Movie Nights: Week in review 6.21-6.27
We were pleasantly surprised by a week of first time watches! (Mostly)
Don’t Breathe 2016
Don’t Breathe is fantastic! It is one of the best home invasion films out there! Directed by Fede Álvarez this fast paced and unique thriller tells the story of three teenagers who rob houses for extra cash, whe they choose the wrong house. Jane Levy stars as Rocky, a young girl who lives in an abusive home, looking for enough money to escape to California with her little sister. Dylan Minnette plays her friend Alex and Daniel Zovatto plays her boyfriend Money. They decide to break into the house of a blind army vet (Stephen Lang) and they find themselves in a sticky situation. It is shot really well and it keeps you on edge the whole time. The blind aspect was really cool and it added anxious vibes. This one is best to go in blind, don’t watch a trailer! Perfect if you’re in the mood for something dark and violent.
STREAMING ON: AMAZON PRIME ($)
Photo Credit IMDB
Don’t Breathe 2
(SPOILERS)
We had a tough time with Don’t Breathe 2, we love the first one so this one had big shoes to fill and it came up short. The premise in general is upsetting because you’re basically rooting for the “bad guy/rapist” from the last film the whole time. We didn’t like that. The blind army vet (Stephen Lang) seems to be training a young girl in the beginning of the film and acting as her father. This is one of the oddest concepts for a sequel we have ever heard and the plot as it goes on is a more than unhinged. It would have been much better as a stand alone because it is completely unrelated in every way but it still wouldn’t be good. The beginning is confusing to say the least and starts with the little girl being creeped on in a public restroom and ends with some men following her home and surprise surprise trying to break in. You then learn that the creepy man from the beginning is her real father. He proceeded to try to persuade her to come with them (a group of rag-tag meth heads) so they can preform open heart surgery by a random meth doctor to replace her real mother’s heart while she is still conscious. We normally don’t do spoilers but this was so silly, we couldn’t keep our mouths shut about it.
STREAMING ON: HBO
Photo Credit IMDB
See for me (2021)
This Canadian thriller is about a blind teenager who is a bit rude and a little annoying (We would be too if we went blind so it makes sense) cat sitting for a wealthy homeowner when a robbery occurs. Our main character Sophie is played by Skyler Davenport, who is legally blind in her real life; This adds a layer of believability and realness to the film. Sophie ends up using “See for me” an app that assists blind people with video chats after locking herself out of the house. The woman that she connects with is a very badass ex-military chick who helps her break in back into the house. The night goes on and she ends up going to bed a little later, things get a little wild when three men break into the home and it is fast paced from there. This film gives Hush vibes but Hush is superior. Still worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a home invasion flick with some twists.
STREAMING ON: HULU
Photo Credit IMDB
Stalker
Stalker is a better than average thriller with a fun twist. A ride share driver (Michael Lee Joplin) becomes obsessed with Andy, a man new to LA (Vincent Van Horn) after he gives him and a woman he’s met, Sam (Christine Ko) a ride home from a bar. “Roger” the driver becomes increasingly attached to Andy after he runs into him the next day and they exchange numbers. Roger then attempts to ruin his life in various ways because Andy stops answering his text messages when he starts dating Sam (Christine Ko). Andy and Sam seem like and look like very average people which makes them feel more relatable as a couple, and they have good chemistry. This movie moves fast and keeps you on your toes the whole time. It was very well acted, escecially considering there are no big names. We absolutely loved the ending! This one is most definitely worth watching if you like thrillers.
STREAMING ON: HULU
Photo Credit IMDB
Cat Person (2023)
This is advertised as a thriller but it is really a drama/suspense film about dating in the modern world and the dangers of strangers. It has some cool imagery and dream sequences throughout. It feels like a young adult drama with a dark twist. The story follows Margot (Emilia Jones) a 20 year old college student when she meets and starts a relationship with Robert (Nicholas Braun), an older regular at the movie theatre she works at. They seemed to have no chemistry when they first meet, she is kind of annoying and he is off putting so they seemed like an odd match. They start off great through text but have an extremely awkward in person experience and afterwards she begins to suspect the worst of him. It is a pretty tame movie, not much gore or any violence til the end. It is a bit longer than it needs to be, it did feel a bit slow in the middle. It was shot in an interesting way where it would cut to things that she was imagining so you never really knew what was real and what wasn’t at first, that was kinda fun but they used it a bit too much. The ending seemed a little silly and improbable although we liked how scrappy she was. This one has more humor and failed romance than fright and you barley even get to see any cats!! But it is fine if you’re in the mood for something slower, more suspenseful and a little mushy.
STREAMING ON: HULU
Photo Credit IMDB
Dune
Dune is not that on brand for us because it isn’t horror at all but we love sci-fi horror so we figured we’d check it out. It was obviously visually stunning but I think if you’re not familiar with the books there is a fair amount you might miss. We watched it with a friend who has read Dune so we had a little bit of a guide, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much without that. Dune has really great actors, the cast is pretty stacked with Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian and tons more familiar faces! The giant sandworms were pretty sick and my favorite parts of the movie involved them. It is pretty slow paced until the end but if you like sci-fi it is definitely worth watching.
STREAMING ON: AMAZON PIRME ($)
Photo Credit IMDB
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