The Front Room- Much like Brandy experiences in this film, this is shit. It is easily the worst thing A24 has released upon the world, and the nicest thing I can say is that at least Brandy was in a film that went theatrical. A24 didn’t even bother including this in their awards packages. The writing was on the wall. They teamed up with incompetent directors because their last name was Eggers, and made what is basically an awful Blumhouse movie, that might be worse than some of the Blumhouse horror films released in 2024. The “plot” revolves around a mixed couple who end up inviting his white, racist, really old grandmother into the house. Katherine Hunter was much better playing the witches in The Tragedy Of Macbeth. She was actually my pick that year for Best Supporting Actress. Clearly not enough people saw or appreciated her work, because she’s in this travesty, and she’s awful in it. She always feels like she’s acting, or putting on a show, and it never felt organic. The film features some scenes that are just gross, and not based in horror or gore. It is just a revolting, slimy, nasty piece I wish I hadn’t had the displeasure of seeing. What is in the Front Room? Nothing.
Rotten: Final Grade: D-, Audio Description: B+
Never Let Go- Alexandre Aja surprised me years ago with his The Hills Have Eyes remake, so I remained optimistic about his teaming up with Halle Berry. Unfortunately, it is one of these odd post-apocalypse feeling thrillers, like Arcadian, where there are new rules we live by, and trying to figure out how this film makes sense will hurt your head. Right from the start, when the suggestion is that Halle Berry’s mother character had grown up in this environment with these rules, I wondered how she ever found a mate to reproduce with. Because, at the top of the film, her husband is “lost”. Somewhere out in the fog. She also has a dog, and I can’t figure out where they got the dog from. It just is. Even the scavenging, where they are tethered to a string, which they are told to “never let go” of, allows them to scavenge and clear the area around their house. But, if Berry was here as a kid, and they did this even fairly regularly, wouldn’t they have mined the area surrounding? Wouldn’t this need to be like Elevation, where they have to journey to get supplies? I had so many problems with the foundation of the script, that it became hard to appreciate other elements. however, Aja tries to mine some diamonds out of thin air, and Halle berry absolutely showed up to work. She is always delivering, whether it was in the unfortunate The Union, or the disappointing Bruised, she makes sure she’s never the reason a movie fails. the audio description tries also to highlight the moments of tension, but any audience watching is going to have to fully check their brain at the door. The script isn’t strong enough to withstand scrutiny, though the rest of the ingredients almost make for a watchable flick.
Rotten: Final Grade: C-, Audio Description: B+
Boneyard- Mel Gibson now stars in crime dramas that get sent to Tubi to die. I found this, and it doesn’t have audio description. Hilariously, of the three movies, this fundamentally generic procedural with an actor who has had almost as famous of a time off screen as he has on, somehow is better than an A24 film and a Halle Berry horror film from a competent horror director. It’s not a great film, so don’t run for Tubi just yet. But, I suspect with audio description, my comment would be that it was decidedly average. Gibson is effective as a career detective trying to track down a serial killer. But, it doesn’t have audio description, so it isn’t getting a grade.
No Grade Given Due To Lack Of Audio Description