Tom Arnold

  • The Skeptic (2009)

    The Skeptic (2009)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On Cable TV, June 2021) Calling The Skeptic an old-school made-for-TV movie is more descriptive than insulting, although it accurately suggests that you shouldn’t expect much from the results. Apparently written by director Tennyson Bardwell in the 1980s, then shelved and shot in 2005 only to be sold a few years later for direct-to-video distribution, The Skeptic is a case study in small-scale, single-location horror with more eeriness than outright violence or gore. The basic story has a lawyer inheriting a “haunted house” even though he doesn’t believe in the supernatural, so you can expect the film to hover in that liminal zone where things can either be supernatural or psychological, depending on how much credence you place on hallucinations and coincidences. Tim Daly stars, but he’s not as interesting as Tom Arnold in a showy supporting role or Zoe Saldana as a psychic who may or may not be real. The script eventually works itself to a climax made of repressed memories and unbearable guilt. It’s all so… pedestrian. Indifferently directed and conventionally plotted, The Skeptic makes good use of the large house in which much of the action is set. Saldana is always a compelling performer, so that’s that. But as far as the film is concerned, it’s nothing special. There’s just enough to keep us interested and nothing more. A bit like the kind of stuff you’d catch late at night on cable.

  • Maximum Impact (2017)

    Maximum Impact (2017)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, February 2021) Coming from a parallel universe where humour is very different and plotting is pure melodramatic silliness, Maximum Impact is… no, wait: It comes from Russia, which explains everything. With apologies to any Russian readers, this is a film that revels in low-budget contrivances to produce something that barely satisfies the requirements for a feature film aimed at the basic direct-to-streaming market segment. Featuring a blend of Russian actors/bodybuilders and American actors often best known for their low-budget film appearances, Maximum Impact can’t quite figure out its own plot — it starts with a secret summit between American and Russian diplomats, then shifts gear to focus on the kidnapping of the American representative, even when the antagonist (a former TV martial arts star turned international terrorist?!) can’t quite decide what kind of mayhem he wants to create. To be fair, the film is meant to be funny —although the meaning of comedy here is intensely subjective and can’t always be distinguished from an awkward lack of competence. The American cast is just interesting enough to nudge viewers toward a casual watch — Tom Arnold, Danny Trejo, Kelly Hu, Eric Roberts (hilariously cast as an upper-echelon diplomat) and Bai Ling are a motley crew of B-movie goodness, and director Andrzej Bartkowiak is not an unknown quantity, even despite the eight years since his previous film. Unfortunately, even forgiving viewers will have a hard time liking the result in its funhouse conception of an action thriller. Sure, it’s fun to see Bai Ling act as a nymphomaniac intelligence official — but the film simply can’t create the kind of reality in which this is not awkward. Kelly Hu is likable, but she’s paired with the impassible Alexander Nevsky, creating a difficult mix. I strongly suspect that clashing cultural sensibilities may be to blame for much of the film’s execution problems, although a bad script is probably at the root of it all. I mean — Tom Arnold can be funny, but being saddled with a one-joke character (“I have to go to the bathroom! Again!”) is not the way to use him effectively. Despite the many problems of the film, what saves Maximum Impact from the worst is a rough idea of its own goofiness: even with the cross-cultural issues, the actors clearly aren’t playing seriously. Alas, the director can’t quite get a handle on its own material, so everything is stuck in a halfway state of restrained humour, low-budget action and awkward acting. Too bad: Maximum Impact is not worth a recommendation, but it’s not the worst movie I’ve seen today.