Archive
REVIEW – Unfriended
Directed by: Leo Gabriadze
Produced by: Timur Bekmambetov, Nelson Greaves
Written by: Nelson Greaves
Edited by: Parker Laramie, Andrew Wesman
Cinematography by: Adam Sidman
Starring: Shelley Hennig, Moses Jacob, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson, Heather Sossaman
Year: 2015
Previews for this movie had me thinking this was going to probably be one of the worst movies of 2015. Screaming teenage characters, the gimmick of having the movie confined to a single MacBook screen for the entire film in an insane twist on the “found footage” genre, a guy forcing his hand into a blender by some unseen force that was apparently getting revenge for being “unfriended”… Just… every time I saw this movie being advertised, I couldn’t help but mentally wretch at the thought of seeing it. Audiences in the theatre even seemed to agree – there was always laughter accompanying the viewing. And then… a funny thing actually happened when it finally came out. Much like how I had hilariously low expectations for the schmaltzy, gimmicky-looking, Nicholas Sparks-esque The Fault in Our Stars, this sure-to-be-awful teen horror flick with the computer screen gimmick ended up getting some solid reviews from critics – not nearly as good as The Fault in Our Stars, mind you, but horror is an acquired taste genre, so you’ve gotta grade these things on a curve sometimes. However, just like with the other movie, I had to see what the fuss was about. Read more…
Review: “Juan of the Dead” (“Juan de los Muertos”)
Directed by: Alejandro Brugués
Produced by: Gervasio Iglesias, Inti Herrera
Written by: Alejandro Brugués
Cinematography by: Carles Gusi
Music by: Sergio Valdés
Starring: Alexis Díaz de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andrea Duro, Andros Perugorría, Jazz Vilá, Eliecer Ramírez, Antonio Dechent, Blanca Rosa Blanco
Year: 2011
I first heard about this movie through a Facebook ad. As you may already know, Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite movies, and, so, naturally, I have it listed as such on my Facebook page. Released in the US under the same studio, Focus Features, I was naturally notified in my feed of what can essentially be considered that film’s Cuban cousin, Juan of the Dead. Intrigued at the prospect of what could’ve possibly been an international effort to portray the same outbreak, but wary of the film’s potential to just essentially be a remake, I naturally put the film in my movie queue. My expectations weren’t too high for this film, nor was I expecting utter crap. Luckily, the movie wasn’t. And it makes smart usage of the zombie-infested setting to say some poignant things about life as a family in Cuba. (However, it’s unfortunately not the beginning of some international project to depict a global outbreak. Darn.) Read more…
A Big “Thank You” for the Most Popular Day Yet!
Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who made today the most visited day on my site since its start!
Many of you came via Facebook, and I thank you for your continued support. I think a big thank you is in store for the guys at The Nightmare on Elm Street Companion, however, who contributed not only three whopping comments on my review of the first A Nightmare on Elm St., but also dedicated an entire forum post to my review! Now, granted, most of their visits were because they disagreed with me on my review for A Nightmare on Elm Street, and some of them rightly pointed out that I had screwed up in counting the number of films in the franchise. However, though I know it may sound like backhanded appreciation, I hope you all know I’m being sincere when I say that I welcome and really enjoy feedback and discussion, even from those of you who disagree. I truly do appreciate the attention! Sure, some of you have been a bit… severe in your responses, but, hey, you’ve been the most actively engaging people yet on the site, and I owe its popularity today in part to you!
For those of you not involved, I headed over to their forums earlier today and responded to their reactions to my review. Turns out they believe I missed a bit more from the films than I realized, and asked me to reconsider. While I’m not going to be changing the score of my review of the original film, as I still think it deserves a 2/5, I’ve come to understand that the first film led to what I’m told is a series with a deep mythology, and I was advised to watch at least the third and the seventh films. I advise you guys, if you have any interest in the series in general, to head over there and listen to what they have to say, since they know a lot more about it than I do!
Because they’ve been so nice (again, for the most part) to my visitation on their site, I’m going to take them on their word and, though I wasn’t planning on it, I’m going to review not just Dream Warriors and New Nightmare, but also the 2010 remake, just to challenge the dude who said I must like the remakes better than the originals. I’m not going to be compromising my perspective on these movies just because I have a bunch of fans breathing down my neck, but I hope that this will be just as enlightening an experience as I’m being led to believe.
Challenge accepted!
The Viewer's Commentary 