April 27, 2016 “Criminal” (**1/2 out of four) was an intriguing futuristic thriller about a convict (Kevin Costner) released from prison and injected with the memories of a dead federal agent (Ryan Reynolds) to stop an international terrorist. Only problem is he begins to waver between the memories of his dead inhabitant and his own violent nature. Mixture of large-scale action, Phillip K. Dick style science fiction, and social commentary isn’t a complete success and is marred by Costner’s miscasting but offers plenty of interesting ideas and good action scenes. Superb cast including Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Oldman and nice ending makes this worthwhile and it’s much better than a lot of reviews have been saying. Continue reading →
April 25, 2016 “Precious Cargo” (** out of four) was a routine Redbox action thriller about a crime boss (Bruce Willis) who is ripped off by one of his cohorts (Claire Forlani) and pursues her and another thief (Mark Paul Gosselaar) to the death until he can recap his money. Nothing too spectacular or precious and nothing Bruce Willis hasn’t done in virtually 100 other movies (even if he is playing the bad guy) but moves fast enough to make it watchable. Continue reading →
April 25, 2016 “Sniper: Special Ops” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring Redbox action drama about a Special Ops military force (led by Steven Seagal) who become under siege when they attempt to rescue wounded soldiers in an Afghan village. Seagal mumbles and sleepwalks and is barely in any of the movie. Tim Abell is much better as a sympathetic sergeant but he can’t overcome a talky script without much firepower. Veteran military actor Dale Dye has a small role as the major of the army base. Watch “Saving Private Ryan” or “Sniper” again instead. Continue reading →
April 25, 2016 “The Boss” (**1/2 out of four) was an occasionally funny comedy about a business woman (Melissa McCarthy) sent to prison for insider trading and tries to rebuild her reputation upon being released. McCarthy is actually pretty good in a tailor-made role. Uneven script has some ups-and-downs but provides some laughs. Fans of McCarthy (I’m not) will probably want to boost my rating by a half star. Continue reading →
April 25, 2016 “Nina” (** out of four) was a one-dimensional biography of jazz pianist Nina Simone (Zoe Saldana) whose biggest enemy was always herself as she destroyed herself with drugs and booze. Saldana (in heavy makeup and prosthetics) is good but movie is superficial and doesn’t tell you much about Simone that you don’t already know. You could just as easily be watching a biography on Whitney Houston or Amy Winehouse. This stirred up controversy from Simone’s family who disavowed the film. Continue reading →
April 22, 2016 “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” (*1/2 out of four) was a joyless action drama about the huntsman Eric (Chris Helmsworth) who falls in love with a fellow warrior (Jessica Chastain) while trying to stop the evil queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and her plans for (yawn) destroying society. Prequel to 2012’s “Snow White And The Huntsman” liberally rips-off both “Labyrinth” and also (!l 2014’s “Maleficent”. Visually spectacular at times but where is the fun in any of this? Where is it Kristen Stewart when you need her? Nonstop visual effects and sets provide nonstop waste of money and time Continue reading →
April 21, 2016 “Dirty Grandpa” (*1/2 out of four) was a crude, stupid and proud-of-it comedy starring Robert De Niro as a perverted senior citizen on a road trip with his uptight grandson (Zack Efron) to Florida where he is about to be married. Some nasty laughs in the opening half-hour are soon dissipated as film becomes endlessly raunchy and dumb. Seeing De Niro play such a wacky character eventually proves tiresome, just like the film itself. Film makes fun of homosexuals, blacks, and of course senior citizens in equal measure so no one feels left out of the party. Watch “Bad Grandpa” instead. Continue reading →
April 19, 2016 “Blood Sombrero” (0 stars out of four) was a dreadful Redbox melodrama about a thief (Billy Blair) in a Texas nowhere town who is hired by a ruthless crime lord (Nick Gomez) to find a mysterious box whose contents are unknown. But a violent actress (Paula Solinger) is holding the box while on the run from corrupt cops and- oh yeah- a cult she once belonged to. (Are you following this LOL?) So incoherent you could watch this backwards and it would probably make just as much sense. Terrible filmmaking is matched by even worse acting. Strictly for the 42nd street grindhouse crowd. Continue reading →
April 19, 2016 “Reluctant Witness” (** out of four) was a flat mafia-underworld thriller about a woman (Mia Kirshner) who turns her mobster husband into the police and attempts to start a new life in the witness protection program but finds that the past is difficult to escape from. Both obvious and confusing, and never ignites, although Kirshner is good as usual in the lead. Any one scene in “Good Fellas” or “Donnie Brasco” tops this hands down. Continue reading →
April 19, 2016 “Get A Job” (*1/2 out of four) was a dumb, often disgusting comedy starring Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick as young lovers who find that life after college isn’t what they were expecting as they float through a series of increasingly strange jobs. Made in 2012 and sat on the shelf for 4 years where it didn’t exactly age like fine wine. Teller’s usual charismatic performance is helpless against unfunny material. “Get A Script” would have been a better title for this timewaster. Continue reading →
