Struggling to survive with her father after the collapse of Earth’s ecosystem, 13-year-old Vesper must use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the future.
Vesper is definitely an interesting little Sci-Fi film that really expands itself as it goes on, the film does start out a bit rough with a lot of slow burn elements that don’t exactly work all that well here. Mainly due to the story itself actually being a bit more straightforward than you would think, but once it gets going the film becomes quite an Interesting exploration. The characters are quite intriguing particularly Raffiella Chapman’s character Vesper who gets a really solid backstory and several character moments as the film goes on, there’s some world exploration here that definitely could have been used a lot more, but for what’s presented it’s a quite decent look at a post apocalyptic world that introduces some ideas that are pretty investing. The film does follow a few familiar Sci-Fi film tropes but at the very least the film does things a bit different, as I said before the slow burn elements are kind of just there. They are very unnecessary especially with the story being told where it’s actually straightforward and really doesn’t need these long moments of silence to digest what’s happening on screen. If you can get through that you are in for a very investing ride.
In medieval England, the daughter of a financially destitute Lord thwarts her father’s plans to marry her off to a wealthy suitor. When the most vile suitor arrives, her parent’s love for her is tested.
After the complete mess that was Sharp Stick I had very low expectations for Lena Dunham’s second film this year Catherine Called Birdy, life is full of surprises I guess because this wasn’t terrible. For starters the main reason why the movie works is because of Bella Ramsey, without her this movie would have fallen flat quite easily. Bella Ramsey really makes the script that would otherwise be way too simple and very bare bones into something surprisingly energetic and interesting, it’s essentially criticizing the patriarchy but in medieval times which the movie does pretty fine enough at. The other side of it is a coming age film but set in medieval times, which there are some fresh ideas with the character development mainly having to do with Bella Ramsey’s character Birdy calling out the bullcrap of the patriarchy in a few humorous ways while also having serious discussions about it as well. There are times where the movie does go a bit overboard with sarcastic humor and sort of takes away from the more serious moments, but for the most part the movie does a solid job at what it’s trying to say. It’s definitely not anything groundbreaking plus there are films that are far stronger that tackle the exact same subjects as this one, but this is certainly not a bad choice if you decide to give it a look.
Catherine Called Birdy is available on Amazon Prime Video.
After a lost hiker stumbles into the cabin of an eccentric old man, it becomes clear that one of them is hiding a terrifying secret.
I often like films with very limited rooms or settings, Old Man takes place in a cabin where a lost hiker (Marc Senter) finds a cabin where a man simply known as in this film old man (Stephen Lang) lives. It’s a simple setup that Director Lucky McKee builds quite well, however what comes after that is sort of a mixed bag that really does not have a whole to it. Outside of the performances Stephen Lang and Mark Senter, who actually give some quite grounded performances at times (keywords being at times because they do jump the shark towards the end) as well as the sharp and thrilling atmosphere that is very present. The story being told really isn’t enough to grab the viewer’s attention, this would have easily worked far better as a short or a segment that’s part of an anthology film, mainly due to the story being told would be far more mysterious and the viewers would be given far less answers which in this case is a good thing. The more the movie tells about the old man’s past the less thrilling and investing it gets, its a shame because Stephen Lang seriously does a fantastic job and would have been even more effective had the film let the character of the old man be more mysterious and tell his development and his motivations through his actions. Old Man is definitely not a bad movie, it’s competently made with some great performances and thrilling atmosphere at times. It just would have been far better off as a short film.
Diana, a prostitute who was blinded by a serial killer in a botched attack, takes in a young Chinese boy named Chin, abruptly altering both of their lives forever.
Dark Glasses is Dario Argento’s first film since Dracula 3D (2012) and is yet again another one of his weaker films. Dark Glasses isn’t necessarily bad as it is just very very dull. There’s some ideas here that work and it’s actually decently crafted when it comes to filmmaking, the rest of the movie mainly the script is incredibly lacking and is essentially a very watered down Argento film, the opening is definitely decent and is very promising but everything after that is a mixed bag.
Dark Glasses is available on Shudder.
5/10 C
Veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund heads deep into Mexican territory to find and return Rachel Kidd, the wife of a wealthy businessman. After learning she actually fled from the abusive marriage, Max faces a choice: finish the job he’s been hired to do, or stand aside while ruthless mercenary outlaws and his longtime rival close in on a town that’s been his temporary sanctuary.
I really don’t know what to exactly say here, Dead For A Dollar is terribly put together western revenge movie that is the very definition of predictable. Outside of the cast who tries their hardest with such a dull script there really isn’t anything here that’s any different from other revenge western films, the script is just begging for some sort of substance but instead gets a very traditntal revenge plot that doesn’t do anything in the way of development or character moments. Willem Dafoe is by far the standout but even he is restricted to how much of his talent he can really put in, due to the script giving very little to work with.
Dead For A Dollar is available on all VOD platforms.
3/10 D-
Olivia is a teen struggling with a recent loss of a friend. After getting deferred from her dream school, she spirals out of control and launches a social media-fueled rampage against those who stand in the way of her success.
Madelaine Petsch and Chloe Bailey are both great here and completely hold this movie together from falling apart, however a lot of this movie really boils down to a PSA about bullying and why using your friend who died Facebook account to get back at people is not a good thing. There’s some fine enough moments here mostly because the atmosphere does have a few thrilling moments, but the movie really tries to shoehorn some psychological thriller elements that come off as goofy mainly due to them not fitting into the story being told. There’s been high school movies that have done a far better job of telling this exact type of story before and there will be plenty more in the future. So Jane really just comes off as something where after you finish watching it you will quickly forget about it.
Jane is available on Creator+
5/10 C
A New England realtor ignites long-buried emotions and family secrets when she rekindles a romance with her old high school flame.
The Good House has a really strong performance from Sigourney Weaver and there’s a few touching moments that have heart, however what seriously kills this movie is the many tonal shifts, often times it treats subjects such as alcoholism as some cute moments and then other times it treats it as a serious subject. It’s very baffling to say the least, there’s also some strange fourth wall jokes here that completely don’t fit into the story the movie is trying to tell. Outside of that it’s a very typical adult romance movie that really doesn’t have anything going for it outside of Sigourney Weaver. The rest of the cast are fine and the family elements aren’t too bad here, but this definitely needed a huge rewrite.
On a dark and sombre night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader; the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic.
Werewolf By Night is hands down one of the best installments to come out of Phase Four in the MCU, for starters everything from the tone, style, characters heck even writing is a night and day difference from the rest of the MCU and I mean that in a good way. The special itself is only 52 minutes long yet still manages to flesh out it’s characters pretty well, Laura Donnelly and Gael García Bernal are both highlights who give really strong performances that completely make the special shine, the use of black and white combined with the throwback elements of the Universal Monster movies is truly fantastic. There’s some quite clever style and writing tricks that the writers and Michael Giacchino use. The film is very well crafted with so much attention to detail included, it helps that the special actually feels like one of the Universal monster films. It shows that everyone involved did their homework rather than create a cheap copy of the films.
When Kano and Black Dragon mercenaries become determined to take over Earthrealm, undisciplined Kenshi seeks tutelage from retired Kuai Liang to stop Kano from decimating all of Earthrealm.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind is the third of the new animated Mortal Kombat movies (technically there is one that came out in 1995 but that is an entirely different movie). The previous two movies Scorpion’s Revenge and Battle Of The Realms were both very solid and accomplished what they were sent out to do, Snow Blind however takes it up a notch and actually does something quite different this time around….it’s not based around the tournament itself, instead it takes this Mad Max apocalyptic type atmosphere approach while also having a lot of the elements that make the series so great. The characters are actually pretty well written particularly Kenshi, Kuai and Kano (who is a fantastic villain) the action scenes are very entertaining and the writing is surprisingly very well written, it’s by far the most in depth it’s ever been in these movies thus far. There are a few hiccups such as some of villains who kind of just serve to hype up Kano and really get the Dragonball Z movie henchmen treatment, however Kabel and Tremor are a lot of fun and actually steal a few of the scenes they are in. The highlight of the film however is Kenshi and Kuai, the student and mentor chemistry is truly strong here and the two have some really strong character moments. Overall if you liked the last two movies you are going to really like this one, especially since it steers away from the Mortal Kombat formula and does a pretty solid job of bringing something new to the series. A fourth movie is set to release next year!
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind is available on all VOD platforms.
A suburban teen girl and her little brother must stop a terrifying internet meme brought to life by the hysteria of their parents.
Grimcutty is based off of the whole Momo challenge that happened a few years ago where there were reports of kids getting messages from an account called Momo and supposedly told them to harm themselves, harm others ect. It ended up being a hoax and a lot of Facebook moms blew it out of proportion making it seem like it was real world crisis. The question is why did this movie release now? But it really doesn’t matter at all because the movie itself is horrible, the performances are dreadful as well as the writing. It truly feels like a first draft script that nobody bothered to look over, the movie attempts to try and tackle the topic of parents overreacting to Grimcutty but it comes off as way too cartoonish, it doesn’t help that the performances completely destroy any type of discussion about the topic the movie is attempting. There’s a few so bad it’s hilarious moments here but those are so far and few in between, lastly there’s the characters who much like the rest of the movie are very poorly written. The movie itself is unimaginative with tons of horror cliches that are done far better in several other films, the only reason why Grimcutty has some sort of spotlight is because of what it’s based off of. If you take that away you are left with a terrible horror movie that is essentially another “this monster is stalking me” type. Oh yes and the whole technology part of the movie pretty much results in the exact same way Mr. Harrigan’s Phone which was “Phones are bad”.
A man and his daughter must team up to save their town after an ancient and mischievous spirit causes Halloween decorations to come to life and wreak havoc.
I reviewed Spirit Halloween: The Movie last week where I talked a bit about gateway horror or scary films meant for kids. The Curse Of Bridge Hollow is definitely in the same vein, funnily enough this movie is also about possessed Halloween decorations attacking people. Curse Of Bridge Hallow is definitely the better of the two mostly due to the movie actually using it’s premise decently…at least for some parts of the movie. The acting here is not great Marlon Waynes definitely tries his best and admittedly it’s one of his better performances in the comedies he’s recently done. However it’s really not enough to be noteworthy, there are definitely moments where it does feel like a Disney Channel original movie that became a Netflix original. This is also Jeff Wadlow’s most tolerable in a very long time, honestly what really hurts this movie is that it’s forgettable. It’s one of those Netflix movies where you watch it and 4 hours later you forget half of what happened, there’s fun to be had and it’s very inoffensive to kids. But between the poor acting and the terrible jokes this one will be quickly forgotten.
The Curse Of Bridge Hollow is available on Netflix.
During the last days of World War II, Nazi werewolves attack Allied soldiers who are trafficking Hitler’s remains out of Germany.
Burial is yet another forgettable World War II horror movie that really could have been something interesting, the idea of Nazi Werewolves is interesting but it’s not touched upon in the movie. Outside of some decent shots, being competently made and the atmosphere actually being effective at times. The horror element is barely present here, a lot of it is just very drawn out and needed a lot more time in the oven to find a focus.
When the Primm family moves to New York City, their young son, Josh, struggles to adapt to his new school and friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle, a singing crocodile that loves baths, caviar and great music. The two become fast friends, but when evil neighbor Mr. Grumps threatens Lyle’s existence, the Primms must band together to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places.
Lyle Lyle Crocodile is exactly what you expect it’s going to be, it’s a very familiar story that’s been told before. A kid who is lonely finds a special friend and then wacky antics pursue, however this one is very charming and you really can’t help but smile at the movie. Shawn Mendes’s charming performance as Lyle plus his singing voice combined with the songs is genuinely a lot of fun. It’s hands down the part that completely sells this movie and really brings it altogether, Top Of The World is easily the standout song here as the scene it’s used in is an absolute blast and filled to the brim of personality, plus a lot of the other songs follow suit as well. Javier Bardem is a lot of fun as well and Brett Gelman plays a cartoony neighbor that really works here. There really isn’t much else to say here, the film is straightforward, has a ton of heart and is definitely something kids will absolutely love. It’s not going to break any new ground but it doesn’t have to.
Jerome Reviews... 