Tuesday, September 29, 2020

The Twilight Zone: Season Two

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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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The Twilight Zone:  Season Two                                 G
I generally liked this second season of the newest Twilight Zone, produced and narrated by Jordan Peele, better than the last one enough to recommend it (you can read my review for the previous season in the archives---www.abcreviewarchive.blogspot.com).  Since it was only ten episodes, like last season, I’m simply going to briefly discuss each one in the order they were presented, even though you don’t have to watch them in order (being it’s an anthology series).  First, we have “Meet in the Middle” which imagines two people falling in love with each other’s voice inside their heads instead of going crazy.  Given the title, they do attempt to meet and, in a somewhat clever turn of events, things don’t turn out so well for at least one of them.  “Downtime” follows a fairly common storyline for the series, involving mistaken identity of sorts wherein someone questions their entire existence after a big reveal.  We’re given a different type of body-swapping tale in “The Who of You” that isn’t quite like Freaky Friday where a man can somehow trade bodies via eye contact;  contains a twist of sorts at the end that should’ve been easy to figure out before being revealed.  “Ovation” was the weakest entry for me which was baffling considering Ana Lily Amirpour (one of the only directors I actually knew of this season), who made a name for herself with the “different” vampire tale, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, helmed it.  It pretty much emphasizes that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially if you suddenly transition from being invisible to stardom visible, and the title refers to a rather silly concept; there’s a twist at the end that isn’t even too shocking (I really didn’t care by that point anyway).  “Among the Untrodden” involves a girl at a boarding school learning she has special powers after a new girl informs her so.  It’s fairly straightforward but corny fun in a similar way The Craft is, and there’s a twist at the end I didn’t expect.  A team of scientists at the bottom of the world try capturing a special kind of octopus in the episode appropriately titled “8.”  It’s a decent creature feature helmed by the directing duo (Justin Benson/Aaron Moorhead) behind Resolution, Spring, and The Endless; the octopus does kill people and is eventually disclosed to have quite a sinister agenda of its own.  In “A Human Face,” a married couple encounter an alien in their basement that gradually transforms into their deceased daughter.  I wasn’t a fan of the CGI and the story itself ends up being rather sappy, yet it simultaneously could be viewed as something that could’ve led down darker paths given the alien’s intentions.  A man discovers a replica of the exact same small town he resides in in “A Small Town” and learns he can play God, originally for the better given the town hasn’t been doing so well following the death of his wife, but naturally having “the whole world in your hands” can lead to disastrous consequences, especially if others hear of this ability.  Topher Grace is in his own version of Groundhog Day in “Try, Try,” but I don’t remember Bill Murray trying to severely harm anyone other than himself while in his time loop.  Lastly, “You Might Also Like” is a decent segment involving aliens subtly trying to take over the world, but it felt a bit underdeveloped.  All in all, I really only disliked one of the ten episodes, ranging from 31 to 46 minutes (I don’t understand why they can’t all be 30 minutes or less like the original series), available on CBS All Access wherein you have the option of watching all ten in color or black & white (like the original series).  None of them truly felt too original, which is nearly an impossible feat anymore, but many of them felt unique momentarily, if that makes any sense.  To make myself clear, there were more hits than misses this round, and that’s always a good sign for an anthology show/movie.  9/23/2020

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

The King of Staten Island  >>>OK

Let It Snow (2020)  >>>EH

Yes, God, Yes  >>>OK/G

---Sean O.
9/29/2020

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous

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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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Jurassic World:  Camp Cretaceous                            G
New animated spinoff series available on Netflix.  It involves six kids attending camp on the dinosaur-infested island who eventually end up alone after an unforeseen (although should be expected) event and must fend for themselves before reaching safety.  I don’t see why it couldn’t have been a live-action series, but I guess they thought going the animated route would draw more viewers in, specifically the younger set, and that it would be a bit different than the films.  I couldn’t not watch it being I’m a fan of the franchise, even of mostly maligned entries like The Lost World and Fallen Kingdom.  I wasn’t a big fan of the “modern” animation (although it kind of reminded me of Monster House, a film I am a fan of), but I temporarily got used to it, tolerated it, if you will.  I will say the dinosaurs did very much resemble their real counterparts though (real meaning the ones in the live-action films, of course), therefore the animation wasn’t entirely too bad.  It ultimately comes down to characters, story, and entertainment value (all of which this series satisfactorily contained).  While this may be a “family friendly” series, people do die, albeit discreetly off-screen, but they do die.  The eight episodes go by really fast, each being 24 minutes, totaling a little over 3 hours, making this series very bingeable (either in one sitting or definitely throughout one day).  I’m looking forward to the 6th Jurassic Park movie or 3rd Jurassic World movie (whatever it is), and I can honestly say I had fun with this series in the meantime.  I did.  The end suggested this could continue and I say, “Bring it!”  9/20/2020

Bonus reviews:

Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!                                OK/G
I do love Halloween, both the season and when featured in visual entertainment, and I do like Scooby-Doo, both the animated films and animated shows, even though I haven’t seen anywhere near all of them, but I’ll catch up one day, maybe (I recently saw Camp Scare and have the Loch Ness Monster one coming in the mail, as of this writing).  This feature-length animated film obviously takes place on the holiday and is being released just in time for the season.  It features evil pumpkins, Elvira, Bill Nye, and mentions characters/locations from the Batman universe (talk about crossovers!).  It’s diverting at the very least, like most of the animated Scooby films and the average television episode, but it does overstay its welcome a bit (also like many of the animated films), even at barely 80-minutes.  I did love those evil pumpkins though.  If you happen to watch this via DVD, there are 3 bonus Halloween episodes from 3 different Scooby shows.  ‘Tis the season!  I still think the best animated film in this universe is Zombie Island (and that doesn’t include the unnecessary sequel!).  9/22/2020

Body Count                                                                 OK
I’m surprised I never even heard of this slasher film from 1986 before, being that it was directed by Ruggero Deodato (most famous for helming Cannibal Holocaust) and stars David Hess (most famous for starring in the original The Last House on the Left), and the fact it’s a slasher film from the Eighties!  I can always count on Rue Morgue magazine though for educating me, as this was mentioned in their latest issue in the feature article covering Italian horror.  The description in that publication stated this was basically a clone of Friday the 13th and it pretty much is (as many slashers released after it are apt to be given it’s one of the best in the subgenre), here taking place at a closed camp in which a group of people are offed one by one after deciding to stay there against the camp owner’s wishes (that owner played by David Hess).  It is set in Colorado, but research tells me it was filmed in Italy (makes sense being it’s an Italian production).  The killer’s mask reminded me of the one used in Curtains, even though I think here it’s supposed to resemble a Native American shaman (I don’t know).  This entry wasn’t bad, although it doesn’t seem to stand out from the pack too much (probably why it’s not more known), but there’s not entirely too much you can expect from a slasher film regardless of when it was released.  A good portion of the kills were acceptable, we got to know enough of the characters, and the film is totally Eighties, making this American-set Italian film worth watching at least once for those that enjoy slasher films even just a little bit.  9/20/2020

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

The Devil All the Time  >>>OK
           (Netflix)

Extra Ordinary  >>>OK

Max Reload and the Nether Blasters  >>>OK 

Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster  >>>OK/G

---Sean O.
9/24/2020

Friday, September 18, 2020

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

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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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I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Recently released Netflix film beginning with a young woman and her boyfriend traveling in a snowstorm to meet his parents.  It’s fairly straightforward initially, despite the parents being kooky AF, and then it gets bizarre.  Really bizarre.  Charlie Kaufman, the writer of interestingly bizarre films like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, wrote and directed this based on a book of the same name by Iain Reid.   If you’re looking for a feel-good, straightforward “meet the parents” drama, it’s best if you don’t bother with this one.  It is rather bleak, in addition to its mindfuckery.  I was a bit impatient at times, it is over 2 hours and half the film takes place in a car with the two main characters, but part of me is recommending it solely on how unconventional it really is and not quite knowing where it would lead (I like movies like that).  I have a feeling I’m going to need another viewing eventually, I think I’ll read the book by Mr. Reid first (I am interested in checking it out after this), and, because of that, I’m not giving it a rating just yet since I don’t feel like I got some sort of definitive conclusion.  Although I might’ve taken away a few things, I read an article afterwards online (posted below) providing explanations wherein I never would’ve initially thought for some of them.  I’m willing to hear anyone’s thoughts on this film.  9/13/2020
 
Watch the movie before reading this article:
[ https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/im-thinking-of-ending-things-ending-explained/?fbclid=IwAR23q4esaUU2f08kp1GUi6Wdw5Tklbtlzgk0GJV6PPbdEE5m3SxLDq69ozk ]

Bonus reviews:

Starfish                                                                        OK
A girl attends her friend’s funeral and breaks into her apartment afterwards.  Eventually things take a turn for the strange when sound waves allegedly cause an apocalypse wherein everyone (but her) disappears and otherworldly creatures gain access to our world.  A movie that came to mind the most was The Mist, but whereas that film focused on a microcosm (a group of people in a supermarket) of a world ravaged by otherworldly beings, this film involved just one person in an abandoned town.  The creatures weren’t nearly as impressive here either, although one large one with very little screen-time was a bit fascinating, nor did they make as much of an appearance.  This film seemed to have so much potential that it unfortunately didn’t adequately produce, containing a treasure hunt of sorts bearing very little excitement, coming off as weird just for the sake of being weird at times, and, like always, was ruined by utilizing crappy CGI.  Currently available on Shudder.  9/14/2020

Door into Darkness
Four-part anthology series from 1973 that I never would’ve known of had I not seen it advertised in an e-mail Shudder sent me about upcoming releases.  Dario Argento, the famous Italian filmmaker, is the producer, writer/director of two episodes, and the “Cryptkeeper” introducing each segment (the shortest being 54 minutes, the longest, 61).  It is an Italian series, so, yes, that means subtitles if you don’t know a word of Italian.  “The Neighbor” is definitely atmospheric, involving a couple moving into an apartment with their baby below a man that just murdered his wife.  It is inconclusive, but any well-educated (be it in film or otherwise) individual should be able to deduce at least one possible outcome.  “The Tram” is a murder mystery in which we watch the performers figure out who murdered a young woman on a (…) tram at night without being detected.  It is fairly straightforward, but well-rounded characters make it watchable.  “Eyewitness” involves a woman that believes she witnessed a murder while driving at night, and while the twist may have been innovative in 1973, you should be able to figure it out right away if seeing for the first time in 2020.  Lastly, “The Doll” was also probably groundbreaking at the time for including a twist (that still was slightly surprising) after distracting you with a red herring.  There were nice POV shots from the escapee in the beginning too.  All in all, it’s a decent anthology series that only lasted 4 episodes, although I, personally, don’t think it would’ve mattered one way or the other if it stayed in obscurity (even though I do love anthology shows/movies as anyone that knows me should know); it’s certainly dated (1973, what do you expect?) and patience is needed to watch all of them (something fast(er)-paced modern audiences aren’t likely used to), but there are good characterizations in all of them and the entire series will only take up roughly 4 hours of your time.  9/15/2020

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

Harvest Lake  >>>EH
 
Horse Girl  >>>OK
  (Netflix)
 
Scooby-Doo!: Camp Scare  >>>OK

---Sean O.
9/18/2020

Saturday, September 12, 2020

The Babysitter: Killer Queen


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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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The Babysitter:  Killer Queen                                     EH
The Babysitter, released in 2017, was a decent gory fun film involving a young boy and his satanic babysitter (you can read my review for it in the archives---www.abcreviewarchive.blogspot.com).  That boy, Cole, is 2 years older (according to this film) and deals with the same shenanigans, more or less, at a lake instead of his house.  It would be wise to watch the first one before this if you haven’t already (both are available on Netflix), not only because this sequel assumes you already saw it, but because you should stop there and not even bother with this one.  Unfortunately, I can’t describe this sequel the same way I did the first in the first sentence above.  Well, it is gory, but the gore was a bit too over-the-top for me, not in any way impressive.  Fun?  Let’s just say there were way too many poor attempts at humor, meaning annoyingly unfunny wherein I didn’t even laugh internally.  Well, there was one time I recall laughing but it wasn’t hilarious in the slightest and I could’ve stifled the laugh if I really wanted to.  I was so unimpressed with this unnecessary sequel that I couldn’t wait for it to be over before the halfway mark!  Sorry, the novelty already wore itself thin after just 2 movies.  Have I gotten through to you, McG?  Please don’t make any more of these films.  I said please!  9/11/2020


Bonus review:


Biography:  The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne           OK/G
OZZY.  Ozzy Osbourne.  John Michael Osbourne at birth.  The “Godfather of Metal,” famous for singing crisply yet speaking incoherently, is the subject of this documentary on A&E covering his early years as a young boy in England to the present day.  I personally didn’t discover OZZY until 7th grade when I saw the video for “I Just Want You” off the Ozzmosis album.  I was kind of indifferent until I found out a fellow metalhead listened to him, thus I became a lifelong fan, getting into both Black Sabbath and his solo stuff (I did know he was in a band called Black Sabbath before that metalhead inspired me to become a fan---thanks Dad!).  Over the years, I’ve read a lot about Ozzman and both his bands.  That being said, I knew the majority of the information presented in this 85-minute documentary (there are also lots of commercials you can’t fast forward through, by the way).  I still kind of enjoyed watching it though, OZZY has been a prominent part of my life after all, and I think this would be a well-rounded lesson for those unaware of OZZY’s life other than what was made public.  [I’d be interested in a documentary on Ozzfest (an event I attended at least 6 times) which was covered real briefly here].  9/11/2020



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

Dark Waters (2019)  >>>EH/OK

The Dustwalker  >>>EH

Jumanji:  The Next Level  >>>EH


---Sean O.
9/12/2020

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Rogue/Mr. Mercedes (Season 2)


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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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Rogue                                                                          OK
The title shares its name with several others, but one that comes to mind first is the exceptional killer crocodile film from Australia.  This film involves a lion somewhere in Africa.  A group of soldiers, led by Megan Fox’s character, rescue some young girls from a terrorist organization involved in human trafficking and end up at an abandoned lion farm where they now have to protect themselves from a rogue lion as well as hide from those terrorists they escaped from.  The lions were very real when we first see them at this lion farm in the beginning, but the rogue one in question is CGI when attacking people and when running.  Why did the CG lion have to be less than passable?  Don’t they know bad CGI (and most CGI) can ruin an otherwise good movie?  You mean to tell me they could afford to cast Megan Fox and shoot in Africa, but couldn’t afford to train a real lion or at least create a more realistic-looking one?  Aside from that, plus some parts being too predictable, and that the film could’ve been 20-25 minutes shorter, this really wasn’t a bad movie.  They did manage to meld genres well (war/action fused with natural horror), but, unfortunately, those negative factors (particularly the lion) caused me to feel a bit less than content.  9/9/2020



Mr. Mercedes:  Season Two                                        OK
I never read the trilogy of novels by someone named Stephen King---Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch, released in that order---but I do own the first two and hope to one day read them, preferably when this series isn’t so fresh in my mind.  That being said, I went into this season, as well as the last, blind with nothing to compare it to.  I enjoyed the first season enough (you can read my review for it in the archives---www.abcreviewarchive.blogspot.com), but wasn’t sure it needed to be ten (roughly hour long) episodes.  I was curious to see how another ten-episode season would pan out (this time, all roughly 50-minutes, give or take), let alone a third season which was recently released on DVD (and I’m also curious as to how that season will pan out based on the end of this season).  At the end of the first season, the titular villain (played by Harry Treadaway) ends up in a coma after a certain incident and is now watched over by several people here, including Bill Hodges, the detective played by the Irish-as-they-come, Brendan Gleeson, complete with his signature brogue.  They made it a bit interesting when showing the inside of his mind while in this coma and when he eventually gained a specific supernatural-ish ability.  It’s too soon to tell since I haven’t seen season three yet and haven’t read any of the novels as previously mentioned, but it felt like this season was mostly filler between the previous and upcoming season (as of now, according to Wikipedia, a fourth season is uncertain, so season three might very well be the last one---makes sense…three books, three seasons).  One, I made it this far, so I am going to continue.  Two, I did still kinda like tuning into this universe and wanted more when it ended.  And three, like always, I’m going to watch anything with Mr. King’s name attached (in hopes it’s not as bad as Kingdom Hospital).  9/9/2020



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

Angel of Mine  >>>EH/OK

Retaliation (2020)  >>>B/EH


---Sean O.
9/9/2020