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Silly B Movie Thriller
Well from the trailer this looked like a whacky oddball thriller. Octavia Spencer is good as the creepy Ma who doesn't mind the kids partying at her place, so long as you keep to her rules. It had a bit of potential but ultimately the ending was a bit of a predictable cop out. If it had been a bit darker and shocking it could have been a lot better.
Rickey A. Mossow Jr. (689 KP) rated Ma (2019) in Movies
Aug 17, 2019
April Rose Mossow (93 KP) rated Ma (2019) in Movies
Aug 17, 2019
Abigail Breslin recommended The Help (2011) in Movies (curated)
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Ma (2019) in Movies
May 14, 2020
Ma is a relatively predictable and a would-be run of the mill horror thriller, if it wasn't for the mostly decent cast, and well realised slow build up.
Ma revolves around a group of teens inadvertently befriending a lonely older woman whilst trying to buy alcohol. The woman's sweet nature leads to her letting the teens and their friends use the basement of her house for police-free partying, and she becomes something a mother figure to them, nicknaming her 'Ma'. Things start to go a little awry when Ma becomes possessive, and a much more sinister plot unravels.
The film doesn't go full blown horror until the final act, meaning that the main chunk of runtime is a fairly slow burning thriller. It's paced pretty well for the most part, drip feeding details and hints that Ma is quite clearly unwell. It's also features flashbacks here and there, going some way to explain why she is the way she is. It's actually quite sad at times, and definitely plays the sympathy card on occasion. This wouldn't have worked nearly as well as it did without Octavia Spencer. She's the obvious highlight of the film and her friendly demeanor makes her character all the more unsettling.
The teenage characters are actually surprisingly likable as well. They're not particular fleshed out too much, and lack substance, but usually they're exclusively hateable in these kind of films.
Add in Juliette Lewis, Missy Pyles, and Luke Evans, and the cast is pretty solid.
I guess the main problem with Ma, is that's it's nothing special. It's painfully predictable at times - there's a lot of typical people-doing-obviously-dumb-shit-in-a-horror-film going on, and it's in your face enough to impact the overall movie.
It's still worth a watch though, even if it's just for Octavia Spencer.
Ma revolves around a group of teens inadvertently befriending a lonely older woman whilst trying to buy alcohol. The woman's sweet nature leads to her letting the teens and their friends use the basement of her house for police-free partying, and she becomes something a mother figure to them, nicknaming her 'Ma'. Things start to go a little awry when Ma becomes possessive, and a much more sinister plot unravels.
The film doesn't go full blown horror until the final act, meaning that the main chunk of runtime is a fairly slow burning thriller. It's paced pretty well for the most part, drip feeding details and hints that Ma is quite clearly unwell. It's also features flashbacks here and there, going some way to explain why she is the way she is. It's actually quite sad at times, and definitely plays the sympathy card on occasion. This wouldn't have worked nearly as well as it did without Octavia Spencer. She's the obvious highlight of the film and her friendly demeanor makes her character all the more unsettling.
The teenage characters are actually surprisingly likable as well. They're not particular fleshed out too much, and lack substance, but usually they're exclusively hateable in these kind of films.
Add in Juliette Lewis, Missy Pyles, and Luke Evans, and the cast is pretty solid.
I guess the main problem with Ma, is that's it's nothing special. It's painfully predictable at times - there's a lot of typical people-doing-obviously-dumb-shit-in-a-horror-film going on, and it's in your face enough to impact the overall movie.
It's still worth a watch though, even if it's just for Octavia Spencer.
Ande Thomas (69 KP) rated Ma (2019) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
There are a lot of instances where someone will complain about the whole movie being shown in the trailer and I just roll my eyes and move on. In general, I feel like it's more about how we get to the end of a story than it is about specific plot points or any twists there may be. In the case of Ma, however, I totally agree. It's not that there were any twists ruined or secrets revealed in the trailers, it's that the parts that weren't revealed were just filler. Literally nothing happened to expand on the presumptions we made about Ma. Every shocking part that would make us cringe as viewers was revealed before we even set foot in the theater. There's a good idea in here somewhere, it was just never allowed to bloom. Octavia Spencer is excellent, and I genuinely hope she takes more sinister roles from here on out. Truthfully, I can't fault any of the actors for their part. There just didn't turn out to be a whole lot to work with.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Snowpiercer (2013) in Movies
Jan 5, 2018
Interesting premise (2 more)
Fantastic visuals
Compelling
Director Joon-ho Bong brings us his vision of a post-apocalyptic world where most of humanity has been destroyed and the remaining humans are left to circle the globe in a relentless train called the Snowpiercer.
The cast is led by Chris Evans, but also features Kang-ho Song, Ed Harris, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer and Jamie Bell.
Humanity has evolved similar to what I have read about the Titanic, meaning, the lower classes at the back of the train suffering to survive and the upper classes more forward living in luxury.
There is an uprising within the squalor and the inhabitants attempt to ascertain their situation by taking the cars ahead one-by-one. The story is very interesting and the people and situations the rebels meet along their way to the engine keep you surprised.
The engine also contains an interesting character who is eluded to within the beginning of the film.
The ending was somewhat controversial when the movie was first released; however, I find it more than satisfactory to tie up the story.
Check it out for yourself.
The cast is led by Chris Evans, but also features Kang-ho Song, Ed Harris, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer and Jamie Bell.
Humanity has evolved similar to what I have read about the Titanic, meaning, the lower classes at the back of the train suffering to survive and the upper classes more forward living in luxury.
There is an uprising within the squalor and the inhabitants attempt to ascertain their situation by taking the cars ahead one-by-one. The story is very interesting and the people and situations the rebels meet along their way to the engine keep you surprised.
The engine also contains an interesting character who is eluded to within the beginning of the film.
The ending was somewhat controversial when the movie was first released; however, I find it more than satisfactory to tie up the story.
Check it out for yourself.
Disappointing
The trailer for this made it out to be a rather tense and creepy horror, however I'm afraid to say that it really falls short.
Octavia Spencer is the best thing about this film. She really knows how to play a creepy stalker type woman well - she's definitely got those crazy eyes! The rest of the cast are decent but sadly underused - Luke Evans is wasted and there's a blink and you'll miss it appearance from Alison Janney. The younger cast are surprisingly alright but are let down by the film in general.
The main problem with this film is it's severely lacking in creeps and horror until the last 20 minutes or so. You spend well over an hour waiting for what you'd expected all along. The film is bearable enough that you don't get bored, you just notice that not very much happens and then it's all over in one go. The finale is good but is also rather predictable and has some very bizarre and nonsensical actions from Ma herself. There's also a very small number of deaths in this which is rather odd considering it's been classed as a horror.
Overall this was watchable but ultimately disappointing and quite forgettable.
Octavia Spencer is the best thing about this film. She really knows how to play a creepy stalker type woman well - she's definitely got those crazy eyes! The rest of the cast are decent but sadly underused - Luke Evans is wasted and there's a blink and you'll miss it appearance from Alison Janney. The younger cast are surprisingly alright but are let down by the film in general.
The main problem with this film is it's severely lacking in creeps and horror until the last 20 minutes or so. You spend well over an hour waiting for what you'd expected all along. The film is bearable enough that you don't get bored, you just notice that not very much happens and then it's all over in one go. The finale is good but is also rather predictable and has some very bizarre and nonsensical actions from Ma herself. There's also a very small number of deaths in this which is rather odd considering it's been classed as a horror.
Overall this was watchable but ultimately disappointing and quite forgettable.