March 1, 2017 “A Cure For Wellness” (** out of four) was an overdone horror drama about an ambitious young executive (Dane DeHaan) who travels to the Swiss Alps to retrieve his mysteriously departed CEO at a wellness program under the complete domination of a sinister doctor (Jason Isaacs) and soon realizes that the program is not nearly what it seems. Film begins well but starts to falter as it goes on (and on) and becomes repetitive, especially in its second half. Much of the imagery is striking but much of the story seems lifted from “Shutter Island”. Both DeHaan and Isaacs are exceptional. Continue reading →
March 1, 2017 “The Spirit Of The Game” (** out of four) was a hokey true story set before the 1956 Olympics in which a crew of Americans went to Australia and attempted to help them unify and unite for the Olympics team. Well-meaning and well-acted movie is unfortunately cornball and contrived, whether it’s based on a true story or not. Watchable but not terribly invigorating. Continue reading →
March 1, 2017 “Fist Fight” (*** out of four) was an often very funny comedy about the escalating feud between two teachers (Charlie Day, Ice Cube) which leads to an after-school fight. Hard to tell at first that this is a remake of 1987’s “3 O’Clock High” but it is, with teachers instead of students. Story is slim and script is contrived but it features enough laughs to make it worthwhile. Day is likeable and funny and Ice Cube is ferocious and hilarious in a perfectly cast role, and they play off and work well against one another. Continue reading →
March 1, 2017 “Fare” (** out of four) was a lurid story of a cab driver (Thomas Torrey who also wrote and directed) whose night takes a few unexpected detours when he picks up the guy (J.R. Arducci) who has been having an affair with his wife (Katherine Drew). Potentially sizzling story is hampered by Torrey’s strange and unlikeable character and the story goes on too long even at only 75 minutes and loses steam. Works best in its scenes between Torrey and Arducci but story falters once Arducci is written out. Continue reading →
March 1, 2017 “Man Down” (*** out of four) was a heartfelt and affecting story of a U.S. marine (Shia LaBeouf) who returns home from Afghanistan but finds he is physically and emotionally unable to return to the life he left behind with his wife and son. A flawed but still compelling look at PTSD and how the brutality of war often affects soldiers long after they return home. LaBeouf sears the screen in one of his most powerful performances. Gary Oldman is strong also as always in a key supporting role. Continue reading →
March 1, 2017 “Harvest Lake” (*1/2 out of four) was a bizarre and boring amateur-hour horror show about five friends who vacation at a lake and fall under a sinister and libidinous presence that turns their friendship and their sanity inside out. More hardcore in terms of sex and nudity than most movies of this caliber but otherwise there’s nothing original to harvest here. “Creepshow 2” told practically the same story in one of its segments in 20 minutes flat. Continue reading →
March 1, 2017 “Spectral” (** out of four) was a wearily derivative military action drama about a special-ops team (Bruce Greenwood, Emily Mortimer, James Badge Dale and others) that is dispatched to fight supernatural beings but soon find that they have their hands full and this will be a war to the death. Full of video-game like special effects, jingoistic speeches, and lots of gunplay. Watchable pastiche of “Starship Troopers”, “Alien”, “28 Days Later” and too many others to mention has enough firepower to make it watchable but a definite sense of deja-vu hangs over the proceedings. Continue reading →
February 19, 2017 “Britney Ever After” (*1/2 out of four) was a toxic Lifetime biography of Britney Spears (Natasha Bassett) showing her meteoric rise to worldwide stardom to her heavily publicized breakdown and subsequent comeback. Hard though it is to encompass Spears’ whole life into an hour-and-a-half, film features numerous unnecessary and unconvincing scenes which may or may not have happened and is jumbled in its structure. Bassett looks a little like Spears and does what she can with the feeble script and direction. Spears declined to participate in film’s production which explains the complete absence of any of her music and film doesn’t end as much as stop. After this and Aaliyah and Whitney’s movies, Lifetime may want to swear off music biographies before they “do it again.” Continue reading →
February 19, 2017 “American Fable” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary story about an 11-year old (Peyton Kennedy) living in the rural MIdwest who discovers a man (Richard Schiff) is being held hostage in her family’s silo in order to save their struggling farm and she is then forced to decide whether to save the man’s life or protect her family and their farm. Potentially interesting story of childhood innocence, family ties, and moral dilemnas is undone by sluggish pacing and overlength. The type of story that needed a sure-handed director like Steven Spielberg or Ron Howard to bring it to life. Continue reading →
February 18, 2017 “XX (** out of four) was a lukewarm horror-movie anthology about four separate stories; in the first, a boy looks into a box and then refuses to eat and gets very ill. In the second, a dead body is discovered shortly before a birthday party causing everyone to panic. In the third, four friends on a trek in the desert uncover a painting that unearths an evil spirit. In the fourth, a concerned mother finds that her strange son has become the spawn of Satan. None of the stories are worth watching, although film is mercifully short at only 80 minutes. Movies like this make you appreciate “Creepshow” and “Tales From The Darkside” that much more. Continue reading →
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