stricken with a rare autoimmune and brain disorder that is misdiagnosed and derails her career and (gradually) her sanity, and causes great concern for everyone around her. Moretz has never been better in a tough role as someone whose life and career are in a painful freefall and director Gérard Barrett documents this in powerful detail and surrounds her with a first-rate supporting cast including Tyler Perry, Carrie Moss, and Richard Arbitage. Reminiscent of “Still Alice” in some ways but this is no disease-movie-of-the-week. Film’s ending is a little pat and abrupt, though. Continue reading →
June 10, 2017June 10, 2017 “Snatched” (** out of four) was a fizzled adventure comedy about a young woman (Amy Schumer) who gets dumped by her boyfriend before their trip to Ecuador and then persuades her cautious mom (Goldie Hawn) to go with her instead but they soon find themselves neck-deep in international intrigue and underworld crime. Schumer and Hawn work well together and do their best to squeeze all the humor they can out of a paper-thin script which gets more contrived and unbelievable by the minute. Hawn’s first movie since 2002’s “The Banger Sisters”. Continue reading →
June 3, 2017June 3, 2017 “Seizure” (*1/2 out of four) was a blah horror thriller about a young gangster (Jimmy Allen) forced into trafficking girls who falls in love with one such girl who turns out to have supernatural powers that leads to a curse on him and threatens both of their lives. Attempt at interjecting some topical and social issues into a standard horror story don’t save this from being a bore. Poor lighting and flat photography don’t help matters. Continue reading →
June 3, 2017June 3, 2017 “All About The Money” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome comedy about three friends (Casper Van Dien, Blake Freeman, Eddie Griffin) who are down on their luck so they make the brilliant decision to travel to Columbia and take down a Columbian drug lord with a $25 million bounty on his head. Naturally, Danny Trejo shows up in a supporting role as a Mexican goon. Ironically titled misfire in which the talented cast seem to be “all about the money” and nothing else because it’s hard to believe they’d sign on for this stupid and contrived script otherwise. Star/director/co-writer Freeman bears most of the blame for this mess. Continue reading →
June 2, 2017 “Salt And Fire” (** out of four) was a jumbled ecological thriller about a scientist (Veronica Ferres) who travels to South America and blames the CEO (Michael Shannon) of a large corporation for an ecological disaster; however, when a large volcano begins to show signs of erupting, they must unite in order to survive. Film fails to connect or take off, despite interesting subject matter and good cast. Shannon is terrific as usual and makes this worth watching at least for a little while. A disappointing result from provocative director Werner Herzog. Continue reading →
June 2, 2017 “I Am Health Ledger” (*** out of four) was a touching documentary about Heath Ledger featuring interviews from friends, family members, and fellow actors showing his journey from growing up in Australia to international stardom which culminated in his Oscar-winning turn as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” and soon led to his untimely death at age 28. Interesting look at yet another young talent who became overwhelmed with success and juggling all of the pressure and responsibilities involved and features highlights of his best performances, from “The Dark Knight” to “Lords Of Dogstown” to “10 Things I Hate About You”, although it doesn’t quite tell you much about him that you don’t already intuitively know. Continue reading →
May 31, 2017 “Devil’s Domain” (** out of four) was a trashy exploitation teen melodrama about a high-school girl (Maddi Vodane) who becomes the victim of vicious cyber-bullies at school and subsequently makes a deal with the devil (Linda Bella) to exact revenge on her tormentors. First half is a surprisingly incisive and raw look at the emotional effects of bullying and how it leads the main character to depression and self-mutilation; unfortunately, film’s second half focuses on her deal with the devil and begins to wallow in sleaze and silliness. Moody music score by Jurgen Engler and great character actor Michael Madsen (as her concerned dad) are standouts. Continue reading →
May 31, 2017 “Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (** out of four) was an overstuffed, wearisome fifth entry in the blockbuster series about Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) who is targeted for revenge by the evil Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his crew of ghost pirates; his only hope for survival is seeking the Trident Of Poseidon which will grant him control over the oceans. Or something like that. What once seemed so fresh and fun now gives you a sense of deja vu. Even Depp seems to be just going through the motions and giving a greatest-hits of his first four performances as Captain Jack. Some impressive action scenes and special effects to be sure (love those killer sharks!) but it’s more exhausting than exhilirating and a good example of going to the well once too often. Paul McCartney has an amusing cameo as one of Jack’s crew. Continue reading →
May 31, 2017 “Breakdown Lane” (** out of four) was a well-made but empty, by-the-numbers horror thriller about a young girl (Whitney Moore) whose car breaks down in the desert and is besieged by the walking dead and militant rednecks and has to fight and overcome both to find her way back home. Directors Bob Schultz and Robert Conway show some promise in their visual style and stagings but unfortunately- the story has little novelty and thus no surprise and no impact. At least it’s brief at only 70 minutes but you should still watch either “Resident Evil” or “The Walking Dead” instead. Continue reading →
May 31, 2017 “Secrets Of A Psychopath” (* out of four) was an inept psychological thriller without much psychology or thrills about two bizarre siblings (Mark Farmigletti and Karl Wuhrer) who lure unsuspecting victims to their house through a dating website and then kill them. Nice huh? Disgusting and sick movie is also stupid and boring. A better writer and director might have found ways to satirize online dating and consumerism but this movie isn’t exactly a Match made in heaven Continue reading →
