Get Out

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 February 2017
     Watched on Demand 29 April 2017

Writer and Director: Jordan Peele
Running Time: 1 Hour and 44 Minutes

Staring:  Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO!!

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8.0 of 10

RT: 99% Critics; 89% Audience
MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

A young black man visits his white girlfriend's family estate where he learns that many of its residents, who are black, have gone missing, and he soon learns the horrible truth when a fellow black man on the estate warns him to "get out". He soon learns this is easier said than done.

MY REVIEW

I was skeptical about this movie at first based solely on the idea that modern movies that are touted as horror typically fall off track and fail me. This was not that movie. Jordan Peele both wrote and directed this atypical mystery horror that was light on the horror to the point of nonexistent and heavy on the mystery thriller. This hit a majority of the buttons for me with a few iffy moments.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Theme/ Social Commentary- This should spark heavy on the conversational side for watchers, I can assume. This movie is not about making white people feel uncomfortable, this is a film that digs heavy into the idea that everyone wants what someone else has and will stop at nothing to take.
• Writing- Jordan Peele, sir, this is a work of art. The short bursts of storytelling that were masterfully stung together by simple threads that the watcher sees stitched together in a way that brings the story to life and fleshes out the most intriguing plot that I've seen in a while.
• Music- From the very firs scene, the musical choices were unsettling to say the least. They were perfection.
• Cinematography- There are some brilliantly shot scenes here that really draw your eye into the locations. The scenery becomes a character that is hard to ignore although it has no lines.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• This was NOT a horror film. I was expecting one and that's not what I got. The only real issue that I had is that this movie seems to change it's mind about what it wants to be a few too many times. I mean it wasn't a deal-breaker in the slightest, but it was just a little odd.
• Some of the acting was a little one the top in both performance and writing. The father, played by Bradley Whitford was annoying and less interesting than i would assume they intended.
• A little similar to Skeleton Key.

On a more personal note..... So, last week, we went to Star Wars Celebration in Orlando for 4 days. Here are a few snaps... I did find my people though, Horror and Star Wars Mash up!!

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Logan

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 3 March 2017
    Watched in the Theater on 4 March 2017 at  
    Strawbridge Marketplace 12. There are recliners here
    and you pick/reserve your seat so you know you
    always have a good one!!

Director: James Mangold
Writer: James Mangold and Scott Frank
Running Time: 107 Minutes

Staring:  Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Stephen Merchant and Elizabeth Rodriguez

Rating? R, a very well deserved R

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8.7 of 10

RT: Critics: 92%, Audience: 94%
MY RATING: 9

STORYLINE

In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexico border. However, Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up=ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

MY REVIEW

No spoilers is going to be difficult, but I promise, I will tread carefully in order to not ruin this for you as you SHOULD go see this film.  First admission, I have not seen any of the X-Men movies since the Last Stand in 2006. I may have watched 15 or 20 minutes of some of the other's ones after, but I was never a huge fan of the series.  Second admission, I was not too hyped about this movie. Not my pick. I assumed I'd have a crap-tastic time and spend the two hours working on my new book in my head while this was playing. Boy, was I wrong!

This was a pretty fantastic stand-alone movie. There was just enough explanation in the plot lines and flashbacks to set the scene and just enough action to keep the story moving.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• It's Violent. Not just violent, but damn near equivalent to a old-fashioned slasher flick. This was not just violence for the sake of violence, it was relevant to the story and necessary to propel the characters into the next scene as well as setting the landscape for the dramatic finale.
• Anti-Hero Superhero- My favorite type of hero is the reluctant one who just has to do whats right, sometimes even at their own expense. Logan is an art form in that regard. He is no hero, hell, he's not even a good guy, but he is a hero. I can attribute his performance to excellent writing and direction.
• Emotional- There must have been some dust in the theater- Not saying too much, but I was literally in tears at certain points. I am by no means a crier, but this one tugs at some emotional strings that I didn't think could be pulled.
• The Story- This was quite nearly a Shakespearean sonnet in it's intricacy and artful telling. I can't explain it, but when you watch, you might be able to see what I'm talking about.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• The main baddies are not really as bad as they could have been. Richard Grant and Boyd Holbrook played their parts well, but I just don't think they were well defined in the first place. They were just a little more than forgettable to me.

On a more personal note..... Before the movie, I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting.. Everyone needs a little chocolate in their lives!! Snapchat selfie with cat ears and finally.. here's what we did Friday night. Friends came over to watch Star Wars so we got beer and cookies and ordered a pizza! Pretty good weekend I say!

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Night of the Living Deb

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 8 Oct 2015
     Netflix 21 Feb 2017

Director: Kyle Rankin
Writer: Andy Selsor
Running Time: 85 Minutes

Staring:  Maria Thayer, Michael Cassidy and Ray Wise

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? Yes-ish

REVIEWS

IMDB: 5.5 of 10

MY RATING: 5

STORYLINE

After a girls' night out, endearingly awkward Deb wakes up in the apartment of the most attractive guy in Portland, Maine. She's thrilled, but she can't remember much of what got her there. Pretty boy Ryan only knows that it was a mistake and ushers her out of the door.. into a full-scale zombie apocalypse. Now, a walk of shame becomes a fight for survival as the mismatched pair discovers that the only thing scarier than trusting someone with your life... is trusting them with your heart.

MY REVIEW

I love zombie movies. I love awkward comedies. I love ridiculous tongue in cheek humor. This movie was all of that and more. I didn't go into it with much hope, but wow, was I wrong.  It was by no means perfect or even good, but it was funny for the most part and a even with the lack of a good story but a prescient warning that is subtext for most zombie movies that sits on the surface.  
Basically, it's Shaun of the Dead if it were written by 11th graders. It's a spoof. Funny, but not hilarious.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• I love the romantic comedy- Deb and Ryan. Hilariously mismatched and like all romantic comedies, they are thrown together and have to sort it all out in the 85 minutes they have on screen. It works for the most part, but still a bit off.
• Maria Thayer- I love her. She is just an adorable ginger and is PERFECT!!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Bad writing and dialogue. This is a made-for Netflix type movie and it's not perfect. There are some major plot holes and some very un-nuanced story telling. It's the type of movie that you watch and not have to think. They feed you the story with a very large spoon. Even the idea that the water is contaminated which caused the zombie outbreak is just flat-out told in words instead of plot. Know you're audience.

On a more personal note..... Cute little Lego guy I got from a friend at work. Rocket, Jinx and Dexter sleeping on the cat tree and the Game of Thrones Iron Throne printed on my 3-D printer in a metal mix that I got wet and rusted.... Pretty damn cool!

Pernicious

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 20 February 2015
     Watched on Netflix 18 Feb 2017

Writer and Director: James Cullen Bressack
Running Time: 90 Minutes

Staring:  Ciara Hanna, Emily O'Brien and Jackie Moore

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS

IMDB: 4.8 of 10

RT: 50%Critics; 74% Audience
MY RATING: 2

STORYLINE

Three young, beautiful girls arrive in Thailand to teach English for the summer, some with noble intentions and some just wanting an adventure, but none were prepared for the massacre that awaited them. The nightmare begins when their new friends go missing, vivid bloody dreams haunt their sleep and a stolen statue leads them down a dark path into Thai folklore and magic that has been long forgotten. Their situation continues to become worse once they realize it's not WHAT that is haunting them but WHO: an eight-year girl, brutally murdered and sacrificed by her family decades ago who wants nothing more than to watch them bleed. This is not a story about redemption. This is not a story about good versus evil. This is not a story about the will to survive. This is a story about Vanida - a child viciously tortured by her own family, who will stop at nothing for revenge - one appendage at a time. (IMBD Story Synopsis)

MY REVIEW

Well, I gave it a shot. I was pretty sure it was going to be a crap filled ride but the idea of the story seemed interesting. I do typically enjoy cultural nuanced stories set in places like Thailand. I was mistaken. First alarms bell went off with UNRATED. That is typically where I can tell... I should have stopped there. I gave this movie a 2 because I DO like gory movies. It's very near the line between gory horror and torture porn. VERY FINE LINE and it toes the line very close!!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• The Gore: Like I said, this movie toes the line between torture porn and horror. It's a very blurry line. 

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• The Girl in the Gold Paint:  Just look at the actor in the gold paint. Just ridiculous!
• The Acting: Wow, not sure if it was the direction, the writing or the acting, but there was some combination of the three was JUST did not work for me.
• The Story: Oh, boy.. where do I start!?!? Well, the main part of the story is based on the Kumari Legend. Well, the Kumari mainly Nepalese NOT Thai and it's not violent or hurtful. It;s the basic idol worship of a young girl who embodies the Kumar Devi or Living Goddess believed to be an incarnation of the goddess Taleju. (Click here to read the article about the Kumari from the National Geographic) I was just taken out of the story because I had recently read about the Kumari culture and this was just a bad bastardization.

On a more personal note.....Today was a pretty enjoyable day. Let the baby bears (aka kittens) go out into the back yard. Bella and Jinx were the only ones who really wanted to play in the grass. Dexter refused to sit for a photo. Baby Rocket let me take a pic when we came inside. I got ready to go to game night at a friends house!

XX

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 17 February 2017
     Watched iTunes (But in theaters too)

Director: Roxanne Benjamin, Karyn Kusama, St. Vincent and Jovanka Vuckovic
Writers:
The Box: Jack Ketchum and Jovanka Vuckovic
The Birthday Party: Roxanne Benjamin and St. Vincent 
Don't Fall: Roxanne Benjamin
Her Only Living Son: Karyn Kusama
Running Time: 1 Hour and 20 Minutes

Staring:  The only person who I recognized was Melanie Lynskey from Sweet Home Alabama.. You know the girl who brought a baby into the bar!?!?

Rating? R

SPOILERS? YES, only because I want to save you the anguish that I lived through!!

REVIEWS

IMDB: 4.7 of 10

RT: Critics: 70%, Audience: 26%
MY RATING: 1, ONLY because my scale does NOT go to 0!

STORYLINE

XX is a new horror anthology with a gender twist - all segments will be helmed by female directors and will star female leads. The directors have been given free creative rein within budget and time constraints, but all of the segments themselves will involve the horror genre.

MY REVIEW

Full disclosure. I had to stop this movie, make the decision to finish because it was so bad I wanted to ensure that I watched the full movie in order to compile a review befitting it's terrific horribleness. Why in the holy hell did 70% of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes like this movie? Those Critics are FAKE NEWS. #AlternateFacts. Let's discuss!

First, I'd like to talk about that trailer, the one that made me go, "Hey, I think I'll pay the $7.00 and get this on iTunes on a Friday night instead of watching The Office on Netflix for the 37th time. The movie that was presented in the Trailer WAS really not the movie that was offered. NOT AT ALL!

Secondly, what was up with those odd 90's Tool videos that were sandwiched between the four mini-movies.

Third, they were disjointed and not really full short stories. Each one felt like it was worse than the first. I studied writing for years and I know that the plot has to do three things: Get the main character up a tree, throw rocks at them and get them down safely. (Thank you Miss Cosmic freshman year at West Texas A&M for that lesson!) Did someone forget to tell someone the end the stories??  At one point, I sat slack-jawed with my hands in the air yelling at the tv screen. Literally. I wish this was recorded!!

You know who makes good horror movies? Anyone but these people! Skip this and watch some classic horror movies!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• The title, if you added another X to it and added some sex!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Literally everything.
• The Box: WHAT was that? This was nonsensical and obtuse at best!! So, the kid doesn't eat for 5 days before they decide to take him to the doctor like it's not a big deal? Then they still continue to act like it's cool, whatever. It was extremely derivative of the Box with Cameron Diaz. DUMB!! Everyone dies! The end.
• The Birthday Party: Oh my god! did I do too much acid in the 90's? What the hell did I watch. This was more or less a study in the absurd. Chick is crazy. She wakes up and finds her husband dead in his office and just moves along with her weird day and her kids birthday party like all is normal. Then there is a weird office assistant and a bunch of people dressed up like teddy bears and pandas singing and putting their faces in cakes. I JUST CAN'T!
• Don't Fall: I think I saw this story about 37 other times in other movies and books. So crazy cave dwelling demon takes over this girl and she kills all of her friends. Yeah, that's all.
• Her Only Living Son: Devil has a kid with a human. He's off. They die. Done. Don't waste you time!!

On a more personal note..... Last week, Saturday was my birthday! I still get super excited about those! This was no different! I spent the first 5 hours in a Tattoo Chair getting the second phase of my partial sleeve done. We still have two more appointments scheduled to do the color on the skull and the mariachi singer. I got some amazing diamond earrings and a few bottles of wine and a lovely dinner out with friends. AND, the 3-D Printer is really super fun. I didn't make it, but the boy did, the Baby Groot. Pretty awesome Week!

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John Wick: Chapter 2

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 10 Feb 2017

Director: Chad Stahelski
Writer: Derek Kolstad
Running Time: 2 Hours and 2 Minutes

Staring:  Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio and Ian McShane

Rating? R

SPOILERS? Yes

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.6 of 10

MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

After returning to the criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers a large bounty has been put on his life.

MY REVIEW

I should have know that I would not care for this movie. I didn't love the first one. I DID, however, under duress, watch this movie with the husband. This was a mindless killing spree with little to no story and absolutely the most base of story lines.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Lawrence Fishburne's character was a pretty great piece.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• There is JUST no character growth. John Wick is still just avenging his dog's death. He's no better of a person in 2 than in 1. 
• Dear writers, this was drivel. Please try again.
• The only plot device is revenge.
• Instead of paying actors for Keanu to shoot, they just should have put up some cardboard boxes with pictures on the front.

On a more personal note..... Selfie time on the way to work this morning.Also, noticed that the bush in the front yard is blooming. IT's FEBRUARY! And Dexter Morgan says hi!

Der Freischütz

GENERAL INFORMATION

View Date and Location: 

Premiere Date:
Language:
Composer:
Director:

REVIEWS

MY RATING: X

STORYLINE

X

MY REVIEW

X

DIRECTION-
COMPOSITION-
COSTUME DESIGN-
SET DESIGN-

Split

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 20 January 2017 (Saw it on the 21st)

Writer and Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running Time: 1 Hour and 57 Minutes

Staring:  James McAvoy, Ana Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson and Betty Buckley

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.6 of 10

RT: Critics 77%; Audience 84% 
MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

After three girls are kidnapped by  a man with 24 distinct personalities they must find some of the different personalities who can help them while running away and staying alive from the others.

MY REVIEW

I was a little hesitant about this movie. It looked like it would be awesome but it's rated PG-13 and I SERIOUSLY doubt the level of awesome a movie can be when it's rated less than an R. And while I did love M. Night's Signs and The Village, after those, his movies have left me wanting more out of him. I was hoping that this would redeem him in my eyes and it did. This is a physiologically intense and thought provoking movie that should be seen if you enjoy this type of movie. Lose the horror tag thought, that's NOT what this movie is about!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• James McAvoy is amazing. His portrayal of unique characters is intense and well directed. He not only makes the movie, but I think that this was quite possibly his best ever performance. 
• The traditional Shyamalan twist. Well done Sir. Well done!
• Twisty back story of the young girl Casey, played so well by young Ana Taylor-Joy from The Witch and Morgan. She was really the only thing that kept the scenes without McAvoy moving.
• Cinematography!! This was shot by Mike Gioulakis, from It Follows. Beautiful. No other words needed.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• The other two kidnapped girls? Why were they even there? They brought little to NOTHING to the story and their acting was pretty shit-tastic anyway!
• It does get a wee bit repetitive but it's not enough to take me out of the experience.

On a more personal note..... Went to a new theater a little further from the house because I heard they had recliners! Well, that was an awesome idea! Plus, I put a little candy in my purse and a sippycup with some wine. Made for a fantastic movie experience! 

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Passengers

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 21 December 2016
     Saw this 1 January 2017

Writer: Morten Tyldum
Director: Jon Spats
Running Time: 1 Hour and 56 Minutes

Staring:  Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt and Michael Sheen

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.1 of 10

RT: 31% Critics; 68% Audience
MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years too early.

MY REVIEW

I read a few bad reviews and went into this movie with some pre-conceived notions of what I was GOING to think of this movie. I did LIKE this movie. Not LOVE. Yes, I get the idea that they were trying to get across, but something kept nagging at me the whole time. Yes, this is a SPOILER, so SORRY! I could not get over the idea that Chris Pratt's character WOKE her up on purpose here 'cause HE fell in love with her like a crazy stalker and HE decided to wake her up early. It's because of HIS loneliness and desire that SHE was bound to not reach her destination on the colony. That's not romantic. That's ILLEGAL!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Conceptually, this is a plausible idea for a movie. I for one, have really thought about the overpopulation and over polluting of the planet and this just advances the idea.
• Visually, this was a pretty awesome ride. Still not enough to redeem this deplorable basic nature of the movie.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Like I stated in the start, this is a physiologically damaging movie. Chris Pratt's character literally kills her by waking her up 88 years too early! How on this earth could she forgive him and live happily together on the ship alone for the rest of their lives? Preposterous!!
• The SCIENCE- I don't think the majority of the watchers of this movie were too interested in pointing out the scientific flaws, but for me it was definitely a let down. I get it though, the story over the possible.

On a more personal note..... So January came in with me getting a NEW TATTOO! So super excited! Clay put the dark and outlines in first and we do the color on my BIRTHDAY (February 4th) I started a new piece that I am calling "the Naked Cellist". I will try to finish soon so it can go into the next show~

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