Mike's Movie Tips

 4/4 Starring: Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne, Noah Emmerich, Nnamdi Asomugha, Kim Dickens, Devin McDowell, Alex West Lefler Rated R for Language It was an uncanny move for Netflix to release "The Good Nurse" in October.  Although it's not a horror film, there is no denying that it's genuinely chilling and unsettling.  It's going to be a long time before I can walk into a hospital and feel completely safe. Amy Loughren (Chastain) is a hardworking nurse at Parkfield Memorial Hospital.  Actually, Amy shouldn't be working; she has a heart condition and in desperate need of a transplant, but she has two kids and hasn't worked at Parkfield long enough to receive health insurance.  This is also why she keeps her condition a secret lest the hospital find out and fire her.  Help comes her way when a new nurse arrives in the ICU ward where she works.  His name is Charlie Cullen (Redmayne) and he meshes with Amy almost immediately.  He's smart enough to p...

 2.5/4 Starring: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno, Amy Irving, Zachary Ty Bryan Rated R for Strong Graphic Horror Violence and Gore, Brief Strong Sexuality and Language "The Rage: Carrie 2" might be the only sequel that renders its predecessor unnecessary.  It's actually a sequel to the inexplicably popular 1976 film, but the further this one distances itself from the original, the better it looks.  In fact, if you ignore the original, it will probably work better. Rachel Lang (Bergl) is a loner.  It's no wonder; her mother (J. Smith-Cameron) was locked up in an insane asylum when Rachel was a little girl (in-joke: the asylum is named Arkham) and her foster parents are louts.  Her only companions are her Bassett Hound Walt and her classmate Lisa (Mean Suvari in a cameo).  Her life takes a turn when Lisa jumps off the school roof.  Rachel finds out that Lisa gave her virginity to Eric (Bryan), one of the thuggish football players who sleeps with ...

 2.5/4 Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter Rated R for Disturbing Ritualistic Violence and Grisly Images, Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Drug Use and Language I was not a fan of Ari Aster's debut film, " Hereditary ."  Rather than eerie or disturbing, I found it to be a lot of smoke and mirrors, and an attempt to generate fear about things that are not scary.  I realize that I am in the minority of art house horror fans, but there you have it.  With his sophomore effort, Aster has grown more ambitious.  The director's vision exceeds his grasp, but there are some genuinely unsettling scenes to be found here.  Fans of existential horror won't be disappointed.  At least not too much. Christian (Reynor) has once again put off the inevitable.  Although in the minds of his friends, his relationship with his girlfriend Dani (Pugh) has long since been over, he has decided to postpone the bre...

 2/4 Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noemie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allen Corudner, Mark Strong Rated R for Some Language and Brief Nudity When it comes to "Tar," there's Cate and then there's everyone else.  Cate Blanchett is like Meryl Streep: she's a filmmaker's ace in the hole.  She may not be able to save a subpar film like "Tar," but she'll damn well try. Lydia Tar (Blanchett) is one of the symphony's most celebrated conductors.  Through hard work and raw talent, she has found herself at her dream job: conducting the Berlin Philharmonic with her wife Sharon (Hoss) at her side.  But Lydia has her dark side, and once you're at the top, the only way to go is down.  Lydia is about to find this out the hard way. "Tar" is in many ways a traditional biopic, albeit of a fictional individual.  Could've fooled me.  I fully expected to be able to go to Wikipedia and find Tar's page.  The film is so grounded...

 2/4 Starring: Jenna Kannell, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton, Catherine Corcoran Not Rated (probable NC-17 for Strong Violence and Gore, and for Nudity) To a large extent, the slasher genre was a continuous game of one-upmanship.  A contest between filmmakers to come up with gorier and more gruesome ways of killing people off.  Stabbings, mailings, impalements, you name it.  Blood was the currency for an entire film genre. "Terrifier" is a love letter (or should that be "blood letter") to the z-grade slashers that dominated midnight drive-ins during the slasher craze.  It wears its low budget with pride, looks like a film made with income generated by the director's paper route, and dares the audience to make it to the end credits without throwing up.  The problem is that in crafting this bloody homage, writer/director Damien Leone has either forgotten or intentionally left out any reason to care about what is going on. Tara (Kannell) and her frie...

 2.5/4 Starring: Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Emily Alyn Lind, Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Andrew Bachelor Not Rated (probable R for Violence/Gore and Language) I wanted to like this movie more than I actually did.  The film has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, the actors are in on the joke, and at 85 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome.  Unfortunately neither the screenplay nor the direction are up to snuff.  It's not scary or funny enough to fully satisfy. Cole (Lewis) is an 11 year old kid who is afraid of everything.  The neighborhood kids routinely egg his house and everyone seems to take every chance to pick on him.  The only ones who really like him are Melanie (Lind), the girl across the street he has yet to see in a romantic way, and his "too cool for school" babysitter Bee (Weaving).  Cole is infatuated with Bee, and it's no wonder.  She treats him like he's older than he actually is and lets him get away stuff his paren...

 3/4 Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Matthew Finland, Hiro Kanagawa Rated R for Bloody Violence, Language and Brief Sexual Content 2009's " Orphan " was a superior "stranger within" horror movie.  It was noteworthy for the controversy it created (adoption and foster care agencies complained about how it put the practice in a bad light...not unreasonably) and for its violence.  The child-on-child violence was unsettling to the point where it nearly went too far.  Ultimately, though, that's what gave the film its edge.  Add in a brilliantly creepy performance by then-unknown Isabelle Furhman, and it added up to a movie that packed in the thrills. It also told a complete story.  "Orphan" had a clear beginning, middle and end, killing its possibility as a franchise.  Instead, they made a prequel.  Although I was skeptical, the movie won me over.  I was surprised at the fact that I enjoyed "Orphan: First Kill." A w...

 3/4 Starring: Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips, John Jarratt The version being reviewed is unrated.  For the record, the theatrical cut is rated R for Strong Gruesome Violence, and for Language "Wolf Creek" is for hardcore horror fans only.  Those who are repelled by extreme violence or stomach-churning evil should not bother with this movie.  It is not for everyone as those with weaker constitutions will be repulsed or sickened by this movie.  In fact, Roger Ebert gave it a rare 0/4 rating, saying, among other things, that: "It is a film with one clear purpose: To establish the credentials of its director by showing his skill at depicting the brutal tracking, torture and mutilation of screaming young women."  He later went on call it a "sadistic celebration of pain and cruelty."  Other critics, such as James Berardinelli, praised it. Although I don't agree with Roger (the film has more to offer than just violence), I can see what he...

 "Bros," the gay romantic comedy produced by Judd Apatow, has bombed at the box office. There are a few obvious reasons for it, number one being that it's absolutely terrible (I gave it a 0/4, and somehow that doesn't seem to be sufficient to describe how much I loathed it).  There's also the fact that the romantic comedy isn't nearly as popular as it was in the Meg Ryan days, and, unless its a big special effects extravaganza, movies do most of their business on streaming.   I have more than a few friends who don't bother going to the theater unless its an action movie with a lot of spectacle. But these answers don't satisfy co-writer/star Billy Eichner.  He has taken every chance he can to "call out" and "shame" audiences for their homophobia. While there are certainly some people who are uncomfortable with the idea of watching two men making love, there is absolutely no reason to believe that has anything to do with why "Bro...

 3/4 Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, Alistair Petrie, Amelia Crouch, Max Mackintosh Rated R for Strong Violence, Grisly Images and Brief Nudity "The Cursed" is a werewolf movie, although it's unlike any other werewolf movie I've ever seen.  Most werewolf movies rely on cheap shocks, chases and gore to entertain audiences.  "The Cursed" is different. This is a moody, atmospheric horror film that uses images of dread and eeriness as its currency. Edward (Mackintosh), the son of a local landowner, has just gone missing.  One of his friends has just been slain by a wolf.  A visiting pathologist named John McBride (Holbrook) is on the case.  What he uncovers will force an entire town to confront its past. If you're looking for action and scream-inducing thrills, look elsewhere.  This isn't that kind of movie.  Writer/director Sean Ellis is more patient, allowing the images and sounds to unsettle the viewer.  Ellis has an uncanny eye for atm...

 2.5/4 Starring: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Ciaran Hinds, John Alderton, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Philip Glenister, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Geraldine James Rated PG-13 for Nudity, Some Language and Drug-Related Material The flowers of Yorkshire are like the women of Yorkshire.  Every stage of their growth has its own beauty, but the last phase is always the most glorious." I can see what John Clarke means.  Every time I see my dad greet my mom and say "Hello beautiful," he looks at her with absolute love and affection.  Hollywood sells fantasy in romantic comedies, but every good husband knows that no one compares to his wife. For lifelong friends Chris (Mirren) and Annie (Walter), that love they have for their husbands has gotten them to do something very daring.  Before Annie's husband John died from leukemia, he made it a point to tell his wife how beautiful she was at every turn.  So Chris and Annie, bored with the bland charity ideas of ...

 0/4 Starring: Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane Rated R for Strong Sexual Content, Language Throughout and Some Drug Use "Bros" is the first big budget gay romantic comedy co-written and directed by Nicholas Stoller and produced by frat comedy king Judd Apatow.  That certainly helps the ad campaign considering that it is no secret that it's a love story between two gay guys. Funny, because this is a movie that will put gay men back in the closet to prevent guilt by association. Calling the film a "romantic comedy" is a bit of a misnomer because it's really one small part of it.  The rest is a 100 minute screed about how the marginalization of the LGBTQ community and their personal hurts allow for behavior that would otherwise lack any sort of justification.  Anything, literally, anything goes as long as its under the auspices of activism for the LGBTQ. Bobby (Eichner) is a single 40 year old gay man living in the Big Apple.  He fights off loneliness with anon...