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.
