Thoroughbreds

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info:  9 March 2018
    Watched 30 Oct 2018

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Writer and Director: Cory Finley
Running Time: 92 Minutes

Staring: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy and Anton Yelchin

Rating? R

SPOILERS? Yes but there is a warning when they start

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.8 of 10

MY RATING: 9 of 10

STORYLINE

Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems, no matter what the cost.

MY REVIEW

First, let me say that this was Anton Yelchin's final movie before his passing in 2016. He's always been on my list of highly underrated actors and in many of my reviews over the years. Odd Thomas, Fright Night, Burying the Ex, Star Trek Beyond and Green Room. You will be remembered.

What a movie! For Cory Finley's directorial debut, this was a solid win. Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke were dark and deadly. The combination of dry humor mixed with the perfect slow pace and morose tones was MADE for these two. Cory Finley dropped, what felt to me, like a deliberate filming style that sent a little wink and a nod to Kubrik.

Don't let the genre of comedy fool you, this is NOT a typical comedy. I saw the tagline of "Heathers meets American Psycho" and smiled. Those are two of my favorite irreverent and darkly sadistic movies. This did not fail me. There's something compelling about these emotionally stunted girls who live a bored privileged life, just bored enough to do anything.

What Olivia Cooke brings as Amanda is pure gold. While there were some obvious flaws with her "by the book" sociopath persona, it was a great performance. (She was also great in Ready Player One click the link to read my review!) She feels nothing, every emotion is a muscle memorization. We all have that little piece that makes us ambivalent, but she lives there permanently. Lily on the other hand played by Anya Taylor-Joy is overwrought with emotions. (She was also great in The Witch and Split, click the links to read my reviews!) She is the empirical opposite of Amanda in every way and their friendship seems doomed from the start.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Writing and Direction. Cory Finley will be on my watch list for future movies.
• Cinematography- Well done  Lyle Vincent. After reviewing his credentials, I am not a bit surprised that I enjoyed his style.
• Soundtrack- Hauntingly beautiful

DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF SPOILERS ARE A CONCERN

From the first minute when you realize that not only were Amanda and Lily friends who hadn't spoken in many years the reasons are forefront in your mind. As the clues are revealed throughout the film, it becomes clear that their paths were very different. Seems that Amanda had "put down" a thoroughbred horse after its leg was broken and was convicted of animal cruelty for the way that she did it.

There are subtle notes of foreshadowing as the girls go down their plan to rid Lily of her disturbingly overbearing step father. It's obvious that Lily would be the major beneficiary of the deed, but someone was going to have to take the fall. At first they had selected local drug dealer Tim (Anton Yelchin) was was a massive failure. Next was a do-it-yourself style that also fell apart. Finally, the true "bad guy" rears her head when Lily spikes Amanda's drink and kills her step-father and places the blood and knife in Amanda's hands on the couch. We zoom forward a little to learn that Amanda is now in mental hospital and Lily is interviewing for college. Feels like she may have set it up! Best last line of the movie is when she see Tim who asks about Amanda and Lily said she received a letter. She begins reading the letter to the audience...

Amanda: [Amanda's voice reading her letter to the audience] I had a dream.. I rise out of my body, and I'm staring down at our whole suburb, and time is speeding up. And I see generations of people coming, and going, and building bigger houses. And then eventually... the people start spending more and more of their time staring at their smartphones. And soon enough, they're forgetting to clean their houses, or mow their lawns, or eat. And eventually all the houses rot and collapse, and the people disappear, vanishing completely into the Internet. And then... and this is the really beautiful part, the horses take over. And the whole suburb is just beautiful thoroughbred stallions with no owners and no memory of owners and no way of knowing how expensive they are, just mating and galloping through the ruins. 

Tim: What did it say? 

Lily: I don't know. I just threw it away.

On a more personal note..... 

Had a lot of fun finishing my Halloween costume. Almost there!! 

Burying the Ex

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 19 June 2015
     Netflix on 18 August 2016

Director: Joe Dante (Known for Gremlins, Interspace, The Burbs, Twilight Zone the Movie and THE HOWLING!)
Writer: Alan Trezza
Running Time: 89 Minutes

Staring:  Anton Yelchin, Ashley Greene, Alexandra Daddario and Oliver Cooper

Rating? R

SPOILERS? Not Really

REVIEWS

IMDB: 5.4 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

When Max (Yelchin) learns that his new live-in girlfriend, Evelyn (Greene) is controlling and manipulative, he is afraid to end the relationship. However, fate occurs and Evelyn is killed in a freak accident. A couple months have passed and Max meets his dream girl, Olivia (Daddario). The new romance gets tricky when Evelyn comes back from the grave and insists on continuing their once relationship by all means.

MY REVIEW

You know, I assumed that this was going to be just another piece of steaming horse crap, but it was actually a pretty fun watch. It's not the typical zombie movie and I think that may have been what made it a success for me. It was clever! I was impressed enough to give it an 8 of 10. There were still a few shortcomings, but it was a decent movie. Give it a try on Netflix before it goes away. I love the idea that breaking up is hard to do.. even after the clingy one dies!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Awkward love stories are always in my wheelhouse! I love the idea that not all love stories start in the same un-unique way. This movie offers more than its fair share of awkwardness!
• Although the story is lackluster and missing some general polish, it's a simple and straightforward story. TONS of old school horror references for someone like me who may or may not be a Horror Movie Freak!!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• So Many CLICHES!! Almost one or six too many to forgive.
• The plot is pretty thin. Could have maybe spent a little more time fleshing out the story and plan and it may have fared a little better.

On a more personal note..... It was another pretty good day for me! I had two friends birthdays that were today, Ami and Ryan.  Unfortunately for Ryan, he wasn't here to enjoy the cupcakes that I made, but Ami came over and had some with me! I drew a guitar. I made some Roasted Teriyaki Duck and Feta Quesadillas, played with three of the four cats... So good day!

Star Trek Beyond

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 22 July 2016
     AMC Lynnhaven on 30 July 2016

Director: Justin Lin
Writers: Simon Pegg, Doug Jung, Gene Roddenberry, Robert Orci, Patrick McKay and John D. Payne
Running Time: 122 Minutes

Staring:  Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba and Many More!

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.5 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

The first leg of the USS Enterprise's five year mission takes them into uncharted territory. There the Enterprise is nearly destroyed and strands Kirk and his crew on a remote planet with no means of communication. Kirk must then work with the elements to reunite his crew and get back to Earth.

MY REVIEW

I feel like I cheated on Star Wars, but I am a closet fan of Star Trek and well, I disappointed. I've been a HUGE Karl Urban fan since I saw the movie Ghost Ship in the early 2000's. I watched it if Desmond Harrington and ended up in love with Karl Urban!  Seriously, who wouldn't love that face!?! I am typically a JJ Abrams fan as well. I have not been disappointed in any of his work as of yet, so I felt like this movie was in good hands to say the least.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Simple illusions to the original Star Trek world. There are a few scenes at the beginning (not giving anything away) where Chris Pine has some amazing one-liners. If you pay attention, a Star Trek fan will see these and hear them throughout the movie. I liked that.
• Fast Paced and Action packed.
• The acting! What amazing performances from everyone. I especially loved Idris Elba, as a baddie, I was quite impressed.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• There are a few pieces that I had to just shake off and remember that it was just a movie. I tend to get wrapped up in the details and some of them were not quite what I would have wanted them to be. I won't go into the GREAT details, but there is a random large base in the middle of nowhere next to a large planet with habitable conditions. The likelihood of that is 1 in a kazillion, but I had to just let that one go.

On a more personal note..... I took this picture this week and thought this would be an appropriate time to post! Who doesn't JUST SO HAPPEN to have a 6'4"  Darth Vader statue in their living room? Well, the other day, I took a pretty awesome photo with the Lord of the Sith. I love it! After all, I am still a Star Wars girl at heart! AND, got a messenger bag.. Star Wars Chewbacca style of course!

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Green Room

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info:1 May 2016
Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Running Time: 1 Hour and 35 Minutes

Staring:  Anton Yeltsin, Imogen Poots and Alia Shawcat

Rating? R

SPOILERS? No

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.1 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder of a neo-nazi at a skinhead bar gig.

MY REVIEW

I really wanted this to be beyond amazing. I had the highest of hopes and this movie was pretty damn near that for me. Sit was solid and had excellent performances. It's a must see for psychological thriller fans. This is really less horror, but it was almost there.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• This was perhaps the most interesting take on the adage of "Wrong Place, Wrong Time". There were times when I was watching that I was literally shaking my head a the twists and turns that just seemed to keep happening. It was surprising. There was an oppression that falls on the watcher with this film. The kind that almost keeps you from breathing. This is claustrophobia at its best. Loved this feeling.
• The direction led by Jeremy Saulnier was near perfection. He's a veritable newbie in the directing gigs, but brings to the table a history of cinematography, special effects, casting, make-up and writing that works for him, and works for him well. He knows how to use these things in his took-box to make the production go a long way!
• The character development is exquisite! Even though it was only an hour and a half, there were real feelings that happened for these people. They were multi-dimensional people who seemed to exist and not just as flat people in a movie. There were real feelings for them!
• It's violent. It had to be violent. Without the violence, it would not have been successful.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Horror was not the right genre for this film.
• Predictable, but passable ending.

On a more personal note.....   What a day! There was a sign on the EMPTY building in the shopping center behind my house when I got home from work today! Looks like we're getting a Harbor Freight! It's not the best store, but at least it's not an empty building for the criminals to hang out in front of!! The 3D Printer is really starting to produce some interesting pieces for me! Iron Man Helmet is well on it's way! Then there are the obligatory cat pics. Dexter Morgan and his big brother Jinx. I love them more than people sometimes!