THE VISIT
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: September 11, 2015
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie
Plot: Siblings go to their estranged grandparents house for a week. While they try to patch things up, strange happenings start to occur.
Trailer
Clint Says: Wait until after opening weekend, but see this in theaters
It's been 16 long years since M. Night Shyamalan gave us THE SIXTH SENSE. Since then he's done a lot, but nothing spectacular, and a few downright stinkers. THE VISIT is a return to his glory days.
This is a great horror film. It's not a scary, slasher flick, but rather a true, classic-style horror film that will terrify you. The audience I saw this movie with were jumping and screaming and fidgeting in their seats almost the entire film.
I almost want to call this a "found footage" film, but it really isn't. It's shot by the characters, but it's done in documentary style. This is nice because we, the audience, don't have to deal with a lot of shaky camera or poor framing.
Ed Oxenbould, (ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY), completely steals the show. He is riotously funny throughout the film, and gives a stellar performance on top of that.
In my time I've seen a lot of horror flicks and one thing has always been true. The scarier the movie the more people will go to the bathroom. This film had a steady stream of people heading out to take a potty break and a breather from the intensity.
If you like scary movies, you will love THE VISIT.
90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: September 11, 2015
Director: Michael Polish
Stars: Hayden Christensen, Kate Bosworth
Plot: A man is declared dead, but 90 minutes later is revived. He then begins to tell people he was in Heaven.
Trailer
Clint Says: Wait for the DVD
This is one of those films that really disappoints me. It is a film based on a true story that is incredible, but somewhere between reality and the big screen everything gets watered down, sanitized and boring.
The film moves dreadfully slow and there are several important moments that resolve in such a non-dramatic way that it makes you wonder why they even put that stuff in the film in the first place.
For the most part the actors do a fine job, but they have so little to work with that we hardly ever get to see them using their skills.
I don't usually like to compare films to one another, but WAR ROOM is significantly better than this film in all aspects.
If you are a Christian I think that this film will inspire you on some level, but you might need to pray for the energy to stay awake until the end credits.
THE PERFECT GUY
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: September 11, 2015
Director: David M. Rosenthal
Stars: Sanaa Lathan, Michael Ealy, Morris Chestnut
Plot: A woman meets a man that seems too good to be true while her ex-boyfriend is still in the picture.
Trailer
Clint Says: Save some money and see a matinee
Okay, we need to get two things out of the way before I can give my review of this film. First, can the movie poster for this film be any more sexist? The female lead in this film wears nothing in the movie like what she has on in the poster, Come on movie people, you can do better than this. Second, I have a huge man-crush on Michael Ealy. That is one pretty human.
Now on to the review.
For the most part, I enjoyed this movie. It was predictable and cliche almost all the way through the film (with one notable and refreshing exception), but it was still entertaining. The suspense is thick enough to keep you engaged, but it's not so suspenseful that it doesn't seem real.
Michael Ealy does a great job of switching between the perfect guy and a creepy sociopath, and the other characters play well against him.
Honestly, I will probably forget about this movie in a few weeks, because there really isn't much in it that is worthy of sticking with you, but if you are looking for a good, suspenseful thriller THE PERFECT GUY will satisfy.
