Honeymoon

And another movie titled, "Honeymoon", only the second I have reviewed but one of many.  Not that it wasnt original, well, it wasn't but had some unique aspects that made me sit interested wanting to continue to watch.  This is one that I have decided to bring out the "Wretched Scale" on.  First, there are a few scenes that were truly gag worthy, it was done well enough for you to feel a bit sick and really, really hate the villain!  Second, the true sick and twisted nature of the main character is disturbing and wretched enough for you to sneer up your nose in disgust.  So lets get into the meat of this fun little tale.  A Foreign film made in Mexico about a beautiful young woman who is stalked, and captured by her weirdo neighbor.  He decides to chain her up in his basement and punish her until she succumbs to becoming his woman.  When she doesn't obey, he has some truly terrifying torture techniques, (try saying that 5 times fast).  There is a bit of a twist toward the end, and then another twist on top of that, the latter being a bit dumb, but good for the movie.  I would say give this one a watch, its streaming on Netflix now and may just fill your appetite for a low budget horror film.

FYI:  The main character choose to remain tied up between takes for her to maintain her suffering character.

**1/2

Mother!

Okay haters, I can assume that anyone who reads my review of this is not going to agree and will likely be mad and call me a phony.  Give me a few minutes to explain myself and try to keep an open mind here because as far as I am concerned, Mother! was one of the better movies I have seen.  I will start off by saying this was the most bizarre, over the top, roller coaster of a movie that I have ever seen.  I found myself saying, "what the fuck is going on" in the middle of the film.  My take is the complete metaphoric telling was a glimpse of our society and the narcissistic views we cling to today.  It is said many times in the film that "it's never enough" for a reason.  Humans need for possessions, love, acceptance, to legitimize their own existence is pared with craze and worship of emotions from people that have no direct impact on your life other than your self worth.  None of the characters have names in this movie and I am certain that the metaphor for Bardem's character "Him" is God, the guests are Adam and Eve, their sons Cain and Abel and Lawrence as Mother Nature.  At one point the voice of reason shows up and realizes he can never win over the emotional state of the characters so he gives up and leaves.  That is when the shit really hits the fan.  The movie which starts off as a slow burn becomes an explosion for your senses putting unbelievable scenarios together creating a roller coaster of a movie!  Whew!  Was that pretentious enough for you?  Well it should be!  My guess is that most who watch this movie will absolutely hate it and have no understanding of its undertones, but if you go in with an open mind and let its creative levels sink in, you may just like it.

FYI:  The script was written by Aronofsky in 5 days.

****1/2

It

Well, we all know the story of the creepy clown from Stephen King's insane mind.  remember being in Jr High and watching it on TV for 2-3 nights?  Even that was an interesting take apart from the bad acting, terrible cast and made for TV feel.  Well it doesn't even hold a candle to this new remake, and was was it good.  I will agree with my neighbor that it might possibly be the best re make of all time!  This version had a number of scenes that were very close to the original but with flare, style and a budget.  They nailed the 80's feel of the movie with casting, scenes, and the actions of the main kids.  It was actually so well done that it makes you think, why the hell cant all remakes be this easy to reproduce that well.  And now for the main component and what you have all been waiting for, the Pennywise review.  Creepier, scarier, more slobbery, and absolutely genius!  I do have a love for Tim Curry in the original but Skarsgard rocked it!  There was some great comic relief, especially with the kid from Stranger Things who stole every scene he was in.  The flow of the movie and the extra added scares were awesome (crooked lady from the painting).  This is a must see, even if you werent a fan of the original, this movie was so well made that it will have you wanting more, which is probably why it is set up perfectly for a sequel.

FYI:  Bill Skarsgard admitted that he was so into his character while filming that he had constant nightmares during production.

*****

Okja

You know the old saying, "It's like putting perfume on a Pig"?  Well, its a risk that I think absolutely paid off in this little gem!  If your a fan of the slaughterhouse and throwing meat on animal rights activists, this might not be quite what your looking for.  This is an outstanding little story of a food corporation run by the evil Tilda Swinton, who is trying to gain public acceptance by putting a cute face to the newly created "Super Pig".  There are a few of them given to farmers all over the world raised to become huge, which means more meat for the table in the long run.  Unfortunately when they come around to collect these beasts back, they step on the wrong little girls toes, and her defiance leads her to an adventure of revenge!  The story is excellent and a complete surprise that will have you changing emotions many times throughout.  The acting is incredible including the all out psychotic, crazed Jake Gyllenhaal who brings his "A" game once again.  There are a number of disturbing scenes toward the end that will have you re think your meal choices but it flows well with the undertones of the movie.  This is streaming on Netflix right now so give it a shot, you will not be disappointed.

FYI:  When appearing at Cannes Film Fest, the crowd booed at the Netflix Card on the screen.

*****

Hounds of Love

Lesson number one, don't let your kids sneak out of the house.  Lesson two, make sure that you are well aware of who your neighbors really are.  And finally our final lesson, if you have suspicions about someone, do something about it!  This is a disturbing story of a young teenage girl who is abducted, held captive and tortured by a sadistic couple with some really, really deep issues.  The story takes place in 1987 in none other than......... yep the really fucked up place of Perth, Australia.  This movie proves once again that although a beautiful place, Australia may be the freakiest habitat for the most disturbing people in the world!  The poor captive is sexually, mentally and physically abused as the couple with some serious reality issues constantly increase the tension between each other.  The young prisoner soon discovers that the only thing that may save her is her mental strength and wit, but will it work?  You have to watch for yourself.  Very well made and acted, and not very in your face graphic but a slow burn for sure.  This is really a true cinema watchers type of movie leaving you feel pretty gross to know that this stuff really happens.

FYI:  The entire movie only took 20 days to film.

***1/2

I Am Not a Serial Killer

There is always a joke about the weird kid at the end of the block who could end up being a serial killer, every town has one.  Most of the time they turn out to be something great, or just a normal everyday Joe.  Although, there is that slight chance that they really are a serial killer and have the ability to slice your throat while you are sleeping off last nights kegger at the bon-fire.  This great streaming flick centers around a kid who has some tendencies that make him think he could probably be a murder, and has to stick to a routine in order to suppress them.  Well it just so happens he may be living next door to a real life sicko!  He does some investigating on his own and finds that his small, quiet town has some dark secrets.  All the while he is dealing with his own issues only to run into a huge twist that could have been corny, but ended up awesome!  This is a great flick with kind of gritty low budget feel keeping you wondering if its all real or just in the imagination of a troubled kid.

FYI:  The main kid is the same kid who played Max in Where the Wild Things Are.

****

The Belko Experiment

Think of the last day you spent at work.  You know, the day spent in a cubicle jungle, listening to the co-worker behind you chomping on chips too loud.  The worthless HR lady who re-directs her job 100% of the time.  Or how about that under-qualified, empty suit boss you have that shows he has no business managing anything other than the fry machine at your local Burger King.  That feeling creeps up on you, you know the one, where you just want to up and go devil on everyone.  Well, now just imagine if you didn't have a choice and were made to do just that!  Pretty cool little underrated flick called "The Belko Experiment" which takes the concept of Battle Royale to a level of corporate atmosphere.  Basically an overseas company employing many Americans lock the office down and announce over the loud speaker that if they don't kill someone, a group will be killed.  And so on, and so on, and so on.  The gore was fun, a little un-creative and pretty predictable but exciting and entertaining.  Some fun killings include death by office supplies, ax to the head, elevator, and much more!  Give this one a shot on a Thursday night after your worst day at work, trust me :)

FYI:  Actually based on a real life experiment in 1963 regarding the effects of authority.

***1/2