Sisu

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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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Sisu                                                                              G

Finland.  1944.  One man slaughters a bunch of Nazis.  That’s basically the gist of it, but it’s actually quite entertaining for such a simple premise.  It’s violent when it wants to be, oh yes.  I sensed a bit of a Tarantino vibe.  The ending felt abrupt (could be I didn’t want it to be over), but everything happened that needed to.  [For those that may care, there’re only a few subtitles at the end; the rest of the movie didn’t appear dubbed either].  7/16/2023

Bonus reviews:

I Wanna Rock:  The 80s Metal Dream

Typically one thinks of hair metal when it comes to 80s metal, and one wouldn’t be wrong since it was very popular during the time (hell, Pantera was even a hair band before their defining Cowboys From Hell album!).  [I am a fan; some of my favorites include Twisted Sister, Guns N Roses, Def Leppard, Poison, and Bon Jovi; some bands only have one good song, or are only known for one song.  In the 90s, I had to pretend I didn’t like it, or any music from the 80s, as it wasn’t very popular during that decade].  There were also bands like Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, and Anthrax in the 80s (none being hair metal), but since hair metal was huge during that decade (“metal that women started liking,” as one states here; someone I know nicknamed it “pop metal” years ago), I think it’s safe to say that 80s metal is a synonymous term (I love all types of metal though; all types of music for that matter!).  This three-part docuseries available on Paramount+ (all a little over 40-minutes each, so figure it’s a feature a bit over 2 hours) chronicles specific parts of the time period with interviews and footage.  You’ll see what a member of Vixen and Winger are currently doing with their lives, a heartfelt disclosure from a member of Skid Row (not Sebastian), and thoughts on how grunge may or may not have actually “killed” hair metal as everyone thinks, among other things.  Like many documentary topics, there is far too much to cover, and I haven’t read of any continuations planned yet.  If you’re a fan of hair metal though (like moi), this limited series is fine.  There weren’t too many parts I didn’t care for (as is common with documentaries, film or television, even when covering something I’m interested in) and the episodes do go by pretty fast.  7/24/2023

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 16)

(haiku review)

Eight eps. this season.

Always fun if not funny.

More hits than not here.  7/20/2023

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

The Last Thing He Told Me  >>>EH

            (Apple+; 7 episodes)

The New Hands  >>>B

Night of the Killer Bears  >>>EH/OK

            (In Thai with subtitles)

Peppergrass  >>>EH

They Cloned Tyrone  >>>OK

            (Netflix)

---Sean O.

7/25/2023

Evil Dead Rise

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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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Evil Dead Rise                                                                        OK/G

I love the original Evil Dead; I didn’t see it until my late teens, but I was instantly hooked.  I grew to love Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness is still a little too spoofy for me, and the 2013 remake got better with more viewings.  I loved the first season of Ash vs. Evil Dead, but seasons two and three kind of overstayed their welcome (you can read my review of the first season in here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2016/04/movie-reviews-4242016.html---but it is in dire need of editing since it was around when I first started doing this blog).  This fifth film in the franchise has nothing to do with the other entries (aside from Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell being involved), but there are some neat nods to them (the very beginning being one).  The action is not at a cabin in the woods (for the most part), but an apartment building in California (shot in New Zealand though); Demons 2 may come to mind, but it takes place predominantly on one floor, one apartment specifically (you’ll see why the characters are stuck there).  On one hand, it’s fine to expand a franchise instead of making the same movie again and again, but, on the other hand, why expand in the first place?  The original movies are always going to be there.  Is this entry worthy though?  I’ll admit I lost a bit of interest halfway through and it did feel like a remake at times, but I think you need to wait until it’s over to know how you truly feel.  It certainly doesn’t skimp on the red stuff and ends up being as manic as expected for an Evil Dead film once it gets going.  So, notwithstanding a few issues I had, the pros ultimately outweighed the cons.  It definitely wasn’t unnecessary.  It might age better too; hell, I didn’t love Evil Dead 2 the first time, or appreciate the remake initially.  7/11/2023

Bonus review:

The Deep Web:  Murdershow                                     OK/G

Part of me loved this new movie available on Tubi.  Or, parts of it I loved is what I should say.  It is derivative as they come, but I did dig the clown masks and the sharp objects that were used throughout; it is short too (roughly 81-minutes).  In other words, I guess you can chalk this up as a case of style over substance.  The ending does open the door for a larger part of the story (perhaps why it felt lacking), which might lead to this becoming a franchise (i.e. The Deep Web:  Fill in the blank).  I’m not sure how I’d feel about that, but I definitely can’t say that I hated this film, as derivative as it was…7/8/2023

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

American Cherry  >>>B

Godless:  The Eastfield Exorcism  >>>B

Maggie Moore(s)  >>>OK

Mystic Pizza  >>>OK

The Tutor (2023)  >>>EH

---Sean O.

7/12/2023