DON'T BREATHE Review

Don't Breathe, the new horror/thriller from director Fede Alvarez (the Evil Dead re-make), opens with a distant shot of what looks to be a deserted street. Only later do we find out this is one of the more run down sections of Detroit where time and humanity have left everything behind that might have once thrived there. As the camera gets closer to the street we can see there is someone walking down the middle of it. The camera continues to zoom in slowly-we can tell that someone is dragging something down the road behind them. A little closer. They are dragging another person. A little closer. It's a girl who is either dead or unconscious-it's difficult to tell and we will remain unsure as the screen then cuts to black. It's a killer opening shot that clearly points to a moment that is to come later in the film, but with its placement at the beginning Alvarez has already enticed his audience to how we might get to this point and whether that shot indicates the end of the line or not. It's a trick that has been used before and will certainly be used again, but every now and then it feels especially inherent to the story being told and Don't Breathe feels like an instance where this isn't only a tool to lure the unsuspecting (or suspecting if you bought a ticket, I mean c'mon) audience member into the intrigue of what exactly is going on, but instead this is a choice that lets those audience members (suspecting or not) know up front that Alvarez means to make you question things, to make you pull your knees up to your chin and grit your teeth because you feel so tense. This isn't simply a hook, but an indication of the type of terror the characters we'll come to know are capable of and this is all accomplished in the first thirty or so seconds so one can only imagine what sitting through ninety minutes of such adept perception of what makes people uncomfortable and afraid might be like. In only his second feature film the Uruguay-born director delivers a horror film that, much like his previous movie, contains itself to an isolated location, but only continues to raise the stakes and use that space in inventive and chilling ways. Save for something of a lackluster middle section where, for a moment, the film feels as if it runs out of both steam and ideas for where exactly to take the story and its characters, the film is a tightly scripted and well-performed fright night that finds its footing well enough to redeem itself and pull the cautious viewers back to the side of rooting for whoever gains the most of their sympathy.

First Trailer for DON'T BREATHE

I can't quite figure out what the consensus around the Evil Dead re-make is, but I rather liked the film for lack of a better word. I'm not sure if one can necessarily "enjoy" a movie where people are murdered in gruesome fashion by demons and angry spirits, but from what I remember of the single time I've seen the film-I liked it. What stuck out most about that film and what I still recall is the distinct visual prowess that director Fede Alvarez brought to the proceedings. With his follow-up, Don't Breathe, it looks as if Alvarez is once again keen on capturing the creepy through means of some fairly spectacular visuals. The tone and intensity to go along with it are apparent right from the get-go in this first look at the film that already premiered at the South by Southwest Festival earlier this year. The early word out of SXSW was strong and though it is easy to see why a film like this would play like gangbusters at that particular film festival it seems as if that strong word of mouth is well warranted as I was hooked by this trailer and the simple, but engaging premise immediately. Only being halfway through the year at this point all we've received are pretty crap horror pictures (I just caught up with The Boy this weekend and it was more or less a waste of time, but still better than The Forest). Still, I'm hopeful that this summer might deliver a few quality horror flicks by way of The Conjuring 2 and The Purge: Election Year, but I'll go ahead and add Don't Breathe right alongside Lights Out as possible indie thrillers that could break out. At least this way we are guaranteed a few new gems to watch once Halloween rolls around and these summer releases are making their way onto home video. Either way, the film looks solid and the cast featuring Evil Dead's Jane Levy, Goosebumps' Dylan Minnette, and a menacing Stephen Lang all look to be at the top of their game. Don't Breathe is scheduled to open on August 26th, 2016.

GOOSEBUMPS Review

As a child of the nineties, as someone who was in fourth and fifth grade at the dead center of the decade I was completely immersed in the Goosebumps books. I can easily recall going to Wal-Mart with my mom every month and constantly checking to see if the new book was on the shelves yet. I would devour these books to the point of ridiculousness and their popularity was such that at this point in time even my fourth grade teacher decided to read one of author R.L. Stine's works of adolescent horror to the class so as to appeal to those who weren't on board with Tuck Everlasting. While the books meant a great deal to me and I was a big fan of the Fox Kids Saturday morning line-up at the time I was unfortunately never able to get into their live-action adaptations of Stine's stories in the TV series that ran from 1995 to 1998. There was all the excitement in the world for such a series, but once it premiered there was never enough to keep me coming back-unlike the books. And so, how would a live-action movie version of such stories be any different? Given I was also twenty years removed from the source material, would I even care if a Goosebumps movie did honorable service to the literature or was it time to move on and accept that whatever it was that made these books so captivating to so many kids on the brink of their teenage years in the mid-nineties was just an elusive quality never to be contained on celluloid? It turns out, all the material needed was a dash of meta-comedy that allowed the story to not only incorporate several of Stine's most popular characters, but Stine himself. With this opportunity to tell a brand new story rather than simply rehashing one of Stine's more popular titles the film is given a fresh idea that combines the likes of something akin to Jumanji or Zathura with the perfect balance of slightly off-kilter comedy and scary scenarios with over-the-top monsters that made the books so engaging. In short, this new Goosebumps film exceeded all expectations by delivering a fun and charming horror flick for kids that will undoubtedly be brought out every year around Halloween for a long time to come.

First Trailer for GOOSEBUMPS

If you're a kid who grew up in the nineties then odds are you read a Goosebumps book or two. If that first sentence is true odds are also pretty good you woke up on Saturday mornings to enjoy Fox Kids line-up of cartoons and other child's entertainment that, at one point, included a live-action adaptation of some of the more popular stories from the books. I remember enjoying it fine enough, but I also remember going to Wal-Mart in order to pick up the next book in the series every month or so. The consistency with which author R.L. Stine pumped these things out was rather insane. As hardly anything can be released with expectations of doing well without being based on an already established brand these days it comes as no surprise that we now have a new film adaptation of Stine's series, this time brought to you by the team who gave us 2010's Gulliver's Travels (remember that one?). Still, without holding anything against it, this first trailer for the kid-friendly horror comedy is somewhat surprising if not rather by the numbers. From this almost 3-minute clip it is easy to glean what story beats will be hit upon and what tone of humor is being chased, but all in all it looks pretty solid in terms of the idea of how to bring multiple characters and stories from the books to life while incorporating a semi-fictionalized version of Stine himself in the form of Jack Black. The monster designs look pretty neat and the trailer got at least one legitimate chuckle out of me, so here's hoping the film is more about the journey than the destination. Goosebumps also stars Amy Ryan, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Jillian Bell, Ken Marino, Kumail Nanjiani and arrives just in time for Halloween on October 16th.

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY Review

It's funny to think of the role that live action children's movies play in our current cinematic landscape because, for the most part, they seem to be easily dismissed. As a child of the 90's it is the kids sports flicks of the decade (The Sandlot, Little Giants, The Big Green, The Mighty Ducks) that immediately come to mind as nostalgic reminders of what a carefree stage in life that was which seems to be why new movies categorized as such don't register with a large audience due to the fact every generation already has their own adolescent picks. Those who are between eight and fifteen right now though will surely appreciate this adaptation of Judith Viorst's hit 1987 childrens book, but not necessarily because they love the source material but because Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a perfectly fun, perfectly suitable family movie that captures the ups and downs that middle class caucasians might typically encounter. These are first world problems we're dealing with, clearly, but they are relatable issues that the target audience will understand. The content operates on a level for those just below the cusp of when the Catcher in the Rye will blow their minds wide open. Alexander's Bad Day (as it will be referred to from here on out) is exactly the kind of remedy "tweens" these days need, but don't know it because not enough movies like this are being made anymore. That studios are seriously lacking in terms of pumping out quality entertainment for adolescents isn't something I necessarily have a right to complain about; I have all the nostalgia I need when the time calls for it (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Home Alone, Hook, Hocus Pocus, Blank Check, Homeward Bound, First Kid) but it would be nice to think that those in their current state of flux will have more than Alexander and his no good , very bad day to look back on when they get to college and reminisce about the movies they loved when they were "kids". All of that said, Alexander's Bad Day certainly isn't a bad place to start, but let's hope it is only the first step in a rejuvenated direction.

Trailer for ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

Ever since realizing Hollywood made more than just family friendly entertainment I have yearned to return to a world where I am surrounded by the likes of fun, innocent family fare that reminds me of my childhood and it is always reassuring to know that the children of the current generation are receiving their fair share of memorable movies that might put them in a sense of nostalgia when they get older and discover the brutal action films or raunchy comedies. I only bring all of this up because today we have the first trailer for Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day which has been adapted from a short story by Judith Viorst and it looks to perfectly fit into this aforementioned canon. Centered around our young titular character (Ed Oxenbould) who is experiencing one of the worst days ever his troubles only become amplified when the rest of his family (who typically have the best of luck it seems) begin having horrible experiences as well. The comedy looks light and cheesy and this definitely seems to be in the vein of live-action Disney flicks where the kids are able to understand and grasp the life lessons being taught more so than the adults and bring a resounding sense of peace to the family unit when faced with troubling circumstances, but it also looks as if it could be surprisingly entertaining if not interesting for older audiences, mainly due to the caliber of talent on screen. I'm pretty much game to see anything that features Steve Carell and so I'm intrigued by what he saw in the screenplay or if it was simply his relationship with director Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids, Youth in Revolt, The Good Girl) that led him to take on the project. The film also stars Jennifer Garner, Bella Thorne, Dylan Minnette, Megan Mullally and opens October 10th.