Saturday, May 11, 2019

The Amityville Murders/The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part


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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see.  I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future).  You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).
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The Amityville Murders                                               OK
According to Wikipedia, this is the 23rd film involving that haunted house on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York.  This is essentially a remake of Amityville II:  The Possession which was actually what the allegedly true story was based on, making it a prequel to the first film released in 1979.  Not only was Amityville II the first one I saw, but also one of the first horror movies I saw and it freaked me the hell out as a young kid, realizing years later what movie it actually was.  This one wasn’t as creepy (of course I’m much older now though and probably wouldn’t think The Possession was creepy either if I saw it for the first time now), but it does give the DeFeo family more characterization, albeit of a stereotypical Italian-American family.  Those that have never seen an Amityville movie (I, myself, haven’t even seen half of those 23) or aren’t too familiar with the allegedly true story may enjoy this (it’s surprisingly well-made), but, to me, this is simply just another remake that could never make me forget the original (for both nostalgic and first impression reasons).  5/7/2019



The LEGO Movie 2:  The Second Part                       OK
The LEGO Movie was a big surprise to me; it was quite awesome.  This sequel, sadly, wasn’t entirely awesome (like many sequels).  Sure, it was creative at times, I laughed a few times, and some of the songs were catchy, but I just wasn’t entranced like I was the first time.  Halfway through I actually couldn’t wait for it to end (never a good sign) before picking up a little bit, and the frequent sardonic dialogue befitting a silly comedy didn’t work for me (yes, not even in a LEGO movie).  I definitely didn’t dislike it (you’re naturally going to see The Second Part if you saw and liked the first part), I enjoyed it more than The LEGO NINJAGO Movie, but everything can’t always be awesome (like The LEGO Movie).  And you might want to watch the first one first if you haven’t since the twist at the end of The LEGO Movie is often brought into play here (I would’ve been amazed if they managed to top that twist).  5/7/2019


Bonus review:


Chambers:  Season One                                             G
New Netflix series with ten episodes ranging from 38 to 51 minutes revolving around a teenage girl (an American Indian, character-wise at least; a biography indicates the actress is half-Apache---points for mostly non-stereotypical representation) receiving a heart transplant from another teenage girl that recently passed from an alleged suicide.  She begins having flashbacks that appear to be from the dead girl’s life.  The concept of transplanted body parts as well as memories doesn’t sound too original at all (The Eye being one example coming to mind; either version but I was thinking of the original of course).  It wasn’t anything spectacular in retrospect, but the performances are generally good and there was a certain appeal that made me want to continue; the episodes generally go by really fast too (much like Stranger Things).  Plus, the main mystery is revealed at the end (culminating with a rather feminist slant) with the suggestion of another season (which isn’t official yet) that could be much darker (although shows ending with hints of better prospects don’t make me anticipate anything anymore).  Mild recommendation.  5/7/2019



Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):

Bad Reputation  >>>OK

The Kid Who Would Be King  >>>OK/G

Prospect  >>>OK

Welcome to Marwen  >>>OK


---Sean O.
5/11/2019

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