Daily Archives: October 8, 2015

Oct 8 2015

Movie Reviews 101 Halloween Midnight Horror – Finders Keepers (2014)

logoDirector: Alexander Yellen

Writer: Peter Sullivan (Screenplay) Jeffrey Schneck, Peter Sullivan (Story)

Starring: Jaime Pressly, Kylie Rogers, Tobin Bell, Mark DeCarlo, Joseph Gatt, Mary Pat Gleason, Patrick Muldoon

 

Plot: A divorced mother of one is thrown into turmoil when her young daughter becomes obsessed with an evil doll left behind by the previous occupants of their new home.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Careful What You Play With

 

Story: Finders Keepers starts with the police responding to an emergency call and searching the house. What the officers find are two dead bodies and noises from upstairs and like good cops they investigate before getting back up, they continue to find bodies in the house. It becomes apparent the suspect is a possessed youngest member of the family who kills the officers.

Move forward 5 years and we meet single mum Alyson Simon (Pressly) and her young daughter Claire (Rogers) moving into the same house. Having moved in the house Claire finds an old doll called Lilith that she wants to keep. It doesn’t take long before Claire starts acting strange and struggles to fit in, but much worrying for Alyson Claire starts to act out strangely and dangerously. Alyson takes Claire to see a Doctor Freeman (Bell) to try and understand what is going on. Alyson decides to do some research into the history of the home and finds out the truth about the family before and finding out that her family is now in danger.

Finders Keepers capitalizes on the doll obsession going through the horror world and does end up out shining certain other films Annabelle. The film isn’t afraid to kill other characters which a lot of horror film do like to hold back on. My biggest question had to be not really knowing what or who the killer was, was it the doll, was it the kid possessed or something else, we never really see just one and everything hints at one only to make it difficult for it to have been that person. being a made for television film I would say this is pretty solid though and does enough to keep the audience involved in wondering what will happen next. (6/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Jaime Pressly: Alyson Simon is the newly separated mother who takes her daughter to a new home, the only problem is the new home is one where a murder took place and the house hasn’t finished pilling up the bodies because it takes over her daughter. Jaime does a solid job in the role but doesn’t shine to the level the character needs to. (6/10)

 

Tobin Bell: Doctor Freeman is the man assigned with trying to understand what has happened to Claire but is struggling to understand. Tobin really is wasted in this role because he really is an icon in horror. (4/10)

 

Kylie Rogers: Claire Simons is the daughter in the house that starts to get taken over by the doll inside the house, which will bring out the evil inside her. Kylie does a good job as the trouble little girl giving us a kid to actually be scared off. (7/10)

 

Patrick Muldoon: Jonathan Simon is the father who wants to protect her daughter even if it means letting his relationship go once and for all. Patrick does a solid job but doesn’t get involved until too late in the film. (6/10)

 

Support Cast: Finders Keepers is filled with characters who try to help out but most of them end up becoming the victims.

 

Director Review: Alexander Yellen – Alexander does a solid job directing a low budget horror thriller that does have a few good scares here and there. (6/10)

 

Horror: Finders Keepers takes advantage of the doll obsession in horror giving us the idea of not just an evil doll but possession of a young child, both these make for good horror aspects. (7/10)

Thriller: Finders Keepers keeps us guessing to who will die and in what way until the very end. (7/10)

Settings: Finders Keepers keeps the settings very easy to follow we have the new home with a past which always seems to work in horror as it becomes the catalyst to what happens. (8/10)
Special Effects: Finders Keepers has the special effects that you would expect form the budget but it really doesn’t need the use for them until the end of the film. (7/10)

Suggestion: Finders Keepers is one to try and I think the horror fans will enjoy it. (Horror Fans Enjoy)

 

Best Part: Creepy doll.

Worst Part: Not fully knowing who or what is doing the killing.

 

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: Left open to one but I doubt it.

Post Credits Scene: No

Similar Too: Annabelle

 

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

Tagline: No soul is safe

 

Overall: Finders Keepers is an enjoyable horror that won’t shock everyone but does have solid scares throughout.

Rating 55

Oct 8 2015

Bully (2015)

logoDirector: Stephen Gaffney

Writer: Stephen Gaffney (Screenplay)

Starring: Ciaran McCabe, Kieran O’Reilly, James Ward, Aislinn Ni Uallachain, Goerge Bracebridge, Chelsea O’Connor

Plot: Karl, a sixth year student preparing to sit his Leaving Cert exams, becomes the target of a gang of bullies. With no support from his family and no friends to turn to, Karl falls victim to the psychological manipulation of a school teacher and soon turns to social media as a form of escapism where he develops an online friendship with a woman.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Bravely Disturbing Drama

Story: Bully starts Dublin, Ireland 2012 where we meet a self harming Karl (McCabe) who is bullied at school and fails to get help from his parents. Fallon (O’Reilly) tries to push Karl into standing up for himself while making inappropriate movements towards him.

With everything getting too much social media has his bullying on but a mysterious lady Ruby (Ni Uallachain) contacts him. Karl also gets involved with Christina (O’Connor) who is closer to his age but Ruby won’t leave him alone. The problems building up in Karl’s life he is forced to see a therapist Eoin (Mason) who puts him on antidepressants.

Everything mixing together and only having Ruby to talk to leads to her pushing Karl into decision which will leave Karl’s future in question but how far can he really go.

Bully starts off like you would expect a film centred around a lone victim of bully, with no where to go or no one to turn to, which is all good because it creates Karl’s mindset for us. What the story doesn’t prepare us for is the shocking final act which you won’t see coming in any direction. I will always praise a story that shocks us because we do get so many repetitive story lines out there and this will shock you.

Actor Review

Ciaran McCabe: Karl is our victim of bullying from a group of guys from school, he starts self harming and being taken advantage of by a teacher, he finds friendship online with an older woman while being bought out of his own shell by a new love interest Christina. When things fall apart Karl is left to make a decision with will be questionable thanks to Ruby pushing him in that direction. Ciaran gives us a great performance and shows that he could be a name to look out for in the future.

Kieran O’Reilly: Fallon is a teacher who is taking advantage of Karl scaring him into doing things he doesn’t want to do. Kieran gives a good performance as the teacher who is will hope to get away with what he does.

Aislinn Ni Uallachain: Ruby is the woman who talks to Karl when he is feeling down before starting to take over his life making him act out of character. Aislinn gives a good performance in this role because she plays seductress really well.

George Bracebridge: Frank is Karl’s father who doesn’t want to take anything from his son and doesn’t understand the troubles he is going through, he is short tempered and a former soldier. George gives a good performance in this role showing how difficult it is for parent to deal with troubles their children are having.

Support Cast: Bully has a supporting cast that includes Karl’s concerned mother, other students from school and the bully who pushes Karl into the decision he finally takes.

Director Review: Stephen Gaffney – Stephen gives us a drama that starts off like you would expect but will leave you shocked by the end of the film.

Drama: Bully shows the effects of bullying and just where it can leave a victim with no where to turn.

Settings: Bully keeps the settings simple showing that the victim will become isolated to few location due to the effects.

Suggestion: Bully is one to check out it really is something fresh when you see where it all goes. (Watch)

Best Part: Final act.

Worst Part: Seeing the victim suffer.

Believability: The bullying side of the story is a very real problem but what follows is an extreme of it all.

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

Overall: Drama that will leave you wondering just how far bullying can really go

Ratingcard

Oct 8 2015

Halloween Kingathon – Tommyknockers (1993) From Early Morning Horror

Banner-2Early Morning Horror Reviews is written by Whorer Fan, usually within the blue hours of the morning, when everything is quiet and eerie and there is no sunshine to ruin the mood. Her reviews are short, sarcastic, and sometimes very careful to make fun of as many painful details as possible. She enjoys good-bad horror films the most, collecting Halloween costumes and items, and having theme nights. She is afraid of spiders and dummies/ marionettes. See more here

Tommyknockers (1993)
 ogo
Score: three out of five Stephen King appearances
TV Mini-Series? YUP (181 min)
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My mom is a Stephen King novel lover, and out of all the choices available to me, lined up on the wall in my alternate playroom, I chose Tommyknockers to read as my first horror novel. I have no idea why, I think I liked the green on the cover. I did not, however, enjoy the green in the movie as much, though it was probably pretty cool at the time. There are green names, green beams coming from pens and lipsticks, green glow everywhere, and it got to the point where I was seeing red. The acting was mediocre at best but I loved how dramatic the main woman was. And Jimmy Smitt. That’s all that needs to be said. Just his name. Even though this was an S.K. miniseries such as It, this one wasn’t nearly as long, and it’s unintentionally ridiculous, so that’s always a bonus. It’s basically about a woman who becomes obsessed with digging up alien Lego in the forest. Soon the whole town joins in the fun, and the only one who can stop this madness is our good friend, Jimmy.
Oct 8 2015

Halloween Kingathon – The Tommyknockers (1993)

ogoDirector: John Power

Writer: Lawrence D Cohen (teleplay) Stephen King (Novel)

Starring: Jimmy Smits, Marg Helgenberger, John Ashton, Allyce Beasley, Robert Carradine, Joanna Cassidy, Annie Corley, Cliff De Young

Plot: A buried UFO slowly turns local inhabitants into gizmo-building alien mutates.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Engaging Mini Series

Story: The Tommyknockers starts in the small town we follow couple Gard (Smits) and Bobbi (Helgenberger). We continue to get introduced to the rest of the town with all their strengths and weaknesses, before Bobbi finds a strange object in the woods. With Gard away, Bobbi deals with what she found in the woods which starts to show a glowing goo. We go through the personal issues between Gard and Bobbi along with meeting a blossoming romance between Trooper Butch (Ashton) & Sheriff Merrill (Cassidy).

We also meet the rest of the town who are all getting their visits from the aliens living in the woods. As the residents of the town start evolving into learn how to invent new ideas to make the work easier.

As one little boy disappears and other residents end up hurting themselves it is up to the Butch and Gard to stop the invasion of the Tommyknockers.

The Tommyknockers is one of the traditional Stephen King adaptation where a small town gets a horror element placed in and they have to deal with the situation, this time is is an alien species buried in the woods. I was amazed that even with the three hour run time this never seemed to get boring which usually is the problem with the lengths. The story keeps you guessing from start to finish about what happens even if the characters end up coming off very generic for a King story. I do think this offers something new on the invasion angle because it plays out the idea that the aliens were here first. (7/10)

Actor Review

Jimmy Smits: Jim Gard Gardner is the alcoholic poet who has been struggling to produce any recent work, he returns home to his partner Bobbi where he helps uncover a mysterious structure on their land, when they finally figure out what is going on he must stop the invasion before it is too late. Jimmy does a good job in the leading role. (7/10)

Marg Helgenberger: Roberta Bobbi Anderson is the lady who first discovers the structure in the woods before digging it up and becoming the leader of the alien community that is slowly taking over the town. Marg does a good job in this role. (7/10)

Support Cast: The Tommyknockers has a very generic small town supporting cast that all either side with Gard or against him.

Director Review: John Power – John does a good job directing this mini series that keeps us interested from start to finish. (7/10)

Horror: The Tommyknockers has the alien invasion angle used for the horror idea which also has elements of the Village of the Damned. (7/10)

Sci-Fi: The Tommyknockers uses the aliens for the sci-fi angle along with the taking over the people of the small town. (7/10)

Settings: The Tommyknockers uses the small town setting where the events happen which ends up being perfect for the idea that shows one small town is falling apart. (9/10)

Suggestion: The Tommyknockers is one for all the King fans to watch, it is broken into two parts which also lightens the watching. (King Watch)

Best Part: The alien angle.

Worst Part: Slightly generic supporting characters.

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $12 Million

Runtime: 3 Hours

Tagline: Something wonderful is happening in Haven. Pray it doesn’t happen to you.

Trivia: According to author Stephen King The Tommyknockers is an allegory for his own personal battles with substance abuse. The character of Jim Gardener is largely based upon King himself.

Overall: Great mini series that keeps us guessing until the final moments.

Rating 75

Oct 8 2015

Top 10 Favourite Matt Damon Roles

Matt Damon has become on of the biggest names in Hollywood today he has 72 credits to his name and one Oscar win for writing though he has been nominated for two acting Oscars but has yet to take home the trophy. I simply couldn’t pick just five favourite performances so I went with top 10.

10. Rudy Baylor – The Rainmaker (1997)rainmaker

This John Grisham adaptation follows a young lawyer who goes against an insurance company. This early role when Grisham films were very popular is one people ignore but rally is a special one.

9. Loki – Dogma (1998)dogma

Loki along with his best friend and fellow fallen angel Bartleby go a mission to go and re-enter heaven which could bring about the next apocalypse.

8. David Norris – The Adjustment Bureau (2011)adjustment

David lives a normal life while running for political office but when he meets a girl who isn’t part of his planned future he discovers that there is a team of people planning his future and every move he makes. I love this sci-fi because it question whether things could be real or not.

7. SPC Ilario – Courage Under Fire (1996)courage under fire

This very early role showed just how far Matt would go for a look in a role even if it is just a supporting role.

6. Colin Sullivan – The Departed (2006)departd

Colin is the undercover mole inside the FBI working for the mobster against Billy on the other side of the fence. Matt gives a great performance and compared to the rest of the cast is easily one of the better performers in the film.

5. Tom Ripley – The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)ripley

This all star cast follows Tom Ripley as he continues to use his life of fraud while showing a darker side throughout the film hidden behind his charm.

4. Jason Bourne – Bourne Trilogybourne

Jason is the trained spy who has lost his memory and as he looks to learn about himself he learns that he has been targeted for elimination leaving him to use all his skills to out smart his enemies.

3. Linus Caldwell – Ocean’s Trilogylinus

Linus is the pickpocket who joins Danny Ocean’s team in a string of heists. I really enjoy this role because it ends up stealing the film next to the bigger stars.

2. Mike McDermott – Rounders (1998)rounders

As a poker fan I enjoy this role as Mike a skilled poker player has to go back into the underworld to help his best friend pay off his debts from ruthless poker player.

1. Will Hunting – Good Will Hunting (1997)hunting

Will is the genius working basic jobs until he gets inspired but college professor Sean Maguire and his best friend Chuckie. This is one of the best films of the year of release and all the Oscar it won shows why.