Letterboxd — Your life in film

Not as bad as I expected. The short story is one of my favorites from Night Shift and I think it translates well into a 90 minute movie. This is very much a product of its era but pretty solid.

I was really into the Twilight Zone feel of this movie. In particular, it feels like a Richard Matheson story. The introduction of the kid is interesting. But ultimately it feels like it's too dependent on its surreal concept. As a result, characters fall by the wayside. I didn't feel connected to Tom and Gemma. When the tension ramped up between them, it fell flat for me.

Interesting concept. Wish it was better.

Podcast Review: obsessiveviewer.com/2020/04/27/ov314/

Written Review: obsessiveviewer.com/2020/04/28/vivarium-2020/

Solid sequel. Vincent Price is great but the character really only interested me when the movie was recycling the descent ti insanity stuff from the first movie. The mystery at the heart of the story wasn't engaging to me but the visual effects were really cool.

Doesn't leave a strong impression aside from some good effects work and solid acting by both Amell's. The idea of a world that outlaws and registers super-powered people is just set dressing for a really standard crime/heist story.

Still an all-time favorite of mine. The cast works so well together and I love the way each crew member serves a specific function and has their own set piece. Amazing visuals, stellar (no pun intended) sound design too. Still one of the best scores I've ever heard.

This documentary tells an insane story but doesn't seem at all interested in exploring anything deeper than the surprising developments of it. Apparently the documentary leaves out key details that would reflect even more poorly on the family and it really shows in the way the doc feels sloppy and way too forgiving to them.

Watching this in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was certainly interesting. It's day 13 of isolation for me and there's a line in the movie where a character asks the group if they understand "how long 5 days (quarantined in a single house) will really feel." Made me laugh.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie. It's got a strong cast boasting comedic chops that are put to good use. The relationship drama among the couples plays out well enough. But the comedy of how the characters react to their situation is the movie's bread and butter.

Tim Heidecker's uniquely deadpan and flustered approach to alternative comedy is on full display in Mister America. Playing off of long-standing plot lines in the brilliant On Cinema at the Cinema web series, the mockumentary takes aim at the topic of troubled political campaigns. The satire is wonderful (if a little too on the nose in some parts) and Heidecker's ability to elicit sympathy with an incredibly flawed character is an art unto itself.

Dig the concept. But the execution is pretty haphazard. Atrocuously awkward visual effects, zero chemistry between Biel and Cage, and the plot is nonsensical at times. The nuclear threat feels very much shoehorned into the story in a "let's make it like 24" way. (Funny too, since Thomas Kretschmann played a villain in 24 season 2 - the one with the nuke.)

Kind of clever uses of the character's ability but there's nothing below the surface.

I remember seeing this when it first came out and being really disappointed by it. Revisiting it now, I thought "it can't be that bad, right?" Then I saw that the Farrelly Brothers directed it and that confirmed for me that, yes, it can be that bad. And worse.

It's repetitive, dumb, and much more juvenile than it needs to be. There's a talented cast with absolutely nothing to do and they're given no room at all to be funnier than the piss poor script asks them to be.