Knock at the Cabin

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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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Knock at the Cabin                                                     OK/G

M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film based on the book, The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay, a book I did read, long before I knew it was going to be adapted.  I remember not being as impressed as I thought I would be with the novel, and I don’t recall much other than there being a cabin and people arriving with weapons, so I’m not even going to bother doing the whole book and film comparison.  I read this film was going to be a bit different anyway, M. Night having co-wrote the screenplay with two others (none being Paul Tremblay).  In this film, two men with their young daughter are staying at a cabin when four adults arrive, three with weapons, demanding one of them needs to die by one of their own hands or the rest of the world will perish, leaving them three the only survivors.  There are rules given and, of course, there are consequences the longer they make their decision.  The reasoning behind their demands sound just as shady as them being there in the first place.  Even as possible evidence gradually mounts, our protagonists (particularly one of the men) are still skeptical (naturally, who the hell wouldn’t be?).  It was generally an engaging film, but I thought the ending was a little too pat (or anticlimactic, if you will) considering how dark it was beforehand, and coming from the director behind it.  3/24/2023

Bonus reviews:

Marcel:  The Shell with Shoes On                               OK

This was nominated for ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ at this year’s Oscars (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio rightfully won, I think).  This is a live-action film containing animated characters though, the animation being stop-motion, although I would’ve guessed CGI (The Chiodo Brothers---Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Critters, Ernest Scared Stupid---were involved).  Apparently it’s based on some short films, none of which I’ve seen.  The eponymous character is just that, a one-inch shell with one eye that wears shoes, living in an Airbnb with his grandmother.  He’s documented by an “amateur” filmmaker and becomes somewhat of a celebrity after the videos are posted online.  This is cute and funny at times, but speaking of shorts, it would’ve worked better as a short film (maybe 30, 40-minutes at most) since it feels drawn-out.  It’s a shame too, because Marcel really is charming, but a feature-length film (almost 90-minutes) he did not belong.  3/20/2023

John and the Hole                                                       EH

[SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW]

Here’s a movie that exists in its own universe.  John (of the title) puts his family (dad, mom, sister) into a bunker (the hole of the title) near their home.  I think it’s only for a couple days and he only gives them food and drink twice.  Somehow he’s able to drive a car no problem and use an ATM to take money out (he’s 13).  A family friend does send a cop to the house after getting suspicious, but wouldn’t she have been suspicious from the get-go when John says his entire family (excluding him) went to see his grandfather at the hospital?  What parents would leave their 13-year-old kid home alone, but take their older kid with them to see a possibly dying relative?  Not only do you not get a motive at the end, but the family resumes their lives as if nothing happened.  Oh, we get glimpses of a parallel story involving a young girl and her mother.  The young girl asks her mother to tell the story of ‘John and the Hole,’ hinting it is all just a story.  What was the point of it though?!  Was it all a form of teenage rebellion?  Did he want independence?  Later on, the mother tells the daughter she is leaving and never coming back, stating there’s money for her that’ll last roughly 10 months if she spends it wisely.  Okay???  If there was a point to this movie, I would really like to know what it was…3/22/2023

You (Season Four)                                                       EH

I hate to say it, but I think this Netflix series (originally on Lifetime) featuring serial killer Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) should’ve ended already.  I did enjoy the first two seasons (my review of season two can be read here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2020/01/7-reviews-17-ratings.html), but season three is where I began to lose interest (my haiku review of it is in here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2021/10/oldahs-double-feature.html).  If you don’t read that haiku review of last season, I said this---First two were better.  Not as addicting this time.  Maybe next season?  Ha, this season wasn’t addicting at all.  I found the majority of it a chore to sit through, forcing myself to continue (never a good sign, needless to say) since I made it this far.  The setting is now England and Joe is a university professor named Jonathan.  There were too many characters to keep track of and the ten episodes (half were released a month before the other half, likely due to Netflix screwing people with the free trials), which were roughly 50 minutes each (give or take), mostly seemed like three hours a piece!  There was a twist in one of the last episodes that wasn’t even shocking since it’s been done so many times, and I didn’t really care by that point; it didn’t make me consider rewatching the season again either (you’re given flashbacks to all the relevant scenes anyhow).  Not even the occasional grisly scene (at least two come to mind) could save this season for me.  As of now, there is no season five confirmed, but the end of this season hints there very well could be.  I really don’t wish to continue (I know, I know, I say that now), but if they make at least one more and know for sure that will be the end, maybe I’ll tune in one more time…maybe!  Can’t creators just end things?  3/16/2023

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

Adoration (2019)  >>>OK

   (In French and Dutch with subtitles)

Alleluia  >>>OK

   (In French with subtitles)

Cram  >>>B

Eve’s Bayou  >>>OK

Marfa Girl  >>>EH

Marfa Girl 2  >>>EH/OK

Margaux  >>>EH

Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon  >>>OK/G

PussyCake  >>>EH

   (In Spanish with subtitles)

Re/Member  >>>EH

   (Netflix; In Japanese with subtitles)

The Ritual Killer  >>>B/EH

---Sean O.

3/25/2023