The Good Neighbor (2016)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Memorable, crazy movie

Brilliant and touching

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

If the quality of a movie can be judged by how much emotion its characters evoke, this film is a winner because I hated certain characters by the end. Like, viseral hate.+++SOME SPOILERS+++The plot is super-simple: two teenagers secretly surveil their neighbor for the purpose of making a psychological art film. Things, of course, end up going very wrong. The movie first appealed to me because James Caan is in it. I mean...Why would he choose to do a junk movie at this point in his career, right? Well, I wasn't disappointed.The downsides of the movie are: (1) Not a whole lot of action; (2) Shot almost entirely in low light; (3) Slightly drags in the middle.Upsides are: (1) Interesting plot; (2) slow building suspense; (3) Ending full of multi-layered emotions.RECOMMENDED

It's rare for a movie these days to come up with something unique by way of story, but this one's twist ending is bound to create an awareness in the viewer that things are not always as they seem. Up until that point, the picture was dragging for me, primarily due to the shrill relationship between teenage buddies Sean (Keir Gilchrist) and Ethan (Logan Miller). They get involved in what they call their 'Haunting Project', a deliberate attempt to scare their next door neighbor, a neighborhood curmudgeon named Harold Grainey. Grainey's reputation has taken a hit over recent years due to the death of his wife, and the story's non-linear exposition of Grainey's true character is what makes the story's resolution so stunning. All the while I'm waiting for Harold to go big time Sonny Corleone on the pair of instigators, and it just wasn't meant to be. If you can suffer through the emotional outbursts of the frustrating, movie-making, scientist wannabe's, the outcome will most likely affect you with a visceral response. That they seemingly got away scot-free with what might be considered a legitimate manslaughter rap only made me that much angrier.

First off, there are several good reviews on this film, but be careful not to read to much and spoil the build up. I'm mainly writing because the Parent Guide was filled out incorrectly in some areas and not filled out at all in others, so unbeknownst to me, I sat down to watch this with my teen son and immediately realized that this movie may not be appropriate for him to see. Profanity: Lots! I mean these are high school aged boys, basically troublemakers, who use a lot of "colorful languages". Sex & Nudity: While there isn't sexual intercourse per se, there are scenes with sexual innuendo; a girl takes her top off as they are about to have sex; as one boy watches a computer monitor you hear sounds alluding to a porn video; several posters of voluptuous women (including Debbie Does Dallas) are on the boy's bedroom wall; etc. Alcohol & Drugs: The underage boys are drinking beers throughout the movie and the absentee, single mom even catches them and just says, "you can at least hide the beer cans"; the boys have a party which includes alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, etc. I hope to get this info entered on the Parent Guide, but I don't have the authorization to do so yet. All that said, this movie is intriguing. Although it may seem slow or monotonous to watch people watching people (filmed mostly with hand-cams and hidden camera footage) it builds suspense/curiosity and keeps you guessing and captivated. This film has multiple layers that build on each other and as the puzzle pieces come together it comes to a satisfactory conclusion... well mostly ;)

Whilst talking to a friend about what Grunge bands she has been listening to,I decided to ask about what movies she has recently seen,and was told about a Thriller on Netflix UK. Recognising the title from a very good review by Kim Newman in Empire magazine, I decided to pay a neighbourly visit.The plot:Deciding to make their own secret "social experiment" film,Ethan and Sean break into the house of loner neighbour Harold Grainey,in order to plant hidden cameras and other electronic devices around in order to make Grainey believe the house is haunted . Over the next few weeks,Ethan and Sean spend all their waking hours watching Grainey. Desperate to wind Grainey up,the guys use devices that create random power cuts,and even break the windows. Believing that they have a camera in every part of his life,Ethan and Sean soon discover a secret door in Grainey's life that they want to unlock. View on the film:Picking up the camera for a feature film debut after spending years working on major blockbusters as a concept artist,director Kasra Farahani displays a striking artistry for various film formats,with the footage "shot" by Ethan and Sean being given a low-res Video grit,that neatly counters the slick digital format that spans the houses of the guys and Grainey. Recording a mix of genres,Farahani & cinematographer Alexander Alexandrov give the voyeurism of Ethan and Sean an intelligent twist,where the traditional sexual undertone is exchanged for an obsession similar to internet trolling,where the guys want to make their "haunting" troll Grainey to the point where it controls his life.Recording Sean and Ethan starting out on their film project,the screenplay by Mark Bianculli and Jeff Richard give the Found Footage genre a psychological horror dominance,with Sean and Ethan's recordings capturing every waking (and sleeping) moment of Grainey. Looking into each room of Grainey's life,the writers brilliantly turn the Home Invasion Thriller genre round,with it being the things on the outside,and not the "monster" seen inside that are the real terror. Joined by a terrific,short-fuse Logan Miller and Keir Gilchrist as Sean and Ethan, James Caan gives a fantastic performance as Harold Grainey. Speaking a limited amount of dialogue,Cann gives Grainey a ticking time bomb facial expressions,that also carry the weight of what is in the unknown room,of this good neighbour.