Don't Hang Up

Remember this one?  RING, RING, "Hello" is your refrigerator running?  "Yes"  then you better go catch it!  HAHAHAHA!  No?  Oh, well my childhood was pretty dull and when it came to entertaining ourselves before smart phones and caller ID, we just did the old "Prank Call" routine.  In this twisted tale, a couple of teenagers decide to pull back a few too many cold ones and make some prank calls of their own, with a bit of a twist.  These cocky bastards want to terrorize the victim pretending to be the cops, or a thief in the house or whatever until they screw with the wrong recipient!  Their night of fun quickly turns into a nightmare and they become the prey.  The movie was somewhat predictable and a bit cheesy, such as unrealistic reactions to situations that would probably never work out.  I did like the suspense and the ending reveal but it wasn't quite enough to set it up for a 4 star review.  It was a free streaming flick so worth the watch but proceed with caution, it might not keep you on the edge of your seat like you want.

FYI:  Do people still prank call???

***

Stronger

Wat, ah yah one of those southie smaht kids?  That was just a short representation of what I liked best about this movie, the total entrenched Boston accents.  I love to hear and imitate that accent but when I hear women talk like that I cringe because its wicked annoying!  Well, here is the true story of Jeff Bauman played by one of our favorites, good ole Jake.  You remember Bauman right?  The ordinary, no goals, drunk dipshit who was at the wrong place at the wrong time (which was a miracle he even got out of bed that day to be honest).  Okay, jokes aside he was one of the unfortunate spectators of the Boston Marathon who was injured due to the bombing.  He lost both of this legs and the story is of his struggles, menacing family, and ultimately his comeback.  It is a very "Hollywood-ized" movie but the story is pretty incredible.  For one, if I had his family and their loud, rude, no filter demeanor I would have wished to loose my head instead of legs!  Too soon?  Sorry.  The greatest part of the story is the scene where he finally meets the mysterious cowboy-hat wearing man who basically saved his life.  Talk about a tear-jerker!  Definitely give this one a shot!

FYI:  Many of the real doctors played themselves in the unscripted hospital scenes.

****

I Tonya

Did you hear the one about the Olympic figure skating scandal involving a few of the top ranked female skaters in the world?  You know, where the husband hires a couple of thugs to bash the knee caps of the champ?  Oh, don't remember that huh?  You may be too young to enjoy this one then but if you want an awesome depiction of some bizarre history in sports this is it!  Lets start with the acting, phenomenal!  We all know these actors can in fact act by their resume but Robbie kills the Harding attitude and poor me demeanor.  Unfortunately she is so much hotter than the real Tonya it was a bit distracting.  Then you have Janney who dominated the screen.  She was evil, selfish, white trash, and so damn real that she crushed this role.  If she doesn't win for best supporting something is definitely wrong with the voting (newsflash).  The scene cutting and breaking the 4th wall was very direct and original which really brought the movie together.  There are quite a few ice skating scenes where you think, wow, did Robbie actually learn how to skate for this?  The CGI was very well done and made it look extremely real.  It was a bit like Goodfellas met Ice Skating and really succeeded.  I would watch this movie again and put it up there as Outstanding!

FYI:  Janney actually was a trained ice skater until an accident to her leg forced her out.

*****

The Open House

Trying to sell your home?  Well I suggest holding an Open House, especially when the place contains a basement full creepy stone tunnel areas.  Actually, it would make for a perfect wine cellar in this flick!  First off I enjoyed this little throw away, it was more than I expected and less than it should have been.  It really went through the check list of what to do for a creepy, suspense thriller.  Here is the list they used if you want to make one yourself:  First, start with a tragedy in the family that sends them out of their comfort zone.  Next, throw in a creepy, small town with out of touch residents.  Now, make everyone a little too suspicious, including the family members.  Then, have unexplained things happen in the house that should freak you out, and do nothing about it.  Finally, throw in a killer, or maybe its not a killer?!?  You can fine tune the rest with audibles such as bitter teenager, token black guy, un-used room, etc.  Take it for what it is, and there will be no awards here, just good old fashion mindless suspense.  Its another Netflix original and easy to watch with decent acting, its worth it.

FYI:  Beware, you would probably do everything different in this situation!

***