Here are some mini-reviews in what was mostly a dumping ground of lousy January movies.
Flight Risk has a terrible script with some of the worst editing you’ll see in any feature film.
Having said all of that, this movie is way more fun than it has any right to be.
Mark Wahlberg is pretty great as a villain.
I wish he’d play bad guys more often (remember how good he was in Fear).
My biggest issue with the movie isn’t the lazy editing or screenplay.
It’s that we don’t get enough Wahlberg who spends half of the movie incapicated.
Topher Grace and Michelle Dockery do exactly what you’d expect.
It’s a campy, silly movie and all of the actors buy into it.
This is a great movie to watch with the guys and have a good laugh.
It’s a terrible movie to watch if you’re looking for something that isn’t lazy or stupid.
Presence is fantastic with a simple premise: a haunted house movie from the perspective of the ghost.
Director Steven Soderbergh tries a lot of stuff but when it hits, it really hits.
But you could only have a movie like this work if you care about the people involved.
I found myself caring about this family quite a bit.
Compare this to Here, the horrible Robert Zemeckis movie that takes place in a single room.
Nothing in that movie mattered because you didn’t give a shit about the people involved.
The performances here are solid enough.
I especially liked Chris Sullivan (the dad) and Callina Liang (the daughter).
Inheritance was shot entirely with an iPhone.
But unlike Presence, this gimmick doesn’t work.
The problem is you’ve seen a hundred spy movies just like this.
The script and plot points couldn’t be more boilerplate if they tried.
Burger must think that the iPhone spin is enough to differentiate it, but it’s not.
If anything, it makes the movie worse.
For some reason, every shot ends with a close up of Phoebe Dynevor’s (Bridgerton) face.
That rawness of being shot entirely with an iPhone also means that Inheritance’s weaknesses have nowhere to hide.
Brave The Dark is made by Angel Studios which typically tries to release more inspirational movies.
I just found it very uncomfortable.
This high school teacher takes in a student to live with him and everyone is fine with it?
I don’t understand Jared Harris' performance here.
He was really good in Mad Men and Chernobyl.
The movie just feels odd and creepy.
I may just be too cynical for the intended audience.
This had a message before the movie saying it was “approved by the Angel Guild”.
I guess the Angel Guild doesn’t give a shit about editing because this movie was very sloppily done.
Presence: B+
Flight Risk: C+
Inheritance: C-
Brave The Dark: D
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One Of Them Days
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Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera
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Brave The Dark
8.
