“Red Notice” (** out of four) was a slick but uneven Netflix action comedy about an FBI agent (Dwayne Johnson) who tries to take down an art thief (Ryan Reynolds) but through a multitude of complications ends up in prison with him and on the run as they both try to steal a priceless egg before a rival underworld criminal (Gal Gadot) beats them to it but who is playing who? Fast-paced movie has some laughs and plenty of action and all three leads have good chemistry together but story becomes too contrived and too silly especially as it goes on too long at nearly two hours. Ed Sheeran has a cameo at the very end, if you make it that far.

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“Finch” (** out of four) was an unremarkable sci/fi melodrama set in yet another post-apocalyptic Earth in which most of mankind has been eradicated and one man named Finch (Tom Hanks), a devoted robot, and his dog roam the Earth trying to make sense of things and all the while learning the true meaning of love and humanity. Comprised of spare parts from numerous other films including “The Postman”, “I, Robot”, and Hanks’ own “Castaway”; for a film about life and humanity, film ironically feels untouched by human hands and seems robotically derivative and awfully syrupy and maudlin. Even Hanks’ effortless charisma is unable to make this engaging.

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“Eternals” (** out of four) was a sputtering Marvel comic book adaptation about the title characters the Eternals (Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, and others) who are ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years and are reunited by a tragedy within and have to reunite to do battle with their ancient villains The Deviants. Action scenes and CGI/visual effects deliver the goods but the characters themselves are one-note and dull and story is weak so film overall feels hollow and empty. Final battle is pretty spectacular but by that point- film starts to feel eternally long. Not one of Marvel’s better comic-book adaptations although fans of the original comic book may like this better.

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“Licorice Pizza” (**1/2 out of four) was an intermittently engaging comic love story set in 1973 California in which two young people (Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman) fall in love and try to navigate through their differences in families and backgrounds and through their different career paths in life. Unusually lighthearted and breezy effort from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson features lovingly authentic ’70’s detail and decor and has some laughs but it starts to meander in its second half especially when you start to realize film doesn’t have all that much plot. A nice and bright ending helps end film with a smile and terrific performances from Hoffman and (especially) Haim make this overall worth watching.

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“The Hunting” (*1/2 out of four) was a fairly toothless horror melodrama about a mysterious monster animal that is mauling townsfolk in a small Midwestern town and a determined detective (Peyton Hillis) and an eager wildlife specialist (Joelle Westwood) try to sort it all out and save the town and prevent the monster from escaping. Less of a horror movie than a movie about the effects of PTSD and the multiple ripple effects of murder on small towns but either way it’s a real bore. Hillis is apparently trying out a new career for himself with acting but fumbles the ball here with a pretty one-note performance.

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“Badland Doves” (** out of four) was a Western-by-the-numbers about a group of female gunslingers (Sandy Penny, Jessica Y. Martin, Michelle Nuquay, and others) out for vigilante justice against a criminal (Sean Dillingham) who the whole town seems to be protecting but they refuse to leave until he is apprehended no matter the price. Packed with the usual saloon fights, pistol showdowns, and guitar-and-harmonica music soundtrack; not bad but not distinguished from hundreds of other Westerns with the same plotline. Didn’t anyone here learn their lesson from 1994’s really bad “Bad Girls”?

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“Phony” (*1/2 out of four) was an aptly titled timewaster about a struggling indie filmmaker (David Bush) who is fed up with being unlucky in love and teams up with one of his moron friends (Jeff Pearson) to make an exploitative film about the perils of online dating. A vanity production for writer/director/star/co-producer Bush who seems to have studied the worst imitations of Woody Allen. It’s no wonder these unlikeable idiots are unlucky and women want nothing to do with them. Tacked-on happy ending seems especially false and (yes) phony.

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“Last Radio Call” (*** out of four) was a chilling and eerie horror melodrama about the 2018 disappearance of a police officer (Jason Scarborough) and how his wife (Sarah Froelich from noise band Consumer Electronics) tries to review his body-cam footage and goes back to an abandoned house and hospital he visited to pick up the pieces and find out what really happened to him that night. Yet another found-footage horror movie but this one is skillful and engrossing; good performances and sturdy filmmaking. Cynthia Bergen’s moody music score is a definite plus throughout.

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“WarHunt” (*1/2 out of four) was a stale action melodrama set in 1945 in which a U.S. army plane of soldiers (Robert Knepper, Jackson Rathbone, Fredrik Wagner, and others) flies over Germany’s Black Forest and are suddenly engulfed by crow feathers which form a mysterious woman in black; at first they are entranced by her sensuality but soon begin to realize she has been sent to kill them all one-by-one. Not quite as weird as it sounds but unlikely to be shown in war history classes anytime soon. Mickey Rourke picks up a few bucks playing a grizzled mentor of the soldiers but it might be time he was on the “hunt” for better roles and scripts.

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“Nightmare Alley” (** out of four) was a pointless black comedy about a self-styled hustler (Bradley Cooper) who becomes tired of his way of life and then meets a cunning female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who he realizes too-little/too-late is even more dangerous and deranged than he is. Writer/director Guillermo del Toro employs his usual cheeky visual style and dark wit but it’s told with too heavy a hand and goes on way too long at over two-and-a-half hours. Blanchett is first-rate as usual and gives her scenes a wild and seductive charge and Willem Dafoe, David Straithairn, and Rooney Mara do what they can in minor throwaway roles.

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