The Woman In The Window (2021) - Movie Review

There’s something… refreshing about this movie, and I mean that in the worst way possible. Where other films usually take time for the flaws within to really present themselves, The Woman In The Window almost seems eager to get it all out in the open within the first five minutes. As Bruno Delbonnel’s camera work glides across the house of Amy Adams’ Anna, a child psychologist with agoraphobia, it lingers on a TV set playing a stuttering slideshow of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. With how much older cinema gets shown throughout, including a few more Hitchcock efforts, it gives this inexorable feeling that I’m watching the result of someone who’s been stuck inside for months with nothing but black-and-white flicks for company, and decided to write a screenplay because they need something, anything, to alleviate the cabin fever.

Of course, the actual genesis of this story is far more complicated than that, to the point where it could take up the bulk of this review all on its own (here’s a beat-by-beat breakdown of the author done by the New Yorker a couple years ago), but that impression still lingers regardless. Not that this is the first modern film to crib heavily from Rear Window, but this is a weirdly straight-forward example of such, as if it’s trying to pre-empt critics and general audiences pointing out such things. Then again, that ranks fairly low on my list of priorities with this particular flick. I am far less sceptical of a story being retold than I am of it being retold well. And to be brutally honest, this isn’t Rear Window. Or Disturbia. Or even Bart Of Darkness. This film wishes it could reach that level of genuine quality.

Suburbicon (2017) - Movie Review

 

I’ve been living in suburban neighbourhoods for pretty much my entire life. The mild isolation from living in a hidden-away culdesac, the golf course next door that insisted the family wore crash helmets when in the backyard, gossiping neighbours who go to prove that there are some high school patterns that some just don’t grow out of; I’ve seen my share of suburbia. Because of this, it’s little wonder to me that seemingly-innocent neighbourhoods are so often used not to show familial connection and comfort, but creeping dread. It all looks so nice and all the neighbours seem so nice… something’s wrong, isn’t there?

 

Cynical as it is, this mindset has led to a lot of good stories, from the nostalgic reality check of Pleasantville to the unnerving voyeurism of Rear Window to the popcorn horror of Goosebumps. Today’s film, co-written by the Coen brothers and George “Hard Left Hook” Clooney, is cut from the same cloth. But how good is it in that capacity? Or any capacity?

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) - Movie Review

Freelance agent Mahan reporting in. Mission: Complete the Experiment to quantify the success rate of Hollywood cinema, in light of recent evidence that the system may be in jeopardy. Secondary objective involving target Harvey Weinstein has been handed off to field agents, and it appears to have been successful. Target has been held accountable for their actions and the flood of corroborating intel has ensured further action will be taken. Dossier for today’s objective: Kingsman, product made by Matthew Vaughn in 2014.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) - Movie Review

Every so often, the cinematic hype machine will transcend simply creating interest in a given film and generate a legitimate film event. Undoubtedly, the big film event for this year is the upcoming release of the latest Star Wars instalment but, for reasons I’ll get into when I inevitably look at that film, this is the one I was looking forward to more. This single film is a far bigger deal than I think even the fans and filmmakers realise: The progenitor for the latest trend in YA adaptations that will likely carry on for years after this has left cinemas, the finale to the most hyped film series since Harry Potter and the latest continuation of a franchise that has maintained the kind of quality control that most directors would sell their souls to maintain. Hell, I probably only qualify as a surface fan and I still reckon that this is probably the best young adult film series that we’ll get for a long while. But this is why I usually voice against hype on this blog: This could all be leading to sheer disappointment, much like what happened when The Hobbit ended. Time to find out if this ending only leaves us hungry for more… and don’t worry, I’ll whip myself for that one later.

Freeheld (2015) - Movie Review

I am becoming the very thing that I hate most. I have always maintained that there are a few key things that, hopefully, separate me from the more mainstream film press. Apart from my insistence on not allowing a person’s media enjoyment to reflect on a person’s character (i.e. not calling someone stupid because they like/don’t like something) and making every attempt possible to judge every film as equals, I also wanted to refrain from letting my own personal politics spill into my thoughts on a given film. Well, if you’ve been following me over the last month or so, you’ll know that I’ve been doing a craptastic job of that last one. I’ve been shoe-horning in my views on certain aspects of sexual politics numerous times here, even when it hasn’t been called for. To put it simply, I don’t want to become another Armond White and have my political views be the only thing that dictate how I watch/analyse a film. So, it should help that I’m almost forced to do the same here, given how this film directly deals with certain politically charged matters. I miss when I would just reference random pieces of pop culture for my jokes, rather than have to bring things down so much. Nevertheless, we still have a review to do here.

Seventh Son (2015) - Movie Review

With Hollywood currently ingrained in third-wave YA adaptation territory with the upcoming finale to the Hunger Games series later on this year and the recently released thing-I-look-forward-to-like-an-axe-to-the-genitals Insurgent, it’s kind of refreshing to a good old fashioned first-wave fantasy film. Sure, it’s another retread of the Hero’s Journey that most scriptwriters can literally write in their sleep, but any variety is better than no variety. Of course, last time “Young Adult Adaptation” and “Jeff Bridges” shared space with each other, we got the severe let-down The Giver, so I can’t exactly say that I’m looking forward to this all that much. However, the combo of Bridges and Julianne Moore will attract me to pretty much anything at this rate, so let’s get into this.

Still Alice (2015) - Movie Review

In the world of cinema, there are a number of things that have become acceptable targets for ridicule by pretty much everyone: Battlefield Earth, Plan 9 From Outer Space and The Room are all great examples of this. One such thing that has its hunting season sign up all year round is anything connected with the now-dying phenomenon of Twilight, whether it’s the films themselves, the actors who starred in them or the people who are responsible for them. It may have grown tired, given how readily the world rightfully rained down on the series for years on end, but the after-effects still linger to this day. With the female lead from Twilight, Kristen Stewart, in today’s film, I find it hard to avoid talking about the connection, especially when it feels like the film itself is daring me to do so. After the jump, I’ll explain why.