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With a Kiss I Die
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Will the kiss of death claim Romeo and Juliet―and Sully―before opening night? When Edwina...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated A Haunting In Cawdor (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The psychological thriller is another genre that seems to have taken a ‘back seat’ to the big budget action films, horror, and comedies in recent years. Or if there were any good psychological thrillers to hit the theater or the internet I either didn’t hear about them or they didn’t really make much of an impact. Personally when I think of that genre the first name to come to mind is Alfred Hitchcook. I’m sure if I sat down and thought about it, I could think of a movie that falls into that category I’ve seen since then but I don’t have that kind of time. What I do have time for is to tell you about a movie that is certainly a step in the right direction.
Uncork’ed Entertainment’s ‘A Haunting In Cawdor’ available March 11th, is written and directed by Phil Wurtzel and revisits this genre of film with an impressive cast in attempt to breathe new life into psychological terror. Vivian Miller (Shelby Young of American Horror Story) is a young troubled woman who is serving out her jail sentence along with a group of convicts with a work release program in a small Midwestern town. Specifically, at the Cawdor Barn Theater. A rundown seasonal summer run by Lawrence O’Neil (Cary Elwes of A Princess Bride and The X-Files) a failed Broadway director who has taken it upon himself to stage amateur productions with young parolees.
It doesn’t take long once the movie starts for the quote ‘madness’ to begin. The moment Vivian sets foot in town, she starts to hallucinate. A local boy Roddy (Michael Welch of The Twilight Saga, Z Nation, Scandal) takes an immediate interest in her but disappears shortly thereafter. Once the group arrives at the theater they are told that along with helping with the theater’s upkeep part of the group’s probation is to put on a stage production of William Shakespeare’s ‘MacBeth’ which has not been performed at the theater in 15 years. While the everyone is preparing to upgrade the theater and rehearse for the play Vivian finds an old VHS cassette with a recording of the theater’s last performance of ‘MacBeth’. As it turns out the young girl that was cast in the lead for that performance Jeanette (Alexandria Deberry), the same role Vivian has been cast in, was found dead not long after and upon viewing the tape unintentionally releases an evil force that has some sort of connection to Lawrence who has begun to act superstitiously. At first Vivian tries to write these instances off as hallucinations brought about by her own personal demons and a lack of medication which her psychiatrist Dr. Lazarus (Peter Floch) readily agrees with. Things take an even more otherworldly turn though when the spirit of the dead girl begins to communicate with Vivian through the tape and the mystery surrounding her death and that of her mysterious admirer Roddy and his connection to Lawrence and the play all converge just days before the play.
This film is definitely the kind of thing you’d want to watch in the dark and preferably on a stormy night as well. You had a great cast composed of veterans and up-and-comers combined with a basic premise. The movie did seem to lack something though. There was very little regarding the interpersonal relationships between the characters in the movie and how they got along with one another. Mostly just a few scenes of the group presumably drinking alcohol which they were not supposed to have to begin with. There was also the fact that you learn Vivian’s crime but not why she did it and they continually poke at the subject in the brief flashbacks. There were also the ending of the film which, after the grand finale, makes no sense whatsoever. There’s no resolution and not in the sense that it was written that way purposely. There were a few directions the movie could’ve explored in that hour and 40 minutes but didn’t which would added more to the film. It could almost be compared to having a bunch of people run every path in a maze except the one path that would lead you out of it.
The one thing that saved the film was the cast and their performances. I can give this film 2 1/2 stars because of that. It’s worth watching once for that aspect alone.
Uncork’ed Entertainment’s ‘A Haunting In Cawdor’ available March 11th, is written and directed by Phil Wurtzel and revisits this genre of film with an impressive cast in attempt to breathe new life into psychological terror. Vivian Miller (Shelby Young of American Horror Story) is a young troubled woman who is serving out her jail sentence along with a group of convicts with a work release program in a small Midwestern town. Specifically, at the Cawdor Barn Theater. A rundown seasonal summer run by Lawrence O’Neil (Cary Elwes of A Princess Bride and The X-Files) a failed Broadway director who has taken it upon himself to stage amateur productions with young parolees.
It doesn’t take long once the movie starts for the quote ‘madness’ to begin. The moment Vivian sets foot in town, she starts to hallucinate. A local boy Roddy (Michael Welch of The Twilight Saga, Z Nation, Scandal) takes an immediate interest in her but disappears shortly thereafter. Once the group arrives at the theater they are told that along with helping with the theater’s upkeep part of the group’s probation is to put on a stage production of William Shakespeare’s ‘MacBeth’ which has not been performed at the theater in 15 years. While the everyone is preparing to upgrade the theater and rehearse for the play Vivian finds an old VHS cassette with a recording of the theater’s last performance of ‘MacBeth’. As it turns out the young girl that was cast in the lead for that performance Jeanette (Alexandria Deberry), the same role Vivian has been cast in, was found dead not long after and upon viewing the tape unintentionally releases an evil force that has some sort of connection to Lawrence who has begun to act superstitiously. At first Vivian tries to write these instances off as hallucinations brought about by her own personal demons and a lack of medication which her psychiatrist Dr. Lazarus (Peter Floch) readily agrees with. Things take an even more otherworldly turn though when the spirit of the dead girl begins to communicate with Vivian through the tape and the mystery surrounding her death and that of her mysterious admirer Roddy and his connection to Lawrence and the play all converge just days before the play.
This film is definitely the kind of thing you’d want to watch in the dark and preferably on a stormy night as well. You had a great cast composed of veterans and up-and-comers combined with a basic premise. The movie did seem to lack something though. There was very little regarding the interpersonal relationships between the characters in the movie and how they got along with one another. Mostly just a few scenes of the group presumably drinking alcohol which they were not supposed to have to begin with. There was also the fact that you learn Vivian’s crime but not why she did it and they continually poke at the subject in the brief flashbacks. There were also the ending of the film which, after the grand finale, makes no sense whatsoever. There’s no resolution and not in the sense that it was written that way purposely. There were a few directions the movie could’ve explored in that hour and 40 minutes but didn’t which would added more to the film. It could almost be compared to having a bunch of people run every path in a maze except the one path that would lead you out of it.
The one thing that saved the film was the cast and their performances. I can give this film 2 1/2 stars because of that. It’s worth watching once for that aspect alone.
Susan (45 KP) rated The Dark Knight (2008) in Movies
Jun 29, 2017
Heath Ledger as the Joker.... amazing! Dark, twisted, hilarious, wonderful depth to the character, no one could have done it better. (2 more)
It has everything you want in a movie..drama, suspense, romance, explosions, bank robberies and so much more
Brilliant casting..Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Morgan Freeman!
Why So Serious Son? Best Joker ever!
I wasn't expecting to like this movie as I'm not really a big Batman/superhero fan. However, I took my son to see it in the theater and was instantly enthralled by Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. The rest is history! I can (and have) watched this over and over again and I can only say that about a handful of movies. Quoting the Joker's lines became a thing in my home for months after we saw it.
"Y’see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little…push."
"Y’see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little…push."
Mothergamer (1546 KP) rated Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) in Movies
Apr 3, 2019
Ron and I went to see this movie tonight with our buddy Jay. I had high expectations for it, and I was not disappointed. From the opening credits until the very end, the film is filled with great attention grabbing comic style fight scenes, along with a brilliant soundtrack to back it up. Another factor that made the film such a fun ride was the cast. It was clear that they had fun making the film and reveled in the roles they played. Michael Cera was great, but Kieran Culkin definitely stole the show as Wallace.
The movie is in the spirit of fun and it delivers in a humorous and entertaining way that's smart and doesn't take itself too seriously. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a movie that is worth paying for to see in the theater and you should go see it if you haven't already.
The movie is in the spirit of fun and it delivers in a humorous and entertaining way that's smart and doesn't take itself too seriously. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a movie that is worth paying for to see in the theater and you should go see it if you haven't already.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Jan 28, 2018
I was not expecting much out of this new iteration of Jumanji. Jumanji scared the crap out of me when I was a kid (I ran out of the theater crying, and my mom had to convince me to watch the end to see that it ended up alright. I was an 8 year old wimp). Anyway, I think it varied enough from the original to not be a complete knock off. The cast was hilarious together, and Jack Black did amazingly with his character. I love watching anything with Karen Gillian. Shout out to the scriptwriters for pointing out how ridiculous it is for movies/video games to put females in skimpy clothing in adventure settings. I feel like this movie was made specifically for the people that were kids when the first Jumanji came out. Overall, I loved it, and will definitely be seeing it for a 3rd time.
Charles Burbridge (13 KP) rated Tomb Raider (2018) in Movies
Mar 26, 2018
Brass tacks, if you enjoyed the reboot Tomb Raider games, you'll like this film. If you dislike them, you probably won't like the film. If you haven't played them? *shrugs* I'm not sure, because I'm a big fan of the reboot games.
Admittedly, the movie plods a bit in the second act, and the third act wasn't as big of a set piece as I would have liked, but all in all, I enjoyed it. Tomb Raider didn't exceed my expectations, but it also didn't disappoint me. It's a perfectly acceptable way to spend two hours, and if Lynn wants to catch it I'll go back for a second viewing.
Reviewing average films is difficult, because there's not much to say. That's the where I am now. 6/10, with the recommendation that the film will be much better in a theater than at home.
Admittedly, the movie plods a bit in the second act, and the third act wasn't as big of a set piece as I would have liked, but all in all, I enjoyed it. Tomb Raider didn't exceed my expectations, but it also didn't disappoint me. It's a perfectly acceptable way to spend two hours, and if Lynn wants to catch it I'll go back for a second viewing.
Reviewing average films is difficult, because there's not much to say. That's the where I am now. 6/10, with the recommendation that the film will be much better in a theater than at home.
Erika (17788 KP) rated The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) in Movies
Jan 26, 2019
If this film had been around when I was a kid, I probably would have watched it at least once a week. The film reinvigorates the story of Arthur, and does it far more service than that travesty that was released a few years ago.
I'm not a big kid movie watcher, and admittedly, I stood outside of the theater so I didn't have to watch the kid previews attached to it.
The main character, Alex, is a likeable, relatable, realistic kid that just wants to do the right thing. His best friend, Bedders, was my favorite kid out of the core 4, and had some of the best quips.
But, the best character was the whack-a-doo Young Merlin, that portrayal is the Merlin I've always wanted.
The film did drag a little in the middle, but it was overall entertaining, kid-friendly flick.
I'm not a big kid movie watcher, and admittedly, I stood outside of the theater so I didn't have to watch the kid previews attached to it.
The main character, Alex, is a likeable, relatable, realistic kid that just wants to do the right thing. His best friend, Bedders, was my favorite kid out of the core 4, and had some of the best quips.
But, the best character was the whack-a-doo Young Merlin, that portrayal is the Merlin I've always wanted.
The film did drag a little in the middle, but it was overall entertaining, kid-friendly flick.
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