“Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera” (*1/2 out of four) was a misbegotten sequel to the 2018 hit about the return of Big Nick (a grizzled Gerard Butler) who is operating in Europe and closing in on an organized crime king (led by O’shea Jackson, Jr. looking more like his father in every film) involving the Pantera mafia as they plot a diamond heist exchange. A few exciting action set pieces but like the original it wallows in unpleasantness and excess (and overlength) and wears you out. Noted kickboxer and MMA champion Rico Verhoeven adds some style as a key henchman.

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“Dark Night Of The Soul” (*1/2 out of four) was a lugubrious bore about a scientist (Kristanna Loken) who finds herself trapped in a car after a terrible crash with the keys to a pandemic that is ravaging the world; film intercuts in flashbacks with relations with other sinister figures (Martin Kove, Jesse Kove, and others) who are plotting destruction. Intriguing storyline is marred by meandering script and storytelling that saps dramatic momentum. One-time “T3” siren Loken and Kove are wasted.

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“Monster On A Plane” (*1/2 out of four) was a third-rate horror comedy about an exotic animal that turns into a monster aboard a plane and wreaks havoc for all the passengers (Eva Habermann, Robin Czerny, Nicholas Artajo, and others) who just want to enjoy the flight and join the mile-high club. Obviously inspired by “Snakes On A Plane” right down to its title but there’s no great lines like “time to get these snakes off this muthaphu–in plane”, no Samuel L. Jackson, and not much else to keep you involved. Monster here looks like a leftover from “Critters.”

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“You Shall Not Sleep Tonight” (*1/2 out of four) was a morbid psychological thriller likely to put viewers to sleep about a young boy (Milo Burgess-Webb) haunted by nightmares of a frightening monster inside his closet and his dedicated father (Agustin Olcese) helps him to fight his fears and also fight the monster. Clunky horror storry feels like reheated Guillermo del Toro (“Pans Labyrinth” in particular) and maybe a little of early Spielberg (“E.T.”). Good performance from young Webb is film’s only real merit.

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“Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces” (* out of four) was an abysmal collection of outtakes and deleted scenes from inarguably David Lynch’s worst film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me”; once again, film shows the mysterious disappearance of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) and several law enforcement officers (Chris Isaak, Kiefer Sutherland, Kyle Maclachlan) try to sort everything out. Self-indulgent and weird to the extreme and also extremely boring. Lee’s strong performance remains film’s only asset. Film is ONLY recommended for hard-core “Twin Peaks” lovers and fans of the original (whomever you are).

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“Man With No Past” (*1/2 out of four) was a colorless action thriller about an amnesiac (Adam Woodward) who awakens in an unknown city and seeks truth about his past and engages in a time-travelling battle with various villains and corrupt figures (Jon Voight, Martin Csokas, Phillip Winchester, and others) to sort out his real identity. Potentially intriguing storyline is flattened out by talky script and feeble direction. Another movie inspired by the “Bourne” series (and also “Memento”) that misses the mark.

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“Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare” (*1/2 out of four) was a ludicrous horror thriller about Wendy Darling (Megan Placito) who attempts to rescue her brother Michael (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) from the clutches of an evil Peter Pan (Martin Portlock). Oh- did I forget to mention that she enlists the help of Tinkerbell (Kit Green) who spends her days snorting heroin? Latest attempt to turn a childhood fairy tale into an exploitative horror movie is low-rent at every turn. Re-watch the original “Peter Pan” for more scares and laughs.

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“Forever Home” (* out of four) was a forever dumb horror comedy about 2 dimbulb newlyweds (Sammie Lideen and Drew Leatham) who dump all their savings into a house with a haunted past and have to enlist a psychic (Shelly Boucher) to purge the house of its horrific demons leading to all Hell breaking loose. Grating film shifts done jarringly but isn’t the least funny or scary (or even entertaining). In keeping with the title, film feels like it goes on “forever” at nearly two hours.

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“Crispy” (* out of four) was a practically worthless horror melodrama about a young man (Colsom Branum) who leads a group of friends (Saiorse Tiernan, Jessica Frew, and others) into the woods to locate a lost treasure but they all soon find themselves under siege from a cannabilastic killer who stalks them all one-by-one. Yet another movie inspired by “The Blair Witch Project” but when will these filmmakers learn that at least that film was made with supreme skill and tension? Even at less than an hour-and-20-minutes, this runs out of gas very quickly.

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