Day: September 3, 2019

Ready or Not (2019) Movie Review

Post author By Darren Lucas
Post date September 3, 2019
2 Comments on Ready or Not (2019) Movie Review

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Writer: Guy Busick, Ryan Murphy (Screenplay)

Starring: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, Kristin Bruun

Plot: A bride’s wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game.

Tagline – The Game Begins

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Blood Soaked Wedding

Story: Ready or Not starts on what should be Grace’s (Weaving) greatest day, her wedding day to Alex (O’Brien) which will put her into the famous gaming family Le Domas. With the wedding at Alex’s family home, she is welcomed by the likes of his brother Daniel (Brody), his father Tony (Czerny) and his mother Becky (MacDowell).

The family has an unusual tradition of playing a randomly selected game, which can be a simple game like chess, but tonight Grace selects Hide and Seek, a game which means the whole family will hunt her down before dawn, being a race for her to survive.

Thoughts on Ready or Not

Characters – Grace is a woman that was raised through the foster system, now she has met the love of her life in Alex and is hoping to be part of a family for the first time in her life. Like most people she is nervous on her wedding day, eager to impress her new family too, but nothing will prepare her for the night, where she must learn to fight to survive when her new family is hunting to capture her. Alex is the man that is going to marry Grace, he has become distant from his family, but knows the traditions that must be followed, he doesn’t give everything away to Grace, knowing it will scary her away, though he doesn’t want to get involved in everything once the game starts. Daniel is Alex’s brother, he hates being part of the family, he wants nothing to do with the game, but reluctantly agrees to play along with little to no enthusiasm, being one of the few people that will help Grace. Tony is the father of the household, he has made the family bigger that ever and wants to continue the traditions that were bought upon the family, he will do anything to make sure the tradition is upheld. We do meet other members of the family including Becky the wife of Tony, mother of the boys, her daughter Emilie alone with the spouses Fitch who will get the most laughs in the film and Charity.

Performances – Samara Weaving kills it in the leading role, first she puts up a fight, secondly, she gives us natural looking reactions to everything that is going on. Adam Brody gives us a strong performance that makes us want to be like his character in this situation. Mark O’Brien is strong, but doesn’t reach the levels of the fellow stars of the film. Henry Czerny is fun through this film, he starts welcoming, turns psychotic and soon becomes a loose cannon as things get out of control, Henry makes us want to see more from his character through this film.

Story – The story here follows a woman that is getting married, only to learn that her wedding night is going to have a twist, she must play a game with the family, with this being a extreme, hide and seek, in a battle for life. This is a story that takes the most important day in anybody’s life and turns it into a nightmare, which will see Grace needing to fight to survive against a family that will do anything to hunt her down to continue having their fame and fortune. It does show how the rich will do anything to get away with something big in their lives, even murder, while it does show us just how games can be turned into something bigger than just a board game.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film does come from the gore that we do see, both towards Grace and to other innocent victims in the game, one scene involving a hand is extremely difficult to watch. The mystery in the film does look at how the family is acting, like what will happen if they don’t win.

Settings – The film is set in one location, the giant mansion of the Le Domas, this shows how many different potential hiding spots we could see and how much she is playing on away ground.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are brutal to see, it is mostly all the injuries being inflicted through the film, as mentioned before the hand sequence is one that will make most wince.

Scene of the Movie – How to use a crossbow.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We do get a lot of time jumps here, considering this is taking place over about seven hours.

Final Thoughts – This is an entertaining humour filled horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat seeing if Grace will make it out alive and just what will happen next.

Overall: Fun survival horror.

Tags 2019, Horror, Ready or Not

Movie Review

I Like Me (2018) Movie Review

Post author By Darren Lucas
Post date September 3, 2019
No Comments on I Like Me (2018) Movie Review

Director: Joshua Land

Writer: Abby Sussman, Joshua Land (Screenplay) Ben Cagan, Abby Sussman, Joshua Land (Story)

Starring: Sue Schaffel, Anna Fagan, Chris Kozlowski, Jackson Trent, Alex Palting, Jonathan Helwig, Melissa Robinson, Mindy Shaw

Plot: In the midst of family tensions, an egocentric free spirit who hits rock bottom finds unexpected success as a self-empowerment guru after publishing a self-help book.

Tagline – Discover the positivi-me in your life!

Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Motivation Based Comedy

Story: I Like Me starts with Maggie (Schaffel) and her sister Hannah (Fagan) father’s funeral, where Maggie has returned to town along with her reckless behaviour, not thinking before talking and drinking habits, turns to Hannah for a place to stay, where things only continue to see the tension grow between the sisters.

When Maggie learns Hannah is reading self-help books, she decides to read them and write her own, which makes her an overnight sensation with her books popularity going viral, but now she needs to start putting her own life back together.

Thoughts on I Like Me

Characters – Maggie is a free spirit that has spent most of her life being carefree, she returns home for her father’s funeral where she invites herself to stay with her half-sister, Maggie will drink too much and cause constant stress in her sister’s life, while not even getting a conversation out of her son. She writes a self-help book that makes her a big star, which offers her a chance to help people, but she struggles to deal with her own problems in life. Hannah is the younger half-sister of Maggie, she is married and looking for a promotion at work, she has her life pretty much together, until Maggie arrives in her life and things start to go wrong. Luke is Hannah’s husband that is still feeling young heart being a fan of disco bowling. Michael is the son of Maggie’s, the person she most wants back in her life, but he keeps his distance from her.

Performances – Sue Schaffel and Anna Fagan take the leading roles, they show us great chemistry through the film as they both have to show the ups and downs of their lives. Chris Kozlowski will get most of the laughs in the film.

Story – The story here follows a free spirit that returns to her home town, where she tries to put her life back together with her self-help book making her an internet sensation, but can she fix her own life before it is too late. This is a story that does focus on the idea that people will need help in everybody life, people might turn to books, but in reality it will always be yourself that helps the most. We do see how people can go off the rails and will try to find their own directions, while we will also people that seem to be grounded, but lack direction. We do get the important messages here and by the end of the film you will understand the meaning behind everything in the story.

Comedy – The comedy in the film comes from Maggie’s action and a lot comes from Luke just trying to be a good husband without ever siding with anybody.

Settings – The film keeps the settings simple enough being everyday home locations, until we go to the disco bowling which adds the colour and fun to the life of the characters.

Scene of the Movie – Disco bowling.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There could have been more on Maggie’s childhood, like was she raised with Hannah, who was her mother.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun comedy that does have a life message involved, it will get the laughs and has strong performances throughout.

Overall: Fun comedy.

Tags 2018, Comedy, I Like Me

Movie Review

The Confines (2015)

The Confines of Desperation: A Journey of Self-Discovery

Director: Eytan Rockaway

Writer: Ido Fluk (Screenplay)

Starring: Jason Patric, Louisa Krause, Mark Margolis, Ezra Knight

Plot: Take a terrifying plunge into the warped mind of a disturbed young woman. Desperate to get her life back on track, the unstable Streak takes a job as a security guard, working the graveyard shift at a once upscale, now abandoned apartment complex. But on her first night on duty, she discovers a horrifying presence lurking deep within the bowels of the decaying building. With her nerves already on edge, Streak must confront demons both real and imagined as she struggles to keep a grip on her sanity.

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: This Should Be A LOT Better

Story: Confines starts when down on her lucky single mother Streak (Krause) must take a job as an overnight security guard in an abandoned apartment building, her partner Cooper (Patric) on this night the disabled man that has seen people come and go over and over, with no one lasting more than a week.

When Streak starts exploring noises she hears, she learns the dark secret about the building leading to a terrifying series of events.

Thoughts on Confines

Characters – Streak is a disturbed young woman, she must prove she can keep a job to get her child back which leads her to the night watchwoman role. She doesn’t have experience in this role which leads her to explore and using her gift to learn the truth about the building. Cooper is the experienced night watchman, he needs this job and with his disability, it seems like a comfortable gig for him, this night turns into a nightmare as he must deal with Streak never being sure if she is unstable herself or there is something going on in the building. To round out our small cast we have a homeless man and the guy that hires Streak, neither do much else in the film.

Performances – Louisa Krause in the leading role is solid enough, though we never truly believe her fear through the night and her lack of ability to make us feel like we could be seeing her on edge over just horrors doesn’t convince. Jason Patric is solid to, though he never gets the time required to do anything with his character. The rest of the cast barely get any screen time which is why they suffer from low scores.

Story – The story much like many horror film keeps everything very simple, this is all we needed it to do too. On the first night of a job as a night watchwoman our leading lady must battle her own inner demons when strange things start happening within the apartment building she is working in. well this sounds like it should be an enjoyable enough watch for a horror fan, the ending only left me scratching my head which is disappointing, even though it could have made sense or not.

Horror/Mystery – The horror side of the film mostly down to what isn’t there as we balance between stuff int eh corner over anything else. The mystery comes from what could be making the noises in the building and what is involved with the history of the events here.

Settings – The film takes place completely in the building, this does keep the events confined to one location, we have the darker rooms, the forbidden rooms which only draw the horror ideas we could get.

Special Effects – The effects are solid enough though most of it is the in the corners blink and you miss it moments.