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OLD REVIEW:

The second best Godzilla film ever made, right behind the 1954 original. That's quite an accomplishment, but it's Hideaki Anno, so I mean, what did you expect?

Right now, the film is nominated for an astonishing 11 Japan Academy Prizes. It really is one of the most beautiful films I've seen. It's easily my personal favorite film of 2016, just barely ahead of La La Land.

Anno's signature editing and block direction is all throughout this film. His set-up of shots, for example, with electrical poles and train cars framed horizontally, are just so gorgeous, but there are just too many gorgeous ones to list. Godzilla standing in front of a wall of fire, Godzilla blowing non-stop flames out of his mouth while the city around him just collapses, and the final shot with the humanoid creatures coming out of Godzilla's tail gave me nightmares.

But most importantly, I'd like to mention that the reason I rated so high is that it's not a typical monster film. This is an attack on Japan's government and U.S relations. There are plenty of hysterical scenes in this where the Prime Minister and the rest of the senators have to take literally 5 minutes in board room meetings to approve to start firing at the monster. That, and the requirement later on in asking the U.S military for assistance in taking down the monster.

There's also a lot of allusions to the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami disasters in Japan. The original 1954 was based off the 1945 atomic bomb droppings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So now, this film has it's own disaster it's based on. Some shots in the movie are exact references to found footage of the tsunami disaster, and Godzilla himself starts out the movie flooding the canals in Tokyo Bay.

Overall, this film is incredible. It's better than the 2014, but in itself, it's a masterpiece. The music by Shiro Sagisu is like a voice from the heavens, and a plea for forgiveness from God. The song "Who Will Know" is actually told from the perspective of Godzilla, telling us he's not just a monster rampaging Japan, but he's a messenger. He's the voice of all the people killed by the incompetence of the Japanese government, and he's here to let them know that.

"You have a chance other people only ever dream of. You can say good bye."

You know that saying that people always use that, "It hits you right in the feels," but some overuse it? I rarely ever feel it. But fuck, oh fuck me, I need to come here and say that Happy Death Day 2U did something I was not expecting at all. This is not a straight horror film, barely. This is a science fiction action mystery romantic comedy. Horror hardly fits the description, and that's what makes this so amazing. I feel bad I skipped this one out and saw Alita so many times, this came out the same weekend. Jason Blum, if you ever read this, know I'm sorry and I hope you continue to fund even more films like this. I know the general public flat out refuses original and poignant screenplays like this today, especially when this properly subverts expectations, but keep doing it. Give money to it. This got so much more complex and deep than I ever imagined a film like this could get. If you're going in to this expecting a romping slash-em-up and nothing more, you're going to leave more than empty handed. It's the equivalent of asking for fun bedtime story from your grandmother and she starts talking to you about the death of her husband. The overwhelming majority of the run time is the dilemma Tree must face between choosing to live in a timeline where her mother is alive, or where she's with her boyfriend Carter. The implications that because of this unforeseen consequence of this science experiment, she's actually given a choice to live a life that isn't hers, and if she doesn't, gets to do what others can't, and make peace directly with a lost loved one. The heavy hitting notes and the scenes where Tree breaks down to her mother, asking her what decision she must make, I could just imagine audiences checking out. There's this gut wrenching scene where she's choosing to sit down and spill it all out to her mother how much she loves her because she know it's the last time she'll see her, and just damn, it's intense. The rest when it isn't covering this raw family plot, is a literally by the numbers science fiction piece, in that it actually gets in to the technicals. They sit down multiple times to explain the way the universe has multiple dimensions and how she crossed paths with herself from her original dimension, etc. This makes Spider-Verse look like a second grade picture book. I was not expecting Landon to double down on what created the time loop in the first place, but it's surprisingly magnificent and doesn't tarnish the first in any way. In fact, it enhances itself above the original. I have more reason to care about this universe and these characters because of this follow up. It's given me more reason to care than I did before, by giving everyone more motivation for what has happened before. This is how you do a sequel ten-fold and this is how you make a fucking good film. It feels like an 80's college (romantic comedy) movie at times, this is exquisite work. Landon, you are on my director watch list. I see your name, I'm getting excited from now on.

"You're wearing a dress and have a talking animal sidekick. You're a princess."

'Moana' proves that the only division of the Disney company making quality products is Walt Disney Animation Studios. Pixar is busy doing sequels, Marvel is busy making as many stale movies as possible, and Disney is busy making live-action remakes.

While very predictable and a little slow at times, Moana boasts some amazing visual work. It's the closest we're going to get to seeing a CGI Hayao Miyazaki movie. Even the manta ray sequence seemed borrowed straight out of 'Ponyo', so yes, it's a very nice looking production. The characters are all likable, and I'm super glad the annoying sidekick animals did not take center stage to the movie, unlike other trash like Frozen. They come in when necessary and only have a few moments here and there, exactly how it should be. Moana is your standard protagonist yearning for more in life, but here, it's not about just going on an adventure and leaving her people, it's wanting to leave to find a way to help her dying island. She understands and accepts her responsibilities to becoming chief of her island, but also wants to leave to help save the world. It's a nice clever play on the archetype and it works.
Maui, played by the amazing Dwayne Johnson, is the hero character who thinks everyone adores him, but realizes he may not be the savior humanity used to view him as. Throughout his journey, he has to decide to whether help save the world and risk losing the powers which make him special, or stay where he is and thinks everyone still adores him. He was a fun character.

A little slow at times and very by the numbers throughout most of it, but it's still way better than most recent animated features. Hopefully Disney continues making more original films like this instead of more remakes...

This is where I fail as a movie reviewer. I am too easy on the horror genre. The Platinum Dunes remake of Friday The 13th is a surprisingly faithful re-adaptation of the series. It satisfies my lust I crave from the stereotypical trashy horror flick: Blood, tits, drugs, sex, and gore. What makes the remake worth at least one viewing is it's sleek and stylish upgrade. This is definitely an improvement over the many sequels, much as the same route A Nightmare On Elm Street took, where the remake is better than most of the originals. Note aside, beyond it's guilty pleasure attraction, the depth of Crystal Lake is shallow. Many of the side characters have but any growth, their purpose is just to be killed in gruesome fashion (which is satisfying as hell), and the story is just another brain-dead person out to kill those who comes into his home. Must say though, for a downer guy as big as Jason, he sure knows how to set up some elaborate traps. You've heard this song before, only now, you get a kick-ass cover to it. If only the original song had some depth to it. Yeah, I said that about the original movie. Hope you guys have a most excellent Friday the 13th.

"Now we can have a real day of the dead."

It's like time never passed. I mean it when I say 3 From Hell feels like it was shot at the same time as it's acclaimed predecessor, The Devil's Rejects. Zombie's still got it and he absolutely nails his toot fucking fruity balls deep gore fest with near perfection. Now, I won't go too much in detail, because I'm assuming if you're reading this you're either a follower of me or a big fan of Rob Zombie wondering if this film is worth checking out. As a biased fan of all of his work, I would argue aspects of this surpass the sequel. Seeing this back to back as a double feature, I didn't get the impression I was watching a different film, made fourteen years later, but like a four hour epic of blood soaked proportions and twisted humor. Zombie understood what his fans were looking for, this plays off like a partial remake, only expanding the story to really where the Firefly family plans to go after their escape from prison. Sadly, during the film's production, Sid Haig was hospitalized and couldn't really reprise his role as the clown Captain Spaulding, but reduced to a really small role where he's given lethal injection on death row after his monologue is over. It was clear he was sick during the filming, but glad he was able to make an appearance. Instead, Richard Brake comes in to the picture as Otis' half brother, and he fills the shoes just fine, playing a deranged hillbilly that's obsessed with getting in to the Hollywood movies. With these three back in their usual shtick, Zombie just goes nuts. Whatever you liked about the previous, it's amped up a couple notches and played more for amusement. It doesn't shy away from the idea you're supposed to sympathize with these awful people. You have to disconnect their horrible crimes with where they are now to really get all the fun, and that may be difficult for some people. It's a lot like if Warren Betty's Bonnie and Clyde was turned in to a funny action movie, where Bonnie starts massacring the police with a bow and arrow as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" plays. The kills are as creative and brutal as ever, turning in to a southern fried Mexican showdown in the second half of the film, whereas the previous was the family on the run and being persecuted by the avenging sheriff, this film was finally their stance against the system, the battle to make up for their defeat before. They have a chance to escape from all their troubles and making a life for themselves out there, as odd and confusing as that sounds. The only thing I would say that just barely brings the film down is the main antagonist doesn't receive as much screen time as Forsyth's character, so the conflict of the justice system taking matters too far and having the audience ask the tough question, "Who's in the right?" This film answers the question for you and it delivers that answer coldly. But everything surrounding it's loose core is the spectacle. The witty jokes, the funny character moments, the exploitation, the profanity, the sex, and above all John Wick inspired action is what you're coming for. This film is obviously not for everyone, but for those that it is for, the depraved, the mad, the clowns, and the Zombie lovers, this has it all. It's one of Zombie's best films, on top of an already great catalogue. Check it out when it comes out on video.

James Wan understands horror. Whether it's his hands-on directing or darkly lit cinematography, his flare feels real. What separates something like this from The Nun is it gives it's characters depth. Aside from the ham fisted "true story" narrative slapped across the opening and posters (which has been used in horror for years now), the tension from the film comes from the human interaction. You know, storytelling, an arc, building up emotional layers, finding something to relate this alien, and often hokey premise, to a general audience. There's something commendable about a film that will literally sit down and talk about bullying. A one shot scene where an out of focus character transforms into something else over time. The shock and surprise comes from these people feeling real; not some magic portal to hell that opened because bombs were dropped during world war two. While the effects get quite exaggerated, many times, it's hard to tell what is practical and digital, and I'm glad Wan still utilizes classic horror visual lighting, keeping everything moody and almost pitch black. We rag on modern horror for using a lot of the tropes (jump scares, religious undertones, Ouija boards, and demons), but what keeps this and Wan apart from others is it's down to Earth approach, even during the supernatural moments. At times, it feels like The Exorcist, in all the best ways, what scares you is what could be real, not what isn't. Also, let's applaud the soundtrack.

I'm trying to find the words to express my clouded sadness. I remember I used to have a bedroom dedicated to all things SpongeBob SquarePants. The walls were covered in stickers of the characters, I had a Sponge themed lamp, and the toys galore. I would stay up for the 24-hour marathons of the show, and I dragged my parents to the theater three times so I could see this film in theaters. I guess I'm trying to say Hillenburg's creation, his world famous show affected my childhood a lot and who I am as a person. I think it's safe to say anyone who uses the internet actually owes something to this man, for his humor, creative characters, and off the walls (yet down to Earth) storytelling. He brought happiness to many children (+ adults) every Saturday morning and left his mark on not just the animation industry or television, but our culture. The characters of SpongeBob transcend all languages because, yes, it takes place in the middle of the ocean. The show found it's way to every country and found a loving audience of goofballs, crustaceans, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, every age group could relate to the big hearted main star. SpongeBob is a character I think we can all relate to: a child at heart with supreme passion for his pass times, but reality can come crashing down his youthful, optimistic outlook. But it's important to see the good in everything.

An absolute legend has passed away today. It hurts to see the man who created one of the biggest inspirations to my childhood go, but his work will never perish and his memory will live on. Stephen Hillenburg can take it to the grave he created one of the best cartoon shows in history; bar none. We should all take a moment of silence for such a talented man. After all, you're all Goofy Goobers, right?

I love the fittingly dramatic irony and dark metaphors these Twilight Zone-esque anthology stories present. Joel and Ethan Coen string the audience along for the first short by giving the impression the average Netflix viewer is in for a more rompous and humorous affair, but after a downhearted ending to the first story, the audience is strung along for more poignant and serious matters. The themes of each of these stories are incredibly powerful, and ones that transcend a specific trend, but go on for generations. The seemingly light-hearted and beautiful imagery of this movie is just facade. The dark undertones will resonate with a lot of people because of how it connects to people on a deeper level. The short involving the armless, legless man being paraded around by a con artist, using him for mere coins to trick the poor stage performer, only to scam him right to his face, oddly, had me sitting in shock, considering how obvious the story is. The way it's executed carefully: slowly, not much music, just the motions happening and characters going. As the number of attendees dwindles, the owner begins to wonder why the money isn't rolling in anymore. He finds a crowd of people in this town, instead of attending his performed tale of sad and woe, are gathered around a chicken hitting metal plates. The owner sees this as the opportunity to make more money, so he buys the chicken from that man using cash clearly gotten somewhere other than his own performer, then cowardly dumps the poor boy into a river, discarded for the next attraction. And the message of that short I think gets to me because of how it shows audiences in general. People would rather watch a chicken do bells and whistles than see a man recite Shakespeare. The Coen's play with the audiences expectations but thankfully satisfy them and upset them in meaningful ways. This is my favorite film from the brothers outside No Country For Old Men.

"When Lords ends, I want people to feel like they just went through a nightmare. I want them to say, "I think I just went through an actual nightmare, and I'm still trying to sort it out," as opposed to a movie where they can easily explain what happens to Heidi and it's all wrapped up nicely for them and they can walk out of the theater thinking, OK, everything got wrapped up perfectly for me. The movie makes sense, but I didn't want to make it obvious. There are details that people will catch the second time around that they may have missed the first time. Lords leaves you with a weird, uncomfortable, off-balance feeling. That's what my favorite kinds of horror movies all do." - Rob Zombie

This is not the usual Rob Zombie. The Lords Of Salem falls more akin to Italian horror, Robert Eggers, and Roman Polanski. Both times Sheri Moon entered the theater, first at the entrance, the second the main stage, the Lacrimosa music combined with the blinding visuals echoed of 2001: A Space Odyssey and it made my jaw drop. This is the best a Rob Zombie film has ever looked and sounded. Something about the golden, white, and red grainy aesthetic puts a hauntingly beautiful historical filter over the picture. Something as simple as a theater stage looks alien. The shining spotlight glistening through the silhouettes of the witches and landing on the audience members is like a historical event. An apartment hallway begins to play tricks on your mind, if it's changing or it's your mind just wanting to see something different. I thought the staircase went missing, but I was wrong. Every room is bleakly lit and desaturated, usually accompanied by a lot of bloom or light flares. It feels like a nightmare. The perversion of Christian imagery and classical art is played wonderfully throughout, it's like the Devil has a strong hold on everything around it and all of Salem. Something that's lacking in a lot of mainstream horror now is atmosphere and tension. It's never about character building anymore; characters are soullessly placed in a preconceived script just so they can deliver spooky jump scares for an hour and a half, they leave you open for a twentieth sequel. Zombie's carefully paced script lends itself to profound set up and pay off. If he revealed the later images too early, their impact would not have as much of a lasting impact. Watching Sheri's character go insane, both i.e. drug use and indoctrination by witches, builds to the empowering images of the theater where Satan is and all the trippy classiness shots in the third act. If not for the thin story, which is actually pretty self explanatory, what makes it stick out is the outstanding visual storytelling. Rob was ahead a few years of other films like Hereditary in re-popularizing horror films that are reliant on their atmosphere. This is next level Stanley Kubrick Zombie. If you like your horror films more experimental, macabre, and not straight forward, this is the closest you can get to a modern pick. Also, thank you Blumhouse for producing this!

Why was this not nominated for any awards? I'm being genuine, why not? There are parts of the story I would tweak (it's basically Rob Zombie's Bonnie and Clyde), but everything else is masterfully done. Phil Parmet's signature claustrophobic and dirty cinematography had me commenting how great the shots were every other second. The dialogue is sharp and on point, as usual, like, I will be quoting some of the shit in this movie for years on end, this is one of the best scripts ever written. "Boy, the next word that comes out of your mouth better be some brilliant fuckin' Mark Twain shit. 'Cause it's definitely getting chiseled on your tombstone." Zombie has made a reputation for himself of only doing "low-brow" Grindhouse type films, but there's something about them I'm hopelessly attracted to. Zombie's main goal is to entertain the viewer, and I think he excels in doing that in every project he's done. I walk away marveled at the direction, remembering the characters, and downloading the soundtrack. It is unfortunate, I will say, he doesn't take on more accessible genres, so his work gets seen by more people. Even though I loved this, I wouldn't recommend to, say, my grandmother. A shame his clever screenplays are limited to a niche genre within a niche genre. But to say his filmmaking is bad is just dishonest. You want to see a bad movie? Compare the shoot-out openings from both Texas Chainsaw 3D and The Devil's Rejects. You may not have realized it, but the difference is that huge. At least he gets enough funding from his fans and album sales to continue doing whatever he wants. So, the question, should you watch it? Depends how sick you like your horror, or if you'll like be morally conflicted about liking these psychopathic murderous leads. It's the equivalent of genuinely caring for Leatherface and not wanting to see him die. That's why I compare it to Bonnie and Clyde, it takes the side of the criminals, this movie being a huge risk, but pulls it off. There's a bearing resemblance to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid too; example, the final shot is exactly the same. It may sound weird, but once you see Captain Spaulding and Baby clamoring for Tuity Fruity ice cream, there's no going back.

this is the best fucking movie I've seen in 2018, what the fucking fuck! ! ! This is how you do a parody/children's movie/superhero genre destroying epic (if that's even a type of movie). I was smiling within the first five seconds and it carried through almost the entire damn thing. Like, I don't even watch the show and I hate the state of superhero films, but... this made me excited about superheroes. I was bopping my head to the songs, I was feeling at the feels moments, I was howling at the excellent, and actually clever, meta humor. This is one of the most original children's films I've seen in years, despite that it's plot structure is actually fairly basic and predictable. This enters the reigns of The LEGO Movie in representing a very surprising upset, coming from an joke franchise to proving itself it has worth. To all the haters detracting the movie on social media, yelling you want the original show back, go see it. There's even a surprise mid-credit scene you may like. Teen Titans GO! To the Movies is a very welcome and fun sleeper hit that will please anyone who goes and sees it, nerd, geeks, adults, children, the world will bask in it's fast paced take down that leaves no topic unscathed. It's all here, everything it could take down it does. The animation even hilariously switches depending on the film or show it's referencing, and it happens often. The amount of properties it flirts with borders on indecipherable and will require it's own wiki page. I was rooting for the characters, it gave me a reason to care, I was laughing with them on their ridiculous plights, and used a cool subtle jab at the Hollywood machine as it's invisible enemy. I loved this movie, I just wish it was longer and tried ever so slightly harder to avoid it's clichés. Thankfully, they don't detract much the entertainment value. Who wants to start an Oscar campaign for this movie? If fucking Boss Baby can get in, this can and will. Let's start that crusade, just like the Titans.

also, Back to the Future reference was a nice touch. they paid the royalties for the songs, I love it.

I haven't watched a movie in a couple days, just a little busy with work, but it's tradition to keep showing this classic. I'm a fan of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's films, as controversial as they can be, but the one everyone universally gathers around is their 1996 hit, Independence Day. A smash hit at the box office, the biggest movie in the world, about America, no, the world's independence from extraterrestrial life. While full of quips and stock characters, the action, world building, and surprisingly poignant drama has stood this movie the test of time. The sequel may have came and went, but Bill Pullman's speech will never die. May everyone have a good 4th of July, and let's just have a moment for one of the best speeches ever.

Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind. Mankind, that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist. And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!

The biggest relief I can say about Ready Player One is it works, even without the never-ending barrage of pop culture nostalgia. Upset across all social media platforms, a concern I took part in, was the movie had no identity to show for itself, that it relied heavily on better films from the 80's to sell itself. I do not think the comments I made were bad or outdated now, as it is important to criticize art, but I can happily say I did enjoy this movie's core, even without the aid of the surface eye candy. This is the most Spielberg movie that man has made in quite awhile, after such masterpieces like The BFG. It follows the standard hero's journey he's used a number of times, this closely paralleling E.T., which was a welcome return. This is the director I fell in love with, and it seems he knew how to take the disaster of a book this is adapted from, and create an entertaining blockbuster. My bigger hiccups about the picture, are one or two tasteless scenes, specially the haunted house rendition of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It's a crowd-pleaser moment, understandably, but something about it's total disregard for the meanings from the original film almost come off as disrespectful. It's the closest the movie touched the "Hey, remember this thing you recognize?!" predicament I was fearing before watching. I think a more shallow movie, hell Grease would've worked much better, could fix this. Any other issues I had could be pointed at it's predictability, and over-reliance on filling the run-time with references, some of which don't advance the story much. I could see what they were doing, showing Wade being smarter than everyone else in the game, but having him list off stuff like it's a references checklist is where it can get half-assed. But most of the callbacks are respectful and work, they did their research, thankfully. No cringe shit like Marvel Studios' Black Panther's, "What're those?!" Just end me. Happy to just say I've seen another blockbuster in four months that I didn't hate. I'm going to remember that opening race, good shit. And, I geeked out like hell when MechaGodzilla was fighting The Iron Giant. It makes no sense, but I understand that's the point.

Man, I've gotten behind in writing reviews. I'm writing this in my college library, that's how pressed I am for time. The next couple entries will just be short, quick rambles for the films I've seen in the past week. Death Wish, I'm puzzled at the lukewarm and left-leaning reactions I'm hearing from audiences and those at Rotten Tomatoes. Was it released at "at a bad time" and is it a conservative's wet-dream? I don't know, ask the critics who denounced the original film from 1974, quote, "It was attacked by many film critics due to its support of vigilantism and advocating unlimited punishment of criminals. The novel denounced vigilantism, whereas the film embraced the notion." If you aren't aware, somehow, Eli has a hard-on for grindhouse features and exploitation movies from the 70's. He's worked with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez multiple times now, Grindhouse, and the trio all love this era and low-budget type of production. So, the love for that genre is translated in a fascinating and fun approach, whereat times, the film feels like a flashback to drive-in cheese, in a good way. At other points, however, it captures a sniff or essence of a Wes Craven, yes, I just said that. Death Wish feels like Wes Craven's Scream for a few elongated sequences, noticeably the critical break-in with Bruce Willis' family. It's very reminiscent of the opening from Scream, which is why I bring it up. It may not be as clever, but it has that 90's flavor, like this movie has been in a time capsule for the last two decades. That doesn't make it dated, but it has that intoxicating aroma, which is what I love about Death Wish. Eli goes full-on with his kills, and they're all justified, if you actually watch the movie. The shoot-outs are so grand and memorable, I jumped in my seat and lost my breath repeatedly. For those who have seen it, that scene where he walks up to the "ice-cream seller" and just shoots him without hesitation, come on, is that not one of the best kills since some of the westerns of the 60's? Bruce Willis is a serious badass, you will want to be him. It's a true return for him as an action star. Mind you, it's a bit gory, you will be squeamish at a time or two, but that's Eli's formula, note Hostel as one of his more famous movies. But as a fan myself of the exploitation era, and genuine pure action, there's not a lot left for me to say but, this is a criminally underrated and underexposed action flick. A great return for the genre with majestic and perfected action. Sounds like high praise? Might be, but anyone who's a fan of THE grindhouse needs to see this now.

This movie is a miracle it exists and I'm so glad it does. It's great to see traditional 2D animation breath this lovingly on the big screen, and at the screening I was at, with a pretty decent crowd. I hope this means a comeback for this style and promises more in the future. Sure, the story is a little derivative of countless other works, but what makes the film feel whole and worthwhile is Mary Smith. She is just too damn adorable and likable right from when you first see her. The whole story is told from her perspective, so there are some sub-plots that aren't expanded or explained, and this is the reason why. It didn't matter in the main course. The point is you're supposed to be just as confused and entranced as her, and it works. The film manages to make itself fun and unique despite it's predictable and similar tropes you see in other anime films. The cast is adorable, the story is heart-warming, and the animation is absolutely spectacular, like really, some of the best I've ever seen, even better than a couple of the Miyazaki movies. Studio Ponoc really wanted to start out strong, to prove they can continue making these movies, and God, I hope they do. If you can still find a screening in your area, go seek it out. It's seriously enjoyable for what it is.

I love that they even flat out mention Groundhog Day as a joke at the end of the movie. Nice little cherry on top of the cake. This movie was just badass. There's not a lot I can really complain about, actually, except for maybe one part dragging or a plot thread I thought was underdeveloped, but overall, not at all. From beginning to end, Happy Death Day is one of the funnest experiences I've had watching a movie in years. This really needs to become a classic like Krampus or other frequently mentioned horror flicks, and Jessica Rothe needs to have a career after this. Her talent she gave in this starring role was one of the most believable and raw performances I've seen from a horror protagonist since like Jamie Lee Curtis or Marilyn Burns. She was just absolutely-fucking-fantastic. She starts off as kind of a brat, and a bad person to her peers, but as the events unfold, a lot like Groundhog Day, she begins to make amends with her friends and family and change overall. Her father is mentioned throughout, him trying to call her every morning, and it's actually quite heartwarming to see her set things straight with him near the finale. There were a couple small details I liked that emphasized this thread. For example, at the beginning of the movie on the first day, her roommate makes her a cupcake for her birthday, but Theresa just throws the cupcake in the trash right in front of her. On the second, after the first kill, she just puts the cupcake on the dresser. On the third, she almost gets ready to eat it. There was some pretty clever writing that tricks the viewer into thinking the killer could be one person, but it's actually another. The ending was a little rushed with it's reveal, and that's the part where I mean underdeveloped, but I think it still works enough. Just like the protagonist, the movie doesn't spend too much time on this character, so the out-of-field reveal makes sense, to me at least.

Overall, just tons of extremely hilarious sequences that made me grin hard, especially the ones with Carter, played by Israel Broussard. I don't think I've smiled this hard watching a movie in quite awhile, all at the same time serving us with deliciously awesome horrific scenes. In one part, when Theresa is in a dorm room with one of her friends, who turns up the bass too loud, the killer starts stabbing him to death in the background while Theresa is distracted. She's on her phone, and she gets a text from a friend saying she hopes they both die, while the guy is being stabbed. Sorry, I just love little tie-ins like that. There's plenty more similar stuff written in, and I just had fun with that shit. I'd go as far to say I enjoyed this more than the recent outing of IT, which I did like. Horror has just been doing really well this year, and I'm glad it so is.

Now THAT is a lot of blood.

Why, oh why, do I love this movie, so? Why do I love you so much, Raimi? However, in this case, I can understand why someone wouldn't enjoy the film. The story can be a little poor at times, the pacing is occasionally slow, and the characters aren't the most developed. I think the movie gets more epic towards the finale, but that's not to say there aren't good points in the beginning and mentioned categories. I love the thematic connections that came back at the end of the movie to wrap a nice little bow to Ash and Ashley's arc. The necklace Ash gives Ashley from the beginning prevents him from chainsaw-ing her neck at the end, and his eye-open eye-close game Ash played on here, demon Ashley plays later on him when he's burying her. But aside from a couple beats like that, the story is very simple. A group of friends go to a cheap cabin in the forest, they find a demonic book, then all hell breaks loose... literally.

What I really love about this movie is it's presentation. The red and blue color palettes and framing of shots are just gorgeously wild, as excepted from Raimi. My absolute favorite parts are the hand-held moments from the POV of the demons. I've never seen a horror movie before tackle a motion like this, and it turned out beautifully. There's something a slight amateur-ish about it, but lovable. Actually, the whole movie is very obviously low-budget independent. The cabin is clearly on a sound stage with propped lighting and fog machines, but something about it's look is just intoxicating. It's the ideal cabin for a horror movie. Everything about it is mesmerizing.

I think what fans like to draw from this movie is the experience it provides. The mythology behind the book of the dead and the ride you take with Ash throughout this movie, and the subsequent sequels, is something I can see people getting rallied behind. It's amazing how Raimi was able to take, what seemed like just a simple horror movie, and provide a whole successful franchise around it. Now that I think about, I actually want my own copy of the book of the dead.

Highly recommend viewing for this October!
Lots of fun horror action and plenty of blood!

Such a simple premise, yet so effective.

I think that's my only complaint about this classic, is how minimal and straight-forward the film's story is. Now -- that's not to say that's a bad thing, 'cause it works enough for this. What many others have already commented is how The Texas Chain Saw Massacre very much goes for a documentary-style of filmmaking. It opens with a stock narrator telling us what's about to happen, as if implying to the viewers, that the events that are shown, really happened. The gritty and dark grainy photography Hooper shoots come off as archival footage, like this is actual footage of a real sequence of events. Also, what I noticed throughout, was the inclusion of rather unnecessary details in quite a few scenes. Why would we need to see someone get out of a car, go back inside the gas station to turn off the light and close the door, and then get back in the car? That's not important to the story. In most films, you'd cut that right out. But these small and left-in touches add to the documentary quality. This is something that newer Texas Chainsaw films are missing, as they go for a much more cinematic look, as opposed to this real-life cinematography. Going slightly off-topic, this is why James Cameron, for the 2012 restoration of Titanic, bumped up the aspect ratio of his film to 16:9 and color corrected the movie differently, to give his film about the Titanic a more television-like documentary facade. I bet most of you didn't even think about that.

But as for this beast of a movie, which spawned many sequels, video games, books, spin-off movies, Halloween Horror Nights mazes, and etc, what makes this gruesome feature so inciting? Why was it such a phenomenon and became possibly the most recognized horror icon in history? Some point at the "Based On A True Story" gimmick that the marketing team strategized, and while the movie is very loosely based on real serial killer, Ed Gein, most of the movie is fiction. I think the gruesome depiction of someone getting sliced up with a chainsaw, which hadn't really been seen on film before, was captivating and exciting for viewers. This is most likely why this extremely low-budgeted 16mm production went on to make over 35 million at the box office over the course of 8 years. Who wouldn't go see the one disgusting horror film you just gotta see? And Leatherface's costume is just so gross, but brilliant. A cannibal who wears his victims' faces as masks? Fucking grotesque, but amazing. Can I also just mention the bleak and fucked-up set design? Notice at the final dinner scene, the chair Sally's sitting in, the arm rests are literally just human arms. Awesome. Nowadays, the feature is a slight dated compared to some horror films, in terms of pacing and editing, but The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is just as engrossing and fast-paced as you can get. I did not feel the run-time at all in this, despite it's sometimes slow-pace and scenes that have no much going on. Just like Jaws, which came out a year later, the movie starts out slow, with an energetic group of friends just taking a ride through Texas, and the movie accelerates to an insane chase sequence, eventually the movie just turning into an absolute nightmare. The claustrophobic and up-close tight photography makes for some deeply disturbing imagery. What also helps this movie over some others is the pitch-black visuals at night. In most other productions, in order for the audience to see what's going on at night, the crew could be using a low-light camera to ever-so slight brighten up the night sequences just so you could see. In this film thought, the night scenes are quite literally pitch-fucking-black. You can't see shit in this, which is probably the most realistic and frightening lighting; not knowing where Leatherface is going to show up makes for an even more tense atmosphere. The final scene at the dinner table and subsequent chase at the end are two of my favorite scenes in horror history. Sickening stuff. If you haven't checked out the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre yet, please do, for Tobe Hooper and Gunnar Hansen.

Highly recommended viewing for this October!
R.I.P. Tobe Hooper and Gunnar Hansen.

I do enjoy this one to a certain extent, especially the design of the wasteland (I even had the art book when it came out) but story-wise, this movie does nothing for me. It's trying too hard to be Mad Max with Terminators, but it doesn't really work. I feel that part of the problem is that the main character Marcus, played by Sam Worthington, is spoiled to us in the trailer that he is actually a terminator when he is found in the 2018 present day war. It would've been a cool twist if the audience found out half-way through the movie that he was one, but NOPE. The same problem happened with Genisys. Give away the big twist right in the fucking trailer.

It needs work with character development. Marcus has the potential to be an interesting anti-hero, one that struggles with living reality as a Terminator, but he doesn't amount to much. We're told his backstory and... he can sometimes but kind to others... and... uh... yeah, I don't even know. I like the scene where Moon Bloodgood is lying her head on Worthington's chest and she says he has a strong heart. It's a clever double entendre. He has a strong heart because he's a Terminator and he has good in him.

Again, the action scenes are great and I love the set design. Probably the best (and only) Terminator war film we're going to get. If the script was reworked and Marcus had better character motives, this would be rated much higher.

Final note, this was the movie that introduced me to Anton Yelchin. May he rest in peace.

Everyone needs this film in their life. I cried. No, really, I did. I can't believe it myself. Disney's put out both one of the worst films in their catalogue, and now one of the best in the same year. Three years ago, I was chastising Disney for even conceptualizing a live action Winnie The Pooh, screaming lack of a creative vision and banking off the tired nostalgia of a once great little franchise. I haven't held Disney in the highest regard at all in recent years, criticizing many of their decisions and downright refusing to visit their theme parks or stores. Now, I'm not going to come at you with some bullshit Stuckmann comment, "I grew up with Winnie The Pooh," even though I did, Christopher Robin succeeds entirely on it's own and can be loved by people of all ages. I rack on movies for their structural problems, sometimes ignoring the feeling I'm supposed to be having from the viewing experience, but films like this remind me how emotion can overcome any kind of little technical problem, if it's done well. This is the Disney I miss. I'm so tired of the corporate sell out manipulating monster that is the nu-Disney machine, but it seems every couple of years, Disney puts out a film that reminds me why I loved old Disney, the one Walt Disney created. Meet The Robinsons, Up, Saving Mr. Banks, Tomorrowland, and now Christopher Robin all have something in common. There's messages about growing up, remembering to keep moving forward, not letting such menial things get in the way of what's really important, and so on. What I really love what Marc Foster did was put some class and taste into this. This treats the original Hundred Acre Woods story with real respect, not just the original animated film, but the books and illustrations. This has one of the most perfect openings to any movie, implementing the book drawings into the new live action material. Showing Christopher leave, in a scene replicated from the original movie, and then show his life growing up, and even going off to war and leaving his wife behind, started to get to me. It's very tastefully done and doesn't come across as cheesy or childish. One bit of the montage that stuck out, was I think Pooh blows out a candle on a cake, and it cuts to an explosion in a battle Christopher's in. The whole thing was excellently done. Ewan McGregor makes for a fantastic character, we really don't deserve him. His character means so well for the world, but because of the burdens of reality and his job, unfortunately has to put on hold the things that he holds so dear, even going so far as to snap at Pooh in frustration. The dark and gloomy look of the woods built on the heavy tone of the scene, it was nearly heartbreaking to watch. When the two reconciled, at their thinking place, I had tears on my face. Such an innocent little bear, with no clue of the harshness of the outside world, nearly getting hit in the face with it, while simultaneously reminding Christopher of the carelessness of being a child, was both so endearing and so sad at the same time. The movie gradually turns into a silly adventure movie at the second half, but it doesn't lose it's emotional grip, in fact, it carries it proudly on it's shoulders. I don't want to spoil anything more, but any scene with McGregor talking one on one with either his family or Pooh, will put you on the edge of tears. I love the setting of war-era London, and you very quickly get accustomed to the realistic look of the Hundred Acre Woods. Disney, I know I hate you and I know I rag on you, but let me just say thank you for putting this movie out. It makes me ashamed of my fellow movie fans this movie isn't doing well at the box office or even that fantastic critically, but this is the best movie you have released in a while. It doesn't even feel like a nu-Disney movie, this is a true return to form and boy, man, I really wish they would stick with this. It's so pure and full of genuine heart. I hope people look back on this with a fondness and as a classic. Just great shit, silly old bear...

It doesn’t take long to recognize that “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” is a good movie. Very good; nonstop exhilaration, incredible stunts, fluid camera movement complimented by the editing, goofy plot twists that work despite their conventionality, and all the character leads. This sounds like a negative, it's not, the best way to describe the experience is like watching a Saturday morning cartoon. Tom Cruise coupled with his lovable team up against the new villain is the groundwork for many children's television episodes. But, Of course, they take it up a bunch of notches, crafting an engaging, and thankfully classy blockbuster that is above many other wretched releases as of late. Never did I feel cheated or talked down to, it hearkens back to the noir films of the 30's (that meet-up at the beginning is a direct take on the gangster genre) while plucking the set pieces right out of classic James Bond. But Christopher McQuarrie shits all over them; he's making a name for delivering breath stopping action sequences, the helicopter finale shot in IMAX left my mouth hanging time to time. The sixth film in a surprise hit franchise is still improving upon itself, and Cruise still willing to do ridiculous stunts at the tender age of 56. I guess Scientology gives you superpowers, sign me up. He makes us all forget he was in The Mummy, and Rebecca Ferguson gets her career back on track after the sleeper "hit" The Snowman. A few last comments, I'm glad they kept the shot in where Cruise limps as he gets up on the building, he actually broke his foot filming that scene, that's why. It's funny, Tom just played Barry Seal in American Made, an expert pilot who transported in a drug cartel. Now in this, he can barely work a helicopter. Henry Cavil put up a damn good fight, that mustache took out an entire film franchise. I say worth it, that's a sick stache. I'm just glad the action was zany enough to marry with it's silly story. This was the right balance of everything. The dialogue is intense, which keeps the audience on their toes, giving the impression of being nonstop. You get your moneys worth.

Goddamn, this movie has no right to be as boring as it is and also have a budget of 50 million dollars. There's a few nuggets of gold, some good and even great scenes here and there with combination of score and decent cinematography; but overall, I kept checking the time like every 10 minutes. Whenever I watch a movie, and I'm constantly waiting for the movie to just end, or I'm checking the time in boredom, the movie automatically gets a below average rating. The number one goal of any filmmaker should be to keep the audience interested. I was not interested throughout the majority of this. Nothing gripped me. There was no tension. The style just didn't lend itself to this kind of story. I don't know who looked at this final product and decided it would work in appealing to a mainstream audience. It's slothy with poor pacing, mediocre acting, half-decent music, amateurish camera work, and only a couple good scene set-ups. I can now say with full confidence I think Daisy Ridley is a bad actress...

I really don't know what else to say. Just don't bother with it. I'm going to go watch the original by Sidney Lumet now. Should be way more interesting and worthwhile. I need to get into the habit of just walking out of movies I don't like. I've never done it, but I need to start doing it.

'Seven Psychopaths' is what I consider the perfect black comedy, or movie that's a drama with sprinkles of humor scattered throughout. I find all the jokes to be timed perfectly and placed just the right moments, but I find myself even more invested and caring for the more serious parts of the writing, which parts surprised me when I saw them come up, as I didn't get that impression I got when viewing the trailer. Martin McDonough perfectly balances poignant commentary about different kinds of psychotic individuals, while delivering crowd pleasing and hilarious set pieces and dialogue. It's truly one of the smarter written movies I've seen in the past few years, more than other acclaimed pieces. I found myself engaged the entire time, not once checking the time on my phone. The story moves along at just a frantic enough paces and showing off twists in the characters to keep the viewer interested, Billy being the absolute craziest and most lovable one of the bunch. I love that the Schi Tzu becomes his dog at the end. Wonderful little closure to the character.

Fantastic movie. I'm surprised it took me this long to see it. Just never came onto my radar, I suppose. Also wow, it's been 10 days since I've seen a movie, that's unusual for me.

"You hear that? That sounds like a bird, but it's not, it's a fucking ant."

I can't get enough of this film.

I love every thing about it. Jordan Vogt-Roberts more than pleasantly surprised me. I will not doubt him in the future.

The set-up, the story, the characters, the set pieces, the direction, the soundtrack, visuals, the colors, the action, just, everything. I don't understand how someone could not love this.

Even though the original 1933 King Kong is still the best film to date, Kong: Skull Island comes close to matching it's brilliance. Many people have to remember that while the 1933 classic was undeniably groundbreaking for it's time and carries a more subdued and personal story of beauty and the beast, the core story of the film is very much basic.

Here's a rundown:

A group of people are brought together for a mission to go to an uncharted island in the south pacific, dubbed Skull Island. They don't know what's there, but decide to head there to finally unravel the mystery behind one of the last unexplored places on Earth. Once they arrive, things go to hell. They meet natives, all sorts of creatures that want to eat them alive, and they encounter a giant destructive ape. The surviving explorers have to survive the horrors of the island and make it off alive in one piece.

Did I just describe King Kong (1933) or Kong: Skull Island (2016)? Eh, they sound similar? Both have different characters, subplots, and completely different tones, but metabolically is the same.

John Goodman is great in any role he's in. His best scene is his monologue towards Sam Jackson's character, Packard. Tom Hiddleston plays a standard mercenary, named James Conrad. He's a badass bar-fighting navigator who's paid to join Monarch's escort mission. Just same the as Goodman, he's great at delivering memorable lines. He reminds me a lot of Indiana Jones. But the emotional core of the film comes from John C. Reilly's character, Marlow. He lands on Skull Island back in World War 2 and is stranded there for over 20 years with a fellow enemy from the war. After the uniforms come off, they practically become brothers. He makes for a good comic relief, but soon takes over the story, as he reveals he has a wife and possible son that he's never met. He's the one you really root for, hoping he makes it off the island alive. I was surprised how deep Packard got as far as a character. He becomes a more tragic villain towards the end, as he slowly grows more and more obsessed with taking down Kong. After witnessing the giant ape take down all of his men, he kind of snaps. He couldn't handle another defeat after Vietnam, or has he says it, "We abandoned the war," and so his sanity was barely hanging on. Very pleasant surprise and Jackson does a great job as always. My favorite line of his is, "Bitch, please!" that he snaps at Brie Larson. Pretty epic shit.

Of course, Kong is just as amazing as ever. They perfected him this time around, the special effects are as good as you can get, on-par with the amazing Peter Jackson version. Before I went into the film, I was worried Kong was just going to become a standard giant monster that you wouldn't be able to relate to or get emotional with, but I was proven dead wrong. When I look at this ape, I see the same Kong I love and grew up with in the 1933 and 2005 versions; he's just a lot bigger here.

Jordon Vogt-Roberts absolutely nails the style of this film. I suppose a lot of the credit could be given to his cinematographer, who also does all the work for Zack Snyder, on films like 300 and Watchmen. But the slow-motion shots of the helicopter blades rotating, sunrise backdrops with Kong in the foreground, and Hideaki Anno style shots are littered all throughout... and it is just glorious. This is one of the most gorgeous films I've ever watched in a theater. The colors just pop out in every shot; every shot is just teaming with detail and beauty. I can't get enough of it. The slow-motion sequence with Tom Hiddleston in the green smoke, the blue and red color contrast in the bar scene, the sunset backdrop with the helicopters flying, the IMAX camera shots of Vietnam mountains, and the final monster battle are all wonderful. I can't list them all, because the entire film is just beautiful. Absolute perfection on a technical level here.

As I said in my previous review, This is the movie Jurassic World wanted to be. It's an epic, funny, loud, explosive, and visually incredible film giving us tons of great character moments and monster action. I absolutely love this.

I am now giving this film an 8 because of the workprint version. For those that aren't aware, recently, the original version of the film from 2000 was leaked online by a couple documentary filmmakers, creating drama in the community as a result, but finally giving out the long awaited, Allcroft version of the film, at least as of the second edit during the post-production process. I watched a fan edited, new audio mixed version of the cut available on some private torrent sites, and honestly, it fixes the movie. All the issues people have with plot holes, logic gaps, childish humor, conflicting tones, unmotivated villains, and confusing characters, are all completely fixed. The film's story is re-ordered, over 20 minutes of footage is reinstated, thus creating a more cohesive, interesting dramatic narrative that centers around all the human characters, and not just oddly Mr. Conductor and Diesel 10. Grandpa Burnett is fleshed out much more, P.T. Boomer is all back in the picture, fixing the villain problem, Lily has a little more to do, and the chemistry all around benefits from the shared conflict of stopping Boomer from destroying the island. The tone is much more mature, but still kid friendly. After seeing this, there's no reason this shouldn't have been released. Little kids would've been bored for sure, but older children and adults would've loved it. It just feels weird being able to write these words after all these years, waiting for something to come out about this production, and now it's here. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it. You all will love it.

This movie should have been called STEM. That gives off a much more unsettling vibe.

I actually would rather not say much, because you should just experience Upgrade yourself. I was nearly in tears just fifteen minutes in, not expecting that. I rarely ever get emotional watching any film, let alone so early on. If you want Ex Machina, but melded together with the action of John Wick, in service of a story reminiscent of Death Wish, this is exactly the result. Leigh Whannel creates a carefully crafted, small, but satisfying "grindhouse" flick. I use quotations because the story is anything but something as low brow and shitty as a grindhouse, but the action certainly suits the genre. Much of the world building is tastefully kept to a bare minimum, or kept in just revealing of the technology, so the script stays centered on Grey Trace; this is something I very much appreciate. There's not a lot of jumping locations, or even that many characters, as doing so would only muddle up the tension and drama. This is a surprise that came out of nowhere. Whannel just comes out after Insidious: The Last Key and blows a great creative load. The choreography intermixed with the editing of Stefan Duscio's gorgeous camera work delivers a delightfully appealing show. Seek out one of only a thousand or so theaters that are carrying this. One of my unquestionable favorites of the year so far. Deadpool 2 has nothing on it.

Finally, a sensational and rousing comedy film that manages to make me laugh... hard... quite a few times. Diego Tutweiller has constructed a good list essay why Marvel movies and other such blockbusters have substandard humor in their writing. Check out the link and read just so you understand a little better. One attribute Diego didn't mention, which I've noticed happen more frequently, note Black Panther, is the cutting-out-the-music tactic. I'm sure you're all familiar with this move, even if you are consciously aware of it. Check this video from Cinemassacre, listing off his least-favorite movie clichés, he touches on the ever-popular stop-for-comedy tool all trailer editors use to make a joke hit harder than how they normally would. This is not an isolated technique only a few companies use, almost every comedy trailer in the past decade uses this. Even the trailer for Game Night is guilty. In the actual movie, that joke doesn't have that cut-away from the soundtrack. Not a fan of it, but it's the norm. The trouble is, this lazy method of "joke-telling" has seeped it's way into actual film productions. We don't even treat movies separate from trailers anymore, it's like now jokes in a movie are written specifically to be edited a way in the trailer. I don't have the clip now, because it's still in theaters, but Black Panther did this multiple times, very clearly. It bugged me when I saw it because I knew how cheap of an attempt at humor it was. It wasn't even a good joke, like, the hoth man just says, "We are vegetarians." It's the opposite of what you expected, and the dramatic music literally stops. It's bullshit.

But yeah, Game Night? Oh yeah, the movie I'm supposed to be talking about. It was great. One of the best constructed comedies of the past few years, it's amazing this comes from the same writer who did Herbie Fully Loaded and The Country Bears... yeah, I'm shocked. I don't know if it was sheer-luck or a lightbulb of genius one of the directors contracted, but the duo along with Mark Perez has strung together not just great reference-humor, but well-timed physical comedy, ironic meta bombs, and above-all else, believable and surprising-ly lovable characters. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams' duet is excellent and full of rich on-screen chemistry. They fit so well together, you forget you're watching actors say words. I wish I could meet them in person. (◕‸◕) The way they spout off trivia and one-liners alone makes a viewing worth it, these two sell the film themselves. But working alongside them, albeit less so, the supporting cast, including the dumb-ass Ryan played by Billy Magnussen, just adds even more appeal. There's a wonderfully timed scene, minor spoilers for a little joke here, he's handing a businesswoman dollar bills across the table. She wants a hundred dollars, Ryan first slides across a twenty, but as he keeps sliding new bills over, the amount of each one gets lower and lower and the pace he slides them gets slower and slower. The timing of the cuts was so brilliant, I dare say better than the similar joke in Hot Fuzz. It's a cute short skit, but had me laughing out loud with the other people in the theater. I feel explaining the gags would be a huge disservice to the experience, so I won't detail much more. The music is nicely presented, the movie is stylish (I love the way establishing shots make the citiy look like a game-board, that was a brilliant touch), the humor is creative and full of twists, and the cast is memorable as all hell. If you have the chance, check it out, you will be pleasantly surprised and full of joy, if you're like me burnt out on most main-stream humor.

Jesse Plemons is a treasure, his whole act with his ex-wife is some of the funniest shit I've seen in years.