Boy Kills World (2024) Film Review

Boy is a mayhem machine who’s been training to assassinate the bloodthirsty Hilda Van Der Koy and avenge his family’s murder; guided by his sister’s mischievous spirit, Boy uncovers one stunning revelation after another as he barrels toward Hilda.

Boy Kills World is directed by Moritz Mohr which is his directorial debut. 

It really pains me to say that Boy Kills World did not work for me, it’s by far one of the most disappointing films so far this year and is completely dismantled due to one glaring issue…the internal monologue. 

The use of internal monologue isn’t necessarily bad (far from it) what is bad is that Bill Skarsgård’s character simply known as “The Boy” only speaks through it and after awhile it becomes incredibly obnoxious. H. Jon Benjamin is a great voice actor don’t get me wrong (I like a lot of his voice work) but he doesn’t really add anything funny with his delivery, it’s incredibly lacking and doesn’t have the punch he usually delivers. 

The movie does have its positives such as the gore combined with the kills that do bring this excitement factor into the mix. The performances are overall pretty solid Bill Skarsgård, Isaiah Mustafa and Jessica Rothe are quite great, the rest of the cast are pretty solid as well. The characters themselves were interesting enough to follow plus the Scott Pilgrimesc style of action was pretty charming as well. 

The other problems come in during the last half of the movie where there’s a ton of plot twists and the movie tries to go for this grand finale when it quite honestly did not need to, the action also sort of fell apart at the end. It was a lot more sloppy when you compare to what came before it. Gideon Van Der Koy (played by Brett Gelman) as a villain is really not as entertaining as the movie tries to make him out to be. There’s a couple lines he delivers that are somewhat humorous but a lot of his performance is about as basic as you can get when it comes to villains trying to be comedic. 

Overall Boy Kills World definitely had a lot of potential but was held back due to so many issues that stick out like a sore thumb.

Boy Kills World is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Under Paris (2024) Film Review

To save Paris from a bloodbath, a grieving scientist is forced to face her tragic past when a giant shark appears in the Seine.

Under Paris is directed by Xavier Gens director of Frontier(s) (2007), Hitman (2007), The Divide (2011), The Crucifixion (2017), Cold Skin (2017) and Mayhem! (2023).

I honestly had no idea this was releasing until I saw a few people on Twitter talk about how campy it was, I decided to take a look and well if this review was judging the last 25 minutes or so only this movie would be a 7/10 due to how bizarre and quickly the chain of events are plus how they happen. Unfortunately for this movie the rest of it is attached.

The characters who the movie really wants you to connect with and the script share a very common problem…both are incredibly boring. I’ve said before how I hate using the word boring in my reviews, but there really is no other way to describe the movie’s characters or its script. A lot of it is cliched clutter such as stupid characters who are only stupid just to move the plot along, the movie desperately tries to take itself seriously a lot of the time which I do believe is why the last 25 minutes end up being so unintentionally hilarious. But that isn’t quite enough to give the rest of the movie a pass. 

There’s just not a whole lot going on here and really does not offer anything really new to the already crowded shark movie genre, there’s some hints at tension but the movie never uses the tension in a way that is going to bring the viewer in more closely. 

Under Paris is available on Netflix.

2/10 F

Summer Camp (2024) Film Review

Childhood best friends Nora, Ginny and Mary used to spend every summer at a sleepaway camp together. Years later, they seize the opportunity to return to the camp for a reunion filled with food fights, river rafting, and emotional revelations.

Summer Camp is directed by Castille Landon director of Fear Of Rain (2021), After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), Perfect Addiction (2023) and After Everything (2023). 

Summer Camp (2024) is one of those movies that for some reason managed to get quite a stacked cast Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, Eugene Levy, Josh Peck and a few others. Unfortunately despite having tons of talent the movie fails to utilize these actors and actresses talent in any meaningful way. 

What really hurts this movie is the story and the pacing, it takes far too long for anything noteworthy to happen. What’s supposed to be a movie about three friend’s friendship as adults and wanting a reunion at a summer camp turns into such a chore to sit through. A lot of the jokes fall flat, granted there are hints at some good jokes but never reach the full punchline.

The direction from Castille Landon is a bit better here than a lot of her previous work but once again it’s filled to the brim with characters that are incredibly lacking in development, if anything is a positive here it’s Bates, Keaton and Woodard who really try their best to work with such a lacking script. They give fine enough performances that I’m sure fans of these three might get something out of their interactions, because to be absolutely fair the interactions between the three had some sort of promise. The final act shows this and there’s some decent enough dialogue towards the end, unfortunately it’s too little too late by then as the movie is basically over. 

Overall there really is not a whole lot to discuss here, what you read in the plot synopsis is what you get a very bare bones comedy that has incredibly lacking execution. 

Summer Camp is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Most Anticipated Films Of July 2024!

So I still have quite a lot of reviews to catch up on (including a few from May) which is due to me having technical difficulties and so much going on. Which is why there was not a June list, luckily things are slowly picking up again. I’m definitely going to be using July and probably parts of August as a catch up month on reviews and working my way through my watchlist.

Anyways July seems like a very strong month (my birthday is July 5th let’s go!!)

12. Chestnut – July 2nd (VOD)

11. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – July 3rd (Netflix)

10. Deadpool and Wolverine – July 26th (Theaters)

9. Mother Couch – July 5th (Theaters)

8. National Anthem – July 12th (Theaters)

7. Twisters – July 19th (Theaters)

6. Kill – July 4th (Theaters)

5. Didi – July 26th (Theaters)

4. Oddity – July 19th (Theaters)

3. Sing Sing – July 12th (Theaters)

2. Longlegs – July 12th (Theaters)

1. Maxxxine – July 12th (Theaters)

Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey 2 (2024) Film Review

Not wanting to live in the shadows any longer, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Owl and Tigger take their fight to the town of Ashdown, leaving a bloody trail of death and mayhem in their wake.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield director of The Area 51 Incident (2022), The Killing Tree (2022), Firenado (2023) and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023).

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 somehow ends up being far better than its predecessor, that really does not mean that much at all. However I will give credit to Waterfield and his team for at least trying to the boat around. 

For starters the creature designs are a lot better, in the previous movie they came off as $5 party city masks with the increased budget the creature designs as well as the makeup are far more realized and actually have a decent amount of attention to detail as well. The camerawork is a bit better as well, visually I do think Blood and Honey 2 is far better looking than its predecessor. The kills are also pretty fun as well especially with the better makeup work.

With that said the movie suffers from the same sort of problems the previous movie did which comes down to taking itself way to seriously and the characters falling completely flat. Despite the movie being about killer Winnie The Pooh characters with Owl and Tigger thrown into the mix this time, the movie still tries to play it seriously. The characters are all about as interesting as cardboard cutouts, they try to do something with Owl but a lot of it doesn’t end up leading to much at all. 

Honestly not a whole lot else to really say here, there’s definitely some improvements but not nearly enough to recommend this movie to anyone. 

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

In The Land Of Saints and Sinners (2024) Film Review

Hoping to leave his dark past behind him, former assassin Finbar Murphy leads a quiet life in a coastal Irish town, far from the political violence that grips the rest of the country. When menacing terrorists show up, Finbar soon discovers that one of them has been abusing a local girl. Drawn into an increasingly vicious game of cat and mouse, he must choose between exposing his secret identity and defending his friends and neighbors.

In The Land Of Saints And Sinners is directed by Robert Lorenz director of Trouble With The Curve (2012) and The Marksman (2021).

After so many Liam Neeson action thriller movies that ranged from bad to below average, here is one that is actually quite decent (which is shocking since Lorenz directed The Marksman (2021) It’s not anything groundbreaking and is most definitely flawed, but this is a bit different from what we normally get from these movies. 

For one thing Liam Neeson’s character is far different than any of the characters he’s been playing for awhile now, the performance as Finbar Murphy is a bit more grounded and actually does get some character development. He also works well with Kerry Condon who I would argue is the best part about the film. She delivers a solid performance that is quite effective at certain points. 

The atmosphere is also pretty effective as well, it matches this mysterious feel the film is going for and actually moves the story along well…until the second act. The second act is rough to get through there’s absolutely no getting around that, the pacing goes from being nice and breezy to slow as molecules and it does hurt the film in the long run. Having that said the third act delivers quite well and rewards the viewer for being patient, there are some script issues along the way that cause a few bumps in the road but for the most part the movie does get back up on it’s feet during the final act rather than staying down.

In The Land Of Saints And Sinners is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Jeanne Du Barry (2024) Film Review

Jeanne uses her charms and intelligence to climb the social ladder step by step. She becomes one of the favourites of King Louis XV and falls madly in love. Against all convention, Jeanne moves to Versailles.

Jeanne Du Barry is directed by Maïwenn director of Pardonnez-moi (2006), All About Actresses (2009), Polisse (2011), My King (2015) and DNA (2020). 

The thing about historical drama pieces like Jeanne Du Barry is you have to have strong performances as well strong, sharp and investing writing. This movie has neither of those, which ultimately takes away a lot of what the movie is trying to go for. 

The landscape shots of rural France are undeniably beautiful as well as telling a small story on their own, the costumes are solid as well. While there are far better examples of films that have had much more captivating costume design, Jeanne Du Barry still has some really appealing design choices that do capture the eye of the viewer. 

Having that said everything else completely falls flat, as I said before the main problem here is the performances and writing. Johnny Depp’s French accent (who plays Louis XV) is on a comedic level of bad and has absolutely no chemistry with Maïwenn (who plays Jeanne Du Barry). It’s not just Johnny Depp either everyone else turns in incredibly lacking performances that needed so much more power and a far bigger push to put these performances over the finish line. 

The movie attempts to be lighthearted and tragic at the same time, something Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite played into only that film understood a balance and had the acting plus writing to back it up. Unfortunately with Jeanne Du Barry it comes off as a mishmash of confused ideas that I’m not entirely sure Maïwenn herself knows what she was trying to do. 

Finally the movie wants you to buy Louis XV and Jeanne Du Barry’s bond, the problem is it’s very lacking both in development and interest from the viewer. There isn’t anything compelling or memorable here at all, it really feels like a bunch of wall of text that really does not mean anything. 

I definitely think there could have been something here with Jeanne Du Barry. The end result is completely lacking and needed so much more power put into the script and performances.

Jeanne Du Barry is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Trigger Warning (2024) Film Review

A special forces commando returns to her hometown after her father’s sudden death, only to run afoul of a violent gang when she starts asking questions.

Trigger Warning is directed by Mouly Surya director of Fiski (2008), What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love (2013) and Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017).

Look I’m happy to see Jessica Alba out of retirement, she’s a fun actress that I do genuinely root for a lot of the time. However Trigger Warning is horrendous, it’s very obvious Netflix needed a recognizable name to advertise their next cliche Netflix original action film (much like with Heart Of Stone and Apex). 

Jessica Alba and the choreography are the only positives here, it does shock me to see this movie actually have quite decent up close combat. Usually with a lot of these movies you get one or two scenes of it and they tend to be a “blink and you miss it” moment, but here you actually get a healthy amount. 

Having that said just about everything else is terrible, the story is incredibly predictable and the writing is abysmal. It doesn’t help that the story being told isn’t very interesting at all, this is your usual terrible revenge action thriller affair that does absolutely nothing new or investing with it’s plot. 

I really have nothing else to say here, Trigger Warning is one of those movies where you immediately forget about it by the next week. It’s not here to say anything or do anything interesting, it’s here to be put on as background noise.

Trigger Warning is available on Netflix.

2/10 F

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter is Dead (2024) Film Review

Tanya finds her summer plans cancelled when her mum jets off for a last-minute retreat and the elderly babysitter unexpectedly passes away.

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter is Dead is directed by Wade Allain-Marcus director of French Dirty (2015). The film is also a remake of the 1991 film of the same name. 

As someone who didn’t really care for the original film, I went into this one not really expecting much and that’s kinda of what ended up being the result. Granted it’s definitely not as bad as expecting (considering how awful the trailer was), but that really is not saying a whole lot. 

Simone Joy Jones gives a fine enough performance here and the rest of the cast have occasional moments of charm throughout the movie, but it’s nowhere near enough to really land any memorable performances. I will admit that I do like some of the attempts that Allain-Marcus makes to try and make this version a bit different from the original. There’s this modernized lens that has this coming of age story element that could have worked had the writing been a lot better. 

Speaking of which the writing is where the movie crumbles, a lot of the humor is a huge miss and despite wanting to be different than the original the movie does follow the original quite identically which leads to the question of why even bother in the first place? 

Unfortunately Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter is Dead is one of those remakes that tries to do too much with very little time, there’s some decent acting here but that’s really all your getting.

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter is Dead is available on all VOD Platforms.

3/10 D-

I’m back!

Hey folks!

I want to apologize for the absence, I was having technical difficulties with my old phone (the top of the screen was broken) plus I had a lot more going on as well. I’m back luckily and will resume doing reviews starting tomorrow, I’ve watched quite a lot while I was gone so get ready!