The new movie “Pet Sematary” is a remake of the 1989 version and once again one of those “why was this average movie remade” mysteries? I thought this new version was very predictably disturbing and what I found annoying is, there were too many scenes where the characters would never do what they do in the story. This is about a family, where the father is a doctor and the family moves into a rundown barn-like house. Why would any doctor move into a dump like the one in this movie? In the road outside the house, there are huge tractor trailers that speed by. Any normal parents would never buy that house or at the very least, surround the house with a huge fence to protect their two children and pets. Once again, screenwriting is such a difficult art form because not only does the story have to be good, but it also has to make sense and people have to act logically or at least have half a brain.

The book “Pet Sematary” was written by the prolific author Steven King, and he wrote this book many years ago to be a scary story about the un-dead, but unfortunately this movie is much more disgusting and disturbing than scary and for that reason, I cannot recommend it.

This film stars Jason Clarke as the father, and John Lithgow as the neighbor and I was surprised to see Lithgow in this below average horror movie. Pet Sematary should be skipped by all in favor of seeing any other horror movie.

The Rotten Tomatoes review of the new movie “After” is only 13%. The critics are 100% dead wrong, completely missing the point of this film.

This story of After is about young love found in college and the screenwriter did an outstanding job of showing both the ecstasy and unbearable pain that can happen when you find love. The main character in this movie Tessa Young, played by Josephine Langford, who has a face so extraordinarily beautiful it would be tragic for her to do anything except for appearing in movies. Her presence in this film makes the pain during the emotional roller coaster of this story even more difficult to experience than it would be with any other young actress. The roller coaster includes the full gamut of emotions of jealousy, anger, avoidance, fear, love, hate and even friends who try and sabotage the relationship. Much of this was very difficult to watch.

The young man in this story Hardin Scott, is played very well by newcomer Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Actress Selma Blair plays Tessa’s mother and it was impressive to see her in a movie despite her recent MS diagnosis. Jennifer Beals also has a small part in this movie as Hardin’s mother along with actor Peter Gallagher as his father.

It has been rare when I have seen movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes that are this far off, but critics will be critics and they are very often, very wrong. I give a strong recommendation to After and I believe this will be the break through role for Josephine Langford, who should definitely have a very long career as a movie actress.

The art of screenwriting has never been like writing a Novel. Screenwriting is a story told with pictures and subtext, as the saying goes, “show don’t tell”. The new movie “Diane” portrays the art of showing as well as any movie that I have seen in a long time. The main character Diane, played very well by Mary Kay Place spends the entire film driving through the very lower class streets and horrible run down houses of her lower middle class life. She visits friends. a cousin who is dying of cancer, her son who is a drug addict disaster and still manages to find time to help feed the homeless. We have all seen houses in Diane’s neighborhood in our own life, run down, barely standing, the roads and highways always depressing and in disrepair. A harsh reality in this country for way to many millions of us, is the cost of everything has far exceeded the income most Americans make for decades.
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This movie is not for anyone who is looking for a lift, it is depressing and very real showing a stark reality about the worst part of a lonely existence that many of us face somewhere in life as we get older and relatives and friends slowly leave us. Nothing about this was easy to watch, despite the occasional attempts at humor, including Diane’s son who finds God with a religious sect after he reaches rock bottom with drug abuse.
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The Rotten Tomatoes review for this movie is a very high 93% and I agree with this rating, despite the depressing story, mainly because of the acting of Mary Kay Place. Place is normally in lighter comedy movies and this is the first serious drama I have seen her in for a long time. She should receive an Academy Award nomination for Diane, despite the early 2019 release. I highly recommend Diane for its powerful portrayal of real life.
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