I came across this sci-fi/thriller on Amazon Prime this morning and I thought I would give it a shot.

Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) and Gemma (Imogen Poots) are a happy couple in search of their perfect house.  They go to see an agency that is selling houses in the neighborhood called Yonder.  The sales agent Martin (Jonathan Aris) takes the couple to see one of the houses, and they discover that the neighborhood is repetitive houses, all green, as far as can be seen.

As they are looking around, Martin disappears and the couple decide to get the heck out of there.  However, they are unable to find a way to leave and their car somehow always winds back at house number 9, the one they have been shown, as if trapped in a maze.

Finding a box of supplies left out front, Tom decides to try something drastic.  He takes the flap off the box and lights it on fire, torching the house in the process.  As they watch the house burn, the couple fall asleep out front. The next morning, another box appears, this time, containing a baby.  They also find that the house is completely unharmed from the previous night’s arson.

Time passes and the baby grows into a young boy (Senan Jennings), but there are clearly some weird things going on.  Yet, there is no way for Tom and Gemma to escape, so they continue with their life.  The passage of time is very odd in this film as we see that this boy is growing at a considerable greater rate than we would expect.  He seems to be copying the behaviors and speech of the adults.  They have not taken the boy into their hearts as a son as Gemma continues to tell him that she is not his mother.

Things only get weirder from this point on as Vivarium follows this couple’s life.  Wondering what the title was a reference to, I found this definition at Dictionary.com: “a place, such as a laboratory, where live animals or plants are kept under conditions simulating their natural environment, as for research.”  This definition certainly places a new thought about what this movie is all about.

The film also begins with the imagery of a bird’s nest with newly born birds being shoved out of the nest, leading to their death by a cuckoo.  The bird’s mother then raise the cuckoo as their own.

Again, pretty spot on with what is happening in our narrative.

I thought the performances of Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots were well done.  They showed the horrors of the situation without going overboard.  The performance of Senan Jennings was stand out though.  The “young boy” (which is the name IMDB gives the character) is one of the creepier performances you are going to find.  He fits nicely into the genre of horror movie creepy kids.

The middle of the movie is a tad slow, but I liked that.  The development we got was well done and frustrating because you just did not understand what was happening at the time.  There were enough clues dropped throughout the film that made you realize that something was seriously out of whack that it teased the audience effectively.

I personally enjoyed the ending of the movie, but if you are the type who gets frustrated about having everything explained to you, then this one may not be the film for you.

There are some extremely relevant themes of isolation and the repetitive of life in this film that may not be developed as much as it could have been, but they are certainly there.

Vivarium is a cross between an extended episode of the Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks.  There are some really weird events and some great performances, especially from Senan Jennings.  Some may not be happy with the ending, but I thought that worked well for the themes that they were using.

3.8 stars 

I may never do another Zoom meeting.

Host is an original horror film from Shudder and it is frightening and nerve-wracking.

We have seen films like this before.  A group of friends online wind up being tormented by some spirit/demon, but there was something particularly creepy and anxiety creating about this film.

Host is only 57 minutes long, but it certainly maximizes the time to create a ton of horrific scares that leaves you uneasy and disturbed.

Six friends are getting together during the pandemic lockdown on Zoom to have a seance, which includes a real life Medium.  Despite a warning not to “disrespect the spirits, one of the friends, Jemma, makes up a story about a boy and opens the door for a spirit to come into their lives.

The film would fall into the found footage genre, directed by Rob Savage.  While we have seen this type of film from Unfriended to Unsubscribe, Host pushes those button that tap into the anxiety of the audience coming from our current situation of the pandemic, that has kept us isolated in our homes for months now.

There were a lot of jump scares in Host, but they did not feel as if they were thrown in the film.  These scares felt earned for the story that they were telling.

The characters were reasonably well-developed considering the fact that the film was pretty short.  They did a great job providing the information in a concise and effective manner.  The script here is tightly woven and entertaining.

The film is short, but it takes advantage of every second to mess with the audience’s nerves.  The feeling of isolation the film creates is effective.  The performances are good and the effects are impressive for what these filmmakers had available to them.  Host is on Shudder and is a great, frightening time.

4.1 stars 

You Should Have Left is a film released this year on VOD.  However, I had heard some negativity about the film so I decided that I would not pay the $19.99 they were asking on Vudu and the other video on demand sites.  I thought that I might come back to it later as the price dropped.  Tonight, the price was much more reasonable and I gave this a try.

Perhaps it is because my expectations were low, but I liked a lot of this movie.  It clearly has its flaws, but this was much better than I thought it would be.

Theo (Kevin Bacon), a former banker, his wife and actress Susanna (Amanda Seyfried) and their daughter Ella (Avery Essex) need to get away from the world.  Theo had a dark past that haunts him and the chance to get away with his famous actress wife and daughter.  They rent a house in the Welsh countryside, and then things start to get weird.

This is in the genre of haunted house horror and comes from Blumhouse.  The recent run of Blumhouse films have not been as rewarding as others.  Directed by David Koepp, You Should Have Left takes that genre and, well, does not do anything really new with it.  Still, the house itself was kind of creepy and had some solid scenes in it.

Kevin Bacon is great with what he has been given.  Young Avery Essex is very capable as well.  Amanda Seyfried is not given much to do.  Because of the lack of depth in her characters, a plot point that is dropped near the end of the second act of the movie feels just completely shoehorned in and was unearned.  It was so out of left field that it hurt the movie that I had been enjoying to that point.

The ending of the film was also too predictable.  It presented a twist to it that you probably guessed way earlier in the movie.  The movie missed an opportunity to do something creative with the end that took advantage of the skill of these actors involved, but it chose to do the typical stereotypical twist.  Much of the final act brought the film down for me.

That is a shame, of course, because there were quite a few point among the first two acts that I had really engaged in.  The acting was strong, especially from Bacon and Essex.  The house had a creepiness to it that could have been something special, but seems to settle for something simple.

I was entertained by the film, which in the end is an important part, but this could have been so much better.  If you like horror movies and approach this with the proper level of expectations, you could do worse that You Should Have Left.

3 stars 

You know, I’ve always liked a good shark movie.  I have even enjoyed a few of the not so good ones too.  I mean, they can’t all be Jaws, right?

Seeing this film on Vudu, I hoped that it would be a reasonable entertaining way to pass a Saturday afternon.

Nope.

That is, unless, you wanted some of the most laugh out loud moments of shark attacks that have ever been placed on the screen.  Legitimately, I was cracking up at a scene where a group of dolphins seemingly intervened and attacked the sharks to save our kayakers.

Or, worse yet, when the “rogue” shark jumped through the air and ate the guy on a jet ski who had come to see if he could help.  One of the few times in film history where the movie literally had the shark jump the shark.

Three kayakers, Sarah (Paige McGarvin), Meghan (Juliana DeStefano) and Jason (Jack Pearson), paddled out to a group of islands that are quickly being flooded to take photos for something or other.  After the shark attacks, they are stranded and have to decide what they can do…either stay or try to make it to another island nearby.

As her phone is losing power, Sarah calls her father (Michael Madsen), who is involved in search and rescue.  He contacts the coast guard and other necessary agencies to try and find his daughter.

Poor Michael Madsen.  I mean, all he gets to do is talk on the phone and he does not have anything remotely close to an emotionally compelling reaction.  The most he gets in this movie is, every once in a while, he shouts out “that’s my daughter” to someone over the phone.  Perhaps he is meant to look like a calm professional, but he seems more dispassionate than calm.

They tried to provide some background depth to the characters, but it failed pretty massively.  There was a relationship storyline with the three characters, but since Jason dies quickly, it goes off track without much investigation.  Oh.. spoiler, by the way, but… you’re not going to watch this… so spoiler does not matter much.

This one is not good.  Even these shark movies that are dumb, some have decent shark imagery.  Not here.  There are unintentionally funny moments in here and they all involve the shark.

1 star

In a month that kicked off with Hamilton, this is an impressive way to finish July off on Disney +.

American singer Beyoncé debuted her new film, Black is King, on Disney + today and it is visually stunning, showing looks at black culture and history worldwide.

I am not that familiar with the music of Beyoncé, but, apparently, this movie is the visual presentation of Beyoncé’s 2019 record, The Lion King: The Gift, which was released along with the “live-action” Lion King remake.  The music of the film is impressive.  Beyoncé’s vocals are powerful and strong and the mix of other voices and styles throughout the soundtrack provides a broad example of black music.

The story, for what there is, basically follows the concept of the Lion King, even using some voice over from James Earl Jones’s Mustafa to make the link.  However, the story of this film is not what you are here for.  This is more of a visual medium than it is anything else and this is where the film transcends.

The imagery throughout this film is wonderfully eclectic and imaginative.  The colors, the choreography, the fashion, the display of culture blends beautifully with the music to provide a powerful viewing experience.  My favorite reference to this was to call it “musical art.”  That is a perfect description of the breathtaking visuals.

The settings of the film were scattered across the globe and provided a stunning backdrop to the dancing and the glorious movement.

Black is King is a love letter to black culture and stresses a pride in the depth of being black.  Beyoncé goes out of her way to focus especially on children, showing how they can grow into a strong and confident adult, something vitally important as of this time of the world.

As a white man, I found myself moved by the power of the movie, so I can only imagine how the black community will feel.  There is a healing tone to the film and that is something that we desperately need today.

4.6 stars 

Writer/director Karen Maine presents this coming-of-age story of a young Catholic girl who has found the inner desire of personal urges after coming across a racy AOL chat.  These urges made her extremely uncomfortable as she attended a Catholic youth retreat, making her afraid for her eternal soul.

This movie was wonderful and felt real.  The voice of the film was realistic and relatable.  Maine investigates the hypocrisy of the situation and does a great job of showing that many say things that they do not mean and that the sexual urges are common.

There is also a strong message about not believing everything that you hear and know that rumors were not always accurate.

The young girl, Alice (Natalia Dyer), had an innocent aura about her.  She did not even understand what the rumor that was being spread about her and another high school boy meant that she was supposed to have done.  The Catholic guilt was at full steam for Alice, who was feeling ashamed about the thoughts that she was having.

However, she kept seeing others at the retreat committing “sins” despite what they had been saying.

Natalia Dyer was amazing as Alice, as we see her initially uncertain and guilt-ridden and then grow to a confident young lady.  Dyer’s facial expressions are perfectly executed and she draws the audience in to her plight and everyone understands.

The film was paced wonderfully and not one scene in the 78 minute movie was overlooked.

This was a great film with a story that should be able to speak to most watching and was filled with a lot of real-life humor.

3.9 stars

Looking through Netflix the other day for something new to watch, I found this animated movie called Animal Crackers that looked intriguing.  There was a massive voice cast of A-list actors including Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, John Krasinski, Ian McKellen, Raven-Simone, Wallace Shawn, Gilbert Gottfried, Tara Strong, and Patrick Warburton.  With that list of talented actors and, what appeared to be colorful and engaging animation, I was ready to watch this movie.

Unfortunately, the film itself is quite the mess and way too complicated in execution.

Owen and Zoe fall in love and want to get married.  In order to be a good provider and to please Zoe’s demanding father, he leaves the family circus to take a job at Zoe’s father’s dog treats plant.  When the circus winds up in his own possession, Owen returns and tries to bring the circus back to prosperity.

When he discovers the secret behind the animals, Owen dedicates himself to the circus.  However, Owen’s uncle Horatio P. Huntington is trying to steal the secret and the circus for himself.

That synopsis is a little off, but that is because there is a lot of convolution involved in the film.  I believe that a young child will enjoy the movie with the colors and the various animals and they will not be bothered by the lackluster tale.  As an adult, though, I need more from my animation than what this movie provides.  Otherwise, what could have been a wonderful film is very empty and half-hearted.

I did really enjoy Bullet-Man, voiced by Sylvester Stallone.  This character’s running joke was the best one of the entire film.

If you need a “babysitter” for an hour and a half + some day, pop this film on Netflix and your little kids will probably be entertained.  In that case, the film works.  If you want to watch it, there is little to engage anyone over the age of ten.

2.6 stars 

Actor Dave Franco has his directorial debut with the thriller/horror film, called The Rental.  Unfortunately, this film is not the stellar debut one might have wanted.

Two couples rent out a vacation home and head out to spend a weekend.  Two members of the couples are brothers, Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Josh (Jeremy Allen White).  Josh is dating Mina (Sheila Vand), a close co-worker of Charlie.  Michelle (Alison Brie) is with Charlie.  The two couples seem happy, but Mina is looking for a fight with the owner of the house, Taylor (Toby Huss), who they perceive as racist.

Eventually, the group begins to believe that Taylor has been spying on them during the weekend.

I am going to talk about this film with SPOILERS because a huge part of the problems with this movie comes about because of them, so be warned.

The first night finds Charlie, Josh and Mina partaking in some drug use, though Michelle is too tired.  This leads to Josh passing out and Charlie and Mina in the hot tub.  What starts out innocent, leads to the two of them kissing.  Instead of continuing out in the open in the hot tub, they take it to the shower and they have sex.

The next day, after agreeing that their encounter could never happen again, Mina goes to shower again, but finds a hidden camera in the shower nozzle.  They immediately jump to the assumption that this is Taylor, being more than just racist.  They also begin to panic, because they had their tryst in the shower, so there is visual evidence of their bad deeds.

Michelle, who is unaware of any of this, calls Taylor to come fix the currently broken hot tub, and Mina cannot help herself.  She confronts him in the bathroom and they get in a fight.  Josh comes running into the bathroom and beats the crap out of Taylor, leaving him unconscious in the tub.  The group gets together to try and decide what they were going to do.  Meanwhile, a gloved hand covers Taylor’s nose and mouth, suffocating him.

This is, of course, one of the biggest issues here.  We did know that someone had been watching this group, but there was no indication anywhere that that person was a killer.  We knew nothing about this man or the situation that was happening.

At this point, the film basically turns into a slasher film, with this killer in a weird mask.  That comes completely out of nowhere and changes the tone of the film 100%.  Amazingly though, after hour plus of character development, I could not have given two craps about these characters.  None of them were worth anything.  I wonder if that was the idea.  Provide the audience with four characters that could be easily bumped off, that you would want to see killed.  That did not work for me, since I did not have any emotional connection to these four, I did not have any feeling of anxiety for them.  The whole slasher film part just felt out of place, if not even just tacked on.

The cast is great.  I just wish they were given something with more substance to it for them to dig their teeth into.

There are some hilarious moments in the film too, and I am not sure it is intentional.

This had the potential to be something good, but the execution of the plot was ineffective and boring, the characters were all unlikable and the movie takes an odd twist from out of nowhere.  The Rental is a disappointment.

2 stars