Wayback Review: “Insidious 2”

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Denise
Because I’m working on my review of Insidious: The Last Key, why not revisit my thoughts on part 2 of this franchise?  From Geek for e way back in 2013.  Enjoy!

Movie Review: Insidious 2

Remember how amazing The Exorcist was? Well, Insidious wasn’t exactly at that level of awesome, but it was pretty damn good. Remember how crappy Exorcist II: The Heretic was? Oh yeah. Same thing here. An amazing opening salvo, then a convoluted, sloppy mess of a sequel. It’s a shame, to see a Fangoria magazine Chainsaw Award-winning horror film devolve. It’s especially rough to see quality actors giving their all to a movie that feels like someone forgot what the plot was halfway in, and then just told everyone to wing it.
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TrailerWatch: “SLENDER MAN” creeps in! 

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Denise

Can you see him? Because Slender Man is coming y’all. Synopsis!

In a small town in Massachusetts, four high school girls perform a ritual in an attempt to debunk the lore of SLENDER MAN. When one of the girls goes mysteriously missing, they begin to suspect that she is, in fact, HIS latest victim.

I’m digging the hints of the infamous Un Chien Andalou eye scene in this teaser trailer. Guess we shouldn’t eat too much popcorn during this one, huh? Slender Man sneaks up on theaters May 18, 2018.

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TrailerWatch: Bruce Willis picks up the “Death Wish” gauntlet 

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Denise

“So there’s nothing I can do, that’s what you’re saying?” 

I never thought anyone could come close to the awesomeness that was Charles Bronson. But in this new Death Wish trailer, Bruce Willis channels maximum badass. Okay, I’m in. 

Death Wish hits theaters March 2nd.

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Elsewhere Review: “Brave”

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Denise
Originally published in 2012, but trotted out for the holiday season. Check out the original piece here at Green Man Review!

Bairns, bodhrans and brogues…. Doesn’t everyone want to be in Scotland?  Disney/Pixar is really hoping you do, with the release of their newest animated feature, Brave.  I liked it.  But I really, really wanted to love it.  So that’s where the empty little hole in my soul is coming from.  Though it is good to see that archery is the new black this season, with Brave taking up the bow & quiver alongside Katniss from The Hunger Games and Hannah’s…Hannah.  Why before you know it, we’ll even get the vote! Continue reading →

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“The Post” – a historical drama that’s all too relevant today

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Denise

Nutshell: Dynamic performances, and a story about a moment in the Nixon White House where the POTUS tried to break the First Amendment. Echoes of the current administration can’t be denied. Definitely one of my Top 10 films of 2017.  Perhaps my #1. Just go see it. Grade: A

“We are not a little local paper anymore.”

Story: In 1971 the New York Times published an article on how the United States Government had, for several administrations, willfully lied to the American people about our status in the Vietnam War.  When the New York Times is slapped with a restraining order from Nixon administration banning further publication of the information, The Washington Post gets a copy of the papers.  To publish, or not to publish?  That is the question.  Continue reading →

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Con News: John Barrowman returns to Awesome Con!

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Denise

It’s twu!  It’s twu!  The Queen Of Awesome Con returns in 2018!  Y’all better grab those tickets and get your line-sitting exercises on. (Line Sitting Exercises = Binging Torchwood)

John Barrowman is always great fun at his solo panel, but he’s great in smaller panels too.  #Protip  If his sister Carol is returning as well, make sure to catch them both if you’re able.  You won’t be sorry.

Now the big question: what dress will he be wearing for his solo panel entrance?  Bets start…now!

 

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TrailerWatch: “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” brings music, memories and CHER! 

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Denise


You heard me. I’m sorry to spoil the trailer, but how can I not? It’s Cher y’all!

Plus, the whole gang is back, and I can’t wait to see what happens next for the characters in one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Enjoy!

Mama Mia: Here We Go Again comes to visit next summer.

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“Winchester” – new poster revealed!

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Denise

Clicky for the full high-res image!

I’ve had the Winchester House on my bucket list for a while now.  No, not because I’m a Supernatural fan (though I am – PIE), but because the history of this house sounds fascinating.  As a DC gal born and raised, I think of the Winchester House as sort of an O Street Mansion writ large.  Really, really large.  So when the movie Winchester started production, I couldn’t wait to see what’d they’d do with the myth.  First the trailer, and now the poster.  Pretty sweet, right? Synopsis!

Inspired by true events. On an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end. Constructed in an incessant twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week mania for decades, it stands seven stories tall and contains hundreds of rooms. To the outsider it looks like a monstrous monument to a disturbed woman’s madness. But Sarah is not building for herself, for her niece (Sarah Snook) or for the troubled Doctor Eric Price (Jason Clarke) whom she has summoned to the house. She is building a prison, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts, and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters…

Helen.  Freakin’. Mirren.  Nuff said. Winchester hits theaters February 2nd.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “The Commuter”!

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Denise

Bad guys should know by now that messing with Liam Neeson is a bad idea.  But luckily for us, they never seem to get it.  I’ve got passes for Neeson’s newest, The Commuter, and I’m ready to share ’em.  But first?  Synopsis!

In this action-packed thriller, Liam Neeson plays an insurance salesman, Michael, on his daily commute home, which quickly becomes anything but routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger, Michael is forced to uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on his train before the last stop. As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realizes a deadly plan is unfolding and is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy. One that carries life and death stakes, for himself and his fellow passengers.

Ready to take a ride? Let’s go!

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The Greatest Showman: Sizzle and spectacle

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Denise

Nutshell: Bring forth the bread and circus! Jackman shines as the great P.T. Barnum, and Michael Gracey shows his first-time director skills by laying out a lavish, lush spectacle that needs to be seen on the largest screen possible for full magnificent effect. I probably should grade this lower due to it’s emphasis on sparkle and lack of substance…but I’ve been hoodwinked. And I’m fine with that. Grade: B

“It’s everything you ever want,
And it’s here right in front of you…”

Story: Young Phineas Barnum seems straight out of a Charles Dickens story; poor, orphaned, and longing for “the good life”. So when he gets an idea on how to achieve that life, he goes all-in, creating The Greatest Show On Earth. Y’know, after all the bumps in the road, of course.

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