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Reviews
Halloween Ends (2022)
Absolutely terrible. One of the worst movies I've ever seen
I'll review as best as I can without giving away spoilers. First, the production values were terrible. The film looked like a made for TV production. Second, the acting was absolutely terrible, with performances that made me cringe.
But by far the worst element is the story. Without giving anything away, JLC was barely in this movie, and the entire plot revolved around something else completely unrelated to the Halloween storyline. There was ONE good sequence in the movie, and that was the opening sequence. This part of the movie was actually suspenseful. Unfortunately, the rest is a complete mess.
This movie really is terrible and is a slap in the face to the Halloween franchise. Thankfully, I watched this on Peacock and didn't waste money in the theater.
Senior Year (2022)
A funny, relatable comedy
I'm not a huge comedy fan, but I really liked this movie. Almost every character was perfectly cast, and the movie kept my interest through the entire film. Rebel Wilson was excellent as the main character.
Yes, the movie was cliche, but what made the movie such a treat for me was how relatable the characters were. Yes, it's a cliche for a film character to want to fit in (or feel like an outcast), but this movie conveyed that in a relatable way. And there's something about Rebel Wilson that drew me in.
Not the most original movie, but a fun movie nevertheless.
Scream (2022)
Even better than the original
I wasn't sure what to expect, as sequels are often nowhere near as good as the original movies. This one went beyond my expectations.
What I liked: there was almost no comedy. For me, that's a good thing, as I think comedy can sometimes take viewers out of a horror film. There was also a sense of paranoia amongst the main characters as the movie progressed, as they realized any one of them could be the killer.
Also, this movie was genuinely scary. There were a few times were I held my breath because I didn't know when the killer would come out. Finally, all of the characters did an excellent job. It was almost like passing the torch, so to speak. Everyone played their parts perfectly. And there were a couple of huge surprises that I genuinely didn't see coming. I would rate this one the best of them all.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Initially skeptical, but this is a great film
The trailer gave me the impression that the film would be about the first day of the monsters' arrival. I was a bit skeptical because we already know what happens after that. However, the movie goes far beyond simply the first day.
I won't spoil it, but the movie follows Emily Blunt and Cilian Murphy's character as they navigate this treacherous new world. The less you know about the film, the better. But I will say this: there's more action than the first film, while still portraying several emotional moments. And...there's a big surprise which I didn't see coming. That's all I can say about the story.
The acting and directing were top notch, and this definitely equals the first film. Cast any skepticism aside. This is a great movie.
Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019)
One Star. Absolutely terrible
I'm a huge fan of the first one, which really captured a sense of impending dread. Even the second one, with its flaws, still managed to capture at least some sense of dread. But the third film is absolutely terrible.
First, it doesn't have the atmosphere of the first film. The first film had an almost grainy look to it, while this one has a soap opera video feel to it. Second, the climax is downright awful. Scenes which should be dimmer are brightly-lit, which nulls the scare factor. Also, the acting in the climax is terrible - to the point where I actually laughed throughout the last twenty minutes.
Sad to see a franchise with such good potential, quickly go down the drain.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
Better than the original. Very suspenseful
Just saw a matinee. The movie is much better than the original. Aside from venturing in the cave (which one could chalk up to careless curiosity), the characters don't make any dumb moves. The suspense in the film starts off within the first ten minutes and really never lets up.
There were many shots where the camera would pan around the dark water. This really put the viewers in the shoes of the characters and made you feel like you were actually underwater, desperately anticipating an attack. The fact that you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you really made the movie suspenseful. The acting was actually really good, and I liked all of the characters.
To top it all off, the plot was never boring. Definitely recommend.
Slasher (2016)
Great Season1 & 3. Season 2 was terrible
I've watched all three seasons of this series. Season 1 was outstanding, and the best of them all. It really captures the atmosphere and suspense a slasher series should have. Across all three seasons, I'd say the series is more suspenseful as opposed to downright scary. What keeps it interesting is trying to guess the identity of the killer.
After a great season 1, the show went downhill with season 2, which was downright awful. Terrible acting, no suspense, and an unbelievable finale.
Season 3 (for the most part), redeemed itself. There was a return to form with the suspense and overall story. My big complaint with season 3 was the reveal of the killer - and the acting by some of the characters in the finale. The acting wasn't just bad - it was downright terrible. And the reveal of the killer was a huge disappointment. The climax aside, season 3 was still a good series, and I'm interested to see what they come up with for season 4.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
Loved it. Saw it twice, and it ranks as one of the best movies in the X-Men universe
The movie revolves around Phoenix and how she became so powerful. Without giving anything away, the movie does an excellent job showing how she got her powers. As chronicled in other X-Men movies, we see her struggle as she tries to contain both her emotions and her power. The two go hand in hand; if she cannot control her emotions, then her power can wreck havoc.
I thought the film did a great job of explaining Phoenix's origin. Not just the origin of how she became so powerful, but also the origin of the pain inside her. Without giving anything away, the truth behind the source of her pain is the catalyst of the story.
Needless to say, because she is so powerful, there are people and others out there who wish to destroy her and/or take her power for themselves. The movie is almost two hours long, but flew by and kept my riveted from beginning to end. All of the actors did a great job, and the fight sequences were outstanding.
Lots of character development on this one, and everything wrapped itself up with an amazing fight scene.
Black Summer (2019)
Starts off a bit slow, then kicks into high gear
I was on the fence while watching the first episode, as it seemed like it might be another run of the mill zombie show. While the show does start off a bit slowly, it really gets going by the third episode.
The style really makes this show an amazing piece of work. Most episodes are presented from several different viewpoints as we follow one character or group, then follow another character or group. Sometimes you'll see a scene presented from the eyes of one set of characters, then the exact same scene is presented from a different set - which really makes the show interesting.
Also, some episodes have long sequences of nothing but lone characters searching around a seemingly empty city for help. While this may sound boring, it's actually quite the opposite. It really makes you feel like you're right there - all alone in a zombie apocalypse with no-one to turn to, but zombies nearby.
The last episode is simply amazing. You really feel like you're in the midst of a zombie war zone.
Glass (2019)
Good, but spoiled by a terrible climax and stupid characters (No Spoilers)
Overall, I think this was a good movie. The acting by everyone was simply amazing, and the movie never really dragged in spots. It also captured the atmosphere which M. Night is known. In that regards, M. Night did a great job.
My big issue with the film were twofold (no spoilers):
1- The overall lack of security in the hospital. We have a man who mutilated women - the authorities know this, yet people monitoring him enter the room with no guards anyway. There IS a supposed fail-self method of protection, but still...what if that method fails?
1b- One of the employees later does something extremely stupid, without first calling a guard. Every human being with an ounce of common sense would have called a guard first (and the police), before undertaking the next step.
2- Finally, the climactic fight of the film seemed well...rather silly and lacked the magic and mystique of the previous portion of the film. This was further complicated by a revelation of one of the characters which seemed downright silly.
Still, I enjoyed the movie, even with its flaws. Definitely a movie to watch, but just lessened by a couple of major flaws.
Halloween (2018)
Pretty good, but has its flaws
I'm a huge fan of the original, which I rank as one of the best horror films of all times. Saw this three times in the theater, and while I liked it back then, I was on the fence about a lot of things in the movie. Watched it again last night in the comfort of my own home, and it was a much, much better experience.
Overall, the movie does a pretty good job of capturing some of the atmosphere of the original. The lighting of some of the shots and the locations did a pretty good job of capturing that magic.
There were a couple big problems with the movie. The first is that even though it did a fairly good job of capturing the atmosphere of the original, the film wasn't really scary or very suspenseful.
The final big problem with the movie were the cliches. I was extremely disappointed to find several major horror cliches in this movie. I won't spoil what they are, but think of any stereotypical dumb decision or random act in a horror film, and it's in here.
Overall, I would rate it a 7.5. A pretty good movie that came close at times, but just needed a little bit more work to truly live up to its predecessor, or even stand up in its own right.
It (2017)
Outstanding! Not so much scary as it is engrossing
I went into this movie on the fence about it. I did like the trailers a lot, but the film was extremely hyped and I wasn't THAT excited to see it. However, it blew away my expectations. One thing this film did extremely well was tell a story. No, it wasn't all that scary, but more of a mystery/thriller, which was OK with me.
The cast was perfectly cast, and everyone had great chemistry together. The film also really did an excellent job of creating a mysterious atmosphere around Pennywise and his taking of the children.
Though the film was over two hours long, it didn't feel overly long at all. Overall, a great movie. It really captured the atmosphere of the small town and the events happening, and also did a great job of creating a mystery.
Don't Hang Up (2016)
Terrible; Not even worth a rental
WARNING: SPOILERS IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH
Fortunately, I got this movie via a free red box rental code, and didn't have to pay a dime. By now, you know the plot, so I won't rehash that. I will say that the film does have a few decent things going for it: primarily, it is pretty suspenseful during certain scenes, and it does have a couple minor twists to the story. And surprisingly, the acting is not bad at all, which is somewhat surprising for a B-level horror movie.
Aside from that, my main issue with this film is the TERRIBLE ending. We don't even get to see the killer's face. But on top of that, the final "twist" (if that's what you want to call it), is TERRIBLE. Aside from not seeing the killer's face, the film ends with Sam being framed for the killings by the killer. Yeah...very original, and it felt like it was placed in the movie solely for the purpose of one final "twist".
If your curiosity is still piqued, I strongly recommend watching this via a cheap rental. It's not worth much more.
Sorgenfri (2015)
Decent but ruined by a very stupid character
By now, you probably know the plot: a family of four is quarantined inside their neighborhood as a mysterious flu-like virus begins to spread.
The good: the film is nicely shot and doesn't have the cheapness of a low-budget. The acting was very good and the characters (for the most part), were not stereotypes.
The bad: the film isn't really very scary. A lot of the supposed scary scenes were shot in broad daylight in bright sunshine, which really didn't scare me. Though the film wasn't very scary, what really ruined the movie for me was this...
Unfortunately, the film was ruined for me by one monumentally stupid decision taken by one of the characters which pretty much set the entire zombie apocalypse in motion.
I won't spoil what that decision was or when it happened, but when characters do insanely stupid things in a movie, it really takes me out of the film and ruins it. Had the zombie apocalypse happened in some other way, that would have worked much better.
All in all, a decent effort which would have been much better had it not been for the stupidity of one of the main characters.
Divorce (2016)
Good, adult comedy/drama
Frances and her husband Robert attend a dinner party of her friend Diane and her husband Nick. I won't spoil it, but something happens at the dinner party which makes Frances question her own marriage.
This is not a drop down ROTFL comedy, but more of a subtle adult comedy/drama.
There were a few funny moments sprinkled throughout the pilot, and I guess one reason I liked the show is because I can relate to Frances' character. Relationships aren't easy, and I would say that most people have been unhappy at one point or another and struggled what to do.
There's a little bit of a twist about 20 minutes into the show which adds another layer and dimension, and I'd say all in all, it's a pretty good show.
I've heard people say that Frances is unlikable and selfish, but I think she's just the opposite- if two people have made multiple attempts to work on their marriage and it's still not working, freeing both parties can be a great gift, even if it hurts in the beginning.
Only time will tell what happens in Frances' relationship with her husband, but I think so far, this is a pretty good show.
Don't Breathe (2016)
Not a bad movie, but definitely overrated
First, the concept was very original. Three thieves set out to rob a blind man of his money late one evening in a deserted neighborhood while he's sleeping. The film did a decent job of building up suspense, but not quite as good as I'd hoped for a movie like this. I never felt that feeling of dread like "something bad is on the horizon" I felt while watching 'Halloween" or the original 'Friday the 13th'.
Once the main characters break into the house, they soon realize that their piece of cake robbery of a blind man will not be so easy. My biggest problem I had with the film was that the blind man pretty much anticipated the thieves' every move. While this worked the first couple of times, it started to become repetitive and really worked against the film.
Yes, he was a very smart war veteran with heightened senses of hearing and smell (worked for the film). Yes, his military training gave him an advantage (worked for the film). But over and over, the characters would try to escape, and he would be there waiting for them at the precise time and location when they arrived. It's almost like I got the feeling the writers wanted to make this character absolutely perfect, with no flaws, weaknesses or mistakes.
That to me, just didn't ring true in this situation. I won't spoil it, but this was especially true near the end when it really seemed like the blind man had superhuman powers to escape any situation.
Overall, a decent movie bogged down by its unrealistic character.