Open Window

Open Windows

Open windows is twisted, swervy plot that takes place completely in computer window screens and monitors. The conceit is a super fan (Elijah Wood) of a star wins a date with super starlet (Sasha Gray) only to get canceled at a last minute. A strange caller calls and gives him access to all her personal cell phones files and laptop info giving him birds eyes views. Things get crazy as the callers becomes more and more sinister.  If you like this movie depends on two things. One is, rather you can follow a protagonist that kind of creepy and pervey. The second is reather you think the road to the destination is more important than the destination. Because let me tell you the destination at the end of this movie is some old bullshit. I like to tell you you’re going to Disney land but really you going to grand old bullshit factory. Now that not to say the road to this movie isn’t fun. It is if you willing to suspend some disbelief. You got to accept pretty much that hacker...is magic.  It is not going for realism. The hacker basically solves most obstacles of a hacker version of going “SHAZAM” and the problems.  That said, being able to hack into different camera and security footage plays well with the storytelling. It makes it fast and unique, giving you different views and shots of the scene. It makes the car chase scenes look frantic and fast pace. It's like a really good video game. It goes fast enough to not make you think about the sheer implausibility of all this. The main character bit of a pervert for going along with the caller plan as long as he did. You keep wondering why doesn’t he just hang up on this guy. The caller clearly shown to be insane the first couple minutes of talking to him. But Woods plays the character as docile enough where you’re not creep out by him and you can imagine him enough of a push over to fall for this. He seems good at playing weird character you still root for.  Sasha Gray plays the actress. She is ok. She isn’t the greatest actress. She doesn’t have a huge amount of range. She has a constant glum what called Eyorre face. You constant expecting her to say “Thanks for noticing me” but the character is a bit distant enough where that lack of emotion fits. There a couple of plots holes that hand waved away sloppily. Still you can get past that it might be a fun distraction (C+)

Apollo 18

Apollo 18

This is a story that tells the real reason why we didn’t go back to the moon. This is the suppose true story with find footage about the last trip to the moon that turns deadly. The crew of Apollo 18 land and found out that they are not alone. I was a little weary of found footage movies of late. One they never really explain why they keep camera equipment around when it make since just to drop them and run. Another is everyone has camera equipment that would make James Cameron weep, and able to do camera work with their camera that would impress any film expert.  But here it gets around that issue. For one it has a reason why their cameras there because they on a scientific mission. Second they can’t escape of the camera...due to the whole...you know being sucked into the cold vacuumed of space. Which give it a claustrophobic...man...are they bone feel. You really feel the loneliness and desperation. They’re stuck in a small area going crazy and everything around them can kill them. Space is a dangerous...dangerous place even before the creature involve. The actors pretty natural, showing fear pretty well. The creatures are pretty creepy once they appear and there some good surprise scares. There also a mystery of why they were sent there. The special effect looks nice and natural and fit well with the grainy video. It takes advantage of that. There are a few cheap Jump scares. And at times the astronauts do the dumb things people do in these movies.  “Hey weird noises going on in this dark cavern...think I walk in there all by my lonesome.” It is  like science done by lemmings. But for the most part they play it straight. It slow but it builds up to a nice big creepy ending. B+

Haunter

Haunter

Aka Casper the Hipster Ghost. Haunter switch things up by putting you in a ghost side of the story. It not like some movies with similar twist, since you know the character are dead from the get goes. The main character knows she dead, it just the family doesn’t. Now she trying to find out way, and about past people who die in the book, and their connection. She does that while trying to talk to the living, even though she was warning not to. The movie stars Abigail Breslin as the ghost teen in Question. She seems to have died in the 80’s due to her clothes and love of labyrinth era David Bowie. She helps keep the story movie since she has to carry different emotion. She has to be scared, angry, sad, happy, nervous, and sometimes all at the same time. She manage to be a ticked off teen but not to bratty about it. She is also enough of the every girl where you follow the mystery as she solving it. It not a big acting type role, it low key and helps drives you a long as the clues given to you. She a bit of cipher that way but manages to do it without being boring. It helps that the small cast pretty good in carrying there rolls. Some of them carry creepy scenes. One problem with the movie is it slow at times. It takes it sweet time. It one of those I get to the point when I get to it, you guys just enjoy the atmosphere type of stories.  This stand out when you become a couple of steps ahead of the character. Also doesn’t help at time it only a little bit of dialogue. That not a huge complaint though since that time is to tell you the rules of the world. Those rules they stick to pretty well. Also you suppose to feel the since of repetitive that the character feeling. When it gets creepy it does it very well. It not real blood or gore, it most atmosphere and weird stuff happening. All and All a nice low key movie a B

Blackout

A nice bottle thriller about people 3 people stuck in the elevator.  One of which may be a killer. They slowly start go crazy, turning on each other till it reaches to a boiling point. A plot like this is something that been told a couple of times. It is a gimmick that be done but that not necessarily a bad thing. That is because if, the characters are interesting enough, it can overcome.  All 3 of them are and have nice plots that let you get to know how their personalities work for the most part. It helps that I liked two of the actors. One of them is the man who plays little finger in Game of Thrones. I call him Edward Norton light...or his Evil dopplaganger.  I wonder if you prick him will Edward Norton feel it. The other person is the start of Joan of Arcadia who I like as an actress. The other guy I never saw before but it’s pretty good. The thing is not much happen for a while. Sure it would be scary in real life but it not exactly thrilling seeing people in a box trap hanging out. When things start going south, its picks up and the good acting starts. But that pretty deep into the movie.  Also the killer background is not clear. You learn what makes the other tick...but you don’t learn what makes the killer a killer. The ticking clock the killer has to deal with though ads a lot of tension. All it not that great a movie. But not bad either.  C

Battle Ground

Battle Ground

                Battle Ground is an ultra low budge shoot em up about bank robbers vs. a crazy nam vet. That hook alone was enough to make me (a love a Z grade Action movies) want to see that but the results are realty mixed. Think of it as Rambo vs. the guys from heat with a slasher movie style and you have a good idea of the movie.  The movie starts out with them just finishing a bank robbery with one of them injured. They are on the run cause one of them shot a cop now there normal means of escape will be delayed and cost more money. The idea of loose cannon on a team always bugs me. Why would you hire people on your team that clearly that insane? I mean no professional bank robbery team really wants some guy going all “Leroy Jenkins” by shooting up the place. It just counter productive. But that just my own pet peeve. The start of it gets you interested cause it takes you right into it. So they have to find a place to hide. They find an empty house in the woods thinking nobody there as they bicker on how the bank robber went all fubar. Low and behold this happens to be a house of crazy Vietnam vet who proceeds to hunt them down and killed them. An apparently does this to anyone who gets near his area. He sets up traps like a derange home alone kids and takes their money. Which cause the criminals to stay and hunt him down? There some nice kills and the set up of the battle ground are pretty sweet with a lot of secret passageways and good places for shoot outs. Problem is it no one to really root for cause both sides are dirt bags with very little remorse. So you don’t really root for anyone. You can have evil protagonist but you got to do something to make the audience follow them...make them exciting somehow. Something that makes each side somewhat rootable. Smoke Aces did this cause people had different hitmen they liked. Not so much here. Also you go into the clique that no one able to aim well in this...sense they can’t hit each other until the end. I mean this guy pretty old given when nam was…let no one seem to be able to get a shot off old man river over there. And it not like he a particular fit old mans…he has some city years on him. Still pretty fun. Some of the keys pretty imaginative and you can enjoy seeing the cat and mouse game. C+