tresm87

The classic planet of the apes films are revered as sci/fi staples and while they do get substantial recognition, they aren't looked at in the same vein as other franchises. I say this even more so with the last Caesar Trilogy which for my taste is THE most underrated trilogy. It still doesn't seem to garner much universal attention and acclaim imo. When those films were over I wondered when they'd pick up again because how powerful and striking they were.

Finally we have a new beginning far into the future where apes have overtaken completely with brand new characters and new stakes. The presentation is just as effective and monumental. The visuals are incredible and will leave you nearly breathless in excitement. I can't stress how impressive it is to see them nail the portrayals of ape action through the continued motion capture work and state of the art cgi. What really leaves an imprint is the true heart and emotion of this new story to fight for morality against overpowering forces. The villain in this might be even more sinister than Koba which was a feat in itself . The varying characters keep the intrigue going throughout.

Overall I'm thrilled to have a new trilogy for the franchise and hopefully more people will take notice of this terrific franchise.

Most people I'm sure saw the trailer and thought; Oh look a ripoff of A quiet place. Well they wouldn't be completely wrong but it does survive on its own accord even having similarities especially in plotting and visuals . The settings are also like minded. What this particular film does differently is with the bloodshed and gruesome factor. The intensity and threat is much more on display with creatures that might even be even more grotesque than even its influence . As far as the main draw, Cage is always entertaining. The other cast is solid as well. What really shines in this will be the fantastic bleak settings and disgusting creatures . Sometimes movies that borrow can do certain things better than the originals.

The unexplained subject is not hard to delve into in show form . Unsolved mysteries with Robert Stack and more recently the unexplained series with William Shatner prove that. Those shows are on a level of their own with intriguing hosts that hold the whole thing together and amazing lot detailed accounts and research. The interviews feel real and not staged by paid actors. This show feels like it's a bunch of paid average joes recounting their dull recounts of unexplained phenomena with even more uninteresting lack of research and attention holding content . This show is like watching paint dry.

We still wait around for a competently made chupacabra film. This film had decent potential and an all around fantastic setting but the glaring problem was the actual portrayal of the creature itself . They seemed to have used the most basic makeup that could be a bad Halloween costume or a weak cosplay. I can't imagine it could've costed them much more to invest in some better effects and costume design. Maybe it was just a budget issue but either way it kills the film's goal entirely. The acting is somewhat decent here too which was shocking. Overall I'm not sure when we will get a competently made chupacabra film but hopefully we do.

After episode 1 there were many things that I enjoyed as well as some I didn't. The second episode seemingly solely focused on the ones I didn't like even more. Instead of actual detective work and tracking down what's causing certain crimes, it focuses on relationships and sexuality and attempts at some deeper social commentary to fit agendas. Jodie is solid as usual but the rest of the cast is starting to monotonously drone on and become uninteresting. I don't quite get how last season and this season are hijacked by these similar downfalls but now it just seems the true detective name is slapped on to keep people hoping for what the series was but just likely isn't be again.

The last 2 seasons of TD have not lived up to the classic first season in any iota though both had solid aspects. After hearing Jodie Foster was starring this season and the Alaskan setting I knew the season could be a darker and more unsettling entry. One episode in and I can say it's the closest to the first season already in atmospheric brooding suspense and overall foreboding feel. Something of which I didn't feel in the last 2 seasons. Foster is of course fantastic with her intensity and dedication. The cast overall has plenty of great supporting roles as well. What really separates this is the visual appeal with all of the frozen and bleakness throughout. It's the type of environment needed for mystery and crime subjects. Overall off to a great start . Can't wait to watch the rest.

Another January Blumhouse dart at the box office wall. Last year m3gan hit a bullseye or at least close. While this may not be as overall effective or memorable, it certainly has its moments of the horror visuals people crave. It doesn't do anything innovative for the most part but does have an interesting backstory that saves it from being too cliche. The setting is limited but is executed rather well with creativity in angles and presentation. The film has remnants of other movies but still owns its identity. Overall a solid entry in Blumhouse Rolodex that never feels too dry and is slick enough to keep stride.

Aquaman blew me away in 2018 and my expectations were extremely low. I was huge fan of James Wan but I wondered how it would translate to the comic to adaptation movie world . To this day I still think it's the strongest effort of the DCEU of course not counting The Batman. This continuation of the story highlights the visual ocean of vibrant colors and outstanding performances from Momoa, Wilson, and Abdul-Mateen. The story is nearly as strong as the first and expands into more territory with much more variety and world building. Wan's keen eye for detail is unmatched. To me overall there's no way Gunn can honestly throw this portion of the DCEU away . I believe it's the fan favorite character and he will have to grow the universe for it to live on.

Ridley Scott seems to be able to transport the audience into historic past times and events as if we existed during those revolutionary times. His keen eye for distinct detail and historical set pieces is imo the best of any director of all time. His films are epic in every sense of the word. Then you add the brilliance of once in generation eccentric and enigmatic talent like Joaquin Phoenix and you have a powerful combination full of sheer visual power.

If you're like me, the usual history biopics aren't exactly exciting and edge of the seat. Ridley Scott's however are always bombastic, brutal, and brazen. The aspects that are sometimes glossed over in books or documentaries . Scott isn't afraid to show what bloodshed and true stakes were and that is so commendable in a world where thats getting less and less. Ridley's honest portrayals are just cinematic rides.

With a Napoleon bio, you also need a juggernaut actor that can capture the truly outrageous yet fascinating personality of such an infamous person in history. Joaquin was a perfect selection and honestly delivers another Oscar worthy performance full of ambition and versatility. The entire cast is as focused and well put together as they could be. On top of that the visuals are nothing short of insane and massive. Fully immersed into the environment of napoleon's conquering.

Overall Napoleon is a fantastic holiday biopic, maybe the best of the decade so far. Scott still has it and Joaquin continues his dominance.

It's mind blowing to see how far streaming service material has come, and shows like this put it on full display. The effects are cinematic caliber on a huge scale. The cast is strong and doesn't feel filler like most streamed shows. Most importantly the story actually builds and develops well and gives us more background on Monarch than we have ever seen which to me is captivating. Overall, first two episodes and it's giving a lot of hope for the rest of the series and franchise outside of just the movies. Also the actual CGI for the monsters is something grand and fantastic that I didn't think would have the same level of quality for a streaming show..

Roth has always been an enigma to me. He's clearly got the eye for sheer brutality and putrid gore. He knows what buttons to push and create throwback style horror . But then on the other side of the ticket, his overall stories suffer from dull plots and fizzled potential. None of his films aside from the Death Wish Remake awhile back have been fully effective IMO until Thanksgiving.

He takes a concept that was conjured up for a bonus trailer styled element within a different movie from 16 years ago with Grindhouse. You wouldn't think the concept could translate to a full feature length but it really does . He does his best 80s slasher impression that actually feels legitimate and not forced. A new age potential iconic slasher is introduced and will absolutely be a new staple of horror genre.

The setting is ambient and perfect for the theme and provides a great visual feast. Roth has upped his game in making sure all attention to detail in presentation is covered and even implements a more complete film. The brutality is unleashed and doesn't hold back along with disgustingly fun gore. The cast is also shockingly well put together which is rare in most horror now.

Overall a new age holiday themed classic that shows what Roth can offer with the right amount of focus and time. And remember ....be thankful.

After the first five episodes, I really was mixed on just about everything with the show so many cons yet a couple shreds of ambitious elements kept my attention then when Slappy finally came around, even though he should've been included from the get-go, my interest peaked and I thought the show is getting on track. The last three episodes have been nothing short of dreadful, and the Biddle story has gone off the rails completely as well as the writing. I don't even think I can watch the finale. The show belongs on the CW and the writers should be ashamed of themselves for butchering a classic property.

This episode was clearly the bait after the cliffhanger from first 5 mediocre to decent at best episodes . Using Slappy finally and keeping the interest of the viewer pays off with a relatively serviceable origin tale and extension on the overall Harold arc. What I still can't get over is the cast being so mediocre aside from Long and maybe a couple characters. The 90s themed desperation comes off a bit forced at times as well. I'm still slightly annoyed they are going to use the most interesting parts of the series so little. Slappy and Justin Long should be THE main focal points at the core while other classic tales are told around them intertwined for a story arc style and it feels like they take a backseat to the uninteresting Teeny cast and their uninteresting romances . While the remaining 4 episodes could build off the momentum I'm still very skeptical. Either way solid episode and best so far .

We all can agree Master Scorsese can do what he wants at this point and he definitely does with his new yet again near four hour attempt at an Epic Tale. Unfortunately that doesn't mean it yields groundbreaking results or withstanding impressions like his past films of his prime. This film much like his last The Irishman is chalk full of brilliant actors and dialogue something that's usual for his films. Leo is always delivering an Oscar worthy performance. Where this movie can drag lies within its slow as molasses story. I'm not expecting shootouts and incredible heists from a based on true events tale but for the length of near four hours there's only so much talking and staring that can be withstood. While it most likely depicts what it needs to it could be cut in half and be more effective that way. The scenery is magnificent and the overall visuals are immense and worth the watch alone. The bottom line is that it's clear Scorsese wants to film talking more than anything which is fine for 2 hours but a bit winded at 4.

I wasn't to enthralled with the first half of new series but this episode is actually executed rather well and brings a new take on the classic go eat worms tale. The main character of this is a much better actor than the rest of the cast and is actually convincing. The effects in this are also the best and very stranger things like in presentation. It makes me wonder why they couldn't have utilized similar thematics and visuals for the other episodes. Maybe they had a different Director for this one and that could explain the possible difference in quality .If only the new series could've brought this type of overall feel.

Everything has to be redone, reimagined and recycled these days. Unfortunately goosebumps is not off-limits even though we just had two movies within the last 10 years as well as Fear Street spin offs on Netflix. No, but here we get a series that tries some new things, but just can't escape the absolutely unnecessary and forced tropes amongst the casting, the plotting, and the overall product. Justin Long being the bright spot, of course and some of the Visual horror aspects. Otherwise, I can already tell it might be difficult to make it through more than a few episodes. I'll stick with the classic books and the classic TV series.

Never trust a director with the last name "Beer". I'm not even going to go into much detail on this but this is some absolute less than passable on demand level horror that I'm actually shocked got picked up by paramount plus honestly. Also the fact that David Duchovny agreed on this is rather odd especially with the amateur hour caliber on all fronts. This is basically a student horror film that threw together a pet semetary origin using the same cliche visuals with some even more cliche dialogue . While the 2019 reboot had its moments this has none and is truly nearly unwatchable. The Halloween month is not off to a good start for new horror.

If you're like me, because of the sheer number of movies in this particular franchise, you go sort of in and out in casual fashion toward it. After the first couple great movies, I was ready for a break. Checked in once in a while to see some of the others and was left extremely dissatisfied. Somewhat enjoyed the recent two films for their slightly different takes. But finally we get a saw film that is nearly the same caliber of intensity and perplexing as the original classic.

What surprises me the most is that this Director who has worked on past saw films was able to finally refine the best aspects of the franchise and create somewhat of a ultimate finale of sorts. While I am sure, there will be more spin offs. If this is it, for the particular story arc I can accept that due to how impactful and just absolutely decimating this film is. It brings back a couple familiar faces and focuses much more on Kramer, which is undoubtedly the most intriguing part of the Saw Saga. Tobin Bell gives a performance that is up there with his best work and is featured much more. The writing for this film is a step up as well and the dialogue and plotting never seems cheaply cobbled together like some of the other films. The set pieces are obliterating and , comical, all the while being incredibly clever. Brutality is once again on full display, which has become a natural element of the franchise.

Overall, what really separates this sequel from the many others is that it goes back to the source and delves into morality, decisions, and the human character. The elements that made the first saw film so brilliantly executed.

We've seen a ton of movies with man vs machine AI) plots and technology overtaking the earth. They always have some form or terminator influence within the plotting, visuals, and overall themes. This one is nearly a blatant rebooting of sorts with so much similarity it's almost comical. While the overall film still works in its presentation and is carried by fantastic rich worlds and scenery, it's hard to appreciate it as much with so much borrowing from a classic. It feels like a money grab to appeal to the newly ramped up AI fears plastered all over the news and current events. Sometimes it really does feel like originality is gone.

Don't get me wrong anything related to the greatest action franchise of our time catches my interest. Unfortunately, my fears after the trailer was released came true when I watched the first episode of the series. From everything involved with the storylines, the actors, the actual action just seems way more watered down and forced just to stretch out the franchise. What I really didn't understand is the lack of Mel Gibson, even though he is billed as one of the top actors, he's not in the first episode very much . A lot of the other actors feel very amateur, and there for the sake of variety. As for the action itself, it's the one thing that holds the series together because there are some pretty great visuals for a streaming series. Overall, maybe the rest of the series will prove me wrong, but I wasn't too struck by the first episode..

The NUN wasn't something I expected to be groundbreaking. While it definitely wasn't it was still much better than it had any business being. A solid origin story spin off for Valak with a nice more religion focused story. Also with some surprisingly well done settings and visuals. This sequel does basically everything the same but adds more visceral imagery and slightly more depth to the characters. There's also plenty more depravity and evil lurking around presented in more intense manner. While it won't do anything truly innovative it serves as another solid entry in the conjuringverse. Some may be sick of it at this point but it's a nice kick off to the Halloween horror season.

2014 was a massive year for the action genre. 2 films that people really didn't see coming reignited a somewhat dormant and overdone genre. John Wick and then The Equalizer. These powerhouse hits full of classic action and legendary Iconic performances by well established actors brought the genre back to near 90s action levels. Near a decade later both franchises are still going strong.

The Equalizer 3 brings all the ballistics and escapades Denzel has dabbled in and maybe even more this time around. The changes are more within the new settings than anything and that could be for the worse imo. Not saying the visuals aren't astounding, but the plotting changes because of the exotic locations may have watered down the story overall. We have seen enough mafia themed films to where it can cheapen the product at this point.

Aside from that nitpick, it's still a very serviceable and exciting sequel with another great performance by the legend himself. Definitely doesn't break new ground like the first film, but it offers another chapter in the equalizer story.

This year has been up and down for the horror genre with some hits and some misses. We've been bombarded with cliches and regurgitated subject matter. This movie had barely any marketing until a couple weeks ago it seemed. While this is a film revolving around a version of Dracula which is also a familiar story, it's executed in a unique enough way it thrives at times and may be the most authentic horror film of the year.

Ovredal has been bringing the visceral visuals for almost 15 years at this point and is clearly only rising . He has a very keen eye for the grim and brutal and this film has that in bunches. Another Dracula story in this day and age has to stand out and how he utilized the fantastic setting of being at sea on a ship in the 19th century based on a chapter of a Bram Stoker's original tale is absolutely awesome. The design of Dracula itself is probably my favorite part of the whole offering. The look is filthy and depraved, and the cgi and practical work is top notch. This I feel has been missing in the genre of late. There's nothing wrong with a good classic monster movie. The acting is also a standout with some familiar faces that truly capture the timeframe as well as the intensity.

Overall this was a very welcome surprise and a needed entry to this year's inconsistent slate of horror. I can't wait to see this director keep getting larger budgets as he must love what he does and it's evident. It may not get the attention it deserves at first but it will surely be talked about by horror aficionados.

Yet another absolutely failed attempt at re-invigorating the TMNT film world. With every one of these newer entries comedy is forced to try to appeal to the times. This one is easily the most banal mostly thanks to the dryest of the dry ,Seth Rogen. I don't know how that guy ever even got his foot in the door to Hollywood because he is one of the most unfunny people around. The casting is also horrendously bad especially for the turtles themselves. Each one of the voice actors is not even close to the personality that should be brought to each of the individual turtles. The odd changes they made for certain characters and what they look like seem so desperately forced it's sickening. The only interesting factor of this film is the animation style which is just a rip off of the recemt also overrated spiderverse. At least some of it looks somewhat cool. Overall though this is what I thought it would be and it's pretty sad one of the Michael bay TMNT films are way more serviceable even when they're not even passable.

As a fan of the game since the mid 90s, it's been a long time coming to get a twisted metal adaptation. After the iconic twisted metal black came around with classic story mode videos and origins, I wanted a live action film. While they changed it to series form after the many years of spitballing and conceptualizing a film idea, I'm glad it ended up being (fleshed) out. It does the video games rather solid justice no matter how wacky.

The main draw is clearly the ballistic action and classic vehicular bloodshed. While it does require a bit of patience in the beginning there are some really effective visuals that harken back to classic scenes in the game. The dark comedy is never ending and can be overwhelming but actually works a majority of the time. The characters are just as interesting as in the game even with some changes and tweaks from the game. Mackie shows he can be the star of the show and is excellent. Arnett steals the show as the timeless voice of Sweetooth/. His antics make the show what it is and worth it. Another standout is the various settings that serve as perfect backdrops for the story. They truly emulate some of the levels in the game.

Overall this proved me wrong and many others after many of us judged the trailer harshly and thought it wouldn't live up to expectations. It truly does being twisted metal to life.