00s Movie Review - Final Destination 3

Director: James Wong
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Amanda Crew, Alexz Johnson, Texas Battle, Jesse Moss, Chelan Simmons, Sam Easton, Gina Holden, Crystal Lowe, Maggie Ma

Description: Six years after students cheated death, another teen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition she and het friend will be involved in an accident. When the vison proves true, the student and survivors deal with the repercussions of cheating the Grim Reaper.

Review: What should have been a fun night at an amusement park turns into a disaster when Wendy has a vision of a terrible rollercoaster accident. Through her panic, she manages to convince her friends not to go on the roller coaster. Then the vision turns out to be true. Wendy and her friends seem to have escaped death, but when the survivors subsequently meet their end one by one in dubious ways, a race against time begins. If Wendy is to survive, she will have to stop the deadly chain reaction in time. She will have to do everything in her power to outsmart Death.
The films in the “Final Destination” series have a set formula: the protagonist receives a vision of a deadly vision that is about to take place and then prevents a group of people from falling into the accident in question. But there is no escape from fate and so the main characters end up one by one in an unusual and gruesome way. The third part in this series also fully complies with this formula. In principle, there is little wrong with that. In the first and second part there was at least an explanation and solution for the why-do-they-die phenomenon and there was a strong link between the two parts. But in “Final Destination 3” all this is only minimally present. In terms of story, then, we expected a bit more, especially since this third installment marks the return of original creators Glen Morgan and James Wong, to writing and directing. The only new element is the photo gimmick. The movie obviously doesn’t rely on a strong story full of surprising twists and well-crafted characters. It does have, which happens to be the fact for most of the films in this series, some really original death scenes.
“Final Destination 3” is a standard sequel following the fixed formula. But it’s still an entertaining movie wit lots of original death traps.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Review - Birds of Prey

Director: Cathy Yan
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ewan McGregor, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong

Description: After splitter with the Joker, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) joins superheroes Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to save a young girl (Ella Jay Basco) from an evil crime lord.

Review: We met crazy anti-hero Harley Quinn in the essemble film “Suicide Squad”. Margot Robbie, as Harley Quinn, was the one that made this film better. And we all looked forward to seeing a movie about Harley. Again, Robbie is what makes “Birds of Prey” worth watching. But this is not a Birds of Prey movie, it’s a Harley Quinn movie.
In an animated intro we see some history on Harley, who was born as Harleen Quinzel. We see how she grew up with nuns and didn’t have a great childhood. Still she manages to go to college and become a pshychiatrist at Gotham City’s Arkham Asylum. That’s where she fell in love with the Joker, who dragged her to the dark side.
Back to the here and now. Harley Quinn broke up with her Joker. And there isn’t a lot of time to let that rest. Quinn has made a lot of enemies along the way and police detective Renee Montoya is also breathing down he neck.
“Birds of Prey” is not a standard origin story, of how the group got together. Because as I stated before, this movie is mostly about Harley Quinn. They get together and work together almost at the end of the movie. We are introduced to the other characters, through narration by Quinn and flashbacks. But any other characters beside Quinn don’t get that much attention. Their development is rather seen through lightning-quick flashbacks and don’t get too much depth. For instance, the main villain Black Mask, is an evil man, he is more evil then Quinn and her companions. But there is hardly any backstory.
I like Quinn narrating the story, sometimes even breaking the fourth wall, but it happens very often that Quinn stops in the middle of her story and goes back in time with a flashback. It sometimes takes some time for the film to get back to the original story, which makes the film a bit messy at times.
Despite the profusion of madness and witty dialogues and one-liners, “Birds of Prey” excels with its action and fight scenes. They don’t only pop off the screen visually, but are also very original.
“Birds of Prey” is slightly better than “Suicide Squad”. Its power is in leading lady Margot Robbie and the amazing action sequences. That is enough reason to watch this film. But character-wise and story wise it is lacking substance.

Rating: 3/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Hollars

Director: John Krasinski
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick, Margo Martindale, Sharlto Copley, Richard Jenkins, Randall Park, Josh Groban, Charlie Day, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Description: John (John Krasinski) returns to his small hometown after learning that his mother has fallen ill and is about to undergo surgery.

Review: In “The Hollars” we meet John Hollar, who returns to his family home after his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor. His pregnant girlfriend stays ack in New York. When he comes home, he walks into his ex-girlfriend and has to face the trouble he has with his brother and father.
The film shows the life of an everyday family, each member with their own problems. Because the family isn’t extremely rich and maybe even closer to being poor, people can easily identify with them. The problems the Hollar family is dealing with, are ones that we can have and it makes the film realistic.
Although the film touches a very heavy theme, the humor is still there. Very dry humor, just how I like it. In the 80 minute runtime, we see a lot of different emotions. It’s not a lame comedy, it is in balance with the drama. But never gets to sobby (even though I cried).
The acting is great. John Krasinksi, who also directs this film, takes on the lead and does a wonderful job. I’ve always loved Krasinski and roles like this are perfect for him. The same goes for Anna Kendrick. Richard Jenkins and Sharlto Copley are fantastic as well, ad John father and brother. But it’s Margo Martindale that steals the show. She is so amazing. And with all this star power, I don’t understand why this film was so overlooked.
The story doesn’t follow the standard paths and it has some surprising moments. The storyline of John’s ex-girlfriend is added, but it could have been left out. At least the moments between John and her. The ones between John and Gwen’s new husband are fun.
This is the genre I love the most, a good mix of drama and comedy. And it was very well executed. I really loved “The Hollars”.

Rating: 4 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 157: Black Christmas

Director: Glen Morgan
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 84 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert, Andrea Martin, Oliver Hudson, Kristen Cloke, Crystal Lowe, Karin Konoval, Dean Friss, Robert Mann, Jessica Harmon, Leela Savasta, Kathleen Kole, Cainan Wiebe

Description: An escaped maniac returns to his childhood home on Christmas Eve, which is now a sorority house, and begins to murder the sorority sisters one by one.

Review: When he was younger, Billy killed his family. Now he is improisoned and tries to escape every year around Christmas. His goal is to return to his childhood home and celebrate Christmas there. He never managed to escape, until this Christmas. The house Billy used to live, now belongs to a sorority. The girls celebrate Christmas there, when all of a sudden they receive strange phone calls. From Billy, who warns the students he is going to kill them.
“Black Christmas” is a remake of the 1974 horror classic. The runtime of this film is short, which is perfect for a film like this. The story starts immediately and the tempo is high. But this also has a down side. The characters are very one dimensional, even the killer. You really don’t care who lives or dies, in fact almost every girl in this sorority house is unlikeable. And when they die, they die in the same way. No originality there.
“Black Christmas” is a disposable and forgettable horror flick.

Rating: 1,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 101: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., Bradley Cooper, Suzanne Cryer

Description: After getting in a car accident, a woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is held in a shelter with two men (John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.), who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack.

Review: If there is one filmmaker that knows how to keep a secret, it’s J.J. Abrams. Look at “Cloverfield” which came out in 2008. Eight years later there is “10 Cloverfield Lane”, a movie no one saw coming. Only two months before the movie was released, the mysterious trailer appeared on the internet. Three people are seeking shelter in an underground room. More you don’t want to know before seeing the film.
Dan Trachtenberg is the director and this is his directorial debut. He mixes claustrophobic suspense with a little bit of humor and a story that gets you curious. The shelter is filled with canned food, outdated boardgames, old videotapes, a jukebox and magazines.
Of the three actors, who are all very good, its John Goodman that steals the show. And the scenes in the shelter are all great. It’s afterwords, when one of the characters leaves the shelter, when it gets a little less surprising. Because the title already suggests that the film is set in the same universe as “Cloverfield”, you already kinda know what’s going on outside the shelter. This sort of spoils it all a little bit. That doesn’t make this movie bad, because it’s ana excellent film. Very different from “Cloverfield”, because it’s more of a psychological thriller mostly set in one room.
“10 Cloverfield Lane” is not as surprising as the trailer let us think. It is a first class suspense film, with humor and great performances by the three leads.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 120: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Director: Edgar Wright

Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Adventure/ Romance/ Fantasy

Runtime: 112 minutes

Year: 2010

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brandon Routh, Alison Pill, Jason Schwartzman, Ellen Wong, Mark Webber, Mae Whitman, Aubrey Plaza, Brie Larson

Description: Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must defeat his new girlfriend's (mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

Review: When you manage to debut with “Shaun of the Dead” and then come with “Hot Fuzz” as your follow up, the pressure is big for a third film. With “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” director Edgar Wright showed again his comedic talent, but this time combined with fantasy. The first time a big budget film and he succeeds.

It’s a setting where comic books, videogames and guitar music rule. It’s all very surrealistic and the playful setting are a real treat. It’s not your standard comic book adaptation.

Scott meets Ramona, a girl he saw in his dreams. He wants to win her over, but first has to beat her seven evil exes. They can literally appear everywhere and this gives us some real great action fighting scenes. All very original and a great style.

The movie is filled with references, to videogames, music, movies and television shows. It will especially speak to teenagers and twenty somethings. You sometimes do feel that towards the end it’s a bit rushed, because so much goes on in the film.

“Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” is entertaining and it looks amazing. Edgar Wright succeeds in his first American production.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 96: A.C.O.D.

Director: Stu Zicherman

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 90 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Jane Lynch, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jessica Alba

Description: Carter (Adam Scott) is a grown man caught in the crossfire of his parents' 15-year divorce discovers he was unknowingly part of a study on divorced children and is enlisted in a follow-up years later, which wreaks new havoc on his family.

Review: In America the chance of a marriage ending is fifty percent. At least that’s what the beginning of this movie tells us. A.C.O.D. stands for Adult Children of Divorce and the successful Carter is the classic example of that. Always the mediator between his parents, trying to get their approval and always insecure. Then he discovers a book written by a child psychologist, and he is one of the subjects. When Carter’s brother is getting married, he needs his parents to act civil around each other.

Carter’s personality crisis is told in a light fashion and is never dull. This is director Stu Zicherman’s debut film and scenarist Ben Karlin wrote episodes of “Modern Family”. Together they manage to get some good jokes and funny dialogues. Adam Scott fulfills his leading role very well, but it’s his on screen parents Richard Jenkins and Catherine O’Hara that give “A.C.O.D.” the living color. And also Jane Lynch, as psychologist Dr. Judith, steals the show.

There is a good balance between comedy and drama, but towards the end it’s losing that balance. It gets more serious and is trying to go a bit deeper. The humor doesn’t have the edge like a satire, so it doesn’t work.

“A.C.O.D.” is an enjoyable film, a pretty good debut by Stu Zicherman. Sadly it didn’t manage to keep that same level the entire runtime, but it’s still a fun film.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 30: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Fantasy
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie

Description: Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker), the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.

Review: The title says it all, former president of the USA Abraham Lincoln is going to slay vampires. This completely insane concept is based on the bestseller written by Seth Grahame-Smith. Director Timur Bekmambetov knows how to make it into a good movie. The movie starts with a scene where a young Abe sees his mother get killed by a vampire. When he grows up he meets Henry Sturgess, who teaches him how to become a vampire hunter.
The filmmakers take the strange story very seriously and that works surprisingly well. Although it’s sometimes over-the-top, the scenes are very authentic and the film is very surprising and gives you some big scares. Especially the scene where Abe is fighting vampires on top of a train is fantastic. Eighty percent of its runtime this movie manages to burst of energy, but the visuals are always 100%.
The cast is also a strong point, because there is not one black sheep. It’s a solid line-up, without any ‘big’ names. “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” is a joy to watch and it succeeds in turning the bestselling book into a movie.

Rating: 3,5/ 5