Sinister 2

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 21 August 2015
Sequel to: Sinister October 2012 Review HERE
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Staring:  Shannyn Sossamon is the only one that I have ever even heard of before!
Rating? R
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 5.6 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 12% Audience: 46%
MY RATING: 2!

STORYLINE
Following the events from the first film, a different family (mother and her two sons) move into a rural house that's marked for death. When the deputy from the first firm, now a paid private investigator, learns that the family is next in line to fall to the demon Bughuul, he races to stop it from happening.

MY REVIEW:
Let me begin by saying that I did like the first one. I gave it a 7 of 10. That being said, this may be one of the worst movies I have seen in theaters since "Unfriended." Let me explain:

The main character, whim I never even really found a need to learn his name, is ridiculous! His lackluster personality made his screen-time less than interesting. He seemed like he just did't get why he was there. The kids were utterly annoying. Yes, I don't like children much anyway, but these kids were really low on the theatrically trained scale. They really needed less screen time!  The Mom, played by Shannyn Sossamon, was just a placeholder. She read the lines and acted, but I don't think she was the right fit for this character.

Bughuul-- The first movie at least let him be scary! He was in the shadows and hardly ever seen. He was IN THIS MOVIE like 45 minutes too much. He looked like Michael Jackson wearing a Slipknot mask. He is menacing, I 100% agree, but he loses the potency with the significant screen time.

I think they just threw a bunch of successful scary movie ideas in a bag, such as Children of the Corn, Saw, etc and drew a few and tossed them on a story board. The plot seems trite... a bunch of dead kids try to get a living kid to watch a bunch of snuff films to desensitize him enough to kill his family. The story relies so heavily on "jump scares" that it's nearing the point of expected scares. I'm not saying that it's not unsettling, because it is! So, we're dealing with the supernatural AND the dysfunctional family of the separated mom and abusive dad and their dumb kids. But never the two actually made a cohesive story. I just kept thinking that the writer and director of this movie had fallen asleep watching Children of the Corn.

It's predictable and poorly executed.

The Gift

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 7 August 2015
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Staring:  Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Joel Edgerton
Rating? R
SPOILERS? NO

Just Because You're Done With The Past Doesn't Mean The Past Is Done With You.

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7.8 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 92% Audience: 82%
MY RATING: 8 of 10 :)

MY REVIEW:
This was a surprisingly good movie. I was not expecting the psychological joyride that came with this movie.

Simon {Jason Bateman} and his wife Robyn {Rebecca Hall} move back to the locale where Simon grew up and in a chance encounter run into an old classmate of his, Gordon {Joel Edgerton}. That's when it all goes wonky!

It's a very cerebral thriller that is both complex and classy. Elegant. When I saw the trailer, I was pretty sure I could see exactly where this would go. I'm pretty good at that! Boy, was I wrong. This film is filled with intentional smoke-screens, reversal of circumstances, multiple perspectives, and all of the moral ambiguity that defines this movie. It's layered, nuanced and surprising.

If I had to give it one little criticism, it would be that the exposition is very slow and the final act leaves more questions that I would typically like in a movie. I like things to be tied up into a pretty bow and this one left unfinished business. Maybe they are setting up a sequel, but it's unlikely.

It's a good movie. Don't take the kids and and PAY ATTENTION!!

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 31 July 2015
Running Time: 131 Minutes
Staring:  Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rames and Alec Baldwin
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 8.1 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 93% Audience: 92%
MY RATING: 7ish of 10

MY REVIEW:
I do want to point out that Tom Cruise is 53 years old. 53 YEARS OLD. His leading ladies keep getting younger and this is no exception. This one introduces Rebecca Ferguson as the new Mission girl.. she's 32. It just becomes Mission:  Improbable to me.

It was not the best movie in the world, but if you liked the last Mission: Impossible, then you'll like this one. Ethan Hunt {Cruise} returns on hot on the trip of an underground group of baddies called the Syndicate. We see Alan Hunley {Alec Baldwin} appear before a senate committee demanding that the IMF {Impossible Missions Force} be disbanded with William Brandt {Jeremy Renner} being cool as always. Hanley succeeds and now Ethan is a wanted man. Typical storyline continues.

We get to see Benji Dunn {Simon Pegg} and Luther Stickell {Ving Rhames} again. It's lots of action and lots of Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise. I enjoyed the travel aspect and found myself trying to remember the last time I stood in some of the places they filmed.

Here's where the movie fell apart for me... Ghost Protocol was a decent movie and it was exciting, Rogue Nation must didn't seem to have the calibre of action sequences and over the top white-knuckle feelings that I got previously.

I loved most of the characters in general but the "villain" in this movie seems less cool and interesting. He's just not that "villain-y" for me.

All in all, it was a fun watch for the summer and I'm sure it will get some decent reviews from the fans.