Band of the Hand - Wikipedia says that this film, produced by Michael Mann and directed by Paul Glaser, was originally intended as a TV pilot but was re-cut into a theatrical release. I haven't been able to 100% confirm that, but it makes perfect sense. It looks and feels like a TV movie with a limited budget and a desire to pander to some lesser instincts without breaching 9pm broadcast standards and practices (i.e., OK to blow lots of people away, but watch the swearing and nudity). The movie has some truly cringe-worthy moments - such as Laurence Fishburne's role as a neighborhood crime kingpin that appears to have been crafted by someone that had no more knowledge of the subject than having watched a few bad 70s blaxploitation movies. Or the ridiculous scenes involving junkies and prostitutes that again appear as if out of only the fever dreams of a white suburbanite Reaganista. The right-wing message of this junker is that what the "inner city" (read: black people) really needs is some folks with machine guns to clean things up. It's basically the same brand of crackpot that you hear out of the NRA every time there's a mass shooting - that somehow what the world needs is more guns and violence, not less. So it isn't entirely irrelevant to modern times and even has some anthropological value for those wanting to further explore the seeds of modern right wing paranoia, white flight, and violence fetishism. If the movie weren't so dumb, it might have been dangerous. Screened via Amazon.
Deep Star Six - This Alien knockoff isn't the worst movie you'll ever see, and you could do worse, but why not try to do better? I mean, why not just rent Alien? Everything is shot in neutral, medium shots, which robs this undersea horror movie of any tension or claustrophobia (which the writer tries to convey but it never comes across visually). There is a bizarre lack of urgency throughout the movie, the result of failures by the writers, director, and actors. The movie also spins off on wild tangents, rather than staying focused on the matters at hand. Instead of creating one ticking clock or one problem for the crew, it tries to create 3 or 4. The result is that there's a monster out there, but it gets forgotten for long stretches. And then everyone keeps getting distracted by this or that challenge that pops up at any given time. There just isn't a coherent through-line, no real interesting characters (Miguel Ferrer's character comes closest), and nothing at all surprising. Nothing worth remembering. Streamed via Netflix.
The Prince - This piece of shit almost comes close to the level of "so bad it's good," but even at that it misses the mark. Jason Patric, Bruce Willis, and John Cusack (the latter two probably only showed up for a few days of shooting, although Willis is purportedly the villain) should be embarrassed to have taken the checks for this one. Patric is supposed to be the hero, a reformed New Orleans criminal who does not speak with a New Orleans accent and a purported badass that does not appear to have worked out in a while. Cusack shows up and reasonably goes through the motions, if flatly so, but Willis seems to be actively angry that he agreed to do this pile of crap. You can tell he doesn't want to be there and seems to be gritting his teeth at having to humiliate himself with this material. That makes the crappy script even worse when a key actor can't even be bothered to give a pro's effort. The script is terrible and there's nothing worth watching. There isn't even much entertainment value out of watching three 1990s superstars slumming in this one. The best part might be counting how many times the extras/stuntmen playing henchmen get killed and then reappear (in ballcaps and sunglasses to hide their faces) to get killed again. Go watch John Wick instead, a movie in the same vein but a thousand times better. Screened in the theater.
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