pmcguireumc Reviews

Dark Harvest (2023)

Moments of excellence ruined by incompleteness

[6/10 · 26 February 2024]

So, the acting is not a problem. I actually liked most of the actors. They were believable.

The sawtooth character is amazing. Very cool effects, and as a demon, chews up the scene almost every time he's on screen.

I rarely say this in a movie, especially in a horror film, but dark harvest would have benefitted from about another 10 minutes. A scene with the town council to provide some backstory would have added to the film narrative flow. A little more explanation of the teen relevance and the interactions with the sheriff would have made the story a little more understandable. His acting was good, but there was no context.

A rerelease with better editing would be worth a watch. Great when it works and narrative is not important, but it struggles mightily when narrative matters.

Ellery Queen: The Adventure of the Sinister Scenario (1976) Season 1, Episode 17

One of the best in the series

[10/10 · 11 December 2023]

I know everyone has their favorites in any series. This is one of my two favorite episodes. My favorite is the final episode, disappearing dagger.

I really like this episode because of the across the board acting and pacing. Ellery's father has some of the best lines in the series in this episode, and Ellery is more of straight guy, but still, he is great.

The ongoing jokes about Hollywood are very funny and give this episode a lightness and you don't find the most of the other episodes. It is an enjoyable romp.

Vincent Price is of course Great, but there are so many good actors in this particular episode that it doesn't rely completely on one person to carry the episode.

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023)

As good as the original

[10/10 · 2 November 2023]

I have said for many years, ever since I saw the original hell house LLC, that cognetti redefined the genre of found footage films and raised the bar for all films that followed after him. With the new hell House film, number four in the series, he has continued to raise the bar.

This is an excellent film, and as with the paranormal activity series, he has added to the mythology of the series very well. No film is perfect, and there are of course limitations to the found footage genre, but he overcomes these limitations very well and has created another masterpiece of suspense and believability.

Cognetti's gift, at least in my humble opinion, is that he chooses high quality actors and uses light and darkness as well as anybody I have seen in many years. This is definitely a great film and well worth your time if you like the original hell house. I hope that one day they will be able to put out a box set of all the films, because I would love to hear the audio commentaries from the actors and director.

Slender (III) (2014)

Amazing film for a low budget

[7/10 · 10 October 2023]

So I picked this film the other day on YouTube and admittedly I'm not gotten all the way through it. But my first impression is that for the budget, it is an amazing film. Admittedly again, I tend to like crap and I have very low standards. That being said there's two things that I really like about this film. One, it has a really good script. The quality of the dialogue apart from the acting is really good, and big budget level at times. Two, the director and cinematographer knew what they were doing. They did the best they could with what they had, and at times the quality of the camera work is as good as any main line Hollywood film. Again it is low budget and it's pretty long, but the local actors are pretty good and better than a lot of the ones that you find in these type of films and I think overall it's an enjoyable film. Hats off to the filmmakers!

Ellery Queen (1975–1976)

A nearly perfect show

[10/10 · 10 August 2023]

The older I got, the more I appreciate the show. I first discovered it in my twenties on a&e's mystery theater, and I've loved it ever since. It is truly one of the best shows of its type, and I hate that it only ran for one season.

The chemistry between the various players is amazing and the scripts are always challenging, funny, and thought-provoking. It was a show way ahead of its time in many ways, and it respected the viewer. Unlike a lot of shows that spoon feed you the clues, The writers assumed that the audience was intelligent. I think in many ways this is what separated Ellery Queen the TV show for most other TV shows of its type. If you get a chance to watch it please do it's an amazing show.

Carter Country (1977–1979)

Silly but challenging

[8/10 · 13 June 2023]

Yes it is a silly show. But at the same time it challenged a lot of stereotypes in a very positive and constructive way. It was a show that modern reviewers will consider offensive and stereotypical, but that was the whole point. Carter county did a wonderful job of showing that people can learn to get along and can still have value even if we disagree.

There are of course '70s situations that are very stupid, things that the producers were required to do, but through all of it, there is a built-in belief that people are good at heart and with dialogue and exposure, everyone can grow. I would compare the show in many ways to a pg version of blazing saddles, in the sense that it tried to reveal the idiocy of stereotypes.

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)

Not horrible, better than 3

[7/10 · 6 January 2023]

Okay, let's be honest, after 1 and 2 the series has struggled. The third one was really bad. But evidently I am in a minority here, in that I think this one, number four is actually pretty good. I think it goes in a new direction, not always successfully, but in a new direction that is at least entertaining. The story is fleshed out some and while the bad guy creeper character is not as charming a bad guy as he was in the first two episodes, he is passable in this one. What makes the difference for me in this particular episode is the lead actress Sydney craven. I think she held her own very well and her boyfriend character was also very good. Several of the supporting characters are quirky enough to be entertaining. All in all not the worst hour and a half I've ever spent and in comparison to the third film, it's a masterpiece! In comparison to the first two, eh, not so bad. Admittedly, they were difficult acts to follow. On it's own, a decent film.

The Flock (2022)

A very solid film

[8/10 · 23 October 2022]

Found footage purity and reasoning - close to 100% The main characters are pretty good actors. They come off as believable. As with all fff, there are some strained dialogues There are a couple of twists and turns along the way.

My biggest criticism is not of the technical aspects of the film, which are excellent. It is of the actors in the cult. They do not seem believable.

Nonetheless, I think this is a very good film.

The Flock commercials were excellent. Insightful and accurate parodies of modern church outreaches

The director, Dillon should be rightfully proud of his work.

PS, love the fps images in the final third.

Ghoul (2015)

A good film overall but tedious at the end

[7/10 · 13 April 2022]

The genius of the paranormal activity films is that they have good endings. The editing is tight and the characters are generally likable. Most found footage films that I've seen struggle with the endings, in that the last 15 minutes or so of most of the best films, struggle with maintaining the pace and as a result they become tedious. Ghoul gives us a really good story and some good development and exposition but in the end struggles to close the deal. Unlike a lot of people I happen to like the characters and I thought the storyline was really good, but I was bored in the last 10 to 15 minutes.

Ghoul is no exception.

Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989)

Let's admit it, neither film was great, but the music rocks

[6/10 · 18 November 2021]

Michael Pare does a decent job, but his character, Eddie, is very one dimensional. IMHO, it has been the supporting cast who carry the movies. The music rocks and the concert sequences in both films are a lot of fun. But, let's be honest. Eddie's character is self important along the lines of Jim Morrison, and his "teachings" about great music, while somewhat true, could be found in any fortune cookie. The greatness of the film lay, at least for me, in the energy of the concert sequences. Everything else is mediocre filler, in both films.

The Thin Man (2015)

First 5 minutes are promising, but ...

[1/10 · 10 August 2021]

25-30 minutes of watching guys get drunk does not make for quality entertainment. Also, everyone drops the occasional F bomb, but I swear (pun intended), if you took the F word out of this film, there would only be about 10 minutes of dialogue.

I don't mind overused plots. There is nothing new under the sun, but at least do it well. PA proved you don't have to have a huge budget to make a great film. Try using a thesaurus and come up with some real dialogue next time.

The X-Files: My Struggle IV (2018) Season 11, Episode 10

I don't understand the hate

[10/10 · 31 December 2020]

Just finished watching the final episode. I loved it! I know I am in the minority on this, but considering the characters have aged and all that has gone on, I thought it was a very good episode and a very good ending. Everyone survives and they grow and yeah there is some sadness but, in the end it is an episode in keeping with the characters growth. After all, the episode centered on Mulder finding peace in a purpose. I thought it ended with that so that being said I thought it was a pretty good episode.

Creature in the Woods (2017)

Decent typical story. Flattest acting ever.

[4/10 · 20 December 2020]

The only 1 of the three actors with any range whatsoever is Nick, the camera guy.

The other two have all of the acting range of a to b. The girl is beautiful, but so ridiculously flat in her expression that it is almost like watching a card board cut out act.

The other male lead is no better, so in that sense, they are compatible.

The story is as predictable as is any film of its type. The creature scenes are actually pretty good though, so to be honest, you could skip to around 20 minutes and not lose a thing.

Crone Wood (2016)

Really good film

[10/10 · 9 November 2020]

I really enjoyed this film. It is a wonderful blend of Wicker Man and Spellbinder.

The film is greatly helped by the beautiful women, taut direction and a great series of plot twists. I will definitely be watching it again

Friday the 13th (2009)

Better than the original

[9/10 · 25 September 2020]

I know this is an unpopular opinion within the Jason community, but I think the 2009 film is great. I know a lot of people consider this sacrilegious, but the reality is, once you get past the Ms. Voorhees twist, the original is kinda boring. Groundbreaking yes, but kinda slow.

2009 has a much faster pace, better supporting cast, and quality humor. Very good reboot in my opinion and I was disappointed there weren't more.

The Bucks County Massacre (2010)

A plausible fff

[9/10 · 8 September 2020]

I happen to be in the minority on this one. I really like it. I think the setting and the characters are believable, with none of the actors becoming the live action equivalent of Jar Jar. None are overly obnoxious. The only criticism I have of the bcm, is that the film could have used a little more of the killer. A few more glances here and there would have added to the tension. Anyway, I really enjoyed it!

Athens County Massacre (2018)

Could not finish it

[1/10 · 31 August 2020]

I tried, I really tried, because I have an affinity for bad movies, but this one was like a cheese grater on a sunburn. The "investigator" makes Alex Jones look normal and sound reasonable. It is horrible. If there is merit in the film, I couldn't find it. The interviews are horrible and the sound over the top.

Please move on, I promise you, nothing to see here.

Alien Origin (2012 Video)

Evidently, I am in the minority on this one

[8/10 · 24 August 2020]

I really enjoyed this film. I found it believable and the characters likeable. This is definitely the exception for fff. In most cases, though I love the genre, very few of the characters are likeable.

Again, most of the people on IMDb seem to hate this film, but I liked it. Don't look for citizen Kain. It's found footage. I enjoyed it.

Evil Things (2009)

Much better than everyone says

[8/10 · 3 August 2020]

I happen to really like this film, for a couple of reasons. 1 - the actors, with only a few exceptions, don't overact and they deliver the dialogue in a believable way. 2 - I really liked the pacing. Since the characters are reasonable, the slower pace allows for increased tension because you actually begin to like many of the people. 3 - the bad guys are good at what they do 4 - well I am not usually a fan of music in a found footage film, I think the music at the end of this one really helps aid in building tension 5 - for a first effort by a new director The cast and crew knocked it out of the park as far as I'm concerned. I seen a lot worse films

The Bell Witch Haunting (2013)

In the minority I know, but I liked it

[6/10 · 20 July 2020]

I'm obviously in the minority on this one. I happen to like this film. The girls are really cute. There are no really bad actors in it, which is a very nice change of pace. I am a FF fanatic, but I am the first to admit it, in many cases, the acting sucks.

I like the movie, decent jump scares, and a couple of really good kill scenes. Lighten up people, it's found footage.

Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999)

Possibly the Greatest Show Ever

[10/10 · 18 May 2020]

It is very easy to get hung up on platitudes when describing something you love and admire. I will resist the temptation to do so, but it will be difficult.

Truly the best written and acted show ever. While I am a Columbo fanatic, and think it is the best show of it's type, when it comes to police dramas with gritty details, HLITS is beyond the norm. An exceptional cast, excellent writing, and powerful cinematography.

If you get a chance, stroll through Baltimore with this show and enjoy a true work of excellence.

Assassin 33 A.D. (2020)

Really not as bad as it could be

[8/10 · 9 April 2020]

I generally dislike most Christian movies, as they are poorly made and written on a very trite level. Even though I am a minister, I prefer horror films and 1940s mysteries. That being said, I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. It has a plot line as intricate as Happy Death Day 2U and reasonably good attempts at humor. Yes, some of the acting is a little hokey and the ultimate resolution is never in doubt, but, getting to the conclusion in this movie is an enjoyable journey. In regards to the accusations of racism and bigotry, I don't see it at all. I believe those come from people who didn't watch the movie. In conclusion, if this is the future of Xian cinema, then I say bring it on!

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

A decent film in the series

[8/10 · 27 January 2020]

I am in the minority on this one, I know. I really liked it. In many ways, I enjoyed this PA alot more than the third one which was more strictly part of the mythology.

I think the actors are really good though in this episode, most especially the daughter, Kathryn Newton. She is very very good. The parents play the soon to be divorced indifference and distractedness very well. Overall, a much better film than the Marked Ones in my opinion and a worthy contribution to the series.

Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019)

Excellent conclusion to the series

[9/10 · 21 September 2019]

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the original Hell House LLC. It is truly a masterpiece of the found footage genre.

I liked the second one, but it was, if I am to be honest, far from the original.

Hell House 3, Lake of Fire though, is a return to the original form. Excellent film and acting all the way through. Whereas the actors in the first were amazing, and the ones in the second wooden, in this one, they raised the bar again. Believable, genuine and likeable throughout #3.

Though not as pure a found footage film as the first, this is an excellent conclusion to the series and we'll worth the time. And by the way, the creepy clown continues to be the scariest thing on screen in a generation!

Diagnosis Murder: Blood Ties (1999) Season 6, Episode 21

Gorgeous women but...

[6/10 · 2 July 2019]

Disclaimer - of the multiple pilots DM featured in the series run, this one had a lot of potential, but... There was way too much smiling at the camera like, "hey Mom, I got a new show!"

This kind of kills the episode. The women are gorgeous, without question. DVD's interaction with them is excellent, but the smiling and predictable nature of the episode kind of limited the potential. I hate it, as the women were stunning.