The first Vacation Friends is alot of fun. A raucous & irreverent gross out comedy with likable characters that get into fucked up situations. The sequel tries WAY too hard, lacks humor and feels like a shitty Adam Sandler produced film. Luckily John Cena is here to make the babyface save and carry this film like an Attitude Adjustment.
The Old Way feels like a western from the 90s or the 00s, tad more dramatic but it also has hints of modern westerns with the spaghetti influence. Nic Cage does a great job and plays it more straight than usual and it makes sense for this type of film. It has a good and simple story, some solid action and feels like a perfect Sunday afternoon picture.
Cobweb has a tense vibe, but much like Summer of 84 and Antlers, it at times can feel too mean spirited. Good acting, and a bleak & twisted home setting drive this for a shirt & tight 90 minutes. It at times though feels more like a short and i feel it should have been.
Sisu is a pretty badass flick. Not as great or bonkers as reviews have said, but badass none the less. It is a throw back to man on a mission nazi films and does so in a well crafted way that also adds in a decent amount of pulp.
In 2016 Kelly Fremon Craig impressed the hell out of me with The Edge of Seventeen, now she has done it again with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. In a summer of Barbie this is the other female led, female directed film that should be spoken of aswell. It's a fantastic coming of age tale with a great cast, damn fine soundtrack and tackles some issues that especially in the 70s were ahead of its time.
I'm not huge on Tim Story but i loved Shaft. I usually check out most horror so after Shaft i was into the idea of the Blackening. It didn't look great but looked fun, that is all i wanted. Instead i got a quasi spoof that felt like it did not truly understand the genre. Maybe it is cause i'm not in the right state of mind for new cinema but i couldn't wait for the Endening.
Julius Avery knocked it out with Overlord, i went back to watch his debut, Son of a Gun, and it was decent, but his follow up to Overlord, Samaritan, was the awesomeness i needed after Overlord. Was he the next high concept genre film maker? Well The Pope's Exorcist says no....but i still am intrigued by what he does next. Maybe it is just possession films and religious horror but they tend to not do much for me, especially the past 13 years. This here felt basic & generic, not the badassery his last 2 films were.
Bad Things is the new film on Shudder, but bad things are always on Shudder. Here is a film that thinks it is deeper than it is. A slow burn that build to nothing and the horror feels non existent. The characters could be interesting but they don't feel as developed as they show be. It's dialogue for dialogue sake with a plot that makes no sense yet people are comparing it to the Shining.
I don't know how to review Blue Beetle. Like it is the first film i have seen since my mom passed, maybe that played a factor in to why i didn't enjoy this so much....but maybe that played a factor in to why i did enjoy the film. It has alot of heart and i liked the family dynamic plus Xolo Mariduena and Bruna Marquezine both do really good jobs, the rest of the cast....meh, especially Susan Sarandon & George Lopez. Sarandon is phoning it in the entire time and Lopez seems to think he is in a spoof. The action is decent and the plot is basic but it is an enjoyable film.
In 2019 Good Boys was released, it is a funny film but one that relies on shock. Now i love shock but it needs to be carried by character or plot aswell. Enter the follow up, No Hard Feelings, this too tries to shock, but fails, it feels it is raucous and irreverent but it only thinks it is, the jokes mostly fail and the plot is quite basic to be honest. I found most of the acting to feel very 90s, meaning overacting but faux comedic effect. Now i will say the film has alot of heart and that helps the story move along.
The first Meg was dumb fun, a big budget SyFy movie, the sequel directed by Free Fire's Ben Wheatley has some fun ass dinosaur scenes....but all the characters are flat as is the plot. Give me 60 minutes of dino destruction with 30 minutes of people, give me Toho....i guess i can just watch Toho instead. I expected dumb fun, i got dumb with fun at the start.
I love Guy Ritchie as a teen, he knocked it out with Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels then went on to up the ante with Snatch. After some misses he returned to the crime genre but they were lackluster. Swapped to blockbusters but now he has returned to crime. The Gentleman was so great that Operation Fortune had big shoes to fill, and it came out with little fanfare. It's a fun film and the cast is having a blast but the plot is to be desired, it honestly feels like a film that wants to be Guy Ritchie. But hey atleast Josh Hartnett is back!
Well Shudder is back with content....they rarely put out back catalog which i don't mind as i usually watch on DVD/Blu but so many are pissed at lack of content. They used to do monthly or twice a month films for originals and that is where they are at again. This time it is The Communion Girl, another Spanish horror film, and like most on Shudder the dullness gets to you. It's not bad by any means, it is well made but it feels super generic like a 00s horror film at times. Glad this month's worth of Shudder is free.
As a teen i idolized Robert Rodriguez. Rebel Without a Crew was a bible and his Film School segments on DVDs were a haven. His aesthetic was hyper violence hidden behind childlike glee. He could be over the top & gritty at the same time but always packed a visual punch. Some say Alita felt like a director for hire film but it had his stamp all over it. Hypnotic does not, and he wrote this in the early 00s. and it feels like an early 00s film, an early Ben Affleck 00s film such as Paycheck, only that was dumb fun and of its time, this just feels like a straight to video film that thinks it is smarter than it is. Visually dull, convoluted and the wooden acting makes you want to sleep. I admire it for having multiple layers but i felt checked out before it even began.
Talk To Me, the latest film from A24 that is getting all the buzz, is another typical A24 film. By that i mean it is a solid film that i feel others will overrate. It's a good film with some visceral moments and haunting imagery, it reminded me of an early 00s teen horror film but well crafted.
American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes is the best doc WWE has done in the Peacock era, and not just that but it might be the best in the Network era. The Last Ride was a great docu series, but this is a great film. I miss when the WWE Network gave us docu specials on the monthly and gave us the peek behind the curtain. This here shows Cody's upbringing with Dusty, his training in OVW, Legacy, Dashing Cody, Disfigured Cody, Stardust, ROH, Bullet Club, All In, AEW and his return and it is a true journey.
Twisted Metal is a pure Troma esque flavored Mad Max inspired romp that is bonkers, batshit & macabre. The first few episodes are great and then it trails off, while still being entertaining. The finale while possibly the weakest also sets up season 2 perfectly.....the game we know.
It's no secret(of the Ooze) that i love the Ninja Turtles. They are one property i have legit had in my life since i was a baby. Grew up with all the figures, the animated series, and the live action films. As a teen i began reading the Eastman/Laird comics but even in adulthood, the Turtles have always been there. Mutant Mayhem feels like a true labor of love, it's visual as fuck, has darkness of the comics, the wonderment of the cartoon and the general what the fuckness of the figures. So many times comic films are for adults but welcome kids, this is a kids film that welcomes adults. This along with Barbie & Oppenheimer seem to be driving cinema back to how it was(Barbie being an event, Oppenheimer being a film for grown ups, and this being a perfect film for kids), and in doing so is a kids film that doesn't insult children nor adults. It has subtle macabre humor, sophomoric gross out humor, plenty of inside jokes & easter eggs all while being a perfect possible introduction to a new generation of Turtle fans. This really felt like the filmmakers were playing with toys, and the final act proves all of that, it's a pure chaotic crash of a kaiju battle that works on every level. The voice cast is great as is the soundtrack, and i can't wait for the sequel. Is this my favorite TMNT film? No, the 90s version will always retain that title, but this might very well be the best.
