-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
The Imagineering Movie Discussion Thread
- Thread starter PerGron
- Start date
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
This week's new releases are seriously ROUGH. We're basically looking at Generic Action Movie #1, Generic Action Movie #2, and Romeo and Juliet Retelling #85,864.
At least The Surfer was pretty awesome.
At least The Surfer was pretty awesome.
Don’t forget Clown Slasher Movie
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
I wish my theater was getting that haha
Well we're 11 days into the month but I was on vacation so I got lazy. Anywho, April was pretty solid with its movies, especially one certain one, so let's jump in. I managed to catch 19 movies in April.
#19- Sneaks
[Watched in theaters]
An absolutely atrocious take on the Toy Story/Secret Life of Pets formula following two sneakers trying to get back to their owner. This movie is trying to do some Shakespeare bull**** alongside the generic storyline and stuffs it full of humor that hasn't been funny or relevant in close to five years. This movie won't appeal to sneakerheads, it won't appeal to kids, it won't appeal to anyone. An absolute skip.
#18- A Minecraft Movie
[Watched in theaters]
As someone who works closely with kids in an education capacity, this movie feels like it came out a year ago with how exhausted I've become of the words "chicken jockey" "flint and steel" and "I am Steve." Beyond just the cultural shift that has officially declared that at 26 I am now old, the movie itself just straight sucks. The characters are absolute nothingburgers, the effects are fine when they're by themselves but any time a human is on screen it looks like dookie, and as someone who grew up loving Minecraft, this is just not a good adaptation of the game.
#17- Shadow of God
[Watched on Shudder]
This is a super generic possession movie from the edgy Reddit atheist you knew in high school with the "what if God possessed you instead of the Devil" question that nobody ever really cared to entertain. It is crazy forgettable except that I watched it on Easter for the irony alone.
#16- 825 Forest Road
[Watched on Shudder]
I think this movie watched The Haunting of Hill House by Mike Flanagan and decided "hey, let's do that" but didn't understand anything about why that show works. This is a really generic haunted house movie with a few decent enough scares, some contrived family drama, and a bit of Stephen King's It thrown in there for good measure. Of the two Shudder releases this one is leagues above Shadow of God and these two have a pretty big jump from absolute dog**** to pretty meh, but still not something I'll ever return to.
#15- G20
[Watched on Prime Video]
A pretty bog standard political action movie that isn't quite as campy and entertaining as a White House Down or Olympus Has Fallen, but still manages to bring some goofs and gaffs alongside the overserious storyline. This movie was definitely made in a time where a, um... different political outcome... was predicted and it feels very "hell yeah, girlboss wins it all" which obviously doesn't sit super well in the real world right now. Still, Viola Davis is solid enough and she'd absolutely have my vote for president. Anthony Starr is also so good at playing an insane person that as scary as it is he'll just be typecast forever post-Homelander, he's still a highlight whenever he does his thing.
#14- Until Dawn
[Watched in theaters]
This is one of those movies where the premise is sooooo much better than the execution. I could've sat there and watched a movie about people getting to redo their night in a murder house until they win or permanently die like it was pitching, but unfortunately they never really commit to that element of it and try to play up the drama and conspiracy angles when it should've been all tension and mystery. There's a few good jumpscares and the concept is really interesting, but they don't really deliver on it entirely so while I didn't dislike the movie, it's a one and done for me when I wish it was something amazing.
#13- Guardians of the Galapagos
[Watched on Disney+]
Every Earth Day I watch the newest DisneyNature release, a tradition I started back when they were done theatrically and now I do on Disney+, but now that they're streaming they also drop these little behind the scenes docs that show you how the documentary was made and kind of tie it into the education stuff. I always appreciate these bts looks though there's really only so much you can do with it when it's supplemental material for the documentary you're supposed to be watching, so while it is interesting to see how they do it, this could only go up so high. Great name though.
#12- The Amateur
[Watched in theaters]
In a post-John Wick world, we're gonna keep getting these "everyman turned revenge killer" stories and it's just something we have to accept at this point. Where I always love the Jason Statham takes on that because he's so comically good at everything in his movies, Rami Malek is the opposite where he's this bumbling doofus who only knows computers but can't figure out what side of the gun a bullet comes out of. This movie does manage to do some really sick kills and setpieces but it makes the fatal flaw of showing off all the best stuff in the trailer. The pool kill shown front and center in the advertisement is the best kill in the movie and it sucks that they couldn't have left it as a surprise. This movie isn't bad and I liked it once he settles into the role of "I'm not a killer so I have to do it my way" even if he did luck into a few kills. There's a lot more that could've been done here with other characters but I don't see a The Amateur 2 at any point in the future.
#11- The Legend of Ochi
[Watched in theaters]
The Legend of Ochi has all the makings of a movie I should absolutely love. It's a coming-of-age story about friendship, it is done mostly practically, it involves a misunderstood animal and explores themes of nature and wildlife, it features Willem DaFoe, it just feels like something I should've come away loving and unfortunately I just kind of liked it.
The aesthetics of these fantasy monsters against a backdrop of more modern technology like grocery stores and gas stations was pretty unique and I enjoyed those elements, but the stuff with the main character's parents was drawn out and the main character herself just mumbled through the whole movie. The puppeteering was great and the Ochi is adorable, but I also understand why this isn't catching on. I liked it well enough but it's not gonna top any lists for me.
#19- Sneaks
[Watched in theaters]
An absolutely atrocious take on the Toy Story/Secret Life of Pets formula following two sneakers trying to get back to their owner. This movie is trying to do some Shakespeare bull**** alongside the generic storyline and stuffs it full of humor that hasn't been funny or relevant in close to five years. This movie won't appeal to sneakerheads, it won't appeal to kids, it won't appeal to anyone. An absolute skip.
#18- A Minecraft Movie
[Watched in theaters]
As someone who works closely with kids in an education capacity, this movie feels like it came out a year ago with how exhausted I've become of the words "chicken jockey" "flint and steel" and "I am Steve." Beyond just the cultural shift that has officially declared that at 26 I am now old, the movie itself just straight sucks. The characters are absolute nothingburgers, the effects are fine when they're by themselves but any time a human is on screen it looks like dookie, and as someone who grew up loving Minecraft, this is just not a good adaptation of the game.
#17- Shadow of God
[Watched on Shudder]
This is a super generic possession movie from the edgy Reddit atheist you knew in high school with the "what if God possessed you instead of the Devil" question that nobody ever really cared to entertain. It is crazy forgettable except that I watched it on Easter for the irony alone.
#16- 825 Forest Road
[Watched on Shudder]
I think this movie watched The Haunting of Hill House by Mike Flanagan and decided "hey, let's do that" but didn't understand anything about why that show works. This is a really generic haunted house movie with a few decent enough scares, some contrived family drama, and a bit of Stephen King's It thrown in there for good measure. Of the two Shudder releases this one is leagues above Shadow of God and these two have a pretty big jump from absolute dog**** to pretty meh, but still not something I'll ever return to.
#15- G20
[Watched on Prime Video]
A pretty bog standard political action movie that isn't quite as campy and entertaining as a White House Down or Olympus Has Fallen, but still manages to bring some goofs and gaffs alongside the overserious storyline. This movie was definitely made in a time where a, um... different political outcome... was predicted and it feels very "hell yeah, girlboss wins it all" which obviously doesn't sit super well in the real world right now. Still, Viola Davis is solid enough and she'd absolutely have my vote for president. Anthony Starr is also so good at playing an insane person that as scary as it is he'll just be typecast forever post-Homelander, he's still a highlight whenever he does his thing.
#14- Until Dawn
[Watched in theaters]
This is one of those movies where the premise is sooooo much better than the execution. I could've sat there and watched a movie about people getting to redo their night in a murder house until they win or permanently die like it was pitching, but unfortunately they never really commit to that element of it and try to play up the drama and conspiracy angles when it should've been all tension and mystery. There's a few good jumpscares and the concept is really interesting, but they don't really deliver on it entirely so while I didn't dislike the movie, it's a one and done for me when I wish it was something amazing.
#13- Guardians of the Galapagos
[Watched on Disney+]
Every Earth Day I watch the newest DisneyNature release, a tradition I started back when they were done theatrically and now I do on Disney+, but now that they're streaming they also drop these little behind the scenes docs that show you how the documentary was made and kind of tie it into the education stuff. I always appreciate these bts looks though there's really only so much you can do with it when it's supplemental material for the documentary you're supposed to be watching, so while it is interesting to see how they do it, this could only go up so high. Great name though.
#12- The Amateur
[Watched in theaters]
In a post-John Wick world, we're gonna keep getting these "everyman turned revenge killer" stories and it's just something we have to accept at this point. Where I always love the Jason Statham takes on that because he's so comically good at everything in his movies, Rami Malek is the opposite where he's this bumbling doofus who only knows computers but can't figure out what side of the gun a bullet comes out of. This movie does manage to do some really sick kills and setpieces but it makes the fatal flaw of showing off all the best stuff in the trailer. The pool kill shown front and center in the advertisement is the best kill in the movie and it sucks that they couldn't have left it as a surprise. This movie isn't bad and I liked it once he settles into the role of "I'm not a killer so I have to do it my way" even if he did luck into a few kills. There's a lot more that could've been done here with other characters but I don't see a The Amateur 2 at any point in the future.
#11- The Legend of Ochi
[Watched in theaters]
The Legend of Ochi has all the makings of a movie I should absolutely love. It's a coming-of-age story about friendship, it is done mostly practically, it involves a misunderstood animal and explores themes of nature and wildlife, it features Willem DaFoe, it just feels like something I should've come away loving and unfortunately I just kind of liked it.
The aesthetics of these fantasy monsters against a backdrop of more modern technology like grocery stores and gas stations was pretty unique and I enjoyed those elements, but the stuff with the main character's parents was drawn out and the main character herself just mumbled through the whole movie. The puppeteering was great and the Ochi is adorable, but I also understand why this isn't catching on. I liked it well enough but it's not gonna top any lists for me.
Mr. Sullivan
Well-Known Member
Patiently awaiting the rest
#10- Pets
[Watched on Disney+]
Less of an intriguing exposé and more of an "awww" type documentary, but as someone who loves my animals both in my care and at my home with all of my heart, yeah, pets are pretty special. This documentary covers it all from getting your first pet to losing your pet with some really cute and sweet stories interspersed between segments of cute kids talking about their best friends. The story of the guy who kayaks with a stray dog he adopted, the story of the Japanese man who made an animal rescue, and the story of the couple adopting a sato dog from Puerto Rico were all very sweet and it made for a joyful and emotional watch which goes maybe a bit too hard for the tear jerking moments but ultimately sticks the landing for me.
#09- Warfare
[Watched in theaters]
Alex Garland's follow up to Civil War is Warfare which he co-directed with Ray Mendoza who actually experienced the story at play and while it's certainly not a pleasant watch, it is a harrowing story with a really well done production that I have to commend, even if I don't exactly jive with it. The casting of all these up-and-coming faces was jarring since this movie does almost zero character work. instead focusing on the situation, which is fine enough but when you have faces like Will Poulter, Charles Melton, and Joseph Quinn they just kind of feel wasted here.
The movie is a lot like Civil War in that it takes no real stance on the conflict at hand, instead simply observing it which didn't work for me in Civil War and it doesn't work for me here. Where the Iraq war is such a fresh and controversial war, the movie needed to do more to either condemn it or support it, but that just doesn't seem to be Garland's thing. Overall though, this was a lot like Dunkirk where it was a really solid theater experience in a big screen with increased sound, but I don't think it'll work on the small screen at home.
#08- Freaky Tales
[Watched on VOD]
Shockingly not a horror movie at all like I expected, instead this is a pulpy action comedy thriller that takes the Pulp seriously as in Pulp Fiction which was a clear inspiration for this movie, involving multiple stories told out of order that all connect in some way. The movie follows the city of Oakland in the 1980s as groups like famous athletes, punks, organized crime, skinhead neo-nazis, and assassins all somehow connect in the same night. It is a really fun time in the beginning but the stories lost me as they went on. I'd definitely recommend it, it's unique, small budget, and features Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelson who are both great in it.
#07- Drop
[Watched in theaters]
Drop holds the title of the worst trailer of the year thus far, but a lot like the holder of that title last year (coincidentally another Blumhouse production) Speak No Evil, the movie was actually pretty solid. It has great tense moments, the two leads have really good chemistry, and the comic relief from the waiter isn't annoying at all. Really the only thing I disliked here was the big reveal at the end which didn't exactly work for me. Still, it was a good time and I'd actually recommend checking it out.
#06- Hell of a Summer
[Watched in theaters]
This was overall a fun slasher film that doesn't really do anything super unique or special but captures the energy and vibes of the classic 90s slashers and makes for a super fun watch if you're into the subgenre. All of the characters are cliches and they all work for what they are, the reveal of who the killer is actually worked for me and kind of caught me off guard which rarely happens in these, and the comic relief from writer-director Finn Wolfhard was pretty solid. If you're a slasher fan, I do think this one is worth checking out.
#05- Reef Builders
[Watched on Prime Video]
Now we get into the stretch of Earth Day related documentaries that I watch every year. Reef Builders is easily the topic I'm most interested in of the next three, but it's a bit long in the tooth and I wish it focused up a bit more on one or two of these locations rather than bouncing between Hawaii, Indonesia, the Caribbean, East Africa, etc. It's obviously a huge deal that coral restoration projects are occurring globally and I'm super happy a documentary is focusing on them, but at the same time I can't lie and say this wasn't just a bit surface level where I would've appreciated more focus on this huge conservation issue.
#04- Sea Lions of the Galapagos
[Watched on Disney+]
DisneyNature always does a documentary every Earth Day and I've seen them every single year since African Cats came out in 2011 so I had to watch Sea Lions of the Galapagos. I've always had a love-hate relationship with these movies because on one hand they get some truly amazing footage and the Disney Conservation Fund is one of the few parts of the company I can actually feel good about supporting, but on the other hand these docs do a lot of anthropomorphising for the sake of telling a Disney-story including making up a sea lion character and using multiple sea lions to "tell that story" rather than actually following the life of an individual. Still, I think the documentary works really well for laymen who don't have my animal background, the footage is amazing, and bringing awareness to conservation in the Galapagos Islands is huge. Definitely worth the watch if you're into documentaries.
#03- Pangolin: Kulu's Journey
[Watched on Netflix]
Finally on the Earth Day stretch, Pangolin: Kulu's Journey was pretty much tailor made for me. It features actual conservation work in action rather than just sharing animal facts, it has really nice footage, it's super niche, it's all the stuff I want in a documentary. The pangolin here is adorable and seeing real work put into preserving this species is awesome. I do find it maybe a bit too focused on the guy doing the rearing where I'd rather it focus on Kulu himself, but that's fine since I understand we're trying to get people to care and the best way to do that is have someone that cares. I don't think this one is as good as the director's last feature My Octopus Teacher which really is an all-timer documentary, but this one was a nice little Earth Day surprise and I'd recommend it.
#02- Not Just a Goof
[Watched on Disney+]
April was the month of the documentary I guess because wow, I never thought I'd have four in the top five of a month, but Not Just a Goof is the perfect antithesis to the previous documentaries. It's not at all serious with actual conservation impact in its messaging, it's just a story about how a super nostalgic film got made. As a huge A Goofy Movie fan, I really loved getting to see the inside baseball and as a fan of 90s Disney lore, the stuff with Katzenberg done in animation was pretty neat to see, though I do wish they had an interview with him but I'm sure he wants nothing to do with Disney and Disney wants nothing to do with him. Overall, this is a must watch for Disney and Goofy fans which I'm sure most of us are.
#01- Sinners
[Watched in theaters]
Could number one have been anything else? Sinners is easily one of the single best movies I've seen in this decade and it's the first movie of the year I've gone back and seen more than once in the theater (three times as of writing this, possibly four by the time all is said and done). It's Ryan Coogler's best film so far and that's coming from a MASSIVE fan of Creed. It's been out a month now but I don't want to spoil anything so I just say go watch this movie. Behind The Holdovers it's my second favorite of the 2020s thus far and I'd be SHOCKED if anything beats it out for best of the year. If anything does, it's gonna be a damn good year.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going into May, this month looks dry which is alarming. I've already seen Thunderbolts* which I did enjoy, but this last weekend had zero big releases and just a few tiny ones, this coming weekend only has Final Destination: Bloodlines which I'm sure will be fun but isn't going to save the box office or anything, and then we get the likes of Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning which while I do adore the Mission: Impossible series, the last one was disappointing so I'm not as hyped for this alleged final installment. Of course, the same weekend we do get Lilo & Stitch which I think will make a lot of money and may unfortunately revert Disney's decision to back away from live action remakes that they made after Snow White bombed hard. After that we've got Karate Kid: Legends which looks fine at best. Really, May is shaping up to look pretty rough, but who knows, maybe it'll end up surprising me. We won't see until the end of the month.
[Watched on Disney+]
Less of an intriguing exposé and more of an "awww" type documentary, but as someone who loves my animals both in my care and at my home with all of my heart, yeah, pets are pretty special. This documentary covers it all from getting your first pet to losing your pet with some really cute and sweet stories interspersed between segments of cute kids talking about their best friends. The story of the guy who kayaks with a stray dog he adopted, the story of the Japanese man who made an animal rescue, and the story of the couple adopting a sato dog from Puerto Rico were all very sweet and it made for a joyful and emotional watch which goes maybe a bit too hard for the tear jerking moments but ultimately sticks the landing for me.
#09- Warfare
[Watched in theaters]
Alex Garland's follow up to Civil War is Warfare which he co-directed with Ray Mendoza who actually experienced the story at play and while it's certainly not a pleasant watch, it is a harrowing story with a really well done production that I have to commend, even if I don't exactly jive with it. The casting of all these up-and-coming faces was jarring since this movie does almost zero character work. instead focusing on the situation, which is fine enough but when you have faces like Will Poulter, Charles Melton, and Joseph Quinn they just kind of feel wasted here.
The movie is a lot like Civil War in that it takes no real stance on the conflict at hand, instead simply observing it which didn't work for me in Civil War and it doesn't work for me here. Where the Iraq war is such a fresh and controversial war, the movie needed to do more to either condemn it or support it, but that just doesn't seem to be Garland's thing. Overall though, this was a lot like Dunkirk where it was a really solid theater experience in a big screen with increased sound, but I don't think it'll work on the small screen at home.
#08- Freaky Tales
[Watched on VOD]
Shockingly not a horror movie at all like I expected, instead this is a pulpy action comedy thriller that takes the Pulp seriously as in Pulp Fiction which was a clear inspiration for this movie, involving multiple stories told out of order that all connect in some way. The movie follows the city of Oakland in the 1980s as groups like famous athletes, punks, organized crime, skinhead neo-nazis, and assassins all somehow connect in the same night. It is a really fun time in the beginning but the stories lost me as they went on. I'd definitely recommend it, it's unique, small budget, and features Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelson who are both great in it.
#07- Drop
[Watched in theaters]
Drop holds the title of the worst trailer of the year thus far, but a lot like the holder of that title last year (coincidentally another Blumhouse production) Speak No Evil, the movie was actually pretty solid. It has great tense moments, the two leads have really good chemistry, and the comic relief from the waiter isn't annoying at all. Really the only thing I disliked here was the big reveal at the end which didn't exactly work for me. Still, it was a good time and I'd actually recommend checking it out.
#06- Hell of a Summer
[Watched in theaters]
This was overall a fun slasher film that doesn't really do anything super unique or special but captures the energy and vibes of the classic 90s slashers and makes for a super fun watch if you're into the subgenre. All of the characters are cliches and they all work for what they are, the reveal of who the killer is actually worked for me and kind of caught me off guard which rarely happens in these, and the comic relief from writer-director Finn Wolfhard was pretty solid. If you're a slasher fan, I do think this one is worth checking out.
#05- Reef Builders
[Watched on Prime Video]
Now we get into the stretch of Earth Day related documentaries that I watch every year. Reef Builders is easily the topic I'm most interested in of the next three, but it's a bit long in the tooth and I wish it focused up a bit more on one or two of these locations rather than bouncing between Hawaii, Indonesia, the Caribbean, East Africa, etc. It's obviously a huge deal that coral restoration projects are occurring globally and I'm super happy a documentary is focusing on them, but at the same time I can't lie and say this wasn't just a bit surface level where I would've appreciated more focus on this huge conservation issue.
#04- Sea Lions of the Galapagos
[Watched on Disney+]
DisneyNature always does a documentary every Earth Day and I've seen them every single year since African Cats came out in 2011 so I had to watch Sea Lions of the Galapagos. I've always had a love-hate relationship with these movies because on one hand they get some truly amazing footage and the Disney Conservation Fund is one of the few parts of the company I can actually feel good about supporting, but on the other hand these docs do a lot of anthropomorphising for the sake of telling a Disney-story including making up a sea lion character and using multiple sea lions to "tell that story" rather than actually following the life of an individual. Still, I think the documentary works really well for laymen who don't have my animal background, the footage is amazing, and bringing awareness to conservation in the Galapagos Islands is huge. Definitely worth the watch if you're into documentaries.
#03- Pangolin: Kulu's Journey
[Watched on Netflix]
Finally on the Earth Day stretch, Pangolin: Kulu's Journey was pretty much tailor made for me. It features actual conservation work in action rather than just sharing animal facts, it has really nice footage, it's super niche, it's all the stuff I want in a documentary. The pangolin here is adorable and seeing real work put into preserving this species is awesome. I do find it maybe a bit too focused on the guy doing the rearing where I'd rather it focus on Kulu himself, but that's fine since I understand we're trying to get people to care and the best way to do that is have someone that cares. I don't think this one is as good as the director's last feature My Octopus Teacher which really is an all-timer documentary, but this one was a nice little Earth Day surprise and I'd recommend it.
#02- Not Just a Goof
[Watched on Disney+]
April was the month of the documentary I guess because wow, I never thought I'd have four in the top five of a month, but Not Just a Goof is the perfect antithesis to the previous documentaries. It's not at all serious with actual conservation impact in its messaging, it's just a story about how a super nostalgic film got made. As a huge A Goofy Movie fan, I really loved getting to see the inside baseball and as a fan of 90s Disney lore, the stuff with Katzenberg done in animation was pretty neat to see, though I do wish they had an interview with him but I'm sure he wants nothing to do with Disney and Disney wants nothing to do with him. Overall, this is a must watch for Disney and Goofy fans which I'm sure most of us are.
#01- Sinners
[Watched in theaters]
Could number one have been anything else? Sinners is easily one of the single best movies I've seen in this decade and it's the first movie of the year I've gone back and seen more than once in the theater (three times as of writing this, possibly four by the time all is said and done). It's Ryan Coogler's best film so far and that's coming from a MASSIVE fan of Creed. It's been out a month now but I don't want to spoil anything so I just say go watch this movie. Behind The Holdovers it's my second favorite of the 2020s thus far and I'd be SHOCKED if anything beats it out for best of the year. If anything does, it's gonna be a damn good year.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going into May, this month looks dry which is alarming. I've already seen Thunderbolts* which I did enjoy, but this last weekend had zero big releases and just a few tiny ones, this coming weekend only has Final Destination: Bloodlines which I'm sure will be fun but isn't going to save the box office or anything, and then we get the likes of Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning which while I do adore the Mission: Impossible series, the last one was disappointing so I'm not as hyped for this alleged final installment. Of course, the same weekend we do get Lilo & Stitch which I think will make a lot of money and may unfortunately revert Disney's decision to back away from live action remakes that they made after Snow White bombed hard. After that we've got Karate Kid: Legends which looks fine at best. Really, May is shaping up to look pretty rough, but who knows, maybe it'll end up surprising me. We won't see until the end of the month.
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
Seething frustration at my local movie theater for screening the latest Angel Studios slop and not Friendship this weekend.
I just got out of a Monday Mystery Movie screening of Bring Her Back, the new film by the Phillippou brothers who did Talk to Me a few years ago. While that one is an all timer that I don’t think most movies can live up to, as a sophomore effort this was another phenomenal one that was equal parts disturbing, gory, and tragic.
While it didn’t have any horror as big as in Talk to Me (nothing like THAT scene anyway) it had some truly despicable stuff that if you’re into dramatic horror I think you’ll love this like I did. It also has a supporting performance by a young actor who I will be fighting hard for at the Golden Tikis and if we do a half year draft like we did last year he may just get my nomination.
While it didn’t have any horror as big as in Talk to Me (nothing like THAT scene anyway) it had some truly despicable stuff that if you’re into dramatic horror I think you’ll love this like I did. It also has a supporting performance by a young actor who I will be fighting hard for at the Golden Tikis and if we do a half year draft like we did last year he may just get my nomination.
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
HOW IN THE ABSOLUTE HELL IS MY THEATER NOT GETTING BRING HER BACK???
I can easily just go up to Santa Rosa (have actually been preferring that theater recently because it's generally quieter than the Petaluma one) but my god my theater is out of touch. They're screening Jane Austen Wrecked My Life but not that.
I can easily just go up to Santa Rosa (have actually been preferring that theater recently because it's generally quieter than the Petaluma one) but my god my theater is out of touch. They're screening Jane Austen Wrecked My Life but not that.
Insane they’re not getting it. Gotta give those precious theaters to Lilo & Stitch and Minecraft though
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
May was overall a super strong month, with even the bottom couple movies having at least one or two really stand out elements. I was curious to see Karate Kid Legends just as a Cobra Kai fan, but the reviews for that thing make me think it's better to wait for it to inevitably come on Netflix in like a month and a half. Here's the rankings.
7. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Honestly, what a HUGE step down from the past two Mission Impossible movies. I've never really been the target audience for these films but could appreciate how simple they were and the pure talent and craft on display when it comes to the stunts. The Final Reckoning throws that simplicity out the window. This might one be one of the most absurdly convoluted plots I've ever seen for a popcorn action movie. The opening half hour in particular was literally painful to sit through and felt like an extended "Previously On" montage with terrible editing and abrupt quick cuts. The cast does a solid job I guess, but none of the characters have time to breath and be actual people, they're all just plot chess pieces.
The two big highlights here are of course the stunt work and Tramell Tillman in a way too small supporting role that's far and away the most interesting and engaging performance in the movie. Even the stunts feel like were just kind of going through the "isn't this technically impressive" motions instead of actually flowing naturally with the plot. The climax of Dead Reckoning for example had a really, really compelling and easy to follow reason for Tom Cruise to jump his bike off that cliff and sky dive on to the train. Here it's just kind of "there goes Tom again...". The submarine sequence is very technically impressive albeit goes on for a bit too long considering what it is, and the climax with the two planes is genuinely one of the best action set pieces in the whole franchise but at a certain point I just had to throw my hands in the air and stop trying to following the nonsensical plot and just enjoy the stunts. Overall The Final Reckoning is a surprisingly empty dud of an action movie with one really stand out sequence.
6. Clown in a Cornfield
So this movie was basically just "Thanksgiving"...again. Same exact premise of a shady town trying to put on an annual festival in the middle of a media frenzy over a recent series of murders. Conspiracy among the townspeople. "Teen" cast of mostly unknown twenty-somethings with very little personality to go around between them so they can be used as slasher canon fodder (with the exception of the surprise gay relationship which I honestly thought was excellent representation. Very ParaNorman coded) Clown in a Cornfield is a fun enough time and there's some creativity to be had with some of the more outlandish twists the plot makes and a pretty decent climax, but it's easily one of the most generic slashers I've seen in a while. An entertaining enough time, but entirely predictable. I've got to give a big shout out to our boy Kevin Durand though. He managed to pull together a genuinely unsettling villain in a movie that's otherwise pretty damn forgettable and is easily the film's big bright spot.
5. Thunderbolts Asterisk
When I walked out of Thunderbolts, I was actually kind of buzzing about it. I said it was easily the best non-Guardians Volume 3 MCU movie since Infinity War (as someone who kind of hates Endgame in retrospect as empty fan service with some pretty brutal character assassination of Hulk and Thor). While I think that sentiment might hold true, I still by and large find Thunderbolts a somewhat empty popcorn movie that is pretty forgettable a few weeks after the fact and just more proof that even the best of current day MCU doesn't come close to matching the hype and batting average of the Infinity Saga (Again, outside of Guardians v. 3 which might be my absolute #1 movie in the whole franchise)
There's definitely some solid stuff here. I really appreciate how practical a lot of the action is and the cast is pretty dynamic. Always great to see Sebastian Stan on screen in any capacity. John Walker is one of my favorite new additions to the MCU in general post Engame. Red Guardian is a lot less of a Yakov Schmrinoff style Russian stereotype than the trailers led me to believe, and Julia Louis Dreyfuss FINALLY has some actual screen presence to her now that she's got a whole movie's worth of screen time instead of forcing her into the anti-Nick Fury post credits role.
This might be a crazy take, but I honestly think Yelena and Bob were kind of the weak points here. Their bond just felt really forced and emotionally manipulative, I don't like how yet again we have a "Far and away the most powerful person in the universe" that comes right the hell out of nowhere, and the movie suffers from the really common issue of a very slow, exposition dump start with a very much un-needed opening narration by Florence Pugh that goes on entirely too long. It's still top tier as far as post-phase three stuff goes, but ultimately still feels like a pretty disposable popcorn movie that does a solid job setting up the pieces for Fantastic Four and Doomsday.
4. Friendship
I had a really fun time with this one and an awesome theater experience filled with I Think You Should Leave fans, but ultimately I really wanted this to be more than just a series of sketches from that show stitched together into the a narrative which is pretty much what this is. The trailer promised something genuinely twisted and suspenseful, and the actual movie just...didn't deliver that. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that this film turned me on to I Think You Should Leave in the first place. Tim Robinson has now become a pretty significant influence in my own stand up style and I hope he gets more work outside of Netflix. Paul Rudd more than redeems himself from his baffling-ly flat Death of a Unicorn performance and delivers one of his all time most memorable roles.
My biggest problem with this movie is the very inconsistent pace. Through the first half I was ready to call this one of my favorites of the year. I love how Robinson and Paul Rudd's friendship gets developed and the scene that leads to the "break up" is ridiculous in the best kind of way. The pace just kind of dies when the breakup happens though, and I really thought they dropped the ball there. A HUGE issue for me is that Paul Rudd continues to float in and out of Robinson's life in a way that seems like the script couldn't really commit to a proper tone for him. There's a subplot involving Robinson's wife going missing that drags on entirely too long and honestly kind of destroys the pace. I love the climax and ending, but I really wish the movie was more focused on the titular friendship and specifically the fall out of it. I think this is the case of me expecting a bit too much of the "social anxiety horror" element based on the trailer. Now that I binged I Think You Should Leave and actively admire Robinson's tone and style, I'm definitely curious to check this one out again and see if it holds up better on a rewatch with those factors in mind.
3. Final Destination: Bloodlines
This year's "Saw X" for me. A franchise pretty deep into it's run that I'm surprisingly completely unfamiliar with, that comes out with a late entry that goes way harder than it needed to. I had a ball with this one. The opening half hour or so with the sky tower was incredibly memorable, with some of the most bonkers and inspired editing I've seen in any movie all year.As someone who went into this pretty much blind the "Rune Goldberg Machine" quality to the kills was absolutely a big surprise for me.
I think the main cast here does a really good job threading the needle between being just disposable enough for us to actually have fun with their deaths and likable enough to have actual personalities. I especially enjoyed the brother/sister dynamic at play here and think it added a perfect amount of actual heart to the movie with it still being silly as hell. This is a perfect entry point into the franchise for me and definitely makes me want to check out some of the other movies. It's a really good example of how a "legacy sequel" should be handled going forward.
2. Bring Her Back
How appropriate that my top two at the start of the summer movie season are both low budget Australia-centric experimental indie horror joints. I was NOT ready for Bring Her Back. The violence here was freaking visceral to the point where by the end it was kind of veering into the realm of exploitative and hard to watch. Self mutilation in general is probably one of my big horror weak points, so self mutilation done by an incredibly troubled child was just bound to hit a nerve with me. Stylistically while I appreciate the cinematography does the experimental thing of trying to blur the surroundings a lot of the time to get us in the head space of the nearly blind main character, I feel like the movie went back to the well a bit too often with that gimmick and it started to actually give me a headache.
The positive stuff in this movie really sticks out though. Sally Hawkins delivers the single biggest tour de force horror performance since the one two punch of Toni Collette in Hereditary and Florence Pugh in Midsommar. She's genuinely chilling but also incredibly amusing in certain scenes. The gaslighting at play here with the older foster brother is scary realistic. The performance from the young kid playing THAT character is basically a movie-length version of THAT scene from Talk To Me and he should indeed be getting some Golden Tikis love for it. I definitely need to see this again as I was sleep deprived and somewhat distracted by real life stuff when I was watching it. I'm sure that would help with the cinematography at least. I definitely don't think is is as strong as Talk To Me overall and lacks a really killer "mic drop" ending like that movie has, but it's still an incredibly impressive step up for the Phillipou brothers, and I'm stoked to see where their careers take them. They're easily one of the most exciting voices in horror right now.
1. The Surfer
This is going to sound insane, but The Surfer is honestly pretty neck and neck with Sinners as my favorite of the year this far. It's definitely the Challengers to Sinners' Dune Part Two. Absolutely one of the very best and most quintessential Nic Cage movies to come along in a long time. I adore the fact that pretty much entire thing takes place in a cliff side beach parking lot. I'm a total sucker for a good "bottle" movie. The movie does a great job getting in Cage's headspace and properly explaining why he doesn't just leave. The transformation Cage goes through, while maybe a bit too episodic, is super compelling. I love how the third act actively explains why everything has been a little repetitive leading up to it, and the final shot is going to be hard to beat. It's no "COME ON!!", but still cathartic as hell.
I also really love how unabashedly Australian this thing is from top to bottom. Julian McMahon makes an incredible villain, and it even falls into the "unconventional Christmas movie" archetype. This is DEFINITELY na movie for everyone, but it felt like it was specifically made for me and I absolutely ate it up. If Nicolas Cage eating a dead rat sounds like a remotely good time to you, do NOT sleep on this one!
Honestly, what a HUGE step down from the past two Mission Impossible movies. I've never really been the target audience for these films but could appreciate how simple they were and the pure talent and craft on display when it comes to the stunts. The Final Reckoning throws that simplicity out the window. This might one be one of the most absurdly convoluted plots I've ever seen for a popcorn action movie. The opening half hour in particular was literally painful to sit through and felt like an extended "Previously On" montage with terrible editing and abrupt quick cuts. The cast does a solid job I guess, but none of the characters have time to breath and be actual people, they're all just plot chess pieces.
The two big highlights here are of course the stunt work and Tramell Tillman in a way too small supporting role that's far and away the most interesting and engaging performance in the movie. Even the stunts feel like were just kind of going through the "isn't this technically impressive" motions instead of actually flowing naturally with the plot. The climax of Dead Reckoning for example had a really, really compelling and easy to follow reason for Tom Cruise to jump his bike off that cliff and sky dive on to the train. Here it's just kind of "there goes Tom again...". The submarine sequence is very technically impressive albeit goes on for a bit too long considering what it is, and the climax with the two planes is genuinely one of the best action set pieces in the whole franchise but at a certain point I just had to throw my hands in the air and stop trying to following the nonsensical plot and just enjoy the stunts. Overall The Final Reckoning is a surprisingly empty dud of an action movie with one really stand out sequence.
6. Clown in a Cornfield
So this movie was basically just "Thanksgiving"...again. Same exact premise of a shady town trying to put on an annual festival in the middle of a media frenzy over a recent series of murders. Conspiracy among the townspeople. "Teen" cast of mostly unknown twenty-somethings with very little personality to go around between them so they can be used as slasher canon fodder (with the exception of the surprise gay relationship which I honestly thought was excellent representation. Very ParaNorman coded) Clown in a Cornfield is a fun enough time and there's some creativity to be had with some of the more outlandish twists the plot makes and a pretty decent climax, but it's easily one of the most generic slashers I've seen in a while. An entertaining enough time, but entirely predictable. I've got to give a big shout out to our boy Kevin Durand though. He managed to pull together a genuinely unsettling villain in a movie that's otherwise pretty damn forgettable and is easily the film's big bright spot.
5. Thunderbolts Asterisk
When I walked out of Thunderbolts, I was actually kind of buzzing about it. I said it was easily the best non-Guardians Volume 3 MCU movie since Infinity War (as someone who kind of hates Endgame in retrospect as empty fan service with some pretty brutal character assassination of Hulk and Thor). While I think that sentiment might hold true, I still by and large find Thunderbolts a somewhat empty popcorn movie that is pretty forgettable a few weeks after the fact and just more proof that even the best of current day MCU doesn't come close to matching the hype and batting average of the Infinity Saga (Again, outside of Guardians v. 3 which might be my absolute #1 movie in the whole franchise)
There's definitely some solid stuff here. I really appreciate how practical a lot of the action is and the cast is pretty dynamic. Always great to see Sebastian Stan on screen in any capacity. John Walker is one of my favorite new additions to the MCU in general post Engame. Red Guardian is a lot less of a Yakov Schmrinoff style Russian stereotype than the trailers led me to believe, and Julia Louis Dreyfuss FINALLY has some actual screen presence to her now that she's got a whole movie's worth of screen time instead of forcing her into the anti-Nick Fury post credits role.
This might be a crazy take, but I honestly think Yelena and Bob were kind of the weak points here. Their bond just felt really forced and emotionally manipulative, I don't like how yet again we have a "Far and away the most powerful person in the universe" that comes right the hell out of nowhere, and the movie suffers from the really common issue of a very slow, exposition dump start with a very much un-needed opening narration by Florence Pugh that goes on entirely too long. It's still top tier as far as post-phase three stuff goes, but ultimately still feels like a pretty disposable popcorn movie that does a solid job setting up the pieces for Fantastic Four and Doomsday.
4. Friendship
I had a really fun time with this one and an awesome theater experience filled with I Think You Should Leave fans, but ultimately I really wanted this to be more than just a series of sketches from that show stitched together into the a narrative which is pretty much what this is. The trailer promised something genuinely twisted and suspenseful, and the actual movie just...didn't deliver that. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that this film turned me on to I Think You Should Leave in the first place. Tim Robinson has now become a pretty significant influence in my own stand up style and I hope he gets more work outside of Netflix. Paul Rudd more than redeems himself from his baffling-ly flat Death of a Unicorn performance and delivers one of his all time most memorable roles.
My biggest problem with this movie is the very inconsistent pace. Through the first half I was ready to call this one of my favorites of the year. I love how Robinson and Paul Rudd's friendship gets developed and the scene that leads to the "break up" is ridiculous in the best kind of way. The pace just kind of dies when the breakup happens though, and I really thought they dropped the ball there. A HUGE issue for me is that Paul Rudd continues to float in and out of Robinson's life in a way that seems like the script couldn't really commit to a proper tone for him. There's a subplot involving Robinson's wife going missing that drags on entirely too long and honestly kind of destroys the pace. I love the climax and ending, but I really wish the movie was more focused on the titular friendship and specifically the fall out of it. I think this is the case of me expecting a bit too much of the "social anxiety horror" element based on the trailer. Now that I binged I Think You Should Leave and actively admire Robinson's tone and style, I'm definitely curious to check this one out again and see if it holds up better on a rewatch with those factors in mind.
3. Final Destination: Bloodlines
This year's "Saw X" for me. A franchise pretty deep into it's run that I'm surprisingly completely unfamiliar with, that comes out with a late entry that goes way harder than it needed to. I had a ball with this one. The opening half hour or so with the sky tower was incredibly memorable, with some of the most bonkers and inspired editing I've seen in any movie all year.As someone who went into this pretty much blind the "Rune Goldberg Machine" quality to the kills was absolutely a big surprise for me.
I think the main cast here does a really good job threading the needle between being just disposable enough for us to actually have fun with their deaths and likable enough to have actual personalities. I especially enjoyed the brother/sister dynamic at play here and think it added a perfect amount of actual heart to the movie with it still being silly as hell. This is a perfect entry point into the franchise for me and definitely makes me want to check out some of the other movies. It's a really good example of how a "legacy sequel" should be handled going forward.
2. Bring Her Back
How appropriate that my top two at the start of the summer movie season are both low budget Australia-centric experimental indie horror joints. I was NOT ready for Bring Her Back. The violence here was freaking visceral to the point where by the end it was kind of veering into the realm of exploitative and hard to watch. Self mutilation in general is probably one of my big horror weak points, so self mutilation done by an incredibly troubled child was just bound to hit a nerve with me. Stylistically while I appreciate the cinematography does the experimental thing of trying to blur the surroundings a lot of the time to get us in the head space of the nearly blind main character, I feel like the movie went back to the well a bit too often with that gimmick and it started to actually give me a headache.
The positive stuff in this movie really sticks out though. Sally Hawkins delivers the single biggest tour de force horror performance since the one two punch of Toni Collette in Hereditary and Florence Pugh in Midsommar. She's genuinely chilling but also incredibly amusing in certain scenes. The gaslighting at play here with the older foster brother is scary realistic. The performance from the young kid playing THAT character is basically a movie-length version of THAT scene from Talk To Me and he should indeed be getting some Golden Tikis love for it. I definitely need to see this again as I was sleep deprived and somewhat distracted by real life stuff when I was watching it. I'm sure that would help with the cinematography at least. I definitely don't think is is as strong as Talk To Me overall and lacks a really killer "mic drop" ending like that movie has, but it's still an incredibly impressive step up for the Phillipou brothers, and I'm stoked to see where their careers take them. They're easily one of the most exciting voices in horror right now.
1. The Surfer
This is going to sound insane, but The Surfer is honestly pretty neck and neck with Sinners as my favorite of the year this far. It's definitely the Challengers to Sinners' Dune Part Two. Absolutely one of the very best and most quintessential Nic Cage movies to come along in a long time. I adore the fact that pretty much entire thing takes place in a cliff side beach parking lot. I'm a total sucker for a good "bottle" movie. The movie does a great job getting in Cage's headspace and properly explaining why he doesn't just leave. The transformation Cage goes through, while maybe a bit too episodic, is super compelling. I love how the third act actively explains why everything has been a little repetitive leading up to it, and the final shot is going to be hard to beat. It's no "COME ON!!", but still cathartic as hell.
I also really love how unabashedly Australian this thing is from top to bottom. Julian McMahon makes an incredible villain, and it even falls into the "unconventional Christmas movie" archetype. This is DEFINITELY na movie for everyone, but it felt like it was specifically made for me and I absolutely ate it up. If Nicolas Cage eating a dead rat sounds like a remotely good time to you, do NOT sleep on this one!
Man this year is turning into a really interesting one on where we stand individually on different movies. I am catching Karate Kid tonight so my rankings won’t be up until tomorrow at earliest, but needless to say I think there are some interesting conversations to comeMay was overall a super strong month, with even the bottom couple movies having at least one or two really stand out elements. I was curious to see Karate Kid Legends just as a Cobra Kai fan, but the reviews for that thing make me think it's better to wait for it to inevitably come on Netflix in like a month and a half. Here's the rankings.
7. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Honestly, what a HUGE step down from the past two Mission Impossible movies. I've never really been the target audience for these films but could appreciate how simple they were and the pure talent and craft on display when it comes to the stunts. The Final Reckoning throws that simplicity out the window. This might one be one of the most absurdly convoluted plots I've ever seen for a popcorn action movie. The opening half hour in particular was literally painful to sit through and felt like an extended "Previously On" montage with terrible editing and abrupt quick cuts. The cast does a solid job I guess, but none of the characters have time to breath and be actual people, they're all just plot chess pieces.
The two big highlights here are of course the stunt work and Tramell Tillman in a way too small supporting role that's far and away the most interesting and engaging performance in the movie. Even the stunts feel like were just kind of going through the "isn't this technically impressive" motions instead of actually flowing naturally with the plot. The climax of Dead Reckoning for example had a really, really compelling and easy to follow reason for Tom Cruise to jump his bike off that cliff and sky dive on to the train. Here it's just kind of "there goes Tom again...". The submarine sequence is very technically impressive albeit goes on for a bit too long considering what it is, and the climax with the two planes is genuinely one of the best action set pieces in the whole franchise but at a certain point I just had to throw my hands in the air and stop trying to following the nonsensical plot and just enjoy the stunts. Overall The Final Reckoning is a surprisingly empty dud of an action movie with one really stand out sequence.
6. Clown in a Cornfield
So this movie was basically just "Thanksgiving"...again. Same exact premise of a shady town trying to put on an annual festival in the middle of a media frenzy over a recent series of murders. Conspiracy among the townspeople. "Teen" cast of mostly unknown twenty-somethings with very little personality to go around between them so they can be used as slasher canon fodder (with the exception of the surprise gay relationship which I honestly thought was excellent representation. Very ParaNorman coded) Clown in a Cornfield is a fun enough time and there's some creativity to be had with some of the more outlandish twists the plot makes and a pretty decent climax, but it's easily one of the most generic slashers I've seen in a while. An entertaining enough time, but entirely predictable. I've got to give a big shout out to our boy Kevin Durand though. He managed to pull together a genuinely unsettling villain in a movie that's otherwise pretty damn forgettable and is easily the film's big bright spot.
5. Thunderbolts Asterisk
When I walked out of Thunderbolts, I was actually kind of buzzing about it. I said it was easily the best non-Guardians Volume 3 MCU movie since Infinity War (as someone who kind of hates Endgame in retrospect as empty fan service with some pretty brutal character assassination of Hulk and Thor). While I think that sentiment might hold true, I still by and large find Thunderbolts a somewhat empty popcorn movie that is pretty forgettable a few weeks after the fact and just more proof that even the best of current day MCU doesn't come close to matching the hype and batting average of the Infinity Saga (Again, outside of Guardians v. 3 which might be my absolute #1 movie in the whole franchise)
There's definitely some solid stuff here. I really appreciate how practical a lot of the action is and the cast is pretty dynamic. Always great to see Sebastian Stan on screen in any capacity. John Walker is one of my favorite new additions to the MCU in general post Engame. Red Guardian is a lot less of a Yakov Schmrinoff style Russian stereotype than the trailers led me to believe, and Julia Louis Dreyfuss FINALLY has some actual screen presence to her now that she's got a whole movie's worth of screen time instead of forcing her into the anti-Nick Fury post credits role.
This might be a crazy take, but I honestly think Yelena and Bob were kind of the weak points here. Their bond just felt really forced and emotionally manipulative, I don't like how yet again we have a "Far and away the most powerful person in the universe" that comes right the hell out of nowhere, and the movie suffers from the really common issue of a very slow, exposition dump start with a very much un-needed opening narration by Florence Pugh that goes on entirely too long. It's still top tier as far as post-phase three stuff goes, but ultimately still feels like a pretty disposable popcorn movie that does a solid job setting up the pieces for Fantastic Four and Doomsday.
4. Friendship
I had a really fun time with this one and an awesome theater experience filled with I Think You Should Leave fans, but ultimately I really wanted this to be more than just a series of sketches from that show stitched together into the a narrative which is pretty much what this is. The trailer promised something genuinely twisted and suspenseful, and the actual movie just...didn't deliver that. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that this film turned me on to I Think You Should Leave in the first place. Tim Robinson has now become a pretty significant influence in my own stand up style and I hope he gets more work outside of Netflix. Paul Rudd more than redeems himself from his baffling-ly flat Death of a Unicorn performance and delivers one of his all time most memorable roles.
My biggest problem with this movie is the very inconsistent pace. Through the first half I was ready to call this one of my favorites of the year. I love how Robinson and Paul Rudd's friendship gets developed and the scene that leads to the "break up" is ridiculous in the best kind of way. The pace just kind of dies when the breakup happens though, and I really thought they dropped the ball there. A HUGE issue for me is that Paul Rudd continues to float in and out of Robinson's life in a way that seems like the script couldn't really commit to a proper tone for him. There's a subplot involving Robinson's wife going missing that drags on entirely too long and honestly kind of destroys the pace. I love the climax and ending, but I really wish the movie was more focused on the titular friendship and specifically the fall out of it. I think this is the case of me expecting a bit too much of the "social anxiety horror" element based on the trailer. Now that I binged I Think You Should Leave and actively admire Robinson's tone and style, I'm definitely curious to check this one out again and see if it holds up better on a rewatch with those factors in mind.
3. Final Destination: Bloodlines
This year's "Saw X" for me. A franchise pretty deep into it's run that I'm surprisingly completely unfamiliar with, that comes out with a late entry that goes way harder than it needed to. I had a ball with this one. The opening half hour or so with the sky tower was incredibly memorable, with some of the most bonkers and inspired editing I've seen in any movie all year.As someone who went into this pretty much blind the "Rune Goldberg Machine" quality to the kills was absolutely a big surprise for me.
I think the main cast here does a really good job threading the needle between being just disposable enough for us to actually have fun with their deaths and likable enough to have actual personalities. I especially enjoyed the brother/sister dynamic at play here and think it added a perfect amount of actual heart to the movie with it still being silly as hell. This is a perfect entry point into the franchise for me and definitely makes me want to check out some of the other movies. It's a really good example of how a "legacy sequel" should be handled going forward.
2. Bring Her Back
How appropriate that my top two at the start of the summer movie season are both low budget Australia-centric experimental indie horror joints. I was NOT ready for Bring Her Back. The violence here was freaking visceral to the point where by the end it was kind of veering into the realm of exploitative and hard to watch. Self mutilation in general is probably one of my big horror weak points, so self mutilation done by an incredibly troubled child was just bound to hit a nerve with me. Stylistically while I appreciate the cinematography does the experimental thing of trying to blur the surroundings a lot of the time to get us in the head space of the nearly blind main character, I feel like the movie went back to the well a bit too often with that gimmick and it started to actually give me a headache.
The positive stuff in this movie really sticks out though. Sally Hawkins delivers the single biggest tour de force horror performance since the one two punch of Toni Collette in Hereditary and Florence Pugh in Midsommar. She's genuinely chilling but also incredibly amusing in certain scenes. The gaslighting at play here with the older foster brother is scary realistic. The performance from the young kid playing THAT character is basically a movie-length version of THAT scene from Talk To Me and he should indeed be getting some Golden Tikis love for it. I definitely need to see this again as I was sleep deprived and somewhat distracted by real life stuff when I was watching it. I'm sure that would help with the cinematography at least. I definitely don't think is is as strong as Talk To Me overall and lacks a really killer "mic drop" ending like that movie has, but it's still an incredibly impressive step up for the Phillipou brothers, and I'm stoked to see where their careers take them. They're easily one of the most exciting voices in horror right now.
1. The Surfer
This is going to sound insane, but The Surfer is honestly pretty neck and neck with Sinners as my favorite of the year this far. It's definitely the Challengers to Sinners' Dune Part Two. Absolutely one of the very best and most quintessential Nic Cage movies to come along in a long time. I adore the fact that pretty much entire thing takes place in a cliff side beach parking lot. I'm a total sucker for a good "bottle" movie. The movie does a great job getting in Cage's headspace and properly explaining why he doesn't just leave. The transformation Cage goes through, while maybe a bit too episodic, is super compelling. I love how the third act actively explains why everything has been a little repetitive leading up to it, and the final shot is going to be hard to beat. It's no "COME ON!!", but still cathartic as hell.
I also really love how unabashedly Australian this thing is from top to bottom. Julian McMahon makes an incredible villain, and it even falls into the "unconventional Christmas movie" archetype. This is DEFINITELY na movie for everyone, but it felt like it was specifically made for me and I absolutely ate it up. If Nicolas Cage eating a dead rat sounds like a remotely good time to you, do NOT sleep on this one!
May is over and man did it fly by. I was on vacation the first week, the second week was my birthday and then it just kept going and going. I can confidently say that May was the first truly good movie month we've had in 2025 where all but the bottom spot had at least some redeeming qualities for me. I managed 16 new releases and for how light the month was on new releases, especially on streaming, I think that's solid, plus the April catchup I did. Anywho, let's get into it.
#16- Fear Street: Prom Queen
[Watched on Netflix]
Full disclosure: I haven't seen the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix so I didn't really know what I was going into here besides it being a Netflix original slasher. From what I've gathered, the Fear Street trilogy is actually pretty solid, but this movie absolutely was not. If you want the single most generic, boring, contrived, mess of a slasher that tries to capture the nostalgia of the old 80s classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th without being even remotely as good as them, then this is the movie for you. If you like quality in your movies though, Fear Street: Prom Queen is not something I'd recommend.
#15- Tornado
[Watched in theaters]
Easily my biggest letdown this month. If you pitched this movie to me I'd think it was an easy shoe in for one of my favorite movies of the year (even if it wasn't great quality), because a western revenge thriller featuring the daughter of a slain samurai turned puppeteer in Scotland out to get revenge on a gang of gold thieves sounds right up my alley. I was so in for this movie and I figured it'd be like Sisu from a few years ago where it was clearly an independent project and wouldn't be the best movie ever, but it'd be some fun carnage candy and we'd get to watch bad guys get their a**es kicked.
Unfortunately, this movie bungles its premise so bad it makes me wonder if they did it on purpose. This thing starts like 20 minutes into the movie with a chase scene, then does a weird jump back to that 20 minutes prior. Like sometimes movies start at the end and then show us how it got there (Sinners did that just last month) but I've never seen a movie start in the middle of the first act just to go back to the beginning with no real rhyme or reason. Then this thing takes so long to actually get going with so many scenes of characters doing nothing and saying nothing, just hogging screentime and nothing else. Finally, when we do get to the action, despite this being an R-rated film, we don't even get to see any of the kills. They're all shot from behind or off-camera so you see the blood but barely see the character die. I don't need gruesome deaths or visceral blood scenes or anything, but if you're going to make me wait this long for the action, at least let me enjoy it when its finally happening. Overall this is just a big disappointment that I wish I could be telling you all to seek out, but I'm now realizing why a movie that just came out this weekend is already relegated to only 9:30 pm showings at my Regal.
#14- Shadow Force
[Watched in theaters]
Shadow Force is kind of interesting in that it is so similar to that Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz joint from Netflix earlier this year whose name I'm forgetting but I don't really care enough to look up. It's two former spies who fall in love and now have a kid who they have to protect from generic bad guy organization. It's super unoriginal in its storytelling but at the same time I found Omar Sy to be really charismatic and charming and his chemistry with Kerry Washington and with their child was pretty good. I also really liked Da'Vine Joy Randolph in here and I'm happy to see her popping up, even if this is nowhere near The Holdovers. Overall, it's definitely not a great movie and it runs the gambit on unoriginal spy action, but it has just enough fun that I can see it being something my parents watch and end up enjoying when it comes to Netflix or whatever.
#13- Lilo & Stitch
[Watched in theaters]
My controversial take may just be that I didn't entirely hate the live action remake of Lilo & Stitch. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to the animated film and there's no reason for it to exist beyond making Disney a ton of money, but as wholly unnecessary and controversial as it is, there were enough elements of charm here that I found myself enjoying watching it enough. I'll likely never return to this movie, especially where the animated version still exists, but I didn't hate this one nearly as much as I did The Lion King, Dumbo, Pinocchio, etc.
I think the most egregious stuff this movie does is all with Jumba, the lack of accent and lack of redemption for him didn't sit right with me knowing where that character goes in the animated franchise, but ultimately beyond that I kind of liked a lot of the changes made here. I won't touch the ending with a six-foot pole because of the optics of it but I will say I didn't hate it as much as most people and my interpretation found justification in it even if I do think it's the wrong move for the story. Stitch was cute though and the little girl who played Lilo was excellent, the CGI didn't look terrible and overall I think it fits right smack dab in the middle of the live action remake ranking. I'll never watch it again, but I don't think it was the most repulsive thing ever. I just hope Disney sticks to their word and stops making these because of how bad Snow White flopped and not go back on it because this is doing so well.
#12- Karate Kid: Legends
[Watched in theaters]
This movie is split into two very distinct halves where you can tell they had two ideas for a Karate Kid movie and didn't really know which one to make so they went to the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice school of just stuffing every plot point into one 90-minute movie and giving absolutely none of it any room to breathe. The first half is actually really interesting and engaging and if they had made that the entire movie I think this could've easily cracked the top five of the month, but the second half of the movie just dives back into the same old same old that we've seen in every single Karate Kid movie since the original with a kid fighting a bully in a tournament.
Ben Wang does good here as Li, but everyone else comes in for a minute or two and then vanishes because the movie has zero time to focus on anyone with everything it's trying to do. Jackie Chan avoids the worst of that with some good moments at the beginning of the film, but Ralph Macchio is more of a glorified cameo who actually has zero reason to be in the movie and post-Cobra Kai I kind of wish they had just left him out, maybe giving him just a cameo if anything because his presence here felt unnecessary and jarring. There's even a scene where he shows up and Jackie Chan goes "I knew you'd show up" and addresses it even though there's really no reason that he should be there.
In the end, I think this is a watchable movie, the fight scenes are fun and the movie itself is pretty harmless, but I just think it gets too caught up in everything it wants to do that it just doesn't get any time to actually do those things.
#11- Nonnas
[Watched on Netflix]
This is just standard Netflix fare but it has just enough heart to have stuck with me more than most other movies of its kin would have. The movie features four older women who work at a restaurant sharing their family recipes and that plot alone gives an opportunity for sweet and tender moments that the movie has in spades. Even Vince Vaughn, who I'm normally not a fan of, is pretty alright here, playing a bit off type as someone who's kind and caring. It's nothing groundbreaking, but as a mother's day release it's something sweet that you could watch with mom and not entirely hate your experience with. Sometimes we need these lighthearted wholesome movies and this one delivered enough of that to win me over.
#16- Fear Street: Prom Queen
[Watched on Netflix]
Full disclosure: I haven't seen the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix so I didn't really know what I was going into here besides it being a Netflix original slasher. From what I've gathered, the Fear Street trilogy is actually pretty solid, but this movie absolutely was not. If you want the single most generic, boring, contrived, mess of a slasher that tries to capture the nostalgia of the old 80s classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th without being even remotely as good as them, then this is the movie for you. If you like quality in your movies though, Fear Street: Prom Queen is not something I'd recommend.
#15- Tornado
[Watched in theaters]
Easily my biggest letdown this month. If you pitched this movie to me I'd think it was an easy shoe in for one of my favorite movies of the year (even if it wasn't great quality), because a western revenge thriller featuring the daughter of a slain samurai turned puppeteer in Scotland out to get revenge on a gang of gold thieves sounds right up my alley. I was so in for this movie and I figured it'd be like Sisu from a few years ago where it was clearly an independent project and wouldn't be the best movie ever, but it'd be some fun carnage candy and we'd get to watch bad guys get their a**es kicked.
Unfortunately, this movie bungles its premise so bad it makes me wonder if they did it on purpose. This thing starts like 20 minutes into the movie with a chase scene, then does a weird jump back to that 20 minutes prior. Like sometimes movies start at the end and then show us how it got there (Sinners did that just last month) but I've never seen a movie start in the middle of the first act just to go back to the beginning with no real rhyme or reason. Then this thing takes so long to actually get going with so many scenes of characters doing nothing and saying nothing, just hogging screentime and nothing else. Finally, when we do get to the action, despite this being an R-rated film, we don't even get to see any of the kills. They're all shot from behind or off-camera so you see the blood but barely see the character die. I don't need gruesome deaths or visceral blood scenes or anything, but if you're going to make me wait this long for the action, at least let me enjoy it when its finally happening. Overall this is just a big disappointment that I wish I could be telling you all to seek out, but I'm now realizing why a movie that just came out this weekend is already relegated to only 9:30 pm showings at my Regal.
#14- Shadow Force
[Watched in theaters]
Shadow Force is kind of interesting in that it is so similar to that Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz joint from Netflix earlier this year whose name I'm forgetting but I don't really care enough to look up. It's two former spies who fall in love and now have a kid who they have to protect from generic bad guy organization. It's super unoriginal in its storytelling but at the same time I found Omar Sy to be really charismatic and charming and his chemistry with Kerry Washington and with their child was pretty good. I also really liked Da'Vine Joy Randolph in here and I'm happy to see her popping up, even if this is nowhere near The Holdovers. Overall, it's definitely not a great movie and it runs the gambit on unoriginal spy action, but it has just enough fun that I can see it being something my parents watch and end up enjoying when it comes to Netflix or whatever.
#13- Lilo & Stitch
[Watched in theaters]
My controversial take may just be that I didn't entirely hate the live action remake of Lilo & Stitch. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to the animated film and there's no reason for it to exist beyond making Disney a ton of money, but as wholly unnecessary and controversial as it is, there were enough elements of charm here that I found myself enjoying watching it enough. I'll likely never return to this movie, especially where the animated version still exists, but I didn't hate this one nearly as much as I did The Lion King, Dumbo, Pinocchio, etc.
I think the most egregious stuff this movie does is all with Jumba, the lack of accent and lack of redemption for him didn't sit right with me knowing where that character goes in the animated franchise, but ultimately beyond that I kind of liked a lot of the changes made here. I won't touch the ending with a six-foot pole because of the optics of it but I will say I didn't hate it as much as most people and my interpretation found justification in it even if I do think it's the wrong move for the story. Stitch was cute though and the little girl who played Lilo was excellent, the CGI didn't look terrible and overall I think it fits right smack dab in the middle of the live action remake ranking. I'll never watch it again, but I don't think it was the most repulsive thing ever. I just hope Disney sticks to their word and stops making these because of how bad Snow White flopped and not go back on it because this is doing so well.
#12- Karate Kid: Legends
[Watched in theaters]
This movie is split into two very distinct halves where you can tell they had two ideas for a Karate Kid movie and didn't really know which one to make so they went to the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice school of just stuffing every plot point into one 90-minute movie and giving absolutely none of it any room to breathe. The first half is actually really interesting and engaging and if they had made that the entire movie I think this could've easily cracked the top five of the month, but the second half of the movie just dives back into the same old same old that we've seen in every single Karate Kid movie since the original with a kid fighting a bully in a tournament.
Ben Wang does good here as Li, but everyone else comes in for a minute or two and then vanishes because the movie has zero time to focus on anyone with everything it's trying to do. Jackie Chan avoids the worst of that with some good moments at the beginning of the film, but Ralph Macchio is more of a glorified cameo who actually has zero reason to be in the movie and post-Cobra Kai I kind of wish they had just left him out, maybe giving him just a cameo if anything because his presence here felt unnecessary and jarring. There's even a scene where he shows up and Jackie Chan goes "I knew you'd show up" and addresses it even though there's really no reason that he should be there.
In the end, I think this is a watchable movie, the fight scenes are fun and the movie itself is pretty harmless, but I just think it gets too caught up in everything it wants to do that it just doesn't get any time to actually do those things.
#11- Nonnas
[Watched on Netflix]
This is just standard Netflix fare but it has just enough heart to have stuck with me more than most other movies of its kin would have. The movie features four older women who work at a restaurant sharing their family recipes and that plot alone gives an opportunity for sweet and tender moments that the movie has in spades. Even Vince Vaughn, who I'm normally not a fan of, is pretty alright here, playing a bit off type as someone who's kind and caring. It's nothing groundbreaking, but as a mother's day release it's something sweet that you could watch with mom and not entirely hate your experience with. Sometimes we need these lighthearted wholesome movies and this one delivered enough of that to win me over.
#10- Fight or Flight
[Watched in theaters]
It's super cool to see Josh Hartnett becoming a bigger name between this and Trap last year and even if this isn't a great movie, Hartnett's performance is great and worked so well to keep me entertained throughout the whole thing. The movie definitely seems to be trying to capture a bit of the Bullet Train energy but it really isn't there at all, but it still has some really decent action sequences including one with a chainsaw that was brilliantly bloody and funny and messed up which made for a really good time, and ultimately that's what the movie was: a good time. It's not one that'll stick out in your mind as a true piece of cinema, but when I got the boys together for beers at the bar and then a showing of Fight or Flight, we had a great time with it and I think there's value in a movie like that.
#09- Archive of the Future
[Watched on VOD]
Here's the obligatory obscure PerGron animal-related documentary for the month but this time it's about dead animals in a museum's collection. I worked in the natural history museum at my college and so I know a lot of the challenges that go into preserving study skins, taxidermies, and other pieces of history that are super delicate and I found the approach to documenting that process through just watching people do it was a really fascinating way to do it. There's not a lot of talking here as much as it is just watching museum workers touch up and preserve these specimens so that they may continue teaching. This movie, set at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, also tackles the Nazi occupation and how the Third Reich affected the collection and research and science and does so taking it all on the chin instead of shying away or hiding it which I found pretty professional. Overall, this is a really niche one that I totally see being only for me, but if museums and history are interesting to you, it's a pretty solid doc.
#08- Clown in a Cornfield
[Watched in theaters]
Unlike Fear Street: Prom Queen which was a generic slasher in a bad way, Clown in a Cornfield is a generic slasher in a good way. It has all of the elements that makes for a fun slasher film with characters that you like just enough to want to see survive while also being just dumb enough that you will like it when they die. Kevin Durand, my beloved, does a bang-up job here and the kid characters are all fine enough. Like Tiki mentioned, there's some pretty good LGBTQ+ representation that I wasn't expecting and worked well for the movie and the message it was getting at (being don't get stuck in time, evolve with it). While it's not the most original thing I've ever seen by any stretch, it was a good time and if you're a slasher fan I'd recommend checking it out.
#07- Lost in Starlight
[Watched on Netflix]
I'm such a sucker for a good sci-fi animated film and while I'm not really a fan of romance stories nor am I huge on Japanese (or in this case, Korean) animation, I've been chasing the next Mars Express for a year now and while I didn't like this nearly as much as I liked Mars Express, I think this is a totally worthwhile movie to check out. The romance is super cute and sweet and while I'm not huge on those types of stories, I liked the characters, their connection, and the impending stress of these characters separating due to the upcoming mission to Mars was well done. The animation is also simply gorgeous, some of the absolute best looking animation I've seen all year and definitely worth watching for some of the shots alone. The sci-fi stuff is more lacking than I had hoped, but I still ended up really enjoying this movie and recommend watching it.
#06- Bloody Trophy
[Watched on MAX]
In college my thesis was about the economic and sociological cause of poaching in Africa and although I think all of us can agree that the act of poaching is inherently evil and should be stopped at all costs, the story of who does the poaching and why is really complicated and it's a topic that I've always been passionate about, enough to, again, choose it as my thesis, so when a movie about poaching but specifically about poaching using legal trophy hunting as a cover for it was coming out, I absolutely had to watch it.
Bloody Trophy tackles the complex topics of poaching, wildlife trafficking, conservation, and legal trophy hunting in a brilliant way with tons of nuance that I'm glad its giving. It's so easy to just condemn the whole thing to villainy, but the movie tackles why some countries rely on the money from these hunts, why some of these animals are selected to be legally hunted due to age or damage to civilian livelihoods nearby. It covers the people who protect the ranges and the people who fight to protect rhinos by fighting back, it covers how an organized crime ring out of Vietnam staged legal hunts to poach, there's a lot here and I felt it was organized fairly and interestingly and ended with a genuine frustrated verbal reaction from me in the update section. Definitely a must watch for those interested in the topic (though that's likely just me).
#05- Final Destination: Bloodlines
[Watched in theaters]
We're so back. I grew up watching the Final Destination series at way too young an age when my older cousin and her boyfriend would babysit all the cousins in the family. I've been terrified of logging trucks forever because nine-year-old me shouldn't have been watching this, but because this is one of my first introductions to horror ever, I have some nostalgic love for the series (at least the first three, I've not seen four or five) and so eleven years later we get another one that feels right in line with everything I remember from the series.
The characters are solid and likeable but, again like Tiki said, not likeable enough that you're not rooting to watch them die in these extreme ways. For instance, the alt guy who is in the trailers was easily my favorite character but I wasn't hoping he'd make it out, I was hoping he'd die in a cool way and that's how you know these movies are working. The opening bit with the sky tower (while oddly similar to last month's Drop) was great and the use of "Shout!" will be making it into my nominations for needle drop of the year at the Golden Tikis next year. Final Destination is one of those things where you already know if it's for you or not just based on the premise, but it absolutely is for me and I really enjoyed this entry into the series and hope they keep making more.
#04- Thunderbolts*
[Watched in theaters]
I liked Thunderbolts* a lot. It finally felt like an MCU project that was less focused on one-upping the last one and doing some weird multiverse s**t but instead focused on a kooky bunch of characters and some good emotional moments. I really liked most of the characters here from Yelena and Bob to Red Guardian and Bucky and especially John Walker who I didn't expect to like after how much I hated him in Falcon and the Winter Soldier but I found him pretty likeable here. I do wish Ghost and Taskmaster got more to do and I wish Valentina got more screentime as well, but as a post-Endgame MCU movies it probably falls into my top five alongside Guardians 3, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Deadpool & Wolverine (rough group there). It also has maybe the best post credit scene since like Phase 2?
#03- Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning
[Watched in theaters]
I'm such a Mission: Impossible-head man. I love this series so much, it's probably my in my favorite franchises up there with Star Wars and Planet of the Apes for how much I just love these things. I can see the arguments where this is certainly long in the tooth and I agree they don't give a ton of time for the characters to really be characters, but as someone who already loves Ethan Hunt, Benji, Luther, and all the others from the previous installments, man I was just elated by this movie. The two major action set pieces in the submarine and then on the planes were just some of the best stunt work I've seen and that plane scene rivals climbing the Burj Khalifa in how stellar it is. Compared to the string of Ghost Protocol --> Rogue Nation --> Fallout, this definitely isn't as good as that, but as a follow up to what I found as a slightly disappointing (though it's grown on me in subsequent viewings) previous film, I was so stoked to have this and maybe it's just franchise bias, but man I can't wait to add this to my physical collection with the rest of them.
#02- Friendship
[Watched in theaters]
I am a GIGANTIC Tim Robinson fan, I've binged all of I Think You Should Leave multiple times and so a feature-length take on that style of comedy was right up my alley. I think Tim Robinson is the Andy Kaufman of our time with a super specific and niche style of humor that if you just don't jive with you're going to hate, but for me, I die every time I see it. I still wheeze laugh at the episode of I Think You Should Leave when he crashes the hot dog car and so this movie is something I knew I would like.
I like how it tackles the male loneliness epidemic in a way that only Tim Robinson could and as a man myself, while it's all pretty insane and wacky, it's also something I think a lot of us can relate to where we try to fit into a group of friends and maybe just don't jive with them the way we wanted to. Making friends as an adult is hard and through this movie's insanity, that's kind of the crux of the issue. It also does, of course, have some of the funniest moments in a film all year for me, especially a drug trip scene that had me and the guy next to me laughing so hard I don't think either of us could catch our breath for a good minute or two. There's a few other scenes like that including the introduction of a new guy with just the funniest name amongst others that I really don't want to spoil. If you're a Tim Robinson fan, this is a must see. If you're not though, stay away because this is just his stuff but feature length.
#01- Bring Her Back
[Watched in theaters]
The follow up to Talk to Me was going to be a massive uphill battle for the Philippou brothers and while I don't think this movie reaches the heights of Talk to Me, I still thought it was a game-changing horror flick in its own right. Bring Her Back is a depraved and depressing story with some truly visceral images that were really hard to look at. I'd honestly argue that moments of this movie make THAT scene in Talk to Me not look tame or easy to watch, but less bad than this specifically.
The performances here are top notch and like I mentioned before, the kid here and Sally Hawkins alike will both be getting some love on my end for this year's Golden Tikis. I really don't want to say much because I think people should go see this movie (and I also already wrote my Letterboxd review so go read that) but if you're into horror, this movie is a big one you won't want to miss. Just be warned, it can be a really tough watch in moments.
==============================================================================
May surprised me a lot. My last monthly recap I said I was worried about it but in the end, man, it was pretty damn solid. But now we're in it, it's summer movie season and we've got the big guys starting to come out now that it's June. This weekend we get The Phoenician Scheme which is Wes Anderson's newest movie that I'm stoked to check out and as a John Wick fan I'm also looking forward to Ballerina. This weekend also gives us a new shark horror film (which we need ever summer, it's a tradition) in Dangerous Animals and a new possession movie with The Ritual, so lots of stuff to check out this weekend. Plus Life of Chuck is in limited theaters and tomorrow night there's a Regal mystery movie and I have a good guess that it'll be that so I'm excited.
While I have zero hopes for How to Train Your Dragon, I am very excited about Celine Song's new movie The Materialists coming out that weekend and a week later we get Pixar's newest outing in Elio which looks cute and, of course, Danny Boyle's long awaited 28 Years Later. Finally, F1, M3GAN 2.0, and Sorry, Baby all wrap up June in the last week and are some of my most anticipated movies of the summer. We're (hopefully) going to be eating good this month so I look forward to chatting about these movies as they come out!
Plus, if you haven't already, check out another brand new experience coming in June: Visions Fantastic a brand new Imagineering competition hosted by yours truly, signups ongoing
[Watched in theaters]
It's super cool to see Josh Hartnett becoming a bigger name between this and Trap last year and even if this isn't a great movie, Hartnett's performance is great and worked so well to keep me entertained throughout the whole thing. The movie definitely seems to be trying to capture a bit of the Bullet Train energy but it really isn't there at all, but it still has some really decent action sequences including one with a chainsaw that was brilliantly bloody and funny and messed up which made for a really good time, and ultimately that's what the movie was: a good time. It's not one that'll stick out in your mind as a true piece of cinema, but when I got the boys together for beers at the bar and then a showing of Fight or Flight, we had a great time with it and I think there's value in a movie like that.
#09- Archive of the Future
[Watched on VOD]
Here's the obligatory obscure PerGron animal-related documentary for the month but this time it's about dead animals in a museum's collection. I worked in the natural history museum at my college and so I know a lot of the challenges that go into preserving study skins, taxidermies, and other pieces of history that are super delicate and I found the approach to documenting that process through just watching people do it was a really fascinating way to do it. There's not a lot of talking here as much as it is just watching museum workers touch up and preserve these specimens so that they may continue teaching. This movie, set at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, also tackles the Nazi occupation and how the Third Reich affected the collection and research and science and does so taking it all on the chin instead of shying away or hiding it which I found pretty professional. Overall, this is a really niche one that I totally see being only for me, but if museums and history are interesting to you, it's a pretty solid doc.
#08- Clown in a Cornfield
[Watched in theaters]
Unlike Fear Street: Prom Queen which was a generic slasher in a bad way, Clown in a Cornfield is a generic slasher in a good way. It has all of the elements that makes for a fun slasher film with characters that you like just enough to want to see survive while also being just dumb enough that you will like it when they die. Kevin Durand, my beloved, does a bang-up job here and the kid characters are all fine enough. Like Tiki mentioned, there's some pretty good LGBTQ+ representation that I wasn't expecting and worked well for the movie and the message it was getting at (being don't get stuck in time, evolve with it). While it's not the most original thing I've ever seen by any stretch, it was a good time and if you're a slasher fan I'd recommend checking it out.
#07- Lost in Starlight
[Watched on Netflix]
I'm such a sucker for a good sci-fi animated film and while I'm not really a fan of romance stories nor am I huge on Japanese (or in this case, Korean) animation, I've been chasing the next Mars Express for a year now and while I didn't like this nearly as much as I liked Mars Express, I think this is a totally worthwhile movie to check out. The romance is super cute and sweet and while I'm not huge on those types of stories, I liked the characters, their connection, and the impending stress of these characters separating due to the upcoming mission to Mars was well done. The animation is also simply gorgeous, some of the absolute best looking animation I've seen all year and definitely worth watching for some of the shots alone. The sci-fi stuff is more lacking than I had hoped, but I still ended up really enjoying this movie and recommend watching it.
#06- Bloody Trophy
[Watched on MAX]
In college my thesis was about the economic and sociological cause of poaching in Africa and although I think all of us can agree that the act of poaching is inherently evil and should be stopped at all costs, the story of who does the poaching and why is really complicated and it's a topic that I've always been passionate about, enough to, again, choose it as my thesis, so when a movie about poaching but specifically about poaching using legal trophy hunting as a cover for it was coming out, I absolutely had to watch it.
Bloody Trophy tackles the complex topics of poaching, wildlife trafficking, conservation, and legal trophy hunting in a brilliant way with tons of nuance that I'm glad its giving. It's so easy to just condemn the whole thing to villainy, but the movie tackles why some countries rely on the money from these hunts, why some of these animals are selected to be legally hunted due to age or damage to civilian livelihoods nearby. It covers the people who protect the ranges and the people who fight to protect rhinos by fighting back, it covers how an organized crime ring out of Vietnam staged legal hunts to poach, there's a lot here and I felt it was organized fairly and interestingly and ended with a genuine frustrated verbal reaction from me in the update section. Definitely a must watch for those interested in the topic (though that's likely just me).
#05- Final Destination: Bloodlines
[Watched in theaters]
We're so back. I grew up watching the Final Destination series at way too young an age when my older cousin and her boyfriend would babysit all the cousins in the family. I've been terrified of logging trucks forever because nine-year-old me shouldn't have been watching this, but because this is one of my first introductions to horror ever, I have some nostalgic love for the series (at least the first three, I've not seen four or five) and so eleven years later we get another one that feels right in line with everything I remember from the series.
The characters are solid and likeable but, again like Tiki said, not likeable enough that you're not rooting to watch them die in these extreme ways. For instance, the alt guy who is in the trailers was easily my favorite character but I wasn't hoping he'd make it out, I was hoping he'd die in a cool way and that's how you know these movies are working. The opening bit with the sky tower (while oddly similar to last month's Drop) was great and the use of "Shout!" will be making it into my nominations for needle drop of the year at the Golden Tikis next year. Final Destination is one of those things where you already know if it's for you or not just based on the premise, but it absolutely is for me and I really enjoyed this entry into the series and hope they keep making more.
#04- Thunderbolts*
[Watched in theaters]
I liked Thunderbolts* a lot. It finally felt like an MCU project that was less focused on one-upping the last one and doing some weird multiverse s**t but instead focused on a kooky bunch of characters and some good emotional moments. I really liked most of the characters here from Yelena and Bob to Red Guardian and Bucky and especially John Walker who I didn't expect to like after how much I hated him in Falcon and the Winter Soldier but I found him pretty likeable here. I do wish Ghost and Taskmaster got more to do and I wish Valentina got more screentime as well, but as a post-Endgame MCU movies it probably falls into my top five alongside Guardians 3, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Deadpool & Wolverine (rough group there). It also has maybe the best post credit scene since like Phase 2?
#03- Mission: Impossible- The Final Reckoning
[Watched in theaters]
I'm such a Mission: Impossible-head man. I love this series so much, it's probably my in my favorite franchises up there with Star Wars and Planet of the Apes for how much I just love these things. I can see the arguments where this is certainly long in the tooth and I agree they don't give a ton of time for the characters to really be characters, but as someone who already loves Ethan Hunt, Benji, Luther, and all the others from the previous installments, man I was just elated by this movie. The two major action set pieces in the submarine and then on the planes were just some of the best stunt work I've seen and that plane scene rivals climbing the Burj Khalifa in how stellar it is. Compared to the string of Ghost Protocol --> Rogue Nation --> Fallout, this definitely isn't as good as that, but as a follow up to what I found as a slightly disappointing (though it's grown on me in subsequent viewings) previous film, I was so stoked to have this and maybe it's just franchise bias, but man I can't wait to add this to my physical collection with the rest of them.
#02- Friendship
[Watched in theaters]
I am a GIGANTIC Tim Robinson fan, I've binged all of I Think You Should Leave multiple times and so a feature-length take on that style of comedy was right up my alley. I think Tim Robinson is the Andy Kaufman of our time with a super specific and niche style of humor that if you just don't jive with you're going to hate, but for me, I die every time I see it. I still wheeze laugh at the episode of I Think You Should Leave when he crashes the hot dog car and so this movie is something I knew I would like.
I like how it tackles the male loneliness epidemic in a way that only Tim Robinson could and as a man myself, while it's all pretty insane and wacky, it's also something I think a lot of us can relate to where we try to fit into a group of friends and maybe just don't jive with them the way we wanted to. Making friends as an adult is hard and through this movie's insanity, that's kind of the crux of the issue. It also does, of course, have some of the funniest moments in a film all year for me, especially a drug trip scene that had me and the guy next to me laughing so hard I don't think either of us could catch our breath for a good minute or two. There's a few other scenes like that including the introduction of a new guy with just the funniest name amongst others that I really don't want to spoil. If you're a Tim Robinson fan, this is a must see. If you're not though, stay away because this is just his stuff but feature length.
#01- Bring Her Back
[Watched in theaters]
The follow up to Talk to Me was going to be a massive uphill battle for the Philippou brothers and while I don't think this movie reaches the heights of Talk to Me, I still thought it was a game-changing horror flick in its own right. Bring Her Back is a depraved and depressing story with some truly visceral images that were really hard to look at. I'd honestly argue that moments of this movie make THAT scene in Talk to Me not look tame or easy to watch, but less bad than this specifically.
The performances here are top notch and like I mentioned before, the kid here and Sally Hawkins alike will both be getting some love on my end for this year's Golden Tikis. I really don't want to say much because I think people should go see this movie (and I also already wrote my Letterboxd review so go read that) but if you're into horror, this movie is a big one you won't want to miss. Just be warned, it can be a really tough watch in moments.
==============================================================================
May surprised me a lot. My last monthly recap I said I was worried about it but in the end, man, it was pretty damn solid. But now we're in it, it's summer movie season and we've got the big guys starting to come out now that it's June. This weekend we get The Phoenician Scheme which is Wes Anderson's newest movie that I'm stoked to check out and as a John Wick fan I'm also looking forward to Ballerina. This weekend also gives us a new shark horror film (which we need ever summer, it's a tradition) in Dangerous Animals and a new possession movie with The Ritual, so lots of stuff to check out this weekend. Plus Life of Chuck is in limited theaters and tomorrow night there's a Regal mystery movie and I have a good guess that it'll be that so I'm excited.
While I have zero hopes for How to Train Your Dragon, I am very excited about Celine Song's new movie The Materialists coming out that weekend and a week later we get Pixar's newest outing in Elio which looks cute and, of course, Danny Boyle's long awaited 28 Years Later. Finally, F1, M3GAN 2.0, and Sorry, Baby all wrap up June in the last week and are some of my most anticipated movies of the summer. We're (hopefully) going to be eating good this month so I look forward to chatting about these movies as they come out!
Plus, if you haven't already, check out another brand new experience coming in June: Visions Fantastic a brand new Imagineering competition hosted by yours truly, signups ongoing
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
I feel like I'm at the EXACT point in my life where I'm genuinely worried I'm going to get TOO emotional watching that movie.
So yeah, I LOVED Life of Chuck though I’ll admit I think it’s crazy this won people’s choice at TIFF last year because I don’t think this is a movie the general audience will enjoy. It’s an artistic reflection on the meaning of life and more importantly the meaning of living.
The editing and setup of this movie will throw people off and the three chapters are so wholly different that it felt almost more like an anthology film than a whole narrative, but by the third (first) act, everything is tied together so beautifully and it all wraps up in a sweet little bow.
The ensemble is genuinely insane here with some amazing moments from Tom Hiddkeston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillen, and more even if most of these people don’t really take up that much screen time. It’s much more of an ensemble piece than a starring feature and you’ll see what I mean if you see it.
For me, is a Flanagan fanboy, this is up there with my favorites of his works. I don’t think it surpasses Doctor Sleep and it definitely doesn’t beat out Midnight Mass or Haunting of Hill House (my favorite of his works by a lot) but it sits in that upper echelon for me. I am very curious what you think about it @TheOriginalTiki because I could see this being one we really agree on but I could also see this being one we really don’t.
The editing and setup of this movie will throw people off and the three chapters are so wholly different that it felt almost more like an anthology film than a whole narrative, but by the third (first) act, everything is tied together so beautifully and it all wraps up in a sweet little bow.
The ensemble is genuinely insane here with some amazing moments from Tom Hiddkeston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillen, and more even if most of these people don’t really take up that much screen time. It’s much more of an ensemble piece than a starring feature and you’ll see what I mean if you see it.
For me, is a Flanagan fanboy, this is up there with my favorites of his works. I don’t think it surpasses Doctor Sleep and it definitely doesn’t beat out Midnight Mass or Haunting of Hill House (my favorite of his works by a lot) but it sits in that upper echelon for me. I am very curious what you think about it @TheOriginalTiki because I could see this being one we really agree on but I could also see this being one we really don’t.
TheOriginalTiki
Well-Known Member
Watching the Minecraft movie with a borderline delusional fever high was certainly an experience...