This film was all the more intense because it holds a mirror up to today's unhinged society, this despite some wild machinations in the plot involving cell phones and laptops, leaving the main victim apparently helpless and the main psycho free to continue his rein of terror with nary a cop in site. How many times have we honked our horns, exchanged nasty looks with other drivers, been exacerbated? I can see something like this easily happening. What if we piss off the wrong guy, even if we are in the right? In our society today, people are burning cities to the ground, or trying to take over congress by force, and the powers that be are fanning the flames to make it all happen. They say some of this is okay, but some of it is not, depending on which side of the political fence you happen to sit on. It creates a powder keg, just waiting to blow, like Russell Crow's character here. Granted, from the opening shots, he's already blown, but then this Mom character, Rachel (Caren Pistorius, and isn't it funny her name is "Karen") winds up inviting his violence upon her by doing something 90% would have done in that same situation. When Crowe's character attacks her lawyer in a diner, how many of us wouldn't get involved, haven't gotten involved, lest we invite that violence upon us? It's a clever thriller about violence in modern America that unfortunately has a few problems as well. Some of the happenstance lands in the realm of being ridiculous, some of the violence a little over the top. But you're gonna get that sometimes in a thriller. It goes with the territory. I still had a good time with this intense, scary, modern-day thriller. Part of the fun is the ride, part of it is the payoff, and part of it is the analyzing: What would you do?
Reviews
18 Reviews
St. Paul
(2000– )
Fictional Characters Added, Real People Omitted
29 January 2021
The final TNT Bible movie, starring Johannes Brandrup as Paul of Tarsus, is one of the better one. Yet I have two issues. 1) They added fictional characters. I don't mind if there is some dramatic licence (there always is). But to create an entire storyline with characters that didn't really happen that way, in this case Paul's main nemesis Reuben and Reuben's wife Dinah, who becomes a Christian, and then leads Reuben right to Paul? So far, these TNT bible movies have been more biblically accurate. I can deal with such things, such as fictional characters Jack and Rose on James Cameron's Titanic, but it just makes me wonder why they felt the need to create fictional characters. And 2) I'm glad they saw fit to add Barnabas (G.W. Bailey), but even in a two hour miniseries, they couldn't include Silas and Timothy? Not very accurate or complete guys! But for what they did show, including characters to the story who weren't really there in the bible, this was still quite good.
April Fool's Day
(1986)
The Twist is in the Title
28 January 2021
I've been wanting to see this movie again ever since we considered it for Halloween. It's been decades. I liked Deborah Foreman and Amy Steel, who were so good in Valley Girl and Friday the 13th Part II, respectively, and I remembered Thomas F. Wilson (Biff from the Back to the Future movies) and Griffin O'Neal (Ryan O'Neal's son) and the main plot and twist. Didn't remember it being quite this short, or filthy. Still pretty good for a mystery slasher with a twist, which you can probably figure out just from the title, and which, truthfully, is more like Agatha Christie than a bonafide slasher flick.. Still, Foreman and Steel are good in this. It's the slasher film for those who don't like slashers, and even then, I'd say it's only mildly entertaining.
Last Days in the Desert
(2015)
Dry as a Desert
27 January 2021
Jesus spent 40 days in the desert with the devil. After watching this film, I have an inkling of what that must have been like, not only in the way this story was presented, but also in it's long, languid, slowness. A completely fictional story about Jesus (Ewan McGregor) interacting with a family that lives there anchors the travails Jesus is going through, knowing who He is and what will happen, and the devil, also played by McGregor, taunting him the whole time. Definitely art house here, not my thing. Great acting by Ewan, some great cinematography as well, but I would have preferred something more biblically accurate and lively. This thing is as dry as the desert they live in. I think that's the point, but if so, I'll just say, "Thanks for sharing" and move on.
Uncommon
(2015)
Uncommon is Quite Common for a Christian Film
26 January 2021
Let me just get these three things out of the way first. This is an independent Christian film, so it is automatically going to be hated by the secular masses for being under-produced, overly dramatic, and preachy. I know this before reading a single review. The prejudice against Christians doesn't exist, they say, in the same breath they malign the movie for it's blatant Christian existence, along with all the other Christian movies. Secondly, the plot is similar to all those old Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney movies and episodes of The Brady Bunch. "Hey guys, why don't WE put on a show?". Third, the cast is made up of Christian unknowns and a few washed-up, has-been actors, in this case, Eric Estrada of CHiPs and Irma P. Hall, who I remembered from the strange Tom Hanks movie remake Ladykillers. With that out of the way, I'd just add that given all of that baggage, this actually comes out smelling pretty good.
The Sleepover
(2020)
A Real Winner!
25 January 2021
A very enjoyable romp, clean enough for the whole family. Has great characters, a few twists in the story, good action, funny comedy. A real winner! I'd mention the characters I liked the most, but I'd have to run through all the major characters. Just a very fast and fun family film.
The Exorcist III
(1990)
Competent Sequel to a Classic Horror Film
24 January 2021
A worthy successor to one of the most terrifying horror movies ever made? Well, no. Still pretty good in its own right? Maybe. There were a few tense moments and shocking scenes, some suspenseful build up with at least one terrifying payoff with what is considered one of the best jumpscares in movie history. Some of the demon stuff was disgusting, some rather silly (the granny on the ceiling), but this is still loads better than that horrible part 2. I like George C. Scott as an actor, and Brad Dourif, and Jason Miller reprising his role from the first film, but all of Miller's and Dourif's scenes were confined to a single room in a nuthouse, and they had long stretches of exposition dialogue. If the original had a bunch of dialogue about a gemini killer, it wouldn't be the scary classic it became. I did, however, like one of Dourif's last lines in the movie, when he mumbled to Scott's character that it's "Child's Play," having already done the voice of Chucky.
I saw this many years ago in the theater when it first came out, back in 1990, and the thing I remembered most about it was the audience in the theater. Many people chose to take their kids. When one priest was murdered and beheaded, the demon wrote in blood on the wall the title of the priest's favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life. A child in the theater who wasn't old enough to read yet had to ask his parents what it said. I think that just about says it all, don't you?
Storks
(2016)
Eye Popping Animation No Longer Such a Selling Point?
21 November 2018
I love animation! This film is no exception. Yet there is a massive glut of computer animated films these days, so that even films like The Secret Life of Pets, The Good Dinosaur, and Finding Dory can get lost in the sheer saturation of the genre. With a film like G Force, you can see how a story can wind up being forgettable even with striking animation. Despite it being very colorful with great characters, story, and eye-popping animation, Storks actually winds up being just cute. I mean, how many times have we now seen stupendous animation just like this? Still, it is something I'd definitely recommend, especially for animation freaks.
Things Get Positively Dreary!
21 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The focus is on Harry, Hermoine and Ron, on their quest, with just a few scenes involving any others, and Valdemort is back, but still on the peripheral. And the three carrying around that horcrux as it sucks the life from them and makes them turn on each other is reminiscent of the One Ring from Lord of the Rings, and not the most entertaining time I've had watching a Harry Potter movie. Things are downright dour! This is a kid's film?
Still, it's not totally bad. The scenes with Valdemort show him to be a great villain, as he feeds one of the teachers to his snake, and the beginning has a thrilling sequence with a bunch of Harry Potter look-alikes, and the end, where Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lastrange tortures Hermoine and the elf Dobby shows up to save them all, but they pay a price, were also very good. But they're all like glowing lights in the midst of a very dismal and depressing darkness.
Horror Remakes Don't Get Much Better
20 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A classic, this was a nightmarish tour de force, a remake of the 50's sci fi great, and with it's own take on the story. And that ending where Veronica Cartwright reaches out to Donald Sutherland, and he points at her with that inhuman wail: Horror films don't get much more classic than that! Brilliantly done!
I'm Sorry, Hermoine and Ron Who?
20 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The one that ends it all, after 8 films (7 books) in the wizarding world, Harry finally has a showdown with He Who Has No Nose, and it's rather confusing, but also satisfying, and other than Harry and Valdemort, the other characters who get to shine are Mrs. Weasley, who gets fed up and dispatches Bellatrix, Neville Longbottom, who singlehandedly stands up against Valdemort despite everyone laughing at him, and it is he who offs Valdemort's snake, the last vestige of his soul, allowing Harry to finish him of - and Neville also gets the girl (Luna Lovegood, a cute couple), and finally there's Severus Snape, who turns out not to be a villain after all, but endured a lot as he infiltrated Valdemort's ranks in a plan that eventually proved fatal, and all because he loved Harry's mother from afar. In the end, Harry looks upon Snape as one the bravest, noblest men he's ever known, or ever will know. So yeah, a very entertaining conclusion.
Halloween
(I) (2018)
Well Yes, This Probably IS the Best Sequel
19 November 2018
My horror movie loving sister hated it. All the horror movie vloggers on YouTube, like the guy who does Cinemassacre, Sean Chandler and Cody Leach, agree it's the best thing to happen to the Halloween franchise since the original, though, like me, they agree it's still not a perfect horror movie or sequel, but it's nowhere near as bad as my sister made it out to be. Her opinion, I think, may have been influenced by Jamie Lee Curtis' far leftist politics. Regardless, she probably didn't like how the character of Laurie Strode has been living like a reclusive kook for 40 years, and I myself kind of scratched my head at that, but I'm sure in today's untra left wing feminist climate, it's all about WOMAN fighting back from victimhood. In that respect, I can understand her aversion. But as just a slasher film, it IS scary, and has a few good twists, and was wise to pick up the story 40 years later as if none of those other increasingly silly Halloween sequels, reboots and remakes had ever happened. It was also a bit more literate, made by intelligent people with more going on under the surface, with themes and intentional social commentary. And a lot of their story choices - scenes, camera angles, etc. - intentionally harkened back to the original. So although my sister says "skip this one," I say it's definitely the best thing to happen to the Halloween franchise since Jamie Lee Curtis returned the first time, 20 years ago, and along with that film (Halloween H2O) and the original, is definitely in the top 3, probably even the top 2. And just in case anyone is wondering, rounding out the top 5 would be Halloween 2 (the first one, not that awful Rob Zombie one, and the only other one to star Curtis) and Halloween 4, which was pretty good all the way through and had an amazing ending from a storytelling point of view. But this one is right up there with the best of this franchise!
North to Alaska
(1960)
Just as Good as McClintock!
18 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
North to Alaska was really cute, as John Wayne's character is supposed to bring Stewart Granger's long lost Jenny to him at their mining station in Alaska. She married someone else, so Wayne convinces an elegant floozie named Angel (Capucini) with the same French accent to go to Alska with him, planning to appease his friend with a similar type since Jenny dumped him, and along the way, they begin falling for each other. It's a John Wayne movie taylor made for romantics. A shyster played by Ernie Kovacs and Fabian as Stewart Granger's puppy dog, love afflicted brother figure into the mix, and it all ends with a town wide, slapstick fight in the muddy streets, and oh yeah, Wayne gets the girl AND the mine!
The Book of Life
(2014)
Waiter, Why Are There Wooden Toys in My Coco?
18 November 2018
The Book of Life made some interesting style choices for their character designs, being like wood block figures of the tale. However, it didn't have anywhere near the emotional depth of Coco, the other animated film about the Mexican Day of the Dead, and unfortunately, the pacing of the story and the humor was similar to the Madagascar and Hotel Transylvania movies, and I hate that frantic and frenetic style. That hyper bombastc approach is hard for adults to like, though some still do, don't know why. Films like this need to take a chill pill, relax a little bit, let their story and humor breathe a little bit. So that, in comparison, the pacing of Coco is more like a fine wine.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
(2018)
Better Than the First, For What It's Worth
18 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Mamma Mia 2 was better than Momma Mia, but that's still not saying an awful lot. The music was good, because the music of Abba is good, and second time around, you get a better feel for who each of these main characters are, though about those songs, a lot of the time, they are staged comically. Generally speaking, the young actors upstage the older ones, though I'm starting to get annoyed by Amanda Seyfried's soprano warbling, which I've heard now through three movies, including the first Mamma Mia and Les Mis. I don't know what to think of Cher and Meryl Streep only showing up at the end to sing one song each, though in each case, "Fernando" and "My Love, My Life," they do a great job, before joining the rest if the cast for the show stopping "Super Trooper". I'll quote my Abba loving brother, who said he liked it, despite at times feeling like he was watching a freak show. So, pretty much like the original with a bit of better singing. And what's with Judi Dench - oops, I mean Julie Walters? With fewer songs by the older male leads, one realizes she can't sing and can't dance either. If that's the case for most of the older cast, as with the first one, one must ask: What the hell are they doing being cast in a musical?
Cloudy with a Chance of Heart
18 November 2018
They can do great and inventive animation at the drop of a hat these days, as evidenced by Storks and Book of Life I've seen recently, so to be REALLY good, it must come down to story and pacing and emotional investment. That kind of thing can leave an otherwise inventive film like Book of Life in the dust, especially when compared to a similar film like Coco. It can leave a film like Storks somewhere decidedly in the middle of the pack, even when charming. And it can raise a film you don't necessarily expect much from, like Cloudy with a Chance. Despite some hyper, overblown action, especially towards the end, there is something sweet at its core, a story about a bullied, quirky scientist who finds acceptance by all the wrong people with his invention that turns water into food, his sweet relationship with the weather girl until he almost ruins it with his newfound fame, and the disconnected relationship he has with his Dad. It's very sweet, and I identified - a lot - with the feelings and motivations of the main character. So in the end, this one winds up being the best of the three most recent animated films I've seen.
Beautiful Boy
(I) (2018)
Bluntly Sad Study of the Hopelessness of Drug Addiction
17 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
As my sister said, very well done film. It's about the true story of a writer and father who begins losing his straight A son with a bright future to drugs. Pot is only the beginning, and Crystal Meth is nearly the end. The film does a great job dealing with the psychology of drug addiction and how it affects those addicted AND their loved ones. Steve Carrell tries everything, including love and reason, and sometimes it works, but not for long, and sometimes it doesn't. In the end - SPOILER ALERT - he and his family realize there is really NOTHING they can do, because love and reason only works for a time, and the drug addict often only uses them to continue doing drugs. Eventually, Carrell must cut his son off and wish him the best. Needless to say, it's a sad movie, with a feeling of dread and hopelessness at it's center to thoroughly capture the essence of a drug addict on a downward spiral. For a loving and caring father to see his beautiful boy become something he never expected and doesn't understand and can't help is tragic. It was a very well done movie, very thought provoking, and any parent of a drug addict would only be helped by seeing it because it does show the reality of the addiction, and that you can't save them by your actions, that it is eventually up to them to make the choice to continue using or stop. And it's a DAILY choice. At one point, he's clean for over a year. Then one night, the addiction hits again, he succombs, drops out of sight, and becomes even worse than he was before. Then he breaks in to his Dad's house to steal money, his girlfriend nearly OD's, and then nearly OD's himself shortly after in a bathroom stall, and Carrell is helpless to stop it because if he tries to intercede, it will just prolong the inevitable. Just sad, and perhaps too sad to give this movie it's deserved A, because it's actually grueling to sit through. There's no denying the script and acting are all first rate, and at least it makes you feel something about real life, and educates you about the psychology of drugs and addiction. It's the kind of movie I do recommend people see, as long as they're prepared going in. In many ways, it has many parrallels to The Exorcist. Both movies are about parents who are helpless as they watch their teenage children enter a downward, deathly spiral.
Trapped in Paradise
(1994)
Cute Movie Ruined by Carvey's Shtick
17 November 2018
This is a charming little caper movie with quite a bit of slapstick and heart, and would be near-nigh perfect if it weren't for one annoying thing!
Now I liked Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. He was one of the highlights of the show from '86 to '93, with memorable characters like The Church Lady, Hans of Hans and Franz, George Bush, Ross Perot, John McLaughlin and many others, not the least of which was Garth from the Wayne's World sketches with Mike Myers they turned into a successful couple of funny movies. But that's it. Check out just about any other Dana Carvey movie, such as the wretched Master of Disguise, and you'll find somebody who overacts with silly, unreal voices. And yes, he almost ruins this movie. Playing dumb correctly is actually an art form that takes skill. Richard Ayoade does it to perfection in The IT Crowd as Moss, Fred Ewanuick did it in Canada's Corner Gas, Bob Denver did it as Gilligan. But Carvey flat out fails here, and brings the movie down. If I were Nicolas Cage, the first time I heard that silly voice coming out of Carvey, I would have done one of those buggy eyed freak outs that Simon Helberg of Big Bang Theory parodies so well, and would have said, "What...the hell...is THAT! What are you doin' bro? Stop it!"
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