Monday, June 3, 2019

Greta/Ma


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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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Greta                                                                           G/VG
This thriller from Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire) is nothing we haven’t seen before.  Instead of a heterosexual relationship though in which one is the stalker/psycho, this film involves two women, one young and one older (played by Chloe Grace Moretz and Isabelle Huppert).  Their relationship isn’t intimate though; Greta (Huppert) is just a lady whom Chloe’s character befriends after returning a bag to her before realizing she’s one of many that did the “right” thing.  Greta is a crazy be-yotch and will make you think twice about doing the “right” thing (but you should already know there are people like Greta out there; maybe just leave the bag unattended or wait until lost and found is actually open?).  The film may have been predictable at times and there’s a twist at the end I figured out (What can I say? I watch too many movies), but everything was situationally right for this picture.  The performances were all great and I don’t think I was bored a single time.  Greta has my stamp of approval!  6/2/2019



Ma                                                                               OK
Octavia Spencer once played a role in which she baked a pie containing her own shit to get revenge on an employer (The Help).  Here, she plays the titular character, dubbed so by one of the teenagers she allows to party in her basement, and while she may not use fecal matter, she gets revenge in other ways, deadlier ways.  While I’m sure the average teenager would love a place to party without worrying about being caught, no one initially thinks it odd that a woman old enough to be their parent (especially not a parent to anyone either) living in the middle of nowhere allows a bunch of you to party at her pad?  And if one of the rules she enforces is not to go upstairs, something must surely be up there and eventually we’re going to find out (you do).  Clearly Ma is unhinged (as you should know before going in) and somewhere down the line you know she’s going to snap.  There’s a bit of Annie Wilkes about her, Kathy Bates’ character in Misery for those that don’t know.  Bottom line, those you make fun of or wrong don’t necessarily forget (time doesn’t always heal all wounds) and some people like Ma get revenge.  This does get violent but not as much as I would’ve thought and, overall, the film is nothing special, just okay, and not worth seeing in the theater (unless you have a free pass like I did).  Wait until it’s cheaper (or free) to watch at home (I don’t think it’s even worth bargain time prices).  6/1/2019


Bonus reviews:


Black Summer:  Season One                                       OK
I saw this was a new horror release on Netflix last month.  I then read it took place in the Z Nation universe, a show (currently on season 5) I’ve been meaning to check out but haven’t gotten around to (I have a long list).  I then read it was a prequel that took place way before Z Nation.  I then saw it was only 8 episodes with the longest being 45 minutes and the shortest being 21 (what an uneven setup!), so I decided to binge it with nothing else new to watch.  Now, if this aired back in the day (before On Demand and binge-option networks) and I had to tune in every week, I likely wouldn’t have bothered or continued.  And even though I have yet to watch Z Nation, this series appeared to stand alone and, let’s face it, this is as typical as zombie entertainment gets---the epidemic begins, a group of survivors meet up and fight off zombies and other humans, they all work their way to a supposed sanctuary, yada, yada, yada.  The zombies are more like the “infected” from 28 Days/Weeks Later, but, like those films, you still become one of them if they come in contact with you, and similar to The Walking Dead, you still become one if you die period.  Is this undead entry particularly worth your time?  Not necessarily, unless you’re a zombie completist or need a new horror show to binge-watch on Netflix, and I guess if you’re a fan of Z Nation.  I have heard Z Nation was better than The Walking Dead, but that show should’ve ended 6 seasons ago (I officially stopped watching it last season).  I didn’t dislike this show; I liked it better during the first half, especially the episodes taking place in the school and diner.  I did like how there were different characters to focus on since it likely would’ve been tedious having the entire series take place in either the school or diner or anywhere with the same characters.  After they all meet up, things began to feel rushed with lots of uninvolving running and shootouts before culminating in a clichéd and expected bittersweet ending.  Like I said, Z Nation is on my long list of things to watch, but if I’m going to commit to at least 5 seasons (currently), I hope it’s better than this.  5/30/2019



Rust Creek                                                                   OK
A college girl gets lost in the backwoods of Kentucky on her way to DC for an interview before being pursued by two brothers in this movie that begins Wrong Turn-ish.  Then, it ultimately becomes a movie about making drugs with some Stockholm syndrome involved (kind of).  Basically, you can’t always rely on GPS.  If you’re ever driving on backroads though and you’re far from any kind of civilization, don’t stop and get out of your car to look at a map, especially if you’re a young girl.  And if movies taught us anything, don’t trust the cops in a small town because one or more are likely in cahoots with the people that tried to harm you.  While this felt more like a drama, it wasn’t bad on its own merit, but I expected more of a straight-up horror film.  Come to think of it though, knowing it was a 108-minute movie beforehand, I was hoping it wasn’t just going to be a chase movie through the woods, so I really don’t know what to say.  6/1/2019



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

Always Be My Maybe  >>>OK

The Girl in the Spider’s Web  >>>EH/OK

MFKZ  >>>OK/G


---Sean O.
6/3/2019

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