iamMarkPrice
Joined Mar 2017
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Ratings194
iamMarkPrice's rating
Reviews57
iamMarkPrice's rating
The wind whips across desolate snow banks as a lone car meanders along an icy road. Disengaged divorcee Jay (Peter Sarsgaard) is at the wheel, ferrying his daughter Kayla (Joey King) through lonesome scenary to weekend practice for dance class all the while lost in the silence of his own mind. A shape looms on the horizon, a figure which sharpens into Britney (Devery Jacobs), Kaylas best friend waiting at a bus stop in the bitter cold. The car comes to a gentle stop as Jay pulls to the side of the road.
As Britney leaps into the car, a bruise can be seen on her face. Jay stares at the road ahead in auto pilot, disconnected from the drama unfolding in his backseat. But no sooner has he set back on their path are the girls asking to pull over once more. As they burst out of the vehicle and scurry into the woods to relieve themselves, Jay slowly emerges into the crisp, cold air. Steam rises from his breath as he impatiently ponders how long this will take. The minutes tick by, no sight of the girls. The frozen wasteland snaps at his extremities. But as Jay steps off the beaten path in search of the girls, his life will be forever turned upside down.
In the end, this is a story about family. We have all experienced to some extent being taken for granted, and the drifting away from the ones we love that follows. Marriages are tricky at the best of times, but far more so in such an unapologetically cynical and bitter world. Often it's easier to build walls around ourselves to protect us from being hurt, than it is to subject ourselves to the emotional risk posed by those in closest proximity to our hearts. The lie (co-written and directed by Veena Sud) reminds us we must be brave in the face of adversity, whilst working together with those we love to save one another, even if they might let us down.
As Jay and ex-wife Rebecca (Mireille Enos) work together to protect their daughter from danger, they find one another once more. Visuals eloquently portray the shifting emotions of the family through skillful selection of set design, light and colour. Yet inspite of its successes, the attentive viewer cannot help but feel disappointed by a plot which can only be described as immature. If there is a mistake to be made, one can rest assured this family will make it in the most outrageous manner possible. These mistakes serve merely to drive the plot forward with all the subtly of alarm bells at midnight. Yet, in the spirit of suspense, a fuse is lit and tension does build. Only to find itself nowhere, as the familys mistakes culminate in a long foreshadowed twist which robs the film of much of its power leaving the viewer feeling empty.
Individually the cast deliver appropriate scenes filled with raw emotion and cander. Nevertheless, together there is a distinct lack of chemistry which steals away what should be emotive scenes filled with punch. Unhelped by poor pacing as the film glosses over character development felling rushed and leaving scenes often feeling as disconnected as lovers past. There are good bones to this film. One can only wish more time was spent developing the story, its characters and selecting a cast whom feel at home together.
As Britney leaps into the car, a bruise can be seen on her face. Jay stares at the road ahead in auto pilot, disconnected from the drama unfolding in his backseat. But no sooner has he set back on their path are the girls asking to pull over once more. As they burst out of the vehicle and scurry into the woods to relieve themselves, Jay slowly emerges into the crisp, cold air. Steam rises from his breath as he impatiently ponders how long this will take. The minutes tick by, no sight of the girls. The frozen wasteland snaps at his extremities. But as Jay steps off the beaten path in search of the girls, his life will be forever turned upside down.
In the end, this is a story about family. We have all experienced to some extent being taken for granted, and the drifting away from the ones we love that follows. Marriages are tricky at the best of times, but far more so in such an unapologetically cynical and bitter world. Often it's easier to build walls around ourselves to protect us from being hurt, than it is to subject ourselves to the emotional risk posed by those in closest proximity to our hearts. The lie (co-written and directed by Veena Sud) reminds us we must be brave in the face of adversity, whilst working together with those we love to save one another, even if they might let us down.
As Jay and ex-wife Rebecca (Mireille Enos) work together to protect their daughter from danger, they find one another once more. Visuals eloquently portray the shifting emotions of the family through skillful selection of set design, light and colour. Yet inspite of its successes, the attentive viewer cannot help but feel disappointed by a plot which can only be described as immature. If there is a mistake to be made, one can rest assured this family will make it in the most outrageous manner possible. These mistakes serve merely to drive the plot forward with all the subtly of alarm bells at midnight. Yet, in the spirit of suspense, a fuse is lit and tension does build. Only to find itself nowhere, as the familys mistakes culminate in a long foreshadowed twist which robs the film of much of its power leaving the viewer feeling empty.
Individually the cast deliver appropriate scenes filled with raw emotion and cander. Nevertheless, together there is a distinct lack of chemistry which steals away what should be emotive scenes filled with punch. Unhelped by poor pacing as the film glosses over character development felling rushed and leaving scenes often feeling as disconnected as lovers past. There are good bones to this film. One can only wish more time was spent developing the story, its characters and selecting a cast whom feel at home together.
If you were a tween in the 2010s, you are no doubt excited to see this beloved horror franchise leap from your PC to the big screen as the latest nostalgia film eager to cynically part you from your money. Traditionally, translating video games into movies is not an easy task. It requires immense love, creativity and time from someone who truly understands and respects the source material. You, as a fan of this franchise are hoping that due care was taken to craft a faithful experience worthy of your nostalgia dollars. I would love to say that's exactly what this film is, that it brings to life all those memories from your childhood with the nurturing warmth they deserve. I wish I could say this is a new horror icon. Unfortunately I can not.
Far from the care necessary to produce a coherent rendition of the jump scare laden franchise, this is a film unsure of what it wants to be, what it is about or how it should get there. The writing is careless to the point of becoming disrespectful to the very nostalgia they used to draw you in. What we get is a film that is hard to justify as a Five Nights at Freddy's film devoid of any jump scares, instead manicly switching between genres and themes in some kind of existential identity crisis. It's sometimes a family drama about a child custody battle, before it switches into a sci-fi dreamscape nior about a lost brother, a gritty romance, a coming of age story and even a heist movie. Sometimes it happens to be set in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, but that is only for a third or less of the film. It does contain Freddy and his band of ghoulish friends, but they mostly just stand around like easter eggs in the background of another movie.
Little in Five Nights at Freddy's makes sense, starting with its title, since lead character Mike only spends three nights in the building. The events which take place have no consequences, in the films universe as if they were in a 90s sitcom that resets after every episode. Crimes are committed, but nobody cares or remembers. Conversations are had, that are immediately forgotten. The characters have unrealistic and unconvincing conversations that betray the film's low-quality writing. Nobody does their job and it does not matter. Five Nights at Freddy's is a movie adaptation disaster lacking in even the most basic of stakes or reason for the audience to care.
What about fun, you may ask. Surely, Five Nights at Freddy's compensates for its lack of coherence with some humorous and self-referential fun. Well, you are out of luck there too. The film wastes so much time switching between its multiple identities that the characters end up doing nothing but talking in disconnected monologues passed each other or sleeping for most of the film. When a horror franchise devotes more time to watching a character sleep than to anything resembling action, you know you have wasted your money.
As Scott Cawthon, the creator of this franchise, I would feel outraged by the way writer/director Emma Tammi has ruined this IP. It is not hard to envision legal action coming soon, the film is just that terrible. Five Nights at Freddy's reminds us after a decade of Marvel comic film adoptions, that if you want something done properly you have to do it yourself.
Far from the care necessary to produce a coherent rendition of the jump scare laden franchise, this is a film unsure of what it wants to be, what it is about or how it should get there. The writing is careless to the point of becoming disrespectful to the very nostalgia they used to draw you in. What we get is a film that is hard to justify as a Five Nights at Freddy's film devoid of any jump scares, instead manicly switching between genres and themes in some kind of existential identity crisis. It's sometimes a family drama about a child custody battle, before it switches into a sci-fi dreamscape nior about a lost brother, a gritty romance, a coming of age story and even a heist movie. Sometimes it happens to be set in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, but that is only for a third or less of the film. It does contain Freddy and his band of ghoulish friends, but they mostly just stand around like easter eggs in the background of another movie.
Little in Five Nights at Freddy's makes sense, starting with its title, since lead character Mike only spends three nights in the building. The events which take place have no consequences, in the films universe as if they were in a 90s sitcom that resets after every episode. Crimes are committed, but nobody cares or remembers. Conversations are had, that are immediately forgotten. The characters have unrealistic and unconvincing conversations that betray the film's low-quality writing. Nobody does their job and it does not matter. Five Nights at Freddy's is a movie adaptation disaster lacking in even the most basic of stakes or reason for the audience to care.
What about fun, you may ask. Surely, Five Nights at Freddy's compensates for its lack of coherence with some humorous and self-referential fun. Well, you are out of luck there too. The film wastes so much time switching between its multiple identities that the characters end up doing nothing but talking in disconnected monologues passed each other or sleeping for most of the film. When a horror franchise devotes more time to watching a character sleep than to anything resembling action, you know you have wasted your money.
As Scott Cawthon, the creator of this franchise, I would feel outraged by the way writer/director Emma Tammi has ruined this IP. It is not hard to envision legal action coming soon, the film is just that terrible. Five Nights at Freddy's reminds us after a decade of Marvel comic film adoptions, that if you want something done properly you have to do it yourself.