Not as many as usual but here's some film reviews...
The Abandoned EH
Twists don’t necessarily make a movie better. The movie has to be engaging beforehand. Movies like The Sixth Sense, High Tension,
Jacob’s Ladder, Shutter Island and The Visit are good before their twists
and not necessarily ruined by them.
Sometimes twists do make the
movie better, like Orphan. Sometimes twists make the movie worse, like The Boy.
Anyway, filmmakers shouldn’t think that by adding a twist to any movie would make it better. They try to tease us into re-watching knowing
the twist ahead of time. This movie was
boring. The twist is nothing new
either. There’s a few creepy moments and
I like Jason Patric, but this movie should be Abandoned in the annals of twist-ending cinema. 6/18/2016
The Conjuring 2 VG
I liked the first one better the second time. I really liked this one the first time. Almost a 2 ½ hour sequel that didn’t seem
so. Here we have an atmospheric,
periodically dark, tale with some creepy specters executed well by James Wan
like usual. I never understood how
people, let alone kids, can investigate dark houses alone especially if they
hear noises and/or experience poltergeist activity beforehand. Don’t expect me to get out from under the
covers if I hear just one creak! While I
personally don’t prefer horror movies ending on good trumping evil, I guess it
was best to remain historically accurate due to the Lorraines devout
Catholicism and Hollywood’s reliance on optimistic resolutions. Plus, it’s “based on a true story” as so many
modern films are. I still enjoyed the
ride though. 6/13/2016
Ethan Mao OK
Here’s a different kind of gay film. It has nothing to do with being written and
directed by an Asian-American, nor that its eponymous protagonist is also
Asian-American. The love story is a
backdrop amidst the hostage tale. While
said protagonist and his Latino “friend” return to the parents house to
retrieve something after being kicked out for being gay, the family returns
unexpectedly after heading out for the day.
Ethan and his friend hold the family hostage until the next morning when
something can be obtained. Nice twist on
the gay subgenre but it’s not thoroughly entertaining. Also, if you ever hold people hostage, don’t
let anyone out of your sight or allow unattended because they’ll most likely
tell someone. Plus, if Ethan’s family
would’ve just accepted him for who he is, then none of it would’ve
happened. Then, of course, we wouldn’t
have a gay movie about something other than a relationship. 6/14/2016
Finding Dory G
Finding Nemo is
one of Pixar’s best and very hard to live up to, let alone top. That being said, Finding Dory, is not as good as its predecessor, but decent enough
for a sequel. It is, at times, creative,
cute and fun. I like the octopus, or
septopus (see the movie to know what I mean).
I’m recommending this but I liked it better when they were finding the
little guy. 6/19/2016
Into the Lion’s Den G
Pretty good independent thriller involving three gay men
wandering into the wrong small-town bar.
Engaging characters and occasionally suspenseful without overstaying its
welcome. Standard cautionary tale
suggesting to be cautious of who you meet online regardless of gender or
sexuality. 6/14/2016
Scream at the Devil EH/OK
The cover looks like another possession flick. Not quite.
More possession of the mind. The
female protagonist has hallucinations (or are they?) after suffering
miscarriages and retreating to an isolated house after visiting Italy. There’s style aplenty with some nightmarish
scenes but story structure and condensing the runtime were overlooked. 6/11/2016
---Sean O.
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