Day: October 6, 2014

Director: Tim Iacofano

Writer: Lawrence Silverstein, Alex Barder, Erik Klein, Rob Rinow (Screenplay) Lawrence Silverstein, Alex Barder (Story)

Starring: Tessie Santiago, Chris Bruno, Frank Whaley, Bart Johnson, Michael Flynn, Amee Walden, Charles Halford

 

Plot: The Cusp is a serial killer who kills his victims and then brings them back to life; over and over again; until they beg to die! Maya is a psychic investigator who gained her powers after a 1 year coma after she was the Cusp’s first victim! Now the Cusp Killer is back and Maya has little time to do what she has never done before, go into the mind of a killer unprotected, and save his latest victim.

 

Verdict: Straight to DVD for a Reason

 

Story: We have a psychic who is haunted by her past with a serial killer who gets another chance to go up against the same man after he re-emerges a year after their last meeting. This is the basics of the story and what happens.

The serial killer himself the Cusp is actually an interesting creation until they tell you who he is within the first twenty minutes. The rest of the story is such a waste because we have a car chase with the Cusp and they can clearly see in the windows and never see who he is. Whenever the so called FBI are investigating we only get two people looking into anything. We also get the stuck wondering how the FBI or Police haven’t figured out who the killer is. We really do end up never getting led in any direction and there are no questions on who the killer might be. All of the clever idea created from the first film is lost and we are left with a serial killer mystery film without any punch. (3/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Tessie Santiago: Maya our psychic investigator who has a connection with the killer, but after she gets too close a girl gets killed and she leaves her role. Now the killer is back and she must go back after him before he kills his latest victim. Compared to Jennifer Lopez’s performance this is plain and almost boring performance that you won’t care or remember anything about her. (2/10)

 

Chris Bruno: Harris local Sheriff whose niece is the latest victim of the killer but he also gets framed as the killer, he must team up with Maya to find out the truth before it is too late. Outsmarts all the FBI guys looking for him, well with just about four people looking for him. He does ok in a film where the performances are not the highlights. (5/10)

Frank Whaley: Duncan a cop helping trying to uncover what is happening while stating certain lines that make you scream ‘its him its him’. Doesn’t get a chance to give his character any mystery and once exposed seems to fall apart after being very calculated. (5/10)

 

Bart Johnson: Skylar FBI agent who seems to not get on with Maya and spends the film trying to chase down Harris instead of investigating anything else. He does well to make you hate him. (6/10)

 

Supporting Cast: A FBI boss, victims and other local law enforcement make up the support cast. Each helps a little bit filling in blanks but in the end none of them make an impact. (5/10)

 

Director Review: Tim Iacofano – Has taken an idea and ruined it with this thriller with no thrills and horror with little to no horror and a sci-fi with terrible effects. (2/10)

 

Horror: Apart from the killers kills and revives there is no horror here. (3/10)

Sci-Fi: The sci-fi side of the story has taken a huge step back. (3/10)

Thriller: Has no thrilling side about it at all. (1/10)

Settings: The settings don’t seem to be made use of at all even though the isolation for the victims should be. (3/10)
Special Effects: The special effects just don’t come off well at all here with most being terrible CGI. (2/10)

Suggestion: This is one to miss, it takes an above average thriller and tries to cash in with a terrible story, terrible acting and terrible effects. (Avoid)

 

Best Part: The Cusp

Worst Part: The story

Believability: The killer itself could be real, but the rest won’t be. (3/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: Has scenes on how the stunts were done.

 

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

Tagline: In the mind of a mad man.

 

Overall: Unnecessary Sequel

Rating 

Director: Atom Egoyan

Writer: Paul Harris Boardman, Scott Derrickson (Screenplay) Mara Leveritt (Book ‘Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three’)

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Alessandro Nivola, James Hamrick, Seth Meriwether, Kristopher Higgins, Amy Ryan, Robert Baker, Mireille Enos,  Dane DeHaan

 

Plot: Based on the true story of the West Memphis Three where three young boys were savagely murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Spurred on by the demand from a grieving town, the local police act quickly to bring three “devil-worshipping” teenagers to trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, investigator Ron Lax is trying to find the truth between the town’s need for justice and the guilt of the accused.

 

Verdict: Interesting

 

Story: We get to follow the final known steps of the three young children followed by the search for them. We then have to go through the who might have done it which leads to the three suspects. We get to meet the investigator who follows the case from a distance to start with but moves closer when he starts to think not everything is right. We go through the court case but much like real life we don’t get any answers.

Based on the real story of the tragic killings and how the case has never officially be solved (Which I didn’t know go into). Everything put together seems very real to how things sounded like they went rather against the law book through the court case. If that was how the case went it does seem really hard to believe an outcome was true. I do like how the story showed the faults in the handling of the case and offered potential suspects that never got looked into. I do think this could have just be a television special though, because of its lack of conclusion it makes the Hollywood treatment seem too much. (7/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Reese Witherspoon: Pam Hobbs mother of one of the victims who has to deal with the loss of a child, the invading media asking her the same old questions and suffer through a court case. She does start to doubt the suspects during the court case and seems to have uncovered something. Good performance from Reese who plays the grieving mother perfectly. (8/10)

 

Colin Firth: Ron Lax private investigator who takes an interest in the case, he doesn’t want to see any more children killed with the potential outcome being tried for. He tries to uncover a potential larger story but always get shot down and anything he brings to the case seems to get dismissed. Great performance from Colin, who portrays the American accent to fit in perfect. (9/10)

Alessandro Nivola: Terry Hobbs husband of Pam who is in grieving but just wants to see the people reasonable pay. Good performance in a role where he gets to add a bit of mystery to his character. (8/10)

 

James Hamrick, Seth Meriwether, Kristopher Higgins: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley the three suspects who go through a court case given no chance to be found no guilty. All three do a good job as three young men about to see their futures taken away from them (7/10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Support Cast: With the support cast we have the Police force who start off looking very professional but as the court case unfolds seem to have missed important information. We have both sides of the lawyers who want to win but struggle as well as the other families and how they are struggling through. Each supporting cast member helps the story continue and does a good job with the time they get. (8/10)

 

Director Review: Atom Egoyan – Does a solid job to show how the story of the case is still incomplete and how it was treated so one sided. (8/10)

 

Crime: Looking at the real crime that never seemed to get solved. (9/10)

Drama: Solid drama showing the effect the crime had on the people and how they dealt with it. (8/10)

Thriller: Lacks the thrills it could have because we are not left to guess what will happen. (4/10)

Settings: The settings all look very authentic for the time and all play into the effects of how the story unfolds. (8/10)

Suggestion: This is one to try, it is a real story about an unsolved crime so you will know it will leave you feeling slightly empty. (Try It)

 

Best Part: Colin Firth performance

Worst Part: Court Case was a shambles

Believability: Based on a real event. (10/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: Unlikley

Budget: $15 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes

Tagline: They say the crimes were satanic. The truth may be scarier.

 

Overall: Solid Drama Based on Real Event

Rating