“A Tale Of Two Guns” (*1/2 out of four) was a lackluster Western that fires all blanks about a determined marshall (Tom Berenger) who attempts to put an end to the violent siege of various gunfighters (Casper Van Dien, Jeff Fahey, and Danny Trejo) leading to a bloody showdown. Western filmmaking by-the-numbers with saloons, shootouts, lots of dust but not lots of excitement and much of the cast are wasted. Does anyone remember when these types of movies were actually fun?

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“Death On The Border” (** out of four) was a half-hearted suspense melodrama about a woman (Shannon Elizabeth) trying to help a detective (Frank Whaley) who has hit rock-bottom by trafficking in illegals across the Mexican border which leads to involvement with various cops and underworld enforcers (Eric Roberts, Danny Trejo, and others). Topical story of sex-trafficking and border chaos has a solid cast but mild and sputtering results. You can only imagine what Sam Peckinpah and Walter Hill might have done with material like this.

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“Ape Vs. Mecha Ape” (*1/2 out of four) was a cheesy action thriller about the military (Tom Arnold, Anna Telfer, and others) who have recognized the power of their captive giant ape and attempt to create an A.I. ape; when this goes horribly wrong, they have no choice but to release the captive ape to take down the artificial ape leading to a showdown in downtown Chicago. Threadbare effects combined with a tedious script without much action results in this being a slapdash bore. Yet another quick cash-in on “Godzilla Vs. King Kong” that hardly comes close.

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“Locked In” (*1/2 out of four) was a drably done horror psychodrama that will make viewers themselves feel locked in their seats about a helpful nurse (Anna Friel) who is hired to attend to a patient (Famke Janssen) who has been in a coma and has severe mental/medical effects but soon finds there is more to her story than meets the eye and she uncovers dark secrets involving her doctor (Alex Hassell) and others (Finn Cole, Rose Williams, and others). Both inept and inert; the beautiful Janssen spends the entire film in a hospital bed and wheelchair, probably wishing Liam Neeson would finally agree to make “Taken 4.”

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“Freelance” (** out of four) was an uninspired action comedy about an ex-military enforcer turned lawyer (John Cena) who is hired by his former boss (Christian Slater) to provide security for a journalist (Allison Brie) while she interviews a dictator but havoc ensues when war breaks out and they have to flee and hide in the jungle and fight back with all they have to stay alive. Fast-paced and likeably performed by Cena and Brie but lacks the spark and dazzle that this kind of vehicle needs. Director Pierre Morel appears to be trying for the zany spirit of “Romancing The Stone” but this comes up empty.

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“Bonded” (* out of four) was a mind-numbingly awful horror psychodrama about a doctor (B.J. Minor) and his friends (Ernest Harden Jr., Brentley Willis, Jarick White, and others) who go on an annual trip but are stalked by a deranged former patient who attempts to stalk-and-slash all of them. Unpleasant and uninvolving all the way through with characters you couldn’t care less about. Only about an hour-and-10 minutes long but believe me you won’t be complaining.

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“Killers Of The Flower Moon” (** out of four) was an impossibly long and dense adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 novel set in 1920’s Oklahoma in which lucrative oil is discovered on Osage land leading a recent veteran (Leonardo Di Caprio) to marry an Osage woman (Lilly Gladstone) and then he is persuaded by his ruthless uncle (Robert De Niro) to have her and all others killed systematically so they will inherit the oil and the land until the F.B.I. later interceded on this. Extremely well-acted and has a fascinating story but it wanders aimlessly for some time and is never as powerful or insightful as it should have been. Story goes on for nearly three-and-a-half hours but ending still feels truncated and abrupt. A disappointing reteaming of Di Caprio, De Niro, and director Martin Scorcese.

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“The Neighbors Are Watching” (*1/2 out of four) was illogical fluff about a woman (Kabby Borders) trying to escape her past who moves into a new neighborhood in which she befriends a new neighbor (Will Holland) but soon witnesses him committing a grisly murder and can’t make anyone else believe her before she becomes his next victim. Glamorous lighting and cinematography are only window-dressing for a conventional and predictable story that you can literally predict after the first 10 minutes. Borders’ sincere performance helps but this still is hardly worth “watching.”

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“Boudica: Queen Of War” (*1/2 out of four) was a lumbering historical drama about the female Celtic warrior (Olga Kurylenko) who rules the Iceni people alongside her husband Prasutgus (Clive Standen); when he is killed and Roman soldiers attempt to seize her land and property, she leads a rebellion and attempts to lead her people into a bloody battle for revenge. Kurylenko is always a beautiful and captivating actress but this unwieldy film doesn’t do her justice. Meandering and talky for most of its running time and even some of the battle scenes feel like outtakes from “Braveheart.”

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