The Happy House: Movie Review

A horror-comedy short on thrills and laughs but has interesting character interactions.

The Happy House is a remote Bed & Breakfast specializing in odd rules to make your stay as uncomfortable as possible. It somehow got good reviews (even though the movie itself has gotten bad reviews) and our New York Couple are off for a weekend to repair their relationship. Wendy doesn’t want to go; Joe thinks it will be for the best. And as an audience, we have no clue what it’s going to be like. Marketed as a horror-comedy, but presented with a really understated style, it is set up to be an odd mix.		2013 Directed by: D.W. Young Screenplay by: D.W. Young Starring: Khan Baykal and Aya Cash

Runner Runner: Movie Review

Lives the meaningless life for way too long to provide much substance.

College student Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) survives by using poker winnings to pay his tuition, but when he goes bust on an online gaming site, he’s determined to make a name for himself by exposing the fraud. Unfortunately for Runner Runner they didn’t spend much time with the smart, capable and struggling-to-get by Richie, who could be an intriguing form of the “every-man”. He gets turned into a money-grubbing success story way too quickly.		2013 Directed by: Brad Furman Screenplay by: Brian Koppelman and David Levien Starring: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck

Parkland: Movie Review

The unfortunate aftermath of Kennedy’s assassination.

Set at Parkland Memorial Hospital and surrounding areas on November 22, 1963 and the days thereafter, “Parkland” is about the circumstances of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But what I primarily liked about the film is that Kennedy is not a character, this is not about him, but about those that had no choice but to be thrust into a chaotic situation.		2013 Directed by: Peter Landesman Screenplay by: Peter Landesman Starring: James Badge Dale, Paul Giamatti and Zac Efron

The Spectacular Now: Movie Review

Floats around life with two good performances.

“The Spectacular Now” is about one character trying to live in the now. Sutter (Miles Teller) is applying to university using swear words and has no qualms about the amount of alcohol he drinks. The film is light enough in the beginning that it seems okay to laugh, but nobody did. It just wasn’t funny enough. The lack of comedy suggested the film was going to get darker, but it took too long to get there.		2013 Directed by: James Ponsoldt Screenplay by: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley