Tag: Kathryn Newton

LISA FRANKENSTEIN (2024)

~ jbg ~ Leave a comment

Directed by: Zelda Williams 
Written By: Diablo Cody
Cinematography: Paula Huidobro 
Editor: Brad Turner

Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Spouse, Liza Soberano, Joey Harris, Carla Gugino, Charlie Talbert, Henry Eikenberry, Bryce Romero, Joey Chrest 

A coming of RAGE love story about a teenager and her crush, who happens to be a corpse. After a set of horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a journey to find love, happiness – and a few missing body parts.

The film offers an original vision. That proves itself more than just stylish it actually has depth. So that in itself it is like a teenager or the mentality and mood of one.

It’s as if Tim Burton made a teenage girl film As it fits into his style and type of character, but not as much on a grand scale. Which makes you end up liking it more than I expected to. 

The film feels definitely like an 80s film and when they mentioned later in the film that the year 1989 it fits perfectly wish it had come out at that time though this also works as a kind of nostalgic throwback. While it’s set in suburbia the film also achieves making its own world that seems separate yet so close to our own with a lot more color coding. That calls to mind screenwriter Diablo Cody’s previous film JENNIFER’S BODY 

Very camping at times over the top, but yet has an odd comfort level to it all.It’s a good film for its target audience that actually fits even at times when it can be risky 

As at times it’s Right on the precipice of macabre strangely, it works and has its own innocence. At Times it can feel like a wacky comedy, but also fits in with the Heathers crowd the PG-13, it is a little risque 

even for its more violent and even some sexual scenes, it’s a little bit more suggested and creative in the ways that it presents it that are not exploited, but actually seem more creative at times. This feels like a rather expensive student film, though that is what is part of its charm and luckily written by Diablo Cody, making a comeback 

This is Zelda Williams making her directorial debut, and it feels that way, but it gets stronger and more focused as it goes along 

It’s a love story, at heart where all the feelings seem misdirected towards what you view as your ideal and are blinded to their red flags and the people who actually care about you and love you. You take for granted or fail To see the obvious.

Katheryn Newton is winning as the lead character with all of her issues and psychosis, yet is sweet, crazy, and hilarious.

This is one twisted film in romance whose wavelength works totally fits

GRADE: B 

FREAKY (2020)

~ jbg ~ Leave a comment

Directed By: Christopher Landon 
Written By: Christopher Landon & Michael Kennedy 
Cinematography: Laurie Rose
Editor: Ben Baudhuin 

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Emily Holder, Nicholas Stargal, Katie Finnaren, Dana Drori, Mitchell Hoog, Melissa Cellazo 

After swapping bodies with a deranged serial killer, a young girl in high school discovers she has less than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.

This is my type of film and comes from writer-director Christopher Landon. One knows what to expect: a high concept idea that was prominent in 1980’s/1990’s films only here put into the horror genre.

It comes out entertaining but not as much as one would have hoped. The film is perfectly entertaining. Yet even with the violence and gore. You never quite take it seriously or worry.

Half the time it is done with fun. While also giving the moral of respecting people’s titles, labels, and character and trying to define them as just one thing.

While the kills are somewhat creative. The way in which they switch bodies seems a little hokey. It’s needed for the audience to understand but kind of takes the audience out of the film. It offers a ridiculous plot device and provides comedy for this film, but as the film doesn’t live up to the campy and cheesy nature of that plot point it kind of shines a spotlight on it as a weakness.

What shines through the most here is surprisingly Vince Vaughn who could have let his performance be Purely comedic but he plays menacing, heartfelt, girlish, and comedic believably. In both his killer performance and his performance with his body being inhabited by a teenage girl. 

It’s also nice for a film to actually have a sex scene that is not graphic but plays into the genre and manages to have no nudity.

You can tell early on who the film is setting up to be victims and when it has a chance it resists twists that one might expect. It even manages to have 2 endings where the film could have ended and still been perfectly fine but needed that extra one to give the character more closure and achieve eye goal as well as have a typical horror ending.

This is a horror-comedy that offers some fun and different aspects but in the end, sticks to the rules and script of the familiar. Though it is definitely worth watching. 

Grade: C+

BLOCKERS (2018)

~ jbg ~ Leave a comment

blockers

Directed By: Kay Cannon
Written By: Brian Kehoe & Jim Kehoe
Cinematography: Russ T. Alsobrook
Editor: Stacey Schroeder 


Cast: Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Gideon Adlon, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Gary Cole, June Diane Raphael, Hannibal Buress, Sarayu Blue, Gina Gershon, Ramona Young, Miles Robbins


Three parents try to stop their daughters from losing their virginity on prom night.

Continue reading “BLOCKERS (2018)” →