“Holy Terror” (*1/2 out of four) was a holy mess about a young couple (Jesse Hlubik and Kelly Lynn Reiter) who recently lost their son and they subsequently find that he is haunting their house and they have to enlist the help of a disgraced priest (Mel Novak) to perform a dangerous exorcism to restore their house and their sanity. I’m falling asleep writing this because this could have easily been the plot for at least 1,000 other horror movies. Good performances make you think initially that this will be something more than the ordinary but story soon becomes routine and silly. Time to let these possession and religious exorcism movies go back to Hell where they belong.

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“Curvature” (** out of four) was a muddled time-travel thriller in which a young engineer (Lyndsy Fonseca) has to travel back in time to stop herself from committing a murder and is helped by a young doctor (Noah Bean) and pursued ruthlessly by two sinister cops (Glenn Morshower and Alex Lanipekun). Pulsating music score from Adam Taylor and Noah Rosenthal’s stylish cinematography are definite plusses but story never gets going and eventually decays into stale corn. Watchable on a draggy night but you’d just as well watch “Total Recall” or “Blade Runner” instead.

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“Winchester” (*1/2 out of four) was a good-looking but drab horror movie about the heiress (Helen Mirren) of the Winchester rifle company who believes she is being haunted by the souls of those killed by her rifle company; a young doctor (Jason Clarke) is subsequently hired to prove she is mentally unfit and moves into her California mansion but soon comes to realize that she might not be a crazy old dame after all. Inventive use of color and design but nothing else about the story is inventive, as it becomes yet another story about a haunted house and hallucinations and characters wondering what’s going on. And speaking of what’s going on- what the hell is Mirren doing in this movie?

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“Dead Shack” (*1/2 out of four) was a dismayingly awful horror show about three kids (Cameron Andres, Lizzie Boys, Hannah Rochelle Burr) staying in a cabin in the woods with their parents and discover that their next-door neighbor (Lauren Holly) has a plan to feed them all to her family to keep them alive. Don’t worry- there’s no Hansel or Gretel here! Cheesy production values are matched by complete lack of scares and thrills. Particularly sad to see solid character actress Holly reduced to junk like this but evidently her career has hit some turbulence in the last two decades.

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“Wunderland” (*** out of four) was a stirring retelling of “The Battle Of The Bulge” in WWI in which an American soldier (Wade Everett) and his platoon were ordered to hold off an aggressive German army which wanted to obtain a road junction which was crucial to the war. Film is overshadowed by “Platoon” and “A Midnight Clear” which it often resembles but still is a powerful and well-told recreation of an important and lesser-known component of the war. Tom Berenger has a key role as the soldiers’ major.

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“First We Take Brooklyn” (*1/2 out of four) was a wearily derivative underworld melodrama about an ex-con (Danny Abeckaser) released from a life sentence in Israel and returns home to the mean streets of NYC to live with his family and winds up in the midst of an escalating turf war involving the Russian mafia. Umpteenth story about guns and the mob offers nothing fresh and not much exciting aside from good locations in the city. Harvey Keitel turns up in a few scenes as an aging mob boss but he can play this role in his sleep by now and he does. Hard to believe his “Mean Streets” is still being ripped off nearly 45 years later!

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“Black Panther” (*** out of four) was a fierce adaptation of the Marvel comic series about the warrior T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) who returns to his native homeland in Africa to take his place as King but is challenged by the villainous N’Jadaka (Michael B. Jordan) who wants to overthrow him and rule on his own. Grand, epic storytelling from director Ryan Coogler who does another impressive job (in his third teaming with Jordan) and showcases plenty of action scenes and spectacular effects. If only he had tightened and shortened the story a little at nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes. Both Bosemand and Jordan are rock-solid as usual and play well off one another.

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“Captured” (*1/2 out of four) was a claustrophobic, ugly horror show viewed almost entirely through a computer or POV camera which will cause you to reach for the dramamine or be diagnosed with vertigo; several wealthy high-school students (Lizze Gordon, Gabrielle Romanello, and Megan Medellin) run an illicit chat room in which they showcase their lifestyle of sex and drugs but they soon find themselves stalked by a murderous nutjob out to rid the internet of sin! One of those horror movies where you’ll be likely rooting for the killer to put the victims out of their misery (and the audience’s). For a better horror movie about murder via the internet, watch “Unfriended” instead and don’t get captured by this mess.

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“The Scent Of Rain And Lightning” (** out of four) was a well-made but dull adaptation of Nancy Pickard’s novel about a young girl (Maika Monroe) whose parents’ killer (Brad Carter) is about to be released from prison causing her to go through an odyssey of thought and discovery as she soon uncovers family secrets that make her re-think whether or not he really was guilty. Visually striking at times and laced with an atmosphere of haunting melancholy but story moves at a snail’s pace which eventually erodes your interest. Monroe’s strong performance gives film a boost and supporting cast including Maggie Grace and Will Patton are solid as well.

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