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FredHowe651
Reviews
Stripped (2013)
Amateurish and awful!!!
Another god-awful camcorder horror movie, this time about four annoying twenty-somethings who go to Vegas as a 21st birthday celebration. One naturally has a camcorder and records everything. As is pretty much always the case with camcorder horror films the characters can't ever seem to stop talking even though they never have anything interesting to say. The endless chatter grows old fast and you want them to get killed just so they will shut up. Once the friends drive to the remote location where they will be killed off by strippers there is no logical reason to continue the camcorder gimmick so the movie switches to an equally annoying surveillance camera gimmick with some shaky hand-held camera work thrown in for no good reason since nobody is using the camcorder anymore. It's probable that the murderous strippers are hot but the movie is so poorly shot and lit that it's hard to tell for sure. Stripped has no gore or suspense and nudity that you can barely see. It's a thoroughly inept mess that nobody should waste 80 minutes of their time on.
Mama (2013)
Good solid horror effort
Good acting, a monster that I don't see too little, good effects, and a story I can get into. This movie is nothing epic, but it's a horror movie that "works."
First time feature director Andrés Muschietti does a solid job with atmosphere and "creepy." The story gets moving when two orphaned girls are discovered in an abandoned cabin in the woods after five years somehow surviving on their own (now they're about 9 and 7 years old). Their eyes are cold and scared yet somehow predatory, their hair and skin far beyond wildly filthy, and their movement is so unnatural that it reminds me more of a Silent Hill monster than an animal.
Much to my surprise, the maternal poltergeist Mama was not a kept mystery. Mama, her appearance, what she's capable of and her relationship with the girls are all presented to us right away. So when the feral Victoria and Lilly are taken in by uncle Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel, the movie doesn't rely on us wondering when Mama will pop up and reign terror on the new foster parents. Instead we watch the girls maintain a secret relationship with Mama while remaining emotionally distant from Lucas and Annabel.
But once their child psychologist and the new parents catch on to Mama's presence, simply a psychological manifestation or even a home invader by their perception, Mama feels threatened. And once the girls begin to open up to the doctor or feel affection for their new parents, Mama gets angry!
What's interesting is how this movie has such a simple story with one simple revelation toward its end, no red herrings and no real surprises, yet, it really works. I thought they had some trouble making the finale at the end come together, actually I thought it was too drawn out, but overall I was very pleased with this movie.
We start out feeling edgy about the girls, and as they normalise we start feeling edgy about Mama. And Mama is worth feeling edgy about. She looks quite contorted, distorted and disturbing. I felt continuously worried about what this apparition was going to do next, and the pace of the movie never disappoints.
I feel like we've been trained to find terrible acting to be totally acceptable when it comes to horror. But Mama's cast features nothing but competency and a few pleasant surprises. Of course, no one should be shocked that Jessica Chastain pulled off the stand-offish girlfriend turned hesitant parent.
Definitely would recommend this if you like horror films.
The Croods (2013)
Better than I anticipated
The Croods is a story about one of the last surviving prehistoric families that embark on a road trip looking for a new cave when their old cave is destroyed as the earth is going through many dramatic changes. If that wasn't enough for the Crood family to deal with, there is the father/daughter struggles throughout the storyline that any parent can relate to if they have had teenagers, especially daughters.
When the Croods daughter, Eep, can't understand her Dad's mentality that "fear is good; change is bad" and having to live by his number one rule "never leave the cave" she starts to rebel and pushes the boundaries set by her Dad, the over-protective, Grug. One of the characters I got a kick out of was Gran who is their wisecracking grandma who Grug is constantly hoping that she won't make it through their daily challenges. The rest of the Crood family includes Mom, younger brother and baby sister which are more or less "extras" to round out the family dynamic. On their journey to find a new cave, they meet Guy who has evolved a lot further then the Croods with his ability to make fire and shoes and his pet sloth who doubles as Guy's utility belt. Together they join in their journey in finding a new place to live, which Eep is desperately hoping won't be another cave.
I will admit that there were several moments that the movie was very predictable and the story line could have been a bit better. However, overall the movie was better than I thought it would be and would suggest seeing it.
Oblivion (2013)
Very good Sci-Fi Movie
Oblivion is a refreshing addition to the Sci-Fi realm. The story is fantastic and it's backed by a great cast. This film was way better than I expected going in. It features some of the best visual effects I have seen in a long time, but it doesn't sacrifice character development or a good story in the process. Oblivion feels like a much more complete movie than the director's last effort, Tron: Legacy, which was pretty much just eye candy. The musical score is also a thing of beauty.
Tom Cruise, who is a heartthrob to me, can more than hold his own on screen. Morgan Freeman is always good, even in a tiny role like this. The two female leads also do a good job.
The story does get a little confusing from time to time and some of the twists were a bit obvious, but all in all a great viewing experience. I will surely be adding this one to my blu-ray collection. I highly recommend this one for Sci-Fi fans.