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Sunday, September 30, 2018

MOVIE REVIEW: HELL FEST







































On Halloween night, three young women and their respective boyfriends head to Hell Fest -- a ghoulish traveling carnival that features a labyrinth of rides, games and mazes. They soon face a bloody night of terror when a masked serial killer turns the horror theme park into his own personal playground.

Director: Gregory Plotkin

Cast: Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards, Tony Todd

Release Date: September 28, 2018

Genres: Horror

Rated R for horror violence, and language including some sexual references

Runtime: 1h 29min

Review:

Hell Fest is a bit of an enigma of a film.  It’s a fairly competent slasher film that’s as forgettable as its cast.  The central plot and setting is fun but it never seems to take advantage of it.  The sets make for some fun sequences but none of it is terribly memorable.  Instead we get a straight forward Halloween / Friday the 13th clone that lacks any semblance of self awareness.  The cast is made up of terribly bland actors who serve as nothing more than cannon fodder for the killer.  There’s a bit of fun in figuring out who will get killed first but even that’s fairly predictable.  Hell Fest is the type of film that makes for decent Saturday afternoon watching on cable even though you’ll forget you saw it moments after it ends.

C

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Cindy Prascik's Review of The House With a Clock in Its Walls








































Dearest Blog: Though the weekend cinema offered little of any promise, Friday I headed up to Marquee Cinemas for The House With a Clock in Its Walls.
 
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
 
A boy comes to live with his uncle in a creepy old house that holds a dangerous secret.
 
Mama always said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." While that might not be *entirely* possible, we'll start with the positives here. The House With a Clock in Its Walls looks gorgeous. The score and cinematography set an eerie, magical tone that briefly gave me hope the film might be better than I anticipated. Cate Blanchett is mesmerizing, even punching well below her weight class, and, though the execution fails, the story itself is reasonably solid. The negatives, starting with the obvious: Kid actors are a crapshoot. Very few are good; more often you just hope they aren't bad enough or featured enough to be distracting. Owen Vaccaro is both bad enough and featured enough to be distracting, and Jack Black is more annoying than quirky or amusing as his oddball uncle. The last quarter of the movie features some inexplicably hokey effects, and, while the humor is rarely crass, a handful of bodily-function jokes aren't funny and certainly don't elevate the whole. The picture hadn’t reached its halfway point before the only clock I cared about was the one that would tell me it was over.
 
The House With a Clock in Its Walls runs 104 minutes and is rated PG for "thematic elements, including sorcery, some action, scary images, rude humor, and language."
 
The House With a Clock in Its Walls represents a sad misfire on what should have become a Halloween-season classic. 
 
Of a possible nine Weasleys, The House With a Clock in Its Walls gets four.
 
Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: A SIMPLE FAVOR







































A SIMPLE FAVOR, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells

Release Date: September 24, 2018

Genres: Comedy, Crime, Drama

Rated R for sexual content and language throughout, some graphic nude images, drug use 
and violence

Runtime: 1h 57min

Review:

A Simple Favor is a twisty yet funny mystery that could have easily been written off like a Gone Girl knock off if not for Paul Feig’s style and wit.  Paul Feig has quietly become on of the stronger filmmakers working today.  Feig’s work has a great sense of style and humor that hard to find, in this film he crafts a classic Hitchcockian type of mysteries while satirizing it as well. It’s a delicate balance but he keeps going for the better part of the film even if the major reveal is slightly bungled and losing its impact.  The film’s strength is that it’s so fun and engaging that it barely matters.  Feig is also blessed with a stellar cast.  Anna Kendrick drives the film with a role that could be anymore suited to her talents.  Her and Blake Lively share solid chemistry with each playing off each other perfectly.  Their interactions are some of the best parts of the film.  Henry Golding is solid as the husband but in all honestly this film belongs to Kendrick and Lively.  A Simple Favor is one of the more unexpected cinematic surprises of the year. 

A-

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of The Predator & White Boy Rick


 
 
Dearest Blog: After a two-week hiatus, yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for The Predator and White Boy Rick.
 
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.
 
First on my agenda: The Predator.
 
They're baaa-aaack...
 
I have sometimes been accused of using too many words, so today I'm going to tell you in not very many words, dear readers, that this movie is very stupid and I didn't like it. I love the original Predator. It is the only film in cinema history that has ever actually scared me. The latest entry in the series features hokey effects, lame dialogue, and action sequences that are frequently too dark to see much of anything. The tone feels wrong from the outset, with crass, unfunny stabs at humor. I fell for the entire cast quickly and against expectations, which was enough to provide the occasional briefly-entertaining interlude, but it was far too little to redeem the whole.
 
The Predator runs 107 minutes and is rated R for "strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references."
 
The Predator exploits a popular franchise for a cash grab, an all-too-familiar Hollywood tale. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Predator gets four.
 
Next on the docket, White Boy Rick.
 
In the Just Say No era, a young man from a troubled family says yes.
 
White Boy Rick is the disturbing true story of Rick Wershe, Jr., a Detroit-area teen who, seeing no other escape from his family's dismal existence, begins dealing drugs and ends up an FBI informant. The grimy reality of 1980s Detroit is the perfect backdrop for this depressing tale. It's difficult to watch, but outstanding work by the cast makes it worth your effort. There were some spots where I felt the film moved too quickly (such as explaining Rick's initial acceptance by his gang), but it's a petty quibble with a well-done picture that you'll be thinking about long after you leave the theater.
White Boy Rick clocks in at 110 minutes and is rated R for "language throughout, drug content, violence, some sexual references, and brief nudity."
 
White Boy Rick is a dark tale buoyed by superb performances across the board. 
 
Of a possible nine Weasleys, White Boy Rick gets seven.
 
Until next time...

Saturday, September 15, 2018

MOVIE REVIEW: THE PREDATOR




From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.

Director: Shane Black

Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Sterling K. Brown

Release Date: September 14, 2018

Genres: Action, Adventure, Horror

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references

Runtime: 1h 47min

Review:


The Predators is an odd film that can never figure out what it ultimately wants to be.  Shane Black directs this 6th screen appearance of the Predator and gives it a strange infusion of comedy.  The violent space hunters face off vs. a ragtag group of misfits who have a quip for every occasion.  The comedy is enjoyable but it feels out of place in the Predator franchise with long sequences veering incredibly close to self parody.  The actors are all fine even though some seems to be hamming it up, like Sterling K. Brown, while others are playing it straight like Boyd Holbrook. It makes for a choppy tone which makes the film just feel off.  It’s a shame because the film has potential particularly if they’d focused on the band of misfits.  The characters are all interesting enough but the film just doesn’t spend much time with them.  Instead we get Oliva Munn who just doesn’t fit in the film; it’s particularly glaring since the film also has Yvonne Strahovski but decides to use her in a throwaway role.  The Predator isn’t the return to form most fans were hoping and with the level of talent assembled you’d be remiss to think if it’s even possible at this point.

C

Sunday, September 9, 2018

MOVIE REVIEW: THE NUN







































When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together, they uncover the order's unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

Director: Corin Hardy

Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir, Charlotte Hope, Jonny CoyneIngrid, BisuAugust Maturo, Mark Steger, Sandra Rosko, Emma Appleton

Release Date: September 7, 2018

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for terror, violence, and disturbing/bloody images

Runtime: 1h 36 min

Review:

The Nun is the second spinoff from The Conjuring series and even though there is a solid set up and strong cast it’s a terribly generic entry.  Corin Hardy seem intent on hitting just about every religious horror clichĂ© as he guides his film from one jump scare to another.  Taissa Farmiga and Demián Bichir carry the film ably even if their characters are just overused tropes we’ve all seen before.  Farmiga is solid in her role but it’s a bit distracting that she looks like a carbon copy of her sister.  A fact that the film doesn’t bother using as a plot point, even though it’s a gift wrapped bit of casting magic.  Bichir is his usual strong self but the film doesn’t really take advantage of his acting chops.  Jonas Bloquet seems out of place as a French Canadian living in Romania which is as silly as it sounds.  The Conjuring films have always had a certain level of quality which makes the films special.  Sadly, the spinoffs have been built around cheap jump scares and recycled tropes making them utterly forgettable. 

C

MOVIE REVIEW: SEARCHING

 





































David Kim becomes desperate when his 16-year-old daughter Margot disappears and an immediate police investigation leads nowhere. He soon decides to search the one place that no one else has -- Margot's laptop. Hoping to trace her digital footprints, David contacts her friends and looks at photos and videos for any possible clues to her whereabouts.

Director: Aneesh Chaganty

Cast: John Cho, Michelle La, Debra Messing

Release Date: August 24, 2018

Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some drug and sexual references, and for language

Runtime: 1 hr. 42 min.

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Review:

Searching is the type of film that’s based off a gimmick.  It’s not the first film to occur entirely on a computer screen but it’s one of the best.  First time director Aneesh Chaganty unfurls and impressively crafted mystery that’s entirely engrossing.  It’s hard to watch the film and not appreciate the effort and planning involved to create such a detailed and layered story using only computer screens.  John Cho is the heart of the film with his performance being the life blood that drives the entire endeavor.  Cho delivers a subtle measured performance that works perfectly for his character.  There’s an air of authenticity to his turn that grounds the film and helps you forget the gimmick quickly.  Debra Messing and Michelle La are both solid in supporting roles.  Messing is a tad robotic for my taste but it’s a small issue once the twist and turns really start unwinding in the film’s final act.  Searching is the type of film that is impressive on multiple levels and announces the arrival of Aneesh Chaganty as a fascinating director.

B+

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Cindy Prascik's Review of An Actor Prepares










































Dearest Blog: Thanks to a slow weekend at the cinema, yesterday I had the opportunity to catch up with Jack Huston's latest picture, An Actor Prepares, via XFinity On Demand.
 
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers...if you've seen one, which I sure as heck didn't around here.
 
Declared too ill to fly from LA to New York for his "favorite" child's wedding, an aging, self-absorbed actor sets out on a cross-country road trip with his estranged son.
 
The burning questions:
 
1.) Will this film be as pretentious as its name? 
 
2.) Has Jack Huston finally found another vehicle worthy of his exceptional talent? (Been a long dry spell since Boardwalk Empire.)
 
Unfortunately, the answers are yes and no, respectively.
 
An Actor Prepares suffers a terminal case of Pilot Syndrome. You know, that very first episode of a television series, where every aspect of every character is super-sized to bring viewers up to speed as quickly as possible? Comic-book movies devote entire films to back story with their origins stories. Well-crafted movies educate with subtext so skillful as to be unnoticeable. This movie bangs you over the head again and again for the duration. The main characters not being very likable anyway, the exaggeration quickly grows old. Jeremy Irons has a gleeful ol' time as a self-centered thespian whose charisma fools all but those closest to him. For the first half of the movie, he almost fools the viewer as well, his escapades seeming hilarious to anyone not in the path of the fallout. As the obviously-NOT-favorite child, Huston does a terrific job of conveying the weariness that comes from surviving in the direct orbit of such a person, forever painted the bad guy, the buzz-kill, the wet blanket. The character is uptight and a little whiny, but layer on a troubled relationship and a failing career, and I didn't have a hard time forgiving him for it. (Your own ability to do so may rely solely on your position within your own family's pecking order.) An Actor Prepares is handicapped by poorly-written dialogue that is frequently crass just for the sake of it. "Deeper" moments are scored by dreadful emo songs as the film trudges to a predictable finale. The big screen dodged a bullet by sending this one straight to download.
 
An Actor Prepares clocks in at 97 minutes. The movie is unrated, but features adult situations, adult language, some nudity, and drug use.
 
An Actor Prepares is a slog that proves unworthy of its talented cast. 
 
Of a possible nine Weasleys, An Actor Prepares gets four and a half.
 
Until next time...

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