GSworldbuilder Reviews

Blood Moon (II) (2016)

A refreshing and special kind of movie!

[8/10 · 28 July 2016]

I very much enjoyed this small, character driven movie.

The story unfolds bit by bit by means of exposition and some flashbacks, culminating in a stomach twisting conclusion.

Only three characters make up the cast, but that's really all that is needed to bring this little gem to life. The performances are great; especially Maya Kazan's. She is doing most of the talking, so maybe that's what makes her stand out. James Callis was great as well, and same goes for Frank Medrano. Medrano's character could have been fleshed out maybe a little more?

Recommended if you like movies like Death and the Maiden, (almost entirely) taking place in one single room, focusing on character interaction to draw you in.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

Underwhelming, over-hyped, forgettable

[5/10 · 22 July 2016]

* * * SPOILERS * * *

30 minutes in the movie and I was tired of it already.

Anyway, like other reviewers have said, the opening scene was good and promising! The eery score morphs into the old theme song, and for a moment I got into it.

But then the rest of the movie happened...

Character presentation upon character presentation without any actual development. McKinnon was my favorite; she plays the eccentric Holtzmann, is a little over the top but it fits her. McCarthy delivers her same old schtick, so you know what to expect. Wiig is OK I guess, she didn't really stand out in any way. And Jones's character is just annoying and loud and at times glaringly stereotypical. Her acting was questionable as well; she may be a stand up comedian, but she's no actor. Hemsworth, contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, was not the best thing in this movie for me. He was unfunnily stupid and kind of a jerk. All these characters just come across as poorly drafted caricatures.

The writing is... Well, here's an example: At multiple times, the characters are stating the obvious (exposition) while talking to themselves (Erin: "Abby, you promised you wouldn't publish". Patty: "Is he going on the tracks?") only to show that same thing play out in the very next scene! Just how dumb are audiences according to the writers??

The humor is just a pile of questionable low-level jokes, to say the least: the queef joke (of which everyone heard by now, I guess) fell flat, and the soiling joke that just went on and on is worse than getting teeth pulled. I can count the number of times that I chuckled during this movie on one hand. The jokes and lines that did hit home, however, are overshadowed by cringe-worthy awful ones. (Kevin hits a Chinese gong and covers his eyes to protect himself from the loud noise, "because, you know, we're pointing out here that he's really stupid." IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS THAT FUNNY??? Oh my....) A really funny moment was Abby testing out the proton pack for the first time. Needless to say, it doesn't go too well and it's done in a great way. Of course followed by more exposition by the other characters OF WHAT WE ARE SEEING ON THE SCREEN FOR OURSELVES.

The special effects are certainly not bad, but the ghosts are not even remotely scary. It really is just Scooby-Doo and Casper quality.

Conclusion: there's nothing convincing or engaging or memorable about this movie and not because of its female cast; this movie is horrendously written, directed and executed.

Before I Wake (2016)

Enjoyable little movie

[8/10 · 4 June 2016]

I would hardly call it a horror movie. That's a bit misleading. But it sure was a fun supernatural thriller. It had good performances, the kid's included (usually with this type of movies I find myself distracted by the lack of believable performance by the child actors, but not here.)

The ending, though I can see why some would call it cheesy, was a welcome departure from the usual endings we get with these movies; where the bad (openly or covertly) wins, followed by the inevitable cheap final jump scare. Not here. Before I Wake wraps up its little story very nicely.

The reveal of the big bad's origins was touching. Well done, thumbs up.

Absolute Zombies (2015)

No thank you.

[2/10 · 21 December 2015]

I enjoy a good B-movie like any other person, but I didn't even make it past the full opening credits with Absolute Zombies. The shockingly bad CGI'd burning body before the opening credits had me at a loss for words. Three seconds later I decided to spend my time more wisely.

Given that the minimum length of a review is ten lines, I'll just repeat my warning: The shockingly bad CGI'd burning body before the opening credits had me at a loss for words. Three seconds later I decided to spend my time more wisely. The shockingly bad CGI'd burning body before the opening credits had me at a loss fornwords. Three seconds later I decided to spend my time more wisely.