VENUS RISING (1996) *

A young woman named Eve (Audie England) escapes from a futuristic island prison and winds up in a resort area.  She befriends a pill-popping woman (Meredith Salenger) who shows her kindness and takes her in.  When her host disappears mysteriously, Eve is left to her own devices.  She then noodles around on her Virtual Reality headset and begins frequenting online sex rooms.  She even manages to find love with her cyberspace boyfriend (Billy Wirth) in real life.  Eventually, another prisoner (Costas Mandylor) comes looking for Eve, which threatens to ruin everything for her.

There are times where Venus Rising almost feels unfinished.  I don’t know if the budget ran out of money or if the script was already wonky to begin with.  It tosses a lot of elements together like prison escapes, futuristic advances (there’s a silver pyramid that offers mood-enhancing pills), and Virtual Reality (which was big at the time and is now enjoying a sizeable renaissance today), but nothing really sticks.  The sci-fi elements seem half-hearted at best (or maybe that was due to the restrained budget) and are incongruous with the main thrust of the action. It’s also slow moving, awkwardly paced, and not very involving.  

Its biggest crime though is that it manages to waste a good cast that includes Joel Grey, Dennis Dun, Morgan Fairchild, and Jessica Alba (who plays a young version of Eve in a dream/flashback).  None of them are given anything remotely useful to do, which makes the movie even more frustrating.  I guess it would be one thing if Audie England could carry the film on her own accord, but she just doesn’t have the chops to portray a likeable heroine.

In short, Venus Rising sinks to the bottom of the barrel.  

ELVIS PRESLEY: THE SEARCHER (2018) ***

Elvis Presley:  The Searcher was made with the cooperation of Graceland and Priscilla Presley.  It’s a massive, two-part, nearly four-hour documentary on the life and times of The King.  Quite honestly, it could’ve been whittled down to a two-hour running time.  With so many documentaries and specials about Elvis already out there, I’m not sure why we needed another one.  However, there are enough stirring moments (particularly in the second part) to make its existence justified.

The first part (** ½) covers Elvis’ youth, rise to stardom, and entry into the Army.  All this material has been covered countless times before and done much better in a shorter time.  I also could’ve done without all the pointless shots of the interior of Graceland while producers, writers, and other performers talk about Elvis.  The problem is that the pool of interviewees seems a bit small.  While hearing from Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen is cool and all, the stuff from Elvis’ friends and confidants are much more enlightening.  I for one would’ve liked to hear more from Elvis in his own words because when he speaks, whether through candid interviews or in song lyrics, it says more about him than anyone else could say. 

The second half (*** ½) is a big improvement. It covers the time after Elvis’ military service, his string of Hollywood movies, the Comeback Special, and the non-stop touring of his later years.  While I don't agree with the documentary’s consensus that his movies were mostly terrible (even the worst ones are worth watching just because of his singular screen presence), everything about the second half feels tighter and more concise.  Also, we hear a lot more from Elvis in this section, which helps put us squarely in his headspace.  

The most effective moments surround his final days.  When we hear Elvis singing “Hurt” days away from his death during the “Jungle Room Sessions”, it gives us a clearer picture of what he was going through than anything else in the movie can offer.  The moments where we hear him perform “Separate Ways” in the context of his divorce is equally heart-wrenching.  The film also cunningly finds a way to let The King go out on top, ending things with him performing a rousing rendition of “If I Can Dream” from the Comeback Special.

As good as the second half of Elvis Presley:  The Searcher is, it’s far from perfect.  They gloss over his black belt in karate and don’t mention his historic meeting with Richard Nixon at all.  Despite that, there are plenty of good moments here.  I’m sure there was an excellent two-hour documentary lurking about, if only director Thom Zimny had been disciplined enough to pare it down more.  Even in its overlong form, it’s still worth a look for die-hard Elvis fans. 

ISLE OF DOGS (2018) *** ½

Wes Anderson’s latest contains more imagination and sheer fun crammed into any single given frame than most movies have in their entire running time.  The fact that it’s a stop-motion film makes it even more impressive.  When I saw Ready Player One, I said it would become one of the most paused movies on home video because the frame is filled with so much eye candy.  The same can be said for Isle of Dogs. 

Twenty years into the future, Japan puts a ban on all dogs and exiles them to Trash Island.  A pack of dogs (voiced by the likes of Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Bob Balaban) roam the island getting into scrapes with other dogs.  When a little boy lands on the island looking for his long-lost pet, the dogs decide to help him on his quest.

Isle of Dogs is visually impressive first and foremost.  It is a feast for the eyes.  Many sequences have tons of moving parts, but the low-tech ways Anderson and his animators achieve the simplest effects are often the most endearing.  I especially loved it when the cotton balls appear over the dogs each time they fight.  The Japanese motif of the film is beautiful too and it would make a great double feature with Kubo and the Two Strings. 

The animation on the dogs is adorable.  The excellent vocal cast expertly add life to their characters.  Cranston does especially well in his first foray into Anderson’s cinematic universe and gets the best line of the movie when he says, “I’ve seen cats with more balls than you dogs!”

The film is enchanting enough for you to forgive the fact that it runs on about fifteen minutes too long.  There’s probably at least one too many unnecessary side jaunts and/or flashbacks.  Even when the movie spins its wheels late in the second act, you can keep yourself amused by the jaw-dropping beauty of the lush backgrounds.  It’s definitely one of the best family movies of the year.

ACTS OF VIOLENCE (2018) ***

Roman (Ashton Holmes) is about to be married to his childhood sweetheart Mia (Melissa Bolona).  When she is kidnapped by white slavers during her bachelorette party, Roman enlists the help of his Army Ranger brothers (Cole Hauser and Shawn Ashmore) to get her back.  Meanwhile, a detective on the case (Bruce Willis) tries to bring the slavers down using good old-fashioned law and order, although he knows the system is pretty much broken.

On the surface, Acts of Violence looks like it’s going to be another one of Willis’ interchangeable DTV actioners.  In most of these things, Willis has a leading role, but only appears briefly throughout the film.  The surprising thing about this one is that the script finds an organic way to work him into the story.  His role may be smallish, but at least he’s given a character worthy of his talents.  Apparently, he was only on the set for a day, although you’d never know because he’s so well utilized.

It also helps that the central story involving the three brothers is well-acted and absorbing.  I liked seeing them using their military training and transplanting their skills into an urban environment.  The performances by Hauser (who is suffering from PTSD) and Ashmore (the levelheaded family man) are solid and Bolona does a good job as the kidnapped sister.  It was also great seeing the usually funny Mike Epps (who also appeared in Death Wish with Willis) in a sinister turn as the head of the white slavery operation.

I’m a sucker for these Death Wish/Taken variations.  This one has enough twists on the formula while delivering on the exploitation goods you’d want from a revenge thriller.  It also helps that the action sequences are competently staged and crisply filmed, with none of that shaky-cam shit to get in the way.  Acts of Violence won’t win any awards, but it’s an entertaining way for an action fan to kill 86 minutes.

MUTANT HUNT (1987) * ½

The head of a robotics company, Z (Bill Peterson) pumps a bunch of “Euphoron” drugs into his cyborgs and turns them into mutant killers.  The scientist who created the robots is captured by Z’s men, but his sister (Mary Fahey) escapes.  She then gets bounty hunter Matt Riker (Rick Gianasi) to help her save her brother and dispose of the robots.

Mutant Hunt was written and directed by Tim (Breeders) Kincaid.  Like most of his films, it suffers from a cheap budget.  If Kincaid has a talent, it’s making the abandoned storefronts, scuzzy basement apartments, and junkyards of ‘80s New York look like a “futuristic wasteland”.  (In fact, I think some of the boiler rooms and basement sets were reused from Kincaid’s Robot Holocaust.)  

The robot effects are pretty cheesy, but they’re good for a laugh or two.  I liked the scene where one of the mutants was handcuffed and then turned his arm into Stretch Armstrong to escape.  The messy, gooey aftermaths of the dispatched robots (especially the half-melted robot) are the best things about the movie.

The action is pathetic though.  The funniest bit comes when Riker gets chased his apartment in his underwear by some robots.  The various fight scenes and shootouts are weak too.  Kincaid even drops the ball when it comes to the kickboxing stripper.

The flubbed lines, static camera shots, and long, boring dialogue scenes filled with inane gobbledygook make much of this a chore to sit through.  The pacing is sluggish, and the seventy-five-minute running time feels much longer.  Overall, it’s not nearly as bad as Kincaid’s Robot Holocaust, but it doesn’t come close to matching the sleazy thrills of Breeders.  The music (which sounds like a rip-off of the Miami Vice theme) is pretty good though.

AKA:  Matt Riker.  AKA:  Robot Killer.

SHOTGUN (1989) ** ½

There’s a psycho going around the city wearing a leather S & M mask and beating up hookers.  Two concerned cops, Jones (Stuart Chapin) and Billings (Riff Hutton) warn the ladies of the night to beware.  When Jones’ sister becomes the killer’s latest victim, he goes out for revenge.  He flies off the handle and winds up getting thrown off the force.  Jones ekes out a living as a bounty hunter and quickly gains the nickname “Shotgun” for his propensity for shooting people in the ass with a shotgun.

Shotgun is a chintzy, low-rent, but watchable cop thriller.  The sometimes-blurry cinematography gives it the look of a slightly higher budgeted homemade movie.  The amateurish performances (especially by Chapin) help add to the fact (and the fun).

The early scenes of the masked killer whipping hookers have a kick to them and gives you a good look at Hollywood Boulevard in the late ‘80s.  However, the tone is inconsistent.  It goes from comedy (like when Chapin and Hutton bust up a robbery in a bar) to prostitute beating a little crudely, which sometimes hampers it from truly taking off.

Shotgun suffers from a low budget, but the filmmakers wisely saved all their money for the final reel.  In the end, Chapin gets an old buddy to turn his truck into a tank equipped with a flamethrower.  They then head down to Mexico to take out the killer who's hiding in a fortress surrounded by armed goons.  This sequence has enough explosions, pyrotechnics, and shots of people being blown away and/or set on fire to qualify it as a minor classic. 

Chapin gets the best line of the movie when he tells an Internal Affairs officer:  “My partner and I were in a situation that probably would’ve given you Hershey Squirts!”

GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS (2017) ** ½

Loveable lunkhead hockey goon Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) gets beaten to a pulp on the ice by bloodthirsty up-and-comer Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell).  The injuries he sustains in the fight forces Doug to retire, so he sets out to try to live a menial 9 to 5 life to support his pregnant wife (Alison Pill).  When Anders is traded to Doug’s team, he sets out to make a comeback to win his old job back.  

Helping Doug get back into fighting shape is his old nemesis, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber).  (Which kind of makes this the Rocky 3 of hockey movies.)  The scenes between Scott and Schreiber are some of the best in the entire film.  I liked the fact that Rhea is so old that he's now in a league where the players don't play hockey and only fight.  In fact, that idea alone is a lot better than the predictable and formulaic plotline that is the main thrust of the story.

Scott’s scenes with his pregnant wife feel like a first draft.  Their dialogue is cliched and lacks the quirky charm of the original.  Scott does what he can with the material, but it’s lacking the heart that made the first Goon such a treat.  The film is also brimming with too many side characters (including T.J. Miller as an unfunny Sports Center-type host) that get in the way of the hockey.

Still, it’s not bad.  Scott’s rivalry with Russell (who used to be a pro hockey player) provides a few sparks.  Russell makes for a formidable adversary.  The two fights they have together that bookend the film are appropriately over the top and bloody.  It’s a shame that the movie (much like the main character) never finds its footing whenever it goes off the ice (which is for much of the second act).