Nick’s Flix Review of “Don’t Breathe”

Most suspense films for me fail to keep my attention as the characters plod along aimlessly. The film “Don’t Breathe”, directed by Fede Alvarez, is a wonderfully shot, very intense and intriguing movie that kept me in suspense for its modest 88 minute running time.

The plot is very simple. Three people from Detroit who are young and poor are committing petty crimes to try and get enough money to move away. They decide to hit the home of a blind war veteran, who is sitting on a fortune, and then get out. His house is in the middle of a desolate neighborhood with nobody even close to around.

The blind guy has his own secrets… but that is best saved for the film itself. Needless to say they were very shocking and I didn’t see them coming. You’ll see what I mean when you see it for yourself.

The best scene in this movie for me is when two of the characters are in the basement of the house. The blind guy then cuts the power, putting everyone in the dark. This scene is so intense. The cinematography and the editing here are first rate to let the audience see just enough to know what was going on.

The biggest takeaway from this film is the fact that it cost only $9.9 Million to make (according to Box Office Mojo.) This proves yet again what I have long said, that Hollywood doesn’t need to be throwing large sums of money at the screen in order to make an entertaining and engaging film.

Low budget film making is possible folks! 🙂

By the way, you may remember that Alvarez directed “Evil Dead.” It’ll be interesting to see what he does next!

Nick’s Flix Review of “Sausage Party”

It’s an article version of “Nick’s Flix”!

Here is my review of the R-rated CGI-animated comedy “Sausage Party.”

The brief version of the movie is that you have a grocery store full of talking groceries who want to get out of the store into the mythical “Great Beyond,” only to find out it isn’t what it really is.  There are lots of raunchy jokes and ethnic humor throughout this film.  Parents, please don’t bring your kids to this one! (It’s Rated R for a reason!!!!)

It’s easy to see where the writers got their inspiration for talking groceries going on an adventure.  All of the classic animation studios back in the day did a talking/singing groceries film at one time or another.  One of the most prevalent in my mind is Warner Brothers’ “Goofy Groceries.”  Think of that idea with a modern spin and fleshed out.

The story itself is a good one.  There is a lot of heart once you look past all of the expected humor in a R-rated comedy.  For the most part, the jokes aren’t necessarily over the top, but the scene at the end of the movie (you’ll know which one when you watch it, no spoilers) is totally expected given the tone of the film.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just predictable.

This is a very slick, well edited movie.  I never felt like the pace of the film was off.  It has a modest running time of 89 minutes, which is about right for an animated film.  It’ll be interesting to see if anything was cut out when the Blu-ray comes out (probably.)

I’d recommend this film, but again, I warn you, DO NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS TO THIS MOVIE!!!

NSFW Trailer below: