“The Good Witch Of Christmas” (*1/2 out of four) was a sorry sequel to last year’s “Christmas Thieves” which I don’t think anyone was exactly writing letters to Santa asking for a follow-up; this time around, the two bumbling thieves (William Baldwin and Tom Arnold) are babysitting two kids while their parents are out shopping but their parents accidentally get into an accident with Santa and scare off his reindeer (!) and it’s up to the Good Witch (Katie McGovern) to save the day. The kind of movie that gives the term “Christmas movie” a bad name. As with the original- there’s animated interludes and plenty of slapstick but it all adds up to one long humbug. Holiday fans would best watch “Scrooge” for something more uplifting and cheerful.

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“Revenge Delivered” (*1/2 out of four) was a plastic and plodding suspense melodrama about an established doctor (Olunike Adeliyi) whose facility starts having multiple suspicious occurrences and she soon starts to suspect that one of her residents (Samantha Brown) may be the daughter of someone from her past and is out to wreck havoc and revenge. If you can’t guess this entire movie from the first 10-15 minutes, you really need to get out more often. Hard to believe this was directed by Bill Corcoran who directed a majority of the episodes of “Wiseguy.” Return this one to sender.

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“Bridge Of The Doomed” (** out of four) was a more-of-the-same apocalyptic zombie gorefest about a group of soldiers (Kate Watson, Robert LaSardo, Michael Pare, and others) who are ordered to hold a bridge during a worldwide zombie outbreak but soon find that the bloodthirsty creatures underneath the bridge spell even more deadly trouble. Fast-paced enough and with enough zombie gore to satisfy genre fans but covers so much familiar territory (really- I mean how many more movies can they make about zombie outbreaks?) that film leaves you with a sense of deja vu. LaSardo has one of his best roles in years as a tough but sympathetic general and some of the makeup F/X are good.

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“Matriarch” (*1/2 out of four) was a dreary horror thriller about a woman (Jemima Cooper) who survives a drug overdose and is then afflicted with a mysterious illness and subsequently returns to her childhood home to reflect on her life and confront her personal demons but instead comes face-to-face with a real demonic horror instead. Film attempts to deal with serious elements of drug addiction, repressed childhood memories, and PTSD but results are gloomy and boring. Cooper does what she can with a one-note role. Originally titled “Wormeater.”

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“Black Adam” (*** out of four) was a slickly done DC Comics adaptation about the title character (Dwayne Johnson) who was bestowed 5,000 years ago with the powers from the Egyptian Gods and is unleashed from his tomb and tries to instill his own sense of justice on the world which is crumbling before his eyes. Packed with razzle-dazzle visual effects and action scenes that fans expect from DC/Marvel movies; a bit more style and action than substance at times but never stops entertaining and giving you your money’s worth. Pierce Brosnan is well-cast as Doctor Fate in a key supporting role. As usual, stay with this through the end-credits sequence.

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“R.I.P.D. 2: Rise Of The Damned” (** out of four) was an unnecessary prequel to the 2013 horror comedy set in the 1876 wild West in which a small-town sheriff (Jeffrey Donovan) finds himself killed after a shootout with a local gang and is then recruited in the afterlife by the R.I.P.D. and finds a chance to come back and avenge his murder and also save the world at the same time. Hard to imagine why they made a follow-up to a movie that was a box-office flop and virtually no one liked but in all fairness- this is better and more watchable than the original. Still, though, it’s pretty thin stuff and probably has more in common with “Wild Wild West” than anything in the original movie.

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“Monsters Of War” (** out of four) was a sodden horror thriller set in the English countryside about a group of strangers (Chelsea Greenwood, Sofia Lacey, Chrissie Wunna, and others) who have to unite together when prehistoric monsters come back to life and want to harvest humanity and threaten worldwide extinction. Dour-looking and grim film has some good video-game like CGI effects of the creatures that liven things up here-and-there. Yet another movie that makes you appreciate the craft and ingenuity of “Jurassic Park” that much more.

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“Amityville Scarecrow” (* out of four) was a nearly unwatchable horror thriller about a summer camp that is about to re-open and numerous counselors and workers (Barbara Dabson, Chelsea Greenwood, and others) re-joice until they find out there is an “evil entity” (actually a guy in bad makeup and a cheap Walmart overcoat) on the loose who is going to set their doom. Film utilizes the “Amityville” title for name value only since this has absolutely nothing to do with that horror classic or even any of its sequels/remakes and actually has more in common (i.e. rips off) the plot of “Friday The 13th” but trust me- this makes that film look like Hitchcock in his classic prime.

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“Wickensburg” (** out of four) was an earthbound fantasy comedy about a mother (Denise Richards) and her young son (Jensen Gering) who move to the title small town but soon find that there are various dark secrets beneath the town’s picture-perfect facade and it may not be as wonderous and wonderful as it appears. Well-intentioned attempt at mixing elements of light-hearted comedy, coming-of-age story, and ethereal sci/fi elements but it never gels and thus never takes off. A film one can pleasantly watch but just as easily forget.

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“Live Escape” (*1/2 out of four) was a disjointed horror suspense-thriller about two cops (Bryant Smith and Joe Lujan) out on their patrol who investigate an underground homeless shelter which they find out is consumed by zombies who want to ravage mankind and seek (what else?) world domination. First-half literally looks like outtakes from “Cops” but once film moves underground it becomes dizzying and frenzied but still crushing and monotonous. Lujan also wrote and directed and is also responsible for incredibly irritating hand-held camera movements which will likely make viewers want to seek their own “escape”.

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