10s Movie Review - The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Director: Desiree Akhavan
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Jennifer Ehle, Forrest Goodluck, Emily Skeggs, John Gallagher Jr.

Description: In 1993, teenage girl Cameron (Chloe Grace Moretz) is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 41: A FILM WITH CHLOE GRACE MORETZ
 
Review: Cameron Post if a teenage girl in 1993, who is gay. She lost her parents at a very young age and is now living with her aunt. Who is very conservative. When she finds out about Cameron’s love for women, she is sent to a conversion therapy center.

The film is well-made and compelling, but can sometimes drag a little bit. The emphasis is on the harmful effect on homophobia on young people and this is done very well.

The people are all portrayed in a very believable way, especially the adults who try to help, albeit in the wrong way. The cast is strong, but the chemistry between the three main actors, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck, is lacking. Their individual scenes are more powerful than the ones they have together. With that, the characters are a bit bland.

The theme of the film is strong and hits, but the characters lack chemistry and depth, which is somewhat essential in a movie like this. Because it’s a more character driven story.

Rating: 3/ 5

20s Movie Review - Underwater

Director: William Eubank
Genre: Action/ Horror
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, T.J. Miller, John Gallagher Jr. Jessica Henwick, Mamoudou Athie

Description: A group of oceanic researches working for a deep sea drilling company try to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research and drilling facility located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.  

Review: “Underwater’ gets off to a nice, quick start. It only takes a few minutes before disaster strikes: an enormous drilling platform is destroyed by and earthquake, or something similar. It is chaos, but at a depth of about eleven kilometers, in the infamous Mariana Trench. All the rescue pods have been rendered useless on the spot an communication with the surface is no longer possible. The six survivors are trapped.
Captain Lucien sees only one way to escape certain death, but his plan is quite riskyL he and his crew want to make the crossing to the nearby Roebuck base. Thus begins a walk across the ocean floor, neatly ticking off all the setbacks that come with a deep-sea mission of this caliber. From imploding diving masks to malfunctioning oxygen tanks. But there is more hiding in the dark, murky water. The film might not be the most original of its kind, but it works just fine.
Director William Eubank occasionally manages to turn this into an exciting and claustrophobic experience. He often film his heroes close to the skin, and even places the camera in the diving helmet so you see it from their perspective. Fear and panic are therefore very tangible. The evil that presents itself, gives you a H.P. Lovecraft vibe.
Actress Kristen Stewart has been trying to shake off the image of her role in the “Twilight” films and over the years she has managed to do so quite well. In this sci-fi horror she gives shape to Norah, a mechanical engineer who is not easily intimidated. She kind of reminded me of Ripley from “Alien”. And Stewart is really good in this film.
Even though the film doesn’t do a lot of new things, “Underwater” is still a pretty good film to watch. Short runtime, fast pace, exciting and scary because of the claustrophobic feel and the unknown. I recommend.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Hush

Director: Mike Flanagan
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 82 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Kate Siegel, John Gallagher jr., Samantha Sloyan, Michael Trucco, Emma Graves

Description: Deaf and mute writer Maddie (Kate Siegel) who retreated into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for het life in silence when a masked killer appears at her window.

Review: Mike Flanagan previously directed “Oculus” and later “Doctor Sleep” and the Netflix series “The Haunting of Hill House”. It’s clear that Flanagan has a preferred genre: horror/ thriller. “Hush” is a home-invasion thriller, with a twist.
Maddie is a writer who lives in a secluded house in the woods. She is deaf and mute and is trying to put her writing skills to good use. One night, she gets a visit from a psychopathic masked man. He doesn’t want to enter the house yet. He starts messing with her, playing sadistic games.
“Hush” is not necessarily original. There are tons of home-invasion movies. But since the protagonist has the disadvantage of being both deaf and mute, it turns into a completely different kind of film. Sometimes we ‘hear’ what Maddie hears, we get to feel what she feels when the perspectives change and we experience the evens how Maddie is. “Hush” is also not heavy on the jump scares, but plays with them. Often you expect something to happen, a cheap jump scare, but it doesn’t. And that’s a breath of fresh air.
The acting is really good. Kate Siegel is very solid as Maggie and she really carries this film. And the movie is very well directed and shot. Since the film only takes place in one location, you have to stay inventive. And that’s what Flanagan does. And the fairly short runtime is perfect.
“Hush” is a strong thrill ride, a good thriller/ horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A hidden gem on Netflix.

Rating: 4 / 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 - # 146: Short Term 12

Director: Destin Cretton

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 96 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Bearitz, Rami Malek, Alex Calloway, Kevin Hernandez, Lydia Du Veaux, Keith Stanfield, Frantz Turner, Diana Maria Riva, Harold Cannon, Silvia Curiel, Melora Walters, Bran’dee Allen, Danny Roper, Elyssa Gutierrez, Garryson Zamora, Michael Marto, Patricia Barrett, Tanya Marie A. Bitanga, Zoe Wilkens, Angel Amaral

Description: A 20-something supervising staff member (Brie Larson)of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend (John Gallagher Jr.).

Review: Grace (Brie Larson) works in a shelter for teens. Short Term 12, which is the name of the shelter, is a safe haven for the teens as well as for Grace. Grace lives for the young adults and takes care of them with enthusiasm and heart. But she is also haunted by an awful past. When Grace finds out she is pregnant and a new girl enters the shelter, it brings her back to her own past. Like the teens, Grace has to face it.

“Short Term 12” feels so real. The characters are realistic and in a short period of time director Destin Cretton lets us get to know the main characters very well. The acting is very natural and convincing, both the adults as the teens.

It’s amazing that this is the directorial debut for Cretton and actress Brie Larson is on her way up. “Short Term 12” is an overlooked film and it should get more praise. For a small Indie film, “Short Term 12” can easily outshine many big blockbusters. I loved this movie!

Rating: 5/ 5