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paul_haakonsen
I am a big fan of Asian cinema in particular, and I am quite fond of especially South Korean and Hong Kong movies.
My favorite genre is, and always have been, horror, with a preference to anything with zombies in it.
I believe that every movie should be given the chance of being seen - a belief that has lead me to watch many a questionable movies.
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10/31: Part 3 (2022)
Worse than the previous two movies...
While I wasn't particularly impressed with the 2017 "10/31" and the 2019 sequel "10/31: Part 2", then I still opted to sit down and watch the 2022 third movie, on the off-chance that it would be an improvement upon the previous two anthologies in the franchise.
I wasn't harboring much of any grand expectations or hopes though. But still, since I hadn't already seen "10/31: Part 3" before, then of course I opted to give the directors the benefit of the doubt.
First of all, I have to say that I really liked the movie's cover which was a cool tribute to the classic scary comic books from back in the day. I really liked that, and it was definitely a plus in my book.
The stories in this third anthology were even worse than in the previous two. So you're not in for anything grand here. I sort of blanked out and zoned out during the monotonous pacing of the anthology, and the individual segments just didn't deliver much of anything worthwhile watching.
Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. But I will say, that while the stories were bland, then some of the acting performances were actually fair enough.
Visually then "10/31: Part 3" was okay. I mean, it wasn't top of the line special effects, for sure. But the effects served their purposes well enough.
"10/31: Part 3" was the weakest of the three movies in the franchise so far. And not really worth spending 75 minutes on watching. I managed to suffer through it, but if you were to ask me tomorrow what the stories were about, I could maybe relay one of them or so. A very, very forgettable anthology.
The movie's "Creepshow" inspired cover was the best part about the ordeal.
My rating of "10/31: Part 3" lands on a three out of ten stars.
10/31 (2017)
Watchable, but nothing grand...
Now, I've actually watched the 2019 movie "10/31 Part 2" prior to having a chance to watch the 2017 movie "10/31". And while I wasn't overly impressed with part two, I must admit that I wasn't really harboring much of any grand expectations to this predecessor from directors Brett DeJager, Rocky Gray, Zane Hershberger, John William Holt, Hunter Johnson and Justin M. Seaman. But with it being a horror movie, although an anthology nonetheless, I opted to sit down and watch it, as I had the opportunity to do so.
The first segment is titled "The Old Hag" and it is written and directed by Justin M. Seaman. It was a nicely written story, although a bit cliché and generic. But it was actually entertaining enough, despite this. The acting performances in the segment were good. The effects were good as well, adding to the overall creep factor of the storyline. This was actually the best thing about the entire anthology. Though the ending was rather unnecessarily stupid.
Zane Hershberger wrote and directed the second segment, which is titled "Trespassers". The storyline in this segment as fairly weak, and it was a slow paced narrative, and that just didn't help to improve the overall impression of this second segment. The effects, however, were fairly okay. The music was also quite okay in this segment, as there was a distinct 1980s vibe to it.
"Killing The Dance" is the title of the third segment, and it is written by Jason Turner and directed by John William Holt. The storyline in this segment was not particularly good. I love how quickly the blood coagulated on the first woman being cut with a razor at the skating rink, that was just a pretty poorly done effect. The music in this segment was just unfathomably annoying to listen to, and it went on non-stop.
The fourth segment is "Halloween Blizzard of '91", which was written and directed by Brett DeJager. It was the most pointless of the segments, especially since there wasn't really a thoroughly written script to support it. It looked and felt like something that writer and director Brett DeJager just shot on the fly.
The fifth and last segment is "'The Samhain Slasher" from writer and director Rocky Gray. This segment was okay. I mean, it was a pretty straightforward narrative, although somewhat on the weak side in terms of a thoroughly written storyline.
And the tie-in segment that presented the segments and tied them together was "Malvolia's Halloween Monster Marathon", from writers Rocky Gray and Zane Hershberger, and directed by Hunter Johnson. It wasn't a particularly great concept, but luckily we didn't have to endure much of it, as it was just in the beginning and end of the anthology.
Watchable for what it was, but you're not in for anything grand here. It is not like the writers conjured up a Halloween classic here. And I doubt that I will ever return to watch "31/10" a second time, as it was about as entertaining and enjoyable as the "31/10 Part II" sequel was.
My rating of "31/10" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Crocodylus: Mating Season (2023)
Nah...
Needless to say that I had never actually heard about this 2023 horror comedy titled "Crocodylus: Mating Season" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. However, I have to say that the movie's cover was actually interesting enough, plus it being a horror comedy that I hadn't already seen, then of course I opted to sit down and watch what writer and director Stanley Pomianowski had to offer.
I can't claim that I was impressed with what writer and director Stanley Pomianowski delivered, much less were I actually entertained throughout the course of the movie. And it was quite a struggle to sit through 85 minutes that the movie ran for. But I endured, hoping the movie would pick up and become better as it crept along. That just didn't happen.
Of course I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list in "Crocodylus: Mating Season". But I will say that the acting performances were actually good, despite the level of rubbish that the movie turned out to be.
The special effects in "Crocodylus: Mating Season" were exactly that; special. Especially the insanely fake toy cat at the kitchen table with the bottle. Not to mention the crocodylus itself, which was nothing more than a man in an ultra fake creature suit.
This movie was bad, so very, very bad. But it wasn't bad enough to actually be a fun movie to sit through.
The movie's cover was actually the best thing about the entire ordeal.
My rating of the dumpster fire that is "Crocodylus: Mating Season" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.
Blood Honey (2017)
Not my cup of tea...
It was the movie's cover that initially lured me into picking up the 2017 movie "Blood Honey". And seeing that it was a horror movie of sorts, that I hadn't already seen, much less actually heard about, of course I opted to give the movie a chance. So writers Jeff Kopas and Doug Taylor had every opportunity to entertain and impress me.
The narrative in the movie was a bit of a swing and a miss in terms of properly entertaining me. Now, I am not saying that it was a badly written story or anything, but the narrative was simply too slow paced and devoid of anything thrilling or interesting to entertain me. And that made sitting through 95 minutes of watching the movie somewhat of an ordeal.
The acting performances in the movie were good. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble, except for Gil Bellows.
I wasn't particularly impressed with this movie, because it was simply too dull and mundane for my liking. There wasn't enough drive to the narrative. But I am sure that there is an audience out there for a movie such as "Blood Honey", because it definitely wasn't a bad movie.
And the ending of the movie was an absolute dumpster fire of a joke. It was so ridiculous.
My rating of director Jeff Kopas's 2017 movie "Blood Honey" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Joey (1985)
Enjoyable, but copying "Poltergeist" quite a bit...
I had never heard about this 1985 movie titled "Joey" (aka "Making Contact") from director Roland Emmerich prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. In fact, I didn't even know that it was Roland Emmerich who directed it, so that was a nice surprise to see as the movie started.
Writers Roland Emmerich, Hans J. Haller and Thomas Lechner put together a fair enough script and storyline. And if you haven't watched "Poltergeist" or "Poltergeist II: The Other Side", then you're in for quite a treat here.
There are so many similarities between the 1985 movie titled "Joey" and the 1982 "Poltergeist" and 1986 "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" that it was just uncanny. From the music, Joey's room, the light in the closet, the hallway outside Joey's room, and more. Sure, it made for some kind of familiarity, I suppose, but at the same time wasn't it bordering on plagiarism?
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but the acting performances were good.
Visually then the movie was okay. It is showing signs of being almost 40 years old, of course. But the special effects are actually still fair to look at.
My rating of "Joey" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Ship of the Damned (2024)
Slowed down by a sluggish narrative...
Stumbling upon the 2024 movie "Ship of the Damned" by random chance, I must say that I was immediately drawn to the movie given its cover. However, I had never heard about the movie, and I wasn't really harboring big expectations to writer and director Steve Lawson. But still, I opted to give him the benefit of the doubt and opted to check out the movie.
The storyline in the movie was a bit bland. There simply wasn't enough momentum or forward drive to the narrative to keep it overly interesting or entertaining. Sure, it was watchable, but it was mundane and somewhat boring. And that made sitting through 85 minutes of it somewhat of a test of wills.
I wasn't familiar with the actors and actresses on the cast list in the movie. And that is actually something that I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. It should be noted that the acting performances in the movie were actually fair.
Needless to say that the movie's cover was far more interesting than the contents of the actual movie. But I was actually expecting that, so it wasn't really a surprise.
It was difficult to buy into the illusion that the movie was supposed to take place aboard an ancient ship, because it felt like a makeshift studio with a few wooden plates put together and some rope tossed casually over the wooden plates.
"Ship of the Damned" is suitable for a single viewing, though it is hardly a movie that I would recommend for you to rush out and get to watch. Nor is it a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time.
My rating of "Ship of the Damned" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Evil Spawn (1987)
Nah, not worth the effort...
Now, I knew about the movie from its title, but I have never actually had the opportunity to sit down and watch it. So when the opportunity presented itself here in 2024, of course I opted to check out the movie. Maybe I had been missing out on some late 1980s gold.
Turns out that I had indeed not been missing out on gold here. The movie was semi-watchable at best.
I am sure that writers Kenneth J. Hall and Ted Newsom put together what they deemed was a good script. But the transition from script to screen just wasn't successful. It was a rather mundane movie to sit through. And I have to admit that I didn't care one bit about any of the characters, much less did I actually remember their names.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. But it should be said that the acting performances were fair. Nothing grand or memorable here, but it was fair enough given the material they had to work with.
Visually then "Evil Spawn" wasn't a good movie. The effects were cheesy. But not among the worst of effects I've seen in movies, and that is even in movies newer that "Evil Spawn".
The intro sequence with Fred Olen Ray and his wife was seriously some of the worst garbage I've ever seen. I don't understand why that rubbish even made it to the movie. It was so cringeworthy and painful to witness.
"Evil Spawn" is not a movie that I would recommend to horror sci-fi fans, nor to fans of the cheesy 1980s movies for that matter. And it certainly isn't a movie that I will return to watch a second time.
My rating of "Evil Spawn", from directors Kenneth J. Hall, Ted Newsom and Fred Olen Ray, lands on a three out of ten stars.
Ghostbusters II (1989)
A good sequel...
The 1989 "Ghostbusters II" is a great sequel to follow up the 1984 movie "Ghostbusters". And it is a movie that can be watched again and again.
The storyline in this sequel is every bit as enjoyable as the original first movie, and that is a great testament to the writing skills of Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd. The narrative is good and nicely paced, ensuring that you are thoroughly entertained throughout the course of the 108 minutes that the movie runs for.
The acting performances in "Ghostbusters II" are good, and it is nice to see the original cast from the previous movie return to reprise their characters in the sequel. There is just something great about Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis together on the screen. But the movie also have the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Peter MacNicol on the cast list. And I really enjoyed Wilhelm von Homburg in the role of Vigo, a truly memorable villain.
Visually then the movie is good, and still holds up well enough even today.
If you enjoyed the 1984 movie "Ghostbusters", then you most definitely will also enjoy director Ivan Reitman's 1989 sequel "Ghostbusters II".
My rating of "Ghostbusters II" lands on a well-deserved seven out of ten stars.
Project Dorothy (2024)
Seriously...?
It was with a bit of hesitation that I sat down to watch the 2024 sci-fi thriller titled "Project Dorothy", as I happened to stumble upon it by random chance. I had never heard about the movie, but I have to say that the movie's cover and synopsis just wasn't really doing much of making it seem like a stellar movie.
Regardless, I opted to give the movie a fair chance, on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen. So in a sense, then I suppose writers George Henry Horton and Ryan Scaringe had every opportunity to entertain and impress me with their movie.
The storyline concocted by writers George Henry Horton and Ryan Scaringe proved rather bland. It was a movie that I had problems submerging myself into, because it was just hard to take it serious. Growling forklifts? What's up with that? And the movie just didn't have an ounce of being as high tech as the synopsis made it out to be.
Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. The acting performances were fair, but you're not in for anything grand here. It was a small cast ensemble, so the actors and actresses had to put on more convincing performances to carry the movie.
Visually then you're not in for any grand spectacle of special effects. It was a rather low tech and low key movie in terms of special effects.
I was not particularly entertained by the movie, as I happen to not find unseen things moving about and growling as proper entertainment, nor do I consider lights being continuously switched on and off as being entertaining.
While "Project Dorothy" wasn't an impressive movie, I have to say that I've sat through worse sci-fi thrillers than what director George Henry Horton delivered here. This movie was one where you just disconnect your brain and blankly watch the screen, as it offers nothing to think about.
My rating of "Project Dorothy" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
Kaechimi (2013)
Watchable, but lacking drive and heart...
When I stumbled upon the 2013 South Korean romantic comedy "Kaechimi" (aka "Steal My Heart") here in 2024, I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch it. Sure, I had never heard about the movie, but I've watched enough South Korean movies to know that chances are that I might be in for something enjoyable here.
And thus, I sat down to watch director Hyun-Jong Lee's movie without knowing what exactly I was in for.
However, I have to say that writers Hyun-Jong Lee and Yoo Yeong-Ah put together a script that proved rather bland and generic. The movie was watchable, for sure, but it just was lacking forward drive. And running at 115 minutes, then the narrative just didn't have enough drive or punch to keep it being entertaining or interesting all the way through. It took director Hyun-Jong Lee forever to literally go nowhere in this narrative. And it was a long movie to sit through, so very, very long, given the slow paced narrative that was devoid of excitement, fun and thrills.
The character gallery in the movie was a bit one-dimensional. There wasn't really much of any chemistry between leading actress Kim Ah-Jung (playing Yoon Jin-Sook) and leading actor Joo Won (playing Lee Ho-Tae). Sure, they performed well enough in the movie, but there just wasn't a spark between the two, and that made it a somewhat disinteresting love romance to sit through.
It should be noted that the acting performances in the movie were good, and they definitely had a good cast ensemble put together.
There are far better romantic comedies of this type on the South Korean market. And "Kaechimi" came and went without leaving much of a lasting impression. And it definitely isn't a movie that I will spend another 115 minutes on watching. This was, for a lack of better words, a disappointing viewing experience.
My rating of "Kaechimi" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.
Zombie Chronicles: Infection Zone (2023)
Points for the effort at least...
Of course I harbored zero expectations to this 2023 horror movie titled "Zombie Chronicles: Infection Zone". I mean, just look at the cover, if that doesn't scream low budget to High Heaven, I don't know what does. But still, my fascination with horror movies and all things zombie drove me to give director Joe Sherlock's 2023 movie a fair chance.
To rub salt in the open wound that is "Zombie Chronicles: Infection Zone", then this was a zombie anthology. Yeah, that didn't make things better, not even in the least way. Horror anthologies are usually rubbish, and this was basically no different.
Writers John Oak Dalton, David C. Hayes, Joe Sherlock and Joseph Sherrock didn't exactly conjure up grand stories for the anthology stories. Some of the stories were bad, some were fair, so it as a bit of a mixed bag.
Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Some of the acting performances in the movie were wooden and devoid of any emotions at best. While others put on fair enough acting performances, and that definitely helped to carry the inadequate performance of the other performers.
The movie contains pointless nudity, which didn't help promote the narrative in any way. All it did was just sleaze up things unnecessarily. Take away the nudity from the movie, and you'd end up with a slightly better end product. It was nothing more than the writers chance to get to put some skin on tape.
Something positive could be said about "Zombie Chronicles: Infection Zone" and that was that it was definitely a low budget production that was made by people that had a genuine love of the zombie subgenre of horror. And it was made with a lot of spirit and enthusiasm, no doubt about that. But it just wasn't enough to make it get past its amateurish shelf.
Some of the zombie make-up was good, whereas other instances were downright laughable to look at, especially those painted on yellow blemishes on a woman's face, they looked so fake.
While I managed to sit through the 70 minutes that the anthology ran for, I can honestly say that I am never returning to watch this a second time. If you enjoy low budget zombie movies, then by all means check out "Zombie Chronicles: Infection Zone".
My rating of "Zombie Chronicles: Infection Zone" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Legend of the Sandsquatch (2006)
Fairly boring attempt at a horror movie...
Needless to say that I had never heard about the 2006 horror movie "Legend of the Sandsquatch" from director Lola Devlin, prior to stumbling upon it by sheer chance here in 2024. Of course I opted to sit down and watch the movie, on account of it being a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, nor actually ever heard about. Sure, I have to admit, though, that I wasn't really harboring much of any expectations to the movie, given its rather laughable title.
The movie does start out nicely enough, I have to say that. As a gorehound, I was definitely thrilled with the way that the movie started. But the movie fell into a slump shortly thereafter and director Lola Devlin just didn't manage to impress me with this movie. It felt like there was no red thread throughout the narrative, and that made sitting through "Legend of the Sandsquatch" feel like an erratic and random viewing experience.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list in the movie. The acting performances in the movie were fair, though nothing grand here. I will say, though, that I've seen far worse acting performances in other movies, so the acting in "Legend of the Sandsquatch" definitely spoke in favor of the movie.
For a horror movie then "Legend of the Sandsquatch" was a swing and a miss. It felt like a high school film project pieced together by director Lola Devlin.
This is not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror fans to waste 83 minutes on watching. Some of us suffered through this so you don't have to; you're quite welcome.
My rating of writer and director Lola Devlin's 2006 movie "Legend of the Sandsquatch" lands on a three out of ten stars.
Feed the Gods (2014)
Started good, then went fast downhill...
Stumbling upon the 2014 horror movie "Feed the Gods" by random chance here in 2024, of course I opted to sit down and watch it, since it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, much less actually heard about. But given my fascination with all things horror and the movie's title, of course it was a given that I would pick up the movie and give it a fair chance.
And ultimately then writer and director Braden Croft failed to entertain me with this 2014 movie. Sure, "Feed the Gods" was off to a good start, but it really lost momentum some time before midway, and the movie never recovered its heading and just trotted on forward in a slump that proved to be not particularly entertaining. So I have to say that I found the movie to be a disappointment.
The acting performances in the movie were good, and that definitely helped to keep the movie somewhat afloat. I wasn't familiar with the leading actors and actress. There were a couple of familiar faces on the screen, though, but it was in minor supportive roles only, and that was Jerry Wasserman, Aleks Paunovic and Garry Chalk.
Visually, then you're not in for anything grand. "Feed the Gods" didn't make use of very many special effects, and it was a shame, because the movie might have benefitted from being spruced up with some special effects.
For a horror movie, then "Feed the Gods" was a swing and a miss. It is not a movie that I will ever return to watch a second time, despite making it through the 84 minutes that the movie ran for. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend for horror fans to sit down and watch.
I have to say that the movie's title made zero sense at all.
My rating of "Feed the Gods" lands on a three out of ten stars.
Alien Convergence (2017)
Another mockbuster from The Asylum...
2017, the year that we got "Alien: Covenant", and voilà, of course The Asylum brings us "Alien Convergence".
Why watch it, you might ask? Well, every now and again then The Asylum actually spews out a fair enough movie, and "Alien Convergence" might be one such movie. How would I know without giving it a fair chance?
When I sat down to watch "Alien Convergence" here in 2024, I had actually never seen the movie before. I did know about its existence, though, I just never had the opportunity to watch it. And thus, as I had the chance here in 2024, of course I did, even though it was a mockbuster from The Asylum.
The storyline, as written by Marc Gottlieb, was actually pretty straightforward. In all honesty, then the storyline was actually entertaining enough, especially if you enjoy campy sci-fi movies with alien invaders. However, I have to say that there was a lot of time throughout the course of the 87 minutes that the movie ran for that felt like pointless and irrelevant filler.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list in this movie. And that is actually something that I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie, believe it or not. And while "Alien Convergence" certainly wasn't a masterpiece of a movie, the acting performances were actually fair.
The special effects in "Alien Convergence" were exactly that; special. The CGI animation and renderings looked like something that was discarded from a computer game back in 1990s for being too questionable. And yet, The Asylum opted to give it thumbs up for a 2017 movie. I must applaud whomever approved the CGI effects in the movie.
"Alien Convergence" is a movie for hardcore fans of the mockbusters that only The Asylum can muster. So if you find some sense of perverse entertainment in those, then you will definitely enjoy director Rob Pallatina's 2017 movie.
My rating of "Alien Convergence" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024)
Quite good...
For some odd reason, then the mini-series "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" somehow had eluded my attention. Maybe it was because of the mediocre "Bad Batch" series that I didn't really actively keep a check on the animated "Star Wars" releases.
Regardless, I stumbled upon "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" and opted to watch it. Of course I did, since I am a big fan of "Star Wars".
And color me impressed. Creator Dave Filoni managed to create something very entertaining here. And the episodes did good jobs in bringing in various things from other "Star Wars" series and movies and tied it in nicely. There were a lot of nice details to pick up on, especially if you are a diehard "Star Wars" fan. So thumbs up on that accomplishment.
The storylines in the episodes were good, and while I did enjoy the story arch in episodes one through three, I have to say that I was blown away by the story arch in episodes four to six.
The animation and art style in "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" is good. Lots of attention to detail in all the scenes. The characters are nicely fleshed out, as are the worlds around them.
The voice acting in the series is good, and they definitely had some good talents. It was nice to have the voices of Diana Lee Inosant, Lars Mikkelsen and Katee Sackhoff return to reprise characters from other shows. But the overall voice acting ensemble was good.
If you enjoy "Star Wars", then "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" is definitely well worth sitting down and watching.
My rating of "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" lands on a seven out of ten stars.
Sous la Seine (2024)
Adequately entertaining shark movie...
Right, well when I saw that trailer for this 2024 Netflix movie titled "Sous la Seine" (aka "Under Paris"), I must admit that I was really looking forward to watching it, as there is just something entertaining about shark movies.
And now that I have watched it, I will say that it was an entertaining movie, no doubt about that. But at the same time, it just didn't fully live up to my expectations. There simply were a tad too many things throughout the narrative that just didn't make any sense.
Sure, "Sous la Seine" is a watchable and entertaining movie if you enjoy shark movies, and I do that, of course I do.
The storyline in the movie was pretty straightforward and very easy to get submerged into. However, it wasn't exactly Shakespearian theater that unfolded on the screen. Not that I was expecting that, but it would have been nice with a storyline that had a bit more meat on it, so to speak. Writers Yannick Dahan, Maud Heywang, Xavier Gens, Yaël Langmann and Olivier Torres put together a fair enough storyline, provided you enjoy popcorn movies where you just lean back, munch of the snacks and doesn't have to use your brain while watching.
Something that I did really like about "Sous la Seine" was the fact that the audience are thrown into the feeding frenzy very early on in the movie. I liked that about the movie, because director Xavier Gens wasn't squandering a lot of time to establish characters or setting the stage. You just dive right on into the bloody waters.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. The acting performances were good, and that definitely counted for something.
Visually then "Sous la Seine" was good. The effects were nice, and the CGI animated sharks looked realistic.
Without spoiling anything here, I have to say that I personally found the ending of the movie to be rushed and sort of amateurishly written. Sure, it paves the way for a sequel, but it was just a laughable way to the end the movie in my opinion.
Was I entertained throughout the course of the 101 minutes that "Sous la Seine" ran for? Sure. Will I return to watch it again? No. It is certainly a good shark movie, but it just doesn't have the bite required to become a genre classic.
If you enjoy shark movies, then you should by all means sit down and watch the movie.
My rating of director Xavier Gens's 2024 movie "Sous la Seine" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn (2024)
Entertaining...
I have to say that Jo Koy definitely is one of my favorite comedians, and of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch the 2024 comedy special "Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn".
Once again Jo Koy delivered a good, entertaining and funny show. He still has a great on-stage charisma and delivers his material with precious and good punch lines. He sets up the jokes nicely and delivers.
Something that I didn't really enjoy about "Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn" was the ranting he delivered towards the end of the show to the 12 year old boy in the audience. Sure, it was funny, but I think audience members watching this could easily be offended by this part.
"Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn" is a show well-worth sitting down to watch, regardless of if you have never seen a Jo Koy show before or if you are a returning fan.
My rating of "Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Trancers 6 (2002)
Truly terrible...
Just when you thought that the "Trancers" franchise couldn't go lower, after the abysmal fourth and fifth movies, then there was "Trancers 6". Yup, this movie was bad, phenomenally bad.
I have to admit that I was expecting it to be a step up from the previous two horrible movies in the franchise. Why? Well, because of the movie's synopsis. I genuinely believed that writers Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and C. Courtney Joyner would bring the franchise back on track with this 2002 movie.
But that is not what they did. Instead they spawned an abysmal movie that was brought to life by director Jay Woelfel.
The storyline in "Trancers 6" was pretty straightforward. I will say that much, sure. But it wasn't good and it just fell short of entertaining me.
And it didn't help that the acting performances were atrocious. Especially leading actress Zette Sullivan, whom was just fumbling through the movie. And it was so difficult to take her serious in the movie, given the dialogue that she had to deliver.
Visually "Trancers 6" wasn't a good movie either. So it didn't even have that working in favor of it.
My rating of "Trancers 6" lands on a three out of ten stars.
Trancers 5: Sudden Deth (1994)
Well, if you liked part 4...
Seeing that "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" is a direct continuation of "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" and thus carrying on in the medieval setting, I have to say that the movie wasn't off to a great start for me. I preferred the three first movies more than the fourth, so this fifth movie is most likely not going to impress me.
And that is odd, because I do enjoy medieval fantasy more than sci-fi, usually. But the medieval fantasy setting just didn't do it for me in the fourth movie.
Well, I will say that the storyline in this fifth movie was better than the previous movie. And I suppose that because Charles Band returned to the writing tasks. Writers Charles Band, Danny Bilson, Peter David and Paul De Meo put together a fair enough script. But I have to admit that the fantasy setting for the "Trancers" movie just still didn't win me over.
The acting performances in the movie were fair. And something that spoke well in favor of the movie was the fact that cast members from the previous movie returned to reprise their characters in this fifth movie, so that gave something in sense of continuity.
Visually then "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" was okay. The effects were fair.
Watchable for what it was, but "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" was hardly an outstanding movie in the franchise. They sort of derailed the franchise after the third movie.
My rating of director David Nutter's 1994 movie "Trancers 5: Sudden Deth" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Trancers 4: Jack of Swords (1994)
Not quite as good as the previous movies...
I have to admit that I don't understand why writers Danny Bilson, Peter David and Paul De Meo opted to take the franchise in this direction. Thrusting Jack Deth back into a medieval world just made very little sense. As much as I do enjoy medieval fantasy, then it just felt like an odd direction to take the franchise, especially since the previous movies were more of sci-fi intoned.
Tim Thomerson returns to reprise the role of Jack Deth, and he is joined by Stephen Macht once again, although briefly. Aside from these two returning actors, then "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" didn't have any familiar faces on the cast list for me, aside from Lochlyn Munro. The acting performances in the movie were fair, though.
The franchise is starting to have a bigger budget, and it is showing on the screen. And that definitely is a good thing. But bigger budget and better production doesn't necessarily mean better movie, especially if the storyline and script is weak.
Watchable for what it was, but I have to admit that I found "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" to be a weak addition to the franchise, especially in comparison to the three previous movies, despite of the budget increase and better production.
My rating of director David Nutter's 1994 movie "Trancers 4: Jack of Swords" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Trancers III (1992)
A bit darker this time...
I sat down to watch the 1992 movie "Trancers III" from director C. Courtney Joyner, as part of sitting through all the movies here in 2024 and finally getting around to watching them for the first time.
Writers Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo and C. Courtney Joyner put together a fair enough script. It was definitely a step in a darker tone here, in comparison to parts one and two. I liked that progression to the franchise, and they brought the sci-fie elements back into the movie, that were in part one, but was absent from part two. That was also a step back in the right direction.
It was a shame that Charles Band wasn't involved in the movie, as he had been in parts one and two.
There are a couple of returning talents from the previous two movies, and that was Tim Thomerson, Telma Hopkins and Helen Hunt. "Trancers III" does bring the likes of Andrew Robinson and Stephen Macht to the franchise. Again, as in the previous two movies, the acting performances were fair.
It was a blast to hear Andrew Robinson deliver his phrase "come to daddy" every bit as creepy as he did in the 1987 movie "Hellraiser". A minor thing in the movie, for sure, but it was just a stroke of brilliance.
If you enjoyed the previous two "Trancers" movies, then you will also enjoy "Trancers III".
My rating of director C. Courtney Joyner's 1992 movie "Trancers III" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Trancers II (1991)
As enjoyable as the first movie...
Writers Jack Canson and Charles Band did a fair job in continuing the storyline from the 1984 first movie "Trancers". I have to say that I was definitely as entertained in this 1991 sequel titled "Trancers II" as I was in the first movie. So thumbs up to the writers for that accomplishment.
It was nice to see returning actors and actresses from the first movie return to reprise their characters for this 1991 sequel, such as Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, Telma Hopkins and Art LaFleur. And the sequel brought in some familiar faces with the likes of Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Richard Lynch. For me, it was a blast to see Combs and Crampton in the movie, I have to admit that.
Visually then "Trancers II" was okay. It wasn't a movie that used as many special effects as in the previous movie, oddly enough. But it still worked out fair enough.
An okay movie, for sure, though I doubt that I will ever return to watch it a second time however.
My rating of director Charles Band's 1991 sequel "Trancers II" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Trancers (1984)
A fair enough movie...
I was familiar with the "Trancers" movie series, but I actually never had gotten around to watching any of them. But that was about to be rectified here in 2024. I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the movies, and thus I opted to do so.
For some reason, I never took the time to sitting down and watching the movie, as they somehow seemed to be low budget movies, and I have never really been keen on Tim Thomerson as an actor.
The storyline in the 1984 movie "Trancers" is pretty straightforward. It was entertaining for what it was, sure, but I hadn't been missing out on a cinematic masterpiece here. Writers Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo put together a fair enough script, one that was watchable and entertaining enough, though somewhat generic and predictable.
The acting performances in "Trancers" was good, and Tim Thomerson was actually carrying the movie nicely enough with his performance. I was surprised to see Helen Hunt in a movie such as this. The movie also has Art LaFleur and Richard Herd on the cast list, so there were a couple of familiar faces.
Visually then the movie was actually fair. The special effects worked out well enough.
I will say that "Trancers" is not of the usual questionable movies that you would expect from Full Moon Pictures. So that counted for something.
My rating of "Trancers", from director Charles Band, lands on a five out of ten stars.
The Beast of Bray Road (2005)
Watchable, but...
Suffice it to say that I had actually never heard about this 2005 horror movie titled "The Beast of Bray Road" prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And given my love and admiration of the horror genre, and with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen or heard about, of course I opted to sit down and give the movie a fair chance.
First of all, I have to say that I wasn't particularly impressed with the movie's cover, as it just screamed low budget rubbish to High Heavens. I mean, look at the creature on the cover, it looks like it was purchased off of Wish.
Right, well with this being a movie from The Asylum, then I have to say that it wasn't actually among some of the worst of their movies. In fact, "The Beast of Bray Road" was a watchable and fair enough movie. Was it a great werewolf movie? No, hardly so. But it was adequately entertaining.
I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, though it should be said, in all fairness, that the acting performances were fair.
The creature design in "The Beast of Bray Road", well the werewolf design, was pretty shabby. The creature looked nothing like a traditional werewolf. I suppose there are pros and cons to that. Personally, I didn't realy like it. And I was hunched over laughing when I saw that it was a backpack that were camouflaged as the furred hunch on the werewolf's back, to give it that hunched over gait. It looked okay up to the point at the end of the movie were you see it up close and see that it is a mere backpack.
While I did manage to sit through the entire movie, I was only adequately entertained. Watchable for what it was, sure, but "The Beast of Bray Road" is hardly a movie that I will watch a second time.
My rating of writer and director Leigh Scott's 2005 movie "The Beast of Bray Road" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge (2024)
Better than part one...
While I have indeed watched the 2022 movie "Single Black Female", and not particularly liking it, I wasn't particularly in much of any rush to sit down and watch the 2024 sequel titled "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge". However, given my love of movies, and the off chance that this movie might be worthwhile watching, then of course I opted to sit down and give it a fair chance.
Writers Sa'Rah Jones and Tessa Evelyn Scott return to write the script for the sequel, just as director returned to the director's role for the sequel. And that counts for something, I guess, if nothing else, then at least for a sense of continuity and familiarity with the previously established characters and preceding storyline.
The storyline in "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" is adequate. I was somewhat entertained by the narrative, though there were some massive plot holes throughout the course of the movie. But hey, it proved to be entertaining enough for what it turned out to be. Sure, I wasn't expecting an evening of Shakespearian theater when I sat down to watch "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge".
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, nor do I actually remember whether or not the leading actresses were returning to reprise their characters from the first movie. Yeah, told you that the 2022 movie didn't really impress me much and thus left no lasting impression. The acting performances in "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" were fair.
Was "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" a good crime thriller? No, not particularly. It was watchable, sure, and tolerable for what it was, but it certainly isn't a movie that I would recommend you to rush out and get to watch. Nor is it a movie that will ever grace my screen a second time.
My rating of "Single Black Female 2: Simone's Revenge" lands on a four out of ten stars.