Halloween Kills is one of the most fun and best of the franchise!

The nightmare isn’t over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode’s trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, Ill., to rise up against Myers. Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all.

In February 2020 I was lucky enough to be at a test screening for Halloween Kills it was mostly completed with the gore and music needing a bit work, I absolutely loved then and after watching it again with it officially released it’s my second favorite of the franchise. I will say that Halloween Kills isn’t going to be for everyone, as strange as that sounds the film tries something completely different and not what you would expect from this series. For starters Halloween Kills focuses a lot more of the people of Haddonfield and how they are reacting to Michael Myers’s killing spree, it’s a much darker film that I think this franchise definitely needed. It has a ton of brutal kills that are quite honestly some of the best of the series, the film itself feels like a throwback to the 80s from some of the camera angles to the characters, speaking of which while the decision making of the characters isn’t good I feel like this actually helps the film in a lot of ways. For starters it’s a community of people with a monster who’s pretty much invincible the panic and decision making actually feels very accurate, the writing also matches that style as well. While the writing doesn’t have its powerful moments it really doesn’t need to, the community of people feel like actual people who lost their minds and aren’t thinking or saying anything rationally. It’s a lot of interesting ideas that really do standout in this movie, that you don’t normally see in a lot of modern slasher films. Halloween Kills really does a fantastic job of showing how much fear and dread Michael has inflicted in Haddonfield! Overall Halloween Kills is one of my favorite films of the year, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Halloween Kills is playing in theaters and on Peacock!

10/10 A+

The After series is once again bottom of the barrel with After We Fell.

As Tessa makes a life-changing decision, revelations about her family and Hardin’s past threaten to derail her plans and end the couple’s intense relationship.

After We Fell is the third of the “After” series a series which was once a fanfiction on Wattpad that turned into a book series and now a movie series. To recap After (the first movie) was the worst film of 2019, After We Collided was the worst film of 2020 and managed to somehow be even worse than it’s predecessor. Now we have After We Fell which has almost the exact same problems as the last two movies except nothing ever happens in this movie. For starters everyone who was in the last two movies besides Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin were recasted, making the movie itself already a complete and total mess. The acting and writing are once again horrendous and some of the worst I’ve ever seen/heard, I never thought I would ever hear the phrase “sexy Popeye” but here we are I guess. Outside of that a lot of the writing is just not interesting at the slightest and continues to be bottom of the barrel, Hero Fiennes Tiffin is still just as bad as he was in the last two movies, so what’s different about this movie? Well nothing really After We Fell can be boiled down to nothing happening, a bunch of laughably bad sex scenes and arguments. Which leads to my next point, out of the three movies After We Fell feels the most like a fanfiction especially with the ending which is incredibly bad and feels like nobody had any idea what they were doing so they tack on a “to be continued” the sex scenes are just so poorly done and desperately want to come off as sexy but completely fail on every single level. In fact After We Fell fails on every single level, the fact there’s going to be 3 more of these movies is just painful to think about.

After We Fell is now available on all VOD Platforms!

Disgrace To Cinema F

Injustice is both a messy and failed adaption.

The story takes place on an alternate Earth in which the Joker has tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane, sending the hero on a rampage. This unnhinged Superman decides to take control of Earth for its own good, leading Batman and his allies to attempt to stop him.

Sometimes you watch certain movies and just say “this should have been a series” Injustice is one of those movies, I was pretty excited when I heard that a movie was being made, plus it’s directed by Matt Peters who directed Justice League Dark: Apokolips War one of the best DC Animated movies in recent memory. Injustice is a massive disappointment there’s a few things to enjoy such as some of the action scenes and a few moments (and when I mean few I mean a few because good lord) where the writing isn’t surface level and attempts to try and keep the story interesting. That’s where the good parts end because Injustice is a complete and total mess writing wise and tone wise, the tone constantly switch’s back between being incredibly dark to being a friendly Saturday morning cartoon. During one scene you would have a character getting brutally murdered and the next scene you will have Green Arrow or Harley Quinn cracking jokes (I don’t mention Plastic Man because I actually didn’t mind those jokes as much.) but let’s talk about the bigger issue the writing, I feel like the writers had no idea what to do with Injustice so they kind of just wrote random scenes as it went on. It doesn’t help that a lot of the scenes feel like a clipshow that I’m sure would confuse a lot of people who aren’t too familiar with Injustice. It doesn’t help that the writing is very surface level and has no interesting elements in it at all, they really could have explored some of the characters but instead a lot of the characters are just there to be killed off. Which yes is to be expected but it doesn’t feel impactful at all, it just feels like they had no idea what to do with said character so they killed them off. And that all traces back to how lazy and bare minimum the writing is, it’s such a massive disappointment because I really do think this had potential. Overall Injustice is as I said multiple times very disappointing, this is a prime example of something that could have easily worked as a series but instead we get a lazy movie that was sent out for a quick buck.

Injustice is available on all VOD Platforms!

1/10 F

Through The Glass Darkly has a strong last half but mediocre everything else.

One year after Charlie’s daughter disappears, another girl goes missing. Convinced there’s a connection, Charlie draws suspicion and contempt from local police and townspeople as she stops at nothing to expose a dark and devastating secret.

I had no idea this movie really existed until I heard Max Richter’s Nature Of Daylight that’s been in films such as Arrival, Shutter Island, Togo, Disconnect and a few others. The scene in which it’s used is absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. It’s such a shame the rest of the movie couldn’t be like that, the acting is overall pretty decent with Robyn Lively and Shannon Hampton being the best. The writing during the first act of the movie is a complete mess, the movie has no idea what it wants to be and makes very odd choices plot wise. It gets much better towards the end especially with the twist of the movie. Had the rest of the movie been like the last half this really could have been one of the best movies of the year.

Through the Glass Darkly is available on all VOD Platforms!

6/10 C+

No Time To Die is a fantastic and emotional send off to Daniel Craig’s James Bond!

James Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain who’s armed with a dangerous new technology.

No Time To Die is the final Daniel Craig James Bond film, after so many delays due to COVID it’s finally out…so what’s the verdict? It’s a fantastic send off to Craig’s Bond and does a fantastic job completing his story let’s get into why that is! First things first the acting is quite incredible Daniel Craig as usual does a fantastic job as James Bond, he truly captures everything about the character it’s no wonder why Bond fans love him in the role, although Ana De Armas is not in the film for very long she absolutely steals the scenes she was in. She truly hits out of the park and gives some of the best action scenes in the film, everyone else does a pretty great job Rami Malek plays the villain which is a pretty fun one, I do think some past Bond villains have been better but I didn’t think he was bad or anything. The action scenes combined with the cinematography is quite fantastic, it’s refreshing to see an action film take advantage of the cinematography as well as the setting when doing a ton of action scenes. There isn’t any shaky camera that distracts the action or takes you out of the film, it’s very clean and to the point doesn’t take any of the power or energy away from the scenes. The Bond song this time around is “No Time To Die” by Billie Eilish (I smell Oscar nomination) which is a fantastic song that has a lot of power when you know the context of the song from the film. What makes No Time To Die so successful is how much power and energy is put into it, from the opening scene that really gets pumped and invested, to the song that really feels hypnotic and the action scenes plus the dialogue that delivers exactly what you expect. It’s a very strong film with only main flaw which is the running time, I know that this is the send off film for Daniel Craig’s Bond but I do feel some scenes could have been cut. But really that’s nothing when you compare to the film’s huge amount of positives. Overall No Time To Die does a excellent job of sending off Daniel Craig’s Bond even if you aren’t the biggest James Bond fan (such as myself) you will definitely love this film. It doesn’t just succeed at being a very good James Bond film it succeeds at being a fantastic film period!

No Time To Die is currently in theaters!

9/10 A

Lamb is bizarre film that is the very definition of strange!

In rural Iceland, a childless couple discover a strange and unnatural newborn in their sheep barn. They decide to raise her as their own, but sinister forces are determined to return the creature to the wilderness that birthed her.

Looks like the Barnyard Animal Cinematic Universe is growing (First Cow, Pig and now Lamb) all joking aside Lamb is a very interesting little movie. One thing I want to make clear is that if your going into Lamb expecting full on horror film you are going to be massively disappointed. While yes there’s some disturbing imagery and it does have it’s horror elements, it’s not the next Hereditary, Midsommar or The Lighthouse the trailers would have you believe it’s a much different type of horror film. With that out of the way let’s talk about the film itself, first off the acting is quite fantastic! Noomi Rapace gives one of the best performances in her career, she gives this type of raw performance that really captures what the film is going for. Everyone else does a very solid job in their roles as well, what really makes the film itself successful is the combination of the folklore and the setting, it gives off a very haunting vibe (which is largely where the horror elements come in) and it really has you at the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next? The direction is quite fantastic Valdimar Jóhannsson does a really great job of leaving a lot of scenes up to interpretation for the audience, the cinematography combined with his direction is beautiful and creates a folklore that is storytelling at it’s best. The Lamb itself is adorable but at the same time really creeps you as the viewer out, it’s mostly due to the uncanny valley type look that is happening. Lamb does have it’s flaws, at times there’s some ideas especially towards the end that feel incredibly rushed. They aren’t given enough time to explore the said ideas or fully develop them, it’s frustrating because had they given a bit more time to do so they could have been a lot more. I do like the bizarreness of Lamb, which I feel is what makes it stand out the most! Overall Lamb is a very solid film, Lamb is most definitely not going to be for everyone some people will absolutely love this film and it’s many different allegories, others aren’t going to like this film which is completely understandable. Heck the main reason why it took me so long to finally sit down a review this film is because I had no idea what to think of it. My best advice is to go in knowing absolutely nothing about Lamb, it makes the experience all the more better!

Lamb is currently in theaters!

8/10 B+

Copshop surprises Queenpins is a below average comedy!

Screaming through the Nevada desert in a bullet-ridden car, wily con artist Teddy Murretto hatches a plan to hide out from lethal assassin Bob Viddick. He punches rookie officer Valerie Young to get himself arrested and locked up in a small-town police station. However, jail can’t protect Murretto for long as Viddick schemes his own way into detention, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can complete his mission.

Joe Carnahan’s second movie this year (first being Boss Level) and like Boss Level Copshop is a very straightforward action movie that’s a ton of fun. Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo both do a pretty solid job in their roles, the action scenes are solid and are quite rewarding as well. Plus it makes it more interesting that all this action is within a confined space of the police station, sure the movie does have it’s action movie cliches but at least the movie itself is very entertaining, it’s most certainly a genre film that I definitely think fans will enjoy!

Copshop is now available on all VOD Platforms!

6/10 C+

A frustrated suburban housewife and her best friend hatch an illegal coupon-club scheme that scams millions from corporations and delivers deals to legions of fellow coupon clippers. Hot on their trail is an unlikely duo — a hapless loss-prevention officer and a determined U.S. postal inspector — both looking to end their criminal enterprise.

Queenpins is unfortunately a missed opportunity, it has some jokes in it that are solid enough but it has a lot of others that completely miss. The cast does a fine enough job with what they are given, but it’s not enough to save this movie from being very below average. What seals this movie’s fate is the running time and the pacing, it feels like it goes on for far too long and at the same time not really adding anything new to the genre. The end result ends up being a very typical comedy that’s definitely not bad but very forgettable.

Queenpins is now available on all VOD Platforms!

5/10 C

There’s Someone Inside Your House is a very generic teen slasher that could have been more!

After moving to live with her grandmother in Hawaii, a teenager must confront her past after fellow students at her school are murdered.

There’s Someone Inside Your House starts out pretty interesting with a concept that is quite great and does have it’s moments where the execution is done pretty well. But then quickly falls into familiar territory, Patrick Brice who directed Creep and Creep 2 is in the directors chair and I’m really not sure what happened here. The movie doesn’t have the atmosphere that Brice usually puts into his movies and you have the writing is just not great at all. There’s Someone Inside Your House falls in a similar trap that Madres did, the movie wants to talk about social issues but forgets to write a solid story behind it that would get the audience’s attention. The kills are actually quite decent and I do actually like some of the characters, that’s mainly due to the writing for some of the characters actually being passable for a Netflix teen slasher movie. Which is the main problem with this movie the writing is seriously inconsistent certain aspects are actually not bad and then in others it’s quite bad. Overall There’s Someone Inside Your House is not terrible and could have easily been so much worse, but just seeing such a good concept with a solid director not reach it’s full potential is such a disappointment.

There’s Someone Inside Your House is now available on Netflix!

4/10 D+

Titane is a masterful terrifying experience from director Julia Ducournau!

Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for 10 years.

In 2017 Julia Ducournau released her directional debut film Raw which was a very disturbing film and quite a fantastic one, now this year she released Titane which is also very disturbing but what makes Titane standout from other disturbing films is it ends up being quite sweet and in someways wholesome. First let’s talk about performances Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon easily give some of the best performances of the year, the rawness, power and just overall talent their performances show is quite amazing, they both truly capture the viewer’s attention and bring you into the film. Everyone else in the film does a fantastic job as well, each giving really interesting performances that add to the overall film, the atmosphere is very interesting while it is suspenseful and definitely does keep you wondering what’s going to happen next, it’s the type of atmosphere you wouldn’t think of when you think of the word disturbing. In some parts of the film it’s a wholesome type atmosphere that actually gets you to feel for each of the characters, the writing is masterful it’s filled to brim with interesting dialogue, emotional scenes that actually punch you in the gut and disturbing scenes that will most definitely disturb you. The music is pretty incredible as well, it adds so much to the film and adds to the weirdness as well! Lastly there’s Julia Ducournau’s direction is hands down some of the best direction I’ve seen in a film in quite some time, every scene feels important and adds so much to the story, the themes that get explored such as gender-bending and psychopathic violence are done incredibly well with care to them. There’s a ton of quiet moments between the characters are some of the most powerful, the body horror aspect takes things in a entirely new direction that the subgenre really hasn’t explored yet. It’s truly a masterfully directed film that reminds me of why I love film so much. Titane doesn’t just rely on gore or violence to be disturbing, it has many different themes that it explores wonderfully and throws in some wholesome scenes in it to make it standout from a lot of disturbing films. Titane is truly a fantastic film that I highly recommend going in knowing as little as possible, at the time of writing this Titane is my favorite film of 2021 so far and I’ll be shocked if that changes!

Titane is now in theaters!

10/10 A+

The Guilty is a suspenseful ride with an incredible performance from Jake Gyllenhaal!

A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.

The Guilty is a shot for shot remake of a Danish 2018 film of the same name…and yet I really liked this one. I’ve shared my complaints about shot for shot remakes in the past, I believe what makes The Guilty so successful is three primary reasons. First off Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is absolutely incredible, the guy is a seriously talented actor and he displays that here quite well. His performance feels incredibly raw and his reactions to the situation at hand feels incredibly powerful and quite human, he is basically what sells this film and rightfully so. Second reason is the lighting, this is something I don’t often talk about in my movie reviews. Mostly due to really having nothing to say about the lighting or it doesn’t really impact the story in most cases, but here it definitely impacts the story and really gives the movie this haunting and thrilling look to it. It adds to the anxiety this film gives the viewer as well as making you wonder what’s about to happen next. Lastly there’s the thrilling atmosphere…which is just flat out incredible, it adds a lot of anxiety to the viewer and perfectly captures what it would be like to be in the situation that Joe Baylor (Gyllenhaal) is in. The film also does a wonderful of build up throughout its running time, it slowly but surely builds up until it releases a huge amount of thunderous scenes that leave an impact on the viewer. Overall The Guilty is quite fantastic, it’s one of those rare shot for shot remakes that manages to not come off as very pointless and actually does the original film justice. I highly recommend checking this one out!

The Guilty is now available on Netflix!

9/10 A