Cinenut : movie reviews, in a nutshell: mystery

Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

The Immitation Game

Stars: 9 / 10 An incredibly well made film, with an emotionally stirring (true) story, which is sure to make your heart ache and your mi...

Friday, 16 January 2015

What Lies Beneath

Stars: 2 / 10 Quite possibly the dullest ghost story, ever made. (I should have known better, when I saw it was Dreamworks, that it was ...

Thursday, 15 January 2015

The Woman in Black (2012)

Stars: 5 / 10 A good old-fashioned, slow-paced creeper. A classical Hammer setting and story ( oh, those angry, distrustful villagers! )...

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Jessabelle

Stars: 4 / 10 Tepid, but not terrible. Kind of like Passion Fish -meets- The Skeleton Key. The 1st half had a few creepy bits, but I fo...

Saturday, 12 July 2014

The Haunting in Connecticut

Stars: 3 / 10 Generic hokum abounds. If you're looking for cheap, gooey, and trite, you'll get plenty of it. I wanted to like ...

The Tale of Princess Kaguya ("Kaguyahime no monogatari")

Stars: 10 / 10 !!! Nothing short of P e r f e c t i o n . A fascinating and mysterious story, filled with a spectrum of wonder, t...

Saturday, 14 June 2014

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane

Stars: 1 / 10 Stilted, unnatural acting, something of an amateur community theatre calibre. A tedious and unbelievable tale, any hint ...

Friday, 13 June 2014

Millennium Actress

Stars: 9 / 10 Brilliant ! Beautiful ! Heartbreaking and hilarious. A uniquely told story, with a mystery that kept me on the edge of m...

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Alice, Sweet Alice (aka Communion, aka Holy Terror)

Stars: 4 / 10 Overall, an ok "whodunit" slasher/thriller. (*see below for further comments) I wasn't "wow'ed"...

Friday, 14 March 2014

Black Christmas (1974)

Stars: 8 / 10 An instant favourite! This is a must-see for any horror film aficionado. A cult classic, considered to be one of the ea...

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Zodiac

Stars: 8 / 10 A superb adaptation of Robert Graysmith's book, Zodiac (published in 1986). Even though I knew what was coming (I...

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Eyes Wide Shut

Stars: 2 / 10 One of the most over-rated films of the decade. Eyes Wide Shut is pointless, bourgeoisie soft-core porn that half-heart...

Sunday, 3 November 2013

The Conjuring

Stars: 3 / 10 The trailer had my heart racing! I was so excited about this film, and certain it was going to make me want to sleep wit...

Saturday, 2 November 2013

Safe

Stars: 7 / 10 Subtle, slow-paced , and subtextual, Safe is an under-sung intellectualist indie masterpiece. An interesting look into ...

Monday, 5 August 2013

Beloved

Stars: 7 / 10 Poetic, intriguing, disturbing, and symbolic. Thandie Newton's amazing performance, alone, makes this film a must-see....

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Paranormal Activity

Stars: 6 / 10 Silly bits, dull parts (particularly in the beginning), and I could have done without the mockumentary style... but even...

Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Absentia

Stars: 6 / 10 CREEPY! Realistic yet fantasy/myth at the same time. Better than expected. . . . Don't go in the tunnel IMDB: ...

1408

Stars: 4 / 10 Lots of flash, but no real sparkle. Some good boo-scares, but bogged down with boring, sappy scenes that drag on (much li...

Donnie Darko

Stars: 8 / 10 Science + dark humour, David Lynch-esque, twisted, cerebral, surreal. "Different" doesn't even begin to des...

The Haunting

Stars: 7 / 10 60's cheesiness and painfully bad sound aside, its seriously CREEPY, with lots of atmosphere, as promised! Personal...

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* Star Rating Scale *

How films are judged:

I rate films within their respective genres, and always consider the era in which they were made, judging a film on its own merits, as well as in contrast to others (within their genre.)

Though I try to be fair and balanced, a certain amount of personal bias does figure into the scores (of course.)

Stars : 0 - 10

0 : Unwatchable. This film is an unwatchable abomination. Consider it one of the worst movies that never should have been made. Whoever released it is a sadist. If I couldn't suffer through the whole thing, it's an instant 0.

1 : Garbage. Burn it and bury it! Unless you are being paid a King's ransom, this movie is never worth watching. Somehow, I managed to suffer through it, but there is nothing worthwhile about this movie. Nothing. Unless you are a glutton for punishment, don't waste your time.

2: Awful. This film is a stinkbomb. Hold your nose and run the other way! There was at least one scene or major element of the film that I liked, but overall, it's best used as fertilizer.

3: Bad. Mostly this movie is Awful, but there was at least one or two scenes that I liked, perhaps one actor's performance was well done, or some effort worth nodding to. It's still tripe, though.

4: Tolerable. It wasn't the worst movie, it even had a few ok scenes/qualities, but it had a lot of stink, too. This film is nothing special. I have no interest in ever seeing it again. Meh.

5: OK. I didn't love, nor hate it, outright. A take-it-or-leave-it film, but has some redeeming qualities. Typically it's not something I would want to own, but I suppose would watch it again, at least once.

6: Good. I liked it. It was entertaining and enjoyable, even if there were some major goofs or wonky bits, overall, it's a decent movie. Not much of a prize winner, it won't redefine it's genre, it won't change your life, but something in this film makes it worth watching. I would certainly recommend it to someone who loves its specific genre.

7: Distinctive. This film stands out amongst its peers. Something about this movie has greatness. There was some imperfection, but overall, this film was really well made. This film is memorable, and sticks with you. I recommend it, and it's something that I would definitely want to own.

8: Fantastic. An instant favourite. This film is exceptionally good! It's impressive, unique and beautifully produced, it raises the bar. A memorable film that stirs the mind and the emotions. You have to shake it off after you see it, because it teleports you into its world. You may find yourself thinking about it days, even months, afterwards. I highly recommend it, and it's certainly something I would want to own.

9: Practically Perfect. I love this film! It's rare to find a gem like this. Treasure it. Practically perfect in every way, you'll never tire of it, and every time you see it, it shines like diamonds. This unforgetable film will change the way you look at all others. Depending on the type of film, it may even influence your life. I definitely recommend it, and you can bet your bippy that I own it, in a special edition, whenever possible.

10: Perfection.

FAQ

Why do you write reviews?
-- I love film, and I like to share.

Why minimal reviews?
-- I like to review in a way that cuts to the heart of the matter.

I'm not going to give you a long-winded synopsis of the film, because trailers, official film websites, and IMDB already do that. I will tell you, in a nutshell, what's the premise of the film, and what I liked or didn't like about it.

Birth of the Blog:
I tweet about movies after I watch them, and thus, the idea of a blog with my minimal movie reviews was born. I wanted to collect my reviews in one easy-to-access place, as well as have the option to give an Expanded Review for some of the films.

My Twitter: https://twitter.com/BonnieSparkles

Why so many thrillers and horror movies?
-- I like the genres, so I watch a lot of them.

Where you do live?
-- central France

How/where do you watch these movies?
-- Online, mostly. Some I borrow from the library, some I own on disc, and some I saw in the theatre.

Have you studied film making?
-- Not in a professional sense, no. I took one "history of film" course at uni, I've read a handful of screenplays, books about how to write screenplays, and inumerable books and articles on film making and the history of films. I've watched thousands of films, as well as countless documentaries and interviews with/about film makers.