Author Van Roberts

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''GRETEL & HANSEL" Halloween and horror movies go together like tricks and treats. Horror movies vary from classic Hollywood monster chilling franchises like "Dracula," "Frankenstein,"...

MOVIE REVIEW OF "EMPEROR" Freshman writer & director Mark Amin and co-scenarist Pat Charles shed long-overdue light on Shields Green, an obscure black runaway slave and his role in the...

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''THE OUTPOST" “Last Castle ” director Rod Lurie’s harrowing tale of combat in Afghanistan “The Outpost” (***1/2 OUT OF ****) gives us a glimpse of a baptism by fire comparable...

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''UNHINGED" When was the last time you honked at a motorist who ignored a green light at an intersection? The contemporary road rage thriller “Unhinged” (*** OUT OF ****) shows what...

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''GHOSTS OF WAR" “Butterfly Effect” director Eric Bress pays tribute to Ambrose Bierce’s classic short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” in his second feature...

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''SURVIVE THE NIGHT" “Game of Assassins” director Matt Eskandari’s predictable but entertaining home invasion thriller “Survive the Night” (*** OUT OF ****) lives up to...

MOVIE REVIEW OF "VFW" If you love to howl at movies, whether at theaters or on home video, “Bliss” director Joe Begos’ retro-1980’s exploitation crime thriller “VFW” (*** OUT OF ****) will make...

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''JOHN HENRY" Life isn’t fair for anybody in first-time writer & director Will Forbes’ “John Henry,” (*** OUT OF ****) a simple but savage thug-life thriller with brawny Terry...

MOVIE REVIEW OF "THE CALL OF THE WILD" During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1890s, a rugged sled dog was an avidly sought-after commodity worth its weight in gold.  The initial shortage of canines...

MOVIE REVIEW OF ''THE MERCENARY" If you have an insatiable appetite for action-oriented franchises like “Jason Bourne,” “Rambo,” and “John Wick,” “Avengement” director Jesse V. Johnson’s...