Monday, October 6, 2014

Halloween Watch-a-Thon Mini Reviews 2

1) Gone Girl (2014)


Amy Dunne is missing. No one knows if she's dead or just gone. Nick Dunne, her husband, makes bad decision after bad decision and looks extremely guilty to almost everyone around him. Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck are excellent portraying their flawed and mostly unlikable characters. David Fincher gives the film a suspenseful, icy, and precise style. The plot is deliciously insane and it's a near perfect adaptation from pages to screen. The foreboding builds up throughout the film and it's almost impossible to guess what will happen next (if you haven't already read the book). The only two parts lacking were the casting of Neil Patrick Harris (just no creepy enough) and the fact that Amy's personality came off super icy when she did have some humor in her own way. The rest is simply amazing. I had already read the book, but seeing my sister cover her face and hearing her gasp "oh my god" over and over was priceless. Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

2) All Cheerleaders Die (2013)


There's something wrong with the cheerleaders. They actually died and were brought back to life by wicca Leena. Now, they need to feed on people to live, are connected magically, and are much tougher than usual. The football players that contributed to their deaths resolve to get rid of them once and for all. The first half hour of the film was so filled vapid and annoying characters that I struggled to continue. Once the cheerleaders die and come back, it gets more fun and a bit cheesy. The football players are appallingly misogynistic and make very on dimensional villains. The plot relies way too much on gimmicks and tropes while at the same time trying to unsuccessfully make fun of those same gimmicks and tropes. The acting isn't great and I didn't care much about any of the characters. This is one to watch a bloodbath and turn your mind off. It also stops in the middle of a scene and then lets the viewer know it's only the first part. I would continue the series if I was really bored and had nothing else to watch.

My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins

3) Resolution (2012)


Michael finds his friend Chris after receiving a video of him. Chris has become a junkie, so Michael handcuffs him to the wall in the house where he stays to forcibly get him clean. Weird things start happening like finding a book full of creepy campfire stories and film slides purposefully left for him to find. The movie as a whole is ok. It starts off a bit slow. Besides the sense of unease, it seems like a drama about a guy just wanting to get his friend clean in a well meaning, but creepy way. Most of the threats are normal: the real owners of the house showing up and Chris's junkie friends demanding drugs and threatening them. The clues around seem peripheral to the main plot up until the crazy ending. It all culminates in an unexpected way and it's impressive.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

4) Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)



Vampires Adam and Eve have been together for hundreds of years. They opt to live in obscurity with the things they love and create art separately. Adam is a musician living in Detroit and creates music he doesn't want people to hear. He's tired of existence and contemplates suicide. Eve is a bibliophile and lives in Tangiers, but reunites with Adam when she hears of his despair. They are blissful until Eve's wild little sister comes to visit. This film is a slow, languid tale of vampires in love after centuries together. This isn't teenybopper Twilight love, but love solidly built and sustained. The acting and cinematography are superb and I could watch Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston all day. They capture these characters so well that could have easily been run of the mill hipster, but are reflective and contemplative people whose love they can rely on. Music plays a big role and the soundtrack is amazing. Not a whole lot happens and what does happen does so slowly, but it's not a negative.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

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