What with so many horror movies offering up a surprise ending we will not see coming for the last ten years, it’s a given that the lure for “Scream 4” is not so much the surprise ending and the revelation, but the nostalgia. Hallelujah Wes Craven on the way to career hell is finally taking “Scream” seriously again in what promises to be a reboot to please the fans and no one else. The problem with “Scream 4” or “Scre4m” is the inability to be about as entertaining as it possibly can. The only thing worse than a bad horror movie is a boring one and “Scream 4” manages to be boring in about as many wave lengths as possible, delving in to the same old tropes we saw in the original series, and lacking the balls to even off core characters to keep us grinding our teeth and our guards low.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Lemonade Mouth (2011)
One of my misapprehensions going in “Lemonade Mouth” was that ultimately the film would serve as a function to promote the lovely Ms. Bridgit Mendler. And while yes that is true, “Lemonade Mouth” holds true to the characters’ ideals that this is a group story about a group of people who come together to make some damn fine pop music and as such while Mendler is the spotlight player (being Disney’s now go to gal for a franchise), she’s not the highlight. Why did I watch this? Admittedly for Hayley Kiyoko who above all is one groovy mama jama whose own life is like a rock fantasy. Thankfully, she’s also not the sole highlight of the film.
Rio (2011)
It would seem only fitting that Jessie Eisenberg would play one of the most neurotic yet charming characters of the year, as “Rio” is exactly up his alley as a character mold he’s most accustomed to playing. Insecure and neurotic, Blu is a winged Woody Allen and Eisenberg is up for the challenge in what is basically another on the run animal romp that we saw last year with “Toy Story 3.” It won’t garner points in originality or depth, but for what it offers, it’s a cute and promising environmentally conscious romance comedy about Blu and his owner Linda, two love lorn and socially awkward individuals who found one another one fateful day after Blu was snatched from his home.
Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes (2011)
In 2006 when The Asylum’s “Halloween Night” was released, the studio claimed the film about a mental patient that crashes a Halloween party and begins slaughtering the guests, was based on true events because at the time there were reports of a mental patient on the loose and for a moment they were sure the patient snuck in to the party only to be assured he wasn’t. That’s their reasoning for calling something a true event, so I expect the same amount of circular logic and convoluted reasoning from Asylum’s spin doctors for proclaiming “Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes” completely and one hundred percent true in footage when it becomes painfully apparent from the opening that not only is the film one hundred percent staged, but about as poorly acted as any other Asylum farce to boot.
Force of Five (5 huajai hero) (2009)
When I was a kid I was introduced to a plethora of fighting kids movies, all of which featured children who could very well either kick the crap out of me, or kick the crap out of someone for me. I always marveled at the talent and display seen in films like “3 Ninjas” and it’s nice to know with a certain movie about a karate kid starring Will Smith 2.0 getting all the hype, we can marvel at true talent like the variety displayed in “Power Kids.” The Thai martial arts film from Krissanapong Rachata barely clocks in at seventy minutes and possesses about two fold the raw talent displayed in the previously mentioned stink fest. Kroo Lek and his family of orphans are a proud clan, people who earn their keep and train each other in the fine art of Thai Boxing.
Wheels on Meals (Kuai can che) (1984)
Almost thirty years later, Sammo Hung’s “Wheels on Meals” is still one of the technically proficient martial arts films ever made. It’s just too bad there’s not much to it beyond the martial arts. Primarily it works as a comedy of two men fallen for the same woman whose entire antics are steeped in silent comedy that doesn’t club us over the head with obvious gags. But “Wheels on Meals” is sadly lagging and long in the tooth as an action film that professes mid-way to be nothing more than a romance comedy with martial arts back drops that do nothing to enhance the overall narrative.
Love and Class in Connecticut (2007)
The rousing Joanna Keylock plays Tina, a Bohemian young woman who has been purposely left out of her niece’s naming ceremony and she’s crashed the party to ensure that everyone notices her anger and discontent. Even the baby’s father. This sets up a rather classical indie dilemma where family must battle family and “Love and Class” ends up becoming a rather ambitious and admirably compelling little piece of work. Sadly, there is a lot that could use improving with “Love and Class.”