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Flash Movie Review: It Follows
Offering them a ride home was the polite thing to do. It was raining outside, that gentle steady kind where the romantic side of me could see myself sharing an umbrella as we walked down the street. However this was only a first date so I was my more practical self. Leaving the cafe we ran to the car; I had unlocked it remotely so I could run ahead and open the passenger door. As we drove away I became aware of the sound the rain made as it fell onto the car. It sounded like a slightly quick, steady heartbeat waiting in anticipation. With their directions I finally pulled up to the front of their building. This not being my first blind date, I was well aware this point of time could turn awkward if both parties were not on the same page with shaking hands, hugging, kissing or a simple wave of dismissal with the hand. As I was about to say I had a pleasant time they interrupted me, asking where were we going from here. I was perplexed and told them I did not understand what they were asking me. My confusion quickly changed into shock as I was being asked if we were now a couple because they needed to know right now and wanted to know what we were doing next week. The voice in my head was praying they would vacate the car without incident. If you think that was crazy wait until you see what happens in this horror film. JAY Height, played by Maika Monroe (The Guest, Labor Day), woke up to find herself tied to a chair. The boy she had slept with was talking to her, explaining what she had to do to avoid being killed–she had to quickly have sex with someone else. This film festival winning movie had a smartly written script that was original. The thing I liked most about this picture was it being a horror film based on suspense, not gruesome violence with buckets of blood. The actors such as Keir Gilchrist (It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Dead Silence) as Paul and Daniel Zovatto (Laggies, Beneath) as Greg Hannigan were okay, no one really stood out for me. As I sat and watched this film I realized the suspense was really not very suspenseful. I am not an expert in horror movies but it seemed to me as if this picture was a lightweight for this genre. It was a shame since I did give it points for being or at least appearing to be more like an indie film without having the heavy handedness of the film studio’s marketing team, not such a crazy thought.
2 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Lazarus Effect
I have found a majority of noises eventually turn into white noise, background sounds as the mind tunes them out. One sound that never stops being heard is the sound of a loving heart. Hearing it brings such a comfort like a warm, cozy, fuzzy blanket on a crisp winter day. To be in a loving relationship is a major accomplishment in one’s life as far as I am concerned. Finding that one special person who accepts all of you, is supportive and kind, who helps you fill out your dreams and provides nourishment that keeps you glowing is a remarkable achievement. As the two of you grow old together the relationship continues to evolve, taking in account any new dreams or hopes; the underlying strength of your bond will always be there to support whoever trips while walking the path of your lives. All of this is wonderful but I have seen how devastating it becomes when death takes one of the two. I knew someone who could not accept the death of their loved one, going to their grave every single day, seven days a week. She stopped living as she surrounded herself with the memories death left behind. One of the hardest parts I have found is altering the daily routines the two of you had shared. STRUCK with immense grief seeing Zoe, played by Olivia Wilde (In Time, Rush), lying on the floor dead from a horrible accident; Frank, played by Mark Duplass (The One I Love, Safety Not Guaranteed), would not let her go. He was willing to take a chance on using her for his scientific experiment that had not been tested yet on humans. Not knowing what would happen, all Frank wanted was to bring back Zoe. The concept for this story was not new; there have been various movies that dealt with bringing someone back from the dead. I thought it would be interesting to use love for the main character’s motivation. The cast worked well together which also included Evan Peters (American Horror Story-TV, X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Clay and Sarah Bolger (In America, The Spiderwick Chronicles) as Eva. Unfortunately the only horror about this film was sitting and watching it. I was completely bored due to the poorly written script, the lack of anything original and the utter absence of suspense. For being classified as a thriller and horror movie, neither took place. The ending was written in such a way that there could be a sequel which would be a very scary thing. I cannot imagine anyone sitting through this picture and finding something they could relate to, let alone being entertained. The heart of this film needs a “do not resuscitate” order placed on it. There were scenes that had blood in them.
1 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death
If you really want to engage the viewer into your story, have a child or a pet as a main focus. The pure innocence of a child, who comes into the world with a clean slate until the adult world shades it, is an ideal candidate to make an adult care about the action in a movie. A pet filled with that unconditional love that pours out of their big brown eyes is enough to make the viewer shudder if there is any chance of danger in store for the loving animal. A horror movie needs to have a subject the viewer will care about; otherwise, they will not care if the character meets an early demise. The next element to have in the film is a love story or at least a potential love connection between characters. Simply put most people can relate to having their heart broken. The viewer will rally around the grieving, surviving character and follow them all the way to the end of the story. So if a movie studio wants to have a successful horror movie, they need one of these items in their story. WITH World War II raging and London being subjected to German bombing runs, children in the city were suddenly finding themselves orphans. To protect them from further harm Jean Hogg and Eve Parkins, played by Helen McCrory (Harry Potter franchise, Hugo) and Phoebe Fox (One Day, Switch-TV), took a group out into the country to an abandoned estate, hopefully to be away from the horrors of the war. However, their presence in the mansion would stir up an old terror. This dramatic sequel’s story took place 40 years after the story in the first film. It had a couple of the elements I listed earlier, children and a love interest. I thought this would be a horror movie that could scare me. It had a love interest in the character of Harry Burnstow, played by Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, the Railway Man) and it had children in peril; what could be easier to grab the audience’s attention? Well, I am here to tell you this horror thriller was neither. The beginning of the movie started out good but quickly became a dull, bland imitation of a horror film. I thought the sets and staging were done well, but there was never a sense of horrible dread or something deeply sinister. Besides being predictable this picture left me with a blah feeling, where I felt I had just wasted my time. I do not think anyone could accuse me of being a callous jerk, but I did not care about the kids or the potential for someone to suffer a broken heart in this dud.
1 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Babadook
Though I never had a nightlight, when I went from my crib to a bed I had to have the bedroom door opened a crack. It did not have to be opened wide, just enough to let a sliver of light cast a pathway for me if I needed to make a quick exit. You see there were times when I had to hide under my blanket because there was a bunch of birds or bats fighting to get through the bedroom window. I could see their shadows flapping against each other up on the far wall of the bedroom, opposite the window where a huge oak tree’s branches were reaching towards my room. The limbs looked like long arthritic arms shaking their fists of leaves at me. Sometimes there was an unusual sound; something I had never heard before. It sounded like the wooden floor was groaning from an unexpected heavy weight. I was so scared I would lie very still, pretending I was one of the pillows I had in bed with me. As I grew up I realized that sound was actually our neighbor from the apartment above when he wore his heavy work boots in the house. Life can be really scary for a young child. SAMUEL, played by newcomer Noah Wisemam, was convinced there was a monster in the house. In fact, he was taking household products and turning them into weapons to protect himself and his mother Amelia, played by Essie Davis (Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Matrix franchise), from the scary being. Samuel’s obsession was driving his mother crazy. Written and directed by Jennifer Kent (Monster), I was so relieved to finally watch a horror movie that depended more on suspense than blood to scare the viewer. The story in this film festival winning thriller rolled out in such a way that it worked perfectly in allowing the tension to build up. Now granted, having a mother and a young child as the main focus lent itself for this movie to be even more scary than the usual young adult in the wrong place/wrong time format. The idea for this story was perfect because who as a young child was not scared of something when they went to bed? I had to give Noah extra credit with his acting because I moved from one perception of his character to another due to his performance. Be prepared, his screaming could become annoying for some viewers. I know the horror genre can be a fantasy but it surprised me how real the mother was in this dramatic movie. Just when I thought I was over being scared of going to sleep, how will I get to sleep tonight? There were a couple of brief scenes with blood.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Pyramid
The reason certain man-made creations are called wonders of the world is because they started out in someone’s imagination, being the first of its kind ever to grace this planet. To be different and never seen before; it must have been mind blowing when objects like the Great Wall of China or the Great Pyramid of Giza were initially discussed. In addition, where did the idea even come from? Whether I am fortunate to see the object with my own eyes or only view it by electronic means, I wonder what it must have been like for the people who did the manual labor. From history books I am aware the labor consisted of slaves; were they even aware of what they were building or just told to move one rock from one pile to another. There have been enough movies that have fueled the idea that each famous structure had several curses associated with it. I know with my imagination I could come up with some wild ideas for curses. UPON discovering a lost pyramid, an archaeological team discovered a way inside that they hoped would lead them to understanding the nature of the unusual 3 sided structure. What they soon realized was they were not alone. Some of the major players in this horror film were Ashley Hinshaw (Chronicle, True Blood-TV) as Nora, Denis O’Hare (Dallas Buyers Club, American Horror Story-TV) as Holden, James Buckley (Charlie Countryman, The Inbetweeners franchise) as Fitzie and relative newcomer Christa Nicola as Sunni. The opening scenes were effective in setting up the story, softly starting out before bringing in the intensity and shock value. I have to tell you this was the only positive aspect to this film. If you have never seen a horror film before, then this picture may be able to keep your attention, but I think that is a lot to ask for. Let me start with the acting; it was sad because the script provided nothing for the actors. With such generic predictable lines being uttered or screamed, I was bored for the majority of the movie. There was only one special effect that I thought was decent and yet, I am hesitant to mention what it was in case someone is determined to inflict pain on themselves by sitting through this mess. It did not have to be this way since there was enough to choose from with most of us aware of ancient pyramids, curses and myths in some form or another; all that was needed was a better script and director. This may not be nice to say but having sat through this film I felt as if I had been cursed. There were a few scenes that showed blood.
1 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Horns
Just imagine if everyone would express exactly what they felt or thought. I would be more comfortable hearing the truth instead of some flimsy throwaway type of phrase. How would you react to the 2 following comments: “Why did you cut your hair to look like that?” or “I miss the way your hair outlines your face now that you cut your hair.” I have to admit I do find amusement in people’s comments sometimes; especially those folks who are passive aggressive. An example would be someone I had not seen in a long time coming up to me to say they haven’t heard from me, they missed me. When they say that to me I ask them why then didn’t they just pickup the phone and call me. Let me ask you, how many times have you gone on a date when the person tells you what a good time they had meeting you and will call you later in the week to set up another date? You do not hear from them so you call and leave them a message. And guess what, they still do not call. I do not get it; I wish they would just say they are not interested or they don’t think we make a good fit. Heck, they can say they don’t like my looks; I am not going to take it personally because they barely know me. People can be so funny at times. WITH everyone believing he murdered his girlfriend Merrin Williams, played by Juno Temple (Killer Joe, Afternoon Delight); Ig Perrish, played by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter franchise, Kill Your Darlings), would now have to face the townsfolk with the unusual horns that had mysteriously sprouted up on his head. He soon discovered the horns had a strange effect on people. Based on the best-selling book, this dramatic fantasy had a bizarre premiss as a story line. However, I was game since I have been intrigued with Daniel’s movie role choices recently. He did not disappoint me in this picture, carrying it off quite nicely as a matter of fact. Actually I thought the whole cast worked well together including Max Minghella (The Ides of March, The Social Network) as Lee Tourneau. Where this film lost me was the script; it tried to do too much, not sure if it wanted to be a drama, fantasy, mystery or horror film. There were some scenes that worked well thanks to the actors; but then other times things would just go flat. One other thing to mention, I believe the idea for this story had been done a couple of times before. Just as I like my conversations to state the bottom line, so do I wish my movies would do the same thing in what they are trying to tell me.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wolves
I would not say the notion was perpetuated in my small part of the world, but I did not see much encouragement to reach out either. It became apparent at a young age for me; in particular, it was one of the first classes I had ever attended. Within the small group of kids I sat with I was the only left-handed student; I was different. The teacher spent no time teaching me how to hold a pencil or a pair of scissors. From there my awarenesses expanded to race and religion. I do not want to say prejudices went unchecked, but it seemed the differences between the students were something that did not get embraced. Instead, they were sort of pushed to the side like guardrails on our growth path. I have seen a change in attitudes where being different has less negative connotations to it. Not enough in my opinion, but I see the younger generation being more receptive to each other’s differences. Some may disagree with me but I have seen how a school’s sports team rivalry grows out of control and permeates the students’ mindset. Sure one team wins and one loses but some carry that rivalry through their neighborhood, claiming theirs is better than a competing school’s area and on and on it goes. I remember how the elementary schools where I grew up were each given a negative nickname by the students in my school. The mentality of us vs. them was always present. WAKING up to find his parents dead, the only option Coyden Richards, played by Lucas Till (X-Men franchise, Walk the Line), could come up with was to leave and try to find people who wee similar to him, who could explain why it happened. This action horror movie’s story seemed familiar to me, as if I had seen it before in a couple of other films. I thought the teenage angst angle was one the writers should have carried further throughout the story. Soon into the picture I realized the budget must have been created with very little money. The reason being the directing was poor, the script was substandard and the acting was sad. For example actors Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones-TV, Bullet to the Head) as Connor and Merritt Patterson (The Hole, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) as Angelina Timmins could have done a better performance than what they did here. There really was not much in this movie to keep my interest; my mind kept trying to wander (maybe run) away. If the studio would have pushed to create a different take on the genre, I would have been better able to embrace this film. Several scenes had blood and violence in them.
1 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Ouija
There were no commercials or advertisements as far as I could recall. None of the toy shelves at stores carried it. The only thing I can remember was it being the first game I ever played, not counting tag or hide-and-go-seek. The game was handed down to me, taught by my Mother. We would either sit at the kitchen table or on the sofa to play, with only one thing needed: a deck of cards. After she shuffled them she would lay all the cards out face down in rows. Each player would take turns flipping over 2 cards at a time. If they matched, for example 2 threes or 2 queens, the player kept the cards; if not, they would turn the cards face down and the next player would try finding a match. The winner was the one who collected the most cards. I used to love playing this game and eventually started playing it myself to see how long it would take me to match up all the cards. In turn, I taught the next generation after me this card game that had no official name. As time passed and I transitioned to board games with friends, I never showed any of my friends this card game that was done in the family. Not that it was necessarily a secret, it just remained a game one played with a family member. After seeing this film maybe that was a good thing. BOARD games were supposed to be fun, but not in this horror film. After finding a spirit board, aka Ouija board, a group of friends decided to use it to see if they could find out why a friend of theirs killed herself. They unwittingly introduced a dark, ancient spirit into their lives that only wanted one thing: them. Starting out at a slow deliberate pace, this horror movie never veered from it. First time director Stiles White created a bland, generic piece that seemed to attract only young adults based on who was in the theater with me. If you have never seen a scary movie, then it is possible you may jump a couple of times while watching this picture. With Olivia Cooke (The Signal, Bates Motel-TV) as Laine Morris, Daren Kagasoff (The Secret Life of the American Teenager-TV, Blue-TV) as Trevor and Shelley Hennig (Days of Our Lives-TV, The Secret Circle-TV) as Debbie Galardi being part of the cast, there was no acting worth noting here. Of course having such a poorly written script with no lines worth remembering, the cast could not help but to be boring. I cannot believe I am saying this but a better time would have been to save my money by staying home and playing a game with family and friends. There were several scenes with blood.
1 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Annabelle
Those initial first experiences are what gets played in most people’s heads when they encounter them again later in life. I refer to this as recordings in my head. Gratefully as I have aged I now have the ability to fast forward some of them when they crop up just as I am encountering some new situation that resembles a past experience. An example would be individuals who had a bad experience the first time they went to a dentist. Chances are their future visits were accompanied with a bit of dread. There used to be an amusement park in the city that had a creepy looking fun house. The first time I went there my cousins convinced me to go with them into the fun house. I was not scared initially by the exterior with its dark shadowed walls and large doorway that looked like a clown’s gaping mouth with yellowed teeth. As we entered, however, we were immediately thrust into darkness; there were only a few dim lights that barely cast a weak glow. For some reason I became separated from the rest of the group and wound up getting stuck in a maze of mirrored passageways. Each turn I took I would encounter some action that scared me further. I finally was retrieved after I began screaming and crying. From that experience it took a long time before I could enter a fun house without having a preconceived sense of fear. BUILT-IN fan base with some expectations would be a reason to do a prequel to a successful film which is why I believe director John R Leonetti (The Conjuring, Insidious) was on board for this horror movie. Soon to be parents Mia and John Gordon, played by Annabelle Wallis (Body of Lies, The Tudors-TV) and Ward Horton (The Wolf of Wall Street, The Mighty Macs), began experiencing frightening events after John bought Mia a gift of an antique doll for her collection. I had high hopes for this prequel since I had enjoyed John R. Leonetti’s previous picture The Conjuring. Unfortunately the poorly written script deflated much of the fear out of this film. It seemed as if the writers were randomly plopping down quick scenes to scare the viewer without much suspense. The acting did not do anything for me including the performance out of Alfre Woodward (12 Years a Slave, The Family That Preys) as bookshop owner Evelyn. With this film I felt the movie studio saw the success of The Conjuring and hurriedly decided they could earn more money by turning it into a franchise. Frankly the only thing I found scary was the possibility they would make another movie of this caliber. There were a few scenes that had blood and violence.
1 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: No Good Deed
I am generally not as kind of a person as I used to be or even want to be. Those within my circles of friends and family I try to be kind and thoughtful; however, these days strangers are a whole different story. And I have to tell you I hate being that way. Through the years as some of my displays of kindness were met with deceitfulness, those layers of negative experiences started to pull the kindness inside of me down into a setting hardness of mistrust. There were the relationships where kindness was met with covert acts of hurtfulness; helping the high school student who was selling local newspaper subscriptions but my money never made it to the newspaper office and the former co-worker who took my data to pretend it was their own hard work; each thing kept chipping away at me. Look at all the news being reported about internet or phone scams that prey on unsuspecting individuals; it is enough to make one never answer the phone or open a piece of mail again. I know all of these things can lead to a society that is made of closed up and isolated people; it is a scary thought. KINDNESS was met with a night of terror and horror for Terri, played by Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Person of Interest-TV). All it took was to help a stranded driver who had a car accident and needed to make a phone call. Unbeknownst to Terri the gentleman was escaped convict Colin Evans, played by Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom). The strongest element in this crime thriller was Taraji and Idris. The rest of the cast that included Leslie Bibb (Iron Man franchise, Law Abiding Citizen) as Meg and Henry Simmons (World’s Greatest Dad, Madea’s Family Reunion) as Terri’s husband, really took a back seat to Idris and Taraji. With their solid acting the two actors had a believable chemistry that kept me interested in the story. Now about that story; the script was kept at such a poor level that the movie kept brushing into hokeyness. It was astounding how many times Taraji’s character Terri, who was a lawyer, kept making poor choices. Even though the story was predictable and filled with cliches, I still was able to be mildly entertained for a portion of the time. It was a shame this movie was not kind to its actors and it would be unkind of me to tell you to go see it at the movie theaters. There were several scenes that had violence and blood in them.
2 stars
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