Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Morbid Stories/The Lion King


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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see.  I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future).  You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Morbid Stories                                                 OK
Social media is nice sometimes.  Like in this case where I was sent a direct message from one of the writers/producers of this film asking if I would watch and review the movie.  I was given a link with a code to watch for free, but you can also watch it for free if you have an Amazon Prime account (see link below).  Filmmakers, let it be known I will gladly watch your movie, review it, and spread the word as much as I can.  And I’m pretty much game if it’s a horror movie and/or an anthology film like this one.  Now, as for whether I like it or not…I always inform anyone that I will review the film as long as they don’t mind me being honest.  I am very picky with modern films and don’t want to come off as fake or somewhat condescending by saying I like a movie simply because I know those involved or whatever.  Also, I give all filmmakers and all other crew members credit just for making a film (even if they completely suck) since I’ve been behind the scenes and know how arduous and disorganized the whole process can be.  Like one of my film production teachers in college once said though, “content is key,” and the content is what I and everyone else is going to judge the final product on.  That being said, what did I think of this anthology film involving a vampire/zombie epidemic across all of America?  It is obviously low-budget and largely unoriginal, but it wasn’t the worst horror anthology that I’ve seen (or movie for that matter), but it was also no Creepshow/Creepshow 2, Trick ‘r Treat, Tales from the Hood, etc.  It takes place in several states, the wraparound in California according to a license plate (although I would’ve guessed a southwest region like Arizona) where we hear about the aforementioned epidemic on the radio a young woman is listening to after a recent break-up.  The first story takes place in New York, involves vampires, and is rather lame (in execution and story).  The second one also takes place in California, involves a Ouija board, and finishes rather disappointingly after a somewhat decent buildup.  The third and fourth were my faves of the bunch.  The third takes place in Delaware at a rental home where a writer faces off against something in the attic.  It is the most suspenseful entry despite not exactly being fresh when all is said and done.  The fourth was an interesting one taking place in Florida where a girl tries repressing her recent vampiric tendencies to mostly no avail.  It’s also the first time I’ve seen what happens when a vampire is bitten by a zombie, but not vice versa.  Like I said, it isn’t the best horror anthology film I’ve seen, but you might disagree, so why not support an independent film crew by at least watching this and then spreading the word for potential fans.  11/4/2019

Check out the trailer here:

Check out the IMDb page here:

Check out the movie itself for free on Amazon Prime here (account needed):



The Lion King                                                             EH
Much like the latest Aladdin film, this update is pretty much a shot-for-shot live-action remake of the original animated version.  If we know everything that’s going to happen, why exactly do we need to see the same exact movie in live-action if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the cartoons to being with?  Now, this film wasn’t exactly live-action like Aladdin was, I forget what the process was here, but it all looked real enough and that’s about the only plus I can say about it.  I disliked this movie, immensely.  The musical sequences were actually worsened here, lacking all the vibrancy of the original.  All this and the Aladdin remake made me want to do was watch the originals.  Aladdin wasn’t as bad, but it was still kind of unnecessary.  This was unnecessary as in bottom of the totem pole unnecessary.  There is absolutely no reason for kids or anyone else to see this film when the original animated film still exists.  [If you’re going to remake a movie at all, although I say don’t at all, why not re-imagine it instead?  That’s why the new Child’s Play worked (as much as I hated the idea of it from the get-go) since it bore no resemblance to the original film at all other than the title and character names].  The Lion King isn’t even one of my favorite animated Disney movies (mini-confession), but I still undoubtedly like it and this film just made me appreciate it even more.  11/5/2019



Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):


Godzilla:  King of the Monsters  >>>OK

The Groves  >>>OK/G
            (short film; available on YouTube)

Holiday in the Wild  >>>EH/OK
            (Netflix)

1984 (1984)  >>>B

Them That Follow  >>>OK/G

---Sean O.
11/5/2019

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