The Darkness EH
Such a shame this movie wasn’t that good. It stars Kevin Bacon and was directed by the
same guy that made Wolf Creek and Rogue, both of which I’m a fan. While not extremely terrible (I could say
that about lots of modern horror releases) it’s far from good, barely even
okay. The whole time I thought it was
going to get good but was continuously teased by built-up dread being cut away
each time. Similar to many films of
yesteryear, once we find out the reasoning for the curse and how to defeat it,
interest instantly dissipates. The bittersweet
ending only makes it worse. Skip this
and watch Poltergeist. The original, not the unworthy remake! 5/15/2016
Green Room G
Thriller displaying how each wrong choice continuously leads
to disastrous results. None of the
events here would’ve happened if someone didn’t forget their cell phone in a
certain room (green maybe?). Had this
film taken place around the time the band’s music (hardcore punk a la Minor
Threat and Dead Kennedys) blossomed, there would’ve been no cellular
forgotten. But then, of course, we
wouldn’t have a mooby. Dumbfounding at
first and pointless overall, but I’m recommending it due to unknowing where it
goes and being pretty fucking violent at times!
5/18/2016
#Horror VG
#disturbing #nasty #harrowing
Those hashtags don’t refer to the horror element
either. With a title like #Horror I expected a typically lame
direct-to-video modern horror release. I
actually got something much better from a female director’s first feature. I was engrossed by almost every inch of this
movie. These girls were so mean to each
other that I think this should’ve been called Mean Girls over the Lindsay Lohan vehicle---they were nice compared
to these rich preteens. Realistic
portrayal of middle school-ers hypocritically dishing out hurtful words yet
devastated when receiving verbal abuse.
Proof this kind of behavior transcends class and being rich doesn’t
necessarily equal happiness. One of the
characters states that “it sucks to be 12” especially since (SPOILER but not
really since “based on a true story”) none of them will live to be
teenagers. #goodstuff 5/9/2016
Laughing Matters…The
Men OK
I have to be bias and say I looked forward to watching this
over the women segments of Laughing
Matters. Being a gay man myself, I
like to see others represented. Even
though we’re all (gays and lesbians) in the same fight, gay men generally have
different struggles than lesbians. How
many times have you seen “straight” men experiment with other men or knew about
men openly dating other men to break from women? Like most stand-up films, there’s hits and
misses equally. Out of the six
comedians, we are presented with one stereotypical gay man (also Filipino),
Bruce Vilanch and four non-stereotypical gay men (one black, one Jewish). Personally, I thought only one was
good-looking, ironically agreeing with one of his statements the most. I enjoyed the special features which included
more performances plus interview sessions.
Like one of the men states on an interview, as evident in this film, gay
people (men in particular here) are all different. Much like straight people. We just need more media like this to prove
that. 5/14/2016
Laughing Matters…Next
Gen OK
Laughing Matters
and Laughing Matters…More! involved
lesbian comedians. Laughing Matters…The Men dealt with gay male comics. Now we have Laughing Matters…Next Gen that combines both gay (three, two being
stereotypical) and lesbian (three as well, one being stereotypical) stand-up
comedians. Similar to the previous
entries, this one consists of a multi-ethnic, relatively unknown group using
their “uncommon lifestyle” as a platform for their stand-up routines. If you enjoyed the other films, even
slightly, you mine as well give this a shot.
I don’t know what else you would expect if you keep watching after three
times? 5/18/2016
The Mountain of the
Cannibal God OK/G
Decent entry in the “cannibal” subgenre from the late 1970s
starring an almost unrecognizable Stacy Keach, the recognizable actor with the
cleft lip from American History X and
other films. I quoted cannibal only
because it was marketed as such, has the word in the title and, ultimately, it’s
really only a cannibal film during the last quarter of its past 100-minute run
time. The first ¾ are an
adventure/jungle film with some amazing wildlife footage; my favorites being a
turtle attacking a gator and a gator attacking a human in the river. The cannibal portion of the film doesn’t
necessarily disappoint (for horror fans) but other viewers will be
disappointed, simultaneously repulsed, due to the sudden shift in
narrative. Unless you don’t mind seeing
genital mutilation, bestiality, female masturbation and a midget’s head-bashing
I suggest you stop watching after the 75-minute mark (the director himself said
he wasn’t happy with the ending but it’s what the distributors demanded). There is a slight twist that was probably
ahead of its time and the aforementioned atrocities certainly look convincing,
but there’s a reason why this never achieved the cult status of Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox (aka Make Them Die Slowly). 5/10/2016
Mustang OK
Somewhat intriguing yet sluggish Turkish film that should
make American women grateful for all their unrealized privileges. Unsure of the time period; could be timeless
but no one has cell phones, televisions aren’t digital and there’s no computers
in sight. Women are labeled whores just
for having shoulder wars with boys in the ocean, forced into unwanted marriages
and a long-haired man is called queer. I
don’t think it takes place in present time but maybe Turkey hasn’t
progressed? I’m not sure. Ultimately it’s a coming-of-age tale centered
around five sisters living sheltered lives in a patriarchal society. I just wish it held my interest throughout,
not just parts. 5/12/2016
---Sean O.
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