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The Five Rules of Success (2020)
A surprisingly compelling story
Normally, when I start watching a movie and realize that it has an offbeat style and a much lower budget than what I am usually accustomed to, I turn it off. However, I stuck with it for fifteen minutes and became hooked until the end.
A parolee tries to make a go of it once released from behind bars. He encounters an assortment of people; some who are helpful, and others who are a detriment to his success outside of prison.
I had a feeling how it would end for him, but was more interested in the journey rather than the destination.
7/10 Stars.
You Should Have Left (2020)
Inconsequential thriller/horror attempt
Kevin Bacon portrays an older, rich man who is married to a younger woman, an actress, and they have a daughter. The wife gets a movie role in Wales, so they rent a house there.
Basically, the house behaves like an optical illusion; messing with Bacon's mind in terms of both time and space. At the end of the movie, the reason this dwelling does what it does to certain people who stay there is revealed.
There are a few jump scares which are neither very scary nor jumpy. And no significant build-up of suspense whatsoever.
The young actress who plays the daughter is excellent in her role. 2/10 stars.
Two Heads Creek (2019)
Quirky, mysterious goings on in the Land Down Under
The opening credits indicate that mayhem will ensue.
A British butcher and his sister find out that their Polish- born mother actually adopted them when they were young. They go to Australia to meet their birth-mother. When they arrive at her village, the story really begins...
Everything is played 100% for laughs, so I wouldn't even call it a "horror-comedy", like the "Evil Dead" series. But it has dark themes involving immigration and there are nods to "Psycho." The Australian and Polish stereotypes are more likely to offend people than the carnage.
I've never seen any of these actors before, but their performances are all superb. And there is even a musical interlude. Watch the mid-credits scene at the end. 8/10
Infamous (2020)
Gotta Love America
Now kind of resembling a young Stephanie Seymour, surgically-enhanced actress Bella Thorne stars in this crime drama.
She plays a wild-child teenager living in Florida . There is a mutual attraction between her and the new kid in town- a bad boy ex-con. It doesn't take much to send them on a crime spree; fueled by internet notoriety, more than money.
She is the more reckless of the two, but is no real explanation for her sociopathy. There are no surprises in this movie and the violence, although sudden, is not shocking because this story has no semblance to reality. In comparison, a Tarantino fantasy seems like a documentary.
Today's worlds of technology and instant fame have been explored much better in other films. 3/10 stars.
The Clearing (2020)
Should I use a 3-wood or a driver on a zombie's skull?
Almost this entire film takes place inside and immediately outside a trailer, in a forest, hence the title.
A man in his thirties and his daughter, who is around twelve years old, go camping. In a flashback, it is established that: 1)He is resourceful while 2)She is not. She is more interested a in computer games and ill-equipped to be on her own. But, when the zombies strike, the daughter runs away, and he is stuck at the campsite, completely surrounded.
How will he escape? Is she alive or dead? Will the boy-scout tricks he taught her before they were set-upon come in handy? Of course, these are the fast- zombies-type (the running dead) so he can't just jump over them and sprint away.
To complicate things, he makes some crucial mistakes and a non-zombie- of dubious moral character- is introduced into the story about halfway through.
The attacks are punctuated by pulse-pounding but generic music and some scenes, at night, are too darkly lit. It is hard to come up with a new idea in this sub-genre, so this movie is what it is. 5/10 stars.
Becky (2020)
Home Invasion / Bad Seed Hybrid Thriller
From the opening scene, when she is questioned by the police, it is clear that Becky's angelic face conceals something more sinister. The movie then goes back- probably a few days-in time.
Becky and her father (Joel McHale) arrive at their summer vacation house in the woods while Kevin James (playing a villain for the first time) and his gang (two nondescript henchmen and a 6'10' giant ) escape from police custody. The criminals head straight to the dwelling to retrieve something of value, hidden before they were imprisoned. They get more than they bargained for, with the teenager.
At one point, the father's fiancee -who is also staying there with her young son- says something like:"Becky is a vindictive little girl. Good luck." I would have added: "And may God have mercy on your soul..."