Movie Reviews

[Dagabond]

The Guest 8/10

It's a weird one there are good bits to it and there are predictably bad bits to it, It's like there are two completely different films in the one. it has a way shitty corny 'mid' ending (has one of those resurrection from the dead cliche's which isnt much of a spoiler as you see it coming) but for the most part its a good storyline with bad 80's pRon music with a bit of a throw back to the old slasher flicks and a smidge of 'Scream' on top but with a really good story underneath.

I liked it though.

[stubbietubbie]

The Babadook

It's been a while since a horror film strayed from cheap jump scares and gore porn and focused as heavily on psychological horror. Widowed Amelia has been struggling with her husbands' death for a worryingly-long seven years, in an accident whilst driving her to the hospital to give birth to their son, Samuel. Amelia has an ever present, lurking, waiting, sense of animosity, once heavily masked in self-assured love for Samuel but begins to fray following the mysterious arrival of a very grim, very dark children's book called The Babadook. It's a twisted pop-up book, complete with frightening omens and expanding threats with each attempt to destroy it. As Samuel - already a problem child by a long shot - becomes more and more disturbed, loud, and grating, so too does Amelia's sense of reality, sanity, and love dissolve. Cooped up in a on old, creaky home seemingly purpose-built for sink-holes of shadows, creaks and freaky bumps in the night, our embattled family must deal with what The Babadook really means.

Expertly filmed by Aussie debutante Jennifer Kent, it's a horror film that could be said to draw influence from The Shining, The Exorcist, and The Blair Witch Project to name but a few. The real difference is the focus on Amelia, superbly portrayed by Essie Davis, who convinces us that she really is deteriorating from many factors as the film progresses. This is a mother who isn't your typical horror movie female, which runs around hopelessly, is one-dimensional, and some horny teen. Instead she's middle-aged, worn-out but determined, and explosive at times too. It's a multi-layered performance much missed from films of this genre. Complimenting her is young Noah Wiseman as Samuel, who does a very effective job of making us hate him (spoiler: that's the point). He's got a distinct face and certainly stretches the vocal cords when he's not building crude but dangerous contraptions to defend him and his mother from The Babadook. He's ultimately a foil, but doesn't fall into the creepy-for-creeps-sake Children of the Corn brand of child acting.

At one-and-a-half hours, this is a short but effective film without excesses and without grandiose special effects. The Babadook himself (Herself? Itself?) is a strange creature that really starts to make it's presence felt (and seen) in the second half, where Kent opts for more traditional over-the-shoulder appearances and one notable freak-out in the car. The sound effects are turned up to contrast the deafening silence, placing emphasis on actions and tension and The Babadook itself announcing it's presence is f*cking bang-on. The Babadook culminates at a bloody ending, and not one you might expect, but the conclusion is pretty satisfying once you stand back and consider it all. There's been precious few horror films that've impressed me; aside from the aforementioned ones, the first Paranormal Activity film was the last truly scary film for me. This is a different type of scary, but none-the-less effective.

Gah, gotta love time-outs on the edit window.

The book itself is called 'Mister Babadook,' not 'The Babadook.' Just felt compelled to clarify that. Sorry!

Edited 02/01/15 07:24 PM by Dagabond

[Adam]

The Judge: 8/10

Good story, good actors and acting.

[tab]

Gone Girl prob 6/10

Certainly a different plot to what I thought it was going to be and quite bloody long but a really fcked up ending!

[MattyP]

The book of Eli:

A Hollywood style Sunday sermon

2/10

[Never had any say Panda]

Bad Neighbours - DNF/10

It was just sh*t..

[Dagabond]

Well timed review there Dags...was going to watch it tonight.

Me too..

Was I wrong?....

The Judge: 8/10

Good story, good actors and acting.

Seconded, not sure why the rain man was included in the story though or the overabundance of sensory immersion to set up a feeling for a scene (eg: cyclone before the big blow up, left standing in the rain, holy light at mums funeral. Probably exact reason the rain man was in there).

Fricken LOVE that waterfall behind the diner though (for the long lost love scene).

[tab]

Haven't attempted yet.

Did watch Bad Neighbours though...complete waste of farkin time that was.

[Buf-Phoon]

show us yer tins

[Adam]

I didn't mind Bad Neighbours or The Interview for what they are. Which is a stupid comedy.

Next on my stupid comedy list is Bad Johnson.

Just saw the preview for the next Fast & Furious (or whatever they're calling it these days). It looks as equally silly as the last few, but I'll watch it anyway.