4 films to see on the week of July 13-July 20, 2018
Kickboxer: Retaliation
AFTER MMA champion Kurt Sloane is kidnapped and imprisoned in Thailand, he learns that he needs to win an underground death match against a 400-pound killer enhanced with state-of the-art drugs before he can be set free. Directed by Dimitri Logothetis, the movie stars Alain Moussi, Christopher Lambert, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mike Tyson, Sara Malakul Lane, and Jessica Jann. RogerEbert.com’s Simon Abrams writes, “Realistically, this film is the kind of reliable cinematic comfort food that only hard core fans are aware of thanks to the vagueries of the Direct-to-Video and Video-on-Demand markets. Retaliation may not be formally dazzling, or even intellectually stirring, but it’s got some personality, and it delivers a lot of basic pleasures that genre fans will go nuts for.”
MTRCB Rating: R-16
Skyscraper
A FORMER FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and war veteran’s latest job is assessing security for skyscrapers. Then, what was supposed to be the safest building in the world starts burning, he learns that he has been framed for it, and his family is trapped inside. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, the film stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Møller, Noah Taylor, and Byron Mann. Variety’s Peter Debruge writes, “On the scale that ranges from implausibly entertaining to entertainingly implausible, Skyscraper comfortably falls toward the compulsively over-the-top end, generating thrills by straining credibility at every turn, relying on Johnson’s invaluable ability to engage the audience while defying physics, common sense, and the sheer limits of human stamina.”
MTRCB Rating: PG
Ouija House
A graduate student and her friends go a mysterious house where they end up summoning an evil spirit while playing a Ouija board. Directed by Ben Demaree, it stars Tara Reid, Mischa Barton, Dee Wallace, and Carly Schroeder.
MTRCB Rating: R-13
I Love You, Hater
ZOEY AND JOKO both apply to be the executive assistant of digital media mogul Sasha. Both challenge each other to keep up with the demands of the CEO. Directed by Giselle Andres, it stars Julia Barretto, Joshua Garcia, and Kris Aquino.
MTRCB Rating: PG
