"Those are... flamingos."
What in the nonplussed, haunting soliloquy was that?! Went in completely blind and that was the right choice. It felt like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's essentially a psychological drama comedy with a "mysterious event" happening in the background—a great mix! The characters are interesting, the drama works because of this and some well-placed sharp comedy. It's weird, creepy and the mystery is intriguing.
This was actually my first time seeing Julia Roberts in a movie and she was hilarious. Really good acting from everyone. Myha'la is a newfound favorite. Simple yet effective suspenceful score, artistic visuals, nice camerawork and editing. The back and forth between two suspenceful scenes technique is done really well here. Incredible how many themes this movie tackles, there's always something to disect on-screen.
Some weird nonsensical character decisions that are a bit frustrating at times. Too long of a runtime which would make a rewatch difficult, it was totally possible to trim down. Favorite moments are the boat scene and the Tesla scene—on the edge of my seat! I thought the ending was perfect. There are sooo many clues and hints dropped throughout the movie that there's no way it could feel unresolved at the end.
I've never watched Friends
Snape: "Turn to page 394."
Without a doubt the best in the franchise. The Dementors have affected the tone of this one because it's more serious, mature, dark and even scary at times. I love the storyline with Sirius Black and the Dementor/Werewolf looming threat throughout the movie. Best story yet, best score yet, great cinematography, great acting (kids are better now) and the third act is bonkers. David Thewlis is such a great addition as Professor Lupin. Alan Rickman (Snape) was the standout once again, favorite character. The white neon lighting at night is something I hate in movies and this one has a lot of it, although it makes sense because of the moonlight so fair enough. The time travel is the icing on the cake, amazing use of it. I wish they had kept Cuarón as director for the next few movies.
Magical Creatures Ranked (by favorite):
I'm a sucker for the TV series so I had to check out the movie it's based on. It's like a parallel universe of the series with similar characters but a lot of changes. I'd say it's equal with the best episodes of the show! Not only is it the best vampire satire I know but it also feels like a fresh take on the genre with a bunch of clever ideas. Well-written, superb story direction, great dialogue, the jokes are hilarious, a bunch fun and the characters grow on you. The fourth wall breaking, the fakeness and the documentary style all work to it's advantage and creates great satirical comedy. This is how you do it!
I'm just sad there's no Colin Robinson!
"A sound man, by not advancing himself, stays the further ahead of himself."
Not many horror movies scare me nowadays but Insidious still scares the shit out of me! It does use jumpscares a lot but they're really well-thought out and a lot of the stuff happening to these characters is actually scary. That is if you find ghosts scary, which I sure do. Well this is as good as it gets. I find it even more effective than The Conjuring (on a ghost scare level).
Bone chilling over-the-top score and intro title card. The sound is pristine, every movement and object has it's own sound. Camerawork and editing is creative. The lighting especially the scenes in the dark are always on point. I get totally absorbed by the movie, it's so captivating and the runtime goes by so fast. So much suspence. The pacing is perfect exactly when it's starting to get a bit redundant, we're introduced Specs, Tucker and the true star of this movie (and franchise): Elise. They breed new life into the story and it doesn't get any better than Lin Shaye explaining the horror in a horror movie, that woman is so damn dramatic. It doesn't go without saying that Patrick Wilson is equally awesome.
The shadow standing right next to the bed always gets me, most scary part to me. The Darth Maul entity is nightmare fuel and The Further is such a great concept it clearly inspired Stranger Things with the Upside Down. It's crazy the amount of Easter eggs planted in here that serve the later entries of the franchise, I applaude James Wan for that. The third act is so epic and unforgettable, elevates the movie to amazing. One of my favorite modern horror movies for sure. So effective and fun.
12 Angry Women
Women Talking is a highlight on the power of speech, a conversation about abuse (in all types) and women who are tired of the men who take from them. We are presented with the idea that not all men take (obviously) but all it takes is one bad one and they're not willing to take the risk anymore, something must be done. A group of women with absolutely no education and have never had any contact with the outside world sit and debate on themes of existentialism, patriarchy, faith and question the structure of their isolated world. The conversation is layered and thought provoking and I love that you never find out what year this is set in, as this is a topic that transcends time, unfortunately. The performances are excellent and each character had their moment to shine. The dialogue is sometimes excessive but well-written nonetheless. The color grading is ugly and it's overly dark. It started to feel a little repetitive towards the middle, just felt like they were going around in circles with the conversation. What took me out of it the most was the lack of logic when it comes to the events surrounding the conversation. For directionnal reasons I don't quite comprehend we don't see any of the men in the movie but it creates plot holes everywhere in the story and without any spoilers the ending is absolutely ridiculous because of it. That aside thought, Women Talking was an interesting and relevant conversation, it just demands people to actually listen.
First watch: 7/10
Very original sci-fi western horror-thriller. Great acting from everyone but Keke Palmer is the standout for me. Beautiful imagery and camera work. It does feel like there's two separate stories mashed into one movie and i'm not sure how the two are connected yet I'll need to do a rewatch. I went in not knowing much about the plot sinse I only saw the original teaser and I recommend doing the same.
Second watch: 8/10
Much better on a rewatch! Amazing characters, original story and something that marks you for life anytime you look at clouds. Without spoiling anything my favorite scenes are the barn and the rain. I pretty much got everything this time around but still don't get the shoe I might need some explanation on that one.
Undoubtedly a piece of art kind of movie with every frame having a special meaning. The cinematography, sets, costumes, score, sound... it's all peak cinema. The only problem is I didn't feel anything watching it. There's no real character arcs or story or even emotion (made me think of Skinamarink at times) it feels empty. The horror happening in the background thing and the scenes with the flowers are a brilliant idea. The sound is disturbing at first, sure, but I got over it after a few scenes and it doesn't have anything else to offer for the remaining runtime that's really worth experiencing except for the brilliant cinematography.
I want my four minutes of black screen at the beginning back!
So unoriginal, watching this just feels like watching a recycled version of every movie it's based on. Snyder saying that this is his version of Star Wars doesn't excuse any of it, that's just lazy.
It's a good looking movie overall but the set and action pieces lack originality, there's nothing visually memorable here. The same can be said about the characters, they're so incredibly run-of-the-mill and cliché. I like the storyline of recruiting members throughout the movie but it's done in such a repetitive way and we barely get to know any of them. Not enough interactions between them either. It's as if scenes are missing from the movie to connect everyone.
There's at least a lot of action throughout the movie, especially in the second half. While they're nothing we haven't seen before, they feel pretty engaging and the slow motion is used well—I'd even say not enough slow motion for a Snyder movie. If I had to pick, my two favorites would be the "riding the Harry Potter Hippogriff, Game of Thrones style" and the "Sith woman vs. Spider woman" sequences.
There's a few exceptions but the acting is bad, unnatural cringe dialogue, underwhelming story and too much exposition dumping. Very disappointing overall. Not excited for part 2. Apparently there's an R-rated version of this, why not release the two versions at once?!
I could listen to Benedict Cumberbatch talk all day but good thing this is a short because it was very tiresome. It was the perfect amount though and a type of storytelling I haven't seen much of (can't say i'm crazy about it). Same scrupulous sets, impeccable dialogue, symmetry in every shot, aspect ratios galore and carefully chosen color palette as the usual Anderson. It was very visual but I feel like judging the acting based on vocal performances, because holy shit was it ever vocal. Probably more words spoken than most 90 minute movies.
Guess what... more mysteries! I'm fine with new mysteries i'm just worried this show will lose a lot of people if it gets too convoluted. Some answers please, just something!
What in the hell?! I didn't expect this to be so bad it was just weird. Didn't like the humor I was laughing at the movie, not with it.
Take a shot every time you hear a joke about Canadians.
–"I got the garlic."
–"Sammy, those are fucking onions."
Go in blind without seeing the trailer for this one. The trailer ruined the first and part of the second act for me, it's basically a whodunit mystery in a mansion with the characters being clueless and blaming each other. We've all seen the trailer! That first act is worthless. Why show us the twist it's so frustrating.
Abigail is Ready or Not but with a vampire twist, nothing original and not as good as Ready or Not but it's still a decent fun time. Perfect set, lots of blood, lots of action, and some laugh out loud moments. The tone is completely off though, it's campy most of the time but also tries to be a heartfelt drama at other times—those are polar opposites, it doesn't work! The vampire powers were so interesting, probably my favorite aspect of the movie.
Don't let the title fool you, this movie should be called "Dan Stevens" cause he steals the spotlight as he usually does. The moment when he says "I feel great" and everything after that was peak. As much as I enjoyed him, it's a shame that he steals the spotlight from Abigail (Alisha Weir) because this was supposed to be her movie. She's excellent in the role, always believable, so confident and actually scary. Kathryn Newton was absolutely killer in a certain scene. Melissa Barrera's best performance yet, I wasn't a fan of her acting in Scream VI but she was actually believable here.
As good as the cast is, it tries too hard with the characters. They're not that interesting and the execution for the character buildup could have been better handled. Constantly having to build up those characters in between action scenes slowed down the movie considerably when they should really be dying instead sinse this is a horror movie. It also had no right being this long, a good 20-30 minutes could be cut out. The last twist was laughable and overstayed it's welcome.
Clay: "I was bringing her a jar of honey."
Parker: "Who are you, Winnie the Pooh?"
Fun, dumb, entertaining and violent. It's essentially a copy of John Wick, even Statham's character gives off John Wich vibes; quiet, impassive, a man of few words... not much of a performance BUT he's great in the physical scenes. It's a shame there's no unique style to it but the action is good nonetheless. The gas station and the final fight were pretty epic.
A simple story of revenge like we're used to, fast-paced and straight to the point. So satisfying watching scammers getting what they bee-serve. The villains are over-the-top and take ridiculous twists and turns. The dialogue is awful but the bee puns really sting, you know it's bad but can't help but chuckle. Bee puns are good for your health, they give you a dose of Vitamin Bee!
Overall not very memorable but I had a good time. I want to know more about the other Beekeepers but I don't think this is worth a sequel. Buzzing off!
"Show some enthusiasm. Thanksgiving is an institution here."
Scream goes on holiday. I'm a sucker for holiday horror and Thanksgiving is everything I wanted from a Thanksgiving themed slasher. It's very standard old fashioned 80s campy. You need to watch this with the intent of having fun cause it's a lot of fun.
Perfect intro with the Black Friday sequence, really well done. The kills are everything you want in a slasher; gory, fun, creative and memorable. Great effects. The oven kill was my favorite but they were all great. The 'sitting at the table' part was peak I had a huge smile on my face and the one-liners were excellent.
The tone is probably my biggest criticism, it's too serious at times when really you want this kind of movie to be silly. The fun parts are too distanced apart, more fun and less teen drama would have been great. The characters are hard to root for and the teen actors are all cringe. I actually predicted who the killer was for once but I think it was pretty obvious.
No leftovers.
"Are you ready to get rushed? ... Yeah, maybe you aren't rush material, you ugly bitch! U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi!"
You know what you're getting into with that crazy opening scene! Slotherhouse demands you leave your logic and common sense at the door to be appreciated. When making these movies you have to fully embrace the absurdity and squeeze in as much comedy and be as entertaining as you possibly can. It has a bit of a hard time sustaining itself for the entire 90 minute runtime but overall it achieves that fun campy B-movie factor!
Alpha the sloth has charisma, she's funny and love the use of a puppet over CGI, keeps it real even though it reduces the movements that are possible. Made me think of Chucky a lot (before he was mentioned in the movie) because of the puppet, the fact that it's small, looks harmless at first sight and it's clearly influenced by it.
Takes a laugh at social media and teens/YA with their slangs. The characters are entertaining but empty shells. The ideas for the kills are good but they're cut short a lot of the time which is a shame and there isn't much practical effects or gore to be shown. I'd take a sequel of this for sure but put more love into the kills next time!
"Scary stories make life less scary."
Haven't watched Murder on the Orient Express yet and thought Death on the Nile was boring but I really enjoyed A Haunting in Venice.
It's very slow but kept me glued to the screen the whole time. Good story and mystery but the characters are what drives this, they're interesting. The interview format got a bit repetitive at some point but it works for the most part and it elevates Hercule Poirot as a character every time. I didn't predict the culprit but the clues were definitely there! A criticism; I'll be vague but the mystery solver felt a bit overpowered and the problem solving unearned.
The supernatural and horror twist is what really elevated the experience for me, we even got a few jumpscares and it's spooky. The palazzo set is perfection and the dark, rainy, stormy atmosphere is always a great choice. The imagery is absolutely stunning, amazing lighting, stylish camerawork and great cast.
Worth watching in a theater but at the same time I would save this for the Halloween season—i'd consider it a Halloween movie. I had no expectations going in but overall this was a good murder mystery!
"Chaos is order yet undeciphered."
Like every good Villeneuve: complex and confusing. Every time I watch Enemy I learn something new about the movie, it's just the perfect puzzle. Like every good puzzle: inviting, not unsolvable but challenging, and rewarding. Definitely one of my favorite psychological thrillers and my favorite from Villeneuve overall. A psychologist's wet dream of a movie, there's just so much on the plate here and the character study is top notch. The mystery is engaging but perhaps even more engaging is Jake Gyllenhaal. It's not an extravagant performance but he really excels in the more subtle things; facial expressions, body language and line delivery. Great score, brilliant metaphors and such a unique concept. The ultimate 'commitment' movie. Villeneuve is a genius!
If you're trying not to lose your mind putting the puzzle together, this one's THE explanation to go for: https://youtu.be/v9AWkqRwd1I
Some payoff, lots of well-shot edge-of-your-seat action and we finally have our first monster kill!
Afraid of heights?
Everything in the Burj Khalifa tower (Dubai) was top tier spy stuff, the elaborate meeting, the cool spy gadgets, the fights and Tom Cruise hanging in mid-air at 1700 feet—now that's an impossible mission! (at least for me). Sandstorm sequence that followed was intense and Mumbai looked amazing. Compared to the first three movies, Ghost Protocol has some real team work (Ethan, Jane, Benji and William) create some interesting dynamics. Simon Pegg really shines here, his character is lighthearted and comedic which creates a balance with Cruise's more serious character. Jeremy Renner is fine as an actor but his character is too simplistic and forgettable. Excellent score that always matches the country we're in (Mumbai one is my favorite), phenomenal stunt work, interesting story, grand set pieces and forgettable villain. Great ending. Best entry in the franchise yet!
The exorcism genre certainly hits as generic these days and while I can't quite say this isn't generic, The Pope's Exorcist is a big upgrade from the recent schlock we've had in recent years. It's very self-aware and isn't afraid of bringing the story to ridiculous places, which is what's required at this point because who even takes these seriously anymore (The Exorcist 2023, please prove me wrong!). I was never bored, there's always something happening it's very entertaining. The comedy and cringe is on the menu, the set was nice, some twists I didn't see coming and so much ridiculousness especially in the third act.
Russell Crowe plays one hell of a cool priest, cracking jokes and drinking whiskey. Liked his character and performance. The boy wasn't half bad for a kid playing being exorcised but the words never sync with his lips and that kinda takes me out of it. The sidekick priest was so generic I kept forgetting he was there.
Lining up for a sequel it seems. I'd be up for it, as long as they keep doing crazy ridiculous entertaining stuff.
"Do you believe in monsters?"
Trapped in a town with no way out (Under the Dome), with monsters that can kill your favorite characters anytime (The Walking Dead), having to solve an intriguing mystery (Lost).
A great balance of "getting your hopes up" and then crushing it with "dark, scary and gory". The characters are what's so good about From, they're very The Walking Dead-ish, easily and quickly loveable. The monsters are nightmare fuel, I had a couple nightmares of my own about them. They're humanoid and familiar but can either tear you to shreads in a split second or slowly torture you, and they do it with a smile. They always leave a trail of disturbing (but beautifully made) gore behind. The mystery gets me so invested and intrigued - i'm addicted!
Highly recommend!
The premise of having the story focusing on Dracula's familiar instead of Dracula himself sounded like a great original idea. The thing is Nicolas Cage as Dracula is far more interesting than whatever they tried to do with Renfield. Whenever Dracula was on-screen I was entertained but it just becomes boring whenever Renfield is around. A great deal of the movie doesn't even focus on him either, it's mostly about the local crime family and the corrupt police department subplot. They certainly tried with the comedy and I got some What We Do in The Shadows vibes for most of the runtime but it's not nearly as funny, nor is it an interesting satire on vampires. I'm totally ok with cringe but none of the comedy really worked for me, I laughed maybe twice. It would have been forgivable if the action sequences were good at least but that's not the case. The blood is entirely ugly-looking CGI, the action has no stakes and characters with no powers (ex: Awkwafina's character) fight as if they have powers. Awkwafina plays herself, Renfield is uninteresting and the third act was so incredibly predictable and underwhelming. Nick Cage was awesome as Dracula though, I wish he was in another movie!
The good:
The bad:
I thought they would make Sam the official Ghostface at the end, just felt like the perfect origin story. They unfortunately opted to make her a Disney princess for the moment. Seeing her against Sydney in a future installment would be awesome.
Dark, disturbing, philosophical, ethical, complex. Prisoners is the ultimate test of faith, morality and what it takes to put these aside in order to save someone. A frightening look into the prisons people find themselves in, in order to cope with, or reject these circumstances. A warning that taking matters into your own hands isn't always the best way to go about it. Creates a fascinating character study mixed with a conventional detective story, constantly making you question and look for hints. Stellar performance from Jake Gyllenhaal and especially Hugh Jackman who's at his absolute best. The pacing isn't it's best quality and the movie feels overlong. Perfect tone and direction. The tension never lets go until the end. Loved the constant raining and dampness throughout it really creates gloom. One of, if not the best dark crime thriller. A perfectly constructed puzzle with so many twists and turns and an experience that leaves you thinking.
"Because we're always innovating, and we fear irrelevance, here's an update to a classic..."
Impeccable dish served with the utmost original and delicious ingredients! The Menu exposes the whealthy and the critics on a platter for you to judge, taste, savor and digest. It makes you choose a side between those who give and those who take. The social commentary is very unsubtle and in your face pretty much the whole time just like the dishes which all have a distinguished message to tell. One of my favorites was the Breadless Bread Plate, I thought it made an interesting metaphor with industry workers, the accompaniments don't mean much without it. The acting is astonishing, the dishes look intricate, the thrills are thrilling, the story is predictable and the dark comedy is hit and miss but one thing's for sure it'll make you think and question. Please don't eat The Menu, taste, savor and relish it.
An ancient troll awakens in the Norwegian mountains and wrecks havoc and panic.
Godzilla meets Troll Hunter in this fantasy action that explores Troll folklore and actually has a good political message. Great design for the Troll and the CGI looks amazing. The dialogue is cringe at times and it's predictable. Acting was ok. Had some fun watching this, the pacing was satisfying and wild third act. Decent action flick, what's there to Troll about?
Hey man awesome list i've been referring to it for years. Thanks for being such a great example on how to make my own lists. Keep up the good work!
Off topic but we live 25 mins apart I live in Lachute. Je sais pas si tu parle français mais c'est cool de voir des québécois sur le site :slight_smile:
Quite the butt-clenching, nail-biting, edge of your seat experience! It looked so realistic and the landscape was beautiful. The two leads did great. It does suffer from being overlong and lost some heat in the third act.
Quite funny and I liked the characters. Keanu Reeves' Batman was the standout they should give him a spin-off movie or something. Lulu makes me think of Mew with Jean Grey's powers which is cool. Seeing a pig with a Wonder Woman costume kinda traumatised me. Too much Taylor Swift!
