Black Panther OK/G
All the hype? I had
to. Plus, diversity is always nice, this
being a superhero movie directed by a black man with a predominantly black cast
set mostly in the fictionalized African country of Wakanda, it appearing to
comprise of some of the most beautiful places in the world, not just Africa. It also manages to incorporate female
empowerment in addition to black representation. It would’ve been nice if they also included
LGB or even T representation. Many
people seem to only mention race and gender when it comes to diversity and
discrimination while completely disregarding sexuality and gender
identity. Anyway, just because something
breaks convention doesn’t mean I’m going to like it, condescension can be just
as bad as prejudice after all, but this does manage to be entertaining for a
good portion of its 2 hour-plus run-time even though it’s still a superhero
movie with a lot to take in. Now all we
need is a gay superhero movie and maybe some representing other ethnicities so
Hollywood can go back to making superheroes straight white men again if they so
choose. 5/26/2018
Desolation G
Why do characters scream for help in horror movies? It should only be done if a) you know you’re
a great distance from your pursuer, or b) you know people are definitely nearby
and you have a chance of escaping. Why
didn’t the two adult females and one of their teenage sons all sleep in the
same tent after being followed by a shady man in the woods earlier? The 13-year-old boy has more sense when
suggesting they sleep in shifts after one of them is taken. This survival flick is far from great and I
almost feel a bit nice with my rating, but the characters are likeable which
makes their ordeal more harrowing, and it’s a taut 73-minute thriller that
would fit nicely amongst many other plotless ‘80’s flicks featuring nameless
killers in the woods (or elsewhere). 5/29/2018
Dude OK
Teen movie from Netflix called Dude that’s ironically about the friendship between four girls
during the last week of senior year in high school. Teens issues will always be the same as
proved in 2018 and this movie seems to indicate everyone is still very much
heterosexual, although there is a bathroom labeled with a rainbow question mark
(so progress may be acknowledged if not always necessarily evident). While it deals with very real situations (a
tragic death the year before; periods; female masturbation), it also contains
what we’ve come to expect from these movies (tough college decisions; partying;
friends fight, stop talking, get back together, yada, yada, yada) and just
isn’t as much fun as the teen movies I grew up with that are ingrained in my
mind as being tough to top. I didn’t
dislike it at all but it’s not my ‘John Hughes’ movie like it will be for this
generation or the next. Maybe I’m
getting too old or I just watch too many movies…5/28/2018
Early Man EH
The newest claymated film from the creators of Wallace & Gromit. I’ll admit I’m not an ardent fan of Wallace & Gromit, but I do remember
liking the film, Curse of the Were-Rabbit,
though. I recall liking Chicken Run as well. I wasn’t a fan of this one. I almost hated it actually. I’m giving it a teeny, tiny bit of credit
because I can’t imagine how painstakingly arduous it is to make one of these
movies. I shouldn’t even give it that,
finished content is key after all, because if it was the same exact movie in
live-action, I’d give it a lower rating.
Only a few parts were funny, I could probably count them on one hand,
but I was generally annoyed more than impressed. It begins in the Stone Age before “advanced”
humans from the Bronze Age take over their village. A game of soccer (“football”) is proposed by
a boy from the Stone Age and if the “Stonies” win, they get their village
back. Naturally, none of the “Stonies”
can play for shit despite their recent ancestors being football players (apparently
modern Americans are the only ones that call it soccer). A girl from the “Bronzies” is a really good
football player but being a girl, of course, means they won’t let her play. She helps the “Stonies” improve in typical
“inspirational underdog sports movie” fashion.
Do you think the “Stonies” win? I
won’t spoil it for you in case you want to waste your time like I did. 5/23/2018
Game Night EH/OK
I guess it is possible to hate a movie and simultaneously
sort of, but not really, like it as this one proved. The characters are so idiotic. The script is idiotic. I actually laughed-out-loud several times
though, mainly because the characters were complete imbeciles. A night intended to be a joke turns into
something very real but it’s not much fun since we as viewers know that a bit
before the characters figure it out (it just didn’t work here like in other
movies). There’s a twist towards the end
that’s kind of clever but infantile and not exactly out of place with the rest
of the film. I wish I could say I
enjoyed my time more with this group congregating for regular game nights, but
it seems like I might have more fun with
them instead of observing them acting like buffoons. 5/26/2018
Ghostheads OK
I went to school with the producer, Tommy Avallone, from
seventh to twelfth grade. He sent me a
friend request on Facebook not that long ago and I saw that this was one of his
films he was involved with. I didn’t add
him right away because there was a time I actually hated him (mainly around 8th
and 9th grade). I understand,
people are immature in middle school, high school, and even longer than
that. I definitely hated many of his
friends more and other people in my school and can almost understand the notion
of believing what others say about those “not cool” or “queer,” and straying
from the path could mean social suicide.
Tommy and I were cool towards the end of high school (at least I
assumed) and we hung out for several years after that at our local bowling
alley, so there were enough good things to overcome the bad associations (thus his
friend request acceptance). There’re
still many people from my past I would never add, in fact, I denied someone a
couple weeks ago. Yeah, I don’t add nor
accept everybody. I’m subconsciously
still mad at stuff from when I was 5 years old (I’m 35 now), so if anyone pissed
me off (intentional or not) from then until now, there’s a high chance I
haven’t forgotten it and likely never will (out of sight, out of mind works too). The same goes the other way; if I happened to
piss anyone off (and I know I have, often it may have been retaliation), I’d
understand if you held a grudge (at least make me aware of it so I know and can
possibly explain why I acted that way). Anyway,
enough of this memoir shit and let’s get to the actual movie. The title refers to groups of people all over
the world obsessed with the Ghostbusters
franchise encompassing the 1984 original and its sequel, plus the animated
series, The Real Ghostbusters. These people are fucking nerds!!! But it’s also a subculture I knew nothing
about which makes me wonder what other groups are out there. That’s the power of documentaries; they can
entail anything and possibly be eye-opening. In addition to a few Ghostheads, there’re interview
segments with stars Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, director Ivan
Reitman and some other less famous faces.
Egon (Harold Ramis) is no longer with us but Bill Murray is, so where
was he? I own both Ghostbusters DVD’s (I hope you understand I don’t mean the remake
but the original and its sequel), one volume of The Real Ghostbusters, a T-shirt, a poster, some comics, and still
have my Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stuffed animal I received as a child. I’m a fan, yes, but wouldn’t categorize me as
a Ghosthead. So why would I care about
those that are? Anyone not a fan of Ghostbusters, past or present, would
probably care less about extreme fans of it.
Even at 73 minutes, the film wears thin by the end but it’s still an
interesting concept we don’t often see or hear about and it’s part of pop
culture however unconventional. Well Tom,
congratulations, your ambitions certainly paid off and if you’re ever back in
Jersey and wanna go bowling, let me know!
5/28/2018
I Remember You EH/OK
Supernatural mystery from Iceland containing effectively eerie
sequences but is very slow; foreign thrillers tend to be much more than
American ones though (foreign usually indicates non-American but the term
equally applies to American films being foreign to other countries). There’re more questions than answers, at
least initially; I had to read a synopsis on Wikipedia to make sure I took
everything in and apparently a crucial detail bypassed me. The payoff isn’t grand and the aforementioned
scenes that do work have already been done before, foreign or not. 5/28/2018
The Lotus EH
Yet another undead flick unworthy of your time. It’s not even listed on the All Movie or
VideoETA websites so how the hell did Netflix get a hold of it? It tries being nonlinear at first but a Tarantino
film this is not. It’s also an alien
film, but that was already done in Undead…better. Sleeping zombies have been done already too, The Girl with All the Gifts being
one. Basically, a couple meteorites land
on Earth, initiating an experiment to contain a virus but, as you may guess,
the virus isn’t exactly contained like usual.
The violence often resembles video game graphics which makes the film
appear even less realistic while showcasing its limited budget. This low-budget, seemingly unknown (minus
Netflix DVD) film tries too hard but succeeds not. Not only does it involve the dead but it is dead!
5/26/2018
The Manor OK/G
It begins with creepy music reminiscent of ‘70’s and ‘80’s
horror flicks before showing an aerial view of the titular manor. Much like below average yet watchable horror
films of those decades, this film needs work structurally but is stylistically
appealing. Expecting a haunted house
story, but beginning like what appeared to be a tortured soul film featuring a
demon resembling a cheaper Descent
creature, it eventually turns into a twisted slasher movie. It’s usually not the best idea to take
someone being released from the “funny farm” to a house with bad memories,
especially if that person suffers from hallucinations and the hospital worker
even advises it might not be the best idea.
Hallucinations? Can’t separate
reality from fantasy? I had an idea of
where this might’ve been headed but it actually averts going down High Tension territory. It is flawed for sure and derivative, but much
of it surprisingly attracted me, making it one of those not-so-great films I
would actually tell you to check out. 5/30/2018
Most Likely to Murder EH
It was pretty blunt that Ace
Ventura: Pet Detective was the inspiration for this. Aside from being a comedy incorporating a
murder mystery, it actually references the Jim Carrey film more than once (one
reference was pretty funny, being the only laugh-out-loud moment I
recall). It also cribs from Rear Window and The ‘Burbs amongst others and is actually more of a pre-midlife
crisis film and not a very good one. A
guy returns home for Thanksgiving and believes he witnessed, while drunk, the “loser”
across the street kill his mom that suddenly passed away overnight. Of course no one believes the sweet “loser”
is capable of such a crime and any “evidence” the accuser provides is always
refuted. Do you think it’s all a
misunderstanding as is usually the case in films with similar assumptions? Most likely to forget! 5/30/2018
The Party OK/G
This black-and-white film with more than one familiar face
resembles that of a stage production. It
involves a couple throwing a (can you guess it?) party to celebrate a job
promotion until someone else reveals depressing news which leads to more
revelations causing complete drama amongst the seven guests. While it may have been interesting to see an
intended pleasant gathering go to shit, it still felt like a “party” I’ve
attended before cinematically, and also a real party in which I’m the ignored
introvert observing everything. It is
only 71 minutes though so it doesn’t overstay its welcome one bit. 5/23/2018
Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2 OK
I enjoyed SLC Punk
for the most part, it being a frenzied, fourth wall breaking, post-collegiate
rebellion film set in 1985. This sequel,
released 18 years later and set in 2005, has the same director and a large
portion of the original cast so it almost feels legitimate. Technically, you don’t have to see the first
before this since previous characters are re-introduced, but it might be better
if you did. Plus, like always, why would
you care to see SLC Punk 2 if you
didn’t see SLC Punk 1? Fans of SLC
Punk will be curious to check out the follow-up, and it won’t hurt to do so
nor take up much time (it’s barely over an hour if you exclude the end credits),
but expectations should be kept even lower than the fact it’s a sequel released
18 years later. A different character
from the first breaks the fourth wall this time while focusing on his son and
his two friends taking a road trip to a punk concert in Salt Lake City. Whereas the first felt like it was part of a
larger story, this one felt even smaller in that larger story. While the passage of real time fits in
seamlessly with the storyline time (much like Dumb and Dumber To and the recent revival of Roseanne), I hate to say it still felt like an unnecessary
continuation. I also can’t believe the
two biggest stars of the first (Matthew Lillard and Jason Segel---who wasn’t
big at the time) didn’t make a cameo here.
5/22/2018
Sweet Virginia OK
Small town. A
crime. Outsider. Duplicitous characters. You’ve seen this before. The mountain town is “very far from
Virginia,” a synopsis declares it’s Alaska but there was never any indication of
it being set in that state (I was born in), the title just refers to the motel
owned by “Shane” from The Walking Dead
who used to be a rodeo rider from Virginia.
All those aforementioned clichés wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing,
this film appeared to have the makings of a decent thriller, it just
draaaaaaaaaags and is so straightforward that I almost wanted a twist or two
thrown in. 5/26/2018
---Sean O.
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