Movie review: Hide and Seek (2005)

 

 Recently widowed father David has his hands full trying to help his daughter, Emily, keep her sanity while coping with her mother's death. Instead he finds she is spending time with a violent and vengeful imaginary friend.

Robert De Niro (David), Dakota Fanning (Emily), Famke Janssen (Katherine), Elisabeth Shue (Elizabeth), Amy Irving (Alison), Dylan Baker (Sheriff Hafferty), Melissa Leo (Laura), Robert Burke (Steven), Molly Kallins (Amy).

Hide and Seek is a well done psychological thriller that does a great job with misdirection and hiding the true storyline until almost the end. Along the way the film creates good suspense and engages the audience well with only a few questionable points. The story finally finishes with a lovely mind-warp that brings everything together.

Acting was solid with De Niro delivering as usual and working well with Fanning. Fanning also did nicely with good emotion and delivery. Janssen, Shue, Baker and the remainder of the supporting cast exhibited good depth throughout.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds all have a nice solid feel with good detail. Action scenes were appropriately intense for the film and well done. Dialogue had nice depth and moved the story alone nicely. Sound and soundtrack are good.

Hide and Seek ends up being a nice psychological thriller that remains focused and brings the mind games front and center. Those who enjoy a good drama or thriller should enjoy this one quite a bit.

Including some sexuality, violence, gore, and foul language, save this for older teens and above.

Released: 2005
Reviewed: 8.17.18
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Drama, Thriller, Psychological Thriller

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Dirty Grandpa

 

 His wedding day quickly approaching, naïve Jason is talked into a spring break road trip to Florida. What he doesn't know is the Grandpa has an alternate agenda.

Robert De Niro (Dick), Zac Efron (Jason), Zoey Deutch (Shadia), Aubrey Plaza (Lenore), Jason Mantzoukas (Tan), Dermot Mulroney (David), Julianne Hough (Meredith), Danny Glover (Stinky), Adam Pally (Nick).

Dirty Grandpa is funny and even interesting, but hardly original. After losing his wife, Dick convinces Jason to drive him to Florida for spring break and some sowing of wild oats. Once there Jason, his wedding day approaching, finds that remaining loyal to his fiancée may be a challenge. From there the film is silly humor and exploration of the paper thin plot with an ending that is easily anticipated.

Acting was decent with De Niro doing well as usual. Efron has gained some skills, did pretty good, and seemed to work well with De Niro. Deutch, Plaza, Mulroney, Hough, Glover, and the remainder of the cast were solid and enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are mild but fitting. Action is also mild but good. Dialogue is decent with some nice laughs, but also some dry scenes. Sound and soundtrack are good.

Overall the best description of this one is mild humor. The film never really develops strong energy and the plot is somewhat worn out at this point. Those who enjoy late night comedy may enjoy this one.

With some sexuality, foul language, and more than a few adult situations, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2016
Reviewed: 8.17.18
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Late Night Comedy, Comedy

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Black Sea

 

 Let go from his job, former submarine captain Robinson accepts a risky job from a shady backer. Tasked with finding a submarine lost in the Black Sea and loaded with gold, enemies are watching and the crew begins to feel the stress.

Jude Law (Robinson), Karl Davies (Liam), Konstantin Khabenskiy (Blackie), Daniel Ryan (Kurston), Scoot McNairy (Daniels), Tobias Menzies (Lewis), Michael Smiley (Reynolds), David Threlfall (Peters).

Black Sea begins fairly well, showing us the state of Robinson's life. Terminated from his job, he is contacted by a shady backer wanting him to locate a submarine lost in the Black Sea and rumored to be loaded with gold. From there the film devolves into a mess of a mission. Robinson makes one bad decision after another and his degenerate crew only makes matters worse. The film finally wraps up with an ending that while expected, leaves a lot to be desired.

Law did a reasonable job, though his character is something of a mess. The remainder of the supporting cast is more interesting than talented in general but surprisingly fit the overall messy feel of the film.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are decent with the addition of some CGI. Action scenes were solid. Dialogue was okay though subtitles and accents got old. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Black Sea is an interesting film on a few levels, and a mess on a few others. Those who can suspend reality a bit while viewing adventure or thriller flicks may enjoy this one. Those wanting reality and common sense may be frustrated.

Although rated R we didn't find much to limit audience age in this one. Some mild foul language and violence, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2015
Reviewed: 8.17.18
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Adventure

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Sunshine

 

 Fifty years from now the sun will die, and so will life on earth, unless a team of astronauts with a device capable of kick-starting the sun complete their mission. But this isn’t the first time it has been tried, it is the second. And when a string of accidents and errors take place, and the vanished ship from the first mission appears, it seems this mission may be doomed as well.

Cliff Curtis (Searle), Cillian Murphy (Capa), Michelle Yeoh (Corazon), Hiroyuki Sanada (Kaneda), Rose Byrne (Cassie), Benedict Wong (Trey), Chris Evans (Mace), Troy Garity (Harvey), Mark Strong (Pinbacker).

Sunshine starts off with some decent character and plot development while appearing to be a neat little thriller. With a decent plot that keeps throwing new, solid information at you, the movie moves along nicely. About mid-point we begin to realize our thriller is turning into a horror film. That’s when things really start to get interesting. Toss in a bit of mystery, some religious fanaticism, and ridiculously insurmountable odds and the movie holds your interest pretty well. As mild a film as this appears in many parts, it actually has quite a bit more depth than is seen on the surface.

Acting was pretty good all around though I’m not a big fan of Murphy and this film didn’t change that. No outstanding performances but nothing really bad either.

Special effects were very good in this one and supported the plot very nicely. Some good gore shots in addition to nicely done spaceship and space shots. Sets were also very well done with good detail. Dialogue was okay if a bit tough in spots. Sound was very good, again adding to the plot and to the visuals. Camera work through most of the film was well done however, flash shots toward the end along with blurry shots, shaking, and fast cutaways got annoying and made the movie difficult to watch.

Overall this is a well done scifi, thriller, horror flick obviously with a decent budget and well developed plot. Most sci-fi horror fans should enjoy this one.

Some foul language, violence, and gore shots but teens and above should be fine with this film.

Released: 2007
Reviewed: 8.17.18
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror, Adventure, Sci-Fi Thriller

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

Movie review: Suburbicon

 

 In a new 1950's community named Suburbicon the American Dream is alive and well. But for one family the bubble is burst when a young mother is killed during a home invasion. Yet their community is instead focused on a black family which has recently moved in.

Matt Damon (Gardner), Julianne Moore (Rose/Margaret), Noah Jupe (Nicky), Gary Basaraba (Mitch), Mather Zickel (James), Vince Cefalu (Chuck), Michael Cohen (Stretch), Glenn Fleshler (Sloan), Corey Kotler (Bomber).

Suburbicon begins by bringing us back to the 1950's and the search for the American Dream. Gardner and his family believe they have found the dream in Suburbicon until a home invasion leaves Rose dead. The quiet community however is focused on a black family which has recently moved in. As Gardner and his family come unhinged, racial tensions reach a boiling point and Suburbicon begins to boil over.

Acting was okay with Damon delivering as usual. Moore proved she can still bring the energy in a dual role she managed well while working nicely with Damon. Jupe also did nicely with solid emotion. Basaraba and the remainder of the supporting cast delivered fairly well.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were good with a solid 1950's feel throughout. Effects and action scenes were enjoyable and fit well. Dialogue was fairly well done though a bit more depth would have been nice. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Suburbicon does a decent job of presenting obvious irony, racial tensions, and that the suburbs are no magic bullet for avoiding the less pleasant parts of life. What it doesn't do is generate much energy with few likeable characters and slow scenes which add little to the film. Those who enjoy dark cynical humor, or crime dramas should enjoy this one.

With some sexuality, plenty of violence, gore, and foul language, this should be fine for older teens and above.

Released: 2017
Reviewed: 8.16.18
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Drama, Dark Humor & Comedy, Crime Drama

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel

Movie review: A Quiet Place

 

 The human race has been devastated by alien creatures using ultra-sensitive hearing to hunt human prey. The Abbott family has learned to survive in silence, but nobody can stay silent forever.

Emily Blunt (Evelyn), John Krasinski (Lee), Millicent Simmonds (Regan), Noah Jupe (Marcus), Cade Woodward (Beau), Leon Russom (Screaming man).

A Quiet Place begins quietly, showing us how the Abbots have learned to survive in a world where monsters hunt humans with super-sensitive hearing. Character introductions in place, main plot laid out, the film shifts focus to tension which it builds well. We quickly realize the dangers of living in a world where the slightest sound can get you killed. If that isn't enough the film adds other complications aside from the monsters, becoming almost completely unrealistic in the process.

Acting was decent with Blunt delivering very well. Krasinski also delivered solid emotion throughout and worked well with Simmonds who played a combative preen perfectly. Jupe also did well with good emotional delivery.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were enjoyable and felt quite natural. CGI and creature effects were good at first, but by the end the creatures were looking like a rip-off of the A$$ Blasters from the Tremors franchise. Dialogue involved a lot of captions but was surprisingly good at helping build tension. Sound and soundtrack are very quiet.

While the concept of A Quiet Place is good, and the storyline solid, the film overreached a bit by throwing too many problems at the characters, becoming quite unrealistic. Those who enjoy intense sci-fi horror and the bending of reality should enjoy this one.

With some disturbing images, monsters, violence, and some gore, save this one for older teens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 8.10.18
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror, Sci-Fi Thriller, Sci-Fi Drama, Thrillers, Horror

copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel