#Michael Rupnow

[adamwatchesmovies]

Killjoy 3 (2010)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you - the person reading this - won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

As a sequel to Killjoy 2, Killjoy 3 is a masterpiece. There are genuinely funny moments, some deaths are neat and the additions to the franchise – things like character motivations, back stories and defining traits – make a gargantuan difference. Compare it to any other film and it’s garbage, but at least the series is improving.

When Killjoy (Trent Haaga), the demonic spirit of vengeance, is summoned without a target by “the Professor” (Darrow Igus, whose character is never properly named), the wicked clown aims to get even with the man who woke him. Along with his girlfriend Batty Boop (Victoria De Mare), the drunken clown Punchy (Al Burke) and the deformed mime Freakshow (Tai Chan Ngo), they set about terrorizing a group of college students in the hope of luring their true target to Killjoy’s demented world.

I hate that this film is good enough that it can kind of trick you into thinking it isn’t terrible. The first two Killjoys are basically unwatchable. This one isn’t. While not good, I will credit John Lechago for bringing some fresh ideas to the franchise. The new evil clowns are pretty cool. They expand on the idea of evil clowns in a way that’s seldom done. They have their share of funny moments and, if desperate, you could gather some entertainment from watching Victoria De Mare, who I’m pretty sure is completely nude except for some body paint. Pay close attention to her and let me know if you can spot an underwear line anywhere.

Let's not get too compliment-happy. Killjoy 3 merely does what every movie should do. I cared somewhat about the characters Killjoy was pursuing. The demon’s one liners are nothing less than terrible, however. The continuity errors are obvious, the whole film obviously cheap and the conclusion - while containing the necessary elements to constitute a final act - hinges on much stupidity. The acting ranges from mediocre but enthusiastic, to dreadful. Several plot points are never adequately explained and while I recognize that the film looks good considering its peanuts of a budget, the writing isn’t strong. Typing words on a page doesn’t require much money – only talent. Finally, what's new in Killjoy 3 sure feels familiar to anyone who's seen A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors or Hellraiser.

Killjoy 3 runs at 78 minutes and, unlike the other 2, actually feels short. I enjoyed myself here and there but surely, this comes from my "couldn't be lower" expectations going in. When you sit down and see two movies so amateurish and shoddy they make you angry (or is it depressed?) it’s not easy to seem good by comparison. Killjoy still doesn't hold a candle to Freddy Krueger. (On DVD, January 4, 2018)

[akwardlyuncool]

Beverly Lewis’ The Shunning Series “Overview” Review

The Shunning (2011)

The Confession (2013)

The Reckoning (2015)

The basis of the series is that Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman set to marry one of the town’s Bishops, is having a hard time getting over the loss of her former love, Daniel Fisher who drowned in a river a few years back. She’s also struggling with her urges to play guitar and sing songs not in the official Amish hymn book. There is also an “English” woman snooping around town asking questions, which raises some of Katie’s own. To spoil what we already know from the title, all of this leads to Katie being shunned for her lost ways and thus spiraling the story into a 3 part series.

These films are based on Beverly Lewis’ book series, where there may or may not be more books included, but as far as I know only 3 movies were made.

I had previously watched the first 2 movies a few years back, but never got around to watching the third, so I figured I’d watch the whole series all the way through, you know just a quick binge watch cause I wanted to watch the first one again. I never read the books (Inspirational Romance Fiction isn’t really my thing,) but the first movie had enough intrigue behind it to pique something in me. Hallmark, Lifetime, all of the tv movie channels, know how to talk up a dramatic headline. It’s like clickbait, but with less bait and switch and more predictability.

So overall I felt like this could have all just been made into one extra long movie, or 2 at most, if edited right. It was just so drawn out, that to me the entire second movie could have just been divvied up and split between the first and the third. The Shunning (the 1st movie) was the best out of all 3 films, probably because it felt the most like “theater” movie as opposed to a made for TV one. All of that could have just been the “hype” around it, however I think it was also the only film that looked less like in was made in front of a green screen. The water backgrounds, although pretty, just looked so fake against their bodies. There was a lot of little things that separated the films from one another.

It was probably the casting that failed the second and third movies the most for me though. Between all 3 films there was such inconsistency within the casting and that made some of the continuity suffer. Like come on you can’t give us a brunette in one film and then make him blonde in another, call them the same character and think we won’t be at least a little annoyed. I can kinda forgive switching out Danielle Panabaker for Katie Leclerc as Katie Lapp simply because she was there for two of the three films, but the switch up on the other main characters, among other “important” cast members felt ridiculous to me. Between the second and the third film, the second wins that battle easily. I guess you could say that it had more spice to it and by the final film you knew what was going to happen if you hadn’t already figured it out yet.

Most people don’t expect much from these kinds of movies, so I’m probably judging it by its flaws that are simply common shortcomings from Hallmark in general. I can’t help going in on it a little bit, but you know what, I’m the type to get sucked in, even when these movies aren’t that good and I’m not the only one. I think people love them so much because you truly do get so much binge out of them. That’s why something like 40+ Hallmark Christmas movies were churned out last year. There is an audience for it and it’s not just the Christian Moms looking for wholesome content to cry to, we’re all looking for easy watches these days. Me personally I just like how extra these things are.

[blogger360ncislarules]

GIBBS PREPARES TO TESTIFY AGAINST A FINANCIAL ADVISOR WHO STOLE MILLIONS FROM HIS NAVY CLIENTS, ON “NCIS” TUESDAY, APRIL 27

“Misconduct” – While the team investigates a biker killed in a hit and run, Gibbs prepares to testify against a financial advisor who stole millions from his Navy clients, on NCIS, Tuesday, April 27 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

REGULAR CAST:

Mark Harmon

(NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs)

Sean Murray

(NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee)

Emily Wickersham

(NCIS Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop)

Wilmer Valderrama

(NCIS Special Agent Nicholas “Nick” Torres)

Maria Bello

(NCIS Special Agent Jaqueline “Jack” Sloane)

Brian Dietzen

(Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer)

Diona Reasonover

(Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines)

Rocky Carroll

(NCIS Director Leon Vance)

David McCallum

(Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard)

GUEST CAST:

Angela Lin

(Assistant District Attorney Sheila Addison)

Amanda Detmer

(Charlotte James Bodizinski)

Michael Chieffo

(Randy Devereaux)

Jason Downs

(Todd Renfro)

Sarah Stouffer

(Hanna Devereaux)

Troy Blendell

(Bernard Wilson)

Greg Berman

(Navy Petty Officer Second Class Mike Benson)

Michael Rupnow

(Parker James)

Mary-Margaret Lewis

(Maude Simmons)

Sandra Cevallos

(Judge Monic Perez)

Maryfrances Careccia

(Bailiff)

Hilda Boulware

(Madam Foreperson)

WRITTEN BY: Margaret Rose Lester, David J. North, Brendan Fehily

DIRECTED BY: Tawnia McKiernan