Thursday, April 14, 2016

movie reviews 4/15/2016

K.I.S.S. REVIEWS
-Reviews can’t be more than two paragraphs and no less than one sentence.

Ratings:          E-excellent                  VG-very good                        G-good           OK-ok                                    EH-less than ok                B-bad              VB-very bad


Here's some more reviews:

Avalanche Sharks                                                        OK
More ways sharks can attack us?  Keep on bringing the ludicrous set-ups and people like me will surely keep watching!  In this film universe, the logic behind the sharks---called Skookum according to an American Indian legend AND interplanetary explanation simultaneously, you have to watch it to understand---actually works.  The not-so-great design can sorta be forgiven, again, due to the “plausible” storyline.  Watching a movie called Avalanche Sharks, one’s not looking for intelligence or even a plot, they just want to see shark mayhem!  There’s gore for sure, I just wish there was carnage more often instead of spread out like so many of these sci-fi “hybrid” movies; culminating in multiple deaths once the movie characters figure out what’s going on.  Even though the sharks aren’t “real” sharks, I would’ve liked to have seen slightly better designed ones up close instead of quickly, or from afar.  4/10/2016 

Ava’s Possessions                                                       G

Not your typical “possession” movie.  At least not in the current trend of movies usually beginning with The Possession of Character’s Name.  The demon(s) were cool and will undoubtedly frighten some viewers.  I enjoyed this film for the most part yet I still felt something was missing; I don’t know, maybe I wanted to see more demon action?  Still, it’s far more enjoyable than aforementioned “possession” films, is really well-shot, and there’s a sorta “twist” that I actually shame myself for not foreseeing---perhaps a testament to how engrossed I was beforehand?  4/13/2016

Creep                                                                          G
Sure, found footage and Blair Witch/Cloverfield see-it-as-it-happens-type films are overdone but still effective if done properly.  The whole time watching this I knew something was eventually going to happen.  Something does all right.  Good build-up from beginning to end.  The eponymous creep sure is one too.  4/10/2016

The Diary of a Teenage Girl                                       OK
Typical coming-of-age tale about a blossoming/sexually curious (you guessed it) teenage girl set in the flower-power, feminist 1970s San Francisco.  Nothing new, kinda lame.  I personally can’t stand when “straight” women experiment with other women, not labeling themselves Lesbian or Bisexual.  Then again, that’s just me.  4/10/2016

Flight 7500                                                                  G
Another movie to recall while on a plane?  Coming from the director of Ju-On and its Hollywood remake The Grudge, Takashi Shimizu makes effective use of its aerial setting.  Sure, horror/thriller fans will probably see the outcome (flyers) miles away, but I enjoyed taking the journey.  It’s hard to be original nowadays and everything’s inevitably compared to something that came before.  It’s how each film is shot, executed and well-acted that differentiates.  This flight contained all of the above; at least for this passenger.  4/14/2016

The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun             G
I had no knowledge of this being a remake until searching on AllMovie.  Had I seen the original, there’s a high possibility I wouldn’t have liked it as much.  Therefore, I was able to view this as a standalone piece.  Decent French indie mystery/thriller taking place in 1972 (certainly looks like it).  I do enjoy watching movies that don’t adhere to Hollywood’s tried-and-true predictability.  4/12/2016

Lake Fear                                                                    EH
Where’s the lake of the title?  The four female protagonists waddle through a small lake before arriving to the cabin in a field.  The lake isn’t seen again.  This started off promising but eventually goes down an incoherent rabbit hole.  Is this supposed to be a surreal film?  It’s not surreal in the Lynchian sense, more like an 82-minute Un Chien Andalou---and that film was barely 20 minutes!  There’s a cool-looking doll and a cool-looking creature (entering and exiting briefly at one part) but there’s too many “non-sequiturs.”  The film is very ambitious with good special effects proving this wasn’t cheaply made, but there’s no structure.  I’ll keep an eye out for this filmmaker’s future endeavors hoping they’re more organized; he certainly knows how to make movies.  Why can’t anyone make a decent horror movie set at a cabin anymore?  I guess I’m gonna have to keep watching The Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2:  Dead By Dawn until that happens.  4/10/2016

Sharknado 3:  Oh Hell No!                                         OK/G
Oh Hell Yes!  One of the most asinine concepts has managed to become a trilogy!  The fact you would take the time to watch part three of this franchise means you somewhat enjoyed the previous installments.  That, or you just want to say you watched it; or you didn’t enjoy the first two and curiosity took the better.  If you enjoyed Sharknado and Sharknado 2: The Second One, and I slightly did, you should find enough to enjoy here.  It delivers exactly what you would expect (for the third time) but the series should end here, lest the “guilty pleasure” will no longer be a pleasure.  4/12/2016

---Sean O

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