Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

Stealing the idea from multiple people who do yearly review threads. Figured I'd keep them in here and try to branch out of posting my reviews in the RTLMYS thread.




January

1. January 3rd - A Quiet Place -

2. January 5th - Can't Buy Me Love -

3. January 6th - eXistenZ -

4. January 7th - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -

5. January 8th - Grease 2 -

6. January 13th - My Bodyguard -

7. January 16th - Sorry To Bother You -

8. January 17th - BLACKkKLANSMAN -

9. January 19th - Truth or Dare? -

10. January 22nd - Ocean's 8 -

11. January 23rd - Jigsaw -

12. January 25th - Solo: A Star Wars Story -

13. January 28th - Crossroads -

14. January 29th - The Amityville Horror -

February

15. February 2nd - Friend Request -

16. February 4th - Macabre -

17. February 5th - Upgrade -

18. February 7th - Pulse -

19. February 12th - Hour of the Wolf -

20. February 13th - Ginger Snaps -

21. February 15th - Happy Death Day 2 U -

22. February 26th - Tag -

23. February 28th - Fyre -

March

24. March 5th - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom -

25. March 12th - Searching -

26. March 20th - Love, Simon -

27. March 21st - The Snowman -

28. March 22nd - The Dirt -

29. March 23rd - The Meg -

30. March 26th - The Stepfather -

31. March 27th - Eighth Grade -

32. March 28th - The Howling -

33. March 29th - Us -

34. March 30th - Instant Family -

April

35. April 3rd - Velvet Buzzsaw -

36. April 7th - Aladdin -

37. April 11th - The Silence -

38. April 14th - The Strangers: Prey At Night -

39. April 16th - The Oath -

40. April 20th - The Happytime Murders -

41. April 23rd - Slumber Party Massacre -

42. April 24th - Pet Semetary -

43. April 26th - Venom -

44. April 30th - Avengers: Endgame -

May

45. May 1st - Unicorn Store -

46. May 3rd - Unfriended: Dark Web -

47. May 5th - The Fast & The Furious -

48. May 6th - 2 Fast 2 Furious -

49. May 7th - The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift -

50. May 9th - Fast & Furious -

51. May 13th - Fast Five -

52. May 16th - Fast & Furious 6 -

53. May 20th - Furious 7 -

54. May 21st - John Wick 3: Parabellum -

55. May 29th - Aliens -

56. May 31st - The Fate of the Furious -

June

57. June 3rd - Brightburn -

58. June 5th - Deja Vu -

59. June 19th - Murder Mystery -

60. June 21st - Someone Great -

61. June 23rd - Always Be My Maybe -

62. June 24th - Minority Report -

63. June 29th - Videodrome -

64. June 30th - Wine Country -

July

65. July 3rd - Midsommar -

66. July 12th - Gattaca -

67. July 13th - Turbo Kid -

68. July 14th - Attack the Block -

69. July 16th - Going Overboard -

70. July 18th - Night of the Creeps -

71. July 20th - Grosse Pointe Blank -

72. July 23rd - PCU -

73. July 25th - The Monster Squad -

74. July 27th - Teen Witch -

75. July 28th - Forbidden Planet

76. July 29th - Robinson Crusoe on Mars -

77. July 30th - Dance Till Dawn -

78. July 31st - Time Crimes -

August

79. August 1st - Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood -

80. August 3rd - Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween -

81. August 5th - The Nun -

82. August 7th - Widows -

83. August 10th - Deep Rising -

84. August 13th - Toy Story 4 -

85. August 15th - Holmes & Watson -

86. August 16th - The Possession of Hannah Grace -

87. August 17th - Bad Times at the El Royale -

88. August 18th - Fear -

89. August 19th - North By Northwest -

90. August 21st - The Long Dumb Road -

91. August 22nd - Rear Window -

92. August 24th - Shadow of a Doubt -

93. August 26th - Shazam! -

94. August 28th - Thoroughbreds -

95. August 29th - Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein -

96. August 30th - Rudderless -

September

97. September 1st - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island -

98. September 2nd - Monster House -

99. September 4th - Escape Room -

100. September 6th - Ready or Not -

101. September 7th - It: Chapter 2 -

102. September 9th - The Fanatic -

103. September 11th - The Equalizer 2 -

104. September 13th - Ted -

105. September 15th - Sing Street -

106. September 17th - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -

107. September 20th - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure -

108. September 22nd - Heathers -

109. September 23rd - Dope -

October

110. October 1st - The Void -

111. October 2nd - Climax -

112. October 3rd - Hellbaby -

113. October 4th - In The Tall Grass -

114. October 5th - Overlord -

115. October 6th - Await Further Instructions -

116. October 7th - Black Christmas (1974) -

117. October 8th - Black Christmas (2006) -

118. October 9th - Annabelle: Creation -

119. October 10th - Scream -

120. October 11th - Psycho II -

121. October 20th - The VVitch -

122. October 24th - Braindead -

123. October 27th - IT -

November

124. November 3rd - Commando -

125. November 5th - Shogun Assassin -

126. November 8th - Willow -

127. November 9th - Doctor Sleep -

128. November 13th - Kung Fu Hustle -

129. November 16th - The Replacement Killers -

130. November 18th - The Big Hit -

131. November 20th - The Blues Brothers -

132. November 25th - The Skulls -

133. November 29th - Mystery, Alaska -

December

134. December 8th - Parasite -

135. December 12th - The Phantom -

136. December 18th - The Irishman -

137. December 20th - Scrooged -

138. December 22nd - Anna and the Apocalypse -

Anytime a genre picture relies on an interesting 'gimmick', people will jump in line to tear it apart when small things don't seem to line up 100% with what the film is presenting. A Quiet Place takes the ambitious task of creating a world where monsters kill you if you make a sound. So it makes sense that people are going to be waiting patiently for a sequence where someone makes a sound and then when they are not killed, we get to rant and rave about plot holes. On top of that, the "what would you do" scenario is escalated. Why wouldn't they do this? Why wouldn't they do that? If the characters don't do what you suggest, they are automatically dumb. I think it's incredibly hard to craft a film around such a premise and I applaud the film for giving it the old college try.

The world is decimated by an invasion of aliens/monsters that hunt by sound. a little over a year after the invasion, a small family tries their best at moving on after a devastating loss.

One of the aspects of the film that I think people are forgetting is that we only see this world through two perspectives. One is that of this family, who have taken painstaking steps to ensure they live in a place where sound is non-existent. The second is in the newspaper clippings we see where they gives us a peak into the backstory of this invasion. IT'S SOUND one headline reads, "How to Survive" is another. Smart move from the filmmakers to give us a glimpse into the bigger picture without exposition (there is non in this film, bravo).

People will automatically assume that the military is dumb for not finding out the weakness of these monsters. Maybe they did but it was too late? Maybe the pure shock of seeing these aliens/monsters was enough to make us lose the fight, maybe America's attitude of we have guns and we will win no matter what was the downfall. People are complaining about the shotgun killing the one alien. We need to pay attention, these creature are almost indestructible. He has armor written on the whiteboard, so the act of the sound and the weapon working in tandem makes sense to me, simple enough. In the chaos of an alien invasion, I think we shoot first and ask questions later. The questions that are asked...are asked too late.

Yes....yes, this film has a lot of issues with logic. Why would a family let their youngest child be at the end of the line, unsupervised, when monsters are around? Why not live near the waterfall to cover your sound? Why leave the God-Damn nail in the step when everyone walks around without shoes? Why not make more than one sound proof room? The biggest one of course is why jeopardize your entire family's lives with getting pregnant? It's never explained why they decided to have another child, was it on purpose or an accident? It's irresponsible. These are flaws in logic from the characters, but it makes for some great tension filled sequences. So I guess I'm one of those people I talk about in the opening paragraph.

A film about not making any sounds, has to pay extra attention to the sound design. Krasinski does a marvelous job here with very little dialogue, communication through sign language and the use of sound being only used in key moments. I read that they did some rough cuts of the film completely silent. For people able to tell a story without the aid of sound is hard, the classic show don't tell is on fire with A Quiet Place.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

It wasn't horrible but I honestly don't think my rating of 6.5/10 would change much.

First time seeing this film, it fits perfectly for the 80's Teen HoF.

Ronald is a typical high school nerd, but he wants to change that. He's been mowing lawns for cash and saved up enough money to buy a telescope. When the girl he likes ruins her mom's dress, he decides to use that money instead to 'rent' her. So now she's able to buy a new dress, in return all she has to do is pretend to go out with him. This will make him more popular. In doing so, she actually starts to like the little guy, but the popularity he's been receiving has clouded his mind and he becomes obsessed with it. Ignoring the signs that she actually likes him, they "break-up" and he goes from zero to hero. How long can he keep this "charade" up before people find out that he's just a nerd trying to be cool? How long will the secret of renting the popular girl stay hidden?

In many films like this (there are many) it's obvious what the trajectory the character and actions will take. I've seen countless films where the nerd will leave his nerd friends behind for more recognition. When that goes away and he tries to crawl back...how many people take him back? Usually all of them. It was nice to see some real emotional conflict here when Ronald tries to crawl back to his friend in the arcade. I would have liked to have seen a bit more resolution to that relationship towards the end. The speech at the end would indicate that they possibly patched things up, but I felt like we deserved a more concrete answer there.

Patrick Dempsey does a good job playing the nerd trying to be cool. When he first shows up after the break-up, I had a good laugh at his clothing style. The fact that everyone else loves it made it even funnier. The film definitely shows how zombie like people are. It still is relevant today. People are willing to ignore the obvious when things become "cool". High school kids are sheep, they follow the flock.

When the film was over, I read up on it, as I normally do. Such a sad story for the lead actress Amanda Peterson. She was 15 when she did this movie, Dempsey was 20. Her parents revealed that she was raped at this age. With the current #MeToo state of Hollywood, it's not hard to imagine it was someone in power on this set. After such a traumatic event, she spun out of control and was on numerous drugs throughout the rest of her life. She died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 43. Sad.

Can't Buy Me Love was remade years later as Love Don't Cost A Thing, starring Nick Cannon. Never seen it, don't intend do.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

This is my second viewing. I left just as confused as the first.

Cronenberg and Lynch. Lynch and Cronenberg. Whenever I think of one of their films, I think of the other's. Why? I don't know. Both are named David and live for weird and obtuse filmmaking? With eXistenZ, Cronenberg channels his Naked Lunch era with a dash of The Matrix.

I was upset at my first viewing as I knew what the ending would be, knowing it ahead of time now let me enjoy it a bit more. I was along for the weirdness, which there are many and I really appreciated the gooey, grotesqueness of it all. Eating away at fish like creatures to pull out their bones are craft a rudimentary gun that shoots teeth instead of bullets? I'm game. Some might argue that Cronenberg is being weird just for the sake of being weird and using the excuse of being in a game to exercise these oddities. So what? If he wants to create a weird psycho-sexual game machine, let him. It made me feel uncomfortable every time Jennifer Jason Leigh would massage her fleshy pod, I would cringe and laugh. When she orgasms from Law using her port, I would cringe and laugh. Cronenberg probably had a lot of fun creating this world.

Yes the film is weird. Yes, Law licks a port hole on the tramp stamp side of Leigh. Yes, they finger each other's holes. The film is easy to follow, despite the confusing ways it tries to get to the end goal. The end result? It's such a Canadian movie.

Another Spider-Man movie coming out? Yawn.

It's a cartoon? Double yawn.

It's got a big theatrical release? What's going on here?

Watches trailer.....yooo, that looked kinda dope.

Reviews come in....staggeringly positive.

Sits in theatre with popcorn and wife.

Go home and chat about it.

Sit on it a few days.

Write review on Mofo.

I originally wasn't expecting much from this movie, then I saw the animation style they were going with and thought to myself, here they are actually doing something different. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse could be the best superhero movie this year.

Mile Morales is spray painting a wall underground when a peculiar looking spider (which seems to be glitching too) crawls down and bites him. Boom, things are different the next day. He first assumes it's puberty, but discovers his powers are just like that of Spider-Man. He goes back to investigate the spider that bit him and while there discovers that Kingpin is trying to manipulate time and space with a new device that splits dimensions. Spider-Man shows up and is put through the dimensional beam, which absorbs his DNA and fractures the other dimensions. Now Spider-Men, women and pigs from all other dimensions are showing up and Miles must learn to control his new powers if he wants to help the team put a stop to Kingpin from doing further damage.

I made the mistake of seeing this in 3D. First, I saw no third dimension. I thought it would look great with the animation style (I had no 2D option for my time schedule too) but I was sitting there distracted the entire time. The filmmakers chose to pay homage to the old school comics which had some of the colour ink outside of the lines of the character. This "off-set" was used here in the background and it distracted the hell out of me because I thought it was bad 3D 75% of the time. I'm not entirely sure if such a creative choice was needed, even in 2D I would suspect it to be distracting. The rest of the animation was great though, blending 3D animation with anime, cell shading and others. It kind of felt like that one Futurama episode where they honour different animation styles.

This film needed more Nic Cage. Spider-Noir was a great addition, I loved his look and wanted more of him. You can add Peter Porker and Peni Parker to that as well. A few more scenes with these guys really would have put this movie over the edge for me. I felt like they could have had more sequences of them using each other as a team to defeat the bad guys. The enemy roster felt a little lack luster too. You have this entire villain catalog to use and give us the bare minimum.

The core bits of the story is that anyone can be behind the mask. This rings true throughout the whole movie. With women, kids and people of colour all having their time to shine as "Spider-Man". A cameo from Stan Lee got a smile from me and all the voice work is spot-on. Into The Spider-Verse is a fun film, with unique animation and a story anyone can relate to. Thumbs up.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

I've heard the same thing about the animation style. I'll probably wait until it comes out on DVD to not get a headache looking at that big of a screen.

Not as bad as I was expecting, but still a bad movie.

While the music is nowhere near as memorable as the first, I didn't hate them. It was also funny to see people like Christopher McDonald doing his "bad boy" shtick. The acting in this is laughable, but it's obviously not trying to be good. I feel like the production of this had to have been rushed and everything was done without a finished script. So everything just sort of meanders around for a bit and I think that shows through the acting. It also shows through the music. Most of the time the music in musicals will help advance the story, but not so much here. A lot of it felt...pointless.

Something about this movie made the Pink Ladies and T-Birds...just not as cool as they are in the first.

Also...this film has the worst fake piano playing I've ever seen. It's hilarious.

When I was younger, I remember 3 instances of bullying towards me. One, some guy on a scooter stopped and threatened to shove my candy up my ass if I didn't give it to him. Two; some guy jumped on me and wanted my comic books, he pinned me down for ten or so minutes and three, a kid in my elementary school class would rub my snacks on his balls so that I would be grossed out and he could eat them. This movie brought those memories back. While I was in high school, I was neither the popular kid, nor the loser. I was one of the many kids caught in the grey area in between. If they made a high school teen movie in my area, I'd be the kid in the background.

My Bodyguard is a coming of age comedy/life lesson about a young kid who is new to a school and immediately pisses off the school bully, played by a young Matt Dillon. In order to get the bully off his back, he tries to hire the giant psychotic loner, played by Adam Baldwin. Everyone is afraid of the big guy, so it works. Yet the new kid wants to know more about this guy and actively tries to be his friend. Soon they hit it off, but the bully has a few more tricks up his sleeve in order to get even.

In the early 80's, films still had the 70's feel. So this film didn't feel like an 80's teen movie to me until maybe halfway through? Still, I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I was expecting this to be on the lower end of my ranking, but I don't feel like that will be the case. I wanted to know how this whole ordeal was going to end for everyone involved. The acting from everyone here is pretty bad (especially the ginger kid), with the exception of Matt Dillon, he portrays a convincing bully with an ego. He has that look down pat, it's mainly in the hair style.

I was taken back by the dramatic aspects they present here. The backstory to Baldwin's character is tragic. I applaud them for not spelling it out for people at times and just letting us know throw hints at his depression. The grandmother immediately took notice and tried her best to give him a glimmer of hope for his future. The story about his little brother is sad and even sadder later on when more is revealed. Would something like that be in a movie today? Probably not.

My Bodyguard is a genuine surprise for me and one that I am glad I got to see. Otherwise, I would have never seen it.

There are two scenes in this film that I would nominate in the Mofo Film Awards for 2019. Funniest Scene and Most Memorable Scene. I won't give away the most memorable scene because it correlates to my reasoning for this movie being the biggest WTF movie of the year for me. The funniest scene had me laughing for a good 5 minutes after the scene concluded. Sorry To Bother You is weird, it's so weird I don't even know how to process it. Yet here I am with a film that is probably going to make my top ten of the year.

Cassius "Cash" Green lives in his uncle's garage with his girlfriend. He needs a job desperately to be able to move out, afford nice things and seem interesting to her. He gets a job at a telemarketing company but is having trouble making sales. A kindly old man next to him tells him it's because he sounds too black and he needs to put on his 'white guy' voice to sound more appealing. Before he knows it, Cash is moving up the corporate ladder. The more money that flows in, the less he is of his former self. Alienating friends and lovers alike.

Boots Riley, in his directorial debut, shows precision and craft in his camerawork. He even manages to make simple telephone calls visually interesting and funny. This doesn't feel like a first-time director's film. He has a lot to say and he manages to tackle a variety of topics within this film; black vs white, slavery, capitalist greed, etc. Even though he has a lot to juggle here, none of it gets lost or jumbled. Sorry To Bother You is clear in what it wants to say. It laughs in the face of a three-act structure and screams at you in a unique voice. I haven't seen a movie like this all year and that's a good thing.

The comedy is obtuse to say the least. It's not your typical slapstick or parody film. It's something else. There are so many weird moments that suck the reality out of you that you question what you're watching with every scene. It helps that a strong cast is able to make the events of this film seem somewhat plausible. Lakeith Stanfield plays Cash, he was the poor chap at the beginning of Get Out. He's really good here playing the dilemma of trying to "Stay Black" while the struggle of "selling out" hangs over his head. Tessa Thompson plays his girlfriend, a free spirited artist. She seems to be popping up everywhere now and does a good job with an underwritten role. Two stars that are really great but you never see are David Cross and Patton Oswalt, they are the "white-guy" voices that you hear in the movie. Off putting at first, but hilarious as the movie goes on.

Sorry To Bother You is great satire and from someone who I expect will have a promising career. Embrace the oddities it presents to you and enjoy the absurd.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

It's top 10 of the year for me, alright. Stanfield is one of those dudes who seems to do good work wherever I see him - Short Term 12, Atlanta, even Death Note. It's also one of those movies where I'm having trouble thinking of individual scenes for those categories because at least half the movie would qualify - what funny scene were you thinking of?

Specifically for me it's when he was forced to rap and he just spits out the nonsense.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

A reasonable choice. The first one I thought of was...this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo3VRcpGfo8

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

That is also a great scene.

I can't watch just one movie about a black guy calling white folks on the phone and using his white man voice to sound appealing now can I? To bring either film down to just those descriptors would be unjust, as both have a lot to say and both say it extremely well. Spike Lee isn't done talking about racism in America and with BLACKkKLANSMAN he tells a story from the early 70's the resonates more today than it ever did before.

Ron Stallworth is the first black officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department, he wants to be a detective so he can really puts his talents to good use. When a prominent Black Panther comes to town to give a speech, they grant him this wish. Gathering intel on this man and the race war he says is coming is his first assignment. After the rally he is reassigned to the intelligence division and it's there that he randomly calls the local Ku Klux Klan chapter number and puts on his "white voice" hoping to join. To his surprise they call him back. Now he needs a white officer to go undercover and gather information on any dangerous plotting these radicals might conjure up.

I find scenes in films that have an undercover cop in a real life situation such as Adam Driver constantly seems to find himself in, to be utterly nerve wracking. A monster chasing me in an abandoned building isn't scary. Standing in a room full of racists who will kill at the drop of a hat questioning you...is terrifying. Lee uses this to his advantage a few times with one character in particular, a paranoid kill hungry racist named Felix, played by Finnish actor Jasper Pääkkönen. A young Michael Biehn if I ever saw one. He hates black people and Jews so much that he will demand a polygraph test from Driver, to prove he isn't Jewish....which he is. A missed opportunity from Lee comes later when Felix discovers Driver's true identity, but the tension doesn't build as he leaves the scene almost immediately after. The scene that comes next is riddled with contradictory aspects to the story telling. It involves some C-4 and certain people that have the trigger, it just doesn't add up.

Lee misses key opportunities to ramp up the tension here, the story is oozing with potential in that area, but Lee seems focused on other things. Which is fine, as he nails the story he wants to tell. John David Washington plays Ron Stallworth, close your eyes and listen to him and you'd think it was his father on the screen. Topher Grace plays Grand Wizard David Duke. It's a little eerie seeing the calm and collected "Eric Foreman" spews such hatred, not in an angry way, but in a matter of fact way. He honestly believes the BS he is spewing.

While on the phone we hear the KKK's rhetoric through Ron's mouth. It's comical to see a black man spew such words because it helps to tear them apart. Show the viewer how ridiculous it all is. One of the more powerful scenes in the film is a sequence that jumps between the Klan indoctrinating more members and watching the film Birth of a Nation (literally cheering at the deaths of black characters on film) and the flip side being a quiet room full of young impressionable black people listening to an elderly black man recount the day he saw the brutal killing of a mentally challenge black kid. Though the most powerful and disturbing part of the film happens at the very end when Lee shows us footage of the 2017 Charlottesville rally. We see how ridiculous these people are throughout the film and keep telling ourselves how for we've come since the early 70's, only to be shown how little we've actually progressed as we witness a car rundown people in a protest and a man sitting in a white house not bothering to condemn such actions.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

I didn't link them in my original reviews thread YEARS ago and it was always a pain trying to locate certain reviews in the thread. Go ahead man!!!

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

One of my thoughts while watching the film was: This guy looks and sounds EXACTLY like Steve Buscemi. it's uncanny.

I look up the credits on IMDB and find out it's his brother. What? Never knew.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/...4,1000_AL_.jpg

This is a silly film. I rolled my eyes, laughed at the acting and genuinely had a good time watching. It's a PG-13 horror film aimed at teenage girls and it works. Is it scary? Not in the slightest. Is it bloody? Nope. Does it make sense? Who cares. Truth or Dare is a by the numbers neutered horror film....and I had a good time.

The film was pitched to Blumhouse based on the title and the opening scene. We start off at a gas station where a woman goes inside, looking distressed. She passes another woman looking at some food and goes to the teller asking for gas and cigarettes. He complies, then the phone rings. He answers it, speaking Spanish. Then he turns to her and asks....truth or dare? Next thing we know, she is setting the other woman on fire and apologizing. Sold. Let's make it for cheap (less than $4M) with young hot actors and we have a money maker ($95M WW)

In the film it is stated that a demon can posses a person, a thing, even an idea. So a demon infects the game truth or dare. There are certain rules you must abide by:

1: If you are asked to play, you must.
2: If you pick truth, you must tell the truth
3: If you pick dare, you must do the dare

Failure to follow these results in death. Simple enough, right? Let's just pick truth the whole time. The filmmakers have thought of that and worked their way around it. Second, all these people have deep dark secrets that will destroy their lives if they reveal them to anyone. Making it a little difficult for some to pick truth. But when your life depends on it I don't think anyone is going to care if you're gay or secretly are in love with your best friends boyfriend.

Truth or Dare is a mix of It Follows and Final Destination. They play the game in an abandoned church in Mexico and it follows them back home. Going in the order they did in the original game, they have to play or they die. The creepiest part of the movie is simply some dialogue. Our main protagonist meets this guy at a bar and when the night winds down he suggests they go somewhere fun. So they end up playing the game in the church. When one of her friends asks him what are his intentions with her he responds; "I needed to find somebody with friends, that I could trick into coming here. I could tell Olivia was an easy target. I brought you all up here because, I am okay with strangers dying if it means I get to live."

When the demon infects you your face becomes a snap chat filter. Eyes bulge like a fishbowl and you have a stupid grin on your face. Might be shocking to see in real life, but it's comical here. The ending was interesting as it called back to an earlier moment in the film when a character claimed she would do one thing, then it just so happens she does another. I liked that. The film shouldn't work and it probably won't for a lot of people, but I didn't hate it and that's a positive for me.

#NotMyOcean

Just kidding.....

Seriously though, this film lacks a lot of the style and charm of the first three films. Swapping out Soderbergh for Hunger Games director Gary Ross is very evident. The film does a few things right, one of them is basing the film in the world of the originals and it doesn't try to reboot anything. Overall though, the film felt lacking. The characters were one note, the heist was semi-enjoyable but severely lacking creativity, and the absence of a central antagonist made the film feel a little aimless at times.

Debbie Ocean is released from prison after a frame job and instead of going straight, she dives head first into the world of crime again. She meets up with her very own Brad Pitt aka Cate Blanchett and talks her into doing a heist. She needs a small crew, 7 people in total. But wait...isn't the film called Ocean's 8? Hmmm, I sense a twist coming!!!!

A lot of the film is 'obvious' if that makes any sense. Despite a somewhat enjoyable first half, the film really goes downhill after it meanders around for 20 extra minutes after the heist has gone down. This is when funny man James Corden enters the picture. Is he friend, is he foe? Is he neutral? By the end of the film, I honestly did not know.

Characters like Rihanna's 9-Ball have zero characterization whatsoever. She's hacker and she hacks. I know nothing else about her other than she has a little sister. Awkwafina does a bit of the comedic relief, she's the Matt Damon of the crew. She picks a man's watch and inspects it in front of everyone. Not very good at her job if you ask me, you hide it and look at it later. Everyone can see you steal this watch, but for the sake of the film no one says anything.

Sarah Paulson is a stay at home mom with a dark past, Mindy Kaling is a diamond expert who desperately needs to leave her mother's house and Helena Bonham Carter is a once famous fashion designer. This is an impressive cast and it sucks that the material isn't really worthy of their talents. Everything just kind of happens and people are just kind of there. The one thing this film lacks is fun. It almost gets there, but almost isn't enough is it?

I love the original Saw, it's one of the few movies that had my jaw on the floor from the ending. I had the ending to The Usual Suspects & The 6th Sense ruined for me before I saw them so I never really experience a shock ending and I think Saw was one of the first ones to really do that for me. The sequels gradually got worse, but I stuck around until the very end when the quality was surprisingly getting better. The franchise wasn't making as much money as before (7 films in total, once every year will draw some fatigue) so it ended full circle almost. 7 years after the 'final' film, we are back in the trap with Jigsaw.

5 people wake up chained to a wall. The chain slowly pulls them in and buzzsaws wait for them at the end. This is the beginning of their game. Sadistic killer Jigsaw has kidnapped them. Shady detective Halloran and his do-good partner Hunt are on the case. With the help of two forensic pathologists, Logan and Eleanor, they try to solve the case and wonder if it is the work of a copy-cat or the real John Kramer.

The beauty of the first Saw and to an extend the sequel, was the simplicity of the traps. A pit of needles, a bear-trap head gear, chained feet with a saw laying beside them. These traps were realistic. As the series went on they became increasingly unrealistic with elaborate devices that an engineer would dream of. Jigsaw falls more on the unrealistic side as the devices are designed to slice and dice in obtuse ways. One guy finds himself inside a giant blender type machine.

I look the other way when it comes to Jigsaw calculating what each person would do. I feel like this is possible if you study people enough. But I stop when he magically knows each person's deep dark secrets. Each person is their for a "sin" they committed and how Jigsaw knows their secrets is never explained. Then we have the twist. Each Saw film is famous for their trap deaths and the twists. So when they decide to essentially re-use old twists I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. On top of that we have more retcon action going on that doesn't jive with the rest of the series. Nothing that happens in the film comes as a surprise, which is a disappointment and the cast just isn't memorable enough to want to see them in future installments.

The Saw series was done to death and the revival is dead on arrival. Not a single sympathetic character, surprise reveal or gruesomely awesome death in the flick (save for maybe the final one). Jigsaw needs to be put to rest for good.

I'm surprised how not terrible this film is after all the drama behind the scenes. Still, Solo is a film that proves how greedy Disney is, willing to churn out unneeded material just to earn a buck. Solo might be solid proof that people will not just spend their money blindly on name brand recognition alone, there has to be something tangible to go with it. This movie lacks that, it feels forced and despite me not hating it, is unwanted.

Han gets his name, meets Chewie and is introduced to the Millennium Falcon. This is his "origin" story. We see things we don't really need to see, which is a curse of prequels. Much like First Class, the writers for some reason feel the need to forcibly hit certain beats. We know Professor X is in a wheel chair, so we HAVE to show how he got in that right? Wrong, you can make it play out more gradually, make it more emotional. In Solo's case, it feels like it has to show us everything that we already know about this character, things that make his allure cool are shown here.

For example, do we really need to see The Kessel Run? Do we even need to see how he got his name? Spoiler Alert: He is alone in one scene and a guy calls him Solo. Wow. The first Star Wars film to not feature a Jedi, but it manages to still throw in a lightsaber because it's Star Wars, right?

Predictable story beats, generic but admittedly fun action sequences and winks and nods are enough to make the film....adequate. That's the biggest fault and biggest strength, oddly enough. This film is better than I thought it would be, but not as good as it should have been. Disney made a mistake in making this movie, they should have used this opportunity to expand the universe outside of what we already know. A chance to show new characters, completely separate from what we have already been exposed to and they fail.

The film would have benefited from a shorter run time, more focus and planning in pre-production. For a film with two fired directors, rumours of the lead actor needing acting classes and a scramble to find a new director and meet the release date, the film is just fine.

Still better than Last Jedi. :)

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That review reads a little harsh (and vague) for a , but whatever.

Solo is neck-and-neck with Attack of the Clones for my least favourite installment - would have to re-watch both to be sure but good Lord it's not good. It's like a damn Fantastic Beasts movie (though thankfully more tolerable than either of those movies, if not by much), and the idea that it is in any way an improvement on Last Jedi strikes me as absurd.

From the 80's Teen HoF


This movie looked the least interesting to me and I was surprised by how invested I was early on.

Eugene is a "prodigy" when it comes to playing the guitar. He's training for classical music, but he feels like the blues is more in his blood. He tracks down the legendary Willie Brown in the hopes of learning and recording the "lost" song from so long ago. Johnson has a different idea, help him break out of the nursing home and they will take a road trip down south. Along the way Johnson teaches Eugene how he's not black enough, not poor enough, too privileged and hasn't faced enough discrimination to be a true blues player. Are these life lessons or the rantings and ravings of an old man who might have taken advantage of a young boy to get him where he needs to go.

The duo play well off each other and when Jami Gurtz enters the picture, it takes the film to new directions. All 3 seem to have great chemistry and she acts at the catalyst for Eugene to enter his "blues" state.

The film takes an odd turn when it becomes a little bit more supernatural. The Devil is actually a character here and selling your soul isn't a metaphor, you're actually selling your soul. It's a bold move for a road film to all of a sudden change genres towards the end, but it works in my opinion.

I liked that they show him playing the guitar where most movies these days would try and hide it. It made it more believable.

I found myself to be really bored on my second Last Jedi viewing. There's little entertainment value to be had in that experience. Johnson was so hung up and subverting expectations he forget to make an entertaining film.

For Solo, I found it to be entertaining despite it's numerous shortcomings. So when I saw I had given Last Jedi a I felt that I had to at least match it with Solo. As well as the film being better than my expectations. Granted, a is indeed generous.

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From the Horror HoF.

There are 20 films based on the Amityville Horror, I've only seen this one and the remake.

I agree with what most people are saying, which is that Brolin’s descent into madness is terrific. He looks physically drained with each passing scene and you believe he can be a real danger to his family. Second, Kidder is gorgeous here and does the role well enough, but isn't utilized to her full potential. I feel like the film could have played her vulnerability a bit more within the house.

The classic child makes friends with a ghost never gets old. It's something that a parent would at first shrug off as a imaginary friend than realize the terror once the madness happens.

I didn't care for the evil reaching beyond the house. Specifically whenever the priest tried to interact with the family and the evil would stop him. I felt like it should have been more concentrated within the house. Since they never meet up, it ends up being a distraction.

A solid horror film that might feel a bit dated, but it still works.

Having re-watched both films, I figure Last Jedi has the edge because it's got a strong enough sense of its thematics and characterisation to carry it through any rough patches. Solo, on the other hand, is so thoroughly inert on a dramatic level that it severely undercuts every other aspect, many of which weren't particularly strong in the first place and even then tend to hint at a better movie than whatever we ended up getting here. In any case, don't feel like you have to artificially inflate your rating of a film just because you gave the same rating to a film you think is worse.

I think I was a little harsh when I reviewed Unfriended, at the very least that film tried to create a horror film with a unique angle. With Friend Request, we get similar story of online horror where friends of the lead girl who did something wrong to another are now being killed. Can our heroine solve the mystery of the online witchery before all her friends die, maybe even before she dies? I for one didn't care, as these characters are offensively boring and the film doesn't offer any fresh take on the digital horror trend.

There was an internet trend in the 90's where a serene photo would pop up on your screen, or a calming video and when you least expected it, JUMP SCARE!!! The sound would blast high and the photo or video would turn demonic. This is the first jump scare in this film and the rest of them play out in the same fashion. Elements are there are a decent horror spin, but the laziness in everything hinders anyones attempts at enjoying it.

There was an opportunity to play up the lonely girl aspect a bit more here. Sprinkles of Ingrid Goes West would have really helped the core of the story, but that is all window dressing for what the filmmakers really want to do, which is cheap scares for teenagers. The film tries to update the horror genre for the digital age, but fails miserably. Maybe the internet and horror don't mix? I absolutely hated FearDotCom and the previously mentioned Unfriended tries hard. So I guess if you see an ad for a horror film mixed with the internet, steer clear!!!

Fun Fact: Mark Zuckerberg tried to get this film blocked from theatres but failed.

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Regarding Internet-based horror movies, I figure I should recommend Netflix's Cam. I found it reasonably effective and at the very least it's not another movie where the Internet literally kills people.

Had characters made smarter choices in this film, I think I would have rated it a bit higher. One bit in particular is when the sister escapes from imminent death, but fails to kill the fat man. Why are you injuring him and not finishing the job? Look at the situation you are in, you just witnessed him use a chainsaw on your friend. I did get a good laugh when the head fell out of the garbage bag though. Or how about standing there watching your friend yell at you to run away just before he has his neck snapped...and you stand there. Or when you have a weapon and you throw it at the guy instead of holding onto it.

Macabre is an exercise is bloody violence. The story is obviously of little concern, the filmmakers instead choose to try and get as much grotesque imagery on the screen as possible. The low-fi approach helps certain scenes, such as the table slaughter, but it hinders some others stripping away the suspense.

For the most part, I liked it. It's not something I'll ever watch again and will probably forget about it soon, but it works for what it's going for.

Leigh Whannell is famous for co-creating the Saw franchise with James Wan. Wan has taken off to direct billion dollar franchises, start new horror universes and is hailed as one of the best working directors today in the horror community. Whannell hasn't had such success. His role with Wan has mainly been as a co-writer, but he finally got the opportunity to direct with Insidious: Chapter 3. I'm sure he learned a few things from Wan, but now he has branched away from the horror genre with Upgrade and has given sci/fi action fans something a little new and fresh.

Grey and his wife Asha are on their way home from a meeting when their self driving car crashes. Multiple men with guns then surround them, shooting Asha in the chest and Grey in the neck, making him a paraplegic. Months later, no arrests have been made but Grey is given an opportunity to walk again from a young crazy inventor. "STEM" is implanted on Grey's spinal cord, giving him the ability to walk. He then takes it upon himself to solve his wife's murder and in the process learns he has been 'upgraded'.

Whannell creates a believable world in which technology is advanced enough to make such thoughts possible. Acting as writer and director, this is Whannell's baby and it showcases enough creativity to ignite enthusiasm for future projects. For instance, the fight scenes are more unique than what Hollywood is offering today. The camera tracks lead actor Logan Marshall-Green's movement, keeping him in the centre frame almost the entire time. This was apparently achieved by putting a reference point on him and having the camera track that spot, giving the fight scenes a robotic and calculated look. It looks great and adds something extra to the visuals of a typical revenge story.

A lot of attention to detail here, in the fight scenes you notice that "STEM" uses Grey's hands to move his head away from punches. STEM has no control over Grey's head, only the neck down. Small details like this add to the enjoyment of the flick. Believe it or not bits of the film reminded me of Inception, but going further into that would spoil parts of the film.

Upgrade is fun, it's cool, it's something a little bit different.

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"STEM, take over" for Scene of the Year and "bet ya didn't know I was a f*ckin' NINJA" for Line of the Year.

Ghosts are entering our world. They're trying to escape the emptiness of the afterlife, but end up bringing with them so much despair that the living kill themselves.

Pulse tries to be more than a horror film as it deals with depression and suicide. Two heavy themes to be looking at through a genre that usually gets made fun of. Yet Pulse manages to look inside these two elements with a careful hand. It forgoes the "SCARY" and strives for something more, offering the viewer an elevated art form. It also dives into how much of a cultural impact technology is having on the social structure. We are all connected, but we've never felt more apart. This still rings true today with things like Facebook. I personally have hundreds of friends on facebook, but if I would delete the ones I never talk to, or don't even consider my friends, that number would be much smaller. Technology on the surface looks to be bringing us together, but it is actually tearing us apart.

That's all good, but this is a Horror HoF and I felt like Pulse had no pulse. Now, there were some genuine moments that are uneasy, specifically when we see images of people walking awkwardly towards us, or the two words Help Me over and over again with no clear visual representation of who or what is saying this. These elements work, but the film is almost 2 hours long and these moments are few and far between.

It doesn't help that Asian horror films are working on another level when it comes to acting. The over the top performances in a lot of these movies take me out of the moment. One scene in particular is when one character climbs over a couch to get away from the oncoming ghost, only to scream when she reaches over the top. This scene was only half affective. The ghost part was great, works really well, his response to the ghost wasn't. Also, some of the funniest rear view projection for driving I've ever seen. Those bus scenes are so laughably bad.

Some shoddy effects hurt the picture too and when dealing with technology as much as this film does, you can feel that it is dated. I recently watched Friend Request, which deals with witch craft and the internet and I mentioned how the digital horror scene doesn't really work for me. Pulse is one of the better attempts.

While I appreciate the artistic merit of the film, I couldn't help but be bored by a lot of it. This is my first Bergman film and despite my disappointment with it, I'm sure I'll watch more from the filmmaker in the future.

Less of a horror film in the classic sense and more of a insight into the continuing deprived mind of madness. Some really nice shots in the film and the black and white adds to the ambiance. Ultimately, I feel like I need to give this another chance at another time. I might chalk this one up to maybe simply not being in the mood.

It was interesting see Max Von Sydow as a younger man, I've only ever seen the man as his current old self.

I think people need to see more Canadian Horror Cinema. Ginger Snaps is pure fun and it balances comedy with horror perfectly. I'd be lying if I didn't say that Mimi Rogers was my favourite performance in the film, her overbearing and innocent mother is hilarious.

Their relationship is the core aspect of the film and if you can't get behind their outsiders us against the world vibe, than the movie might not work for you. It's not necessarily a gore fest, it takes its time with things. Much like the recent fan favourite It Follows, Ginger Snaps dives into the realm of STD's. Ginger infects a boy through unprotected sex and he begins to show signs of a sexually transmitted disease. While this does take a back seat to the more prominent aspect of puberty, I'm glad it's there as a side bar for further exploration within the world.

I thought the performances were really good for a horror film about WEREWOLVES. The sisters have only each other, despite their desperate mother trying her best to connect with them on a daily basis. The make-up effects used are subtle at first and gradually we see Ginger's deterioration until a really well done transformation is showcased in the back of a van. The use of practical effects help with the realism.

A female empowered movie, Ginger Snaps has bite and I'm glad people are enjoying it.

What the heck is going on here? We have a sequel to Happy Death Day??? Even crazier is the fact that this movie is just as or possibly more fun than the original? Or how about this for crazy....my wife chose this movie over Alita: Battle Angel and They Shall Not Grow Old. Yet...EVEN CRAZIER MY FRIENDS....MY WIFE CRIED DURING THIS MOVIE. I REPEAT, SHE CRIED EMOTIONAL TEARS DURING THIS MOVIE!!!

Tree has successfully stopped her time looping slasher shenanigans and is happily together with Carter. When Carter's roommate experiences his own version of the deja vu, we are given a glimpse into the reasons why. A science experiment gone wrong, which triggers another time loop for Tree. So, we have to go through the same thing as the first one again? Boring!!!! How are they going to make it different this time? Well, they drop the horror and crank up the sci/fi for one.

Unexpectedly, Happy Death Day 2 U manages to go in a direction that is juuuuuust different enough to warrant this experience. Tree is no longer in the same dilemma. The killer from the first one is not the killer this time around. So while the first was a Groundhog Day Slasher film, this one is more like a Groundhog Day Back To the Future Part II film. The film doesn't seem concerned with the killer, it's a side plot which was surprisingly refreshing.

Jessica Rothe continues to have a great time and impresses me. Here she balances comedy, horror and yes...enough emotional drama to make a pregnant woman cry. I really do hope her career takes off because she has some talent. As mentioned, the film leans heavily into sci/fi and less into the horror. We still have a baby faced killer on our hands, but we are more focused on the why and the how relating to the time loop. The film also leans heavily into the comedy, especially with a montage of Tree killing herself over and over in creative and hysterical ways.

Happy Death Day 2 U is a sequel no one asked for, but it is one I am 100% not mad exists. I fully expect another one to come to have a weird trilogy that garners cult status. It doesn't take itself seriously at all and asks that the viewer just have a fun time and nothing more.

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I've been waiting for someone to give a write up on this sequel, because you addressed the exact issue that came to mind after seeing the trailers. Why would I want to see the same thing again?....I might have to check this one out now.

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I've still not seen the first one but for some reason I want to more, now that there is a sequel.

The sequel does not need to exist, but it is better than what I thought it was going to be.

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I watched the original the other day and found it pretty decent, enough so that I wouldn't mind checking out the sequel (especially considering how much it decides to get weird with the premise rather than settle for a simple retread).

Tag is a weird film that takes a story found in the newspaper and tries its best to structure a story out of it. The story is thin, the jokes are obvious and the only redeeming factor seems to be the chemistry between the cast. For those not in the know, Tag is about a group of friends who have been playing the game their entire lives. For one month every year they will go out of their way to tag someone. Everyone’s been tagged except Jerry; he’s always one step ahead. This year will be different though, they plan on tagging him at his wedding.

The film takes the premise and ramps it up to the extreme. People are willing to break into homes, shatter windows, set up elaborate traps and even make extreme bogus claims to garner sympathy, all in an effort to not get tagged. If you can suspend reality for a bit, you might have some enjoyment here. In one scene Jake Johnson is taken out by a swinging log trap. This is something that would literally kill a man and you’d see in in a film like Predator. During an interview with a journalist for his company, Jon Hamm is willing to take a chair and smash the window behind him to escape. Putting aside the fact that Hannibal Buress is born in a different decade than his “friends”, the friendships are believable.

Little to no real plot here, just a story about the lengths people will go to remain friends. As you grow older, the fun leaves your day to day activities as responsibilities creep in. Tag wants you to believe you can still have fun every now and then. The film tries to earn some tears towards the end, but the emotional impact isn’t anywhere near the level it thinks it is. It earns a little sentimentality though, I’m not a robot. In the end, this is a forgettable comedy. A few laughs here or there, but unless you are a big fan of the actors involved, you can give it a miss.

What a clusterf*ck.

Seeing things unfold as they did was hilarious. I didn't hear about this festival until the fallout really. Even then it was still a little muddy to me as to what was going on. Fyre is the Netflix film that documents the efforts to put together a concert event on an island. The best thing this documentary has going for it is the behind the scenes footage, so we get firsthand accounts and we get to see what actually happened unfold in a glorious dumpster fire.

The interviews of those who worked there give tremendous insight into the ego of the people that were putting this thing on. If you throw enough money at your problems, they will eventually go away right? That had to have been the thought process of the people here. Yet it creates more problems down the road. Luxury tents turn out to be hurricane survivor tents; gourmet food turns out to be a slice of cheese on some bread. The insane levels of what happened here are hilarious to the viewer, but most likely traumatizing for those who attended. Although, I don’t know how much sympathy I can give people who spend thousands of dollars to go see a concert. There is a sense of privilege to those people that I simply cannot connect with.

It seems that it was a slow build from a dream to literally deceit. There were so many times when the whole thing should have been called off, but it wasn’t. The hole that was dug kept getting deeper. I literally laughed out loud and had my jaw open with awe at the part where the guy explains the depths he was willing to go to get the bottled water delivered to the event. Talk about taking one for the team. A guy tells the event organizers that you cannot build enough lodgings on this island, it is literally impossible. They fire him and do it themselves. That’s the level of ineptitude these people had.

Give the film a watch. Enjoy the carnage of destruction.

I feel like people will never really have that moment like they did with the first Jurassic Park. The awe and wonder is gone with the amount of VFX oddities people can do these days. Those were my thoughts while I watched this sequel. There are times that director J.A. Bayona is clearly going for the “iconic” shots to try and capture that wonder again, but it falls flat. I’m thinking about the moment we see the T-Rex roar in front of the exploding volcano or when we see the deep sea creature’s shadow in the tidal wave. Do our eyes widen with excitement or do we think to ourselves “oh, well that was kinda cool”. Dinosaurs on the screen running away from an exploding volcano are “kinda cool”. Giant robots fighting each other in a city that is being destroyed is “kinda cool. Is our wonder gone? What was the last movie that gave you that feeling? Maybe it was Jurassic Park, or Lord of the Rings or the most recent thing I can think of, Avatar. My point is, films like this are now a dime a dozen and what would have been wonderful years ago is old-hat now. Jurassic World, or the series for that matter, is old-hat.

The island is volcanic is will explode soon, killing all those dinosaurs left behind. A wealthy man by the name of Lockwood wants to retrieve those Dinos and put them in a safe spot. Free from the cages, isolated and alive. They recruit one person who knows the dinosaurs well, Claire. Yet she can’t do it alone and they really are interested in bringing the Raptor Blue back. So let’s get the couple back together and Owen enters the scene. They manage to get the dinosaurs but as usual, the company retrieving them isn’t all they seem to be. The volcano erupts, our heroes run for their lives and then we find out the true reason for their retrieval.

Jurassic World has a lot going on and it feels like a few different movies morphed into one. The island portion is a disaster flick with a lot of special effects, thrilling sequences and edge of your seat entertainment. At least that’s what the filmmakers want you to feel. Characters we barely know tag along and are immediately pigeonholed into stereotypes. This is done so we get a false sense of knowing them, when in reality they are nobodies. All of it looks “kinda cool” but it feels hollow. The stakes are never real. We know they get off the island because there is a whole two thirds of a movie left. The most memorable shot of the film is when the boats are leaving and we get one lasting image of a dinosaurs stuck on the island with the approaching smoke engulfing it. Do we have more of a connection to these beasts than these characters? The film really tries to make you feel this way.

Fallen Kingdom takes a turn and becomes espionage. The characters need to hide to not raise suspicion, gather Intel, and try to thwart the evil deeds that are bound to unfold. Just as this happens, the film takes another turn and becomes somewhat of a horror movie. This is the classic creature in the house scenario where our characters are being hunted. The hunter is yet another DNA split dino, something that was done in the last movie. But wait, it’s more dangerous this time, right?

A side plot involving a little girl drags then stops FULL STOP to have a character deliver exposition that we already knew. The girl makes an interesting decision at the end which will result in a third film, one that I think will be a complete detour to every film that came before it and maybe it will shoot a bit of life into this series. Fallen Kingdom tries a few new things, but gets confused in the end. It wants to be a big spectacle film, while remaining small and confined. The result is a mixed film with two wildly different tones.

Open Windows is a horror thriller of sorts starring Sasha Grey and Elijah Wood. It's told entirely from webcam footage and phone cameras. It was a unique idea that worked better in a short format and couldn't sustain a feature length running time. Unfriended is a straight up horror film with the same concept, this time a vengeful spirit is attacking people through the internet. Some of it works, a lot of it didn't. I found myself wondering if anyone was going to get this style of filmmaking right, then a little film called Searching came along.

Again, told entirely through webcam footage, phone camera, face time, a computer screen and social media. The film is about a 16 year old girl gone missing and the desperate lengths her father will go to find her. The film opens with a nice montage of a family, told through home video, photos and calendar appointments, we get a sense of how close this family is. A terrible tragedy happens and the mother dies. Since her death, the relationship between the father and daughter has been distant, even though the father thinks they are still close. I look over to my pregnant wife, she's already crying. I thought the format would be annoying to her, but she was glued to the screen, which is a good sign that this film will keep anyone's attention.

The computer/webcam style format works really well here. The film itself only took 18 days to shoot, but 2 years to complete due to the computer images needed to tell the story. There is a lot of attention to detail here and first time filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty shows incredible talent to make a suspenseful film. It helps that he has a talented cast behind him and not some unknown teens or a former porn star.

The mystery element works well and we get a sense of the social media firestorm that can happen when such an event occurs. The father interrogates a teenage girl who held the study session his daughter was at, she informs him that they weren't really friends and just needed someone smart to help her get a good grade. As the case gets widespread attention, this girl makes a video blog about how she is so upset that her friend is missing, since they are "best friends". Small little details like this shows how fake those people are on the internet. We put on a face for those watching just to get a like or an upvote.

The lengths parents will go for their children is key here and at the core of the story. Searching is a surprisingly well thought out and executed film. Small details and questions you have throughout make sense by the time the film's conclusion rolls around. The premise might seem gimmicky to some, but I think someone finally got it right.

It's been awhile since a romantic comedy felt refreshing and important. Love, Simon manages to hit all the familiar notes, but doesn't feel stale or a retread. You'll find yourself invested in the characters, the side characters, the mystery and the drama. Teen comedies these days are either vulgar or about terminally ill teens who find love. If you've seen one, then you've seen them all. While at first Love, Simon feels like it will follow suit the final result feels like so much more.

Our main character, Simon, is your typical kid. He has friends, he's semi-popular and comes from a good family. The only problem is he feels alone because he's gay. A popular site where people post their dirty little secrets pops up and Simon sees that someone comes out as gay, but stays hidden behind an internet handle. He immediately feels connected to this anonymous person and tries to find out who he is.

The film has a warmth to it and strays away from the typical Hollywood gay character stereotype we always see in Rom-Coms. Instead we get a look inside the life of a kid who wants to feel like he belongs. The film is well acted and written, the believability in their relationships on the screen help elevate the film above the usual fare. I hope that this film is remembered years from now, it clearly stands apart from what other teenage romantic comedies are putting out these days.

See Love, Simon and skip stuff like The Kissing Booth.

On paper, this film looks amazing. Based on a successful mystery/crime series, directed by the man behind Let The Right One In, written by the writer of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, edited by an industry legend, Oscar winning cinematographer, starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, Toby Jones, & J. K. Simmons. So why is this film complete trash?

A killer kills women when the snow falls in Norway. Isn't it always snowing in Norway? Anyways, a detective who has a Hairy Hole becomes involved in the case. He's a terrible detective with a drinking problem. We get some flashbacks with an insanely poorly dubbed Val Kilmer. He suffered from throat cancer and his voice sounds terrible, so they dubbed it over and decided to barely show his face when he talks. Unfortunate situation, but it is one of the biggest head scratchers in this film.

So Fassbender's name is Harry Hole. It is pronounced 'HOLY" I believe, don't quote me on that, but in the film they just call him Hole. Harry Freakin' Hole. Why not change his freakin' name? How can anyone take the film seriously with that thing lingering over their heads. The actors seem to be aimlessly running around with no real direction. Quick research tells me that they left out 10-15% of the script. Brilliant choice.

Onto of the ineptitude of this film, it is utterly boring. Nothing exciting happen here and the muddy plot is incoherent. This is a terribly bad film with incredibly talented people. So while it is funny to laugh at this film, it's depressing to think about how good it could have been.

The opening scene in this film will determine if you want to continue watching, or simply turn it off and never think about this movie ever again. We are quickly introduced to the members of Motley Crue with a quick fire pace that the film actually manages to maintain throughout its running time. I won't go into details about what happens, but I laughed, then felt dirty.

I don't know much about Motley Crue, just 3 out of the 4 members and that Tommy Lee spun upside down for some of his shows. But if even half of what happens in this film is true, then damn are these guys inane, irresponsible, disgusting and about a dozen other less than desirable words I can think of. The trouble is, the participants in these stories were more or less, black out drunk and high during these times. So when something insane happens, it's hard to prove that it did. Seeing Ozzy Osbourne snort ants then lick up his own piss is....something.

The difference between this and something like Bohemian Rhapsody, is that the guys behind this have no issues with making themselves look like trash. There is a bit of hard-truth to that and it is more or less admirable. No one in the band is portrayed in a 'positive' light, with maybe Mick Mars being the exception. He's too old to want to party, have sex or do drugs. He just wants to play. These guys are all unlikable and they treat women as objects.

There is an obscene amount of drugs and nudity on display here. To the point where the viewer feels dirty just watching it. The film portrays these guys as literally being high 24/7. They portray them as friends, yet they sleep with each other's girlfriends. Again, this film doesn't hold anything back. The film has some meta moments and breaks the 4th wall to narrate some sections. Each member narrates their own stories and will even tell you straight up if they are embellishing or not.

The craziness on display seems like a perfect fit for director Jeff Tremaine, famous for his Jackass films. This is his first narrative feature and he makes the transition pretty well. The film is fun and cartoonish. If you're a fan of the band, I feel like this is a must see.

This film wants to be like Deep Blue Sea so badly it even has a bald token black guy cracking' wise. At least he doesn't rap the end theme to the film though...but holy crap would that have made this film better if he did.

An underwater expedition below the Marianas Trench goes awry when a giant shark attacks an underwater submersible. A rescue mission is sent, but who is crazy enough to go that depth? JASON FREAKIN' STATHAM that's who. The man looks badass enough so he'll get the job done right? The shark makes its way up to people infested waters and he seems hungry for lunch. Who can stop it? JASON FREAKIN' STATHAM that's who!!!!

As giant shark movies go, this one could have been a bit bloodier, a bit funnier and overall just a bit more entertaining. There always seems to be size and speed inconsistencies with these movies. All for the sake of 'suspense'. But when you're rolling your eyes at the absurdity of things, it's hard to feel that suspense. So the entertainment factors goes out the door as well.

Some forced romantic subplots, guys with money are always evil subplots and classic fake-outs, the film becomes a bit by the numbers. I can't help but feel like they had an opportunity to really go 'out there' with this idea, but it feels way too safe and neutered. People are constantly falling off boats because we need them to be in danger, this is used constantly, to the point of annoyance.

Bottom line, I wanted to have more fun with The Meg. I wanted to bask in the ridiculousness of it all, but I could only seem to meet it had way. Loved that it ended with 'Fin' though. That's a great gag.

I agree that this needed to be more... Of everything. It felt as if it was three films. The first, a disaster movie. That was the one I enjoyed most. The second, a recreation of Jaws on the boat, then the third, the bit we all wanted. The attack. Except there really wasn't much of an attack. They even ruined the thing by

Pretty spot on there.

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Spiderman was not worth money. They have ruined the spiderman series.

Please elaborate as to how the series that already gave us Spider-Man 3 and both Amazing Spider-Man movies was all of a sudden ruined by Spider-Verse.

I unfortunately watched the remake before the original. The remake of this film is trash, while the original is terrific. The main difference is in the lead performance from The Stepfather. Terry O'Quinn in the original posses the perfect charm and if it hadn't been for the opening sequence, viewers wouldn't have been able to tell that he was a psycho. Now let's look at the remake with Dylan Walsh and you'll find a soulless gaze behind his eyes. It lacks the charm, the terror and thrills.

Wait a minute, who am I here? BAM. What a great scene and performance from Terry O'Quinn. He has this glare that sends shivers down spines and when he seems lost in his own psychosis you feel scared. What is this man actually capable of? In an instant, he can turn around and smash your face with a phone. Took me by surprise. What makes him scary is how real he is. The story is based off an actual murder of a family, where the guy disappeared for years only to turn up married to another. There are people out there who are insane and hide behind the "perfect family" exterior.

The film is a little generic, but it is uplifted by that lead performance. I'll give it credit for subverting my expectations with the investigative plot. Just when you think this guy is going to solve the mystery and save the day, he's killed instantly. Kudos for the build up to a nice twist. Shelley Hack unfortunately isn't given a lot to work with, she is in love and blinded by her husband's kindness. She is laughably bad in the climax when she is at the bottom of the stairs with a gun. Where did she learn to shoot?

Then we come to the daughter, 16 year old Stephanie Maine played by a then 23 year old Jill Schooled. I purposely mention her age because the film explicitly says she is 16. She is making out with a guy on her doorsteps when the Stepfather whips the door open yelling at them. "Get away from her!!! She is 16 years old!!!" he yells. Later on in the film she gets naked and has a shower. We see everything. Isn't this a bit odd when the character is suppose to be underage? What exactly were they thinking here? They needed to meet the nudity quota?

The Stepfather was a welcomed surprise and one I hope to revisit again in the future.

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I think after mark f, you're the only person I've seen mention this on here in all the years I've been here. That's probably not true and I've just forgotten, but I agree with you (and mark) that this is a much overlooked, fantastic horror/thriller which, even after a remake, seems to still be underseen.

By me, as much as anyone else. I don't know if I've seen this since the 80's. Maybe early 90's?

I probably would never have watched it if my uncle didn't dump 900 dvds into my lap. This was one of the ones I kept.

The scariest film I'll probably ever see and I'm only saying that as a parent. If I had no kids, I feel like this film would have been 'okay' and not made me think too hard. But after watching it all I feel is anxiety for the future of my kids and kids in general.

Eighth Grade details the life of a lonely girl making her way through life before she graduates and heads to high school. Directed by Bo Burnham and starring newcomer Elsie Fisher, this is the most real depiction of kids in school, you'll probably ever see. It helps that the age we're looking at is younger than high school, so we don't get these adults pretending to be teens. We get actual kids on the screen, braces and acne on full display.

It makes me look back on my youth and if I would have fit into any of the cliques. To be honest, I was just there. I wasn't a popular kid, nor an outsider. I had friends, was funny and did pretty well in my classes. The most memorable thing about me I believe was that I was the only one dating someone else in the class. We didn't make it past the summer to high school.

Eighth Grade shows how much kids feel the pressure and need to 'perform' on social media. It's this constant need for attention that they might feel they are not getting at home, or that they think they need to get in order to be on the inside. Watching this girl stumble through her VLOG about whatever, was cringe worthy. You know right from the get-go what type of person she is and what type of person she wants to be. Fisher gives a realistic performance, full of awkwardness and "umms". Those umms add to the realistic nature Burnham wants to depict here. Kids talk like this, not everything spits eloquently fine tuned dialogue. It sounds cool, but feels fake. Eighth Grade strips that down and gives us the nitty gritty of how kids talk.

I don't know if Burnham is interested in directing more films or what direction he thinks he needs to go in after this, but he has a talent that I feel will bloom in some years. He himself comes from the youtube age and has made great successes for himself. His stand-up is funny and unique enough to showcase his talents. I do expect to see more of him in some capacity in the future.

Some of the best werewolf effects out there. I really dug the weird transformations this film has to offer and I am so disappointed that this film is a complete disappointment for me.

After a traumatizing event with a serial killer who might be a werewolf, Karen and her husband get away to a colony to recoup and hopefully regain some of her memories that she seems to have blocked. While there they are terrorized by werewolves.

This film has some interesting ideas and they are presented in the most boring and awkward fashion. I was so completely bored for the first half of the film that I'm surprised I even bothered to finish it. It got interesting when the werewolves finally decided to show up and again, I was impressed with the transformations. But it was too little too late as I felt like I already checked out.

The reveal of the town being all werewolves is great though and I feel like a proper remake could really expand on this idea and make scenes actually suspenseful. Have them be retro with the effects and not have a Dee Wallace type in the lead role (she was terrible).

The Howling has a really cool poster though.

There are a few frustrating things about this film that is holding me back from giving it glowing praise and a highly recommended rating. Those issues fall under the illogical nature of Peele trying to explain things towards the end. This movie is so expertly crafted that it hurts to be so divisive over it. I'll go into as much detail as I can as to why this film is just short of being really great and how frustrating that is.

Adelaide, her husband Gabe and their two children vacation at their beach house in Santa Cruze. Gabe wants to take the family down to the beach, but Adelaide is apprehensive about it due to a traumatic childhood event that took place there. He convinces her either way and they go. Later that night when they get back home the power goes out and a weird family dressed in red jumpsuits stand in their driveway. Soon they find themselves face to face with themselves, literally. Now they try to fight for survival and discover the shocking truth behind who these people are and why they are here.

Peele has etched himself a place in the horror genre after two solid films. Get Out was my favourite film of 2017 because it was a well crafted and detailed horror film with excellent social commentary on our world. I'm not alone in that sentiment as Peele won an Oscar for his writing. So despite Us being his second film, the expectations seem to be high. So it is interesting to see this film be a huge hit with critics and have the audience be the ones who are so divisive about it.

There isn't any wasted space here. Peele writes very specifically and shows us what we need to see when we need see it. Everything has a meaning, so when the film opens with something as innocent as an ad for Hands Across America, you have to expect it to come back into the story in some weird way. In Get Out there are so many little bits and pieces that 'click' into place when the film is over that you want to watch it again to see it in a different perspective. There are plenty of moments in that film that I'm sure people are still discovering them. Peele does that again here and it just shows how skilled of a screenwriter he is.



Excellent use of music and the score works well here. The slow haunting piece of "I Got 5 On It" works brilliantly here. Peele is a horror fan and that shows in his work. He has the entire picture mapped out in his head and is able to transfer it clear enough to the screen in writing, direction and small choices in music that the entire thing just works. He likes to place little nods to other horror films and Us has a ton of them. From the overhead driving Shining shot to referencing a movie being shot on the boardwalk (That movie would be The Lost Boys)

Lupita Nyong'o shines here with her double duty. Her movements of Red are creepy and specific. Her voice is eerie, but my theatre actually laughed when she spoke. Despite that, she nails the roles and is the clear highlight from the cast. Another solid performance comes from Elizabeth Moss. She has a small role, but one scene in particular where she is screaming in agony which turns into some weird maniacal laughter is spine tingling. Congrats to the kids as well, for not being annoying. I'm glad that we didn't get too much of the "phone addicted teenager" or "kid does something stupid and costs someone something" because those are cliches that are tired and Peele seems too smart to fall for those.

So if so much of this film works why am I going to complain about it? Why is it not a higher rating? Once Peele starts peeling back the layers of these people, the cracks actually begin to show.



More frustration comes from the ending. Not that is was bad, it ended the way it had to end. From the fact that it is so telegraphed from the beginning that there is no real shock factor. I felt like I was waiting for Peele to catch up to me the entire time for the reveal. Had there been more of a shock moment, maybe my overall reaction would be different. I do like that he asks the viewer to question whether they are questioning their allegiance. Us still showcases the talents of the filmmaker and it is a welcome addition to the horror genre for me. Peele just doesn't want to scare people, he has thematic elements and brings some intelligence to his films. Bravo.

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Good thoughts on Us....exactly how the tethering really worked should've been explained more

You know how when you go into a movie you have certain expectations? It's never a good thing to have those because it will more often than not ruin the experience for you. High expectations for certain films might make you enjoy it less even if it is...pretty good. Low expectations for films might make you give the film a pass even when it might be bad. So when the film Instant Family came my way, my expectations were mixed. I was expecting another Daddy's Home, which makes sense considering it stars Mark Wahlberg and is directed by the same guy. So imagine my 'surprise' when I discovered that Instant Family is actually something better than a routine comedy. In fact, it packs some emotional punches that I did not expect.

Married couple Pete and Ellie flip houses. They take something that is broken and in need of some love and care and turn it into a lovely home for some young couple. When Ellie's sister mentions she is trying to get pregnant, it sparks something inside her. She want to be a mother. Instead of going the traditional route of getting pregnant, they decide to try and be 'better people' and go through adoption. They notice that all the Foster parents want to adopt these little kids while the teenagers are left behind. Pete & Ellie decide to buck the trend and go for an extremely independent 15 year old girl. To Pete and Ellie's surprise though, she comes with a little brother and little sister. Now with 3 latin kids under their house, the hi-jinks, comedy, horror and drama begin to take shape.

There is a sense of realism found here and it makes sense when you find out that director Sean Anders based this film on his own experiences in adopting 3 latin children. So there are plenty of little looks and ticks that Wahlberg and Rose Byrne do in the film that feel extremely natural and real. Kids yelling that they only want to eat potato chips for dinner instead of the home cooked meal hits home. A look on the face of a parent receiving a hug after a fight. I imagine it's extremely hard for foster parents to be in these situations. How many times are the kids going to throw "You're not my real mother" in their faces. A lot it seems.

Despite trying their best to provide the absolute best living conditions they can offer, it never seems good enough for Liz, the 15 year old. She seems hellbent on making things difficult for her new foster parents. It's clear she has trust issues and her siblings are too young to really acknowledge what's going on. These kids come from a broken home and despite that, Liz wants her real mother back, no matter the cost. The formula for this film leans more on the generic side and you won't find many surprises by the film's end, but I don't think people are going to want to. I think you'll know what you are getting early on in the film and will enjoy the ride nonetheless.

A lot of this sounds dramatic and it is. But there is a lot of funny bits sprinkled throughout to keep it more on the lighter side of things. When a tired kid says "Thanks Mommy" for the first time, Byrne is willing to try and casually wake the kid up again just to confirm what she heard was the word mommy. It's a sweet scene that brought a smile to my face. Characters aren't put in "funny scenarios", the comedy comes from the character interactions in real situations. It's 2vs3 in this house and the banding together to overpower children is comical.

Instant Family is a good film that balances the drama pretty well with the comedy. Don't expect many laugh out loud moments, just a few laughs and smiles to go with a good family drama.

I'm sure I'll get to that sometime this month.

Are you telling me to watch that one?

The moment any of these characters spoke, I knew I didn't like them. I guess they fit into the egocentric pompous world of art and art criticism and I get the irony of me sitting here critiquing a piece of film art too. The thing about this movie is that it is not as clever as it thinks it is and Gilroy wants to satirize the art world, but he doesn't lean far enough one way or the other while he looks at it.

Gilroy treats us to his satirical look at the art world with a veil of horror presented before it. The people that criticize/exploit the art are later killed by them. It's like The Happening but with paintings. While Velvet Buzzsaw doesn't stoop to the depths of the trash heap that was The Happening, it doesn't distinguish itself from anything else either. The best thing about this movie is the title, it evokes a feeling that the film never manages to achieve. What that feeling is? I don't know, I just like the contradictory edginess to it.

Gyllenhaal and Russo both were in Gilroy's Nightcrawler, which is leaps and bounds a better crafted piece of art. Gyllenhaal plays an art critic by the name of Morf. Let that name sink in. The film has a decent cast, Toni Collette and John Malkovich show up in smaller roles, adding just a bit of flair.

One character walks into a room and sees a pile of garbage, calling it brilliant. The response from another is that it's not art....it's literally just trash sitting there waiting to be taken out. It's obvious to see what Gilroy is getting at here, playing that scene as a joke for the audience at the same time. Yet there is a weird seriousness to the film that contradicts a lot of what it wants to mock. Leaving me with a confused and disappointed feeling by the end. For a film with a title like Velvet Buzzsaw, this needed to be more edgy.

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I liked Velvet Buzzsaw a lot more, but I can't exactly quibble with a lot of the critiques about it anyway. It's the kind of film I know, intellectually, is flawed, but still really really enjoyed.

That said, man, I kinda wish it was just a straight film, and that the vibe and focus of the first 20-30 minutes was the whole thing. It kinda becomes something else, and I don't see what that added, exactly. I was pretty interested in the politics and backstabbing of the art world, but a lot less so in the ghoulish twists that basically interrupted a more interesting film.

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I really liked Velvet Buzzsaw. Seen it twice already. :up:

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I think I agree with @Yoda in that the film would have benefited from more "politics" in the art world and less death by art....literally.

My favourite Disney film as a child. Most of it has to do with the manic performance from the brilliant Robin Williams, but the entire package is really put together well. Aladdin spawned sequels, games, a tv series and now a live action remake with Will Smith.

I think the reason I might have liked it so much was the A.D.D style comedy from the Genie. I never knew what he was going to do, say or look like in any given scene. Impressions that went way over my head as a kid I thought was funny for some reason. Those comedy bits hold up to this day.

I watched it recently for my son. Still a little too young to know what's going on but he has all my old toys and one of those toys was a genie action figure. He saw the picture and wanted to watch it. He liked it, at least I think he did. He watched 75% of it, haha.

Jasmine was also my GO-TO Disney Princess. She was hot, especially in the red slave like dress. Man, I'm reliving some memories right now...hahaha. But she was always more than just a Princess, she was seemed somewhat independent despite the arranged marriage aspect. She didn't take any guff from anyone. She could more than likely hold her own in a tussle too.

Great villain with Jafar, the right amount of sinister mustache twirling evilness. The voice acting is top notch and the animation is sublime. Aladdin is a classic Disney film and one that I would love to revisit time and time again.

Do I hate myself for watching this? No. There are worse ways to spend an hour and a half, but The Silence is indeed, no thrilling tale. It's themes, plot lines and overall structure has been explored before in better films. The main comparison most people will throw at it is A Quiet Place, a tighter horror thriller with a compelling central story that focuses on a family. While The Silence treads similar ground, it never reaches the same heights that A Quiet Place hits. So if you're conflicted on which one to watch, the answer is an easy one.

A cave expedition unearth millions of bat like creatures that have been underground for (according to one news anchor) millions of years. They have evolved in the darkness to hunt based on sound. Soon they terrorize the world, bringing about destruction and the end of civilization. One family decides to leave the safety of their house, not take food or water with them and risk it out there. They have an advantage though, the daughter is deaf, so they can communicate with sign language. Sound familiar? No pun intended.

The Silence has few highs and many lows. Stanley Tucci and Kieran Shipka are the father-daughter duo. The rest of the family takes somewhat of a backseat, but their there. These two are pretty good together and manage to do most of the heavy lifting. Tucci loses his friend early in the film and the friend was the 'tougher' of the two. Now this meek and mild mannered man has to grow a pair if he wants to protect his family. Not only does he need to protect them from these creatures, but from rogue religious groups that belong in a post apocalyptic film. The film takes place in the precise moment these things attack and a few days after. I feel like it is a little early to be making fringe groups so soon. There is a moment where an attack on a house is taking place and it could have been something really well orchestrated considering no one can make a sound, but no one seemed interested in that.

Small things made me question what the hell these characters were thinking. One I thought was funny was that our deaf teenager is face timing with a boy she likes and the sound is on. Why? She is deaf, wouldn't the sound attract certain killing creatures to her house? Turn that baby on mute. Also, the world is going to sh*t, but at least we still got wifi signals, right guys? These creatures seemed incredibly easy to kill. Tucci turns on a wood chipper and immediately these things fly right into it. So why turn it off? Why not have it run to kill off any and ALL creatures that are around you?

I chuckled at myself when they did an homage to The Birds, this film wishes it was that good.

Let me paint you a picture. You find a dead body at a secluded mobile-home park and run to tell your parents. You then find yourself terrorized by people in weird and creepy masks. You make it back to your mom, but find her dead. You then somehow manage to get a gun and are standing face to face with one of these people. Do you shoot them? This is a life or death situation here, but one of our characters decides not to and just run away. This is one of many stupid mistakes characters make in this sequel. These character decisions hurt the film immensely as I caught myself complaining about them on more than a few occasions.

The first film was a modest success and people in the horror community seemed to enjoy the gestating terror that waited for Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. Seeing people standing in the background of the frame was eerie, hearing their reason for invading the home, even worse. Now we have a sequel, with new people and new location. The new location gives the characters a bit of room to run around and generate some suspense. But our masked slashers always seem to know where they are at all times. Typical horror movie stuff, right?

The sequel doesn't try to stand apart from the original, or any other generic horror film that's been out in the last decade. This is a film where masked people terrorize and kill an innocent family. Bare bones story development and awkwardly written family dynamics make the film a bit of a chore to get through in the beginning. Fans want to see the terror and when it happens, it might satisfy their thirst. It's not like this film is offering anything people haven't seen before. It will most likely satisfy the young female crowd who like this sort of thing.

This sequel is a little late and might have made more of an impact had it come out a few years after the original. I'm sure there are people out there who have no idea who Sackhead or Dollface are. A sequel a decade later won't generate much enthusiasm, for that you need more of an iconic villain and a more rabid fan base.

Finally caught up with this thread. I've always enjoyed reading your reviews since I think you have a strong writing voice. Glad to see you pooling them all in here instead of posting them in the RTLMYS thread. This makes it easier to catch up with them (keeping an updated list on the first page with links is a convenient touch). I'm also much more likely to comment on what you're watching when you have your own thread. Time to light some candles and get intimate with each other. I hope you're still wearing that thong. :randy:

Just watched The Meg a couple nights ago. It was better than expected, but I expected it to be the absolute pits. Like you, it definitely made me think of Deep Blue Sea, all the way down to the token black guy, but it's nowhere near as ridiculous and entertaining as Deep Blue Sea. Even for a PG-13 film, surely they could've added a little more gore and carnage. When the shark arrives at the crowded beach, I was hoping he'd turn the waters red, but the film seemed way too reticent to allow its monster to mutilate and kill. There were fun moments, though, like Rainn Wilson's fate.

I understand your frustrations with Us, but I loved it and I think it's a better horror film than Get Out. Like everyone, I have questions about certain aspects of the story, but I think those questions might be answered with repeat viewings. While watching it, there were issues I had with certain character actions, but those issues ended up making perfect sense by the end. Questioning the origin of the scissors and red jumpsuits is being too analytical, in my opinion. I'm more interested in the themes and metaphors and ideas than the specifics of the plot. I like that you gave a shout-out to the facial transformation from Elizabeth Moss when she morphs from extreme anguish to devilish glee. That was a great moment. I hope that Lupita Nyong'o isn't forgotten come awards season, although I'm sure she will be.

I think I gave The Strangers: Prey at Night the same rating. I prefer the first film by a slight margin, but it's such a weird movie to randomly get a sequel a decade later. Was there any demand whatsoever? I liked the 80's feel to Prey at Night. The pool scene was the highlight for me. Overall, though, it's a very forgettable movie, much like its predecessor. The Lion King was my favorite Disney movie as a child, but Aladdin was probably #2. We're definitely in agreement about Jasmine being the most bangable Disney princess. (Not your exact words, but I assume that's what you meant.) I liked The Howling more than you, but was generally disappointed given its reputation as one of the better werewolf movies. Most of your other recent viewings are movies I plan on watching in the not-too-distant future. That includes The Snowman, just out of curiosity to see if it's really as awful as everyone makes out. Harry Hole sounds like a joke name that Bart Simpson would use to prank call Moe.

I feel like I'd like Us a lot more on repeat viewings, going in knowing my frustrations. I love the themes and metaphors he's going for, I just wanted a little bit more practicality from him in regards to that. If it doesn't make any sense to me, it takes me out of the experience.

I might have given it a lower rating because that review was right after I watched it, so it was a hot-take of sorts.

I might not have said Jasmine was bangable, but you knew where I was going. :p

The pool scene in Strangers was indeed a highlight.

And thanks for the deep dive, I always love your film insights.

I guess it was only a matter of time before a movie such as this came around. Perfect for today's political climate, The Oath takes a look at the extremes one government might go and those that follow/oppose it. In Ike Barinholtz directorial debut, people are asked to sign "The Patriot's Oath", a controversial document that has the citizen pledge loyalty to the President above all else. Barinholtz and his wife, played by a somewhat subdued Tiffany Haddish are on the opposing side. The signing isn't mandatory, but scare tactics and perks are used for people to sign. The deadline is Black Friday and Barinholtz holds a Thanksgiving dinner with his family, which turns into violence and mayhem after discussions about The Oath break down.

The Oath is a hard film to describe or even really pin down because it changes tone multiple times throughout the hour and a half running time. What starts out as a comedy, quickly becomes a dark-political-family comedy, then into something completely different by the third act. To say I had no idea where the film was going would be an understatement and Barinholtz uses this to his advantage to stage surprise violence when needed.

Political-Horror is a word I'd use to describe the film. Imagine if the Purge was just announced and the film details one family's opposing opinions on it, then the Purge commences and we see some true colours of the family members. That's be a good way to describe a film like The Oath. The political aspect is front and centre and even though Barinholtz obviously favours one side over the other, he's not afraid to show the hypocrisy of both. He opposes the oath and flies his liberal flag high, but anyone who disagrees with him is an idiot and deserves to die in his eyes. Polarizing view points for someone who decries the murder of protesters.

Politics is a hot-topic right now with a lot of people. I suspect they would want to escape from such a thing when they see a movie, but the Oath wants it right in your face. It takes a look at news obsessed info-givers who ignore the source of the news because they agree with what it says. All of this is wrapped in a "Thanksgiving" presentation, a perfect setting to get together with the family for violence.

This is a film that should have and could have been a lot better. On paper, it looks hilarious and would be in the same vein as something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but with the execution, it comes off more like Sausage Party. A foul-mouthed comedy that feels more forced than natural. Once the initial comedy concept wears off, the film barely manages to keep itself on the tracks.

As I sat there watching a puppet ejaculate silly string all over his office, I thought to myself; "Am I too old for this?" I would have found that hilarious back in high school, maybe even college. Now I was just thinking about the puppeteers on that day of filming and how ridiculous the whole thing had to be. This film is full of sequences like that and they don't really nail the comedy side of things. McCarthy tries, bless her, but she can't save the material.

A more focused story-line of the murder plot would have really helped the film move along a bit nicer. More focus on the discrimination between human and puppet could have opened the film to more opportunities, but the people behind this one are more concerned with weird sex tapes of a cow being milked. If you want to see a really gross out funny puppet movie, go watch Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles. He did what these guys tried to do and he did it 30 years ago.

This film was written as a parody of the genre, but then it was shot as a straight slasher horror film. Which resulted in a lot of unintentional comedic sequences and a weird tone that jumps around more than I wanted it to. This film is full of fun facts like that. For instance, only one of the girls featured on the poster is in the film.

Speaking of the poster, this was one of those films I would see on the VHS shelf at my local video store whenever I decided to wander the aisles. This one, Silent Night, Deadly Night and Jason Goes to Hell are the three movies I distinctly remember seeing the cover and instantly wanting to watch it. It only took me over 20 years and imagine my disappointment when I didn't enjoy this piece of fine art. Maybe it would have been scary when I was younger? Maybe a tad bit more exciting? Maybe I would have enjoyed the excessive nudity more too?

When I say excessive nudity, I mean it. The film opens with a girl getting naked in her room. We then go to a girls basketball game and of course they need to shower right after. So we get breast shots while they soap up. Not enough? The girls turn around and the camera literally tilts down to look at their ass for a few minutes before tilting back up and moving over to the next girl to do the same. What the hell is that all about? Later on girls change directly infant of an open window so some peeping toms can get a show. Imagine my utter disbelief when I found out the director was a woman. A film like this had me thinking it had to have been written, produced and directed by a bunch of sleazy guys.

There is another shot in this film, we see a helpless female victim on the floor and it's a shot between a man's legs. His drill swings between his legs and then he impales her with it, screwing her. Heavy handed much? If that weren't enough they have the killer say "You know you want it" or "Just try it, you'll like it" Try what? Getting murdered?

The kills aren't that great, the suspense is lacking and there are some really hilarious dumb sequences (telephone van murder anyone?) Even for a film that would usually check off all my boxes of cheesy 80's horror flicks, this one is a miss for me.

I was reading this book just before the film came out. Is that a good idea? Having the source material so fresh in one's mind that when you watch the film adaptation, you sit there nitpicking? I did and I'm not entirely sure if that ruined the experience or not for me. What I do know is that this updated version of Pet Semetary takes a lot of liberties with the source material and ends on a depressingly bleak note. One that I'm sure Stephen King would be proud of.

Louis Creed is a doctor from Boston who uproots his family and moves to a small town in Maine. This is his effort to work less and spend more time with his family. His new house sits on a large piece of property, which extends all the way back through the woods. In those woods lies a cemetery for pets. People from this town have been burying their pets their for decades. When the family cat meets an untimely demise, their new neighbour Jud takes Louis to the "Pet Semetary" without really explaining why. The next day that darn cat is sitting his Louis' garage. Alive and well...or so it seems. He constantly smells, acts irrational and all around seems "off". When a devastating tragedy strikes the family, Louis weighs his options to use the "Pet Semetary" one more time.

King has called his book, the scariest book he's ever written. I think that comes from a parental perspective. This new film has it's moments of creepiness, but the scare factor is unfortunately lacking. I understand the reasoning for changing some of the elements from the book to screen and it works in its favour because if it were the other way around, some people might think it is comical.

The film drops the ball in a few different areas, mainly with the wife's backstory involving her sister and the father-son life relationship between Louis and Jud. It never feels real or even really attempted. Jus is just the nice old man who lives across the street and nothing more. I felt like this loss of this connection between these two men takes away from their characters and we're left with somewhat of a hollow shell. The film could have amped up the blood towards the end, it's there but it doesn't feel shocking enough given the events being depicted on the screen.

I'm all for this new wave of King adaptations, the success of IT is opening new doors. While Pet Semetary doesn't reach levels of horror or terror, it's perfectly serviceable enough for fans of King.

I think about a film like Joker and the radical turn that it seems to be taking from other DC movies and I wonder what a low-budget body horror Venom film could be like, from someone like David Lynch, given free reign. That is a film that I would love to see, one that would never get made and one that would probably fail miserably at the box-office. So instead we get a cookie cutter anti-hero story where a beloved comic character is thrown into a comedy with bits of action sprinkled in. I was taken by surprise at how much comedy is in this damn movie.

While probing space, a shuttle experiences some trouble and crashes back down to earth. All the crew members except for one die and their cargo is quickly secured from the Life Foundation, which is the company that runs the expedition. One problem, one of the specimens seems to have escaped. Eddie Brock, rogue journalist, decides to question Life Foundations founder Carlton Drake about the crash and their behind the scenes experiments and other non-ethical things. Big mistake. He loses his job, his girl and his sanity. When one of the scientist at Life Foundations questions the morality of her job, she asks Eddie to take a look behind the curtain. That's where he meets Venom and they have a magical bonding experience.

While watching Venom, I couldn't shake the feeling that I might have seen this before and sure enough I have. It was a low-budget film with Tom Hardy look alike Logan Marshall-Green. That film was Upgrade. Of course they two are completely different films, but there are a few similarities that were glaring to me, mainly the body controlling, self aware being that wrecks havoc wherever it goes. In both films the voice in their head fights for them, has conversations with them and saves their life multiple times. One film happens to rely heavily on CGI, while the other uses unique camera tricks to stand out. *cough* watch Upgrade *cough*

Venom isn't as bad as I was expecting. Tom Hardy does a decent job with the role and Michelle Williams brings a sense of regret to her character, Hardy's ex-fiance. Riz Ahmed is the villain here and he's not really intimidating. He seems to be channeling a Mark Zuckerberg style of egomaniac with a lot of money. In the climax when he fights Tom Hardy, you can't help but chuckle.

The special effects take over the film with the black Symbiote being the main "wow" factor. Nothing you haven't seen before. Venom is the classic "Critics hate it, but fans love it" scenario. It will please the general audience, but those looking for something fresh or interesting will leave disappointed. Even the obligatory end credits scene is a little ho-hum. Venom lacks bite, despite the numerous head chomping that goes on. Instead it focuses on comedy and generic CGI action pieces when the more interesting route could have been taken with a more horror based aspect. Oh well.

The amount of hype and anticipation for this movie was insane. There was no way it was going to please everyone, right? Avengers: Endgame manages to pull off the nearly impossible and end the Marvel Saga on a high note. We get bittersweet endings for some characters, tragic ones for others and potential future endeavours for the rest. Avengers: Endgame is a great film and the biggest film to hit cinemas in a decade.

After the "snap", the world has fallen into a constant state of depression, but an opportunity presents itself to the remaining Avengers to possibly undo what Thanos has done. They must get everyone back together to achieve the impossible and restore the lives that were lost.

I was a fan of the "fan service" that was in Infinity War. It was basically a non-stop 2 1/2 hour action film with cool sequences, poses and ideas. We got to see Thanos attack Iron Man with a freaking planet for crying out loud. Images and thoughts I never could have imagined on the screen for a superhero film. Then it ended with an Empire Strikes Back style cliffhanger. One that everyone and their mother knew wouldn't last, but a 'bold' choice nonetheless. Now we fall right back into the story with Endgame and it manages to pull off quite a few surprises.

It's extremely difficult to talk about the film without going into detailed spoilers about the plot. The entire middle section of the film was kept under wraps from everyone. I went into this film knowing virtually nothing about it. Only that the avengers would most likely use the Quantum Realm to go back in time and stop Thanos. We get that, but in addition to this, we get a lot of quiet character scenes that you wouldn't really expect in a big budget action superhero film like this. Thor has one scene in particular that I liked and I bet that most people would think the film could do without. I also appreciated that the Russo's let us sit in that depressed state at the beginning of the film. They don't really gloss over the loss, we get to experience it. I would have liked to have stewed in it a few moments longer, but the emotional response is indeed there.

Once we get into the second act, that's when a lot of the comedy, fan service and cool moments happen. Despite the sombre introduction to this film, it is indeed genuinely hilarious. One of the funniest films in the entire Marvel series. Fan service can be annoying when done abrasively, I found the bits in this film to be threaded well enough into the story to be enjoyable. Do you need to see the previous films to get a lot of them? Of course you do. This is the accumulation of over 20 films for crying out loud.

Endgame made me excited, emotional, annoyed and eager to see where Marvel goes next. It ends the Infinity Saga the only way it could have. The next film will act as a denouement if you will. Whatever comes next won't be on the same epic scale, at least I hope they don't try to "up" Endgame. Instead they need to pivot in a new direction and give us something different. So far the Marvel films have been positive for me and I fully expect the next ride to be just as enjoyable. The heavy hitters in this series gave their all and have "passed the torch". The people continuing on are ones that I will gladly enjoy the ride with.

I was really rooting for this movie but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was constantly asking the viewer to "look at me, look at how indie I am". That vibe rubbed me the wrong way and I'm not sure if I should blame the movie, or if that's all on me. Yet, even without that feeling, the film doesn't have a lot going for it. It's light and breezy with a whimsical feel, but lacks focus and balance.

Kit is a failed artist who moves back home with her parents. She is urged to leave the creative life behind and join the office drones in the working world. She receives an invitation to "The Store" and meets "The Salesman". He tells her that they sell whatever she wants and she wants a unicorn. But first she had to prove herself worthy of owning one, so the Salesman gives her a few tasks to complete before the unicorn is given to her.

Brie Larson's first time behind the camera, she tries to ask the viewer to question Kit's reality. Throughout the film we ask ourselves, "is Kit really crazy?" Does she honestly believe that a unicorn will be there for her? How is this going to get resolved? There don't seem to be enough moments of doubt as she keeps this information mostly to herself. Once it is revealed to others what her true intentions are, that is when they doubt her sanity. I think the film could have played with the 'is it real or not' notion a bit more with the other characters. Without it, the film lacks a bit of conflict.

Brie introduces some interesting questions about women in the working world. Her boss seems a little bit too close to her when he talks, both physically and emotionally. He does give her the chance to prove herself and possibly get a promotion, but when push comes to shove he relies on the male dominated projects. Instead of giving in to creativity, uniqueness and colour, the clients want sexy women doing women's chores. A sad statement on our current ad world, which is all too true.

Kit's world is like a unicorn farted out a rainbow. Her work world is all grey and drab. The differences are obvious from the start and we know which world she wants to live in. Her colourful world introduces us to Sam Jackson as the Salesman, complete with tinsel in his giant hair. He's there having fun, doing a favour for his friend Brie. Her co-star Mamoudzou Athie lacks charisma, comedy and even a romantic spark. There is little go on with him in an odd role. Someone with more chemistry (romantic or not) would have benefited the film greatly. Also, I couldn't tell if Kit was "all there", she comes off as someone who hasn't fully mentally developed. She acts like a child for a lot of the movie.

Unicorn Store wants to be many things, but has to settle for the little it delivers. I would love to see more from Larson behind the camera, maybe when she gets a little bit more confidence.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

@Yoda the Venom movie page has Topher Grace as the background banner, hahahaha.

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:laugh: Thanks, I'll take a look.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

Yeah, looks like our data source had the wrong version, and we cached it, and just need to refresh. I'll do that now.

Within a few minutes I felt like this sequel was already better than its predecessor. Dark Web ditches the supernatural and goes for a somewhat grounded horror story. It still has obvious flaws and I would never really recommend this to anyone over the age of 20, but for what I expected, Dark Web was a pleasant surprise.

After finding a laptop, a young man plays online games with a group of his friends. Throughout the night, he discovers disturbing images and videos hidden on the laptop and it opens the door to a world of horror and danger for him and his friends. Told from the perspective of a computer screen and cameras.

I don't really facetime with people, I guess that's for the generation right after me. I can imagine that these kids 'need' to facetime all the time, for the sake of the story and for the type of generation they are. So communication is key to this film and it finds a way to tell the story from those perspectives in a believable way. Not once did I question why we are seeing what we are seeing. There are leaps in logic when people are scrambling video feed to hide their faces, but if you simply go along with it, Dark Web offers a somewhat enjoyable ride. Might even make you paranoid about who's watching you from your own device.

What makes it better than the original is that it turns to the mystery element, something that made the film Searching a success. Where did this laptop come from? Who are in these videos? How are they tracking these characters? These elements are intriguing enough to keep the viewer engaged. The original was just a "ghost story" and this one tries to ground itself in reality. No one is killing themselves because a ghost made them do it. These people are dying because of the person or people that the laptop belongs to.

The deaths are nothing to write home about. That's what you get when you trade in the supernatural for the real world. A curling iron down the throat in the original is gruesome. Someone getting shot or falling off a building is nothing new. Dark Web isn't a great movie, but it's one that I feel deserves a bit more appreciation that it receives.

The introduction of Familia.

A friend of mine saw the Hobbs & Shaw trailer and thought it looked ridiculous. I said it seems in line with the series and he mentioned he has never seen a single film in this series. So we decide to have a Fast & Furious Mayathon. So far...he hasn't been impressed.

The first film is actually trying to tell a story and has no indication of a continued series or the levels of ridiculousness it would eventually reach. Essentially it's a remake of Point Break, but with cars. As I was watching I was immediately transported to the late 90's, early 2000's fashion era and its comical now but people actually dressed like this. The film wants to look 'cool' with the edgy street racing vibe replacing the cool dude surfers.

Paul Walker is our Keanu Reeves, both on the same acting level it seems. Vin Diesel is our Patrick Swayze. While Diesel looks cool and is intimidating, he lacks the charisma that made people like Bodhi. The rest of the cast is full of no names but we see the beginnings of people like Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez. Buffalo Bill himself Ted Levine plays Walker's boss.

The hi-jacking of DVDS is funny now, especially when we see where these characters wind up, but the action elements associated with those sequences are still thrilling enough. It's funny to watch those sequences and have it hold up, but to see them simply race in a straight line, it looks horrible. Bad CGI effects of the cars and the 'Nos' being ignited really date the film.

Paul Walker was still wet behind the ears in this film and his more 'leading man' style charisma wouldn't show up until the 4th or 5th film, but you can see his enthusiasm for the material. It's interesting to see the beginnings of what has become a huge financially successful series.

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I ran the first seven a few years back and figured it took until the fifth before they became legit good, but I'm thinking I might have to re-evaluate the first few anyway. You think you might end up reviewing the whole series at this rate?

Yup, the whole series. Then our plan is to see Calvin and Hobbs in theatres. :p

I've jotted down notes throughout the watching of them. We have one more to do, F8 is tomorrow.

A lot of "bros" in this one.

Vin Diesel decided to give another Riddick movie a shot instead of showing up for this sequel. So the script had to be reworked to introduced Tyrese. There is some chemistry between Walker and Tyrese and that might be one of the few saving graces of the movie, but most of that relationship is bogged down by really bad dialogue in which they throw BRO at each other every other sentence. Coupled with an awkward competitive nature to their roles, in which Walker drives backwards on the street flipping Tyrese off, gives these two characters nothing more than bad vibes. Walker went from a likeable guy in the first, to a douche in this entry.

Directed by John Singleton, we transport the action to Miami and Walker's Brian is no longer a cop because he let Diesel's Toretto go at the end of the first. But guess what...they need him back. It seems that the big bad guy this time needs a couple of 'wild' drivers to deliver a package for him and who else do the cops trust but Brian? He needs a partner and calls up his old buddy Tyrese.

The move to Miami gives the film a more colourful palate. The colours of the cars themselves are more than enough to make the film seem more 'cheerful'. When the film came out, people were missing Diesel and Tyrese seemed to be a loud-mouthed poor substitute. Looking back at this film in the series, it does seem somewhat out of place, same as Tokyo Drift. They left the cool at home and went for this...I don't know what.

Had the dialogue of this film been less douche bag filled, then maybe the movie could have been passable. The story is basic, but serviceable to the needs of the filmmakers. Beautiful women, fast cars and a hot setting is enough to get people to cheer for this film. I saw this in theatres with an ex-girlfriend. I gave her the option of Ang Lee's The Hulk or this.

She choose poorly.

The red-headed stepchild of the series.

This film gets a lot of unneeded hate and it's only because of two reasons. One, none of the main cast is present here and two...Lil' Bow Wow. There I said it, that kid shouldn't have been in the film.

Justin Lin directs this entry and he would go on to direct, 4, 5, and 6. Looks like he will be returning for 9 as well. Lin brings a nice sense of movement to the series, which was several lacking before. He uses the camera like a car itself and prefers practical over CGI. So in Tokyo Drift we get some really nice car chase and race sequences. The drifting aspect was a new addition to the series and placing it in Tokyo adds yet another new scene to play with. The film felt fresh and I would like to compare it to a film I haven't even seen yet. That's Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. The filmmakers wanted to do something different with the series and despite the quality of it, the audience wasn't there. That's why we get the old gang back together in the next one.

Lucas Black replaces Paul Walker. He doesn't have the charm to really carry the film and we don't get to see his character in any of the next films (save for one cameo). The real main star of the film is fan favourite Han. So the filmmakers really needed to find ways to bring him back for the next film, which is why the timeline for this movie is so wonky. This film actually takes place between 6-7.

Is there a plot? Not really. It's just about Black learning to drift and taking on some shady characters. The lack of plot might make the film spin its wheels at times, but the series starts to go in a certain direction, for the better.

The boys are back in town!!!

Justin Lin returns to the director's chair with the whole gang back. The film now starts to head into the direction the rest of the series is known for, but it won't be until the next film where it really works. This entry has some going for it, but the car chase sequences, specifically under the mountain, are atrocious. Gone is the slick looking racing and car chase scenes from Tokyo Drift and we are back in the awkward looking CGI slugfest that really takes the series down a peg. Everything that is outside of the car chases is decent stuff, even if we are back to square one with Brian officially BACK on some kind of police force and going under cover.

Letty is killed and Toretto wants revenge. He signs up to be the driver for the guy he thinks is responsible for her death...but the FEDS are looking into this guy as well and they get their man on the inside, it's Brian. Uh-oh....talk about awkward reunions. The cast was never getting Oscars for their work in this series. A lot of lines and the delivery is laughable. Vin Diesel likes to speak slowly and look around when he does so.

The failure of the actors other projects (Diesel's Babylon A.D. and Walker's Running Scared) the duo decided to go back to what made them stars. It worked, the film opened to over $70M, the biggest opening for the series at the time. It needed that boost since Tokyo Drift opened the lowest, at $23M.

In a weird way, this film acts like the first true sequel. It's in between two better films though, which makes it a chore to get through when doing the entire series.

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One Fast and Furious was enough for me :yup: Nice reviews :)

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As someone who has seen Halloween III, I'd say that is a fair comparison. Myself, I'd call Tokyo Drift (and arguably 2 Fast as well) as the Mission: Impossible II of the franchise - easy enough to use as the consensus pick for the worst due to how they struggled to find new ways to follow up such a flashy yet competent original, but at least it's got more personality than its most immediate successor. To this end, I would say Fast & Furious is my current pick for least favourite installment.

MI:2 is a good comparison.


I recently picked up all the Halloween movies. So this October, looks like I'm following in your footsteps.

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Good luck.

Re: Suspect's 2019 Movie Watch List
 

Never heard of The Oath. Even though you gave it a positive rating, I'm still not sure it sounds like something I'd care to watch. As for The Happytime Murders, my sense of humor never progressed past middle school, so the descriptions that I've heard sound hilarious (a puppet ejaculating silly string? I laughed just reading that sentence), but nobody I know has actually liked it. I'll probably rent it soon and find out for myself, although I'd like to seek out Meet the Feebles beforehand.

I can't believe you're complaining about the excessive nudity in Slumber Party Massacre. What the hell's wrong with you? Does your wife read these reviews or something? I'm with you on your rating and assessment. I'm skeptical that it would have as large of a cult following if it was the exact same movie but directed by a dude. Change sex organs behind the camera and suddenly the nudity is no longer gratuitous but empowering? And how many times must the movie teabag us with its drill-as-penis metaphor? Apparently the script was written as a parody of slashers, but it was filmed as a straightforward slasher, which probably explains many of the film's issues. I recommend the sequel, which is goofy and campy as hell, but much more entertaining and fun than its predecessor. I mean, the villain goes around killing babes with a drill-powered guitar! It's like a slasher version of MTV's Headbanger's Ball:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/dd3bb143...9xc5o1_500.gif

I enjoyed Venom far more than expected. Tom Hardy carried that movie on his back. I didn't think he could do comedy, but he had me cracking up with his reactions to the symbiote's voice. The script was mostly terrible and the last act devolved into typical CGI overload, but as a silly, brainless popcorn flick, Venom delivered. It sorta reminded me of 90's superhero movies that never took themselves seriously and were often made by people with no knowledge of the comics. I mean that as a positive.

I think I've only seen 2 or 3 Fast and the Furious movies. I'm shocked by the popularity and longevity of the series. I've been thinking about running through the series as well just because Hobbs & Shaw looks like ridiculous fun and I like The Rock and Jason Statham.

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@Captain Spaulding that GIF alone has me wanting to see the sequel. Ha.

Hey guys, let's throw physics out the window and see what happens.

People say the introduction of The Rock gave the series new life. The film opened to $86M, but the film just before it opened to $70. Sure it made more money in the long run too, but I don't think the series was necessarily "dying". The return of Walker and Diesel rejuvenated the series in my opinion. The Rock helped make it a bigger hit though, for sure. Here he is the protagonist / antagonist. He's not the bad guy, but our "heroes" aren't necessarily the good guys either. He's tracking them down while they try to get one last "score" so they can live in peace in countries with no extradition.

Justin Lin returns again for this one, which people would argue is the best one. I ask this though, why is the film with total disregard for civilian life considered the best? The climax scene, which is ridiculous and awesome all at the same time, sees our characters drive off with a vault that weighs ten tons. It smashes into cars and buildings left, right and centre. That would kill the momentum.

Let's add in the weight of the cash, which is $100M.

According to the chip Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) finds in one of the vehicles, a dealer pack weighing 49 kilograms contains a million dollars in twenty-dollar bills. The heist is for 100 million dollars.

49 kilograms = 1 million dollars
$100mil = $1mil * 100 packs
49 kilograms * 100 packs = 4900 kilos of cash in the vault

Adding the mass of the vault itself and the cash inside gives us the entire mass of what is being towed.

9100 kg + 4900 kg = 14000 kg

^^^ Not me, taken from some people that went really in depth with the math on this film. In the end, they come up with this: O’Connor and Toretto would need more than 198,000 horsepower to move the safe as quickly as it happens in the film. If we divide that number by the actual horsepower of a Dodger Charger, that gives us an idea of how many cars would be needed.

P/425 ≈ 467 cars

But hey, it's fun right? The following films have people flying through the air, ejected from tanks, flying cars out of planes, out driving a sub, etc. So this film mentally prepares you for the over the top ridiculousness the series will become. It's no longer grounded in reality, this is a fantasy series. A series that I really like and will make fun. Our "mayathon" of these movies has taken on a Mystery Science Theatre vibe and that may be elevating my enjoyment of them.

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One of my favourite moments in the movie is when they have to acquire some fast cars so they decide to street-race for pink slips, pull up to the starting line...and then it cuts to them having already won. Just a great demonstration of how much it's "outgrown" its street-racing origins that it doesn't even feel compelling to have a token race that we the audience already know they're going to win.

And the award for longest runway in the history of film goes to...

When I think about this movie I think about how it's kind of forgettable. The first film is known as the original, the second is known as the worst, the third is known as the odd one out, the fourth as the return of the stars, the fifth as introduction to The Rock, the 7th is the one where Paul Walker died and the 8th where Diesel went bad and first after Walker. So what does the 6th bring to the table?

As forgettable as it may be, this is the first in the series where I think we have an actual decent villain. Luke Evans matches the talent and skills of the protagonists and he has a methodical precision to how he acts. He is a skilled driver with a skilled team and The Rock needs people who are fast and furious to take him down.

Justin Lin is once again behind the camera. He's gotten use to the requirements needed to generate a fun action flick. He's also more familiar with the characters so he can give some time to little interactions that work well. Michelle Rodriguez returns from the grave. In a post credit scene in the last film Eva Mendes shows up (never to be seen again) and informs The Rock that Letty is still alive. We an MCU franchise now?

The highlight is a tank chase on a bridge. It's spectacularly awesome with how ridiculous is ends. This film continues the franchise decently enough. There biggest challenge this film has is that it is in-between the two best in the franchise.

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They even lampshade the fact that it's an entire team of evil counterparts and that much is reflected in who gets pitted against who during the final conflict. Now I do wonder how the main antagonists of each film stack up against each other and whether or not Owen might actually be the best of them.

We in the billion dollar club now, baby.

The franchise gets bigger and bigger with more death defying stunts. How do you top the bridge sequence? Let's throw some cars out of planes and have them magically land EXACTLY where they needed to go. These guys can do it, they're superheroes now. I threw logic out the window in Fast Five and had a great time, it continued on through 6 and now onto 7, which is one of the better films in the series.

James Wan hops on board, replacing longtime furious director Justin Lin. It's a nice change of pace as I like Wan's style. I think sticking with one director for almost an entire series becomes a little stale *cough* David Yates *cough* so 7 and 8 change it up a bit. Wan knows what he's dealing with and he seems to embrace it. Having expensive cars drive through the windows of one building, fly through the air and land into another one is "high-octane thrills", you can throw that quote on the poster!!!!

Jason Statham enters the series here with his personal motives that seems separate from the main action. He brings his usual Jason Statham charm...which is the same in every damn movie. He'll finally lampoon this persona in Spy.

Tony Ja has a small role here and he goes toe to toe with...Paul Walker? I forgot that as these movies progressed these characters became more and more lethal in their fighting styles. The guy who barely got through a scuffle with Tyrese in 2 Fast is taking on Tony Freaking Ja....okay.

Of course, the death of Paul Walker adds some emotional heft to the film. They had to rework the ending to "retire" his character and they did it tastefully. Some of the CGI effects they used to have him appear in scenes are really spectacular and one wouldn't notice unless it was pointed out to them. The ending shot is rather obvious though, but kudos to the team for dealing with such scenes respectfully.

Furious 7 adds more over the top thrills one can expect from this series and carries some surprisingly emotional weight. Those two elements make this entry one of the best.