chellamia Reviews

The Haunting of Julia (1977)

Why? Makes no sense

[4/10 · 25 October 2022]

I'll start by saying I missed the first 15 minutes that i would normally not continue but there was no repeat scheduled & i was curious to see this 1976 TCM movie that begins when apparently her daughter chokes to death early on and i tuned in only to see a variety of unknown, unrelated characters other than a husband & boyfriend. People seem to show up randomly and then die alone mysteriously, never discovered; there's simply no rhyme or reason, no plot, no suspense in the normal sense of a horror film. There's a seance with a real crackpot who literally cracks up & warns her to get out; various people appear blow up in anger for no apparent reason. The only reason I continued to watch is most of the reviews were 8-10 & given Mia Farrow I remembered from the Omen, I thought something would happen to tie it altogether somehow, but nothing interesting ever happens and she ends up sitting in a chair with the mysterious little evil girl standing before her who you've heard mentioned and Mia asks her to stay with her. I suppose this is the resolution as she seemed to be looking for answers perhaps to her daughters untimely death which earlier on in the story she went to see a woman who had lived in the house & waa now in a mental hospital and blamed the death on her.

Husband, Wife and Their Lover (2022 TV Movie)

Compelling lifetime thriller

[7/10 · 11 September 2022]

And I'm trying to find if it's playing again or somewhere else as I wasn't recording and lost the last half when I put it on pause. I knew there was going to be a twist & I figured it out right before it was revealed which make it all the more frustrating as I'm dying to know what happened. It's LIFETIME so i'm sure good will prevail but I want to know what that evil Lexi has up her sleeve & how she & her partner in crime go down because she's a psychopath & I hope it's painful because she causes so much misery for the daughter & wife of Jordan. I wish there was a Q & A on IMDb unless I don't know how to access it. I usually don't write reviews too because I can never find them.

The Empty Man (2020)

Why did I watch this for two hours &17 min?

[2/10 · 25 July 2022]

Oh, I scrolled the reviews & saw so many positive that I was sure there must be something worthwhile happening here but I never found it. A few creepy moments does not make for a good horror movie and all this did for me is to remind me to trust my own instincts and know that if a movie is not doing it for me after 30 minutes. It's not likely going to in one or two hours and 17 min. Maybe we're suppose to feel good that the film supported over 13 000 jobs & was beneficial for the people involved in the hundreds of thousands of work hours. I don't know why someone makes a film like this with no plot, storyline and just pure non-sensical from beginning to end.

Devil's Due (2014)

Not worth much but for special effects.

[2/10 · 12 July 2022]

I wrote my review and it disappeared. The film is not worth a 2nd effort and why did it get stuck in two places? Why should I make the effort to rewrite again if you are just going to make it disappear ? There is nothing memorable about this because there no story but what you imagine as they don't tell you. I hate shaky camera films trying to be realistic when there's nothing realistic about this because there are many times when it's not one of the main characters filming and obviously by an outside observer.

Murder in the First (1995)

Great acting, heart wrenching but truth vs fiction?

[8/10 · 4 July 2022]

I just watched 1995 MURDER IN THE FIRST & believed it was one of my top 10 or 20 until I read how much of it was actually fictionalized. I think it leads with "Inspired by true events" but to find out that Henri had not only killed someone else besides the Snitch & wasn't found dead in his cell & thus unlikely was the ending the last time he saw his lawyer; in fact, there were two lawyers and he lived to at least 60 and was eventually moved out of Alcatraz and then disappeared when he was finally paroled.

Did this have anything to do with why Kevin Bacon didn't win best actor? Or was it simply because they didn't want to bring attention to the horrors of Alcatraz? I suppose "Inspired by true events" is "honest" but I didn't know that films can say this and then turn out to be so fictionalized; which to have discovered so immediately after watching, really disappointed and confused me.

I will have to read more about the real Henri Young before saying much more. I read the great reviews but not the spoilers in IMDb until afterwards and nobody seemed terribly upset by it like myself. I still think it was a great movie but I guess I'm feeling tricked into believing it was basically a true story. Maybe I'm just naive and it shouldn't make such a difference in how I feel about it; after all, the acting was terrific and it was a heart wrenching story.

Obviously, Henri & the 30 plus others held in the dungons who ended up in psych wards were terribly & Inhumanely treated in 1938; yet, even though the head Warden was held accountable, what changed because they didn't close Alcatraz until about 1963? I can remember that happening but I was just beginning high school having grown up 30 miles south of SF.

Shallow Grave (1994)

Compelling but too much ambiguity for me

[8/10 · 4 July 2022]

I was really disliked all the characters from the get go until the end when Alex stood up for Juliette and ends up killing David. Was he dead or alive at the ending? I saw him as alive after saying hello to the Detective and smiling...believing that he would live to get the money... but then how is he going to explain David and Juliet's disappearance and is there the possibility the money will be found when the knife is removed? I wouldn't say it was great because of so many unanswered questions... like how did the two criminals find their flat and will there be anything to trace the 3 deaths back to David? Where's Juliette going to go with no money? However, It was a good thriller and very thought provoking. Then again, why not just split the money and that's the end of that?

The Snowman (2017)

Makes no sense

[2/10 · 20 June 2022]

I can't believe I must have watched this practically twice because I thought I must have fallen asleep and missed something so I started over and hope I did because there's nothing to see here. All I missed was checking the reviews First as if I had looked, I would certainly skipped this total inegima of a film. Not worth the trouble.

Ragdoll (2021)

Grabs you, then falls flat

[3/10 · 1 March 2022]

I fell asleep after 20 min & just finished 1st episode today and thought maybe I missed something but seems I'm not alone feeling confused & wondering who's who & what's the point? The sad thing is at this point, I don't care as there doesn't seem to be characters & a plot that makes sense or I care to learn more about. Instead of being drawn into the story, I just kept asking myself what's going on? I like bizarre thrillers but other than a body sewn together, that had me think Hannibal, this story just didnt get going enough to make you even care to find out who & what's behind these strange cremation killings. Maybe I'll watch a 2nd episode but I kind of doubt it...I've got a slew of recorded shows to watch that are calling me.

Up in the Air (I) (2009)

Unexpected

[8/10 · 24 January 2022]

I loved this film which was so unexpected at every turn. George is perfect as usual and I remember how much I liked the woman from the Bates motel; she's such a versatile actress. It's a different kind of film for me as I tend to go for big thrillers but this was real life for me being happily single and all and it did have me thinking about my life introspectively as we've all had our hopes and dreams and may wonder when do we just settle or when did everything change? Whatever your place in life, this will have you dreaming & wondering if you're living the life you wanted or is there something else to take you on a different track? Enjoy the film, it might have you dreaming of possibilities or simply ready for a good night sleep & and a good book or another movie.

The Faculty (1998)

Mediocre entertainment

[6/10 · 16 January 2022]

I feel like I've seen this before. It's typical highschool teen stuff with enough special effects to keep it entertaining but this is not one I would choose to see again and would not regret had I never seen it as there's only so much time & too many other great films to see & others to see again & again. What compels me to watch these low budget horror flicks anyway? Why so many 7 & 8 to lure me in?

Dead Ringers (1988)

Why, why, why

[3/10 · 16 January 2022]

I only watched this because there were so many highly rated reviews but I found the film just creepy and boring and so unrealistic as far as having a doctor who would stumble around humiliating himself & his brother. The only worthy part was Jeremy Iron's acting & the woman who caught on immediately that they were nothing alike, Ellie, the extrovert & Bev the introvert.

However, I just found myself wanting to fast forward to get to the end as I didn't care for anything about the story and didn't like or feel anything for these creepy doctors one bit.

Amityville 3-D (1983)

CPR ANYONE?

[3/10 · 15 January 2022]

I happened into this almost half way through & it's no wonder I didn't watch much tv back then as it's just so bad and even I know you would at least try CPR and even the paramedics didn't seem to know how to perform it properly. I vaguely remember the first Amenity being kind of spooky but this was such a joke from A to Z. Film has really come a long ways in the last 40 years & I'm glad I'm alive & have the time to enjoy the movies that are being made nowadays, (2022)

Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009 TV Movie)

Don't waste your time unless

[3/10 · 12 December 2021]

...you really having nothing better to do. For me, even the most outrageous & unbelievable must draw me in at that moment so I'm actually scared and believing this is really happening; but, this movie just had me yelling at impossible & ridiculous situations. I don't know why Anaconda inspired me to finally write my first review other than after rating over 100 movies, realizing ratings alone won't necessarily help me or anyone else next time it comes around again. I've never seen an Anaconda film; and, if this is anything like the rest, I haven't missed a thing. I suppose there's some entertainment value as I didn't turn it off & was curious enough to see what would happen; but, there was really nothing to see but more cliches, a plot that's all over the place & a big snake that can't catch runners but can outslither a Jeep & never gets full. I didn't particularly like much less emotionally connect with any characters either & was constantly annoyed at dumb choices like why waste a man with a stream of bullets in the middle of a jungle where you're being hunted by giant snakes! No thank you, there's too many other choices...whether film or frolic to waste my time on a film like this again. Don't do it!