Blade Runner 2049 Review

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Prisoners, Sicario)

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto

Plot: The studio releasing this movie reportedly asked critics to not give away the plot in their reviews. So out of respect to them, I'll just say that it takes place decades after the original, and Ryan Gosling plays a Blade Runner who eventually meets up with Harrison Ford's character.

Review: Blade Runner 2049 is much better than I expected when I put it on my Top Ten Most Anticipated List of 2017. I don't think it is as good as the original classic, but it is a great, intelligent sci-fi thriller.
It is more complex and story driven than most other science fiction movies these days, without being overly confusing. The plot is not always easy to predict, and it has some interesting philosophical themes. It is very well acted, and the writing and directing are great.
It is phenomenal from a visual standpoint. The world this movie takes place in is fully realized, and looks amazing.
My main complaint is that it is a little too long. It clocks in at two hours and 44 minutes, and sometimes it drags.
I don't have much else to say about it, and I apologize for the short review. I recommend you see it, and support this kind of movie. If the box office is any indication, they need this.

Rating: 4 out of 5... stars (It's getting too hard to think of something else to write down in my ratings)

Gerald's Game Review

Directed by: Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil)

Starring: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas


Plot: Based on the novel by Stephen King, and released exclusively on Netflix. Jesse Burlingame retreats to a remote lake house with her husband Gerald, to rekindle their marriage by getting a little kinky. But things quickly go south when Gerald suffers a fatal heart attack, leaving Jesse handcuffed to the bed.

Review: Stephen King adaptations are hit and miss in terms of quality. While there are plenty of great adaptations like The Shining, Carrie, and The Shawshank Redemption, there is also a greater abundance of less than stellar ones such as Maximum Overdrive. But, along with It, it looks like 2017 will be a rare instance where we get two good King adaptations in one year.
Gerald's Game is more of a story of survival than a traditional horror movie. It is about her inner struggles, portrayed by hallucinations of herself and her husband. Much of the movie is about her facing her inner demons.
The actress playing the main character, Carla Gugino, gives a great performance, especially considering that she spends much of the film by herself or talking to a hallucination of herself. She plays a very relatable character, with a dark past that resurfaces in the midst of this ordeal.
Gerald's Game is similar to the director's other Netflix movie, Hush. Like that movie, it is about a woman alone in a house who struggles to stay alive, and has a similar character arc. However, while that one was a straight up horror movie, this one plays out mostly like a survival drama that gets suspenseful in the last act. But there are a few bloody scenes, including one in particular that was difficult for me to watch.
Altogether, this was a good survival story. It surprisingly never lagged story-wise, and kept me interested throughout. It should be given credit for adapting a book that is mostly inner monologue, and making it into a thoroughly interesting movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10 handcuffs

mother! Review

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, Pi, Black Swan)

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kristen Wiig


Plot: A couple (Lawrence and Bardem) have just rebuilt their home in the middle of nowhere, after it burned down, and are ready to get back to their peaceful life. However, things take a dark turn when Bardem begins letting people into their home against his wife's wishes.

Review: ...and then things get weirder and weirder.
First of all, this is not the horror movie that it is marketed as. Even though there are a few very disturbing momentss, this is a movie that most horror fans will probably hate.
mother! is closer to an art film. There is a story, but somewhere along the way, reality just goes out the door. One can easily tell that it is trying to be symbolic, even if they don't know what it is about. But I'm pretty sure everybody in the theater, myself included, walked out asking one question: "What the hell did I just watch?"
It is a good movie in terms of film-making, with good performances. But it is still a bizarre, often nonsensical movie, that will definitely divide audiences. But whether you love it or hate it, you will be thinking about it afterwards. It was made to be analyzed, and to have people try to piece it together.
For a long time after watching, I was unsure whether I liked it or not, but I decided that I did. It is an intriguing film, that made me want to piece it together, even if it did make Requiem for a Dream look normal in comparison. I am very surprised that such an unconventional film was made by a major studio.
In conclusion, whether you love or hate it depends on who you are. Just don't expect a horror movie. Or any kind of normal movie.

Rating: 3 out of 5 WTFs

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