When Clawdeen begins attending Monster High, she discovers a devious plot that would not only destroy her school, but it would also reveal her half-human, half-werewolf identity.
Oh man what is there to say here? I’m clearly not the target audience and I’m sure there’s kids out there who will like this fine enough, but this whole movie seems like Nickelodeon saw what Disney was doing with The Descendants and Zombies then tried to be exactly like that. Even though Monster High is based off of the fashion doll franchise from Mattel, it comes off as a horrible Descendants and Zombies clone. The only positive I can really give this movie is the cast were at least trying their hardest with what they were given, everything else from the songs that aren’t particularly memorable, the writing and the shoehorned villain makes for a bad kid’s movie that is a chore to sit through.
Monster High: The Movie is available on Nickelodeon and Paramount+
Three young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.
Hocus Pocus 2 finally releases after several years of the being on those “sequels that should have been a thing by now but haven’t” lists, there’s honestly not a whole lot to comment on here as Hocus Pocus 2 is about the same as the original. Which might be good for people who absolutely adored the first movie, I was never a huge Hocus Pocus fan it’s a fun little movie but that’s all it really was for me. Hocus Pocus 2 falls in the same line, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are still quite fantastic as the Sanderson sisters and are clearly having a blast, the entertaining atmosphere is still quite great and keeps a lot of the atmosphere from the first one, the flaws mostly come from the characters and the jokes really not being as strong, I get they wanted to put in the whole modern setting idea in the movie and at times it works. But other times it really mirrors what a lot of other movies do with this exact plot line, so it definitely leads to a lot of “seen that and it’s been done better before” type of moments. The overall message is charming enough and there’s some cute moments towards the end that did put a smile on my face, there’s definitely some level of charm that went into this movie that can be appreciated. It just falls a little short of being a little too identical to the first movie.
A gang of young women in Brazil try to control everything around them, including other women, by roaming the streets and beating up those they deem too sinful.
There’s definitely a lot going on here thematically with Anita Rocha da Silveira’s Medusa, there’s themes of beauty standards, physical and mental trauma for women and even some Greek mythology or tragedy Included as well. Unfortunately this is the type of movie where those themes aren’t explored all that well, the filming and visuals are at least quite captivating and at times hypnotic as well. There’s some solid acting bits here that give the characters some personality and give them time to shine. The main problem here is the running time it’s 127 minutes long, which you would think would give it more time to explore it’s themes. However it somehow ends up being very surface level at best and drags for the sake of dragging, the writing is nowhere near as strong as the movie thinks it is. It introduces themes, does a little bit with them and then moves on to the next idea. Medusa is definitely not a terrible movie as it is very well made but this is the very definition of style over substance.
While attending a conference in Istanbul, Dr. Alithea Binnie happens to encounter a djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. This presents two problems: first, she doubts that he’s real, and second, because she’s a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. The djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually, she’s beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both.
George Miller returns with Three Thousand Years Of Longing a movie that I was very excited for, I’ll start with what really worked here. Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba truly hit it out of the park here, both do a fantastic job in their roles and truly deliver some quite captivating moments that work well in the movie’s favor. The visuals combined with the filming are very stunning, there’s so much attention to detail in a majority of the scenes and really pull the viewer into the movie’s own world. There’s some really well done ideas that are done beautifully and executed well, the movie definitely captures a human aspect to the story as well when it goes further than just granting wishes. The main flaws consist of the pacing moving a bit too slowly especially during the third act, some ideas needing a lot more time to develop. Particularly ideas that are introduced during the third act that needed a lot more time to be expanded upon, finally the third act itself being the weakest part of the movie. While the third act isn’t necessarily bad it doesn’t quite capture you or bring you into it’s universe like the first two acts did. But overall Three Thousand Years Of Longing is a solid movie from George Miller. It definitely could have been a lot more but for what it is it’s not bad.
Three Thousand Years Of Longing is playing in theaters.
Four generations of Darling women deal with the aftermath of their adventures with Peter Pan in Neverland. Like her grandmother and her mother Jane before her, Wendy must escape Pan’s hold on her and the promise he desperately wants her to keep. As her daughter, Berry, comes into Peter’s orbit, Wendy must fight to save her relationship with her daughter while reconciling her legacy.
For a movie that’s supposedly inspired by Peter Pan you would think this would get far more advertising but instead it very quietly gets put on to VOD platforms and I can see why. I honestly couldn’t tell you what exactly happens during the movie because it’s a huge mess filled with bad writing, a horribly constructed story and very poor acting outside of Iain Glen and Louis Partridge (which I’m questioning how on earth they got him to be in this). The main issue that hurts The Lost Girls basically sums up to “seen that and it’s been done way better before” you are better off watching any other Peter Pan related movie or just watch an actual adaption.
The Lost Girls is available on all VOD Platforms.
1/10 F
The story is described as a poignant look at a young man’s difficult entry into adulthood.
If you went by the poster you would probably expect another teen romance movie, that isn’t what this movie is luckily. Instead it’s more about bonding with family, Hero Finneas Tiffin is actually not that bad here (miles better than he was in After movies) Sydney Park is also pretty solid here as well. There’s a lot of touching moments that work mainly due to the cast having decent chemistry between one another, what sort of stops this movie from being even better is there are moments where the pacing feels way too long and also rushed at the same time. The movie starts to lose focus towards the end and just crashes before it can finish with it’s ideas. Overall not exactly bad just not enough meat on it’s bones to make it worth while.
In a future where the government records dreams and taxes them, a dream auditor gets caught up in an ageing eccentric’s dreams.
Strawberry Mansion is definitely something…and I mean that in the best possible way. Without giving anything away the film is a very trippy and bizarre film that keeps surprising you with a lot of stunning visuals and it’s own world. It takes the sci-fi genre and completely flips it upside down, the filming has this style to it that creates this atmosphere that adds so much to the film. The style it goes for is dreamlike with surreal visuals which builds the film’s world quite well and makes the film standout, the writing is really well done with some interesting dialogue between the characters and builds up moments that will make you question “what am I watching?” The final act unfortunately does lose a bit of steam and definitely feels weaker than the rest of the film, however the rest of the film is absolutely well done and takes you for a one of a kind experience!
Strawberry Mansion is available on all VOD Platforms.
An enigmatic, middle-aged father of two enlists the help of fledgling writer Samuel Liston to pen his biography. The circumstances leading up to the arrangement are astonishing, and efforts to write the biography are quickly stymied by ensuing chaos.
The major problem with Big Gold Brick is that it’s so uninteresting, this is the very definition of a movie saying or showing so much but saying and showing so little. There was some interesting stylistic choices at times and there’s a few moments that did get a laugh out of me due to how bad they were, but that was not worth enduring 2 hours and 12 minutes of complete and total nonsense, what baffles me is how Megan Fox, Oscar Isaac (although he’s really not in it that long it’s a cameo.) and Lucy Hale are in this. Megan Fox definitely tries her best with what she’s given but the problem is her character is very flat and has no personality, but the same can be said for the rest of the characters. I completely understand the type of comedy Big Gold Brick was trying to go for but it completely misses it’s mark. Lastly there’s the running time which has absolutely no reason to be 2 hours and 12 minutes long, there is so much here that could have been cut and the movie would not have changed at all. Overall Big Gold Brick is a terrible movie that feels like you just wasted your time.
During the final throes of the last Carlist war, a little girl is rescued from an orphanage by a mysterious woman who lives deep inside the forest.
All The Moons is a very different take on the vampire genre, it takes a lot of fantasy elements as well as some vampire elements we are use to and blends them into one beautiful piece. The horror elements are not very present here as the movie focuses on character moments and a deep dive into the main character and her experiences, there’s a lot of emotional moments that really caught me off guard as well. The acting and writing truly make this film worth the watch, there’s a lot of emotion put into the roles which adds so much to the characters. The filming is beautifully done and completely matches the atmosphere the film is going for, All The Moons is definitely something to check out if you are seeking for a very different vampire film.
Hoping to achieve immortality, King Louis XIV (Pierce Brosnan) captures a mermaid and steals her life force, but a discovery by his illegitimate daughter threatens to ruin the king’s plans.
The King’s Daughter was shelved for 7 years but finally released in 2022 and it’s very easy to see why that’s the case. For starters the major part that completely breaks this movie is the editing…now I know I reference the editing from Taken 3 a lot because it really is that bad, not only is it that bad but it feels like it’s edited like as if Stan Twitter edited a film. Except with Stan Twitter they aren’t trying to edit a full length movie they make/edit short fancams and so on of their favorite celebrity and that’s it. It’s honestly just baffling to see how broken a movie can really get because of how horrendous the editing really is, it moves so quickly from plot point to plot point giving the viewer no time at all to breath and analyze what happened, everything else in the movie doesn’t help at all either. The acting is horrendous, the writing feels incredibly rushed and fails to explain why we should care what’s going on or why we should care about the characters. Despite taking place in France there isn’t a single French actor (it happens in other films too it just adds to the trainwreck), the lighting looks fake and gives the movie such an ugly look to it. It’s so clearly green-screened with very shoddy CGI that looks very incomplete, lastly there’s the soundtrack that uses a ton of modern music that doesn’t fit at all to the scenes they are used. It’s incredible to me how bad someone can mess up a adventure fantasy movie, this is honestly quite the accomplishment meanwhile being the biggest embarrassment I’ve seen in quite awhile.
When a loving husband and father is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he’s presented with a controversial alternative solution to shield his family from his loss – replace himself with a carbon copy clone.
Swan Song was definitely a surprise, it’s a different type of Sci-Fi film than the genre is use to. It’s a film that explores the inner thoughts of humans as well as emotions, Mahershala Ali continues to show that he knows how to lead a movie. Ali in the leading role gives this film so much strength and character, It’s a very deep and almost feels personal type of performance that really sticks with you. The writing is really strong here, this is the type of writing where things could have easily gone horribly wrong and we would have been left with a very mediocre movie, luckily that’s not the case here because the writing Is very emotional and sticks with you. It examines how we feel or what we feel during situations it’s a special type of study about yourself. I do feel some of the other performances such as Awkwafina are on the weaker side, they most certainly aren’t bad at all, just nowhere near the level of Mahershala Ali. But really that’s not much of a huge issue because Swan Song is an incredibly solid film that I highly recommend giving a go!
Jerome Reviews... 