Take Back the Night


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 90 Minutes
From: Dark Sky Films
In Theaters and on Digital Platforms: March 4, 2021

Jane (Emma Fitzpatrick) is kind of messed up. She does drugs, drinks, is kind of mental, and got attacked by a monster.

The underlying problem?

When you do drugs, drink a lot, and are kind of mental, most no one believes you if you are attacked by a monster.

What do you do if you are Jane?

Well, as Jane is also a social media influencer type, she takes her story to the little screen.

That’s great and all, but the problem is there is still this monster, the adults in the room don’t seem to want to do anything about it, and said monster keeps attacking Jane.

So, Jane decides she must kill it.

Such is the basic premise of “Take Back the Night,”

Let’s dive in a little more.

Continue reading Take Back the Night

Possum


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 87 Minutes
From: Dark Sky Films
Available on DVD (Feb 12, 2019) and Digital Platforms
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

“Possum” is not your “axe-wielding” kind of horror movie. Nope. This is one messed up, creepy film. It’s the kind of weird movie where grotesque things infiltrate the minds of the characters and turn them into crazy.

What a good time!

Let’s get to the basics of the story…

Philip (Sean Harris) is a puppeteer on the verge of insanity. I don’t know in what universe it would be thought that this grotesque spider puppet with an equally grotesque human head, named “Possum,” might be entertaining to children, yet here is Philip, carrying it around in a bag.

Continue reading Possum

Bohemian Rhapsody


Rated: PG-13 | Running Time: 135 Minutes
From: 20th Century Fox Home Video
Available on Digital Platforms:  January 22, 2019
Available on DVD: February 12, 2019
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

While watching the movie, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” I had to chuckle when the scene arrived showing the various clips of reviews of the Queen album, “A Night at the Opera” and the epic song, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Yup, critics really didn’t like the album, didn’t get it, and basically dismissed it. Enter “Bohemian Rhapsody” the movie, and sure enough the critics didn’t really like it, didn’t get it, and basically dismissed it. The problem? The people going to the theater appeared to love it.

This reviewer is in line with the people going to the theater, though I am disappointed with a few liberties the film folks took with the life of Freddie Mercury (played in the film by Rami Malek). More about that, later.

Me, I was seven years old when “A Night at the Opera” came out. I can’t say I remember it back then, but what I do remember is “A Night at the Opera” was the first album I ever bought. I remember riding my bike to Big Town in Lorain, Ohio, putting the album on my turntable, and there it was, a skip, during “Seaside Rendezvous.” I didn’t care. I loved the album, and listened to it over, and over, and over. It’s the only piece of vinyl I will not depart with, has a place on my knick-knack shelf, and when I bought the CD of “A Night at the Opera” I would still sing the “skip” during “Seaside.” Queen has always been one of musical influences of my life.

It was with much hope that I didn’t want to be let down by the movie, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and I loved it.

Continue reading Bohemian Rhapsody

Pick of the Litter


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 81 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  December 4, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Sure, you might notice them, guide dogs for the blind. And sure, you might marvel at how well-trained they are. What is easy to forget, though, is that they start as puppies, cute puppies, with various personalities that will hopefully lead them to being great, guide dogs.

“Pick of the Litter” tells the story of five puppies, Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet, and Phil, and their respective journeys to determine if they have what it takes to be the most trusted companion for the blind. It is a story filled with joy, struggle, and touches of sadness, oddly, when the destiny of a few of the puppies ends up that they just get to be dogs.

The documentary takes you through the entire guide dog cycle. It begins with the puppies being born, through the process of foster families who start the initial training and development of the puppies, and into the advanced training the little ones must go through to eventually graduate to their new life as a guide dog. Through the process the dogs, and the foster families, are observed and assessed sometimes with surprising evaluations and heartbreaking realities for the foster families, but the folks at Guide Dogs for the Blind (guidedogs.com) have their goals, to develop the best companions for the blind and find those dogs who might be better as breeding dogs rather than guide dogs, so tough decisions must be made.

Continue reading Pick of the Litter

Deadpool 2


Rated: R | Running Time: 119 Minutes
From: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
On Digital Platforms:  August 7, 2018
On DVD and Blu-ray: August 21, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Every time I’ve watched a Deadpool movie, I can’t decide if the self-healing superpower would be a good thing, or maybe the worse thing in the world. I suppose if you have the attitude Deadpool has, it’s not that bad, but at the end of the day, after being riddled with bullets or having your body torn in half, might it be better just to die?

In “Deadpool 2” said hero gets the chance to find out.

As a sequel to, well, “Deadpool,” Ryan Reynolds is back as the hero with sass, and as opening scenes go, “Deadpool 2” will quickly remind you why you loved the first one as much as you did. Immediately you are bombarded with sarcastic whit, lots of people getting their due by Deadpool, in that special Deadpool kind of way, and adult, comic-book humor abounds.

Continue reading Deadpool 2

The Cage Fighter


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 81 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  June 12, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

“The Cage Fighter” is kind of a weird movie. First let’s get to the story.

Joe Carman is older, he’s got a family, and normal people struggles. He’s also a fighter, a mixed martial arts fighter for that fact, and most would consider him past his prime. Joe, however, doesn’t want to be past his prime and has a few demons he must work through, or as Joe puts it, “Closure.”

As the movie plays out, we see Joe with his family, him working in a boiler room, and his trying to find time to work out and train during any free time he can find. At issue, though, is he has told his family he won’t fight any longer. How long can he keep the secret?

Continue reading The Cage Fighter

Dealt


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 86 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  February 13, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

“I’m Richard Turner. I represent why you should never play cards with strangers.”

You got that right! Holy crap, I thought my buddy, Aquaman, was great with a deck of cards, and I never wanted to play cards with him. Richard Turner, however, is one bad-ass card magician, or “card mechanic” as he is wont to call himself. Why? He can “fix” the cards like most no one else out there.

The thing is, as the documentary “Dealt” opens, we see Richard doing the normal things many people might do, things like doing push-ups, answering the phone, getting ready for a gig, and practicing manipulating cards in his hands. What you don’t see when the documentary opens is that Richard is trying to keep a secret – He’s blind.

Continue reading Dealt

Viceroy’s House


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 106 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD, Digital HD, and VOD:  December 12, 2017
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Viceroy's House on DVDWell, crap. I guess I should have paid more attention in my world history classes because I don’t remember anything about India getting independence from the United Kingdom. I guess it happened way back when, in 1947 to be exact, some 70 years ago. And double-crap, I also had no idea that the creation of Pakistan was part of the deal.

Who knew “Viceroy’s House” would turn into a history lesson for me, at least in the movie kind of way.

Continue reading Viceroy’s House

Catfight


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 95 Minutes
From: Dark Sky Films
Available on Blu-ray and DVD:  April 25, 2017
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Sandra Oh and Anne Heche in CatfightYou’d like to release some pent-up anger sometimes, wouldn’t you? I mean, we go through our lives, day to day, holding back from completely blasting someone who annoys us because, well, we probably suck at fighting, don’t want to end up in jail, and in the end it isn’t a nice thing to do. But come on, there are times when in your head you want to completely beat the crap out of someone, and probably would, if it weren’t for the “ending up in jail” thing.

Lucky for Ashley and Veronica jail really isn’t a part of their anger release.

The movie is “Catfight,” and hand-to-hand beating the crap out of each other is the norm for our heroines.

Let’s get to the story… Continue reading Catfight

Silver Skies


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 96 Minutes
From: Virgil Films
Available on DVD, Digital HD, and VOD:  April 4, 2017
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Silver Skies on on DVD and Digital April 4, 2017Everything was coming up gold for me when watching “Silver Skies,” a movie about a bunch of seniors getting evicted from their apartment complex community, but then the movie took a dark turn that seemed better for shock value than to finish up the film. Suddenly we were down to bronze.

Let’s get to the story…

George Hamilton is Phil. He thinks he is Dean Martin, which is funny at times, until you keep remembering he thinks he is Dean Martin because he has Alzheimers. Jack McGee is Nick. He lives with Phil, is the best friend, and is doing everything he can to prolong Phil’s time in society instead of going to an institution.

The problem for our heroes, and the rest of elders? It seems their apartment complex is going condo as the owner, who is also the uncle of the manager of the complex, is getting rid of the place, and now Continue reading Silver Skies