Month: February 2017

Movie Review: A MONSTER CALLS – beautiful, poignant modern fable that left me in tears. A must-see.

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie ReviewsLeave a comment

Image result for a monster calls poster

I hadn’t even heard of A Monster Calls until a few weeks ago, and then only had some interest because it starred Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), whom I like.  Had no idea what the story was about (it’s adapted by Patrick Ness, from his novel of the same name), or if it was live action or animated.  The movie poster is vague to say the least, as you can see.  I put it on the back burner.  Last week I read a short blurb that gave off an Iron Giant kind of vibe, and that kind of tied into the poster.  Not like I had a ton of enthusiasm, but whatever was there ebbed away a little.  Listen, not like I don’t love The Iron Giant like everyone else, but I don’t need to see a knock off.  Movie came, movies went, and last night while home alone I decided to watch a double bill.  The second movie was The Eyes Of My Mother, first was A Monster Calls.  And frankly, it blew me away.

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Movie Review: V/H/S VIRAL – third in the series proves the law of diminishing returns is alive and well

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VHS Viral

There are two reasons I watched V/H/S Viral, despite its lousy ratings: one being I’ve already watched the first two, so why not, and the other being that it contains a segment by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who wrote and directed the movies Resolution and Spring, both of which I rated highly.  Before I dig in, I’ll say that I’m likely not alone in thinking the series is hit or miss – and I guess when you’re working in an anthology format, with all different creators, it’s going to happen.  I mostly enjoyed the first movie, and the second one was notable only for the death-cult segment, Safe Haven.  Unfortunately, V/H/S Viral proves true the law of diminishing returns.  Continue reading “Movie Review: V/H/S VIRAL – third in the series proves the law of diminishing returns is alive and well” →

Movie Review: LET’S BE EVIL – low budget sci-fi “horror” with a death scene SO BAD it needs to be seen to be believed

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews7 Comments

lets_be_evil

Last night I was cramped for time, so I had to pick a short movie.  Let’s Be Evil had been sent to me a few weeks ago, and it was 82 minutes long – perfect!  Not quite.  Turns out there are many other things that would have been more worthwhile than watching this low budget sci-fi/horror.  Directed by Martin Owen, and co-written by Owen and leading actress Elizabeth Morris, Let’s Be Evil tells the story of three broke young people (Morris, Kara Tointon, and Elliot James Langridge) who take a side gig as chaperones to a group of child geniuises enrolled in a mysterious project.  Naturally, things go wrong, and the lives of the three protagonists are placed in peril.

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Movie Review: BOTTOM OF THE WORLD is David Lynch-lite all the way, but still worth your time.

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews9 Comments

bottom-of-the-world

Here’s the IMDB.com synopsis for Bottom of the World: “A mysterious disappearance of a young woman leads her boyfriend on a journey for truth and perhaps his own unknown reality in this dark, hypnotic mystery that transcends the limitations of traditional narrative.”  Although it’s poorly written, it does its job well enough, and that’s to sell the movie.  I didn’t watch it because of this – the movie arrived with nary a word about it, so I have the benefit of reading the blurb with hindsight.  I’m not here to pick the writing apart, just using it to bolster my take on it.

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Movie Review: SciFi thriller MORGAN is a mostly dull and poorly written retread of other movies.

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morgan

Have you heard of the Black List?  I don’t mean the James Spader TV show, I’m referring to the list of great, unproduced screenplays of the year.  Being on the annual black list is something most would-be screenwriters dream of.  It generally leads to a big money sale, and knocks down the doors of the movie industry.  It includes some really good movies – Arrival in 2012, Spotlight in 2013, Manchester By The Sea in 2014, etc.  But it also lists screenplays that went on to be critical and commercial duds: The Johnny Depp scifi thriller Transcendence, and the Naomi Watt starrer Shut In from 2012, and 2013’s Pan that’s best left forgotten.  The 2014 list also includes Morgan, the movie I watched last night.

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