Want to visit a haunted attraction but have none close by? Well, you can always check out the latest horror film “Hell Fest.” Actually, don’t do that, because “Hell Fest” isn’t all that impressive.
This film follows a group of six college students who get together for a trip to Hell Fest. Basically, Hell Fest is a traveling horror amusement park that does the scary stuff better than anyone else in the business.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Despite a nice concept, ‘Hell Fest’ feels largely generic”
I like Kevin Hart, I think he’s a pretty funny dude. In fact, I like most of the cast featured in this flick. However, I can’t say I actually liked the movie.
In his latest comedy feature, Hart stars as Teddy, a high school dropout who’s always struggled with tests. Despite this, Teddy is still able to claw his way into a fairly good life, becoming a hardworking retail salesman who’s in line to become the general manager of the store he’s at. Additionally, he’s in a good relationship with his girlfriend.
However, through a series of events where Teddy tries to propose to his girlfriend, he ends up losing his job and needs to find new employment. Without a high school diploma, though, it isn’t easy. The end result is Teddy returning to school to get his GED. The task is tough, though, because of a strict teacher named Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) and a principal with a vendetta against Teddy, Stewart (Taran Killam).
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Night School’ fails the laugh test”
I can’t say that I ever expected Jack Black and Cate Blanchett to make a good onscreen duo, but here we are.
The two performers appear on the big screen in this fantasy film, directed by Eli Roth. While they headline the picture, though, the main character of the picture is Lewis, played by Owen Vaccaro. The film’s opening finds Lewis moving to Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan (Black) after the death of his parents. Not long after Lewis moves in, he soon finds out that both his uncle and his uncle’s friend Florence (Blanchett) are warlocks.
As he begins to learn about the world of magic, Lewis not only finds out that sorcery exists, but that the house he’s living in contains an evil clock with nefarious designs.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Black and Blanchett elevate otherwise forgettable ‘House with Clocks’”
I don’t get why they couldn’t just call this “Predator 4” and forget the “Alien vs Predator” movies exist. That’s what I do.
The latest entry in this series, directed by Shane Black, mainly follows the character Quinn (Boyd Holbrook). Quinn is a sniper specialist for an elite military unit who sees a UFO crash during one of his missions.
As one might guess, Quinn encounters a Predator. However, those higher on the pay grade decide that they should cover up the experience and put Quinn with a group of other soldiers who’ve been classified as needing mental health treatment. Because Quinn, and his family, are targeted by the Predator, though, he has to team up with the group to defeat the alien.
Continue reading “REVIEW: While entertaining, latest ‘Predator’ doesn’t top others in the series”
The latest gang/crime drama has released to theaters, but this one comes with a bit of a twist.
“White Boy Rick,” based on a true story, follows Rick Wershe Jr. (Richie Merritt). Rick lives in Detroit with his father Richard (Matthew McConaughey), who sells firearms in poor neighborhoods. As this process continues, local and federal law enforcement agencies become aware of Richard’s dealings and look to put an end to it.
However, instead of arresting him, the FBI and local detectives give Richard an out by giving Rick the opportunity to be an undercover informant and make controlled drug deals. Rick takes the offer and begins to work undercover, but soon comes to terms with the dangers associated with the role.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘White Boy Rick’ dragged down by story, characters”
I wasn’t sure if “The Nun” would be all that scary. But what I really didn’t expect was for it to be so boring.
“The Nun” is part of the “Conjuring” cinematic universe and actually takes place decades before the original movie came out. The story follows Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and a young nun in training, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga).
The two are sent to Romania by the Vatican to investigate the death of another nun at an old abbey. As they begin their investigation with the help of a local farmer (Jonas Bloquet), though, they soon learn that they have to face a horrifying entity.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘The Nun’ is a generic, one note picture that you can skip”
Talk about dad reflexes. John Cho’s character is definitely Father of the Year material in this flick.
Cho plays David in “Searching,” a single father raising his teenage daughter Magot (Michelle La). While he is a caring dad, though, the father-daughter relationship has been strained, since the death of David’s wife Pam (Sara Sohn).
Any argument over the small things in life go away quickly, though, when Margot disappears and becomes a missing person. While the local police department begins a thorough investigation into Margot’s status, David relentlessly continues to do research on his own to find his daughter.
After many years in other genres, Jennifer Garner has returned to the world of action films. However, her latest picture isn’t the best she’s starred in.
In “Peppermint,” Garner plays Riley, who lives in a lower-middle class household with her husband Chris (Jeff Hephner) and daughter Carly (Cailey Fleming). Her day-to-day life is shattered, though, when a gang murders Chris and Carly in a drive-by shooting.
While Riley is able to identify those who did it, the corrupt law system provides no justice. As a result Riley decides to take the law into her hands and launch a mission of revenge.
Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee has returned to the directors chair, this time to helm a crime/cop drama that’s actually based on a true story.
Taking place in the 1970s, “BlacKkKlansman” follows Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a recent addition to a police department in Colorado. As a rookie in the department, Ron initially works in the records division. However, he eventually convinces the chief to get a chance in undercover detective work.
After a short time in the new division, Ron ends up taking a chance by phone to call a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. In doing so, Ron is able to keep track of the local Klan’s strategies and if they’re seeking to do anything violent. To make the investigation even more effective, Ron works with Flip (Adam Driver), a fellow detective who takes Ron’s place during in-person meetings with the Klan.
Continue reading “REVIEW: While flawed, ‘BlacKkKlansman’ is an engaging take on a wild true story”
The concept of “The Happy Time Murders” was introduced around 2008 and over the next decade, the movie idea wandered in development hell. With its release this weekend, maybe it should’ve stayed there.
“The Happytime Murders” takes place in a world where puppets exist and live among humans. The film focuses on Phil, a puppet who after leaving the Los Angeles Police Department, became a private detective. In his latest investigation, he comes across a larger case than he expected.
Phil (Bill Barretta) soon learns that there are murders taking place, with the victims being cast members of a popular TV show. Even more significant is that Phil was very close with some of the cast. As he starts investigating, he’s forced to work with his former police partner, Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy).
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Happytime Murders’ is a contender for worst of 2018”
Matthew Liedke on Film 