“Toxic Shark” (** out of four) was a trifling shark thriller about a group of annoying young singles (Kabby Borders, Christina Masterson, Bryce Durfee and others) who go to a tropical retreat which is invaded by a poisonous shark whose victims soon turn into zombies! Sounds a lot more fun than it plays out although it remains watchable. The shark scenes deliver the goods but in between- the movie is often dumb and dull. When you’re rooting for the shark to devour and kill his victims, that should be the first sign that something is wrong.

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“Open Water 3: Cage Dive” (*1/2 out of four) was a virtual remake of the original with some found-footage and reality television nonsense thrown in to attempt to bring the series up to date. Three friends (Joel Hogan, Josh Pothoff, and Megan Peta Hill) begin filming an audition tape for a reality television series as they go cage-diving but soon find that they are in dangerous shark waters who are hungry and bloodthirsty. I wasn’t a huge fan of the original but it looks like “Jaws” next to this time-waster. Speaking of “Jaws”, the cage scene with Richard Dreyfuss (which is liberally ripped off here) is far scarier than any scene here.

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“68 Kill” (** out of four) was a twisted black comedy about an idiot (Matthew Gray Gubler) who hatches a plan with his vindictive girlfriend (AnnaLynne McCord) to rip off her rich father but naturally the plans go haywire and things go horribly wrong which leads to a nightmare of consequences. Starts off fun with its embracingly offbeat attitude and some nasty laughs but gradually becomes ugly and stupid especially in its second half when it gets excessive and violent. Yet another movie obviously inspired by The Coen Bros. and Tarantino but falls short in the stretch. Stylish cinematography by Needham B. Smith.

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“Chokeslam” (*1/2 out of four) was a gaspingly unfunny comedy about a meek deli clerk (Chris Marquette) who tries to rekindle a romance with his high-school sweetheart (Amanda Crew) at their 10-year reunion but he finds out she has gone to become a successful and brutal professional wrestler. Utterly dumb and contrived story means to be a touching and zany story about longing for one’s youthful love but may make you feel as if you’ve been put in a permanent headlock by the end. Some cute lines here and there but film goes on forever at nearly two hours.

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“Max Payne: Retribution” (* out of four) was an abysmal retelling of the popular video game about the title character (Joan James Muixi) who is attempting to block out the painful memories of his past but he is unexpectedly confronted by a former love interest (Gracie Tyrell) who provides vital information that can bring down a ruthless drug lord (Leroy Kincaide) which holds the secrets to Max’s pain and personal survival. Incoherent staging and storytelling will require a lot of pain and personal survival from the audience, even at only about 45 minutes. Given that the 2008 version starred Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis and was just as payneful, perhaps the filmmakers should say game over with this character and move onto something else.

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“Psychos” (* out of four) was an unbearable horror thriller about three young women (Angelica Chitwood, Melissa Elena Jones, Denielle Cloutier) who return 10 years after a brutal attack for revenge against a sadistic female predator and a nightmarish ordeal they endured when they were younger. However, their ordeal is nothing compared to what the audience has to go through given the terrible acting and storytelling. Ugly, to say the least, and offers little to horror fans or anyone who hasn’t seen “I Spit On Your Grave” or “Mother’s Day.”

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“Cut Shoot Kill” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring horror thriller about a B-movie actress (Alexandra Socha) who signs on to star in a new horror movie with a crew of aspiring filmmakers who wouldn’t look out of place in “Deliverance”. When the cast starts disappearing from a real murderer who invades the set, she finds she has to become the character she is playing in order to survive. Potentially interesting psychodrama about the blurred lines between film and reality and the psychological effects that actors endure from their onscreen characters is undone by molasses pacing. Wes Craven and Nick Cassavetes tried this same type of story decades ago and it didn’t work out so great for them either, so don’t blame writer/director Michael Walker too much. Ray Flynn’s moody cinematography provides film’s only merits.

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“Undercover Grandpa” (** out of four) was a contrived comedy about a high-school kid (Dylan Everett) whose girlfriend (Greta Onieogou) suddenly goes missing. Fortunately for him, his grandpa (James Caan) who he is looking after for the evening turns out to be a former C.I.A. badass who enlists his old WWII cronies (Paul Sorvino, Louis Gossett Jr, Kenneth Welsh) for help in tracking her down and kicking one last round of ass. Caan is good in a tailor-made role and it’s nice to see him and the other elderly boys having fun but this dumb and diluted movie doesn’t know what to do with them. Had they waited another few years, this could have been called “The Expendables 4”.

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“The Student” (** out of four) was a predictable thriller about a law-school teacher (Alicia Leigh Willis) who begins teaching a new class with a student (Blake Michael who looks like a Eurotrash Robert Pattinson) whose overambitious and cunning and will stop at nothing to get an A; when she fails him for academic dishonesty, she starts realizing he’s a serious sicko who begins to turn her life upside down. Both Willis and Michael are good but anyone whose ever seen a thriller will be miles ahead of this silly story. This deserves a C for mediocrity.

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“Filth City” (*1/2 out of four) was a sleazy melodrama as one might expect from its title about a mayor (Pat Thornton) running for re-election of a large metropolis who is caught on video smoking crack and will do whatever it takes from this video falling into the wrong hands which results in warring factions between the police and various criminal underground figures. Supposedly based on a true story but you’d be hard-pressed to find either politicians or criminals this dumb in real life. Thornton is cartoonish in the main role and most other characters are unlikeable. Watch “Sin City” again instead.

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