Month: November 2016

Director: Les Mayfield

Writer: John Hughes, Bill Walsh (Screenplay) Samuel W Taylor (Short Story)

Starring: Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, Ted Levine, Clancy Brown, Raymond J Barry, Wil Wheaton, Edie McClurg

 

Plot: An absent-minded professor discovers “flubber,” a rubber-like super-bouncy substance.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Just bad

 

Story: Flubber starts as we meet forgetful genius Professor Philip Brainard (Williams) who has been working towards finding a more reliable energy source but while working on that he keeps forgetting his own wedding to Dr Sara Reynolds (Harden) and on his actually wedding day he makes the biggest discovery of his career with a flubber like material.

When Philip misses the latest attempt to get married he uses the flubber to try and impress Sara who has warned him that was his last time, he has to go against his former rival Wilson Croft (McDonald) as well as dealing with a rich father and his goons.

Flubber is a film I remember from my youth being something I enjoyed as a kid but re-watching it now I found myself think what is this? We get terrible cheap comedy which never really hits with a lot of the goon comedy feeling like it was just stolen from Home Alone. Williams does what he can with his quick delivery but even he looks like he is struggling to make this work. The story is simple and while it flows past quickly you never really get invested in the characters. This is one I can only see young children enjoying.

 

Overall: Not worth the time really

Rating

 

 

Director: Adam MacDonald

Writer: Adam MacDonald (Screenplay)

Starring: Missy Peregrym, Eric Balfour, Nicholas Campbell, Jeff Roop

 

Plot: An urban couple go camping in the woods and find themselves lost in the territory of a predatory black bear.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Camping with a Bear

 

Story: Blackfoot Trail starts as our young couple Jenn (Peregrym) and Alex (Roop) go down to the woods listening to terrible travelling music which I side with poor Jenn who had no escape from the music. Arriving in the remote woods the two-urban people pack their phones away and head of for their camping weekend. OOOOO there is a BASED OF A TRUE STORY warning, because people go camping I guess that is true.

We go through the usual this is a fun trip including the almost pointless skinny dipping scene, looking for wood for the fire scene, noises in the woods surprise us scene and creepy stranger turning up with Brad (Balfour) taking this role with his strange attempt of an Irish accent. 35 minutes into the film we are still dealing with the camping experience, this is what I want to see the most and now we have the we got lost in the woods situation. 45 minutes into this movie and I am pretty sure I read there was going to be a black bear, I am not sure where it is but I think he was late for production and they decided to film lots of pointless camping scenes and it is dark again.

I see the bear is here outside the tent 46 minutes into a 90-minute movie, and he is hungry. Well the couple didn’t see the bear eat their food and we get the ‘IT COULD BE WORSE’ cliché followed by make-up sex that gets disturbed so we will try again in the morning, no, but the ‘WE ARE GOING TO BE OK’ cliché hits hard now. THE BEAR 55 minutes into the film the bear has arrived to turn this bad weekend into a nightmare. Alex gets eaten quite quickly leaving Jenn having to find her own way to safety with a blood thirsty Black bear after her, line up the running, hiding and desperate searching for help and for a non-found footage film there is a hell of a lot of shaky cam going on.

Blackfoot Trail is a survival horror that I found myself enjoying commentating on because very little happens for the first hour of the film except plenty of camping issues and no not the gamer term camping just two people in the woods camping. I found this keeping me from getting bored with how the story unfolded because the couple are not the most likeable pairing and the way I look at these sort of films is, the moment something messed up happens you get the hell out you do not shrug your shoulders and go it was probably nothing.

The bear attack is bloody but is mostly off camera in the end where we either see the bears roar or the bloody aftermath of the attack. The lead couple don’t really have the chemistry to make them see like they are about to get to the engaged stage of their relationship and the random almost cameo from Eric Balfour is laughable waste of his talent. This is a really slow movie that should reach much higher levels of intensity to make the impact required from the subject matter.

 

Overall: This is a very boring film about something that could have been a very intense situation that lacks any punch about it.

Rating

 

 

Director: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Writer: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (Screenplay)

Starring: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Antonia Ribero, Timothy Eulich, Richard Gross, Marika Casteel

 

Plot: A hopeless man stranded on a deserted island befriends a dead body and together they go on a surreal journey to get home.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: One Hell of a Strange Film

 

Story: Swiss Army Man starts as we meet Hank (Dano) stranded on a deserted island about to end his life before a dead body washes up. When Hank learns of the farting this body possess he goes on an adventure to safety with the dead body which he names Manny (Radcliffe).

As the adventure continues Hank starts having full conversations with Manny as the abilities that Manny possess become lifesaving chances for Hank to get back to the life he once lived.

Swiss Army Man is a film that is very difficult to describe what I just watched. The story is easy to follow as long as you switch off any sense on what is going on. The whole thing comes off very unique but I can see how certain people will look at this film and wonder just what the hell this really is about. This film will get a following but really it is just weird and not my cup of tea.

 

Overall: Slightly confusing and weird movie that is too much for even me.

Rating

 

 

Director: Mari Asato

Writer: Mari Asato (Screenplay) Takashi Shimizu (Story)

Starring: Koji Seto, Kuniteru Shigeyama, Kana Tsugihara, Ai Kago

 

Plot: After losing her child at birth, the dark horror of the grudge begins growing within her.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Feels Scarier

 

Story: Ju-On: Back Ghost starts as we meet Tetsuya (Seto) who has been dreaming of his neighbour for years only to find something strange about her. This film continues where White Ghost leads off where we get a series of stories that all pieces together with an even more terrifying version of the vengeance ghost take out the victims in the area.

Ju-On: Black Ghost continues to build on the idea that the first one had with multiple stories all wrapping into one by the final act which works now we know what we are expecting to see. I do feel the ghost presence is a lot scarier this time around as it comes from the shadows more adding the darkness fear to the story. This film isn’t going to make the fans of the original idea happy though because we do have to deal with slight too many characters once more.

 

Overall: Has good scare points but not enough to make us care about these characters.

Rating

 

 

Director: Ryuta Miyake

Writer: Ryuta Miyake (Screenplay) Takashi Shimizu (Story)

Starring: Hiroki Suzuki, Ichirota Miyakawa, Natsuki Kasa, Akina Minami, Marika Fukunaga, Chie Amemiya, Mihiro

 

Plot: Akane begins seeing visions of a female ghost wearing the same yellow hat and red satchel she wore as a school child.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Not As Effective

 

Story: Ju-On: White Ghost starts with the first of the series of stories as Fumiya (Suzuki) is delivering a cake to the house being controlled by the Grudge spirit. In our second story, we follow taxi driver Hajime Kashiwagi (Miyakawa) deal with a mysterious passenger in his taxi. This trend continues through the film as we jump into meeting the latest victims with Akane (Minami) who upon using a Ouija board starts to get visions from a mysterious girl that reminds her of her younger self. The stories continue with links to each other as the film unfolds.

Ju-On: White Ghost tries to tell many different stories of people who come face to face with the vengeful spirit but this takes away all of the effects the originals had where we would follow one victim slowly breakdown. The scares are not as effective because we know something is going to happen in every single scene rather than slowly building up and having a calm down scene between the scares.

 

Overall: There just isn’t enough to drag us in this time around.

Rating

 

 

Director: Tom Shankland

Writer: Clive Bradley (Screenplay)

Starring: Stellan Skarsgard, Melissa George, Ashley Walters, Tom Hardy, Paul Kaye, John Sharian, Selma Blair, Sally Hawkins

 

Plot: A calculating killer coerces a detective to pay for his previous mistakes.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Gritty Crime Horror

 

Story: w Delta z starts as a rookie detective Helen Westcott (George) get her first crime scene where she works with seasoned veteran Eddie Argo (Skarsgard) who knows the streets like the back of his hand. When the bodies start piling up the detectives figure they are after a serial killer who is carving WAZ into the bodies.

When Eddie learns that it is Jean Lerner (Blair) behind the crimes it becomes clear who he is targeting and why in what is a careful thought out revenge on gang led by Pierre Jackson (Hardy) who brutally attacked her years before. The race is on to stop the body count getting to high but the truth will come out.

W Delta z is a crime horror thriller that follows the lines of the ‘Saw’ franchise but having a killer that pushes the limits of what a body can handle. For the crime side and revenge side of this movie this is all very effective on the negative side we just don’t get enough suggestion of anyone else’s involvement as we learn the killer very early. While the film is very bloody most of these does happen off camera which does help with us trying to deal with the horror involved. This is a dark story that can be enjoyed by the horror fans out there.

 

Actor Review

 

Stellan Skarsgard: Eddie Argo is the seasoned detective that has to work with the rookie tracking down a serial killer, it isn’t long before he learns of his previous connection to the killer. Stellan is good as the grizzled older cop.

Melissa George: Helen Westcott is the rookie detective thrown into this new case with a new partner. She has to learn about the departments secrets to uncover the truth about what is happening. Melissa is good but sadly falls to just a supporting role in the second half of the film.

Selma Blair: Jean Lerner was a victim of a horrendous home invasion gang rape attack that has been planning her revenge on everyone involved for years. Her plan is to put each person involved in the attack through the same decision she had to face. Selma makes for a great villain in the horror genre unlike many we have seen before.

Tom Hardy: Pierre Jackson is the leader of the gang who did the attack, he is psychotic with how he picks acts willing to shot first killing anyone who gets in his way. Tom is solid in this role which is only a supporting role before he became a bigger name.

Support Cast: W Delta z has only a couple of other important characters who are victims of the killer as well as police involved in the original crime.

Director Review: Tom Shankland – Tom gives us a very dark crime horror that does come close to matching Seven and Saw.

 

Crime: W Delta z follows our detectives looking for a serial killer that is also out to get revenge for a crime they were a victim off.

Horror: W Delta z gives us a serial killer that doesn’t know when to stop until they get everything they want.

Thriller: W Delta z keeps us guessing to where the story will end up going by throwing us straight into the first murder.

Settings: W Delta z makes each scene feel gritty from the wrong neighbourhood showing what the killer sees as the low-lives who are her victims.
Special Effects: W Delta z had great effects when it comes to the body horror going on through the film.

Suggestion: W Delta z is one for all the horror fans out there to watch, if you were a fan of Saw or Seven this is for you. (Horror Fans Watch)

 

Best Part: Killer’s motives.

Worst Part: Not enough mystery about who the killer is.

 

Believability: No

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Similar Too:

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $5 Million

Runtime: 1 hour 44 Minutes

Tagline: Would you kill the one you love to save yourself from death?

 

Overall: Twisted, gritty and dark crime horror film

Rating

 

 

Director: William Phillips

Writer: William Phillips (Screenplay)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Kristin Booth, Joris Jarsky, Sean Sullivan, Tara Slone, Soo Garay, Wai Choy, David Suchet

 

Plot: Kevin, Sam and Rob are founding members of a theoretical group which pulls off heists. Leo, a gangster, blackmails them into pulling off a real multi-million dollar heist. Now it’s up to them to get out alive.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Clichéd Heist Film

 

Story: Foolproof starts as we meet Kevin (Reynolds), Sam (Booth) and Rob (Jarsky) as they play heist in their spare time deciding if they can make a Foolproof plan to rob companies. When the friends have their plans stolen and used they find themselves having to work for Leo (Suchet).

The three friends must work together with Leo to pull of his latest heist much to the friend’s wishes they will have to use all of the skills they have learned to get this job done to show they can pull off the Foolproof plan.

Foolproof tries to take a spin on the the idea of heist films by making the main three characters only plan heists in theory never going into the field. This works well but I do think this could have been used in the final outcome of the film too. The problem comes with the middle where we get to see the crew actually have to go through with a heist and most importantly they never show the most important part from the opening sequence the run through. I do think this film misses a lot of good chance to work on to the next level which it needed to be.

 

Actor Review

 

Ryan Reynolds: Kevin is the wise talking leader of the three friends, he gets sent of the psychical side of the heist to show how he can get this done. He is also the brains behind whether they should do this job. Ryan shows that he has all the potential to go onto bigger things with this performance without being top level.

Kristin Booth: Sam is the feisty member of the team, she can handle herself in a fight but this can also lead her to be in trouble she doesn’t need to be involved in. Kristin is solid in this supporting role without being anything but cliché.

Joris Jarsky: Rob is the last member of the team, he wants to take their practise into action and this chance gets his dream to come true. He is the tech guy of the team but also the clumpy member. Joris is solid but easily the most forgettable in this role.

David Suchet: Leo is the seasoned professional criminal that wants to use the team for his latest job, he gives them respect for their work but will put them in their place if they step out of line. David is solid as the villain but I find his calmness to laid back for my liking.

Support Cast: Foolproof has a small supporting cast with most just being there to make extra part of the trying to suspect our guys.

Director Review: William Phillips – William gives us a clichéd heist movie that doesn’t hit the comedy level it could have.

 

Action: Foolproof has only slight glimpse of action being used through the heist side of the story.

Comedy: Foolproof doesn’t hit any comedy levels needed for a comedy heist movie.

Crime: Foolproof shows us how the crime side of the story is working with learning how the heist is going off.

Settings: Foolproof keeps the settings to scouting the ideas or the inside of the jobs. Nothing really comes off overly memorable.
Special Effects: Foolproof uses the effects when needed without being used meaninglessly.

Suggestion: Foolproof is one that I feel is a good late night TV film. (Late Night TV)

 

Best Part: You can see Reynolds had the star quality.

Worst Part: Too clichéd.

 

Believability: No

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

Tagline: This fall suspense gets intense!

Trivia: The movie was not only the widest release of a Canadian movie in history (as of October 2003), but had a record-breaking marketing budget of $2 million.

 

Overall: Overly clichéd heist film that is a fun enough watch.

Rating

 

 

 

Director: David Yates

Writer: J.K. Rowling (Screenplay)

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller, Carmen Ejogo, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman

 

Plot: The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Best Family Film of the Year

 

Story: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them starts as Grindelwald had started to terrorise the wizard community around the 1920s as we move to meet Newt (Redmayne) as he travels to New York. We learn that something has be terrorising the streets of New York which has grab the attention of Graves (Farrell).

Getting to learn his away around New York Newt finds himself using her magic which effects the life Kowalski (Fogler) and fellow wizard detective Tina (Waterston). After a mixing up cases Kowalski ends up with the case full of fantastic beasts which Newt and Tina must track down before they cause any more problems in New York.

We continue to learn of the kind heart Newt has as he helps rescue these beasts from the edge of extinction but a darkness as all creatures have will look to take control of the beasts with a potential battle between no magics and the wizards just waiting to be unleashed on the world.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a visually stunning addition to the Harry Potter magical universe, while this is a prequel it works on all the levels it needs to because it is actually so distant from the original series. We have the 1920s New York settings that looks authentic throughout and the beasts all look truly fantastic.  Being set with adult characters help because we don’t have to deal with the learning process which often held back the early Potter films.

Eddie Redmayne gives us a brilliant performance that fully fits the character Newt but it is here where the brilliance finishes with the rest of the characters all looking greatly cast without being as memorable as Newt, Farrell takes the lead villain role but doesn’t really get the full chance to be as evil as he could well have been but this is designed for purpose to make the next villains more menacing. If you ever want to see what could well be the best family film this year I whole heartedly suggest this film that comes off original to the rest of the current market without being to heavy on the wizard ways.

 

Overall: Visually brilliant and purely fun film that can be enjoyed by all.

Rating

 

 

Director: Bill Condon

Writer: Bill Condon (Screenplay) Christopher Bram (Novel)

Starring: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes, Kevin J O’Connor, Mark Kiely

 

Plot: The last days of Frankenstein (1931) director James Whale are explored.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Great Biopic

 

Story: Gods and Monsters starts as we meet legendary horror director James Whale (McKellen) who is most remembered for the Frankenstein movies. He has been struggling with illness which for the time has never fully been understood. James is a homosexual which again for the time was still looked down on.

James has a habit of pushing young men into showing him their bodies which the latest attraction coming in the gardener Clayton Boone (Fraser). Over time the two become friends as Clayton gets to learn more about a world he had never have thought twice about entering but also learns more about himself from the encounters.

Gods and Monsters tells the final days of the director James Whales as we see him battle his own mind with his illness as he wants to experience that last moment in his life. We see an unlikely friendship occur between two very opposite people that has an effect of both sides of the friendship. The performances from both Oscar nominated McKellen and Brendan Fraser are brilliant as we fully believe these two men have come from different worlds can see the world the same.

 

Overall: Biopic everything should check out.

Rating