Category Archives: Leave it

Movies I wish I had skipped. This could be for any number of reasons: the film was made sloppily, the narrative didn’t engage me, or I simply could not connect with the film in any way for whatever reason.

All Movie Reviews, F Movies, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Bedeviled (2016) Movie Review

Bedeviled is the type of teen horror film that thinks it’s being clever. It thinks that it is in on the joke. It thinks its making a joke. The only thing funny about it is the laughable screenwriting and nonsensical internal logic. Beyond that, I don’t know what directors Abel Vang and Burlee Vang were going for.

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Imagine a world where teenagers are hooked on the latest hip app, which is essentially an evil Siri. Only, it’s name is Mr. Bedevil and he holds full sentient conversations with the characters in the film, who do not even begin to Continue reading Bedeviled (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Daddy’s Home 2 (2017) Movie Review

There is a moment early on in Daddy’s Home 2 where Will Ferrell’s character walks into the house after he and his “co-dad” Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) pick up their fathers (John Lithgow and Mel Gibson) at the airport and exclaims: “We’re back…with more daddies.”daddys-home-2-review

That is all the summation necessary. From here, the film moves from location to location with only the slightest amount of Continue reading Daddy’s Home 2 (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

LBJ (2017) Movie Review

If you ever wanted to hear Lyndon Johnson (portrayed here by Woody Harrelson) discuss the hang of his testes, Rob Reiner’s LBJ is the film for you. The subject comes up twice, showing up again near the end as if it is a brilliant comedic callback meant to elicit hoots and hollers.

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I was surprised to hear, two days before the film’s release, that there was a Continue reading LBJ (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

A Bad Moms Christmas (2017) Movie Review

Is this funny?:

  • Having a child unknowingly describe sex as if it is a fight between mommy and daddy, because this has never happened in a movie before
  • Calling a woman with a uni-brow a “Sasquatch”
  • Having a grown person take a hit from a joint while ironically exclaiming that she is being more responsible

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Movie Review

Thor: Ragnarok is a messy film. It’s main villain Hela (played with scenery-chewing glee by Cate Blanchett) is side-lined for most of the film. As is Asgard, the place that is in mortal danger from the Goddess of Death that is Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) sister.

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Do not be fooled. This is the main conflict of the film’s plot. Although, for the most part, Thor and pals are relegated to another world entirely.

Thor and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are left stranded on this planet, Sakaar, but they are stranded in Continue reading Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Suburbicon (2017) Movie Review

There is a moment in Suburbicon when you realize that the closest comparison to other Coen brother films is Blood Simple, in that it is bleak with few characters to latch onto and identify with. It is at this moment, when you realize that this is not so much a dark comedy as it is merely a dark movie, that it becomes very hard to continue investing yourself in the antics.

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The film focuses on a family man named Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) and his son, who are victim to a home invasion in the faux-idyllic, nebulous ’50s neighborhood aptly-named Suburbicon. You don’t know Continue reading Suburbicon (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Jigsaw (2017) Movie Review

Where to begin with Jigsaw, the sort of sequel, maybe soft reboot of the Saw franchise that comes seven years after the last Saw film and narratively taking place 10 years after John Kramer’s death?

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How about start with the first thing we hear. It is a revamp of Charlie Clouser’s Saw theme song: “Hello Zepp.” The song, here in Jigsaw, sounds less Continue reading Jigsaw (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Cult of Chucky (2017) Movie Review

After being terrorized over and over by Chucky (Brad Dourif), the serial killer trapped in a child’s doll, Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) seemingly has things under control, given he keeps the head of the doll behind lock and key with a blowtorch ready to melt him out of existence.

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Meanwhile, Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) is held in a medium-security psychiatric facility after being Continue reading Cult of Chucky (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010) Movie Review

This review of Saw: The Final Chapter is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

If nothing else, the Saw franchise is consistent in its formula. A Saw film generally has two plotlines that are crosscut until a final reveal that either brings them together or brings them both to a “surprising” end.

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Saw: The Final Chapter is a different beast. Continue reading Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Amityville: The Awakening (2017) Movie Review

40 years after a brutal murder took place at a house in Amityville, New York, a family moves in. The mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) wants things to be normal for her two daughters (Bella Thorne and Mckenna Grace) in spite of the medical condition of her son (Cameron Monaghan).

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Given this condition, it makes little sense that he would be in a house and not a hospital, but we can let it slide. It is the reason why the family moves to the house in the first place, and it is an excuse for Continue reading Amityville: The Awakening (2017) Movie Review →