Shameless Self Expression

Shonky wannabe inventor Rand Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) is shopping for Christmas gifts in the back alleys of Chinatown. He enters a shop owned by pipe-smoking Keye Luke, and spots an adorable little creature called a Mogwai. After some haggling…the old man still says no. However, the store owner’s son, knowing they can’t refuse a paying customer, agrees to sell the creature to Peltzer without the old man’s knowledge. The Mogwai is to be the present for Peltzer’s son Billy (Zach Galligan), who is immediately taken with the cute little furball, whom he calls Gizmo. However, Peltzer warns Billy that there are three rules for taking care of such a creature: 1) Bright lights are a no-no, sunlight could kill him. 2) Do not get the creature wet. Ever. 3) Most importantly, never, ever feed the creature after midnight. Well, obviously all three rules are gonna get broken aren’t they? At first, this results in Gizmo spawning several juvenile delinquent Mogwai who prove quite the handful. They als...

WWII, just before D-Day. An American paratrooper unit’s plan hits a snag that sends their plane crashing down in France and wiping out about half of the platoon in one fell swoop. With all above-ranking officers felled, Corporal Wyatt Russell takes charge and they attempt to continue the mission, using a local woman for help. She provides them with cover in her house, but unfortunately the Nazi officer (Pilou Asbaek) who occasionally imposes his will on the young woman has come for a late night visit. The men (John Magaro among them) are able to overpower the creep and hold him hostage. Private Jovan Adepo briefly goes out to see if he can sneak into an enemy facility. There he witnesses Nazi scientists conducting experiments on corpses with a serum that basically creates super soldier zombies. Back at the house, problems arise when Russell and sensitive Adepo have a disagreement over humane/inhumane treatment of a prisoner. Bokeem Woodbine appears at the beginning as the platoon’s c...

A couple of Ray Breslin’s top prison security-checking team disappear all of a sudden (starting with Xiaoming Huang and then Jesse Metcalfe). They’ve actually been captured and imprisoned in a hi-tech prison called Hades, by a man with a personal grudge against Breslin (Sly Stallone), prison warden known as The Zookeeper (Titus Welliver). It’s up to Breslin and the remainder of his crew (plus an old buddy played by Dave Bautista) to save the day. 50 Cent and Jaime King play the other team members, whilst Wes Chatham is a former team member fired for botching a previous mission. When promoting the subsequent “Escape Plan 3” (filmed back-to-back), star Sly Stallone slagged this 2018 sequel as the ‘most horribly produced film’ of his career. Given this is the bloke who made “Cobra” , “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!” , “Judge Dredd” , and “Assassins” among many other turds, I can’t say I entirely agree with him. However, it’s a pretty shoddy film undoubtedly, with Stallone himself...