stevey-2 Reviews

When Evil Lurks (2023)

Strikingly original and genuinely unsettling at times

[8/10 · 29 October 2023]

I read a bunch of reviews and red flags went off, since they didn't sound trustworthy. How could a South American demonic possession movie with a terrible generic title be _anything_ but trope-filled trash?

But I'm glad I went for it. This movie is absolutely amazing from beginning to end--from the world building, to the cinematography, to the acting, to the incredibly original story, and of course it sports some genuinely scary and messed up scenes. And the world building! This could turn into a new franchise with all the unexplored potential.

Also, it's worth noting that in my 40 years of watching horror movies, I can tell you that very few horror movies ever manage to have even one truly original scene that stands out in your mind for years later, let alone two or three such scenes. This movie has a good four or five crazily memorable scenes. My wife and I, both huge horror hounds, were absolutely floored at how many wtfs there were. And almost no tropes. It played almost like a Western, but just super super messed up. What a great movie.

It would be hard to pin down which movie this most resembles, and honestly it reminded me more of video games in some ways. Maybe a little slice of Silent Hill, with hints of Bird Box, The Witch, The Last of Us, and a lot of spaghetti westerns. Great flick.

Roh (2019)

Sloh

[3/10 · 6 April 2022]

The movie is shot beautifully, and the acting is nowhere near as bad as some here are saying. But this movie is SLOW, and not in a way that successfully holds tension for very long.

The ending is a mess and some of the final events are nonsensical, suggesting that maybe there was some over-aggressive editing to cut down the length.

I'm a big fan of Southeast Asian horror, but this is one you'll want to give a miss.

Sisyphus: The Myth (2021)

Stupid fun

[6/10 · 11 March 2022]

This is a pretty fun action series, light on sci-fi, heavy on "you need to suspend a LOT of disbelief to enjoy it".

If you approach it like you're watching a Hollywood action flick from the 80s, you'll find it entertaining enough.

The only real problem with this show, and it's a serious one, is the casting of the two leads. They are both easy on the eyes, but they were both terribly miscast for this role. For starters, the girl is a truly terrible actress, and is embarrassing to watch. I'm sure she's fantastic in rom-coms, since she really is beautiful. But this role demanded more, and she was entirely unconvincing--even though I was happy to suspend all criticism and just enjoy it. But boy howdy, is she ever a bad actress. Any situation that requires her to do something other than "be cute" is ruined. With one exception--she does a great job with the fight scenes. But that's maybe five percent of her screen time, and for the rest, you have to watch her acting like someone who has never been in front of a camera before.

But even worse is the male lead. He is a decent actor, but he is *terribly* unfit to be the romantic lead. He and the woman have zero chemistry. No, I take that back. It's not zero. It's _negative_. They are clearly repulsed by one another in real life, and their attempts at romance are so cringey that we finally had to give up on the series after twelve episodes. We only had 4 left, and we were enjoying the story, but the romance was really just as awful and unwatchable as many other reviewers have observed. And honestly it's the guy's fault. He looks much older than her, he acts and dresses cringily young, and he is much smaller than she is (in both height and weight). It's clear that neither of them likes the other, and every time they hug it's like cousin hugs. It was just terrible casting.

The rest of the show is pretty awesome, don't get me wrong. Great pacing, lots of plot twists, pretty decent time-travel sci-fi, and really solid, top-notch acting by the entire rest of the cast. The special effects for the postwar Korean Peninsula are outstanding, and overall the series feels like it had a decently high budget.

If you can put aside your confusion about obvious time-travel plot holes, and you don't mind the male lead pawing at the female lead like a sex offender grooming a 14 year old while she cringes away from him in disgust, then you're in for a fun ride.

No Exit (I) (2022)

Tight little single-setting flick

[7/10 · 28 February 2022]

Don't be misled by the reviewers saying the plot is predictable. It could have gone in many different directions, and anyone who guessed exactly how it would turn out simply got lucky, nothing more.

The acting and pacing are solid. The writing is actually fairly clever, and earlier foreshadowing sets up some amusing moments later in the film. After a slow opening scene, it picks up the pace and never lets up until the end of the film.

The story is believable enough, although there is one big unexplained coincidence leading to one of the twists. But it's not a *huge* stretch, and is certainly far more believable than the silly kdramas I've been watching lately.

Some of the reviewers mentioned the great sound, and I was hoping to enjoy it. But unfortunately it completely overwhelmed my Samsung sound bar, which blasted rattling duck farts at all the critical moments of the film. But with a better sound system I'll bet it was amazing.

This is the kind of film that could easily be a stage play, like the Maltese Falcon or Saw -- it's almost entirely set in one little visitor lodge. I like that kind of film, but it's not for everyone, hence some of the lower review scores.

I'd give it a watch if you're a horror fan. It's not horror, but it has a lot of the same tension and minor gore elements you find in the horror genre.

The House (III) (2022)

Enjoyable, memorable, and unpredictable

[8/10 · 4 February 2022]

Definitely a bit Kafka-esque. Not a comedy, but dark and entertaining. The stories are set in the past, the present, and the future.

Reminds me a bit of the last four segments of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Dark, a bit bleak, but always interesting.

The cinematography, lighting, and stop motion were all amazing. The stop motion in the last story in particular was so well done that you sort of forgot it was stop motion.

The voice acting was also superb.

Not very happy stories at all, although it ends on a reasonably high note. Definitely not for everyone, but I loved it.

Flower of Evil (2020)

Good, but overly and unnecessarily melodramatic

[6/10 · 9 January 2022]

The Good:

The characters are all likable and easy on the eyes. Acting is all solid.

The script is solid and has some genuine gasp-out-loud moments. Twists and turns abound.

Some of the locations are nicely done; it's got a bit more variety than most crime kdramas.

The two story romances are handled well. I don't care for romances and they managed to make them at least watchable. The four characters involved on the romance side all had good chemistry.

The little girl deserves a tv award; she might have been one of the best actors in the show.

The Bad:

The music is bombastic and overdone. Characters can't do so much as take a dump without an orchestra belting out Carmina Burana like it's a lightsaber duel.

The show is filled with typical garbage decision-making by all the characters; they all withhold information to create extra drama, and it gets frustrating and irritating by the time you're down to the last few episodes. There's about 50% real drama and 50% manufactured drama in this show.

Nobody in this show EVER answers a direct question. They always shoot another question back. It's the most irritating thing ever.

Nobody can have a conversation without it taking 10 minutes and devolving into tearjerking music. Every scene tries to be a cliffhanger. I haven't seen this much overt audience manipulation since watching American soap operas. It's kdramas like this that draw the comparison to soap operas.

It's a pretty decent show. It really is. But it's really not up to the standards of other serious kdramas. It's just too overdone. I'd have given it an 8 but the soapiness and melodrama just drags it all down.

And of course the last episode is as bad as everyone said it would be, although it does at least end on a sort of happy note.

You know what this show needs? A remake.

It's a solid story with good characters, and it needs to be remade FOR grown-ups BY grown-ups. I'm so frustrated because I really wanted to love this show, but it's straight-up embarrassing filmmaking.

Tunnel (2017)

Starts off a bit cringey and ends up truly epic

[8/10 · 7 January 2022]

I wrong a big long angry review after watching the first 4 or 5 episodes. It was almost unwatchable for the first 2-3 episodes -- terrible writing, cringe overacting, everyone's emotions were completely over the top, you didn't care about any of the characters, and worst of all, the main guy is just about the worst heap of steaming toxic masculinity ever to grace the silver screen. He punches and kicks everything, bullies everyone, and is one of the more unlikeable characters I've had the misfortune of watching.

Sooooo, it turns out, it gets better. A LOT better. My wife wanted to keep watching so I stuck it out, and I'm glad we did. The first truly great episode in my opinion was #7, which is almost halfway through. But from there on out it takes many twists and turns--many of them predictable (but still satisfying) and several others which caught us by surprise.

It probably helps to think of this show as being a bit like WandaVision, where the 1986 backstory is deliberately overacted and corny because it's (I'm guessing) mimicking the way Korean dramas/sitcoms were back in 1986. The characters, acting and writing all become significantly more mature as the 2016 timeline evolves.

To be fair, there is still some weakness in the second half: a bit of manufactured drama from characters not telling each other critical pieces of information, poor decision-making by the police crew, and even some straight-up melodrama in the latter half, particularly in the last 3 episodes. But it's forgivable because the story is really solid. It's a very, very good story, and the first 6 episodes were more or less necessary for setting up all the complex twists and turns it takes in the second act. Oh, and the main guy becomes much more watchable after the first half, as he matures as a human being. His toxic masculinity was intentional and it gets fixed as the story unfolds.

It's pretty obvious why there's already one remake, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a Korean or Hollywood remake at some point with a higher budget. It's a fairly unique story that's hard to pass up.

There are definitely some timeline continuity issues, and they leave more questions open than they answer by the end. So don't come looking for great sci-fi here.

But as a crime drama, this is about as solid as it gets, and my wife was bawling at the end. I might have had a sniffle or two. I'd rank this up there with Beyond Evil, Stranger/Secret Forest, and The Guest as one of the top non-romantic kdramas out there.

Long story short: Stick with it and you'll be rewarded.

The Maid (2020)

Just forget about the monkey (very very light spoilers)

[4/10 · 9 December 2021]

The trailer to this movie shows literally all the scenes of the monkey. I think there might even be one monkey scene in the trailer that isn't in the movie. The monkey is gone 38 seconds into the movie and you never see it again. There is no explanation.

So let's just put that monkey out of our minds, and focus on how godawful bad this movie was. I mean, yes, we watched the whole thing, beginning to end, because you just can't take your eyes off the Pinocchio-looking little maid as she, ah, grows as a character through the course of the movie.

First, the good: The casting, acting, script, and cinematography are all pretty decent. Even the direction is solid; there are very few continuity issues and the movie unfolds at a good pace.

Next, the bad: The soundtrack is REALLY weird, ranging from blaring sentimental/spooky piano, to 40s jazz, to Eastern European folk music, to clashing bang drums, and there's even a pop song. A lot of the music didn't match the scene at all. It really messed with the overall tone and your ability to take the movie seriously.

And finally, the ugly: This story was awful. It could have used a LOT more monkey in it. Even explaining why they were showing an evil monkey in a suit in the beginning would have elevated this story by at least 1 star. It goes from non-scary jump-scare ghost horror to melodrama and then to a full-on slasher film. The movie has no idea what it wants to be, and does all of them pretty badly.

And last of all, the GREAT. This movie was really funny at the end. Once stuff starts going bat-poop crazy, it's really entertaining. And it's actually intentional. It doesn't fit the rest of the tone of the movie at all, and verges on J-Horror in its wackiness. But to their credit they do give some explanations (or hints) before it happens.

Anyway, yeah. Don't watch it. But if you do, just don't set your hopes very high for the monkey in the trailers.

The Whole Truth (2021)

As bad as "barely watchable" can get while remaining barely watchable

[4/10 · 8 December 2021]

Wife and I were cracking jokes for the first half (or maybe 2/3) because the plot was going nowhere.

It winds up being Thai melodrama. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no horror except a cute little monster girl throwing up blood.

Wish I hadn't watched it, but it kept our attention enough not to turn it off.

The Advent Calendar (2021)

Surprisingly good movie

[8/10 · 5 December 2021]

We didn't watch any trailers or know what to expect, other than some of the reviews saying it's not really a horror movie.

Everything about this movie was surprising. My mouth fell wide open at least 3 times, which almost never happens to me. The movie gets all the predictable stuff out of the way in the first half, and then the second half is just amazing.

It's true that the movie builds little to no tension. But damn is it ever an interesting story that holds your attention to the end. There are some tonal inconsistencies here and there, which is why it fails to build any real tension. But it does succeed in keeping you *closely* engaged through the entire film.

The ending was also a surprise, although I can't say more about it.

The lead's performance is fantastic; you can't take your eyes off her, and i only noticed one misstep the entire movie, where it felt like she was an actress rather than a real character. The supporting acting is all top notch as well.

Some of the scene transitions were brilliantly executed. I felt the soundtrack was a little weak, and there were some intense scenes that I felt could have used a little bit of music. But overall the movie is solidly crafted, with some truly astonishing moments, and even a few cliches that are brought back to life in creative new ways.

The writing was really tight all around. It's impressive how much they managed to fit into this 104-minute runtime. I feel like this concept could easily have been spread out over an entire season of episodes. If anything, the movie felt a little bit rushed in places, especially in the beginning. But it settles into a solid mystery and delivers a satisfying ending.

What more can you ask for in a movie with a 6.6 rating?

Hellbound (2021– )

We only made it 4 episodes in

[4/10 · 25 November 2021]

All the lead characters are miserable -- not bad actors, but miserable characters.

The story, unlike most K-dramas, is utterly lacking in charm. It's dismal, sanctimonious, preachy, melodramatic, and worst of all, extremely difficult to believe. Not the monsters -- if you've seen the previews, then you'll know whether you like them or not. I thought they were fine. It's the REST of the show that's hard to believe. Everything is completely over the top: crowds of people suddenly turning on the main characters, main leads getting roped into the story in multiple ways, etc. It's just bad, lazy writing.

The monologues seem like they will never end. In four episodes, they never _did_ end. I assume the final two eps have more of the same.

My wife and I really like Korean dramas. We've watched dozens of them, including crazy fantastical stuff like Strangers from Hell, Kingdom, Park Il DOH, and also more standard police procedurals like Beyond Evil. K-dramas are great. We love K-dramas.

But we just couldn't finish this. It wasn't abysmally awful, but it was definitely a turn-off.

Spell (2020)

A tight, well-made movie

[7/10 · 9 November 2021]

It reminded me a bit of Ready Or Not, or maybe Green Room. You know the plot pretty much from the start, but it manages to keep the tension high. It's got good pacing, and although some of the things that happen are a little too pat, it's because they never let the pace slow down. Main guy makes a few dumb decisions, but also does enough smart things to make up for it. Good sound, good acting, good cinematography. Couple of memorable scenes. Not bad at all! We enjoyed it.

The Medium (2021)

About six hours too long

[4/10 · 2 November 2021]

Full disclosure: We only watched 1'45" of the 2'10" movie. It was pretty clear how it was going to end by then, and we just couldn't take it any more.

This movie is LONG, and unfolds as slowly as The Exorcist, except without the allure. It's not a terrible effort; the acting wasn't bad at all, and the cinematography was nice when they weren't doing the shaky-cam documentary style--but unfortunately that was most of the movie.

The main girl is Mink, and boy, does everyone shout "Mink!" a lot in this movie. You could turn it into a drinking game, except that you'd die of alcohol poisoning about seventeen hours into the movie. I would estimate that they say her name no fewer than 250 times during the course of the film.

The film offers some nice glimpses into life in the rural Thai countryside. That's about the best I can say for it. The dramatic buildup is far too slow, and by the time it gets to the trope-y horror at the end, you really don't care anymore, and are more or less rooting for them all to die so the movie will be over.

There were some unpleasantly abrupt moments in which critically important characters appeared just exactly when they were needed for the plot, with no previous mention of them, making it a bit confusing. (The most obvious one was the baby towards the end, but there were others.)

There are some scenes of animal cruelty that could easily be a trigger or turn-off for some viewers; I found them a bit over the top myself.

The movie was not scary at any point, although you would probably find it scary if you have literally never watched a horror movie before. On the plus side, there were no jump scares, but on the minus side, there were no other scares either.

I really wanted to like this movie. My wife and I love supernatural horror, and we love foreign (especially Asian) horror. We've seen plenty of both Thai and Korean horror movies and series. The Medium, unfortunately, is just not worth watching, even if you're pretty desperate for horror content.

Seance (I) (2021)

Mediocre movie with an excellent lead and an AMAZING soundtrack

[6/10 · 23 October 2021]

The movie itself was a pretty decent whodunnit, with a bunch of kids being picked off by an unknown assailant. The trailers were accurate. We've all seen a gazillion movies like that. The movie doesn't pretend to be anything else, and aside from a decent twist, it really was "just like all the others".

Pretty much all the actors were terrible except for Suki Waterhouse (the lead), Marina Stephenson Kerr (the headmaster), and Seamus Patterson (her son). The rest were all bona-fide, legit, _terrible_ actors.

It was super low budget, filmed entirely in one building, with no particular special effects worth mentioning. So it was more like a stage play. Nothing wrong with that.

Overall my wife and I found the movie decently entertaining and somewhat forgettable.

However, I figured I'd call out that the soundtrack was WAY better than the movie deserved, since nobody else seems to have mentioned it. The music elevated the movie and the experience to almost B-grade material. I've added a bunch of the tracks to my playlist. One of the best horror soundtracks I've ever heard. (The only other one I can think of that stands out like that is the music from It Follows.)

The Trip (2021)

Reminiscent of 'Bloody Hell' -- fast, funny, brutal

[7/10 · 21 October 2021]

Didn't know what to expect going in. The writing is tight and the jokes start getting really funny after the first 20 min or so. There are some tonal issues--it can't really decide whether it is a black comedy or a violent, sadistic home invasion piece. But it eventually winds up choosing comedy, albeit super dark. There are many twists, some predictable and some surprising. Overall it was good fun. Reminded us of the Australian gem "Bloody Hell".

Forgotten (2017)

Fun first half, then completely implausible follow-up. Would have been better as an anime.

[7/10 · 7 June 2021]

The movie is just bonkers for the first half, with surprise after surprise keeping you guessing and doing a great job of moving along. Could have been another Korean masterpiece if it had kept up that quality. Unfortunately the explanation for it all is just straight-up silly. It's a level of melodrama that belongs in a B-anime, not in a movie that takes itself so seriously.

The acting, direction, cinematography, etc, are all up to very high standards throughout. It's not a bad movie at all. But it falls short of the greatness I've seen from many other South Korean directors. And it's _definitely_ not comparable to Oldboy.

Worth a watch, but don't expect a believable premise.

Nightmare Teacher (2016)

A twisted version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

[7/10 · 10 February 2021]

My wife and I are horror buffs, so we checked this out based on someone's "best Korean horror series" recommendation list.

It's really light on the horror side; probably inappropriate for anyone under 13 years old, but that's the extent of it.

However, we found it was tons of fun (albeit very silly) and we thought all the storylines were pleasantly different enough to keep us going through the whole show. The acting is actually pretty solid, especially from the eponymous Teacher, and the characters are all entertaining in their own ways.

Fun stuff! But don't expect to be scared or find anything remotely highbrow about it. This is a high school drama written for teenagers, probably BY teenagers, and it's mostly just an amusing cautionary tale about the consequences of being greedy little monsters.

3% (2016–2020)

I absolutely did not see the end coming (season 1)

[9/10 · 31 January 2021]

We pushed through season 1 on the strength of the critical reviews, in spite of the first several episodes having spotty quality. The first five episodes were pretty meh, with some stuff that was just barely good enough to keep us going. There were weaknesses in the acting, the story, the claustrophobic cinematography, and some pretty silly puzzles. Episode 4 was somewhat stronger, pretty decent, but then 5 was overly melodramatic. But we kept watching, just in case it got better.

And then the final two episodes of the season were just flat-out brilliant. Somehow the plot had snuck in a bunch of traps for the viewer, and plot elements that had seemed banal or cliched were upturned in a whirlwind in s1e6 and s1e7 that rivalled some of the better Game of Thrones episodes. It was a tour de force that caught my wife and I completely off-guard. After all the puzzle stuff was over, the show morphed into a richly-textured, morally gray mosaic of not knowing who the hell to root for, or who the bad guys really were, but a wild ride regardless. And the progressive character development of the whole cast was outstanding.

A+ television here. Had no idea we were going to like it so much by the end. I'm looking forward to S2.

We watched the subtitled version, and by the end we didn't even notice the subtitles anymore. Definitely go that route if you give this show a spin.

Black (2017)

Unwatchable tripe

[3/10 · 16 September 2020]

We tried. We gave it a few episodes like everyone says to do.

The acting is *awful*, the writing is terrible, the characters are juvenile, the pacing is disjointed, and the worldbuilding ideas are derivative tropey garbage. There is nothing new or entertaining in this show.

I'm not going to wait for five episodes for something to become Not Awful. If you want a good, well-acted, original, believable Korean thriller series, watch Strangers from Hell.

The Woman (I) (2011)

Thinly disguised torture porn

[3/10 · 7 October 2015]

Everyone's hailing this as a feminist triumph. But it was pretty nauseating fare. A woman is tortured -- and worse -- by an evil man and his evil son, while the rest of the family (all women) stand by. This goes on and on for the whole movie. Then at the very very end, all the bad people get what's coming to them.

I don't see this as a celebration of feminism. I see it as an excuse to watch vile people do vile things on screen, with the ending justifying the voyeurism. I'm not buying it. If you're into torture porn (think Hostel), then sure, maybe you'll like it. Not my thing.

Giving it a 3/10 because the subplot involving the oldest daughter was actually somewhat realistic, at least for a while.

The Fall (I) (2013–2016)

Decent (but slow) crime drama targeted at third-wave feminists

[6/10 · 5 September 2015]

The Fall is a slow-paced, thoughtful drama that pits a sociopathic serial killer who strangles women to death against a sociopathic detective who bludgeons viewers to death with feminist clichés. Both actors are excellent in their roles.

The series will appeal particularly to women who believe all men are fundamentally worthless scumbags, because every single male in the series is a fundamentally worthless scumbag. The men in the show range the whole gamut: street thugs, wife beaters, corrupt cops, low-IQ misogynists, serial-killer sympathizers, adulterers, rapists, weak-willed whiners. Every male character is deeply flawed, and no male character ever has an idea or makes a suggestion that is relevant or valuable to any pending investigation. There are heavy-handed implications throughout the series that all men are problematic and ultimately unnecessary.

The plot is essentially the same as that of any serial-murder investigation, with the story more or less following the broad outline, pacing and atmosphere of the excellent move 'Manhunter' (1986).

Both the protagonist and antagonist are written as complex characters; unfortunately, each of them has at least one dimension that is totally unbelievable. Dornan plays a family man and counselor by day and a murderer by night, leading to some interesting contrasts. But late in the series he also plays the stereotypical megalomaniac cat-and-mouse with his pursuers, and it doesn't fit his character at all. Dornan gives it his best, but the writing is a failure here.

Andersen plays a bog-typical lead investigator, but with a penchant for cat-and- mouse games with all the men around her. Although her role does wonders for debunking stereotypes about women (e.g., can't be in charge, can't have one- night stands, can't be a willingly childless bachelor), she is unfortunately neither charismatic nor attractive enough to pull off all the sexy encounters with cops who look like magazine models. Although Andersen is an outstanding actor, and the script is fine, the casting just doesn't work here.

There are few surprises, and the plot unfolds rather predictably. What keeps it going are the acting, the excellent music, the brooding atmosphere, and the fascination of killer, who is portrayed as sympathetic most of the time.

The end of the series is an abrupt mess, with loose ends quickly tied up and a possible cliffhanger for Season 3. However, for those looking for a feminist agenda in classic crime drama, the series delivers in a big way. The women are all in charge, the men are all assholes, there are lots of incorrect and self-serving claims about the "matriarchal" Mosuo people of China, and if you really hate men, there's a lot here to make you feel good about yourself.

6/10. Would have been 7/10 if the ending hadn't been such shite.

It Follows (2014)

Surprisingly good from beginning to end

[9/10 · 26 July 2015]

If you're looking for jump scares or lots of gore, then this is not going to be a good movie for you. It Follows doesn't have jump scares, lots of screaming, or gratuitous gore, which explains why it's only 7 stars on IMDb but 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie stills that you see online for this movie are misleading. They show a scantily-dressed girl bound in a chair, with a guy behind her, and he's showing her something. That makes it look like maybe a home invasion movie, or a serial- killer movie. But it's not. This is movie is strictly supernatural horror, and it has an original and well-executed premise that will keep you thinking about it for days.

My wife and I loved pretty much everything about this movie. The acting, cinematography, music, plot development and writing are all top-notch, and it's all quite an achievement for such a low-budget film.

The movie manages to fill you with dread and outright fear, and keeps it going in a way that I haven't seen since watching The Ring. But the amazing thing is that there's no mystery to unravel. It's all explained to you near the beginning of the movie. And the plot doesn't rely on certain characters not believing what's going on, or main characters doing stupid things, or other horror tropes. The whole movie is straightforward and still manages to be a great horror movie.

Can't recommend this movie enough.

Pulse (2001)

This movie has haunted me for a year, so: review time.

[9/10 · 26 June 2012]

My wife and I watch horror movies, with a preference for spooky supernatural horror.

This movie was unlike anything else we'd seen, and we talked about it on and off for days afterward. It probably helps if you've seen a LOT of unusual/indie movies -- end-of-the-world stuff like Carriers, The Crazies, Pontypool, or out-there twist supernatural movies like Heartless or Triangle, or zany "horror" movies like Fido, A Barking Dog Never Bites, and Delicatessen. Also mind-bending movies like Primer or just plain nonsensical but modestly disturbing movies like Mulholland Drive.

If you enjoy those kinds of movies, and you don't mind not having everything explained or necessarily even "rational", then I think you'll find Pulse to be an _exceptionally_ good ghost story that sticks with you for a long time.

Often when I'm sleepy and it's late, I find my thoughts wandering back to the characters, the imagery and the overall premise. It fills me with a strange sense of dread, almost an ache. It's been over a year since I saw the film, and it still haunts me occasionally. I think that's a sign of a pretty good movie.

I just wish the film had been less blurry. I watched it on Netflix over a questionable connection, and we don't know to this day whether the film quality was just grainy (maybe on purpose), or if it was due to lossy compression.

People have said (rightly) that this is a movie about loneliness. But make no mistake -- it's also a movie about the end of the world, so don't expect it to be a pick-me-up or happy ending.

Alice in Wonderland (I) (2010)

The 21st century's Wizard of Oz

[10/10 · 6 March 2010]

For decades Tim Burton has had a unique vision of the world that's he's been trying to communicate in his movies. I knew 20 minutes into this one that I was watching his masterpiece; it's the culmination of everything he's been trying to say. He finally got everything right. This movie is flawless, delicate, and a perfect communion of his world view.

I knew halfway through the movie that it was the best I've seen in a decade, and by the end I knew it to be among the best cinematic experiences I've had in 40-odd years.

Watching the movie also gave me a twinge of sadness, because the more I loved the movie, the more I understood -- from experience, mind you -- that it was going to leave a lot of viewers bewildered and unhappy. Tim Burton is generations ahead of his time, and the closer he comes to showing us his true vision, the more people he alienates, leaving an ever-smaller core of aficionados who can be moved and astonished by the brilliance of that vision.

Johnny Depp obviously gets the vision. People who work time and again with Burton do so because they get *him*. And Depp gives a bravura, astonishingly subtle performance of an incredibly difficult character. It may have been his finest work to date. But the difficulty of the character will also confuse many people, and you're going to hear about it in the reviews.

The movie, like many of Burton's movies, pokes fun at precisely the kind of person who doesn't get this movie. People who've lost touch with the wonderment of their childhoods, people who are mostly concerned with what is fashionable and proper, dull people with little imagination and even less tolerance for it in others -- these people are caricatured in Alice, both in the "real world" at the party and again in the Red Queen's court.

Burton's Alice in Wonderland is a wonderful metaphor for the relationship between Burton and his audience. The theme of the movie is that a few people in the world -- "only the best people" -- still have boundless imagination and delight for the truly novel, while the rest of polite society thinks of them as being quirky, off-kilter, or simply embarrassing.

It will take years for this mess to get sorted out, of course. People will whine and moan and complain about it. In time they'll accept it. A generation from now this movie will be viewed as one of the best fantasies of our times: a 21st-century Wizard of Oz (to which Alice pays a brief homage at the end of the film.)

A word of advice: go re-read Lewis Carroll's two Alice stories before watching this movie. No Alice has ever been truer to the spirit of Carroll's strange, haunting and timeless vision.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

a horrible disappointment

[3/10 · 24 November 1999]

I think many of the positive reviews of this movie were written by people who've just been desperate for some good head-chopping scenes. To be fair, this movie has a lot of them, and they're done well. But the movie itself is *bad*. The long-winded exposition scenes are an embarrassment, and people have already commented on the plot flaws, the lack of chemistry between Depp and Ricci, and the incredible mangling of the original Irving story. But wait, there's more!

Christopher Walken looks and acts comical as the horseman. His recurring line is "rahhr!" Far from being scary, he looks like a clown, and I kept expecting him to launch into a story about a gold watch. (Oh, and how could anyone fail to notice the headless horseman visibly looking around for his horse when he comes out of the windmill?)

Crane is a confused character - one minute the bold constable questioning everyone, the next minute shaking violently with fear when they tell him the ghost story. In one scene he pushes a boy in front of him into a cave, and in the next he insists on going first. This isn't a complex character; it's a badly-written one.

The script is awful. "You must have some witch in you." "Why?" "Because you have bewitched me." Argh! But the scene that really pushed it over the edge into B-movie territory came at the end. I'll refrain from Ebert-style spoilers (that man should be restrained!), but why did Crane and Katrina choose -that particular moment-, you know which one I'm talking about, to start hugging and kissing at the climax of the movie? That moment was about as romantic as a prison rape, and their reaction was *completely* inappropriate. Much of the audience burst out laughing, which I'm sure wasn't Burton's intent.

Go in with your expectations set for "bad", and you might be able to stomach it.