Movie Review: Peelers

Do you ever look at a description of a movie or watch a trailer and just know that you should stay away from it? Of course you have, we have all been confronted with a movie that seems so bland or derivative that they hardly seem worth your time. Peelers is one of those movies. Take the concept: strippers versus zombies. Hardly a fresh concept, it has been a number of times over the past few years, and I cannot say any of them have been all that entertaining. Peelers doesn’t change the trend and tends to the dry and boring side.

Movie Review: Karate Kill

Sometimes I long for the action movies of yesteryear. You remember, the action films that were not always preoccupied with global scale plots and an overabundance of CG effects. This is what makes films like the John Wick series so welcome. Those are films that keep the focus on the execution and entertainment value. If you dig into independent cinema,you can find what you are looking for, even if it does take awhile. The movie in question here is Karate Kill. Described as Tarantino meets Cannon, it is at apt description. The film sits firmly in the revenge action/exploitation corner of the universe.

Movie Review: Death Pool

So, I am confronted with this movie called Death Pool. I have to say, with a title like that, I had imagery of the Dirty Harry movie The Dead Pool, but as I began watching it, it quickly became apparent that I was watching something more along the lines of Death Bed, quality wise. The press release describes it as a cross between American Psycho and Maniac. I guess that is sort of accurate, although it never reaches the level of grit, suspense or interest as those two films. Death Pool is watchable, but not memorable, it just skates by hoping to survive on charm.

Movie Review: Nothing but Trouble (1991)

What else can I say but Wow! Some movies just completely defy explanation and this 1991 oddity is one of them. Nothing but Trouble was Dan Aykroyd’s big follow up to 1989’s Ghostbusters II. Yes, he made some other appearances, but nothing quite as high profile as this exceptional box office dud. The film blends dark comedy with some backwoods horror and splashes with a healthy dose of surreal. It arrived in theaters where it proceeded to go nowhere, it is possible it is more famous for the hate it drew from Roger Ebert than anything else. Do you want to know the craziest thing? I love it.

Movie Review: Kickboxer - Vengeance

Way back in 1989 Jean Claude Van Damme was a rising star. He had already shown audiences his considerable screen presence and charisma in Bloodsport and Cyborg. His followup was Kickboxer, an action revenge flick that saw Van Damme head to Bangkok to avenge the brutal death of his brother at the hands of underground fight champion, Tong Po. That film proved to be a hit a spawned a number of sequels. Now, we are faced with a reboot of the franchise. Why? I could not say. Even stranger is that it was sent the direct to video route and is a decidedly lackluster outing.