Aberration B
Stop me if you heard this before. A girl has the ability to see ghosts. One ghost in particular. The girl foresees deaths. Someone’s wrongfully accused even though they’re
obviously innocent. Still want me to
continue? The ghost knows its killer. The girl has to figure it out. The killer is someone the girl knows. The girl’s realization automatically sets the
ghost free. Alright, I’m stopping
whether you want me to or not. The “jump
scares,” and there’re many, don’t make you jump nor are scary. They’re predictable and annoy the hell out of
you because the volume raises several decibels.
This should be called Abhorrent
instead. 4/15/2017
Blackbird OK
While LGBT struggles are universal, experiences differ per
region and community. This film is about
a black teen from Mississippi who’s obviously gay but represses it until others
push him towards being himself. Moonlight this is not. That’s a better movie depicting a modern gay
southern black experience, even though I don’t think it was best picture
material. This is mostly a sappy
coming-of-age/coming out story with added faith-based tones. It was
set in a southern Baptist region after all.
4/23/2017
Black Mirror
I’m not going to rate this since it was a 3-season anthology
series with no connecting episodes. The
tales range from extremely boring to fairly interesting to good. I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan, but there
were many interesting scenarios revolving around technology. Privacy is basically non-existent in these
advanced media times. Back in the day,
we relied on eye witnesses and word-of-mouth to ruin our lives. This Netflix series is predominantly sci-fi
drama. Season one contained three
episodes that weren’t too spectacular.
“The National Anthem” was too slow but contained a rather disturbing
outcome. “Fifteen Million Merits”
starred Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and
was basically about a society surviving off points earned through riding
exercise bikes. Too stretched out. “The Entire History of You” was an
improvement suggesting a useful application where no one can ever deny or
forget anything, and you can delete memories you’d rather not remember. Season two was slightly better with “White
Bear” being the best. “Be Right Back”
was decent and “The Waldo Moment” had a funny icon but neither are worth raving
over. “White Christmas” was the worst from
all seasons and one of the longest. Most
of the episodes are generally between 45 and 60 minutes with a few exceptions. Season three was the best in my opinion. “Nosedive” had an interesting premise, a
slightly depressing ending, and was never boring. “Playtest” was thoroughly engaging, slightly
reminding me of 1408. “Shut Up and Dance” was my favorite overall. It was the most suspenseful and left me
feeling uneasy afterward. I liked “San
Junipero” too. It was a poignant tale
about desiring to be in one specific place and time for eternity. “Men Against Fire” would probably be the only
one falling into horror territory as it was set-up like an apocalyptic undead
tale. “Hated in the Nation” was the longest
at 90 minutes and absolutely did not need to be that long. It proposed an interesting premise involving
mechanical bees that would’ve sufficed in half the time. Overall, I wouldn’t say I loved this series
but I did find a lot of the storylines intriguing. Most would make great written short
stories. If you like anthology shows,
science fiction themes and English entertainment, you might find enough to
satisfy. I don’t think the show would
appeal to the general population though.
4/23/2017
From Beyond the Grave EH
An anthology film from the ‘70’s I actually never saw before. It might be because it’s not particularly
that good. The best of the bunch was just
okay. There’s four tales revolving
around an antique shop and the items bought there. The first involves a mirror harboring a
spirit demanding souls from the new owner.
There’s zero excitement since that’s all there is to it---the owner
“feeding” victims. The second involves
an unhappy family where at least one member gets what they want; it’s slow but
leads to a mildly morbid ending I kinda dug.
Then there’s one about an “elemental” wanting to possess a man. Silly poltergeist events ensue leading to an
ending outdated by today’s standards.
Lastly, there’s a story involving a door occasionally leading to a room
from centuries past containing a soul-seeker (funny how the first and last
tales involve soul-taking). The solution
is rather goofy yet plausible. This
collection should stay in the grave.
Check out Tales from the Crypt
instead. The anthology film from the same time, not the
show (even though you should watch the show too). 4/10/2017
The Institute OK
James Franco is everywhere these days, acting and directing. Here, he does both. This took place in a Baltimore institution
near the end of the Victorian Era. It’s
based on a true story and real asylum but that never makes me favor movies
more, regardless of authenticity. It proposes
some intriguing concepts but takes too long to present them. It’s occasionally loopy too. Focus should’ve been on structure; all the
right elements are there. 4/23/2017
Isolation OK
This is a fairly plain thriller involving Dominic Purcell
and Luke Mably with their women in the Bahamas.
I like Luke Mably. Not too many
people know his name. He appeared in 28 Days Later briefly, The Prince & Me and several
independent movies. There’s not too much
I can reveal other than some characters are bad and some are innocent. Part of me may have liked this once upon a
time. Perhaps that part of me is in a
sunken place that crazy white lady from Get
Out put me in. I liked the
characters if anything. 4/23/2017
Mercy B
I knew not this was an adaptation of the Stephen King short
story, “Gramma,” until seeing the beginning credits. That story was also adapted into a Twilight Zone episode (the ‘80’s
version). This movie is slightly
different. Perhaps it should only be a
TV episode being based on a short story, not a novel or novella. This was a tedious movie starring “Carl” from
The Walking Dead and Dylan McDermott.
I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Not exactly something I’d like to say with
Mr. King attached. 4/12/2017
The Most Dangerous
Game OK
Thriller from 1932 (before all my grandparents were born) involving
a hunter living on an island taking in shipwreck survivors. There’s a scene intercutting real shark
footage with film footage that might’ve been revolutionary in 1932. Of course it looks horrendous now but some
modern filmmakers can’t do much better.
The hunter has sinister plans for his survivors, letting them loose in
the jungle. There’s not much to the
story but it is only an hour, so if you have that much time to kill, you could
do worse. 4/15/2017
Ocean Waves EH
This Japanese animation from 1993 apparently wasn’t released
(globally) until the end of last year.
It’s basically about a complicated love story and not much else. Sometimes I think movies are too long. This 73-minute movie could’ve been
longer. I didn’t see why I should’ve
cared about this uninteresting relationship between two regular people. 4/23/2017
Shelley EH
Rosemary’s Baby
much? They all try to emulate Roman
Polanski’s masterpiece but none ever came close to equating it. This Danish movie is no exception. There’s just a bit more explicit sex. Slow.
Forgettable. 4/23/2017
Stung G
I hate anything that flies and stings. The sight of them alone frightens me. I’ve been stung by honey bees when younger
and don’t recall it being excruciating, but there’s just something about
stinging insects that horrifies me.
Insects in general disgust me.
Anyway, a mutated swarm of wasps (the reasoning behind the mutation is
explained later) attack guests at a garden party. Giant wasps hatch out of humans when
stung. The script is fairly standard but
the special effects are actually grade-A.
Points for being practical! It’s
generally a fun B-movie, in both senses of the word! 4/23/2017
The Whole Truth OK
Strictly a by-the-numbers courtroom drama where the whole truth is basically non-existent. If you already think lawyers are full of shit,
this movie won’t change your opinion. It’s
the second feature from Courtney Hunt whose debut was the very good Frozen River. Sorry Courtney, but placing more than one
A-lister (Keanu Reeves, Renee Zellweger, Jim Belushi) into a hackneyed story
doesn’t make it worth watching. Using
mostly no-names in an original story seemed to work for you though. 4/12/2017
The Windmill EH/OK
A tour bus of “sinners” is taken to the Dutch countryside
where they each fall victim to a scythe-wielding killer resembling an uglier
unmasked Jason Voorhees. The tourists see
their wrongs deserving of eternal damnation before getting sliced and seemingly
dragged to the netherworld via windmill.
The windmill is a gateway to Hell.
What an awesome idea. We never see
this underworld though. Some of the
kills are rather gory, but the plot’s as conventional as they come. 4/23/2017
---Sean O.
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