Shameless Self Expression

The Three Mesquiteers (John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune) get thrown off their land by gambler and fake Spanish nobleman Don Luis de Serrano (George Douglas) using a trumped-up land grant and evicting anyone who can’t pay the ridiculous tax. Our heroes mask up and get to doing something about it.   Around the same time he made “Stagecoach” , John Wayne starred in what were essentially several western serials all under the banner of “The Three Mesquiteers” . This 1939 film from director George Sherman (who later directed Duke in the underrated “Big Jake” in 1971) was Wayne’s fifth of these films (several were also made without him) and is a perfectly harmless, perfectly forgettable affair. Primitive, basic stuff it doesn’t even run an hour long. It actually seems more befitting the silent era. However, for Wayne completists and film buffs like me there’s still merit here if you can manage to track it down. My enjoyment was more from a cinematic history perspective, and even...

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chil...