Army Of The Dead (2021) Movie Review!

Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

Army Of The Dead is a film that’s been in development hell for the longest time, first being announced in 2007 in 2019 Netflix acquired the distribution rights from Warner Bros and then it was just a matter of waiting for it to finally release. I’m a huge fan of Snyder’s Dawn Of The Dead so I was naturally very excited for this one since the topic of wanting a sequel or another “Of The Dead” series by Snyder has been a topic in the horror community for years now. Army Of The Dead while I don’t think is as good as Dawn Of The Dead is still a very entertaining film that does a whole lot right. Dave Bautista is fantastic here, he does a really great job in his role and is easily one of my favorite roles by him. Everyone else seems like they are having a blast with the film and they are all pretty decent as well, it’s a very interesting cast that delivers really really well! Snyder’s direction is quite solid as well, he gives a entertaining yet thrilling type of atmosphere that’s a whole lot of fun but also has you wondering what’s going to happen next. The music I really have to say was quite great, a lot of the songs were creatively used during scenes that matched the mood or scene in question. The action scenes were quite great as well, sure the CGI might have not been exactly amazing but I feel like that was part of the charm and it strangely works here. The CGI tiger for example I thought was really neat and would always give you a “oh man!” moment whenever it would appear on screen. As I said earlier Snyder really knows how to entertain his audience and the writing, action scenes and the story are example of it, the running time I thought was going to be a major issue when going into the film. Luckily that’s not the case here it was the fastest 148 minutes, it’s mostly due to how entertaining the film is plus you get so invested into the suspense as well that you don’t even notice the running time. Army Of The Dead is the definition of “time flies when your having fun”, overall as I said like 20 times during this review Army Of The Dead is a blast of fun but it’s also genuinely really great as well. I really hope there’s a follow up or Snyder does another one of the “Of The Dead” series cause I feel this is when Snyder is at his best!

Army Of The Dead is now available on Netflix!

8/10 B+

Profile (2021) Movie Review!

An undercover British journalist infiltrates the online propaganda channels of the so-called Islamic State, only to be sucked in by her recruiter.

Profile has been on my radar for the last couple years now, premiering at SXSW 2018 it was stuck without someone wanting to distribute it for the longest time until March 2021 when Focus Features bought the distribution rights. Profile is one of those screen life movies you know like Searching, the Unfriended movies, The Den and a few others. This one is definitely one of the more realistic movies of the genre, for starters all the actors and actresses are quite incredible. Especially Valene Kane and Shazad Latif both of which give raw performances that sound like actual people interacting over the internet, the film does a good job of showing how certain social media platforms such as Facebook can be used as a dangerous weapon when wanting to commit horrible horrible crimes. It actually gets quite disturbing as the film goes on which is the type of disturbing that is definitely some of the most effective I’ve seen in a film in awhile now. Timur Bekmambetov who’s last few movies have been terrible “Ben-Hur”(2016) and “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” does an incredible job with Profile, he gives the film a haunting atmosphere that gives the viewer the feeling of anything could happen and makes them wonder what’s going to happen next. Profile is also based on a true story which is an incredible read that I highly recommend! Overall Profile is truly a fantastic film that I’m sure is going to be one of the most underrated of the year, it’s a disturbing and thrilling ride that I highly recommend. It really makes you think about what sinister activity is actively taking place on social media platforms.

Profile is now in Theaters!

9/10 A

The Dry (2021) Movie Review!

Aaron Falk returns to his drought-stricken hometown to attend a tragic funeral. But his return opens a decades-old wound – the unsolved death of a teenage girl.

The Dry is a pretty solid Australian thriller movie, by far the biggest positive about the movie is Eric Bana. He truly delivers such a great role that feels incredibly raw throughout the film, the direction from Robert Connolly is also really strong as well! Combined with the direction and the setting in this case being Australia mix it with some very mysterious atmosphere and you have yourself a very decent movie. I do feel The Dry did draw out at times some scenes were most definitely better than others, such as the rest of the movie being more interesting than the last act. The last act still had it’s positives it was just not as good as the rest of the movie, luckily there’s a lot of good acting and some very solid writing to listen to. Not much else to say but it’s a very solid movie, I recommend this one!

The Dry is now available on VOD!

7/10 B

French Exit (2021) Movie Review!

An aging Manhattan socialite living on what’s barely left of her inheritance moves to a small apartment in Paris with her son and cat.

French Exit was definitely a different type of movie, the plot itself may sound basic but once you sit down and watch the movie it’s truly bizarre. Michelle Pfeiffer does such a fantastic job in her role (I can easily see why she got nominated by some awards shows) she truly delivers a humorous yet strong role, Lucas Hedges also does a really solid job as well he shows his talent and it’s quite effective! Everyone else does a pretty good job as well, it’s just a shame a lot of the other characters go very underused sure some of them get their one or two moments to shine but that’s really about it. The writing is quite clever which I really did not expect from this movie at all, it’s hilarious and so bizarre to the point where it becomes fascinating the direction is also really solid as well Azazel Jacobs who previously directed “The Lovers” (2017) makes the film raw at certain parts while throwing a curve ball and making events get very unordinary, it’s truly an interesting mix that ultimately leaves you with a “what the hell did I just watch” reaction. The score is also quite beautiful with a lot of piano based music that is very calming, a lot of the film is the characters having conversations with one another. Some conversations are definitely more interesting than others but even then the not as interesting conversations are still investing to watch! Overall I highly recommend checking this one out, it’s truly an experience worth witnessing, it definitely won’t be for everyone so keep that in mind!

French Exist is now available on VOD!

8/10 B+

The Retreat (2021) Movie Review!

A lesbian couple with a rocky relationship goes to a pre-wedding retreat and ends up fighting for their lives when a group of militant serial killers tries to murder them.

The Retreat could have been a terrible low budget horror movie but that’s not the case here! It’s actually a brutal but very good little movie, for starters I really liked Tommie-Amber Pirie and Sarah Allen both did a great job their relationship was actually quite great. I’m also glad this is one of those movies where it didn’t falsely advertise that a lesbian couple are in the film, I’ve noticed a lot of straight to VOD horror movies tend to do that and the said couple gets like 10 minutes of screen time and that’s it. That’s not the case here luckily, sure the movie does get a bit predictable but it’s still a lot of fun and definitely one of the better low budget VOD horror movies. The acting I thought was all around pretty decent, the writing was decent enough! I recommend giving this one a go!

The Retreat is now available on VOD!

6/10 C+

Blast Beat (2021) Movie Review!

When a family leaves their native Colombia for the United States in the summer of ’99, a metalhead science prodigy and his aimless younger brother struggle to align the American Dream with their new reality.

I’ll say this about Blast Beat I’m glad that it exists as it is a movie that definitely feels like a passion project from the director and some of the cast. What ultimately stops this movie from being anything really great is how it feels very overstuffed, there’s a ton of themes the movie is trying to use but a lot of them end up being very underdeveloped which is quite unfortunate had the movie actually gave each of the themes more development it could have been something very interesting. The acting and writing are actually not too bad, sure there isn’t anything noteworthy but both get the job done and there is that since of passion which is a great feeling. There are some moments I thought were pretty strong and did deliver what the rest of the movie was missing. But overall there really is not that much here, it’s definitely not a bad movie but it’s not something I will ever watch again. If it sounds like your thing give it a look.

Blast Beat is now available on VOD!

5/10 C

Seance (2021) Movie Review!

Camille, a young woman who arrives at the Fairfield Academy following one of the student’s untimely and violent death.

Seance is Simon Barrett who wrote “You’re Next” and “The Guest” directional debut….and it’s not a good one. My main issue with Seance is it lacks identity, it tries way too hard to take so much from Suspiria, The Craft, Sorority Row and a lot of other movies. It becomes a gigantic mess by the time the movie reaches it’s climax with such a predictable ending that you could probably guess if you watched the first 10-15 minutes. It’s a shame because Simon Barrett is very talented it’s just not shown here, the acting is really not great. It’s definitely not the worst but I can’t really name a performance I cared about so there’s that, the writing is in the same boat not the worst but nothing very good either. The setting was at least nice and matched the movie quite well, that’s probably the best thing about this movie. Because everything else is either bad or just forgettable, overall Seance does not a whole lot to it had Simon Barrett not been in the director’s chair I would have probably not checked this out.

Seance is now available on VOD!

3/10 D-

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2021) Movie Review!

Working in the shadow of his father, Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of an investigation into grisly murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw is the ninth installment to the Saw franchise, the Saw franchise is one of my favorite horror franchises the first film being one of my favorite films of all time, the second and sixth installments being fantastic, the third and fourth being really strong installments, Jigsaw while not exactly perfect is still really great and then the fifth and seventh movies just being terrible. Darren Lynn Bousman is back in the directors chair (director of Saw II, III and IV) and Spiral manages to be one of the best and series along with one of the most different. Chris Rock does quite a great job here, which it was quite surprising when it was first announced Chris Rock would be heavily involved with this movie but both as a producer and an actor he did a fantastic job with it. Spiral is definitely trades a lot of the gore that was in previously entrees for more of a structure, which I do feel actually works in this movie’s favor. Spiral definitely follows the steps of the first movie, it’s a balance between the story and the gore speaking of which the gore and the kills are quite great. The traps were definitely interesting and fresh while at the same time giving a few callbacks to previous films. Speaking of which there’s a ton of moments that give plenty of callbacks to the other films of the series but Spiral manages to do it’s own thing without heavily relying on the other films. Spiral also has the classic Saw elements that work just as well as they do in the other films, the only negative I do have with the movie was with some of the writing. Some of it does feel a little weirdly outdated but that’s very far and few in between, because Spiral is a fantastic time while at the same time being a genuine interesting movie that I would love to see where they take the franchise next! I’ll probably end up doing a spoiler review when it comes out on digital but overall I highly recommend giving Spiral a watch especially if your a fan of the franchise!

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw is now available in Theaters!

9/10 A

Those Who Wish me Dead (2021) Movie Review!


A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert tasked with protecting him — and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.

Those Who Wish Me Dead is the next movie of the Warner Bros + HBO Max deal and it’s quite a solid movie! It’s directed by Taylor Sheridan director of Wind River (which is fantastic) and Vile also the writer for Hell Or High Water and Sicario. While I don’t think Those Who Wish Me Dead isn’t as good as Wind River I do think it’s a very solid movie. Angelina Jolie gives her best performance (not including voice acting) in quite awhile, I’ve always been rooting for Angelina Jolie because I do think she is a great actress she’s just been stuck with a lot of garbage. But here she does quite great and really hits it out of the park, everyone else is pretty solid as well Finn Little in particular! The movie is also really fun as well, it takes a genre of movies that are a bit over saturated in this case the survival movie genre. But Those Who Wish Me Dead manages to make it a ton of fun with some very solid action and suspenseful scenes that are quite effective, the movie does take a bit to get going which does ultimately hurt the movie but once it gets going to gets really good. Those Who Wish Me Dead isn’t going to break any ground but it is a very fun time that I highly recommend!

Those Who Wish me Dead is now available on HBO Max!

7/10 B

The Woman In The Window (2021) Movie Review!

An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.

The Woman In The Window was another movie stuck in limbo for awhile mainly due to being re-edited because poor test screenings and COVID-19 eventually the distribution rights were up for grabs and Netflix looked around and asked “nobody wants this? Because I’m going to take it.” So they did and here we are now and I can easily see why nobody else wanted it, Joe Wright’s (Pan, The Darkest Hour) The Woman In The Window is truly terrible but it’s a type of terrible that makes you ask “what went wrong?” The most positive thing I can say about this movie is Amy Adams definitely tried her best with a script that is terrible and does absolutely nothing interesting for the movie. The first two acts of the movie are completely destroyed from slow pacing and being just a very uninteresting Rear Window clone, in fact that leads me to my next point. Everything Rear Window did right The Woman In The Window did dreadfully wrong, the suspense is nowhere to be found, the characters are nowhere near as interesting, the direction has no atmospheric feel to it and the movie is about as interesting as a cardboard cutout. The third act is strangely the most entertaining part of the movie for all the wrong reasons…it goes from a completely uninteresting Rear Window clone to a hilariously bad movie that actually made me laugh quite a few times. This is something I completely did not expect at all, so it caught me off guard which is probably why I laughed as much as I did. But was it really worth to sit through two completely uninteresting acts that feel like nobody cared about? No it definitely wasn’t, but with that said I do have to give it points for making me laugh. Overall The Woman In The Window is a terrible terrible movie, sure it might not be at the bottom of the barrel but that really is not saying much at all. Somebody get Amy Adams a better agent because she deserves it.

The Woman In The Window is now available on Netflix!

3/10 D-