Director: Lars von Trier

Writer: Lars von Trier (Screenplay) Jenle Hallund (Story)

Starring: Matt Dillon, Bruno Ganz, Uma Thurman, Siobhan Hallon Hogan, Sofie Grabol, Riley Keough, Jeremy Davies

Plot: The story follows Jack, a highly intelligent serial killer, over the course of twelve years, and depicts the murders that really develop his inner madman.

Runtime: 2 Hours 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Long & Dull

Story: The House That Jack Built starts as we meet Jack (Dillon) who is confessing his kills to Verge (Ganz) he goes on to tell him about five different murders he has committed, first was a stranded lady (Thurman) who constantly goes on about him being a serial killer. Second more daring, taking on a lady (Hogan) in her own home.

As Jack starts to see his OCD become less of a problem, he starts taking more risks when it comes to his kills, the more daring he becomes the easier they feel to him.

Thoughts on The House That Jack Built

Characters – Jack is a serial killer, he has killed dozens of people, with his acts becoming more daring as he becomes more confident in his skills to kill. He is confessing his actions to a priest, which gives us his mindset for each of his kills. Verge is the priest who is hearing the confession that is listening to the stories as he is learning whether Jack is the man he claims to be. We have plenty of victims which offer Jack plenty of different styles of kills, though none of them are very memorable.

Performances – Matt Dillon is the only highlight in the film, where even he struggles to keep the attention of the audience, he is in nearly every scene which means he needs to be the best, only he doesn’t deliver well enough. The supporting cast is mostly forgettable because they are just the victims.

Story – The story here follows Jack as he is confessing his murders to an unknown presence who feels like a priest. The story is told in chapter form which allows us to see each different murder and mindset which caused him to go through with his actions all while having an ending which will only leave you more confused from what we did see. The pacing of this film is awful, as it does drag on and on before getting to the point of the conversation, we could easily skip one of the chapters that offers up nothing to the main story. this is also meant to be a story with a lot of controversy, though I struggled to see just what that could have been.

Comedy/Horror – This is classed as a comedy? I struggle to see why, but maybe there is something in this people could see being funny, the horror is a serial killer that likes to play with his victims, which are slowly waiting for him to do something, the way the story is told holds up the impact though.

Settings – The film takes us to many different settings which each play into the hands of the killer waiting for his chance to kill, he uses his environment to select how he gets the job done. There is one final location which will confuse though.

Special Effects – The effects are basic the kills are basic we don’t go over the top with them, though the final sequence is heavier on the effects.

Scene of the Movie – The final sequence.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Pacing is annoyingly bad.

Final Thoughts – This is a poor serial killer movie that lacks pacing skills and engaging characters.

Overall: Boring horror.

Rating

Director: Jon M Chu

Writer: Peter Chiarelli, Adele Lim (Screenplay) Kevin Kwan (Novel)

Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Harry Shum Jr

Plot: This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s family.

Tagline – The only thing crazier than love is family

Runtime: 2 Hours

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Delightful

Story: Crazy Rich Asians starts as economics professor Rachel Chu (Wu) gets invited to meet her boyfriends Nick (Golding) family back in Singapore for a family wedding. Rachel meeting up with an old college friend Peik Lin (Awkwafina) she learns that Nick is from the richest of the rich family in Asia.

Rachel must meet countless member of the family with most looking down on her, while Nick must continue to be the humble man that Rachel fell in love with.

Thoughts on Crazy Rich Asians

Characters – Rachel Chu has worked her whole life to become an economics professor, daughter of a single mother, she has had to fight for everything she has. She is dating Nick whom is from a rich family one she didn’t know about, she must meet the family and learn where her place might be in the family if her relationship became more serious. Nick Young is the man Rachel has fallen in love with, he wants her to meet his family, one which he is expected to follow in the footsteps of his family, a life that he hasn’t told Rachel about. He faces a big decision in his life, to be with Rachel or to take over the family business. Eleanor Young is the mother of Nick, she has been helping in the business her whole life, she has also been wanting to handpick a wife for her son, she doesn’t approve of Rachel for the most part because of how she was treated coming into the family. Astrid is the one friend that Rachel finds in the rich society group, they have been friends as she is the only member of the family has met with Nick, she is also going through her own tough times with Rachel being the only one she can talk to about things.

Performances – Constance Wu is wonderful in the leading role, she shows us the emotional impact her characters situation gets put through, while remaining strong a balancing act to keep up through the film. Henry Golding is wonderful on his film debut as the man trying to prove himself to his family. Michelle Yeoh is great as the disapproving mother while the supporting cast are all strong throughout the film, with Awkwafina getting the most laughs.

Story – The story follows one lady that comes from poor background that has met the love of her life who just so happens to be from one of the richest family in the world, she must meet her family who disapprove of their relationship. This is one of the movies that goes for the meet the parents angle, it has a different culture for both sides to get through, the American Chinese meeting with the Chinese only culture, which shows us just what we needed to see for something different, I have experienced this before seeing two cultures you think would be smoothly together, there is differences. This is the first part of a trilogy and luckily this doesn’t end with a cliff hanger which will make us want to come back for more.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy is balance very well not to be over the top just to have a moment of fun here or there, Awkwafina brings most of the comedy which in a supporting role only. The romance in the film shows us just how much love can complicate the rich hierarchy in certain positions.

Settings – The film starts in just New York before showing us the beauty of Singapore as we see just how rich live in this country.

Scene of the Movie – Mah-jong

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does fall into the generic meet the family film.

Final Thoughts – This is a delightful rom com that gets the feels, the laughs and the heart behind everything correct.

Overall: This is one of the most enjoyable movies of the year.

Rating