January 20, 2019 “Glass” (** out of four) was a tiresome sequel to both “Unbreakable” and “Split” about security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who uses his supernatural abilities to capture the multiple-personality serial killer Kevin Crumb (James Macavoy) and they all wind up in a mental hospital with Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) under the care of a psychiatrist (Sarah Paulson) who tries to suppress and help them eliminate their supernatural powers. Fans of the previous M. Night Shymalahan movies (I wasn’t) and comic book fanatics might like this better. Strong performances (Macavoy is amazing in his scenes) hold your interest for a while but pretentious dialogue and plot developments make this wearying and it never gets off the ground. The director has a minor role as a hospital security guard. Continue reading →
January 20, 2019 “The 6th Friend” (*1/2 out of four) was a by-the-numbers timewaster about six college friends (Dominque Swain, Jamie Bernadette, Chantelle Albers, and others) who reunite but the party is crashed by an uninvited guest which leads to a night of revelations and bloodshed. Anyone who has seen a few horror movies in their lifetime will have no difficulties figuring out who will survive and who won’t. For the same story told with much more styles and scares, watch “Sorority Row” or “Black Christmas” (or their remakes) instead. Continue reading →
January 19, 2019 “Boy, Erased” (*** out of four) was a powerfully affecting story of the son (Lucas Hedges) of a religious family (Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman) who realizes he is gay and is then forced to participate in a church-supported gay conversion program run by an unsympathetic preacher (Joel Edgerton) which leads to him further questioning his religious, familial, and personal identity in life. Director and co-star Joel Edgerton audaciously tells his story without pulling any punches and puts you right there center with the young man and his moral and emotional crossroads in life. Perhaps goes too far at times (and too long) but this is one of the rare films about homosexuality that does not cop out and is exceeded by a uniformly strong cast. Continue reading →
January 19, 2019 “Halloween At Aunt Ethel’s” (* out of four) was an utterly lame and forgettable horror show about a nosy old biddy named Aunt Ethel (Gail Yost) who has become legend for making pumpkin pie and candy out of the kids who trick-or-treat at her house. On one such Halloween, a group of sexed-up sorority brats (Melissa Daddio, Madeleine Murphy, and others) attempt to find out the truth and put an end to her legend once and for all. They should have focused on putting an end to the movie instead. With a title like that, one knows not to be expecting any groundbreaking or Oscar fare but the movie delivers zero in the form of sick thrills or scares. Re-watch any of the “Halloween” entries instead. Continue reading →
January 18, 2019 “Turbulent” (*1/2 out of four) was a pretty awful melodrama about a husband-and-wife (Jeff Rose and Faith Murphy) whose plane crashlands in the wilderness leaving them stranded as they try to fight for survival and film flashbacks to their unstable and estranged relationship beforehand which led to their pending divorce. Hollow and wooden dramatics and clumsy storytelling and staging make this a real chore to sit through and it would have helped if the husband or wife were the least bit likeable. Promoted as a thriller which it is not. This has no relation to the 1997 cult classic “Turbulence”. Continue reading →
January 17, 2019 “Doom Room” (0 stars out of four) was an embarrassingly awful horror melodrama about a woman (Johanna Stanton) who wakes up in a room with no memories of how she got there and becomes tormented by the usual sadistic doctors and stick figures (Claire Jared, Nicholas Ball, and others) and has to uncover the truth of who she is and how she can escape. It’s much easier to simply escape the movie. All but unwatchable story is loaded with inept filmmaking and hilariously awful acting. Continue reading →
January 16, 2019 “Second Act” (**1/2 out of four) was an engaging but overly contrived romantic comedy about a middle-aged retail worker (Jennifer Lopez) who feels she is going nowhere in life and reinvents her life story and resume and lands a lucrative corporate job on Madison Avenue and soon captivates the professional industry with her street and business smarts. Lopez is likeable and charismatic as usual in a tailor-made role and there are some laughs in the script but story complications are predictable and a key plot twist midway through is pretty hard to swallow. Still, it’s agreeable and worth a look for Lopez fans. Continue reading →
January 16, 2019 “Suspiria” (*1/2 out of four) was a pointless and unpleasant remake of Dario Argento’s classic 1977 original about a maddening darkness that lurks at the center of a world-renowned dance company which engulfs and endangers an idealistic young dancer (Dakota Johnson), the mean-spirited artistic director (Tilda Swinton), and a grieving psychotherapist (also Swinton) and they soon all find themselves struggling for their sanity and survival. Alternately disgusting and boring and it never reaches the hypnotic artistry or dazzle of Argento’s original. And it goes on forever at nearly two-and-a-half hours (nearly an hour longer than the original)! Jessica Harper from the original has a minor cameo here but that comes at the very end and is hardly worth sticking around for. Continue reading →
January 10, 2019 “Holmes And Watson” (** out of four) was an occasionally amusing comedy based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mysteries set in 1881 as Sherlock Holmes (Will Ferrell) meets John Watson (John C. Reilly) and they become embroiled in an attempt to discover the criminal plottings of Professor Moriarty (Ralph Fiennes) and a beautiful doctor (Rebecca Hall). Not without laughs, and Ferrell and Reilly have good chemistry together, but wears out its welcome after a while and goes overboard with general plot dumbness. And the musical interludes could have easily been cut! For a funnier look at the same characters, watch 1988’s “Without A Clue” instead. Continue reading →
January 8, 2019 “The Rider” (** out of four) was a curiously flat and unmoving drama about a former rodeo star (Brady Jandreau) who suffers a near-fatal accident resulting in head trauma and has to face the realities of leaving this life behind him and starting over and rebuilding his life as he tries to overcome poverty and numerous family problems. Widely praised by both critics and the Cannes Film Festival but film fails to connect emotionally, despite some affecting moments. Film also covers an awful lot of familiar territory that was previously ridden in “The Longest Ride” and “Urban Cowboy”. Joshua James Richards’ stark cinematography is an undeniable standout. Continue reading →
