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Reviews
1st Summoning (2018)
so bad. so, so bad.
Having a netflix subscription is awesome. you find some hidden gems, some blockbusters...but you also find things that should stay hidden, like 1st Summoning. This movie was an hour too long. I found myself playing candy crush, watching youtube videos, leaving in and out of the room without pausing and i'm pretty sure that's not indicative of a good movie lol. And I am not a horror film buff, so I don't really "look" for things to critique, if it entertains me I consider that a good movie, regardless of tropes and stereotypes and cliches. With that being said, 1st Summoning was a long drawn out garbled mess. The acting was bad, the writing was bad, the directing was bad, I only gave two stars because there was a slight creep factor towards the end. Also, the ending left questions unanswered, which I can be honest and say because I wasn't fully paying attention some things could have been addressed and I just missed it. Overall, give this a pass unless you are just super bored one day.
The Gallows (2015)
to each their own
so i wrote this when the movie first came out and I wasn't sure why a lot of reviews were so poor. But then I recently watched "It Follows", looked up the reviews and am editing this because now I get it. "It Follows" reviews are saturated with what essentially are rough drafts from a film class paper. There was a lot of talk of theme and motif, and praise of the ambiguous ending because apparently it resulted in cinematic freshness and sophistication (yes i'm generalizing). I on the other hand, was irritated by the characters and the ending. None of our opinions are wrong, we are just two different audience groups. Reviews should definitely be honest, but you should be clear of who's writing it and who you're writing it for. (The beauty of everyone having different minds :) )
So, if that's the lens you're going to view this movie with, then yeah, it probably won't be your cup of tea. But if you want to be entertained by something, I think this movie succeeded. Honestly I was initially drawn to the movie only by the creepy smells like teen spirit cover, but it's a decision i'm glad i made. Found footage movies usually turn me off with all the shaking, but it was very minimal in this movie which made it that much more enjoyable. The cast was a bunch of fresh faces and I rather enjoyed the longer exposition in the beginning, because it sets you up for a whirlwind at the edge of your seat for the rest of the movie. It did have the tired douchey character in it but he is not overwhelming. And then there's a twist at the end that you probably won't see coming until it's already hit you. There are clues, but you don't really pay them any mind until it's too late.
Definitely worth a watch even if just to say you think I was wrong :)
Addicted (2014)
nope nope nope.
When I first saw that there was a movie coming out, I was excited and apprehensive at the same time. I've come to accept "Based on the book/novel/bestseller/etc" as a disclaimer that if you have read the book you should probably expect the movie to be LOOSELY based, with kudos given to movies who stick to the book while keeping the cinematic liberties to a minimum. But boy oh boy does this adaptation go waaaaay beyond taking liberties. Except for the characters and very few key scenes, this could have been a totally unrelated movie.
Without giving away any spoilers, basically the main character is addicted to sex, so you would think that there would be a whole lot of exposition, especially with the back drop being dialogue between the main character and a therapist. But okay, let's say you haven't read the book, or it's been a while since you have. There's so much missing as to why this woman has an addiction to sex. Why does she cheat? Why should we care that she cheats? She's painted as this spoiled and deprived woman who you don't feel sorry for,( when, in the book, there's actually a lot that went on in her past that affects her present.) There's no examination of the main character and the relationships she has.
This movie was an hour and 45 minutes. I could have maybe dealt with the other stuff that wasn't included if there was a portion devoted to her past and not the 2 and half second flashback and 1 sentence literally at the end of the movie where we're just supposed to go, "oh, it all makes sense now", and walk out satisfied.
While Addicted was erotic fiction, it still kept you on the edge of your seat because you wanted to find out what happened next. I couldn't put it down. All the movie did was show some soft core sex scenes, some violence, and then it hopped skipped and jumped to the end. If you've read the book, this isn't worth your time or money. And if you haven't, well you've been warned. Wait til it comes out on cable. It's a shame too, the cast was really let down.
Lighthouse (2014)
not really sure how to feel
I decided to give this movie a shot because I watch Baby Daddy (which Chelsea Kane is on) and thought Nolan Funk was quite hilarious as Hunter on Glee. I have never ever put any type of theatrical high standard for lifetime movies, but this is still pretty average on the totem pole. Without giving anyway any spoilers, lets just say that there are quite a few plot holes and inconsistencies which will have you going "really?" (not unlike other lifetime movies, though, but still). I could tell that the actors were trying really hard to commit to their roles but the dialogue (especially at points that were supposed to be creepy and disturbing) was actually quite comical sometimes. Luckily it wasn't completely horrible and I was able to make it through the entire thing.
It's like they were trying to reach a younger crowd with the random mentions of former Disney/nick teen pop stars...miley, selena, and "Ari" (lol what??) but then the rest of the movie was pretty adult themed, not like R rated but if i had a teenager I probably would watch this first before letting them watch it. i couldn't help but wonder if they were taking a dig at the stereotypical "child star grows up" story but i suppose that's for another thread.
I give it 5 stars for not being great, but not being truly terrible either. The plot is pretty uninspired, the script lets down the actors and by the time the movie was over i wasn't even really invested in any of the characters to care about their fates....but again, this is a lifetime movie, so you should already know what you're getting into.