February 12, 2017 “The Comedian” (**1/2 out of four) was an endearing comedy about an over-the-hill stand-up comic (Robert De Niro) trying to salvage what’s left of his career and subsequently falls in love with a younger woman (Leslie Mann) whose the daughter of his former rival (Harvey Keitel). Uneven and overlong but has some laughs and features a perfect role for De Niro, and provides a reunion for him and Keitel and also him and his former “Midnight Run” co-star Charles Grodin. Danny De Vito also has a good role as De Niro’s brother. An interesting companion piece also to De Niro’s classic “The King Of Comedy”. Continue reading →
February 11, 2017 “Fifty Shades Darker” (** out of four) was a tepid second chapter in the twisted and erotic love story between billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and a literature editor (Dakota Johnson) as their relationships deepens from sex into love. A definite improvement over the laughable original but this is still pointless and meandering at times. Dornan comes off much better than the original and Johnson is stirring but they still fail to ignite as an onscreen couple. Well-directed by James Foley although this is a long way from “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Continue reading →
February 11, 2017 “John Wick 2” (*1/2 out of four) was a brainless sequel to the surprise 2015 hit with a more-wooden-than-ever Keanu Reeves returning as the one-man army title character who is pulled back in the game by an old foe (and his love for his dog) and subsequently battles with a ruthless assassin (Common). Self-indulgent and dull for the first half and even most of the fight scenes are numbing and repetitive. Reeves’ terrible performance here makes his performance in “Speed” and “The Matrix” look like Humphrey Bogart by comparison. His character gets shot and hit by cars so many times you’d think he was playing The Terminator! Only Chad Stahelski’s stylish direction and a flashy shootout ending gives this any life. Continue reading →
February 11, 2017 “Stray Bullets” (*1/2 out of four) was an empty, ugly melodrama made up of stray parts from “Blood Simple”, “Reservoir Dogs”, and numerous other Coen Bros. and Tarantino films. In upstate New York, two teenage boys (Jack Fessenden and John Speradakos) are given the task of cleaning out their father’s mobile home in an abandoned trailer park but unbeknownst to them- three loose-cannon criminals have taken refuge in the trailer leading to a showdown and bloodbath. Film gets points for being set in upstate NY and young Fessenden gets points for both acting and directing at such a young age but this sleazy story still fires all blanks. Continue reading →
February 10, 2017 “Call Of The Wolf” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome thriller about two young strangers (Aleksander Ristic and Cynthia Bravo) who are kidnapped and trapped- physically and psychologically- in the midst of the wilderness in a burying snowstorm while an unseen killer calling himself “Wolf” observes them. Loosely inspired by Jack London’s work although it’s hard to believe he would want his name on this. Since the entire movie is a two-character story and you don’t like the two characters (or their performances), it runs out of steam very quickly. Hang up on this call. Continue reading →
February 9, 2017 “Hazenhurst” (** out of four) was a routine horror show about a recovering alcoholic (Julie Benz) who is released after completing an inpatient program and takes up residence in a gothic-style apartment building in which strange occurrences and even stranger tenants inhabit and she tries to maintain her sobriety and sanity and break out. Benz is solid as usual but this derivative thriller owes too much to “Poltergeist” and “The Shining” and is in too conventional a framework to carry much charge. Danielle Harris has a key cameo at the beginning and Fionnula Flanagan is creepy as the building landlord. Continue reading →
February 9, 2017 “Pumpkin Pie Wars” (*1/2 out of four) was a treacly family melodrama/love story about two rival bakery owners in Ohio whose children (Julie Gonzalo and Eric Aragon) decades later go head-to-head in a pumpkin-pie contest which starts out as a bitter rivalry but (to the surprise of no one) they gradually fall in love. Made of artificial ingredients and lots of sugary sentiments that make this a really gooey pie to digest. A real surprise from the director of “I Spit On Your Grave” but based on this- he may want to stick with movies about sexual assault and revenge instead of family dramas. Continue reading →
February 9, 2017 “Girls Night Out” (**1/2 out of four) was a better-than-average thriller about a woman (MacKenzie Mauzy) about to be married whose bachelorette party turns into a nightmare when a psychotic former boyfriend (Jacob Blair) kidnaps her fiance and sends her and her friends out on a deadly scavenger hunt to race against time or he will be killed! Story is preposterous but it’s very stylishly directed by Phillipe Gagnon, well-acted, and features some genuine surprises towards the end. Story is molded from spare parts from “Fatal Attraction”, “Single White Female”, and also “Die Hard With A Vengeance” but is far better than most other direct-to-DVD schlock. Continue reading →
February 9, 2017 “Secrets Of Deception” (*1/2 out of four) was a murky and sleazy melodrama made only for those who’ve never watched “Body Heat” or any other film-noir from the last three decades. When a wealthy man (Chris Degner) discovers his wife (Sydney Black) has been cheating on him, he goes down a dangerous path of revenge which leads to a multitude of consequences for the both of them. Endless double crosses leads to endless confusion and tedium, since you don’t care about any of the characters. Solid supporting cast including Tom Sizemore, Noel Gugliemi, and Lorenzo Lamas are wasted. Continue reading →
February 8, 2017 “Dead West” (** out of four) was a heavy-handed serial killer melodrama about a charismatic drifter (Brian Sutherland) who drives cross-country and murders numerous women who he encounters whom he deems unworthy of living but problems ensue when he falls in love with one of his potential next victims whom he attempts to save from a drug dealer, cleverly named Suge White (are you laughing yet?). Sutherland is good in a very difficult role and the movie is far from the worst of its ilk but the central story is still very unpleasant and it’s fatally overlong at nearly two hours. Eerie and effective music score by Samih Tareen. Continue reading →
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