In the remote Shetland Islands of Scotland, legends of ritual sacrifices of surrogate mothers to great warriors’ children crop back up after Dr. Tora Hamilton arrives with her husband to his homeland after losing a child. Soon after, Tora finds a body in her new yard, minus the heart which sends her on a hunt for the truth. Director Peter A. Dowling wrote the script based on the novel of the same name by Sharon (S.J.) Bolton.
Tag Archives: Mystery
The Invitation (2016)
I will say for the record to avoid any and all spoilers about “The Invitation,” because Karyn Kusama’s film is a masterpiece that deserves an audience with the ability to soak in the full weight of the experience. Kusama’s “The Invitation” is one of the most competently made and mesmerizing horror thrillers I’ve seen so far this year. It’s a haunting and disturbing look at the unbearable pain of grief, and how so many are incapable of dealing with it that it allows for a predator to prey on them without fail.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
JJ Abrams has a lot of work to accomplish with “The Force Awakens,” removing the stigma and stench the series has accumulated over the years with the release of the “Star Wars” film prequels, the constant re-editing and changes to the original films, and so much more. “The Force Awakens” actively works as a rebuttal to the aforementioned legacy set, unleashing a film that’s very down to Earth and celebratory of the original trilogy as a whole. It not only musters up a lot of the tropes from the original trilogy, but acts as a launch pad for a massive movie series that Lucasfilm and Disney are planning for a very long stretch. While some have criticized the film for recycling some elements from “A New Hope,” Abrams fully understands what he’s working with, and working on, and uses “The Force Awakens” as a massive doorway accessible to literally anyone.
The Hateful Eight (2015) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
Director Quentin Tarantino has apparently had enough of delivering fans films that are mash ups of genres he loves and instead seems to want to challenge his audience the older he gets. Any artist grows the older they become and Tarantino has grown, exploring cinema that’s gradually more polarizing and alienating as time goes on. Quentin Tarantino hasn’t lost his ability to tell a story and unfold an interesting narrative, as he’s hellbent on exploring a character piece that’s less action and call backs to past genres, and more of an implementation of certain genres to create what has been his most divisive film to date.
The Dead Room (2015)
“The Dead Room” was written by Kevin Stevens and director Jason Stutter who crafter a story seen many times to which they unfortunately bring very little that is new and very few genuine scares. After a family flees their new home in fear for their lives, a trio of investigators is sent by an insurance company to prove or disprove the family’s claim that it’s haunted by malevolent spirits. The haunted house sub-genre having been done to death over the last few years and throughout horror’s history is not re-invented here. Stevens and Stutter do have the advantage of being one of the few films about this set in New Zealand that I know of.
Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
Once again DC Comics advertises a throwdown between titans that doesn’t totally deliver. True, the two teams of old and young battle, but it’s under wild circumstances, and it’s only a two minute bout at best. Sam Liu’s film should have been called “Teen Titans” and been done with it, but how else to cash in on “Batman v Superman,” I guess? The film is primarily centered around the building of the Teen Titans and their dynamics as a whole. The movie channels both the original animated series, and the cult classic “Young Justice” to offer up a movie that I wish would begin a new series of more exciting movies, showing how these teens have to work and fight in a world dominated by basic gods. That said, “Justice League vs. Teen Titans” isn’t a bad film, despite the criticisms and observations. It’s a very fine action adventure that focuses on the interesting interplay between Robin and Raven.
The Forest (2016) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
I wish Hollywood would stop trying to turn the legend of the Aokigahara Forest in to a horror movie. While the story of the forest itself is sad, and often times very creepy, it just doesn’t translate in to a good horror movie. Not in the slightest. One of the worst examples yet is Jason Zada’s “The Forest,” an absolutely lack luster and painfully dull mystery starring Natalie Dormer. Dormer, who is typically a great performer with a strong on-screen presence isn’t given much to do but run around and react to scary sights in the forest. And she plays twins!