I didn't know what to expect from Virus 32 but it seemed chaotic. The film is a bit of a slow burn, and enjoyable. I liked following the leads enough, but the final 20 minutes is when the chaos kicks in. It's a bit uneven in the middle and things happened abruptly but Spanish Shudder flicks alot of the time are too slow so i was glad this one was fast paced. Enjoyable but forgettable.
Choose or Die i assumed was a choose your own adventure movie, instead it was a movie about a choose your own adventure game. It starts off pretty sweet, a bit surreal but then it quickly turns into a modern day version of Fear Dot Com and the like. Soon it becomes eye roll worthy and cringey, even though it has decent gore. It has a decent climax which is quite ingenious but then another ending is tacked on that feels out of place...followed by another ending which seems to set up a sequel. It is entertaining enough but it is quite the mess.
The Cellar is a film that had it been released between 2012 and 2016 it would have felt like an Insidious or Conjuring knockoff. Now we have it in 2022 on Shudder and with what Shudder has delivered thus far this year this feels like a step up. It looks slick and as if the director knows how to use the budget, it has an interesting take on the supernatural and other dimensions, with a tense and atmospheric aesthetic.
I enjoyed the first Sonic. I assumed it would be full of kiddie humor and a lame story. Instead it was fun and charming with good characters(save for the sister) and action sequences. The sequel has characters that you aren't excited to see again, new characters that feel like run of the mill CGI characters from a Dreamworks movie. Jim Carey was awesome in the first but over acts too much here. The action scenes aren't bad but feel generic. It is overly long and filled with unfunny childish humor. I am not going to say it is not entertaining, as i was far from bored, i just rolled my eyes and knew if i was 9 that maybe i'd love it. It is a kids sequel ala TMNT 2, far more kiddie than the first. 90s kids humor bad. The stinger was pretty cool!
Close Enough has become a series much like South Park where the main characters expand to others every season. It continues to give no fucks and be simple and mindless at times while being brilliant and highly conceptual at others. Every year it reminds me of Clerks the Animated Series but it makes me glad to have so many great animated shows in this time.
Back in the day the "It's not TV, it's HBO" line was perfect as it redefined Television. HBO Max is doing the same with streaming. Their shows are still great, their films are full of raw talent and their documentaries feel underground. Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, is probably the best doc i have seen since Wolfman's Got Nards or You Can Not Kill David Arquette. Especially a skate doc, which you can find dime a dozen on Youtube, this is one that hits. It's surprising there haven't been more Hawk docs too, but this will be the foundation if there ever are more. Best skate doc since Dogtown & Z Boys.
In 2008 Peter Sollett directed Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and it captured alot of the indie music scene. Now 14 years later his next music based film, Metal Lords showcases the metal world. It's a more believable love story than N&N was, this has some far fetched moments too but it is more raucous. The characters have layers and the film has heart. This along with Heavy Trip would be a great double bill, as both are fast paced and about not giving up on your dreams.
The Daniels are a rare filmmaking duo where their both of their codirected films can move you to tears. Swiss Army Man is one of the most beautiful films of the past decade, and their latest Everything Everywhere All At Once is possibly more beautiful. It is an experience of the eyes, heart & mind. One that must be seen again to fully grasp. For everything that doesn't make sense it oddly winds up making sense. This film hit me hard and it felt as if i needed to be seeing it in this moment, the same thing happened during Swiss Army Man. Speaking of that slice of weirdness, this here might be the most bonkers, batshit oddity of celluloid to hit the cinema.....maybe ever. The editing style is hectic as fuck, think Gaspar Noe but controlled. The acting is superb, the writing is heartfelt and the directing is beyond stylish. In a year with a few multiverse plots, this will be hard to top.
See For Me is one of the better Shudder films this year, it helps that it is Shudder & IFC Mightnight. Great concept, a blind girl is in a house getting robbed, and she relies on a ex soldier that helps blind people via facetime. It's simple yet effective, contrived at times but it takes you on a ride.
I love Judd Apatow but many of his films are overly long. For me his masterpiece is The King of Staten Island. That film was released VOD during the pandemic. Funny he goes from his masterpiece to his disaster in a film about making a film during the pandemic. A minute is i knew this wasn't your basic Apatow film....it is too basic....it is too Netflix. It tries to be trendy, incorporates way too many TikTok dances and dated Covid humor. This feels more like an unfunny SNL skit from 2021. Thirty minutes in a wanted to turn this off, holy fuck is it bad. The acting tries but it is awful, but the script and style are pure trash. People need to watch this to know how bad it is, but not so bad it is good, just an experience of torture. It felt like it would never end. How can we go from the King of Staten Island to the Jester of Covid England?
Night's End starts off pretty awesome, it feels like a movie about a vlogger that would wind up on Nuke's Top 5 but as the story continues it begins to become contrived. Not just that but the acting becomes massively cheesy, even from Michael Shannon. The demons effects are piss poor and laughable. I was loving the first 30 minutes of this so it bummed me out that the rest didn't hold up. Could have been one of Shudder's best but was one of their weakest.
I love Richard Linklater, i love his style but he is hit & miss. I prefer experimental Linklater and nostalgic Linklater. Apollo 10 1/2 is both. An animated film in kin to Scanner Darkly but set in the late 60s it covers the pol culture and essence of the time period but instead of 1976 teens for Dazed & Confused, we get 1969 and a kid. It is full of wonderment and a simpler time, it pokes fun at the more questionable methods of the time while praising what it was like to be a youth. Linklater's best since Boyhood.
After a two year wait, the bandage is finally ripped off and we can get Morbius over with. This film is MCU adjacent but exists in a different reality. It looks as if No Way Home changed this film since Venom is now a different universe. I just wish all these timelines got sorted, i love the multiverse but multiple studios having their fingers in the production of films really hurt the Spidey flicks(the flashback in Homecoming, Venom 2/No Way Home/Morbius). I was expecting either total garbage or early 00s Marvel fare(which i love). It is not total garbage as it is not a boring film and has decent acting, but it is far from the quality of the early 00 flicks.....and those films are not quality to say the least. It falls in between them but unlike those early films i doubt i could watch this again unless i found it for like a buck. The two stingers(which are connected) definitely feel like they were going a different direction prior to No Way Home(read thanks to Covid). For multiversal Marvel, i'll wait for Dr. Strange, for Spidey, i'll wait for Spiderverse 2. Morbius & Venom 2(along with Shang Chi and Eternals) just are not cutting it for the SonyVerse or the MCU.
Jay White vs Alex Shelley: Sacrifice
RKBro vs Alpha Academy vs Seth/KO: Raw Tag Titles: Raw
Briscoes vs OGK: NWA Powerrr
Deonna Purrazzo vs Chelsea Green: ROH Title: Sacrifice
Noam Dar vs Joe Coffey: Heritage Cup: NXT UK
CHarlie Dempsey vs A Kid: NXT UK
Swerve vs Tony Neese: Rampage
Jordan Oliver vs Tyler Bate: NXT UK
Moose vs Heath: Impact Title: Scrifice
Jonah vs PCO: Sacrifice
Trey Miguel vs Jake Something: X Division title: Sacrifice
Dragunov vs Nathan Frazier: NXT UK title
Bandido vs Speedball: Supershow
Mia Yim vs Athena: Supershow
Ishii vs Timothy Thatcher: Supershow
Morrison vs Taya: Supershow
Tasha Steelz vs Mickie James: Knockouts Title: Sacrifice
Violent by Design vs Good Bros: Impact Tag Titles: Sacrifice
Homicide vs Aries : NWA Powerrr
Suzuki vs Biff: Supershow
