The third season of Snowpiercer might have been the toughest to get through, as many episodes slugged along. On the flip side it also might be the best season, and the episodes that worked were powerful. I nearly gave up on this season but the last half totally made up for everything! Like usual the finale sets up a cliffhanger for the next season and this is probably the best.
Adrian Lyne is an odd director to speak of. Most of his films are erotic thrillers that ooze 90s sleaze while maintaining an 80s vibe. Flashdance is probably his most well known of his non thrillers but for me Jacob's Ladder, his horror entre is his best work. It's been 20 years since his last film, Unfaithful but now he is back with another take of unfaithful marriage. Anna De Armas and Ben Affleck are a couple with an open marriage, only she is the only one that has sex...he just kills her lovers. Premise is great and the book is supposedly praised but the film is a disaster. This is the type of film people mock Affleck for, it is poorly written, has uninteresting characters, feeble dialogue, great nudity and sex scenes, but holy fuck it feels dated. It is like a film made in the mid 00s that felt like it should have come out in the 90s even though the mindset is in the 80s. One of the worst films not of the year, not of the decade, but of the century.
The Bunker Game is interesting, it begins as live action role playing then that breaks as everyone must clear out. Once that shift happens the story becomes essentially an old school haunted house film. It is surreal as fuck but it is rather dull. The acting is wooden but the visuals keep you engaged. It ends rather bleak so that is a plus but it is yet another miss from Shudder.
In 2009 Ti West won me over with House of the Devil, to me that was his best film. The Innkeepers became my favorite, that is until now. X might be my new favorite of his and it might just be his best. As usual with alot of Ti's work, it emulates an old school aesthetic but it does so in an authentic way. His films feel inspired more so than trying to be a throwback. Here he builds tension through a creepy & unnerving atmosphere. This could be the best original slasher in recent memory.
South Park returned to it's former greatness. There were references to the previous few years but ultimately doing stand alone episodes as opposed to a story arch for the entire season was the right move, especially coming off of the Paramount Plus specials.
The Seed starts off with annoying characters that you want to see die. It ends well....spoilers.....giving us annoying characters that die. It is fast paced but damn if i didn't want this to be a short. It is not good but i respected the film for having weird ideas. I would say the acting is crap but every now & then there would be a great delivery. Far from Shudder's best, or even passable, but far from their worse. It's schlocky, b fun but it kinda misses the mark.
So Shawn Levy has signed on to direct Deadpool . Last year Levy & Ryan Reynolds delivered a fun ass flick in Free Guy. This year they did it again with The Adam Project. This is a highly enjoyable flick that is super fast paced, with witty sarcastic banter, some stylized fights & chases, various time travel theory, a great soundtrack, terrific chemistry, and alot of heart. It reminded me alot of an Amblin Production and it along with Free Guy have made me excited for Levy's upcoming projects.
Fresh is quite the unnerving film. It starts off very romcom, in the indie sort of way, but you can feel the unease. The musical score adds tension and once the title screen finally starts unsettling feeling kicks in. It is a bit stomach churning yet pulpy, Sebastian Stan is fantastic in a role that is both charming and perverse. The empowerment of women against the 1% of the 1%, the ones who play god without permission, is perfect. It truly makes you question people makes you glad you have your guard up at all times.
Womens EC: Elimination Chamber
Carmelo Hayes vs Cameron Grimes: NXT 2.0: North American Title
Nathan Frazier vs Teoman : NXT UK
W. Morrisey vs Brian Myers: Impact Street Fight
Charlotte vs Naomi: Smackdown. Womens Title
Batman 89 was the pulpy universe, Nolan was the prestige universe, DCEU is the pure superhero universe and now Matt Reeves has given us the gritty universe. This is the film Batman has always needed, and Reeves has crafted his masterpiece. Robert Pattinson is phenomenal as Bruce Wayne & Batman, Zoe Kravitz is on par with Michelle Pfeiffer as the best cinematic Catwoman, Paul Dano constructs a John Doe/Jigsaw esque portrayal of Riddler, Colin Farrell is subtle yet intimidating as Penguin, Jeffery Wright is terrific as Gordon, John Turturro finally gives Falcone his time to shine, and Andy Serkis gives alot of heart into Alfred. The narration and noir setting are beautiful, the sets and costume design are gorgeous and dark, the fights are brutal, and Michael Giacchino's score is haunting, it is his best score since Lost. This is one of the best Batman films ever made which puts it in running for best comic books films ever made.
The Scary of Sixty First is like Joe Swanberg directed a porn but with out the sex, and it was produced by Full Moon so it added sex without the penetration but added some grain ala House of the Devil to give Swanberg some artsy aspect! This was a nonsensical mess with unlikable characters, terrible dialogue, a paper thin plot, and everything else(the set, lighting, kills....even the sex) looked cheap, and not good cheap. I respected it but fuck was it awful.
