November 22, 2016 “Mr. Pig” (**1/2 out of four) was a leisurely but easy-to-take character study about an old man (Danny Glover) who becomes attached to the pig that he is taking to the slaughterhouse and decides to keep him, as he tries to attend to his failing health and tries to salvage his relationship with his estranged daughter (Maya Rudolph). A perfect example of how a terrific actor (Glover) can make all the difference with a thin script and story and make it watchable although the movie does get a little redundant after a while. Touching ending and a pretty adorable pig are plusses. Continue reading →
November 22, 2016 “Blood Punch” (*1/2 out of four) was a mind-numbingly stupid horror thriller about a rehab counselor (Milo Cawthorne) drawn into a love affair with a sexy young woman (Olivia Tennet) who lures him to a cabin in which he is ambushed by her psychotic friend (Ari Boyland) which leads to numerous grisly and supernatural complications for all involved. Seemingly endless movie goes on and on and gets dumber by the minute although Tennet is good as the femme fatale he meets. Made in 2014, this could have remained on the shelf. Continue reading →
November 21, 2016November 21, 2016 “ISIS: Rise Of Terror” (***1/2 out of four) was a searing, powerful documentary from The History Channel about the beginnings of ISIS in 1999 and how it spread through various leaders and political organizations into becoming a global terrorist threat that has caused controversy and fear to this day. Features a staggering array of behind-the-scenes news footage, interviews, and information involving Obama, former President Bush, and acts of random and shocking violence. Excellently well-researched and developed documentary is a must for those unfamiliar with ISIS and political historians. Continue reading →
November 21, 2016November 21, 2016 “Hero Of The Underworld” (** out of four) was a muddled character study/melodrama about a drug-addicted night manager (Tom Malloy) of an upscale L.A. hotel who meets a young prostitute (Nicole Arianna Fox) who is beaten up badly and he attempts to find her and rescue her and bring her- and himself- out of the abyss. Grim storyline has a strong central performance from Malloy but fails to connect emotionally and never shifts into high gear. It’s also hard to understand exactly why he becomes so obsessed with Fox and saving her and this limits the story’s impact. Continue reading →
November 20, 2016 “Yoga Hosers” (*1/2 out of four) was a flashy but dumb teen comedy about two teenage yoga and music enthusiasts (Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith) who team up with a dimwitted hunter (Johnny Depp) to stop an evil presence (Ralph Garman) that is threatening their native Canada. Yet another comedown from writer-director Kevin Smith who in better days directed “Clerks” but that’s seeming farther and farther away every year for him. Co-stars Depp and Smith are engaging and could have been fun with an actual script. Other co-stars Johnny Depp and Garman are nearly unwatchable. Continue reading →
November 20, 2016 “Keeping Up With The Joneses” (**1/2 out of four) was a good-natured but uneven comedy about a suburban couple (Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher) who befriend their new neighbors (Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot) but come to find they are actually government spies embroiled in an international espionage plot! Alternately funny, silly, contrived, and action-filled this never hits the bullseye but remains watchable through-out thanks to its charismatic cast. Overlength begins to drain the fun out of the movie towards the end. Hamm is well cast; Galifianakis is much less annoying than usual. Continue reading →
November 19, 2016November 19, 2016 “A Doggone Christmas” (**1/2 out of four) was a likeable children’s comedy about a cute puppy with telepathic abilities who works for the C.I.A. but escapes their clutches and is taken in by two kids around the Christmas holidays but the C.I.A. is in full pursuit to retrieve him. Fast-paced movie is aimed squarely at kids who are likely to love it and their parents should find it reasonably entertaining. Not bad for what it is. Beautiful South Carolina scenery is a plus and the dog is great! Continue reading →
November 19, 2016 “Solitary” (**1/2 out of four) was an interesting but continually downbeat melodrama about an alcoholic (Katharine Lee McEwan) whose life spirals out of control when she has an affair, her husband subsequently leaves her, and she is arrested and imprisoned when her best friend dies after she was drinking-and-driving in a car crash. McEwan is empathetic in a grim story about the numerous effects of alcoholism on one’s behavior and their family but film doesn’t have much of a point and thus it’s impact is limited. About on par with other films (“Flight”, “Ironweed”, “Drunks”) about alcoholism and its consequences. Continue reading →
November 19, 2016 “Loving” (** out of four) was a curiously unmoving true story of Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) who were sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for being an interracial married couple and how this led to a landmark Supreme Court case in 1967 which overturned state laws and made interracial marriage legal. Well-acted and captures the aura and atmosphere of Southern politics and racial divide but limited in its emotional power and never as soaring or compelling as it could have- and should have- been. Even the ending which covers the historic court outcome is awfully subdued. Similar storyline of marriage and politics in the Old South was captured with more complexity and emotional fire in “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”, “Foreign Student”, and “The Long Walk Home.” Continue reading →
November 18, 2016November 18, 2016 “Grave Walkers” (*1/2 out of four) was a fairly awful zombie/walking dead retread set in a small college town in which supernatural forces locked in a police basement jail come to light and then procede to threaten the police force and the surrounding town. By-the-numbers pastiche of “Dawn Of The Dead”, “Assault On Precinct 13”, and many other (better) movies. Bad performances perfectly mesh with bad special effects and production although the music score by Ari Kirschenbaum is good. Tony Todd picks up a few bucks in a supporting role as a pastor but he would have done far better making “Candyman 4” instead. Continue reading →
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