Movie Review - Seventh Son

Seventh Son

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Antje Traue, Olivia Williams, John DeSantis, Kit Harington, Djimon Hounsou, David Cubitt, and more.

Directed by: Sergey Bodrov Screenplay by: Charles Leavitt and Steven Knight Screen Story by: Matt Greenberg Inspired by the Novel by: John Delaney Cinematography by: Newton Thomas Sigel Music by: Marco Beltrami

Premise: An evil locked away for decades underground escapes. The man who first imprisoned Mother Malkin, the Spook John Gregory, tries to capture her again, only to find her power has increased to the point the old methods will no longer work. Losing his apprentice, John finds another seventh son of a seventh son, except he's not exactly what he should be. But with the full red moon less than a week away and Mother Malkin's power reaching new peaks, Gregory has little choice but to work with what's available. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Jeff Bridges was fun as the somewhat drunk and embittered Spook, John Gregory. Ben Barnes as Tom Ward oozed honesty and a very curious nature and doing things his own way. Alicia Vikander as the capable Alice was interesting to watch as her character dealt with conflicts with regards to family and love.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Some truly outstanding work from the special effects department. The beginning sequence combining CGI and time lapse photography spoke volumes without anyone having to explain anything - and looked fabulous!

The morphing sequences for all the witches were incredibly smooth. The sabertooth cheetah made me purr. All the fantasy creatures were great. And when Mother Malkin brings her main rooms and sister back to their prime - lovely work!

My favorite special effect, however, was the ghasts in the forest. There's a scene where one bops around Tom that looked so good it gave me chills. Ben Barnes really sold the particular scene as well.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: I've not read the series, so can't compare it to the books. It's also listed as 'inspired by' rather than 'based on', so I'm thinking a lot may have changed from the original. Something for fans of the series might want to keep in mind.

The plot is somewhat standard and passable as long as you don't look too closely.

Five days of training, most of which are taken up with traveling, does not much of a warrior make. It plot also suffered from too many cool bad guys. Mother Malkin has five top warriors, but while they all look quite interesting, there's too many of them vying for attention and not enough time for them to really strut their stuff, let alone to get the audience to know them. Sadly, this also left no time for Mother Malkin to be developed much either, except that she's a queen, has more power than before, and is evil.

One strangely amusing bit is Mother Malkin refusing the gift of several assassins from her vassal Radu. He states they are some of his best men. But Mother Malkin didn't find them all that good. Later in the film, they prove she's right! Lol! It was very odd.... Would have been nice to learn how Gregory and Tusk became friends, especially since Gregory appeared the type to kill first ask questions later. :P

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Jeff Bridges stunt double got to do a lot of work! Lots of people got thrown about. Some swordplay and lizard munching, though again too many things too see too fast to get too impressed over anyone.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The locations for the film were great. Just the place they picked for Mother Malkin's original incarceration was fabulous. Add in the fog enshrouded mountains, the walled city with an Arabian flare, and the mountain retreat with Asian influences, and there was plenty of fodder for the eyes.

6) Music - Total Thumbs Up: I've been seeing Marco Beltrami's name a lot lately. He's been doing some really nice work to boot! Just like the locations seemed to have a bit of Asian and Arabic influence, the soundtrack does as well. Some nice creepy undertones here and there, too, like where werewolves or vampires prey music. There are samples at Mr. Beltrami's site, but no movie soundtrack forthcoming that I could find. :(

Conclusion: Seventh Son is a nice fantasy romp as long as you don't look too deeply. Great special effects and the lovely soundtrack add a lot to enhance the experience.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price)

Movie Review - Carrie

Carrie

Starring: Julianne Moore, Chlöe Grace Moretz, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Zoë Belkin, Ansel Elgort, Samantha Weinstein, Karissa Strain, Judy Greer, Katie Strain, Barry Shakaba Henley, and more.

Directed by: Kimberly Pierce Screenplay by: Lawrence D Cohen and Alberto Aguirre-Sacasa Based on the Novel by: Stephen King Cinematography by: Steve Yedlin Original Music by: Marco Beltrami

Premise: Carrie White led a very sheltered and strict life until she went to high school. An easy target, things escalate when she has her first period and she's made fun of for not knowing what it is. Her mother's emotional problems don't help the situation. But when Sue, one of tormentors that day, decides what they did to Carrie was wrong and she tries to make amends, her jilted friend Chris decides to make Carrie's magical prom night an utter nightmare. But she's not aware something has awakened inside Carrie. (Rated R)

Review: 

1) Acting - Total Thumb Up: Julianne Moore and Chlöe Grace Moretz were fantastic as the emotionally scarred mother and daughter. Moore's love and focused self hate came through clearly as each piece of her frayed memories and delusions are revealed through the film. Moretz easily conveyed her character's clashing desire to be liked but not hurt. Watching her at the prom and seeing what Carrie could be, even as we know all will go terribly wrong, just made the moment that much more poignant. Portia Doubleday as Chris was totally convincing in her self interest and inability to admit things can't always go her way.

Kudos to Barry Shakaba Henley for his role as the school principal. His expressions and utter reticence on discussing girl issues were delightful.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: Most of the effects used for "Carrie" were fantastic. The telekinetic feats as Carrie comes into her power were done seamlessly and looked great. The destruction of the house, the explosions, the events at the prom, all wonderful special effects moments. Yet it was in the one thing you'd not expect there to be a problems that the film seemed to slip a bit - the pig's blood once it got all over the girl. From scene to scene the look of it on Carrie was inconsistent. And sadly, this inconsistency at the expected climax of the film drained a lot of its built up energy.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The plot for "Carrie" is much like the proverbial 'train wreck'. You know it's coming and you're just waiting off to the side to see how they make it happen. Lots of nice build up and views of the different pieces aligning in such a way that the film culminates in the grand chaos of an unknown power given full, free reign.

It's been years and years since I read the novel by Stephen King or seen the original film version, so it's hard to make a good comparison between the three. This version definitely had all the iconic scenes of the original. However, the advertising inferred that the chaos in this one would extend much farther than just the high school - that the entire town would be showered with Carrie's wrath - this is not the case. So like the issue with the blood, this too took away some of the expected enjoyment during the height of the film.

4) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: There was a lot of really nice work with regards to the cinematography. Our first shot is of this well maintained, nice looking, wooden house. Then with a slow forward motion we're taken inside to find that within all is not as peaceful and idyllic as the outside implied. There were also some great shots of the location where the prom is held as the students work on setting it up. The magical transformation of the room once it is complete is much like the transformation Carrie herself goes through. And like her, it too becomes scarred as the evening reaches it's climax. Nice bit of duality there.

Conclusion: "Carrie," for the most part, does well as a remake. Unfortunately, the few spots were it failed were part of the 'payoff', so it hurt the film overall. Still, it as definitely entertaining.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)