Sporting the tagline “Your Fate is in the Cards”, the supernatural feature “Tarot” gives you a pretty good idea of what you’re in for. The small budget horror film released earlier this year and had a decent showing at the box office, earning nearly $50 million on an $8 million budget. But it wasn’t well received by fellow critics. Turns out there are some pretty noticeable reasons why.

“Tarot” is based on the 1992 novel “Horrorscope” by Nicholas Adams. It’s written for the screen and directed by the filmmaking duo of Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg. As its title suggests, fortune-telling and the occult come into play, feeding into a reasonably good horror movie premise. But Cohen and Halberg struggle to do much with their movie’s potential. “Tarot” ends up squandering any hint of originality by checking off endless boxes and following formulas that have been re-used countless times.

The story follows seven college friends, Haley (Harriet Slater), Grant (Adain Bradley), Paxton (Jacob Batalon), Paige (Avantika), Madeline (Humberly González), Lucas (Wolfgang Novogratz), and Elise (Larsen Thompson), none of whom are all that interesting and most who fit the common horror movie archetypes. We meet our soon-to-be-doomed partiers celebrating a birthday at a remote mansion in the Catskills that they have rented for the weekend.

After guzzling through the cases of booze they brought with them (yet somehow remaining perfectly sober), they begin rummaging through the house looking for more. In their infinite wisdom they decide to break into a padlocked basement door marked “Keep Out”. But rather than booze, they find a basement full of old antiques including a mysterious deck of tarot cards. In a stroke of narrative convenience, Haley happens to be well-versed in tarot reading. So she uses them to read all of their horoscopes. Bad idea.

In reading the cards the group accidentally unleash something sinister that follows them back to school. Soon after, members of this uninspired gaggle of twentysomethings are picked off one by one, brutally murdered by gruesome real-life versions of the cards they were dealt. The High Priestess, The Hanged Man, The Fool, The Magician, and so on. The survivors eventually wise up and realize something is amiss. They seek the help of Alma Astron (Olwen Fouéré), an occult guru who conveniently knows everything about their creepy tarot deck. She trails the deck’s roots back to 1798 to reveal a curse which must be broken before they all end up dead.

It’s hard to get too involved in anything we see largely because we have no investment in these characters whatsoever. None of them are given a meaningful emotional arc and they are repeatedly doing one incredibly dumb thing after another. Meanwhile the story itself is so formulaic that there is never a real sense of tension or terror (minus one lone scene on a bridge). And what could have been an interesting backstory of the cards is unfortunately crammed into a rushed three minute flashback.

That leaves “Tarot” without a compelling story, no interesting characters, barely any scares, and not an ounce of suspense. Even the kills miss their marks, hampered by the film’s PG-13 rating which strips some clever ideas of their gnarly potential. It’s a shame considering the possibilities. But as it is, you’ll have a hard finding anything you haven’t seen many times before. “Tarot” is now available on home video and VOD.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller “Trap” finds itself in an unenviable position. It’s releasing at a time that immediately puts it against box office juggernauts like the immensely fun disaster romp “Twisters” and the MCU’s fan-pandering cash cow “Deadpool & Wolverine”. But hopefully Shyamalan’s latest can find an audience because it offers more fresh and fun entertainment from a filmmaker who plays with big original ideas during a time when Hollywood seems short on them.

Shyamalan’s filmography is littered with several big hits and a handful of misses. But the writer-director nearly always offers something distinctly his own. Not every movie of his lands, but when they do (and they often do, to various degrees) he leaves you feeling as if you’ve been treated to something unlike anything else showing at your local multiplex. “Trap” continues that trend while at the same time falling somewhere between the filmmaker’s greater and lesser movies.

The film stars Josh Hartnett whose big screen resurgence really kicked into gear last year with Guy Ritchie’s rambunctious “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” and of course Christopher Nolan’s Academy Award winning epic “Oppenheimer”. To no surprise, “Trap” is a much different movie but Hartnett is equally good in it. He plays Cooper, a seemingly ordinary dad who surprises his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) with concert tickets to see her favorite pop superstar, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan). We’re talking legitimate ‘Father of the Year’ stuff, right?

Set in Philadelphia, the story picks up with Cooper and Riley on their way to the arena. As they ride, Cooper enjoys his daughter’s Swiftie-like enthusiasm which only intensifies once they arrive and find their seats. Before long 30,000 screaming girls and their chaperone parents are greeted by Lady Raven and the massive stage show begins.

But in one of the film’s wackier yet enjoyable turns, the entire concert is revealed to be a trap set by police to apprehend a brutal serial killer known as the Butcher. Local law enforcement and federal agents by the hundreds converge on the arena and begin setting up a perimeter. Led by a seasoned profiler, Dr. Grant (Hayley Mills), the authorities cover every exit and start scoping the crowd for their suspect. And to make things crazier, we learn in the first 15 minutes or so that Cooper is the Butcher. Scratch that ‘Father of the Year’ bid.

From there a big chunk of the story focuses on the crazy chess match between Cooper and the cops. They don’t know The Butcher’s real identity but they know he’s at the concert. Cooper discovers their trap and has to find a way to escape without being exposed. And all while hiding it from his daughter. It leads to several moments of real tension, some unexpected dark humor, and other scenes that are utterly preposterous.

The cat-and-mouse game in the arena is the movie at its most diverting. But it’s somewhat shortchanged by Shyamalan’s heavy promotion of his daughter’s music (Saleka composed 14 original songs for the movie). The concert setting is brilliantly captured and strikingly authentic. And Saleka is certainly a talented musician. But Shyamalan’s focus on her ‘show within the show’ eats up time that could have went towards making things more thrilling and plausible. And later, both Saleka and the movie struggles once he thrusts her into an acting role.

I’m betting most of the criticisms with revolve around the movie’s final 30 minutes. No spoilers here, but Shyamalan overextends his story into some surprisingly conventional directions. And as a thriller, the further it goes the less effective it becomes. To its credit, “Trap” has an undeniably delightful Hitchcockian flavor and Josh Hartnett is lights-out fantastic in the film’s maniacal lead role. It’s the scattershot script that holds the film back.

“Trap” doesn’t fall among Shyamalan’s best works largely because its story hinges on too many glaring conveniences, contrivances, and confounding character actions. At the same time, maybe it unfair to expect each of his movies to be another “Signs”, “The Sixth Sense”, or “Split”. “Trap” is best received as a straight popcorn movie – one full of big ideas that it can’t quite see through to the end. That proved to be more than enough to hold my attention, even if it left me wanting something more. “Trap” opens today exclusively in theaters.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

The blinding star power of Glen Powell fuels the resuscitation of another decades old film in “Twisters”. As you recall, he helped bring “Top Gun” back to life in 2022. And word is out that he’s already signed up to star in remakes of “Backdraft” and “The Running Man”. But before he digs into those future projects there’s “Twisters”, a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster movie hit “Twister”.

While Powell’s sudden spike in wattage is getting most of the attention, the film’s lead is Daisy Edgar-Jones, an exciting young actress who first grabbed my attention with 2022’s “Fresh”. “Twisters” doesn’t give her anything that meaty (bad pun intended), but she’s a great fit for her character – expressive and authentic. When together with Powell’s natural charisma and million-dollar smile, the two make an appealing pair. Maybe not Hunt-Paxton level of appealing but that may be unfair, especially considering what the sequel is going for.

“Twisters” is directed by Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) who works from a script by Mark L. Smith. While their movie doesn’t feature any of the characters from its predecessor, it uses many of the same narrative building blocks as the 1996 original. At the same time it has plenty of its own flavor to make this more than some pointless rehash. And with its hefty budget of nearly $200 million, Chung and his creative wizards put together several thrilling, big screen worthy set pieces perfect for the summer blockbuster season.

Edgar-Jones plays Kate Cooper, a tornado specialist working at the National Weather Service’s regional office in New York City. Originally a storm chaser from Oklahoma, Kate left that life behind five years ago after a miscalculation cost the lives of three close friends and fellow chasers. So she moved to the city and disconnected from her family and friends back home. But the pain of that fateful choice still haunts her.

One day Kate is paid a surprise visit by a former member of her science team, Javi (Anthony Ramos). He and his organization Storm Par have devised a plan using military prototypes that can create three dimensional scans of tornadoes. They can then use the information to better predict their paths. Javi needs Kate’s help in tracking the tornadoes and getting get close enough to set up his sensors. It takes some convincing but Kate eventually agrees.

So Kate joins up with Javi and his team in Oklahoma where a “once in a generation” tornado outbreak has been tearing through the state. Enter Glen Powell as Tyler Owens, a cocky storm chaser and self-proclaimed “Tornado Wrangler” from Arkansas. He and his crew chase tornadoes, not for any noble cause such as science, but for his YouTube channel and its one million subscribers. To no surprise, the two outfits find themselves competing to see who can get to the storms first.

From the first moment he arrives on screen, Powell is a charismatic force of nature. He gives a pitch-perfect performance that highlights the qualities that has made him such a hot Hollywood commodity. He has a cowboy swagger yet is effortlessly charming. But perhaps his best quality is his ability to laugh at himself. “Twisters” gives us some funny scenes at his character’s expense and Powell has a blast with them. He’s an absolute scene-stealer and you believe in him whether his character is ratcheted up or dialed down.

“Twisters” is sprinkled with several entertaining side characters who shine despite being underutilized by the script. Tyler’s high-energy bohemian team is a lot of fun and features noteworthy performances from Brandon Perea, Sasha Lane, Tunde Adebimpe, Harry Hadden-Paton, and Katy O’Brian. Maura Tierney gets some good scenes as Kate’s mom. And even the future Superman himself, David Corenswet has his moments as Javi’s business partner. None of them are given time for any meaningful growth, but the cast does a good job bringing them to life.

Chung has made a film that is more of a spiritual successor than a direct sequel and that turns out to be a good thing. Rather than concocting some closely linked follow-up nearly 30 years later, “Twisters” embraces the spirit of the original film while still doing its own thing. It’s hardly a grand reimagining, but there are some clear differences in focus that set it apart. It’s undeniably silly in spots, some characters vanish, and it could have done without the on-the-nose needle drops. But the tornado effects and scenes of destruction are spectacular. Best of all, Powell and Edgar-Jones light up the screen in their own distinct ways. Together they’re a big reason why “Twisters” is one of the few must-see blockbusters of the summer.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

It’s really good to see Jessica Alba back doing a movie, even if it is something as underwhelming and forgettable as “Trigger Warning”. This pulpy action thriller from Netflix is her first film since 2019’s barely seen “Killers Anonymous”. I’ve always felt Alba was an underrated actress although making that case can be challenging considering the shaky material in some of her past roles. Sadly “Trigger Warning” doesn’t make it any easier.

Alba plays Parker, a special forces operator serving in Syria who returns to her hometown of Creation, New Mexico after learning her father was killed in a mining accident. Parker’s former boyfriend and current county sheriff, Jesse Swann (Mark Webber) tells her that it may have been a suicide, but she refuses to believe it. Determined to discover the truth, Parker sets out on her own investigation, recruiting a pot-growing old friend named Mike (Gabriel Basso) to give her a hand.

What she uncovers is quite the operation for the small one-horse town. She learns that Jesse’s shady and obnoxious brother Elvis (Jake Weary) has secretly been smuggling military grade weapons and selling them on the dark web. Some of his latest clients are domestic terrorists who Elvis is happy to supply for the right price. Adding to the complexity is Ezekiel Swann (Anthony Michael Hall), a powerful Senator up for re-election and the father of both Jesse and Elvis.

Ultimately the movie comes down to Parker linking the Swann family to her father’s death and finally confronting them. Are they all involved? How far does there illegal operation go? That’s about as close to suspense as we get. Unfortunately the screenwriting trio of John Brancato, Josh Olson, and Halley Gross skim over too many details to make things interesting and barely gesture at anything deeper or even marginally provocative. It leaves us with paper-thin villains who play more like caricatures from a page than people in real life.

Director Mouly Surya does piece together a couple of decent fight sequences that tap into Alba’s physicality in ways slightly reminiscent of her “Dark Angel” days. But most of the action is as bland as the plot itself, especially during the film’s final 15 minutes. That’s where the action takes an unintentionally comical turn before ending with a whimper. And despite Alba carrying it the best she can, narrative shortcuts, generic characters, and hokey dialogue only make things worse for this limp and lifeless attempt at an action thriller. “Trigger Warning” is streaming now on Netflix.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

I’m guessing few people expected 2004‘s oddball comedy “Napoleon Dynamite” to go from a low-budget indie debuting at Sundance to the absurdly funny and infinitely quotable cult classic it is today. The film made a star out of its lead, Jon Heder who over the years has helped nurture the film’s vocal and devoted fan base (I have several fellow card-carrying “Napoleon Dynamite” enthusiasts in my family including a cousin who actually ventured to the small town of Preston, Idaho just to visit the shooting locations).

Now 20 years later we see Heder tapping back into that successful formula with “Tapawingo”, a proudly and profoundly offbeat feature film that recently screened at the El Dorado Film Festival. While the comparisons to “Napoleon Dynamite” are inescapable, “Tapawingo” isn’t some shameless clone. Director Dylan K. Narang (who also wrote the script along with Brad DeMarea) has plenty of his own comic twists up his sleeve.

“Tapawingo” has a uniquely zany brand of humor, and much like its comedic kin “Napoleon Dynamite”, it probably won’t click for everyone. But what can I say – it’s my kind of comedy. Yes it’s incredibly silly and utterly preposterous. But it’s also meticulously made, with funny bits scattered everywhere. Narang finds the means to make us laugh in nearly every facet of the filmmaking – the dialogue, the costumes, the camerawork, the editing, the music, even the production design.

Heder plays a small town oddball named Nate Skoog (what a great name). When he and his best friend Will (Jay Prichard) aren’t cruising around in Nate’s dune buggy or killing a few hours playing bingo at the Elk’s Lodge, they’re training to one day become high-paid mercenaries (yep, you read that right). “High risk, high reward.”

Nate still lives at home with his mother Ramona (Amanda Bearse) who has an annoying new boyfriend, Tom (John Ratzenberger) who’s always hanging around their house. As far as a job, Nate works in the mailroom at Amalgamated Insurance where he’s routinely hounded by an overly flirtatious co-worker (Gina Gershon). He’s also tasked with picking up his boss’ geeky son Oswalt (Sawyer Williams) after school.

One day while dropping off Oswalt, Nate gets a glimpse of the tough-as-nails Gretchen (a really good Kim Matula). He’s instantly smitten but their interactions are hilariously awkward due to his inability to communicate. Over time they slowly warm up to each other and soon sparks begin to fly (at least the best way they can in a movie this goofy).

But things take a turn when Nate and Will upset a local hoodlum named Nelson Tarwater (Chad Dukes) after rescuing Oswalt from Nelson’s two dimwitted younger brothers (played by Jacob Tyler Kemp and Ariel Flores). This sets off a chain of events that ultimate leads to Nelson calling in his big brother, Stoney (a subtly hilarious Billy Zane who’s given no dialogue and whose only task is to look menacing). A showdown is all but inevitable.

Narang and DeMarea’s script is the biggest reason “Tapawingo” works so well, but there are so many other key ingredients. First is the top-to-bottom game cast. Heder is no stranger to kind of material so it’s no surprise he nails it. But everyone else seems to be on the same wacky wavelength. And I haven’t even mentioned George and Paul Psarras who play self-proclaimed martial artists and mustachioed twin brothers Glen and Ben.

There’s also the DP Jarrod Russell’s fabulous cinematography that cleverly incorporates a variety of snap zooms, camera whips, and cross-cuts among other things. It works especially well alongside the outstanding production designs and costumes. Then there’s the synthesized percussive score laced with countless killer needle-drops from Quiet Riot, Pat Benatar, Kiss, and ELO among so many other.

“Tapawingo” is still working out distribution so there is no concrete date for its official release. But keep an eye out, especially if your a fan goofy self-aware comedies. Dylan Narang and his talented cohorts have made something right up my alley. Not all of the gags land as intended and occasionally a side character is pushed a little too far. But for the most part Narang is able to wrangle everything together into a fun and cohesive movie full of big-time laughs. “Tapawingo” recently screened at the El Dorado Film Festival.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

There have been countless variations of the A.I./Robot going haywire idea. Just last year we got everything from “M3GAN” to “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”. Now you can add the new film “T.I.M.”, a science fiction thriller that actually dropped last year in the UK but is now getting its release here in the States.

“T.I.M.”, the feature film debut for director Spencer Brown, fits more in the “M3GAN” mold than “Mission: Impossible”. Rather than an AI-powered doll for little girls, T.I.M. (which stands for Technologically Integrated Manservant) is a butler, housekeeper, cook, and personal assistant all wrapped into one creepy synthetic body (he’s eerily played by Eamon Farren). As for the story, it drifts into some pretty familiar waters. Yet Brown does a good job tapping into the already existing unease about artificial intelligence.

The film gets a boost from its cast, namely a really good Georgina Campbell. She plays Abi, a prosthetics engineer recently promoted to a department head position at the tech company Integrate Robotics. As part of her promotion she and her husband Paul (Mark Rowley) are provided brand-new fully integrated, state of the art ‘smart home’ complete with its own “T.I.M” unit. T.I.M. isn’t available to buy yet, but her company’s ambitious CEO (Nathaniel Parker) is determined to be first to market. So what better way to test their signature product than to have each department head give it a whirl?

T.I.M. immediately connects with the home’s network and even requests Abi and Paul’s passwords to help manage their various accounts. Paul is (understandably) hesitant while Abi quickly consents. “I have nothing to hide”, she asserts, hinting at a tension in their relationship. It turns out that Paul has a track record of infidelity and mending their marriage was a big reason she took the promotion. Perhaps a new setting will them get a fresh start.

But as you can probably guess, things don’t go precisely as planned. Over time T.I.M becomes strangely infatuated with Abi. Paul sees it which makes him more and more uncomfortable. The engineer inside of Abi is quick to dismiss it. “He’s just a computer”, she reasons. From there the film pretty much stays true to formula, following a track laid by similar movies before it. But to Brown’s credit he has a lot of fun with the premise. He develops a growing sense of unease yet adds dashes of dark humor that keep it from taking itself too seriously.

“T.I.M.” is part cautionary tale that taps into the current-day fears of many people who are still trying to fully understand what it is that frightens them. The story is a bit of a slow-burn, but it holds your attention despite not being the slightest bit scary and not delivering a single surprise. But these movies are resonating right now and Brown shows us why. He shapes an undoubtedly silly premise into something fun, entertaining, and weirdly timely.

VERDICT – 3 STARS