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Ma (2019)
Octavia Spencer is great, everything else not so much
Ma is yet another small budget product from Blumhouse that doesn't quite aim to impress as much as earn its budget back and maybe then some. I was really excited to see Octavia Spencer tackle the role of Ma: an adult with a seemingly teenage-like energy and party hard mentality, with a far more sinister brain under the hood.
She does not disappoint. Spencer is jaw droppingly freaky in this movie, managing to steal your gaze anytime she's put into frame, whether it be in the foreground or background it doesn't matter. Watching her facial expressions perform a balancing act between perverted affection, distrust, and no nonsense psychotic rage is a real pleasure, and no doubt the best part of this movie. Diana Silvers also does a really good job as our protagonist who also happens to be the only teenager in this whole movie who isn't a blustering idiot. Every time terrible things are happening around them, in typical horror cliche fashion right before things go really crazy, everybody just goes 'yeah but I'm not worried about it.' Well they should be! I was bewildered by their ceaseless stupidity decision after painstaking decision. Unfortunately, because the supporting cast wasn't given a lot to work with, their performances are just par, possibly sub-par.
The film isn't very interestingly shot, and any time it's gearing up for a jump scare, the camera does that rare and out of place 180 degree pan so that you know exactly what's coming a mile away. The movie is never scary, and doesn't even provide thrills until the last twenty minutes of the film. And without spoiling anything, the very last scene where Ma is interacting with one other character, it's such a damn letdown. Shock value is all this film really has going for it, and the second to last shot of the film should have dropped my jaw, but it's done in such a safe uninteresting way that the credits rolled, I got up, and never would have thought about the movie again if not for this review.
Road House (1989)
Cheese and Roundhouse Kicks
Road House is one hell of a watching experience. Whether it be the overflowing testosterone, roundhouse kicks for days, or ample amounts of nudity, there's a lot to laugh at (or cringe at) here.
The film doesn't waste time introducing us to its theme, and that theme is pretty much two words: Bar fights. It's true, if you were worried about watching this film because it might not have enough bar fights, well au contraire! Road House has enough of them to last you a life time, and thanks to the ultra-hammy martial arts style of them, they're sorta hilarious. For that, we must thank Patrick Swayze as the PhD wielding bouncer, Dalton. Without him, the film would be a pointless mess featuring kicking and punching. Well actually, that's what the movie is anyway, but having Swayze behind those punches is what kept me interested. His smile inducing 80's charm keeps the film light and comical.
The problem is that "light and comical" isn't what the film was intended to be and it shows. There are plenty of scenes that try to exercise the movie's dark and serious side, but they just end up being boring distractions from the cheesy fights I want to see more of. The whole movie tries to peddle a weak plot with, partly thanks to abhorrent dialogue, an uninteresting and generic bad guy.
Road House is full of laughs if you're willing to suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride, but if not, you'll find yourself just plain bored.
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Intriguing Idea With An Unremarkable Execution
Velvet Buzzsaw strives to be an engaging derailment of age old horror tropes, yet fails to keep itself on track. This film tells the story of a high brow art scene, and the key figures driving it. These characters, soaking in pretension, are immediately shown to wear their motives right on the sleeve. In this film, it's far too often that through dialogue, we're able to immediately gauge a character's ambitions, desires, and vices. This on-the-nose style strips so much intrigue and ambiguity from its tense set up about the discovery of remarkable paintings made by a late troubled recluse. This coupled with unpleasantly hammy performances from most of the stars gives Velvet Buzzsaw a shallow B movie aesthetic. This does at least let Jake Gyllenhaal's character acting chops display immaculately. Whenever a scene tries to set up a jump scare, I get bored and hope Gyllenhaal will be back soon with some more gleefully egotistical banter.