Mooby reviews 7/29/2016

I know there hasn't been much time since the last post and there aren't that many (this time) but I'm going to be away for a week (possibly) and didn't want to have TOO many on the next post.

Film reviews:

Body                                                                            EH

Pretty lame thriller involving three young girls breaking into a house on Christmas Eve Eve.  The groundskeeper arrives and one situation after another goes awry.  I lost interest way before it was over.  It wasn’t even 75 minutes!  7/29/2016

The Invitation                                                              G

This slow-burner about a dinner party amongst old friends is thoroughly ominous.  You know something is going to happen; just unsure when, how and involving whom.  The climax isn’t too shocking but packs somewhat of a wallop.  It certainly had my attention before things turned sinister.  The final scene was a shocker.  Plus, there’s a hot gay couple---points!  7/26/2016

Lights Out                                                                   OK

Jump scares do not make a movie scary.  Anyone with a pulse would react.  That’s mostly what this movie relies on.  While I did think it was stylish at times (dark houses and basements are always chilling), I didn’t find it scary at all (if you saw a preview, there isn’t much else to see).  The fact that the characters are aware of the “ghost” and who she once was makes it less frightening than if they were all oblivious.  I couldn’t help but think of a Scary Movie entry parodying this while watching.  Wait to rent this on Netflix or Redbox but don’t expect anything phenomenal.  7/26/2016

The Lion Guard:  Return of the Roar                          OK

Another sequel to The Lion King made for TV.  My expectations were low beforehand.  Take away the made-for-TV aspect and this has (direct-to-video) animated sequel written all over it.  Corny songs abound amongst the less-than-theatrical-quality animation.  It isn’t that bad considering everything I just said.  Kiddies will probably get a kick out of it.  Their parents might be able to tolerate it too, if they were a fan of The Lion King.  It is less than an hour after all.  7/29/2016

No Men Beyond This Point                                         OK

Feminists would certainly revel if this were reality.  Lesbians probably wouldn’t mind either.  This mockumentary depicts a world where women are able to get pregnant asexually, spawning only females.  Therefore, men are slowly becoming obsolete.  The remaining men live in sanctuaries while women run the world.  This leads to heterosexuality becoming an abomination but some women still have feelings for men.  I would say this film is sexist but if the genders were reversed it wouldn’t even work for a sci-fi film since (cisgendered) men can’t hold babies (Junior with Sir Arnold was stupid, don’t even go there).  Unless they kept a few women whose sole purpose was to carry out the pregnancies, but then there’d be a 50/50 chance of only producing male offspring.  Even though it’s a mockumentary, the serious tone doesn’t mesh well with the comical premise.  I think it might be a decent idea, although sexist, if it were handled as a serious science fiction movie.  7/25/2016

Transfixed                                                                   EH

Talk about a title with a double entendre.  This Belgian film about a serial killer targeting trannies isn’t very suspenseful and the trite denouement is amateurish.  I didn’t care by then anyway.  There’s nothing transfixing about this.  7/26/2016

---Sean O.