ranwulfs

It took a while to really decide how I feel about this movie. I wanted to at least like it because I'm fond of Emma Stone. Her acting in this unusual role is certainly on another level, but I feel it's wasted on a terrible, terrible film. She didn't need to do this. She's talented, accomplished, popular, successful - why slum around in this brutal, nightmarish production? There's nothing good going on here. I felt sickened by half of the scenes, but staying and watching out of an admitted morbid fascination, and the disappointed hope it would somehow get better. I've seen a few of Yorgos Lanthimos's other films, and knew better than to expect something other than weird from him, but this was too much for me. Very sad that Emma Stone has decided to go in this direction in her career. I can't recommend this movie to anyone, and I'm going to do my best to forget I've seen it. I feel like I need a hot shower now to wash this horrible slime from me.

Looking at the credits, this movie appears to be a family affair. I'm always suspicious when I see the same surnames repeated - especially if I've never heard of them. However, I'm a fan of Conlieth Hill (fantastic as Varris in GoT, btw) so I ignored the low rating and went for it. Sometimes you find a treasure among the dross, sometimes you just find dross. This was dross. The scenery and cinematography were above anything the story and directing deserved. In a nutshell (spoilers): a woman was raped and murdered on the island. Then her ghost posseses other women and makes them kill any man who lands on the island. There's something about the sirens from Greek mythology too, but I'm damned if I can accertain how said sirens got to an island off the western coast of Scotland and into the service of a miffed ghost.

Bah. It's tripe. Don't waste you precious time on this.

The UK is already rich with folk tales and old beliefs, but this isn't one of them. The actual Lord of Misrule is an "office" during the Tudor and Stuart periods in which the selected person oversaw the feasting and merriment during the twelve days of Christmas. It fell out of favor during and after the Interregnum. He was usually selected from among the servants or other low ranking people and only "ruled" during those 12 days. This film turns him into some sort of Halloween bogie man, a mystical figure who goes about cavorting with evil spirits and welding power and influence year 'round. Tosh. The writer bastardized an old English Christmas tradition and tried to pass it off as a horror movie - and steals from every "small English village steeped in supposedly ancient pagan rituals and assorted mumbo jumbo" movie/television episode ever made (and there have been a slew of 'em) in the process. Add to that the writing is somewhere between "saw that coming a mile away," and "well, that made zero sense." Pick one. If you've seen The Wicker Man, you've already seen this drivel. I rented it on Amazon Prime and am considering requesting a refund. Skip it and thank me later.

Sure - there were elements of "It Follows," "Smile," and several other films, but this movie held its own reasonably well. People often complain about Hollywood's lack of originality, and when you take one look at all the crappy reboots, remakes, etc. It's easy to agree. I do think, though, that "Truth or Dare" has a lot more going for it than a simple rehash of another film's storyline. The insertion of a backstory was a good idea, something "It Follows" (one of my favorite movies) never did, and the pace accelerated quickly in the second half to keep you interested. Unlike some reviewers I found the makeup effects significantly creepy, because a big weird grin is plain freaky in my book. Anyway - this one isn't bad at all, and there are much, MUCH worse movies out there. It's worth watching.

This movie has a lot going for it from the outset - a creepy atmosphere, a creepy French countryside setting, a big old creepy house in that creepy French countryside setting, a vaguely hinted at backstory, and a gorgeous lead actress. What it lacked was coherence, and anything resembling narrative structure. Three typically stupid teenagers break into an old mansion out in the middle of BFE to steal the quasi legendary treasure of comatose resident. Highjinks ensue. The last 45 minutes I had no idea what was going on. Are these vampires? Are these witches? Are these vampire witches? Are these vampire witches with a penchant for ballet? Multiple tropes from dozens of other movies are all stirred together in a large pot with the hope of it somehow coalescing into a scary movie. While undeniably rich on atmosphere, it falls flat, and never turns into what it could have been. I've yet to be convinced the French can make a decent horror film. Too bad, what with the wealth of history and legends and stories that country has, you'd think they'd be able to churn out some pretty solid spook shows. But no, they're all like this one: loaded with potential if you're lucky, but never delivering. I gave this film a generous three because of all that creepy atmosphere that they unfortunately wasted. Meh.

I can't even say I like the idea the plot was built around, because I'm still not sure what that was. Something about dreams, the boogeyman, sleep paralysis - who knows? I like the lead actress - I think she's beautiful and her acting skills are decent. No idea what happened at the end, something to do with fangs and vampires? How is being in a coma for 20 years explaining where her fangs came from? And why can't this advanced technology that dominates the plot use better monitors than what look like 1976 cctvs from an old grocery store? (*Edit* - if she was in a coma for 20 years, then all the things going on in her unconscious mind would have been from when she went into the coma, i.e. 20 years before now. That could explain the old tech and older cars. Yes, I'm a bloody genius). It's easy to go on picking at this movie, but it did try hard, I'll give it that. The cinematography is quite good, and it has a great ambient soundtrack - reminiscent of M83. Also - the choice of "Coelacanth" by Shriekback is inspired. After the end credits, I went to Spotify and got the soundtrack. Hard to describe, but I really like it. It's much better than the movie. Anyway, as I sometimes say about movies like this, it's something to have on in the background while you're doing other things. You might miss a few plot elements, but you'll hardly notice. I give it a 5 for the soundtrack and the lead actress.

I'm enjoying the show, but I'm well into episode four and starting to get frustrated by just how poorly translated the captions are. I get lost every couple of lines because they're all over the place and loaded with non sequiturs. I feel like the credits should say "captions by Google Translate" - it's that bad. My German is sketchy, but my English is excellent. Sometimes the sentences are nonsense and leave me grasping at context. This makes the plot hard to follow sometimes, and I'm certain I'm missing details as a result. This is kind of surprising in 2023. You'd think they'd want to encourage an international audience to watch the program, but I guess not.

This is - hands down - one of the most original horror movies I've ever seen. Don't know why I've never heard of it, but I'm glad I found it. For the life of me, I don't recognize a single actor in it. Maybe they're Canadian or something, who knows? But the cast was absolutely stellar. I'd pay to see any of them in another movie. There were a few moments when the story bogged down, but they were only blips. The film clocks in at just under an hour and a half, and it keeps your attention throughout. The story is cohesive, well written, and breaks some new ground - at least in my book. The special effects were pretty damned good regardless of the budget. Overall, a well-made, professional movie. Were parts of it completely unbelievable? Of course they were - it's a horror movie. There were a few unanswered elements, but they were minor and to list them would create spoilers. I'm not going to write a plot synopsis because plenty of people here have already done that. But if you're in the market for a straight-up horror movie with no politics, a little subtle humor, and definite old-school religious tropes, this is a film for you. A new favorite for me. Highly recommended.

I'm ambivalent about whether or not the filmmakers possess talent, vision, or were simply lucky enough to find someone to finance this...attempt. I understand what the camera is trying to do with the grainy focus, and the long takes in which nothing actually happens. I remember as a child looking at the open closet door in my dark bedroom at 2:00 a.m. And having the exact same feeling. Staring into the abyss, and all that. There are a lot of vibes like that in this film. Definitely, there's a mood. But there's not enough meat on the bones, so to speak. Brooding, foreboding, and eerie don't necessarily make a film by themselves. I don't mind asking questions and or trying to figure things out myself, but there's zero narrative structure here. There are certainly nods to "Blair Witch Project" - without a doubt. Another reviewer mentioned similarities to the novel "House of Leaves," and I completely agree. But even though the concept was interesting, I don't think the screenplay (what there was of one) was ready to go yet. Given more time, an attempt at some sort of storyline, and shaving a few minutes off and you'd have a good movie, and well worth watching. As it is, it's just empty, and you sit watching, waiting for something to happen that never does. The artsy folks out there are going to dig this, and the slasher fans are going to hate it, but I'm neither and I think it just falls flat.

This is turning into a sci-fi soap opera á la "The Walking Dead." There's nothing wrong with wanting some mutant mushroom mayhem in a series about mutant mushrooms. While character development and background information are important, you need *action* as well. There are a thousand movies and series out there already that explore the emotional development of the characters, but if I want to see "Kramer vs. Kramer," I'll rent "Kramer vs. Kramer." This show is about the world being overrun by scary-ass fungi and how the uninfected fight back. But you almost never see the infected if there's a chance for the writer/s to maunder on about "feelings" and the importance of family. Bah. This is escapist science fiction, not a philosophical treatise or emotional support counseling session. More plant zombies, please, and less whinging on about feelings. Meh.

*Edit* - I stopped watching after the next episode. It's just another jab at the old "Zombie-Apocalypse-SoapOpera" á la TWD. Pass.

I don't know why programs like this are so rare over here in the U. S. All the Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark - produce impressive dramas frequently enough that "Nordic noir" has become a distinct, recognizable genre. For that matter, the French, Belgians, and Dutch do some pretty darned good shows, as well. Rarely do you see a car chase, thank goodness.

Springfloden ("Spring Tide") is one of Sweden's better offerings in the past several years. It began slowly, and built at a snail's pace, but every moment was important to the plot. For my money, season 2 was much better than the first, though I give both very high marks. Knowing there were only 10 episodes for each meant I knew there would be story resolution and not some endless cliffhanger arc with no conclusion. There were some mildly frustrating moments for me that I can only attribute to cultural differences between American and North European societies. Characters' attitudes toward homelessness, drug use, the sex trade, and other issues surprised me in some instances. I think what makes these programs so interesting to me is when the action goes in a slightly different direction than I expect. Keeps me on my toes. Anyway, this is a great series, and I hope to see a third season. But as with all good things in life, we may only get this little bit and no more.

I don't even know where to start. So much about this movie left me saying "and..?" There are red herrings everywhere, things you think will be relevant to the plot (such as it is) but go nowhere. The characters are distinctly unlikable, and the storyline is all over the place. I appreciate seeing haute cuisine and food snobbery being lambasted, but 1978's "Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" did it better by far. I feel like I wasted an hour and forty-five minutes on this. I kept expecting it to get better, or at least become cohesive enough to follow, but it never did. The second half lost whatever thread it had and just wandered off. Meh. Hard pass.

A bunch of third rate characters I've never heard of resurrected from the obscure annals of Detective Comics proving yet again they can't be Marvel. Dr. Fate? Atom Smasher? Some chick who makes the wind blow (in slow motion, apparently)? And when in hell did Hawkman become such a badass? He's never been a major player - ever - and now he's running his own Justice Society, or whatever silly name the writers have come up with. Also, where's Shazam in this particular reality? Oh, I know: someone's going to say this is an alternate dimension, Earth 275, or some other retconned nonsense. That's the catch-all explanation for inconsistent characterizations. The only thing I liked about this film was Superman showing up at the end for a nanosecond. Everything else about the movie was a swing and a miss. Hard, HARD pass. Meh.

It was entertaining, although really nothing new. The whole creepy smile works for me, as I've always found that sort of contrasting image of psychotic danger with a big, maniacal grin on its face to be terrifying. The jumpscares weren't done to death, and fit the storyline, rather than coming out of nowhere just to make you, well, jump. But as I watched this in my living room, I was able to say out loud to myself, "okay, this is whats happening next..." and get it right most of the time. So yes, it was very predictable, and much of the plot content has been done before. Everyone has been comparing this movie to "It Follows," and with good reason. It uses a lot of the same ideas, but it stops short of outright plagiarism. However, consider that after over 100 years of movies being made, it's impossible to not see the same concepts used over and over again - eventually. The obvious influences of other horror films are readily apparent, but that doesn't kill the movie. Have to say the big spooky thing at the end was kind of a letdown, and the plot resolution was very disappointing. Anyway, it doesn't break new ground - not really - but it's pretty well done for what it is. I'd recommend it. And not for nothing, but the actress in the lead role needs to eat a pint of Ben & Jerry's every now and then - she looked like a wraith. Just saying.

I've rarely sat through anything so tedious as "The Devil's Hour." Jessica Raine and Peter Capaldi are both excellent actors, and the kid was convincingly creepy, but none of that explains a slooooow, choppy, poorly executed plot. I'm not sure where the writer or writers meant to go, but it sure wasn't worth the wait. The first several episodes showed a lot of promise, and possibly hinted at supernatural goings-on, but the last three episodes dragged painfully across my retinas. The final episode's "here, let me explain the whole bloody story" seemed a weak wrap up of events, and while it did help explain things going on in earlier episodes, it was a lame finale. Honestly, I'm still not 100% sure what the hell was happening at the end. It's bad enough the timeline jumped all over the place throughout the series, but nothing made any sense at the end. A waste of good actors. One reviewer said this is not something to have on in the background while you're doing something else, but I disagree. You could miss the entire six episode run and not really miss anything. Pass.

I really enjoyed this film. There was a slow, building tension that kept my eyes riveted on the screen. A few jumpscares, and in the right places. In movies with ghosts, goblins, spirits, demons, etc, western religion is usually shown as weak, flacid, and pointless. Other movies (or television shows - I'm looking at you, "Supernatural") of that ilk like to show someone with zero religious faith mumbling Bible verses, Latin "incantations," or waving a crucifix around like that's going to do something. Not in "The Vigil," though. Here we have an Orthodox Jew defeating a demon through Hebrew prayer and ritual. It's a total surprise, and a welcome one at that. In my review of one of "The Conjuring" films, I made the point that if Hollywood insists on cribbing devils and demons from Judeo-Christian theology, why not pull from the other side of the aisle as well? Show what a zealous Christian could do against devils and whatnot, instead of only showing the bad guys having power. This film comes close to that, though it's Judaism rather than Christianity being portrayed. Hey, I'm happy just seeing Judeo-Christian representation that doesn't back down in the storyline. I'm not trying to preach a particular brand of theology, just pointing out Hollywood usually only shows half the picture. Anyway, if you like low key horror with a slow build and rising tension, I recommend "The Vigil." It's unusual, and in the best way.

A lot of people complaining about Murphy 86-ing Josh. Not me. Her character is absolutely single minded, and she's always been a little bit unhinged. The writers had turned Josh from an annoyance in S2 into a full-blown psychopath by S4. Watching him grin with glee in the courtroom back when the judge sets Murphy's bail at $2 million was creepy, and the way he fixated on her while watching the prison's live feed security cams was unsettling. In most shows involving good guys and bad guy, if the bad guy gets caught, he goes to jail. Bah. I appreciated how Max's death flipped a switch on Murphy, making her into the crazed murderer Josh always claimed she was. She goes after him with all the determination she showed when looking for Jess in S3, and instead of a vague allusion that he was "brought to justice," we see Murphy kill the dirty rat, and laugh after doing it. Catharsis! Kill the bad guys whenever possible. It wasn't the best episode out of the series, but seeing a bad, bad person like Josh get stabbed to death by Murphy was a startling jolt, and I liked it.

This could've been better with another ending. I guess they ran out of funds. Also, the whole "let me explain everything" from the daughter in the last 10 minutes was too easy. Several things went on that sort of made me roll my eyes. Like, why would the father readily take random pills offered by his daughter who is already acting weird AF? He then begins to hallucinate and hear weird music, and doesn't put two and two together. At dinner later in the film, why would he and the medium let her pour wine but not drink it herself, knowing she's overtly hostile to both of them? Why didn't he catch the "I'll kill her" when she held the knife to her own throat? And - more importantly from a "watchability" standpoint - who wrote the gawdawful music for the film? It was truly terrible, generally inappropriate to any given scene, and a complete distraction at times. Meh. The kernel of the story was solid, but the execution was rather lacking. A $3 rental - could've been worse; could've been a lot better.

...but turned out so lost. Plot twist after plot twist, characters changing constantly, and I'm still not one hundred percent sure what finally happened in the end. This makes Sixteen Candles and a host of other 1980's movies look like high art. Adults playing teenagers is nothing new, but this time it was too much. Some of the scripted references were far too old to be even recognizable by the "kids" in the story. And let's talk about those kids for a moment, and how most characters were entirely miscast. The tall, gawky girl from Stranger Things should thank her lucky stars she's getting roles, because she's completely unconvincing as the newest hot girl in the high school. Not happening for a millisecond. And what's her name from Riverdale is certainly hot, but 10 or more years too old to play the role. And who's the short shrimp dude who's supposed to be everyone's dream come true? This guy is supposed to be the most popular boy in school? Does this day school have no jocks? Or perhaps no boys over 5'3"? Casting, people - casting. And it goes without saying that - of course - every bad person in the film is a man, and all of the good people are women (even if they did begin as borderline psychotics). The level of wokeness at first seemed tongue-in-cheek, almost a parody of Netflix's current political push. It wasn't. It was all over the place, as usual. Honestly, this film could have been 60 minutes, and it still would have gone on too long. It didn't know what it wanted to be, so tried to be everything. Hard pass, people - a hard pass.

Calvin's imaginary adventures as Spaceman Spiff were more convincing than this terrible, terrible joke of a film. The dialogue must've been written by people unfamiliar with verbal interactions between actual humans. Most of the lines coming out of the actors' mouths were beyond hope, and only a thorough rewrite by, oh, any carbon-based lifeform with a pulse could've made this even watchable. Execrable doesn't begin to describe a dumpster fire of this magnitude. I could go on, but you get the picture, and scores of IMDb reviews have already eviscerated this gobbler. I watched it for free, but I still want a refund. Hard pass. Hard hard haaard pass. Ugh.

Up until recently she was one of my favorite comedians. While she's not quite Taylor Tomlinson, she had her niche and yes - it was raunchy as hell, but that was her. But this act seems to strike out in new directions, each worse than before. How many jokes about your vagina can you do before it becomes old hat? Is that just going to be her hallmark for the rest of her career? And joking about going down on your parents? In what world or on what planet is that even faintly amusing? Within the first several minutes she passed my tolerance for disgusting. Don't get me wrong: disgusting can be funny, if done right. But she was just uncomfortably disgusting - gross af. If you can get past the first 15 minutes, I think there may be something wrong with you. Poor Nikki, what happened to you?

This is one of my favorite films. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about it, and I'm mystified by those who can. The story is finely crafted, it's very well written, the casting is perfect, and the acting is stellar. Sound like hype? It isn't. Even the soundtrack kicks you in the gut. I've only been able to watch this film twice, and several years apart because of the affect it has on me. It leaves me stunned and sobbing on the floor, and I'm no emotional pushover - it's just that good. Several people have commented on Anne Hathaway's attempt at an English accent, but think they're nitpickers who just don't like her. If you're looking for something to make you laugh a little bit and cry a lot, One Day is the film for you. One word of advice: make sure to have a full box of tissues at the ready. Truth.

There's something about Anne Hathaway. I'd pay good money to see a film in which all she does is recite a soup can label - she's that wonderful. So I watched Song One, but only because of her. I thought the music was wispy and annoying, the lyrics were absurd, and the character played by Johnny Flynn unbelievable. However, Anne's meandering about New York and discovering her brother's favorite places was reminiscent of my own slightly melancholy time in NYC in the mid 90s, so I liked that. Also, always great to see Mary Steenburgen, who brings so much to any role she takes. The film is very slow, but that's not a bad thing in this case - it's really a mood. It's pretty stress-free, which I can appreciate, but even with the luminous presence of Miss Hathaway, I don't think I could watch this a second time without muting every single song.

Maika is only getting better, in my opinion. Really liked her in It Follows and The Villains. She's got some serious chops. And Burn Gorman could give a master's class in being creepy af. But the music is really the star in this film. Composer Nathan Halpern's score is wonderfully eerie, always dancing on the edge of being juuuuust familiar enough you feel like you know it - but you don't. I kept trying to place where I'd heard the particularly haunting instrumentation before, but came up blank. Very effectively done - made the film for me. Regarding the plot, it's still very good for having been done before. Yes, the pacing is very slow, but resist the urge to fast forward: you need every second to absorb the building dread. Overall, I give it an eight, and the score a nine, at least. Definitely worth a watch. Looking forward to seeing Maika Monroe in more films. She's got it.

As God as my witness, I figured Elliot wasn't real about 5 minutes in. Notice the dad never looks at him or speaks to him, and later - at the welcome party - the kid isn't interacting and the adults don't see him. Matter of fact, he's only on screen whenever Rachel is. Shades of "Sixth Sense," which was a much better movie. The main cast was exceptional, I thought - all except the kid. I know this sounds mean, but a creepier, more unattractive little troll I don't think I've ever seen. And annoying AF.

Overall, great on atmosphere and slooow build up, but way too similar to half a dozen better movies. Maybe have it on in the background while cleaning the house. I give it five out of 10 because I'm a nice guy. It's not an entire waste of time, but I wouldn't watch it twice.