I mean, it's better than whatever the Dark Universe is doing. Shit, I saw this a couple days ago at my awesome local AMC, but I forgot to log it. The film doesn't have as much staying power as I would like, kind of shame, 'cause I really dig cute animated features, and the horror genre. This is a child friendly mix of both, but it's only stand out qualities it has to show for is Genndy's expressive animation, and I mean wacky as fuck stuff, and it's line up of Transylvanian monsters. So call me biased for giving this an above average rating, but it's presentation is what I got a high off. Also, that godforsaken airplane Gremlins bit, oh my god I want more of that. I mean, if you're just looking for a safe time at the theater on a like a discount day, this is the perfect option. Your gelatinous offspring will eat it up, you will like the monsters and action, and the theater gets money. Everyone wins. When I say safe, this is the highest average you can get. Main character wants a girlfriend, crew goes on vacation, lead meets a pretty lady, hijinks ensue, and some "surprise" reveals. You know the entire plot start to finish just by watching the trailer. I wish Tartakovsky was allowed to take risks, or allowed to make his Popeye movie that was shamefully scrapped in service of making The Emoji Movie, because the dude has talent. He created Samurai Jack and Dexter's Labratory. He has a key eye for fluid and unrealistic movement that lends itself to eye candy entertainment. The fact he's stuck at Sony making borderline criminally safe movies like Summer Vacation is sad. I was amused with what I got here, it's fine, but that's it.
I'm shocked. A balls deep, nonplussing emotional, clever horror trip with some shocks and pleasant punches. It seems studios are taking a look at their failed first installments, i.e. Ouija, now Unfriended, and actually making the effort to improve upon what didn't work. I say, it's a welcome surprise. From the trailer alone, I wanted nothing to do with Dark Web, I was laughing at the concept (and screaming at the normies), but meanwhile praising the teaser of similar project Searching. I walked in this expecting to hate it, but as it slowly built up, I found myself enjoying it. Stephen Susco's directorial debut, who he previously wrote the two Grudge remakes, pulls so meaty and slick twists. I'm not sure how much research he did into the dark web, but he kept the reality faithful enough with only taking a few liberties. It still bugs me they use the glitchy static whenever something evil is "on-screen." It wouldn't distort, it would just lag and buffer. But the nitpicks aside, they go it where it counts. They even implemented Remote Desktop Control, I love it. The type of blocking Susco implements with programs being open and shit made me roll my head back smiling at how ingenious some of it was. A livestream would be open on one tab will be playing a camera from one angle, but then on another tab hidden under in the corner will start showing something moving on same stream, meanwhile a message comes up in the other corner of the screen. It's difficult to explain, this was an elaborate set up, I can't imagine pulling all these elements together, but that part where Serena has to pick between her girlfriend or her mom had me rolling. But said having said that, it could lead into one of the bigger issues with movie, and I didn't much care for the six lead characters. Oh, they sure try, they try to make me care, and it works at a few parts. But, half the time, despite how evil (and grossly unrealistic) their actions, I was rooting for the Charon's to take the step further. Come on, hacking into Aj's computer and playing a shotgun cock sound as his house is getting swatted so he gets shot? Terrible, but I was near screaming in the theater. I won't say anything else they do, but it gets way better. There wasn't as much violence as I expected (hardly any blood), but the fast pace and twisted scenarios sufficed any bloodshed. Susco outdid himself on the direction. Just a mouse cursor spinning rapidly to capture the emotions of the character you can't see on camera, little details like that make this brilliant. It's full of 'em. If you were having any doubts about this like I was, it could surprise you. A fun and stirring little experience. Based on the ending, it really should've been called Game Night. Guess they had to change it after another release came out this year.
Alright, after seeing it 7 times now, I can definitively say this is one of the best movies I've ever seen and probably the best monster movie ever created. I absolutely love every single thing about this movie. No complaints from me on any level, from the characters, the music, the performances, the visual effects, Evangelion inspired shot choices, the editing, bright color palettes, fucking everything. I can't get enough of this masterpiece. I really can't. I keep watching little parts of it on a daily basis.
I actually tear up now when I see Lt. Hank Marlow return home to his family. Such a sweet moment.
10/10 everything. I don't know how the Monsterverse cinematic movies can impress any further. They've raised the bar so high up now.
Watched it this time with my grandmother... yeah, really. To my surprise and amusement, she liked it a lot. After going on a personal marathon watching the later Saw movies, it's almost jarring how tame James Wan and Leigh Whannel's original is in comparison. Hardly any gore is shown and anything extreme is kept cut away or tastefully presented. This low budget endeavor relies a lot on the writing and fast editing from Kevin Greutert. It's already a classic, so I don't need to explain any details or make a recommendation. I remember my parents walked out of the theater, originally, in complete shock at the twist that came way out of left field. As giddy as I get at the sight of gratuitous and silly hardcore violence, I love how restrained and accessible the one that started it all is. Bring on Aquaman.
This movie... is now 20 years old... fuck, I feel old. Feels like just yesterday I was watching the DVD's for the classic Pokémon movies, I mean, before they got rid of Misty and Brock. I've since seen this movie on the big screen, watched Pokémon GO get released, and now a live action Pikachu movie go into production. The memories I've had with 4Kids, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! are experiences I will never forget. I stopped watching after the fifth movie and 4Kids stopped dubbing, but I still look back on this with a fondness. I may grow up and mature, but I'll always hold a little place in my heart for this series. It's so weird now to refer to these movies as classic or more than ten years old, let alone twenty.
I haven't watched a movie in a couple days, just a little busy with work, but it's tradition to keep showing this classic. I'm a fan of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's films, as controversial as they can be, but the one everyone universally gathers around is their 1996 hit, Independence Day. A smash hit at the box office, the biggest movie in the world, about America, no, the world's independence from extraterrestrial life. While full of quips and stock characters, the action, world building, and surprisingly poignant drama has stood this movie the test of time. The sequel may have came and went, but Bill Pullman's speech will never die. May everyone have a good 4th of July, and let's just have a moment for one of the best speeches ever.
Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind. Mankind, that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist. And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!
Decent little short, but the jackasses in my theater wouldn't shut up. Even during the moments clearly meant to tug on the heart strings, everyone was laughing. Have audiences become so used to jokes that they expect nothing but mind numbing stimuli when they go to the theater? I guess screw everyone who's wanting to make it big telling dramatic stories. Yes, there are parts of this short that are clearly humorous, but I'm talking the emotional climax. I was ready to walk out, it was so bad. Cinema is dead.
This is 2018's The Snowman. Nothing else to say.
I say this as a life long fan of Brad Bird, and I mean watching The Iron Giant when I was five, Incredibles 2 is rushed. No, it's very rushed. This is his most amateurish work to date, including Tomorrowland, which I believe is a unfairly maligned movie. My guess as to what happened here, Disney looked at their release schedule for 2018 and 2019, and noticed both this and Toy Story 4 were supposed to come out the same year. To make sure they capitalize their profits as much as they can, I bet they pushed Bird to release it a year early. As a result, the long awaited sequel to one of the surprise underdog hits of Pixar's line-up is lacking a lot of detail and the epic heart of it's predecessor. This feels like one of those direct-to-video sequels that Disney liked to pump out incessantly from the early 90's to late 2000's. The plot has about the weight of a television episode, the characters lack a lot of the intrigue previously seen, and the direction is very stock at times. Half the time, I forgot I was watching a Brad Bird production, his usual trademarks are missing in this. Even just the wee details I appreciate, such as these two guys' cameos, are nowhere to be seen. The most Birdiam-esque feelings I would get are the brief villain moments, like the seizure inducing, literally, fight in the apartment, the monologue, and one-on-one talk on the plane towards the end. But just, I don't know, I didn't really care about anything that was going on. There's some sweet little scenes with Par and the kids, including his amending with Violet, plus the fan service of seeing the family's reaction to Jack Jack's powers. None of it's bad, but comes off swapable. A lot of it is generic family fare, just done with Brad Bird's style. You may enjoy that, but I was looking for something much more special, especially coming from the man himself in the same franchise. Where's the scene that tops Par's heartbreaking revelation that all his friends are dead? Not only that, but murdered by the villain, and he watches the screen as he sees their names marked off. There is no such scenario in this, nothing comes close. It appears they took the VERY surface level political attributes from the first movie, and just decided to make that the childish plot around that. It's like a child's understanding of what made the first movie clever and it becomes redundant. Supers were already kind of coming out of hiding by the end of the first movie. To retread that old ground, bring back up the Underminer villain cliffhanger, only to not do anything with it and not acknowledge it after the opening scene, makes this almost feel like a fanfiction like remake. The magic just isn't there. The new villain is incredibly (haha) forgettable and replaceable. She barely has any connection to the heroes, and the dinky thread she does have is copied from Syndrome, but there's no big comeuppance for her, just, nothing. She's just thrown in jail without much word about it, then the film just ends. Believe me when I say, my heart almost sank when I heard the end score play so early after the final fight. It couldn't have been over that quickly, but it was. The saving grace this sequel boasts is it's very imaginative action, adequate set pieces, and some shining little character bits. But holy wow, this needed a rewrite or two and another year of production.
Wow, it's been a while since I've seen a movie, in the theater, with MoviePass. I guess they're finally making money off me. I'm back, re-energized, and glad I picked this to be my next watch. American Animals is the true story of four boys who got themselves into a bad situation. And by bad, it's stealing four books in hopes of something. They don't know what, just that doing it is something different from their menial lives, and it might make them rich. What makes this film so lovely is it's presentation of it's characters. It's part interviews, part recreation of the real events. How real? They actually call this out as a plot point. Spencer Reinhard says twice that he remembers the events differently from his friend, the ring leader, Warren Lipka, but they make this out as a crucial thing. They share both sides, but Spencer wonders if Warren was making up anything he was saying, further pushing the mystery of the story and questionable trust in each of their emotionally wrecked selves. Each of them are clouded by their own bias and viewpoints. Three of these kids don't even want to do the heist, while the in-over-his-head leader keeps persuading them to keep going. But once the heist happens, he breaks down just like the rest of them.
What I liked was there were no subplots or other nonsense clouding the focus of the story. It never jumps to other locations to see what other people's reactions were to what's going on, no filler with like the FBI investigating at their headquarters. What matters is the lead four's reception to what's going on. It puts in sub-textual perspective that they aren't thinking about real world consequences or their future with what they're doing. There's a great scene that keeps cutting between each of them, in their trance and mortified state after the heist is over, demonstrating the guilt and regret they're feeling for what they had done. They each snap at the same moment, but nothing what they each do matches physically or anything. They just all snap at the same time. There's this other little detail I like, before the first attempt at the heist happens, Spencer is sitting at a table and his pounding two little horse figures down repeatedly, making the sound of a tense heart beat. I could do commentary over the whole movie, but I want to wait for Bart Layton to do one on the Blu-ray. There's this little moment I caught where, okay, it's a montage of Spencer and Warren talking, but it keeps cutting between them in different locations, one of them sitting outside and another in the car. You know people sometimes bring back up conversations at later times. So, for this edit, Spencer is outside talking, but then his next line acts like he's in the car, and points up, saying, "Pull in here." It then cuts to him in the car at a gas station. It was a very quick motion, but very slick and thoughtful way of transitioning. The robbery is fast paced, heart pounding, and emotionally confusing twist of events. My heat felt like it was being physically stabbed repeatedly. I love Ole Bratt Birkeland's use of spinning camera motions, swerving back and forth to each character's reactions. This is a beautifully shot and orchestrated movie, you must check this out on the big screen.
Above all else, this is how you create a heist movie. It twists the genre a little, and understands how to subvert your expectations well, but I actually grew to care about the characters. Even if what they were enacting was morally wrong and illegal, the way this explores their heads in a clever and deeply relatable form, makes this a stand-out sleeper hit of 2018. One of the very best of the year.
Hereditary has a lot going for it. Toni Collette steals the Oscar win halfway into the year, Ari Aster writes a well thought out script at the tender age of 31, and A24 gets to keep repackaging the same movie with the same misleading trailer. Many are going at this movie as a resurgence of the horror genre, everyone complaining about the overuse of "cheap" jumpscares in more mainstream filth, but this being an unprecedented achievement? It is not. That doesn't mean it's bad, or even overpraised. I can see why people will fawn all over this. It's a tightly built, marvelously crafted family drama, filled to the brim with emotionally petrifying moments. It's always the worst kind of feeling you get when you can relate to unpleasant scenario in film (or any medium), but hearing and seeing Collette scream got to my head. Not sure what happened to Aster in his short life where he was able to capture a shouting match so accurately, but I feel you, man. I would rather not say much more, because bringing up any details could delude the twist and mystery. Simply put, if you want a more intense version of The Witch, it parallels a lot, right down to some select story beats. However, unlike the historical and somewhat fable feeling of the latter, Hereditary feels very grounded in the real world of today, sometimes to an unnerving extent. There are grotesque moments, but the bits here that stick with you rely on the characters' actions. When Peter Graham is laying down in bed and he's just waiting for his mom to discover the corpse, then hear her blood curdling screams, that's something that will stick with me. Annie pleading to her husband over and over to burn the book is a performance I won't shake off. I've seen this story done before, and better at that. I think my bigger issue with the movie isn't any of the technical stuff, everything presented is visually stunning, I just don't think I was as impressed as I should've been.
Okay, I survived maybe twenty to thirty minutes before I walked out. That's the quickest I've ever bailed on a piece of shit. My tolerance level is going down sharply after the past few months of unrelenting dreck being thrown at my face. The only positive I can muster up from Breaking In, is it's a great tool for students to use in class. Every single little facet is done wrong, from the piss poor attempts at writing to lack of creativity in the direction. I've read rejected scripts in my Screenwriting class that sounded more interesting than what was approved to be shot here. Also, just a tip for producers now, and specifically Universal, if you are not even going to try creating likable characters, at least show them going out in grotesque ways. If this is a horror movie with shit characters, at least give me something else worthwhile, something I can think about on the drive home. When I see a woman getting her throat slit, and you cut away so you don't show anything, that's when I walk out.
This movie should have been called STEM. That gives off a much more unsettling vibe.
I actually would rather not say much, because you should just experience Upgrade yourself. I was nearly in tears just fifteen minutes in, not expecting that. I rarely ever get emotional watching any film, let alone so early on. If you want Ex Machina, but melded together with the action of John Wick, in service of a story reminiscent of Death Wish, this is exactly the result. Leigh Whannel creates a carefully crafted, small, but satisfying "grindhouse" flick. I use quotations because the story is anything but something as low brow and shitty as a grindhouse, but the action certainly suits the genre. Much of the world building is tastefully kept to a bare minimum, or kept in just revealing of the technology, so the script stays centered on Grey Trace; this is something I very much appreciate. There's not a lot of jumping locations, or even that many characters, as doing so would only muddle up the tension and drama. This is a surprise that came out of nowhere. Whannel just comes out after Insidious: The Last Key and blows a great creative load. The choreography intermixed with the editing of Stefan Duscio's gorgeous camera work delivers a delightfully appealing show. Seek out one of only a thousand or so theaters that are carrying this. One of my unquestionable favorites of the year so far. Deadpool 2 has nothing on it.
Eh, it was fine. Appears to be like the stock "bad people in house" starter pack school project I've seen done in many others like it. The saving grace is just the couple of twists that keep it interesting, like the reveal of the family auctioning for ideal people, moreso their talents. However, a win for best screenplay? Absolutely not, I thought A Cure for Wellness did it's writing better. I compare the two because the stories are a slightly similar. I fail to see what's so amazing about this, other than Jordan Peele's direction. And no, I didn't watch expecting to hate it, nor do I hate it. It just underwhelms me a little.
Now I'm really out of stuff to say. A terribly predictable script that's held up by it's direction and score. Paco Plaza uses lots of good shots and plays with his scenes, even if what's happening doesn't advance anything. They make for good moments. An example, Verónica walking down the street, but everything's going backwards, then forwards and back. Or the trick with her walking out of bed, when she's actually standing up, is a nice transition. I've seen used in a commercial before. I just appreciate it's a visually interesting movie. The characters are likable enough that you don't want to see them picked off, but not anyone I'll be writing thesis essays about. It's your The Conjuring family again. If you happened to notice this on Netflix, it's not bad if you turn it on, but you're better off renting Lights Out or Deliver Us From Evil if you crave something more spicy.
Bill Skarsgård was in this movie and there was not one Pennywise reference. Writers, you have failed me.
Wow, I am really on the fence about this one. I don't have much to say about this, just, if you enjoyed the first, you'll be fawning all over this one. It's better. I'm not a fan of Tim Miller's original, mostly because of the constant meta humor and terrible, inconsequential story. It just didn't click with me. Making a jab at a popular movie that recently came out isn't clever writing. Deadpool 2 is exactly what you would expect of a sequel that thrives off a film built on fourth wall jokes and inappropriate gags. It's the reason you're in your seat. Thankfully, the jokes are actually more respectful this time around and not as often as expected. The Take-On Me piece is the best thing to come out of the movie; I chuckled. And Cable makes for a great character, actually much more so than the Wade Wilson. Josh Brolin nails every role he's in, which is why I wanted more of him. He's a tragic anti-hero, but unfortunately, his struggles aren't given much attention. He brushes all his reason for being there in the last scene (yes, I get what they were doing), but lacked in any satisfying wrap up for his arc. We instead have to focus on the lamest, eye-roll inducing fat kid, Russel, and his quandary at his abusive orphanage. It's so lame and not interesting, but we're forced to endure it, because it ties back to Deadpool's relationship with his wife. It's the center of the movie, and I couldn't give less of a fuck. They could've gotten a better actor, or something. Given more screen time to the horrible crimes the orphanage is committing, but just, I did not care. And at times, it seems the movie didn't either. There's a few subplots that briefly come up, only to be swept under the rug only minutes later. Whatever happened to the kids Negasonic Teenage Warhead were saving in the finale? What happened to the orphanage, or Russel for that matter, after the battle was over? It might be looking for things that aren't there, but the story felt incomplete. It's a cryptic and broken script that's copying Guardians Of The Galaxy and The Terminator, missing any kind of emotion. This should've been all about Cable, not Deadpool making dumb jokes as a guy gets cut up in a shredder. If you just want a silly action movie, with subpar work of John Wick director David Leitch, pounded together with wacky and gross humor, you will like it. It just didn't do much for me. Not going to remember it in a week.
I don't ever give out ratings to short films, only features, but I'm making an exception for On Your Mark. How Miyazaki managed to make my heart heavy for three characters I knew for all but six minutes, none of whom speak, is a feat I don't think anyone has done before, for me, in a short. Using the lovely music as a backdrop was incredibly ingenious and added another layer to the emotion. This could easily be a feature, and that's my only issue with it, is there's a lot that happens, just wishing it was a tad longer to extend some of the events. It gets the job done. If you missed this, watch it now here, you won't regret experiencing it. You'll have the song stuck in your head.
Updated to read more coherently
Well, that was a whole lot of nothing. If you're new and reading this, I think I should lay down my opinions on the Star Wars franchise. I have a lot of nostalgia for the original trilogy, I unironically enjoy The Phantom Menace, genuinely love Revenge of the Sith, and currently dislike the direction Disney is taking the series with Episode VII and VIII. Rogue One is the only new film put out that I liked, attributed primarily to Gareth Edwards' vision for that particular story. The saga has a special place in the back of my heart, but I'm not a blind fanboy. I recognize when something is poorly done, or in Solo's case, having no reason to exist. It's amazing a pop culture icon as big as this has sunken into bargain bin or Netflix territories of inconsequential narratives. Aside from a couple winks and clever callbacks to aforementioned, and soon to be coming up, events in future and past films, there's no consequences in the story and nothing seems to matter. We have a stagnant and poor actor playing alongside Emilia Clarke in a bad school play of Bonnie & Clyde while doing shit that doesn't make sense, other than that it needs to happen to satisfy callbacks in future installments. And what's a shame, is there was potential here. Maybe Gareth Edwards' hands being dug into this universe indirectly influenced the design in a way, but seeing Han fight as a soldier in the beginning was an interesting route to explore. I liked some of the dialogue, a bit of it feeling much more natural than what's been going on in other quip filled biggies. Ron Howard does a decent job, I'm a fan of his work, and his direction is unique and hands on. Unfortunately, his flavor doesn't seem to appear much. Once more, a committee and a yes man cobbled this up, Howard seemingly compromising his style for simple "wow" moments. But overall, it is competent. I wonder how much of this is Lord and Miller way back from what they shot. I wish there was more of Howard, his look just seemed scattered throughout. There's a moment at the end where Emilia is looking out the window at Han, and, it was a small gesture, but the cinematography combined with Powell's music made for a surprisingly memorable moment. It had a raw quality and felt like... a movie, specifically reminiscent of a 60's drama. But it was just another little nugget in a space of nothing. I liked the idea of showing the storm troopers as actually threatening, pushing civilians around, it felt right. The scene of Han and Kira getting separated between the bars works, there's attempt at character building. But around after the opening on Carillion, the arc kind of stagnates. Everything interesting happens in the first twenty minutes. They may have played all their cards out too early, but just, I don't know. Once they arrived on the ice planet for their first heist, I became so disinterested, and anything kind of established early wasn't considered for bringing back up later in the story (aside from the dice). Arcs weren't considered, things just... happened. Scenes just happened. The most satisfaction I found were just a few shining pieces of competent film making, like the spectacular storm chase with the Falcon, but they're thrown in service of a story with characters as wasted as Rose Tico. Woody Harrelson is wasted in this shit, his only purpose is to teach Han to never trust anyone, which doesn't even really seem to affect Han anyways. He buddies up with Chewbacca at the end regardless, so Harrelson's arc ends with no impact. His girlfriend dies during the first heist, and everyone forgets about it so quick. When droid asked for equal rights, I swear I was ready to walk out. Yes, Star Wars has always been political, but the stories themselves have underlying subtle political echoes. This was just a lazy call out to current year politics, and screamed lazy writing. As for the lack of any tension, it doesn't have anything to do with me knowing none of these characters will die, because this is a prequel, but this doesn't tell me anything I care to know. Oh yeah, I'm so worried the annoying female droid is going to die. It's more useless than the C3P0 and R2-D2 meeting in Episode I. So, Darth Maul is back miraculously. Cool. What does that add to this story? How does it develop the characters anything beyond fan service tripe? Why does it matter? Why does anything that go on in this movie matter? Stuff just happens. Think about it. Take away the brand for a second and think about the events that happen here. I don't know who's saying it, but Donald Glover is passable at best as Lando. So, he smiles a few times and says some snappy things at a card game. That's not a character. Han Solo is not developed anymore than he was in the originals. His character doesn't really evolve or learn any lessons. After the opening, he's reduced to standing around really awkwardly and repeat how much of a great pilot he is. They were just hitting the beats at the right moments and hoping it was entertaining enough so you wouldn't hate sitting through it. The villain is one of the most useless, throw away, gangster cartel dealing baddies you've ever seen. I've seriously already forgotten his name. You know, I go to movies to be enriched. To either be gleefully entertained through worthwhile action that carries meaning, learn valuable life lessons, and to think. I don't go to be numb for two hours as recognizable flashy colors simply blast on a big screen. And like I have to repeat, I don't preach this to be pretentious, these are my feelings. I'm done getting peer pressured into seeing all these big movies I have no interest in, a lot of which leave me feeling empty, rather than quenched. I'm done giving Star Wars a chance. My highest compliment to Howard is, I didn't hate this. It didn't destroy the legacy and reputation like The Last Jedi. I'm just disappointed. Rogue One was the lucky strike in the losing ball game.
Heavy spoilers ahead, I'd just like to talk about the movie. Oh yeah, seeing it again in it's original Japanese version helped quite a bit. I caught a lot more stuff this time, including stylistic choices I didn't pick up on previously. All comparisons to Ponyo are only valid on surface level. The movie's tone and messages are unique to it's own. I really appreciated the flashbacks done in a tasteful way, like they're child drawings from the perspective different to each character. The story is excellently told, able to tell the history of the town, and tell the stories of a number of people, some barely getting screen time, but their resolutions being surprisingly emotional. A couple beats I missed: Kai is developing the final song throughout the entire movie, and only sings it at the end, after gaining his confidence from Lu (Somehow I didn't pick up on that from the English dub). One inspiration I just picked up driving home, was Lu could be interpreted as the Mary Poppins archetype. She comes to this broken town, covered in shadows from a curse, wants everyone to become friends, and by the end, once all is fixed, she moves on. Some may not like the romantic involvement between her and the boy, but... love is strange like that. Kai first sees her as reminder of his mother, which inspires him to express himself again, then grows a child like genuine fondness to her. It's actually quite remarkable this pulled off giving backstories a large selection of the cast, and teaching some heavy life realities in the process. Your initial dreams may not work out like you planned, but other opportunities you didn't expect will come. My heart grows heavy just thinking about it. The style is expressionist and lively, almost copying decades old animation, a welcome return. And the four child leads are just so endearing. The scene of Lu and Kai walking around town to the guitar cover of Naoko's theme is especially magical; not in a spectacle way, but something about the playful dichotomy of these two really moves you. The imagery and dialogue makes for a heavy sequence. If there was ever a one-shot anime movie I would love to see a sequel for, it's this. One of my new favorite movies of all time. I'll edit this review if I think up anything else to say.
I'm surprised this one is rated so much lower than the first. I find it better. The writers have found their footing on what they want the franchise to be, creating a genuinely interesting crime thriller, just with loads of more gore than the previous. Tobin Bell makes for an excellent character, without having to overact like other villains in the genre, but it's the twist and story that's unexpectedly fantastic. One of the better written scripts for a horror film, every element comes back in some way. This is a classic I keep coming back to every so often, the characters are fascinating to watch. The score by Charlie Clouser is chilling and classic, completing the haunting tone. On top of which, I love the color palette of dark greens David A. Armstrong and Darren Lynn Bousman chose for this one. Each film seems to have it's own colors. The first had a blue and white scheme, the third a more brown and orange, the fourth and blue and red, and so on. It's oddly deliciously appetizing, in it's dirtiness. If you somehow haven't checked this out, you should. It's much more than what you would expect.
Okay, if you've followed me for a while, you know I would never sell out my voice for money or clicks. I don't construe my feelings to be contrarian, and I've stated a number of times I don't enjoy hating. Oh sure, A Quiet Place looks fantastic in comparison to the relentless gluttony dispenser of superhero blockbusters, but what about it's own? John Krasinski creates a well crafted picture: it looks and sounds great, although it cheats by making everyday sounds artificially quieter. But, I can't help feel the short run time, and plot holes that are coins gushing out of a slot machine, more than you can carry, rot the spine of what otherwise is an intriguing concept. An apocalypse of monsters that seem unstoppable, attracted by simple noises? Having just seen the teaser, I was itching to see what could be done with a story like this. There were, almost literally, a couple seconds of what I could consider worthwhile achievements. The location and cinematography is excellent, using tricky lighting and blocking, but only serves as the means of telling a very cliched story. I don't understand it. How was it that I was bored through this? This has been done better in so many other monster movies, even from Platinum Dunes' own catalogue. What about Signs? None of the characters were interesting, which could be accounted by their lack of speaking, but even performance wise. I didn't create a connection to any of just the cast of six characters. Krasinski is the most intense, but we don't know anything about his past life. What was Emily Blunt's occupation before this? What did they like to do for fun? Have they always lived at this farm? What is the political and social ramifications of the catastrophe on the rest of the world? What did the kids do before the invasion? Where are the creatures even coming from? What sounds can the monsters pick up and why do they not attack at some of them? We don't know. I can appreciate it just focuses on the crucial events, like an old horror movie from the seventies (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), but it's hard for me to care about a creature coming to attack when I don't care if someone is going to be killed, not even the newborn baby. If you want an example of killing a child done better, just go to the recent IT. It guts you watching Georgie get sucked below the streets, because it took the time and carefully put an emotional tie between the lead, Billy. It's tried here, but to a lesser extent. The writers have already announced a sequel, so maybe the budget will be much larger to expand the world of this universe, but money is no excuse. 10 Cloverfield Lane had nothing, and that boasted an incredible creepy narrative. I nearly laughed when Krasinski screamed and sacrificed himself, while the daughter just stared with her gaping mouth open. And, again, my issue's not the under utilization of it's possibilities, but just that I wasn't able to care about anything going on. Everyone just seemed so flat. And especially more of a problem, when the weakness is so obvious, and shown in a silly way, it makes the monsters all less terrifying. I believe, a spectacularly wasted use of a great idea, most likely just getting praise for not being a Marvel movie.
"Because I need to get off this island, to solve the Map No Man Can Read. Lucky I'm a woman."
This is an actual line of dialogue.
Quentin Tarantino Presents
A Lamer Version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Remake
Meh, I'm conflicted. The music is surprisingly great, and it takes itself a great deal seriously, there's a section in the final act you may get emotional at. Eli Roth has an eye for visuals, and effectively builds tension, but there's not much going on that I really cared about. If you're just looking for some gore and fun, you'll get it. Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, and Robert Rodriguez all love this kind of shit, and I do too, but man, the characters needed work. Lack of anything going on in the second act. The only amusing segments are at beginning, and last half hour. I find it hysterical, though, Roth considered this his Kill Bill, being presented in two volumes. Will I watch part two? Probably. I'm a sucker for their shit. The Green Inferno, here I come.
I got about what I was expecting, and I like it a lot. I had my eye on this from the first time I saw the trailer; I loved the idea. Now that it's been released, and promptly bombed at the box office, is it worth spending an overpriced ticket to go see? Based on my values, I say go with MoviePass, discount Tuesday, or wait to buy it when it's less expensive. Don't let that warning dissuade you from seeing it, I'm just sick of these ridiculously high prices. Bad Samaritan has a lot going for it. It's Dean Devlin's best movie, it's David Tennant's best performance ever, and the script is incredibly creepy and interesting, borrowing a couple ingredients from Psycho and The Silence Of The Lambs. It aims for the mainstream sensibilities at a time or two, but I was happy that it treated itself seriously for the majority of it's two hours. It has an engaging concept, that employs most of it's potential. It like keeps track of everything the audience may pick out as something that could've happened, and actually follows up on it. Quick example, Tennant opens a video chat with the robber? He takes a screenshot as evidence, instead of just closing the phone in fear, or some shit. The two leads are robbers, who cleverly break into people's houses using their valet cars, but then they come across one who happens to be a sadomasochist or a murder. I totally dug this, and Devlin executed it carefully, with great editing and set pieces. The characters acted with realism, like real people. There's something about the way these actors are directed that make it leagues better than what Truth Or Dare did. Robert Sheehan pulls out an unexpected vigorous performance as the robber who feels guilt for what he's done before, and now wants to help this victim. You feel genuine sadness for this man, I did not expect this. I was just heading in rooting for Tennant to destroy everything and win. The finale in the snow is one of the better climaxes in the past few years, beautiful design. All the tension built from the past two acts encapsulates in a stand-off. The big problem is it's undercut by a totally out-of-place joke. I get what they were setting up, I even just realized that, but still doesn't change that all the tension I felt had been ruined by it. However, if you're searching an original, gravely creepy thriller that utilizes a lot of it's premise, believable performances from the entire cast, and unforgettable set pieces, seek this one out.
FUCK
So, here's the thing: I grew up with a family dog. That means this movie is automatically great, because I have a deep, emotional attachment to the character's identity on-screen. I've never told anyone this, I've never typed it before, but you're all hearing it first, courtesy of me. Let me tell you about myself, instead of informing you about the quality of the movie. I'm in college, a film student, and an inspired fan of Wes Anderson's grossly overused and distracting aesthetic. I love the colors purple and orange, I'm a great driver, and I'm working on a novel, but I'm having writer's block. Wes Anderson is all I hear about in class, which I really appreciate. He's so much better than other "filmmakers" out there, with his gorgeous CINEMATOGRAPHY, and his phenomenal DIRECTION, he's the biggest auteur in the business right now, not like scumbags like Michael Bay, who are just ruining this industry. I got emotionally connected from the first frame of this movie, when I recognized Anderson's flat and symmetrical art style. Literal chills and goosebumps. From there, it was a roller-coaster of epidemic proportions. You aren't ready for these feels. We need a movie like this, in the current year we live in. When, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture. Overall, I would recommend this film.
i'm gonna go shoot my head off now
This movie wants to be The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and humans rights documentary at the same time, resulting in a tone confused mix of emotions. There's not something glaringly wrong with Traffik, but following the theater exit, I just asked, "What was the point of it?" Supposedly, it's to spread awareness about human trafficking, but the way this plays out as almost of remake of the first The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, then to suddenly switch to an ultra serious dark, is a bold and interesting move, but nothing about this screams either enjoyable or informative. It's a weird hodge podge, is this a horror movie? I guess, but not a fun or, really, scary one. Is it a documentary about human trafficking? Not really, it just closes on a black text stating how many women are trafficked, right before the movie ends. I'm very conflicted on how I feel. This isn't bad, the characters are surprisingly likable, I never hated watching it, but man, it leaves a peculiar taste in your mouth.
It's funny, Mae's biggest fear established at the beginning of this movie, about untapped potential, perfectly summarizes the core problem here. Never read the book, never going to, I think this presents some interesting points about companies like Google, and the internet's invasion of our privacy, but that does not automatically make for great cinema. Ideas, in it of itself, doesn't suffice. Execution is key. We get disastrous levels of writing, televisual direction, and cringe-inducing performances, all take center stage in The Circle.
Was disappointing. Had the production value of a big-budget television movie, but somehow, this was released in theaters, during the 3-D gimmick era of 2009. Only saving grace are the deaths, but you get the same creative shit from the Friday the 13th series. Just don't bother.
I'M GOING TO BUY ALL THE TOYS RIGHT NOW, DON'T CARE IF IT MAKES ME LOOK LIKE A LOSER. THIS MOVIE IS SO DAMN WONDERFUL, I'M AT LOSS FOR IT'S MONUMENTOUS GLORY. THIS IS THE BLOCKBUSTER EVENT OF THE SUMMER, SCREW INFINITY WAR. SEE A NON-STOP BARRAGE OF INSANE MONSTER ON MONSTER ACTION. THE AGE OF KAIJU TAKING OVER HOLLYWOOD IS NOW.
I'm sorry Blumhouse, a big fan of yours, but people, PLEASE DO NOT GO WATCH BLUMHOUSE'S TRUTH OR DARE. A 2018 horror movie... relying on this many clichés. No attempt at writing any character development, or, well, there's plenty of half-baked ass moments to "define" this collection of sad fucks. "Oh, see look! That Asian guy is the gay one! He's going to come out to his dad! Our main character is just a super nice gal in a bad situation. She's going to do something rotten by the end. Her roommate is a stuck-up meanie, but it's just because of a misunderstanding. What's that? You don't care? You want to see them all die in gruesome and horrific ways? Sorry! This is a PG-13 movie, we're not going to show any violence. Please suffer through our god-awful script, to finally watch a character die, but you won't get to see the details!" Effectively, they made it so there's nothing here to satisfy anyone. It's all equally degenerate. The only reason you see a movie like this, is for the gore and blood, let's be real. This anal sauce is trying to act like it has a deep script or some shit, so it doesn't need violence to sell itself. I'm sorry, that's the main reason your audience bought their tickets to come see this, not watch teenagers take selfies. I love the horror genre, I seriously do, but I have standards. This is one of the worst movies I've ever tried to get through; I failed. Shame on Blumhouse for trying to parade this fecal matter around, proudly stamping their name on the cover. Of all movies, this one? I'm frustrated and monumentally disappointed.
