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Lee (2222 KP) rated Max Winslow and the House of Secrets (2019) in Movies
Oct 13, 2020
Max Winslow and the House of Secrets is a family film, very much in the vein of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Maxine Winslow (Sydne Mikelle), or Max for short, is our Charlie Bucket, coming from a single-parent family and living with a mother who is struggling with debt. Tech-savvy Max is also a skilled hacker, demonstrating this by taking control of her neighbours video doorbell and making it ring so that he comes running outside. Kind of like a modern-day Knock-Down Ginger.
Max heads into school, where we’re introduced to some more teens who are set to join her later on, including a social-media obsessed girl, a boy addicted to gaming and a boy who enjoys trolling people online. As they settle down at their desks, the face of eccentric billionaire Atticus Virtue (Chad Michael Murray) takes over all of the TV screens throughout the school. He tells them that five students are to be selected to spend the night in his high tech mansion, and undertake a series of games, with the winner becoming the new owner of the mansion. When the confirmation text messages start coming through to the student phones later that day, we already know most of those that receive the big green tick on their screens, so they head off to the mansion, ready to spend the night.
Atticus himself isn’t at the mansion to greet the group. Instead, an AI named Haven (voiced by Marina Sirtis) opens the door for them, orders a takeaway delivery and gives them their instructions for the night. Basically, whoever solves the most puzzles and earns the highest score wins the mansion!
The puzzles start off ridiculously hard, with a locked door requiring a six-digit code to open, and only three attempts allowed. Max spots three jars of candy in the room and automatically decides that the total pieces of candy in each jar can be combined into a six-digit number, obviously. And you’re not supposed to think about how she managed to get them in the right order, or why the plate of cookies on the table wasn’t included in the code…
From there, the points come a lot easier for the team, such as simply putting on a pair of sunglasses(!), before turning slightly sinister as the group separates and everyone heads off on their own. Haven begins to go a little bit rogue, although with her monotone delivery of thinly veiled threats, she never really comes across as scary as I think she is meant to be. The games become a way of showing each individual the error of their ways - narcissistic Sophia is trapped in a bathroom talking to her mirror reflection, which has now turned into a nastier version of herself, while others are trapped in VR scenarios designed to show them where they’ve gone wrong in life.
It’s at this point that the movie struggles. The VR recreations are mostly dull, while other scenes utilise some pretty dodgy VFX and there’s never any real feeling of peril or threat. The young cast, for the most part, give some pretty good performances. However, with a mediocre script, none of them is really given very much to work with. Consequently, some of them, particularly the character of Max, feel a little wasted, not fleshed out enough.
While entertaining at times, Max Winslow and the House of Secrets is too scary for young children and not dramatic or scary enough for adults to really enjoy. Hopefully, though, the teen audience that this is squarely aimed at will pick up on the strong moral messages at the heart of the movie and will manage to gain some enjoyment from it.
Max heads into school, where we’re introduced to some more teens who are set to join her later on, including a social-media obsessed girl, a boy addicted to gaming and a boy who enjoys trolling people online. As they settle down at their desks, the face of eccentric billionaire Atticus Virtue (Chad Michael Murray) takes over all of the TV screens throughout the school. He tells them that five students are to be selected to spend the night in his high tech mansion, and undertake a series of games, with the winner becoming the new owner of the mansion. When the confirmation text messages start coming through to the student phones later that day, we already know most of those that receive the big green tick on their screens, so they head off to the mansion, ready to spend the night.
Atticus himself isn’t at the mansion to greet the group. Instead, an AI named Haven (voiced by Marina Sirtis) opens the door for them, orders a takeaway delivery and gives them their instructions for the night. Basically, whoever solves the most puzzles and earns the highest score wins the mansion!
The puzzles start off ridiculously hard, with a locked door requiring a six-digit code to open, and only three attempts allowed. Max spots three jars of candy in the room and automatically decides that the total pieces of candy in each jar can be combined into a six-digit number, obviously. And you’re not supposed to think about how she managed to get them in the right order, or why the plate of cookies on the table wasn’t included in the code…
From there, the points come a lot easier for the team, such as simply putting on a pair of sunglasses(!), before turning slightly sinister as the group separates and everyone heads off on their own. Haven begins to go a little bit rogue, although with her monotone delivery of thinly veiled threats, she never really comes across as scary as I think she is meant to be. The games become a way of showing each individual the error of their ways - narcissistic Sophia is trapped in a bathroom talking to her mirror reflection, which has now turned into a nastier version of herself, while others are trapped in VR scenarios designed to show them where they’ve gone wrong in life.
It’s at this point that the movie struggles. The VR recreations are mostly dull, while other scenes utilise some pretty dodgy VFX and there’s never any real feeling of peril or threat. The young cast, for the most part, give some pretty good performances. However, with a mediocre script, none of them is really given very much to work with. Consequently, some of them, particularly the character of Max, feel a little wasted, not fleshed out enough.
While entertaining at times, Max Winslow and the House of Secrets is too scary for young children and not dramatic or scary enough for adults to really enjoy. Hopefully, though, the teen audience that this is squarely aimed at will pick up on the strong moral messages at the heart of the movie and will manage to gain some enjoyment from it.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Endless (2020) in Movies
Oct 19, 2020
Alexandra Shipp's acting is OK (1 more)
The British Columbian scenary
A Ghost "Ditto" - but without the star quality
Riley (Alexandra Shipp) and Chris (Nicholas Hamilton) are teenage lovers about to be torn apart... but not in the way you think. Riley is about to turn her back on her talent for comic book art to follow her parent's wishes: to study law on the other side of the country in Georgetown. Chris is from the other side of the tracks - aren't they always in these films? - living in a one-parent family with his mother Lee (Bond-girl Famke Janssen).
But fate is about to push them even further apart as - with an advert as to why drinking, texting and driving don't mix - Chris is killed in a car crash. Tragedy - when the feeling's gone and you can't go on! Can their love for each other reach beyond death itself, and if so, at what cost?
We've been here before of course with the Demi Moore / Patrick Swayze hit "Ghost" from 1990. That was an Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg and screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin). Will "Endless" - a teen-love version - match this potential? Unfortunately, without a potter's wheel in sight, it doesn't stand a ghost of a chance.
It feels like it's not for the want of trying from the five youngsters* at the heart of the action, with Eddie Ramos and Zoë Belkin playing the lover's best friends and DeRon Horton being the limbo-trapped ghost-guide equivalent to the subway dropout from "Ghost". (* I say "youngsters", but most seem to be in their late twenties!) )
All seem to invest their energy into the project. Unfortunately, with the exception of Alexandra Shipp, the energy is not matched with great acting talent. Poor Nicholas Hamilton (the bully from "It") seems to have a particularly limited range, with his resting expression being "gormless".
None of the adult actors fair much better, with Famke Janssen being particularly unconvincing.
As I said, the exception here is Alexandra Shipp, who had a supporting role in "Love, Simon" and a more centre-stage role as "Storm" in the otherwise disappointing "X-Men: Dark Phoenix". Here she remains eminently watchable, but is hog-bound by a seriously dodgy script.
If you read my bob-the-movie-man blog regularly, you will know I reach for my flame-thrower at the appearance of voiceovers. And the start of this movie made me shudder with fear as a "tell, not show" approach was followed. It's a mild blessing that the script - by Andre Case and O'Neil Sharma - used this device purely as a slightly lazy way to set the scene and the voiceover didn't rear its ugly head again.
However, on a broader basis, the screenplay doesn't excite - predictability is its middle name - and it contains lines of dialogue that are absolute stinkers. There are whole sections of the movie that defy belief, with a police investigation in particular appearing completely incompetent. The result is that it adds neither drama or tension.
Through my career in IT I've had the great fortune to travel to a number of small cities in Canada, and all have appealed with their consistently picturesque qualities and consistently quirky individuals! Here we have the cities of Kelowna and Vernon in British Columbia playing California, and the drone cinematography (by Frank Borin and Mark Dobrescu) displays the dramatic lake-filled scenery to the full.
With so many cookie-cutter movies out there, it feels like the non-horror "Ghost" recipe (or "Heaven Can Wait" / "It's a Wonderful Life" / "A Matter of Life and Death" / delete per your preference) is well overdue for a makeover. Unfortunately, director Scott Speer's attempt just isn't good enough to fill the void. And that's a shame.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the bob-the-movie-man review here - https://rb.gy/mzq6jx . Thanks.)
But fate is about to push them even further apart as - with an advert as to why drinking, texting and driving don't mix - Chris is killed in a car crash. Tragedy - when the feeling's gone and you can't go on! Can their love for each other reach beyond death itself, and if so, at what cost?
We've been here before of course with the Demi Moore / Patrick Swayze hit "Ghost" from 1990. That was an Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg and screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin). Will "Endless" - a teen-love version - match this potential? Unfortunately, without a potter's wheel in sight, it doesn't stand a ghost of a chance.
It feels like it's not for the want of trying from the five youngsters* at the heart of the action, with Eddie Ramos and Zoë Belkin playing the lover's best friends and DeRon Horton being the limbo-trapped ghost-guide equivalent to the subway dropout from "Ghost". (* I say "youngsters", but most seem to be in their late twenties!) )
All seem to invest their energy into the project. Unfortunately, with the exception of Alexandra Shipp, the energy is not matched with great acting talent. Poor Nicholas Hamilton (the bully from "It") seems to have a particularly limited range, with his resting expression being "gormless".
None of the adult actors fair much better, with Famke Janssen being particularly unconvincing.
As I said, the exception here is Alexandra Shipp, who had a supporting role in "Love, Simon" and a more centre-stage role as "Storm" in the otherwise disappointing "X-Men: Dark Phoenix". Here she remains eminently watchable, but is hog-bound by a seriously dodgy script.
If you read my bob-the-movie-man blog regularly, you will know I reach for my flame-thrower at the appearance of voiceovers. And the start of this movie made me shudder with fear as a "tell, not show" approach was followed. It's a mild blessing that the script - by Andre Case and O'Neil Sharma - used this device purely as a slightly lazy way to set the scene and the voiceover didn't rear its ugly head again.
However, on a broader basis, the screenplay doesn't excite - predictability is its middle name - and it contains lines of dialogue that are absolute stinkers. There are whole sections of the movie that defy belief, with a police investigation in particular appearing completely incompetent. The result is that it adds neither drama or tension.
Through my career in IT I've had the great fortune to travel to a number of small cities in Canada, and all have appealed with their consistently picturesque qualities and consistently quirky individuals! Here we have the cities of Kelowna and Vernon in British Columbia playing California, and the drone cinematography (by Frank Borin and Mark Dobrescu) displays the dramatic lake-filled scenery to the full.
With so many cookie-cutter movies out there, it feels like the non-horror "Ghost" recipe (or "Heaven Can Wait" / "It's a Wonderful Life" / "A Matter of Life and Death" / delete per your preference) is well overdue for a makeover. Unfortunately, director Scott Speer's attempt just isn't good enough to fill the void. And that's a shame.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the bob-the-movie-man review here - https://rb.gy/mzq6jx . Thanks.)
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Never Look Back in Books
Sep 2, 2019
For Quentin Garrison, his podcast, entitled Closure, is truly about just that--closure. It centers on a series of murders in the 1970s committed by teens Gabriel LeRoy and April Cooper. The victims included Quentin's mother's little sister and his grandmother. As a result, Quentin has spent most of his life raised by a neglectful, drug addict mom. For Robin Diamond, a columnist, the podcast causes only confusion. When Quentin contacts her about it, asking specifically about April Cooper and tying her to Robin's own mother, Robin is bewildered. But the more she delves into the murders, the more she starts to wonder. Then there's a terrible home invasion at her parent's house, killing her father and leaving her mom unconscious. What exactly happened back in the '70s--and, now, in the home invasion?
This was an excellent thriller that had me hooked from the first page. It's dark, gritty, and utterly mesmerizing. When I started it, I was thinking to myself, not another podcast mystery, but little did I know... this book is totally addictive and brings in the podcast element in a seamless, fresh way.
It's told from the perspective of several of our main characters--particularly Robin and Quentin. We also get excerpts from a school assignment of April's when she was fifteen: letters to her future child. These slowly reveal what happened during the killings, and they are told in a spot-on voice of a fifteen-year-old girl. The way everything is woven together is perfect: I found myself completely captivated and read basically the last half of the book in one breathless setting, staying up past my bedtime to finish it.
We learn that both Gabriel and April died in a fire at the site of their last attempted murder. So when Quentin receives a tip claiming that April Cooper is still alive, it changes everything, including the focus of his podcast. When he starts to believe that Robin's mother is April, things get even more interesting. I loved the suspense--constantly wondering if April was alive and if she was, who she could be. And then, there's the aspect of was April "good" or "bad" during the killings. So many people blamed her for the deaths of their loved ones, and nothing is black or white in this book.
Even Quentin. Since his past is strongly affected by the murders, we find ourselves wondering if we can trust him, too. Quentin's grandfather basically gave up raising his daughter, Kate--Quentin's mother--after the death of his wife and young daughter. As such, Quentin's own mother wasn't much of a parent to him. Quentin's own bitterness and anger shines through--a strong theme in the book. Can we rely on someone so angry, we wonder? I felt for him, and his devoted husband and loving best friend and podcast partner. So many of the characters are intense, and each is so well-crafted and unique. Each flew off the page.
This is often a dark book, and there are many scenes of violence. But, for me, it was the emotional scenes that were the toughest to read. There are many touching moments, too, and I found myself attached to several of the characters. Reading young April's letters was quite a feat. Gaylin is such an excellent writer, and she just pulls you into the story so effortlessly--you feel as if you are there with her characters. Throw in some great twists and turns and this is an excellent and suspenseful novel.
The ending was a tough one, but I get it. Overall, I really enjoyed this dark psychological thriller. I am just loving Gaylin's recent books and need to go back and read some of her previous works (there's a little Brenna Spector shoutout in this one for those of you who are fans). Definitely recommend! 4.5 stars.
This was an excellent thriller that had me hooked from the first page. It's dark, gritty, and utterly mesmerizing. When I started it, I was thinking to myself, not another podcast mystery, but little did I know... this book is totally addictive and brings in the podcast element in a seamless, fresh way.
It's told from the perspective of several of our main characters--particularly Robin and Quentin. We also get excerpts from a school assignment of April's when she was fifteen: letters to her future child. These slowly reveal what happened during the killings, and they are told in a spot-on voice of a fifteen-year-old girl. The way everything is woven together is perfect: I found myself completely captivated and read basically the last half of the book in one breathless setting, staying up past my bedtime to finish it.
We learn that both Gabriel and April died in a fire at the site of their last attempted murder. So when Quentin receives a tip claiming that April Cooper is still alive, it changes everything, including the focus of his podcast. When he starts to believe that Robin's mother is April, things get even more interesting. I loved the suspense--constantly wondering if April was alive and if she was, who she could be. And then, there's the aspect of was April "good" or "bad" during the killings. So many people blamed her for the deaths of their loved ones, and nothing is black or white in this book.
Even Quentin. Since his past is strongly affected by the murders, we find ourselves wondering if we can trust him, too. Quentin's grandfather basically gave up raising his daughter, Kate--Quentin's mother--after the death of his wife and young daughter. As such, Quentin's own mother wasn't much of a parent to him. Quentin's own bitterness and anger shines through--a strong theme in the book. Can we rely on someone so angry, we wonder? I felt for him, and his devoted husband and loving best friend and podcast partner. So many of the characters are intense, and each is so well-crafted and unique. Each flew off the page.
This is often a dark book, and there are many scenes of violence. But, for me, it was the emotional scenes that were the toughest to read. There are many touching moments, too, and I found myself attached to several of the characters. Reading young April's letters was quite a feat. Gaylin is such an excellent writer, and she just pulls you into the story so effortlessly--you feel as if you are there with her characters. Throw in some great twists and turns and this is an excellent and suspenseful novel.
The ending was a tough one, but I get it. Overall, I really enjoyed this dark psychological thriller. I am just loving Gaylin's recent books and need to go back and read some of her previous works (there's a little Brenna Spector shoutout in this one for those of you who are fans). Definitely recommend! 4.5 stars.
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