May 17, 2016 “Restoration” (*1/2 out of four) was a tired Redbox horror thriller about a young couple (Emily Royalty O’Brien and Adrian Gaeta) who begin to do a home restoration but unknowingly release a fiery spirit that threatens their lives and blah, blah, blah. They should have restored the moldy script instead which is yet another ripoff of both “Poltergeist” and “The Shining” and also “Insidious” just to name a few. Would it kill horror filmmakers to scare up some new ideas once in a while? Continue reading →
May 16, 2016 “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: Sword Of Destiny” (*1/2 out of four) was a murky and tedious sequel to the 2000 smash hit about the re-emergence of renowned warrior Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) who travels to Peking in search of redemption to locate The Green Destiny which is a legendary sword which may be able to save civilization. Numerous fight scenes become repetitive after a while and it’s drably and cheaply filmed. Fans of the original (I wasn’t) may like this a little better. Hard to understand the plot and even harder to understand why they made a sequel 16 years later. Only Yeoh’s effortless charisma helps keep this afloat. Continue reading →
May 16, 2016 “All Mistakes Buried” (*** out of four) was a harrowing drama about a one-time successful businessman (Sam Trammell) whose life has unraveled due to his drug addiction and takes him on an odyssey through the criminal underworld to try and seek redemption by retrieving a stolen pendant for his estranged wife. Trammell’s fierce and utterly believable performance makes this story gripping and compelling even though it’s flashback structure is a little hard to follow at times. Exquisitely shot by Alan McIntyre Smith and Trammell’s real-life wife Missy Yager is terrific in a small supporting role as his wife. Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “Already Tomorrow In Hong Kong” (*** out of four) was a sweetly engaging love story in the vein of “Before Sunrise” about a Chinese-American girl (Jamie Chung) visiting Hong Kong for the first time who meets an American expat (Brian Greenberg) and they gradually develop feelings for one another, even though they’re both involved with other people and come from two completely different worlds. Both Chung and Greenberg have strong chemistry together and enhance director Emily Ting’s sharp screenplay against the beautiful Hong Kong backdrop. The fact that Chung and Greenberg fell in love and got married offscreen adds to its good vibes. Only the ending is unsatisfying and disappointing. Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “Kill Command” (*1/2 out of four) was an empty, derivative thriller set in the future in a technology-reliant society in which an army squadron is pitted against a series of killing robots out to (yawn) exterminate mankind. Yet another “Bladeruner”/”Alien”/”Robocop” wannabe that doesn’t make the grade. Kill this one from your Redbox list and re-watch those three classics again instead Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “Field Freak” (* out of four) was an amateurish Redbox horror thriller about a writer (Dave Juehring) who moves him and his family into an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods but unbeknownst to them- they’re being stalked by rabid beavers. Rabidly bad acting and filmmaking turns this into an unintentional comedy. It’s movies like these that destroyed the horror genre in the ’80’s before “Scream” resurrected it 20 years ago. Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “The Asian Connection” (*1/2 out of four) was a disconnected, derivative action thriller starring a tired and mumbling Steven Seagal as a crime lord in Southeast Asia who is set off when two American expatriates steal his money and rob his banks in an effort to stage all-out war. Confusing, tedious thriller features little of Seagal and even less action or tension. It’s movies like these that subjected Seagal to straight-to-Redbox and bottom-of-the-DVD dreck. Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “Well Wishes” (*1/2 out of four) was an artificial comedy about a young slacker (Shane Callahan) who loses his job due to a coin-toss and then implements a nonsensical plan to build an enterprise of harvesting coins from wishing fountains with none-too-funny results. Viewers can save their coins by avoiding this pointless and contrived comedy which is in sore need of some vigor and bite. Callahan’s likeable performance is wasted. Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “Most Likely To Die” (** out of four) was a tired slasher thriller about a group of whiny former classmates who gather for a party the night before their 10-year high school reunion and they are stalked and slain by a mysterious killer in accords to their senior yearbook predictions. Far from the worst of its ilk but illogical and dumb. “Halloween” and “Friday The 13th” did this kind of thing better nearly 40 years ago. Very similar in some ways to the plot of 1986’s “Slaughter High.” Continue reading →
May 15, 2016 “The Haunting Of Alice D” (* out of four) was a worthless Redbox horror thriller about the ghost of a dead brothel worker who haunts an old mansion. When evil new owners take it over a century later, (yawn) all hell breaks loose. Both visually and dramatically ugly and moves at a snail’s pace. One-time Jason actor Kane Hodder has a small but key role as a villain but this fiasco is unlikely to lead to a career revival for him. Continue reading →
