The main issue with this movie is that it has very little plot. There are many abandoned or red herring story lines. Not one is complete, to serve as the main story line. In the end, there is no logic in why characters were doing what they were doing or were in the circumstances they were in. There is no logic why they happened to be where they are. The reverend mother's role in the end does not make any sense whatsoever. Multiple characters could have served a greater role in the story but failed to. It almost amounts to an intentional effort to mislead the viewer, except, as the rest of the movie, it fails, because there is no plot twist. I expected much more, especially because practically all actors were good actors. Basically, if you make the mistake of watching this, if you start making theories in the process as to why this and that happens and who the characters might turn out to be etc, don't have high expectations. It turns out very dull.
Reviews
8 Reviews
Havenhurst
(2016)
Scrapped after 70%?
23 April 2017
The ending was so botched, I can't help thinking the crew itself got "evicted" half way through the filming (read, ran out of money or fell apart). Despite the weird behavior of several characters, the story had a good potential till it suddenly, stupidly, untimely took a twist that is so used and abused, it doesn't even elicit a chuckle anymore. It just made an impression that the crew abruptly pulled the plug in the middle of all the action. Movies like this make me wonder how someone gets so much money, convinces a bunch of talented people to participate (most of the actors, the operator was pretty good), and is not held accountable for making bad script decisions that inevitably cut any hope for a good payout. Anyway. If you are reading this review, be smarter than me and trust the low rating: it is not an underrated gem. You would waste your time.
Pandora
(2016)
Good movie with a story you've heard before
23 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed this movie. There were no particular plot twists. You can pretty much predict most of the plot based on the premise: there is a nuclear plant and it's going to be damaged by an earthquake. All that logically follows has been delivered quite well. Warning: there will be crying men aplenty and a few moments when you might find yourself questioning the characters' life choices. I should also add that I watched this movie without translation. You can really deduct practically everything that happens without understanding the lines, because the actors' emotions speak louder than words. Everyone in the cast did a good job. P.S. Should you find yourself burdened with a glorious mission of fixing a failing nuclear reactor, I implore you to consider alternatives to exploding the place.
Last Shift
(I) (2014)
Claustrophobic and scary
9 April 2016
This movie is a kind of horror that scares you mindless with the atmosphere. There are jump scares of the kind that will leave you not wanting to close your eyes in shower or walk past an open door. Or ever turn your back to an empty room. Very claustrophobic and extremely creepy. I am giving it 10 for an atmospheric horror. The ending was sort of sad, but it did not disappoint in the sense that it delivered on one of the promises made during the movie. Made certain surprising effects on me such as sympathizing the tough job the policemen have, and thinking how I'd much rather be Ripley trying to survive in a colony full of aliens vs a policeman confronting a really disturbing situation. I am definitely going to check out other movies by Anthony DiBlasi. Also, I think I'm gonna sleep with lights tonight.
Hidden
(I) (2015)
Loved it
9 April 2016
Not that it changed my life forever, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The story starts so seemingly familiar, similar to many "zombie/deadly virus apocalypse" movies before it, that you don't really expect any twists and just enjoy watching, waiting for action and scares. They did well making every scene enjoyable on its own - not setting up the stage for any particular turn of events or a twist, but showing the "daily" life of this family. It's a pretty good story, and it is executed impeccably. For a movie that mostly takes place in the dark, cinematography is very well done. I also have to commend the child actress, because it's not rare in our days to come across movies with kids that are unbearable to watch. Emily Lynd, and the rest of the team, were pretty good.
How to Save Us
(2014)
Easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen
4 April 2016
Awful. Easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen. One star for the beautiful eerie landscapes, otherwise there is simply nothing else to comment on. Don't waste your time. I am well versed in the intellectual movie genre, but this is not it. It's two hours of time vacuumed into oblivion. Now I am supposed to add a few more lines for the review to be long enough, but believe me, there is nothing to add here. There are movies that are not worth one star out of ten, and there is no point to beat around the bush or gorge on the negatives. If you are stubborn like me, you would perhaps spend 80 minutes or so waiting to see if it is a slow-unfolding gem with a plot twist. Let me save your time: it is not.
Below
(2002)
Still love this movie 13 years later
14 July 2015
I love this movie, and in my eyes it deserves the full 10 stars. I sometimes re-watch it and it is as enjoyable as the first time. I remember that, watching it for the first time, I didn't know what genre it was going to be, so it started as a war movie, and I was thoroughly amazed by the plot twist (when strange things started happening). I think the plot is great, and it is very well done: the mystery buildup, the characters, several twists. On the technical side, I love the sound in this movie - it's a good soundtrack, and the sound effects are done well. And the actors played well too. All in all, one of my favorite movies. For people who read the reviews to check how scary a movie is - I will say, when you watch it for the first time, it gets pretty spooky. There are a few jump scares. It's not gory. It is a good mystery with a dramatic element that is as important as its thrill factor.
The Frankenstein Theory
(2013)
When people have money to film but no story to tell
12 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, let me say straight away that I was compelled to write this review after reading a few long 10 star reviews for this movie. Sorry, but I can't explain the existence of these reviews in any way other than the filmmakers' friends and other interested parties singing praise without any substance. I was not profoundly disgusted by this movie, but there is simply no way on earth that anyone would objectively give it 10 stars. Praising this plot because it apparently connects to where the novel leaves it? Are you even serious?
The good sides of this movie is the actors being reasonably professional (not to be confused with a very limited effort at character development), the video quality and the scenery. "B" for the effort to go all the way to some cabin in the coldness. You can see that the filmmakers had the money to spend on stuff such as good clothes, renting the snowmobiles, and as I said, the camera-work was professional (no shaky "hidden footage" bs). On the other hand, there are absolutely no special effects. The entire volume of "blood" in the movie probably was recreated with one tiny package of sriracha sauce with a highly questionable result. I sighed when they find "blood traces" that looked like someone had a paper cut.
There was so much to do potentially in terms of the plot. Just a few ideas that crossed my mind while watching: 1) discover that it was actually a real bear, while building the tension around the guy's obsession with the Frankenstein theory; 2) discover that it is a Frankenstein monster with an objective, say, to pull body parts from the victims in order to "replenish" his constitution; 3) have the monster actually respond in some fashion to the guy's efforts to connect to him. But hey, let's just leave it with a big guy who apparently feels the need to dress like a human, but will avoid the humanity at any cost and kill any person who encounters him. And btw, would also have a completely irrational idea to first mess up with the people in the cabin by stealing their snowmobiles. What. Why. I didn't give this movie one star because the scenery was nice, the actors gave it a good try, so it's not "awful" per se, but two stars fit it nicely.
Also, what the hell? I watched it because it was recommended as similar to the "Dyatlov Pass Incident". DPI is quite an interesting movie, but I found no similarities. Again, gotta be the filmmakers' friends desperately trying to spread the word to get people to watch this rather sad effort.
What lesson do we learn? I don't regret the time I spent watching, but I regret the money filmmakers wasted on this without having a good story to tell, when the money could be spent on so many useful causes.
The good sides of this movie is the actors being reasonably professional (not to be confused with a very limited effort at character development), the video quality and the scenery. "B" for the effort to go all the way to some cabin in the coldness. You can see that the filmmakers had the money to spend on stuff such as good clothes, renting the snowmobiles, and as I said, the camera-work was professional (no shaky "hidden footage" bs). On the other hand, there are absolutely no special effects. The entire volume of "blood" in the movie probably was recreated with one tiny package of sriracha sauce with a highly questionable result. I sighed when they find "blood traces" that looked like someone had a paper cut.
There was so much to do potentially in terms of the plot. Just a few ideas that crossed my mind while watching: 1) discover that it was actually a real bear, while building the tension around the guy's obsession with the Frankenstein theory; 2) discover that it is a Frankenstein monster with an objective, say, to pull body parts from the victims in order to "replenish" his constitution; 3) have the monster actually respond in some fashion to the guy's efforts to connect to him. But hey, let's just leave it with a big guy who apparently feels the need to dress like a human, but will avoid the humanity at any cost and kill any person who encounters him. And btw, would also have a completely irrational idea to first mess up with the people in the cabin by stealing their snowmobiles. What. Why. I didn't give this movie one star because the scenery was nice, the actors gave it a good try, so it's not "awful" per se, but two stars fit it nicely.
Also, what the hell? I watched it because it was recommended as similar to the "Dyatlov Pass Incident". DPI is quite an interesting movie, but I found no similarities. Again, gotta be the filmmakers' friends desperately trying to spread the word to get people to watch this rather sad effort.
What lesson do we learn? I don't regret the time I spent watching, but I regret the money filmmakers wasted on this without having a good story to tell, when the money could be spent on so many useful causes.
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