Jon Harvey's Pocket Reviews

Protagonists Becca and Tyler aren't quite sure what to think when their Mom sends them off for a week to their grandparent's house in the woods, considering they've never met them. Meanwhile, their mom uses this time to go on a cruise to the Caribbean with her boyfriend. Everything seems normal until Pop pop and Nana begin acting eccentric, especially when the lights go out. M. Night Shyamalan does not have the best track record with movies. I haven’t seen quality work from him since  Signs  in 2002. A joke among some groups, his name has become synonymous with laughably terrible films. This latest attempt sparks some life back into his career,  but we'll have to take it with a grain of salt . I've never been so pleasantly confused by a movie in my life. M. Night Shyamalan hasn't attempted a horror film since  The Happening , which ended up being one of the best "so bad it's funny" movies in a while. There are elements of that in thi...

Ah, the 80's. The last decade before the internet and cell phones took over our lives, when sci-fi dominated the silver screen and kids were the heroes. The 80's are indeed making a nostalgic comeback, this time in the form of an 8-part Netflix original series. In a small town in Indiana, a boy named Will Byers vanishes one day on his way home. Will's mom and the local Police Chief launch a city-wide search for him, but come up short. A day later, a strange bald-headed girl is found by Will's friends and they discover she has psychokinetic powers and knows how to find Will. As the city tries to uncover the truth about his disappearance, a local government-run lab is trying to find the girl and cover it all up, all while a strange creature is hunting the locals. This series showcased great acting and it was clear everyone took their roles seriously. I get annoyed when I can tell the actors are bored and don't care about the project. In this, Winona Ryder sta...