Tag: Horror

Despite Dumb Choices, the Birds is Great

Still from Alfred Hitchcock's film the Birds: Tippi Hedren fleeing from some awesome crows along with two children.

The Birds

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by Evan Hunter

The review:

I’m gonna say right off that this movie was unsatisfying because it doesn’t have an end, which is not to say that it wasn’t very satisfying all the way up until the point were there wasn’t an end.* This satisfaction comes despite the fact that every single person in the film makes dumb choices.** While the Rod Taylor/Tippi Hedren relationship was something I’m chalking up to stress induced relationship building,*** it was even more fun to see various other townspeople’s reactions to the onslaught.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Free due to donated ticket. It would have been $35 for the two of us.
Where watched: at Zidell Yards as part of Cinema Unbound’s pop-up drive-in series.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*While all the mayhem was happening, I was puzzling through why this thing might occur. That I never found out bugged me. Lazy writing!!!
**I’m going to chalk this up to the fact that no one in the film had seen the many horror film analysis videos and movies that have proliferated since the mid-90s. So of course they would go outside (where the birds are) when they could stay where the birds weren’t currently, which was inside. (Most of the time. Those birds were pretty inventive about getting into buildings.)
***I mean really, why are they in love already?
****The scene at the restaurant was great!

Questions:

  • If birds were attacking your town, what would be your plan of action?
  • What do you think made those birds so vengeful?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The schoolhouse in Bodega, California has been known to be haunted. According to Tippi Hedren, the entire cast was spooked to be there. She also mentioned how she had the feeling while there that “the building was immensely populated, but there was nobody there.” When Sir Alfred Hitchcock was told about the schoolhouse being haunted, according to Hedren, he was even more encouraged to film there.

(I really liked that school building!)

Other reviews of The Birds:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Don't they ever stop migrating? 3SMReviews.com: The Birds

Viral is More Interesting Now

Travis Tope and Sofia Black-D'Elia embrace in a school hallway while wearing masks in the film Viral

Viral

Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Shulman
Written by Barbara Marshall & Christopher Landon

The review:

2020 is the year to watch Viral, if only for current events comparison purposes.* This seems a fairly standard-issue horror film** but centered on a sister relationship*** and with the girls making a lot of the choices.**** It’s a creepy crawly film, but not gory, which made it a fun watch for a hot August night.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Free via Tubi (with ads)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*At one point my reaction was: “Hey! We didn’t get survival kits delivered to our doors!”
**Horror is not my genre, so I can’t say for sure.
***In choosing between this film and Nerve (both directed by Joost/Schulman) I went with this one because it stars Analeigh Tipton, (Crazy, Stupid, Love and Two Night Stand) whom I love.
****Barbara Marshall, one of the writers seems to have written several movies that travel along these lines. That’s a fun treat!

Questions:

  • Analeigh Tipton as a bad girl. Did it work for you?
  • What part of this film felt very familiar?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The brief picture of the virus as seen on one of the newscasts is the same graphic used in the movie Outbreak (1995) to represent the Motaba Virus, using a red color tint rather than blue. However, the fictional Motaba Virus looks very similar to the Ebola Virus.

Other reviews of Viral:

Zombieland: the Zombie Nerd Angle

The review:

Ruben Fleischer does us all a good service with Zombieland; he gives us the zombie invasion from the point of view of a nerd.* After adding in a tough guy and two grifters, we have an assembled cast of not-very-likable people, but together they make for an amusing and enjoyable film.** I didn’t love the amount of blood and guts due to the zombies, but other than that this was a fresh take on a well-trod*** subject.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Complete with awkward encounters and a very savvy list of rules for survival.
**Post movie discussion: Con artists. Terrible to encounter in real life, yet often come off as charming in films.
***Even in 2009
****It also has an unforgettable sequence with a famous actor that is not to be missed.

Questions:

  • Of the four main characters, which would you prefer to spend the zombie apocolypse with?
  • Con artists. Why so good in movies?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Contrary to popular belief, the supermarket scene was not filmed at an actual supermarket. A movie set was built from scratch to look like a real supermarket, and some of the merchandise is fake. For example, the stuff behind the glass refrigerator doors is just printed on paper. According to the producers, it was cheaper than buying out a supermarket and paying them for broken merchandise.

Other reviews:

Annihilation Will Spark a Good Post-Movie Discussion

The review:

Alex Garland’s Annihilation is yet another quality flick, especially good for post-viewing discussion.* To say again what many are saying in all realms of life: representation does matter and I loved that women were the people doing the exploring in this movie.** It’s a visually stimulating movie with great performances; while Natalie Portman is her usual excellent self, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh were all wonderful to watch as they explored the Shimmer.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched, at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Annihilation is good for dates early in the relationship, Garland’s previous Ex Machina is good for a more established couple.
**Number of movies I can think of where an all-woman team bands together to get things done: One. Ocean’s Eight. Number of movies where an all-man team bands together to get things done: roughly 3000.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Oscar Isaac filmed this movie and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) on adjacent studio lots. He had the same trailer for both films and would often film scenes for both movies on the same day.

3SMReviews: Us

3SMReviews: Us

In Us, Jordan Peele has crafted a taut, creepy thriller that kept me gasping and guessing right up until the credits rolled; and then the questions rolled in.* It’s very clear that Peele is not a detail-oriented filmmaker, he’s all about the craft and the theme, which is fine.** It’s worth seeing because it’s a movie to watch now and also because the performances all around are tremendous.***

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: $5.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theatre with S. North

*This also happened with Get Out. I loved it. And then I had questions because some things didn’t hang together. In this film there were even more questions and much of it didn’t hang together afterward.
**And I mean that, really. Normally when I have this many things to pick apart, it’s a sign that a movie has failed. In this case I was thoroughly entertained at the theater and am happy to accept the movie as metaphor.
***It’s one thing to turn in an excellent performance, it’s another thing to craft a second similar-but-different character. And every single person did this.

3SMReviews: Us