Thursday, October 26, 2023

Dark Harvest

-------------------------------------------------------------------
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).
-------------------------------------------------------------------

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

No comments:

Post a Comment