Mike's Movie Tips

 1.5/4 Starring: Erika Edwards, Kristi Ray, Damian Maffei, Gunner Willis, Felissa Rose Not Rated (probable R for Horror Violence/Gore and Brief Language) "A Nun's Curse" is a no-budget, grade-Z ghost story.  That doesn't make it bad.  Just that it has to be accepted on those terms.  You can't compare a movie like " Bleed " with something like " Event Horizon ," for example.  Both films have different goals (and budgets) and must be judged on their own terms.  Taking that into consideration, "A Nun's Curse"would have been an at least adequate horror movie.  If it wasn't for that damn ending.  Both of them, actually. Four young people are on their way to a weekend getaway, but they aren't exactly friends.  Bitchy queen bee Gabby (Ray) is looking forward to some alone time at her parents' cabin with Anthony (Maffei), her squeeze of the moment.  But to do that, she has to take along her sister, Ashley-Kae (Edwards) who has...

 3/4 Starring: Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati, Bernard White Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Some Language and Brief Violence) The globalization of the film industry is a double-edged sword.  On one hand, it has led to an unending stream of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that are so similar that it is impossible to tell one apart from another.  On the other hand, it has led to new influences and cross-pollination of genres and cultures.  "Evil Eye" is a case in point.  In many ways, this is a traditional thriller that we have seen many times before (I won't list any titles to avoid spoilers), but by anchoring it in modern Indian culture, it achieves an element of freshness that it would otherwise lack. Pallavi (Mani) is your average Indian-American woman.  She's fine living as a single 29 year old and the need to find a husband comes solely from her mother Usha's (Choudhoury) nagging.  Pallu, as she is affectionately called, humors her mot...

 3/4 Starring: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Frederick Kerr Not Rated (probable PG for Scary Images) A horror movie does not need expensive special effects, intense violence or gore to frighten its audience.  A truly gifted filmmaker understands that atmosphere and storytelling prowess are more important.  James Whale's film version of Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" (or, more accurately, his film version of the play by Peggy Webling which in turn was based on Shelly's novel), illustrates this.  The body count is low, there is almost no blood and yet the level of tension is consistently high.  For anyone who believes that "old movies" are dull, this classic provides excellent evidence to the contrary. Henry Frankenstein (Clive) is a brilliant medical student who is convinced that he is on the verge of something spectacular.  He believes that he can bring the dead back to life.  A theory like this gives the impressio...

 2/4 Starring: Stacy Chbosky, Ben Messmer, Lou George, Ivar Brogger Rated R for Sadistic Violence and Torture, including Graphic Images and Descriptions I had to sit and think for a while in order to form a coherent opinion about "The Poughkeepsie Tapes."  On the one hand, it does what it sets out to do.  It is a violent and intense film.  It did indeed unsettle me.  On the other, the film is so brutal, so disturbing and so cruel that watching it feels like an exercise in masochism. "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" is a faux-documentary about the attempts to catch a serial killer who would later be dubbed "The Water Street Butcher."  He has no consistent M.O., defy attempts to profile him, and he is impossible to catch.  Meanwhile, the body count keeps rising all over Pennsylvania, and his victims range from prostitutes to a couple that unwisely picks up a "hitchhiker" to a little girl playing on her front lawn.  Interspersed with the "interviews...

 3/4 Starring: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker, Steve Jodrell Rated R for A Scene of Sexuality, and Brief Gruesome Images "Lake Mungo" is a fake documentary, and it's executed so well that, save for some brief opening credits, you'd swear it was real.  It has everything you'd think, including talking heads with names under the people who are speaking, "archive" footage and news reports.  This isn't a found footage film but rather a traditional TV documentary with actors and a screenplay.  The way that writer/director Joel Anderson chooses to tell the story keeps it afloat even when the narrative takes on water. The Palmers are your average Australian family.  June (Traynor) and Russell (Pledger) head the family and are raising their two kids, aloof Mathew (Sharpe) and popular Alice (Zucker).  One day on vacation at a dam, the kids go swimming.  Mathew returns when he gets cold, but Alice disappears.  Later that evening he...

 1.5/4 Starring: Mia Maestro, Ricardo Scamarcio, Giulia Patrignani, Mariella Lo Sardo, Raffaella D'Avella Not Rated (probable R for Horror Violence, Sexuality and Brief Strong Language) I picked "The Binding" from Netflix almost on impulse.  I was looking for a 2020 horror movie and this was the first one that popped up.  It opened with promise: bloodcurdling screams can be heard against a black screen and the title, followed by what appears to be some sort of ritual.  Cue credits. Unfortunately, that strong beginning is all the film really has going for it.  This is a lame horror movie about possession that plays safe at every turn.  There are few surprises, and of the that work, it's because director Domenico Emanuele de Feudis manages, on occasion, to craft a decent shock.  Not always, but once or twice. Emma (Maestro) is traveling to the Italian countryside with her daughter Sofia (Patrignani) and her fiancé Francesco (Scamarcio) to meet his mother...

 1.5/4 Starring: Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti, Brennan Elliott, Summer H. Howell, Maitland McConnell, Chantal Quesnelle, A. Martinez and the voice of Brad Dourif The version being reviewed is unrated.  For the record, the rated cut is rated R for Bloody Horror Violence, and for Language The " Child's Play " movies are spooky fun.  They generate as many laughs as chills.  I mean, when you have a movie about a homicidal maniac that's two feet tall and made of plastic, it's hard to take it seriously.  It's the kind of movie where part of the fun is laughing at yourself for buying something so absurd.  Unfortunately, Don Mancini, the man behind Chucky, makes the curious decision of taking itself seriously.  That this is the sixth movie in the franchise makes such a decision all the more bizarre. Nica (Fiona Dourif) is burying her mother, who has taken a header off the second floor.  Coming to help her are her greedy sister Barb (Bisutti), Barb's lec...

 3/4 Starring: Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell Rated R for Some Disturbing Images and Language Not to be confused with the 2013 animated film, " Frozen " Now this is real horror. Anyone can make a movie about a bloodthirsty monster or a berserk lunatic wielding very sharp cutlery.  It could be scary.  But if a film can tap into our innate fears, like getting lost or being trapped, then it is guaranteed to generate a sense of panic and dread in the audience.  Movies like "The Blair Witch Project" and " The Descent " (the first half of it, anyway) work because they tap into those very feelings.  So does "Frozen." Joe (Ashmore) and Dan (Zegers) are lifelong best friends who are taking one of their many trips to the local ski resort.  This time, they've brought along Dan's girlfriend Parker (Bell), although she's not as good on the slopes as they are (much to Joe's annoyance).  But she is handy in bribing the lift worker into g...

 3/4 Starring: Fathia Youssouf, Medina El Aidi-Azouni, Amimouna Gueye, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas, Mbissine Theres Diop, Miriam Hamma Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Language and Sexual Content Involving Young Teens) "Cuties" has created a storm of controversy since its release, much of it misplaced.  There's no doubt that it deals with tricky material, but criticism of the film ignores what writer/director Maimouna Doucoure is saying and how she says it.  In fact, the filmmaker and her critics are saying more or less the same thing. Amy (Youssouf) is an eleven-year-old living in France with her family.  Her father is away in Senegal and her mother (Gueye) and aunt (Diop) are preparing for his upcoming wedding to his second wife.  Feeling lonely and neglected, she finds solace in a group of girls who like dancing.  She joins them and finds freedom in dancing and her new friends.  But their attempts to look and act like the adult dancers they ...

 2/4 Starring: Tom Frederic, Janet Montgomery, Tom McKay, Tamer Hassan, Gil Kolirin, Christian Contreras, Jake Curran, Charles Venn, Mac McDonald, Emma Clifford Not Rated (probable R for Strong Violence/Gore, Pervasive Language and Brief Nudity) Them murderous hillbillies are at it again! The original " Wrong Turn " from 2003 wasn't a great horror flick by any means.  But it was efficient and contained enough visceral shocks and thrills to satisfy.  Despite the trailer being too violent for marketing purposes, it was able to generate five additional direct-to-DVD sales.  Not that that means much.  I mean, "Turbulence" generated a few sequels in name only. It's Nate's (Frederic) last day on the job. He's worked as a prison guard to pay for law school, but now he's about to turn in the shield and hit the books.  But before he can do that, he has to oversee one last prison transfer.  They're the usual motley crew of psychos and lunatics: tough c...

 2/4 Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crompton, Ted Sorel, Ken Foree The version being reviewed is unrated.  For the record, the theatrical cut is rated R (probably for Creature Violence and Gore, and for Aberrant Sexuality) If someone enlists your help in an experiment to achieve a "new level of sensation" or tap into a different reality, turn around and run.  Don't even bother giving two weeks notice.  It can only end one way, and if the movies are any barometer, you won't want to be anywhere near the experiment when things predictably take a turn for the worse. Two scientists, Dr. Crawford Tillinghast (Combs) and Dr. Edward Pretorious (Sorel), did not get this memo.  They created a machine called "The Resonator" to stimulate the pineal gland and achieve "a new level of sensation."  Tillinghast has gotten it to work, but things go wrong when Pretorious pushes it to the maximum level.  The next thing anyone knows is that Pretorious is without his ...