Suicide Squad and Sausage Party: August is always just a slew of disappointment, some are just worse than others

Today, I look at the (deservedly) universally hated Suicide Squad and the generally liked Sausage Party.

Suicide Squad:
After the disastrous events of Batman v. Superman (both the actual film events and the crushing disappointment), government agent Amanda Waller puts together a team of superhuman criminals and outcasts to face any major supernatural threats that may attack. When an ancient being threatens to destroy the modern world, this "suicide squad" is dispatched against their will to dispose of the threat. Meanwhile, team member Harley Quinn's psycho boyfriend and master criminal The Joker orchestrates her escape.
    This was a film I was excited to see after seeing the fun and over-the-top look of the film from the marketing. I was skeptical of Jared Leto as The Joker, but after hearing positive reception about his small role I was happy to see what he had to offer. I was devastated when I saw the film.
    It's a film that seems just mediocre when you first see it, but slowly you realize how much you hate it the more you think about it. At least that's what I felt.
    The cast are all just there. The only real stand-outs were Viola Davis, who was admirable as the ruthless and calculating Waller, and Margot Robbie, who, despite some cringey one-liners, was absolutely perfect as Harley Quinn, though her relationship with other team members was underdeveloped. Will Smith was good... as Will Smith. He was just miscast as Deadshot and they try to make this scumbag contract killer into a nice guy because he has a daughter, which somehow excuses his killing random people for money.
    Common just kind of shows up. For about 30 seconds. And then the Joker kills him.... for now reason (cause y'know, crazy).
    Adam Beach appears as Slipknot, the deadliest Squad member in comics, who is reduced to a cameo with one line before he disappears from the film in a comedically awful fashion.
    Jai Courtney does a fair job as Captain Boomerang, bringing a fresh take to the character in the vein of a chav/bogart punk that I found entertaining, despite, again, some cringey lines on his part.
    Ben Affleck has a cameo as Batman, and Jared Leto is absolutely terrible as The Joker. I've already elaborated on his performance before, so I'll link to an in-depth take on it here: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-not-like-Jared-Letos-Joker/answer/Matthew-Cotter-6?__snid3__=328470377&__nsrc__=1&__filter__=all
    Cara Delevingne seems to confuse her two careers, strutting about the screen as if on a runway and not saying or doing much instead of, you know, acting. Her villain entirely relies on her sex appeal to get by and that's kind of insulting.
   The rest of the cast are bland and the movie just comes off incredibly rushed (which apparently it was, as David Ayer, who had a much darker vision for the film, was forced to write in in 6 weeks and had most of it cut in reshoots to appeal more to the success of Deadpool by giving it a forced comedic overlay). Characters are given personality traits they've never before possessed (Killer Croc is now super in touch with his black heritage and is more a comedic relief character instead of a terrifying force of nature like he should be), and all motivations are rushed (even Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, the only character I really liked, is given a forced backstory which he tells in exposition only and even then it's just so the audience goes 'Oh, he had a sad life so now I like him.')
    The CGI effects are abysmal and confusing and the entire film is just boring and ugly to look at. The soundtrack reeks of "focus group" and all the songs are by mainstream artists and the most cliche music choices are made during the opening montages.
    Suicide Squad is trash. I'm not a Marvel fanboy, but I certainly would take anything (even Ant-Man) over this mess of marketing. DC just keeps making the same mistake: playing catch up with Marvel and fucking up their films as a result instead of slowing down and just focusing on making a good film individually. More creativity and effort went into the design of the posters than the actual film, apparently. 4/10 stars.



Sausage Party:
In a local supermarket, foods worship the idea that one day they will be chosen to be in The Great Beyond, a place of magic and wonder where they can finally have sex, as long as they are good now. One sausage, Frank, finally seeks to learn the truth of what lies beyond the supermarket after a store accident leads to a warning from a dijon mustard that the Great Beyond is a lie and what lies beyond is an unimaginable horror.
    Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg bring their most twisted film to date. Turning the CG animation world on its' head, they take full advantage of the medium to get away with sickest, most taboo stuff they can think of that would never skate by in a live-action film.
    The voice cast are incredible, and I won't list them here, because part of the fun of the movie for me was finding out who voiced certain characters. (Sammy Bagel Jr., my favorite character, is voiced by a well-respected actor which I found pretty amusing considering who this character is and what he does).
    The animation is of decent quality, having a nice, colorful palate and crisp imagery. Most of the jokes rely on food and sex puns, which gets grating at times, but there's enough cleverness to balance it out. The plot takes some incredibly unexpected turns that I found both ballsy and hilarious and overall the film was a great time (though I think it'd be better drunk or high, and I think that was the intention all along).
    Sausage Party is a fun comedy with some sly humor and an effective social satire on religion, surprisingly. I say just stop reading this and check it out for yourself. 6.5/10 stars.



(Images: Wikipedia)

The Nice Guys: Shane Black's comeback after the lukewarm feedback on "Iron Man 3"

Today, I look at the new detective comedy from Shane Black, writer of Lethal Weapon and co-writer of The Monster Squad and director of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Iron Man 3 and the upcoming Predator and Doc Savage movies. (Obviously, this guy has had quite the resume during his 30 year career.)

The Nice Guys:
After a girl named Amelia goes missing and a death occurs, bumbling, alcoholic private investigator Holland March is put on the case. Eventually, he crosses paths with Jackson Healy, an ex-something-or-other who now has made a business for himself as a hired muscle of sorts. The two eventually decide to team up when both are targeted by some hitmen and mob enforcers, leading them to believe that Amelia's disappearance and the nearby death are linked, and are tied to a much larger conspiracy.
    Shane Black goes back to his pseudo-noir roots with this pulpy action-comedy piece. From the opening reels, I was reminded of films like Chinatown and games like L.A. Noire, not just for the setting, but also because I knew going in there would be some sort of conspiracy (the trailers make that clear), and I could see the clues being dropped immediately. This is not to discredit the film at all, however, as Black throws in plenty of curveballs and twists that make just guessing how it all fits together impossible until all the pieces are revealed masterfully. I also loved how the conspiracy plot, once shown in its' full scope, is not as deadly serious as one might expect and fits the film's crazy, fun universe.
    Black's dialogue has always be whip-smart and funny, but this is arguably his best work in comedy. My God, I didn't even realize how much I loved the film or the dialogue until me and my brother who I saw it with started quoting it constantly. It's really a brilliant and highly-quotable film.
    Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling have terrific chemistry on screen and show their range here. Crowe, while used to roles as the badass fighter character or the stoic hero, has a lot more fun with the role here, and is a lot more likable and even sometimes giddy than the trailers portray. Gosling trades in his usual role of the stone-faced, brutal anti-hero from films like Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Only God Forgives for a goofy, flawed, weak-willed, lethargic private eye who needs his 13-year-old daughter to drive him from bar to bar. Speaking of which, the unofficial third part of the group is Angourie Rice as Holly. While her strange fixation on not killing got irritating at times, she ultimately is far more endearing and funny than any of the typical annoying kid sidekicks. She has great father-daughter chemistry with Gosling on screen, and even Crowe and her share some touching moments.
    Kim Basinger, Keith David, Beau Knapp, Matt Bomer, Margaret Qualley, Yaya DaCosta and Lois Smith fill out the rest of the principle cast, with memorable cameos by Murielle Telio, Ty Sympkins (a Shane Black alum), Jack Kilmer (the son of a Shane Black alum, Val Kilmer), and Hannibal Burress. All these players do fantastic jobs, but I can't really delve much into each part without spoilers.
    The action in this film, like in Lethal Weapon or other detective/buddy cop movies, is not the usual explosions and CG battles. It is more subdued, but no less fun or exciting. There aren't many true set-pieces until the final act, but the witty dialogue and slowly unraveling and increasingly crazy mystery was plenty to keep me engaged. This is a movie that feel longer than it is, in a good way. At only just shy of 2 hours, it was the shortest summer movie I've seen thus far, and it felt much more satisfying as a film than any others. It didn't feel like a bigger part of a franchise puzzle, and didn't feel cheap, and while there was room left for a sequel, it didn't pander, and that I respect more than anything I think. (The soundtrack, sets, and costumes were also fantastic, really giving an oversaturation that "this is the 70's!" that fit the comic book-y tone of the movie very well).
     The Nice Guys is an awesome ride, and is probably the best summer movie out right now, despite not really being typical summer movie fare. It's wild, hilarious, thrilling, and just a ton of fun, probably the most fun movie I've seen since last year's Mad Max: Fury Road, though the two are drastically different movies. 7.5/10 stars.

                                            (Image: Wikipedia)

Deadpool: Finally, something new from the comic-book film genre

Today, I review the incredibly popular new film Deadpool, which I saw two weeks ago.


Deadpool:
Wade Wilson is a wise-cracking former military guy who runs a business where he is paid by people to rough up those who have wronged them. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he is approached by a mysterious government operation which promises to save his life in exchange for his body for science experiments. Thinking the payments will go to his wife, he agrees. After being turned into a mutant with regenerative abilities, he finds out the people running the facility, led by the sadistic mutant Ajax, plan on selling the mutants as slave soldiers to foreign powers, and if not, simply kill them, and that no payments are being made to their loved ones. Wade escapes the facility, but the process leaves him horrifically burned. Seeking vengeance on Ajax and his associates, he becomes the fast-talking vigilante "Deadpool," who begins a state-wide killing spree searching for Ajax, all while attempting to reconnect with his wife, who believes he has left her or is dead.
    I've never really been a big fan of the Deadpool character. I find his humor often obnoxious and feel he appeals mostly to teenaged boys for his edgy humor style. However, the trailers for this film made me excited to see a balls-to-the-wall, funny, gruesome comic book movie. And I got that.
    Despite not every joke landing for me, I found myself laughing quite a bit at this movie, as well as being impressed in the creative way the directors handled the smaller-scale action sequences.
    The storyline is a typical origin-type movie, nothing too special, but the humor and non-linear style were somewhat effective in covering this up. Ryan Reynolds had to prove himself as Deadpool after the atrocious portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and his role in the equally bland Green Lantern (both of which the film jokes about). Reynolds is extremely charismatic in the role, bringing to life Deadpool's quirky and flamboyant humor, and his penchant for extreme carnage, but never making him feel either too noble nor too cruel. The film's tone juggles the lighthearted humor with the graphic bloodshed really well, never feeling like it went too far.
    The climax was a little too small-scale, only featuring a small band of mercenaries and a rather dull location, but I'd take a more reserved climax over the bullshit "save the city/planet from the blue laser cannon" which has plagued the genre for the past several years.
    The cast were serviceable, even if Ed Skrein's villain Ajax suffered from underdevelopment. T.J. Miller and Leslie Uggams bring some added humor to the cast as Wade's best friend and blind housemate, respectively. The two X-Men featured: Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapičić) and the obscure Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) also were welcome additions, serving as some quirky and noble balances to Deadpool's unfiltered violence and ruthless attitude.
    Some of the jokes (especially one at the end) were very predictable, and if you aren't familiar with comic book movie history or lore, some of the references may fly right over your head, but ultimately, I think fans of the comics book genre will be pleased, and general audiences can have a laugh at most of the movie as well.
    Deadpool is a fun popcorn movie that packs in gore, profanity, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc., all usually no-no's for the comic book film genre, but I think that's what has made this film the biggest R-rated film of all time. Aside from the hype and excessive promotion, I think people wanted something new and fresh from this stale genre on movies. And I guess it took a movie where the protagonist beheads people, gets sodomized with a dildo, and calls people "cocksuckers" to show people that comic book movies can do more than just the usual "hero saves the city story." Ultimately, I did't love Deadpool, I thought the film had highlights but I'd be strained to say I'd ever watch it again as a whole. However, the movie is very entertaining on a superficial level and on a first watch and I was sometimes pleasantly shocked by how far it took certain jokes or action scenes. Reynolds carried the movie on his shoulders, and this may be his career-defining role, other than Van Wilder. I really respect the film and enjoyed it for the simple fact that it's something new. Though knowing Hollywood, soon every comic book film will be like this, and kind of defeat the point. 7/10 stars.

Two other terrific reviews which cover everything else I could've said but didn't have the time to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXEhfeESgCY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2C2Svm-r1M



                                                          (Image: Wikipedia)

Krampus: The latest holiday horror film from the director of "Trick r Treat"

Krampus:

It's the modern holiday seasons: an upper middle-class family is reluctantly having their obnoxious redneck in-laws over for Christmas. Hijinks ensue, resulting in the youngest son taking back his Christmas wish for his family to better themselves. Suddenly, an intense blizzard knocks out the neighborhood's power and prevents road travel. Very quickly, the family begins to realize that a supernatural force is tampering with their lives: the Krampus, the ancient German demon who comes to punish those who do not embrace the Christmas spirit.

    I've found the legend of the Krampus fascinating for a while now. The irony of this dark and morbid story being told to children around the happiest season of the year was intriguing to me. So when I heard Michael Dougherty (director of the Halloween horror film Trick r Treat) was doing a film about a family who encounters this creature, I was hyped. Initially the trailers were very dumb, but I was confident it would be a fun little movie. And it was. Slightly disappointing, considering how great Dougherty's first effort was, but still enjoyable.

    The humor of the film blends with the horror surprisingly well, and Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Allison Tolman, David Koechner, and Conchata Ferrell were great comic relief in the film, and while initially seeming very unlikable, slowly start to grow on you as the survival portion of the film sets in. Krista Stadler, Emjay Anthony, and Stefania LaVie Owen were good supporting characters, playing the grandmother and two kids, respectively. Some reviewers complained the family was unlikable for the most part, but I found myself sympathizing them more and more as the film went on, and I believe that was Dougherty's intention. However, characters often make dumb, horror movie mistakes, but the tongue-in-cheek nature of the film makes this more understandable.

    Krampus himself takes a backseat most of this movie, which was slightly disappointing, but also built suspense to his eventual arrival. His design was pretty great in this movie, paying homage to traditional portrayals, while trying its' own thing. The special effects of the monsters in this film were fantastic, mostly practical effects, though at times the effect of the Jack-in-the-Box creature looked like a Power Rangers monster suit, and one key scene of a character falling was laughable looking and almost ruins the climax. There is, however, a short clay-mation/CG sequence that looks amazing and shows Dougherty hasn't forgotten his background in animation.

    The story at times had holes (how much of the town Krampus' snowstorm has enveloped is unclear), and the ending (as Chris Stuckmann pointed out in his review) felt a little too similar to the ending of Jeepers Creepers. The jump scares felt a little cheap, and I know from watching Trick r Treat that Dougherty can do better, and overall you can tell he wasn't having as much fun with the Christmas horror concept as with the Halloween one. In fact, the PG-13 rating seems to drag down this project with its' obviously censored dialogue ("Get away from my kids, you fudger!") and lack of blood. I'm all for "what you see is less scary that what you don't", but with a big, dumb, in-your-face monster movie like this, some gore would be a good payoff but I never got that. Trick r Treat was rated R, and therefore went all-out with the gore and was better for it. 

    The film felt longer than it was, but that's a good thing. It felt like a solid length for this type of movie. Krampus is an entertaining movie, albeit a slight let-down. Best case scenario: it encourages more viewers to check out Dougherty's Trick r Treat, which, unlike this film, was given a criminally limited theatrical run and then went straight to video and on demand for vague reasons, despite having a good budget and cast. Worst case scenario: it disappoints people and discourages them from watching ore of Dougherty's horror films, which would be a shame, as Dougherty is a talented filmmaker who should branch out and do more work outside of just writing. Give this one a watch, and then go out and buy Trick r Treat for next Halloween (or just watch it now, it doesn't matter). 7/10 stars.

                                     

(Images: Wikipedia, comingsoon.net)

The Peanuts Movie: The first movie I've seen this year to surpass expectations for it

Today, I look at the first modern big-screen adaptation of Charles M. Schulz's classic comics.

The Peanuts Movie:
Charlie Brown, the social pariah of his school and community, seems to never have the upper hand on life. His constant embarrassments and failures only reinforce his peers' views of him. Suddenly, a new student arrives: a little red-haired girl. Instantly becoming infatuated with her, Charlie Brown must find a way to impress her while not making a fool of himself, as he always does.
    It's probably the most basic film I've seen this year. There's no twist or action scene or grand epic finale, it's just a simple, nice film. The only surprise I had was how much I enjoyed it. Even though I'm very nostalgic for the Peanuts cartoons, I was kind of on-the-fence about this film. BlueSky Animation is sometimes hit-or-miss with their projects, and I'm so nostalgic for the characters it seemed like it would be surreal to see these characters in a new, modern take. Luckily, the people who wrote the film are Schulz's own son and grandson, and the studio was able to get his widow on board, so my worries were slightly eased. Finally, after seeing the film, I can say it felt like a full-length Peanuts special, though with slightly more cohesion, and that's the highest compliment paid to it. It didn't update any of the timeless feel of the strips and specials, with the characters making no references to any modern tech or social media, which is something they could have so easily done to appeal to the modern audiences. This was a film made by people who cared enough to try and accurately replicate the look and feel of the original material, while adding in the polish of modern animation and adding in their own takes on characters.
    The animation is so unique, it looks exactly like a 3D version of Schulz's original drawings, and some of the sequences, such as Snoopy's fantasies, provided some nice visual flair among the sometimes simplistic environments explored by our main characters, and showed the full scope of what can be done in a Peanuts cartoon now. The opening animated short featuring Ice Age's scrat was fairly amusing as well and had some nice animation, but felt a little jarring when placed next to the tonally so distinctive Peanuts.
    The opening 20th Century Fox logo's theme music being played by Schroeder on piano reminded me of The Simpsons Movie featuring Ralph Wiggum wailing the Fox theme music. The ending credits feature a character dancing by whatever credit is being shown on screen at the time, and they put the detail of having Schroeder as the music icon, and it's the little touches like that that show me that people who made this put a lot of thought into it.
    The story, like I said, is charming in its' simplicity. While the ending is not nearly as melancholy or bluntly realistic as the strips and specials could sometimes be, it still retains the theme of failure as just a part of life that Schulz included many times in his work. The writers included some nice references to the strips and previous specials if you are familiar with them (a moving truck company is named after Peanuts producers Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez), but doesn't rely on one's nostalgia for them to make it a great movie. There were time in the film where I was actually on the edge-of-my-seat because I could so relate to Charlie Brown's fear of being in front of his peers trying to do something, his fears of failure in front of his peers, etc.
   The music by Christophe Beck is great, as it is able to try and replicate Vince Guaraldi's unmistakable style that he used in scoring the original cartoons, but doesn't feel like a carbon copy. The only complaints about the music are the uses of pop songs: once in a montage, and over the end credits, with at least one being by Meghan Trainor. They don't fit with the end of the movie at all and I feel are the only things that could date the film.
    The voice acting is excellent, with most of the performers replicating the sound of the original voice actors remarkably. Bill Melendez, who passed away, still voices Snoopy and Woodstock through archival voice recordings.
     The only other complaint I have with the film is the fact that it would make for a great film to watch for the holidays, only the climax takes place in summer, which kind of throws that off. But you almost can't watch it any other time of year, because 3/4 of it is set in the holiday season.
    The Peanuts Movie is brilliant in its' simple, down-to-earth approach. It is non-pretentious, and has no need for the spectacle seen in so many animated features these days. Not since Wreck-It-Ralph has an animated film come along that has touched me in a way that I can't really explain, but one came around again: this one. Especially after the disappointments of Frozen and Big Hero 6 and the semi-disappointment of Inside Out, and unlike Goosebumps, it doesn't almost entirely rely on nostalgia to keep you entertained. No need to modernize or reference pop culture every few minutes for cheap laughs, just telling a nice, uplifting story. I don't know if it's just my nostalgia talking, but it made me feel almost like a kid again watching it, and it's the first film this year to surpass expectations I had for it, and the first film since Sicario I've wanted to go back and see again, only even moreso than that film. I can see myself watching it in coming years during the holiday season along with the other Peanuts specials. If you have no attachment to the franchise at all, you can still appreciate it as an above-average family film. If you do enjoy the franchise, you'll probably love this movie. This is something I think it is safe to say Charles Schulz would have been proud to call his own. 8/10 stars.

                                                           (Image: Wikipedia)

Goosebumps: R.L. Stine's children's series finally gets the big screen treatment

For Halloween, I figured I'd review two new horror movies I saw. Well, this isn't much of a horror film, but is a perfect fit for the Halloween season.

Goosebumps:
Shortly after moving into a small town in Delaware, teenaged Zach becomes infatuated with his next door neighbor Hannah. However, Hannah's mysterious and reclusive father doesn't want Zach around and warns him about leaving them alone. One night, Zach and his new friend Champ break into the home, thinking Hannah is in danger from her father. They discover her father is author R.L. Stine, who has every Goosebumps manuscript locked in his study. Upon opening one of the books, they discover opening them unleashes the monster from each book upon the world. Unfortunately, they unleash Slappy the Dummy, who begins opening and then destroying the manuscripts, preventing the monsters from being contained. With every monster Stine ever created wreaking havoc on the town, Zach, Hannah, Champ, and Stine must find a way to stop the monsters and recapture them before they destroy the town and move on to the rest of the world.
    Now, despite being a fan of the books and TV show as a kid and therefore having a nostalgia for it, I find them to be just ok now. The books are leagues above the TV show, which is downright hilarious most of the time. Now, this movie didn't blow my expectations out of the water or anything. It was exactly as good as I expected it to be. Jack Black was decent as Stine and had some funny moments, and Amy Ryan and Jillian Bell were good supporting actresses. Black also voices Slappy. The main three kids, played by Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, and Ryan Lee, were decent leads and I think kids will enjoy them. R.L. Stine has a little cameo near the end as Mr. Black (get it? Because Jack Black plays him in the movie? Yeah, nothing too clever there.)
   But about the kids, I think that's the best way to view this movie: remember that it really is made for kids. However, because of this it still can't be fully enjoyed by me. One of the worst parts was as nice as the huge monster fight at the climax was, it was way too tame. The Cabin in the Woods had a similar sequence, but because it was rated R, it could go all out with the violence and it was awesome. This movie keeps it PG and therefore the violence is comical and no one ever feels in genuine danger, and the monsters never get to do anything truly scary, and Stine's insistence about not having death in his books keeps the movie from having any balls. Also, there's a reveal in this film that provided the opportunity to really have kids face the reality of death in a mature fashion, and it almost did, and then they soil it with a forced happy ending. The ending "twist" also makes little sense at all. The scariest monsters are the zombies which are just slightly creepy, and Slappy's weird thing about him and Stine being one in the same made no sense to me and seemed like trying to force more of a relationship between the two into the movie. The best part of the movie is the credits sequence whose animation style mimics that of the Goosebumps book cover art. It was really a treat to see.
    Goosebumps captures the spirit of the original books, and is leagues better than that 90's TV show (at least in terms of quality; funny wise, it doesn't hold a candle). The cast is good, the special effects are hit-or-miss (Slappy being a real dummy was cool, but some of the CG was so-so), and the story was a clever way to work in all the monsters from the books in one place. It's definitely the perfect Halloween movie for families to go see. 6/10 stars.

                                                                  (Image: Wikipedia)

September Movies: The Visit and Black Mass

Today, I look at two movies I've seen recently.

The Visit:
Two young kids, a pretentious teenaged girl who likes making movies, and an idiotic boy who thinks he's a rapper, go for a week to visit their estranged grandparents and reconnect with them. However, spending more time with them, they realize something is very wrong with their grandparents...
    M. Night Shyamalan has been the laughingstock of Hollywood for the past ten years. A pariah, who is despised by critics, and whose fans have even grown tired of his constant churning out of garbage. Suddenly, this film, which looked ridiculous and stupid, was getting good reviews. People were saying he was turning his career around at last. I went in knowing this movie would be bad. No matter what people said, I knew it, deep down. And it was gloriously bad. It's supposed to be this found footage horror comedy, but the parts that I could tell were supposed to be scary were hilarious, and the parts that were supposed to be funny just cringey and awkward.
    The found footage angle doesn't work at all because it's essentially unnecessary except for budgetary reasons. There's still opening credits despite the "real" style, and the equipment being used by the main character is way too good for a teenage girl to have. The camerawork is so crisp and clear, it's like a professional camera. And the webcams being pretty much perfect, with no delay or bad audio is another pet peeve of mine as of late.
    Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould are the two annoying main characters. The girl spouts movie equipment explanations and terms to the audience like we're stupid and talks in an incredibly condescending voice. The boy is just plain irritating. I do admire the two actors, who are Australian, putting on such convincing American accents, but the material they were given is just awkward. Peter McRobbie and Deanna Dunagan play their grandparents, who are some great scenery-chewing villains. They are without a doubt the best part of the whole movie. Kathryn Hahn appears as the kids' mother, who is fine, but for a found footage movie, it's distracting to see such a recognizable face.
   The Visit is packed with jump-scares and unintentionally hilarious moments (grandpa's poop is used as a plot point and a scare), and is just painfully awkward at times in a way only Shyamalan can do. While I was thoroughly entertained, I feel it was still a failure as a horror-comedy, and should be seen as an all-around comedy. The only remotely suspenseful scene is the final confrontations with the grandparents, which are ruined by a poop scare and with a callback to football earlier in the movie that is absurdly forced. Overall, see it if you want a good laugh, or put it on at a Halloween party. This movie is a prime example that these day, Blumhouse will produce anything to make a quick buck. 5/10 stars.




Black Mass:
Telling the story of infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger (a criminal whose exploits have inspired many other films), this movie follows his rise to power, family struggles, and the controversial alliance between Bulger and the FBI.
    Johnny Depp has been in a bit of a career rut lately. Being typecast as the eccentric oddball for the past twenty-or-so years hasn't helped. In this movie, he gets to actually be an actor again by portraying a character who is different than is others, who has a semblance of depth to him. His portrayal of Bulger is the crowning achievement of the film. He's empathetic at times, but is mostly cold, intimidating, and other times, disgusting and skeevy. The makeup job on him was excellent, with some subtle touches like a bad tooth and pock marks, and more noticeable ones like his receding hairline and icy blue eyes. Johnny still looks a little too handsome to be the real life Whitey (who had big teeth and looked much older), but his performance makes up for it.
    The rest of the cast do a fine job. It's too lengthy to list all here, but I will say Joel Edgerton was a good tragic hero character, who had moments of idiocy.
    My main problem with the movie was its' often repetitive nature (if Bulger is alone with someone or with just him and his guys and someone else, it's a guarantee that he's going to either kill them or do something creepy, it's like a formula). There's also no suspense in certain scenes after awhile because you can predict how it's going to end based on the information above, plus obvious music cues, so it's not great a suspense thriller. Even as Bulger story, it's a lot more boring than most. The Departed has more leeway because it was a fictional story, so they could do more with the story to make it more investing, but here, it's all facts, so after awhile it gets quite dry. The first act definitely felt more intriguing and fast-paced than the second, which dragged its' feet too much.
    Some of the camera angle choices were cool (in one death scene, they pan away to leave it kind of unclear what exactly was done, which was somewhat unique.
    I know it's the title of the book this was based on, but I don't know exactly why they decided to call this film "Black Mass". I mean, it's an eye-catching title, but it really has nothing to do with the film's content.
    Regardless, Black Mass is a decent gangster biopic, but nothing to write home about. It's essentially a straightforward telling, with little visual flair. I was disappointed, because director Scott Cooper has had a fairly good track record. Depp's performance may be enough to save this movie from pure mediocrity, but it's nothing compared to the other films based on Bulger's life. It's also a  bummer when the dinner scene from the first trailer was done better in that trailer than in the actual film. 6/10 stars.

                                                                (Images: Wikipedia)