B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - DEAD END (2003)

Made for less than a million dollars, the slightly obscure Dead End is a chilling little indie you don't want to miss. It might just be the best Christmas horror movie no one ever heard of and every dollar is up there on the screen. It's quirky, weird, funny, bizarre, and scary all at once. Black comedy for sure but much more, this would make a nice double feature with The Perfect Host, another movie we're big on around here. So, grab some eggnog and a snack or two and check out the inimitable Ray Wise with legendary Lin Shaye as they take their family down a wrong turn, what's up with this road? Why doesn't it end? After all, they're just trying to make it to Christmas Eve dessert at Frank's mother's house. Tubi, Plex, Freevee, enjoy! 2.75 stars/2.75

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK (2021) - WOODY ALLEN RETURNS TO NEW YORK NOT WITH A BANG BUT MORE OF A BLIP

 

Given all the recent hoopla, it would be nice to report that Woody's first film set back in NYC is something along the lines of Midnight In Paris or even the myriad of better than average Allen films. This one unfortunately falls in the miss column, down there with Curse Of The Jade Scorpion and a few other cretins I could mention. 

Timothee Chalamet tries hard but is ineffective playing the classic Woody anti-hero, I actually thought Jason Biggs did a great job with this kind of personification in the underrated Anything Else. Chalamet plays a rich and carefree college dude, boyfriend to Elle Fanning who is the best thing about this new film. Our college boy just wants to show his girl NYC in a fun agenda filled day but his girl gets sidetracked by a chance encounter with a famous actor (Diego Vega, perfect here) and a withdrawn director (Liev Schreiber.) Fanning shines beyond this film, she's totally in her game and she looks stunning. Schreiber is too underused here, way too great an actor for this. And Jude Law? Is he in this film?

The climatic scene in which our protagonist finds out something his mom did ultimately is really not worth the ride and worst of all the Woody Allen one-liners, the precious gems needed for this are lacking and mediocre. Sorry, Woody! I calls them as I sees them. 1.75 stars/5
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