A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) Film Review

When New York City comes under attack from an alien invasion, a woman and other survivors try to find a way to safety. They soon learn that they must remain absolutely silent as the mysterious creatures are drawn to the slightest sound.

A Quiet Place: Day One is directed by Michael Sarnoski who previously directed Pig (2021). A Quiet Place: Day One is the third installment to the Quiet Place series and serves as a spin-off and prequel to the first film.

The first two Quite Places films are quite excellent, some of my favorite modern horror films that I’m glad to see get a lot of love. When I heard Michael Sarnoski’s next film after Pig (2021) a film in which is one of my favorite films of the 2020s so far was going to be a new Quiet Place film I was very intrigued where he was going to take the series. Sarnoski definitely took the franchise in a much different direction that’s for sure, a direction that some fans may not like but I absolutely loved for sure.

To start out with the performances are fantastic, Lupita Nyong’o once again shows that she is one of the best actresses working today, a lot of this film really relies on her and Joseph Quinn (who I will get to in a second) and they both absolutely nail it. Nyong’o’s character Samira is a terminally ill cancer patient who is slowly but surely dying, she absolutely feels this and seems to just sort of accept that she’s dying. However there’s a lot of nuance to the performance especially in later scenes as we get to know Samira as a character that leads to some of the most beautiful moments in this series so far.

Nyong’o just interacting with the rest of the cast is captivating she brings so much emotion to this series and perfectly captures the atmosphere around her, there’s one scene in particular during the last half of the film that brought me to tears, it’s a moment that I strongly believe is the best scene of the series so far. Between the build up to the scene, the direction and the performances from Nyong’o and Quinn it’s truly beautiful that truly made me cry.

Joseph Quinn is the other half of this film, his character Eric sort of just decides to join Samira and honestly that’s a pretty real depiction if an alien invasion actually happened, right from the start the viewer can tell Eric has a ton of anxiety and is alone, he’s in shock, has tons of anxiety and does not want to go back to being alone. Eric’s introduction is some of the best character introduction I’ve seen in a film so far this year and just seeing Eric and Samira interact with one another, talking about their backstories is just truly beautiful. Combined together Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn give powerhouse performances that end up being some of the very best so far this year.

A performance I was not expecting to be this good was Frodo the cat who is actually played by two different cats Nico and Schnitzel. Frodo actually plays quite a lot of important parts to the story and I’m not exactly sure how they are able to get a cat to jump around, or climb that perfectly but it’s truly fascinating how great Nico and Schnitzel are. Frodo is Samira’s cat and throughout the film he’s a lookout for any danger and does quite a good job of doing so.

As I’ve hinted at from talking about the performances, Michael Sarnoski focuses much more on the human elements of the series rather than the monsters, sure there are some action and chase scenes that are still very effective. But that’s not the main focus here, much like when Pig (2021) was about Nicolas Cage and the people he interacts with. A Quiet Place: Day One is very similar only less characters, heck there’s this theme of life and death throughout the film. Samira wants to do one last thing before she dies, as she goes on this journey with Eric she tells the viewer a bit about her life every so often until we are eventually given that scene I mentioned earlier that made me cry (which I won’t spoil). Sarnoski does such a fantastic job of bringing such a fresh direction to the series and gives us such a powerful character filled moment story.

Overall A Quiet Place: Day One is one of the best films so far this year, never did I expect to cry my eyes out to a film in the Quiet Place series. But as they say life is full of surprises.

A Quiet Place: Day One is currently in theaters.

10/10 A+

I Used To Be Funny (2024) Film Review

Stand-up comedian Sam struggles with PTSD, and considers joining the search for a missing teenage girl she used to nanny.

I Used To Be Funny is directed by Ally Pankiw which is her directorial debut.

If there’s one film so far this year that I really wish had more attention it would be I Used To Be Funny a film where on the surface it does look like it would be your usual indie film that combines drama and comedy together. But when you actually sit down and watch it…the film’s drama is far more heavier than you would have thought.

Rachel Sennott once again knocks it out of the park, this film only shows that she has even more range as an actress which always make her more exciting to see when she’s on screen in a film. This is such an effective performance here especially when combined with the film’s theme about PTSD, Rachel Sennott plays a comedian named Sam Cowell who is struggling with depression and has PTSD after a young girl named Brooke (played by Olga Pesta) who she used to be a nanny for goes missing.

As a character Sam is so beautifully written and really captures the struggles of depression and PTSD, she constantly blames herself for Brooke’s disappearance and her breaking down is all the more gut punching and at times sort of hard to watch in a impactful way. She quits her career as a comedian which is something depression can really make you do, push the things you really enjoy doing most. It’s such a grounded and respectful portrayal of depression that I can’t help but respect this film. As I said earlier Rachel Sennott’s performance only adds to this, she gives such a powerful performance that really shows she is one of the most exciting actresses working today.

The film is told through switching back in forth from the present where Sam Cowell is facing the aftermath of Brooke going missing and the past where we learn how Sam’s relationship with Brook and her family deteriorates. A lot of films tend to struggle when it comes to switching to two different periods in time, but here it’s done quite well and you can quite easily follow along. It’s a beautifully put together story that really brings in many emotions into the mix, there’s some comedic moments in the middle but you can tell Sam is even struggling then.

Overall I Used To Be Funny is a fantastic film that brings light to very heavy subject matter, the film does it in a way that’s respectful and very honest. If you haven’t seen this one yet I highly recommend checking this one out.

I Used To Be Funny is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

The Last Stop In Yuma County (2024) Film Review

Stranded at an Arizona rest stop, a travelling knife salesman gets thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers who will stop at nothing to protect their ill-begotten fortune.

The Last Stop In Yuma County is directed by Francis Galluppi which is his directorial debut.

The Last Stop In Yuma County was definitely a surprise it’s one of those films that slightly blew up out of nowhere and quite honestly I couldn’t be more happy that it did. I like seeing films like this get some spotlight, there’s some really neat stuff here that really blends several genres together such as crime, western and noir into something quite exciting.

The performances are strong here, Jim Cummings and Jocelin Donahue in particular are quite excellent. Both really match the suspenseful atmosphere that’s in the air right at the start of the film. The script from Galluppi also reflects this quite well, right from the very first screen we the viewers feel the atmosphere right in our face. It’s sort of rare for a film to flat out start off with such as great atmosphere like this.

The setup isn’t anything new, it’s a classic hostage situation but the film puts it’s own twist and turns on it that make it worthwhile to watch unfold. The characters add more to the setup even if they are one dimensional but at the very least they are likable and actually quite fun characters to watch on screen, the film itself is just an overall delight to watch. The slow burn aspect of it helps keep the pacing nice and slow so that the atmosphere can keep getting more and more thrilling.

The location of the film is also such a great choice (a remote desert location in Yuma County Arizona) there’s very little to hide and to run so that adds a bit of stakes into the mix when it comes to the thrilling atmosphere. The buildup is also absolutely worth it in the end, as events unfold during the film you are left on the edge of your seat to see what’s going to exactly happen next.

Overall The Last Stop In Yuma County is quite great, it might not be doing anything exactly new. But it’s such a well acted, written and crafted film that I can’t help but give this one a recommendation.

The Last Stop In Yuma County is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three (2024) Film Review

The Anti-Monitor attacks the remaining Earths and their inhabitants. Heroes and villains across time and space join the Justice League for a final stand against the epitome of evil.

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three is directed by Jeff Wamester who previously directed Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One (2024), Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two (2024), Justice League Warworld (2023), Legion Of Super-Heroes (2023), Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022) and Justice Society: World War II (2021).

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three serves as the third part of the eighth and final installment to the Tomorrowverse, well it sure is better than the last two parts that’s for certain…look I had very expectations going into this one. The last two parts especially part two were incredibly lacking mainly due to just how rushed the Tomorrowverse really was and a lot of the exact same problems apply with part three unfortunately.

I will say that at the very least this movie had some sort of emotional depth when it came to it’s characters, although these scenes are very far and few in between there was at least some level of attempt to get the viewer to actually care for these characters. The scene that people are rightfully talking about and will probably be the most memorable is Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker towards the end of the movie. It’s a very nice tribute to Kevin Conroy who sadly passed away in 2022, this movie is his last performance as Batman (despite what clickbaiters would tell you that Suicide Squad video game is NOT his last performance as Batman) and he does a really good job here. Although the script isn’t very strong he makes the most of it and actually really does land tons of great moments.

Everything else about the movie kind of reflects the exact problem with the trilogy, a great story taken from the comics but just adapted so lazily that it fails to make the viewer care what is exactly going on. The animation is again a hit or miss, sometimes it looks okay and other times it really makes you question why they went with this style. As far as an ending to a film series and universe goes it’s not exactly as grand as you would expect. Sure it does wrap up some plot points and the ending pretty much does confirm “yes this is the ending of the Tomorrowverse. But it really does seem tact on as an excuse to just end the series, which considering what has been going on with the DC division at Warner Bros lately I’m not exactly surprised.

Overall this part is far better than the last two but like I said shares a lot of the exact same problems. Definitely not as bad as you would expect, but definitely not a worthy finale.

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Frogman (2024) Film Review

In 1999, a 12-year-old named Dallas Kyle captures footage of the mythical creature, Frogman, but no one believes it is real. Twenty years later, he returns to the same place with his friends to obtain irrefutable proof that it exists.

Frogman is directed by Anthony Cousins which is his directorial debut (although he has directed a segments for other movies such as Scare Package and Fat Fleshy Fingers).

I never heard of Frogman until I saw a few friends of mine on Twitter talking about it and saying they quite liked it (if you guys are reading this shoutout to you guys) I already love films about cryptids Frogman heavily reminds me of the Loveland Frog a cryptid that was supposedly spotted in Loveland, Ohio back in the 70s.

The film itself undeniably shares a lot with The Blair Witch Project (1999), Cloverfield (2008) or even Marble Hornets having that said I do think the film manages to stand on it’s own especially during the third act. First off the found footage style combined with a 90s 35mm camera absolutely helps make the film much more authentic. It’s a much more dirty and grittier looking film that really does a good job of capturing every moment of the characters and their search for Frogman. This especially kicks in when the third act kicks in and we get to see the quite incredible practical effects and Frogman who’s pretty gross looking especially combined with the style of the camera.

Admittedly the dialogue is not anything grand neither is the acting however I actually think that benefits the film in the long run, the writing does actually feel quite authentic same with the acting. The characters are decently fun and the story while a bit barebones when it comes to the found footage genre absolutely moves the film along at such a nice pace, the film itself is only 77 minutes long and moves at a fast paced which corrects a lot of mistakes that other found footage films tend to make.

It does admittedly take some time to get to Frogman but once it does it’s a blast of fun, there’s so much creativity and classic movie magic that really went into this film, the atmosphere combined with the setting during the last 15-20 minutes is truly a blast that you really can’t help but love.

Overall Frogman is a blast of fun, if you don’t like the found footage genre this will probably not change your mind about the genre. But any fan of the genre will get a kick out of this one.

Frogman is available on all VOD Platforms.

8/10 B+

Handling The Undead (2024) Film Review

On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? Handling the Undead is a drama with elements of horror about three families, a story about grief and loss, but also about hope and understanding of what we can’t comprehend or control.

Handling The Undead is directed by Thea Hvistendahl director of The Monkey and The Mouth (2017).

Handling The Undead was a movie I was definitely excited for having a horror film with Renate Reinsve in it plus the premise itself sounded quite interesting..while there is a decent amount to like here there’s just as much not to really like as well.

The performances are easily the best part about this movie especially Renate Reinsve who goes all out with her performance, Anders Dainelsen Lie is also pretty solid here as well. Both Lie and Reinsve are both compelling and show some emotional layers of depth even if the movie itself does not take advantage of these layers a lot of the time.

Which sort of becomes the first main issue with the movie, it presents layers of depth but does very little with them. It heavily relies on symbolism which although it’s a much different approach to a the zombie genre that I do respect, it doesn’t add up to making a compelling narrative. The use of the theme of grief is fine here but it’s being told in a way that’s been seen and explored numerous times before, it attempts to give the zombies a much more human approach in terms of emotions and feel. What I mean by this is although said person is a zombie who are usually depicted having lost their minds in most films, here the zombie still has their mind and are able to be connected with.

Which is such a fantastic idea on paper and actually does work well a few times during the movie especially when combined with the gorgeous cinematography and the undeniably haunting yet beautiful atmosphere. But unfortunately a lot of the emotional weight due to how slow the pacing really is starts to wear off on the viewer, I can absolutely see what Hvistendahl was going for here but unfortunately as I said before the movie itself doesn’t add up to making a compelling narrative.

Handling The Undead is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Wildcat (2024) Film Review

The lines between reality and imagination begin to blur when writer Flannery O’Connor is diagnosed with lupus.

Wildcat is directed by Ethan Hawke who previously directed Chelsea Walls (2001), The Hottest State (2006) and Blaze (2018).

Wildcat is a case where I respect the movie more than anything else, it’s a film about American novelist Flannery O’Connor. While the movie is indeed a biopic at the very least the movie attempts to go about it in a different way. There’s actually a few pretty bizarre moments here that somewhat worked strangely enough, mainly due to the atmosphere the movie was going for.

The performances all around are pretty good, Maya Hawke is by far the standout and it’s nice to see yet another interesting role from her, even when the movie shows traits of a very generic biopic. Maya Hawke’s performance makes the movie a bit more interesting to follow. Although Cooper Hoffman isn’t in the movie for very long he gives a fun performance.

As far as the rest of the movie goes it’s mostly fine, the structure of the movie can easily lose the viewer as it does end up being a bit of a mess when it comes to trying to explain what’s O’Connor’s fantasy and reality. The writing while effective in some areas definitely needed a bigger punch to be more impactful.

I really don’t have much else to say about Wildcat it’s a mostly fine biopic that goes for something different but doesn’t quite reach it in the end.

Wildcat is available on all VOD Platforms.

5/10 C

The Fall Guy (2024) Film Review

After leaving the business one year earlier, battle-scarred stuntman Colt Seavers springs back into action when the star of a big studio movie suddenly disappears. As the mystery surrounding the missing actor deepens, Colt soon finds himself ensnared in a sinister plot that pushes him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.

The Fall Guy is directed by David Leitch director of Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and Bullet Train (2022). The Fall Guy is loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same name.

The Fall Guy is definitely one of the bigger surprises of the year so far, that’s mostly due to the trailer being incredibly underwhelming and Leitch’s last movie Bullet Train being a huge disappointment. The Fall Guy definitely has its flaws but I think a lot of what the movie is going for works pretty well.

The performances are a lot of fun, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in particular. All give pretty charming and exciting performances that do lead to the movie being a pretty solid crowd pleaser, the characters are also quite entertaining especially when the film explores stuntmen and how pretty incredible they really are in film. Gosling really does a fantastic job in particular here and completely captures the actions and heart of a stuntman quite well.

Although the humor is on the weak side outside of a few chuckles, there’s this sense of a certain level of charm that works. David Leitch’s humor is often a very hit or miss with me but it for the most part works here, why that’s the case I’m not exactly sure maybe it’s due to the subject matter, the joy of seeing a bunch of characters create a film and celebrating stuntmen or Ryan Gosling’s charm whether the case may be it works well enough to leave you with a smile.

There’s a few stunts here that are quite incredible as well, I would even go as far as to say they are probably some of the best in any of David Leitch’s films. Mainly due to just how grand they are and the context of which they are used, a film about celebrating stuntmen and shows the passion of these stunts, how hard they are to execute and much more.

I don’t think The Fall Guy is one of the best films of the year, but it is a surprisingly fun one that I’m glad I watched. I can easily this film gathering a dedicated fanbase in the next couple years which is always a great thing.

The Fall Guy is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Exhuma (2024) Film Review

The process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes long hidden secrets and dreadful consequences buried underneath.

Exhuma is directed by Jang Jae-hyun director of The Priests (2015) and Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019).

Exhuma is an interesting one, it’s built around exorcism and possession with a complex mythology that truly is very interesting. But it also attempts to be this epic of the supernatural horror genre, which even if that doesn’t quite work I absolutely respect Jae-hyun for the commitment.

The performances are all quite fun to watch, the interactions they have with each other are engaging, the character moments aren’t anything grand but they are solid enough to give a really good idea about who our main characters are. The script is also pretty solid, there is definitely some issues with the third act which mostly stems from the running time being way longer than it needed to be. But there are some really well written moments here that have this whole mystery to it that’s pretty satisfying.

I definitely think this film is a case where the build up is stronger than the actual reveal, but that doesn’t really stop the movie from being a whole lot of fun.

Exhuma is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) Film Review

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is directed by Renny Harlin director of Die Hard 2 (1990), A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Cliffhanger (1993), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Devil’s Pass (2013), The Legend Of Hercules (2014), The Bricklayer (2024) and many others!

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is the third film in The Strangers series and the first installment of a standalone trilogy not having anything to do with The Strangers (2008) or The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018). So The Strangers movies have always been divisive, The Strangers (2008) definitely has a lot of fans but there’s a lot of people who really did not like it. I’m someone who really loves it all though over time I do have my criticisms of it. The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018) at the time when it came out was torn to shreds (outside of everyone agreeing the pool scene was excellent). Which I could see why, it had a drastically different atmosphere than the first movie, where as the first movie was going for this brutal, dark and more grounded approach Prey At Night went for more of an 80s slasher approach. Luckily over time Prey At Night has gotten its flowers and it’s become a cult classic in its own way, I personally liked it when it first came out. But now I really like it even more. That leads us to the first of a trilogy The Strangers: Chapter One a movie that attempts to take the series back to its roots by going for an atmosphere more like the 2008 movie…only problem here is by doing that it’s just the 2008 movie all over again but somehow so much worse.

The couple we follow in this movie are just not interesting at all, Madelaine Petsch really tries her best with such a bland script but it’s ultimately nowhere near enough to save this movie from being a disaster. There’s a few fun chase sequences that are solid, but that’s all you can really say about them. They really have nothing going for them at all and are serviceable at best. That in itself really shows just how little care or creativity went into this mess.

I can usually excuse dumb decisions in horror films as long as it doesn’t generally hurt the movie so much it never recovers or if the movie itself isn’t trying to be realistic. The couple in the 2008 movie made some dumb decisions but it wasn’t enough to hurt the entire movie. In this case however there is so much dumb decision making that it almost becomes a parody, one thing I will say is the kills here aren’t that bad. They definitely have this brutal nature to them this pretty nasty which is probably the most fun this movie has to offer.

The major issue here is that there really isn’t much of a difference from the 2008 film and Chapter 1, both have the same sort of atmosphere yes but the 2008 film has the suspense, build up and strength to push through to the finish line. The couple in the 2008 film while yes flawed when it comes to the writing, were at the very least interesting enough for the viewer to follow. Heck at the time the film creeped out a lot of people so that has to count for something. Chapter 1 however comes off as trying to replicate what made the 2008 film great but completely forgets a lot of key parts, the atmosphere doesn’t have the suspense since we have really seen this all before. The couple in this movie as I said before are not interesting at all and lack so much personality that fails to connect with the viewer. Finally the build up is incredibly lacking, we get some fine enough chase scenes but that’s it. We don’t get anything we haven’t seen before anything worthwhile.

Overall The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not a promising start to the trilogy, I’m not entirely sure how they are going to be able to really recover from this mess but I guess we will see.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-