GOOSEBUMPS

* *

(Loud, out-of-control teen horror flick)

Maybe the young folks who have read R.L. Stine’s series of Goosebumps books will enjoy this loud, out-of-control movie, but we adults sure didn’t.

Jack Black plays an obnoxious writer of children’s horror books. His daughter Hannah (Odeya Rush) is confined to her house, is home-schooled and has no friends, thanks to her paranoid father.

When teenager Zach (Dylan Minnette) moves next door with his single mom, who has taken a job as his high school vice principal, Zach and Hannah take an immediate liking to each other. When Zach hears Hannah’s screams he rushes over, only to discover her father’s big secret. He has all of his monsters locked up in their books, and opening them lets them loose.

They first have to deal with the Abominable Snowman. Then there’s a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy. Then a pack of gnomes. And a werewolf. And on and on it goes.

The author has added a nerdy friend (Ryan Lee), an abandoned amusement park, and lots of special effects that the kids might enjoy. But it is little amusement for adults.

Rated PG-13 because it may scare some people. It scared us right out of the theatre. 

CRIMSON PEAK

* * * ½

(Gothic horror flick)

It goes without saying that Joyce and I abhor horror flicks. Teenagers running into the cellar, up into the attic or into the woods, always splitting up to escape a masked maniac, doors creaking open, and things that go bump in the night, all add up to a tortuous time at the movies.

And then along comes Guillermo del Toro’s gothic tale that has some of the elements of a standard horror film (things do go bump in the night, and doors do creak open) but presents them with such classic, artistic moments that will give you chills and gasps.

Mia Wasikowska stars as Edith Cushing, a young lady from Buffalo who strives to be a successful novelist but is criticized for writing about ghosts when the public wants love stories. Haunted by the ghost of her mother, she lives with her wealthy father and is courted by the local doctor.

Into her life comes Thomas Sharpe, a handsome young man from England (Tom Hiddleston), and Lucille, his eerie sister (Jessica Chastain). Father immediately questions their motives as Sharpe wins the heart of his daughter. As the lovers are about to depart for his castle-like estate in Cumberland, England, her father is brutally murdered in a scene that draws the first of three gasps from the audience.

Thomas and Edith marry and move into the rundown estate, complete with a hole in the roof and secrets in the basement. Yes, Edith does wander into the off-limits basement.

The plot thickens as Edith becomes pale and sickly, seeing ghosts fleeting about the hallways and hearing creaking noises. Thomas and his sister prove to be evil people with evil pasts and evil motives.

Is there no escape from the remote manor and the evil siblings?

If you aren’t completely freaked out by some gory and tension-packed scenes, you’ll find out.

The movie will hold your interest, thanks to some tight direction, great acting and a gothic approach to horror that sets it above its genre.

Rated a big R, with profanity, sex, frightening scenes and some graphic violence.

BRIDGE OF SPIES

* * * * (Joyce)

* * * * * (Don)

(True spy story

brilliantly told)

This brilliantly told spy story is for two groups of people: those who remember the late ’50s Cold War spy exchange and those too young to remember. It is being described as a “docudrama,” but more than that, it is great story telling.

Tom Hanks is one actor that just can’t seem to do anything wrong, regardless who he is portraying. In “Bridge of Spies” he plays James Donovan, a soft-spoken everyman, a Brooklyn insurance lawyer who had some past experience as a Nuremberg prosecutor.

There are no shots fired and no wild chase scenes in this intelligent movie about counter-intelligence, with close examinations of two spies, one from the United States (U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers) and Russian spy Rudolph Abel.

The acting and directing (Steven Spielberg) are so good that you believe that Tom Hanks is James Donovan and Mark Rylance is Rudolph Abel.

The CIA convinces civilian Donovan to defend Abel, expecting that he will go through the motions and Abel will be executed.

Donovan develops a relationship with Abel, and while always considering him an enemy understands that he was doing his job in the Cold War game. While he was the enemy, he was not a traitor. The American public hated Donovan as much as they did Abel.

When Powers’ spy plane is shot down, the CIA and Donovan join forces to negotiate a trade. The plot thickens when an American student becomes involved while trying to cross the Berlin Wall in 1961, as it was under construction.

The byplay between East Germany and Russia takes on its own political life, as does the byplay between Donovan and the CIA.

Most of us senior citizens remember the story, but not the intricate details, while the younger folks probably got little of this historical event in their history classes. While we may remember the outcome, getting there makes for an exciting, emotional movie experience…without a shot being fired.

“Bridge of Spies” is Oscar material. Don’t miss it.

Rated PG-13, with some profanity and violence. It should be required viewing for history students.

THE WALK

* * * *

(Based on true story

of Philippe Petit)

We enjoyed a documentary about French tightrope walker Philippe Petit a couple of years ago. We also enjoyed Hollywood’s version, even though we we’re familiar with the high-wire artist’s feats, mainly because of the terrific photography and 3D effects.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a convincing Petit, consumed with passion for his art and dedicated to walking the wire between the World Trade Center twin towers.

The two-hour movie starts with Petit telling his story with great passion while standing at the top of the Statue of Liberty, looking across the Hudson River at the towers.

We watch him grow from a boy to a young man, developing his skill and performing in a Paris square before moving to a circus tent where he pays his mentor (Ben Kingsley) to teach him all the tricks.

The Frenchman recruits a team to help him, including a charming young street singer (Charlotte Le Bon) and moves to New York City to study every aspect of the two buildings as they complete their construction.

We know what happens, but the story is still incredible as the team comes close to being stopped as they encounter little snags in the plan along the way. It comes down to the big day, August 6, 1974.

The 3D effects make the walk exciting and are worth paying the extra to see. We were told that some people actually got dizzy and sick watching the incredible walk between the two towers.

Rated PG, with little to worry about, except the element of danger involved.

HE NAMED ME MALALA

* * * ½

(Documentary

on amazing girl)

Malala is one amazing, brave, inspiring girl. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has inspired young women around the world to fight for their rights, especially the right to an education. Her story is one we should all experience and her cause is one we should all support.

The movie tells her story from the time she is a very young girl in Pakistan until the present, including her survival after being shot in the head by the Taliban. If only the filmmakers had given us a more linear approach to her life. They jump back and forth in time, using cartoon drawings to fill in the blanks. We do learn interesting facts, especially about her father and the influence he had over her thoughts and actions. In the film, he is always by her side.

There are poignant moments, from visiting school children in Africa to addressing the United Nations. We learn much about her private and public life in a film leaving us wanting to know even more. Bring your children so that they may be inspired by a true hero.

Rated PG-13, with some unpleasant moments in Pakistan.