Mass Invite

Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION feels a lot like the high-brow horror that recent Blumhouse films try to be but exceeds them with an intriguing, but simple, pay-off at the end. I'm not talking about the final confrontation (which is a real slow burn to get to and a bit anticlimactic since it basically teases it the whole film), no I'm talking about the very last 2 or 3 shots of the film which bring back that classic horror theme that no matter how intimate fear can be, the idea of Horror is much bigger.

Just HUSH please

Yet another horror film that's been getting a baffling amount of praise is HUSH (now on Netflix). It starts out great (like THE PURGE) but just completely falls apart (like THE PURGE) with so many unanswered motives and just absurdly inept characters. THE BABADOOK and IT FOLLOWS were certainly over-hyped but they are in fact solid films. No HUSH is more in line with the frustrating stupidity of YOU'RE NEXT. I've even read comparisons to THE STRANGERS. Please! THE STRANGERS blows all the aforementioned films out of the water.

And if you're going to play the deaf-mute card then don't break that reality with her f***** talking, even if it's in her mind - I get the reasoning but it just reinforces the lack of back-bone to cast an actual deaf-mute to play the part.

Bruce has left the building

Had this dream last night where Bruce Lee had just passed away and there was a crowded funeral procession making there way through a narrow Chinatown alley way and into a small urban temple. Since there were far too many people to get past I decided to hang out in an apartment building next door to the temple - it was some friend or family acquaintances's house and there were other people lounging about. While being bored in that cramped living space I noticed an older woman carefully make her way in and then a few minutes later out of a door that was labeled "Do Not Enter" in Chinese. Of course I can't speak or read Chinese so it's a mystery as to how I knew what the sign said. Regardless I decided to check it out and somehow rationalized that since we were next door to the temple there must be some underground passage that connected the two buildings. Sure enough as I headed down a steep set of cob-web infested stairs I eventually found a ramp that led up directly to the stage where a rock band was playing a tribute to Bruce. Even though I was quite careful not to be seen I suddenly heard "He's got a gun!" and everyone looked to me standing there in the passageway. I run back as the zombie like mob chased me through the tunnels. I made my way back to the apartment building, locked the door shut, and took a seat pretending nothing had happened.

Hey I don't make this s*** up, I just dream it.

The Franchise Awakens

Finally saw STAR WARS: TFA - it does almost everything JURASSIC WORLD did but better in terms of riding the good-will of the franchise. Really enjoyed it but I have to say that it's kind of sad how George Lucas tried so hard (probably too hard) to actually develop a deeper SW world of characters and plot with the prequels but got spat on for his lacking direction. Whereas JJ Abrams practically did nothing inherently new with the narrative but won over audiences with a relentless assault of flash, bang, and inside-joke elbow nudges (I was actually laughing at how aggressive it was at times). So the 1st round was fun but the next will have offer a lot more than a bunch of nostalgia interrupted by an endless string of inciting incidences.