Joker

MY RATING: 9 of 10

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 4 October 2019

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Todd Phillips
Writer: Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
Running Time:  2 Hours and 2 Min.

Staring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz and well, quite a few more...

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

STORYLINE

In Gotham City, mentally-troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter ego.. Joker. 

MY REVIEW

This is NOT a lighthearted DC Comic movie just to set that straight out of the gate. This is a dark and twisted tale of a downhill spiral that takes a mentally impaired man through seven levels of literal hell. It's feral. It's violent. It's glorious. Think Taxi Driver meets Fight Club.

The Joker has been played by Jared Leto most recently, Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson going all the way back to Cesar Romero. None of them really stood out to me as the definitive "Joker". (We all have a "Batman" who will always be "the One!" My Batman will always be Adam West!) That being said, Joaquin Phoenix IS the Joker. Continue below...

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Joaquin Phoenix breathes, bleeds and cries as the Joker. He is perfection. His portrayal of the melancholy mentally unstable Fleck is hauntingly enigmatic.
• Writers Todd Phillips and Scott Silver created a solid tale that is mesmerizing to the soul. It's gritty and tragic but with moments of comedic perfection that lead to a genuinely great movie. This is good because it's just over 2 hours long and it keeps you in your seat. Well done gentlemen. 
• I don't want to give too much away, but the first two acts are written and filmed in a way that will help the viewer almost understand Joker's motivation for the final act. That's not to say that you can empathize with his actions or even remotely find them justified, but the viewer can understand what went wrong.  There are definitely hints to a societal breakdown where a mentally ill person who needs help and is receiving only the bare essentials can fall through the cracks and end up where he did. Let's leave it there and I'll be happy to discuss after any of you see the film. (I have a LOT of opinions about this aspect of the movie.)
• The Score. I'm a bit of an audiophile and when I heard some classic Charlie Chaplin from the classic 1936 Modern Times, I could not help but to smile. There are some great pieces in this movie.. a little Sinatra.. a little Cream.. and last but not least.. Send in the Clowns.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• All of the action of this movie was in the final act and really in the last 20 minutes. It's not boring by any means, but it did feel like it took us a LONG time to get to the end.
• Plot holes here and there, but 
• The trailers gave away too much 
• Social commentary seemed a little over the top. It's hard to NOT say exactly what I want to with ought giving too much away. Let's just call it that it's very obvious what the writers were attempting. Although I do love the story, the idea that situation that was created almost intentionally by inaction of the people around him and the inept care of social service department led to the creation of basically a serial killer.

On a more personal note..... 

I had a night out with some friends..We got a roomba.. I tried to make the cats feel like he was part of the pack so I gave him ears and whiskers. His name is Karl.

Ready or Not

MY RATING: 6  - quite nearly a 7

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: Released 21 August 2019

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Writer: Guy Busick and Ryan Murphy
Running Time: 1 Hour and 35 Minutes

Staring: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody and Andie MacDowell

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

STORYLINE

We follow young bride Grace (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband  Alex's (Mark O'Brien) rich, eccentric family in a time-honored wedding day tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their lives. 

MY REVIEW

I saw the trailer a month or so ago and was not exactly dying to see it, but it sounded interesting. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are really only known for V/H/S and one of the writers, Ryan Murphy, was responsible for one of my long-time faves, Wrong Turn from 2003. The idea was interesting. It reminded me of a gory and somewhat satanic version of the movie Clue at times. We'll get into the reasons below, but this is a fun movie. It was by far, not the greatest or even Oscar-worthy, but it was fun. It had flaws, like REALLY bad acting in most cases, but it was fun and there were some authentic ideas and some great laughable lines. Let's dive in, shall we!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• The bright star of this movie was Margot Robbie, oh, that wasn't her? For a few minutes, it sure did look a lot like her! No, seriously, Samara Weaving was pretty good. She was in a little Netflix find The Babysitter- also a solid performance. She stole the scene from whoever she was paired with and that was unfortunate for them.
•  Adam Brody has quite possibly the best line of the whole movie when he is talking to Grace (Samara Weaving) about what his family thinks of his brothers new bride.. "Don't take it personally, they're just trying to figure out if you're a gold digging whore. You know, like my wife."
• It's dark. Pretty god-damned dark with the murder and all, but it was genuinely a pretty solid take on the weird shit that people do for fame and fortune.
• Aunt Helene. (Nicky Guadagni) Oh, she was awkward and weird but she was glorious!
• This might be a little too much of my weird psychoanalytic  bullshit but here goes and I'm trying not to spoil anything. During the movie we start with Grace in her white wedding dress and all of the others in the movie are wearing dark clothes. This COULD be a symbol of good vs. evil or light vs. dark. But as she plays the game and finds her footing and fights back, her white dress becomes more and more dirty.. and by the end, she's covered in dirt and blood. Fitting? Interesting?
• The song. "Hide and Seek" is the creepiest thing I've ever heard in my life! Nothing else in the soundtrack really stood out.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• It was hard to have even the slightest bit of empathy for ANY of the characters really. There was little to no development to explain they "why" or make you care if they lived or died. The only one who even began to be a real person was the brother of the groom Adam Brody.
• If you look at the climax of the movie, the last 30 minutes of the movie felt really rushed. The first two acts were like foreplay, peeling back layer after layer in a good balance of exposition and action. Then, in a rush to "get it over with" the story takes a direct path that failed to really satisfy the buildup that I was given. Left me wanting more. I actually had to pause and let myself take in the fact that THAT was really then end. 

On a more personal note..... 

This week was pretty fun. I had a great dinner with a visiting co-worker from Las Vegas and realized that the sun was my best friend when  I wanted to show off the bright red/purple highlights in my hair and I drank some delicious mimosas with friends!

Perfection

MY RATING: 8

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 May 2019

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Director: Richard Shepard
Writer: Eric C. Charmelo and Richard Shepard
Running Time: 90 Minutes

Staring: Allison Williams, Logan Browning and Alaina Huffman

Rating? TV-MA

SPOILERS? NO 

STORYLINE

When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) seeks out Elizabeth (Logan Browning), the new star pupil of her former school the encounter sends both musicians down a sinister path with shocking consequences.

MY REVIEW

Brilliantly Dark! I may have passed this one right by if had not been for the comments online about this movie actually making people feel physically ill when watching. I have two words for the people who had that reaction.. F&*$ing Really? Yeah, it was a wee bit on the disturbing side and maybe I've seen so many horror movies that this TV-MA made for Netflix show was just one in the list. It was good. I loved the unique story as well as the interesting way that the story was told. Not going to give too much about that or it will RUIN the movie.

I think the best way to describe this movie is the idea that when you pul on a three of a sweater, the whole thing will soon unravel. This movie is the epitome of that statement. The threads just keep pulling and it keeps getting better and better. Yes, there were some things that I was not a fan of, but for the most part, this was a solid 8.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Writing- This is a unique story. Yes, there are nods to other movies like this (Black Swan), but this is new. Unique.  Eric C. Charmelo didn't have much movie died in his writing portfolio (some episodes of Supernatural) and  Richard Shepard, who was also the direct also has a very short list of writing credits, but both have a lot of production history. I think that helped them to craft a well written story that did its job by getting us from point A to B in a very interesting and unexpected way.  
• The story at its core is about perfection and the sacrifices that one gives up in their personal lives to attain such feats. While the actual story stays on target to the theme, the expanded concept was really bland. (see below)
• Filming/Editing. I felt like the nod to Darron Aronofsky with the rewind sequences were brilliant.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Special effects were not really that great. I mean the vomit looked like they really just opened a can of Mountain Dew and thickened it to make it look more realistic. The green color was a bit too over the top.
• The end was just more of a surreal mess. You'll see what I mean. Was not what I expected.
• The story, while it was good was a little over the top. I had a hard time with the suspension of reality. It felt like they were telling me that this was a real situation but the ridiculousness of the scenarios that ensue are not believable in any way.

On a more personal note..... 

I did a thing this week. I started work on the remainder of my half sleeve with the best artist on the East Coast, Clay Thames. We have a few more sessions before I will show you guys!! It's going to look amazing!! It was also Dexter Morgan's 4th Birthday this week. He's such a good little baby!

Us

RATINGS

IMDB: 7.4 of 10

MY RATING: 9

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 22 March 2019

Genre: Horror, Thriller
Director/ Writer: Jordan Peele
Running Time: 1 Hour and 56 Minutes

Staring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke and Elisabeth Moss

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

STORYLINE

In order to get away from their busy lives, the Wilson family takes a vacation to Santa Cruz, CA with the plan of spending time with their friends, the Tylers. On a day at the beach, their young son Jason wanders off, causing mother Adelaide to become protective over her family. That night, four mysterious people arrive at the Wilson's, which just so happens to be Adelaide's childhood home. The family is shocked to find out that the intruders look like them, only with grotesque appearances.

MY REVIEW

What a movie. I am a HUGE fan of the horror genre and I must admit that Jordan Peele is a horror visionary. There was more to this movie that your average slasher horror flick. The story is original, which is a huge plus when the plot of most movies these days is heavily recycled or even a retelling.

Jordan Peele got high marks from me for his 2017 hit Get Out, link to my review. This one makes you think and that to me, is the true epic thing for a movie to do. I want to leave and question my own reality and boy did I have a lot to ponder. I sat quietly for a while after to let it all sink in and THERE was a lot to think about. There is a low level undertone on social commentary and the real deeper meaning that IS the monster in all of us. Good and bad are tenuous. We are what we are and the idea that someone is all good or all bad is laughable at best.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• I can't say enough about Lupita Nyong'o. She IS the star of this film. Her performance is more than terrifying. Any actor who can not only take on a dual role but make the viewer believe that they are watching a second person is amazing.
• Soundtrack was a masterpiece!  I Got 5 On It.. was singing along in the theater. Brings back old times. Love this song and yes, it's about drugs! Ha ha!o
• Whoever decided on the red jumpsuit, tan driving gloves and the oversized shears, you sir, are a genius!
• The little injections of comedy were sublime!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• The voices. It was scary and unnerving, but it kinda threw me off.
• What was with the rabbits?

What Other stuff can I say that's not really a review?

• The movie also stars Cali and Noelle Sheldon, the twins who played Emma Gellar-Green, the daughter of Ross and Rachel on Friends. 
• The film has a scheme set in 1987. Several key scenes are shot at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the same as the film The Lost Boys. There is a reference in the movie where young Adelaide's mother says "You know, they're shooting a movie over there by the carousel."

On a more personal note..... 

Had some time at the salon this week. I had the best of intentions to get a cut and color and failed on both fronts.I got a trim and no change of color. BUT, why mess with perfection!! Then there's my little guy Dexter Morgan. He's pretty handsome! He gets confused with string and wants to play with it, but doesn't know what to do!! Then, my 4 gentlemen decided to lay on the couch with me! 

Dead Awake

RATINGS

IMDB: 4.6

MY RATING: 2

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 12 May 2017
     Netflix 22 Nov 2018

Genre: Horror, Thriller
Director: Phillip Guzman
Writer: Jeffrey Reddick
Running Time:  1 Hour and 39 minutes

Staring: Jocelin Donahue, Jesse Bradford and Jesse Borrego

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? YES-ish

STORYLINE

A young woman must save herself and her friends from an ancient evil that stalks its victims through the real life phenemenon of sleep paralysis.

MY REVIEW

In my defense, I was bored and Netflix is full of movies that I have not seen. This movie was pretty horrible. So, if you take the premise of The Ring and toss in a little real life sleep disorders, shake in sprinkling of cliche and voila, you get this movie. I basically had to pause a few times and back up a few seconds to just check to see if I heard what I thought I heard. I gave it a 2 because fit did make me laugh. That is NOT what a scary movie is supposed to do, but whatevs!

At one point, Kate (Jocelin Donahue) and her deceased sisters boyfriend Evan (Jesse Bradford) as talking the the "Expert" on sleep paralysis demons, Dr. Hassan Davies (Jesse Borrego) and they ask him about "Did you try the online message boards?" to which he replied, "I didn't think of that!"

So, no real direction other than down for this movie. There was a complete lack of likability for any of the characters. The acting was amazingly horrible. This should have been released on YouTube.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Season 1)

RATINGS

IMDB: 7.8 of 10

MY RATING: 7

GENERAL INFORMATION

First Episode Air Date:  28 October 2018

Seasons? x1 right now, 3 in the works.
Watched Where and When: Netflix
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Staring: Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis, Chance Perdomo, Michelle Gomez and a whole ton more.

Rating? TV-14

SPOILERS? YES

STORYLINE

Reimagined story of the adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and of course witchcraft. Totally in the vein of Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist. In this adaptation we find Sabrina Spellman wrestling to reconcile her dual nature of half witch and half mortal, while standing against the evil forces that threaten her and her family and the whole daylight world that humans inhabit.

MY REVIEW

I was not quote young enough to have really enjoyed Sabrina when it was out in the late 90's with Melissa Joan Hart. I did watch a few, but they were too bubble-gum and rainbows for my dark little heart to enjoy. Which is why it was with trepidation that I watched the first episode of this reboot. I liked the idea of a darker and more sophisticated retelling. I watched the first one and then the second episode and then the third and right through the whole eleven episodes in about 2 days. It was not perfect by any means but it was funny, dark and just a ridiculous enough to keep me interested!

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa created an amazing little slice of something that really worked. He was also known for Riverdale, Carrie (2013)m Supergirl and some episodes of Glee and Big Love. Most of the episodes were directed by Rob Seidenglanz, You might know him from some of his little projects like Blindspot, the Following, Jack and Bobby, Party of Five and Suits.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Direction and Storytelling- There were several producers, EP's, AP's and a ton of other P's involved in this tv show and it was the combination of all of those professionals that created the environment that felt like a real story. They were able to get good performances and some great performances from their actors. I liked the dark path, a LOT!
• DARK!! (Not dark enough though, see below)

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Did someone watch Harry Potter a little too much? I think the school of dark magic that is masked with some sort of spell that cloaks it from view. Really not unique.
• I would have appreciated a little more darkness. (Did I mention that I do have a dark little heart!?) Come on with the Satanism! Most intelligent people know that wicca/ witchcraft and most other practitioners of the darker arts are NOT satanists. They worship the earth or earth gods that have nothing to do with Satan or even god for that mater! 
• If they worship the Dark Lord, let's get real, I needed more. It's still a bit too bubble-gum.
• I read this somewhere else, but i laughed when I did because it was SOOO true!! "When someone is killed by rope around the neck the word is hanged. When the 13 were hung, it implies they were dangling in a tree and were not murdered by hanging. Really really annoying."

The Rezort

RATINGS

IMDB: 5.3

MY RATING: 5

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 15 June 2016
   Netflix 11 Nov 2018

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Director: Steve Barker
Writer: Paul Gerstenberger
Running Time: 93 Minutes

Staring: Dougray Scott, Jessica De Gouw and Martin McCann

Rating? Unrated

SPOILERS? NOT REALLY, one little one  :)

STORYLINE

Following a near-apocalyptic zombie outbreak, humans are back in control. In this day and age, people know how to handle the "Z's". The latest craze is "Zombie Safari". A chance to shoot the undead in the wild. The ultimate therapeutic revenge following the losses suffered during the outbreak. Little do the vacationers realize they're actually in a highly controlled environment, where the zombies are always kept at a safe distance. Nothing is left to chance, nothing is unplanned. So far.

MY REVIEW

Following a pandemic where millions of people were killed by zombies, why the hell not? The plot and general direction of this movie was strong. It's definitely not a high budget festival of delightful scenes, but it's a passable, original, jump-scare filled movie. Set your expectations to moderate and you'll be okay.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Writing/ Editing- Good job on the part of the writer Paul Gerstenberger in getting both an action packed first act. Makes sense, since most of his repertoire is TV shows.
• Set Design and Location- Filmed in the Philippines., the set is amazingly beautiful. I love the juxtaposition of the island paradise and the flesh eating zombies..
• Firearms, lots of guns, lots of BIG GUNS. (Insert prior military girl boner)
• Zombies- The powers who were in charge decided to make the spectacular decision to go with the classic Romero style zombie. Good choice team. #Team Romero

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Writing/Editing- I would have liked if the "incident" was a little more slow to develop. It just kind of happens so fast that the view does not have a chance to take in the severity of the situation.
• Special Effects- I know, it's low budget, but even low budget movies can get a decent special effects artist to help with the basics. If  you couldn't get it right with the big show-stopper style make-up, then you should have paired it back and did what you could. Could I have done it better? Nope. But I have watched all 10 seasons fo Face Off.
• The "Why?"- So, we get little tiny bits of what happened and why, SPOILER, a zombie rights advocate (really, yes, that's what I said) made a computer virus that caused the incident. 

On a more personal note..... 

His Lordship, Oliver Cromwell was particularly adorable today. Well, so was I, so we both took some pictures. I finished another piece today. I am calling it "Tuscan Summer".

Demonic

RATING

IMDB: 5.3 of 10

MY RATING: 2

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info:  10 October 2017
    Netflix 3 Nov 2018

Genre: Horror, Thriller
Director: Will Canon
Produced by James Wan
Writer:Max La Bella, Will Canon
Running Time: 83 Minutes

Staring: Maria Bello, Frank Grillo and Cody Horn

Rating? R

SPOILERS? YES

STORYLINE

Louisiana: Det. Mark Lewis is called to the notorious Livingston House and finds three bodies and one survivor, John. A team of ghost hunters, Bryan, John's pregnant girlfriend Michelle, Jules, Donnie and Sam, have decided to hold a seance. Marta Livingston committed a violent slaughter here years ago. It goes horribly wrong and evil spirits are released. Queue the interrogation of John while a technical team try to retrieve the hard disks and footage from the event.

MY REVIEW

Okay, so, I saw the cover and saw James Wan in decent size letters and then the smaller. Presents. So he was not thee writer, not the director, but had some interest in the movie. That is one of the first problems with this movie. The writing is horrific. It's a tale that has been overdone so much that within the first 20 minutes, I can guess the outcome. That could be the fact that I watch way too much horror as well. I didn't hate it, it just wasn't that good.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Maria Bello- she was good, even if she did always have a confused look on her face. It was as if she knew the shit show she was starring in was such a confusing piece of crap.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Cinematography- Found footage is my least favorite genre of film-making. The combination of actual directed footage in combination with the footage of the ghost hunters team placing the cabers and finally the footage of what the camera shot was not a successful join for me.
• Writing- This felt to me like a "horror movie generator" came in and took a few pieces: Demons, Haunted House, seance and a bunch of dead kids, and spit out a movie. Just a bunch of desperate acts as the writers just tossed some crap into the air and let it fall down on the paper. And the final twist at the end. It was as if they knew the movie was failing and just tossed this in as an afterthought.  It's JUST not that interesting. 
• Editing- I know a little about filming movies, not too much, but enough. I think they filmed a bunch of stuff and then sat in a room and taped it together. It's not exactly smooth transitions. The first hour of the movie is just blah and the majority of action is in the last 20 minutes.

On a more personal note..... 

Just a little Snapchat fun, made a delicious breakfast and walked in on Oliver who had crawled up on top of Rocket to got to sleep!

Halloween 2018

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 19 October 2018
Watched at Lynnhaven Mall AMC Theaters 

Genre: Horror, Thriller
Director: David Gordon Green
Writer: David Gordon Green and Danny McBride
Running Time: 1 Hour and 46 Minutes

Staring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Nick Castle, Haluk Bilginer, Will Patton and breakout awesome tiny performer, Jibrail Nantambu.

Rating? R, a very hard R.

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 7.3 of 10

MY RATING: 8 of 10

STORYLINE

Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the Shape, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

MY REVIEW

I've been waiting for this movie be filmed for longer than the concept has been around. I had high hopes and I personally feel that it lived up to most of my preconceived notions. This, for me, was a perfect next step to the Halloween brand. Let's face it, some of those in the middle weren't even remotely good. Laurie Strode got her day. End of story. There is a sombre journey of reality that this movie takes the watches down a path to see what someone who is affected by such trauma would have to traverse. Haunting. Halloween 2018 does a great job delivering the goods. It's not perfect and I really had to convince myself that an 8 was right.

The writer had very few credits that I'd ever heard of and I could only hope that he was a Halloween fan and would stay true to the story to do us justice. It was obvious that he had a lot of EP credentials as the script was written in a way that seemed fit for this awesome task. The fact that he paired with Danny McBride who injected his fun sense of humor into some pivotal scenes was a great nod to his direction abilities.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• That music though! I hear that music and I get chills.
• Oh, Jamie Lee Curtis, all of those yogurt commercials made you amazing!
• Even the cliches worked for this movie. There were cliches, not gonna lie.
• Opening and closing credits were stylized to look like the original 1978 version.
• Have to note that I did enjoy the little dig at the non-fans who thought that Laurie was Michael's sister. They set that one straight pretty quickly.
• The perfection that was the Michael Myers 2018 mask. It's 40 years old and the set design folks who created this gem should all get an extra coupl'a dollars. This was fantastic. It's aged is all of the places it should have been and the hair is matted down like it was supposed to look after having been in an evidence locker for so long.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Pretty slow to get started. It was definitely a slow burn that got you waiting for the "thing" to happen and when it did, it peaked a bit too early. The final act seems to peak too soon and left me wanting more at the end.
• There were a lot of themes that were packed into this movie. It was a film that deals with the psychosis of trauma, revenge, teen relationship drama, babysitter slasher and a little bit of a comedy. I think the story would have been furthered if they had let some of the side stories go.

What QUESTIONS do I now have?

• That ending though? Was that NOT a textbook setup for a sequel? 

On a more personal note..... 

So, apparently between now and the last time I was at Lynnhaven AMC< the finished the new theater with recliners and some really amazing Dolby Surround Sound! Also, working on my Halloween costume. Should be pretty obvious what I am planning on being!

Terrifier

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 15 March 2018

Genre: Horror, Thriller
Writer and Director: Damien Leone
Running Time: 82 minutes

Staring: Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi and David Howard Thornton

Rating? UNRATED

SPOILERS? NO 

REVIEWS

IMDB: 5 (almost 6) of 10

MY RATING: 5 of 10

STORYLINE

A maniacal clown terrorizes three young women on Halloween night and everyone else who stands in his way.

MY REVIEW

It's flawed, but it's not pretending to be something that it's not. It's a hack-'em-up blood-and-guts horror movie with At the Clown. We were introduced to Art in the 2013 movie All Hallows Eve from the same writer/director. He's a weird and creepy evil mime/clown. It's low budget, it's gruesome and it's pretty disturbing which all work for me. a few things that I didn't care for, hence the 5 of 10 rating. It's torture porn.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• COSTUME DESIGN- Michelle Gianchetti and Elisa Vecchio were the two responsible for Art the Clown as well as the rest of the make up and for such a small resume, they were responsible for what I thought was the best part of the movie.
• CINEMATOGRAPHY- Camera angles, wide shots of the gore and torture. Good show!
• SET DESIGN- Excellent!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• DIRECTION- Yeah, it could have been better. I think some of the acting was sub-par and the scenes could have been more cohesive, but it's not supposed to win an Oscar.
• WRITING- This movie seriously needed some additional writing. There was not really a plot, but in this genre, you really don't NEED one. It's cliche. 
• SCORE/SOUNDTRACK- not memorable. 
• EDITING- So, there were some scenes that just didn't work, I think it could have just been the editing where the continuity was off.

On a more personal note..... 

Selfie with my "solar System" necklace. Rocket J. loves the new shower curtain in the hall bathroom. He just sits there and hides underneath. Strange kitten! AND I tried to wear some ridiculously tall platform wedges at work. I lasted most fo the day. Glad I brought my back up flats!

The Nun

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 7 Sept 2018

Director: Corin Hardy
Writer:Gary Dauberman and James Wan
Running Time: 1 Hour and 36 Minutes

Staring:Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga and Jonas Bloquet

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO- ish

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.1 of 10

MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death go a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

MY REVIEW

I think the Conjuring follow-on's are getting a little overboard. I mean, how many more can they really get in there with the ridiculous antics of Ed and Lorraine Warren. I'm all for a good scary movie, but when so meany people take the words that the filmmakers say in these as gospel and fail to research this duo of duplicity and know that they are frauds and have been debunked a number of times.

That being said, lets get back to the movie itself. It's not a great or even unique story. It's not great acting or cinematography. It's bland at best. It's lacking a certain joie de vivre that usually comes with a James Wan film.

What is it that makes a horror movie great.. we need to be gradually brought into the world and be given a well crafted tension that does not reveal too much that sets up a compelling dramatic conclusion. This film brings none of that to me life.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Setting- It's sad when the best thing that I have to say about a movie is that the set decorations were pretty stellar. I loved the look of the Romanian castle. The oddly satisfying amount of crosses in some scenes was pretty unsettlingly perfect.
• Twist- There was a little twist, LITTLE. By no means enough to save this film.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• STOP SHOWING ME THE DEMON!! Come on, this is rule Number 1! The more you show the bad thing, the less power it has!
• Plot- What plot. It just feels like someone threw a bunch of plot ideas on the floor, gathered them and made a movie.
• Jump Scares- typically, I do love a good jump scare. This is just missing the whole point here. Yes, there are jump scares but my issue is that they are too obvious and not scary enough to hold their own. It felt like the jump scares were placed to keep the watcher from being g bored to death at times.
• Writing- The dialogue is a MESS!

On a more personal note..... 

I painted a set of Storm Trooper/Kiss pieces that will eventually go into the living room.  Rocket and Dexter were pretty amazingly adorable! I played on SnapChat and pretended to be a cat!!

Atomic Blonde

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 28 July 2017
     Sneak Preview 19 July 2017

Director: David Leitch
Writer: Kurt Johnstad, Antony Johnston
Running Time: 1 Hour and 55 Minutes

Staring:  Charlize Theron, James McAvoy and John Goodman

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: ?? of 10

MY RATING: 9

STORYLINE

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and revoker a missing list of double agents.

MY REVIEW

This was a pretty amazing movie. Due to it not being released yet and I got to see a pre-release preview, I don't want to go into too many details. 

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Setting- I love the setting. Berlin wall is a month from being torn down.. US, British, French and Russian spies a plenty! Excellent use of music and costuming! This was a visual masterpiece.
• Violence was necessary and perfect.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Not much. I think the only thing that was a little iffy was the twist, or the twist on the twist, or the twist on the twist of the twist... It's almost like they filmed 3 endings and decided to use them all!

On a more personal note..... Finished my 3-D printed Wonder Woman Tiara. Wore it to work today! Finished a new trooper helmet. Isabella and Dexter were pretty cute!

Life

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 March 2017
      iTunes 3 June 2017

Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writer: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick
Running Time: 1 Hour and 44 Minutes

Staring:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and Rebecca Ferguson

Rating? R

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.8 of 10

RT:  Critics: 68%; Audience: 59%
MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

Six astronauts aboard the space station study a sample collected from Mars that could provide evidence for extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet. The crew determines that the sample contains a large, single-celled organism - the first example of life beyond Earth. But, things are not always what they seem. As the crew begins to conduct research, and their methods end up having unintended consequences, the life form proves more intelligent that anyone ever expected.

MY REVIEW

Full disclosure, I was not really into the idea of watching this movie, but it was Saturday and nothing was on TV so we rented it on iTunes. I had to google Daniel Espinosa to see if I liked any of his other movies... {Safe House- Never saw it. Easy Money- Never saw it. Nothing else was released in the US.} Then I looked up Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. {Oh, they were writers on Deadpool and Zombieland.} I loved those. Let's do this.

First 20 minutes were pretty awesome, then that's when my brain disconnected from the story and plot fell into the tiger pit of plot holes and logic left on vacation.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Ryan Reynolds-  Love some Ryan Reynolds!!
• Special Effects were pretty brilliant!
• Scares- A good number of jump scares

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Characters- No one believes that NASA would have hired these idiots to do this kind of work!  Every single person who is working on the ISS seems to be an emotional train wreck, extremely unprofessional or just an idiot! I know I've said this in more reviews that just one, but seriously Hollywood, when you have a scientist who is making dumb decisions, it's hard for people like me to watch this and let them take a pass for doing things off-book our outside of protocol!  I just can't stand watching people make dumb decisions!!
• The Life Form- This thing is just not an anachronism. It's carbon based, consumes water yet does not boil or die in the vacuum of space. Please consult some actual scientists when you make this type of movie!!

On a more personal note..... Such a pretty day today. Got all dolled-up to go have lunch with Melissa. Then got a few rays of sun in the backyard and watched this little munchkin, Dexter Morgan, beg to go out and play in the grass!

Alien: Covenant

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 19 May 2017

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Dan O'Bannon 
Running Time: 2 Hours and 2 Minutes

Staring:  Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup and Danny McBride

Rating? R

SPOILERS? YES, sorry, not sorry.

REVIEWS

IMDB: 6.8 of 10

RT: Critics: 71%; Audience: 60% 
MY RATING: 3

STORYLINE

Set after the Movie Prometheus (Link to my review)

The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.

MY REVIEW

I wanted to LIKE this movie. I did. I mean, I enjoyed the Alien series and I gave Prometheus an 8.5 on the Michelle scale of awesome! I think I'd describe this movie as Alien meets Idiocracy!

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Cinematography- There were some beautiful shots here. This is the only reason this movie received the 3 rating that I gave! The space shots, the landscape of the alien planet.  Take out some of the ridiculous CG, and it would have been amazing!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Basic Stupidity- These were supposed to be scientists, colonists, astronauts, marines and a plethora of smart people put them here for a mission. The basis of the plot of the movie is that they went off mission. As a former Navy Damage Controllman, I can tell you now, that YOU FOLLOW ORDERS! You don't just get to take the ship on a joyride of your own making. I can't let that one go. Why would you risk the lives of all of the colonists to go off mission? Because you're an idiot!
• Screen Play- Assuming that one can suspend their disbelief in order to make it through the premise, the story line just falls apart for me on multiple levels.
• Basic stupidity of the crew (talked to death in the first bulletpoint!)
• Yeah, let's land on this crazy planet and NOT just send the expendable robot to check out the terrain and habitability. Let's send the whole crew!
• Crew begins to get infected and the TRAINED scientists and military people just scrap protocol and do what they want. BOOOOO! 
• There is no true creativity. This was a marketing ploy to rake in the dollars from the people who were looking forward to the next Ridley Scott/Alien extravaganza.
• The writing gave me no reason to CARE about the characters. I honestly didn't even mind that they were all dying.
• Pacing- At one point I actually checked to see the time because this movie drug on and carried my limp sleepy body with it into the awful transitions. There seemed to be no structure. It was hard to tell where I was supposed to be in my mind. By the second act, I assumed it was the third and was hoping for this ride to end. 

On a more personal note..... Hanging with two of my four this week. Dexter Morgan was extraordinarily clingy and Isabella was oddly playful. And of course, a pic of me being a kitty on snapchat!