mpaulso Reviews

Snowden (2016)

Leaks

[6/10 · 5 February 2018]

Pretty decent movie. Somehow missed this one the last few years but figured I would give it a try when I saw it on HBO.

It's interesting seeing Snowden's background. It was also really creepy to see the example of the technology that the NSA was using to spy on American's and those abroad. I had previously watched Citizenfour so I had known about the meeting in Hong Kong and about the leak of information.. However I will say he definitely was glamorized and made to look like the victim in this movie. It was made to be seen from his side.

Let the Right One In (2008)

THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE A LOW BUDGET INDIE HORROR MOVIE!!

[9/10 · 5 February 2018]

This movie is amazing. It's hard to exactly put a finger on what makes its special but I believe it's a combination of a few things. The cinematography is excellent. The score flows well through the movie and really give it its feel. The story is one of the most unique I've ever seen.

I was late to this movie but I am very glad I was finally able to enjoy it.

Misery (1990)

"I have this gun. Sometimes I think about using it. I'd better go now. I might put bullets in it."

[8/10 · 5 February 2018]

"I have this gun. Sometimes I think about using it. I'd better go now. I might put bullets in it."

Kathy Bates puts on an incredible performance. She actually got an Oscar acting in a horror movie. James Caan performance is also understated.

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Another decent addition to the Conjuring Universe.

[7/10 · 5 February 2018]

David Sandberg's Annabelle: Creation dives into the history of Annabelle the doll that was featured in The Conjuring and then in a feature film titled Annabelle.

This movie has great atmosphere and does jump scares incredibly well. The score and creepy sound track really set up the world. It's a perfect Friday or Saturday night popcorn movie.

City of the Living Dead (1980)

Gates of Hell

[7/10 · 5 February 2018]

I had almost watched The Beyond before I realized that it was part of the "Gates of Hell" Trilogy which had lead me to City of the Living Dead to start with the first film.

Holy gore this movie has some great kills and practical effects for it's time. The scene with Rose & Tommy where they are in his Jeep and Father Thomas comes is amazing. The movie jumps around quite a bit between the characters into the city which is a little confusing at times and the score is a bit repetitive but that is part of it's charm.

I will say I am relatively new to Fulci. This movie isn't the best work I have seen from Fulci but it is a great starting point for the Gates of Hell Trilogy and I can't wait to watch the next two films.

Dracula (1931)

Dracula

[7/10 · 5 February 2018]

I recently purchased a Universal Monster Box Set which included 1 film from all the monsters. I started at the beginning with Dracula. Let me start off by saying it blows my mind that this movie was released only 34 years after Dracula was created by Bram Stoker in 1897.

This movie is grand, and ambitious for the time. There are large sets and some great shots. That being said this movie does have be graded based on it's time. Being released in 1931 it came out only 4 years after the first "talkie" or movie with audio was released. That is an amazing achievement.

However watching now the acting is clunky, Dracula's feeding and "attacks" are slow and funny and there are some pretty severe limitations based on the knowledge and talent of film makers.

I am excited to dig into the rest of the box set and see how Dracula compares to others like Frankenstein, Wolf Man and the Mummy.

The Beyond (1981)

Gates of Hell

[7/10 · 5 February 2018]

I watched the beyond as part of a triple bill with City of the Living Dead & The House by The Cemetery to make up the "Gates of Hell" Fulci Trilogy.

I will say from the beginning this movie is a big step up from City of the Living Dead. It starts out with a brutal kill of an artist in the Seven Doors Hotel back in 1927 as he was believe to be a warlock. The kills were definitely an upgrade from City of the Living Dead and the grabbing the brain out of the back of the head or blood out of the eye balls. I am glad we live in a time where we are able to view these movies as they were meant to be seen without all the censors blocking the gore/content.

The thing I love most about Italian Horror, specifically Fucli and Argento is they are well made movies in addition to being good horror movies. Some of the late 70's and early 80's slashers were terribly made movies that we graded on a scale because a lot horror movies had bad acting/plot. The Beyond definitely stands up along with other non-genre films.

Night of the Creeps (1986)

Space Slugs!

[8/10 · 5 February 2018]

Space slugs that eat brains and turn humans into zombies on a college campus. Tom Atkins playing a weathered veteran detective with some great one liners. Sprinkle a ton of 80's all over this movie and you have Night of the Creeps.

I have no clue how I have not seen this movie before. The way it combines zombie, slashers, alien invasion/body snatching movies along with some great humor was a blast. I can't remember having ever seen a science fiction/horror/comedy movie before and as odd as it sounds it works incredibly well.

After checking it out on Shudder I will definitely be picking up the Blu-ray and revisiting this 80's nostalgia filled gem.

The Fog (1980)

The Fog

[8/10 · 19 January 2018]

"...when the fog returns to Antonio Bay, the men at the bottom of the sea, out in the water by Spivey Point will rise up and search for the campfire that led them to their dark, icy death."

John Carpenter and Debra Hill put together an brilliantly made film. After being such a big fan of the Halloween Franchise and The Thing I have not kept up or seen many other films from John Carpenter library. I was glad I was able to start that tonight. You can instantly recognize his style during the great opening credit scenes. The cinematography and score and incredible.

I really enjoyed the premise and the set-up was very eerie. The pay off isn't as good as the set-up but I am excited to re-watch this film.

Day of the Dead (1985)

Brains!

[8/10 · 19 January 2018]

A nice spin on the regular zombie movie. After creating the modern zombie George A. Romero takes a different direction on his third installment in the Night of the Living Dead series.

This movie is so much more than just a zombie movie. I wish I could articulate it better but it is so smart and witty and has so much going on.

After a slow start to the movie Tom Savini turns up the gore with some of the most awesome/gruesome practical effects for it's time.

Zombie (1979)

Classic Fulci!

[9/10 · 19 January 2018]

This has been on my list for a while. I was happy I was finally able to check it out when I started my Shudder subscription.

This movie is amazing. The opening scene, the city shots in New York, the shark vs zombie fight scene and the chaos when you get down to the Caribbean. The practical effects are incredible and the suspense /terror during the Zombie scenes are excellent.

I can't believe this is a horror movie. It honestly feels like a big budget uncut James Bond movie. The island/Caribbean feel reminds of Dr. No. It's not until a zombie pushes a woman's head through a broken wooden shard that you remember you are watching a Horror movie again.

Before I Wake (2016)

Glad this got finally got a U.S. Release

[7/10 · 16 January 2018]

Awesome premise, good cast, decent score. Only problem I had were with the monster design. It would have been better left in the dark, shadows or quick cuts as the cgi wasn't the greatest. But in the the end it made sense so I couldn't fault it. Pretty witty ending.

A Ghost Story (2017)

Worth the Wait

[7/10 · 12 January 2018]

A Ghost Story is a great artistic expression of death, grief, mourning, moving on, how life continues after death, and how small each one of our possessions and lives really are. The cinematography, score and emptiness of this movie are excellent and really shine through. The movie is a work of art and the directors vision really shines through.

However I did find myself checking the time on the movie (especially during the pie eating scene) and finding it a bit long even with its relatively short 90 minute run time. There isn't a large rewatch value for me but I'm glad I got to experience it once.

Personal Shopper (2016)

"Insert Kristen Stewart does actually know how to act joke here."

[8/10 · 11 January 2018]

"Insert Kristen Stewart does actually know how to act joke here."

When I heard about this movie I was excited. A film festival horror/thriller movie with some grit to it. It ended up not being what I expected but that was okay. It is a high fashion, 21st century, ghost movie, thriller.

I loved how technology was integrated into this movie. A lot of times this can be done wrong or even ignored in movies but this movie really felt like it worked. From the Youtube Videos, to the texts, and skype calls everything flowed really well.

My major gripe with the movie was that I figured out who was texting her within minutes of her receiving her first text from "Unknown".

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Welcome to the Jungle!

[7/10 · 8 January 2018]

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this movie. I noticed positive critic and audience reviews so I decided to see it in theaters on New Year's Day. Having loved the original Jumanji I wasn't sure how I felt about it being transformed into a video game, and having the main characters become avatars. However once the movie got going the premise really worked.

Jack Black and Kevin Hart really shined in their portrayal of the most popular girl in school and "Fridge" the football star respectively. I think it took a lot of work and talent for the actors to nail a role of acting as a high-schooler, acting like a video game character in their body.

Bushwick (2017)

BIG/LOUD/FAST

[5/10 · 8 January 2018]

Big, loud, fast and more swear words than I have seen in a movie since South Park Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

Dave Bautista was the most redeeming part of the movie.

Lights Out (II) (2016)

Better as a Short Film

[5/10 · 8 January 2018]

Loved the short story film and thought it was a cool concept. The movie wasn't great but I was on board until we found out that the "monster" was a person with a skin disease that was turned into a ghost after "light therapy". What a stretch! Why not just leave it as an open ended scary creature or being.

Trying to stretch the short film into a feature length movie definitely created some plot hole!

Blood Rage (1987)

"That's not cranberry sauce..."

[7/10 · 3 January 2018]

"That's not cranberry sauce..."

Blood Rage has some GREAT kill scenes and practical effects (machete through the back) and it's filled with 1980's nostalgia from the can-opener beer cans, drive in movies, old video games and short shorts.

I was really tempted to give this movie 4 stars. It has a cool unique story of a brother who framed his twin brother for a murder he committed and when his brother breaks out of the mental institution he see an opportunity for another killing spree to frame his brother and get him thrown back in the mental institution again.

Gremlins (1984)

Can't Believe It Took Me This Long To Watch!

[8/10 · 3 January 2018]

A perfect mix of everything I love in movies! 80's, Christmas, Animals, and horror. Also Kate's story about her dad dressing up as Santa Claus and dying in the chimney was the most hilariously dark thing I have seen in a movie in a while.

Bad Santa 2 (2016)

Cash Grab

[4/10 · 3 January 2018]

This seems strictly like a cash grab. It had twice the crudeness from the original but only half the story.

Madman (1981)

Beware The Madman Marz!

[6/10 · 3 January 2018]

A campfire horror story come alive! Madman Marz has a great back story, original song, and some awesome kills. And I haven't even mention the awesome synthesizer every time he's spotted.

Can someone please perform some maintenance on the camps vehicles!?

Chopping Mall (1986)

"I guess I'm just not used to being chased around a mall in the middle of the night by killer robots."

[7/10 · 3 January 2018]

"I guess I'm just not used to being chased around a mall in the middle of the night by killer robots."

I loved this movie. It's a sci-fi/horror movie where futuristic mall security robots go rogue after a lighting storm and start killing teens partying in the mall after hours.

It literally is a movie that only could be made in the 80's.

There is awesome fake lighting bolts, cheesy blue and green lasers and terrible acting that some how make the movie even better.

The Devil's Candy (2015)

Chilling!

[9/10 · 8 August 2017]

It is incredible to me that this is only the sophomore outing for Director Sean Bryne and there is no slump here.

From the opening scene I knew this movie was going to be good. Pruitt Taylor Vince portrayal of Ray was incredibly creepy. After the film was over I was still thinking if he was truly possessed by the Devil or if he was just going crazy.

I am happy I was finally able to view this film as I have heard about ever since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in the Fall of 2015.

The Lost City of Z (2016)

Epic

[7/10 · 7 August 2017]

This movie was an Epic spanning the life of Percy Fawcett an intelligent, unwavering explorer from Great Britain from his early years to the end of his life with his 3 trips to "The Amazonia". The cinematography was truly amazing.

The breath taking setting of the Amazon River and the jungle was a great canvas for James Gray and Darius Khondjo. It really did have some of the most memorable shots that I have ever seen.

The Belko Experiment (2016)

Stomach Churning!

[5/10 · 7 August 2017]

I don't know where to begin on my thoughts of this movie. First I will say it is a very interesting/crazy concept for a movie and once this thing got going, it got out of hand quickly! You can't help but put yourself into the employees mind and trying to figure out what you would do if you were faced with certain death if you do not kill others.

Obviously this movie isn't perfect, there are some plot holes. But my biggest gripe is that the screen writer took the easy way out and had a large armory of guns available to the participants in the "social experiment". It would have been much better and a lot more wild if there was only office supplies available and not the used of so many guns.