Spoiler Free Review: Lights Out

     Lights Out, starring Teresa Palmer and Gabriel Bateman is about a torn family that faces a monster that's only dangerous when the...well you can guess when.
     This stereotypical horror has all the elements of every other horror and by that I mean JUMP SCARE CENTRAL. Most movies have two constants that they live on: The first thing is they have a sequence like 'no scare scene, no scare scene, JUMP SCARE. No scare scene, n scare scene, JUMP SCARE.' And they follow these throughout the movie or sometimes series. The other thing they do is create their own rules (which I refer to as a the movie's universe)
     Getting back to this movie, I'm gonna review this movie with no spoilers and start with the bad stuff about it.
     The bad: The story line was average at best and the acting by most of the supporting cast was pretty terrible. The boyfriend, known as 'boyfriend' basically, was barely there besides a few moments where he was not unfunny, but not quite funny. They may have suffered from the story being so weak as there wasn't much to really work for. Eric Heisserer and David F. Sanberg were the writing staff on this horror and they made sure to hit every mark while not really pushing any barriers or risk not making the quintessential 'horror'
     The good: Teresa Palmer and Gabriel Bateman were convincing and entertaining (not necessarily good actors but entertaining can be good,..here it counts as good) The strong female lead is usually portrayed in an awful and annoying way, Teresa Palmer did a great job of being strong without needing to put men down. She did have a back story that caused her to push her character's counter part, played by Alexander DiPersia. And another big positive is this film gets fans to that eerie, cringey feeling and nearly pushes us over that freaked out edge multiple times very quickly. While they filled this movie with their needed jump scares on their marks, they did create that uneasy fear feeling that many similar movies try for but fail miserably (Ouija, Annabelle, Krampus and Mama just to name a few recent ones)
     So in seeing this feature, I went into it ready for absolute garbage and was pleasantly surprised to say it wasn't complete fiery trash. Out of 22, I give this a ten. I would say if you are a die hard horror fan who loves anything that gives you a jump and contains very little gore, then you should find a discounted showtime, like I did, and go see it. If however, you want a movie with substance or great acting/writing I would have to advise you to continue to wait for James Wan to do more than produce...sit this one out.
     Thanks for reading and make sure you don't turn the...
                                                                                  ...lights out.

My Idea for a Ghostbusters movie that wouldwork better than the current dumpster fire of a film

Ghostbusters 3

     A woman standing by a news stand looking through magazines sees a newspaper with 4 men on the front page. They're holding proton packs and she picks it up, "Margie. Hey, Margie, ar ethese the guys you were talking about?" Her friend grabs it and responds, ""Yeah, those guys were ca-raazy! They took these...proto bags and like, trapped ghosts.
" Ghosts aren't real, these guys must have made it all up or something."
They continue talking and a man walks by, smirking. He walks a block away, surveying the street and comes to a building. He casually puts his hand on what looks like a brick wall but a thin slit opens up just enough for him to calmly walk through and it closes just as quick as it opened.
"PJ, where'd you go?" said a woman in the secret looking room. He smiles and holds up that same newspaper. The woman gives him an annoyed look and spins back around in her swivel chair, "Ya know you can't be that cool for too long. It's not good for your health." PJ then reveals  a container from his back pack. It's smoking and square, he drops it in front of the woman, "Casey, me? Healthy? I'm fit as..."
she cuts him off, "If you say a fiddle, you're not gonna be healthy for much longer." He smiles at her and she starts hitting keys on the computer in front of her.
The smoking box was slowly pulled toward a containment unit in the wall, magnetically aligned and guided into a drawer. Another man walks in and sits next to Casey and asks PJ, "Did you get the specimen? What happened?" PJ was about to answer but before he could get one word out the man cut him off, "And I don't want to hear 'It was me vs a thousand strong monsters and I took them all out in a one-on-one battle...blah blah blah' I want exactly what happened.
PJ told him happened at the donut shop:
     "I walked in and saw three people, one cashier and two customers. They were terrified, I looked behind them and saw what looked like a sorta man-ish thing on a horse. It was above the exit doorway and was guarding them. I first tried to talk to it and...well, that didn't go the way I was hoping. I think he had a grudge against white..." The man interrupted, "Save the jokes please. Just stick to what happened."
"Ok ok. So then he kinda...well, he tossed me across the room. Luckily I was holding that and was able to get it close enough to grab him." He pointed to the ghost trap.
The man responds, "Was everyone alright?" he asked, putting his hand on PJ's shoulder. He nodded and the man said, "Your dad would be proud, you're doing a good job." PJ stopped him and got serious, "My dad...he may have been one of 'the first Ghostbusters' but he was not NEARLY as good as I am." He then took a breath and smirked, "Besides, I do this to keep fit...right, Casey?" she responded as she walked out of the room, "Way to be humble."
The man picked up a phone and dialed, "Hello? This is district 4125. Yeah, Peter Jr just caught a specimen. Yes, we have it in our containment unit. He described it as a Midwestern apparition. Thank you. Yes, I'll be writing the report momentarily. Thank you, good bye." He then walked to his office and as he shut the double doors, the Ghostbusters emblem came together and the ghost changes it to put up three fingers.

     Ok, that's my current idea for the intro to a Ghostbusters movie I think we can all get behind...at least a lot better than the 2016 self righteous masterpiece of...well, you know.

     Let me know what you think, imagine seeing exactly this as a commercial. What would you think? Leave a comment and share this. Thank you very much.

My Top Ten Favorite Actresses

I've come up with a list of my personal top ten favorite actresses. These are in no particular order and are my personal favorites, so no one is saying they are the best there are, although they might be.

Ok, ready for my choices? Get your drum roll ready...or not.

1. Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron has put on so many fantastic faces on the big screen, most notably taking on the vastly different portrayal as Aileen Wuornos in Monster. She is one of a special breed of athletic, beautiful and very convincing with any character she takes on. And humor is no exception, even though critics aren't always big fans like in A Million Ways to Die in the West. Her absolute skill in the acting industry blew away everyone in her most recent interpretation of Mad Max: Fury Road. There's no shortage of praise for that movie and she shines above all of that.

2. Angelina Jolie

Jolie, daughter of John Voight, has been entertaining audiences since the early 80's. Her credit resume includes movies like Hackers, Original Sin, Gone in 60 Seconds and Mr and Mrs Smith. Gaining a strong following due to her beauty doesn't scratch the surface of her talents, perfectly shown by movies like Salt, The Bone Collector and Girl Interrupted. She's also not afraid of taking on controversial roles, a great example is her portrayal of the troubled model Gia in 1998. If Maleficent wasn't enough for you, she's even working on a sequel (as of 2016 for any future readers). Angelina Jolie, thank you for going above and beyond in your films. It is appreciated.

3. Christina Ricci

One of my childhood-turned-adult celebrity crushes is Christina Ricci. She first caught our attention in the fantastic movie Mermaids and then later as the somber yet adorable Wednesday Addams in the 90's adaptation of the Addams Family. She has since branched out to take on more adult themed movies like 200 cigarettes and the Opposite of Sex.

4. Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn was a queen of the big screen and specifically awkward humor in the 80's and 90's. With hits like Overboard, Private Benjamin, Death Becomes Her and Wildcats, Hawn was the quintessential personification of comedy movies of that time. 

5. Salma Hayek

No list of favorites could be complete without the incredible Salma Hayek. She blends beauty, sex appeal and talent as she dazzles on the screen. Movies like Frida and Desperado showed she's much than her looks and parts such as Dogma,  and Fools Ruch In added versatility

6. Julia Roberts

Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy and even the controversial Hook were all absolutely beaming due to their leading star (or co star in the case of Hook) and that's not nearly all of her fantastic work in her time on the Film world. She's not only taken diverse roles but she's taken on tough characters and made them famous. Depth hasn't been a challenge she's shied from either, with cinematic classics like Stepmom and Steel Magnolias where she needed to be better than perfect in order to take them from a great movie to a generational tear jerker. And just like most of the women on this list, comedy hasn't escaped her reach, Friends was a great example of her far reaching assortment of range. Don't be fooled by her pretty face, Chandler, she's out for revenge. haha.

7. Amy Adams

Adams, notably known for her portrayal of Lois Lane in the most recent Superman/Justice League movies, has the perfect presence on screen of being cute and strong with a talent that supersedes her appearance. She's taken on some impressive parts such as Sydney Prosser in American Hustle which displays pure acting ability over her ability to be 'the princess' of the movie. Amy Adams may have it all in the acting industry.

8. Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett, Scarlett, Scarlett. The Black Widow has been attracting many eyes since 1994'S North with Elijah Wood. She is another very accomplished actress who has shown her aptitude in differing roles with such movies as In Good Company and Lucy along with Don Jon. My personal favorite role of her's that showed her ability to be light and fun while expressing depth is Lost in Translation, where she and Bill Murray find a fondness for each other without creating a love story. She has her share of animated parts like the Spongebob Movie,  The 2016 Jungle Book adaptation and Robot Chicken. She's definitely more just her most recent popularity, she's been in the spot light for a while and hopefully she'll be gracing the big screen for many years to come.

9. Thora Birch

Thora Birch has always been my celebrity crush, from Hallie O'Fallon in All I Want for Christmas to Eva in Monkey Trouble to the awkwardly beautiful Janie Burnham in American Beauty. Birch has made always had the awareness to balance acting and her personal life, a feat many child actors and actresses aren't able to control, and while she still takes on roles it's clear she takes her roles very seriously and chooses great parts for her. She even worked with my previous pick in this list, costarring with Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World. Thora Birch is a rare actress who is known for different impressive roles for different people: some know her as the adorable kid from that Christmas movie and some know her as the disturbed average girl from American Beauty and some know her from a few of the B- horror movies like The Hole or Train. She's always be my celebrity crush though and you can't have her.

10. Claire Danes

Lots of actresses are able to come out of nowhere and shine for a movie of two or even for a while before fading into parts made for older people, Claire Danes still looks just as innocent and cute as she did in her series My So Called Life. And her raw gift of acting has been impressive throughout her career, movies like Romeo and Juliet, Shopgirl and The Family Stone among others. Her Al-Qaida based Showtime series Home Land has been a hit since it's beginning in 2011 has been keeping her busy recently. Another diamond in the rough that I hope we see much more of. 

     Those are my favorites, in no particular order. I am interested to hear your thoughts on this list and who you would choose. And may I just say this was a tough list to make because there are many actresses who have done such amazing and convincing jobs.

     Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Nerve Review

     Nerve.  

Emma Roberts

Dave Franco

     Let's talk about Nerve, the movie written by Jessica Sharzer and directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost was an action packed film about the anonymous YouTube/thrill seeker era that we theoretically live in. A shy girl, Emma Roberts, is forced to grow into a strong character that shows true nerve by standing up to the faceless crowd.

     Here's the good:The characters that Sharzer created were very well written and had arcs that were very well developed in the short time they live on the screen. Franco was a perfect fit for his character, a pretty/bad boy who has a heart and the supporting cast was well chosen. The idea and creativity surrounding the cinematography was absolutely superb. Use of angles to give that cringe worthy feeling pushed us to our limit and the tempo never for a second felt rushed or annoyingly slow. Well done. 

     I also really enjoyed the twist ending, I usually try to guess what's coming and usually I'm right or very close. This movie had two possible endings that would have been worthy of honors: one was the ending they chose, I did not guess that was coming and it was well played on the writing/directing side. The other ending would have been if Dave Franco's character would have killed Vee, Emma Roberts' character.While that wouldn't have been the popular or fairy tale kind of ending people like but it would have been a fitting twist.

    And now...the not good about this film. 

I want to preface the first negative by saying I am not attacking her personally or her talent as an actress, I've seen Emma Roberts in other things and I was very impressed. But...this film had moments that she just was not the right actress for. An example would be the big speech in the finale: she stood in front of all the Nerve watchers and spoke about how they don't have 'nerve' and it's easy to be tough hiding in the crowd. This was supposed to be where she asserts herself as a strong leader who falls short in persuading everyone but still shows she truly has 'nerve' 

     She not only failed to own that scene, but her bad acting took me completely out of the feeling of that big turning point. That wasn't the only scene that she didn't own, another small yet pivotal moment was when she was embarrassed early on by her best friend in front of the guy she had a crush on, it felt very forced like Vee was told she had to be angry and then slowly caught on that she had to. I feel that the part of Vee was not played by the best actress for that particular part. I actually think the supporting actress would have served better as Venus, Emily Meade. 

     Aside form the negatives, this is a fast paced and very well made movie that should and most likely will have a solid fan base. Out of 22, I give this an 18.

P.S. I do not see many movies in the theaters more than once, I'm going to see this another time...that's how good Nerve is. Thank you for reading and have a great day! 

Spoiler Filled Review of The Shallows

     The Shallows, a shark movie majorly hyped up as the next Jaws. Have you seen Jaws? 

     Let me preface this review with a disclaimer: I am a shark lover and will always go to and enjoy even the worst of shark movies (Sharknado not included) but while I'll always love a good water predator film, I promise to be as fair and unbiased as I can.

     Ok, The Shallows is based around a woman who goes to find a beach that her mother visited before she died. She finds it and is enjoying the view and some surfing on the great waves there. After a while and with only a few secondary characters, she gets hurt and is left on a rock.

To add to her problem, there's a giant shark circling and surrounding her. Plot made, story set in motion.

     Let's get into the good stuff about this film:

Blake Lively.

Blake Lively does a great job in The Shallows, she portrays a woman who is going through a time in her life when she's running way from things at home while visiting the place her mother experienced. Her acting is the best part of the movie, her expression is fantastically shown in ever situation she faces and it's very easy to believe she's actually going through it all. For me personally, the worst part of a movie is when you can't relate or believe the main actor.

I'm not sure if Lively is a surfer outside of this feature but she definitely pulls it off, looking great while doing it. She holds your attention with her strength and carries the action on her back.

     Another good spot is the story telling. The writer, Nicholas G. Carr, uses phone calls and Lively in a positive way to move the story along till the shark becomes the main focus. Carr wasn't afraid to jump right into the action while still telling a solid story.

I enjoyed his ability to put her through a lot while not jumping out of the movie's own universe. My second pet peeve in movies is when the writer creates a universe with very specific rules then they break their own rules, breaking that feeling ya get like you're in the action. Carr didn't break that cardinal rule.

     And the final positive point is the time frame. There are a good amount of movies that just drag on, the story telling becomes old, a movie that should be maybe an hour and a half bores the audience for over two hours (Zach Snyder, I'm looking in your direction.)

At an hour and twenty seven minutes, The Shallows doesn't weigh you down with too much story or action that just crosses the line between it's own reality and a bunch of things just to show you shameless action (Zach Snyder, I'm looking in your direction...again...)

     Aaaaand now for the negatives:

While I praised the writer for his ability to story tell, the area I feel he did us viewers a disservice is the amount of things Lively's character had to overcome. She was stuck on a small rock island with the tide rising while dealing with a deep leg injury.

That was bad enough then she has to deal with then she has to deal with the rising water, the jelly fish, the injuries from coral and the metal eating shark...it gets to be unrealistic and the fact that she gets through all of it in the way she does; it's just too much.

When she drops down in the water and seemingly goes too deep to be able to just come back up from (reminiscent of a certain scene from Jaws the Revenge...the movie that shall not be named.)

Then the other thing that was an atrocity to The Shallows was the shark: throughout the story, the shark was pretty realistic looking until that moment of it's demise. When the shark gets it, it ends up looking like a can being crushed. Not only unrealistic but just plain cheesy effects to kill this monstrous beast, terrible way to go.

     For a movie that had the potential to be this generation's Jaws, it failed miserably at that. But it is one of the best in the last twenty years, not that that's saying much (Deep Blue Sea, Sharknado, Sharktopus, Sand Shark and even a little further to the fourth sequel that should not exist)
 This is a very enjoyable, very watchable movie and I definitely recommend seeing it with expectations of being a fun but not epic film.

 Out of 22, I give this a 15. "Not a bad record for this vicinity..."
What do you think of The Shallows? Leave a comment and let me know what rating you'd give it out of 22. Thanks for reading, and a have a wonderful day.

My Favorite Ten Actors

     My first blog entry will be my top ten actors list, men only for this one because women deserve their own list which will be my next entry. This is not an easy feat when you think about all the amazing actors that have graced our televisions in the past...1000+ years of TV. Not everyone will agree with my list and I hope to hear your opinion about who YOU think would be on your list.
     So here goes the Top Ten!

Robert Duvall

My favorite role by Duvall was the tyrannical Pulitzer, he's had countless diverse and amazingly well acted parts before that and since.

Heath Ledger

While Heath's career has been tragically cut short, he used his time to show more potential then most actors show in decades more than he had.

Gary Oldman

The Professional is a personal favorite of mine, Oldman portrayed an evil, scary murderer in perfect form as he killed a family including a small child. His list of amazing roles include Commissioner Gordon,Sirius Black and Dracula among many.

Johnny Depp

Not much can be said about Depp that hasn't already been said by legions of fans and critics. From his baby face looks in Edward Scissorhands and Crybaby to his hilarious depiction of a witty, drunken pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean, he's shown many faces in many different ways.

Jim Carrey

Known for his comedic talents and antics in movies like Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey displays great acting abilities in such movies as Truman Show and The Majestic. His off-the-screen life has taken many turns and he's challenged himself in many ways to become a better actor and an even better person.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leo got his start young on television and ran with his fame, absolutely blowing fans away in movies like This Boy's Life and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Di Caprio finally took home his first Oscar in 2016, using his speech to bring light to climate issues and the planet.

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro has revolutionized acting and has both entertained and impressed people for decades now. My personal favorite role was as a loving father of Sunny in A Bronx Tale, he built a career by showing his ability to scare and be serious while also keeping us laughing as well. His versatility allowed him to play parts like Al Capone in The Untouchables and Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II and then go on to be Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents.

Gene Hackman

To me, he'll always be the comical and sarcastic Lex Luthor (no offense Eisenberg...well...maybe a little offense), Gene Hackman has captivated us with movies since the 60's, starring in: The French Connection, Young Frankenstein, Superman, Wyatt Earp, The Quick and the Dead, Get Shorty, Enemy of the State and the Replacements along with many more. He's one of few who can pull off some of those roles while also writing three historical fiction novels. Impressive career and he's not even done.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt got his start on Another World and has gone on to entertain us all for the past few decades. J.D. in Thelma and Louise and Louis from Interview With a Vampire were just two of his awesome acting prowess. Pitt has 3 movies on the way as of 2016, one being a sequel to 2013's World War Z. 

Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey has a voice you can't help but enjoy, he's a great impressionist. He may do the best Johnny Carson and that includes the man himself, he's had an amazing career with movies that have touched our hearts and made us want to kill him at times. Crediting The Usual Suspects, Pay it Forward, The Ref, American Beauty and Netflix series House of Cards to his resume are just a hand full of his acting career. 

There's my personal list, let me know what you think. Who would be in your list?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows movie review

TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows Review (Spoilers)

     I'm going to preface this by saying I was not a fan of the 2014 Ninja Turtles and my first bias was against this film. I try to keep an open mind when watching new movies and once in a while, usually in a sequel, I go in with a... well let's call it un-favoritism. That being said, I was able to walk in ready to enjoy whatever was in front of my face for this movie.

     My first impression minutes in was "Oh great, they're making the same mistakes with writing and cinematography as the 2014 piece of flaming garbage." It started out seemingly with the same lack of heart and depth, giving me a desire to sling shot sharp shards of shrapnel in my shins instead of being where I was while watching it.

BUT, over the next hour or so I was pleasantly surprised to see the humor and focus was adjusted from the first movie to this one. The turtles were more personable and showed more personality than before and actually became likable. The 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was so endearing because we could relate to them  in a way and we felt for them.

In 1990 when Raphael stood in their home and screamed in pain because his father (Splinter) had been taken and possibly killed, I personally felt his pain and wanted to go get Shredder myself.

When Mikey and Donnie were sitting in the room while Leo and Raph were arguing and awkwardly left the room, I too wanted to make a joke to leave the room.

In 2014, I felt no connection to any character. In 2016, I started to slightly feel a connection to the turtles and to Casey Jones. The connection wasn't nearly as strong but a pulse of one was FINALLY beginning.

     Another strong point, in my opinion, was the writing. It seems like the writers, Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum, learned from the negativity of their first amphibian feature. The writing improved exponentially. Like I said before, there wa s connection beginning to be formed and that is due to better developed relationships between the brother turtles and the overall writing.

And the final and most important positive of this film was the many nods to my generation's childhood. Beebop and Rocksteady, Krang and the original cartoon theme song were just the top of the list of homages to my childhood in this movie. I smiled ear to ear when the manholes came shooting out of the Turtles truck and when the theme song played, I am not ashamed to say I sang along.

They must have made a serious attempt to bring in older fans with these and that tactic worked! They added a lot of big and small nods to the cartoon and 90's movies, which not only were done well but added to our ability to endear us to these versions of heroes in a half shell. Well played, Applebaum and Nemec.

   And now...for the not so positive: The writing, while much improved, is still not up to par with the 1990 Ninja Turtle cult classic or even the 1991 sequel. There were clearly awkwardly forced exposition, especially seen when Krang tells Shredder the entire plot of the movie pretty early on. Things like that were lazy and uncreative. There were plenty of scenes that I felt my eyes actually roll out of my head and onto the floor. Watch out for that if you haven't seen it yet.

     Another thing that was pretty bad was the same tired cg. The turtles have improved but still look goofy and reminiscent of the "Scooby Doo" graphics. Better than the previous movie gets them a little credit but not a full pass. That needs to be addressed in the next sequel, which will be made. Hi, Michael Bay.

     Cinematography gave me flashbacks of Transformers 3, which gave me flashbacks of vomiting only without the fun. Michael Bay wasn't the director but his influence was clearly seen in the explosions and wild cinematic scenes throughout. Director David Green looks like Bay's kid brother trying to impress his idol sibling. I'm not impressed and you shouldn't be either.

     Ok so with all of that made known, I would overall say this is worth watching...at home...on cable access television...or any other free way to watch it...but don't download it because that's stealing...and stealing is wrong...also don't make terrible movies using titles just because you know the title will bring certain fans who want quality and will be annoyed that they gave their money to execs who don't care about us they just want to take and STEAL our money any way they can...eh, download it if you want...

     On a scale of 1 to 22 I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows a 7. D
There was improvement and I hope they build on that in the future.

Thanks for reading.