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!

The Cabin in the Woods

My View:   The Cabin in the Woods (2012)   Five friends need a break from their hectic life and decide to get away to a remote cabin. Soon, after arriving, they discover there is a secret hiding in the basement – a secret they will regret discovering. The best way I can describe this film is it's like nothing you have seen before - a horror movie with a ton of comedy in it.  As groundbreaking a TV show that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was (Director Drew Goddard and Producer Joss Whedon, were the forces behind that show) this is a cutting-edge and innovative film.  It’s the best film I have seen this year and has a highly inventive plot about which I can’t go into too much detail so I don't give away surprises.  And, there are many surprises in it!  This is one of those films where, after I saw it,  I wanted to immediately buy another ticket and see it again.  My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Cabin in the Woods Website

My View:   Life Happens (2012)   Kim (Krysten Ritter), Deena (Kate Bosworth) and Laura (Rachel Bilson) are three roommates living the single life in L.A. Things are going great until, after a one night stand, and Kim becomes pregnant. But, the girls are determined to keep up their lifestyle, even with a baby in the house. Ritter co-wrote the film along with the director, Kat Coiro, and they have done a phenomenal job creating a smart, funny comedy that is a new take on the L.A. dating scene. Bilson (Heart of Dixie) steals the movie as the twenty-something virgin who is constantly taking sexually explicit jobs like with a limo service where she is the driver and has to wear a French maid outfit.  Ritter is adorable as the dog-walker who tries to keep an active social life and raise a baby at the same time.   My Rating: Full Price   Life Happens Website

My View:   Lockout (2012) A man named Snow (Guy Pearce) has been wrongly accused of committing a crime. To get his sentence reduced, he “volunteers” to go on a suicide mission where he must break into a high security prison to save the President’s daughter (Maggie Grace) who was taken hostage during a prison uprising. The catch…this prison is in space. Guy Pearce is the reason to see this film, as he is constantly spouting out great one- liners while killing the bad guys. This is a heavy on the action film that is enjoyable, though the ending wasn’t quite as satisfying as I wanted it to be.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Lockout Website  

Family Faire:  The Three Stooges (2012) In the movie edition, Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos), Larry (Sean Hayes) and Curly (Will Sasso) are back, once again, trying to save their childhood orphanage when they stumble upon a murder plot. But, as with anything the Stooges get involved in, things get crazy, and they just might be the next big stars of reality TV. While this is a Farrelly brothers (There's Something About Mary, Shallow Hal), it's really a family movie, but only kids under the age of ten are going to enjoy it. The film feels at times like a bad 80’s sitcom, and you get tired, very quickly, of the Stooges poking each other in the eyes. The best thing about this film is Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) who plays an angry nun. The film has a running time of 92 minutes, but I would swear it’s much longer than that.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   The Three Stooges Website

Indiefest:   Detention (2012) This film is a comedy where the student body of a high school is having to deal with an axe-wielding serial killer named Cinderhella, who is slowly killing off students. Shanley Caswell plays Riley, a not very popular girl at the high school who is secretly in love with popular boy, Clapton (Josh Hutcherson). Riley becomes a target of Cinderhella, but no one believes that she is being attacked because the unwritten rule of slasher films is the popular girl always gets it first. This film has just about everything in it including Spaceships, aliens, time travel and the possible end of the world.  Any film that with a bear boarding a space ship can’t be all bad.   My Rating: Full Price   Detention Website

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Cabin in the Woods:  Diving Coordinator

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  The Five-Year Engagement ( 2012) Jason Segel and Emily Blunt play a couple whose never ending engagement causes problems. From Director Nicholas Stoller who did Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) which also starred Jason Segel.   The Five-Year Engagement Website

Until Next Time!

21 Jump Street

My View: 21 Jump Street (2012) In this comedy, based on the 80’s TV show of the same name, Jonah Hill plays a high school nerd, and Channing Tatum plays the big man on campus who gets all the girls with his looks and attitude. Seven years later, the two decide to help each other graduate from the Police Academy. After graduation, they join the 21 Jump Street program and go undercover in high school to stop a drug gang. This is Jonah Hill’s film (he co-wrote the story), and his type of humor is very evident throughout. There is good chemistry between Tatum and Hill, and both do a good job of playing off of each other. There are some very funny bits, like an extended chase sequence with a running gag that has a hilarious payoff.  Sometimes, though, the film goes just a little too far or goes for the easy joke. My Rating: Bargain Matinee    21 Jump Street Website

Indiefest (A Look at a Small, Indie or Foreign Film):  Friends with Kids (2012) Writer/Director Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is back with a look at a couple (Westfeldt and Adam Scott) who examine their unhappy married friends and decide they can raise a kid in a better environment by just staying friends and not complicating things with love/marriage. This is a highly entertaining film with a marvelous cast, including Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd all who play the two married couples.  Megan Fox and Edward Burns play the love interests of Scott and Westfeldt, but it’s Westfeldt who makes you love this film. She is perfect in the role of the insecure woman who wants a kid but also wants the dream man. As with Kissing Jessica Stein, Westfeldt brings a film to life that is an entirely new look at the romantic comedy. My Rating: Full Price   Friends with Kids Website

My View: Seeking Justice (2012) Continuing in the vein of crappy movies he has been making lately, Nicolas Cage plays the husband whose wife (January Jones) is brutally raped. In the hospital, Cage's character is approached by a man who says he knows who the rapist is and, if Cage gives the word, the rapist will be killed.  The only catch is that someday Cage will have to do a “favor” for the secret organization the man works for.  Cage agrees, the rapist is killed, and Cage must start doing what the secret organization wants him to do. This is a film that has the words “straight to video” plastered all over it, with bad writing (at times the plot becomes laughable), bad acting (January Jones is so robotic that I wonder if she is a Stepford wife) and a plot so transparent, the audience figures out things ten minutes before the characters on the screen do. My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Seeking Justice Info

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

24th Best Film:

Notorious (1946) Alfred Hitchcock directs this tale of intrigue, set in post World War II Brazil, full of spies, Nazis and love. A woman (Ingrid Bergman), whose father was convicted of helping the German government during the war, is approached by a US spy (Cary Grant) to help infiltrate a group of men who are members of the Nazi government in hiding. Using the connections of her father, the woman starts dating one of the leaders of the Nazi party while she is falling in love with the U.S. spy. This film has amazing suspense, and Bergman and Grant heat up the screen with their fiery romance. This classic film has one of the greatest camera moves in the history of cinema with a shot that starts high above a party scene and slowly lowers to a close-up of the hands of Bergman as she clutches a key behind her back.  It's a remarkable shot that makes this one of the best of Hitchcock’s films.   Notorious Info

Forgotten Film: The Hot Rock (1972) Robert Redford plays Dortmunder, a convicted thief who, upon his release from prison, is convinced by his brother-in-law (George Segal) to go on one last big score and steal a precious diamond from a museum. They hire a crew to do the job and plan an elaborate scheme to make the diamond heist. But, things don’t go as planned and get very complicated very fast. This is a very funny film with lots of twists and turns that have hilarious results, and Redford is perfect as the thief who, as things get more complicated, masterminds a break into not one, but two prisons.  My Rating: Full Price   The Hot Rock Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD): The Descendants (2011) A film that I considered one of the best of 2011 and certainly deserving of its Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. George Clooney is excellent as a father who tries to keep his family together after his wife is in an accident.  It's Shailene Woodley, though, as Clooney’s rebellious daughter, who makes this film work so well. My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   The Descendants Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers but Looks Like a Bad Idea): American Reunion (2012) Do we need another sequel to the American Pie franchise? Someone please make it stop!   American Reunion Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of Seeking Justice: Special Thanks to Frye Boots

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: The Cabin in the Woods (2012) This horror film comes from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer team of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard and was a big hit just recently at SXSW. The film will be the closing night film of the Atlanta Film Festival at the end of this month.   The Cabin in the Woods Website

Until Next Time!