Oddity is an oddity is that it is a rare Shudder film with style and substance. It is atmospheric as fuck and oozed in style but it is a bit long in tooth at times. It feels very Mike Flanagan, in a good way, but like many modern horror films it falls victim to overhype which is no fault of its own. The nightmare imagery alone makes this film worth while.
Punk vs Drew McIntyre Hell In A Cell Bad Blood
Roxanne vs Giulia : NXT Womens Title
Wes Lee vs Zachary Wentz
Trick Williams vs Ethan Page: NXT TItle
I wish Christopher Landon had directed Time Cut, he perhaps could have made it work. Instead2 0l it is a slasher with no slashing and a time travel film that feels modern. Travel to 2003 and act like that much has changed? Okay, maybe in progression but clothes from about 2001 to now are pretty damn similar. It took itself too seriously at times when it should have been a bit campy.
The trailer for Hertic intrigued the fuck out of me. I was worried the film itself would be bland though, it is anything but. Hugh Grant gives an over the top yet creepy performance and our two leads nail their parts with waves of emotion. There is depths to all these characters and we watch the first act as a ticking time bomb. As the film unfolds the more bonkers it gets. There is alot to say about religion here aswell as control but that is best saved for discussion of said film.
Damn.....damn you John Krasinski. I was intrigued by the idea of If but the trailer didn't seem like anything other than a studio film. I figured it would either be a 90s throwback to dumb kids films or overly sappy... and while it does feel like a 90s kids film and it does add sap.....there is so much more. So much thought, imagination and heart is in this. It knows how to make you smile and how to make you cry, sometimes at the same time. This film if magic and for those of us that have lost someone makes us ask what If....
Jeremy Sauliner is a great filmmaker, only thing is I only love two of his films. Murder Party and Green Room I adore, the rest of his work is damn fine yet not my cup of tea. You know, the real agree to disagree. Anyhow, I usually find them riveting yet dull, overly long with pacing issues, and Rebel Ridge.....while possibly his best behind Green Room, suffers from this aswell.
Never Let Go might be Alex Aja's most atmospheric yet also weakest film. It is bleak as fuck, has great acting and an amazing concept full of twists and some super creepy imagery but it feels as if something is missing. It's not dull per se it just feels a bit wooden.
I LOVE Samara Weaving, she is one of if not my favorite actress going. She is a total babe that plays strong characters in kick ass films. Here in Azrael, she is still a total babe, and she is a strong character but the film itself is a bit dull. It has a unique premise it just never gains steam. It is far from a bad film just on the bottom of Samara's body.....of work.
Venom: The Last Dance is a flawed yet fun film.I thought the first was awesome yet the second one was a let down. The third one has some sweet kaiju imagery, a subplot that actually works and the entire cast seems to be having a good time. While I want the Sony Spidey films to end, this here is a worthy send off.
SNL has always been a staple in my life. When finding out last year that Jason Reitman was helming Saturday Night, the film based on the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode, I was excited. Who better than the son of Ivan to get this close? Well Jason has crafted his masterpiece. This is a chaotic, coke fueled slice of the 70s that looks and feels the part. I was reminded of Martin Scorsese throughout and it even feels very PT Anderson (a man that himself feels very Scorsese). All the casting is phenomenal especially that of George Carlin, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. This could be the years best.
I'd be delusional if I said that Big Shark has not occupied my brain. This was one of my favorite cinema going experiences of the year and an overall enjoyable film. Don't get me wrong. It's terrible beyond words, but what do you expect from Tommy Wiseau? He has polished....."polished"...his craft and his dialogue....."dialogue" has improved......"improved" but he still has not learned from the past, in fact some moments the sound quality is the worst since Birdemic. But to see Tommy sing, fish, play basketball....."basketball", deliver "heroic lines", dance and hunt a shark all makes it worth it. Oh Hai, Shark.
Many people know I collect Joker memorable, in 2019 I absolutely love Joker. I didn't need nor did I want a sequel, I was actually against the idea. It was a perfect stand alone gritty piece of cinema that shouldn't have been part of a series or universe. Then the trailer dropped and I changed my tune, I still didn't need it but I wanted to see it(I mean I would have seen it no matter what). Upon seeing the film it still was not needed but I loved quite a bit of this. It is definitely flawed and the reality/fantasy aspect really is blurred here. The musical numbers aren't as big of a part as promoted, it just plays for the fantasy here and there but ultimately we're not necessary. The ending I loved and is something that played in my mind the entire film but can not be discussed to avoid spoilers.
What is worse, the many Night of the Living Dead sequels/remakes or the Soska Sisters? Well i will tell you combining these two into one. This might not be the worst film of the year but it is up there, this might not be the Soska's worst....but it is up there, this might not be the worst of all the Night cash ins.....but it is up there. Acting, plot, gore, everything is awful and nothing works. Even the winks to the original are pure cringe.
Some years later sequels are great, most are forgettable, Beverly Hills Cop Axel F, is highly forgettable. It is not a bad film, it's just bland and generic. The plot is thin as is most of the acting outside of Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon Levitt. It's not an unwatchable film just one you'll want to stick a banana in.
Coralie Fargeat had a solid debut with Revenge but she knocked it out with The Substance. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley both deliver haunting performances as thre same person, and Dennis Quad chews the scenery every moment he gets. Fargeat shows prowess of Stanley Kubrick, Darren Arronoffsky, David Cronenberg and Nicolas Refn here. This is body horror at its finest, even if the last act goes on a bit too long, but I get what the point was. Much like many films in recent years this combines art house and exploitation perfectly.
The Demon Disorder, on Shudder, might be their best of the year outside of Late Night With the Devil, it is not saying much but this was a well crafted and atmospheric creature feature. Good tension, paranoia and creature design made this a throwback to when Shudder was on top. Not perfect by any means but impressive all the same.
Transformers One feels like a TV show, which is funny cause the original Transformers TV show had its own film.....and it reminds me alot of this. My personal favorite Transformers film is Bumblebee, and after that and Rise of the Beasts it seems as if this series has found itself with live action but now it has added animation to its list of solid film. Seems more targeted towards kids so i might not be the target audience but it is enough to keep adults entertained.
Uglies, the new McG film on Netflix feels very Netflix....in all the wrong ways. It is a pure Young Adult dystopia film only on the wrong side of history. This feels like it should have come out a decade ago, but i doubt much would have improved.
I love Kevin Smith, even his lesser films, aka non Askewniverse, I find charming(for the most part....fuck Cop Out). I unashamedly love Clerks 3, it got me choked up. But now he has the 4:30 Movie and this is easily his best non Askewniverse film and possibly his best film since Chasing Amy. Full of heart, witty banter and love of cinema, your typical Smith fare but this here feels semi autobiographical, especially the stinger.
Didi is one of the best coming of age films in recent years. It features mostly all first time actors and much like Mid 90s and Skate Kitchen it is a welcome addition to skate films. Set in 08 it feels familiar and it is crazy how much things are the same yet different from back then, and i miss that year of life. It is quite cringe at times, on purpose, cause of decisions our lead makes, he is a dumb ass at times and an asshole at others but he has a good heart, and the rawness adds to the films coming of age.
I'm late to the party but i finally finished the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Every season since the relaunch i kept thinking this should be it, go out on a high note, and every season after kept giving the goods. This season didn't disappoint and it honestly felt like a gift for Seinfeld fans. So many meta moments , it ended perfectly.
Planet of the Apes is possibly my favorite Sci Fi franchise other than possibly Star Wars. Atleast the original 5, the remake not so much. The new series while solid is quite forgettable. The latest while having some beautiful moments was quite dull. The ending was pretty damn poetic but the series has ran its course.
So Beetlejuice is my most watched film ever. I legit watched my HBO copy daily from like the age of 2 til I was 5. I have watched it atleast once a year since that time. I won Costume contests as Beetlejuice, I have a Beetlejuice wall in my dining room, I loved the Broadway musical. With all that said, I was not stoked for the sequel, I feel a part if it was so many buying into the fake posters the past 10 years but the first trailer kinda hooked me. I still went in with low expectations because it is Tim Burton.....and I liked it.....I thought it was heavily flawed in plot, humor and characters but I was entertained, and that was all I needed. Too many subplots and characters seemed to be juggled, alot of moments were forced but it was an enjoyable film regardless.
I love Watchmen, i love the comic, i had the issues then i bought the graphic novel. It felt larger than life, it felt cinematic and art house. I liked Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead but hated 300, so i was iffy on his take on Watchmen, but wound up loving that, i actually have all the cuts. I have the motion comic, i have liked the DC crossovers, i struggled with the HBO series but wound up enjoying it for the most part. Now we get the animated film.....the animation style is different...in a good way, the voices take a bit of getting used to, but the overall presentation of the story was lacking. Yes this is chapter 1 but it felt like the depth was gone, this didn't feel epic. Yes it could be niche but a property like this deserves to feel like an event and film in general is so oversaturated that this doesn't feel special and if it had it would have been hella disappointing. I'll stick with Watchmen Babies....look it up!
I honestly haven't enjoyed a John Woo film since Paycheck, and that is not a good film. Sure he did Red Cliff and that was a good film but i didn't really enjoy it, i would say the last that was good and i enjoyed was Face Off, but even then the term good is questionable, perhaps Hard Boiled is the winner, which of course is more in line with the original Killer, i enjoyed that great piece of action so i figured i'd watch the remake.....bland & generic, it feels like Woo through & through. Woo Woo Woo you blew it!
Knox Goes Away feels like a mid 90s crime film or a mid 00s crime film, both of the straight to video variety. That isn't to say it is bad, it is actually well made and acted, just a tad convoluted and a bit dull. I hope Michael Keaton directs again cause he has a good eye.
Hell Hole has a atmospheric vibe to it, some cool imagery and a kickass score but ultimately it feels like the team's last film, Hellbender. Style over substance, something to enjoy artistically but not really to love. Tedious and dull yet pretty.....not quite a hell hole.
Zoe Kravitz directed the hell out of Blink Twice. It has style but it has the substance to match. It feels very inspired both in terms of cinema but as well as having something to say. The entire cast runs with it and there are some heavy scenes to sink their teeth into. Drug fueled, see crazed and violent, it's fast paced but with its middle finger aimed the right direction.
Hit Man is a fun and charming film, Glenn Powell and Adria Arjona have some great chemistry and the plot is pretty fun. It feels like a Netflix film more so than a Richard Linklater film, but most Linklater films honestly don't feel like Linklater films. Most of his work is fine as is this, it is probably his best live action work since Boyhood . It would play well with the gem that is Mr. Right.
Friday night I went to the drive in to see a double bill of Twister and Twisters. I had zero expectations for Twisters but it was a fun shut off your mind flick. Good food, good company, nice night at the drive in.
I am not against remakes, some are fantastic. Some comic characters get rebooted too often though, such as Spider Man, and while i loved The Batman, it was too close to Snyderverse and Nolan's. So a fresh take on The Crow.....well it couldn't be any worse than the sequels right? I love the original, it might be my most quoted film ever. Bill Skarsgard is solid in this, as is the action & gore....the plot however is awful. There is no heart, there is no love, no romance. Eric & Shelly are not lovable lovers here, they are junkies and soulless. This is a mean spirited film in all the wrong ways but it thinks it is speaking to people. Should have just either been a Crow sequel since it is not a true remake, and just give new characters, or it should not have been a Crow film period. It felt like John Wick meets Constantine only not good, this should have just been a vigilante film, it still might have been awful but atleast it would have been bloody awful.
Most Tubi originals have been pretty fucking awful but Slay slays. It is drag queens vs vampires, To Wong Foo meets From Dusk Til Dawn, and it is bloody, funny, campy and full of vampire nerdom, heart and wit.
Arcadian is a decent film. Nicholas Cage carries what would be a forgettable plot into a passable Shudder film. It was a tad dull but had a decent pace, at the end of the day though it felt like a STV Cage flick.
Alien: Romulus i've been seeing get flack for fan service. I was so confused as to how a film set between Alien & Aliens would have fan service....but sure enough it did. It wasn't bad fan service, just thought i'd get it out of the way. The film itself i highly enjoyed, it starts off in a different way and give us a fresh take on the saga. Then as these films always do, hell breaks loose and the horror ensues. It had some good jump scares and build up to a climax that feels straight out of the Dark Horse comics plus it is very atmospheric. . Also Cailee Spaeny continues to knock out great work especially in 2024.
Tarot is not a good film by any means, in fact it feels very generic and 00s. Unlike some modern films though, i actually cared about a couple characters, but while the plot was lacking it carried a fun vibe. It had some good kills and honestly that is all you need in horror sometimes, dumb light fun, and this had it. It has some nightmarish imagery which i loved, so was it style over substance? Maybe, but the reading says check it out and fuck what you are told.
Exhuma on Shudder is a well crafter & atmospheric horror film but the pacing was a bit off for me. At times it was bat shit, at others it was beyond dull, tonally it was all over the place. Good film just was a bit underwhelming for me.
Perhaps it is due to Tim Miller taking over directing duties from Eli Roth, but Borderlands is a mess. It is a mess but i enjoyed it, i have never played the game but this was a quick & light watch. The trailer screamed Guardians of the Galaxy and it feels inspired by it, but also it feels very Troma. Most of the action is choppy, the jokes fall flat and most of the acting is wooden, except Cate Blanchet & Ariana Greenblat, but somehow it was enjoyable. It was not a good film by any means but worth a one time visit to the wasteland.
Last Night at Terrace Lanes has some of the worst characters in film this year and they relationships between said characters is even worse. I couldn't care about the plot since i didn't care about the characters. It was light, and could have been fun but i just couldn't get into it, it wasn't boring or bad per se, glad it was under 90 minutes.
