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Reviews
Eric (2024)
Very good but with an uneccessary side story
If you like mysteries and crime dramas you'll probably like this one. There aren't many shows that keep my eyes glued to the screen but this one did. The story was good and the acting was excellent. All the actors really pulled through and made this a show I will remember. The only real problem I had is there is a side romance story involving one of the primary characters that feels out of place and adds absolutely nothing to the maine story. It can literally be cut out and it wouldn't change anything. It feels like it was added purely to pander. There is enough content to appeal to minorities already that it feels like overkill and it interrupts the momentum of the maine story. Overall still a good show that keeps you guessing.
Atlas (2024)
Basically IRobot but not as good
When I first saw the trailer for this movie I was excited because Netflix made a mech movie. The instant I started watching I was reminded why its bad that Netflix made a mech show. The vast majority of this movie is Jennifer Lopez screaming and arguing with a mech AI and very little else. They story is just IRobot with more advanced androids. Its so similar to the point that it even quotes part of the same Isaac Asimov quote made known by IRobot. The writing is so bad. The mech named Smith has a fusion reactor but at the sametime it's batteries are always running low. That's the level of writing here. The movie tries to enphasize how smart Atlas is by showing her playing chess once and then reminding us several times. The movie tries to use chess as a metaphor during the final fight but it doesn't work. There was no strategy to compare. Atlas was just inside the mech as Harlem, the bad guy, was tearing it apart and Atlas got the upper hand by playing dead and then stabs Harlem while he is distracted. Harlem is supposed to be ultimatly smart to the point that he has traps and plans for every possible outcome but he falls for Atlas playing dead. Then this movie essentiallysteals the ending from Big Hero 6. The only good thing I can say about it is Jennifer Lopez's acting was sutprisingly good. All in all just another mediocre Netflix movie comprised of a bunch of stolen movie elements.
Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
Not all the movie I thought it was going to be
Overall the movie is better then expected and Chloe does a great job. The first half is a difficult section to get right. The entire time the camera is focused directly on Chloe's character while she is confined in a tiny gun turret. The movie has to depend completly on her facial expressions and the voice acting of the other crew members and they do a great job. It gets a lot more gimmicy and campy in the second half. Still not terrible but it goes down hill a bit. There are some scenes that made me roll my eyes because of how unrealistic or just kind of stupid it was. Anyone who knows anything about planes knows there is a big flaw to begin with. I waited so long to watch it because it got such bad reviews ,granted its no masterpiece but it still ended up being better then expected.
Enola Holmes (2020)
Clearley meant for young women but not bad
Overall not bad. The intended audience is clearly young woman and if you are a Sherlock Holmes fan you might not like this. You can change Sherlock and Mycroffs names and it would change very little. Millie Bobby Brown continues to be a fairly decent actress. Enola is just a smart and whitty teenage girl who refuses to conform to life style in Victorian England and gets caught up in a murder mystery while trying to find her mother, whom disappeared. It's not a terrible story but not the masterful, deep mystery one that it wants to be either. I'm not a fan of how Enola talks to the audience but I'm also not familier with the books either. So it might be an adaptation. Again women of younger generation would probably enjoy this more. Personally I'd prefer a actually Sherlock Holmes movie starring Henry Cavill.
Imaginary (2024)
Most of the movie was bland
I wanted to like it but 90% of the movie was just a woman trying to be a new mother to 2 step daughters while the little was acting a little weird and the older teen girl was just being bratty. Neither were really out of the ordinary. Nothing was really different, original or scary until. It starts to get a little better at the end but its kind of to late by then and its still very predictable. The concept was trying to be like Coraline meets Poltergeist but outcome was just cheap, uninteresting, unoriginal and just boring. This should've worked a lot better then it did. Overall I didn't hate it but you aren't missing much if you skip this one.
The New Daughter (2009)
Mediocre and cliche
The entire first half of the movie is the oldest haunted house cliche but extended. A single father moves his 7 year old son and teenaged daughter into a new house and the daughter is just angsty and rude to her dad just like every teenage girl in every other horror movie except it goes on for the entire first hour while adding very little. The only indication anything is wrong with her is she keeps coming home dirty and starts eating meat which her actions can be chaulked up to her struggling to deal with her parents divorce. Some spooky activity starts too late in the film but when it does, it starts getting interesting. That is until it reaches the end. It ends with the father typically having to sacrifice himself for the sake of his daughter and then is gives us yet another cliche with the "it's over..... or is it?"conclusion when one of the creature appears behind the son before cutting to credits. This movie isn't terrible but it's just mostly painfully overused horror tropes.
Damsel (2024)
I like the premise a lot but the movie didn't quite deliver
The I've always loved fantasy and horror and I always wanted to try and write a story clashing the 2 genres. I feel like that's what was atempted here. The idea was good but the story I would've like to see wasn't quite delivered. My biggest complaint is the main character has Lora Croft, or Batman levels of plot armor. She survives several situations that should have left her dead or at least crippled, noy to mention the other convenient circumstances. The movie tries to be smart, and portray Elodie as whitty by the end but it mostly feels like the writing is cheap and lazy. It's a fun story and the beginning is done well and it has a likeable ending but the middle feels a bit lacking. They should've made the movie a bit longer and fleshed it out a bit more. I don't mind a slower movie as long as it delivers.
Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)
Not bad but underwhelming
I had expected a little better than what we got in this movie. It wasn't bad but it really lacked a lot key elements that make a good horror movie. First of all, I think it focused too much on setting up the plot. Freddy Fazbears doesn't even get mentioned within the first 30 minutes. It spends far too long on explaing the bad situation the main characters are in financially and emotionally and doesn't give us the time to really appreciate what should've been the focus of the film, the animatronics and the pizzaria. When the animatronics are on screen they don't do much and aren't scary. There is little in terms of atmpsphere and general spooks. The fact that they actually built the animatronics is the only highlight of the film in my book. Otherwise it was just mediocre movie with a few references to the game and ok acting from what are usually decent actors. Matthew Lillard was criminally under utilized.
The Wolfman (2010)
Underrated gem
I watched this movie on Netflix recently and quite a few other times before, including in theaters and the when it released on blue-ray. I love a good creature feature and I never understand why critics give a lot of them mediocre to poor reviews.
This movie may not be a masterpiece to most but has a great cast, a good story, atmosphere and practical effects. I've never seen the original movies so I don't how it compares and I'm sure this version has it's flaws. Otherwise, it's just good monster movie that retells the classic werewolf scenario. I was under the impression for years that it wasn't very well liked by most viewers but appears that I was pleasantly wrong.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
I really liked this movie but It's no masterpiece
I'm a big fan of monster movies, especially ones that take place in the Victorian or Edwardian eras. Bias aside I can see where some people might take issue. I think the big handicap this movie has is that anyone who knows the story of Bram Stoker's Dracula already knows essentially how it ends and there isn't much of a storline since the plot is an expanded version of a short segment of the book. At it's core it's a monster flick. So this movie is strickly going to interest fans of creature features like myself.
There were a few parts where I felt the acting could've been better but overall the acting was well done. The graphics were also decent. Dracula himself was creepy and well designed. It was very atmosphereic in the right way and it wasn't too dark in the literal sense.
The Boogeyman (2023)
A bit cliche but decent
This movie falls into a bunch of the typical supernatural horror movie tropes. The family of 4 is currently dealing with the loss of the mother and the younger daughter starts seeing the "boogey man". The older daughter starts to believe her when creepy things start happening but naturally the dad doesn't. There are a few more tropes but I don't want to spoil too much.
The boogey man itself is a creative and interesting design. The cgi is pretty decent, much better than other recent triple A titles. This movie is a bit slow but it is good at setting the mood and establishing atmosphere. I wish I would've been able to watch in theaters.
The Banishing (2020)
Convoluted
This movie starts off decent. There is mystery wrapped around a house during the 1930s europe where the leading lady and daughter is moved to by her reverend husband's bishop. The movie quickly gets moving with weird and supernatural phenominon but that's when it gets convoluted.
Once the main character starts suspecting something is off with the house and her daughter the movie just throws in seemingly random scenes. You might be able to figure that you are seeing past events of the house but it's done in such away that the viewer can't make sense of it. One moment the main character is running around frantically searching for her daughter and then the next she is randomly strapped to a table talking to a monk who is cutting his face and then it just cuts back to her running around again like nothing happened. Then there is the ending with the bishop that comes straight out of nowhere. I had to google what that was about to because the movie expects you to know a very specific detail about Nazis to get it.
It had a decent premise but it would've been better if things were explained better and the shady bishop was just and extra story element that added nothing but more confusion.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
I didn't hate it but I expected better.
This movie had a good casting and felt like it should've been better. My biggest problem is that Edgin and Holga weren't very likable. We are supposed to feel for them and hope they win in the end but I found that difficult. There was very little emotion and practically no character development with them. Any part where Edgin is with his daughter is just awkward. He was gone for years and when he and his daughter meet they acted like he was only gone for a few days. Edgin talks about his dead wife occasionally but he fails to make you feel any emotion for him and He doesn't really add anything. He is supposed to be a bard and he doesn't even sing or play his lute much. They should've made him a thief or Rogue class. He ropes the other characters into his plans and they do all of the work. You can almost remove him from the movie and it wouldn't change a whole lot. Just to be clear I like both actors I think the writing or directing might be the problem. I get Michelle was trying to play Holga as tough but it just felt like she had no personality at all. She was just the muscle. Doric and Simon aren't bad and were a little more likeable. Doric is your typical nature loving "humans are bad" character and Simon is trying to be the comic relief that messes up a lot.
The story was predictable. The dead wife and deadbeat dad theme has been over done and I saw the ending coming from a mile away. Most of the jokes fell flat and have been done to death. It had a lot of fun moments and the graphics weren't bad. Again I didn't hate but I had higher expectations. I admit maybe I expected too much.
Unwelcome (2022)
Hardly a horror film
This movie is about a couple who just got pregnant and leave the city after being attacked by thugs. They move to a country village where they essentially get bullied by more thugs. Oh and then some creatures show up at the end.
This movie doesn't feel like a horror film. It's more of a thriller with a bit of fantasy. This movie is labeled as a creature feature but the creatures are only mentioned about 3 times and then they show up at the very end. The rest of the time the couple are constantly bullied by the family they hires to fixe their new home.
When the creatures are finally shown, it feels more like a Dark Crystal film. Don't get me wrong, I love good practical effects but they didn't work well here. The premise could've worked if they added more implications to the existence of the little people.
Missing Link (2019)
Not a terrible movie, not a masterpiece
I feel like this movie is a little slow and boring for kids and just kind of dull for adults. The plot is a fun idea and Link is likeable but the writing was lacking. I found Sir Lional Frost to be unlikable. I feel like he was meant to be a character you root for and want to see succeed but I really didn't. He is selfish and hurts the people that are supposed to be his friends. It's hard to like a character when he robs from his love interest, he nearly kills his partner and his motivation to help Link is entirely in his own best interest. I get it was supposed to be Grinch type story where he grows a heart by the end but Adelina is the one that really should be credited for helping Link. If she hadn't stepped in, Link would've been another friend that Lional used for his own gain. Overall, the graphics are nice and the animation is well done. I couldn't tell if it was stop motion or designed to look like it. If this was claymation then I am thoroughly impressed. I like this movie for the most part. It might be worth a watch for some but It could've been better in some areas.
The Invitation (2022)
This movie was made for a specific fanbase
It was a fun and entertaining flick. Not great but I didn't think it was terrible. It felt like a cliché horror movie from the early 2000s with a bit of a modern touch. I predict that a specific fan base would love this movie. I personally thought it was ok. The main character was likeable. The movie has pacing issues. The plot is established very quickly. It paces well for a while with some mediocre spooks and it's a bit predictable. I was able to figure out essentially what is going on from the first jump scare. Once it's revealed what is happening there is a quick action sequence and an ancient threat is suddenly defeated by a modern city girl that likes pottery.
Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
To slow and not what it was advertised
I like horror and I like slow burn horror if it's done right. This movie was advertised as though it was supposed to be such movie but it isn't. At best, I'd call it a drama and a boring one at that. This movie is so slow that the main story element, that was advertised, doesn't happen until halfway . It tries build up suspense by making you suspect a deep, dark background behind Mr. Harrigan but there isn't one. It never explains much and the dead Mr. Harrigan only communicates on the phone a few times before the main character decides to throw it into the lake making for a very underwhelming conclusion to a very underwhelming movie.
Abandoned (2022)
Very irritating to watch.
I think the implication is that the main character is fighting through depression after having her first child and is struggling emotionally. The movie is painfully slow. It tries too hard to be atmospheric but just ends up being awkward with the added bonus of a lot of baby crying. Conversations are just drawn out with no emotion and long pauses. Once in a while a sound will break the awkwardness and lead you to think something spooky will happen but it doesn't. I watched half way and had to skip around to find anything interesting. To put it blunt there was nothing interesting. She confronts 2 kids that accuser her off abusing her baby that ends up being in her imagination I guess. In the end she seems to be relieved of her stress and depression. My advice is don't waste your time unless you like long awkward conversations and baby crying.
Run (2020)
This was way better than I expected
I put this movie off because I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. I'm really glad I watched it now. It is one of the most thrilling movies I've watched in a while.
The acting was really well done. Sarah Paulson is always a convincing actress. She plays a crazy person very well. I'm not familiar with Kiera Allen but she also did a fantastic job. She was amazing at showing emotions and convincing me that she was imperil. They could not have picked 2 better actresses for this movie. I am thoroughly impressed. The writing, effects and atmosphere were on point. This movie really makes you feel for Chloe and strive to see her survive.
Smile (2022)
similar concept to "It Fallows" but more psychological
The premis is pretty much the same as "It Fallows". The main character sees an entity that haunts her with a creepy smile and appears everywhere. This movie is a bit better in my opinion. It's a lot more psychological and less horny teens passing on an STD ghost. That being said, it is by no means a masterpiece. It's also a little inconsistent with the atmosphere. It's slow with creepy scenes randomly throughout. The ending wasn't very satisfying either. It has a lot of your typical ghost story elements. Creepy, unexplained events happen to the protagonist and she doesn't believe at first. Then it excalates to her going crazy and no body believes her except one person that she wouldn't ordinarily turn to. On top that there is the "one survivor". The only one person who managed to survive it to whom she tries to talk too but he gives her little help. The movie never explains how her mother was involved in the chain of events that effected all of the previous people either. I don't regret watching it but I'm also happy I didn't waste the trip to the theater.
Barbarian (2022)
I like this movie for the most part but.....
This movie does well setting a creepy atmosphere with a bit of mystery in the first half and then keeping you on the edge of your seat in the second half. The story is decently written but isn't a masterpiece. It uses a premise that's been done before and adds to it in it's own unique way.
That said, the main character got on my nerves because of how stupid she is at times. She makes a few downright dumb, cliche horror movie mistakes that causes her to be in her situation. The movie falls into other horror movie tropes as well, which are mild complaints on my part. The bigger issue I have is, it never explains who it was that drew the first 2 characters there in the first place and how does the person on the phone in the beginning relate to anything? Maybe it will explain in a future sequel.
All in all, I agree with most people's ratings on this movie. Its not a bad movie. I think most horror movie fans will like it.
The Atoning (2017)
The story isn't bad but the execution is very low budget
This movie has a good story with a decent twist towards the end. The problem is the bad pacing and very poor sound work ruin any kind of atmosphere and makes it almost unwatchable. The first 2 3ds of the movie just drag. It's slow with random awkward jump scares and again the sound work does nothing to make the jump scares actually scary. Once they start actually explaining the plot it gets better. If the sound wasn't severely lacking the last half hour would've been almost good. The acting wasn't terrible but could use some improvements, especially in the first half. It's just an awkward low budget feeling movie with incredibly dull sound that ruins any vibe that the movie was trying to produce.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Even if I didn't read the books first I'd hate this movie.
Anyone who read the books would probably tell you that they felt like something right out of Tim Burton's imagination. That said, this movie felt more like Burton made it just to shut people up about it. He didn't even try with this one. The writing was just terrible and it spends almost all the movie building up to the climax with no pay. It spends more than half of the movie introducing the characters and the plot and no time for any actual story. Miss Pereginne gets kidnapped, the kids decide to rescue her, they spend a short time preparing and then it takes them no time at all to travel and beat the bad guy.
Night Hunter (2018)
Pretty good mystery thriller with great cast.
This was a good serial killer flick. It doesn't really bring anything new to the table as far as murder mysteries go. It has cops with personal ties trying to catch a mysterious murderer who captures yet another girl and the cops are left to find him on a strict time limit. It even has a suspect with possible multiple personalities giving you the "is he crazy or tricking to cops" mystery. That said it was a decent story with good acting. Brendan Fletcher's acting really shined is this one. All of the acting was really well done but his was the most impressive to me.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
Another fun movie
The writing was a bit lazy but overall the movie was very enjoyable. The only complaints I have is there were a couple of times Sonic could've easily gotten through with his speed but didn't and the wedding scene went on too long. It didn't really add anything to the movie and it felt like an excuse to the give 2 supporting actors extended screen time.