The Heart-throb next door

Story: A newly divorced woman falls for a younger man who has recently moved in across the street from her, but their torrid affair soon takes a dangerous turn.

The movie, for all its worth, is a movie vehicle for Jennifer Lopez and thats not a bad thing. I have not seen a lot of Jennifer Lopez in film lately and I found her to be terrific here. I really did. Its funny how no matter how bad the script sounds you can just feel the meaning that whats in the script is trying to convey through her ability to express those inner turmoils and emotions. 

Another huge surprise was Ryan Guzman, this guy plays sadistic and psycho to a T. Ryan and psycho roommate Leighton Meester should play as duo villains in a movie. Ryan does a great job at playing cat and mouse with J.lo and he just plays the bad guy so well. He is beyond terrific and you can just feel the crazy seeping out of him. Ryan shows such a turn around here, he plays the part with such great intensity, he's beyond amazing in the part. 

As for the rest of the cast the only other standout is Hunger Games player Ian Nelson. He had a bit part in the first Hunger Games movie and has seemingly grown into a very capable actor. I have not seen him in anything since then but I feel he's working up strongly. 

The one thing really wrong with the film is its script. Writing a good screenplay is of course the hardest thing to do. Issues with the script would be how certain scenarios are breezed over and character arcs are never fully developed. I would have liked to have seen a better effort for the writer to try and make some points about society, the way we live, the digital age. Our world is full of great ideas, someone just needs to jot them down. 

No worries though, Rob Cohen makes the film worth every cent. As the budget is not huge Rob is able to do the impossible and make a very exciting set pieces. Once we get into the second act the film starts rolling and building towards an inferno of a finale. It was so adrenaline pumping. While some character moments don't seem to work all to well, the director get by with some solid pacing and good twists. 

The Boy Next Door does not break any new cinematic walls. In fact I would call it so bad its good! Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman and Ian Nelson are the best here and the story, while cliche and messy, can be ignored for Rob's excellent action direction. 

Rating: B 

The Woman in Black 2

I was a huge fan of the first film, as it was Daniel Radcliffe's dive into new thematic territory. A sequel seemed like a no brainer, until I realized (spoiler alert) Daniel dies in the end. So how do you follow up a terrifying chiller such as Woman in Black and still be just as good.

The Woman in Black 2 has kept the same atmosphere and setting of the first film and does go over again events from the previous film, involving the ghostly woman. What 2 sets itself up differently is that it takes place over a 100 years later in 1941 when London was being bombed. Now, the concept and themes of that time would have made for interesting new material for the sequel. Sadly, one of the sequel's major faults is its excitement factor. There are too many parts in the film that just drag the film down. Seriously, even some of the characters look bored. What was interesting in the first film was trying to figure out how to stop the ghost from killing all the children and watching Daniel slowly unravel at the thought of spirits being real. Angel of Death, as the sequel's second title, makes the Woman in black seem more desperate than terrifying. Now look I am not for killing children but if thats where the scariness factor comes in, you better deliver. Here only 2 children and a grown up die, half of the children of the orphanage survive. I'm going to rant for a sentence or two here and say why is she so fixated on the one boy. If the woman in black is a vengeful spirit she would of taken all the children, but she didn't. This is what led to the film being very dull and uninteresting. The leads are fine, Jeremy Irvine does a good job with what he's got but even then, the backstories are murkier than the water near the house. Speaking of which when did the water become so clear. If I recall it was more like mud in the first film. I guess by film 3 they'll need a boat to get to the island.

But with all due respect to the material, if this is the best they can come up with than I say let the place stay dormant. No need to go back again if next time we'll be retreading again and no kids perish and everybody lives happily ever after. The Woman in Black 2 sadly does not live up to the title. I've seen some badly rated horror films in the past and I loved them (99's The Haunting and 2011's The Thing)  but what did those films have that this one doesn't, the adrenaline rush. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is a weak entry into this series. While all of it is there, it just seems like we're staring at a black and white photo and nothing is happening. Let's hope this year can bring out some more exciting horror than this.

Rating - C +

Horror films anew

Hello all who read this blog. This new year I am determined to write more on my blogs and upload more art on others. That said I never got out to seeing Ouija or Before I go to Sleep. The first really deterred me from seeing it when the reviews came in and the second seemed to not have gotten a release date. I will see these films when they hit dvd/iTunes and I also plan to catch The Babadook. Its going to be another exciting year in horror.