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jacklowriewilliamson
Reviews
Frat Pack (2018)
Give it a chance...
Personally, I think a mere 3.8 rating is very mean. I found the movie to be hilarious throughout, with fantastic puns and gags. The acting was very good, with Richard Alan Reid (playing the lead 'Elliot') and Brendan Michael Coughlin (playing the dumb, frat-boy 'Joey') standing out.
Granted, the story was a bit contrived; Elliot graduates from university to find out that his mother has got engaged to an American lover. However, the movie comes across as lighthearted and undemanding to the viewer. Also, Frat Pack (to it's praise) also had very little in terms of pop-culture references. I feel that movies can often be too forced with topics, like social media and technology. However, to my surprise, there was very little in that sense.
The only area where the movie lacked would be the character development. All the characters were kind of thrown in front of you with their weird quirks, with anticipation that you already knew them. The reason movies, like American Pie, were so good was because they allowed the viewer to build an emotional connection with the characters whilst keeping the humour and lightheartedness. Frat Pack just felt a little bit too cold in this sense. I would have liked to get to know each character a little better and for the relationship dynamic to be more natural.
If you're into lighthearted, coming-of-age movies; Frat Pack is worth the watch
It (2017)
Give IT a watch, if you dare...
Adapted from Stephen King's best selling novel, 'IT' is a horror/thriller film that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.
An evil, paranormal creature that preys on children in the guise of a clown, affectionately named 'Pennywise the Dancing Clown', has risen from the sewers after 27 years to feed on the fear of the innocent. It is up to Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) and his friends to hunt down the creature and avenge the death of his younger brother.
Personally, I am not a big horror fan, probably due to the onslaught of awful films (i.e. the Paranormal Activity series) to hit the big, and little, screens in recent years. However, I can confidently say IT has put my faith back into the genre. It is very thoughtful to the original King book, following the same story, except in a highly condensed form (which can be problematic in some areas).
All the younger actors are brilliant, portraying a really believable 'buddy' dynamic throughout; reminiscent (ironically) of The Goonies and the other classic flicks of that era. Jaeden Lieberher's character 'Bill' and Sophia Lillis' character 'Beverly' stood out the most, in my opinion, with their different connections to the creature representing how IT fed off the vulnerable and innocent.
Bill Skarsgård's portrayal of Pennywise was truly outstanding. He maintained the continuity of his characterisation throughout, without trying to rip-off Tim Curry's infamous interpretation. I like Skarsgård's portrayal, which is extremely creepy and bipolar. I wouldn't say it is inherently scary, however if you consider the context of who Pennywise is and who he is preying on, it does send a chill down your spine.
A few reviewers were complaining about how the story had been moved from the 50s (as in the original novel) to the 80s. I personally think the move was great. They could have very easily transported the story line into 2017 and filled it with forced 'current' references. However, they chose to update the story (a bit) by making it more relevant to its adult audience, who probably grew up in the 80s. Remember, the story is trying to represent how innocent and vulnerable children are, since they are the only ones who can be tortured by Pennywise.
Like mentioned above, the compressed nature of the story can prove to be problematic at times, with some characters receiving little screen time or limited characterisation, such as 'Mike'. The addition of Henry Bowers and his gang also did seem pointless at times. However, it is clear that King and the screenplay writers wanted to juxtapose the vulnerabilities of (so called) 'harmless' high school bullying with the evil, child preying clown.
Overall, if you are looking for an entertaining horror film that has an immersive and menacing story line, give IT a watch.
Earth to Echo (2014)
Earth to echo: Unsatisfying - even for kids
Earth to echo is a family aimed film that follows four teenagers who live in a neighbourhood which is going to be flattened to make way for a brand new free-way. Things start to go odd since the construction workers arrived, like mobile phones going crazy and electrical devices malfunctioning. The teenagers suspect that there is more to the 'so called' construction workers and go on an adventure which uncovers more than they would every imagine.
So as you already know this is a found footage film. Unfortunately, like most of these films, it failed to actually give the sense of it being 'amateur'. This is mostly due to the over used shaky cam and cinema quality resolution coming from a typical HD Sony camcorder. I think the film would have been much better off if it had been shot conventionally.
For the acting I think it was probably average but I think the 'average' performance may have been more to do with the cheesy script that had seemed to have been written by a 12 year old YouTube filmmaker. The story was over predictable and didn't flow. It seemed very rushed; almost like it was written at the last minute. The story felt very empty and was not even close to satisfying. You asked more questions going out of the cinema than in. Examples of this include the only female character 'Emma' (a.k.a Mannequin Girl) who just seemed to randomly enter the story and did not actually do much to make a big contribution.
The SFX, though rare, were reasonably good and gave a clear picture of what was happening. The soundtrack was very good but again was very rare during the film. The kids were not characterised that well and failed to show the intentions of both the actors and the characters.
In conclusion I think this film is alright for children aged from 8- 12 years old but can be quite boring at times. I think what really done good for this film was the mass marketing it received which got it into the public's attention as I think without the marketing it would have failed miserably.
I rate it an okay 5 stars.
Jobs (2013)
How the did this film get rated 5.9/10?
The film follows the life of Steve Jobs from when he started up the multi-billion dollar company 'Apple inc' to his unfortunate death which saddened the world. Yes the film does use the 'generic' type of filmmaking, e.g. bland cinematography, dramatized scenes and a script with more swear words than a redneck in a trailer but it was a highly entertaining and informative. People who claim that the film was un- enjoyable probably have no imagination nor innovation which Jobs used to change the world. The film puts Jobs' variant life into a highly enjoyable pack of 135 minutes, with a top cast who are identical to the real people being portrayed.
This film DEFINITELY deserves more than a terrible 5.9/10 and is highly recommended to anyone who is looking to watch an informative and entertaining film.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)
Quirky, relatable but a bit lagged on...
Have you ever suddenly had a irrational fear of something? Like when you were scared of the monster in the closet as a child or the weird neighbor with the glass eye and walking stick? Well this film puts this common and often missed part of life into a quirky and amusing perspective with the gem of Simon Pegg starring. Personally this type of filmmaking pulls me in as it uses simple bit effective shots to put the characters state of mind across instead of, solely, relying on computer editing and over sized camera cranes. It also drags me in because it gives me a much preferred break from the tiresome American style, big budget, cinematography with its mind puzzling and intelligent style. It actually reminds me of some of the Sky Arts short TV films which I think this film should have been aimed at, instead of the big screen. Simon Pegg performs perfectly with is 'quirky' and 'on edge' style of acting which made him such the star he is today. His style of acting works linear to the film making it enjoyable to watch. One problem I did have with it though was how much the start lagged at the beginning which did make me ever so slightly loose interest but when it finally picks up you will be in awe at how great this film really is.
This is definitely a film to watch if you have a sophisticated film mind.
Disaster Movie (2008)
literally a 'disaster' of a movie
This movie righteously gets a place in the list of the worst movies ever as it tries to be clever but really turns you into hostage in your own living room. Spoofing numerous disaster movies what do you expect, it's going to be stupid but the movie goes too far and makes you want to put a gun to your head at certain points. I really do hope it's deliberately rubbish as if not Jason Friedberg and Aaron seltzer should start think about their retirement plan.
So if your planning to watch this movie anytime soon I would suggest you have a gun or if you really want to live a remote control to turn the movie off beside you. Really this I have nothing else to say as this movie is absolutely a disaster.
The Fourth Kind (2009)
Fake and an utter disregard to the viewers intelligence!
The fourth kind being about a possible link between supposed non-fiction disappearances in Nome (Alaska) and alien abductions which was discovered when psychiatrist Abbey Tyler (Milla Jovovich) conducted hypnosis to some of her patients who ALL had the same experience during their sleep. After one of her patients suffered a seizure which broke his back during a hypnosis episode she is forced to stop her investigation or face arrest but her blind daughter gets abducted. The only way to get her daughter back is to communicate with the extra terrestrials herself.
This movie is disgraceful it shows absolutely no filmmaking skill at all, shoddy acting, terrible script, horribly faked scenes, YES faked just like every other thing about this film, the story, characters, details just a few things to name. A few ways to prove it is fake 1) anytime something alien happens the 'real' camera seems to malfunction (how convenient?), 2) there is no such person as Abbey Tyler and when a website was put up about her (just after the film's release again how convenient?) It was empty and contained articles from writers who claimed that they hadn't written them , 3) even the locals of Nome disregard the movie as being at all non- fictional. This movie is definitely a miss.