April 12, 2016 “The Jungle Book” (** out of four) was a mild adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic story of an orphan boy named Mowgli (Neel Seethi) raised in the jungle by a black bear, a pack of wolves, and a panther. Visually stunning at times but movie lacks awe and excitement and doesn’t have enough of a story to sustain you for nearly two hours. Film has everything money can buy but never generates a sense of wonder that “White Fang” or “Huck Finn” did. About on par with the last “Jungle Book” adaptation in 1994. Continue reading →
April 12, 2016 “The Tell-Tale Heart” (*1/2 out of four) was a dull adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s horror story about a tormented man (Patrick John Flueger) who continuously readmits himself to a medical facility to escape from his pending insanity. Yet another adaptation of a Poe story without any elements of power or fright which made his writing so powerful. Director Peter Bogdanovich plays a tormenting old man in this story but he should stay behind the camera rather than in front of it in the future Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “The Trust” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster Redbox cop melodrama that will make audiences lose trust in Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood’s career choices. They play corrupt cops who stumble onto a plan for a drug invasion and a mysterious bank vault. Cage and Wood make an engaging team at times but this is otherwise pretty by-the-numbers and blah. For a juicier story about corrupt cops, watch 1997’s “Gang Related” or “L.A. Confidential” onstead. Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “The Girl In The Photographs” (* out of four) was a rockbottom horror dud about a girl (Claudia Lee) in a nowheresville town who starts receiving photographs of murdered young women and begins to investigate if they’re real or staged. What might have been a scary half-hour “Twilight Zone” episode is endlessly padded out to nearly two hours. Molasses pacing and annoying characters make this one a real slog. Executive produced by Wes Craven in his final film but let’s just be charitable and say this is no “Scream”. Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “Miracles From Heaven” (**1/2 out of four) was a moving Christian-themed drama about a little girl suffering from a rare digestive order whose parents (Jennifer Garner and Martin Henderson) frantically try to help her receive medical care until she is miraculously cured after falling and hitting her head in a tree. Occasionally hokey but maintains its grip and involvement due to its winning and empathic performances. Resembles a t.v. movie of the week at times but is worth watching and is better than many other religion-based dramas of the last few years Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “The Night Before” (** out of four) was a middling comedy about three lifelong friends (Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie) who reunite on Christmas Eve looking to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties. By the admittedly very low standards of Seth Rogen comedies who I am not a fan of, this isn’t bad and has some laughs and is a throwback to “Half Baked” and Chech and Chong movies. Still, it’s awfully thin stuff and gets too repetitive and dumb after a while. Gordon Levitt and Mackie show off some of their comic skills but viewers will likely forget this by the night afterwards. Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “Pandemic” (*** out of four) was a fast and furious horror thriller set in the near future where a deadly virus is spreading and one doctor (Rachel Nichols) races to find a cure and save the infected. Yet another zombie/apocalypse/infection/outbreak movie in the vein of “World War Z” and also “Resident Evil” but is well-made and never stops moving. Not groundbreaking or original but better than most of its caliber. Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “The Bride” (*1/2 out of four) was an ugly, nearly unwatchable rip-off of the even worse “I Spit On Your Grave” about a bride (Henrietta Riddervold) whose raped and murdered by a group of hillbilly thugs but returns from the grave to enact revenge. Dispiriting to anyone who remembers when movies like these were fun and entertaining. Riddervold is good in the lead but other performances are pretty wooden Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “Time Rush” (*** out of four) was an adrenalized thriller set in the seedy streets of Bangkok where a man (Dean Alexandrou) is stuck in a repeated time loop with all kinds of agents and thugs out to kill him for reasons he doesn’t know. His only solution is to run and fight for his life. Breathless movie doesn’t have much story or characters to hold onto but it never stops moving, with nonstop hand-to-hand combat and violent action. Definitely worth the “time” for action junkies and martial arts fans. Continue reading →
April 6, 2016 “True Deception” (** out of four) was a true disappointment about a writer (James Franco) wracked with personal problems who becomes involved in trying to aid a man (Christian Slater) on trial for murdering his wife, as his own life gradually falls apart around him. Scenes between Franco and Ed Harris as his estranged father are potent and effective but film is otherwise scattered, meandering, and not very involving. Not all that different from “True Story” which had similar title and also starred Franco and covered some of the same themes- and better Continue reading →
