Change Your Image
melnanwil
Reviews
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Perfectly executed
This movie seamlessly weaves tragedy and comedy into a delicate storyline. Punctuated by dry humor, it brings a childlike view of the world into the worst situation, constantly one-upping itself. Not only does the plot line keep one mesmerized, but the acting is phenomenally understated. Balance is the key word, and this film walks the tight rope with expertise.
Lake Mungo (2008)
Gratingly mysterious
This film is fantastically quiet, and subtly reveals more mysteries through artful, and well acted "interviews". Just when you think it has unraveled, you are met with chilling and expertly acted cell phone footage. There are twists, but they never turn a tragedy into a novelty. In fact, they deepen the sadness and complexity of dealing with the sudden and unexpected death of someone in the prime of their life. This film rarely answers questions point blank, nor does it directly address a single problem. Instead, it weaves a plot through a family devastated, twisting itself within the veins and feelings of its surviving victims in interviews and hopeful interactions.
No revelation gives the exuberant feeling of knowing, it is a delicate part of someone's personal life that they never wanted to be shown to the masses. The more is revealed, the more the viewer feels like a voyeur.
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Original formula butchered
This film had all makings of a mediocre to poor found footage, which completely strays from the first three movies of the franchise. I gave it a shot, hoping beyond hope that it could redeem the end of the third film and the entirety of the fourth and fifth installments.
It certainly did not. In fact, it dropped the bar even lower. The storyline was predictable at best, and the big bad is shown in all its underwhelming glory, after the whole of the mystery is revealed about halfway through.
Nothing at all is left to the imagination. It also completes the formula of bad found footage when the cameraman runs back toward danger to grab his camera, only to narrowly escape doom, and when the car won't start while havoc is wreaked.
The acting could have salvaged just a smidge of this movie, but along with the disappointing story, falls flat.
They completely lost their footing when the "found footage" aspect is dropped for a scene. I guess to heighten drama? I'm not sure.
Though predictable, and lacking in the isolated and quiet ambiance of the other films...it is mildly entertaining.
Two stars because it wasn't unbearable.
Back Fork (2019)
Beautiful and heartbreaking
This movie may not resonate with some people because it deals, very eloquently, with the opioid crisis in many eastern states that are primarily poverty stricken. I must say that it so delicately deals with the constant need to be strong, work, and provide while balancing a family, and how swiftly that thread can unravel in the wake of tragedy. Waylon's world was precariously balanced on a ledge, and when his daughter dies it ends up tipping into the chaos he zealously fought against for most of his better years. The acting in this movie is stellar, and the cast really dug their nails into the dirt of a very real, and terrible thing that happens to so many people in West Virginia and surrounding states. Sometimes we can forget that there are very real people with very real addictions that can turn into complete devastation on a dime. This film delivers some hard hits disguised as mundane moments as you follow the main character (Waylon) through his grief, and ultimate freedom from the opioids that plague him and keep him sedated. This film struck a chord in my heart because it truly and artfully showed a family in turmoil, and without grandstanding or hamfisting, showed the work and hardship it takes to pull yourself out when the system fails and the folks you love are the only ones able to put in the effort to help.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Victims are not plot
I am only rating this movie with three stars because the actors did a great job. I cannot condone, however, the blatant disrespect to bundy's victims. I watched the full film hoping that maybe the women who died horrible and harrowing deaths at his hands would be paid more homage. They absolutely were not. The only times they were mentioned, was for plot devices. I get it, the friends and families of these heinous criminals are not the perpetrators, and should never be treated as such. Their pain is great in different ways, but they did not die at his hands, they did not feel the strangle as he tightened their nylons around their throats. Their absolute suffering should not have been. Pushed aside... but the ignorance the writers gave to the women that suffered so intensely, and directly, from his crimes were done an horrific injustice in this film. Never have I felt so sour after the end of a movie. I was repulsed by the lack of respect to Ted Bundy's victims. The showing of a crime scene photo at the end, and The "heroic" undertones of the score while his ex hugged her friends outside the prison upset me greatly. The Mark was so incredibly missed. I sincerely hope the writers can take an iota of advice from this review, and never use actual victims of unspeakable crimes as plot drivers, ever again.
Do not watch this film if you have ever craved justice for the victims of Bundy's violence. This is only a film glorifying his intimate relationships with women he did not brutally murder.