Since I’m not a fan of horror movies, everything about Split would have to be extraordinary for me to find favor with the story. I didn’t really find too much favor with Split as it seemed to lack substance, rhyme or reason. One man with 23 personalities kidnaps three girls at once. That’s a pretty ballsy move, even for a psycho. Afraid and apprehensive about the kidnapper’s intentions is enough to stifle anyone. However, these three girls, Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) are young and able bodied, so I couldn’t understand why together, they couldn’t overwhelm this guy. Moving right along, the kidnapper, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), has a psychiatrist, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley) who he sees on demand. Dr. Fletcher detects there’s something wrong and suspects she knows what it is but does not share her suspicions with anyone. Further, I can’t find a reason for the kidnappings. Why three at once? Additionally, there’s endless dialogue from Dennis and Barry, a couple of Wendell’s 23 characters, most of which I found boring. I got that his mother was a total physio who abused and berated Wendell and kept him locked in a cellar but you would think all of his personalities would be enough of an escape to satisfy his metal illness.
Wendell lives in a small room at the zoo where he works and has access to the entire facility. He locks the girls in the basement of a building that houses animals above. One young lady has her own problems and is different from the other two, she is also the smartest. As the Split progresses, I find the best of the movie was about Casey who managed to stay ahead of the game all through the film. Of course I can’t give away any more of the story. I recommend you wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray. BTW: The ending has a little surprise twist. I’m not sure what it meant and I also don’t know if it added any value to the story. See it for yourself. I didn’t really care for Split — it’s been sort of done before with Cybil and her 21 personalities, only better!
The Boss is not a particularly great movie but Melissa McCarthy made it the best it could possibly be. Her character, Michelle Darnell grew up in an orphanage with children awaiting adoption, if they were lucky. Michell was adopted twice but twice returned because she was not considered to be a good fit. This reputation apparently followed her to adulthood. Never having a family molded Michelle into a tough, no nonsense, sarcastic but successful business woman who struck it rich and who also became a motivational speaker. Full of herself, popular and the 47th richest woman in the world, Michelle and her assistant Claire Rawlins (Kristen Bell) boards a helicopter after being confronted by her rival, Renault (Peter Dinklage) who tricks her into confessing that she was involved with insider trading. Renault rats her out to the FBI and she goes to prison for 4 months, loosing everything she owned. Ben Falcone (Melissa’s true life husband) directed The Boss and also makes a cameo appearance as her lawyer (Marty). Kathy Bates plays an old friend and mentor (Ida Marquette) who Michelle screwed out of a deal. After being released from prison, Michelle ends up living with Claire and her daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson). Their journey begins when Michelle and Claire start a business while reinventing Michelle as America’s sweetheart. Despite the spoilers, there’s many twist to The Boss. You can’t imagine how much more there is to this story. What The Boss is lacking is the smoothness and confidence I usually see in Melissa’s movies. It seems as if they’re all trying much too hard. There are many funny moments but the movie is a little too contrived. All in all The Boss is funny enough to entertain you when you need that pick-me-up. Peter Dinklage and Melissa are hilarious together.
CAROL's WORLDS 