Category: Uncategorized

“My Best Friend” (** out of four) was a treacly children’s family drama about a young girl (Alexis Rosinsky) who moves from the big city to the country where she is a fish-out-of-water but is determined to settle in and assimilate herself with her new surroundings and friends at school. Aww shucks- did I forget to mention that she befriends a talking horse on the farm who gives her sage and guiding advice? Pleasant enough but unexceptional mixture of teenage drama, family comedy, and small-town melodrama. Kids may like it anyway. One-time “Dukes Of Hazzard” siren Catherine Bach plays the young girl’s grandmother who disappears from the story way too soon.

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“Green Is Gold” (*1/2 out of four) was a well-meaning but drab melodrama about a teenage boy (Mason Baxter) whose father goes to prison and he is subsequently sent to live with his older brother (Ryan Baxter) who introduces him to the world of both selling and using marijuana. Despite the movie’s good intentions, both “Half Baked” and “Pineapple Express” were better (and more entertaining) movies about the marijuana trade. Older brother Baxter also wrote and directed this trifle but results are less-than-intoxicating.

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“Passengers” (*** out of four) was a stylish, sleek futuristic melodrama about two time-travellers (Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence) whose sleep chambers malfunction and awakens them both 90 years too early as they are travelling to a distant colony planet. They soon fall in love but find some unexpected truths about each other that drifts them apart as they are drifting in the galaxy. Film takes too long to get where it’s going but strong camaraderie between its two stars, top-notch cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, and impressive set designs by Gene Serdena make this a journey worth taking. Complex script mixes elements of sci/fi, love story, and even some philosophical moments. Not a total success- and at times overly reminiscent of “2001: A Space Odyssey”- but ambitious and intelligent.

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“Spin Out” (*** out of four) was a wonderful comedy set in Australia about a racing team (Xavier Samuel, Morgan Griffin) whose feuds and feelings for one another extend off the driving roads; when Griffin wants to leave and move to the city, Samuel must decide on his true feelings and whether to remain a dangerous driver or commit to her. Infectious cast of unknowns are so full of energy and charisma that they make this into a small winner all around. Full of snappy dialogue and beautiful shots of Australian scenery. A real surprise.

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“The Night Watchman” (*1/2 out of four) was a molasses-moving melodrama not worth watching about a former convict (Matt Horan) who returns to his dead-end hometown after 2 years and takes a job as the night watchman of an abandoned mine but begins to suspect that a sinister presence is watching over him and the rest of the town. Don’t look for more plot than that or much else either. Film is part small-town melodrama, part character study, and part moody horror story and is an all bore. Director Miguel Angel Jimenez obviously watched “The Deer Hunter” a few times before making this but this fires all blanks.

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“The Strike” (*1/2 out of four) was a strike-out about three moronic actors (Katie Morrison, Guillermo Ivan, Erin Fogel) struggling to break through in NYC who attempt to go on strike to get the recognition they crave. No one in this lame and unfunny movie is likely to get any recognition. Lackluster movie feels like diluted and reheated Woody Allen or even Edward Burns, both of whom made much sharper and funnier movies than this in their heyday decades ago. Long-lost ’80’s character actor Bronson Pinchot picks up a few bucks in a throwaway supporting role.

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“La La Land” (*** out of four) was pleasant fluff about a jazz pianist (Ryan Gosling) who falls in love with an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and how their careers take them on eventual different paths. Not a great film as many critics have said but an overall affectionate homage to musicals from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Music score and numbers are hit-or-miss but Gosling and Stone’s chemistry and camaraderie (in their third film together) make this entertaining. Opening and closing scenes are terrific.

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“Assassin’s Creed” (** out of four) was a joyless adaptation of the famous video game about an assassin (Michael Fassbender) who learns in captivity that he is a descendant of a secret assassin’s society and rebels against his sinister captors (Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons). Lots of action but film has little story or characters to care about and has no sense of humor either. Film resembles a video game in that it gives you lots to look at but almost nothing to feel. Terrific cast can’t do much to enrich this material

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“Kill Ratio” (**1/2 out of four) was a proficient action thriller about an American covert operative (Tom Hopper) living in Eastern Europe and is pitted against a ruthless military general (Nick Dunning) who is attempting to take over the country and threatens his family when they get in the way. Nothing original or groundbreaking but features the requisite amount of shootings and hand-to-hand combat. Dunning, who looks a lot like Jimmy Page, makes a strong villain.

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“The Other Halves” (** out of four) was a mediocre horror thriller about a team of programmers (Lauren Lakis, Mercedes Manning, Lianna Liew) who develop a dating app which initially seems like a breakthrough but they subsequently find it has strange side effects involving paranoia, hallucinations, and murder. Potentially chilling story of online technology, social media, and consumerism has some stylish touches but needed a much stronger writer and director to pull its diversive elements together. Similar to “Nerve” which came out earlier this year. Watch an “other” movie instead.

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