Netflix And Chill: Emelie (2015)

It used to be the case that horror movies would spend a lot of time showing us a babysitter in grave danger. Now we have a decent selection of movies that show us that the call is coming from inside the house in a different way. Babysitters aren't as innocent and trustworthy as they used to be. Emelie certainly turns out to be someone that you wouldn't want to leave alone with your children.

The only feature film, so far, from director Michael Thelin, who co-wrote the story with writer Richard Raymond Harry Herbeck, this is a relatively simple tale of a babysitter who isn't who she says she is. Emelie (Sarah Bolger) turns up to look after Jacob (Joshua Rush), Sally (Carly Adams), and Christopher (Thomas Bair), and the parents (played by Chris Beetem and Randi Langdon) assume that she is the young woman they hired named Anna. They head off for a date night, happy that the children will have a responsible young woman taking care of them. Although things start off well enough, they soon take a turn for the strange when Emelie's charade is revealed.

Walking a fine line between the thrills that the movie needs and some small semblance of plausibility, Emelie is an entertaining and dark thriller that should please movie fans who are now used to seeing a twist on the standard "babysitter in peril" premise. There are enough details revealed to show the motivation, and mental state, of the main character, but everyone seems to be aware that this isn't the kind of thing that can sustain an overlong runtime (it clocks in at a judicious 82 minutes).

Bolger is very good in the titular role, revealing more and more of her real self as the evening unfolds. She's initially mischievous, but that soon turns into real malice when it looks as if things aren't going to go her way. Rush, Adams, and Bair all give fine performances as the children in her care, with Rush being allowed to get more work to do as his character starts to piece together the full extent of the danger that he and his siblings could be in. Beetem and Langdon are mostly offscreen, of course, but do get one or two surprisingly good moments as their date night comes to an end, Elizabeth Jayne is enjoyable as an "unwelcome" visitor who could scupper Emelie's plans, and Dante Hoagland is a welcome, if unnecessary addition, playing Jacob's friend, Dan.

Both Thelin and Herbeck have a good idea of just how far to take things before it all reaches a point of no return. There are no big surprises, and all of the tension comes from the simple fact that a group of innocent children have been placed in jeopardy by parents who don't realise that they've made a huge, and potentially deadly, mistake, but this is a decent little psychological thriller.

Not one to bump up your viewing list, especially if you have more highly-rated recommendations to check out, but this is worth the relatively short time investment required, if only just for the fantastic lead performance from Bolger, who seems to be having a blast portraying a character I'd love to see re-used elsewhere.

7/10

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Breathing Happy (2022)

A film about addiction, a film about loss and regret, a film about that first Christmas you may be nervously spending alone, Breathing Happy is a strange and surreal film that creeps up on you and lands an eye-watering gut-punch on viewers by the time the third act starts to fully unfold.

I have to admit that I was wary when I saw it was written and directed by the lead actor, Shane Brady. That doesn’t always go well. Thankfully, there was no need to worry.

Shane plays Dylan, a man who is spending Christmas Eve trying to stick to his guns and stay one year sober. It’s tough though. That pull of his addiction is given extra strength as he also feels himself being tied up in a burlap sack of grief and thrown into a dark pool of misery. His memories and feverish imagination create what could be viewed as, well, spirits of Christmas past, present, and future. Will Dylan make it to his big sober anniversary date, or will he succumb to temptation? Will viewers care?

The answer to that last question is a resounding yes. Brady has been careful to present a character who isn’t a bitterly unsympathetic, which is no small feat when portraying an addict. Addiction is selfish, it breaks the hearts of loved ones who want you to stick around and be present, and it’s frustrating and infuriating to want to help someone who doesn’t want to help themselves. It’s also a sickness, and showing Dylan attempting to hang on to his sobriety allows Brady to show his Herculean effort, as well as his growing realisation of the pain he has caused others, and the pain he has caused himself while missing out on so many lovely moments with his family.

Although he is front and centre for almost every scene, Brady also helps himself by filling out his cast with great talent. You get great voice work from Sarah Bolger, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead (two of them voicing magic doors . . . yes, magic doors), and there are excellent performances from Katelyn Nacon, Brittney Escalante, Angie Duke, and June Carryl. Each woman has at least one standout moment, and each presents a slightly different level of patience and understanding, with all of their input working together to eventually present Dylan with the full realisation that might lead to him finding the strength to survive this pivotal Christmas Eve. Oh, and I apologise for almost forgetting to praise Brady some more, he’s easily up to the task of carrying the movie with his powerful lead turn.

There are some flaws here, but they’re quite minor. I would have appreciated a slightly better score, and some of the fragmented memories don’t resonate as much as they could. These are quibbles though, and easy to forget about as you start to feel a lump forming in your throat and some dust aggravating your eyes. Which you should do, because Brady is, both behind and in front of the camera, a master manipulator. In the best possible way.

8/10

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A Good Woman Is Hard To Find (2019)

Director Abner Pastoll didn't really impress me as much as he seemed to impress others with his 2015 feature, Road Games. It was a film with some decent moments, but dragged down by predictability and implausibility. It's hard to think that this tense thriller is directed by the same person who made that movie. A Good Woman Is Hard To Find is a near-perfect piece of work, and I HIGHLY recommend you check it out as soon as you can.

Sarah Bolger stars as Sarah, a young widow who is still trying to figure out just who killed her husband. Other people have their theories, and the police seem to have much more on their plate to deal with. It looks like she may never get any answers, although that changes when a young crook named Tito (Andrew Simpson) bursts into her home. He has stolen some drugs from some very bad men, and wants somewhere to hide out. Seeing Sarah, and her two young children, Tito realises it could be the perfect place to stash his goods, and he'll give her a cut of the money. But Sarah wants nothing to do with the situation. Leo Miller (played by Edward Hogg) is the local crime boss who sends his henchmen out to retrieve the drugs they lost, and it turns out that he MIGHT have something to do with the death of Sarah's husband.

Everyone is working at the top of their game here, and I suspect that they're responding positively to the script, by Ronan Blaney, and the effort made by Pastoll to craft something excruciatingly tense around a fantastic lead character. Sarah is shown, from the very start, to be someone who is trying her best under extremely difficult circumstances, and there's a strength visible there, even in her weakest and most fragile moments. If she seems too timid or passive, it's only to protect her children, or to be on her best behaviour in front of them.

Bolger is so good in the main role that I cannot find enough superlatives to throw around here. She's been working hard for many years now, and in a fair world this would be the role to take her career to some higher level. This isn't a fair world though, so I can only hope that the right people see her performance here, and are suitably blown away. Simpson does very well in his role, a lot better here in his sorta-natural habitat than he was in Road Games. The only real weak link is Hogg, who plays his villain in a way that feels like he wants to be Sean Harris, and making you wish someone had just thought of hiring Sean Harris. I did quite enjoy his turn here, but I seem to be very much in the minority, and I can see why.

Pastoll and Blaney seem to complement one another perfectly, leading to a film that maintains an entertainment factor even as it wanders from one almost-unbearably tense moment to the next, and I would definitely watch another collaboration between the two of them to see if they can succeed again. And if they once again give Bolger the material to dazzle in a lead role, all the better.

9/10

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)

I couldn't tell you the exact facts and figures involved but it seemed to me that, when it was released, The Spiderwick Chronicles didn't do all that well at the box office. I hope it did okay but it certainly didn't create any major excitement and talk of big new franchise opportunities. That's a shame because it's a very enjoyable family film. The same thing happened to Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events (another family film I also enjoyed a lot). Hmmm, I hope I'm not jinxed.

Anyway, to the movie. The Spiderwick Chronicles. Young Freddie Highmore takes on two roles here, playing twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace. After their parents separate, the two boys, along with their older sister (Sarah Bolger) and mother (Mary-Louise Parker) move into the Spiderwick Estate, an old and run-down house in the middle of nowhere. Jared is convinced that his mother is to blame for this family split and he reacts with anger and insolence, resenting every minute of his new life. That all changes, however, when he discovers a book filled with details of many magical creatures living in the area. He doesn't believe any of it, of course, until he actually sees the creatures for himself. There are quite a few nice, sweet creatures to be observed but, sadly, also a number of nasty baddies out to cause harm and get their hands on the book in order to deliver it to their master, an ogre named Mulgarath (Nick Nolte). Jared must keep the book safe at all costs, which isn't going to be easy unless he enlists the help of his family. Will anyone believe him?

Based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, this is an imaginative, consistently entertaining adventure that mixes great special effects with a great cast all portraying nicely rounded characters. Freddie Highmore is a very talented young actor and gives two great performances as Jared and Simon, Sarah Bolger is very likeable as Mallory and Mary-Louise Parker plays a very understanding and loving mother. Nick Nolte isn't onscreen physically for very long but he's excellent whether voicing Mulgarath or portraying him in human form. There are also roles for the likes of the great David Strathairn, the great Joan Plowright and the . . . . . ummm . . . . pleasant Andrew McCarthy. They may not be seen onscreen but Martin Short and Seth Rogen provide some enjoyable vocals for a couple of creatures that are on the side of good.

Three people, including John Sayles, worked to adapt the screenplay and the end result is well balanced. There are moments that may feel a bit intense for younger children but there are also many moments of comedy, spectacle (a flight on a griffin is a particular highlight) and sheer wonderment to keep everyone happy.

Director Mark Waters has given audiences a couple of poor movies in his career but he's also responsible for the remake of Freaky Friday, the great Mean Girls and, his first film, The House Of Yes. The Spiderwick Chronicles easily sits alongside that lot and I think that my high rating here could easily rise after future repeat viewings.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Spiderwick-Chronicles-Blu-ray/dp/B001B6CCD0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1353725018&sr=8-6