Mainstream

 Gia Coppola impressed me a few years ago with Palo Alto, she kept herself pretty lowkey after that. Her sophomore effort is Mainstream, and it ups the style and the actors are great but after the first 30 minutes the film crumbles. It is supposed to be a takedown of internet culture, vloggers, people on their phones, but it not only begins to point the finger at everyone with a phone but it soon becomes a film where the characters themselves become those they hate....which is odd cause they kind of start off that way too. There really is no character growth, just a narcissistic trust fund baby/sociopath that mocks life yet wants nothing more than fame. While the acting is great the characters are awful, intentional sure but the story doesn't warrant it.   

Seance

 Ever since A Horrible Way to Die i have been wanting Simon Barret to direct a film. All of his work with Adam Wingard has been excellent for the most part so i awaited what he would do. Seance did not disappoint. A huge ensemble all delivers, the bitches truly make you hate them, the protagonists make you want to see them survive. With it's great gore and kills, especially towards the end,  it also crosses subgenres, part supernatural part slasher, but it tonally feels like it'd fit the same universe as the rest of the Barret/Wingard gems. 

Star Wars Visions

 Star Wars Visions is the animation that Disney should embrace for Disney Plus. Where as Bad Batch was a chore and What If is a mixed bag, this here tries. Sure not every episode works but each one is like 15 minutes so no time is wasted. I'm not an anime guy but i loved how it used various anime techniques and styles. Some of it felt like the eye rolling anime, others were badass. This is Star Wars anime for the Animatrix fans among us! 

Chaos Walking

 I don't know what the fuck i watched....but that seemed like a high concept with poor execution. Chaos Walking is Doug Liman's latest genre film, much like Edge of Tomorrow the concept is brilliant but unlike Edge of Tomorrow, this is a clustered & convoluted experiment gone wrong. The idea of a planet without women is great, the idea that men's thoughts can be heard is great, an Earth women landing on said planet? Greatness right? No, maybe in other hands, and this is not a knock on Liman, i love alot of his work, but this felt like a Sy Fy channel movie with some A Listers and attempting to take itself seriously. THe plot is thin, the gimmick runs thin and the thinness bleeds over to boredom. 

Wrath of Man

 Wrath of Man is both a solid follow up to The Gentleman and a return to(poor form). I love the tone and style, it feels like a B Movie action film but sicne it stars Jason Statham it is in theatres, i mean all of that in the best way, and i love the way to story is told. The story however is quite convoluted and contrived. It's all over the place and thinks it is smarter than it is, it wraps up nicely but there is still a solid hour where nothing makes sense. It's fun and entertaining and definitely better than Ritchie's blockbusters but still lacks the punch of Lock Stock, Snatch, Rock N Rolla, and the Gentleman. 

Profile

 Timur Bekmambetov is an interesting director but not one i love. I was a fan of Night Watch and Day Watch but i have always wanted something as visual as Wanted. Profile is a 2018 film released in 2021 and it feels like it. The concept is great but it has been done better with horror films over the past few years. Alot of the dramatic moments come off as wooden or humorous which is not right for a film like this. The message in the film is blurry too. I honestly got more political tones from Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. 

Georgetown

 When i read that Christoph Waltz was going to be directing a film i was stoked. The plot sounded iffy and the trailer looked meh but i was stoked all the same.The film while well crafted, is quite the bore. Waltz as always does great acting but he smokes everyone else. It's a short and a quick watch but it honestly feels way longer than it is. 

Censor

 I wanted to love Censor.  A film about a girl that reviews video nasties to see if they meet standards? Fuck yes! But it self is also a horror film where paranoia consumes and murder ensues? Even better. Is it a giallo? Not really, but it doesn't have some 70s grain. Much like a giallo it is a slow burn, only here the pacing bores you. Then the final act kicks in and it goes full on exploitation horror, not just that but meta, then meta on top of meta. Great gore, great sets & costumes, wooden acting and a dull plot. It's a cool flick to watch for horror fans but it ultimately felt like a film where the poster & idea outweigh the final product. 

Zola

 Zola had alot of buzz, reviews said it was insane. If it really happened then sure, but as cinema, nope. It stars Riley Keough, she is in great films and she plays a stripper? Ohhh this is not one of them and she plays a prostitute essentially forced to fuck and it is listed as a dark comedy? No humor, just douche bags, bitches and A24 filmmaking. A24 filmmaking? Is that a thing? Yep! For every Green Knight there is Zola. This is luckily less than 90 minutes, and i'd rather spend 90 minutes at the worst strip club in the worst city than watch this garbage. Oh wow, hand held camera? So edgy, so 90s, so indie. Nope. Womens empowerment? This film wishes. This is not Zola this is Zero. 

Hail to the Deadites

 Hail to the Deadites should have been thirty minutes longer, and it should have focused more on the actual fans. This here felt scripted, it didn't feel authentic and quite a few that were interviewed came off superficial. I wish it would have been more interviews like Heather Seebach, real fans being interviewed at cons, showing their collection and telling tales about discovering this glorious franchise known at the Evil Dead. 

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

 Spiral, the latest Saw film, is an entry that i thought might bring the series back to greatness. Greatness that really only sticks with the first two. Granted the only one i hated was the third but all the other sequels all tried too hard to be "shocking" and all thought they were smarter than they were. When Jigsaw came out i thought it looked like a desperate grab, and it was for the most part. This here is tired as fuck, wooden acting, contrived plot, awful gore, incoherent flash backs. This might be the worst film in the franchise.  All the more reason why Saw 3d(the 7th) should have been the last. End it on a...medium note? Atleast if they do a 10th(and FINAL) film that there is no way it could be this bad....right? Oh well, we still have the awesome Saw score to accompany the film. 

Nightbooks

 Nightbooks is a solid horror flick for kids, or gateway horror as it is called now. It pays tribute to horror films and celebrates creative horror writing all while in a young adult package. It's better than the Goosebump flicks and other recent horror films of that vein. It'd fit right at home on Freeform's 31 Days of Halloween and outdoes alot of their selections in my opinion. Buzzfeed can have their Disney Halloween flicks all they want, this is the movie that knows the genre. It is from David Yarovesky, the director of Brightburn, and much like that film you can tell he loves the subject he is tackling. Brightburn i felt needed better execution, and this here improves that, it just needed to be a little tighter. 

Cry Macho

 Cry Macho is Clint Eastwood's lightest film in years. It feels like a spiritual sequel to Gran Torino only take away the grit & craftsmanship and replace it sap and odd transitions. It's a good film, it feels like a flick that aunts & uncles will lend their nephews/nieces or their brothers/sisters/in laws and rave on but it is more of a one time viewing. Eastwood is Eastwood, the other cast is decent but the dialogue they deliver is laughable. The plot is there but ultimately feels sappy. 

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed

 Well Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed is quite the depressing documentary. It details Bob Ross's rise to stardom, his health decline and the bastards that stole his name & likeness. I love Bob Ross, sometimes i will just toss on an episode before i go to bed, it is soothing. I also have purchased items with Bob Ross's likeness. Until it goes to the right people i shall no longer. 

Lucifer S6

 The final season of Lucifer upped the series on many every level. Acting, storytelling, character work. It tackles some social issues and in a powerful way. The series is a rush of emotions, sadness and joy, sometimes both. New characters become the utmost important, dead characters make emotional returns, The time travel is to be desired as it is flawed in theory, but it ultimately becomes poetic. The epilogue is beautiful and it all boils to the final shot and it makes the entire journey worth it.  

Spare Parts

 Spare Parts looked like a sexy fun time. A Battle Royal twist on Guns Akimbo and We Summon the Darkness but it ultimately becomes Bitch Slap. Bitch Slap i wanted a sexy fun time of exploitation but instead it was a post modern Grindhouse flick, which is what this is. It also reminded me of Doomsday, all style no substance. The plot & characters are thin, and the blood & action is quite forced. I was going to check out the comic, and still might, cause it is a great concept just poorly executed. 

Werewolves Within

 Last year Josh Rubens impressed the fuck out of me with Scare Me. A fun and simple horror comedy in a remote snowed in cabin with two main characters that could be love interests until everything goes awry. This year he directed Werewolves Within, a fun and simple horror comedy in a remote snowed in cabin with two main characters that could be love interests until everything goes awry. Milana Vayntrub(the AT&T girl) is totes adorbs in this..... and she has great chemistry with Sam Richardson.  Only thing is there are more than four cast members here and there are a few locations, oh and instead of telling horror stories this here is about a werewolf. While i found the first outing to be more clever this here is just as funny with its dark humor and features a bit more actual horror moments instead of the implied of the former. Scare Me went alot darker towards the end but this feels like a step forward. If his next film fits this same mold i'd be happy, if he does something totally different than more power towards him but two films in a row he has made highly entertaining horror comedies so whatever he does next i will be excited for. 

Kate

With the recent subgenre of female spy/espionage/assassin flicks most have been mind numbing and contrived. Kate, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead might be partially contrived but it is easily the most entertaining of the bunch. Winstead, Woody Harrelson, and  Miku Martineau are all awesome in this, their charisma along with the slick style and choreographed violence make this a hell of an entertaining ride. The ending has balls too, and for a Netflix movie that is impressive! 

Malignant

 Malignant is a pure James Wan film through and through. Take some of the gritty detective stories of Saw but mix it into the batshit insanity from Insidious and this is what you get. I loved the second Insidious but honestly this feels like the third part of a trilogy with the first Insidious and first Conjuring. Atmospheric as fuck, creepy shadows, tortured characters, this is Wan to a T. Of course i'' support Aquaman 2 but this is the Wan i love. Tonally it is all over, starts off feeling a bit like Brian Yunza, morphs into Sam Raimi, transitions into Frank Henenlotter all with a bit of Dario Argento sprinkled in. It might not be the weirdest of the year but it might be the most bonkers. 

In the Earth

 The latest offering from Ben Wheatley, In The Earth is a return to form for the director. Much like his last film, Rebecca, it oozes still, unlike that film he returns to horror roots, but like most of his films other than Free Fire, it is dull as fuck. For me return to form for Wheatley means a pretentious film that feels the way mumblecore haters feel while watching Joe Swanberg. Rebecca fits his tedious style more but he is a genre director at heart, i just wish he could make something as awesome as Free Fire again. This here has some solid acting as usual and some great gore but sadly is all i found in the Earth. 

Martyr Lane

 Martyr Lane on Shudder is quite atmospheric and feels like it could be an old school gothic horror tale. but it has many modern tropes. The child actresses are great in this, but i feel if they were not a part of the film that the picture would not be as compelling. The plot is intriguing yet thing, the horror feels very Spain only without the punch. While it was a solid film it is one i was ultimately bored by. 

Rick & Morty Season 5

 Rick & Morty season 5 had a finale much like previous seasons that ended quite somber. This was a pure sci fi driven, trippy & heady, violent season that was brilliant. The final two episodes aired over a month after the initial run, i didn't even remember until i saw a random post. I was watching All Out so just got around to it now. Well worth the wait and these final two may be two of the very best. 

Legends of Tomorrow

 I am not a big fan of the Arrowverse but i tried each series. Elsewords gave me a new look at Legends so i decided i would catch up. Finally did during Crisis and i was happy I did. This season while i loved the genre twists ultimately it began to feel very CW. Not in the Gossip Girl way but in the Supernatural way. Supernatural was awesome but it had that nerd chic vibe, as does this. While None of that is a bad thing it just felt empty. Some episodes felt like a chore, others i just wanted to watch anything else. 

Match of August

Ilja vs Walter: NXT UK title: Takeover 

Deonna Purrazzo vs Mellina: Impact Knockouts title: Empowerrr

Kyle O'Reilly vs Adam Cole: 2 out of 3 falls: Takeover  

Jonathan Gresham vs Rhett Titus: Pure title: Glory by Honor 

Vincent vs Matt Taven: Cage match: Glory by Honor 

Violence Unlimited vs LFI : Glory by Honor 

Foundation vs Violence Unlimited : Glory by Honor 

Damien Priest vs Drew McIntyre vs Sheamus: US Title: Raw 

Trevor Murdoch vs Nick Aldis: NWA Title: NWA 73  

LFI vs MexiSquad: Glory by Honor 

A Kid vs Jordan Devlin: Iron Man match: NXT UK

Raquel Gonzalez vs Dakota Kai: NXT Womens Title: Takeover 

Cameron Grimes vs LA Knight: Million Dollar title: Takeover  

Ishii vs Moose: NJPW Resurgence 

Samoa Joe vs Karrion Kross: NXT Title: Takeover 

Vacation Friends

 Vacation Friends just adds to John Cena's awesome 2021. Not only did he have a great return months but he got eyes on him in the last Fast & the Furious and was great is The Suicide Squad. Now he has Vacation Friends where he is a coked up free spirit along with his wife Meredith Hagner(also awesome in this) that meet a newly engaged couple(Yvonce Orji and Lil Rel Howery). This is dumb yet hilarious flick. Sex jokes, shit jokes, drugs, it feels very late 00s, it might not be as great as those in that era but if you want to laugh at dumb shit without giving much thought to plot then You Can See This. 

Superhost

 Superhost is another in the subgenre of horror based around vloggers and influencers. This film follows vloggers that stay at Air BNBs particularly those with superhost ratings. I myself have stayed with a superhost and it was a great experience.....the host here, not so much. She begins with a jump scare but becomes quasi quirky and off-putting in a cringy and annoying way(on purpose). It's not so much suspenseful as it is creepy. Gracie Gillam delivers a maniacal performance as the host in question, and her two guests(Sara Canning and Osric Chau) are great as your typical semi annoying vloggers that value hits above all else. The film ends perfectly too and not at all in typical fashion. Simple horror, satirical ideas, great villain, and some shocks make this a hella entertaining Shudder flick. 

Shang-Chi

 Shang-Chi is refreshing in that there is a character i don't know too well outside of random Kung Fu comics. This is the most blind i have been going in since Guardians of the Galaxy. Unlike Guardians this is not one that left me wowed. It is fun, it has a good cast, some great looking fight scenes, set pieces and effects but it feels like a 00s martial arts/sci fi hybrid but with the added MCU humor. The villain is one of the better in the MCU in terms of first outings....well first outing for this character with that name....as we get some great moments with a past villain. 

Annette

 When i saw Holy Motors 9 years ago it blew my mind in terms of utter weirdness and surrealism. It was an experiment but one i never revisited until recently. The film while still odd is tedious. Leos Carax's follow up, Annette is a tighter film, on par in terms of tediousness, more grounded yet oddly weirder. Adam Driver does his best work here, Marion Cotillard as usual delivers the goods(more ways than one) , and Simon Helberg can finally step away from the Big Bang Theory. Weirdest film since Sorry to Bother You, pitch black humor, great musical moments, whip of satire, and singing and dancing puppets. The scope is quite epic, so while it is on Amazon, you might get a more fulfilling experiment in the cinema. 

Cruella

 When i read about a live action 101 Dalmatians focused on Cruella De Vil i rolled my eyes. Adding Emma Stone had promise. The trailer made me question how a dog killer could be an anti hero, but the reviews had me intrigued. I felt i needed to see it just for curiosity sake just for the balls to pull this off. Bravo cause it was pulled it. The film looks stunning, has a great cast and acting, an amazing soundtrack, builds up moments well with tension, twists, and dark humor. Part origin story, part heist film, flips the script on expectations with the character. Loved how the dealt with the Dalmatians in this  to give the slant while winking at the source. With a sequel in talks i am all for it even though it works as a stand alone experiment. From the tone, humor, style, and even credits, this honestly feels un Disney. Behind Jungle Book this is my favorite live action adaption, and time will tell if it surpasses it.