Took off work early and went to my old home away from home, the Dundee. I haven't been since 2019 which is a long haul for a place i used to go weekly. When i saw they were playing the Green Knight i had to go. The film is captivating and epic, it is weird and beautiful. The journey you go on is not just majestic but surreal and the ending seems like post modern A24(for better or worse, depends on your view) but it is an ending and a film that i haven't stopped thinking about the past 2 hours. Glad that THIS was the film i returned to Dundee to.
Animosity is the follow up(well, made prior to) Velecipastor. Where as that was dumb fun in the vein of Troma, this here seems inspired by Ty West or Adam Wingard yet totally misses everything. This is a poorly paced, terribly acted, dull and ugly film with no character developments and even if it did the acting is so wooden you fall asleep. The premise is all over the place and it thinks it is smart, this here is far from it. Stick with the schlock!
The Boy Behind the Door feels uncomfortable from the start, as a film about a kidnaping should. The tone remains relatively bleak throughout. There are some twists and turns, plus some audience cheer moments and the tense ride is told tightly and wrapped up nicely. It is a simple story yet highly effective, possibly elevated due to the great acting by the two child actors. I thought this would be one of Shudder's chore films but it wound up being one of their best.
I watched all of Black Summer season 1 in hopes of some Z Nation goodness. I didn't get it but i got great zombie scenes and foot chases. Well season 2 still gives us zero Z Nation vibes(which honestly i don't mind, i accept this as a different product) and we still got great zombie scenes and foot chases. The first season was jumbled with a incoherent plot and had too many under developed characters, well both of those are worse this year. The best episode features Spears and a former neighbor from his youth. Great acting and the most depth of the series. The finale is bleak but holy fuck did it feel like a chore to get there.
It seems most that love Masters of the Universe: Revelations are die hard MOTU fans or those that are just watching with their kids. It seems those that like it are people that realize it is a show for kids, this is where i land. Some are indifferent, like they enjoyed it but didn't feel the need to watch a kids cartoon all the way through, this would have been me but i am a die hard Kevin Smith fan so i carried on. Those disliking it seem to have wanted more since it was Netflix, well Netflix produces alot of crap so they aren't bullet proof. Then there are those that hate it for "ruining my childhood" get out of here, you still have the originals to watch and chances are you haven't even seen all of them either.
Shudder does great horror, Shudder does great foreign horror, but sometimes the foreign horror drags, and sometimes the horror feels cheap. Kandisha is a flick that felt like it was dragging until the final act, and it indeed took a cheap vibe but ran with it. It hid the negatives and exacerbated the positives. Lots of exposition but the final 15 minutes is worth the wait. The film is stylish so it is not dull to look at, just wish that the final 15 minutes had some more sprinkles throughout the film. Oh well, the shark is best left unseen!
Fear Street 1666 is part prequel by way of visions, and part direct sequel to the first. The prequel stuff feels like The VVitch lite but i'm all for it, i'll take this over that anyday. The sequel goes all out with the slasher goodness and the killer soundtrack. The three chapters do play out as a miniseries and i could see this being a big thing around Halloween. The ending felt like a 90s horror film like the Faculty, and the stinger gives hope for more!
A Quiet Place 2 is every bit as gripping and tense as the first one. Fantastic acting, much like the first, great creature design and a fine way to expand on the concept. While i thought it would be a solid sequel i didn't expect it to feel like a true continuation. I didn't want a sequel but i am happy that this is just as good. Much like the first you feel the fear of the characters, you cringe when they make any sounds. Characters grow, and that final scene is perfect for a coming of age story. This is a film built on tension and it build until the last minute.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions is dumb, contrived but a hell of alot of fun. It picks up right after the original and we see the emotional toll it took on the leads, we then meet former winners and you know the rest, PG13 Saw only a hell of alot easier to digest. There are some idiotic rooms yet they are all enjoyable to watch. It moves quick and the kills happen fast, it is exactly what you want from a horror sequel like this. Add in some twists and this is a good time.
Gunpowder Milkshake takes about 30 minutes to find it's groove but once it does it is non stop badassery. The plot is a bit choppy(especially in that first 30 minutes) but a flick like this is all about the action. Some shades of John Wick and Shoot Em Up mixed with Kick Ass and a bit of Drive make this a fun and bloody flick. Great cast, set pieces, art direction and cinematography. I'd totally be down a second round!
Loki wasn't the chore that Wandavision was nor is it as tight of a story as Falcon & The Winter Soldier, but this was a fun time. Did it need to be a a series? No but it did a good job in teasing things to come in Phase 4. Marvel works best with grounded spy genres like F&WS and Black Widow or with sci fi/fantasy taking us to other worlds like this or Guardians and this gave us some impressive imagery, it didn't look bland and actually felt like a comic. Now there is some stuff that needed trimming cause there was alot of padding(not an MCU trait but an overall TV trait) so i am glad it was only 6 episodes, but even then it felt stretched out.
Black Widow to me was one of the least MCU MCU flicks. Sure there was humor but it didn't derail the story. It is more in tone with Winter Soldier and Civil War, and Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which is when MCU is at it's best in terms of storytelling. As far as recent female espionage/assassin flicks go this is easily the best. I wish this had come out prior to Infinity War but the stinger makes it all worth it and sets up the future of the MCU. The future of the MCU needs more Florence Pugh. This also had one of the best opening credit sequences in Marvel.
Fear Street 1978 feels different than 1994 yet still feels familiar. It still has a bickering group of characters, a great soundtrack and good kills but if the first was Halloween, this is Friday the 13th. I think i prefer the first but this oddly feels more like a slasher and also feels more supernatural. The opening takes a bit to get used to cause it feels episodic but once the story starts rolling it is a blast. Can't wait for the final chapter(for now) later this week.
The Forever Purge is a step up from the previous Purge(The First Purge) but lacks the punch of the two Frank Grillo flicks. It's closer in tone with those two with it being a group on the run on the streets but this time it is set during the day. We see a bit of the morning after purging which i always thought would make for an interesting flick, only here white nationalist have gone rogue and the Purging continues. The flick has some forced jumps and the action scenes are a bit too hectic with close ups and quick cuts but i got the film i was expecting. You go into these flicks expecting social commentary and kills, both delivered.
Son on Shudder starts off super interesting. A cult enters a young boys room(Luke David Blumm from King of Staten Island) so his mom(Andi Matichak) tries to convince the cops(Emile Hirsh) that she wasn't hallucinating. Soon it seems the hospital is in on the cult so she splits town and enters the underbelly or hookers, motels and the occult. It sounds interesting but the pacing is off and the plot begins to wear thin. Hirsh, Blumm, and Matichak all do solid acting and the idea of what is real and what isn't is a good plot device but the ingredients don't add up. It has a great twist at the end but i honestly just wanted to fall asleep.
Yikes. What feels like a mid 00s sci fi film is a 20s film purchased by Amazon. A streamer pumping out another film that i am glad i didn't see in theatres. I used to see everything new(well i still do) but after the past year i know that seeing everything in theatres is behind me, atleast when it comes to sci fi. Sci fi has become over produced, overly long and repetitive and dull. Which is this. Chris Pratt is charismatic but add this to Passengers as far as total misses. This feels like Captive State crossed with Edge of Tomorrow only not as good as either....and Captive State wasn't very good either. Had this gone to theatres last year and covid not happened then it would have been an experience in Imax or Dolby but that is like adding poo pouri to a steaming pile of shit.....well in actuality it isn't a steaming pile of shit cause the action scenes are entertaining but fuck if it doesn't feel like a fly by night Playstation game that you loved for one summer then never played again.
Awake seemed like your fly by night Netflix flick but the fact that it was helmed by Mark Raso made me invested. I loved Kodachrome so anticipated this greatly. It would honestly make a good double bill with Bird Box Gina Rodriguez and her family on the run for salvation since her daughter is the only person that can sleep. Great premise, starts off well, ends in a creative way and has some good turns in the middle but the plot is a bit cluttered and alot of the acting is quite wooden. It feels very Netflix, for better or worse but it isn't the genre film nor the Raso film i wanted.
So i haven't been to the theatre since Bloodshot with Vin Diesel in March 2020, my first time back was today with Vin Diesel in the ninth Fast & the Furious. The theatre still looked the same but felt different, gone was the box office, and the lights were dimmer but it was still quite surreal being back. As far as the flick goes, going in to these flicks you should know what to expect. They have become espionage flicks, they add in elements of sci fi, and they drive fast cars. It brings in old characters, old villains, new characters and even has plenty of flashbacks. It kind of merges the world of the first 4 with the last 4 & spin off. Much like the 8th, Charlize Theron steals the show.
I vaguely remember reading some of the Fear Street books but they didn't stick with me as much as Goosebumps. I was indifferent to the announcement of the Netflix movies but thought the trailer was great, luckily the film knocks it out. This is a fast paced, fun as fuck supernatural slasher with an amazing soundtrack that oozes atmosphere. Set in the 90s it captures the teen tropes from horror films of the time perfectly but meshes it with a sense of wonderment ala It or Stranger Things. I feel this will get alot of watches from people around Halloween, and rightfully so. Netflix might produce too many flicks a year but if they do these every year then i am all for it. Can't wait for the second one next week.
In the Heights, from the writer of Hamilton, is another film full of great songs. It is also from the director of Crazy Rich Asians, and it is very charming much like that film. Likable characters, great choreography and a love of New York and community. The flaws here though is the pacing. At one point i thought "damn this is fast paced" then i saw that it was only 45 minutes into a 143 minute film. The plot has heart but feels a bit empty and contrived. I didn't hate it by any means i just was tired of it early on.
