It Review

Directed by: Andy Muschietti (Mama)

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard

Plot: Based on the first half of Stephen King's novel. It is the 1980s in the small town of Derry, Maine. Children are being killed by a shape-shifting clown named Pennywise, who takes the form of what scares them the most. A small group of kids set out to stop him.

Review: 2017 has been a great year for horror movies. Get Out was immensely successful financially and critically. Split was also very successful, and proved that, despite his recent reputation, M Night Shamalan can still make good movies. And now, the new iteration of It has become a box office smash.
Fortunately, this is a great version that deserves this kind of attention. It is based on only the first half of the book, or the first, and most acclaimed episode of the the two-part miniseries adaptation. There have been plans to make the second part, and I am fully behind this.
It is full of intense sequences and creepy imagery. This version of Pennywise is scary enough to match Tim Curry's excellent performance in the original. Even though there are more than a few jump scares, they are overshadowed by several genuinely frightening moments.
But it also plays like a Stand By Me type movie. All of the children are from harsh backgrounds, become close friends, and go on this dark adventure together. Each of these characters are unique, fully fleshed out, and well-acted.
In conclusion, It is the most disturbing film I've seen all year. It has plenty of disturbing scenes, fully fleshed out characters, and great performances from a mostly young cast.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 balloons

Little Evil Review

Directed by: Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil)

Starring: Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Sally Field

Plot: A real estate agent (Scott) has just married the woman of his dreams (Lilly). But things are less than ideal between him and her son (Owen Atlas), who he is starting to suspect is the Antichrist.

Review: This is the second film from the director of the cult hit, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, a movie which I would highly recommend. And while this one does not reach the heights of his debut, it is still an enjoyable horror-comedy.
Like Tucker and Dale, it gets a lot of its humor from parodying many horror movie tropes. The child's evil power is far from subtle. Many of his actions parody scenes from other horror movies such as Poltergeist, The Shining, and, of course, The Omen. Also, there is plenty of good comedy from the reactions of side characters, who, as exaggerations of the typical horror movie character, can't see that something's wrong with him, even when it is completely obvious.
This is relatively fun movie, even though there are a few jokes that fall flat. It is a comedic tribute to the horror genre, that takes the "demon child" sub-genre in a completely different direction in the last act. This may not be something you'll remember for a long time, but it is a fun way to kill about ninety minutes.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Death Note Movie Review

Directed by: Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest, Blair Witch)

Starring: Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Willem Dafoe

Plot: Based on the popular anime of the same name. High school student, Light Turner (Wolff) comes across a notebook with the ability to kill anybody whose name he writes in it. He starts a crusade to kill criminals, and essentially act like a god. However, a famous detective known only as L (Stanfield) has set out to stop him.

Review: I have watched very few anime in their entirety, but Death Note is one of them, and one that I can say that I am a fan of. So, I was interested in seeing the Netflix live action movie version of it, and very disappointed by the result.
The movie uses the same premise but sets it in Seatle, and uses a different story. It also amplifies the blood and gore to the point where certain deaths resembled the overly complicated accidents in the Final Destination movies. There's also a half-assed love story after Light shows the Death Note to a girl he just met, and draws her into his crusade. Also, Willem Dafoe is in there as the death god, Ryuk, but he doesn't really do much.
But the transition to film rarely captures what made the source material great. The anime was an intriguing battle of wits between two cool, calm people (Light and L). The movie focuses very little on L's hunt for the killer, opting instead to just show Light killing people in gruesome ways, and his relationship with his girlfrieind.
Also the portrayal of the characters are sure to anger fans of the source material. The calm and intelligent Light is now an angsty teenager, who stupidly shows the Death Note to a girl he just met, and his immorality has been toned down significantly. L and Ryuk are portrayed decently for the most part, but it's not enough to save the movie, especially when Dafoe is so underused.
It may be more watchable as a standalone film, but even then, it's still not very good. It's still a dumb movie about an uninteresting teen with an overabundance of gore. There are several scenes I can point to that even non-fans would hate. Like Light's borderline comical overacting when he first sees Willem Dafoe. Or the fact that a rock ballad plays over part of the climax. As cliche as it sounds, you should watch the anime instead.
And no, there are no potato chips in the movie.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Dunkirk Review

Director: Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar)

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, Tom Hardy

Plot: Three inter-lapping stories about Allied soldiers during the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II. After a large squadron of men are stranded in the French town of Dunkirk and surrounded by German soldiers, they must be evacuated in the midst of a fierce battle.

Review: Dunkirk is an intense film about the experience of war. It is a non-stop spectacle of raw danger. It is told with little dialogue, and is suspenseful throughout. Though it is less bloody than a lot of other great war films, it still manages to accurately capture the horrors of World War II.
However, the movie still falls short of greatness, due to its lack of deep human characters. While the characters' lives are put in danger, there still wasn't enough emotional involvement to make me feel truly afraid for them.
But it was still a great, atmospheric epic that I would definitely recommend.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

War for the Planet of the Apes Review

Director: Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)

Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn

Plot: The war between the humans and the apes is still raging on. When the apes are attacked by a squad led by Woody Harrelson, they set out to take their revenge.

Review: The new Planet of the Apes trilogy has always been darker than most current summer blockbusters. They are gritty, deal with serious topics, and, of course, have to inevitably end with the apes taking over the world. And War for the Planet of the Apes is probably the darkest one yet. There are plenty of brutal war sequences, and disturbing scenes of slavery. This grittiness works in the movie's favor, creating an intense theatrical experience.
The movie's CGI is impressive throughout, and the apes always seem to be real. But the apes also seem real on a human level as well. Yes, this is a very emotional movie. The main character is driven by grief (over a few shocking deaths early in the film), and there are several other tragic elements throughout.
Woody Harrelson is great as this movie's villain, creating a convincingly evil character. And, as always, Andy Serkis does a good acting job in the motion capture suit.
In conclusion, War for the Planet of the Apes is an intense, emotionally gripping conclusion to what may be one of the best trilogies of this decade.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Spider-man: Homecoming Review

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Marisa Tomei, John Favreau

Director: Jon Watts (Cop Car)

Plot: Shortly after the events of Civil War, Peter Parker (Holland) is getting used to the high tech suit that Tony Stark (Downey) had given him. He is having a hard time dealing with his powers as well as his responsibilities as a student. In the midst of this, he stumbles across an illegal high-tech weapons selling deal headed by the Vulture (Keaton), and will attempt to take it down.

Review: This is the second reboot of Spider-man, and the third version of him in fifteen years. But this one still manages to seem fresh. Homecoming more closely resembles a high school comedy that happens to be about a web-slinging superhero.
Tom Holland plays the title character as more of a kid than any other incarnation. We see this from the beginning, with video footage from his camera, where he is excitedly recording the events of Civil War. He retains this innocent charm throughout. He's just an awkward teenager, trying to balance his life as a superhero with his normal life.
There is plenty of humor here, often in the style of many teen comedies (including a not-so-subtle nod to Ferris Bueller's Day Off). But there's also a decent amount of action as well. The villain here is somewhat of a sympathetic character, with an understandable motive for what he does, which places him above many similar supervillains.
I'd say this is one of the better Spider-man movies. It is about as good as the first two Sam Raimi movies. I would recommend it as a great superhero movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Baby Driver Review

There are movies that play a lot of popular music in the background, and then there's Baby Driver. The vast majority of the movie is set to some kind of music, and much of the action is set to the beat of the songs. This is one of the factors that help Baby Driver to become one of the most fresh and fun action movies in years.

It centers around Baby (Ansel Elgort), a young getaway driver who is in debt to a major heist planner (Kevin Spacey). Ever since his parents died in a car crash, there has been a ringing in his ears, which he drowns out with music. Now, he relies on the music to heighten his awareness as he drives, making him the best at what he does.

The movie is directed by Edgar Wright, who is known for directing Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Shaun of the Dead. He brings the same energy and then some to this project, creating something that remains fun and lively throughout. It is a gangster comedy, much like Pulp Fiction, with smart dialog, and even more dark humor and pop culture references. It is very funny, and very well-written. Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx are the standouts here, but the mostly silent Baby is still an extremely interesting character.

Many of the scenes, especially the action sequences, are choreographed to fit with the rhythm of the music. The action gets more intense when the music speeds up. Machine guns fire off to the beat of the songs. This rhythm gives the movie a unique, music video-like feel, that is unlike anything you've seen in the theater.

Baby Driver is an experience unlike few others. It is proof that movies can be fun and thrilling without sacrificing intelligent writing.

5 out of 5 stars