She is THE DOORMAN

 

Jeri Jacquin

 

Coming to Digital, On Demand and followed with Bluray and DVD from director Ryuhei Kitamura and Lionsgate Home Entertainment is THE DOORMAN.

Ali (Ruby Rose) is a prior Marine dealing with a tragedy who finds employment as a doorman at a very prestigious hotel in New York City. She enjoys meeting the people who live in the building and learns that it is about to undergo some renovations.

She learns from a neighbor that she actually has family living in the building. Her sister's husband Jon (Rupert Evans) along with nephew Max (Julian Feder) and niece Lily (Kila Cassidy) who were planning to leave during the renovations. Although Lila is thrilled to see her Aunt Ali, there is an uncomfortable distance between she and Jon.

What none of them know is that a man named Victor Dubois (Jean Reno) along with his henchman Borz (Aksel Hennie) are about to bring the building down. Dubois is looking for something he believes is hidden in the building but is surprised to find people still in the building. Ali sees what is happening and uses her skills to try and stop her family from being hurt.

That is not going to stop the chaos and thieves from tearing down the walls to find the secrets behind them, well maybe one person can stop them!

Rose as Ali comes to this film after her stellar performance in JOHN WICK: Chapter 2, so it is clear that she is perfectly capable of taking on this role. From start to finish she has the opportunity to show off what she can physically do with a role.

Reno as Dubois is a criminal who wants to have his heist go according to play and as smoothly as possible. Of course, when you surround yourself with a criminal element, it’s quite possible that your associates don't have the same plan. Hennie as Borz is the loose cannon and does not mind putting the hurt on anyone who gets in his way - especially Ali.

Evans as Jon has a history with Ali, and it has kept the family apart in many ways. Trying to keep his family safe, it is almost as if he his plan is to keep things calm in the apartment and let Ali take care of the rest. Feder as Max is the typical teen with parental issues, oh hell, he pretty much just has issues with everyone not his age. Kila Cassidy as Lily is thrilled to see Aunt Ali, especially not having a mom in her life.

Other cast include David Sakurai as Andrew, Louis Mandylor as Martinez, Hideaki Ito as Leo, Jamie Satterhwaite as Olsen, Andreea Androne as Nira, Raynor van de Water as Officer Griggs and Philip Whitchurch as Uncle Pat.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000-motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

THE DOORMAN'S special features include In the Service of Others: Reflections of the cast.

It does not take but a flash for the action to begin and it pretty much does not stop the entire film. Once the characters in the story are introduced, it becomes a game of cat and mouse with the winner getting the golden million-dollar painted cheese.

It is Rose who gets all the action and does not waste a moment making sure everyone in the film knows that she is no door mouse. This is a thriller-caper that as the thieves become desperate to find the hidden treasure, they are less and less polite about getting their information.

In the end - her second chance if their last hope!

TRAUMA CENTER Brings the Chase

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to select theatres and On Demand this week from director Matt Eskandari and Lionsgate comes a story of a chase to survive through the TRAUMA CENTER.

Madison Taylor (Nicky Whelan) is a struggling waitress trying to take care of her younger sister Emily (Catherine Davis) after their mother has passed. Being a bit protective doesn't sit well with Emily and after an emotional talk, the young girl is rushed to the hospital with an asthma attack.

Making it even more difficult on Madison, she can't stay with Emily having to get right back to her shift. On her way she runs into a man who in injured and gunfire begins to erupt all around her. Taking a bullet to the leg she is rescued by Det. Steve Wakes (Bruce Willis). Taking her into the hospital, Madison tells him what she vaguely remembers. With a bullet in her leg as the only evidence to a crime, Wakes hides her on another floor.

Following close behind are two men Tull (Texas Battle) and Pierce (Tito Ortiz) and who want what she has! Chasing her through the hospital, they make it very clear that they won't stop, ever. Madison now must use every survival instinct she has to get away and find Wakes to tell him what she has learned. One limping step at a time Madison knows that her time is running out, especially when Emily's life is now in danger.

But don't count Madison out just yet.

Whelan as Madison is struggling to be the adult of the family and when Emily becomes ill, she tries her best to keep it together. Once shot and running through the hospital for her life, Whelan gives her character a little shot of badassness when the survival instinct kicks in. Becoming smarter than the guys chasing her is entertaining as all get out. When they go after baby sis, Ms. Badass decides enough is enough and gets a little comfortable with some hard weaponry.

Battle as Tull just wants what Madison has and tries to be diplomatic about everything. He is the calm one in the duo trying to find a reasonable way to work it out. The problem is he underestimates his target and that's just the beginning of his mistakes. Ortiz as Pierce is the muscle of the duo and he has no problem throwing Madison around or anyone else that gets in his way. The problem is all that rage gets in his way of problem solving.

Davis as Emily is everything a little sister is - stubborn, doesn't listen to anyone let alone big sister and is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Siblings are a pain.

Willis as Det. Wakes can't believe that his department is not supporting him on the shooting of a fellow officer. Going over the scene many times, he has a suspicion as to what happened but no proof. Madison is about to change all that. Willis doesn't play a huge role in the film but enough to keep me watching him. He has always played a good cop and this time is no exception.

Other cast include: Steve Guttenberg as Dr. Jones, Roman Mitichyan as CSS Roman, Tyler Jon Olson as Det. Tony Martin, Heather Johansen as Nurse Rachel, David Meadows as Dr. Mark and Sergio Rizzuto as Marcos.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to its 16,000 motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

TRAUMA CENTER is a combination of corruption and the maze of a hospital (which in this case is a good thing for the main character Madison). There isn't a lull in the action although, to be honest, the premise is fairly straight forward. That doesn't take away from going along for the ride.

Director Eskandari is no stranger to taking on challenging films. His directorial debut came about in 2010 with the film VICTIM and GAME OF ASSASSINS (2013). I first became aware of his work with the 2017 film 12 FEET DEEP and made me totally leery of pools since. He currently has two films in post-production and it will be interesting to see where he takes us next.

In the end - the enemy is closer than you think!

ESCAPE ROOM Brings Survival to DVD

Jeri Jacquin

This week on DVD, Digital HD and On Demand from director Will Wernick and Lionsgate is a thrill in tight spaces and what it takes to survive from the ESCAPE ROOM.

Christen (Elisabeth Hower) wants to do something unique for her boyfriend Tyler’s (Evan Williams) big thirtieth birthday. Boarding a chauffer bus, they all turn over their cell phones and purses being told they are participating in mysterious escape room game.

Toasting with champagne, they drive around the city with blacked out windows waiting to arrive at their destination. Walking in the building it is dark and has an eerie look about it but that doesn’t stop their excitement of the game. Along with Natasha (Annabelle Stephenson), Anderson (Dan J. Johnson), Conrad (John Ierardi) and Tabby (Kelly Delson), they begin to explore their surroundings.

Coupled in separate room, they each are set a task of getting out of what ever restraints they have been put in. The only one alone is Tyler who isn’t sure what his task is going to be and Christen isn’t with him. Discovering Anderson and Natasha in the next room, now the three of them work on the next clues to get out of their rooms.

That leads them to lovebirds Tabby and Conrad who make quick work of their puzzle. In each room they also find a mysterious card. Still looking for Christen they are weirded out when they see her in a cage and realize they have 45 minutes to get her out.

Room by room they look for clues but things begin to go horribly wrong and panic sets in. Tyler, Natasha and Anderson are now fighting for the life of Christen as the clock shows them no mercy and escape seems hopeless.

It’s not a game any longer.

Williams as Tyler is sharp and leads the group in solving the puzzles. With the exception of a momentary breakdown, he knows it’s time to focus and get them all out alive. To be honest I think I’d follow him before the others who seem to be losing it. Stephenson as Natasha begins with other things on her mind, or perhaps I should say some other person. She doesn’t let go of it and it becomes her crazy trigger.

Johnson as Anderson seems to get plenty of grief from girlfriend Natasha and I’m fairly sure I’d be setting her up if I were him. Ierardi as Conrad is just a guy that is pretty crazy about girlfriend Tabby (they are cute if not a little saccharin laden) who happens to be celebrating a friends’ birthday. I might rethink ever going to a friend’s birthday ever again.

Hower as Christen has the crazy role of sitting in a cage and watching everything that happens to her friends. The good news is that at least her friends thought enough of her to try and figure out how to rescue her.

I have to give a serious shout out to the blue eyed sexy Billy Flynn who opens the film. Yes, I knew right away that Chad from the soap Days of Our Lives was going to be cool to watch. My only downside is the big question – why couldn’t he have been in it more?

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK. Now, adding this film to it’s 16,000 motion picture and television titles you can see everything coming soon as well as available now at http://www.lionsgate.com.

ESCAPE ROOM has the Special Features of a Director’s Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Bloopers and a Trailer Gallery. I had to watch the bloopers and they totally cracked me up which is a little twisted for a thriller/horror film right?

ESCAPE ROOM is a thriller that has some real cool bite to it. The clues are crafty and clever and if I was ever in that situation you might as well take me out early. I never would have thought of (without giving anything away) the intricacies of the clues – well played!

This is also the perfect film if, like me, you happen to love spending the entire month of October watching one thriller-horror a night! I mean isn’t that what everyone does? It’s a way to bring together the love of being scared out of our wits and ESCAPE ROOM certainly qualified!

In the end – will you survive?