Reviews

I was very interested in the premise of this movie. It looked like a different sort of take on an end of the world scenario. That is exactly what I got out of it. The story takes place with two brothers who live on a farm with their father, who has raised them alone since they were babies. We're not sure what happened to the mother but we can assume she died shortly after they were born as the dad is seen raising them by himself. All three of them live together with their dog and do the best they can in a situation where we assume most of the population has died off.

The creatures are very interesting and are showcased effectively throughout the film. They live underground and only come up once the sun has set. The three survivors live together in a home where every day they have to prepare their home to ward off the possible invasion of the creatures. The oldest son splits his time away from the family at another farm, helping out the other family and getting to know their daughter. Some bad choices happen and the oldest son needs to be rescued at night by the father. After that, there is tension between the oldest and his younger brother who blames their dad getting injured on the oldest brother.

Things come to a head and the oldest brother decides that he is needed on his farm instead of staying with his girlfriend at the other families' place. The climax of the story effectively shows the remaining survivors fighting off a huge wave of creatures who have tunneled under their home, while their father is thought to be close to death. There is tragedy and carnage in the final act and the two brothers and the girl are left to fend off the creatures on their own. Overall, I feel like the movie is quite effective in showcasing the despair and sorrow the three remaining characters are confronted with. The two brothers seem to grow up in a short amount of time and ultimately realize that family and hope is the most important thing that they have in their lives. I very much enjoyed this movie and consider it above most other offerings in this genre lately.

I would very much like to know the supposed backstory here of an America completely torn apart, with fighting seemingly everywhere. How did it get to this point? There are places where there is zero fighting and it feels like regular life as we are living now but then there are cities that are completely destroyed and places where even journalists are not safe. How did America get to the point where there was rampant murder and atrocities happening all across the country? We don't exactly know who the "bad guys" are supposed to be and this leaves a bit of a disconnect for the audience when shown average people committing war crimes without a second thought.

I'm not saying it's a bad film. It's not but there are some glaring issues throughout the movie that I just can't get past. One is the fact that many times we see people outright murdering or torturing other Americans and for what? We don't exactly know. Were some of them at odds or on the opposite side? It's not explained for the most part. People just executing others on a whim I don't believe would happen without the complete breakdown of the entire country. Like Armageddon or complete nuclear holocaust. We see a completely untouched town where a couple of guys are dumping dozens of bodies in a mass grave and then executing two other people. All of this without a hit of conflict or fighting happening nearby. This is completely unrealistic. We are left with more inconsistencies in the writing.

The two main issues I have with the film are when the older journalist gets shot and they just let him bleed out slowly. Are you trying to tell me that combat journalists who have been covering war for years and have access to body armor, don't have a simple first aid kit on them? Complete horse crap. I don't know what the writers were thinking here. In addition, the journalists would have died a thousand times throughout this if it were real. They charge right in the fighting shoulder to shoulder with soldiers. Lastly, when Dunsts' character gets shot, the girl who idolizes her just ignores her and moves on. She doesn't even check to see if she's alive or not. Come on! What is this? They just move on and don't even give her a second glance. They show so much emotion seeing all the other fighting but at the end when their friend gets shot, they couldn't give less concern if they tried. I cannot abide this sort of nonsensical writing. The writing really hampers this film and I cannot forgive this kind of laziness.

I had not heard a single thing about this movie up until I found it online. I didn't even watch the trailer, just read a bit about it. What struck me the most about this movie was how real it felt. It felt as if this could really happen right down the road from me. People who suffer in silence can sometimes be pushed over the edge with just a breeze.

Kyle Gallner does a phenomenal job as the bad guy in this film. The emotion he brings from just his expressions is masterful. How has this man not gotten more and larger parts? The tension throughout the film was so heavy you could cut it with a knife. I had no idea what was going to happen minute from minute and it left me guessing the whole way. What I find most interesting is that in the end, Benson actually teaches Bradley to stand up for himself. Overall, everything was done very well in this film. I highly recommend it.

Having just watched this one I am left wondering why they even called it "Road House." It literally has nothing to do with the original movie except Daltons' character. The premise of a rich guy who wants to drive out locals so he can have their land has been done a thousand times already so it didn't even need to have the same name. Also Dalton's character is completely different than he was in the original. The new guy is just kind of weird. He is rarely serious and prefers to make bad dad jokes.

The humor in this movie is also very hit and miss. Some of the sarcasm and dry humor works in some situations and in others it falls flat. The Jake Gyllenhall does an ok job in the role but I don't think it's his acting that makes the character odd. It's the writing. All the other characters were either unnecessary or just bad. With the exception of the character of Frankie the bar owner. The actress does a good job. The strangest character is of course McGregor's. He's just some random dude who does crazy things and walks around like his neck is permanently fused in place. Overall kind of entertaining but not good in any stretch of the word.

Most FF movies are of the lower-budget variety and this one is no exception. It feels as if this movie was made on a budget of about 20 bucks. Everything feels very amature. The pacing of the overall film is pretty slow and even the climax of the movie near the end is a letdown. There isn't much tension throughout the film mostly because the story and acting are just subpar. No one feels believable in this movie and you don't connect with any of the characters. It's supposed to be a FF movie about a mother who slowly goes insane and then murders her family for some reason. I think if there was more back story for the mom and why she has the tendency to act the way she does, it would have at least been passable. As it is, it's not good. Calling the performances here "amazing" as one reviewer has, is quite laughable.

This is not a good movie. I reviewed this already but for whatever reason, it got deleted. First of all, you need to understand that the high score reviews are from hilariously obvious people who know someone who worked on this movie or were paid to do so. Maybe both. This is both sad and pathetic and very, very dishonest. Besides the fact that it spits in the face of other indie films. People who legitimately make good films. This is not one of those good films.

The premise of this movie is already not great. A woman who suffers a tragedy goes to take care of an old house for whatever reason. Guess what? The house is haunted! Well, maybe. We never really are told for sure. So she spends her time sitting and looking out the window and having endless flashbacks to her boyfriend. Seriously, so many flashbacks. Her phone also rings randomly and makes weird creepy noises when it rings. So I guess ghosts know how to make phone calls and also change the preferences on your phone so that the creepy sound is a notification for when it calls. Awesome.

Soon we learn that another person hung himself after his girlfriend got killed by him while he was possessed or something? I don't even know. The only good thing in this movie is the guy who plays Chris. He's funny and actually a decent actor. The rest is just bad. The girl "fights" a demon or ghost or Pokémon that looks like her and learns to drive a car again and saves Chris from her evil twin. Seriously, this movie is just bad.

I'm not really all that into dramas or more serious films if I'm being honest. I rarely will spend a few hours watching a film that makes me think too much. I really just want to be entertained for a while. Sometimes though, a movie has a concept that really draws me in. That's why I decided to watch this one. I am so very glad I did. This movie has heart that other movies only dream about having.

I knew that this movie was based on a man who has a relationship with an a.i. But I very much was not ready for how hard this movie hit. I consider myself to be a classic guy. Someone who likes the outdoors and someone who isn't exactly comfortable with showing a lot of emotion. Having said that, this movie floored me. I've watched a few thousands of movies and only teared up twice before. That was, before I saw this one. The depth of humanity that this movie brings out is shocking. It's not exactly what you think it's about at first. The movie, like the titular a.i., evolves. Movies have been made that were similar to this one but they did not achieve the greatness that this movie does.

Phoenix is outstanding in his role as is everyone else. The standout I feel is Johansson. The depth of emotion and expression she brings out without even technically being on screen is phenomenal. From the very start when we are introduced to her, she feels real. I guess that also touches on one of the themes of the film. There are so many questions you could explore from thoughts about this movie. Hell, I think you could teach a college course on it. Phoenix is a brilliant actor but I think that Scarlett does not get the praise she deserves for her role. She nails it. Absolutely spot on. As well as being naturally good at voice acting, she has a beautiful singing voice. Two things I was unaware of previously. I cannot overstate how brilliant she is in this film.

I feel that this movie is mostly about existence. What is real? Are humans any more "real" than Samantha? Sure we have tissue and blood but that really isn't what makes us real, or human for that matter. Is Samantha "real" in this movie? I would argue that indeed, she is. Does she feel love? Does she feel it the same way as Theo does? Maybe. Can you hold "love' in your hand? Since you can't, does that mean it's not real or tangible? You could spend an entire lifetime debating this. That's what makes me love this movie so much. The commentary on life is so foundationally sound in this movie. Everything about this movie from the sound, the cinematography, the lighting, the characters, the music, is so close to perfect that It's hard to not feel something significant while you watch it. It's funny, it's sad, it's introspective, it's existential but above all, it's real. I could not possibly recommend this movie more. It's brilliant.

Yes this movie features De Niro doing things that a 70 year old wouldn't be capable of doing in real life. Yes it features a very basic story without much that is very interesting or engaging. Yes it contains a very ridiculous Travolta with a ridiculous accent and an even more ridiculous and obviously created beard. Past all of this you actually get a passable story of two people who have seen too much death and war in their lives and want to find peace. I was ready to laugh out loud at this movie and there are definitely many times where I could have. However, I began to actually like the dynamic between the two characters as the film went on.

The two main characters are both soldiers. From very different kinds of war but they both live with pain and regret for what they've done. Both of them are trying to somehow overcome it. De Niro's character decides to isolate himself because he thinks he's less of a man but Travolta's character lives with the pain instead. Travolta's character thinks that if he kills the other, he will be free of his pain. They both want the same thing. In the end I feel like Travolta's character finally understands that it's ok to stop killing and to try and live. De Niro's character decides that it's time to stop avoiding his life and to try and live it again. This movie doesn't have any Oscar-winning performances by any stretch but if you can look past the things I mentioned before, you might find an actual watchable drama with a good message behind it.

I went into this film not knowing a single thing about it. I think that viewing movies is better this way only knowing the maybe the bare minimum about a film. I give the makers props for making this movie in one continuous camera shot however, that is where the praise ends. The characters in this movie all feel off. They don't feel like real people. Are they supposed to be caricatures of types of people? I'm not really sure. I don't think the makers of this film knew either. The cinematography is pretty decent but the characters really take away from everything else. Are we supposed to believe that there are people like this out there? I mean sure, there might be but the story and how the characters develop just isn't believable. They all seem like cartoon characters.

Are we to believe that this is some sort of representation of actual life in America? A social commentary on race-relations? If so, how? And also: why? There are actual people here in the review section that believe this movie really showcases how some people are in the US. Or at least (as one reviewer put it) "they think about it." Really? How would someone know that? I for sure wouldn't. This movie is absolutely not a "snapshot" of modern America. Or even a loose representation of it. The characters in this movie are not even remotely realistic either. The main character is a teacher who is known in this small town and with barely a nudge she goes psycho and is involved in (what she thinks) the death of two people. A career woman who dresses nice and is well-spoken just turns insane murderer on a whim? Come on. I wish people wouldn't take things like this and over-dramatize how real life is in The States. It's not realistic and neither is this film.

I'd like to start out this review by saying uh, what? That was my entire reaction to this film. Maybe I'm just not artsy enough to understand this? Maybe I'm not cultured enough to grasp the subtle nuances of young people doing cleaning and cooking duties in a hotel and extract the overall message? I don't think so though. Usually even artsy movies have some semblance of plot or character development. This movie has neither of those. I can't even figure out what the point was. There were some very weird things that happened and I suppose they were going for something intellectual and subtle right? Even with that very, very gracious point of view I can barely even call this an actual film. It has some decent cinematography but that's about it. I think even Tarrence Malick would look at this and say "what the hell did I just watch?" If you like plots and character development, don't watch this trash.

To me this one feels even worse than the second installment. Seeing that it has a 6+ star rating here I felt a bit hopeful that it would be along the lines of the first movie in the series. It was not, however. The characters are not at all very likable which makes it generally not a pleasant film to sit through. The acting is mediocre at best as well. It wasn't even remotely scary to me. I'm biased though as I have seen pretty much every horror movie known to man at this point. I guess maybe I'm just too used to it?

This gets us to the real problem with this movie. The story. What the heck is even going on? There are so many unanswered questions and loopholes in this movie you could drive a semi through them. Nothing is explained either. We already had a bit of a storyline for this series through the first two but this one just goes completely off the rails. We don't know who is dead or who is alive. Who is a demon or a ghost or whatever. The cult that is constantly eluded to isn't even addressed. Despite seeing people in black robes probably from Amazon running around in the background. At this point I don't even care anymore. Nothing could be added to make up for this mess.

For the majority of this movie I was having a great time. The four boys are all unique in their own way and really put me back in the 80's during the summer where kids had to make their own fun. They get caught up in a story about a serial killer who is taking teens from the area around them and for the most part, it works. The 80's throwback vibe was completely on point the entire film and it's hard to even tell that this movie was made five years ago and not forty.

I love all the characters in this film. The lead actor does a fantastic job as well as his three friends and the titular "girl next door" is awesome herself as well. It feels like reading a Hardy Boys mystery and looks as if it was taken right out of one of those novels. It has some great comedy around the four friends relating with each other and talking about girls and things that teens do. Everything was great up until the last ten minutes of the movie.

The huge problem I had with the ending is when the one boy actually gets killed by the serial killer. Yes the movie was about a serial killer on the loose but for nice tenths of the movie, it was done in a more adventure-type way. The majority of the movie didn't have any grim or depressing feel to it. The atmosphere was thriller-like but didn't have any of the horror aspect to it. That's why the killing of the boy was so completely out of place with the rest of the film.

They set it up as the main guy was the hero who went on detective adventures with his friends and was never in any real danger but then try and completely change the tone of the movie in the end. You can't do that. It just doesn't work. Also, how did the killer get both boys in his car with the entire town and police force out looking for him? It just didn't make sense or work at all. It's a well-crafted but ultimately disappointing film. Shame.

I wanted to like this movie a lot more than I actually did. The trailer was interesting and for at least half of the movie I was thoroughly engrossed in it. The characters were good and the story was decent; although it was a bit typical as far as these kinds of movies go. The two main characters do a great job portraying teens coming to grips with their own sexuality and identities as individuals. It felt real. The supporting cast was effective as well. However, the third act of the film went off the rails a bit.

A tragic accidental killing of a "friend" leaves three teens' worlds in a spiraling turmoil. How they each react to this is shown quite effectively for the most part. The following trauma is communicated to the audience in expressive ways throughout the movie. We can relate to it. Although when the climax of the film comes around, there are more questions than answers. Some movies effectively leave you guessing at the end and that can work sometimes. This one however, left far too much hanging to be an effective film I believe.

The accidental killing of the boy is completely abandoned near the end and the body is never even found. Even despite being rather poorly hidden and even fully uncovered at one point. So was that not the point of the movie? If not then why spend so much time around this particular event? I have read the ridiculous theory on Reddit that Allison was "in" on the killing of the other girl and that she was secretly involved with Josh who is the psychopath of the film. I did not get any of that by watching this movie. We are not even shown what actually happens to the two main characters at the end. What happened to Josh regarding the first death? Or even the second? What happened to Zach afterwards? They spent so much time on these two characters and to just leave it out completely felt like a disservice to the viewers. So again, good acting and decent story but it ultimately falls apart in the end.

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this movie. Is it a "girl power" movie? Is it a revenge flick? Is it a comedy? I still don't know. It is written alright I suppose but there are a few things I don't get. Cass plays a very calculated and smart character throughout the film up until the very end. Or didn't she? This is a person who has had their life upended by their best friend killing herself after not being believed by the school after the incident. She has been obsessed with getting back at men who take advantage of women so much so that she puts herself in this position just to enact revenge on behalf of her friend.

She plans everything out and even keeps a list/journal about it where she crosses off a list of guys she "deals with." She even finds out her boyfriend was actually participating in this incident as well. So she plans some ultimate revenge on the main guy. So why did she wait this long? She has a list of all these guys but the main one hasn't been delt with yet? Why? She goes to the bachelor party to do the revenge thing but gets killed in the process. How? How did she let that happen with all her planning and intelligence displayed throughout the movie. She would have been two steps ahead of everyone. Or maybe she allowed herself to be killed? What? Why? What purpose would that serve?

She had the video so it would have been a slam dunk for the police. She does give the video to the psychologist but that doesn't make sense either. Why not just go to the police instead? She never displayed suicidal tendencies before. Why would she "let" herself be killed? But she knew somehow that the cops would come at the wedding because she set up those texts to be sent beforehand. So she knew she would be killed? How? Or did she let herself? I have no idea. If her dying was supposed to be the nail in the coffin then how did she know the police would find her body? It's all very messy and convenient. Too much so. I think the great acting by the main actress has distracted people from the subpar writing here.

I give the film credit for pushing the boundaries of movie-making and putting themselves out there but sometimes less is more. The trailer for this movie is quite interesting and that was what originally got me looking into this movie. The finished product though? I'm not so sure. You don't always have to know what's going on perfectly in a film. Keeping the audience guessing throughout a movie can be a good thing. Here though? I don't think so. What is this movie about even? I don't really know. A bunch of wandering in the desert and some blood and some more wandering. Some screaming. More screaming. Strange visual images. More screaming. Maybe I'm not artsy enough to get this? The film does have some very unique filming methods and I did like some of that. This movie is just a mess though.

Due to the nature of the trailer for this movie, one might think that it's a dark comedy. It is not. Even about halfway through you still feel that. As the characters move onwards in the stories development, you come to the conclusion that it has something a bit more serious to say. I can't fault any of the acting in this movie. Everyone does a bang up job. Especially the two leads. What we get here is a commentary on life. At least that's why I got out of it.

Set amid the backdrop of the Irish civil war, we see two friends who inevitably come to a crossroads in their shared lives. One wants to make something that will last and the other just wants to continue how their lives have been up until this point. This is a film about human loneliness. What each person gets out of life is ultimately their own. Sometimes that doesn't leave room for everyone. We don't get the typical Hollywood ending in this film and that I think, is a good thing. Sometimes things just don't turn out the way we want them to. There is a sadness to this movie but I respect the realism and introspection that it brings out.

I had heard about this case off and on in the years after some of it had come to light but never had known exactly what had happened inside this secretive organization. The way the company starts and builds up momentum and then morphs into something altogether different is absolutely fascinating. You see all these everyday, average people and you think that one of them could have very well been you or someone you know. They are just average people who live regular lives who want desperately to change something about themselves. In comes Keith Raniere.

He is a very intelligent man and on the outside he seems honest and forthcoming enough to be just a person ahead of the curve. He talks with everyone and is friendly and makes people feel at home with him and the group. He acts sincerely interested in helping people improve their lives. But as his story goes on, you start to see the cracks in his persona. Keith spent decades of his life coming up with a system that seems very innocent on the surface. It legitimately does have benefits to it. However, as Keith gains followers, he begins to form a sort of inner-circle of "privileged" few. You start to see patterns in whom he deems worthy of joining this circle. Young, attractive women. Unfortunately for them, it is far too late to realize what has happened.

I enjoyed the viewing of this series and was completely enthralled by it. The implications just on the psychological front are Earth-shattering. This simple man was able to create a "program" that essentially and completely unravels a person's identity and then re-makes them by his own design. Complete with fail safes imbedded in their minds in case any of them start to question him. The utter and complete control Keith wields over these people is nothing short of all-encompassing. It would be impossibly impressive if it weren't for the vast evil manipulation that lies underneath it all. Everyone becomes a puppet around Keith. Women are enrolled in a "women's empowerment" program that teaches them that all of men's problems are their fault and that if you want to be a "better woman" they have to stop being victims. According to Keith though, there are no victims because abuse does not exist.

I do however wish there weren't as many filler scenes showing what various people do day-to-day outside of NIXVM. I think that this could have easily been condensed down into just one season of say 10 episodes and still have been just as effective. It came as no surprise to me to see the verdicts of the court case. I had no doubt that Keith would maintain his innocence either. He is one of the biggest cases of psychopathic narcissism that I have ever seen. Even with the fact that he had sex with a 15 year old multiple times and with evidence presented in court to this Keith never waivered in his god complex vision of himself. You could write a thousand term papers on this story and still have more to dive into after. It's horrifying and so curiously interesting in perfectly equal measures.