The Loft (2015) - 1 star out of 10

The Loft (2015) - 1 star out of 10

"The Loft" is one of the worst movies that I have ever seen. Aside from the film's repulsive glorification of infidelity, it also contains horrible acting and a script that is just awful.  I don't know who had the idea to use soft-spoken, almost passive-aggressive dialogue the entire film but it is terribly annoying.  Karl Urban is particularly bad throughout his static, non-emotional performance.  Perhaps the larger mystery is how anybody convinced big names like Urban and James Marsden to join this film.  Everybody involved with this film should be ashamed of themselves.  They should all go home, look at their wives, and be thankful for the gift of marriage. The argument that this film discourages cheating because it shows a negative result is invalid because it obviously tries to glamorize and celebrate the lack of respect for the sanctity of marriage for the majority of the story.  Thankfully, the critics also hated this film. I can only hope that they saved a large percentage of the population from having to endure this horrible waste of time.  It does have a few decent twists and turns but certainly not worth putting up with the lack of morality at the core of this film.  The words “sleazy,” “repulsive,” and “vile” come to mind when thinking about screenwriter Bart De Pauw as he sat down to write the original Belgian screenplay and this adaptation.  Aside from the stream of unnecessary f-words, the dialogue is cheesy and causes everyone on screen to seem like they are overacting.  He even misused the word "innuendo" when he meant to use the word "insinuate.”  I had heard bad things about “The Loft” but this was absolutely abysmal.  Don’t waste your time.  Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t lie when it rates something as 14% Rotten.

[Pictured: Even though the mysterious murder is compelling, it is difficult to get past the glorification of infidelity that runs from start to finish.  Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves.]

Independence Day: Resurgence - 6 stars out of 10

Independence Day: Resurgence - 6 stars out of 10

"Independence Day: Resurgence" is better than the critics would have you believe.  The action-packed story is everything that we want from a summer sci-fi blockbuster.  The issue is its connection to the iconic 1996 “Independence Day.”  Mega-fans of the original flocked to theaters to see a continuation of the story but were inevitably disappointed; meanwhile, anybody born in the past 25 years stayed away because they don’t feel any nostalgia for the original.  The end result?  A disappointing critical response paired with disappointing box office results.  “Resurgence” is a decent alien movie in its own right but probably would've made a better standalone film than a sequel.  The bad news is that the film spends so much time trying to connect itself to the original that the first quarter of the movie feels like a boring rationalization of why a sequel was necessary.  The good news is that if you show up to the theater a half-hour late, you won't miss anything.  That being said, it was amazing to revisit many of these characters after 20 years.  Jeff Goldblum,  Bill Paxton, Judd Hirsch, and Brent Spiner all delivered a fulfilling encore to their previous performances while newcomers Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, and Angelababy established themselves as “Independence Day: The Next Generation.”  My favorite performance comes from Deobia Oparei as the machete-wielding African warlord that is a perfect fit for any action movie.  The film also gives us all of the Easter Eggs that we wanted with references to the original that are subtle but easy to spot so that they enhance the film without distracting from the plot.  I found the comedy to be better paced in this film than in the original, helping to preserve the intensity without interrupting it.  Much of the comedy is manifested in farfetched concepts (particularly the school bus) but they fit in well with the film’s action-comedy approach.  My main issue with the film, aside from the first half hour, was the lack of consistency in the timeline.  There was a large amount of travel squeezed into this one short day, such as multiple trips from the earth to the moon and a cross-country journey to Area 51.  I had a much easier time accepting a 30-foot tall, totally awesome alien queen than I had accepting the stretched out passing of time.  Many might argue that it is “just an action film,” but this needed to be more than that because “Independence Day” was such a cultural phenomenon 20 years ago.  I truly enjoyed “Independence Day: Resurgence” but its stunning special effects, interesting story, and good use of comedy was not enough to live up to the hype of its 1996 predecessor.

[Pictured: Dubai gets dropped on Paris - There are plenty of cool disaster sequences in this film]

Independence Day (1996) - 8 stars out of 10

Independence Day (1996) - 8 stars out of 10

"Independence Day" was a cultural phenomenon of the 90's.  Similar to the release of "Jurassic Park," nobody had ever seen such realistic special effects and it was one of those films that everybody just had to see.  The $817 million box office earnings speak volumes about the popularity of this film as it became the highest-grossing film of 1996.  The CGI is a bit antiquated to our modern eyes but the effects hold up remarkably well after 20 years.  When this movie came out, I was 11 and completely terrified of the aliens.  Watching it now, I was surprised by how cheesy it is and, with a few brief exceptions, not scary at all.  It is definitely more of an action film than a horror film.  It also amazes me that this generation of middle schoolers watches movies like "The Conjuring" and "Saw."  Things certainly have changed!  There are moments of quality acting like Bill Pullman's Independence Day speech and Will Smith's balance of comedy and drama.  There are also underwhelming performances like Harvey Fierstein, who is meant to be comic relief but comes off as terribly obnoxious.  His voice is great for comedies like "Mulan" and "Mrs. Doubtfire," but his flamboyant flailing about and whiny voice were not a good fit for this disaster film.  It is more a case of him being miscast than a lack of acting ability.  Other actors like James Rebhorn and Randy Quaid get the job done but they feel like total stereotypes instead of original characters (National Lampoon's Vacation movies, anyone?).  Again, probably an issue with the script and not the actors themselves.  A lot of the lines were corny and just not as great as i remembered.  The "heart-warming" parts were mushy instead of deep.  But if I had to rate the acting as enjoyable or unenjoyable, I definitely enjoyed watching actors like Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Pullman, and Smith for a few hours.  They are all a bit cheesy but so were the 90's.  The real reason to watch the film are the disaster sequences and the alien ships.  The White House explosion is one of the most iconic film moments of the last 50 years.  The use of scale models gives it a realistic effect that is difficult to capture through CGI.  And the depth of the ships as they float above landmarks worldwide can really transport you into this film.  These are the effects that earned a Best Visual Effects Oscar.  The place where this film lacks in special effects are the fake-looking firey explosions that, in their time were great, but now look like cheap animation.  "Independence Day" borrows a lot of ideas from other alien films but it put them all together into a story that reinvigorated this branch of science fiction.  The modern standard in horror films may have made the film seem less thrilling than it was 20 years ago, but this is an important part of cinema history that everybody needs to see at least once.

[Pictured: The iconic White House explosion shot is reason enough to watch this film.  Note the incredible detail of the spaceship.]

Dead Silence (2007) - 4 stars out of 10

Dead Silence (2007) - 4 stars out of 10

“Dead Silence” is an odd horror film from the creators of the “Saw” franchise.  Ventriloquist dummies are creepy enough as is but this story goes beyond the doll and focuses on the puppetmaster.  Simply put, it's a total creepfest.  It has some similarities to “Saw” like its use of puppets and a mind-bending twist that completely alters your perspective.  Unfortunately, its story lacks the depth found in other Leigh Whannell scripts like “Saw” or “Insidious” and the acting falls short of the quality expected in modern horror films.  The film builds a lot of suspense but the story is so thin and disjointed that the suspense doesn't mean much.  I found it to be the sort of horror film that won't give you nightmares because it is so unrealistic.  The content would have been terrifying if done in a realistic way but the supernatural elements take away a lot of the scare factor.  When I watch a horror film, I want to be terrified because my empathy psychologically puts me in the position of the terrorized character.  I don’t want to feel indifference as someone’s tongue is cut out because the situation isn’t relatable.  I also don’t want to be left wondering why simple questions weren’t answered.  Like, why does someone have to scream in order for Mary to kill them?  Or why is the cop continually shaving his neck?  It would’ve taken 20 seconds to explain a number of these plot points but we are left in the dark for no reason.  That being said, I have to compliment this film for ending with one of the most insane twists that I have ever seen.  I was disappointed with the first 85 minutes of the film, but the last minute was so incredulous that I'm actually glad that I sat through this.  The film obviously falls far short of classics like “Psycho” and “The Sixth Sense” but its twist is somehow worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence.  The answer is right there all along but you will never see it coming.  You wouldn't expect an average horror film to have the continuity that sets up the ending from the opening credits through the final scene, but this one does a great job.  It's definitely one of those films that you will appreciate more once you go back and watch a few key scenes.  Even with this amazing plot twist, the story again suffers because the big reveal lacks clarity.  It isn’t one on those things where the writers want to make us interpret the ending in our own way; instead, they assume that the audience can figure a piece of the puzzle out on their own but some Googling has revealed that nobody actually fully understands it.  There is a difference between allowing the audience to make inferences throughout a film and failing to properly explain an important piece of information.  Dolls are up there with clowns and scary basements when it comes to creepy things that we commonly encounter throughout our lives and “Dead Silence” brings a fresh interpretation to this classic horror device.  Unfortunately, its interpretation is overshadowed by too much reliance on the supernatural and an overall lack of clarity.

[Pictured: Dolls are creepy, ventriloquist dummies are worse]

The Right Stuff - 6 stars out of 10

The Right Stuff - 6 stars out of 10

“The Right Stuff” is a fascinating true story with good acting, but the 3+ hour runtime is simply too long to be manageable in one sitting.  This is reflected in the film’s poor box office performance despite rave reviews from the critics.  The film chronicles the transformation of military test pilots into NASA astronauts during the space race of the 1950’s.  If you are interested in either of these topics, the film will prove to be informative and entertaining.  If you are indifferent to either of these topics, this will be the longest 192 minutes of your life.  I watched the film in two chunks on separate days and I still found myself counting down the minutes until its ending.  The film’s length is a result of the emphasis on Chuck Yeager.  It bothers me that the film introduces Yeager as what you would assume to be the main character, and then he disappears for nearly 2 hours before coming back at the end.  He is included in the story because the future of space travel began with his fearlessness as a test pilot; however, his inclusion adds a significant amount of content to a story that does not concern him.  This film received a slew of Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Cinematography, and Sam Shepard for Best Supporting Actor (ironically as Yeager, who shouldn’t have been in the film).  It was deserving of its wins in technical categories like Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, but I just wasn’t impressed with the overall film.  The acting of Ed Harris and Dennis Quaid is impressive, all of the training sequences are cool, and the filming of the Mercury missions truly brings space flight to life.  “The Right Stuff” is an interesting look at NASA’s entrance into the space race but I’d prefer to watch a 1-hour documentary version.

[Pictured: Some of the imagery is iconic, but it'd be better if the movie didn't last for 3+ hours]

The Conspiracy (2012) - 5 stars out of 10

The Conspiracy (2012) - 5 stars out of 10

"The Conspiracy" is an interesting addition to the found footage genre.  It is the latest in a series of Paranormal-Activity-With-A-Different-Subject-Matter films (“The Fourth Kind,” “Apollo 18”) that relies on the audience believing that what they are seeing is nonfiction.  Even if you figure out that the story is not legit, the film effectively builds suspense through its documentary-style footage.  Unfortunately, the ending does not live up to the expectation built throughout the first hour of the film.  The first problem is that it is basically like watching "Eyes Wide Shut" from a first-person perspective.  The cult meeting sequence is interesting and seeing it from a first-person perspective creates some chilling imagery, but it doesn't deserve any awards for originality.  A lot of the best moments of the film are a result of acting that feels natural and subtle.  As the movie progresses, you can't help but wonder how the story can possibly be resolved in a way that would allow the audience to see this censored footage of a secret society.  This is where the execution falls short of the concept.  Rather than a the entire film building to a climactic ending ala “The Blair Witch Project,” the writers kill the momentum with about five minutes remaining in order to explain the finding of the footage.  I did appreciate a little bit of ambiguity that keeps us thinking as the credits roll but it still felt terribly anticlimactic and a bit over-explained.  It is a shame because the rest of the film does a great job of not over-explaining and allowing you to put the pieces together yourself.  Even without a great conclusion, it is an interesting mindbender that delivers its story with a sense of authenticity.  “The Conspiracy” is worth watching for its unique story, memorable imagery, and that shocking moment in the shed.  Honestly, I just don’t think that there was a good ending for this story.

[Pictured; Even when you know that the ending is a disappointment, the story will keep you watching]

A Girl Like Her - 7 stars out of 10

A Girl Like Her - 7 stars out of 10

"A Girl Like Her" starts off feeling like a Lifetime movie but slowly develops into a gripping drama about a bully who pushes her target to the edge.  Every high school student should watch this movie.  It is a very real look at the psychological effects of bullying and how quickly it can escalate.  The characters may seem over the top at times but the scary thing is that they aren't actually exaggerated.  There are groups of high school girls that actually act this way.  One of the most important parts of the story is that it traces the development of teenage personality traits and morals to the parents.  Whether it is a dad pushing his son into sports in order to relive his own high school glory days or the “mean girl” mom whose daughter has inherited her attitude and disrespect for authority, the behaviors of many troubled teens are learned at home.  The film does a good job of manifesting this in Avery and contrasting her with Jessica, who gets her kindness from her all-star parents.  Another important moral in this story is that the bullies need help, too.  It is easy to assume that bullies are heartless evildoers but often times, their bullying is a reaction to an issue in their own lives.  This mockumentary isn't going to win any Oscars but it is extremely effective for what it is.  The producers were tedious in creating a sound rationale for every minute of footage by incorporating a documentary crew, a hidden bodycam, and video on a personal still camera into the story.  This is enhanced by using different camera angles and video quality for each of these recordings.  You wouldn’t expect much in the acting department because the lead girls have built their resumes on soap operas but Hunter King gives an unexpectedly raw performance.  She is so easy to hate for the majority of the film as she puts on a stereotypical mean girl performance.  Then, the progression of guilt begins.  The layers are quickly peeled away as we begin to see Avery’s insecurities, understand why she acts the way that she does, and finally see her devastating regret.  You would never expect to feel any sort of empathy for Avery throughout the first half of the film but the final 10 minutes are vivid with one of the most realistic crying breakdowns that I have ever seen onscreen.  “A Girl Like Her” is a powerful piece that will make anybody reexamine the way that they treat others and should become a material that will spark important conversations among high school students.

[Pictured: The bodycam angles bring back all of your least favorite memories from high school]