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waannief
Reviews
The Road Within (2014)
Accurate and Entertaining
As one who has lived with Tourette's myself and as a parent, I was pleased at how accurately this was portrayed. Robert Sheehan was most impressive and expressive. This actor conveys such sad torture with his eyes whilst in the throes of episode, I just wanted to hug him. Though many with Tourette's display the tics and vocalizing rather than the verbal profanity often used to show example, this film got all angles right. The words of the father in regard to his son made me cry...the writer/director must have dealt with this in life as she got the raw emotion of this disorder from the eyes of both parent and child. The Tic Code starring Christopher Marquette and the late Gregory Hines is another revelation in film focusing on life with and the parenting of one with Tourette's. The way The Road Within ties together OCD, anorexia and Tourette's with these brilliant young performers had me wishing it had debuted bigger and they had received far more accolades for their work. Along with Robert Sheehan, Zoe Kravitz is a study in subtlety without being dull and Dev Patel is all palpable anxiety. Robert Patrick's guilty dad believably shows his true colors and Kyra Sedgwick makes an easy piece as caring clinical director her own. This film should be shown in psychology courses for study.
Knights of Badassdom (2013)
Surprise treat of a film!
I really loved this movie. Not just because I live in the Spokane area. This has an excellent cast, was fun to watch and looked like a lot of fun to make! The misleading thing about it - the title and overall promo makes it look like it is mostly comedy but that is not it's actual core. Knights is similar in tone to Tucker and Dale VS Evil, with it's humor and having the right degree of thrill and chill. Though it never goes for campy. Just good old fashioned 80's style schlock monster creation, blood, gore, and body parts a-flying. It was an unexpected treat to have it be as serious as it was. The LARPers were completely authentic and that gave the atmosphere total credibility. So as the action takes off and it starts feeling like an episode of Supernatural, these foam sword toting weekend warriors are out of their league but man up for the fight and its awesome. I can see where younger horror fans may dislike the more traditional style here without loads of CG and relying more heavily on make-up and latex but for fans that appreciate the good old fashioned 'real' thing, this has it. Now, I do think Knights of Badassdom could have benefited from a different title. Something a little less campy sounding could've opened up more of an audience, I feel. But overall, I welcome this kind of good time horror back to a genre that has been getting more and more stale over the years. Director Joe Lynch shows himself to be much like a young Sam Raimi and this cast just gave themselves each an addition to their resume to be proud of and that will make LARPers around the world proud of. HUZZAH.
Cursed (2005)
Perfect for video viewing!
I love a good "Creature Feature" like the Saturday afternoon shows I watched as a kid. That's the only reason I even check out this type of film as a 40 year old mom of three children. And this one lives up to that expectation. I can see where some of the more jaded viewers who have become a bit numb to all the gore and effects may not appreciate the story and humor. And perhaps if I'd paid $10 (plus popcorn $) to see it at the theater I wouldn't have liked it quite so much. But I did like this film for a good at-home show where I could put it on pause when I need to and rewind if I didn't catch something. I did the old "watch-through-the-fingers" a few times because I choose not to have certain images stored in my head and that says to me that the special effects are pretty up to speed. When I hear there is a film done by Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson I know that it will have a good looking young cast, excellent music and humor mixed in with the horror. That is all in "Cursed." And I love seeing Scott Baio in a fresh hip role. The story itself could have delved a bit deeper into the actual curse and where it originated from, filling in a few blanks that are left unanswered but overall it sums up well enough and opens the door for some new territory. I'm sure there must be another script going or even finished somewhere in Mr. Williamson's files. At least I hope so. The Scream Trilogy was wrapped up so well that he really shows that he knows how to tempt, tease, guide and fulfill, keeping a person guessing and then letting them in on his little secret so that one doesn't feel cheated by the end. So hopefully he has just begun with Cursed and will follow up and dish out more. And Wes Craven does a good job seeing to it that his visions are given a good dose of reality by his special effects teams. I especially like when a director uses the good old fashioned costuming and tangible effects rather than so many computer images. Mr. Craven makes sure to have a balance of both here so that the werewolf seems quite real at times instead of a mere graphic design. I recommend the "Making of..." segment on the DVD to see the costume and the man within it as well as the developing of the other effects. All in all I rate it up there with my other favorite Saturday afternoon Creatures that I'll make sure my kids don't catch me watching until they're much older!
Lady Killers (2003)
This movie is a hoot!
I am 40 years old, a mom of four and I laughed my butt off at this movie!! If someone looks to this film for the old style National Lampoon quality, it's true they may be disappointed but its a new time and this film uses fresh faces and a fresh approach. Will Freidle is hysterical(esp. in the hard candy scene) and Chris Owen actually shows some promise as an actor. Finally proving he is more than just a unique set of features. I'd enjoy seeing more of Freidle in films. I think this is a good little dark comedy that won't be looked at as art by any means, just good fun. The veteran actresses steal the show. They really know how to keep the lines rolling. Will Freidle can finally say that he has outgrown his television start and is ready for the feature big-time.