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

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews2 Comments

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

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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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Movie Review: I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER – welcome return of Max Records, but this small town dark drama is almost overpowered by an early plot twist.

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i_am_not_a_serial_killer_ver3

For me, the most notable thing about I Am Not A Serial Killer (other than the horrendous title) is that fact that it’s headlined by Max Records, the child star of Spike Jonze’s excellent 2009 adaptation of Where The Wild Things are.  I remember seeing The Sitter theatrically, but completely forgot about it, and by extension the fact that Records made another movie.  His headlining role surprised me because the movie also stars Christopher Lloyd – regardless of who the movie is actually about, Records wouldn’t necessarily be the first name in the credits with Lloyd also in the production, so it would have been great to have been a fly on the walls of those contract negotiations.  In the end, it doesn’t really matter – Records absolutely deserves his billing.

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