BradWesley123's Movie Journal- June 2015

Peek-a-boo!!!

Look, this is a bad movie but, luckily, The Boy Next Door is the right kind of bad. Everything is so over-the-top and crazy that it's just too hard not to laugh at. I recommend it, only in that regard.

It's well made, with tight direction and a sturdy cast, but Page Eight never really breaks away from a feeling of blandness. The story is solid, but nothing ever really feels urgent or, often, even interesting.

The cast does everything they can, but there's just no way to save a movie as stupid and unimaginative as Hot Tub Time Machine 2. While the original wasn't great, it still had a few laughs and an okay story. The sequel doesn't have either. Here's a rare phrase: John Cusack made the right choice.

Lost River seems to be going for magic realism, or a sort of cross between David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn. Unfortunately, things are left so vague that you aren't just wondering what happened with the story, you're left wondering what the hell the story even was. The cast doesn't really get much to do, they're essentially window dressing. Luckily most of the luck beautiful, much like everything else in the film thanks to Benoît Debie spellbinding, neon-tinged cinematography, which is the main reason to sit through the whole film.

I'm not gonna argue that this is a good movie, it isn't, but I will say that I likely enjoyed it more than most. It's not a romantic film, or even a sexy one (the sex scenes are handled with such a clinical touch that I'd venture to say that director Sam Taylor-Johnson wasn't trying to glamorize BDSM like the book dooes). Much of this stems from poor source material that the script was contractually obligated to stick to, result in a movie seemingly at odds with itself. The cast often too seems lost. Dornan in particular is given nothing to work with beyond staring creepily at people, but even then he's still pretty bland. The bright spot of the film is Dakota Johnson (erroneously awarded a Razzie), who is actually able to bring some charm to the film; I didn't care about much in the film, but I did want to see where the story was taking her. Viewed as a romantic drama, the film doesn't really work. Viewed as a kind-of campy, take's itself too seriously obsession flick, and I think that a certain amount of fun can be derived. Still, not very good.

It can be a bit bland at times, sticking to too many sports/romance themes for too long, but Bull Durham is, overall, a fun film with a smart script and a great cast, with excellent chemistry.

While The DUFF often feels like a more-of-the-same, pedestrian teen comedy, it does enough with it's story that it's ultimately pretty fresh. There are a couple of solid insights, and laughs too, and the cast, particularly Whitman in a charming lead role, is very good.

It isn't particularly well-structured (it's kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill) and the gags are incredibly hit-or-miss, yet I still found myself enjoying Sponge Out of Water. The jokes that do connect are solidly funny, and the film has so much energy that if something doesn't work, there will likely be something that does right around the corner.

McFarland, USA is pretty much your standard-issue Disney sports/inspirational movie. It's a relief then that the movie is able to, while not avoid them, freshen a few cliches and create a solid viewing experience. Go in with low expectations, and you'll come out impressed.

Treasure Planet is a disappointment in the story department, sticking to too many boring plot points and never maintaining much momentum. In terms of visuals, it's a lovely looking film with animation that adds genuine wonder to space. Adding it all together, you have an okay movie that's never as fun or interesting as it's animation would lead you to believe.

Occasionally campy enough to be fun, but too often over-the-top and lacking in any nuance. The cast is fantastic in sensationalized versions of classic celebrities, and it looks pretty solid.

A Deadly Adoption is just a disappointing experiment. Played too straight without so much of the camp and excess that is Lifetime's signature brand, it fails as both a parody and a straight up Lifetime movie. Ferrell and Wiig are quite good though, with Ferrell in particular nailing the line of the movie ("You know the dangers of diabetic ketoacidosis."). Jessica Lowndes also makes something of an impression, though that's largely because she's playing it as if it's a real Lifetime flick. Aside from a few throwaway moments, and the closing tag at the end, there's not much to see here.

Black or White is a pretty mixed bag. While it's commendable for attempting to touch upon real racial issues in this country, it simply does so in a way that lacks much restraint or insight. Most of the strongest moments of the film are the results of an excellent cast doing their damnedest to make any of this stick in a compelling way. A pretty so-so film, overall.

There are some strong action scenes, the one set during a parade in Jakurta is particularly thrilling, and the story is interesting from the get-go, but Blackhat goes along at such a bland, flavorless clip that the action is pretty much all you have to hang on to.

Seventh Son is one of those endlessly dull and unimaginative early-year release date dumps that aren't meant for anything more than a midsummer redbox viewing, and that's exactly how I viewed it. I can't really remember much from this movie, but what I do remember isn't particularly noteworthy.

Everly is essentially a cheap, exploitative schlock-fest that is incredibly numbing to the senses. It would be a complete wash without Salma Hayek's terrific performance, and a few inventive action sequences. Not very good, but it could've been much worse.

My apologies to the Compulsion team. In the May 2015 list, I essentially called it the worst film of the year. I spoke way too soon. Behaving Badly is, and I do not mean this as some sort of hipster praise, about as repugnant as cinema can be. Without the slightest bit of wit or intellect, this film is just transcendentally horrendous (once again, not sly praise). It's the type of bad that can only happen when the people involved truly believe that their making something brilliant and cutting, or even funny. Please, I beg you, stay away from this shit pile.

There's a certain amount of fun that can be had with Map to the Stars. It's so weird and over-the-top that numerous moments are surprisingly funny without, seemingly, trying to be. It also helps that it has a cast strong enough to compensate such a strange tone. At the same time though, it doesn't do anything new with it's send up of Hollywood, relying heavily on notions introduced in stronger, more substantive work.

It unoriginal as hell, but Project Almanac is fun enough to make up for a fair amount of it's thematic shortcomings. It does lose steam as it goes along though, opting for a more emotional finish that clashes with the fun, free-flowing tone that came before it. The found-footage shooting style also does it no favors.

Total Recall is just a blast from start to finish. It's goofy, schlocky, and completely over-the-top, but the story is smart and the action thrilling. Also of note are the excellent special effects and cutting edge makeup.

A dull and unoriginal coming-of-age/road trip flick that only occasionally doles out anything of interest. Juno Temple is quite good in the lead role though, and she's responsible for most of the solid(er) moments of the film.