“Super Icyclone” (** out of four) was a pretty mediocre disaster thriller about a climatologist (Brigitte Kingsley) who has to curtail her anniversary celebration when she learns it’s apocalypse now and a destructive storm is about to ravage through all of North America. Compendium of cliches from “2012”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, and “Twister” made for those who never saw any of those beforehand. Not bad but you’ve seen it all before and will again and done better. Visual effects are decent and provide film’s main lift.

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“Deadpool And Wolverine” (*** out of four) was a breezy action thriller about the grizzled Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who is recovering from life-threatening injuries and is paired with the vigilante Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and they bicker-and-fight but come to unite as one as they try to prevent a megalomaniac (Matthew Macfadyen) from yielding worldwide destruction. 34th film in the Marvel universe makes all the right moves to entertain its action audience and is peppered with great soundtrack selections and (as usual) cameos from other Marvel characters. Great to see Jackman back in a role he originated more than 20 years ago and ditto for Wesley Snipes returning as Blade!

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“The Girl In The Pool” (*1/2 out of four) was an almost incoherent suspense melodrama about a family man (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) who has a surprise birthday party and has to scramble to hide the corpse of his dead mistress (Brielle Barbusca) while his wife (Monica Potter) and her father (Kevin Pollak) start to have their suspicions. Disjointed and disheveled movie aspires to be Hitchcock but director Dakota Gorman simply isn’t at his level and film drowns in its own unpleasantness. Both Pollak and Potter are wasted and Prinze, Jr. is bland as usual.

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“Crumb Catcher” (** out of four) was a twisted black comedy about a newlywed couple (Rigo Garay and Ella Rae Peck) who are held hostage in a remote lake house by a loony inventor (John Speredakos looking a little like Trent Reznor) and his loonier wife (Lorraine Ferris) in desperation to finance their lifelong dream project. Very macabre and bizarre movie has some original touches of dark humor but is too sour and over-the-top. Many critics praised this movie so obviously it’s a matter of taste.

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“Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earth Part Three” (**1/2 out of four) was an overall fun continuation of the series about the various members of Justice League (voiced by Jensen Ackles, Gideo Adlon, Matt Bomer, and others) who have to unite again to come together to face off against the Anti-Monitor who threatens Earth and promises worldwide destruction. Third entry in the series is mostly for fans and is pretty much on par with previous entries but has enough colorful animation and action to make it entertaining. Final voice-role for Kevin Conroy before his death in 2022.

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“Hellhounds” (** out of four) was a pretty generic horror melodrama about the title group of werewolves who wage war against a group of werewolf hunters called the Silver Bullets (Nathaniel Burns, Cameron Kotecki, and others) leading to a bloodbath in which no one is safe. Not the worst of its kind and moves along fairly quickly but hindered by a low budget and lack of originality. Takes obvious inspiration from 1985’s “Silver Bullet” but lacks that film’s conviction and inspiration.

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“Dead Whisper” (** out of four) was an obtuse suspense melodrama about an unscrupulous lawyer (Samuel Dunning) who has a crisis of conscience and is drawn to a mysterious island in the hopes of resurrecting and reconnecting with his deceased daughter (Samantha Hill) but finds that his soul, his serenity, and his sanity are all slipping away in the process. Moodily shot and made and you keep hoping that picture will lead somewhere but it doesn’t, and turns out to be one more derivation (i.e. ripoff) of “The Shining.”

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“The Caregiver” (*1/2 out of four) was a vapid horror thriller about the title caregiver (Ciara Kovacic) who is hired to attend to a senile old woman (Lis Fernandez) but soon realizes that all is not what it appears as strange occurrences begin happening throughout the house. Molasses-moving movie is laughably solemn and sorely lacking in any humor or scares to liven up the party. For no apparent reason, film is set 1989; for no apparent reason should you watch the film either.

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“A Sacrifice” (*1/2 out of four) was a listless collection of horror cliches about a social psychologist (Eric Bana) who is investigating strange phenomena connected to disturbing events; meanwhile his daughter (Sadie Sink) becomes enmeshed with a local boy (Jonas Dassler) who spells nothing but trouble. Film goes nowhere slowly and then devolves into over-the-top cerebral preposterousness in its final third. Ridley Scott was one of film’s co-producers but in no way is this worth “sacrificing” your own time on.

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“Rendel: Cycle Of Revenge” (**1/2 out of four) was a sleek follow-up to the 2017 cult hit about a ruthless enforcer (Sean Cronin) who takes over the Vala Drug Corporation and the title vigilante (Kristoffer Gummerus) returns to business and re-opens his weaponry to take him down by any means necessary. Mostly routine and mechanical and doesn’t have any dramatic soul but has enough martial arts and gunplay to please fans of the original and action fans in general. Tero Saikonnen’s eye-candy cinematography is an undeniable standout throughout.

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