February 20, 2016 “Forsaken” (*** out of four) was a gripping Western about a gunslinger (Kiefer Sutherland) who journeys back home to reunite with his estranged father (Donald Sutherland) just as he and his community are under siege from violent landgrabbers which leads to a showdown. Exquisitely shot but it’s the strong characters and camaraderie between both Sutherlands that makes this definitely worth checking out. Kiefer Sutherland does his strongest work in years and both Michael Wincott and Demi Moore are solid in key supporting roles. Continue reading →
February 19, 2016 “Remember” (***1/2 out of four) was a powerful story of a Holocaust survivor (Christopher Plummer) with dementia who goes on a cross-country odyssey to confront the Nazi guard who killed him and his family during the war which leads to many unexpected complications. Plummer’s terrific performance anchors this interesting drama which takes many unexpected twists and turns. Shattering ending will have you on the edge of your seat! Terrific supporting turns by Dean Norris and Jurgen Prochnow and this is easily one of director Atom Egoyan’s best works. Continue reading →
February 19, 2016 “Babysitter’s Black Book” (** out of four) was a predictable drama about four teenage friends who start a babysitting business to save up for college. When this just isn’t cutting it, they expand their ambitions into opening a prostitution business! Shades of “Risky Business” but unfortunately there’s no Tom Cruise or Rebecca De Mornay here. Allegedly inspired by a true story but it should have inspired a juicier movie. Continue reading →
February 18, 2016 “Riot” (** out of four) was a standard-issue action melodrama about a cop (Matthew Reese) who purposefully commits a bank robbery to become incarcerated so he can avenge his family’s death against a Russian crime kingpin who (logically enough) controls the police and orchestrates the criminal underworld of the city from behind bars as his cover. Ridiculous story has a few good action scenes and features aging Dolph Lundgren’s unintentionally hilariously awful performance for a few chuckles; hard-core action fans would otherwise do better re-watching Van Damme’s “Death Warrant”, Eastwood’s “Escape From Alcatraz”, or “Lockout” again instead. Continue reading →
February 17, 2016 “The Demolisher” (** out of four) was a pretentious and weird melodrama about a repairman (Ry Barrett) whose wife is disabled followed a gang-related assault and becomes involved in a world of vigilantism and extreme violence as his mental health and paranoia take a dangerous turn to the extreme. Director Gabriel Carrer shows some promise and some good ideas in trying for an art-house version of “Death Wish” but his good attempts are demolished by too many long pauses and bizarre touches. Continue reading →
February 17, 2016 “Zoolander 2” (*1/2 out of four) was a dumb-and-dumber sequel to the 2001 cult hit that I don’t think anyone was exactly crying out for a sequel to about the continuing adventures of Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and Hansel (Owen Wilson) who begin modeling again when an opposing company threatens to take them out and (yawn) take over the world. One-joke idea which quickly wears thin, much like the original. Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and Sting among others all show up in unfunny cameos. Fans of Stiller and Wilson (I’m not) may like this a little better but even they would fare better watching “The Wedding Crashers” again. Continue reading →
February 16, 2016February 16, 2016 “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies” (** out of four) was a dreary horror thriller set in 19th century England centering around five sisters who try to cope with the pressures of marrying and coming into womanhood in their strict upper-class surroundings while also trying to stay alive from an escalating population of zombies. Reasonably well-directed and handsomely shot but this attempt to merge historical fiction, classical melodrama, and zombie thriller ingredients doesn’t gel. At least it’s a far improvement over “Abraham Lincoln: Witch Hunter”. Continue reading →
February 16, 2016 “Lazer Team” (*1/2 out of four) was an ultra-dumb action comedy about four losers who wouldn’t be able to get into the McDonald’s School Of Fast Food Knowledge but are somehow selected to save the world when they stumble onto a UFO site that (yawn) threatens worlwide destruction. Aimed squarely at kids with low-attention spans or for those who find the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” too intellectually challenging. Stay home and play laser tag instead. Continue reading →
February 15, 2016 “Sociopathica” (*1/2 out of four) was a sociopathically ugly and violent mess about a young woman (Tammy Jean) terrified of being alone who lures women back to her house and when they attempt to leave, she sadistically murders them and keeps their body parts as props and living dolls but things start to get a little complicated when she falls in love for the first time and starts to really lose her grip on reality. Whoever came up with this script and story evidently lost their grip on reality (and psychosis) a long time ago as well. Plenty of sex and nudity for those who want it but you’ll be satisfied after about half an hour. Not exactly one of the kinds of movies that makes the world a better place. Continue reading →
February 13, 2016 “Hell Fire” (*1/2 out of four) was a laughably dumb, ugly Redbox melodrama about a small-town redneck (J. Scott Green) who is actually The Antichrist and is mistakenly kidnapped by a group of hookers and drug addicts and he causes them to be possessed by demonic forces and gradually turn on one another! The kind of movie that makes you want to take a shower immediately afterwards! The kind of movie also which makes you wonder who the hell thought of this story and who decided it should be filmed? Continue reading →
