“Boiling Point” (*** out of four) was a rollicking melodrama set within the busy confines of a luxurious restaurant as a head chef (Stephen Graham) has to multitask many different struggles on his kitchen team (Vinette Robinson, Alice Feetham, Malachi Kirby, and others) on the busiest day of the year! Not much plot per se but plunges you convincingly right in the middle of working at a restaurant where there is not a moment to waste and things move at a hurtling pace! Entire film was actually shot in a single impressive take! Very nimbly directed in naturalistic style by Phillip Barantini and well-captured and acted by charismatic cast of unknowns. A small winner all around.

Continue reading →

“Deadlock” (** out of four) was a passable B-movie action melodrama about a world-weary former military solider (Patrick Muldoon) who has to spring back into action when the nuclear power plant he is now working at is overtaken by rogue soldiers (led by Bruce Willis and Matthew Marsden) who want to take over the world. Storyline is pretty thin stuff and is overall basic and routine but Willis is nicely cast against type in a film obviously inspired by his classic “Die Hard” and film moves fast enough to make it an OK watch.

Continue reading →

“This Game’s Called Murder” (* out of four) was a ludicrous mess about a nutjob family (Ron Perlman, Natasha Henstridge, Vanessa Marano) who’ve made their fortune selling red pumps (don’t ask) and look at the rest of the world beneath them with contempt as they try to plot a scheme to murder all consumers and customers. Writer/director Adam Sherman apparently is trying to make some satirical comments about capitalism and consumerism but it’s bludgeoned by a witless script and in-your-face acting and characters and backfires terribly. Perlman is at his hammy worst as the sadistic family patriarch; Henstridge tries to play against him by sleepwalking through her role. Hardly a “game” worth playing.

Continue reading →

“The Tender Bar” (** out of four) was a pleasant but minor melodrama about a young boy (Daniel Ranieri and Tye Sheridan) growing up in Long Island who seeks out various father figures at the bar of his uncle (Ben Affleck) where he hangs around and does most of his development. Director George Clooney has his usual colorful casting choices and has some nice individual scenes and vignettes that (once again) don’t add up to a substantial whole, since story and real drama are so utterly lacking. Steve Buscemi told almost the same story with more flair and fire in 1996’s “Trees Lounge.” William Monahan scripted and adapted J.R. Moehringer’s memoir but it might be time for him to check out A.A. instead.

Continue reading →

“Robot Apocalypse” (** out of four) was an exceedingly derivative futuristic melodrama set in yet another dystopian future in which a lifelong computer hacker (Katalina Viteri) hacks into a military computer terminal but is then targeted by artificial intelligence and various bloodthirsty computers for extinction and she has to try to outwit the computers and somehow turn them against one another to stay alive. Loaded with video-game like special effects and CGI visuals and moves swiftly and nimbly but is yet another compoundrum of ideas from other movies (the usual: “Blade Runner”, “The Matrix”, “The Terminator”, etc). By this point, sci/fi filmmakers may need to turn to artificial intelligence to come up with some original ideas and new material

Continue reading →

“Arctic Void” (*1/2 out of four) was a shapeless sci/fi melodrama about the remaining crew (Michael Weaver, Tim Griffin, Justin Huen) of an Arctic vessel who find themselves ashore after their ship loses power and the rest of their crew mysteriously vanishes; once on land but isolated from the rest of society they find their sanity and safety starts gradually leaving them. Minimalistic movie is hamstrung by very low budget but it’s script was already hollow and ordinary. “Arctic Avoid” would be a better title for this timewaster.

Continue reading →

“The Reenactment” (* out of four) was an abjectly painful horror mess set for no particular reason in the ‘90’s in which a film crew (Megan Duffy, Stephen Wesley Green, and others) go to a haunted house which is hosted by an ominous interviewer (Tony Todd- do you need money this badly man?) and strange occurrences start happening. Loud shock effects, fake scares, and lots of dark shadows are a given; don’t look for anything resembling scares or any filmmaking skill. The legendary Todd is ludicrously wasted. Can’t someone provide the candy for him for a much-needed comeback?

Continue reading →

“Scream” (** out of four) was a more-of-the-same entry in this series set 25 years after the events of the original back in Woodsboro as Ghostface returns once more to wreak havoc and Sidney (Neve Campbell), Dewey (David Arquette), and Gale (Courtney Cox) all return home to solve the mystery and bury the mystery and horror once and for all. Not a remake/reboot of the original but the fifth entry but it may as well have been; has the requisite amount of kills and jokes for fans but it all seems very by-the-numbers this time around and lacks the freshness of previous entries. Final showdown is particularly silly and arbitrary. This series should have likely died with original creator Wes Craven.

Continue reading →

“Free Fall” (*1/2 out of four) was a sodden horror melodrama about a young woman (Andrea Londo) who is recovering from a recent suicide attempt who goes to visit her parents for their anniversary and immediately starts losing her mind and is beset by all kinds of hallucinations and delusions. Unpleasant and uninvolving film turns out to be yet another ripoff of “The Shining” but can’t hold a candle. Londo gives her best but this pretty much goes into “free fall” right after it starts.

Continue reading →

“The Lost Treasure” (*1/2 out of four) was a shoddy adventure comedy about a fast-talking treasure hunter (Josh Marguiles) who is forced to embark on a journey into the jungle with a helpful assistant (Stella Tinucci) to prevent a megalomaniacal villain (Dezmond Gilla) from finding an ancient weapon that could destroy their island. Lame-brained story in the vein of “Indiana Jones” and “The Jungle Book” but lacking the heart (and budget) of both. Tinucci also wrote and directed but sadly there’s not much treasure she’s going to find here.

Continue reading →