MAMA (2013) movie review

Mama (2013) (1st viewing) d. Muschietti, Andreas (Spain)

After he goes on a shooting spree, two young girls are kidnapped by their kookoo papa, ultimately ending up in a wooded cabin that turns out to not be so very deserted after all. Pater says “later,” and through an effective child’s drawing credits sequence (echoes of Children of the Corn’s three decades prior), the tykes transform from lovely lasses to rail-thin Gollum understudies.

TAKE SHELTER (2011) movie review

Take Shelter (2011) (1st viewing) d. Nichols, Jeff

Oil rig worker Michael Shannon starts experiencing horrific visions of an apocalyptic storm to come – is he a prophet or merely going off the deep end? Nichols, who directed his own script, keeps us guessing at all times, injecting Shannon’s schizophrenic mother (Kathy Baker) and a healthy dose of self-doubt into the mix, further complicated by his protagonist’s refusal to confide in an understandably frustrated wife Jessica Chastain. Things come to a head when Shannon begins expanding the backyard tornado shelter, an endeavor that strains not only the family finances, but the understanding of his community. A slow burn to be sure, but Nichols and his star hold our sympathies and attention throughout.