MadMark96

Brightburn is a movie that takes the concept of "what if super hero's were bad" and just does really nothing good with it.

Acting is really bad and most of the cast is overacting the entire time, movie is shot really weird and even for horror movie standards the characters make frustratingly dumb decisions. Painfully predictable, zero subtly to any of the material it covers and the entire plot and basic concept feels like a toddler wrote it.

It also is beat for beat the movie Chronicle, only with a worse cast, worse writing, worse character development, and doesn't set up an interesting universe or mythos.

It then ends with the balls to tease sequels. Absolutely atrocious.

I can't even fathom how much better of a movie Chronicle is. Please just watch Chronicle if you want a "what if dumb kids with questionable morals got super powers and one of them is super evil".

The movie has many issues but the biggest ones being it just simply doesn't go anywhere whatsoever. It's not even slow, that would imply there was still something going on. Lots of really lame plot "fake outs" to make it seem interesting but it's not. It reads like the selfish fantasy of somebody very unhappy with their life.

Everyone in this movie is extremely unlikeable and intolerable, even Norman Reedus who is usually a good actor pulled off a performance where he looked like he could've cared less being in the movie even when he's supposed to be interested in things in the movie.

Horrific acting, goes nowhere. I avoided this movie for years and I'll probably forget it exists. I think most people myself included only watched because of Norman but he doesn't save the movie at all.

The only redeeming part was Lena Dunham playing a character that is essentially, equally as gross as her real life counter part.

Stay (2005) is a pretty decent thriller that people either seem to love or hate with some critics calling it predictable or claiming the plot goes nowhere both of which are points I'll address throughout the review.

Without spoiling the plot I would argue both of those points misunderstand the meaning of the film. There isn't supposed to be a big twist, it's very clear what happens from the opening scene. The box art on the American dvd even has the tag line "you can't stay between the living and the dead".

The film's main focus is not on the twist but on a man who is already dead trying to find reasons to live. The events of the movie are pieced together in such a brilliantly edited manner and has some really unique affects and camerawork that give the movie a truly dream-like feel to it.

It's a film that you will notice new details with each rewatch and there's small things sprinkled throughout the duration to mess with the viewer. For example there's multiple points in the film you can 2-3 extras all wearing identical clothing.

The soundtrack is also fitting and ominous even when it's a light hearted scene and is very reminiscent of Akira Yamaoka's work on the Silent Hill series and really adds to the film's "otherworldly" and dream-like atmosphere I mentioned earlier.

Everyone pulled off a stellar performance and all the characters are unique in their own ways yet parallel each other in small details and mannerisms and they all feel interconnected by something.

If I can really only think of the single negative about the film, is that it admittedly wraps things up a little too quick while also not entirely outright explaining a lot of the themes it tries to explore.

But I can look past it since the perspective of the film is from someone dying so it almost feels jumbled like this on purpose, in the way a dying mans life begins flashes before his eyes.

It's not afraid to leave some questions unanswered or to the audience for interpretation. Which can just be called lazy writing, I've certainly criticized other films for similar issues but here it just kinda works in the sense of not knowing what the other side can look like and the film reflects it in a bit of an artistic way which certainly isn't for everyone.

If you want a good thriller check it out, one of the better ones that doesn't try to impress you with a 4-D Chess, Fight Club-esque twist. But if you're not a fan of the artsier, less flashy or exciting films it may not be for you.