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LewisAugustine
Reviews
House of Spoils (2024)
Under rated
I was looking for a horror movie to stream, and settled on this without high expectations. Then I was pleasantly surprised to find I was intrigued and wanted to keep watching this under rated find. This is pretty decent story. Far better than the usual slasher with a chainsaw, or me too haunted house with footsteps upstairs and curtains blowing in the breeze. Surprisingly good acting all around, though I wasn't familiar most of the cast. DeBose did a fine job here. Very little blood, gore, or even special effects. Which says something about a story that can stand on it's own without them. Recommended, for something more chill and subtle in the horror genre.
The Bewailing (2021)
Would be good as a 15 minute short
This is one of those movies that would be good if it was a 15 minute segment in a "creep show" type collection of shorts.
As a full length movie it drags on very very badly with tons of pointless, and quite frankly repetitive, dialog between the main characters.
There's virtually no gore or effects. The movie mostly tries to be a suspense thriller with a slow leadup. But they took slow to unnecessary extremes. I nearly quit somewhere around the 1 hour mark during yet another uninteresting dialog. But I stuck it out to the end to see if there was some brilliant twist and regretted that investment of time.
The Batman (2022)
A solid 4
Sulky emo Batman with Bieber hair hanging in his eyes didn't really work for me. Sulky and emo isn't the same as dark. The movie was slow paced. I watched this at home, and kept checking the remaining runtime about halfway through, wondering when it would end.
The script was more like a daytime soap opera with long weepy self-indulgent conversations, than a comic hero action movie. And some plot elements didn't make any sense, which I won't go into because that would involve heavy spoilers.
I honestly don't understand the high rating for this schlock. The one highlight was Colin Farrell giving an amazing Penguin portrayal.
The Dead (2010)
Very good
Well written. Great production. Excellent makeup and effects. Very creepy zombie portayal, even from the numerous extras. Tense moments. Sad moments. And touching moments (yes really).
Fact is, this is a good movie in it's own right, not just within the zombie genre. And within the zombie genre in particular, this is one the must see greats of recent decades.
Warriors of the Apocalypse (2009)
Go in with the right mindset.
Entertaining to watch in a goofy MST3K sort of way. But not if you want a real movie.
The fighting is slapstick quality silly. Punches that are very clearly all air. People spitting out mouthfuls of blood who are chatting away 15 seconds later. Red muzzle indicators on plastic prop weapons. Miniguns with no power source or ammo belt. A car chase that was obviously filmed at 5 kph in a parking lot, with one engine revving noise on a loop for the entire scene. The list goes on.
Oh, and apparently in the apocalypse, someone is still freshly mowing all the yards, and along every street.
The Echo Game (2009)
Overrated at a 4
Dumb story, annoying characters laughably bad "acting".
Panic Button (2011)
Worth a watch
Slightly slow moving at times, but more interesting than the average psycho-with-an-axe horror/thriller. And the acting was fairly good for the genre.
In Her Skin (2009)
Composite rating.
Rated 5 for a slightly slow screenplay, including some scenes that frankly felt like they were only there to extend the film out to feature length. A 7 for Miranda Otto, who is always good. And a 9.0 for Ruth Bradley, a name I had never heard before, who was downright disturbingly good. The early scenes of her as a deeply depressed teenager are heartrending. And in the pivotal scene, Ms. Bradley was absolutely blood chilling. Not to be morbid, but she was so good that the movie would have been better if it had focused more time on the main character and her mental state, than the victims family.
Tracker (2010)
Under rated at 6.5.
Don't skip this base on that rating.
A powerful story with compelling character backstories. Excellent acting and direction all around. Ray Winstone is great as the quiet yet powerfully intimidating tracker. But the true gem of the final product is Temuera Morrison. His character calls for someone who is likable and relatable, yet tough as nails, while also intellectual. And Mr. Morrison pulls that combination off superbly.
Midnight Son (2011)
Better than I thought it would be.
The acting is good considering I don't recognize most of the cast. And the story is interesting. However it is a slow burn. If you are looking for thrills and jump scares this is the wrong horror movie. If you are interested in a study on the misery, loneliness and desperation of being infected with vampirism, then this is pretty good.
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Not a Credible Script
If it wasn't for the big name cast this would be rated a 4 and forgotten. The main protagonist is a wildly irresponsible detective who does everything possible to screw up an investigation. From interfering with other jurisdictions, to endangering victims, to battering suspects during an interrogation. The script became more absurd as the movie went along. I agree with another reviewer who said Freeman's character would have been unemployed, and probably even charged with one of more felonies, if this was remotely believable. This is only to remark on the script though. Not Freeman's acting, which is fine, if not his best.
The Beyond (2017)
Barely worth quarantine time
An interesting concept. But long periods of uninteresting glop, like interviewing astronaut candidates for minutes at a time, who... then play no role in the movie after that. Why? And a lot of the attempts at scientific discussion of space travel, science and medical concepts are a distracting word salad. The ending is overly preachy and poured on like a child pours syrup on breakfast.
Oculus (2013)
Better than expected
Better than expected. Like with all horror films, I went into this with mediocre expectations - which I am content with, in the horror genre. And then when I saw the plot - oh great, a haunted mirror. Like that hasn't been done a hundred times before. But...30 min in this one got good. There's is a very interesting psych story which keeps the viewer guessing about the real villain. Acting was top notch. If you like horror flicks, this is one of the better ones.