“Murdaritaville” (* out of four) was strictly amateur-hour about a group of Jimmy Buffett fanatics (Kenny Bellau, Heather Campos, and more) who are on their way to a Buffett-impersonation contest when they are suddenly stalked and killed one-by-one by a half-man/half-parrot (no that is not a misprint). Supposed homage to Jimmy Buffett and his ardent supporters and Parrotheads (hence the clever title) is brutal, in every sense of the word. You won’t hear “Margaritaville” here but other Buffett song titles like “Fruitcakes”, “The Slow Lane”, and “Hopelessly Gone” suggest what it’s like sitting through this.

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“Battle Over Britain” (*** out of four) was a compellingly done historical war drama set in the title Britain in which various military fighter pilots (David Dobson, Jeffrey Mundell, Callum Burn, and others) fight to defend their country, no matter the odds or differences with one another. Not a great film and not on anywhere near the grand or expansive (or expensive) canvas that it needs but is well-acted and well-told with many strong and powerful moments that make it better than most others of its genre. Lyrical music score by Ben Thatcher is key attribute to film’s emotional content and helps film to connect that much more.

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“Mercy Falls” (** out of four) was a humdrum suspense psychodrama about a group of friends (Lauren Lyle, Nicolette McKeown, and others) who go hiking in the Scotland Highlands in search of a long-lost cabin but after a tragedy happens and they realize they are far apart from civilization, various feelings of suspicion and betrayal set amongst one another which leads to deception and murder. Proficiently acted and filmed but by the end you realize that this is one more derivation of “Lord Of The Flies” that you didn’t need. Too long and not really for horror and suspense fans.

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“Spaceman” (** out of four) was a mostly lifeless outer-space melodrama in which an astronaut (Adam Sandler) is a half-a-year into his space expedition when he starts having concerns about his long-term survival and harks back to flashbacks involving his wife (Carey Mulligan) and is gradually helped by an ancient creature (voiced by Paul Dano) he discovers in the bowels of the ship. Nicely understated performance from Sandler and some effective moments in final third aren’t enough to sustain film, as it is too lethargic and laconic. Eerie music score by Max Richter is a definite plus.

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“Outlaw Posse” (** out of four) was a scattershot retro-Western set in 1908 about a lone gunslinger (Mario Van Peebles who also wrote and directed) who returns to the hills of Montana to retrieve buried gold but is pursued by a vicious villain (William Mapother) who wants it all for himself. Tongue-in-cheek effort from Van Peebles has attitude and style but doesn’t add up to all that much. Incidentally, this is not sequel to Van Peebles’ 1993 “Posse”, despite similar stories, characters, and even costumes. Strong supporting cast (including Whoopi Goldberg, Edward James Olmos, Cam Gigandet) are sorely wasted.

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“Lola” (** out of four) was an unwieldy character melodrama about the title character (Nicola Peltz Beckham who also wrote and directed) who tries to survive her toxic household with her parents (Virginia Madsen and Trevor Long) but backslides into addiction and hopelessness and has to do everything in her power to maintain her sanity and stay alive for herself and for her younger (Luke David Blumm). One-note story of survival and redemption doesn’t have the emotional fuse and power that it needs. Madsen (looking a lot like Cathy Moriarty here) adds some resonance as her religious wackjob mom and it’s an interesting companion piece to one of her first roles in “Fire With Fire.”

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“The Late Game” (** out of four) was a middling sports-melodrama about a middle-aged guy (Alec Reusch) who attempts to find new meaning in his life by joining a late-night hockey league but finds expected opposition with his teammates and managers (Zac Bell, Matthew Archie Starling, and others) who shrug him off due to his age. Easygoing and amiable story about being middle-aged and trying to re-engage in sports but simply isn’t funny enough or moving enough to make it worthwhile. Robert Redford’s “The Natural” covered similar ground and was more emotionally rich and (also) much funnier.

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“Scrambled” (** out of four) was a thinly conceived comedy about a thirty-something (Yvonne Strahovski) who becomes increasingly disillusioned with her life and being an eternal bridesmaid and decides to freeze her eggs but this leads her onto a journey of self-discovery that results in clashes with her dying father (Clancy Brown) and the multiple men (Andrew Santino, Michael Welch, and others) in her life. Spirited performance from Strahovski gives this maximum mileage but film doesn’t have enough steam, story, or laughs to keep it afloat for feature length. This is one comedy idea that remained in infancy stage and never grew beyond that.

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