March 26, 2017 “Power Rangers” (*1/2 out of four) was a not-so-mighty reboot of the classic ’90’s television series about five high-school brats (Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G, Ludy Lin) who are infused with superpowers that they have to harness to (yawn) save the world. Fairly boring and cheesy re-telling lacks action and thrills and strips the characters of any real personalities at a bloated two hours. Attempts to rekindle the Saturday matinee feel of the 1995 version but resembles the 2015 “Fantastic Four” more than anything. Everyone seems to be going through the motions, including Bryan Cranston as their mentor. For die-hard Rangers fans only. Continue reading →
March 26, 2017 “Life” (*** out of four) was an extremely well-made space horror thriller about a team of scientists (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sonada) aboard the international Space Station who encounter a rapidly evolving life form who caused extermination on Mars and threatens to destroy the crew and thus Earth. Strikingly similar to “Alien” at times but hurtles along breathlessly with enough scares and thrills to transcend it’s origins. Gorgeously shot by Seamus McGarvey and impressively directed by Daniel Espinosa. Continue reading →
March 26, 2017 “Chips” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome adaptation of the hit 80’s television series about a pair of mismatched California highway patrol cops (Michael Pena and Dax Shephard) investigating department corruption which is headed by a villainous turncoat (Vincent D’Onofrio who can play this role in his sleep and does). Generic mix of action and comedy gets maximum mileage from Pena’s amusing performance but runs out of gas and laughs after about half-hour. Yet another television adaptation that dumbs down the ingredients that made the show so popular in the first place. In case you were wondering, original star Erik Estrada has a cameo at the very end. Call 911. Continue reading →
March 25, 2017 “Be Afraid” (** out of four) was a tepid horror thriller about a doctor (Brian Krause) who moves his family to a small town but begins to suffer sleep paralysis and soon discovers that not all is right and that there are many hidden truths and horrors beneath the town’s nice facade. Krause’s solid and strong performance holds your attention for a while but story never takes off and covers all-too-familiar territory. By now, is there any horror movie in which characters have moved to a small town and been happy? Continue reading →
March 25, 2017 “Killer App” (** out of four) was a flashy but empty and obvious thriller about a young girl (Ashley Rickards) who designs an online app that matches those with their enemies. However, when many of her friends start winding up dead, she has to discover whose behind it before it’s too late. Good-looking horror thriller has very stylish lighting and cinematography and an original storyline that should have been told with more originality and creativity and thrills. Rickards is solid in the lead. Continue reading →
March 25, 2017 “Zombies Have Fallen” (** out of four) was a grim action thriller about a young woman (Finn Hurde) with visions of the zombie apocalypse and supernatural abilities who is aided by a tough bounty hunter (Tony Gardner) in an attempt to thwart the zombies, save the planet, and stay alive. Action, zonbies, and gore by-the-numbers in this routine retread of “The Walking Dead” and “Resident Evil”. Films poster is almost a take-off on “Olympus Has Fallen” with Gérard Butler; if it’s supposed to be a parody, it’s about as hilarious as “Grand Theft Auto”! Continue reading →
March 22, 2017 “The Little Mermaid” (*1/2 out of four) was a trashy adult adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic story about a young mermaid (Rosie Mac) leaving the sea for the human world she thinks she is ready for but she must face the harsh realities of the world and street life, especially when she discovers sex and becomes a stripper! For anyone who loved the 1989 Disney classic, it’s bewildering; for anyone else, it’s unpleasant and boring. Hard to believe Christian Anderson would want his name on this. This makes the recent live-action “Beauty And The Beast” look like Oscar material. Continue reading →
March 22, 2017 “Vengeance: A Love Story” (**1/2 out of four) was an interesting but limited death-wish melodrama about a single mom (Anna Hutchinson) who is brutally raped and assaulted in front of her young daughter. All of the assailants are subsequently freed but the investigating cop (Nicholas Cage) on the case takes matters into his own hands and seeks to restore justice his own way. Features an unusual amount of character development for this type of movie and features good performances (including one of Cage’s best in a while) but is hurt by lapses in logic and credibility. Don Johnson is strong also as the rapists’ slick defense attorney. Continue reading →
March 19, 2017 “A Bigger Splash” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless melodrama about a rock star (Tilda Swinton) and her filmmaker husband (Matthias Schonaerts) whose vacation in Italy is disrupted by the arrival of her old friend (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson). Both Fiennes and Swinton are poorly used in a story of infidelity and lost love that turns out to be a big bore. Even the Italian scenery looks lackluster and drab. The Rolling Stones allowed several songs used to be used for key scenes and supposedly helped with the script for this but evidently time wasn’t on their side. Continue reading →
March 19, 2017 “Altitude” (*** out of four) was a tense action thriller about a tough female F.B.I. agent (Denise Richards) who is onboard an airplane when it is taken over by hijackers (led by Dolph Lundgren) and she has to defeat the hijackers, save the passengers, and also uncover why they are attempting to hijack the plane in the first place. Nonstop action thriller actually recalls “Nonstop” and also “Passenger 57” but is filled with action and slick visual effects, and features probably Richards’ best performance ever. Very well-directed by Alex Merkin. Continue reading →
