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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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