Wrong Turn

 If you are expecting inbred hillbilly cannibals in the new Wrong Turn then check it at the door. If you expect a film that plays with expectations then prepare for an awesome time. This is a great remake, it is in name only, features various "millennial" archetypes, their run ins with rednecks, and the rest is best left to see for yourself. It is closer in tone to the original than the splatstick sequels which i was all for, but i prefer this to the original, it twists the idea and delivers the gore. 

Tom & Jerry

HBO Max does it again. I don't know if i would have watched Tom and Jerry had it not been on HBO but this was a fun flick. The Tom and Jerry story is your traditional tale and the  human characters have your typical 90s kids movie style tropes but the entire cast seems to be having fun which helps. It is far from cinematic gold but for kids it might turn them on to old school cartoons and for adults there is enough humor that works to keep it going, plus come on it's Michael Pena! 

Shook

 Shook, the latest from Shudder, might be their worst film to date. I get it is taking down Instagram culture but the characters are so poorly written, the plot is contrived as fuck and the kills are uninspired. It's a bout a dog killer turned serial killer, but wait it is a home invasion film, no wait it was all a joke but wait the killer that was pretend is real, nope is is someone else, oh shit and they are the dog killer? It was all a long con? The presumed killer still is a creepy fuck? Your leg is broken but you can still walk, and you are not in pain? Fuck this movie. 

Judas & The Black Messiah

 Judas and The Black Messiah continues WB/HBO Max's streak of great films for 2021. I have not seen Shaka King's first film, Newlyweeds, but with it being on Tubi I am making sure to watch it. This film is great, with great performances by the entire cast. Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfeild, and Jesse Plemons continue to do great film after film. The subject matter is important for today's climate and mirrors what is happening, not much has changed. The film does a great job of introducing characters, showing their internal conflicts and building up tension. The end credits put the exclamation point on the ramifications of the film  as it shows us archival footage. It's a 2021 film but up for 2020 Awards competition and rightfully so! 

Malcom & Marie

 Malcom and Marie is shot in gorgeous black and white and is carried by two strong performances but it is is a ugly script and beyond boring. A take down of film criticism with valid points yet it comes from a overly pretentious place. How many times can a couple talk about their great night yet bash everyone they met, how often can a couple bitch about their past then laugh, how often can a couple be so mean spirited to each other before performing oral? That is all this is. It tackles race issues that many critics pry to find in film yet even smacks critics in the face that praise their films. This feels like it could have been a raw film in the 90s or even early 00s but here it is post modern and dull., 

Bliss

 Mike Cahill improves over I Origins but still hasn't packed the punch of Another Earth with Bliss. A tale of two worlds, two theories, which one is real? Are they both? Are both fabricated? I feel it is an allegory for homelessness, drug abuse, hallucinations, paranoia, crystals,  schizophrenia and finding bliss without money. Some of the moments are scary, not in a horror way but cause we have all seen homeless people screaming about nothing, but what if there is something to it? With Cahill i feel he has some sci fi in it, but this feels like his most grounded if only because to me, everything is not real from the first scene on. To me he gets fired, gets a drink, meets a girl, does drugs, loses/sells his phone, is not able to get into his motel, becomes homeless and loses his daughter. But what if, just what if. 

A Nightmare Wakes

 A Nightmare Wakes is the story of Mary Shelly creating Frankenstein but as told through her getaway in a victorian countryside with her baby daddy and his friends. I say baby daddy because Mary is the other woman. They drink, eat, argue, discuss books, fuck repeat. She writes, hallucinates, gives birth, repeat. Think of the most boring oscar bait film, now strip it of all that made it good, now add in a dash of horror but not too much this is a "bio pic". Great concept, terrible execution. 

Don't Tell a Soul

 Don't Tell a Soul is possibly the bleakest, most mean spirited and uncomfortable coming of age movie. It felt ugly, like Rob Zombie's Halloween, but with touches of Gummo, and Brick. Rain Wilson is great in it, as usual, and the film delivers plenty of twists and turns. It is far from a feel good movie, but i think it will stick you.