Chloë Grace Moretz

The Addams Family

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Addams Family (2019)
  • IMDb: link

The Addams Family Blu-ray reviewWhile the look of the animated remake of the 60s television show offers some intriguing designs, too much of the script flounders. After an introduction which offers up both the marriage of Gomez (Oscar Isaac) and Morticia (Charlize Theron) and the establishment of the family ni an abandomed insane asylum, The Addams Family jumps forward years to when a cookie-cutter suburban development moves in down the hill run by the maniacal Margaux Needler (Allison Janney).

Expected events unfold without much excitement or surprise as Needler riles up the community against its neighbors only to later be revealed to be the true monster. The tale offers some stand-out moments, almost all of which feature Wednesday (Chloë Grace Moretz) while her poor brother gets stuck in an extraneous subplot. The best of these could have all been done as shorts saving audiences from the drudgery of the rest of the film.

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Suspiria

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Suspiria
  • IMDb: link

Suspiria movie reviewSuspiria is an art house horror film that is a bit too convoluted at the beginning and too obvious at the end. Somewhere in the middle, however, there’s an interesting tale of horror, thrills, and gore (lots and lots of gore). The film from director Luca Guadagnino throws us immediately into the odd world as we struggle to make sense of the rambling incoherence of a troubled girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) to her psychiatrist (Tilda Swinton). While initially dismissing the story as nothing more than the ravings of a troubled mind, Dr. Klemperer becomes more concerned once the girl goes missing and begins looking more closely at the prestigious dance company that may have driven her to an early grave.

At the same time, the school admits a talented American student (Dakota Johnson) who quickly becomes a favorite of Madame Blanc (also Swinton). Despite being the newest student, Susie (Johnson) shows a remarkable understanding of the dance company’s trademark piece (which it turns out is far more than a simple dance). The film features one terrific scene which clues audiences in on the power of the dance while Susie, apparently, remains unaware.

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The 5th Wave

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The 5th Wave
  • IMDb: link

The 5th WaveBased on the young adult novel of the same name, The 5th Wave feels like a mashup of Zombieland (minus the humor) and I Am Number Four. Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, the movie centers around high school student Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) whose world is turned upside down when aliens show up to attack the planet with a series of waves, each more devastating than the last. Through an extended flashback, we learn of the previous four waves (including environmental and biological warfare).

A little too much young adult drama and too little science fiction, the script is mainly an excuse for Moretz to look frightened. With a set-up more appropriate to a television movie, the script includes an extended B-story concerning the remaining human children (including Cassie’s baby brother) being turned into a child army by the United States Army. There’s also the age-appropriate fashion model (Alex Roe) who saves Cassie’s life, while harboring a big secret, and a late twist that’s fairly easy to see coming.

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Laggies

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Laggies
  • IMDb: link

Laggies

Director Lynn Shelton‘s Laggies is an odd film that attempts to blend character study with rom-com tropes. It lacks the satiric wit and humorous mean-spiritedness of Young Adult but plays on similar themes of a protagonist struggling to grow-up. Andrea Seigel‘s script is kept afloat in its weaker moments thanks to an engaging performance by its star and a clear message about the struggles of finding oneself as an adult and the odd paths we take to get there.

As all her high school friends have gotten older, married, and started careers and families, Megan (Keira Knightley) is still living with her equally-procrastinistic high school boyfriend (Mark Webber) and working for her father (Jeff Garlin) in a dead-end job twirling a sign by the side of the road. The marriage of two friends, a proposal by her boyfriend, and the discover of her father’s extramarital affairs, all push Megan over the edge one night seeking comfort in the simpler problems of a high school student (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her friends.

Lying to her boyfriend about attending a life seminar, Megan disappears for a week moving in with Annika (Moretz) and her father (Sam Rockwell) who is thrown off guard by the entire bizarre relationship.

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