Reviews

If you have read the novel, you would see that the story itself is simply too grand and intricate for a 2-hour movie to do it justice. A mimi-series would have been a better option. I understand that the director must have made her best efforts making the most of the original plot, but the head-scratching omission of some original plots (all cellar sequences, Tom's backstory and expeditions, etc) and addition of typical Hollywood tropes are truly too hard to stomach for someone who has been deeply devoted to the book, despite Bullock's outstanding performance.

I've long been hearing people raving about how refreshing The Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind is, and how unjustifiable it is that Jim Carrey didn't receive a Oscar nom for his outstanding performance in it, so I was really excited to check this one out (after all these years!!!). And I have to say the hype is well deserved. The Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind centers around an estranged couple's decisions to erase their respective memories of each other. this movie has a very unique/surreal approach of arranging sequences, with the bulk of the plot unraveling in a dreamlike state, which is a considerable divergence away from Jim Carrey's previous slapstick efforts. We see him reflecting on his memories of Clementine (Kate Winslet) in an almost melancholy undertone. He proved yet again, after his stellar performance in The Truman Show, his acting talents, as well as The Academy's biases against comedians. That being said, this movie is far from perfection. For me the subplot of Kristen Dunst and Tom Wilkinson could be further explored, as it accords with the theme of this movie. And the placement of the opening sequence may be a tad questionable. But who cares? at the end of the day The Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind is without a doubt one of Jim Carrey's finest works and will be remembered and revered for years to come.

Having read the original novel, I rushed to this movie with high expectations, and the end result is hit and miss for me.

First off, there are several noticeable, if not substantial, plot changes, compared to the book, which may be a bummer if you are keen on the faithfulness of cinematic adaptation. Personally I was not particularly bothered, however, I did find the pace of this movie to be rather rushed, which is understandable, considering the run time is merely 100 minutes or so. I think the genius of the original book definitely warrants the length of a TV-series to do it justice on the big screen, as the book is relatively long, to say the least.

Having said that, I have to commend the filmmakers for accurately recapturing the nuances of the flavor of the novel, which was why so many people gravitated towards John Dies at the End in the first place. The choices of which parts to keep and which parts to ditch were overall well thought out; The humors were there, with dick jokes galore in the book deliberately toned down a notch to achieve a perfect balance; the gore effects were top notch enough to get your blood pumping; and the acting is actually quite decent, especially Molly, or as in this movie, Bark Lee, who gave a very believable performance.

In a nutshell, the movie version of John Dies at the End is guaranteed to be a joy ride, as long as you look past the faithfulness issues.

The Disaster Artist is for me James Franco's wisest career move so far. The Room has been dubbed one of the most iconic cult classics of the 2000s and beyond, and it takes more than guts and demanding acting skills to pull off a biography movie about it. Yet James Franco, along with his brother Dave Franco, executed this task perfectly.

The Disaster Artist comprises of all that you would crave to know after watching The Room: how director Tommy Wiseau ended up teaming with leading actor Greg Sestero; the juicy dramas on and off set; and most importantly, who is Tommy Wiseau exactly. This movie, a faithful adaptation of Greg Sestero's 2013 biographic novel, puts an end to all of these questions, while at the same recreating those memorable scenes off The Room.

Having said that, the most memorable facet of The Disaster Artist goes to James Franco's jaw-droppingly accurate representation of the legendary Tommy Wiseau. In some scenes I barely recognized him and even thought Wiseau had just made a cameo. That's how good James was. Oscar-worthy to say the least.

In short, if you are a big fan of The Room, just give The Disaster Artist a try. Or, just watch these two movies in a roll, and enjoy the ultimate fun trip.

I wasn't privy to the existence of this so called "cult classic" until the proliferation of YouTube reaction videos and James Franco's biography movie about it. After dozing off multiple times during its 90-minute run time, I powered through this chore with no aftertastes whatsoever. The Metacritic score pretty much sums it all up: 9 out of 100, which establishes The Room as one of the lowest scored movies ever, and I have to agree with critics this time around.

Is this movie any fun? A few chuckles admittedly, primarily from the leading actor/director/writer Tommy Wiseau's monotone acting/delivery, plus that gif-worthy line "You're tearing me apart Lisa!" Nevertheless, these moments are too inadequate to make up for long sequences of mind-numbing dialogues and confounding interactions galore in this movie. If you're bent on watching this out of curiosity, or merely to better understand James Franco's The Disaster Artist, I suggest you fast forward through it within 5 minutes so as to save your precious time.

I dived into this movie without any anticipation, only to be impressed by its innate power.

Personal Shopper centers around the protagonist's endeavors to communicate with her deceased twin brother in Paris where he passed away. As a horror feature, it dutifully provides substantial scares throughout. One scene in particular features the popping-ups of menacing text messages, which is arguably the most intense sequence of any horror production this year.

On top of that, I was thoroughly blown away by the scenery of this film. Set in Paris, Personal Shopper abounds with French elements, be it the language, the architecture or culture, which is a feast for the eyes and ears, and a good balance of the unsettling happenings in the movie. Plus, I love the director's subtle jab at materialism, which is hinted at multiple times throughout this movie.

Most importantly, Kristen Stewart's acting skills are the true cherry on top of this already immaculate gem. She has segued from a blockbuster fixture to the indie it girl over the past few years, and I have to admit she's made a clever career move.

In short, Personal Shopper is an Euro arty thriller with a captivating story, effective scares, top notch acting as well as messages (no pun intended). Definitely one of the better horror efforts of 2017.

Spain has proved its aptitude for found footage films with magnum opus such as the REC franchise. This time it didn't disappoint, either.

Atrocious is centered on a pair of siblings who are bent on uncovering the secrets behind the weird happenings around their family's vacation home. Admittedly it lacks the gore factors and intense action sequences representative of the REC franchise, and instead focuses on a more mundane approach. Yet, the end result is arguably as hair-raising as, if not more thrilling than, its precursor. The location of the vacation house is so well-chosen that its creepiness and isolatedness add to the scare factors of this movie. Those two actors playing the siblings gave believable performances as a real-life brother and sister duo whose curiosities may get way out of hand. And to top it all off, the most outstanding selling point of Atrocious lies within its final reveal, which I'm fairly sure is nearly impossible for most viewers to figure out beforehand, and which I guarantee will scramble most viewers' minds on a spiritual level.

As to the grivance that the woods scenes stretch too long, I would say different strokes for different folks. For me it was right up my alley. I was practially at the edge of my seat as those sequences unfolded, biting my nails worrying about anything sinister should jump out at any moment. Plus they definitely add to the "realness" of those "found footages".

In a nutshell, Atrocious is another found footage masterpiece put together by talented Spanish filmmakers and I recommend anyone interested in this sub-genre give it a try.