HELLFEST

HELLFEST: A-

It's as rewarding as it is entertaining to see a horror film go back to the basics. While there were a few jump scares, it was much appreciated that the film didn't rely on them. Cheap startles were out and in were suspenseful moments and psychological scares.

The realism in the film isn't so much that this could happen, as much as it is in the execution of the moment. The killer makes mistakes, just as one would in real life. Things don't always go as planned, just as they would in real life. Of course it wouldn't be a horror film if it didn't have a handful of nonsensical scenes. So don't worry, they're in there.

The characters of the film were predictable and rather lackluster. Extremely formulaic. The home boy party animal and his sex craved girlfriend. The illogical, let's panic best friend and her tag along for the ride boyfriend. The innocent and sweet guy, whom the lead has a romantic interest in. And of course our hero, the educated, heroine who without any prior identification suddenly becomes MacGyver in a crisis.

*Spoiler alert ahead*

A small flaw in the writing was not using Gavin's death in motivating Nat to its full potential. Her struggle against the killer was strictly survival. I think a mixture of survival and vengeance might have worked a little better.

Which leads to the killer. It was a simplistic and subtle performance and that's what made it all the more terrifying. We're left to wonder who is this? Why is he doing this? And in it's ambiguity, we're left knowing only enough to ask more questions. He's anybody. He's everybody. Someone's coworker. Some's friend. Someone you sit next to in Church. Someone's father. Proof that sociopaths live among us and they don't always wear their scary looking mask.

The musical score fit the action. The set designs and lighting were well done.

What made this film work for me was the atmosphere, the effort of genuine and sincere horror and an antagonist I hope to see more of in the future.

I, TONYA

I, TONYA - A

This was a unique film. Sort of a biographical, docudrama if you will It reminded me of PREFONTAINE in the way it was shot, and I thought the breaking of the fourth wall to emphasize the truths within the drama was groundbreaking. Audiences are often left wondering what was real and what was added for dramatic effect. The film had no problem coming out and telling you.

A lot of critics have panned the film as an effort to paint Tonya the victim and garner sympathy for her side. I didn't take it that way at all. I took it as a film that simply wanted Tonya's side to be heard. I didn't feel it was pulling me in either direction. I felt that it presented Tonya as she was. This is Tonya. This is who she is. You make up your mind if she's a victim of circumstances or if she's a monster.

And speaking of monsters, the real monster of the film, the true antagonist, was the sport of figure skating in itself. While my hat is off to all of the athletes who pour their heart and spirit into what they do, the governing body is a joke. What a bunch of stuck up pompous pricks. To see how shallow, superficial and prude the sport is, is quite disheartening. That's the true tragedy of this story. To see the sort of home life Tonya went through and the physical/psychological abuse her mother put her through, only to be denied because she didn't fit the wholesome image they were looking for. It angers me as much as it saddens me. The Figure Skating committee fought so hard and for so long for an excuse to kick Tonya out, that it got down on its hands and knees and thanked the Figure Skating God above, the second it had something it could use to do just that. It resonates with me as in much different ways, for much different reasons my experience in amateur wrestling media has been similar. It should be about the skating. Not the way you dress or the type of home life you have. As it should be about the knowledge of wrestling and how good of a writer you are, not how you spend your Sunday mornings or what you do or don't do before meals.

Anyway...more about the movie.

I loved how the O.J. Simpson trial was playing on the TV while everyone involved in the case was getting their sentencing. Talk about a juxtaposition of events. Brilliant placement.

The acting was pretty good. Margot Robbie was very good, as was Allison Janney.

Well written, well directed, well acted. I can't really say anything bad about the film.

THE MEG

THE MEG: B-

It was a fun, action packed suspenseful ride. Nothing about the film is going to be up for an academy award, but it was far from the Razzie fest that I feared it might be going in.

I was pleasantly surprised to view a film with an inherent nature to be nothing but senseless action actually have a story. Not only did it have a story but it had a compelling story. A story with interesting characters.

Did it have its flaws? Of course it did. I can only imagine how painful it would be for a scientist or a biologist to sit through the enormity of inaccuracies displayed in this film. I'm not a scientist nor am I a biologist. I don't demand absolute accuracy to actualities when I watch a film. I only demand that a film be within the rules that it sets upon itself, and I feel that THE MEG did.

The subplots were as distracting as they were unnecessary but the main plot itself was rather strong. There was little to no need for a romance between Jonas and Suyin, and the tension between Jonas and Celeste was completely unneeded.

It wasn't that the film had difficulty focusing, it was that the film had difficulty in what to focus on. The sense of urgency at times was greater than what it should have been and at others not near as great as it should have been.

Nevertheless it was a fun film and Jason Statham did a great job of playing the no nonsense badass that he is uncanny for portraying.

As I watched the film it made me think of how I would have structured the story had I been in charge of writing the screenplay. I think I would have had a tie-in to an aquarium that housed Orcas. How there was an animal loving oceanographer who wanted the animals freed. Had it to where upon an agreement, the Orcas would be trained to attack and kill Megs, and if they succeeded they would be permanently released into the wild. And yes, it may take ten or fifteen of them to do it, but a large group of Orcas, as quick, strong and intelligent as they are could kill a Megalodon.

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?: A 

A well put together documentary on the life of a man who deserves to be celebrated and remembered for the beautiful human being that he was and the positive impact he had on the world around him. 

Some of the issues spoken about were briefly brushed upon the surface, while others were explored in great depth. I suppose they had to structure it that way in order to fit it nice and neat into an hour and 34 minutes.

To see the influence that Fred Rogers had and continues to have is quite amazing. A man so full of passion and love, and a genuineness and sincerity that I don't think I've ever seen matched. It's not that I saw before me a man without flaws, nor did I see before me a man whom I'd picture to never have a disagreement with. It's that I saw before me a man so honest, so raw and so truthful that I can't help but respect, admire and love him.

As I watched the film I came to my own conclusion of what it was that made Fred Rogers so special. Most people listen to you with their ears. He listened to you with his heart.

It amazes me how some like the Fox News anchor the film displayed, could conclude that Mr. Rogers created a world full of the self entitled. He did quite the opposite. While the Fox News Anchor is the type to give all the glory and credit to the quarterback who threw five touchdowns while forgetting the rest of the team, Fred Rogers was the one reminding the overlooked linemen that without their protection ole pretty boy wouldn't have thrown all those pretty passes.

It's hard for me to write this formally because it is personal for me. It's personal because when I was little it never occurred to me that Mr. Rogers was talking to millions of kids across the country. It never occurred to me that other kids could see him on the television screen in their home too. I thought he was talking to me. Specifically to me. Telling me, Stephen Stonebraker that I'm special. That I have talents and gifts and abilities. That I am important.

There are a lot of people that I would like to meet and shake their hand, but I have to go a step further and say that I would have liked to have met Fred Rogers and given him a hug.

In a world that can often be ugly and cruel, it is nice to know that such a man existed. And it's nice to know that because he existed, and because he influenced so many, that some still exist to this day.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM: A-

The fifth installment (yes, fifth) of the JURASSIC franchise proved to be an action packed adventure from start to finish that capitalized upon formulaic method of design structured upon a sense of urgency.

From the dark, captivating opening to the left to wonder what is next ending, JURASSIC WORLD keeps its audience excited from one scene to the next.

Strengths of the film were many. The story simplistic on the surface and complex within its depth. Plenty of CGI special effects and cool dinosaur kills for adrenaline junkies and interesting characters interwoven throughout a film as unafraid to answer questions as it was to ask them.

The idea of a compassionate, protective velociraptor was quite interesting. Here is a creature known to be a mindless killing machine, and we find ourselves empathetic to it the same way we would a loyal dog.

It amazes me how pedagogic the film is, and yet it seems to take no responsibility for how inaccurate it displays the information it puts on the screen. Some will argue, "it's a movie" which is a fair argument to make, but when a film's moral is, "We ask if we could, we should've asked if we should?" Then make no bones about it, adults and youths alike will walk away having an image in their minds of what these animals looked and behaved like, when scientific evidence highly suggest otherwise.

Honestly though, that was my only real biff with the film. Dr. Malcom's one sided and biased speech was nice and all but one has to question the other side of the argument. If we approached all issues under his train of thought, you wouldn't be reading this right now. I'd have died sometime in my mid twenties most likely, from a disease we look at today as easily preventable or curable.

The double cross betrayal of Eli Mills wasn't all that surprising but when it is discovered that Dr. Wu has sold out, that was a dagger to the old heart. It was the part in the film that effected me the most emotionally.

Jumping forward to the casting, as they were in the previous film Ronnie Howard's little girl was spot on and Chris Pratt once again stole the show. The only thing that would have pleased me more with the cast is if Ted Levine had walked into the Indoraptor's cage with a hose and a bottle of lotion.

Lastly I'll say playing the original theme on an unaccompanied piano during the who's to blame dialog between the two main characters was brilliantly placed.

DEADPOOL 2

DEADPOOL 2: B+

On par with the original DEADPOOL with the laughs, although not as humorous and more clever. Once again Ryan Reynolds is perfect in a role that calls for a self aware character, that battles inwardly between being sensitive and insensitive.

The story was simplistic, while at the same time intriguing. It borrowed rather heavily from X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, only using collars to render mutants powerless rather than injections. Intolerant humans, cruel and abusive Vs a mixture of mutants, some vindictive, some liberated. A story that explored nature vs nurture, taking a strong stance with the latter. The Tongue in cheek film even references how it was also similar to TERMINATOR.

Structuring the story to where you never had a chance to react to touching or depressing moments, because they were immediately followed with a joke was a rather clever technique. Only at the end of the film was enough time allowed for you to absorb what happened on screen and for you to react to it. Only you felt afraid to feel, as you waited with anticipation for the next laugh.

Lastly Josh Brolin was an excellent addition to the film. The deep complex character he played was rather enjoyable.

Good film. Excellent sequel.

LINCOLN

LINCOLN: B

The first thing I do when watching a film like this, and what I do throughout the film's entirety is question its historical accuracy. I'm not schooled enough on the subject to make many comments on it, although I know from various history courses in both high school and college that Lincoln's push for the 13th amendment as well as his announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in the first place was a strategy of tactic, much more than it was one of integrity.

Yet it makes for a better film to romanticize through a moral struggle both inwardly and outwardly, than it does to strictly go by the facts of strategical politics.

A who's who cast of Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, Jared Harris, and Joseph Gordon Levitt accompanied by an assortment of underrated actors. Quite the juxtaposition to see in the same scene the actor many consider to be the best of our times Daniel Day Lewis, to who I consider to be one of the most underrated of our times, Bruce McGill.

Even Raynor Schiene makes a brief appearance.

The script was written beautifully, although it was much more appealing to the ear than it was to the eye. This would have made a good radio piece that I could have easily listened to on a drive from Des Moines to Iowa City.