Quick Movie Review

Crimson Peak (2015, USA) | Rating: 4/5
Does anyone else get excited when Guillermo del Toro is directing something new? Well, I was pretty excited for this movie, especially with Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Jessica Chastain being part of the main cast. Seeing this movie in theaters was an experience! The visuals were breathtaking and the acting was engaging. The storyline was both frustrating, enjoyable, and tries to do something different with certain cliches. Whether you want to consider this movie a feminist piece or not along with Mad Max: Fury Road, I did enjoy that the main focus revolved around the female characters and change the conventions of sexually explicit scenes. Most likely, I'll rewatch this visual treat again and take in anything I might've missed in this gothic romance.



Pitch Perfect 2 (2015, USA) | Rating: 2.5/5
Having seen the first movie, I felt obligated to check out the sequel and...it was...okay...I guess. I did enjoy Pitch Perfect and thought it was entertaining and funny at times. This one had some great music moments, but, like most sequels, were too heavy handed in the good points of the first movie. The jokes were kinda lame and fell in the same category as current day Adam Sandler bathroom humor. Similiar to the first, I wasn't too fond of Rebel Wilson's character and she was more annoying in this follow up. Some of the plotlines were ignored or carelessly concluded. In fact, I didn't really like how the big competition ended and don't worry, I won't spoil it. Don't feel guilty if you skip out on this sequel, you're not missing too much and if you decide to watch it, skip to the a Capella battle scene. It's probably the best part of the whole movie.



Poltergeist (2015, USA) | Rating: 1.5/5
Within the same year, I watched the original Poltergeist and decided to watch this unnecessary remake...or should I say reimagining. Honestly, directors need to stop reimagining horror classics when they really don't need them, but I regress. This movie doesn't really add much to the original. For the most part, everything is exactly the same with a few updates in the graphics and dialogue, making it more modern day. They do explain the purpose of the family moving a little better than the original, but for the most part there's just jump scares and some not so convincing CGI effects. Hopefully, the newer generation decides to check out the original and forget that this one exists.



The Gallows (2015, USA) | Rating: 1/5
Another horror movie I expected to be bad, especially when the commercials try to convince us that Charlie will be just as iconic as Freddy Krueger, Jason, and Michael Meyers. heh Honestly, I don't know how a killer chasing a bunch of dumb teens with a noose is threatening, but whatever. I mostly watched this for laughs and I did get a couple. Everything you would expect from a modern day horror exists here: characters you don't care about, slightly faulty urban legend, and a anti-climax resolution. Oh, and don't forget that it's obnoxiously shot as found footage. I haven't heard anyone talk about this film and I'm glad that it didn't leave much of an impression on the genre. File this away with As Above, So Below and The Lazarus Effect for forgettable horror movies of the 2010s!



San Andreas (2015, USA) | Rating: 2.5/5
It's been a while since we've had a disaster movie and I'm sure there's a reason for it as the interest for it mostly died in the 90s and early 2000s. While this movie received mixed reviews, I decided to give it a glance as my mother said she enjoyed it quite a bit. Me on the other hand found myself bored, surprisingly. The first 15-20 minutes got me excited and I enjoyed how it opened up, but after that, the story became predictable and bland. I tried to keep my focus on the action in front me, but ended up thinking of movies like Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow and how engaging those were. None of the actors were bad as I really enjoyed Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's character, but the story just didn't hook me the same way it did my mom.


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