May 28, 2016 “The Darkness” (*1/2 out of four) was an umpteenth, by-the-numbers horror story about a haunted house, satanic curses, and (yawn) a demonically possessed child. A workaholic father (Kevin Bacon) moves his family into a new house when his son suddenly begins behaving strangely and endangers the family’s safety and sanity (and the audience’s patience). Hard to believe there could be yet another rip-off of both “The Shining” and “Poltergeist” but horror fillmmakers keep churning out the same story over and over. Why a top-notch character actor like Bacon starred in this is scarier and more mystifying than anything on screen. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Two Wrongs” (**1/2 out of four) was an engrossing Redbox thriller about a single mom nurse (Gillian Zinser) whose daughter is abducted and is forced to play a game of cat-and-mouse with the kidnapper involving his own daughter who was kidnapped and murdered years ago. Lack of logic and story contrivances are compensated by Zinser’s strong and empathic performance and the novelty of not making the kidnapper a one-dimensional monster. Strong supporting cast helps as well. Continue reading →
May 28, 2016 “Stormageddon” (*** out of four) was an explosive Redbox tech-thriller about a master computer program that infiltrates America’s entire online computer programming and gains the ability to manipulate weather, create earthquakes, and threaten worldwide destruction; two civilians (John Hennigan and Eve Mauro) try to stay alive and save the world. Not quite as clever as its title but never stops moving and features some impressive special effects and large-scale action scenes. Movie fans will note the similarity of this to “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012” but this is actually better than both of them. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “Back In The Day” (*1/2 out of four) was an unpleasant and uninvolving melodrama about as artificial as the fake NYC accents the characters use set in the late 80’s in Brooklyn when a young boxer (William Demeo) is taken under the wing of the local mob boss (Michael Madsen who could play this role in his sleep by now and does in some scenes) and becomes involved in the underbelly of the sports and criminal underworld. Unlikely derivation of “Rocky” and “Mean Streets” is crippled by Demeo’s lack of charisma and likeability. Livened up a little by strong supporting cast including Shannon Doherty, Alec Baldwin, and Danny Glover but they all made better movies back in the day. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “X-Men Apocalypse” (**1/2 out of four) was a sporadically entertaining eighth entry in the series about the X Men uniting to defeat the emergence of the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse, who threatens worldwide extinction. Good characterizations and camaraderie amongst the team combine with usual dazzling effects but the story is too lumpy and never builds continued momentum. Magento, Xavier, and Raven figure prominently in the story but Wolverine (who gave many of the entries grit and soul) is disappointingly brief. Worth checking out for Marvel diehards and an improvement over its drab predecessor but this still bears the mark of going to the well once too often. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” (** out of four) was a more-of-the-same sequel starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as the happily married couple who are in the process of trying to sell their house when a new sorority (led by Chloe Grace Moretz) moves in that’s even more debauched and raucous than the fraternity that was living there before. Virtually a remake, rather than a sequel, to the surprise 2014 smash although it has some scattershot chuckles that make it somewhat more watchable. Mixes in elements of feminism and homoeroticism too but features plenty of vomit and weed jokes to ensure you don’t take things too seriously. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “The Curse Of Sleeping Beauty” (** out of four) was a hokey supernatural thriller about a loner (Ethan Peck) who inherits a lucrative estate from his estranged uncle which comes with a mysterious curse which eventually threatens him and those around him. Strong atmosphere and cinematography keep you engrossed for a little while but story never takes off and eventually decays into sheer corn. Yet another haunted house thriller all-too-obviously inspired by both “Poltergeist” and “The Shining” but sorely missing Stanley Kubrick or Steven Spielberg’s touch. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “Cyborg X” (*1/2 out of four) was cybernetic junk about a group of survivors (led by Danny Trejo) who must fight to save humanity from an army of machines which are overtaken by a virus that programs them to (ho hum) exterminate mankind. Standard-issue post apocalyptic setting gives you nothing you haven’t seen before. Even Trejo seems to be just going through the motions and wishing he was in “Machete 3” or the next “From Dusk Till Dawn” entry. James Cameron’s “Terminator” entries told virtually this same story with much more poetry and action almost 30 years ago. The future just ain’t what it used to be. Continue reading →
May 25, 2016 “Freshwater” (*1/2 out of four) was a none-too-fresh horror dud about a monstrous alligator on the loose in the waters of a lake resort on the weekend a group of teenagers visit and soon there’s blood in them thar waters. Cheesy, lame thriller has few thrills or scares to satisfy blood-thirsty horror fans. At least “Lake Placid”, “Anaconda”, and “Pirannha” had some unintentional laughs. One-time ace stuntwoman Zoe Bell provides the only sparks as an alligator expert. Continue reading →
May 17, 2016 “A Fatal Obsession” (*1/2 out of four) was a fatal mistake for all involved about an abusive husband (Eric Roberts) whose wife and daughter escape and leave and then undergoes extensive plastic surgery to forge a new unrecognizable identity and re-enter their lives. Potentially clever story begs for Hitchcock in his prime but is bungled by slapdash direction and storytelling with little suspense, irony, or scares. Understandably, this bypassed theatres and premiered on cable instead. Continue reading →
