“The Lego Batman Movie” (*** out of four) was a fun animated entry in the “Batman” canon about the Dark Knight (voiced by Will Arnett) struggling to eliminate crime from Gotham City while struggling to raise a young boy named Robin who he adopted and trying to sort out his own psychological and identity conflicts from his youth. Story has its ups-and-downs but is so visually spectacular and at times unexpectedly sharp and funny that it’s entertaining for kids and for Batman fans. At any rate, it’s much more fun than last year’s “Batman vs. Superman.” Rosario Dawson provides the voice of Batgirl, Zach Galifianakis voices the Joker, and Conan O’Brien of all people is the voice of the Riddler.

Continue reading →

“Parasites” (*** out of four) was a taut, effective sleeper about a group of college students whose car breaks down on the wrong side of town and are stalked and pursued to the death by a relentless group of homeless guys and must try to stay alive and escape. Lean and mean action thriller is skillfully directed by Chad Ferrin even though it owes more than a bit to 1993’s “Judgment Night.” Final twenty minutes don’t have the same intensity as the rest of the film but film’s climax may strike a nerve with its topicality. Superb music score by Michael Olivo.

Continue reading →

“Scars” (*1/2 out of four) was a grisly psychological thriller that makes you want to take a shower afterwards about an extortionist (Neale Kimmel) who has affairs with married men and a young psychopath named Scar (Danielle Cole) who become friends and team up and find they enjoy killing random men and it provides satisfaction to their otherwise empty lives! Seemingly edited with a chainsaw and largely pointless. Film is so offbeat and strange that it holds you for a few minutes but not for two hours. If it’s supposed to be a metaphor for feminist empowerment, it’s about as clever as “The Brady Bunch.”

Continue reading →

“Beyond Redemption” (** out of four) was a murky action thriller set in the Chinese underworld about a weary undercover cop (Raymond Chan) who tries to save the daughter of a Triad boss from being collateral damage following a sting operation gone wrong and tries to simultaneously solve the case he’s working on. Lots of hand-to-hand martial arts and underworld meetings, little coherency or character development. Chan is cool though and may remind you of a younger Jet Li

Continue reading →

“Running Wild” (** out of four) was a tame family story about a widowed ranch owner (Dorian Brown Pham) who tries to rehabilitate a herd of wild horses and simultaneously save her ranch from bankruptcy by employing a series of local convicts and battling with a villainous local developer (Sharon Stone). Story about second chances, the beauty of nature, and family and criminal justice ties is well-meaning and pleasant but instantly forgettable. The type of movie that seems to evaporate on screen as you’re watching it. A minor comeback attempt by Stone but she may have been better off making “Basic Instinct 3” instead.

Continue reading →

“The Comedian” (**1/2 out of four) was an endearing comedy about an over-the-hill stand-up comic (Robert De Niro) trying to salvage what’s left of his career and subsequently falls in love with a younger woman (Leslie Mann) whose the daughter of his former rival (Harvey Keitel). Uneven and overlong but has some laughs and features a perfect role for De Niro, and provides a reunion for him and Keitel and also him and his former “Midnight Run” co-star Charles Grodin. Danny De Vito also has a good role as De Niro’s brother. An interesting companion piece also to De Niro’s classic “The King Of Comedy”.

Continue reading →

“Fifty Shades Darker” (** out of four) was a tepid second chapter in the twisted and erotic love story between billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and a literature editor (Dakota Johnson) as their relationships deepens from sex into love. A definite improvement over the laughable original but this is still pointless and meandering at times. Dornan comes off much better than the original and Johnson is stirring but they still fail to ignite as an onscreen couple. Well-directed by James Foley although this is a long way from “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

Continue reading →

“John Wick 2” (*1/2 out of four) was a brainless sequel to the surprise 2015 hit with a more-wooden-than-ever Keanu Reeves returning as the one-man army title character who is pulled back in the game by an old foe (and his love for his dog) and subsequently battles with a ruthless assassin (Common). Self-indulgent and dull for the first half and even most of the fight scenes are numbing and repetitive. Reeves’ terrible performance here makes his performance in “Speed” and “The Matrix” look like Humphrey Bogart by comparison. His character gets shot and hit by cars so many times you’d think he was playing The Terminator! Only Chad Stahelski’s stylish direction and a flashy shootout ending gives this any life.

Continue reading →

“Stray Bullets” (*1/2 out of four) was an empty, ugly melodrama made up of stray parts from “Blood Simple”, “Reservoir Dogs”, and numerous other Coen Bros. and Tarantino films. In upstate New York, two teenage boys (Jack Fessenden and John Speradakos) are given the task of cleaning out their father’s mobile home in an abandoned trailer park but unbeknownst to them- three loose-cannon criminals have taken refuge in the trailer leading to a showdown and bloodbath. Film gets points for being set in upstate NY and young Fessenden gets points for both acting and directing at such a young age but this sleazy story still fires all blanks.

Continue reading →

“Call Of The Wolf” (*1/2 out of four) was a tiresome thriller about two young strangers (Aleksander Ristic and Cynthia Bravo) who are kidnapped and trapped- physically and psychologically- in the midst of the wilderness in a burying snowstorm while an unseen killer calling himself “Wolf” observes them. Loosely inspired by Jack London’s work although it’s hard to believe he would want his name on this. Since the entire movie is a two-character story and you don’t like the two characters (or their performances), it runs out of steam very quickly. Hang up on this call.

Continue reading →