Movie Review - Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe (2016)

Starring Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette, and Daniel Zovatto

Directed by Fede Alvarez

While watching director Fede Alvarez' taut thriller Don't Breathe, I couldn't help but think it was twisted version of the 1967 Audrey Hepburn starrer Wait Until Dark.  In the Hepburn flick, she plays a blind woman being terrorized by men who invade her apartment.  In Don't Breathe, Stephen Lang plays Norman Nordstrom, a blind man whose home is invaded by three twentysomethings hoping for a quick buck.  Rather than be terrorized by the trio, though, Nordstrom fights back.  However, as the three robbers soon come to realize, the blind man is no innocent bystander and instead harbors some sick secrets.

While pretty much everyone in Don't Breathe has less than stellar morals, the film is ultimately set up to have us as viewers side with two of the robbers - Rocky (Jane Levy), a poor young woman who longs to flee to California with her stepsister away from her awful home life and drug-addled mother; and Alex (Dylan Minnette), a quiet, shy guy who harbors a secret crush for Rocky and tries to impress her by using his father's security firm to pinpoint homes they can break into a rob.  While they heretofore have only stolen $10,000 worth of product -- which keeps things under the felony limit -- Rocky and Alex's partner in crime Money (Daniel Zovatto) clues them in to Nordstrom's home with the prospect of a big score thanks to a lawsuit Nordstrom settled some years ago.  Despite their obvious deviant nature, director and co-screenwriter Alvarez pulls the viewers into Rocky and Alex's stories in a way that never seems to cloying or pushy.  Yeah, these kids aren't angels, but we're still rooting for them as they head into Nordstrom's house which we inevitably know will be perilous.

Alvarez -- who also directed the very effective horror film remake of Evil Dead -- is incredibly effective at creating a tense, scary atmosphere.  Much of this film takes place in darkened corridors and dimly lit rooms and yet I had no difficulty determining what was going on which is a difficult task for a director.  His cast is top notch for a film of this nature and the small cast does their best either acting scared or scary.  This one had me on the edge of my seat and proves that Alvarez wasn't just a one-hit wonder in the horror film department.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Goosebumps

Goosebumps (2015)

Starring Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Amy Ryan, and Jillian Bell

Directed by Rob Letterman

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Were I a nine to twelve year-old kid, Goosebumps would be a great film.  Hints of comedy, teen romance, and fun horror-adventure would've been exactly what I was looking for in a Jumanji-style flick.  However, I'm over two decades removed from that ten year-old me, so the faults in Goosebumps stand out more than they would to the targeted viewer.  While Goosebumps is a fun watch (even for someone who wasn't a Goosebumps reader as it came on the scene several years too late for me), it doesn't have the universality to appeal to all age demographics.

When his mother (Amy Ryan) moves to Delaware(!) for a new vice principal job, teenage Zach (Dylan Minnette) is disappointed to have to start anew.  However, he soon meets his next-door neighbor Hannah (Odeya Rush) and she keys him in to the fun stuff in the small town of Madison.  Unfortunately, Hannah's father (Jack Black) is a bit overprotective of his daughter and forbids Zach to hang out with her.  One evening, upon hearing what he thought was a scream from inside Hannah's house, Zach and his new buddy Champ (Ryan Lee) break in to the house and discover that Hannah's father is the popular author R.L. Stine.  His Goosebumps manuscripts are all kept individually locked and when Zach opens one up, chaos ensues as all of Stine's literary creations begin to wreak havoc on the town.

Goosebumps works best when it focuses on the comedically scary creations of Stine's books.  Whether it be a smartly sarcastic dummy that's come to life or the Abominable Snowman or a cadre of sweet-looking though menacing garden gnomes, the special effects sequences in the film (which are tinged with moments of comedy) all work surprisingly well.  Disappointingly, when the flick doesn't focus on Stine's creatures, things are a bit of a mess.  We get subplots galore that are either unresolved or unnecessary.  Zach's crazy aunt looking for love (played by an admittedly humorous Jillian Bell); a gym teacher trying to make the move on Zach's mother; Champ trying to find a(ny) girlfriend; a quickly tossed together love story between Zach and Hannah; Zach's father's recent death and its effect on him -- it's just too many subplots for a film that doesn't need any of them, quite frankly.

There was potential here for Goosebumps to be an instant kids' movie classic, but the writers squandered that away by throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix.  As it stands, Goosebumps is only a moderately entertaining diversion that doesn't live up to what it could have been.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

Starring Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Ed Oxenbould, Dylan Minnette, Kerris Dorsey, Bella Thorne, Jennifer Coolidge, Donald Glover, and Megan Mullally  

Directed by Miguel Arteta

I'll just come right out and say it despite the prospect of being ridiculed -- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a truly enjoyable kid flick that does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere that is amusing to both adults and children alike reminiscent of Disney pics of yore like Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap.  It may not be a popular opinion, but I found myself thoroughly entertained for seventy-five minutes as young Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould) and his family go through one of the worst days possible as havoc wreaks quite a spell on everyone.

Alexander is just about to turn twelve and he's discovered that a more popular kid at school has decided to throw his birthday party on the same night as his.  With the prospect of no one coming and having just had a school day filled with some huge blunders, Alexander wants to cancel his party, but his parents Ben and Kelly (Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner) won't allow it.  With his brother Anthony (Dylan Minette) prepping for his prom and his sister Emily (Kerris Dorsey) landing the lead in the school musical, at 12:01am on the night of his birthday, Alexander blows out the candle on a bowl of ice cream wishing that his family could experience how un-fun is life is for just one day.  In the grand tradition of wishes coming true in movies, when the Cooper family wakes up the next morning, chaos breaks out -- and the humor surprisingly flies all around.

Admittedly, there's a need for a bit of a suspension of disbelief here -- too many things are scheduled on this particular day for even the most reliable family to accomplish -- but if you're willing to make this acceptance, you're in for a treat.  Rather surprisingly -- and perhaps the reason for the film's success -- Alexander focuses not only on its title character, but gives equal opportunity to each member of the Cooper family to be fleshed out in terms of their bad days and all story lines work quite well.  Perhaps because of the notion that the parents are almost the focus here, adults are welcomed into the film in a way that isn't usually expected in movies aimed at a younger demographic.

Carell and Garner do a really nice job with both their slapstick and verbal comedy moments and all of the Cooper siblings also pleasantly create humor in their scenes.  The kudos really belong to screenwriter Rob Lieber in his debut for crafting a film that not only appeals to the kiddos, but also to the kid in all of us by never talking down to the younger audience.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+