Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: Shut In!

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Denise

shut-in-posterStill haven’t gotten enough spooky? Well, I’ve got you.  But this one seems particularly creepy; a movie about someone in your house, and you’ve got to save not only yourself, but your disabled child?  OMGOMGOMG.  Y’all.  Y’ALL. Synopsis!

SHUT IN is a heart-pounding thriller starring Naomi Watts as a widowed child psychologist who lives an isolated existence in rural New England. Caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.

Ready to get your chill on?  Continue reading →

Posted in General Mayhem | Tagged , | Leave a comment

7 Pieces of: Doctor Strange

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Denise
Cross-posted at Movie-Blogger.com

doctor strange poster 2Nutshell: Cumberbatch is 100% in as Doctor Stephen Strange.  And director Scott Derrickson sure knows how to twist and turn a set to his advantage. (Literally.) Come for the breathtaking acid-trip visuals, amazing fight choreography, and performances by a stellar cast. Ignore the wobbly bits in the plot; Strange is origin story, not “tell me a story.” BTW, I want the hilariously cheeky Cloak of Levitation as my BFF. Grade: A-

“The bill comes due.  Always.”

Story: Renowned neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange is a dick.  An incredibly talented dick, but a dick nonetheless.  So when his hands get smashed beyond repair in a car accident, he and his gigantic ego search the ends of the earth to find a cure.  He thinks he’s found one at Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu, Nepal, but these mystics are a bit more…multi-dimensional.  Will Strange get over his cheap self and become Sorcerer Supreme?  Uh… Continue reading →

Posted in 7 Pieces Of, Movie Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: Almost Christmas!

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Denise

Almost Christmas 2016 onesheetYep.  Tis the season, people.  Of course, it’s been the season since late August in some stores…but I digress.  I’ve got passes for Almost Christmas, and I want get all kinds of Santa up in here!  Synopsis!

A new comedy from writer/director David E. Talbert (Baggage Claim) and producer Will Packer (Ride Along, Think Like a Man series, This Christmas), Almost Christmas tells the festive story of a beloved patriarch who asks his family for one gift this holiday season: to get along.  If they can honor that wish and spend five days under the same roof without killing one another, it will be a Christmas miracle.

The trailer is hilarious, and who can resist a holiday movie?  Grinches, that’s who.  Onward! Continue reading →

Posted in General Mayhem | Tagged | Leave a comment

Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: Bad Santa 2!

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Denise

bad-santa-posterSince Halloween 2016 is now history, it’s time for the Christmas onslaught.  Seen the decorations and trees in your favorite stores?  I’ve seen ’em for weeks…oh c’mon now stores.  And that feeling of “Oh for Pete’s…” is perfect for watching Bad Santa 2.  Yeah, there’s a sequel coming at us, and it should be just as naughty as the first one.  That trailer is just a hint, I’m sure.  Synopsis!

BAD SANTA 2 returns Academy Award®-winner BILLY BOB THORNTON to the screen as America’s favorite anti-hero, Willie Soke. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus (TONY COX), to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is ‘the kid’ – chubby and cheery Thurman Merman (BRETT KELLY), a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie’s sliver of humanity.

Mommy issues arise when the pair are joined by Academy Award®, Golden Globe and Emmy-winner KATHY BATES, as Willie’s horror story of a mother, Sunny Soke. A super butch super bitch, Sunny raises the bar for the gang’s ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior. Willie is further burdened by lusting after the curvaceous and prim Diane, played by Emmy Award-nominee CHRISTINA HENDRICKS, the charity director with a heart of gold and libido of steel. You better watch out: BAD SANTA 2 is coming to town.

Ready?  Let’s do this!

Continue reading →

Posted in Free Screenings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Columbia Screening Pass-palooza: Arrival!

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Denise

arrival-posterCan you believe it’s November already?  Me neither.  So to get this month started right, I’ve got passes for Arrival, a cool new alien-contact film coming our way.  Synopsis!

When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team – led by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) – are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

The trailer looks really groovy.  And I’m dying to know more about the character Adams portrays.  You too?  Right this way…

Continue reading →

Posted in Free Screenings, General Mayhem | Tagged | 1 Comment

#31in31 2016: Cemetery Symbolism link-palooza

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Denise
my EAP instagram

What’s a cemetery piece without a little EAP? (Photo: my own)

It’s been amazing weather here in the Baltimore area, and I hope that you’re having groovy weather too. Because it’s Halloween, so why not head out and enjoy it? And by “head out”, I mean wander over to your local cemetery and check out some grave markers! What? They can be absolutely lovely, and the older ones have a meaning all their own.

I’ve always known that a lamb means that a child had passed away, and obviously a cross or Star of David lets you know a certain person’s religion.  But did you know that a sheaf of wheat means that the marker was celebrating a life lived to the fullest, “harvested” at a lovely old age?  Or that a dolphin “portrays the idea of resurrection”? And let’s not forget the practice of leaving “offerings” at the site of African-American graves, each item with a specific meaning.  Talk amongst yourselves; I’m getting verklempt…

For real in-depth 411, check out these amazing posts by others who have done serious research on the subject. And Happy Halloween! Continue reading →

Posted in 31 in 31, General Mayhem | Tagged , | Leave a comment

#31in31 2016: Cat’s Eye

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Denise

cats-eye-poster“General!”

Story: New York City. A tough place for a cat to be on the street. Especially when scary stories pop up everywhere he goes. Don’t worry, little Drew Barrymore will take him in. After the other two stories play out, of course. But you might want to put out that cigarette, and step away from the ledge…

Scares: Of the PG-13 variety.

Splat factor: Somebody’s head.  Troll guts. Otherwise it’s pretty tame. Continue reading →

Posted in 31 in 31 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

#31in31 2016: Kill Theory

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Denise

kill-theory-poster“It’s the choice business, where we get caught up.”

Story: A man who spent years in a mental institution for killing his friends during a climbing excursion gets released. Meanwhile, group of college students are starting a weekend getaway in a secluded lake house. Would these kids kill each other in order to stay alive, like the killer did? Only one way to find out…

Scares: Mostly of the jump variety. But they’re decent jumps. Plus, there’s lots of suspense.

Splat factor: People die one by one. Yep, lots blood. But this story happens at night  so a lot of the grue is in shadow and/or day-for-night blue filter. Continue reading →

Posted in 31 in 31, Movie Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

#31in31 2016: Short Horror!

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Denise

Okay, so I’m totally cheating; this is a post that’ll send you to a BuzzFeed post.  But that BuzzFeed post is a collection of DAMN FINE horror shorts, and I had to share. And I don’t mind sending you to another site to do it.

Feel free to binge these all in one go, or sneak in one or two in-between trick-or-treaters.

16 Terrifying Horror Movies You Can Watch In 20 Minutes Or Less

YouTube short horror movies are seriously underrated.

Posted in 31 in 31 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

#31in31 2016: Poltergeist (1982)

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Denise

poltergeist-1982-poster“Mommy, there’s somebody here … Mommy, somebody’s coming.”

Story: Lovely house, honey.  Ain’t the company I work for great, building these gorgeous subdivisions?  Oh, and I’m sure that graveyard we relocated in order to build these houses will have no impact whatsoever with our comfort…hey, where’d Carol Ann go?

Scares: Quite a lot.  And they’re quite effective.

Splat factor: There’s blood, when folks get tossed around.  And, of course, that infamous “mirror scene”, which is just as sick, twisted and amazing as it was in ’82. Continue reading →

Posted in 31 in 31, Movie Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment