It Follows rode a hype wave when it first hit the film fest scene in 2014. Check out that poster. How ominous looking is that? The movie maintains that tension through almost it’s entire run time.

It Follows is about a young woman who is stalked by a supernatural force after sleeping with a guy.

With that setup, you have the obvious societal implications. It’s a parallel to reality that grounds a social message that some of the best horror movies accomplish.

I loved almost everything on display here. A great opening scene to establish the threat that makes you question what’s going on. The pacing is dead on from there with some gorgeous cinematography and direction. The movie never stops being creepy. Annie is on a normal date with Hugh at the movies, but there’s something a little off about him. Things go well until the sinister switch is flicked on and the horror stays with you as well as Annie.

The visual language of the movie is expertly crafted. One of my favorite things is that the movie is relatively nebulous in its era. Aside from an e-reader like device that one of the girls has, it looks like this takes place anywhere in the 70’s to the early 00’s. You can also practically taste the paranoia through the camera. The Follower (what I named it) can only be seen by the person it’s after so there’s that immediate doubt from those around her that she’s just broken from her experience with Hugh (and he can’t be found by the police because he used a fake name and took off). When the Follower shows up it’s always in really cool and menacing entrances. It comes off not as a physical object, but a force that can’t be stopped, like waves on a beach. Director David Robert Mitchell had the great idea to occasionally plant the camera and slowly turn it to scope out the outdoor surroundings.  It reinforces Annie’s unease and trains you to keep an eye out on the background for the threat in every scene. One of the best cinematic presentations of paranoia I can remember.

The soundtrack is also a killer throwback to 70’s-80’s synth that helps make the movie seem like it’s from a different age of film. It’s the perfect marriage to the visuals.

My only problem is the end, I’m not too sold on it. It’s a “that’s your idea to handle this?” that seems half-baked. I think that’s kind of the point through, I’m not too sure what these kids could have done (and respect to the dude for putting his neck out there). I would have liked to see them do some more research, to maybe figure out where this thing came (some culture or whatever) to come up with a concrete plan of attack. The idea come up with to help Annie is one of those plans that seems good when you think of it, but is so flawed it’s stupid. They find that out the hard way (Annie should have told them that Hugh said the Follower wasn’t ‘stupid’). There’s also a low body count and low gore content, but more of either probably wouldn’t have added much.

It Follows is one of the best horror movies I’ve seen recently, I’d put it right behind The Babadook which is high praise. Check it out.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl– This one will hit you right in the tender parts. Greg (Me in the title) is a high school senior who’s spent his time floating around every click. He struggles to socialize, has the self-confidence of a trout, and has no friends, even though he has one (Earl) who he refers to as his “co-worker.” They’ve known each other since kindergarten and make spoof movies that they share with no one except Greg’s dad. When Rachael, a classmate he’s an “acquaintance” with is diagnosed with cancer, his mother pushes him to hang out with her. Greg has a hard time getting out of his own way, stuck in the perpetual motion of being a self-doubting loner. Through his time with Rachael and Earl, his life is changed. Well written in all regards (deft jumps from comedy to tragedy) with a great cast (RJ Cyler as Earl rules) a ton of movie references and some really striking direction. I like the narration angle they used, smart way to move things along and hold the audience’s hand when necessary. Great movie.

Tomorrowland– Directed by Brad Bird (he’s made some great stuff), this movie got completely crapped on by critics. It did alright in theaters, just making a profit in worldwide total. As a whole, I liked it but it does have it’s problems in the final act (mostly). Essentially it’s a story about hope, the future, and the pushback from pessimism. Frank Walker and Casey Newton are a generation (or two) apart but they both have a brilliant and creative mind that gets them into trouble. Their personality traits put them on a collision course to help a far off land in ways that stretch the imagination. I thought George Clooney was great in this and Britt Robertson made for the perfect partner. This movie is stuffed with special effects that make for some really wild scenes. The whole segment at Frank’s house is a blast. There’s a ton of cool future tech like androids, laser blasters, rocket packs, and vehicles. The movie starts a little slow, picks up for the middle and then gets real rocky for the third act. The movie stumbles over itself with convoluted ideas and explanations (Nix is a crap character) that make it hard to follow. I thought the end was satisfying with a good message so that saved it for me.

Focus– An interesting movie that’s got a really long set up. Nicky is a con-man on the professional level. He meets Jess when she tries to con him, not knowing his expertise. They hook up, she becoming his protege. They work New Orleans during the Super Bowl and then when Nicky gets cold feet about them having a lasting relationship, he cuts her loose. Then, three years later he runs into her while doing another job. Is she still in the game and running a con or did she leave the game? A lot is on the line…can they trust each other? If you’re a fan of Will Smith, I think you’d like this for sure. He’s got his charm cranked to the max as Nicky. I love Margot Robbie and she’s got great chemistry with Smith so they make this work. Not an incredible movie but I think it’s a fun movie worth watching. Great for a rainy day.

The Peanuts Movie– a.k.a. Charlie Brown gets a crush. Really simple movie where Charlie Brown tries to talk to the new girl in town and Snoopy writes a story/hallucinates saving his crush from the Red Baron  (weird way to put action into a Charlie Brown movie and it totally pads the movie to get it to  feature length runtime). The highlight is the animation. They found the perfect way to update Peanuts with modern CG animation technology while keeping the classic aesthetic. The texture is understated but beautiful that adds a lot of depth to the characters and sets. I was surprised at how much of a bummer this was until the very end. Charlie Brown is straight up cursed. The entire world is against him to the point where the laws of physics change to screw him over. The kid is a nervous mess and can’t catch a break. Congrats on not being on any meds for depression Charlie Brown.

Fantastic Four (2015)- The behind the scenes chaos is probably more well known than the actual movie. The studio was so unhappy with the movie they basically took it away from director Josh Trank during editing (lots of rumors about him being difficult while shooting). There’s nothing terribly redeeming about what I saw (good cast). The story is bizarrely simple, to the point where you can tell a ton of stuff must have been taken out and the bare essentials stitched together to make something cohesive. It’s a (boring) superhero origin movie for a series that doesn’t need another origin story and it’s shot really dark for some reason. There’s very little action. The villain, Dr. Doom, is barely in it and he shows up at the very end simply to be evil. Right around release, Trank said that there’s an edit of a very good FF movie (his), but no one is going to see it (because of the studio). I’d love to see it because I want to see what the studio was so unhappy with that they went ahead and released it the way they did. Was it just too weird or controversial? Bad acting? Too many poorly shot scenes? I hope someone digs up the truth in a few years. This has essentially killed FF movies, it’ll take Marvel to get them back and integrate the family into the ongoing MCU.