What Was the Last Movie You Watched?

[MMMMM...Pancakes]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 

[TheGuy]

Orphan - 6/10

Orphan has a great premise, legit scary moments but is a misfire in execution as it tailspins to cliches in the second half. The film is an exploration about loss of a child and how it drives the mother, in this case Kate, played by Vera Farmiga, and her attempts to grow from that trauma by adopting a child. It starts off great, but never coheres. Her trauma is never fully resolved as it becomes subservient to the narrative in building Esther, the film's antagonist. Tropes such as horror character from eastern Europe and mistrusting husband are present. The acting is good in many cases. Farmiga aptly portrays a grieving mother. Isabelle Fuhrman is exceptional playing an mentally disabled antisocial serial killer pretending to be kid, who in reality is an adult. Overall, Orphan is good but nothing special.

 

[joombo]

Triple Frontier on Netflix

hmmm - very average - not particularly gripping, most of the action scenes are in the trailer, dragged on a bit. Nothing new about it.
Looked great in the trailer but at best 6/10.

 

[squeekness]

Summer of 84

 

[Immortalfire]

In The Heat of the Night

 

[C. Lee]

 

[squeekness]

The Prodigy

 

[MMMMM...Pancakes]

Calum Von Moger: Unbroken

 

[blueharvest]

Wreck-It Ralph

 

[Sculder]

The Competition (2018)
Crime and Punishment (1935)

 

[NDX]

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

 

[NDX]

The Adventures Of Tintin

 

[NDX]

Ratatouille

Welp, not sleeping has allowed me to almost catch up on Animated August.

 

[squeekness]

Down a dark hall

 

[Slade W]

American Beauty (1999) 7.5/10

I still enjoyed it, but nowhere near as much as i used to (I last watched it in 2010), so i guess it hasnt aged so well for me unfortunately.

 

[Lasirius]

8/10

 

[Sculder]

Ma (2019)

 

[Rodimus]

Zombieland - 9/10

 

[Web-Head]

Wanted

 

[NDX]

The Iron Giant

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[C. Lee]

 

[blueharvest]

Ted 2

 

[TheGuy]

Split - 7/10

Impressive performances from James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy carry Split in a thrilling film about a psychopathic killer and childhood trauma.

Split revolves around two main characters, Kevin and Casey, who suffer from childhood trauma which the film explores. Kevin developed his multiple personalities to cope from abuse by his mother and loss of father. He abducts three young women which includes Marcia and Claire. The film gradually reveals that the multiple personalities are distinct and fight for each others turn on "the light". The narrative is further driven by a yet not shown 24th personality, named the Beast, who commanded the other personalities to abduct the women as his food. Casey being abducted is designed for her to grow from the trauma caused by the sexual abuse by her uncle which is revealed through flashback scenes. Another subplot is Dr. Fletcher's, played by Betty Buckley, attempt to heal Kevin.

The arc or Dr. Fletcher trying to heal Kevin bogged down the pacing which should have been strictly focused on Kevin and Casey. Scenes with an adult Casey and her uncle implying continued abuse should have been presented, not just on her childhood experiences. A clear resolution to both Kevin and Casey is not fully grasped because their trauma is different. Kevin is shown to be abused, but is not shown specifically how. For Casey, her ending should have been a proper breakup with her uncle signifying character growth. The camera work is impressive in some shots but not all. Angles are good but not the lighting which takes away some of the claustrophobic feel of the film.

Nevertheless, McAvoy and Taylor-Joy are spectacular and carry the film on acting alone. McAvoy's personality switching is fluid and shows his ability to be a chameleon. Taylor-Joy is able to portray a layered performance simultaneously dealing with sexual abuse and the possibility of reoccurring in another form.