Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Gretel and Hansel

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Well, this “Hansel and Gretel” fit a perfect storm of what we didn’t want to see today. There were no movies playing we hadn’t seen (Parasite is the only Oscar movie I wanted to see that I never got to), and this at least started at a convenient time.  So we thought, “Why not?”  Sorry to say it, but this movie was terrible. The story follows the titular siblings leaving their shabby existence and embarking on an excrutiatingly slow walk through a forest (what, no bread crumbs?). Where are they headed? What is their goal?  An interjected and otherwise meaningless character sets them on their path. Eventually they come upon a plain looking cottage (not made of gingerbread, cake or candy even).  Apparently the cottage is owned by a weird witch who has evil intentions.  Odd, disjointed occurences and dreams happen, mysteries unexplained and never fully resolved, and nothing seems connected. Hansel leaves, Gretel stays.  The patron is left holding the bag. That is the movie in a nutshell.  Nothing much happens, it isn’t creepy, scary or even particularly gruesome. I would do yourself a favor and reread the Grimm fairy tale that it is loosly based on.

Dr. Sleep

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“Dr. Sleep” is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s classic “The Shining;” both of which are based on novels by Stephen King.  The tricycle riding boy from the first movie, Dan Torrance, is now a 40-something alcoholic ( played by Ewan McGregor) who wanders from place to place until finally settling down in a small New Hampshire town.  Here he joins AA, becomes sober, and gets his first steady job in years working in a hospice facility.  He gets the nickname ‘Dr. Sleep’ because of his uncanny ability (along with his cat partner) to sense when someone is going to die, and be there to offer comfort.  Now that he is not drinking, his extraordinary abilities, which he calls “shining,” emerge.  He finds he is able to communicate with a young girl  named Abra (played by the excellent Kyleigh Curran) who has even more of the shine than he does.  Together, they uncover an evil cult of semi-immortals who stay alive by killing “shiners” and ‘drinking’ their dying breath.  They mainly prey on kids and they kill one in a rather brutal way.  Dan and his friend from AA, Billy along with Abra, confront the cult, and their defense forces Rose, the cult leader, to pursue them for revenge. The characters end up back at the original hotel for a haunting showdown.  I liked this movie.  Since I had not read the book, I didn’t know what to expect.  The cultists, called the True Knot, were chilling -especially Rose the Hat as played by a pretty creepy Rebecca Ferguson.  It was not too bloody, but it was suspenseful.  I did think the beginning was slow, so that might be the best time to run to the bathroom.  Apparently Stephen King was not a fan of “The Shining” movie, but gave this one his seal of approval.  If it is good enough for Stephen King, it is good enough for me.

It 2

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The endearing members of the Losers’ Club are back and all grown up in ‘It 2.’ The long awaited sequel, though not quite as good as the original, is still a very good movie!  The movie begins 27 years after the young Losers vanquished the dancing clown, forever they thought. They nearly all leave town and in leaving, forget everything that had happened.  But now, with the town of Derry experiencing, yet again, a spate of killings and child disappearances, the one remaining friend must act.  Mike (Isiah Mustafa) has never left the town and has spent the last 27 years researching the history of the murderous clown. He believes he has discovered a way to destroy Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) once and for all.  Mike calls all of the friends, who now can’t remember much of what happened all those years ago, back to Derry.  There is ill-fated Stan (Andy Bean), wise-cracking Richie (Bill Hader), novelist and now stutter-free Bill (James McAvoy), Ben (Jay Ryan) who has grown into quite a stud, thoughtful, hypocondriac Eddie (James Ransone) and kind hearted Bev (Jessica Chastain) who all must stand together to face their fears and save their town – and perhaps themselves.  The adult versions of the charactters are not as endearing as their younger selves, but they all bring heart to their roles.  I was especially impressed with Bill Hader.  He is definitely growing as a dramatic actor. Those of you who have read the book, may be disappointed that some of the events do not make it into the film; but even at 2 hours and 45 minutes, the movie could not possibly have included it all. But what it includes is frightening and suspenseful. As in Part One, the production values are excellent and the atmosphere suitably foreboding. I won’t say anything about what changes! However, I am not spoiling the movie by telling you that Stephen King does have a pretty good cameo in this one.  I found this movie terrifying, so much so that I had to close my eyes during a few scenes.  But in the end, isn’t that what makes a good Stephen King novel, and movie?

Pet Sematary

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I am a fan of Stephen King but I have never read this book ,nor did I see the original movie.  However, when I heard this version featured John Lithgow, I knew I would have to see it.  Tha main story follows the The Creed family, who have just moved from Boston to a quieter life in a small Maine town.  No more ER night shifts for Dr. Louis Creed, who looks forward to being able to spend more time with his children, Gage and Ellie.  Things get off to a creepy start when Ellie stumbles upon a pet cemetery or “sematary” as spelled by the town’s children, while exploring. They have been burying their pets in the forest for generations.  Louis (played by Jason Clark) didn’t realize this cemetery was on his property as it is huge and he hasn’t really checked it out. The cemetery is bordered on several sides by a high log wall. The cemetery is scary enough, but Ellie, and her Mom witness  a burial procession composed of kids in very creepy masks.  Ellie is a bright and curious child, and decides to go back to investigate the high log pile.  She begins to climb up the wall.  She is stung by a bee and falls, but luckily old man Jud (John Lithgow) helps her and takes out the stinger -the beginning of a fast friendship. SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT:  Unfortunately their beloved cat, Churchill, is hit by a truck and dies.  Jud knows Ellie is heartbroken, and is insistant that he help Dr. Creed bury the cat in the cemetery.  Things get real weird when he suggests they bury the cat in a secret area on the other side of the barrier.  Apparently, there are mystical powers that can resurrect the dead, but your loved ones may not come back “right.”  And indeed, after the mysterious reappearance of “dead” Churchill, things begin to literally go to the dark side.  At Ellie’s birthday party, things take a dreadful turn.  You can guess… The movie does a good job with creating atmosphere and I give a lot of kudos to Jete Laurence, who plays daughter Ellie.  She is the right amount of niave and creepy!   I read somewhere that Stephen King doesn’t like this story much and that he feels it is his darkest tale.  I have to agree with him.  This story doesn’t offer a hopeful ending.  But then, you don’t go into a King story expecting a “they lived happily ever after.”

Us

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Ask M. Knight Shyamalan how hard it is to make a second movie when your first effort is a great movie like “The Sixth Sense.”  His next outing was not well-recieved and further movies never quite measured up.  Well, there’s no sophomore jinx for Jordan Peele ! “Us” is a compelling and worthy successor to “Get Out.”  “Us” is the story of a typical American family, headed by Adelaide (a dazzling Lupita Nyong’o) and Gabe (Winston Duke), who are on vacation with their two kids near the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  Adelaide had a scare in a house of mirrors at that very same beach when she was a kid, which has left her very traumitized. So she is more than a little paranoid about her family’s safety and well being when they stay in a vacation rental close by the beach.  And sure enough, after her son runs into a very strange character and approaches the mirror house, the next night they are stalked by a family of shadowy doppelgangers who want to harm, and perhaps take over, the lifes of those they resemble.  Most of the rest of the movie is bloody, scary, suspenseful and provocative.  There is a lot to think about in this movie, including the title.  Us can also be inturrpeted as U.S.  In fact, the doppelgangers call themselves Americans at one point.  Is it as good as “Get Out”?  I would say no. partly because it is a little disjointed and contains a few plot holes (but so do  a lot of pretty great movies) and partly because there was so much hype.  But it doesn’t matter because this is a top-notch horror film, and even if I did guess the “twist,” it was still well-worth the ride to get there.  Does the ending open up the possiblity of a sequel?  Definitely.  If another “Us” is indeed in the works; I will definitely be there!