Creep (2015)

Guy accepts a Craigslist job to film a father-to-be’s video letter to his son. But the father to be is pretty weird… and then everything gets weird.

I give this movie props for doing some unexpected things but, really, there aren’t too many places to go when it comes to scary movies. Ultimately, despite some neat turns, this didn’t really surprise.

C+

Fanny (1961)

Young French woman pushes her boyfriend to fulfill his dream of being a sailor, only finding out she’s pregnant soon after his departure. Luckily, a rich older man has always fancied her and agrees to marry her despite the circumstances so that she won’t be disgraced and he can have the son he’s always longed for.

There was something kind of icky about this that only got solidified by the ending. The older husband is on his death bed and he tells his friends that he basically let Fanny remain unmolested by him and got his pleasure elsewhere… and makes it his last will and testament for the boy's biological father to take over hubby duties once he’s kicked the bucket. Perhaps that’s not as weird in France as it seems to my American mind?

C+

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

If I had describe everything I don’t want to see in a movie, most of what I'd include exists in this one.

It’s ugly, loud, takes place in a world that needs to be explained (but isn’t for quite some time), and is exhausting. It also felt super cheap to me, though I’m sure that’s miles away from the truth.

D-

Time Lapse (2015)

Three roommates discover a camera that takes polaroids 24 hours into the future and decide to use it to benefit themselves financially.

The budget is low and the actors a bit inexperienced, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Gary and I were kind of confused about what happened at the end, so I went searching for explanations and it looks we weren’t alone. After considering the possibilities, I don’t believe there’s a flaw in the story at all -- but that doesn't mean there wasn't a definite flaw in the telling. You’ve failed as a storyteller if most people can't make sense out of the denouement.

B-

Crimson Peak (2015)

Rich girl gets swept away by poor guy and goes off to live with him in his creepy, as-if-the-hole-in-the-roof-weren’t-bad-enough-it’s-also-crawling-with-ghosts mansion.

The sets are fantastic, but there’s just not nearly enough to it. We understand what’s going on way too early & the movie’s just marking time thereafter. Also, why did the poor guy need so much money to get the clay out of the ground when the house and land were, quite literally, dripping with the stuff?

C+

The Star Witness (1932)

Family watches through their window as mobsters gun down a witness and policeman in the street. They then become the focus of the both the police -- who want them to testify -- and the mobster’s gang -- who wants them not to.

There’s nothing special here but it’s short, to the point, and lets the old guy be the hero, which is nice.

C+

What We Do in the Shadows (2015)

Laugh-out-loud hilarious mockumentary about vampire flatmates in New Zealand. Clever with tons of sight gags throughout.

B+

A Tale of Two Cities (1936)

Although I read the book in high school and remember being strongly affected by it, the only concrete piece of plot that I could recall is that Madame De Farge knitted and saw nothing.

This movie is pretty powerful: love, injustice, vengeance, and selflessness -- just packed with great stuff. Time to read the book again.

B+

The Martian (2015)

This is a tremendously absorbing story and even gets “grab your armrests” tense a few times. The success of the narrative lands right on Damon, but he can handle it. We are in awe of him, we root for him, and we worry for him. Damon does a great job of inhabiting a role that demands he be both charming and supercilious.

All that said, the story is stuffed a bit too full of unnecessary characters and is also a tad predictable. I don't think anyone ever doubted how it would end.

B