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Reviews
Terrifier 3 (2024)
I am concerned
Let's be real here. What on earth do the "fans" see here?
I am a huge fan of horror. I will watch anything from Saw to Silence of the Lambs to the Babadook to the good old fashioned Halloween and Scream. I am here for the gore (sometimes a little gross) and the psychological terror and even the dark comedy. BUT WHAT ON EARTH DO THE FANS SEE IN THIS??
Are you seeing the low budget prosthetics or the blood that doesn't even look like blood? What about the "guts" that look like we went to Spirit Halloween? Again, don't even get me started on the fake body parts because honestly it's like we went to JCPenneys and ripped it off a mannequin.
Please someone tell me where this "movie" gets 10/10. It's certainly not the acting. It's not the plot. It's not the cinematography. It's not the sound score (let's be real the sound does not even align with the murders).
And oh for the love of the good lord, can we not put this into the same categories as the great horror films and quantify this as a CULT CLASSIC?? You should all see a therapist and receive a proper diagnosis and establish a basis for why you are a "fan" of this movie and taking CHILDREN to see it. I am appalled.
The BEST you got is that Art is a creepy clown. Even then, he is nothing in comparison to the actual greats such as Michael Myers, Pennywise, Ghostface, Hannibal, Freddy, Jigsaw, shoot even Norman Bates is more terrifying.
Alfred Hitchcock is rolling over in his grave right now. You should be ashamed.
Speak No Evil (2024)
Did not disappoint
I want to first start by saying James McAvoy is severely underrated. Of course, I loved him in X-Men, but he nailed his role in Split. He is dynamic in every character he plays, but his role as Paddy is nothing less than terrifying.
I will say that I saw the "original" Speak No Evil (2022) when it was first released. As a viewer, I encourage you to view both movies as separate entities and not necessarily as a remake. The first one was unnerving and made me cringe. Although the movies have a similar storyline, they vastly differ. I recommend seeing both versions but remain aware that they have completely different endings and are a wild ride to witness. In the 2022 version, you must keep in mind the cultural context. I don't want to give away too much, but everything from the children playing a more crucial role to the aggression the one family displayed as opposed to the family in the 2022 version impacts the outcome.
Again, insert James McAvoy here. He is manipulative, creepy, and lacks every bit of empathy a human should have. His counterpart, Aisling Franciosi, also played the dutiful wife, who was nothing short of a lunatic. However, I will say that Mackenzie Davis, who played Lousie Dalton, shocked me. I was not expecting her character to unfold as it did. At first, I took her as meek and sheepish, then she snapped, and it became survival of the fittest. Again, very different than the 2022 version.
Also, Blumhouse just knows how to make movies. It is a cinematic adventure every time.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Juicy
As a sequel, it exceeds expectations.
Michael Keaton is simply brilliant as Beetlejuice. Unlike the first, he has much more screen time in the sequel, and I feel it is well deserved. Honestly, I thought Catherine O'Hara was incredible in the movie and captured the essence of her character, now a widow, and brought a lot of humor in the role. Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega did well, however I feel that they always play similar roles, so sometimes they come across as a little flat.
My only complaint, and perhaps it is insignificant to others, but the plot contained what felt like 15 different storylines into one. Due to the time lapse of 36 years, there were some parts that needed to be closed up, such as Lydia's father passing and the Maitland characters were slightly brushed over with a couple of sentences describing they have passed on through a loophole. Kind of boring. Alas, we move into the multiple dynamics. First, we have a dead wife coming back to suck souls. Then we have a boyfriend who is a fraud and manipulative. Followed by a ghost who pretends he is alive but is an actual murderer only there to trade places with someone who is living. And then we have a dead dad that died in the Amazon and another dead dad who was eaten by a shark. It is wild. Where it falls short is that it falls short. For example, the soul sucking wife shows up at church and you have expectations that she is going to unleash her talent, but she just stands there and is eaten by a snake!! It felt like a waste in that aspect.
However, the movie as a whole is a fabulous sequel and the juice was definitely loose!
Longlegs (2024)
Well...I had hoped for the best
I will be the first to admit, I bought into the hype. I even dialed that random number with Nicholas Cage's voice as an automated reply.
Was the movie horrible? No.
Was the movie the most terrifying film of the decade? Also, no.
What I am most disappointed about is the comparison between this movie and Silence of the Lambs. Please, please do not compare the two. These movies are not even in the same league.
The actors do an amazing job, the camera angles provide some interesting visuals, the jump scares are pretty jumpy, and some of the scenes made me a tad squeamish. Honestly, Nicholas Cage was terrifying and made me quite uncomfortable. He definitely elicited a different emotion within.
Overall, the movie is decent and probably worth the watch. But I would not pretend this to be the most terrifying film ever.
The Idea of You (2024)
Loved!
I do not write reviews too often, unless the movie was absolutely incredible or terrible. That being said, I credited the movie with a seven ONLY because I became disappointed with the trajectory of the relationship and the choices that were made by the characters. The movie itself and the storyline were heartwarming, yet sad at times. The main characters had amazing chemistry and I appreciate that because it felt real and wholesome. I mean who wouldn't cry when she received the painting? Where I felt slighted, and perhaps I don't know what it's like to date a pop star, but I was disappointed in the amount of break-ups and constant questioning of the relationship. Anne and Nick are incredible, they look beautiful together. It was a sweet movie and I haven't seen a movie like this in quite some time.
Saltburn (2023)
Leaves you speechless
I have now watched this film about five times. And my reaction is just the same as the first. Wow. Just wow.
I saw trailers for this movie and I didn't give it much thought. However, someone suggested it to me and they said I would love it. After watching the film and knowing they said I would love it, made me wonder just what my friend thinks of me.
But she may not be wrong, because I am truly obsessed.
It was shocking. Unnerving. Twisted. Poetic. Romantic. Disturbing. And a whole bunch of other words that might not be suitable for this platform.
You begin the movie by meeting sweet, innocent Oliver who is a new student at Oxford. He comes from a family that is what he describes as poverty level and mother is a drunk and father is a drug addict. Insert beautiful Felix. Felix comes from generational wealth and is that popular guy everyone wants to be friends with. He quickly takes Oliver under his wing and invites him to stay at the family residence of Saltburn.
From the beginning, there are scenes that make you question if Ollie is in love with Felix. Or is he obsessed? Or does he want to be Felix? You do not fully get your answer until the last four minutes.
As someone who is studying to be a mental health therapist, I would like to pretend I was not observing and assessing Ollie the entire time, but that would be a lie. There are certain acts, mostly revolving around sex and sensuality that leave you speechless. You will want to google Ollie's symptoms immediately after the credits begin to roll.
I commend the actor, Barry Keoghan, who played Ollie. He played this role beautifully and truly became the character. It was so well done, but you will be speechless, shocked, and most likely disturbed. I encourage you to embrace the madness.
Midsommar (2019)
Full steam ahead
If there were ever a movie where I would describe it by saying, "and then this happened," followed by "and then," it would be this one.
I had heard of this movie awhile back, but the trailer didn't do it justice. After watching the infamous Saltburn, many people suggested Midsommar. I decided to give it a whirl.
Firstly, it hits you hard in the first ten minutes. Which I can appreciate from any film because it makes you invested right from the start and doesn't give that slow burn. The main character is so sweet, and genuine, but has horrible things happen to her immediately. You think to yourself, "ok that was a lot, so how much more are they going to give us?" And my God, do they layer it on.
I don't want to give away the whole movie, but the premise revolves around this young woman following her "boyfriend" (I say this loosely because he is trash) and his friends to Sweden. They are quickly introduced to this group of people (we can call them a cult because there's no other word to describe this) and sinister things begin to happen. I wouldn't necessarily say in a demonic way, but in an unnerving, deeply twisted and emotional way. The music throughout the film also adds to the edginess.
Let's just say this happens, and then this, followed by this, and then that, and you will be on the edge of your seat while still praying for the main character.
Mother! (2017)
Beautifully unnerving
I began watching this movie completely confused and nearly bored. I was not quite fully understanding what was happening. Keeping in mind the director is incredible and does such a beautiful job with his movies, I pursued on. At about the 30 minute mark, I decided to google just in God's name what was going on. And that's it. God. It was like the glass ceiling shattered. Without going into too much detail, because once you embrace the biblical allegories, it pieces everything together almost poetically.
You begin the movie with a husband and wife renovating a lovely Victorian home. The husband has this gorgeous crystal that he takes deep care of and places in a room for safekeeping. A random man comes to the door. Followed shortly by his wife. While this may seem strange, the connection is God being the husband, Mother Earth is the wife. Man is Adam. Wife is Eve. Once this unravels, it makes complete sense what the director is trying to convey through symbolism and imagery. I encourage you to watch this as it's beautifully done.
Speak No Evil (2022)
Unnerving but upsetting
The trailer is so intense that it draws you in, but once you begin the movie, it aggravates the viewer until the bitter end.
Firstly, we have two families, Danish and Dutch, that meet on holiday. The Dutch family invites the Danish family to their countryside home for a weekend getaway. Although it is odd because they just met, the Danish family whisks away for the invite.
The Dutch family is strange from the very beginning of the arrival. They feed the Danish wife meat even though she mentioned that she's vegetarian. They bring over a babysitter who speaks no English to watch the children while they go to a bar down the street. They continually yell and verbally abuse their son who has no tongue, of which they claim is from a birth defect.
After several weird and unsettling encounters, the Danish family leaves.
Here's where any viewer with a fight or flight response should begin. The daughter forgets her stuffed bunny. Why on earth would you go back to the lion's den for the stuffed animal? Buy her a new one! Well, they go back. After a very unnerving conversation the two families make up. And here we are again. More insanity. The Dutch husband brings the daughter into the bedroom while she's sleeping where he sleeps naked near her. He also has several acts of voyeurism. It gives anyone the creeps! The next morning the family is sitting in the living room and the Dutch family berates their son. This is the final straw. That night the Danish husband snoops around the home and finds hundreds of pictures of other families with the Dutch family and he puts the pieces together that they kill off the parents and cut the tongues out of the children and keep them as their own! He walks down to the pool and sees the son face down. This is when the husband finally decides to leave! Shocking.
The family scoots out of there as fast as possible. Here's another point in the film that the viewer questions the Danish family and their lack thereof fight or flight. They make bad decision after bad decision. The Dutch family finds them on the road, gets them back in their car and inevitably take the daughter from them. It's gruesome to watch what happens from here. However, no sane human being is going to allow this to happen to themselves or their child. I was screaming at the film, "Punch him in the head," and all the man did was cry.
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Interesting
I liked the movie. It was different, and provoked the thought of could this happen to us? I am unsure why people are so against this movie. It wasn't terrible acting, albeit Ethan Hawke's character is definitely a goober. I did love the references to Friends, possibly something that Julia Roberts added in as a tribute to the late Matthew Perry. I believe you should give this a shot, and ask yourself what would I do in this situation? Could this ever happen in our lifetimes? Should we build a bunker and buy a lot of canned food? Or should we continue to dissociate and focus on social media and the relentless, aimless scrolling?
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (2023)
These ratings & reviews are wild!
3 major conspiracy theories with facts sprinkled in. I enjoyed the documentary, I think it was filmed well and had your eyebrows raised the entire time. Whether you believe the theories or accept them as absolute garbage, the small facts that leave us guessing as to what happened that night SHOULD MAKE YOU QUESTION EVERYTHING! Not a soul on this earth knows what happened to that plane...or do they? Ultimately no one knows what really happened (maybe), but Florence and Jeff have at least questioned what they were told. At least Blaine is out there searching for the plane. While others are sitting back saying "well that plane disappeared," and that's the end of that. PLANES DO NOT DISAPPEAR.
Your Place or Mine (2023)
Super cute rom-com
Honestly, I rarely write reviews, but after reading other reviews that were so tasteless and trashy, I could not bite my tongue! This movie was adorable and sweet and I am not a fan of rom-coms. Reese, albeit gorgeous, (who is not on my list of favorite actresses) did such a good job as a quirky, earthy, over the top mom. Ashton, still hilarious and adorable, plays such a good role as that friend who cares deeply regardless of his own scars. Please do not take some of these comments seriously, unless they went to Harvard for their PhD in cinematic adventure, then perhaps read through it. Give this one a go!