A typical by the numbers little thriller with a couple nice jumps, some good acting, and a nifty little message about forgiveness. The brother sister dynamic worked really well and reminded me of the one from a sleeper horror movie from the 80’s…"Silver Bullet". That being said, I had the "twist" figured out early on and I wish the tension was cranked up the way it was in the final few minutes of the movie. A decent "visit"…just don’t go in with high expectations.

Stormy Curry

Once again, I have to laugh at mainstream critics. When Pixels came out, they criticized it for being sophomoric, rude, and ridiculous. Um…have you ever seen an Adam Sandler movie? In his movies, the geeks grow up, one becomes President, and the others save the world from video games come to life. It’s fun, funny, and typical Sandler. I still fail to understand the huge gap between what critics consider funny and what the rest of us laugh at. I think that’s a good thing. I loved it and the kids did too. Isn’t that the point?
Stormy Curry

Stormy Curry

For the first two thirds, this movie wasn’t fantastic but it wasn’t the bomb we all heard about. It was a typical origin story with a slow pace and dark tone. But then the final act happened and I can understand why the director blasted the studio on Twitter…it reportedly reshot the ending. Whatever the original finale was, it couldn’t have been as bad as this. Characters act out of character…"plot points" are shouted out in a effort to make what we are watching coherent…and really bad special effects help torpedo the movie and apparently this version of the franchise. I liked the direction they were trying with this "4", unfortunately that direction led the film off a cliff. Wish it sucked right out of the gate instead of having potential for an hour.
Stormy Curry

— by Jeff Schultz

There’s a flaw so big in the setup to this barely passable kids-in-peril thriller that you’ll either have to accept its absurdity or just go home. A single mother (Kathryn Hahn, everywhere these days) hasn’t spoken to her parents in ten years after a bitter forced parting involving physical violence. But she’s sending her two young children (the boy is only 8) unaccompanied to spend a week with the grandparents they’ve never seen or met. Part of the rationale is that Mom’s got a new boyfriend, who’s taking her on a cruise. But it’s just a contrivance for what follows and, this being Shyamalan, for the inevitable (and here, lame) twist. Disney star Ed Oxenbould as the boy is strong, but the girl who plays his older sister is not only bland, her precocious silliness is grating. Speaking of grating, Gramps here is called “Pop Pop”. A lot. Pop Pop. Pop Pop. At least Granny is just “Nana”. The character actors who play the grandparents do creepy well. But despite the making-a-documentary shooting style (also a creaky part of the setup) there’s nothing spontaneous or unexpected. The trailer doesn’t show you everything, but what it leaves out isn’t very exciting. And the ending (I should say “endings” because there’s an emotional coda that has you praying for the credits) is completely botched: the people who deserve to get what’s coming to them are essentially dispatched offscreen, when of course we want to watch them get beaten to a pulp. No vengeance, no fun.

-Stormy Curry Once again, critics have no clue. For the most part, the only time they like a scary movie is if it isn’t scary! CREEP describes the painfully slow pace this flick moves at…and for a short movie (1:15)…It takes forever to end. If you’ve never seen a movie (because you are a time traveller from the past awed by moving pictures) or a "lost footage" film (god knows we don’t have enough of those), you’re probably the audience for this. Obvious from the start with no scares and an ending that with any thought may have made the movie better, this just supports my theory that the nastier the review, the scarier the movie. This horror flick is boring with no payoff.

Stormy Curry

By Stormy Curry

What could have been a lazy, obvious, and stereotypical biopic about the formation of NWA is actually the complete opposite. This movie runs for almost 2 and a half hours and damn if I didn’t want an hour more. It’s that good. Not only does it show how these three guys changed music, it is at times infuriating, moving, and inspiring. The pacing is tight, the music is awesome, and most surprising the acting is excellent. For those who classify the group as "thugs" and think/thought NWA glorified "the life", do yourself a favor and see this movie. Just like with anything, you have to understand the context and the intent before you can judge the message. So far, it’s my favorite movie of the year.

— by Jeff Schultz

Starts out creepy, ends up crap. For the first half hour, this two-character mind-game thriller is unsettling and increasingly scary. Mark Duplass, especially in the earlier scenes, keeps us guessing about just how crazy he might be. And there’s a 180° jolt about a third of the way in that kicks the movie up a notch, turning cat-and-mouse into hunter seeks prey. But then the mouse/prey starts going on fantasy riffs about his stalker (which fall just short of being homoerotic). The riffs seem contrived, and they’re made worse by the ending which takes those fantasies to their fairly ridiculous and fatal conclusion.