Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 11/4/24

Review: A werewolf movie about two sisters where one got bit and is changing. I really liked it more than I thought I would. Definitely will watch again. 4/5

Date Started: 5/17/24

Date Watched: 11/1/24

Review: I was having a hard time following what was happening in Phantasm. The effects for the time were well done. Yet, I really can't tell what the plot exactly was. I know a teenager was being chased by an elderly man that works at the graveyard. 2/5

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/30/24

Review: Belinda and Norman are expecting when Norman's father dies. At the funeral, Norman's estranged religous stepmother tells them that she can no longer live on her own. She offers them all her money once she passes, if they let her live with them. Belinda agrees but slowly begins to regret it. This is a psychological horror film, and it was a little weird. I liked the dynamic between the characters but I didn't really think it was really that interesting. 3/5

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/30/24

Review: A horror comedy that combines slashers and Freaky Friday. Teenager Millie gets a killer stalking after her, when one night they switch bodies. This was a fun movie. It was over the top funny and I loved it. 4/5

4/7/24-10/26/24

Watched: In theater

IMDB synopsis: "About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past."

I loved the original "Smile" (I have it as my top movie of 2022, seriously!), so I was excited for the sequel.  The sequel matched my expectations very nicely - it had a similar feel to the original (in terms of the main character being a young woman and what happens to her, step by step), so in that sense it wasn't ground-breaking or took the "Smile" universe in a fresh direction. But it was different enough so that I didn't think it was a pure rehash.  And regardless, it's such a well-crafted franchise in terms of having great acting (awesome work by lead actress Naomi Scott), legitimate tension, and very good pacing (for the most part). As far as sheer watchability goes, the two best horror franchises right now are "Smile" and "Terrifier," and I got to see the latest installments of both on back-to-back nights!

Highly recommended for horror fans.  And everyone really, since it's more of a supernatural thriller than a gorefest a la "Terrifier."  

Rating: 6.7 / 10

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/28/24

Review: Saint Maud is about a nurse named Katie, now going by Maud, who is taking care of a dying dancer, Amanda. Maud is a devout Christian and tries to use her religion to save Amanda's soul before she dies. This movie was ok. I wish we got more about Katie's past life because there was a traumatic event that we only got bits and pieces of. The videography was really well done but the plot was a boring to me. I give it a 2/5.

08/01/2024 - 10/22/2024

Total reviewed: 618

Watched on: Shudder

Director: Benjamin Barfoot

IMDb

Synopsis: A strange creature lurks in the wake of one family's tragic loss.

Forgiving the fact that this is one of the most horrendously named films in recent memory, the movie itself is alright. It has a dreamy quality to it and hella atmosphere. Kinda dark and somber. Fairly well acted by the majority of the cast but I just could not like that kid. Cool concept for the creature, >!whose existence is up for debate, I suppose, depending on how you interpret the movie!<. The ending isn't necessarily one of those ambiguous affairs left up to the viewer, but it did leave me a few unanswered questions. I wouldn't say I was wowed by any one aspect of the film but it played as a competent horror film and it's put together well. It definitely invites a review of the previous events once you gain the perspective given by the film's final act. Good enough for one time.

5.9/10

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/26/24

Review: This movie is about a nurse (Lily) who is taking care of an ailing woman (Ms. Blum) who used to be renowned horror writer. This movie is a slow build. This was my second attempt to watch this and a successful watch time around. It took a while to grab my attention so I shut it off halfway. Then I waited until I was in the mood for a slow build horror, and it did not disappoint. The long, slow shots had me looking in every corner for something. It was more atmospheric rather than plot heavy and did a good job of what it was trying to achieve. 4/5

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/26/24

Review: Longlegs is about and FBI agent tracking down a serial killer who makes dads murder their own families without being there. The movie has the same vibes as Silence of the Lambs with some supernatural mixed in with it. The atmosphere is very unsettling and downright scary at times. I loved it. 5/5

4/7/24-10/24/24

Watched: In Theater

IMDB synopsis: "Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve."

Let me begin by saying that as someone who was an early fan of "Art" (I saw the first "Terrifier" in 2020), I am thrilled by Terrifier 3's box office success (grossing about $50 million globally after 2 weeks on a $2 million budget).  Writer/director Damien Leone deserves tremendous credit because he and David Howard Thornton (who plays "Art") have created an unforgettable character and an uncompromising series of films that are made exclusively for true horror fans (in other words, if you think "A Quiet Place" is a great horror flick, you're probably not going to like the "Terrifier" franchise).

As for Terrifier 3 specifically, it's...brutal and gory (the goriest of the franchise) but it doesn't feel like "torture porn" mainly because of the atmosphere - everything is so "over the top," in terms of the blood and guts spilling out, while you usually have Art standing there laughing silently and making funny faces while everything happens - you can "enjoy" the bonkers brutality without feeling guilty about it (it's a unique combo of horror and comedy in that sense).

The plot...is...well...what you would expect for a slasher film, although more developed than I would have anticipated. The pacing was a bit uneven (but better than Terrifier 2, which was a bloated 140 minutes).  I actually liked this one more than Terrifier 2 and I think Leone is actually just getting started building out his "Art" universe with this Art vs. Sienna competition, a new sidekick for Art (who I won't spoil), and a pretty good ending.

Highly, highly recommended for true horror fans. Arguably the best horror franchise out there right now.  

Rating: 7.0 / 10

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/25/24

Review: A husband and wife that are professionals in exorcisims decide to help a family with a ghost problem in their new home. I'm not a fan of haunted house movies so I was expecting this to be full of clichés and full jumpscares. This is probably one of my favorite horror movies. 4/5

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/25/24

Review: A new take on A Nightmare on Elm Street where Freddy is trying to make it into the real world rather than being stuck in a movie. This movie brings back a handful of the actors from the original as they play themselves rather than their characters. This was a fun take on a scary movie villain and made it so that Freddy felt a little more real. 4/5

Watched this on Kanopy on October 25 and started the challenge April 28.

This is a documentary. You ever listen to This American Life on your public radio station? This documentary is somewhat similar in vain as it has a central theme, the documentary makers life, and that is pulled together by almost like mini documentaries of projects that he worked on but never quite finished. Along with these are bits about other projects that he has worked on.

An excellent documentary that I will give 4 stars out of 4 stars. Great pacing interesting stories and as someone that has never done anything creative it’s just nice to see such a creative guy. Highly recommended for everyone, especially fans of This American Life.

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/24/24

Review: A psychological horror movie about twin brothers who go to visit their mom after not seeing her for awhile. Her face is wrapped in bandages from a recent facial reconstruction surgery. Due to her acting strangely, the boys begin to suspect that she is not their real mother. Although the movie was predictable, I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the unsettling atmosphere overtime and it kept my attention the whole movie. 4.5/5

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/23/24

Review: Surf's Up is an animated mockumentary about surfing penguins. It was a fun watch and a nice break from what I've been watching. 4/5

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/21/24

Review: The Lighthouse is about two men working at a lighthouse alone as they slowly descend into madness. This movie was slow going. The parts that broke up the slowness were well done. The ending was very fitting for the characters. 3/5

Challenge started April 28; Date watched October 19; on YouTube.

This is by far the most bizarre film that I’ve watched in this challenge. I found it on YouTube searching for “full movie” . It is a Lifetime movie, I think, but it stared Will Ferrell and Kristian Wiig. So it was a Lifetime movie but it’s played completely deadpan as a spoof of a Lifetime movie. If you’re old and remember Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman you will understand how I mean. It’s an absurd story but it’s not played for laughs.

Will and Kristian are a well to do couple. They loose a fetus in an accident and five years later decide to adopt. The lady that will give up her baby comes over to the house and they end up letting her stay for the three months before the baby is born. Mayhem ensues.

I appreciate the attempt this film makes but even for a short movie it seemed long. I really think they missed the boat by not going for more humor. There was just one joke in this regard and the rest was just an absurd story played straight. I’ll give it 2.5 stars out of 4 and recommend it for fans of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

The movie: https://youtu.be/jfQv476cUzE?si=0L5NQUEMuc0JVz_a

08/01/2024 - 9/14/2024

Total reviewed: 617

Watched on: Theater

Director: J T Mollner

IMDb

Synopsis: A deadly game of Cat and Mouse plays out over a rural American town.

This might be one of my favorite movies I've watched this year. Just phenomenal. The acting from both leads is incredible. Kyle Gallner has been on my radar for awhile now and his performance here is fantastic but I was absolutely blown away by Willa Fitzgerald who is utterly captivating. The pace of the film is perfect and owes much of its success to the spellbinding chemistry between its leads. Yet, another factor is the film's choice to split the story into six chapters, told non-sequentially, which keeps the viewer on their toes. And the score is remarkable. It really helps to ratchet up the tension in the film. First time cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi also shines. The movie has some gorgeous shots! To say too much about the film is to ruin it but I'd highly recommend this one to basically any fan of film.

8/10

Date started: October 17, 2023

My challenge ends today, so here's some short takes on the final 5!

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) - #100

Date watched: October 3, 2024

I miss the old MI formula where at the end the team has an al fresco lager. Entertaining enough.

Rating: 7 / 10

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Captain Ron (1992) - #101

Date watched: October 4, 2024

Kurt Russell is really doing his own thing here. Not a good role for Martin Short. A remarkably unfunny comedy movie, but funny when you think about how unfunny it is.

Rating: 5 / 10

Captain Ron (1992)

Police Story (1985) - #102

Date watched: October 6, 2024

Early career Jackie Chan action film, directed by Jackie Chan. Opening sequence is great, gets a little slow, and then tons of fighting and destruction for the finale.

Rating: 8 / 10

Police Story (1985)

Mystery Men (1999) - #103

Date watched: October 9, 2024

Consider: the runtime is 121 minutes, and there were 20 minutes of deleted scenes on the DVD. Would have preferred more focus on the Blue Raja, played by Hank Azaria. A rotten and mishandled concept.

Rating: 4 / 10

Mystery Men (1999)

Wolfwalkers (2020) - #104

Date watched: October 13, 2024

The third film in Cartoon Saloon's "Irish" trilogy. Quite beautiful with some delightfully non-Euclidean background animation. The characters behave like complete idiots, and you know how it going to end after about 20 minutes.

Rating: 8 / 10

Wolfwalkers (202)

Date Started: 5/27/24

Date Watched: 10/17/24

Review: Although I can see why this movie is a classic, I did not enjoy it. Out of all the classic slashers I've seen, this is my least favorite 2/5

Watched this on October 17 after starting the challenge on April 28. This is on Apple TV+.

Today I return for another Apple TV + movie to get some value from the $9.99 a month I pay.

This is the story of Flora from Dublin, Ireland, who at age 17 had a son, rather than have an abortion, and now 14 years later is sort of a mess, living in public housing with her semi delinquent son. She gets her son a guitar to get him focused on something positive but he’s more into electronic music so he don’t want it. Flora decides to learn guitar so she goes to YouTube and finds an instructor,, a guy in LA. She likes him and that’s the story, will they get together?

I’ll give this 3 of 4 stars. A 90 minute movie with a nice simple story that moves along nicely. They did several scenes very creatively and along with this creativity although this probably isn’t 100% a rom com it does have some elements of that genre it completely bucks the formula of every rom com ever made, and that is so refreshing. The slightly unbelievable aspect to this film is that Flora, played by Bono’s daughter, is just too good looking to play the part of a teen mother, in Ireland, that’s now in her 30’s. I liked this movie and will recommend it to everyone unless you don’t like cussing.

I saw this on Apple TV+ on October 16 after starting the challenge on April 28.

I just finished watching both The Pacific and Band of Brothers of Netflix. Both are WW II shows which got me interested in watching a war movie. Then I went to Apple TV+ which I really should cancel as I don’t make much use of it aside from replaying Ted Lasso once a month. But I saw Greyhound there and it’s a Tom Hanks movie about war so I figured I give it a try especially after noticing it’s only 90 minutes.

A very simple plot. Tom Hanks is a Navy captain in the war and has the job of leading a convoy of ships across the Atlantic and protect them from German submarines. There is a several day stretch of the transit where aircraft is unable to provide protection. The movie takes place almost exclusively on the bridge of the ship as submarines attack the convoy.

I’ll give this 2.90 stars out of 4 stars. I love Tom Hanks but he kind of plays the same sort of role that he played in Saving Private Ryan, the ultra competent leader in charge of a younger crew. In fact he played this role in Cast Away also, he plays that kind of role a lot. I guess it’s just you know how it will end before it starts. I will give it credit and it moved along well and held its interest, and Mr Hanks, also the writer, knew well enough to keep the movie to a tight 90 minutes. I normally abhor CGI but this movie is all CGI but they did a good job with it. You know what, I’ll give it 3.10 stars of 4 and recommend it to those that like short tight movies, or Tom Hanks, or semen, or any combination of the aforementioned attributes.

Total Recall (2012)

Language: English

Date started: October 17, 2023

Date watched: September 29, 2024

Directed by: Len Wiseman

Written by: Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback

Based on an original story by: Philip K. Dick

Featuring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Ethan Hawke, Bill Nighy, John Cho, Bryan Cranston

This shares the opening premise of the film of the same title from 1990, but then veers in a different direction -- never going to Mars! Instead, we learn in the opening crawl [red flag!] that most of the Earth is uninhabitable outside of the British Isles and Australia. People travel between the two regions using "The Fall", a gravity elevator that yes, of course, goes through the center of the planet. This is a source of inequality and civil unrest, the audience will learn.

They have a lot of good looking actors here, and yet the film is remarkably ugly and bland. So much of this is green-screened scenery and the lighting is weird.

They make references to the original Total Recall, but then they do something different, and the different thing they do turns out to be really lame in comparison. Like where Arnold had to stick a claw up his nostril to remove a tracker, Colin just has to slice open his hand to remove some electronic circuits. Some of the ideas are pretty cool: "The Fall" is an interesting concept; there is an action sequence involving up-down-left-right elevators; there are hovercars that hover both above and below the roads.

But then you get the hand phone, also kind of a cool idea, and then you see what it actually looks like: Someone holding their palm up to their face pretending to make a phone call. It is so super lame! I mean why not do the old "call me!" thumb and pinky phone?

And unlike the 1990 version, the climax here is... just a bunch of explosions? No alien technology, they don't save the world, they just stop the baddies from getting away with their dastardly plan. Bryan Cranston is a bad guy, but the role just isn't significant enough to matter when he is on screen.

Rating: 5 / 10

Total Recall (2012)

David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

Language: English

Date started: October 17, 2023

Date watched: September 23, 2024

Directed by: Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm

David Lynch talks about his passion for painting. After about 75 minutes, he mentions his time at the American Film Institute, where he went on to make Eraserhead.

It is certainly worth watching, even regardless of someone's interest in Lynch the filmmaker.

Rating: 8 / 10

David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)

4/7/24-10/3/24

Watched on: Hulu

IMDB synopsis: "A screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago."

The premise of this movie could have gone either way - it could have been really stupid or it could have been emotionally-devastating. I decided to give it a try, as someone who enjoys melodramas, especially since it has a strong 7.7 rating on IMDB.

Ultimately, it was neither stupid nor emotionally-devastating; it was just disappointing.  Some positives: Lead actor Andrew Scott was very good; he played a "sad middle-aged guy" very authentically. There was one scene in the second act in which Scott's character talks to his deceased dad about being gay that I thought was pretty touching.  And then there's the premise itself, which I still think is engaging, in spite of the flawed execution.

As for the execution, the biggest problem is that the dynamic between Scott's character and his parents never really grabbed me in the way that I hoped it would.  And more pointedly, the family dynamics took a back seat to Scott's love life and the gay lifestyle.  This is a very gay movie and I don't mean that in a pejorative sense.  If gayness is something you're uncomfortable with, this isn't the movie for you.  I think they should have toned that stuff down, however, to broaden the audience.  I also hated the ending, which I won't spoil.

Bottom line - I thought it was half-baked. A nice acting vehicle for Scott I suppose but ultimately I was disappointed.  Maybe a different screenwriter can do something more with its premise. 

Rating: 5.3 / 10

Challenge started April 28; Date watched October 14; on Netflix.

This is a Japanese cartoon movie. It concerns high school kids that want to save a building at their school where all the various clubs meet. There is a subplot of possible incest between of the students.

It was 90 minutes long and was OK. The story was simple and it wrapped up nicely. I didn’t dislike it but at the same time didn’t really like it, although on Netflix I gave it a thumbs up. I’ll give this 2.25 stars out of 4 and recommend it to those of you that enjoy hints of incest or those of you that enjoy cartoons.

Start date: 1/2/24

Movie watched: 8/30/24

Rate: 5/5

Watched @ AMC

IMDB: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

"Welcome to the MCU. You're joining at a bit of a low point."

I fucking LOVED this movie. It was all over the place, it had my fav characters showing back up again (I'm looking at you Gambit!), it was cheesly bloody, and it really had a heart to heart message at the end.

Now I did not see "Logan", so tbh having Wolervine come back didn't do anything for me, but seeing the iconic yellow and blue suit was just perfect. That is the Logan that I love, the brash, does not give a fuck will fight anyone to the death Logan. Additionally, that van fight scene was great, between the music and 2 basically immortal beings going at it was fantastic.

What really got me was the ending shots of the original X-Men series behind the scenes playing. It is crazy to see how far comic book anything has come and it's all to the X-Men series.

Also Cowboy Deadpool is best Deadpool

Start date: 1/2/24

Movie watched: 8/13/24

Rate: 3.5/5

Watched @ Hulu

IMDB: The Old Way (2023)

"The bitch kicked me in the balls!"

I promise....PROMISE, this is my last Nic Cage movie for awhile. What can I say I love me some Nic Cage and I can not get enough.

Now he is almost like the same character in "Butchers Crossing" but this time he's a retired cop! And guess what the son of the man he killed is out for vengance! Nic Cages wife...DEAD! His daughter.....Almost dead!

It's a weirdly fun father/daughter drama about hunting down the man thats wants you dead for killing his pa. It really goes to show with enough strenght, will, and desire, anyone can make their dreams come true.

Start date: 1/2/24

Movie watched: 8/13/24

Rate: 3.5/5

Watched @ Hulu

IMDB: Butchers Crossing (2022)

"They cut the poor bastards balls off."

I was in a real Nic Cage kick this day. Like I wanted to watch nothing but Nic Cage movies and this one did not disappoint. You got Nic Cage as this psycho buffalo hunter that no one wants to hunt with, and 3 other unnamed characters. (They are named, but I literally could care less about them, this was the Nic Cage show.)

Basically Nic Cage takes these 3 dudes into the middle of nowhere to hunt buffalo. As they hunt buffalo, winter comes and Nic says "Fuck yall we are staying and hunting." They end up having to ride out winter and when they finally start making it back, with what is a HUGE amount of buffalo hides. Right before town....they lose everything, they come back to the market flooded and they nearly killed themselves for it.

To be honest the ending is bleak, because it then goes into this "look at what the white people did to the buffalos" and how settlers caused the near extinction of the species.

It's great either way, Nic Cage puts his whole self into it and becomes a massive psycho trying to make it rich.

Start date: 1/2/24

Movie watched: 8/13/24

Rate: 1.5/5

Watched @ Hulu

IMDB: The Baker (2022)

"You must be hungry. Where are my pants?"

It's the same movie. It is literally just "The Retirment Plan" but without Nic Cage. Unlike TRP, this one is not good, it literally only has a high score because of Ron Perlman. Outside of him, it tries to be gritty, rough and tough, but still using the same cheesy effects to keep it "family" friendly.