Ed's Review Dot Com

Blinding Edge Pictures, Blumhouse Productions,

James McAvoy, Anya Taylor Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula, Haley Lu Richardson, Sterling K. Brown, Kim Director, Lyne Renee, Brad William Henke, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff

Kevin (James McAvoy) is suffering from a Split Identity Disorder. His doctor, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley) is treating him with a little success, but is only aware of 23 of different personalities. Unfortunately there is a 24th that she is not aware of. When one of Kevin’s personalities kidnaps three girls, he takes them to a basement that is securely locked, soundproof and not easy to escape from where he holds them and prey’s on their minds until #24 shows up to do horrible things to the girls. This M. Night Shyamalan psychological thriller hit theaters this week and is certainly very suspenseful and quite shocking.

I have had a love/hate relationship with Mr Shyamalan. Some of his work I really liked, and some I just did not get. Surprisingly my list of the ones I didn’t like are on many people’s favorites list, and likewise, those I really liked, many people despised. This one I got a real jolt out of. The best thing about M. Night Shyamalan is that you must know as little as possible about the film going in, and try to see it right away before the ending gets spoiled. A couple times he has truly broken my mind. Sixth Sense is something I NEVER saw coming until the “Oh Crap” moment at the end. The Village was also one of my favorites as well because I never could see what was coming when the poor girl got out of the forest. What a shock that was to me. This one is not quite as shocking, but it was very, very suspenseful and I enjoyed every second of this film. Jame McAvoy had a blast playing all these different characters, and he slipped between them so perfectly that we really got to learn the personality of each of them as if they were separate people. Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) really nailed this movie. I have seen here is several very suspenseful movies, particularly in The Witch and in Morgan which I really thought was a gem. She is a wonderful little actress, and I will do my best to watch out for her in the future. I thought this film was very suspenseful and quite entertaining, and I didn’t see the reason for all the hate. The public seems to like it though, as it has won the first two weeks, although granted there isn’t a lot of stiff competition at this time of year. This is rated PG-13, but it would be pretty darn scary for kids under 13, so I would take that into account. There was a small child in the theater when we watched it, not a toddler, but definitely elementary aged, and it seemed a bit intense for someone that small. It is actually a though provoking suspense film, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It was a pleasant evening.

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Scott Free Productions,

Kate Mara, Anya Taylor Joy, Toby Jones, Rose Leslie, Boyd Holbrook, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Giamatti,

Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a risk management consultant for a large company who is sent out into the sticks to evaluate a project that seems to be running off the rails. There was an unfortunate accident which prompted the company to send her to decide whether or not to terminate the experiment. But she is surprised to learn that they are working with artificial intelligence and have created a humanoid robot that thinks it’s alive. But something may be amiss and all hell breaks loose when the robot played by Kate Mara learns she may be terminated.

This was one of those hidden gem films that sneak up on you. I had no idea this film existed and it was a pleasant surprise. It snuck up on me and caught me when I wasn’t looking. I found myself very interested in this film. The leads in this film nailed it, and it was filled with shocks and surprises. Paul Giamatti has a small role, but is very memorable. This is suspenseful, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The concept was fascinating, and very well pulled off. I was really blown away when this was over. I really did not expect to be so entertained by this movie, and it was really a lot of fun. If you enjoy science fiction, this is a great story about issues with artificial intelligence and self learning computers. Give this one a shot, it’s really a good one.

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Parts and Labor, RT Features, Rooks Nest Entertainment, A24,

Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson

A Puritan family is deeply religious living in the 1600’s in New England. The live on their farm alone and work hard to try to eke out a living in a harsh climate and location. But the children are forbidden to ever go into the woods, and the family seems afraid of what might be in there. But when one child is stolen, and another dies mysteriously after visiting the wood, there is something very evil going on here. This is an art film, and homage to classic horror films of old when it was all about what you don’t see that scares you.

This film is wildly split between the defenders and the haters. Most critics enjoyed the film, whereas Joe Cinema simply hated it. This is NOT another Paranormal Activity found footage film. This is a real work of art. That being said, there are many reasons you very well might want to avoid it like the plague. First, the dialog is done in Olde English and is very hard for the average English speaker to follow. You damn near need subtitles to follow it. This is one problem for a lot of people. Secondly, it’s slow evolving. We get to know the family members and their fears and quirks, but we don’t really know who is involved in what’s going on and who is not. Yes, there is definitely a demon working in this forest, but he’s certainly not what you’d expect. With a very creepy soundtrack and a great setting, it’s a beautiful film in that respect, but it doesn’t rely on the blood and guts and huge soundtrack noises to startle you. We study step by step what is going on here. Another problem is that though the last fifteen minutes or so of the film is very suspenseful, it’s one of those where you’re not given all the answers wrapped up with a pink ribbon and handed to you. You’re going to have to work to figure this out, and I promise you when you’re done, you still won’t have it all figured out. So this will ruin it for the standard theater goer who enjoys modern day horror with lots of clever kills. “How about we suck him into a giant vacuum cleaner?” It’s not at all like that, so be forewarned. With all that being said, I enjoyed watching this movie, and I found myself really trying hard to understand to dialog to get the gist of what they were saying. I must admit I was impressed how even the little children spoke in the Olde English very proficiently. How did they do that? But I didn’t love this film, and run to give it 5 stars, as I do feel it has it’s flaws, and I really would have appreciated a little bit more help with what it all means. There must be a lot more to the story of where this film came from, and I’d love to find a book, or some background on why it’s like it is. But it was solid enough for me to recommend it if you’re able to get by the common faults that perturb people. IF you want to give it try, it is a truly old style artistic horror film, and worth the price.

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