Searching was a refreshing take on the found footage genre. A sequel was questionable but much like the first, albeit contrived it knows how to be tense and multilayered. A likable lead and some fun twists to tie it in to the first one it ups the digital age and shows how fucked we all are with life being connected yet how that very vice can save us.
You People starts off sweet & charming, albeit a tad smug but then it gets dull and the satire winds up being a parody. What could have shown a sequences of mishaps becomes annoying parents being rude and narrow minded to each other. No one seems to be understanding and the humor misses most beats. I was excited for this as i enjoy Jonah Hill as a writer and i have enjoyed most of Kenya Barris' screenplays so i expected a wittier script and more provocative film. Instead the film felt very 00s, just with better political undertones, but still ends in a very formulaic & contrived way.
When You're Finished Saving the World is the directorial debut of Jesse Eisenberg and it feels very Jesse Eisenberg. It feels smug and tries to shine a light when the mirror should actually be pointing at one's self. The lead characters are unlikable smug, pretentious, narcissistic twats that we must endure for 90 minutes. But they are designed that way, the other characters that are shown in positive light are also not likable even though the leads put them on pedestals. I guess the film finally gets interesting in the final 5 minutes, all it took was Julian Moore dealing with a surrogate son(or husband?) to make her appreciate her son, and all it took was Finn Wolfhard dealing with a love interest that had strong political ideas for him to appreciate his mom. Maybe they'll become better people? Maybe but the film wont ever be any better.
Being 11 years old when That 70s Show came out connected with me in a big way. As i entered my teens i was watching these characters leave high school. It ended the year i graduated. It was less about the decade and more about the characters, and the same can be said for That 90s Show. Sure there are some 90s things here and there but it is once again character driven. It is not particularly funny but damn is it addictive. Now i want a season 2 as it left you wanting to see what happens next.
Emily Hagins impressed alot of us with Pathogen, a film she made when she was 12. Her follow up My Sucky Teen Romance was perfect for that of an 18 year old. Grow Up Tony Philips went under the radar but might be her best work. In the years since she has dabbled in anthology movies and Netflix but now she is back to feature horror with Shudder's Sorry About the Demon. It is a fun yet clunky film with an enjoyable cast and a good spin on the tired possession formula.
Kevin Williamson uses some Scream tropes but adds a 2020 twist in his latest script, Sick. The is a tense slasher that shines a light on just how crazy shit was during the pandemic. We get Scream's anonymous calls, its twists and its motives all just with a post Covid twist. With this and M3gan along with a sixth Scream this year is off to a good start in the slasher genre.
M3gan kind of looked like your basic January release. It looked decent but forgettable. The film, while funnier than expected...it packs great dark humor, still lacks in story. It is super slow and the kills all happened in the trailer, except one. I wish it would have gone full R, not that R is needed but here it was sniffing around that rating anyhow, should have just gone all the way.
