At the Movies with Kane and BN

[Kane52630]

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum

Shout out to Charlotte for being a real one throughout this and also shout out to that deliciously fresh cooked noodle soup.

This was a really well-done Korean found footage horror and I feel like this was inspired by Grave Encounters and that Japanese haunted hospital reporter video that you can only find online. It's always the aspect people care less about with these found footage movies but I like the setup here and the first 30 minutes of them getting the crew together and driving out to the asylum was good enough to make you care for all the characters and you definitely get some Blair Witch Project vibes from it. I would say the weakest part is probably in the middle where they first go in and explore and they do roughly the same kind of thing in all of these movies. And where this movie really shines is the insane last half hour where sh** goes off and they do some new things with the scares. I will say I think Grave Encounters is slightly better than this only because you get really claustrophobic with being trapped in the asylum and the overall dread and here it's definitely not as much of that until you get to the end part. Overall, this was really great and it's wild that I saw this on the 26th.
4/5

31 Days of Horror Marathon
Day 1: Saw X (3.5/5)
Day 2: No One Will Save You (4/5)
Day 3: Cobweb (3.5/5)
Day 4: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5)
Day 5: The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5)
Day 6: V/H/S/85 (4/5)
Day 7: Totally Killer (3/5)
Day 8: Beaten to Death (3/5)
Day 9: The Wolf Man (4/5)
Day 10: Werewolf of London (4/5)
Day 11: She-Wolf of London (3/5)
Day 12: Friday the 13th (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 13: Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 14: Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH)
Day 15: Tremors (4/5)
Day 16: Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5)
Day 17: Tourist Trap (3.5/5)
Day 18: When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5)
Day 19: Motel Hell (3/5)
Day 20: Night of the Comet (4.5/5)
Day 21: Eden Lake (4.5/5)
Day 22: Lake Mungo (4/5)
Day 23: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 24: Megan is Missing (3/5)
Day 25: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5)
Day 26: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5)​

 

[Kane52630]

When Evil Lurks

When they say the dog ate... the dog really ate.

This was a brutal and bleak possession horror from Argentina that is definitely inspired by The Wailing, [Rec] 2, The Sadness, and some A24 horror films. It definitely tries to do something different and it takes the structure of a zombie apocalypse movie and uses it for a demonic possession story. It's a movie that really doesn't hold back and cut away on the intense gore and insane violence but it's also not trying to be low-brow about it and the themes they explore are a bit more sophisticated. I don't think the movie works completely and a lot of it is a bit unclear but when it does work, it's an interesting portrait of humanity post-covid and the familial relationship. Overall, it's really good and I think it will grow on me, but I kinda wish it had a better throughline on tone and execution.
3.5/5

31 Days of Horror Marathon
Day 1: Saw X (3.5/5)
Day 2: No One Will Save You (4/5)
Day 3: Cobweb (3.5/5)
Day 4: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5)
Day 5: The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5)
Day 6: V/H/S/85 (4/5)
Day 7: Totally Killer (3/5)
Day 8: Beaten to Death (3/5)
Day 9: The Wolf Man (4/5)
Day 10: Werewolf of London (4/5)
Day 11: She-Wolf of London (3/5)
Day 12: Friday the 13th (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 13: Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 14: Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH)
Day 15: Tremors (4/5)
Day 16: Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5)
Day 17: Tourist Trap (3.5/5)
Day 18: When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5)
Day 19: Motel Hell (3/5)
Day 20: Night of the Comet (4.5/5)
Day 21: Eden Lake (4.5/5)
Day 22: Lake Mungo (4/5)
Day 23: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 24: Megan is Missing (3/5)
Day 25: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5)
Day 26: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5)
Day 27: When Evil Lurks (3.5/5)​

 

[Kane52630]

Five Nights at Freddy's

Aggaravtingly mediocre in all sense of the word. This is probably the most mundane and boring horror film I've watched this month. I feel like the direction, with all due respect to Emma Tammi who has made better horror movies in the past like The Wind, felt like they completely missed the point of the game which I will admit I've barely played. This could have easily been an analog horror done through a first-person perspective and kept it a nail-biting horror thriller rather than some CW-level horror drama. It's a movie that doesn't have much going on so they tacked on a subplot about a missing brother that gets repetitive and boring quick. Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Lail gave serviceable performances but everyone else is pretty terrible. Matthew Lillard and Mary Stuart Masterson felt like they were in a completely different movie than the rest. As for the Chuck E. Cheese animatronics knockoffs, they were doing nothing interesting, even the kills felt pedestrian. I will say I thought it looked pretty nice and there's some great production value to make this look like it takes place in the late 90s/early 00s. Overall, it's boring as hell. It's crazy to think Willy's Wonderland (a knockoff of a knockoff starring Nic Cage kicking ass) ended up being the much better film.
2/5

31 Days of Horror Marathon
Day 1: Saw X (3.5/5)
Day 2: No One Will Save You (4/5)
Day 3: Cobweb (3.5/5)
Day 4: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5)
Day 5: The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5)
Day 6: V/H/S/85 (4/5)
Day 7: Totally Killer (3/5)
Day 8: Beaten to Death (3/5)
Day 9: The Wolf Man (4/5)
Day 10: Werewolf of London (4/5)
Day 11: She-Wolf of London (3/5)
Day 12: Friday the 13th (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 13: Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 14: Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH)
Day 15: Tremors (4/5)
Day 16: Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5)
Day 17: Tourist Trap (3.5/5)
Day 18: When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5)
Day 19: Motel Hell (3/5)
Day 20: Night of the Comet (4.5/5)
Day 21: Eden Lake (4.5/5)
Day 22: Lake Mungo (4/5)
Day 23: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 24: Megan is Missing (3/5)
Day 25: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5)
Day 26: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5)
Day 27: When Evil Lurks (3.5/5)
Day 28: Five Nights at Freddy's (2/5)​

 

[Kane52630]

The Thing

First goddamn week of winter.

Just so happens that my place got hit with a super cold front... so this rewatch was perfect timing. I finally got to use my 4K copy to watch this and the transfer looks so good. As always, this movie is a masterpiece and it's still my favorite horror film alongside with The Mist (which I will be seeing tomorrow).
5/5

31 Days of Horror Marathon
Day 1: Saw X (3.5/5)
Day 2: No One Will Save You (4/5)
Day 3: Cobweb (3.5/5)
Day 4: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5)
Day 5: The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5)
Day 6: V/H/S/85 (4/5)
Day 7: Totally Killer (3/5)
Day 8: Beaten to Death (3/5)
Day 9: The Wolf Man (4/5)
Day 10: Werewolf of London (4/5)
Day 11: She-Wolf of London (3/5)
Day 12: Friday the 13th (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 13: Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 14: Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH)
Day 15: Tremors (4/5)
Day 16: Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5)
Day 17: Tourist Trap (3.5/5)
Day 18: When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5)
Day 19: Motel Hell (3/5)
Day 20: Night of the Comet (4.5/5)
Day 21: Eden Lake (4.5/5)
Day 22: Lake Mungo (4/5)
Day 23: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 24: Megan is Missing (3/5)
Day 25: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5)
Day 26: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5)
Day 27: When Evil Lurks (3.5/5)
Day 28: Five Nights at Freddy's (2/5)
Day 29: The Thing (5/5) (REWATCH)​

 

[Kane52630]

The Mist

It can't be my horror marathon without The Mist. This was still hauntingly beautiful to watch again for the millionth time in black and white as Frank Darabont intended, this time in 4K. The 4K release does wonders for a lot of the shots that require a lot of shadows and depth of field not to mention the black-and-white version hiding the less-than-stellar cgi shots of the creatures. And while people love to mention how bleak the ending is, I still think they don't give enough love to the story and characters that lead up to that moment. It's such a perfect and horrific portrait of humanity and what it can do in the face of fear.
5/5

31 Days of Horror Marathon
Day 1: Saw X (3.5/5)
Day 2: No One Will Save You (4/5)
Day 3: Cobweb (3.5/5)
Day 4: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5)
Day 5: The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5)
Day 6: V/H/S/85 (4/5)
Day 7: Totally Killer (3/5)
Day 8: Beaten to Death (3/5)
Day 9: The Wolf Man (4/5)
Day 10: Werewolf of London (4/5)
Day 11: She-Wolf of London (3/5)
Day 12: Friday the 13th (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 13: Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 14: Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH)
Day 15: Tremors (4/5)
Day 16: Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5)
Day 17: Tourist Trap (3.5/5)
Day 18: When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5)
Day 19: Motel Hell (3/5)
Day 20: Night of the Comet (4.5/5)
Day 21: Eden Lake (4.5/5)
Day 22: Lake Mungo (4/5)
Day 23: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 24: Megan is Missing (3/5)
Day 25: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5)
Day 26: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5)
Day 27: When Evil Lurks (3.5/5)
Day 28: Five Nights at Freddy's (2/5)
Day 29: The Thing (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 30: The Mist (5/5) (REWATCH)​

 

[Kane52630]

Trick 'r Treat

You know when you made an all-time classic when you can watch this movie 20 times and still find something new and interesting. And my boy Sam is one of a kind.
5/5

31 Days of Horror Marathon
Day 1: Saw X (3.5/5)
Day 2: No One Will Save You (4/5)
Day 3: Cobweb (3.5/5)
Day 4: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5)
Day 5: The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5)
Day 6: V/H/S/85 (4/5)
Day 7: Totally Killer (3/5)
Day 8: Beaten to Death (3/5)
Day 9: The Wolf Man (4/5)
Day 10: Werewolf of London (4/5)
Day 11: She-Wolf of London (3/5)
Day 12: Friday the 13th (4/5) (REWATCH)
Day 13: Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 14: Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH)
Day 15: Tremors (4/5)
Day 16: Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5)
Day 17: Tourist Trap (3.5/5)
Day 18: When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5)
Day 19: Motel Hell (3/5)
Day 20: Night of the Comet (4.5/5)
Day 21: Eden Lake (4.5/5)
Day 22: Lake Mungo (4/5)
Day 23: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 24: Megan is Missing (3/5)
Day 25: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5)
Day 26: Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5)
Day 27: When Evil Lurks (3.5/5)
Day 28: Five Nights at Freddy's (2/5)
Day 29: The Thing (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 30: The Mist (5/5) (REWATCH)
Day 31: Trick 'r Treat (5/5) (REWATCH)​

 

[Kane52630]

The Killer

Cool to see that David Fincher also did the same GTA mission that I did, soundtrack and all.

An unbelievable return of the old David Fincher and more importantly Michael Fassbender. This is probably the most accessible film he's made in a while in terms of nail-biting thrillers and in many ways like what this movie is based on, this is literally his stab at making a comic book movie. To put it simply, this movie is a cross between Death Wish and Drive if Drive and Death Wish was about a contract killer. It's a monologue-driven character movie about a neurotic perfectionist from start to finish (sounds familiar?). I think many people will say this movie is almost too simple or too on the nose for Fincher in that he just plays his greatest hits album, but I think there is more to that. They do such a great job showing the process of how someone like him operates and how he reacts when something unexpected happens. The soundtrack is exactly what you expect from him and there's a fantastic intro that zooms by. Michael Fassbender is incredible here and he hasn't been this good in almost a decade. There are also some great supporting performances by Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, and Tilda Swinton. And I think this movie has probably the most brutal one-on-one fight scenes this year. Overall, it's without question one of the best movies of the year and I'm glad I saw it in a theater.
5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Royal Hotel

Both of them have never seen Wolf Creek and it shows.

A really well-done psychological thriller set in the Australian outback that takes you through the eyes of these two female Canadian backpackers in a toxic workplace environment. I thought the setup and the inner workings of the plot were really well done, it's a movie that does a great job making you second-guess every guy who walks into that bar and their true intentions. Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick gave some great performances and I like how both of them reacted to the situation differently which made for a more interesting story. My only minor issue is the movie itself tries to be both a prestige drama and a genre-level action thriller and I don't think the movie knows where it wants to be. It doesn't really ruin the movie for me but I was thinking that this movie could have been even better if they somehow balanced it better. Kitty Green also made another toxic workplace drama with The Assistant and I still think that's her best film. Overall, it's still really good.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Marvels

Iman Vellani must be in pain for carrying an entire movie on her back.

This was a fun and delightful movie despite some major problems with the story and structure. It almost feels like a light DLC side story to whatever Marvel has going on but still connects to the overall multiverse storyline. What is both a gift and a curse to this movie is it's short and straight to the point with what it's about, but it also feels like the first act was missing. Granted, it's because the first act is both Ms. Marvel and WandaVision as well as the first Cap Marvel, the movie does the bare minimum of getting you up to date with where the movie is at when it starts. It feels like the movie was chopped up and rearranged several times. The same goes for the main villain played by Zawe Ashton who is given barely enough to make you know who she is and her motivations.

The movie does a good job showcasing its strengths which is the bond between Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris and their comedic banter. Their chemistry alone elevates the movie and it's way more fun to watch than the previous MCU movies like Quatnamania and Love & Thunder even though it's more competently made on a filmmaking level. Brie Larson feels more comfortable with the role of Captain Marvel and here they tailored her character better to fit what Larson is better known for. Iman Vellani is again effortlessly entertaining as Kamala Khan and I hope Marvel course corrects even more and gives her the main spotlight. She can hold her own as a fun and entertaining character on the levels of Tom Holland's Spider-Man. As much as I really liked Teyonah Parris here, I don't think she was given as many interesting moments as the other two.

When the movie deals with the plot and the overall connectedness of the MCU, I don't think it totally worked. It feels disconnected at times because some things are mentioned and some things like the whole Secret Invasion show don't even get a mention even though you do see Skrulls in this movie. Overall, it's the most disjointed MCU movie I've seen but I still had fun with it. I'm probably rating this higher than I should be but I don't care. This was a fun low-stakes story that I would rather watch again than some of the other recent MCU movies. To me, this belongs in the Blue Beetle zone.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Quiz Lady

Shout out to Alan Cumming and his final film role.

This was such a fun comfort comedy that feels like it was made years ago back in the Apatow era but done in the right way. It takes the buddy road trip comedy and combines it with the awkward introvert comedy that also deals with two sisters trying to bond. Awkwafina and Sandra Oh are fantastic in it and their chemistry is what keeps this movie afloat and the drama side of it all also works really well. They actually do a good job showing how some introverts feel and the comedy that comes from that is gold. I did like Will Ferrell pretty much playing Alex Trebek again only it's got a different personality and the game show part of the movie was so fun. It was also great to see Paul Reubens for the last time. Overall, this belongs alongside the other better comedies this year like Joy Ride and No Hard Feelings.
3.5/5

 

[flickchick85]

Shout out to Alan Cumming and his final film role.

What??

 

[Kane52630]

What??

If you've seen the movie then you get the joke.

 

[flickchick85]

If you've seen the movie then you get the joke.

Goddammit Kane you had me thinking he died or was quitting acting or something.

 

[Kane52630]

The Holdovers

Never underestimate the comedic power of a sharp zoom out. That will always make me laugh.

Undeniably perfect for the holidays. This movie is a warm blanket if you're snowed in during a New England winter. Alexander Payne manage to recreate that same feeling you'd get with older sentimental dramedies set during the holidays. It's as if he uncovered a lost film from the 70s because it's got everything from the old-school opening credits to the old-fashioned cinematography that looks like it was shot on film. To me, this movie is like a combination of Dead Poets Society with A Christmas Story with a little sprinkle of Dazed and Confused. The movie doesn't work without the incredible performances of Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa who all have great chemistry with each other. With how isolated the movie is most of the time, it does a great job relating some of its angst and anxiety to the COVID times that we lived in. They know how to use wholesome low stakes and bring it around to how important they are to the human condition. Overall, I thought it was incredible and it's by far my favorite movie by Alexander Payne. I would not be surprised if you see this show up on rotation on cable during December.
4.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Anatomy of a Fall

I'm just imagining what the call was like for the filmmakers reaching out to 50 Cent to use his single.

This was a great and sturdy courtroom drama with all the necessary bits and pieces that feel like a lot of the American courtroom dramas that were made in the 90s. Justine Triet does a great job incorporating a lot of that documentary feel into the movie while also being a traditional drama. The performances by Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, and Antoine Reinartz were great. There's also some of the best dog acting since the dog in The Thing. They do a good job squeezing a mini-series-length courtroom story into 2 and a half hours. It's a story that goes into a rocky marriage and family dynamics and I think they do a good job showing how bringing it all out in the courtroom is fascinating. As much as I really enjoyed it, I don't think it's quite a masterpiece as some are saying, I think the last act has some things that I wish were more explored and shown. I think the movie tries to do something different and I don't think it entirely worked. Overall, it's a great courtroom drama with some outstanding performances.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Old Dads

You know what movie you're in when they play that same guitar music in every indie movie and small comedies that feels like you're trapped in a Starbucks.

It's yet another of these sitcom movies that doesn't really work despite Bill Burr trying to make it more than just funny jokes. I was kinda with the movie when Bill Burr was doing his stand-up routine in a sitcom environment where it's a lot of obvious observational comedy about being out of touch while also making fun of young people and political correctness, but there isn't enough going on that makes it stand out. It becomes more of a drama over the course of the movie that also doesn't really work and it's all very typical stuff. I thought at the very least the banter between Bill Burr, Bokeem Woodbine, and Bobby Cannavale was not bad and it's got a shockingly big supporting cast of notable tv and comic actors that are usually in everything. Overall, didn't hate it but it's kinda lazy and all over the place.
2/5

 

[Kane52630]

Nyad

Women will literally swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys instead of going to therapy.

I thought this was an interesting take on making a movie based on a real-life person. It's somehow a mix of a documentary, a biopic, and a sports movie all rolled into one and how they managed to cut in between each of those parts felt new. It makes sense that this has a documentary feel to it because of the directors who also made Free Solo. Despite some of the Oscar bait-ness of the overall movie, I thought it worked really well and the performances by Annette Bening and Jodie Foster were really effective and their chemistry works. While the sports biopic cliches are all over this, I thought it still kept me invested in her story and how insane it is for her to keep trying this impossible task. Overall, I thought it was pretty good.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Me 10 minutes in: Oh that's not Taylor Swift?
Me 20 minutes in: Oh that's not Dustin from Stranger Things?

Was not expecting much and considering I pretty much only really enjoyed one of the previous Hunger Games movies (Catching Fire), I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I will say I thought the first act was probably the least interesting part of the movie apart from the Rachel Zegler scenes and it's the one that's filled with the most bland CG shots. The movie gets progressively better as it focuses more on the two leads and the Hunger Games part isn't the center of the movie. It's a prequel but I think they don't spend so much time on fanservice for what's to come and because of the 2-and-a-half-hour runtime, they do a good job giving each scene some time to breathe. While the rest of the cast wasn't awful, I thought Rachel Zegler was the only interesting character in the movie, she reminded me of Jena Malone's character if she could sing really well. Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, and especially Jason Schwartzman felt like I was watching the Netflix adaptation of The Hunger Games instead of a real movie. As for the Hunger Games portion of the movie, they kinda rushed it but I will say some of the parts in it were pretty entertaining. Overall, it's pretty good.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Thanksgiving

This year I'm thankful for an old-fashioned slasher.

I honestly didn't think Eli Roth had it in him to make something like this without ****ting the bed. This is a pure and simple post-Scream slasher that knowingly knows exactly what it is doing. If it weren't for the smartphones or the wifi you would have guessed that this came out in the late 90s or the 00s and they do a good job building up these typical slasher characters. This also has the 70s/80s level gore that was promised in the fake trailer for the Grindhouse movies so it has a good mix. Even though they changed some kills from the trailer, there are some others that are done pretty well. At times this also feels like someone like Ti West or Adam Wingard made this and there are some moments in this that kinda give a nod to them. How they use Plymouth and John Carver and all the history that ties into Thanksgiving was well done and the little satire that goes with it along with Black Friday was good. I really liked Patrick Dempsey, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, and Nell Verlaque in this and what they brought to the table was fun to see, pun intended, and everyone else was kinda forgettable, to be honest. I don't know if this will be a yearly horror viewing but Eli Roth did his best to give it a shot. Overall, I really dug it, it was a lot of fun.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain

They really acapella'd Crank That Soulja Boy

First of all, I feel like it's too soon for Please Don't Destroy to get their own movie only because Lonely Island didn't get theirs until years after on SNL. Anyway, this was a fun movie. I thought it started off strong but it kinda fizzled out towards the end. The comedy works especially at the beginning when they are going through their typical bits and sketches. Having Conan be Ben Marshall's father was perfect casting and as usual, Conan kills it every time he shows up on screen. Overall, while it falls short of being a classic, it's a solid comedy.
3.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Good Burger 2

Knowing what this is going into it, it's yet another streaming movie that cashes in on nostalgia with a cheap budget and lazy writing but... I can't bring myself to hate it because I'm still an old Nickelodeon kid. Call it cheap memberberries but I did appreciate all the callbacks, easter eggs, and cameos that they put into this especially bringing back some of the original cast of All That. Some of the humor does still work but most of the time they are cut together so awkwardly and strung together with no reason or build up. I will say the scenes with Ed's son cracked up me. The first Good Burger is another example of how the 90s used to do these kinds of kid movies, but I feel like today they lack knowledge of how to do these kinds of movies where it's goofy but clever. I think Kel Mitchell brought back that same energy he got back in the day, but Kenan is so obviously not the guy he used to be back in the day even when he's on SNL. Overall, it won't ever touch the original but I had disposable fun for what it is. At the end of the day, I'm just a dude and she's just a dude... and more importantly, we're all dudes, hey!
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

The Marsh King's Daughter

Alternative title: The Girl with the Last of Us Tattoo

Didn't expect much from it but I thought this was a pretty well-made movie for what is on the surface another Lifetime movie or another Where the Crawdads Sing situation. I will say the movie started off pretty strong and Brooklynn Prince is phenomenal as always playing the younger version of Daisy Ridley's character. Once it moves to Daisy Ridley it starts to become increasingly more conventational and uncomplicated as a story. Still, there are several parts of it that worked and it still kept me interested. I thought Ben Mendelsohn was pretty good and I really liked Daisy Ridley even with the awful Southern accent that dips in and out. As it goes into the 3rd act it becomes a pretty typical on-the-run thriller with some good moments. Overall, I didn't hate it even if at times it feels like an elevated Lifetime movie. It's a solid film that has "airport novel turned into film" written all over it (which it is).
3/5

 

[Kane52630]

Napoleon

Ridley Scott really went all in on taking creative liberties. I didn't expect this movie to end with Joaquin Phoenix performing an interpretive dance to the sounds of Jamiroquai.

It's quite honestly a somewhat confusing yet super entertaining "historical" epic revolving around Napoleon's successes and failures. It's deliberately two different kinds of movies working side by side. The biggest highlight and love I have for the movie is Ridley Scott is still the best director alive when it comes to filming historical war battles with grandeur and scope and every battle in this movie is so intense and brutal. I also thought it was great that they pull back the camera and you get to see the strategy and thought process when they went into battle. Like with most historical fiction, not everything in the movie is accurate but that didn't really bother me as much. The other side of the movie is they try to counterbalance the war scenes of the movie with Napoleon's homelife with Joséphine and almost every scene feels like a fun Drunk History episode which is definitely done on purpose. I knew going into this that side was going to be mostly comedic and it shows how pathetic he really is and his mommy issues. I thought Vanessa Kirby did a pretty good job in what is usually a typical role. The chemistry between the two was weird and bizarre but also fun at times. Overall, it's a weird and interesting take on Napoleon that constantly shifts tone, but I was never bored by either part of the movie. Also seeing it in Dolby with the entire theater shaking whenever the battle scenes show up was incredible.
4/5

 

[Kane52630]

Saltburn

I always find it funny that the mansion-owning super-rich always has the ****tiest and smallest tv set up.

Somewhat disappointing. It's a movie that definitely has a clear motive with its plot but they spend so much time on the less interesting parts of the movie. Emerald Fennell has something to say about the wealthy and class but not really and it's also about the relationship between Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi but also not really. While I think the movie spends more time on delivering some incredible work on the cinematography, the movie on the surface has a very Netflix-driven sensibility. The performances are done really well but I think there's a lot of British dryness that makes almost every scene feel static except for Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant who both give an eccentric performance. The most interesting thing about the movie is how it ends and I feel like if the script was reworked a bit, that whole section could have been its own movie and it would be so much better than waiting for a twist that you see coming. Overall, it's an overlong social satire and psychological thriller that didn't work for me but it looked nice.
2.5/5

 

[Kane52630]

Next Goal Wins

Had a lot of fun. It's an old-fashioned broad sports comedy that is self-aware of its tropes and it's a nice return from Taika Waititi after the Love & Thunder debacle. It's a movie that is clearly motivated and influenced by Bad News Bears, Ted Lasso, and other sports comedies in the past as well as the documentary based on the American Samoa team story. They give Michael Fassbender's character just enough to not completely take over the movie and give a lot of the other people like Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, and Uli Latukefu some much-needed shine. I thought the comedy stuff really worked and the drama just as much even in places where you don't expect it to. The movie doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to this kind of comedy and drama but it mostly works for me. Overall, while formulaic, it's a sports comedy that feels like a genuine throwback.
3.5/5