September 14, 2016 “Deeper: The Retribution Of Beth” (* out of four) was a mind-numbingly awful thriller about a young girl (Julie Harmon) who enacts bloodthirsty revenge against two perverted scumbags who make it a point picking up random women and exploiting and demeaning them. Stupid, ugly rip-off of “I Spit On Your Grave” may make you want to spit on the filmmakers instead. Even the revenge action scenes are poorly staged and directed. For masochists and freaks only. Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “Ithaca” (** out of four) was a meandering and sluggish small-town period piece set in the 1940’s about a young bicycle messenger (Jack Quaid) whose brother has gone off to war and whose father (Tom Hanks) recently died and lives trying to comfort his distant mother (Meg Ryan) while coming into his own as a young man. Directorial debut for Meg Ryan is an affectionate homage to Americana and shows she has a strong eye for small-down detail but hardly anything happens and you soon realize that the movie has no point and no story. Haunting music score by John Mellencamp is a major plus. A wasted reteaming of Hanks and Ryan who are in the movie very briefly and this is no match whatsoever for their classic “Sleepless In Seattle.” Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “USS Indianapolis: Men Of Courage” (*** out of four) was a harrowing true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis (Nicholas Cage, Tom Sizemore, and Thomas Jane among many others) who changed history by risking their lives to deliver the atomic bomb that would eventually end WWII but were subsequently stranded in the Phillippine Sea for five days and all but 317 died died from dehydration, starvation, and brutal shark attacks. Powerful story of courage and determination is corny at times but made gripping by the real-life details of its story and features shark attacks that are scarier than anything in “The Shallows” or any “Jaws” sequel. End-credits sequence which features interviews with actual survivors and footage of their rescue is particularly heartfelt. Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “The Light Between Oceans” (*** out of four) was a moving story about a lighthouse keeper (Michael Fassbender) and his young wife (Alicia Vikander) who are unable to have children. One day, a baby washes up in a boat whom they adopt as their own but numerous complications arise when the child’s real mother (Rachel Weisz) enters their lives. Fascinating story of moral ambiguity and responsibility takes a while to get going but becomes more involving and thought-provoking as its serpentine story unfolds. Final half-hour is particularly shattering. Fassbender is rock-solid as usual. A solid showing for director Derek Cianfrance although this is no match for his last film “A Place Beyond The Pines.” Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “The Neighbor” (** out of four) was a trashy potboiler about a young construction worker (Josh Stewart) who comes home and finds his girlfriend missing and goes looking for her and eventually finds out she has been kidnapped and imprisoned in their neighbor’s (Bill Engvall) house and he has to break in and rescue her and both attempt to make it out alive. Stewart (who looks an awful lot like a young Sean Penn) once again is intense and holds the screen but you’ll eventually be numbed by all the ugliness and sleaze. Engvall is strong also as the evil neighbor. Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “Backstabbed” (** out of four) was an obvious, predictable melodrama about a struggling wife (Brittany Underwood) who decides to become a real estate agent and begins working for a corrupt broker (Josie Davis) who is ruthless and vindictive and will do anything to land a deal. Davis’ amusing and campy performance makes this almost worth watching for a little while but she is backstabbed by a routine script without many surprises. Not all that different from last year’s “99 Homes” which told its story with much more complexity and emotional charge. Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “The Purgation” (*1/2 out of four) was a disposable thriller that might make audiences feel in purgation as they’re watching it. In a Midwestern nowheresville town, a young girl (Tiffany Kieu) attempts to confront her past by revising an old asylum and finding out its untold truths and mysteries. By the end of this, you might feel as if you’re locked in an asylum with her. Yet another tired horror thriller that gives you nothing that both “The Shining” and “The Amityville Horror” didn’t do- and do better- nearly 40 years ago. Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “Cry Now” (** out of four) was a tepid romantic soap opera about the relationship between a street graffiti artist (Miguel Angel Caballero) and a designer (Ilana Carter) which begins to heat up but his relationship with his obsessive ex-girlfriend (Mina Olivera) begins to interfere and causes problems for all of them. Not sexy enough, twisty enough, original enough, or even bad enough to make this worth checking out although Caballero is good in the lead and the film remains watchable through-out. Owes an obvious amount to Zalman King but his “Red Shoe Diaries” and porn-potboilers in the ’90’s were far more intensive than this. Continue reading →
September 14, 2016 “Interrogation” (**1/2 out of four) was a reasonably tense and electric suspense thriller about an F.B.I. interrogator specialist (former WWE star Aaron Copeland) and an I.T. worker (C.J. Perry from WWE Raw) who are plunged into a psychological battle with a criminal mastermind (Patrick Sabongui) once a plan is unveiled that could endanger the entire city and the clock is ticking. Copeland’s one-note starring role as an action hero reveals that he won’t be stealing roles from Leonardo DiCaprio or Edward Norton anytime soon but he gets the job done. Film is packed with enough action and twists to satisfy action fans but story gets excessively ridiculous after a while. Still, Copeland and Sabongui play well off each other and there is a neat surprise at the end which make this worth interrogating. Continue reading →
September 7, 2016 “Followed” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired horror thriller about a young couple (Adam LeClair and Stefanie Butler) who document their cross-country move and new engagement but unknowingly become targeted and stalked by a psycho on the road who pursues them. Not exactly the worst of the low-standards of the found-footage horror genre but unlikely to make anyone forget “The Blair Witch Project” or “Duel” anytime soon. Some eerie shots of the Midwest are well-captured but this is overall not worth following. Continue reading →
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