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It Follows (2014)
More Than Lives Up to the Hype
I was excited going into this movie. I had heard great things about it: it was scary, it was retro-styled, and the score was great. There also seemed to some backlash against it, with others saying it was boring and overrated. Luckily this movie, like The Babadook and The Witch, lives up to the hype instead of being a pretentious bore. These three movies are frequently championed as the best modern horror has to offer, and It Follows is my favorite of the three.
The movie opens with a teenage girl running out of her house and down the street like something is chasing her. Right away Halloween's influence is apparent: the empty streets, tall trees, and quiet neighborhood bring Haddonfield to mind. Bucking the trend of there being no help, a concerned neighbor asks if the girl is alright. She refuses help, runs back into her house, and drives off in her car. She sits alone at the beach, her headlights casting a circle of safe light around her. Cut to her dead body, leg twisted back at the knee. Never once is the danger is seen, but it is definitely felt.
Like in Halloween, the characters in It Follows are always being, well, followed, and the cinematography does a great job capturing this feeling. One particular shot comes to mind. The camera remains stationary as Jay and her sister (or friend?) walk into her house. It feels exactly like a stalker stopped in his tracks to watch them go inside. The synth score, while not as melodious as Halloween's, made the tension and scares stronger. Once Jay learns the premise of the monster, the tension never lets up. None of the scares fail, and I don't remember any jump scares. The characters are good friends and never succumb to dumb horror clichés. The acting is good, and the cinematography is breathtaking at times.
I only have a few complaints. The scene where Jay contemplates sleeping with three men on a boat doesn't sit well with me. She stripes and walks into the water, and it cuts to her driving. Her hair is wet, so we know that if she didn't sleep with them, she at least got close. I just have a hard time seeing how the scene would go if she slept with them. Just earlier she seemed really unsure of passing it along to someone else, and while doing it to a stranger is easier, it also seems more immoral, and Jay seemed like she wanted to do the right thing. Also, how many of the men did she sleep with? Having sex with three random guys at once seems a little hard to by, and I would think those men would be more than a little suspicious of a girl willing to do that. If she just slept with one, then where did the other two guys go? Later she sees a the thing following her as a naked man on her roof. That could have been a guy on the boat, but we never see their faces clearly. Jay's face driving reveals nothing, which would be strange if she had just had sex with any of them. Something about this scene just doesn't seem right. One poster on the message boards said Jay should have been crying, that way each possibility would seem more likely. I agreed with that, but then I wondered the point of making this scene ambiguous at all. The rules of the game aren't revealed until twenty minutes in, and although it isn't that late, it's late enough that I think it should have been kept as a surprise.
After Jay and Paul have sex (a cold scene), they walk hand in hand down the sidewalk. Then it ends. My first thought was, "That's it?!" But then I thought about it and, while maybe not perfect, it was a fine ending. Paul finally gets his dream girl, Jay has romance, they can help each other, and the thing still follows (possibly). This is ambiguity done right. When they fought the thing in the pool earlier, the pool filled with blood, something it had never done before. Maybe that meant it was dead, but no one really knows, and they'll never know unless they catch someone following them. The last shot shows someone walking down the sidewalk much further behind Jay and Paul. Is this "It?" It's a great question, and I like that it ends with this uncertainty. There's a theory out there that Jay and Paul are dead in this scene, but I can't think of any evidence to support this theory. The director put in objects from different time periods to make the movie feel like a dream. I can't wait to watch it again to look for these things, and to try to find deeper meaning, of which I'm sure there's plenty.
The House on Sorority Row (1982)
Decent Slasher
This movie isn't very scary, but it's never boring. The basement and the climax have tension, but the rest of the movie just isn't scary. In fact, there are more funny moments than scary ones: some girls at the party gush over how cute an average guy is when he gives the goofiest, cheesiest smile imaginable; Mrs. Slater tries to be intimidating, but the acting just comes off as cheesy.
There are some things that are confusing: the prank scene and Eric. When Vicki points the gun at Mrs. Slater, the girls think it isn't loaded because Vicki said it wouldn't be. She then points it at a lamp post and shoots it, breaking the glass. A friend comes up to stop her, and Vicki shoots her in the leg. They then reveal that it was a prank, and Vicki wasn't really shot. Then the gun goes off and Vicki accidentally shoots Mrs. Slater for real. What was really in her gun? Blanks, bullets, or a mix? If Vicki shot her friend with a blank, then where did the fake blood come from? And how did the lamp break if she was using blanks? For the lamp to break, she had to have been using at least some real bullets, but the movie never really explains how all this happened. The second confusing thing is Eric. The doctor says Eric died at birth and Mrs. Slater just pretends that Eric lives to make herself feel better. But during the climax, Katie fights the killer, who appears to be a man, and Ms. Slater seems to have been dead the whole time. If this were true, then how would the doctor have not realized the baby was alive? The baby he delivered was either already dead or died soon after, certainly before Mrs. Slater woke up. So assuming she got her baby back after for a funeral, the doctor should have realized the baby was alive. If this is what happened, the movie didn't make the twist very clear.
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Great Hitchcock Film
The movie begins on a train. Guy, a tennis player, is recognized by Bruno, a wealthy man. Bruno is attracted to Guy, and strikes up conversations with him. Guy, who wants to be left alone, politely tries to end them, but Bruno is stubborn. It doesn't take long for him to start talking about his favorite subject, murder. Bruno's theory for the perfect murder is for two people to swap murders. The easiest way to get caught is motive, but there's no a stranger has no motive, so he wouldn't be caught. Bruno proposes that, in return for killing Guy's cheating wife so he doesn't have to get a divorce to marry Ann, Guy kills Bruno's father. Guy just says his theory sounds alright and gets off the train. Bruno, however, either mistakes it for confirmation or starts it anyway so that Guy is forced to follow through.
Guy is a good guy. He doesn't want to put up with his cheating wife, but he doesn't want her killed either. Once Bruno confronts him after the murder, his first instinct is to go to the police, but Bruno convinces him that Guy's story won't satisfy the police, and Bruno tries to blackmail Guy into killed his father.
The cinematography is very good, particularly the murder reflected in the glasses. That is an impressive shot.
The climax of the film is intense but too far-fetched. Guy is chasing Bruno onto a carousel full of children, and a cop wildly shoots at Guy, narrowly missing countless children, and kills the innocent carousel operator, who turns the carousel onto its highest speed. I can't believe that a cop could be this stupid, killing an innocent man and endangering many children all for a murder suspect he has no evidence on. Also, the carousel is going at a dangerously fast speed. Why make a carousel that spins so fast its deadly? It was never meant to be used at that setting, so why make it possible? The brave old man who volunteers to shut it off ends up making it worse and causes it to collapse. Bruno is killed, but no one checks on the children's safety. Also, Guy claims that Bruno has his lighter, so Guy asks if he can reach down and check Bruno for it. The cop rightfully denies him because Guy would be able to plant the lighter on Bruno if he didn't have it already. But why would Guy ask the cop if he himself could check? Why not just ask the cop to check for him? Why doesn't the cop offer to check instead?
Overall, this is a great film. All the performances were good, and the story was interesting. I really believed that Guy has morals. Bruno has a knack for sounding convincing. I was really interested to see how it all plays out. The climax on the carousel was stretched my suspension of disbelief too far, but it still ended well. Bruno has scarred Guy, and the next time a stranger on a train recognizes him, Guy's paranoia leads him away.
The Perfect Guy (2015)
Bad But Kind Of Fun
Based on the trailer, I thought this movie would be absolutely terrible. It's still bad, but not as awful as I thought. Leah has some job working for a senator, and she's been dating Dave for around two years. Leah wants to get married and have a family, but Dave is scarred from his parents' divorce, so he wants to propose when he's ready, and not sooner. Leah and Dave break up because of their differences, and Leah starts dating Carter, and IT expert. Here's where things get ridiculous. Leah just can't resist Carter when he flashes his goofy smile at her. It's supposed to be sexy, but he just looks silly with half his mouth horizontal and the other half vertical. He's charming at first, but goes crazy and beats a man at a gas station he thought was flirting with Leah. The gas station owner claims he called the cops on Carter, but nothing ever happens with that. The beaten man doesn't press charges for some reason. Leah actually gets in the car with Carter instead of waiting for the cops or calling cab or doing anything else. She breaks up with him, and when he begins stalking her, she does the smart thing and changes her numbers. When that doesn't work, she gets a restraining order. The gaping hole in her plan? Her keys. She showed Carter where she hides her spare on their first or second date. That was a dumb decision, yet she doesn't think to move her spare and change her locks? She's supposed to be smart, but she acts really dumb. The cop helping her out isn't bad. Near the end, he advises her how to take care of Carter, but for some reason it's against the law to tell her to get a shotgun for self-defense, so he asks her to join him on his coffee break so he can tell her off duty. She's so dense she doesn't understand he's trying to help her. She finally acts smart when she sets a trap in her home for Carter at the end, but then acts dumb again just standing there with a shotgun threatening to shoot him but not actually following through with it. Of course she loses the shotgun, and of course she kills him in the end. It's all very conventional. Carter is so goofy that he makes the movie accidentally funny. He's so obsessed with Leah that he crawls under her bed to listen to her have sex with Dave, and when he goes into her bathroom, the first thing he does is stick her toothbrush in his mouth. The script is pretty bad, but moments like that make the movie somewhat fun.
Joy (2015)
Some Good Parts, Family Characters Are Awful
I had no idea this movie is about the inventor of the Miracle Mop. I'm glad the trailers didn't hype up that aspect because the movie didn't really seem like a biopic at all. It tells the story of Joy.
I don't see the point of having her grandmother narrate the story from the afterlife. It seemed pointless. I absolutely hated Rudy, Trudy, Peggy, and Joy's mother. Rudy tries to help Joy at times, but he's a leech like the rest of them. Trudy (along with Rudy) gives terrible business advice to Joy time and time again. She loans Joy money, but doesn't want her to make any. Why? Peggy hates Joy and constantly tries to sabotage her success. Why does Peggy hate Joy? Is she jealous? If so, of what? Joy was valedictorian in high school, but she hasn't accomplished anything after that, all her family takes her for granted, and she has no money. Joy's mother does nothing but watch TV and cause problems. They all do nothing but drag Joy down again and again, but it happens so much that I don't know why she keeps putting up with them. It's to the point that I don't feel sorry for Joy anymore. Her family hurts her, but she keeps putting up with them, so it gets to be her fault for thinking they'd help. Joy is really the only character I cared for. Most of her family members were terrible people, but even then, they could have had something to make me feel some sympathy for them, but they didn't.
I'm not a big fan of Jennifer Lawrence, but I really liked her acting here. Robert De Niro does a good job too, but I lost interest in his character. There were some cool shots, and I liked the soundtrack. Joy's endless failures got repetitive, and her's was the only character I cared about, but I cared enough that the movie was mostly enjoyable. When she finally sells her mop on TV, I felt happy for her.
Ricki and the Flash (2015)
Okay Movie
This movie is an okay family drama. It wasn't much of a comedy. At first it's about Ricki trying to bond with her daughter, and then drops that to focus on her son's wedding. Music isn't really that important to her character. The only reason it matters is because it's the reason for her not being by her family, which separates her from them and gives her a reason to divorce her husband. Ricki's band covers a few songs, and most are played in full. It's like watching a cover band play: it's not bad, but not as good as the original. So why play the full song? A 30 second clip would have been fine. Her band never goes anywhere, and we seem them playing the same venue multiple times. The acting is fine. The story isn't bad. The music is meh. It was enjoyable enough, but not anything that needs to be sought out.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Really Fun Movie
This movie was really fun. It didn't take itself too seriously, but it wasn't too light-hearted either. All the actors seemed good in their roles. It had a great feel to it. The trailer made me want to see it, but evidently most other people didn't think so; it only grossed $13.5 million its opening weekend, which is a shame because it was a great summer movie that more people should have seen. It isn't even close to making it's budget back yet, so even with home video sales, it seems unlikely that it will get a sequel. I'm not some franchise fanatic, but I would fully support Guy Ritchie making a sequel if that's what he wanted to do. It's a shame it didn't do better.
7/10
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976)
Okay Sherlock Holmes Movie
Disclaimer: I got really sleepy about 20 minutes into this movie, so I struggled to pay attention at times, and I know it hurts my viewing of the movie. Only once before have I felt tired during a movie: it was the new Godzilla movie, and I had been up all day by the time I went to see it in a dark room. I watched this movie during the afternoon with sunlight coming in; yet even when movies are boring, I never feel sleepy, so I have no idea what happened here. I'll do my best to review what I paid attention to.
I struggled to follow the case that develops later in the story because I felt so tired, so I won't have much to say about it. I found the premise of the movie to be pretty intriguing, and it was interesting to see Sherlock Holmes be analyzed by Freud, whose analysis resembles Holmes' capabilities. The acting performances seemed good enough, but the camera-work was weird. There were some shots that were really good, like when it shows Holmes' viewpoint while high. Other shots had some wonky angles; it felt like I was watching a filmed play, which is not a compliment to the cinematographer. I can't quite place my finger on what was off, but something was. There were some really cheesy scenes, like Freud's real tennis match. That scene went on way too long and had a cliché outcome. The ending to the film, which reveals that Moriarty had an affair with Holmes' mother, was very surprising. That was great.
Overall, the movie didn't leave much of an impression. I'm willing to watch it again, and hopefully I'd like it a bit more.
6/10
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Not Very Good
I didn't expect much from this movie, and I didn't get much out of it. The whole thing is just kind of ridiculous. The story is all over the place, with new information about the world being introduced constantly. The lore could have been interesting if it wasn't so much wasn't crammed into such a small amount of time. It wasn't a short movie, but it felt rushed. The romantic relationship between Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis' characters was beyond cliché. It was so unbelievable and I just didn't care. There was a particularly terrible piece of dialogue. After explain that he is more related to dogs than humans (even though he looks way more human), she replies with, "I love dogs." Such awful writing, and it even implies something pretty disgusting that I'm sure they weren't going for. The action wasn't impressive either.
The best I can say about the movie is that it isn't terribly boring, but it is completely forgettable. Also, the ending is really bad. After her family saves up money to buy a telescope for her and randomly give it to her, she says she has a date but won't say with who. (Side note: The family members laughed way too much in this scene to be anywhere close to realistic. It felt like I was watching a bad Lifetime movie.) She acts like she wants to have a serious relationship with Tatum's character, but she can't introduce him to her family because he's part wolf, so it seems stupid of her to go around bragging about her date, presuming that she will have future dates with the same guy whom she can't introduce. Blah.
4/10
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Mostly Interesting, Not Perfect
This movie has a great reputation, so I went into it with high hopes, and was left disappointed. At times the movie dragged on, and at other times it was very interesting. Marlon Brando was great in his role, and despite his character's repulsive qualities, made white T shirts very popular. Vivien Leigh won an Oscar for role, but I wasn't impressed by it. I thought her character was very annoying, and I didn't sympathize with her. Leigh has some good moments, but at other times she overacts. I understand that theatrical performances could still be well regarded at this time, but when she acts opposite to Marlon Brando, whose performance is anything but theatrical, her performance only seems worse.
Despite my complaints, I really liked the ending. It was disturbing, and even though I disliked Blanche, I felt sympathy towards her after being raped by Stanley, which totally surprised me. Marlon Brando was great and really made this movie more tolerable than it would have been without him. I wish I wasn't disappointed by it, because I loved On The Waterfront, also directed by Elia Kazan. A Streetcar Named Desire isn't a bad movie, but it's not deserving of its reputation as a classic either.
7/10
The Martian (2015)
Fun, Crowd-Pleasing Sci-Fi
Astronaut Mark Watney is on Mars with his crew. After being injured during a powerful storm, his crew, thinking him dead, leaves him behind. Watney wakes up, and after removing the object lodged in his body, assesses the situation. His chances of survival are low, but he is determined to pull through against all odds.
I had heard a lot about how funny the film was, but I didn't find it THAT funny. Sure, there were some decent humorous lines, but I was a bit underwhelmed with them. Other people in my theater didn't seem to share my views, though. Donald Glover's character, Rich Purnell, seemed too over the top and out of place in the movie. Also, I thought more of the science should have been explained. At one point, Watney communicates with NASA through a camera pointing at signs in base 16. I understand base 16, but I didn't understand how the camera was being controlled to communicate with the numbers and letters. I wish the movie would have explained this better. Instead-- and maybe I'm wrong-- it seemed like it was glossed over because they assume no one really care HOW it works, just that it works. I had heard that the book contained a lot of clever science that was fully explained. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if that's true, but it still seemed like the movie could have used more science. Also, the movie's poster is pretty bad. It's just a close up of Matt Damon's phrase with the tagline "Bring Him Home." When I first heard of this movie, I didn't expect him to come home. I thought the movie would be darker and about him trying to survive knowing he can't. I'm not disappointed that it wasn't like that, but I don't think the poster should make it so obvious that he'll be rescued.
Thinking back on this movie, I think of it as less enjoyable than it really was. I'm not sure why, and watching clips of it, I remember how suspenseful and entertaining it was. Some awkward humor aside, I had a lot of fun watching this movie, but I still think it's being a bit overrated. It's being heralded as the best movie of the year, and I just don't think it has the greatness to make it a classic. For a comparison, I thought The Martian was more "fun" to watch than Ex Machina, but Ex Machina ended up having a more daring story.
8/10
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Excellent Sci-Fi Classic
Four years before the release of The Day The Earth Stood Still, the Cold War began. One year before it's release, the Korean War began. The U.S. was also still feeling the results of World War II. Needless to say, war was, and still is, an important and divisive issue. Thus, it's a wonder that this movie's anti-war message doesn't come across as preachy. Klaatu is treated as a threat upon his arrival. Coming with the message that the Earth will soon be destroyed if it doesn't unite, he certainly seems threatening. He has good intentions, however, and it takes a kid to see that. Too many adults in the movie are so consumed with their political views that they can't see that the choice has obvious right answer. Klaatu is killed of course, and subsequently revived, but only momentarily. He tells the assembled people that if any of Earth's violence extends into space, they will be wiped out by the advanced robot protectors. He says the choice is theirs, and leaves.
The ending didn't provide a lot of closure, but it works better that way. WE are left to decide how to act ourselves. The ending doesn't comfort the audience by showing that people can make the right choice, and it doesn't present the Earth being destroyed as a means of manipulating people to act through fear. It doesn't know how we will act, and it makes the mature decision of letting us be responsible for actions.
9/10
The Haunting (1963)
A Great Haunted House Movie
Eleanor is a broken women. She spent most of her adult life taking care of her sick mother, with little help from her sister. Her mother has passed away, and now Eleanor doesn't know what to do with her life. She receives no support from her sister, who argues with her, and even her niece calls her names. When Eleanor is invited by Dr. John Markway to stay in a mansion, she readily agrees. Dr. Markway studies the paranormal, and he believes Hill House to be haunted, so he invites Eleanor, along with Theodora and Luke, the current owner's nephew, to be witnesses.
Eleanor, desperately wanting a friend, takes a liking to Theo. They act close at the beginning of the film, likening their relationship to that of sisters. Theo, however, is implied to be lesbian, so there may be more to their relationship than just sisterly bond. Eleanor also takes a liking to Dr. Markway because he is the only one not to make fun of her.
As the film progresses, Hill House lives up to its reputation. Loud noises sound off in different rooms, there are cold spots in impossible places, and something keeps on banging on the doors. Eleanor starts to see things, but is she losing her mind, or is she being influenced by something otherworldly? Theo and Luke make fun of her, which is why Dr. Markway is nice to her.
The scares are effective, the tension is constant, and there is never a moment of boredom. The acting is good, and the direction and cinematography are astounding. While watching this movie, I was amazed at Robert Wise's diversity. The only other movies I've seen of his are Born To Kill (1947), a dark and violent noir, and the Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), an intelligent science-fiction movie. My only real complaint is the ending. It's too abrupt. After Eleanor crashes her car into a tree, the others find her, and then it ends. Still, The Haunting was a great movie, and I could see my score going up upon a rewatch.
8/10
Born to Kill (1947)
Underrated Film Noir
This movie was pretty violent for coming out during the Hays Code. I guess they let some things slide because it was released by RKO. In particular, the first murder scene is very violent, and realistic, for a 1947 film. The movie is very cold-hearted. Sam (Lawrence Tierney) is essentially a male version of a femme fatale. He is greedy and without a conscious. Murder doesn't bother him, and he plays with women's emotions to get what he wants. He is also child-like in that he lets his emotions (angry, violent, and self-centered) control him. The only person who can influence him is Marty, a "friend" from prison who also happens to share a room and a bed with Sam. Although it's possible that there was no implied gay relationship between them, it was the 40s and filmmakers had to be subtle. The reason I think this interpretation is valid is because Marty is the only who can calm Sam down, and in addition to their living situation, seems too important to ignore. The women are cold-hearted too, but not as evil as Sam.
Overall, the movie is a very enjoyable noir, and it deserves to be more widely known. I for one think it is better than the Big Sleep. The ending was perhaps a bit too neat, but it worked nonetheless.
8/10