Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

My View: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) PG-13 On Halloween night in 1968, a group of teenagers visit a haunted house, one where the family there kept their daughter in a room in the basement. The teenagers find a book of scary legends and the stories are coming to life to threaten their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed this horror film that while does have a few jump out of the dark scares, build’s the tension to where the third act of the film is truly terrifying. The film is based on a YA book series, so the film is aimed at pre-teens and teenagers. Do not take your young children to this film as all the creatures in this film are just ghastly and horrific. What I really liked about this film (besides all the scares) was it also deals with some subjects that were very relevant for the time period: the Vietnam War, Tricky Dick Nixon getting elected President and racism. So go see this film and get your horror groove on.  My Rating: Full Price   Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Website

My View: The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) PG A dog named Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) shows us the life lessons he learned from his race car driving master, Denny (Milo Ventimiglia). So the unusual thing about this film is that it’s seen through the eyes of Enzo, who believes in reincarnation and is convinced that what he learns in his life as a dog will help when he comes back as a human. This film is a great one but you laugh and yes, cry. I thought Costner did a masterful job as the voice of Enzo. Ventimiglia is fine as the race car driver who falls for Amanda Seyfried’s character. People that don’t like dogs will hate this movie but if love dogs as much as I do it will be an enjoyable film to watch.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Art of Driving in the Rain Website

Familyfaire: Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) PG   Dora (Isabela Moner) was raised by her parents to be an explorer. Now, aided by a fellow explorer (Eugenio Derbez) Dora is on a mission to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Pena) and find a lost city of gold. I really liked this film and I think parents will too, but I think your kids will fall in love with Dora. This movie works because Isabela Moner is so charismatic on the screen you can’t help yourself to root for her Dora. Kids will also love Boots, the sidekick of Dora, a monkey that seems almost human in his interactions with Dora. There are a couple of things I didn’t like about this movie: Eugenio Derbez is too over the top in his performance, it just doesn’t fit the rest of the film. Also, there is an animated fox called Swiper (voiced by Benicio Del Toro) that just doesn’t look like he belongs, the animation is too cartoony. By the way, there are a couple of times in the film that the film does give homage to the cartoon series this film is based on. Take your family and go on an exploration with Dora, it will be a blast.   My Rating: Full Price    Dora and the Lost City of Gold Website

My View:  The Kitchen (2019) R The wives of New York gangsters (Elisabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish) in Hell’s Kitchen in the 1970s decide to continue their husband’s illegal business after their husbands are locked in prison. If I had been one of the other three people that were watching with me at the 7 pm Friday night screening, I would have left after ten minutes. This is one of the worst written films I’ve seen in a long time. The dialogue seems to have been written by a high school student writing a script for his AV class. The film wastes the talents of the three woman that head this cast. I did like the performance of Elisabeth Moss, whose character goes from a meek housewife to a tough, confident person. The audience (if you can call three people an audience) that I saw it with laughed at several plot points that were meant to be serious. This film might have worked as a dark comedy but as a straight drama, it is a bomb.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

Indiefest:  Tel Aviv on Fire  (2018)   Salam (Kais Nashif), a young Palestinian man, through good luck and connections gets a writing job on a popular Palestinian soap opera. What I liked about this film is that it shows you the Israeli occupation from the viewpoint of the Palestinians. The soap opera centers on a woman who is in love with a Palestinian operative who is in charge of her trying to seduce an Israeli general but the trouble is she starts falling in love with the general. While I didn’t laugh out loud, I did chuckle quite a bit. The secondary plot is that Salam is trying to get back with his old girlfriend, who he hurt deeply when they broke up in the past. I really liked the performance of Lubna Azabal, who plays the lead actress in the soap that is somewhat a diva. It’s a fine performance and she plays well off of Kais Nahif. This is a fun film to watch but we also learn how hard it is to live under the occupation of Isreal.    My Rating: Full Price

My View: Brian Banks (2018) PG-13   A football player’s (Aldis Hodge) dreams to play in the NFL are shattered when he is wrongly convicted and sent to prison. He teams with a lawyer (Greg Kinnear) to try and clear his name and start his football career. Aldis Hodge gives a powerful and moving performance of a man who just wants his name cleared, nothing more. I also enjoyed Sherri Shepherd’s performance as Brian’s mother who never wavers in her belief that Brian is innocent. I found the direction a little lacking in pace and the dialogue a little too preachy. The storyline is predictable but it’s still a remarkable story that needed to be told.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Brian Banks Website

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD / Blu-ray): Tolkien (2019) PG-13   J.R.R. Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult) was an orphan who had to work hard to get anywhere. He falls in love with a fellow orphan, Edith (Lily Collins) and just when he finds his calling, language, he is swept away in the horrors of WW I. I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so I was excited to see this film. While not bad, the film is a bit dull and spends too much time during Tolkien’s time in the war. I wanted more about how he came up with the idea of the books and less of his time looking for his best friend in the war.   My Rating; Bargain Matinee    Tolkien Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I've Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea):   Ready or Not  (2019) R   A bride (Samara Weaving) is told that she must participate in a game of hide and seek before coming a part of the grooms family. What she doesn’t know is if they find her in the family home, she will be killed. The trailer looks really stupid.    Ready of Not Website

Forgotten Film: Coherence (2013)   During a night where a comet is going to come very close to Earth, a group of friends get together for a dinner party. The eight friends begin to experience problems when their phones all give out and electricity is shut down to the whole street except for a house down the road. The group decides to travel down the road to the house with power and then things get really weird. The tension builds as the film moves on. I would call this a suspense film and not a horror film. What I loved about this film is how natural the dialogue is (actors were not given a script, just a paragraph before each scene from the director, James Ward Byrkit). See this movie and go on a wild ride you won’t soon forget.   My Rating: Full Price   Coherence Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Swamper

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)  PG-13   Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a young man with Downs syndrome runs away from his care home to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. On the road, he encounters Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) a small-time outlaw that’s on the run that becomes an unlikely coach. They also convince Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), a nursing home worker to join their quest. The film has a great supporting cast including john Hawkes, Thomas Haden Church, and Bruce Dern. Everything I have heard about this film is that it is a celebration of life and is incredibly fun to watch.    The Peanut Butter Falcon Website

Until Next Time!

Manchester by the Sea

Indiefest:   Manchester by the Sea (2016) R   When his brother, Joe, dies, Lee (Casey Affleck) is forced to take care of his teenage nephew (Lucas Hedges) in his hometown. The big problem with going back to your hometown is you have to see people you left to avoid. Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan brings us a tale of heartbreak, grief and the attempt to heal wounds from the past. It's an achingly beautiful film that follows Lee and Patrick as they try to deal with all the big and small stuff that has to be handled after a death in the family. Full of pain and guilt, Affleck's performance is a wonder to watch. It's a complex performance worthy of what should be an Academy Award nomination. Manchester by the Sea is a film that perfectly explores the sense of loss when a death occurs, but it even better explores the human reaction to bad things when they happen to good people. Why did it happen and will the people left behind forgive themselves for surviving is what this film answers.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Manchester by the Sea Website

My View:   Man Down  (2015)  R   When Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) returns from Afghanistan, he finds that life in America is just as bad as the battlefields he left. With the help of his best friend (Jai Courtney), he searches for his estranged wife and son. This is a film that has the right message at its core but delivers it rather clumsily. The film is hard to follow as it jumps around quite a bit in the timeline, and I found the movie to be slightly dull at times. Until the end of the film, most of the cast is not given much to do, except for LaBeouf who is on screen for the whole movie. Like the film overall, his performance is all over the place. The ending is predictable, and the big reveal at the end of the film wasn't surprising at all.    My Rating: Cable    Man Down Website

Indiefest:   The Eagle Huntress  (2016)  G  Documentary that follows a 13-year-old Mongolian girl named Aisholpan, as she trains to be the first female eagle hunter. The cinematography of this film is striking and remarkable as time after time we see scenes of ravishing beauty that at the same time are overwhelmingly isolated, as Aisholpan and her family seem to be the only people on that planet. The scenes of Aisholpan and her father traveling across snow-packed mountains and frozen streams are both beautiful and terrifying as you wonder if they will ever make it back alive to their home and family. The Eagle Huntress is a film filled with bravery, determination and the human spirit filled with confidence that nothing can stop someone who knows she will succeed. That Aisholpan succeeds is not the question, its how well this 13-year-old girl does might surprise you, and then again, once you get to know her, it just might meet your expectations for her.     My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Eagle Huntress Website

Forgotten Film:   The French Lieutenant's Woman  (1981)  R  This is a film of two stories; one takes place in 19th-century England when a biologist (Jeremy Irons) has an affair with a woman (Meryl Streep) who has a tainted past and the second story is about the two actors who are portraying those roles. This is a brilliant film made almost flawless by the acting of the two principals. Irons is perfect in the role, and Streep gives one of her greatest performances.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The French Lieutenant's Woman Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Man Down: Pashto Language Coach

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:   Assassin's Creed (2016)   PG-13  Normally, I wouldn't pay too much attention to a movie based on a video game, but this cast includes two-time Oscar-nominated Michael Fassbender, Oscar winner Marion Cotillard and Oscar winner Jeremy Irons.   Assassin's Creed Website

Until Next Time!

Lawless

My View:   Lawless (2012) During the depression, three brothers (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke) run a successful bootlegging business in Franklin County, Virginia. With corrupt law (Guy Pearce) and a local mob boss (Gary Oldman) wanting to muscle in on the brothers' business, it’s soon up to the brothers to fight back.  I was very disappointed in this film, especially since it has such a great cast, but the film never gets moving in the right direction, which I think is mostly the fault of LeBeouf, who is asked to carry much of the acting load, and he’s just not quite up to the task. Tom Hardy seems to be suffering from Bane aftereffects.  He barely talks in the film, and the usually excellent Jessica Chastain seems to be sleepwalking through the entire film. The film’s action sequences are too few and far between, and I wanted more of Gary Oldman’s character.    My Rating: Cable   Lawless Website

My View:  The Possession (2012) A father (Jeffery Dean Morgan) and daughter (Natasha Calis) go to a yard sale and buy an antique box. Little do they know that the box they now possess is inhabited by an evil spirit, one waiting for the box to be opened so it can unleash a curse. Now the father and his ex-wife (Kyra Sedgwick) must find a way to end the curse or their daughter will die. While watching this film, I kept flashing back to The Shining when the kid talks to his finger saying “Redrum” as the girl who is possessed by the evil being in this film does a lot of talking in a strange voice. The film doesn’t deliver enough scary parts to make up for its slow moving storyline.   My Rating: Cable   The Possession Website

Indiefest:  Robot & Frank (2012)   This film, from Director Jake Schreier, is set in the near future where robots have started taking over tasks that humans normally do, such as caring for the elderly. Frank (Frank Langella) is a retired cat burglar who lives alone.  His only contact with his family are phone calls from his daughter (Liv Tyler), who is always traveling, and weekly visits from his son. Frank has started to show signs of dementia, so his son (James Marsden) brings a robot into the house to take care of Frank. Frank resists at first, as he is set in his ways, and continues taking his daily trips into town to visit the librarian, Jennifer (Susan Sarandon). He soon realizes, though, that the robot can aid him in pulling off one last heist. Langella is terrific as the crusty “second story man” who realizes that things are starting to change, but maybe he can recapture a little of his youth by planning and carrying out the caper.  The friendship that develops between the Robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) and Frank is touching and shows the need of everyone (even the crankiest person) for love and friendship.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Robot & Frank Website

The 50 (A Movie From My Best/Worst Films of All Time)

#16 Best Film

The Maltese Falcon (1941) Humphrey Bogart stars in this classic film as Sam Spade, a Private Investigator who gets caught up in a search for the mysterious Maltese Falcon. Written and directed by the legendary John Huston, the film sets the standard for Film Noir style of film making with its dark Black and White shadows, which is used in almost every inch of this film.  The film has one of the great casts with Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr. , Peter Lorre and Mary Astor. This film made Bogart the star that he was destined to be.   The Maltese Falcon Info

Forgotten Film:   Slap Shot (1977) Paul Newman stars in this comedy as Reg Dunlop, the player/coach of a failing Ice Hockey team called, The Charlestown Chiefs. The team isn’t doing very well, both on the ice and at the box office, when Reg decides to play the Hanson Brothers, three violent hockey goons, and soon the future of the team starts looking up. Newman is hilarious in the role of the savvy and conniving Reg who will do almost anything to keep his hockey team together. But, be warned.  This is not the usual Paul Newman role as just about every other word that comes out of his mouth is a curse word.    Slap Shot Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD):   Battleship (2012) An absolute stinker of a film about an alien invasion and a small navy force that has to defeat the alien army. When I saw this movie in the theatre, the audience was laughing at almost every twist and turn. The only thing I liked about this film was Rihanna, who plays a kick ass Petty Officer who likes blowing up things, but she can’t make up for this complete mess.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again    Battleship Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea): Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) Do we really need another Resident Evil movie with Milla Jovovich shooting big guns?  I can’t believe that five of these films have been made based off a video game.    Resident Evil: Retribution Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Possession: Truck Costumer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Liberal Arts (2012) Josh Radnor stars and directs this film about a man who returns to his hometown, a small college town, and quickly falls for a young college student, played by Elizabeth Olsen.  I really enjoyed Radnor's last film, 2010's Happythankyoumoreplease and this romantic comedy looks even better.   Liberal Arts Info

Until Next Time!