somebody85

First time I walked out of the theater this year and thought "Yeah, I could have waited." The 95% RT score drew me in though. I completely predicted the outline of this plot from the first trailer and it never strayed once from it. A) Movie opens with a set piece of the family fighting some threat. B ) Something happens that causes the family to separate and Elastigirl takes center stage as Bob stays at home with the kids. C) Finally, the family has to come together with Frozone at the very end because Elastigirl takes on a threat that is too much for just her to handle or gets captured. Called it months ago and hoped there would be more in the actual film but there really wasn't. The moments when the family were all together were great but they didn't last long. And it's amazing how much merchandise Disney has with them in stores in those iconic uniforms when they wear them for maybe 10 minutes of this movie. Guessed the villain would either be the dude who hired Elastigirl or the sister right when they came on screen. Helen is a really bad detective. Also didn't understand why Mr. Incredible and Frozone didn't come out of hiding after Elastigirl was all over the TV and the brother had all those side heroes meet her. Or why using Elastigirl was crucial to the sisters plan in the first place unless the government and public had a record of all the other damage collateral caused by each family member. It was fun and there were some good comedic moments with Jack Jack but it's one of those Pixar sequels that I'll forget about in a few days just like Finding Dory. Really wanted more moments of the whole family together and didn't get much. Also thought the animation was a step down from Coco but the scene where Elastigirl fought the villain (I've already forgotten it's name - Screen something) in the cage was really cool. B

Hereditary The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (some amazing wide shots - but yes, very weird) It Comes At Night The Witch

I hated The Witch but loved this. I had to watch The Witch two times because I could not get through the first time without subtitles. The atmosphere did not work as well there for me. This felt more conventional and did deliver when it needed to. IT is an awesome coming of age story with memorable characters. I agree on audiences being ADD though. They just want the film equivalent of a haunted house and don't want to think too much about it. There was one jump scare in this but it was very effective due to the way the atmosphere was executed. I loved how it wasn't telegraphed by some cheap musical cue.

This wasn't even on my radar but now I'm intrigued. Anne looks great.

By the way some people were talking here, I thought that's what they meant. "Breaking out for sure"....that usually means way above tracking to me but I guess I misread in this case.

Two completely different films. No interest in either but the trailers could have sold me on this. They just looked dull though. Nothing to do with the cast. The marketing reminded me of something that would come out in late August or September.

I always thought it would come in around the 30s or mid 40s. Not calling it a flop but don't think it's a breakout either. That's what I would consider like IT or Deadpool or American Sniper or The Revenant. Something unexpected going off.

Sorry, I wasn't calling it a flop (if you were referring to me). I just thought it was going to do what the numbers are showing so far. The trailers never racked up a ton of views and made it a huge event or anything. Breaking out to me would be a lot higher. I'm sure the legs will be decent but it does have a lot of competition coming up. And yeah looks like the GA didn't like Hereditary as much with a D+ cinemascore.

I guess I misunderstood the term breaking out then when it comes to this film. I thought that meant numbers that were a lot higher. Like a must see experience that everyone is talking about. I've seen more discussion for Hereditary so far.

I understand. I find sociopaths fascinating but I don't want to see a film where that type of personality is a protagonist when it involves a lot of manipulation and murder. I felt like I needed a shower after this more so than Red Sparrow. And I didn't find their interactions humorous at all. I found the dialogue too convincing to laugh at because I've seen actual documentaries where people act exactly like that who have carried out some nasty stuff. Mean people doing mean shit works in horror for me because I can treat that more like a fictional story instead of something that feels a lot realer...that doesn't amount to anything but the crime being committed. And the message about social media at the end was so shoe horned in unlike Ingrid Goes West which actually earned it. If it had something else to say about society or these types of personalities at the end (or Anna Taylor Joy paid for what she did) maybe I would have felt differently but to me, this just came off as a nasty experience. By the writers comment, I don't know who sits down and writes a script like this and wants to film it.

I didn't find this fun in the way that Heathers is or comedic at all (saw AV Club call it a dark comedy? - not sure where I was supposed to laugh). I found it incredibly mean spirited and I'm okay with films being that if they have something worthwhile to say like Funny Games...but this didn't. It took itself pretty seriously and I guessed Olivia Cooke was a sociopath right when she imitated the picture at the beginning. The way they con Anton Yelchins character is just nasty and Cooke comes off as an actual sociopath, not a satirization of one. And Ana Taylor Joy is pretty much just as bad. She unknowingly drugs her friend and than stabs her step father to death because she's unhappy with her life. I dunno, this left a really bad taste in my mouth and I watched it right after enduring nearly 3 hours of grueling psychological/physical torture scenes from Red Sparrow....so that's saying something. I'm not a fan of these mean spirited films like The Voices and this definitely reminded me of that type of tone. Had no idea that's what this was going in (besides the good reviews) but like the actresses...and yeah, I really didn't like this movie. Actually kind of hated it. I feel like the writers who come up with these films have worse mental issues than actual horror writers. They have to understand sociopaths really well to be able to write them this convincingly. I hope no young adult looks up to these girls (and sadly saw some of that on Twitter). D (it would be an F without the acting)

If you had played either recent game, you would see what they could have done to make this work. The funnest scenes in this are when Laura is hanging from something and the scene in the river is very similar to something that happens in the 2013 reboot. Everything was just wrong here outside of Vikander. They don't even set up why she would know what she does. The opening 15 minutes or so (before they get to the China dock) is completely pointless and they could have spent that time showing Laura actually being an archaeologist and studying this stuff. Or training on the boat on the way to some treasure while reciting history to a friend while she's boxing. So many perplexing writing choices from people who don't get the games. I have no idea why they went with the father thing when it would have worked so much better if they just set up Laura as a young adventurer (her father easily could have still been alive). Laura wasn't just searching for her father in Rise. She was also searching for what he was. And the island (along with the god) was ripped right from the 2013 reboot which really had nothing to do with her father.

This was such a frustrating experience knowing the potential of the source material. I honestly couldn't stop rewriting the movie in my head in a way that would have been a lot more fun and still paid tribute to the 2013 reboot that it borrows heavily from. I don't understand why studios are having this much trouble with these adaptations. It's not this fucking difficult to make another Indiana Jones style of adventure. The scenes that replicate the set pieces from the rebooted game are entertaining but those sequences are few and far between. Everything else (aka the majority of the film) is hot garbage. As far as acting, Alicia Vikander makes an excellent Lara Croft but she is not really given any room to breathe and have fun with the character. As someone who recently played both of the recent Tomb Raiders, this film really does them a massive disservice. There's a point in the third act where a henchmen asks "Where's the floor?' immediately after a long set piece that involves him standing on said floor watching it collapse in a puzzle style trap. The games don't have great writing but Jesus, at least it's not that bad. Maybe an Uncharted movie shouldn't happen. They somehow managed to screw up something that should have been easy. - D

Man, after all these years The Strangers deserved so much better than this awful sequel. This was the exact type of horror movie that The Cabin In The Woods made fun of in 2012. And note to writers, if you want me to care about your protagonists, maybe don't make them all unlikeable tropes within the first ten minutes. Every character feels like they walked right off a script and onto the set of a horror movie instead of being a real person. The movie also fails to understand what made the original work so well by giving The Strangers a lot of screen time. The dad is invincible now too...so there's that. He walks away from something that would have even killed Michael Myers. And the film steals it's best aspect from the far superior You're Next and over uses it to hell along with bordering on the torture porn sub genre of horror that should have been left in the late 2000s (the camera loves to linger on characters slowly dying while loud 80s pop blares in the background). So yeah....like the latest Insidious, the soul less Prey At Night feels like it was made to grab easy money off fans of the original on opening weekend and then be cast off to late night Showtime. One clever jump scare and a decent score isn't worth it. As someone who didn't see a single trailer and had no expectations going in, don't waste your time. - D

This film is definitely not for everyone but when it delivers, it is quite an unsettling experience. Ari Aster really knows how to make you uncomfortable and play with the dark. So many shots just linger....and if you catch that something's there (someone compared it to just waking up - and I'd agree)...yeah it gets in your head man. You might be looking in the shadows on your way home. Beware though, it is a slow burner and does drag a bit in the middle, so if you are going into this film expecting a traditional jump scare fest, this is not it (although there is one that is very effective due to how brilliantly the creepy atmosphere is set up). Hard to really grade it because I think it's something that will improve on multiple viewings and theater experiences are going to differ. Right now - B+/A- (feels like this generations Blair Witch Project)