Sunday, January 23, 2022

Last Night in Soho/Scream (2022)

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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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Last Night in Soho                                                       G
I’ve wanted to see this movie for a long time.  I hate when movies aren’t as good as you think they’ll be, or as you hope they’ll be (which tends to be the case with many modern movies).  I did end up liking this movie, but it is one of those you’ll need to wait until it’s over to truly know what you think.  It involves a girl in the English countryside that travels to London to attend school for fashion.  This girl is obsessed with the Sixties and can somehow travel back to that time period after she rents a room at an old lady’s house.  She is able to live vicariously through a female singer from that time as well as observe her.  It takes a while for the horror elements to kick in, but there is something oddly transfixing about what comes before.  It becomes a murder mystery of sorts wherein our female protagonist in the present tries to get to the bottom of; there are also supernatural elements.  It did get a bit disappointing at first because I wasn’t sure what type of movie it was going to become (assuming it was going to get worse) and the supernatural special effects weren’t that great.  There is a twist that actually did surprise me, one in which I should’ve foresaw, and everything makes sense after that, or at least makes more sense (hence why you should wait until it’s over to make judgments).  I didn’t think it was excellent, but I do still recommend it and wonder if it’ll age better.  1/22/2022

Scream                                                                                    OK
Scream 5.  Just call it Scream 5!  [There’s even one part that calls franchises out wherein they title a new film the same as the original.  This is a sequel, yes, not a remake or reboot or whatever, and I really only noticed references to the first film.  Needless to say, I don’t see why you would want to see this film if you haven’t seen the others though].  This is the first movie I’ve seen theatrically since the pandemic started almost two years ago (!) and can now say I’ve seen every single one of these films in the theater (the only other franchise that comes to mind I can say the same thing about is the Jurassic Park/World movies).  I was a big fan of the first Scream when it came out; I recently re-watched it (and the other predecessors) in preparation for this entry and, while it’s still decent (nostalgia or otherwise), I hate to say that it doesn’t exactly stand the test of time.  I always felt the sequels were just okay (the order I like them in, not counting this one, is 1, 4, 3, 2).  Scream 4 was released in 2011 and Scream 3 was released 11 years before that, so who’s to say there won’t be a Scream 6 11 years from now (or whenever)?  [Scream 3 was supposed to be the last entry at the time, but I don’t think I need to tell you that should never be said].  Now, if you’re a fan of the franchise and/or have seen all the other films, I think you’re going to watch this fifth entry regardless of what I or any other critic has to say about it (even if it’s simply out of curiosity).  Also, what do you really expect from a Scream movie, especially a fifth one released in 2022?  On one hand, I should say they’ve had so many years of films (not just the ones in this franchise) to compare to and should know what to avoid and whatnot, even though the series began as self-aware of the slasher subgenre itself.  On the other hand, I should say it’s hard to be original these days, especially in this subgenre (meta or not), and not expect them to be too original and keep my expectations low-to-middle.  Whatever.  I always judge a movie I take the time to sit through based on it alone, and I’ve enjoyed movies that didn’t feel too original (again, original isn’t really a description anymore).  That being said, did I enjoy this recent entry in the meta slasher franchise that’s the only one not directed by the late Wes Craven?  Well, it definitely wasn’t original (although it did call out several clichés) and the kills weren’t exactly grand (although some weren’t bad), and I wouldn’t exactly call it a welcome comeback, but it was okay.  Just okay.  It’s too soon to tell if it’ll age better, but the preceding entries certainly didn’t.  I didn’t hate it and if there’s anything positive I can say about it for now is that it was better than that other Nineties teen horror resurgence known as the I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series.  R.I.P.  Wes Craven.  1/21/2022

Bonus review:

Secrets of Sulphur Springs (Season Two)                   OK
(haiku review)
Only 8 eps. here.
Fine, but last one was better.
Clearly not over.  1/23/2022

*Available on Disney+.  Check out my haiku review for season one here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2021/10/oldahs-double-feature.html*

Other movies and TV show(s) I’ve seen and their ratings (see above):

The Addams Family 2  >>>EH/OK

Antlers  >>>EH

Archive 81 (Season One)  >>>OK/G
   (Netflix; 8 episodes)

Brazen   >>>EH
   (Netflix)

The Dry  >>>OK

The Last Matinee  >>>EH/OK
   (In Spanish with subtitles)

Last of the Grads  >>>EH/OK

The Tender Bar  >>>OK
   (Amazon Prime)

Yellowjackets (Season One)  >>>OK
   (Showtime; 10 episodes)

---Sean O.
1/23/2022

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