He Sees You When You're Sleeping..."Better Watch Out"

Better Watch Out (2017)

Rated R

Starring Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic, Dacre Montgomery, Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton

Directed by Chris Peckover

The Story:

Ashley (DeJonge) is coming over to babysit Luke (Miller) while his parents (Madsen & Warburton) go to a Christmas party. Luke has a serious crush on Ashley, and hopes to act on it that evening, but an apparent home invasion may dampen the mood and kill the Christmas spirit.

Sooo...

If you saw the trailer, and thought this is another entry in the horror comedy genre similar to the Netflix Original: The Babysitter and thought perhaps it's too similar of a concept, let me stop you right there.

That trailer gave away entirely too much of The Babysitter.

Better Watch Out played bait and switch, promising one movie, and delivering something much different.

While there were some amusing aspects and funny moments, Better Watch Out foregoes much of the comedy for a darker thriller that while you see much of what's coming, it's definitely not what was advertised.

Still, a fairly engaging film that keeps you guessing and second-guessing throughout until it's over, and then you still wonder if it's truly over.

For horror fans that like their Christmas horror soaked in blood, you will likely be disappointed as much of the violence is implied. Personally, that often works to the advantage for a film as the mind can often depict something so horrible, no special effects artist can even come close.

This likely won't become an annual Christmas tradition, but it might get added to the list of Halloween horror films. :)

Final Grade:  C+ / B-

Ironic Film TItle... "Joy"

Joy (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Bradley Cooper, Diane Ladd, Edgar Ramirez, Virginia Madsen, Elisabeth Rohm,

Directed by David O. Russell

The Story:

Joy (Lawrence) is a divorced mother who has allowed her ex-husband (Ramirez) to stay in the basement while dealing with a mom (Madsen) who won't leave her room, a dad (DeNiro) who tends to drive her crazy when he's not chasing after his next girlfriend. She's broke, she hates her job, and she has an idea for a mop...

I'm sorry, was I boring you?

I was totally boring myself.

This engaging true story of a woman who pulled herself up by her bootstraps could be riveting and engaging.

For me, it wasn't.

While I liked the last time that DeNiro, Lawrence, Cooper and Director David O. Russell teamed together (Silver Linings Playbook) they were interesting characters that I was invested in from just about the first time I saw them onscreen.

I wanted to see more.

Lightning did not strike twice.

Aside from DeNiro, I actually wanted to see less of just about everyone else in the first 25 minutes of watching this film.

Life is already depressing enough, and crazy family is crazy family, I really don't need to see it in all of the mundane glory.

Indeed, by the 25 minute mark (I was trying to like it, I really was) I realized I didn't want to spend the next 2 hours with this family just to get to the inevitable happy ending.

Final Grade:  D   

Mandatory Government Vaccination Program Gone Horribly Wrong..."Dead Rising: Watchtower"

Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015)

Not Rated

Starring Jesse Metcalfe, Meghan Ory, Virginia Madsen, Keegan Connor Tracy, Dennis Haysbert, Carrie Genzel, Rob Riggle,

Directed by Zach Lipovsky

The Story:

Chase (Metcalfe), a reporter for Hit Point and his camerawoman Jordan (Tracy) are trying to find a story at a quarantined city in Oregon when they uncover the fact that the government vaccine, Zombrex, isn't working. Chase gets stuck in the city with Crystal (Ory), a woman who has the virus but also has her own supply of Zombrex, and Maggie (Madsen) who just lost her daughter. They have to find a way out of the city before it is blown to bits by the Army under General Lyons (Hasbert) direction.

Video game adaptations are often hit or miss.

Luckily, if you're trying to make a film about killing zombies, the audience will often be very forgiving.

Attach the Dead Rising name to it, and craft a few crazy zombie killing weapons, and you're halfway there.

Provide it a decent script, and you're almost golden.

Thankfully, they managed to do all of that in this film.

It keeps your attention throughout and unlike certain episodes of a certain zombie show, things actually happen. :)

Add to that the hilarious interplay between a reporter (Genzel) and previous survivor (Riggle) as the outbreak drama unfolds. If only the news were allowed to be like that in real life, it would make it worth watching.

I didn't catch it when it was streaming on Crackle.com, but did check out the DVD from Netflix a few months later.  Again, I'm all for any and all of these services offering up alternatives to big studio films.

The more movies, the merrier.

Anyway, if you like zombie movies, you'll probably enjoy this one too.

I did.

Final Grade: C+

Women of a Certain Age..."The Hot Flashes"

They shoot...they miss...

The Story:

A small Texas town is facing the loss of their mobile cancer-screening mobile.  In an attempt to raise the money to keep the valuable asset operational, a group of middle-aged ladies, all former basketball champs in high school, challenge the current girls champs to a charity fund-raising event, best 2 out 3 to hopefully save the day.

But wait, there's more!

Much, much more!

In fact, too much for one movie to hope to contain.

And therein lies the problem.

Given the plot synopsis, you have the cute idea for a Breast Cancer movie of the week type of affair.  In fact, tone down the language and some of the other scenes, and this would be a perfectly serviceable comedy film with a message that could be trotted out every year as a reminder of breast cancer survivor month.

But no...

They also want to make this a message movie about generation gaps...

Mother/daughter relationships...

Marital infidelities...

Race relations...

Same sex couples...

Politics in the South...

Bullying...

And probably 4 or 5 others that I'm forgetting about.

: /

Seriously, it was too much for this one movie, and the movie never really could get its focus and tell a coherent story as there was too much distraction from the colliding mini-stories it was trying to tell.  Just when some momentum begins to roll with the movie, some subplot comes along and derails the thing.

Which is a shame, as it's a waste of a talented cast:

Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Wanda Sykes, Camryn Manheim, Virginia Madsen and Eric Roberts most notably.

As if there aren't many roles for women in their 40s/50s, then you create a story specifically for that demographic, but sadly,  it just doesn't click.

They meant well, but sometimes less is more.

This movie could have used some trimming or at least a solid vision of what it wanted to be.  Had they focused on the importance of the game to keep the breast cancer clinic open, this would have worked.

I watched it on disc, but now it is available for streaming on Netflix if you're interested.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nope, once was enough.