Freaks of Nature review

FREAKS OF NATURE:

AN OFTEN FUNNY BUT VERY STRANGE HORROR-COMEDY ABOUT HUMANS, VAMPIRES, ZOMBIES, AND ALIENS FIGHTING EACH OTHER!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** 1/2 out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

A freaky town is about to get even freakier in Freaks of Nature

            Where do I even start with this movie? Freaks of Nature has got to be not just one of the strangest horror-comedies put together, but one of the strangest films in general put together. A movie about a town where humans, vampires, and zombies live side by side as neighbors, but then mayhem begins when aliens attack, it definitely seemed bizarre judging by the trailer, but it looked intriguing enough to say the least.

            However, this film was given a limited release by Sony Pictures, and don’t worry it’s nothing like The Interview where it received a limited release because of the controversy around it, the studio just decided to give it a limited theatrical release so I had to travel far to watch this movie (Actually, the trip to this movie wasn’t too bad!) because the trailer made it look so absurd that I just couldn’t miss it, I wasn’t expecting a Shaun of the Dead or a Zombieland, but I was expecting a wildly stupid but enjoyable film.

            That's pretty much what I got, the designs of the creatures are pretty humorous and some of the jokes and visual gags can be funny, has a strong cast, and the fights between the humans, vampires, zombies, and aliens are pretty fun to watch, not to mention the film does a decent job mimicking 80s horror movies.

Not every joke lands, but a good chunk of them do and thankfully the duds aren't nearly as painful as the "humor" from Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. 

Our story takes place in the town of Dillford, an average little town that’s actually not so average, where humans, vampires, and zombies live side by side as neighbors. Pretty much everyone is a high school stereotype, the humans are pretty much the ordinary people, the vampires are Goths, and zombies are apparently retarded.

Everything starts off “Ordinary, I guess” until suddenly, a UFO is spotted above the town and all the citizens, undead, immortal, or alive are outraged and start blaming each other for the UFO’s appearance, the vampires claim the humans called the UFO to destroy them, the humans think the vampires did it, the zombies want brains, and so on.

            So it’s up to human teenage boy, Dag Parker (Nicholas Braun-Sky High, The Watch, The Perks of Being a Wallflower), vampire girl, Petra Lane (Mackenzie Davis-The Martian), and zombie nerd, Ned Mosely (Josh Fadem) to knock some sense back into the town’s citizens and have them retaliate against the aliens to save their neighborhood, before total freaky destruction.

            The film also stars Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical trilogy, Beastly, Sucker Punch) as Dag’s girlfriend, Lorelei, Bob Odenkirk (Seinfeld, Wayne’s World 2, The Cable Guy) and Joan Cusack (Working Girl, In & Out, Toy Story 2 and 3) as Dag’s stoner parents, Denis Leary (Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary, Ice Age franchise, The Amazing Spider-Man) as corrupt businessman, Rick Wilson, Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, Tomorrowland, Hotel Transylvania 2) as vampire teacher, Mr. Keller, and Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens, Ratatouille, Young Adult) as Dag’s piano teacher, Stuart Miller who helps them hide from the aliens to name a few.

            Overall, Freaks of Nature is definitely an ambitious project, a horror comedy about vampires, zombies, and aliens all together, it’s absurd and wacky enough to get something out for the audience. Granted, I would have liked it more if they went all out with their kooky premise and gave us something that's consistently wild, but as is I'm glad I watched it. 

            The main protagonists aren’t anything special, but the actors portray them fine and the best friend who eventually becomes a zombie does get some good laughs. 

            The side characters on the other hand are fantastic, Odenkirk and Cusack as stoner parents, Key as an African-American teacher stereotype, except a vampire, and Denis Leary as a corrupt businessman, who is also apparently the mayor of the town and a semi-antagonist is hilarious and over the top.

            If you just want to see a really bizarre movie just in time for Halloween, you might have some fun with Freaks of Nature, just don’t expect it to be the next Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse review

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE:

WAS THE HUMOR FOR THIS MOVIE WRITTEN BY ACTUAL ZOMBIES!?!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Camp Scouts VS the Undead in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

            The 2004 Simon Pegg and Nick Frost zombie comedy, Shaun of the Dead is a great movie, the 2009 Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg comedy, Zombieland, that is also a great movie, even 2013’s romantic zombie comedy, Warm Bodies is pretty funny. But 2015’s Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is about as funny as a teenage boy hanging above a crowd of zombies and a trampoline, from an old zombie’s penis, yes, THAT is one of the highlights of the film’s comedy.

            Now Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse isn’t terrible by any means, but compared to the critically acclaimed Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, it ranks quite low when it comes to zombie comedies. Sometimes the film’s absurdity and over the top zombie kills can get a few laughs, but the actual humor decides to go towards the type of comedy you would see in an American Pie movie, just add zombies.

            High school sophomores, Ben (Tye Sheridan-Mud, Joe), Carter (Logan Miller-I’m In The Band, Phineas and Ferb, Children’s Hospital), and Augie (Joey Morgan) are long-time scout group members, ever since they were kids. One night, it was supposed to be a perfect camping night with their Scout Leader Rogers (David Koechner-Austin Powers in The Spy Who Shagged Me, Anchorman, The Office), unfortunately he suddenly disappears and a zombie virus has been emerged from a science lab, and their hometown is now infested with flesh-eating zombies.

            So our scouts are stranded with a broken down car, a sexy cocktail waitress/stripper, Denise (Sarah Dumont), and an all you can eat zombie buffet at a Secret Seniors Party where Carter’s sister is attending among other classmates, it’s up to the scouts and cocktail waitress to grow a pair, kill some re-animated corpses, and save their neighborhood before the Walking Dead takes over.

            Overall, Scouts Guide for the Zombie Apocalypse is one of those movies where the marketing campaign was better than the actual movie, the trailers and TV spots were basically instructional videos for how to survive the zombie apocalypse, Zombieland did have a somewhat similar marketing campaign, except it was still great as a movie. Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland both brought something new to the zombie movie genre and they stood on their own well, sadly this film is about as generic of a zombie comedy movie as you can get.

            This movie was lacking the comedic editing of Shaun of the Dead and the wild humor of Zombieland, both of which made those films big hits. Scouts Guide relies heavily on American Pie style teen comedy and somehow blend that with zombies, and it comes off as awkward and heavy on the gross-out humor of American Pie.

            There are parts that did get a laugh out of me though, some of the zombie chases and jokes are so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh at it. Plus, the climax is a ton of fun and some of the slow-motion shots of the zombies’ gory deaths are over-the-top and funny.

            But compared to Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, I didn’t laugh nearly as many times as I did when watching those movies, even Warm Bodies which had more of a romantic comedy tone is more funny and clever than this. Those three films are my alternatives over this, FYI!

            If you just want to enjoy a silly movie about zombies for Halloween, you might find something to enjoy in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, but if you want a horror comedy to make you laugh yourself silly, just rent Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland instead, and not to mention better scary movies like Crimson Peak and Goosebumps are out in theaters now as well. 

Bridge of Spies review

BRIDGE OF SPIES:

ANOTHER SATISFYING COLLABORATION BY STEVEN SPIELBERG AND TOM HANKS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4

TOUCHSTONE PICTURES, DREAMWORKS PICTURES, AND 20^TH CENTURY FOX

Tom Hanks brings James B. Donovan to life in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies

            From director Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Lincoln) comes his latest collaboration with Oscar® winning actor, Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away), a Cold War espionage thriller based on the actual events of the 1960 U-2 incident known as Bridge of Spies, Spielberg and Hanks’ fourth film collaboration together with the other three being Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, and The Terminal. But they’re not the only talents behind this film, its screenplay is also written by the critically praised Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading, True Grit) whom Spielberg previously worked with on their 2011 Western, True Grit.

            While I wouldn’t consider Bridge of Spies to be one of my top Steven Spielberg movies, it’s still a well executed and gripping thriller and his directing talent shines through, and like Munich, War Horse, and Lincoln, Bridge of Spies proves that Spielberg isn’t just a big budget summer blockbuster director. I’m not exactly sure how historically accurate the movie is, but from what I read about the film through reviews and articles, it’s pretty accurate as a dramatization of the actual event and it succeeds on its own in being an entertaining movie.

            Set during the Cold War, Tom Hanks stars as American attorney, James B. Donovan, tasked with negotiating the release of a U-2 spy plane pilot who was shot down in Russia. Meanwhile the FBI has arrested and prosecuted KGB Russian spy, Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance-The Other Boleyn Girl, Anonymous, Wolf Hall) and Donovan is asked by his partners to take on Abel’s defense, he must be seen to get a fair trial to reduce the incident’s value as Soviet propaganda.

            Donovan plans to do a trade with Russia, let American U-2 spy plane pilot, Francis Powers (Austin Stowell-Whiplash) and American economics student, Frederic Pryor, who came to Germany to visit his girlfriend, only to be captured by German law enforcement go and he’ll give them Abel in return.

            Overall, Bridge of Spies is a gripping and intelligent thriller, thanks to solid directing by Steven Spielberg, smart writing by the Coen Brothers, and an Oscar® worthy performance by Tom Hanks. It’s certainly one of their best collaborations alongside Saving Private Ryan and Catch Me If You Can, and it’s better than The Terminal.

            No worries to anyone sensitive to graphic or extreme violence, unlike Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan, Bridge of Spies does not rely on heavy war violence, granted there are some intense moments, there’s nothing gory or heavily violent, also it’s not the focus of the movie. The focus is on these characters trying to arrange a perfect trade between America and Russia, and in this kind of movie, that’s where most of the focus should be.

            And like many of his films, Tom Hanks delivers an incredible performance as James Donovan. Every movie I’ve seen with Tom Hanks, he usually does a great job, from Toy Story to Saving Private Ryan, even in movies I thought were okay, he’s usually good, and yes I am talking about The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, I think he deserves a Best Actor Oscar® nomination.  

            I wouldn’t consider Bridge of Spies to be one of my favorite Steven Spielberg movies, I still prefer E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Lincoln over it, but does that mean I don’t think it’s a good Spielberg movie, absolutely not, it’s a great Spielberg movie.

            If you’re a fan of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, you’ll have a thrilling time with Bridge of Spies, especially if you’re a history nut. I wouldn’t be surprised if it sweeps the Oscars® and if it wins, that’s more than enough reasons to see it for yourself.

Goosebumps review

GOOSEBUMPS:

A JOYFULLY SPOOKY FAMILY ADVENTURE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES AND SONY PICTURES ANIMATION

(From left to right) Odeya Rush, Jack Black, and Dylan Minnette are about to unleash something very scary in Goosebumps

            Sony Pictures Animation, the studio that brought us Open Season, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Hotel Transylvania strikes again with a live-action/CG animated family romp based on the popular Goosebumps children’s books written by R.L. Stine with producer Neal H. Moritz (Fast & Furious franchise, Bruce Almighty, 21 Jump Street) producing the film. I remembered back when I was a kid in elementary school and enjoyed reading the Goosebumps books, they were gross, they were weird, scary, quirky, and a ton of fun, and I recall watching a few episodes of the Goosebumps TV series from the 90s on Fox Kids.

            When I first heard about Sony’s Goosebumps movie, I honestly thought it would bomb, because while I enjoyed the Goosebumps TV series, it was incredibly cheesy in the visual and story department. But when I read about the premise, I started to have second thoughts and said “You know, this just might work!” the Goosebumps movie features a character version of R.L. Stine portrayed by Jack Black (School of Rock, Kung Fu Panda, Tropic Thunder) and the monsters he created escape his books and into the real world, it’s a pretty similar premise to the 1995 Robin Williams movie, Jumanji when you really think about it.

            Once I started watching the film, it quickly won me over, the plot is cleverly put together and Jack Black’s performance is over the top fun as R.L. Stine, and the monster special effects and animation are very creative. I’m not sure how it holds up to the original books or TV series because it’s been a very long time since I last read and watched them, so I’ll be summing it up as a movie on its own as usual.

            The film focuses on a teenage boy named Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette-Let Me In, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) moving into a new neighborhood with his mom. Upon getting to their new home, he meets a girl named Hannah (Odeya Rush-Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Giver) who is the daughter of their creepy neighbor (Jack Black).

            Hannah’s dad at first does not like Zach and wants him to stay as far away from Hannah and his house as possible. But when Zach hears Hannah scream from the house, he and his new friend, Champ (Ryan Lee-Friday Night Lights, Super 8, This Is 40) break in to see if she’s okay, however during their little investigation they find a bookcase filled with manuscripts for the Goosebumps books and soon realize their neighbor is the author of the Goosebumps books himself, R.L. Stine.

            Unfortunately, things get into a weird, gross, and spooky situation when the books are unlocked and all of the monsters R.L. Stine created break free from their literature prisons and begin to cause mayhem in the real world such as an Invisible Boy, a Living Dummy, a giant Mantis, evil garden Gnomes, Werewolf, and the Abominable Snowman to name a few. So R.L. Stine and Zach must put aside their differences and join forces to capture all the monsters before they put an end to the neighborhood and Stine himself.

            Overall, Goosebumps is definitely one of the most entertaining family movies I’ve seen all year. It’s not Oscar material like Inside Out or as energetic as Hotel Transylvania 2, but it has enough humor, creativity, and decent characters to keep it afloat for all ages, it’s not just any other kids’ movie, adults can enjoy it with their kids as well.

            The designs and animation on the monsters are full of creativity and most of them resemble their book and TV appearances, but my only real problem with the film is that the Dummy was a little off. Not to say it was terrible, but it wasn’t nearly as creepy as the Living Dummy from the book, it seemed like they were going for a more comedic tone with him, but aside from him they all look great.

            Jack Black makes a perfect R.L. Stine, he does a marvelous job portraying that angry, mysterious next-door neighbor type of character and I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual R.L. Stine and Jack Black have a lot in common. Even the young stars are pretty likable, Dylan Minnette as the new kid on the block, Ryan Lee is funny as the geeky best friend, and Odeya Rush as the girl next door, all of them do a decent job portraying their characters and all three of them are very engaging, but most of my eyes were on Black, but I digress.

            In my opinion, this is what Pixels should have been, the humor is decent, the characters are developed well, and there’s plenty of screen-time for the supernatural beings out to destroy the world, just replace the Goosebumps monsters with the video game characters and it probably would have been a much better movie than what we got.

            If you’re a fan of R.L. Stine’s original Goosebumps books or the Fox Kids TV series, chances are you’ll scream with joy with this new Goosebumps movie. Even if you’re just looking for a fun family movie to see during the Halloween holiday, this and Hotel Transylvania 2 won’t disappoint (You can learn more about that in my Hotel Transylvania 2 review!).

            It’s a double-dose of Sony Pictures Animation fun this year and I hope Sony’s Angry Birds movie coming out this summer will be just as fun.            

Crimson Peak review

CRIMSON PEAK:

A BEAUTIFULLY BLOODY AND THOROUGHLY CHILLING GOTHIC THRILLER FROM GUILLERMO DEL TORO!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Beware of Crimson Peak

            Master director, Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim) strikes again with his latest gothic romantic horror film, Crimson Peak. Like many of his other films, Crimson Peak has a dark, gothic tone, lots of creative creature designs, and massive set designs, it almost feels like a haunted house version of Pan’s Labyrinth.

            Fortunately, Crimson Peak has enough originality to stand on its own, so it’s not a rehash of Del Toro’s previous film projects. And no it’s nothing like other gothic romances like Twilight, sweet relief there, unlike that series, Crimson Peak offers well-developed characters, an actual story, and over the top special effects and bloody deaths.  

            Our story begins with a young woman named Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska-Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre, Albert Nobbs) who has been seeing ghosts all her life, ever since her mother died when she was little. One day she is swept away after falling in love with a seductive stranger named Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston-Thor, The Avengers, War Horse) and his sister, Lady Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain-Zero Dark Thirty, Interstellar, The Martian) to a house atop a mountain of blood-red clay filled with secrets that will haunt her forever.

            Between desire and darkness, mystery and madness lies the dark secret of Crimson Peak, supposedly a series of violent deaths have occurred in the house over the years and Edith is determined to find out the truth about the house and possibly the people she is staying with.

            Overall, Crimson Peak delivers exactly what you would expect from a Guillermo Del Toro film. Dark, creepy tone, creature designs, and massive sets. It’s probably not one of the scariest horror films, but it balances well between quiet atmosphere, chilling buildup, and shocking twists and creatures.

            The lead actors are great, especially Tom Hiddleston, you can tell once he shows up on screen that he has something to hide, but he looks like a dignified gentleman. However, throughout the movie, I had to resist making jokes about his Loki character.

            I’m glad Mia Wasikowska moved forward from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland to do some solid acting as Edith, it’s no Oscar material but all throughout the movie you keep rooting for her until the very end. Jessica Chastain is amazing as Lucille, if you judge by the trailers you would probably expect her character to just be a supporting role, but no, you are in for a surprise here.

            If you’re a fan of horror or Guillermo Del Toro’s projects, you’ll probably have a chillingly splendid time watching Crimson Peak. It has elements of Pan’s Labyrinth, Mama, and even a little bit of Hellboy and Blade II put in there.

            So far this is my go-to film for the Halloween holiday, it’s a delightfully chilling and beautifully executed gothic fantasy that must be seen in IMAX to believe, no seriously if you watch it on IMAX, you really feel like you’ve been transported to a haunted house.