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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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Dark Harvest OK
I’ve read the Norman Partridge book on which this film is
based at least twice, maybe even thrice.
Obviously I’m a fan if I read it more than once; therefore, I was
looking forward to this adaptation. The
story takes place in a small town in 1963 where every Halloween the teen boys
(yes, no girls) must prevent (by any means necessary) an entity labeled
Sawtooth Jack from entering the town church before midnight. The young man that defeats him is provided a
better home for his family, but there’s a catch, as there usually is. This film follows the novel pretty closely,
taking place the same year in a small Illinois town surrounded by a cornfield wherein
Sawtooth Jack emerges from every year.
My biggest gripe with the film is the appearance of Sawtooth Jack, he
coming across as a more emaciated Cenobite, as opposed to the “Jack Skellington
donning a pumpkin head” look from the book’s cover I expected (I would’ve even
been okay with something akin to Jack-O;
anything with a typical pumpkin head). I
don’t think I’m nitpicking either since the character is a major part of the
story. Otherwise, it is a fairly simple
yet fun movie to watch this time of year, or any time if “Halloween is
everyday” for you, like it is me, and it is slightly unique. It comes from David Slade too, director of Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, and a segment of Nightmare Cinema (my review for that is in here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2019/09/nightmare-cinema.html),
so he’s well-versed enough in horror; there is violence too, no doubt, some of
it worthy. I probably will watch it
again and might appreciate it more (I kind of did like it more when I looked
back afterwards), as well as possibly
(ehh…maybe) being a little more forgiving of the Sawtooth Jack look (his
appearance might also pass as a withered “Sam from Trick ‘r Treat without the sack”).
Overall, I still think the story is better suited for the page, but had
I not read the book and liked it, I might’ve felt a little different (I still
judged it on its own merit, as I always try to do). I do recommend you read the book (it’s not that
long) before watching this movie though.
Happy Halloween! 10/21/2023
Bonus reviews:
Tiny Cinema
Here we have an anthology film from the director of Butt Boy (my review for that is in
here---https://vampireclown82.blogspot.com/2021/02/aquaslashbutt-boy.html). It is labeled a horror-comedy and let me
explain why I kind of disagree with that.
Well, it’s most definitely comical, the tone not exactly meshing well
with the content, thereby making it more of a dark comedy. Whatever, the film is just weird! That should come as no surprise if you’ve
seen the director’s (Tyler Cornack) other aforementioned film. It consists of six tales narrated by a little
dude that reminded me of the little dude from Twin Peaks. The first one
involves a guy that becomes a little too obsessed with a sarcastic comment
uttered during a game night, this obsession gradually making him go off the
deep end. Then we get one with a woman
desiring a man in her life before coming across a rather unconventional one (well,
at least she doesn’t think so). After
that, a man confesses a specific problem to his buddies and how they try to
help him is too damn funny, but, referring to my comment above, the subject
matter doesn’t really match the tone. The
next one is even more bizarre wherein a guy making a delivery to his alleged
future self must do something totally unexpected to prevent an apocalypse; the
twist at the end makes it even more (ahem) twisted. Then there’s a really short one involving stereotypical
Italians with a title that ends up being very literal. The final one takes the cake for making the
least amount of sense, but almost in that compelling David Lynch sort of way (Tyler
was obviously influenced by him). I’m
not exactly recommending this, but I think it also needs to be seen (at least
once) to be believed (much like Butt Boy;
I didn’t give either film a rating). All
I can say is that Mr. Cornack’s films, judging thus far, exist in their own
universe. 10/22/2023
Barbie EH/OK
Yes, I was curious. I
made a mental bet to how many times (if any) and when Aqua’s “Barbie Girl”
would be played; it plays at least once, but not quite how you expect. Anyway, I had an urge to shut it off in the
beginning, but, one, my OCD usually doesn’t allow that no matter how much I
want to (and should), and two, the curiosity (currently, it has an 88% rating
out of 477 critics on Rotten Tomatoes!).
In this film, there is a Barbie World and the Real World (where humans
live). The Barbie World is oh-so-very-pink
and everything is plastic like the real-world accessories; meaning no water
comes out of the shower, no milk is poured out of the carton, and you can walk
on the pool water. On one hand, that may
come across as neat in that it mimics reality, but it really just came across
as exceedingly corny, cringe-inducing even (hence why I didn’t want to
continue). Eventually, it just becomes an
existential film. Barbie (Margot Robbie)
and Ken (Ryan Gosling), ones of several with those names (like in Heathers), travel to the Real World
(there is a reason, of course) and witness the gender roles reversed (the women
run everything in Barbie World). This
causes disruption once they return to Barbie World (they weren’t in the Real
World that long) and themes of patriarchy come into play, this obviously being
a feminist movie. Perhaps this was only
meant for women and those that identify as women? Piffle!
The overall message is more or less egalitarian. This man just didn’t think it was anything
special. They could’ve had so much more
fun with the ‘stranger in a strange land’ concept too, like Elf (Will Ferrell, ironically, plays a
Mattel CEO here). 10/23/2023
Other movies and TV show(s) I’ve seen and their ratings (see above):
Disco Inferno
(2023) >>>EH
(Netflix)
Flashback
(2023) >>>EH
(Netflix)
From (Season
Two) >>>EH/OK
(MGM+; 10
episodes)
The Last Voyage of the Demeter >>>EH/OK
Living with Chucky >>>OK/G
Never Hike Alone 2 >>>OK
(YouTube)
The Passenger (2023) >>>OK/G
Phantom Fun-World >>>OK
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken >>>OK
The Slaughter (2022) >>>B
The Thirteenth Guest >>>EH
---Sean O.10/26/2023
