Superman: Man of Tomorrow offers a new origin story with a distinctly different animated style. The characters are defined in bold outlines. The action takes place primarily in a futuristic Metropolis with a retro throwback to the Kent’s Smallville farm. Clark Kent doesn’t have a clue to his actual heritage. Jonathan Kent is alive and

Sputnik is a Russian sci-fi thriller that has wowed global audiences. A smarter than expected script takes the Alien premise in a completely different direction. Dark, moody, and superbly acted, Sputnik drips with palpable tension. The characters true motives aren’t clear until the blood starts spurting. More twists follow as the nasty critter has plans

Tesla eschews a straightforward narrative with an abstract telling of the iconic inventor’s story. The action takes place primarily on sets against artistic backdrops. Different lighting schemes wash the actors in vivid colors with a nearly constant voice over from Eve Hewson. She plays Anne Morgan, who also…drumroll please…provides a slideshow presentation using a laptop

Russell Crowe portrays the most terrifying character of his illustrious career. Unhinged has the Oscar winning actor exploding with bitter rage and sadistic violence. He brutalizes an innocent woman, her family, and friends after a chance traffic encounter. It’s a nightmare scenario of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Where a random

Project Power is the big-budget popcorn flick you’ve been aching to see. The superhero actioner provides a much-needed cinematic jolt to a barren summer. Star lead performances, a better than expected plot, and truly impressive visual effects add up to a high entertainment value. Minor drawbacks, mostly centered on the poorly defined antagonists, are negligible.

DC supervillain Deathstroke gets a bloody, but melodramatic makeover from Warner Bros. Animation. Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons: The Movie was originally conceived as an animated series for the CW Seed digital network. One episode was released before the shorts were edited into a feature film. Superb action scenes and a fairly compelling storyline are muddled

Every now and then a thoroughly unique and magnificently odd piece of filmmaking comes along that’s not quite classifiable, yet so refreshingly weird it can’t help but find its audience. Lake Michigan Monster, a new release from Arrow Video, is just that kind of experience. Writer/director/star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews is the warped comedic mind

David Ayer stumbles badly with his latest LA gangster flick. The Tax Collector is violent and gruesome as hell, but poorly written with an absurd plot. The characters behave nonsensically in a world of obvious betrayals. Ayer also tries to incorporate religious and familial themes. It’s a disjointed effort that ultimately fails on both counts.

The Secret Garden is lavishly adapted for the fourth time on the big screen. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic children’s novel gets a twenty-first century visual effects makeover from the steady hand of Harry Potter and Paddington producer, David Heyman. The film ably captures the magic and innocence of the book. It stumbles somewhat in the

Paydirt is a godawful Guy Ritchie knockoff that fails utterly as a heist flick. A British parolee wrangles his old crew for one last big score in the California desert. Luke Goss does his Jason Statham impersonation surrounded by painfully dumb supporting characters. Who’ve got nifty nicknames like “The Brit”, “The Babe”, and “The Badass.”