B&B G
A gay couple return to the same bed & breakfast they
sued and won the year before after being refused a room with a double bed. Good for them, anyone that’s ever
discriminated against should always hold their head up high. It takes place in England I assume and the
arrival of a Russian deemed to be a neo-Nazi causes some palpable tension,
particularly for the guests. This
becomes fairly standard after beginning as a very engaging thriller but twists
and turns a bit by the conclusion. One
twist I had an inkling might occur but it didn’t ruin anything because it felt
right situationally. There’re also some
deep truths pertaining to the more accepting yet concealed homophobia in these
“I hate the sin, but not the sinner” times.
4/23/2018
The Chalet: Season One G
Here’s a decent French thriller which is a 6-episode Netflix
series (each one roughly an hour give or take).
An isolated village in the mountains with only one entrance blocked off
after a certain incident---what a perfect setting for a thriller. The phone signals have been destroyed
too. No one in this town is getting out
and no one is coming in. The series
takes place currently plus 1997 with the same characters in each (not actors
for obvious age differences). It doesn’t
take a genius to figure out that something happened in 1997 and everyone,
whether returning (for a wedding) or still residing in the town, may be
involved somehow. There is one twist
similar to Taking Lives which I
guessed after hearing a certain detail and the revelations don’t amount to
much, but I was thoroughly engaged with most of the characters and it’s a fairly
decent revenge tale when all is said and done.
I’m unsure if six hours (roughly) was necessary to tell the story, but I’m
glad that was where it was cut off. 4/24/2018
Hostiles EH/OK
Who exactly are the hostiles? The Comanche Indians? The white soldiers? There’s even a black man aggressive towards
Native prisoners. The title was probably
meant to be polysemic. This begins and
ends with scenes of brutality doled out by both Indians and whites,
respectively. Everything in between is
essentially a road movie (without roads and horses for transportation) with
stops on the way and occasional dangers before reaching the intended
destination. A white soldier (played by
Christian Bale) is ordered to take a Cheyenne Indian and his family from New
Mexico to their home in Montana. This
isn’t quite Dances with Wolves
despite being a Western occurring at the end of the 19th century
involving Natives and whites, in addition to initial animosity turning to
compassion after both races realize we’re all human with behaviors both kind and
hostile. Now that I said that, it might
very well be like Dances with Wolves aside
from being less involving and Wes Studi being the peaceful prisoner instead of
the ruthless warrior he was in Dances. 4/24/2018
Paddington OK
Paddington 2 is
currently being released on DVD and it came to my attention that I never saw
the first one released three years ago!
I may not have had any interest, I never read the books. I may have also thought a CGI bear in a
live-action movie looked rather unappealing.
The CGI bears are very distracting at first, I would’ve much preferred
them animated or practical (if integrated with live-action), but that’s
something I could’ve overlooked. The
eponymous bear travels from Peru to London after a tragedy (very befitting many
a Disney film) and no one thinks it’s rather odd that a bear is walking and
talking? If there were other animals
acting similarly, which there weren’t, maybe I wouldn’t have found it so
peculiar. Again, that’s something I could’ve
overlooked being a movie about a talking bear obsessed with marmalade. This may have been a charming family movie sweeter
than fresh cotton candy, but it’s also very derivative. I will watch Paddington 2 eventually (why stop now?) but it can very well wait if
it took me three years to watch this one!
5/1/2018
Peter Rabbit OK/G
Quite a surprise this was considering I wasn’t entirely enthusiastic
about watching a modern take on Beatrix Potter’s furry creation. The animals were CGI and, although apparent,
weren’t necessarily out of place amongst the live-action. In fact, the animals (particularly the hares)
own the movie much more than the human characters; the deer is funny when
referring to a common metaphor. I’m not
a devoted fan of the reading material with not much recollection from when I
did read them, so I went into this containing minimal knowledge. I believe it’s geared specifically towards
the younger set, but there’s actually some discreet adult humor scattered here
and there and I think your tolerance would solely depend on your level of
open-mindedness. It was surprisingly
funny often. The last third does enter
sappy saccharine fluff territory (it is based on a children’s story after all)
and the voiceover, while acknowledging clichés, comes off as parodical which
never quite works in non-parodies. I
definitely lean more towards G though since the pros outweighed the cons for me
(I said the same thing in the Still/Born
review below; I really need to hone my writing skills). 5/5/2018
The Post EH
Unless you were born yesterday, you should know the U.S.
government is always concealing information they don’t want the general
population to know about. You should
also have somewhat of an idea or at least heard of The Pentagon Papers incident
during the Nixon administration and if not, Google it. This film involved The Washington Post and
how such information was uncovered until being published and the Supreme Court
declaring ‘freedom of the press’ thereafter.
I never cared much about politics but I’m curious as to when the current
presidential administration will undergo similar circumstances without being
deemed “fake news.” Somewhere buried
underneath all the tedium in this film is a compelling story, funny mentioning
story in a film about stories, but it was basically a familiar concept
stretched into an unnecessary 2-hour film.
When Mr. Spielberg isn’t making big-budget epics, he’s also managed to
make interesting films involving simpler topics (i.e. Catch Me If You Can; Munich;
Bridge of Spies), but sadly this
isn’t one of them. 4/27/2018
Race with the Devil OK
Here’s a “Satanic movie” from the ‘70’s I never got around
to watching but always wanted to.
There’s something special, or distinctive more likely, about movies
(horror or not) from that decade and this film is no different. Why it’s labeled a Satanic movie though
(aside from the title and involvement of a Satanic cult) is beyond me since it’s
more akin to Mad Max than Rosemary’s Baby (focusing more on the Race of the title). Two couples (one of the men played by Peter
Fonda) on a road trip in a motor home stop at a park where a nearby ritual
happens to be taking place and a chase initiates after the cult members spot
them. The car chase sequences are
choreographed better than any modern scene could ever rival, fitting perfectly
with the ‘70’s aesthetic, and the final scene is very ominous since it effectively
utilizes the Satanic theme. Better
enjoyed as a product of the ‘70’s lest you might be disappointed if expecting a
strictly Satanic horror film. 4/23/2018
Stephanie G
Beginning with a little girl (of the title) in a big house
all alone making unconventional smoothies and talking to stuffed animals,
something clearly is not right. We do learn
of a worldwide virus that’s only part of the overall story. At times, I was reminded of Carrie, Home Alone, A Quiet Place
and Right at Your Door, either
directly or indirectly. It felt like more
than one type of movie in the roughly 80-minutes, but that’s not necessarily a
criticism since the filmmakers succeeded in presenting an overdone concept
effectively. 5/5/2018
Still/Born OK/G
I can see comparisons being made to Rosemary’s Baby and The
Stepford Wives when, in actuality, there are no strict similarities. In this film, she has the baby upfront unlike
Rosemary where she had it at the end
and it was spawned by Satan; she was supposed to have twins but the title
should explain what happened to one of them.
While Stepford was mentioned
in this film, none of the women have hive minds in this town; the focus is on
one woman with a condition coined postpartum psychosis which appears to be much
worse than postpartum depression could ever be.
There’s also a baby-snatching demon.
Gee, as if losing a kid and having both postpartum depression and
psychosis weren’t enough to worry about.
Some parts are admittedly creepy and the film goes to some quite dark
places, but I was often torn between knowing if what I was seeing was real or
imagined. Perhaps that was intended to
show the effects of postpartum psychosis?
There’s also several expected jump scares because the scenes predictably
lead up to them. I’m torn based on my misgivings,
but the pros outweighed the cons for me.
4/24/2018
Super Troopers 2 OK/G
I liked Super Troopers
a teensy bit more than I disliked it.
It’s equally stupid (half funny-stupid and half ridiculous-stupid) and
charming and one of those movies I’ve seen a couple times despite not thinking
highly of it. I actually liked this
sequel much more than I disliked it.
Naturally, I would have higher expectations given the Broken Lizard
troupe has 16 years and at least four other movies between the first film. This one still has some ridiculous-stupid
parts (Canadian vs. American stereotypes, a Fred Savage cameo, Rob Lowe’s character)
but also crazier sequences (the dream in the beginning) and some laugh-out-loud
moments (various drug reactions, montage featuring Canadian police
impersonations). If you like Super Troopers, you should like this
one. If you think Super Troopers is okay, you’ll likely feel the same about this
one. If you hated Super Troopers, I don’t know why you would bother with this because
you’ll likely feel the same way or not much different. All in all, there’s no denying the five men
comprising Broken Lizard ever had the same level of camaraderie nor appeal as
in the Super Troopers films. 4/30/2018
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell EH
I’m a huge fan of Tremors
and it holds a special place in my heart for being one of the first horror
movies I recall watching. Tremors 2:
Aftershocks was a worthy sequel, naturally not as good, and the
Shriekers were passable creatures.
Although the Ass Blasters were kind of a moronic creation, Tremors 3:
Back to Perfection was decent for a threequel. I’m not the biggest fan of backstories, but Tremors 4:
The Legend Begins was okay for a fourquel and a prequel to the
series. Tremors 5: Bloodlines contained
an updated Ass Blaster belonging in a crappy Syfy-channel movie as well as an
updated Graboid (both CGI) reminding me of Dune
(David Lynch’s worst film in my opinion), proving yet again how bad special
effects can ruin what might’ve been a better movie. This one, part 6, contains the same crappy
Syfy-channel movie designs as the last entry, this time taking place in the
Canadian Arctic instead of South Africa (ironically this one was shot in South
Africa). Yup, the snow you see here is
CGI just like the creatures. About the
setting though---don’t expect it all to take place entirely in snowy landscapes. Other than the beginning, all the action
takes place on dry land due to the “arctic heat wave.” Uh-huh.
Gun-loving Burt Gummer (played by Michael Gross) is the only
character/actor that appeared in all six movies. The movies seem to weaken upon each
succeeding entry. I don’t know why
modern filmmakers feel the need to use CGI when the practical effects of
yesteryear are obviously so much better looking and make the onscreen action
more believable. Sure, it may take
longer to use practical effects but the final product is what matters. Aside from the practical use of a Graboid head
in one scene, which is actually a nice touch pertaining to a poignant issue,
the unsatisfactory effects spoiled this and the last entry. Would I have liked it better if it were the
same movie with practical effects?
Maybe, maybe not. There’s only so
many ways we can have Graboids, Shriekers, and Ass Blasters attacking and
terrorizing people before they outstay their welcome. It would be a start though. Advice for the filmmaker(s) in charge of a
probable seventh entry? Or if the
recently scrapped TV series gets picked up again? Whatever the case, someone make me like this
franchise again! 5/2/2018
---Sean O.
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