Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Oh, the electric power (which is weird since it's supposed to be his weakness)? I think that's Terror of Mechagodzilla but I'll be honest, I've been watching these in a weird middle ground between awake and asleep.
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Movie Time 2.0: TT mini reviews
- Thread starter Rascally Badger
- Start date
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- movies
Now that Barbie is streaming I watched it and...it's pretty good! Got some legitimate laughs out of me. The cast and set design were great! Kate McKinnon was a real stand out for me.
I wouldn't go so far as to call the whole movie great, though. The back half is a bit of a mess narrative-wise. The Ken musical number was interesting but jarring. Another song elsewhere would have built some connective tissue for it to hang on, but as it stands it didn't really work for me. It feels like something they should have cut but it turned out so well they sacrificed cohesion just to keep it in.
Another thing, the surrealism worked so well for humor, but made it difficult to connect with any of the characters when things got more serious. The mother/daughter story was the most compelling to me because they were handled with a more human touch.
Anyway, gets a solid "B+" (for Barbie+) out of me.
I wouldn't go so far as to call the whole movie great, though. The back half is a bit of a mess narrative-wise. The Ken musical number was interesting but jarring. Another song elsewhere would have built some connective tissue for it to hang on, but as it stands it didn't really work for me. It feels like something they should have cut but it turned out so well they sacrificed cohesion just to keep it in.
Another thing, the surrealism worked so well for humor, but made it difficult to connect with any of the characters when things got more serious. The mother/daughter story was the most compelling to me because they were handled with a more human touch.
Anyway, gets a solid "B+" (for Barbie+) out of me.
Kill Boksoon is a super-stylish action flick and a lot of fun, but the realistic relationship between the title character and her teenage daughter gives this film an emotional heft that the genre doesn't often have. It's a certified banger and should be in the pantheon of great 2020s action movies.
Pacific Rim remains a god damn masterpiece.
Bad news for fans of the apocalypse though.
Bad news for fans of the apocalypse though.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - You know what? Sometimes I want to watch a movie but I got to get up in the morning. More 41 minute movies, please. Anyway, this is a very fun Wes Anderson-y movie. I do have a small complaint, which is while I think some people think Anderson movies run a bit cold, I always find there's an emotional core under the monotone quirkiness but here there's not much that hits emotionally for me. Sugar's new quest at the end of the movie if the character had a more visceral understanding of the difference between them and those he wants to help, who we never even see. There's even more detachment than usual. But I still really liked it, it's a fun, interesting movie and I think that he and Roald Dahl are a really good match, particularly for his stuff not expressly aimed at kids (though I remember reading this one and enjoying it as a kid).
Bulldog Drummond is based on a series of books that are largely forgotten today and have not only aged poorly but even at the time a lot of other writers couldn't stomach the anti-semitism/xenophobia on display. Not knowing what the deal was, I decided to watch the 1929 movie because a lot of the subsequent films are on the Criterion Channel. And I didn't notice any really ugly attitudes, even for the era (though I think I fell asleep towards the end, so I well may have missed some stuff), but Drummond is just... not that interesting a character. Just an ex-soldier who wants adventure. Apart from that, I couldn't say much beyond he's kinda smug. It has some charm from the lead actor and the villain is a bit fun (he makes a charming escape at the end and it's clear he and Bulldog don't hate each other that much, as if Batman WAS really into the back and forth with the Joker) but there are better adventure movie choices from the era.
For whatever reason, I was in the mood for a family animated movie people kind of turn up their noses at (I was going to go with Kung Fu Panda 2 because the first one has some really good fights but it wasn't on Prime or Netflix), so I took a risk on Minions; punching bag to millenials and subsequent generations and favourite meme of facebook grandparents. And is it good or suck? It's... not unwatchable, I guess. It really is the most basic kind of wacky family comedy and I didn't actively dislike watching it, I wasn't getting much joy out of it either. I feel like Illumination is better at fun visuals (though sadly, there are studios that do it better) than fun dialogue and storytelling. So yeah, it's got this mediocrity that makes it easy to forget the actual charms it does have, like a pretty great cast that does seem to be having genuine fun in their roles. Oh, and easily the minions are the worst part of their own movie.
Bulldog Drummond is based on a series of books that are largely forgotten today and have not only aged poorly but even at the time a lot of other writers couldn't stomach the anti-semitism/xenophobia on display. Not knowing what the deal was, I decided to watch the 1929 movie because a lot of the subsequent films are on the Criterion Channel. And I didn't notice any really ugly attitudes, even for the era (though I think I fell asleep towards the end, so I well may have missed some stuff), but Drummond is just... not that interesting a character. Just an ex-soldier who wants adventure. Apart from that, I couldn't say much beyond he's kinda smug. It has some charm from the lead actor and the villain is a bit fun (he makes a charming escape at the end and it's clear he and Bulldog don't hate each other that much, as if Batman WAS really into the back and forth with the Joker) but there are better adventure movie choices from the era.
For whatever reason, I was in the mood for a family animated movie people kind of turn up their noses at (I was going to go with Kung Fu Panda 2 because the first one has some really good fights but it wasn't on Prime or Netflix), so I took a risk on Minions; punching bag to millenials and subsequent generations and favourite meme of facebook grandparents. And is it good or suck? It's... not unwatchable, I guess. It really is the most basic kind of wacky family comedy and I didn't actively dislike watching it, I wasn't getting much joy out of it either. I feel like Illumination is better at fun visuals (though sadly, there are studios that do it better) than fun dialogue and storytelling. So yeah, it's got this mediocrity that makes it easy to forget the actual charms it does have, like a pretty great cast that does seem to be having genuine fun in their roles. Oh, and easily the minions are the worst part of their own movie.
Kicked off Spoikytimes with Candyman (2021), which is a film that felt that the original movie was a bit too subtle with its message that the real murder ghost made of mirror bees was racism.
This version was absolutely better on the “Well maybe don’t do hate crimes because that’s how you get murder-ghosts” message but the original was better on the “aww geez, this ghost Sucks; I don’t appreciate him haunting me” front
This version was absolutely better on the “Well maybe don’t do hate crimes because that’s how you get murder-ghosts” message but the original was better on the “aww geez, this ghost Sucks; I don’t appreciate him haunting me” front
I watched Reptile on Netflix, which is a movie about how Benicio Del Toro watched Se7en. He plays a cop investigating a murder in a decent-ish thriller. Kind of a B, B- movie.
Saw X is an incredible achievement in crowd-pleasing. I had no interest in seeing it, hated what I knew of the premise, and bounced off the franchise sometime early on, but some friends wanted to see it and I had a great time? I do not like the Saw franchise nor do I find John "Jigsaw" Kramer a compelling or sympathetic character. I'm not really tapped into this thing where I can enjoy rooting for a serial killer in a long running franchise and my favorite slasher franchises (Scream/NoES) keep their sympathies with what you might call non-serial killers. Jigsaw's fully the protagonist here, but I was won over by all the performances, particularly Synnøve Macody Lund playing a real fucking piece of work, and in some of the most most satisfying moments calling him on his shit for being such an annoying, hypocritical murderer. Glad she lived. Disgusting, too, which I guess should be obvious but I think I'm pretty desensetized.
If you like Jigsaw and can appreciate Tobin Bell's performance (it's good, but I can't, Jigsaw's like Gargamel to me...) you'll have an even better time.
If you like Jigsaw and can appreciate Tobin Bell's performance (it's good, but I can't, Jigsaw's like Gargamel to me...) you'll have an even better time.
Final Destination made up for the Candyman remake not having Tony Todd by including a scene with Tony Todd explaining the movies plot. And referring to the Grim Reaper as “a Mack daddy you don’t want to fuck with”
This is one of those situations where, while the premise remains consistent across the series, the tone definitely shifts as this is more of a horror thriller than the later movies where everyone is an asshole who just lives in a Rube Goldberg Murder Factory.
Now; most of the cast are assholes and at half the cast get ludicrously elaborate death scenes, it just escalated a lot from there as the series goes on.
I think my favorite moment was when Death apparently cleans up its involvement with a characters murder so nobody thinks to implicate the Grim Reaper. Or a later scene that implies that part of Deaths plan is to frame Sam Bawa for vodka fuelled knife explosions
This is one of those situations where, while the premise remains consistent across the series, the tone definitely shifts as this is more of a horror thriller than the later movies where everyone is an asshole who just lives in a Rube Goldberg Murder Factory.
Now; most of the cast are assholes and at half the cast get ludicrously elaborate death scenes, it just escalated a lot from there as the series goes on.
I think my favorite moment was when Death apparently cleans up its involvement with a characters murder so nobody thinks to implicate the Grim Reaper. Or a later scene that implies that part of Deaths plan is to frame Sam Bawa for vodka fuelled knife explosions
Violentvixen
(She/Her)
Oh, I remember really liking this story and had somehow missed they were making this! I'm not always a big Wes Anderson fan but could see it working for this and for the shorter run time. I'll be checking this out, thanks for bringing it up.
Sorry but is this meant to be a joke or do you just not know the actor's name?
That was me conflating his name with someone else!
Leviathan isn’t the first movie I’ve seen that dared to ask the question of “What if we just did Alien again, but we made it underwater instead of in space?”, but it is older than the other ones ive seen that I liked a lot more. So… it’s got that.
Really nice visuals on the monster, but it’s, like, 70 minutes into a 90 minute movie before it shows up as anything except Daniel Sterns jacked up corpse. Movie also had Ernie Hudson and Robocop, so good casting, just in service of a slow paced knockoff of an excellent movie
Really nice visuals on the monster, but it’s, like, 70 minutes into a 90 minute movie before it shows up as anything except Daniel Sterns jacked up corpse. Movie also had Ernie Hudson and Robocop, so good casting, just in service of a slow paced knockoff of an excellent movie
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
You know, horror isn't just for the over 18 crowd. And M3GAN is the exact kind of PG-13 thriller that reminds me of the days of films like Gremlins. There are more Joe Dante-esque films in recent years (Ready or Not is VERY Dante) but M3GAN is very cheeky and the title villain is a lot of fun. This isn't real scary but it's still a tremendously fun popcorn thriller that also builds off of Don Mancini original intent of Chucky (mocking the weird idea of having a best friend marketed to your child) and both looking into the weirdly invasive nature of modern tech as well as some real interesting insight into the messiness of raising a child.
I got married last week, and with Alamo doing a little Kubrick movie month(+) i thought it'd be the perfect "First Movie As A Couple" to go watch Eyes Wide Shut. Despite Kubrick himself and the movie by concept being pretty cynical (or naive, i think), there's something humanistic about how it presents. A lot is maybe because the desire is stuck between sexual and just his drive for power, but it's also probably because the physicality Cruise is putting into his performance. There's him in Ziegler's party really manhandling Nick, and it's palpable how much he loves being able to hold his medical degree over him, followed by him shying away from the girls either despite his flirting interest. I dont really have much to say that hasn't been said a million times, Cruise and Kidman are electric, the soundtrack is stunning, the lights are so good, the small bit of the camera following kidman while she's stoned is one of those minute decisions that really takes me in. I think a lot of people flirt with the idea of it being primarily about secret society, that Alice is a secret member and Helena is being groomed for it, but to me that's all just a way of fueling the feeling of Bill's delusion. It's his dream that we experience contrasted with Alice's dream she describes
Tonight’s Shocktober SPOOKYFILM was the Hulu original No One Will Save You. Which was basically that Original Twilight Zone episode about the lady menaced by widdle bitty spacemen. But in a shocking twist, for this movie they were Regular People Sized. And also they burped instead of talking and looked very silly.
Also while that’s a premise that can be very tense for about 20 minutes or so, but at 90 minutes it loses its impact. Also I guess… the aliens appreciated how quick the lady was to killing people, including themselves, so they reward her with an old Timey town dance?
Anyway… really not doing great for Scary Movies this Halloween
Also while that’s a premise that can be very tense for about 20 minutes or so, but at 90 minutes it loses its impact. Also I guess… the aliens appreciated how quick the lady was to killing people, including themselves, so they reward her with an old Timey town dance?
Anyway… really not doing great for Scary Movies this Halloween
Okay, a good one tonight with Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, a mockumentary about a film crew trying to make a movie about the first killing spree of an aspiring horror movie slasher. Two thirds of it are a really fun and creative take on the genre; really feels like it inspired both What We Do in Shadows and Cabin in the Woods, and Leslie is just so dang affable that you keep forgetting that he is concocting a very detailed plan to murder a whole lot of people in order to establish a legacy of undead horror.
in the last third, there’s a twist where Leslie changes his plans and adds the documentary crew to his victim list, and the movie becomes a pretty mediocre slasher horror movie. It didn’t even keep up the found footage angle which wasnt Overplayed at the time andwould have at least made for something beyond a C- Scream knockoff for the finale.
Still, a solid hour makes up for a disappointing 20 minutes.
in the last third, there’s a twist where Leslie changes his plans and adds the documentary crew to his victim list, and the movie becomes a pretty mediocre slasher horror movie. It didn’t even keep up the found footage angle which wasnt Overplayed at the time andwould have at least made for something beyond a C- Scream knockoff for the finale.
Still, a solid hour makes up for a disappointing 20 minutes.
I had a very different experience with this film. I thought it managed to keep the tension going pretty well for the runtime, and I thought the story had some good themes about forgiveness and trauma. I will admit the ending was a little weird, but it was also open to interpretation, so how you interpret it probably influences how much you liked it.
I also appreciated that the aliens weren't always super competent. Watching them blunder about in this alien (to them) world kind of "humanized" them, in a way.
Boogey Man was… probably a much better movie if you hadn’t seen The Babadook, because, buddy, this is The Babadook. Except that it’s a single father instead of a single mother, and there’s two kids. And also the parents dwindling mental state is not brought up as a subject, and he doesn’t really affect the plot in the slightest. Also, in the long history of Horror Movie Protagonists making stupid choices, this movie might have an all timer example
to it’s credit, the monster did look appropriately gnarly, and it almost never being visible was Handled well in the movie. It’s just that, wel… I’ve seen a movie that did a *way* better job of telling this same story.
The first ten minutes or so cover the Stephen King story the movies based on entirely
to it’s credit, the monster did look appropriately gnarly, and it almost never being visible was Handled well in the movie. It’s just that, wel… I’ve seen a movie that did a *way* better job of telling this same story.
The first ten minutes or so cover the Stephen King story the movies based on entirely
If you feel you have to spoiler, that is fair, but you must elaborate on this.
Earlier in the film, GIRL PROTAGONIST tracks down the survivor of the Boogeyman’s last victi, living in a dilapidated house with MONSTER spray painted outside on the walls, and is told what he is, a monster who lives in the shadows, and so she keeps hundreds of candles burning in her house to draw enough light to keep it away.
I should stress that this scene takes place in the middle of the afternoon so she could open a window, but I guess they were all boarded up so she could keep the lettering even on her MONSTER spray painting. Even still… like… lightbulbs are a bit more consistent than candles. Nobody in this movie ever thinks to turn on any light switch.
At the end of her story, she picks up a shotgun and starts firing wildly at PROTAGONIST thinking she sees the Boogeyman right behind her. At no point does Protagonist think to contact the police, or her father who already knows what stress the family is under because of Boogeyman attacks, because a local lunatic was blinding attacking her with a shotgun.
Later in the film, Prtagonist is contacted by her again because she has a plan to kill the Boogeyman and invites her back into her Home Alone style murder maze and Protagonist apparently forgetting that this lady tried to blow her away, like… yesterday, agrees to do so and doesn’t tell anyone that she’s going to the dark house, outfitted with death traps, at the behest of a woman who has already nearly Killed her trying to shoot an invisible monster.
Turns out she needed Protagonist for bait, as she is immediately knocked out and tied to the middle of a gauntlet of tripwires designed to shoot the Boogeyman, like… eight times. She is shocked that this woman didn’t have her health and well-being in mind
I should stress that this scene takes place in the middle of the afternoon so she could open a window, but I guess they were all boarded up so she could keep the lettering even on her MONSTER spray painting. Even still… like… lightbulbs are a bit more consistent than candles. Nobody in this movie ever thinks to turn on any light switch.
At the end of her story, she picks up a shotgun and starts firing wildly at PROTAGONIST thinking she sees the Boogeyman right behind her. At no point does Protagonist think to contact the police, or her father who already knows what stress the family is under because of Boogeyman attacks, because a local lunatic was blinding attacking her with a shotgun.
Later in the film, Prtagonist is contacted by her again because she has a plan to kill the Boogeyman and invites her back into her Home Alone style murder maze and Protagonist apparently forgetting that this lady tried to blow her away, like… yesterday, agrees to do so and doesn’t tell anyone that she’s going to the dark house, outfitted with death traps, at the behest of a woman who has already nearly Killed her trying to shoot an invisible monster.
Turns out she needed Protagonist for bait, as she is immediately knocked out and tied to the middle of a gauntlet of tripwires designed to shoot the Boogeyman, like… eight times. She is shocked that this woman didn’t have her health and well-being in mind
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Yeah, all that and as you say, everyone is terrible at optimism the monster's weakness. I think they figure it out earlier but the film also has the little girl mention it in the last act in case you are a moron who doesn't get it.
The whole premise they keep repeating is that the Boogeyman is lured out when parents don’t pay attention to their children, but the only conceit to that in the film is that the dad doesn’t isn't around much in the movie, but that’s a script thing not a negligent parent thing.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
It feels like both parents were dead in the original script and then they forgot
The Final Girls was, by far, the most fun movie I’ve seen this Spookmas season. I was expecting it to be a Scream kind of situation, but nope, it was Last Action Hero. Just absolutely delightful from beginning to end.
the main character wound up being the least interesting by far, but it was an ensemble cast so that was watered down by everyone else being as cartoony as possible.
the main character wound up being the least interesting by far, but it was an ensemble cast so that was watered down by everyone else being as cartoony as possible.
As one rises so does one sink;
Skinamarink might have been the most disappointing movie I’ve seen this Spooksmas season; it would have been fine at about 20 minutes but it was not…
It’s Paranormal Activity if you couldn’t ever see anything happening whatsoever and also the audio was basically unintelligible and if the camera tended to focus on, like, the corner of a shelf for 100 minutes while frightened children whisper.
I can not fully express how much doesn’t happen in this movie. Or if it does happen, you don’t notice it happening because the damn camera is looking at a piece of Lego
Skinamarink might have been the most disappointing movie I’ve seen this Spooksmas season; it would have been fine at about 20 minutes but it was not…
It’s Paranormal Activity if you couldn’t ever see anything happening whatsoever and also the audio was basically unintelligible and if the camera tended to focus on, like, the corner of a shelf for 100 minutes while frightened children whisper.
I can not fully express how much doesn’t happen in this movie. Or if it does happen, you don’t notice it happening because the damn camera is looking at a piece of Lego
Two drastically different SPOOKYFILMs this weekend
Child’s Play 2 was an absolute hoot; it leaned in hard to the silliness of the original movie without hitting parody. Chucky is a great villain because he’s really only dangerous when you don’t see him coming; at all other times he’s something that a small child can handle easily. And because he’s a doll there’s no limit to what you can do to him. He’s a horror movie villain punching bag.
Suspiria is far less of an Octo movie. Really not sure if it’s supposed to be scary or just lit weird; because boydid they use a lot of colours and have scare chords punctuating that the lighting was weird. I guess the lesson it had to teach us is that Italian Ballet Schools are weird sometimes but also sometimes run by murder witches.
Child’s Play 2 was an absolute hoot; it leaned in hard to the silliness of the original movie without hitting parody. Chucky is a great villain because he’s really only dangerous when you don’t see him coming; at all other times he’s something that a small child can handle easily. And because he’s a doll there’s no limit to what you can do to him. He’s a horror movie villain punching bag.
Suspiria is far less of an Octo movie. Really not sure if it’s supposed to be scary or just lit weird; because boydid they use a lot of colours and have scare chords punctuating that the lighting was weird. I guess the lesson it had to teach us is that Italian Ballet Schools are weird sometimes but also sometimes run by murder witches.
jpfriction
(He, Him)
Totally Killer is great. Halloween and Back to the Future work together surprisingly well, although the slasher bits take a definite backseat to the “man the 80’s were kinda fucked up” bits.
Prince of Darkness was weird. I'm a little surprised to find out that it came out 5 years after The Thing, because it really just seems like a slightly worse prototype of the same concept (people around you being turned by a malevolent force into its agents one by one, except PoD didn't have any of the mystery or suspense about who was being turned). I wonder if that's why it's part of the same "trilogy." It did have a vial of gooey green subatomic Satan though. Also, it had the future VHS dream thing that didn't really have anything to do with anything and just felt kinda thrown in there. None of the characters were particularly memorable either, except the gay guy with the racist jokes and the MC's mustache. I don't think I liked it very much, in retrospect.