MOVIE REVIEW: Leprechaun: Origins - 'Nice Rolex'

Director: Zach Lipovsky

Starring: Stephanie Bennett, Andrew Dunbar, Melissa Roxburgh

Release Date: August 22, 2014

The Leprechaun series might have not been the best horror franchise but I must admit, when I heard about a new film that will discuss it's origins - I was intrigued. Nothing like a bit of nostalgia and relive some of my worst nightmares and sometimes biggest laughs as an adolescent by seeing the latest film. I mean this is the same leprechaun that traveled to North Dakota, Vegas, outer space and let's forget about his funniest destination, 'the hood'. But viewers who are like me, watching just for a jog down memory lane, will be truly disappointed and new viewers will be truly confused.

Backpacking through the lush Irish countryside, two unsuspecting young couples discover a town's chilling secret. Ben (Andrew Dunbar), Sophie (Stephanie Bennet), David (Brendan Fletcher) and Jeni (Melissa Roxburgh) quickly discover the idyllic land is not what it appears to be when the town's residents offer the hikers an old cabin at the edge of the woods. Soon, the friends will find that one of Ireland's most famous legends is a terrifying reality.

You really need to sit and wonder who WWE and Lionsgate decided to make this film for. They totally destroy any potential trip down memory lane by doing a complete 180 of the leprechaun. You have to admit, there was nothing actually horrifying of the leprechaun of the past but in Leprechaun: Origins instead of wearing the typical green leprechaun outfit they decided to make the imp bare and transform the 'stare and see what is actually in front of me' leprechaun to a 'gargoyle-esque, you better run because this creature looks like it will have me for brunch' beast. On top of that, not once are the words, "I want my gold," uttered. Potential target audience #1 - disappointed. As for the second, any fan of WWE probably had some interest at minimum to see the film due to the fact WWE's own Dylan 'Hornwoggle' Postl plays the titled character. Wrestling fans might hope to see Postl's acting skills or even see a leprechaun do their favorite wrestling move. Once again, another disappointment as Postl is so consume in it's costume that you cannot tell it is him at all and majority of the film he is hidden in the shadows. Potential target audience #2 - mislead.

Perhaps you're just a fan of horror and that is why you are checking this film out. You are initially disappointed due to nothing original about this film is original. Travelers arrive in a sketchy town and encounter a creature with an uncompelling story. Been there, seen that. Now does the film, actually scare? If it wasn't for director Zach Lipovsky making everything so pitch black than perhaps there might have been a scene or two that would have had the audience on edge or a quick little jump out of their seat. Lipovsky also threw in a couple leprechaun POV shot which were dreadful and makes absolutely no sense why the leprechaun has Predator-like vision. Potential target audience #3 - unafraid.

Now, is this film really an "origins" film? No where near close. Let's drop the fact that we don't even have the same leprechaun in films past but our four travelers did not even take a single piece of gold to be even attacked. Instead, they are locked up in a cabin as a sacrifice from the town's people because they are the one who stole the gold. We are briefly told why and how the gold was taken but we are not shown this process, the process which discovered the leprechaun and initiated his attacks - a true origin. Does this mean we will get another limited release or straight to DVD film that is titled Leprechaun: Origins II - The Real Origins? Hopefully not because I know I won't be tricked into another false walk down memory lane.

Overall, you should just plain out skip this film. Any potential target audience will be highly disappointed but the worst mistake producers made (besides disappointing all viewers) was they did not appeal AT ALL (unless you want to count the only true reference when Sophie screamed, "Fu*k you, lucky charms!") to fans of the original films which can potentially harm their alliance with the franchise.

MOVIE REVIEW: As Above, So Below - 'Flamel’s Stone'

Director: John Erick Dowdle
Starring: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge
Release Date: August 29, 2014

Get ready folks, we are just a little bit over two months away from Halloween which means Hollywood is going to begin their attempts at "scaring" movie-watchers around the world with, what they call, horror films. The first one for our viewing pleasure happens to be John Erick Dowdle's As Above, So Below. Dowdle is no stranger to the horror genre as his last three (four if you can find horror in The Dry Spell) films are all horrors or thrillers. Unfortunately, Dowdle's latest film will not be that above his other films and most likely below other horror/thrillers that will be released in the upcoming months.

Miles of twisting catacombs lie beneath the streets of Paris, the eternal home to countless souls. When a team of explorers ventures into the uncharted maze of bones, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead. A journey into madness and terror, As Above, So Below reaches deep into the human psyche to reveal the personal demons that come back to haunt us all.

What selfies are to picture-taking, found-footage is to horror films and As Above, So Below is yet another found footage horror film. Scarlett (Perdita Weeks), leads her team on a journey in search for Flamel's Stone, the same stone that her father killed himself over looking for throughout his life. So there is a strong motive as to why Scarlett is on this expedition. Now as for the people on her team besides the cameraman, Benji (Edwin Hodge) whose role is sensible to her expedition, makes absolutely no sense or they lack commonsense. First there is George (Ben Feldman), a friend of Scarlett who ended up in a Turkish prison for a week in the past in search for Flamel's Stone. He made it clear as soon as he made his first appearance on screen that he wants nothing to do with Scarlett or her hunt but yet manipulates himself to enter the catacombs. As for the lack of commonsense, the other members of the team, 3 local pathfinders, ask or say the most illogical things. A stone ceiling starts to rift apart and one will ask, "Is that bad?" or after one gets injured by rockfall, "Are you hurt?" I mean there is no such thing as a stupid question, right? But there are such things as unnecessary questions.

The problem with As Above, So Below is that not once throughout the entire film was I at all frightened. But that I'm not upset about. Dowdle could have easily put a lot of cheesy one-time scares in the film with these six individuals exploring a cave filled with six million dead bodies with little knowledge of what is to appear when they make their next turn. There is only one thing I dislike more than a non-scary horror film and that is a horror film that relies nothing on one-time scares. Dowdle never intended to scare the viewers, as it seems he focused on scaring his characters more due to the fact that the objects placed throughout the film only scared one individual character at a time and it got to their psyche. The viewers never get that same level of fear that the characters felt. 

As Above, So Below foreshadows beautifully to their viewers what to expect in the film, in one part of the film the explorers enter a cave that had a sign above it saying, "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" or "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Unfortunately for the viewers, that sign was not placed above the theater entrance. As Above, So Below might appeal to you if you do enjoy archaeologists' journeys but besides that this film is a total skip on all mediums. 

MOVIE REVIEW: Tammy - 'Gimme Some Pies'

Director: Ben Falcone
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd
Release Date: July 2, 2014

Since Melissa McCarthy's role as Megan in Bridesmaids, she has slowly taken over the game making her one of the hottest comedians in Hollywood. She went on to do the movie Identity Thief with Jason Bateman which was sided with a lot of negative reviews but her next film would end up being one of the biggest surprises of 2013 as a Heat sequel is already in production. Now McCarthy teams up with her husband, Ben Falcone, in hopes to make their first hit together. Falcone makes his directorial debut with a script that both McCarthy and himself wrote. McCarthy already proved to us that she has what it takes to make an audience laugh but Tammy falls short in making anyone laugh and the problems start with the script.

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint and, instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It’s time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she’s broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only option—with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs.

The main problem that Tammy deals with is that it doesn't give the main protagonist a strong goal. Yes, Pearl wants to go to Niagara Falls but there is no real importance to it and that makes the audience not care for their journey. What makes it worse, the duo have NO consequences if they fail to make it to Niagara Falls, they will be the exact same character they were from the beginning of the film. Once again, why should I or anyone else care if they get to Niagara Falls then? 

The weak plot can be saved if the characters are amazing. But once again, Falcone and McCarthy fall short of that as well. Pearl is an alcoholic with a health problem. A character development that has been seen in movies before but the health problem was never explained at all throughout the film and alcoholism was executed pretty simply. As for McCarthy's Tammy, the character who is supposed to bring all the laughs, goes through a character development that confuses viewers. Her initial vice is that she is overeats but that disappears early from the film and does not make a return. Then what makes her "funny" is that she is vulgar, has a potty-mouth, and is unpredictable. But besides these antics not bringing in any laughs, all of a sudden and without a warning, she becomes the opposite of all those things as she becomes laid back. 

What made Due Date, another road trip film, starring Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. funny is that the two characters had a big contrast making their interactions hilarious. One was crazy, the other was serious. In Tammy, both characters are some sort of crazy making the interactions between the two bland. If the two characters aren't going to be different then at least they are going have an unresolved issue between the two, right? Wrong. Tammy's biggest differences were between her boss, husband and even a deer. Tammy is concerned about her grandmother's drinking but besides that, they got along pretty well. 

Two people who are alike and have no major problems going on a road trip that has 0 consequences if they fail is exactly what Tammy is about. The script did not set up for the film to succeed and everything else that followed can be blamed on the Falcone and McCarthy. Like Tammy in the film, I expect McCarthy to bounce back and give us more films with a script that actually works. I will totally recommend you to skip Tammy and wait until you are channel surfing one night and you happen to pass it.