The Visit

My View:  The Visit  (2015)  PG-13   A single mom (Kathryn Hahn) sends her two young children (Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould) to visit their grandparents (Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie). Something very wrong is going on in the house, and their grandparents are acting strangely.  I love a good horror film, but I hate horror films that use sloppy, lazy screenwriting to create cheap scares with things jumping out of the dark, and this film is filled with them. I used to think that the director/writer of this film, M. Night Shyamalan had talent, but that opinion has long since gone. Every attempt at horror was weak and predictable.  The script has the two young kids spouting out psychobabble like they are freshmen in college who have taken a psychology class and think that they know everything about the human condition.  This is another film in the long line of recent "found footage” films, but this one picks and chooses when to look like a handheld film and when to look like a professionally shot film (there are establishing shots that just don’t make sense). The so-called twist in the film is so predictable and easy to figure out that I was hoping there would be another twist to turn the film into something watchable, but that never happened.  Some critics will praise this film for its mix of comedy and horror. I would suggest that those critics go back and watch The Cabin in the Woods (2012) or Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) as true examples of that genre. This film doesn’t know what genre it is; is it a horror film or a comedy or satire? I have no idea, but I do know that this film does not work as a horror film.  The young girl in the film is a wannabe filmmaker. I would rather see one of her films than any other from Mr. Shyamalan.    My Rating: Cable   The Visit Website

Indiefest:  Steak (R)evolution (2014)  This is a documentary about the search for the best steak in the world. The film goes to France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, UK,USA, Canada, Japan, Argentina, and Brazil to find out what makes a great steak and the different ways that we raise and prepare beef.  While foodies may enjoy this film, I found it a little boring and way too long.  I did learn about how to cook a steak and got to see just how some of the greatest steak restaurants in the world cook their meals. Much like a steak, I found this film could have trimmed some of the fat before releasing it to the public.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Steak (R)evolution Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):  Friday the 13th  (2016)  This film hasn’t even started shooting (it’s been in development since 2013), and I know it’s a bad idea to try and revive this series. Let sleeping dogs lie, please!

Forgotten Film:  All I Wanna Do (1998)  PG-13   When an all-girls high school is about to go co-ed, a group of girls get together and  hatch a wild scheme to keep their school from changing. This is a funny and charming film set in the 1960’s that highlights girls who have aspirations to be more than just homemakers. The cast is brilliant, especially Lyn Redgrave, who plays the head-mistress of the school and Rachael Leigh Cook, who tries to keep the girls from succeeding. It’s a fun film that is a joy to watch.   My Rating: Full Price   All I Wanna Do Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Visit: Parking PA

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:   Pawn Sacrifice  (2014)  PG-13   The legendary battle of wits between American chess champion Bobby Fisher (Tobey Maguire) and the Russian grand master champion Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) at the height of the Cold War. The film is directed by Edward Zwick (Traffic, Shakespeare in Love), and the script written by Steven Knight (Locke).  That’s good enough for me to see this film.  Pawn Sacrifice Website   

Until Next Time!