November 1, 2016 “Accidentally Engaged” (*1/2 out of four) was a plastic romantic comedy about a struggling actress (Lexi Giovagnoli) who returns to her hometown and claims to be engaged to a celebrity actor (Brant Daugherty) but things take a turn for the worse when the story goes public and the actor decides to go along for the ruse to escape bad press. Naturally, they eventually fall in love! As contrived as it is unbelievable and features a meager amount of laughs. “Accidentally Made” may have been a better title for this trifle. Continue reading →
November 1, 2016 “The Night Before Halloween” (** out of four) was a hokey horror thriller about a 16-year old (Bailee Madison) and her friends who take part in a Halloween prank that lands one of their friends (Natalie Ganzhorn) in a coma but one year later, they come to find that she still may be alive. Or so it seems. Both overlong and overdone although some of the special effects and performances are good. Story alternately rips off “Sorority Row” and also “April Fool’s Day.” Continue reading →
November 1, 2016 “The Maid” (*1/2 out of four) was a predictable, by-the-numbers horror thriller about a college student (Kathryn Newtown) who soon discovers that her new maid (Fay Masterson) is a serious sicko and has been involved in many of the recent problems and wrongdoings at her school and in her house. Unfortunately, the writer and director are involved in many of the wrongdoings in this movie which is utterly generic and routine. Fran Drescher’s “The Nanny” had more scares and laughs than this does. Newton’s sincere performance is wasted. Continue reading →
October 31, 2016 “Drifter” (**1/2 out of four) was a visually dazzling but empty pastiche of “Mad Max”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, and numerous Sam Peckinpah melodramas about a pair of outlaw brothers (Aria Emory and Drew Harwood) who seek refuge in a desolate, middle-of-nowhere town and are preyed upon by a family of psychotic cannibals! Promising directorial debut for Chris Von Hoffman who incorporates the stylings of George Miller and David Lynch into an uneven whole; too brazen and flashy to dismiss yet too derivative and weird to be fully enjoyed. A mixed bag but worth checking out for sci/fi and horror fans. Continue reading →
October 30, 2016 “Subterranea” (*1/2 out of four) was a substandard futuristic melodrama about a man (Bug Hall) whose spent his entire life in captivity and is released for the first time and must learn to live for the first time as an adult and simultaneously find out more about his past. Hall is understandably supposed to be playing a man whose confused but he looks more like a deer in headlights. Long-lost character actor William Katt fares better as a philosopher and mentor but he only appears at the very end. Potentially interesting story about incarceration and reacclimation is a yawner instead. Continue reading →
October 30, 2016 “Rats” (*** out of four) was a chilling documentary about the history of rat infestations in major cities around the world including Louisiana, Cambodia, India, and right here in New York. Seeing the horrifying spread of rats and its effects on diseases and communities is more scary than anything in any horror movie over the last year. Trust me- you’ll never want to leave your toilet seat down or your sink uncovered after seeing this movie! Not for the squeamish but impressively done documentary which has been receiving major critical accolades and notices over the past few months. Continue reading →
October 30, 2016 “Into The Forest” (** out of four) was an earnest but dull melodrama about two sisters (Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood) who are forced to fend for themselves and survive together in their isolated woodland home after their father dies in a tragic accident and there is a massive power outage. Both Page and Wood are good and work well together but they are unable to enliven their material. One jolting rape scene and its subsequent scenes of recovery are the only real emotional scenes in the film. Film’s second half is at least much more involving than first. Continue reading →
October 30, 2016 “Recovery” (*1/2 out of four) was a stupid, by-the-numbers horror pic about a girl (Kirby Bliss Blanton) and her moronic high-school friends who search for her lost phone and stumble into a house with a demented family who attempt to slaughter all of them. “Scream” made fun of horror movies like these almost exactly 20 years ago! It’s nice to see in the 2 decades since horror filmmakers haven’t come up with many new ideas. Not exactly the worst of its kind but only for those who will watch anything in the Redbox machine Continue reading →
October 29, 2016 “The Hollow” (** out of four) was a disappointing crime melodrama about a U.S. congressman’s daughter who is murdered in a triple homicide in small-town Mississippi. Two troubled F.B.I. agents (James Callis and Christiane Seidel) are sent to investigate but they are besieged by the corrupt local police (led by Miles Doleac and William Sadler) and multiple other criminal forces in the area who do not want the whole truth uncovered. Director Doleac is terrific as the redneck corrupt local cop and does an impressive job in capturing small-town atmosphere and mood; unfortunately the story drags and never takes flight as it goes on for more than two hours, and it’s weakened by Callis’ terrible lead performance. Watchable but a mixed bag overall. Continue reading →
October 29, 2016 “Doctor Strange” (*** out of four) was a colorful adaptation of the Marvel comic series about a former neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) who suffers a near-death car accident which ends his career and he then begins training in the mystic arts under the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and is transformed into a superhero. Packed with imaginative visuals and stunning visual effects. Story lags a little at times in its midsection but is well-told and well-cast. A solid entry in the never-ending series of Marvel comic book adaptations. Rachael McAdams is great as usual as his former co-worker and love interest. Continue reading →
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