June 30, 2016 “Kidnapped In Romania” (* out of four) was a dreadful Redbox melodrama that kidnaps the audience for nearly two hours with poor writing and direction, annoying supporting characters, and molasses pacing. In Romania, two Italian-American journalists (Abraam Fontana and Andrea Stefancikova) go missing and are held hostage by exploitative sadists. Everyone has to pay the bills but it’s even more exploitative seeing one-time great character actor Michael Madsen continue to waste his talent in more direct-to-Redbox junk. Film attempts to rip off both “Taken” and “The Vanishing” but this should hopefully vanish from Redbox machines soon. Continue reading →
June 30, 2016 “The Shallows” (**1/2 out of four) was a tense thriller about a young surfer (Blake Lively) in Tijuana who is attacked by a great white shark after she is only 200 yards away from shore and becomes stranded both physically and emotionally in a battle of wills to survive. Some truly harrowing and suspenseful moments but story is more than a bit reminiscent of “Jaws”, especially it’s far-fetched finale. Beautiful photography and Lively’s sincere and strong performance makes this worthwhile. Continue reading →
June 30, 2016 “Falsely Accused” (*1/2 out of four) was an artificial and confusing drama about a young girl (Emma Holzer) who needs to catch a killer in order to prove her innocence in her brother’s murder and takes it on the run where she falls in love and begins to understand (!) the true meaning of life and self-perception. “Falsely Made” would have been a better title for this tripe. Film blends elements of thriller, love story, and adolescent discovery and succeeds at none of them. Rosanna Arquette has a key supporting role as the young girl’s aunt but this is unlikely to revive her career anytime soon. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “No Stranger Than Love” (** out of four) was a hokey and strange romantic comedy about a young girl (Alison Brie) who suddenly has a big hole that develops in her living room floor and her friend (Colin Hanks) suddenly falls inside it! Could this be a sign that they are meant for one another? Or is it more of a sign and concern for the filmmaker’s mental health problems for coming up with such a demented story? Lackluster comedy gets all the mileage and charm that it can from Brie and Hanks’ winning performances but the script should have been thrown down the big hole instead. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “Mob Handed” (** out of four) was a well-made but unpleasant Redbox underworld crime melodrama about a female journalist who joins a vigilante group after her daughter is murdered and the child molester and killer is set free by the courts. Stylishly directed by Liam Galvin and features some interesting commentary on the criminal justice system and the grief many victims have to endure but it’s overshadowed by film’s excessive violence and dour tone. Over 40 years later, “Death Wish” is still being retooled and remade in multiple films. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “Adventures In Babysitting” (** out of four) was a contrived and confusing remake of the 1987 teen classic about two rival teen babysitters (Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Carson) who have to head into the city to find one of their kids when he runs off to go to a concert. Kids may like it but it’s tough going for anyone else. For a better “adventure”, watch the original again instead. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “The Rezort” (*1/2 out of four) was a muddled horror thriller about a group of friends who go on a vacation in the wilderness and are mauled and eaten by flesh-eating zombies. Takes forever to get going and doesn’t have anything that you haven’t seen before and seen better. Watch “Walking Dead” reruns instead. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “The Last Heist” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismal action melodrama about a bank heist which descends into chaos when one of the hostages (Henry Rollins) turns out to be a serial killer who traps them in the building and kills them off one-by-one. Sounds juicy but is stupid and boring. Hopefully, this is Rolllins’ “last” attempt to become an action star. After this, “He Never Died”, and “Wrong Turn 2”, I’m having a low self-opinion of his acting ability. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “The Night Stalker” (** out of four) was a superficial psychodrama about the serial killer and rapist Richard Ramirez (Lou Diamond Phillips) who terrorized California in the ’80’s and film shows how he tells his story to an inquisitive lawyer (Bellamy Young). Film annoyingly jumps back-and-forth between the present day to flashbacks when Ramirez was a child but doesn’t really tell you much about him that’s new or revealing. Phillips is pretty one-note as Ramirez. Similar in structure and concept to “The Silence Of The Lambs” but let’s just say these two are a long way from Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Continue reading →
June 20, 2016 “Stressed To Kill” (*1/2 out of four) was a stupid Redbox melodrama about a nerd (Bill Oberst Jr who looks like a wormy Daniel Craig) who suffers a heart attack and attempts to lower his blood pressure by killing people who stress him out! Potentially fun revenge fantasy is hampered by bad acting and even worse writing. Armand Assante alternately sleepwalks, mumbles, and overacts his way through a supporting role as an investigating detective on the case. Continue reading →
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