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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nALIENOID \u2013 According to this futuristic\nscience-fiction\/action feature from South Korea, Earth is being used by aliens\nas a penal colony. Criminals from outer space are locked away in the brains of\nunsuspecting humans who walk the streets unaware. When a police detective\nwitnesses a spacecraft hovering above the city of Seoul, he decides to\ninvestigate. Not only does he learn about the alien plot, but he also opens the\ndoor of time and meets two sorcerers from 1391 who might hold the key to\nsolving the problem. Response was upbeat towards this foreign-language feature.\nA small number wrote that the movie was overstuffed, silly and poorly paced.\nHowever, the majority appreciated its wild and over-the-top concept and thought\nit was easy to get caught up in the crazy fun. It stars Yoon Byung-hee, Lee\nDong-hee and Kim Eui-sung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAMSTERDAM \u2013 Inspired by a true story, this period piece is set in the 1930s and follows a trio of leads who have been friends since World War I. When two of them are asked to investigate a strange death, they witness another murder and are framed for it. After locating the last member of their group, they all try to determine who was responsible for the slaying. In the process, they uncover a sinister plot. Despite the A-list cast and notable writer\/director David O. Russell (American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook<\/em>), critical reaction was muted. A small number were about to get onto its wavelength, suggesting that while the tone was esoteric it did deliver laughs, looked great and told an important story. Unfortunately, two-thirds of reviewers didn\u2019t appreciate its quirkiness and found it too busy and tiring. The cast includes Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Andrea Riseborough, Alessandro Nivola, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Zoe Saldana, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Taylor Swift, Rami Malek, Timothy Olyphant and Robert De Niro. Read this site\u2019s review of the movie here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n ASHGROVE \u2013 A scientist working on a crisis involving a\ndwindling water supply takes a break to spend time with her husband and work on\ntheir strained marriage. The pair retreat to the remote countryside to try and\nwork things out. Soon after arriving, they discover that strange things are\nafoot. More details are revealed and the scientist is shocked to discover that\nthe fate of humankind will depend on whether she and her spouse can save their\nrelationship. This independent character piece earned praise from many critics.\nOne or two suggested that the story itself became too far-fetched as it\nprogressed and that it couldn\u2019t pull them in. Yet the consensus was that the\nperformers were excellent and that the movie thoughtfully combined\nscience-fiction elements with intimate drama. It features Amanda Brugel and\nJonas Chernick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BURIAL \u2013 This independent thriller from the UK is set at the\nend of World War II. A group of Russian soldiers are given Hitler\u2019s remains and\nare tasked with transporting them back to a disbelieving Stalin in Moscow,\nRussia. Along the way, they find themselves being attacked by a terrifying\nforce that may be more monstrous than human. The press was slightly more\npositive about this picture than they were negative. A sizable portion of them\ncritiqued the movie for being unable to effectively balance its war element\nwith the supernatural. Still, more complimented the title as being atmospheric\nand using the bizarre concept to ask interesting questions about men and\nmonsters. Charlotte Vega, Tom Felton, Harriet Walter and Barry Ward headline\nthe film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CLERKS III \u2013 The 1994 film Clerks<\/em> was a low-budget\nsurprise hit that chronicled a day in the life of convenience store cashiers. A\n2006 sequel followed and this third chapter picks up with the now middle-aged\ncharacters from the original film. When one of them suffers a stroke and\nsurvives the ordeal, he decides to finally follow his dream and make a movie.\nWhen he announces that the film will be about his experiences at the store, all\nof the regulars return to take part in the production. Notices were more upbeat\nthan downcast. About one-third called it an unnecessary rehash that wasn\u2019t as\nfunny as the previous chapters and overdosed on sentimentality. Regardless, the\nmajority thought it was an entertaining nostalgia trip. They enjoyed seeing the\ncharacters again and thought that enough of the quips landed to earn it a\nrecommendation. It stars Brian O\u2019Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Kevin\nSmith, Jason Mewes, Amy Sedaris, Justin Long and a ton of celebrity cameos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE LEECH \u2013 Those looking for some holiday-themed horror can\ntry this independent flick about an overly devout priest. As a good deed, he\ndecides to welcome a struggling couple into his home over Christmas. Things get\nawkward when the lead is convinced to play a game of Never Have I Ever. As the\nrounds continue, the challenges get increasingly dark and disturbing and the\ncharacters become more and more unhinged. Not many critics have seen this film\nyet, but early reaction has generally been positive. One voice suggested that\nthe movie wasn\u2019t as deep or satirical as it needed to be in order to make a\nlasting impact. Still, everyone else referred to the film as a darkly humorous\nand effective descent into madness with some great performances. The cast\nincludes Jeremy Gardner, Graham Skipper and Taylor Zaudtke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MAD GOD \u2013 Phil Tippett is a master special effects\ntechnician and stop-motion animation expert whose credits over the years have\nincluded the Star Wars<\/em> series, Robocop, Willow, Jurassic Park<\/em> and\nStarship Troopers<\/em>. For decades, he has toiled away on a passion project\nwhich has finally been finished. It\u2019s a stop-motion animated film about a\nmysterious assassin who travels to a strange underground world filled with\nmonsters. As the story progresses, viewers learn what his mission is and how he\nintends to follow through on his goals. The press was very taken by this\nfeature. A tiny contingent found it repetitive, disturbing and were unimpressed\nby the narrative. Everyone else stated that while the story and message was\ngrim and almost nightmarish, it was visually stunning and unlike anything else\nthey had ever seen before. Alex Cox, Niketa Roman and Hans Brekke provide\nvoices for the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEDIEVAL \u2013 This English-language period biopic from the\nCzech Republic is set in the 15th<\/sup> century and tells the story of a\nfigure who is a national hero in his homeland. Jan Zizka was a warrior and\nmilitary leader who used unusual and innovative techniques to defend his\nkingdom. The movie depicts his efforts to thwart the invading armies of the\nTeutonic Order and Holy Roman Empire. The final product earned mixed notices.\nAlmost half believed that while it exaggerated some elements for the sake of\nentertainment, the action was impressive and the tale itself was intriguing.\nSadly, slightly more thought that the dialogue and performances were flat and\nthat the story was confusingly told. Ben Foster, Matthew Goode, Sophie Lowe,\nTil Schweiger, Roland M\u00f8llerand and Michael Caine headline the movie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n MISSING \u2013 After the sudden death of his wife, a depressed\nman struggles to pay debts and support his teenage daughter. Desperate, he\ntakes note of a reward for the capture of a serial killer and sets out to track\nthe figure down. When he disappears, his daughter goes on the hunt to try and\nfind him. Of course, she soon finds herself in incredible danger. This\nforeign-language feature is a co-production between Japan and South Korea. It\nwas extremely well-received and only got one negative review. That piece found\nthe story too complicated and the final reveal unsatisfying. But the consensus\nfrom everyone else was that there were many layers to this movie. They wrote\nthat it was a sharply written effort with a strong dramatic arc and plenty of\nunexpected twists. It features Jir\u00f4 Sat\u00f4, Aoi It\u00f4, Hiroya Shimizu and Misato\nMorita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OLD MAN \u2013 The latest from writer\/director Lucky McKee (May,\nThe Woods, All Cheerleaders Die<\/em>) is another indie horror yarn. This one\nfollows a hiker who gets lost in the wilderness. He finds a cabin and is taken\nin by the strange, elderly man who lives there. The two converse and begin to\nshare their experiences and what they both are running from. As it turns out,\nthe two find an unexpected and unsettling bond that connects them. Reaction\ntowards this effort was slightly more favorable than downbeat. A sizable number\ndid feel that the big reveal and finale was superficial and that the movie\ndidn’t deliver the punch hoped for. A few more suggested that the strong cast\nand scares did make an impression and that the final product would impress\ngenre fans. It stars Stephen Lang, Marc Senter, Liana Wright-Mark and Patch\nDarragh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OPERATION SEAWOLF \u2013 This war\/drama is set on a Nazi U-boat\nat the end of World War II. With German forces about to surrender, their\nremaining submarines are brought together for one last assault to attack the US\nmainland and change the tide of the conflict. A grizzled commander leads the\nfinal group on a suicide mission as they attempt to accomplish their goal. The\npress had a poor response towards this title. A few did state that it was a\ndecent B-movie that focused on character more than shocks and delivered some\ngood performances. Alas, the majority didn\u2019t buy into the concept. They thought\nit was a drawn-out and dull low-budget movie that didn\u2019t display the necessary\nskills to deliver tension or thrills. The cast includes Dolph Lundgren, Frank\nGrillo, Hiram A. Murray, Andrew Stecker and Apostolos Gliarmis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RICKSHAW GIRL \u2013 Desperate to help her financially strapped\nfamily, a teenage girl in Bangladesh, India leaves home to find a job and earn\nmoney as an artist. She finds the task far more challenging than initially\nexpected when it becomes clear that there simply aren\u2019t opportunities for young\nwomen. The protagonist instead disguises herself as a boy and begins driving\nher ill father\u2019s rickshaw. This scheme earns money for a time but leads to some\ncomplications. The film was primarily shot in English but struggled for a year\nor so to find a North American distributor. There haven\u2019t been many reviews in\nthis part of the world yet, with only a couple of online write-ups. One says\nthe movie is heartwarming and inspirational, the other complains the film is\nbland and a surface-level exploration of an important issue. It stars Champa\nand Allen Shubhro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BLASTS FROM THE PAST!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DVD-Ashgrove-fixed.jpg\")
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