Reviews

The problem with this film, as noted in other reviews, is the script (the storyline and the subplots). The main character (Jack) is back to his old stomping grounds after doing some mining work in the Yukon. This is one of the very few times in the film where some backstory is provided. He's looking for his wife but why he left her in the first place is a mystery, and never revealed (Annoyance #1). Jack hooks up with old friends, but we're never privvy to how those relationships developed or how they were maintained (Annoyance #2). It's implied that he was involved in some type of illegal activity, but we're never shown what they might be. Drugs? Prostitution? Bank robberies? Industrial espionage? (Annoyance #3). Then, toward the end of the movie, when he finally finds her, there's a series of scenes between him and Vanessa at different time periods (evidenced by the different clothing worn by both from scene to scene). This was the major Annoyance #4, since I had NO IDEA what the filmmaker was trying to express.

All in all. The acting was good but I felt I really wasted my time with this due to a confusing and eratic story....

The Girl With All The Gifts is a refreshingly original story marrying the zombie sub-genre with the dystopian future outlook of a world in transition. Most zombie movies are stuck in a moment of time right after a catastrophic or apocalyptic event turns human beings into zombies, thereby focusing exclusively on mankind's immediate need for survival. TGWATG takes the storyline to it's next logical.transformation in which intelligent human survivors actually utilize empirical scientific processes and methods to find a way to adapt to a changed world.

Sennia Nanua without a doubt steals the show with her portrayal.as a first generation "zombie" who is totally self-aware and empathetic to the people and the world around her. Ms. Nanua is blazingly talented and bears watching in the future as one of the next great actresses in cinema. The supporting cast is adequate, and it was a pleasure seeing eight time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close giving a very under-stated performance as the scientist fighting time to come up with a vaccine to counter the effects of the zombie change.

The film also has enough action and gore sequences to satisfy those who view zombie flicks specifically for that purpose. But make no mistake - this is intelligent sci-fi that'll hold your interest for its 1 hr. 51 mins run time.

This movie held my attention throughout, even though its themes were somewhat trite. What had me questioning the film throughout was the lack of military logic. The Germans were not that stupid or careless. As fastidious as they were as a culture (and I am German, by the way), they would not have left the dead bodies in the captured tank, much less any ammo.

Another biggie was the practice exercise training the German tank commanders. Don't you think that once that first German tank was taken out, the other two or three Panzers would've pursued the Russian tank and caught up with them before they even left the compound? At the least pursued them immediately...

Then there's the multiple ricochets and shells colliding in mid air...c'mon, how gullible do the film makers think their audience is? Good entertainment for an hour and a half, don't need to see this movie twice.

Blackhat is full of highly improbable and patently implausible scenarios that add up to the ultimate shortcoming of the movie. The antagonist begins by blowing a nuclear reactor and then manipulating the soy market, after which the Feds zero in right away on the scheme and those who benefited. Yet, in his grand scheme, the antagonist expects to corner the tin market without consequence?!?! C'mon...And did I mention tin? TIN?!?! Of all the commodities in the world, this bad guy goes after a low margin staple produced in a country (Malaysia) that isn't even in the top six countries producing tin!

Then there's the protagonist, who we're expected to believe can hack into the NSA computers. C'mon...

The acting is incongruous and the sound editing was terrible. When dealing with Asian actors, this latter issue becomes ever more important, as they tend to have a softer timbre. The lack of attention to sound had many of the participants mumbling, or the dialogue fading in and out.

But the real "nail in the coffin" was seeing Michael Mann's name attached to this mess. Is this the same man who directed Manhunter, Last of the Mohicans, Heat and Thief? I expected a much better film coming from an MM production.

Still, there's several action sequences that move the flick along, for which I give it four stars.

I have been catching up on many of the horror films I've missed in the past few years, so I've seen a great many in a relatively short period of time. Judging The Babadook within this context, I was pleasantly surprised at the scare quality of this film.

The Babadook is the story of a woman's slow, inexorable descent into madness, driven by grief and loneliness (she's a widow), and the stress and anxiety of raising a child with mental and behavioral problems. The pacing is superb as we gradually witness her unhinging, subtle at first, and then outright powerful toward the end. So overwhelming is her challenge that help from various outside parties - a kindly neighbor, school guidance counselors, a co-worker - is not enough to counter her fall.

I also thought that creating a mythical horror character in a child's book was a refreshing idea as a plot device. (I couldn't help but view the special feature in the bonus section that highlighted the creation and creator of the book). This creates the Babadook as a metaphor for the doubts and fears of mother and child, and links the special bond the mother and son have, as well as the shared experience of having to go through these terrible travails together. Yet, eventually, the mother and son gain their strength and confidence together, enough so as to defeat those same fears in the end.

I also liked the execution of the film, though it will probably be viewed as average by many. Most scenes involving the actual Babadook take place in darkness and shadows, which is expected, I suppose. And is it just me, or did they amp up the sound when Babadook screamed/groaned/shrieked? Ordinarily, I'd find this irksome, but it really goosed up the tension for me, putting me more on edge in certain scenes.

All in all, there's enough uniqueness here to recommend The Babadook as a one time view, but you probably wouldn't count this as a classic that is a must-own.

Dark Was The Night is a relatively engaging creature feature that benefits from appropriate pacing and adequate acting on the part of the participants. Kevin Durand delivers a fine performance as a quirky and moody character, elevating him above most generic characters in more mundane and mediocre horror flicks. I'd have to say none of the actors delivers a gut wrenchingly bad performance, though none will win an Academy Award.

DWTN also proves you can make a relatively engaging horror flick without a lot of fancy CGI or FX. In addition to the calculated pacing (not too fast or too slow, IMHO), Jack Heller uses simple set creations, plot devices and staging to heighten the tension and mystery, never revealing too much too soon. Coupled with decent character development, a fairly good story line, and an above average script (for this kind of low budget creature feature), it makes the flick work for most of it's 90+ minutes

As many have observed, the movie falls victim to trite mechanisms toward the end, making it just short of anti-climactic in its predictability. The creature was somewhat interesting, but the sub- standard CGI made it less believable. Heller and the writer then proverbially club the viewer over the head with a disingenuous twist at the very end, no doubt set up to introduce a future sequel. (I will not reveal it here, as I don't want to introduce a TOTAL spoiler).

Suffice it to say, DWTN is a relatively entertaining creature feature that should hold your attention throughout. Not a movie you'd need to see twice, but much better than a lot of the tripe I've been viewing lately.

The basic premise of Primer has the potential to be exceptional, as I admire and respect sci-fi movies based on actual science. I actually viewed this movie a second time, not realizing I had seen it quite some time ago. My reaction both times: it sucked the joy out of watching this movie both times.

The problem, IMHO, is the writing. Again, the basic story line is sound, but the writers fill the script with techno-babble and hip entrepreneur-speak designed to add credibility to overly highbrow dialogue, and so came across as pretentious and superficial. I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, as I was raised in the education system of the Kennedy Cold War era, with its emphasis on math and science, but I could not honestly discern whether the science portrayed was accurate or even real. Here, the writers drop the ball in failing to make a connection that an ordinary viewer would understand. As they dumped more and more scientific terms and processes into the film, I began to care about the characters less and less.

Then there's the plot. I'm not sure why the two lesser characters of the original foursome were included, as they didn't move the story along and were completely incidental to the film. It this way, they were merely red herrings. Also, what's with the guy with the shotgun showing up to the party? I couldn't understand why that plot device was introduced, other than the writers deciding they needed to add dramatic effect to a movie dry with scientific lingo.

I believe part of the problem is the limited budget this movie must have had. Imagine what this movie could have been in the hands of a James Cameron, Ridley Scott or David Cronenberg. Here's hoping that a big budget remake is a seed in one of their minds.

Vampire films are arguably one of the most over-exposed of the horror sub-genres, but TDON is a refreshing departure from what has become mainstream vampire movies. Set in a northern Alaskan town that experiences the natural phenomenon of losing the sun for a month, the town is besieged by a group of mysterious vampires. They are vicious, pitiless creatures, intent on wiping out the human race.

Ordinarily, I'd be looking for a bit of backstory to put the plot and its movement in context, and am usually annoyed when there is none. However, the lack of history of these vampires just adds to their mystique, and the sense of their eternal existence.

Josh Hartnett leads a crew of more than passable actors, but Danny Huston steals the show as the vampire patriarch, Marlow. He develops a style and execution that has the viewer actually despising the character, no easy task in modern cinema. The other vampire actors also display a merciless, violent approach that have you rooting for the trapped townspeople, just as their future seems hopeless.

The production values and sets are above average, as are the FX and CGI, certainly something you would expect from a big movie house like Columbia Pictures. The only thing that I couldn't wrap my mind around was the passage of time. Supposedly, these townspeople had to survive by hiding for a full thirty days, but the pacing of the vampire's killing and the thinning of the townspeople herd couldn't make me believe that they lasted that long. It was probably the most implausible part of the movie.

Still, it was an entertaining thrill ride for 90 minutes.

There was something disquieting about The Mirror and, once I figured it out, it made the film completely preposterous. When I say disquieting, I don't mean "causing anxiety or uneasiness". More like annoying, bothersome.

The characters say and do things that make absolutely NO sense, and they seem to do it in a vacuum. The three leads live in a condo/apartment building, purportedly in a hip urban area (London?), yet they are the ONLY inhabitants. They never run into neighbors, friends, relatives. In fact, there are only two other minor characters in the whole film!

All the characters are injured with serious knife slashes and stabbings at various points, yet they don't seek medical treatment. You and I would probably get stitches, or at least seek professional healthcare attention. Not these folks! Gauze, cotton balls and alcohol are all they need. Not even antibiotics for what could be potentially infectious wounds.

Eventually, the haunted mirror casts a pall on the apartment, supposedly filling every moment with dread for the occupants. Despite this, and some violent, tense moments, the camera man keeps filming EVERYTHING the WHOLE time. I wish Hollywood and the indie film industry would abandon documentary style horror films. Kudos to Blair Witch for being the first out of the gate, and the first Paranormal exhibited its own stylish flair, but the sub-genre has now become trite and stale.

Pandorum is a refreshing hybrid film combining science fiction and horror, and really hits its mark in terms of being entertaining. Time and attention was taken to develop an interesting backstory, and a decent script helps move the film along at a consistent clip. A great acting team helps develop characters you actually care for, and the sets are murky and brilliant. The creatures come across as menacing, though I didn't care for the accelerated motion filming, as it was annoying in its overuse. CGI and FX were more than passable but were not the central focus of the film, as they are with many sci-fi and horror flicks these days.

However, what I found really interesting is the film makers study in contrasts. For example, the trek starting in a dystopian world to the development of technology enabling long distance space flight, and then back to the primal need for basic human survival. Several references were made to the size of the ship, carrying not only some 1200 human passengers, but thousands of species of animals. Yet kudos to the filmmakers for creating an extremely claustrophobic ambiance throughout. And, of course, the many examples of characters who were not what they seemed.

I love the Caribbean (or most anywhere tropical) as a vacation destination. So watching a group of hedonistic millennials enjoy a Panamanian excursion full of good food, drink, dancing, romance and water sports drew me in, in a somewhat nostalgic manner. However, I soon realized how superficial these characters were, and the movie descended into the mundane when they started making decisions that defied logic.

The residents of the area are unanimously warning to stay away from the jungle waterfall?!?! Nah, let's go anyway! Things start going awry and people start getting hurt/killed. Shouldn't they stick together?!?! Nah, let's all run in separate, distinct directions and get lost. You get the picture.

IMHO, accelerated motion film technique has become overused these days, and it was especially annoying to me in this film. Quick glimpses of the creatures did not heighten the tension for me. Still, I did give it four stars, as this movie is better than some of the tripe I've wasted my time on lately.

The Boy is an entertaining movie for about 3/4 of its length, presenting the viewer with an atmospheric creepiness reminiscent of 1978's MAGIC or the Annabelle/Conjuring series. William Brent Bell did it right by commissioning a premium quality doll, almost lifelike in its presentation. He furthers the unease by posing the doll in unique sets and shots that stay with you (for example, who can forget the boy perched on the edge of his bed, looking out into the hallway?. Or sitting in the fancy upholstered chair? Or at the kitchen table?)

However, the movie eventually falls into trite and predictable mechanisms. And once they start, they pile up. The new love interest. The sudden appearance of the abusive boyfriend. And, of course, the emergence of the boy who never really died, and the subsequent chase through a darkened house.

How was this predictable? The film makers virtually hit you over the head with it, stressing two or three times that The Boy was eight years old when he died twenty years ago. It's almost as if they're telling the viewer to "do the math", so that when the boy appears as a sheltered adult, it's actually anti-climactic.

Still, I gave it five stars for its technique early in the film. I suppose any other ending would have been just as trite. There's only so much you can do with a "doll" film.

I chose this film based on seeing trailers on previous DVDs I had borrowed. The trailers were enticing and intriguing, and I must say, I was not disappointed in taking a chance on this movie.

Set in New England in 1630, The Witch is a period piece that evokes the ignorance, superstition and fear endemic to the culture and people of its time. Like Black Death (2010), its mysticism is couched in religion, in this case related to a Puritan family living on the frontier of New England. They leave a town to establish their own "farm", thereby creating a profound sense of isolation. Strange events and occurrences begin to take place, many of them explainable so that we as modern people would take them for granted. Each new incident heightens the tension not only for the family, but also the viewer. It's almost as if we're living with them, participating in their daily chores and life's struggles. And bit by bit, we feel the build-up of palpable distrust and suspicion.

However, what really makes this movie exceptional is the extreme attention to detail used in its creation. Robert Eggers pulled out all of the stops, starting with four years of exhaustive research. The buildings, structures and sets were built with trees felled in the area, using the same old fashioned tools from that era. The fabric and clothing was created using the same techniques that the Puritans used at that time. Mr. Eggers shot the film in natural light, which makes it appear gray and grainy, adding to its gloomy subtext. And he even imported British nationals to play the roles, believing that the accents would make the production even more authentic.

All this being said, this film will probably not appeal to the adrenaline or gore junkies who favor high action zombie and slasher flicks. It's simply not that kind of film. Rather, it is more of a thought provoking movie that explores the uncertainty and unpredictability of a family's journey to a new frontier in a new land.