Quick Movie Review

House at the End of the Street (2012, USA) | Rating: 2/5
Jennifer Lawrence was at the peak of her career in 2012 and she seemed like the go to girl of Hollywood. So, of course, 2 out of 3 movies was going to succeed while the other seemed like a "eh, why not, seems easy enough" gig. The movie wasn't horrible, but like most recent thrillers it lacked relatability or chemistry from character to audience. You simply don't care what happens to these characters. The movie attempts to provoke sympathy through the antagonist and Lawrence's relationship with her mother, but it simply falls flat and just goes with the motions sloppily for the sake of getting to the cliche climax. Lawrence's acting efforts try to save this bland story and her character does break the mold of helpless female leads, but it cannot save this forgettable horror.



The Wolverine (2013, USA) | Rating: 3.5/5
As much as I'm annoyed that filmmakers seem confused on what direction to take with the X-Men franchise, I was looking forward to this movie. I know a lot of people were disappointed in the previous Wolverine movie and it seems like this one made up for it, whether people completely enjoyed it or not. I think it was an improvement as well. It was exciting, action packed, and actually had some character development. There were some twists in there as well that I couldn't even predict. The villain wasn't extremely strong, but I thought they were kinda cool. Honestly, I think the women stole the show from Wolverine.



Evil Dead (2013, USA) | Rating: 1.5/5
As someone who hasn't seen the original, I was never really interested in seeing this remake nor intrigued to watch the original after watching this one. So, why did I watch this movie and am reviewing it right now? This review simply exists because someone requested my thoughts on the remake. I must admit it looked good and the acting wasn't bad, but the level of unnecessary gore, bland story, and characters you don't care about retracts from those small positive things. There was an excessive amount of blood and that took away from the high production visuals. For a more in depth review, check out Ophelia's review. For the most part, I agree with everything she had to say about the movie.



The Conjuring (2013, USA) | Rating: 4/5
I've been waiting to see this movie since I saw the teaser. It felt like a breath of fresh air. I finally saw it with my mom and I'm happy to say that this was very satisfying. James Wan continues to keep us on edge and guessing which I love and miss from the genre, especially after seeing Evil Dead. The balance between the Perrons and Warrens kept things interesting, the slow pace added to the tension, the distribution of sound and silence was cleverly done, and the camera angles are uniquely Wan. Glancing over the negative reviews, it seems like people expected the jump scare, gore fest that's been plaguing the cinemas for so long. This isn't your Paranormal Activity or your standard possession movie. On the surface it may seem cliche, but when you actually watch it brings so many new vantage points than its predecessors of this generation and if you're looking for more of the same, then skip out on this disappointment. For the most part, I agree with Ophelia's take on the movie. My only negative was the first reveal of the main ghost. I would've liked to wait a little longer to see it. A little mystery to add to the terror.



Trance (2013, UK) | Rating: 3/5
I didn't know about this movie until I saw Film Brain review it. It seemed interesting and I enjoy movies that deal with manipulating the mind. It reminded me a little of Inception, but at a faster pace. Unfortunately, my mind couldn't keep up with that fast pace and I'm sure the copious amount of explanation at the end is for those who are in the same boat. Normally, I could keep track of everything, but for some reason the writing was a bit too loose. It was still enjoyable and interesting enough to find out the conclusion. The visuals were also very intriguing.


If there's something you want me to review (or want a more in depth review of the movies above or previous ones), check out this post on how you can submit requests.