poisoncupcake74 Reviews

A Dog's Purpose (2017)

Beautiful Movie

[10/10 · 27 January 2017]

*Spoiler alert*

This movie is about a dog who is trying to figure out why he exists. He goes through 4 different reincarnated "lives" of various types of dogs, until he ends up finding the boy (now a man) who he was with in his first 'life', thus ending with his analysis on what his purpose is. If you see a bad review, most likely they were objecting to that video and not the story or the movie. Because it is seriously the most incredible, heartwarming, lovely movie and all the dog's are beautiful. This movie will have you crying at least 4 different times, laughing, happy and remembering all of YOUR dogs/pets you've ever owned. This movie has an IMDb rating that is extremely low because of fear that the dog in the "k-9 unit" scene was hurt. This is not a rating on the movie though, it is more of an objection to it. In truth if you were to rate this on the quality and beauty of the movie and only for that reason, it would most likely receive ratings between 8- 10. I saw this with a focus group and all 6 of us thought it was a 9 or 10, not one person did not like it. All of us-both males and females shed tears, all were emotional. All said they loved it. And afterward all shared stories with each other of their own pets they have had in their lives. Go see this movie. Its beautiful.

The Confirmation (2016)

A breath of fresh air

[8/10 · 22 March 2016]

The shining light in this movie is Jaeden Lieberher. His character Anthony, brings to the screen one of the most genuine talents not seen for a long time. I couldn't figure out if this was a drama or comedy, it has thematic elements mixed in with comedy but the movie is very dramatic, however the drama is light hearted. For all his good intentions, Walt, played nicely by Clive Owen, is trying to do the right thing and constantly gets himself in a bad situation. His tools are stolen, and everything from there seems to go downhill for him. Oh yeah, its also his weekend to take care of his son, while the mother and step father go on a catholic retreat. I think his son (Lieberher) begins to see that his father really is trying to do the best he can in the face of adversity so these two head off, in search of the missing tools and meet all sorts of interesting characters in the film. I think the acting is great by everyone involved but the rapport between Owen and Lieberher is incredibly touching and real and it makes for a beautiful movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)

Intense and Unnerving!

[9/10 · 21 February 2016]

Witches in the 1630s were not 2016 modern gaia loving pagans who worship the earth. Witches *from a 1630s Puritan perspective* made pacts with the devil, drank blood, cursed and killed and this type of hysteria & paranoia is the premises of this film. It's a slow to burn, cerebral movie like The Shining, or Suspiria. But in this day and age of stimulation overload, and film goers who laugh at jerking off jokes, The Vvitch will no doubt be reviewed by some as "boring"..sorry, there are no jump scares, no stupid one liners, this movie makes you think and feel everything. This piece of art was absolutely dark, unnerving, extremely disturbing and completely amazing. It is fantastically made and beautifully executed right down to the soundtrack which is every bit unsettling, containing no more than single string and faint wailing noises. This is the type of horror movie I've been waiting a very long time to see.

Lamb (I) (2015)

This movie is an Illusion

[6/10 · 21 January 2016]

I don't even know what to think about this movie, but I bet its going to be very big in pedophile circles. Its about a 47 yr old lonely guy who meets/befriends an 11 year old (whose parent is nowhere ever) that comes up to him at a truck stop in heels asking for a cigarette & then takes her on a trip with him. He urges her to lie to anyone they meet about who she is and their relationship. She asks to both call home and go home to which he refuses stating that would get her in more trouble. Then after being around this guy for a week and he doesn't molest or murder her she decides she's in love with him, further showing she is too young for even a friendship with this man. Yes the acting is flawless, superb. It is an absolute beautifully made movie. But their is beauty in illusion. I get that these two characters are lost/lonely and the girl is both abused & starving for affection and you can argue all day that this is a beautiful movie about friendship, but this movie is completely & utterly socially irresponsible!!! I believe this movie is an attempt to start controversy and make the audience think that this is such art that this situation could be appropriate if it was handled as delicately. NO. See it for what it is. It is a grown man trying to make friends with a child, not a girlfriends daughter, not a niece, a separate child. Deplorable.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Quentin Tarantino fans wont be left out in the cold!

[31 December 2015]

This is a western about a bounty hunter taking a fugitive to the nearby town to be hanged. Along the way, he picks up 2 guys separately who found themselves stuck out in the snow. They arrive at a cabin where there are no signs of the owners, just 4 strangers. Not all of them are who they say they are. I wasn't sure what the hell to think of this movie when it started because the movie was 2 hours and 48 minutes. But I'm so glad I went. I saw it at a roadshow (that was 3 hours and 7 minutes!) in 70mm, very cool and everyone who went received an awesome collector booklet. The movie is dialogue-heavy and action-light for the first hour but exciting, bloody and fun the rest of the time. Great for my bipolar. The whole way through the movie it was humorous, the dialogue, while long winded, is smart- as most Tarantino films are, and this movie flows like a play. Every character is extremely paranoid of everyone else and the N word gets said constantly in case you've never heard it in your life. That said, every actor plays his/her character brilliantly. The first half really sets up the story & the second half is where everything happens. My only criticism is that during the first half, you could get bored since the set up takes so long. Then again, if you are a fan of Tarantino, you will already be expecting this from his movies, and the second half of the film is well worth the wait. My rating: All the Cupcakes you can eat for 2 hours and 48 minutes. 😉

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

This movie will inspire you!

[10/10 · 2 February 2014]

It is a real disservice to write a bad review about this movie. It would also be unfortunate for you to read a negative review about The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and not view it. This movie is INSPIRING. Walter Mitty has an overactive imagination. Partially due to his boring life. He had things he wanted to do but never did because of a family tragedy and because of that he takes his mundane situations and creates wild, over the top fantasies. Somewhere along the way, he begins to participate in life and actually have adventures instead of sitting back and dreaming about them. What is wrong with that? Why all the negative reviews? If you base your satisfaction of this movie on the original story or even the original movie then you are going to be disappointed. This is not anything like that at all. This is much more. This movie could possibly inspire you to really "LIVE" instead of dream.."DO" instead of being all talk.."HAVE YOUR OWN ADVENTURES" instead of watching someone else have them. The movie is excellent, every song makes you feel as fulfilled as the scene its put in, the actors are excellent and everyone plays their part to the fullest. Overall, it leaves you feeling happy and inspired. Don't take that away from people who need inspiration to keep going. There are more of us in the world who need this than who don't. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." HENRY David THOREAU (1817-1862)

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013)

Excellent Movie

[9/10 · 10 February 2013]

I didn't want to see this. I didn't care about it. My daughter wanted to see it and was afraid she would become scared so I watched it with her. I cannot believe how wrong I was. This movie was excellent. The premise is NOT silly, or stupid, and it is not scary or gory. What it is, is quite frightening and the story line is believable and this may be the one "Based on a true story" horror movie that actually is based on a true story. The story line is also very interesting and rich in actual history that my daughter enjoyed and so did I. I really can't even believe it was as good as it was. Unfortunately, the ONLY reason I gave it a 9 is the name is kinda dumb. My daughter was like A haunting in Connecticut 2: ghosts of Georgia...ummm why isn't it just named a haunting in Georgia or ghosts of Georgia...lol Please go see this and enjoy it.

Natural Selection (2011)

Superb Excellent Film

[10/10 · 20 November 2012]

The only thing I didn't like was the ending. There is not at all one other thing unlikeable though about this film. It is amazing. I waited for over a year to see it and it is well worth the wait. Matt O'Leary is really an under-appreciated actor. When you see how talented he is you begin to wonder why he was in Sorority Row and not doing more films such as this or Frailty from when he was younger. He absolutely steals this film and Rachel Harris equally steals it back and forth throughout. The premise is that Linda is a religious but neglected wife. Her husband will not have sex with her and ignores her, so to give her life meaning when her husband is on the verge of death, she goes in search of who she believes is his son. The two develop an odd relationship that works. Unfortunately, Linda is being followed by her sisters husband who is obsessed with her and believes her to be in danger. Again, the ending left me unhappy but the acting and movie were so good that I cannot give this movie any less than a 10. It is so perfect, that even though the ending is flawed, it is still perfect. That is saying a lot. That is saying EVERYTHING.

In Their Skin (2012)

Excellent Film

[9/10 · 11 November 2012]

This is NOT a Funny Games knock off as implied by another review. Funny Games was making more of a statement with the fact that people love horror movies and they don't care who it is, who they are, they just seem to want to see people get murdered.

This movie was completely different. There was no statement about society being made here. The story is of a couple and their son, who go away to their cottage home for a getaway following the death of their daughter, which is still a fresh "wound"...

Then the main family gets a knock early in the morning from very peculiar and nosy imposters who are way too interested and eager to learn all about the family. The family figures this out and ask them to leave. This is where the movie turns violent.

Rachel Miner is fantastic in this movie role. There is a scene where Selma Blair is crying hysterically on the floor and Rachel is mimicking her every move. It is extremely frightening. I watch horror and gore movies all the time, but this movie left me unsettled, frightened, checking every lock and covering the windows. I have ONLY 2 criticisms for this movie. The first is that Rachel Miner's character talks about her life before her husband so briefly, I felt there should have been more to that, in order to care about a character, we must know about a character and in this case we knew too little.

The second criticism is that the main character/homeowner/father had the gun pointed on the imposter guy a few times. He always held the gun on him, he should have shot him. Don't you hate it when people in movies don't shoot? I know I do.

My score is 9. Not perfect. But almost.

Carjacked (2011)

Its NOT THAT BAD, I've seen worse...

[5/10 · 12 December 2011]

First of all, you shouldn't be allowed to review a movie if you don't watch all of it, I keep seeing reviews that say they turned it off after so and so amount of time. Those reviews should be disregarded.

This movie has tons of problems, BUT I've seen worse. Its not THAT bad. There are parts that are terrible, yes, but again, not THAT bad.

The lead character was stupid. There is no way around it. Stephen Dorff's character "Roy" said it best when he calls her "A Train Wreck." There is one scene where the lead character, who has been a victim of carjacking, clearly could have got away from her abductor/car jacker. It is when the bus with all the kids is at the truck stop and she has her son go to the restroom, and sneak onto the bus. She is not in the car and she could have run toward the people and screamed. Or when she is in the truck stop instead of constantly going after 50 cents to call different folks to find out where her son ended up, she should have gone in there saying "I've been kidnapped and carjacked! Please help me! Call the police! Call the police!" But she doesn't....her character is so wishy washy, it is quite irritating to watch.

It also starts very boring and there are actually many scene's of action and intense parts that are good, so starting a movie with a drab boring group therapy session was probably not the best idea.

What I did like about this movie is that there is some intensity, some good action, the blood looks real, I liked the chase scene with her holding the shot gun, some good comical parts like when he is sprayed in the face with the Binaca and he said "I thought you maced me, you sprayed me with Binaca? I didn't even know they still made that. I smell like a f** candy cane." That is very funny. I also liked Roy's character. I liked his character more than the lead played by the lovely and talented Maria Bello. Sad her character was so irritating, she is an awesome actress, despite what she portrays here. 5 stars.

Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Excellent movie!!!

[9/10 · 8 December 2011]

I don't know why this has so many bad reviews unless its because people generally do not like remakes.

This however is WAY better than the 1982 version and its a shame more people aren't going to see it if they are swayed by the bad reviews.

Jason Mamoa is actually a good actor, way better than Arnold Schwarzenegger and there are NOT ridiculous one liners that Schwarzenegger is famous for. The story is awesome and there is action throughout the entire film, it has fantastic Gore as well as comedic moments, and it wasn't boring at any time.

The ONLY part I didn't like, which is why I gave it 9 out of 10 stars is because of the way he leaves his beloved. Everyone in the room watching it with me was like "Really?" They shared a lot in the film and he leaves her with nothing more than have a nice life? That was the only flaw.

I recommend this film, it is very entertaining, funny, action-packed, romantic, nice Gore, and a couple parts are frightening and sad. Everything you want in a movie, with Jason Mamoa's gorgeous body included.

Texas Killing Fields (2011)

Flawed but still a very good movie

[6/10 · 7 December 2011]

I watched this two nights ago and this morning and I still feel the same about it: flawed but good. Being that I have lived in League City, TX for the past 22 years and hung out with friends in Texas City, I was familiar with the events that this film was made about. League City is about 15 minutes away from Texas City and regardless of whether or not this was made in Texas City, it did seem rather accurate.

What I found flawed was that this is a very slow movie with either holes or missing parts, some things are never explained, and seriously, if you read the story line for this movie you have a way more exciting picture of what this movie is about, versus what actually happens. But beyond that, this movie is dark, very disturbing and frightening.

Chloe Moretz is excellent in this movie, as well as all the actors and in my opinion, the great acting completely saved this from being turned off before it was finished. Then, when it was finished, I liked it. However, had there not been the good acting, it would have been turned off and I never would have known how good it would be. Slow but very good.

In case anyone is wondering about what is true and what is not in this film: There were 30 murders, the characters portrayed in this film are fiction and in the real case, no one was ever caught. You can read more about this at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/525273.stm

Needle (2010)

Pleasantly Surprised! Great movie!

[8/10 · 7 December 2011]

I seriously thought this was going to be a B movie and I would hate it when I read that this movie was about college kids getting murdered by a supernatural device. Yawn. I was totally wrong.

This Australian Horror/Gore movie is very well made. The story and back story is fresh. I really liked it, the characters are all likable, even the killer was a joy to watch.

I found two things way too clichéd which is why I gave it 8 out of 10 stars. When they go visit a woman in the hospital, that was terribly clichéd, and whats more is that she doesn't say anything to help the story out in any way.

The second downer is that even though it had nice Gore moments that make us Gore fans quite happy, I wasn't scared at all during this movie and I really wanted to be.

Overall, it is a good film. The acting was well done. It wasn't too cheesy and it could have been. Very entertaining.

Wreckage (I) (2010)

There are better things you could be doing with your time.

[5/10 · 27 November 2011]

I had mixed feelings the whole way through this movie and let me tell you I tried so hard to like this. I really tried. Mike Erwin is gorgeous and also a terrific actor, and watching him is always fun. All I could wonder is why someone like him is in something like this because this is a mess of a movie! First of all, the opening scene is poorly acted, and this is just one of many poorly acted scene's throughout the movie. You cant expect much, if you see the trailer, you can tell this movie is probably bad, there was probably a next to nothing budget, but at least it should be entertaining. There are parts that give it a thrill, but for every good scene there is a terrible scene following. Scoot McNairy is actually really funny in his character and this is truly a redeeming quality since the scene right before this shows a dead girl hanging and her arms actually move...and not in an undead sort of way, more like a "I guess there was no editing in this movie" kind of way. Did they not see this during editing or could they not afford editing? Again, in the end there is a great twist and it is exciting but the actions of the main character make even this neat twist very ridiculous. If you thought someone was acting strange or even suspected them of foul play, why would you then discredit your loved one who says they feel the same way and leave them alone in the room with your loved one? Cheese. 5 stars. It almost makes you mad.

51 (2011)

Its not as bad as some people make it out to be.

[6/10 · 14 November 2011]

While this movie does have many cheesy parts to it, it is entertaining and is not boring. Again, it has clichéd and silly parts, but its not as bad as some of these reviews. For instance here is a Pro and Con of the movie:

Con: The aliens are rather goofy looking and are much scarier when they are not seen or even part of them are seen, because when their faces are shown, it is not scary and seems rather comical. Reminds me of the creatures in the movie CRITTERS.

Pro: There is plenty of blood for Gore fans.

It seems like a made for TV movie with an extra amount of Gore, but it is fast paced and there is suspense and the main characters shown do have a certain amount of depth to them, making you like them or hate them, at least you feel 'something' for them. Rachel Miner is an amazing actress and once again proves that she is good in anything, no matter how big the budget or how low the budget, she is a true gem to watch.

Since I cant imagine any of you not ever knowing anything about Roswell or Area 51, this movie would probably make no sense if you don't, and it does a good job in quenching your appetite for the real unknown and restricted Area 51, showing you what "could be" found there, and the positives and negatives of harboring alien life forms there.

There is one part that you will instantly think of the movie Aliens in when an alien comes face to face with military personnel however it no where near resembles the Alien in front of Sigourney Weaver and this should make you chuckle.

From a makeup artistry standpoint the aliens are not horribly made, they just are not scary when they are shown, of course this is an opinion and not fact. There are a few different alien types in this movie, one that resembles an octopus, one that resembles the clichéd 1950's alien from the Roswell photo, an alien that resembles a man covered in veins, and again something from the movie Critters. The special effects makeup team probably did the best they could with their budget and went from there. The blood and gore (ripped body parts) and blood splatter was very realistic looking and good job to the design team.

People LOVE to hate on movies and rip them apart. However, if you give this a chance and see it for what it is, a movie that entertains, then you will like it. Don't hate it based on someone else hating it. Form your own opinion.

All in all, this movie is entertaining and a fun watch. It cannot be taken seriously, like you could take Aliens or War of the Worlds seriously, it is out of that league, price range-budget, its a completely different movie, but it is what it is and it deserves a chance, while it may not be the best thing you've ever seen it certainly wont be the worst movie you have ever seen either and if you are a fan of Gore, this does have a lot of that.

Bereavement (2010)

Most violent movie I've ever seen

[10/10 · 12 November 2011]

This is a prequel to the movie Malevolence, showing how Martin Bristol becomes a serial killer. I have seen many horror movies, but I don't think I have ever seen one as disturbing as this. Since young Martin is used and raised to be a killer, you may think this is a rip off of other movies, which it is not, this is a completely authentic movie and does a great job in standing on its own if you never see Malevolence. If you do decide to see Malevolence it will give you a background on why Martin Bristol is the way he is.

The young actor playing Martin Bristol is Spencer List, and he is dynamic, look forward to his future work because this kid is amazing. It is not boring in any fashion, and not slow either, major drama happens in the first 5 minutes and follows at a steady pace throughout the film till the shocking ending. The special effects team have outdone themselves on this movie as everything is very realistic and very well designed. It is not cheaply made and there really were no parts that seemed cheesy at all. The GORE is top rate, everything looks very real, so real that this should disturb you greatly, enough to go out and rent Malevolence because you will be so interested in the psychotic progression of the character Martin Bristol.