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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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Are You Afraid of the
Dark?: Curse of the
Shadows OK/G
I was a bit bummed that the revival of this show (one of my
favorite shows of all time) wasn’t going to be in line with the original
format. It looks as if it’s going to be
an anthology series, like American Horror Story, as opposed to an
anthology show. I wasn’t too much a fan of the first season,
I just remember being disappointed by the end, but I liked this season better,
this time containing six episodes as opposed to just three. Perhaps that’s why the first season failed
since it may have felt rushed and there wasn’t as much time to invest in
it? Many of the original show’s episodes
under a half hour gave us enough time to invest though, and wouldn’t more
episodes this season (all at least 40 minutes) mean it could overstay its
welcome? I don’t know, whatever. This season wasn’t superb as far as
storytelling standards go, but it wasn’t bad in regards to kiddie horror
standards while allowing us ample time to get to know all the characters. Some of the more easily frightened viewers,
both young and old, may even, or likely will, be scared of the Shadow Man, a
supernatural entity that can only attack in the dark. Now available to binge since the season just
ended (yes, this is one of those shows in which an episode was released weekly---get
with the times!). 3/22/2021
Bonus reviews:
The Last Blockbuster
Ah, video stores.
Something any of us old enough to remember going to regularly didn’t
appreciate until they gradually went into oblivion. I mean, yeah, we still have Netflix by mail,
Redbox, and countless streaming services at our fingertips, but nothing beats
physically going to a store and browsing all the aisles both new and old (I
don’t care what the one guy here says either), even if the movie you wanted
wasn’t in after several visits (hell, you can’t get movies on Netflix right
away either!). This documentary features
(as the title clearly states) the last Blockbuster in existence (in the world)
located in Bend, Oregon (I almost want to move out there just to work
there!). We do get to learn a bit about
Sandi, the manager, who is so dedicated that she personally goes to buy movies
at Target or Amazon or wherever if they don’t carry it and a customer requests
it, in addition to buying snacks and candy in bulk to sell. Other than viewing the store and the people that
work there and rent there, we see several famous faces (Kevin Smith being one)
talk about their experiences with video stores growing up, which only worked
for nostalgic reasons. I was born in
1982, so of course I have many memories of going to video stores growing up; I
used to look forward to going every weekend and, as I got older, would go every
weekday when the new releases came out.
I used to frequent a video store called Wow! Video, only because they
were cheaper than Blockbuster and had many more deals and discounts, but I also
went to Blockbuster because sometimes they carried titles Wow! didn’t, or if a
specific movie was unavailable at Wow! I went straight to Blockbuster
afterwards to see if they had it. Wow (!), I’m starting to ramble on about my
own personal experiences with video stores.
Like I said, this feature will only make those of us with memories of
such places feel nostalgic, as it’s not always the most enthralling film, and
for those that think Netflix may have been the driving force behind
Blockbuster’s demise, this documentary has some stuff to say on the topic. 3/22/2021
Calls G
Imagine The Twilight
Zone told through phone conversations.
This 9-episode series (all between 13 and 20 minutes) available on
Apple+ is just that---phone conversations displayed amongst a bunch of wave
signals one might see on a computer screen gone idle; they are all connected
somehow, taking place between February and New Years Eve in different parts of
America. Since there are no images other
than said wave signals accompanying the dialogue, how would it be any different
simply listening to this as opposed to watching it, or reading it on print
since we have to read the entire series anyway, much like a subtitled work? I don’t think it would make a difference, but
I don’t recall seeing a series or movie consisting solely of the concept and
somehow managing to work. It was an
undeniably innovative way to present a tired storyline, which is an apocalyptic
one involving parallel dimensions and space-time theories, bringing to mind
films like The Butterfly Effect and Final Destination (you’ll understand the
comparison to the latter if and when you watch) in addition to the
aforementioned anthology show. It did
feel repetitive at times, but luckily the episodes weren’t too long, and I
actually wanted to continue due to being transfixed for the most part (I don’t
recall being bored often, if at all), and, for that, I’m going to recommend it. 3/21/2021
Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
Deadly Illusions >>>EH/OK
(Netflix)
Red Dot >>>OK/G
(Netflix; In
Swedish with subtitles)
Songbird >>>EH/OK
---Sean O.3/23/2021
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