Movie Reviews
Film Review: Monster Summer – SLUG Magazine
Arts
Monster Summer
Director: David Henrie
Pastime Pictures, Nickel City Pictures
In Theaters: 10.04
The spooky season is upon us, and while Halloween at the movies began early with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, with October here, it’s officially time to go start binging on supernatural cinema. While Monster Summer is the kind of film that is going to play far better right now than any other time of year,it’s not really a bragging point in this case.
It’s the summer of 1997 in the town of Orar Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard, and 12-year-old Noah (Mason Thames, Incoming) and his friends, Ben (Noah Cottrell, The Spiderwick Chronicles), Eugene (Julian Lerner, Yes Day) and Sammy (Abby James Witherspoon, Secret Headquarters) are soaking in the fun, including Little League baseball season and trips to the lake. Everything changes, however, when Ben is attacked while swimming and is left in a zombified state. Noah suspects a dark force is at play. An aspiring journalist, Noah already has a reputation with the local newspaper owner, Edgar Palmer (Kevin James, The King of Queen’s, Grown Ups) for having a vivid imagination and chasing lurid stories. The only ally that Noah can find comes in the form of Gene (Mel Gibson, Braveheart, Lethal Weapon), an ex-cop who is the town hermit and the subject of many a dark urban legend, as his own son disappeared years ago. As more children are targeted by the mysterious evil, Noah and Gene team up to uncover the truth. The danger escalates when Noah connects the attacks to a new arrival in town, Miss Halverson (Lorraine Bracco, Goodfellas, Medicine Man), whom he believes to be a witch. Together, Noah, Gene and the gang race to confront the evil before it takes the town with it.
Director David Henrie has roots in the kids and witchcraft genre as a young actor on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place, and he does a solid job of setting the mood and mimicking the feel of ‘80s Amblin fare such as Gremlins and The Goonies, and I was having a fair amount of fun with during the first half hour. Ittakes a little less than that to start feeling that the script by Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz (The Peanuts Movie) is struggling to find a story here, and the movie becomes less interesting and more convoluted as it goes. A significant reason why it veers, of course, is that it’s an uneasy mix of dark elements—the backstory of the kidnapping of Gene’s son and how his grief ultimately ruined his marriage is quite heavy for a family film—and some frustratingly hammy supporting performances. There’s also a surprising and unsettling amount of gunplay from Gibson in the finale, and by the time he’s shooting what looks far too much like a Hocus Pocus-style witch in the head at close range, the question of who exactly the target audience is here really comes into question.
Thames is a very charismatic young actor, and he’s demonstrated that he has the presence to play the lead. There are moments of interplay between Thomas and Gibson that are really quite enjoyable and made me really want to love this movie. Gibson isn’t capable of giving a half-hearted, just for the paycheck performance, and that’s both a strength and weakness here. When he’s playing the grumpy old reluctant mentor, his comic timing and charm really lift up the movie, and those of us who can remember the days when he was one of the biggest stars in the business are reminded of why. As the movie progresses, we get more of his patented intense, brooding, scenery chewing, emotionally-wounded man routine than is called for, and it’s just too much for this movie. James is doing an over-the-top, Foghorn Leghorn accent and wearing a ridiculous sunhat, and when he and Gibson share the screen while acting in two entirely different movies, it’s just nerve grating. It’s good to see Bracco again, even if she’s underused here.
Monster Summer has far too many strengths to write off entirely and far too many weaknesses to give it too much of a pass. If the story was more focused and it could settle on a tone, there’s more than enough talent here to make a solidly entertaining Halloween movie. In the end, it has too few tricks up its sleeve to prove to be a satisfying treat. –Patrick Gibbs
Read more film reviews:
Film Review: A Different Man
Film Review: Joker: Folie à Deux
Movie Reviews
Film Review: Psychosis is an absurd Aussie experiment that defies categorization – The AU Review
A film like Psychosis is a difficult one to review. Whilst there’s never a shortage of features that prove wildly divisive (the Joker sequel says hello), Pirie Martin‘s ambitious debut defies categorization as it blends technique and genre, submitting to an extreme eccentricity that, as off-putting it may be to some, is difficult to not be impressed by.
An Australian experiment of sorts, this no-budget, square aspect-ratioed, black-and-white absurdist mystery is a noirish nightmare – complete with BBC-like narrator – about a criminal fixer, Cliff Van Aarle (Derryn Amoroso), who, thanks to a psychological condition, has a multitude of voices in his head fighting for prominence as he goes about cleaning up the many criminal world messes he’s assigned to.
A difficult film to follow (perhaps intentionally so), Psychosis adds even more obscure flames to its fire by introducing the notion of potential zombies, which a duo of amateur drug dealers claim they were attacked by; this ultimately explained by the fact that a drug lord is doping up his lackeys to the point of near-hypnosis. With the voices continually conversing in Cliff’s head, as well as the constant narration, Psychosis does run the risk of being over-explained to the point that any of the film’s intended mystery is underwhelming, but such is the charm of Martin’s clear love of all the genres this film touches on, the surreal flourishes of it all become oddly enamoring.
Not unlike what Rian Johnson accomplished with Brick, mixed with another of this year’s black-and-white farcicalities, Hundreds of Beavers, it’s the pure cheek of Martin that pushes Psychosis past the point of audience detachment. It can’t be stressed enough that this film has been made with a very specific target viewership in mind, and it’s mainly earning points here for the sheer fact that Martin had the gall to create such a film that takes glee in pushing against the usual grain.
It can’t always escape its amateurish mentality, but Psychosis‘ retro-midnight-movie-madness personality will indeed win it the attention and respect it deserves from the type of audience who find glory in the gonzo.
TWO AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Psychosis is now available to rent and/or buy digitally through Prime Video in Australia. It’s now available on Tubi in the United States.
Movie Reviews
V/H/S/Beyond (2024) – Movie Review
V/H/S/Beyond, 2024.
Directed by Jay Cheel, Jordan Downey, Christian Long and Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel.
Starring Trevor Dow, Jolene Anderson, Namrata Sheth, Skip Howland, Libby Letlow, Alanah Pearce.
SYNOPSIS:
Six tales directed and created by different filmmakers make up a sci-fi horror-inspired collection of short films.
The V/H/S/ series has been going for a heck of a long time (since 2012, in fact) and has covered seven films and two spin-off releases as well as a Snapchat-based miniseries of shorts. This latest release from the hardy portmanteau series of chillers has a space horror inspiration. That is, there’s a kind of sci-fi monster sheen to the chaotic goings on.
Ever since the first release, the V/H/S/ team have done a good job in sourcing talent to write and direct the various chapters in the stories, which often have a found footage style about them – hence the V/H/S/ tapes that give the series its title. It is also telling of a love of retro horror that has been in full force for even longer that this series.
As with all the V/H/S/ releases, and portmanteau film in general, this release is a mixed collection. The framing story Abduction/Adduction is presented as a documentary. It also purports to let the audience in on the tricks and effects scammers use. Unfortunately the mocumentary gets it almost too right, and we are left in not part curly exciting cable TV ‘the truth about aliens’ territory.
Next up is ‘Stork’ that plays around with a video-game first person shooter style to some effect, It grates after a while, and it could have been half the length. Perhaps chopped in half, with the admittedly entertaining chainsaw section. The monster is quite a sight too, it’s true, a freaky bird/ant-eater thing. But really, this is just carnage and effects.
Next is the best of the bunch to my mind. Virat Pal’s Dream Girl takes us to Mumbai, where a Bollywood leading lady is rumoured to be a witch. A journalist gets more than he bargained for when trying to uncover the truth. The entertaining song and dance sequences effectively parody Indian film’s hugely popular musical segments, while the catchy lyrics offer clues to the star’s true nature.
Next on the roll call after another interlude – that details the importance of Whitley Streiber’s book Communion, turned into a super-weird and brilliant late 1980s film starring Christopher Walken – is Live and Let Dive. Basically its a sky dive where the divers are intercepted by a UFO. Those that manage to land have to try and stay alive again in the face of gribbly aliens rampaging. It sounds more fun than it is.
Next is another good one, the excellent Misery tinged Fur Babies. Libby Letlow channels Kathy Bates in a bleakly funny effort directed by the Long brothers. Two animal rights protestors go undercover to try and discover the truth about Letlow’s business of ‘Doggy Dreamhouse’, which offers grotesque taxidermy which goes from grim to worse.
The last film follows a UFO enthusiast looking for aliens in the Mojave desert played by Alanah Pierce, bringing frazzled belief to the performance. Unfortunately, the story takes ages to get going and when it does it just fizzles out a bit.
Overall, then it’s a familiar picture from V/H/S/. Fans of different styles will have their favourites. Overall, though, it’s an above-average collection in my view and tries out a few new things in the process.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist
Movie Reviews
'Reagan' film review: These 2 words stuck with me
Unity and hope. These are the two words that have stuck with me since I watched“Reagan”.
For those of you who don’t know, the recent “Reagan” movie tells the story of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. As a movie producer myself, I was impressed by how incredibly well the film was crafted.
The most compelling feature of the movie was the story itself. “Reagan” focused on an essential and often overlooked component of President Reagan’s life: his deeply rooted Christian faith.
It all started when young Reagan’s mother gave him a book called “That Printer of Udell’s.” This book was the first time that Reagan learned the connection between faith and politics, and, in many ways, it became a map of his life and career.
I’m well aware that Ronald Reagan isn’t without his critics. But I don’t think people today realize just how popular he was. Today, elections are decided by a few key “battleground” states because it’s almost guaranteed how most states in our nation will vote.
Reagan didn’t face that issue. He was elected twice, in 1980 and 1984. In 1980, Reagan won 46 states, and in 1984, he only failed to win one.
That’s staggering.
Even though he was a Republican, Ronald Reagan won the vast majority of Democratic votes. The “Reagan” movie does an excellent job telling the story of why.
Ronald Reagan had a rare and remarkable combination of character and charisma. His Christian faith shaped his character. He stood for honesty, life, and integrity. Yet, he wasn’t mindlessly belligerent or antagonistic.
He was clear on what he believed, why he believed it, and was always ready to give thoughtful, reasoned answers. This earned him respect from everyone, even those who disagreed with his policies or beliefs.
President Reagan also always remembered his roots. He was raised in the small town of Dixon, Ill., and embodied small-town values and a kind, down-to-earth personality. Despite the intense pressures of politics and life on Capitol Hill, he never compromised on who he was.
That’s why this movie filled me with hope.
In a world that’s rife with political division, “Reagan” shows that unity is possible and that we can choose to reject the false dichotomy between conviction and kindness. Both can and should coexist in our political discourse.
There’s one more thing that I think everyone should take away from this important movie: You can be a person of faith and still care deeply about politics.
The world tries to tell us that faith and politics are opposed and that they should not be mixed. However, the life and testimony of Ronald Reagan and so many others tell a different story. They show that Christian values provide a solid foundation for policy, one that endures the test of time and can unify a bifurcated society.
I firmly believe we need more Christians in politics — people who are going to stand up for justice and life when so many others are compromising on crucial issues in the face of political pressure.
There is so much to learn from Ronald Reagan, but one thing stands above the rest: Faith and freedom are worth fighting for, no matter the odds or the opposition. It is time that Christians stop standing by while others lead. We must stand up for what is right and for politics to be a worthy arena.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, executive producer of “Breakthrough” with 20th Century Fox and author of From Survive to Thrive: Live a Holy, Healed, Healthy, Happy, Humble, Hungry, and Honoring Life (Charisma House Publishing), and Your Mess, God’s Miracle (Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2023). CNN and FOX News have called him “the leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement” and TIME magazine nominated him among the 100 most influential leaders in America.
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