MrMoviesETC Reviews: "Skinamarink" (2023)

MRMOVIESETC REVIEWS:

"Skinamarink" (2023)

Unless you’ve had your head so far up your ass that you can taste the hair on your head on the back of your tongue, you have likely noticed that “Skinamarink” has been the talk of the horror town for the last month. Directed by Kyle Edward Bell on a shoestring budget of $15,000, “Skinamarink” came about via an audience participation project on Bell’s YouTube page where he asked his viewers to submit to him some of their most memorable nightmares in film form, and garnered the idea for “Skinamarink” from the film using some of the most common identities from each nightmare. In case you were wondering what this film was about - not spoiler - wink wink, nudge nudge.

As it turns out, and given the marketing for “Skinamarink”, not all-too-surprisingly, there’s not much I can say about the film itself in terms of its own description. A bulk of the film relies upon copy and paste editing, a mix of intrusive and subtle sounds, the occasional muffled voice of two children, movement of objects by forces off-camera, and shadow and light play. If you’ve read the synopsis either online or on Shudder, you get the basic idea - two young children wake up to find that their father is missing, and as they stay awake watching television trying to piece that mystery together, there’s a possibly nefarious entity in the house attempting to antagonize them. All while this is happening, the film is attempting to beg the question of the audience - is it all real or imagination? 

Well, you can draw your own conclusions on that one, but I have a few questions I can pose instead:

Is the film any good?

From an appreciative and execution standpoint - yes, I do feel it was a pretty good film.

Is the film scary?

It’s complicated.

In the traditional sense of the word “scary”, I would have to say that it wasn’t scary for me, personally. I didn’t have at any point a sense of fear or dread. However, is there a “but’ in there? Yes, there absolutely is a “but” in there. While I didn’t feel a sense of fear, what I did feel, at times in heightened levels, was anxiety. It took me nearly by surprise, probably because I wasn’t paying close attention at first, but before I knew it, my heart rate had elevated significantly, my palms were sweaty, and my right leg was doing the constant bounce-bounce-bounce thing it always does when I’m anxious or nervous. I know exactly why I was feeling this way, but I don’t find it appropriate to divulge here because the viewing experience may be so vastly different for each individual, and for anybody that might read this, I don’t want to taint how it’s received. 

It was also after I came to grips with the anxiety that I was feeling that I began to appreciate the genius of the film’s concept, as inadvertent as it may have been. The way I absorbed the idea of “Skinamarink” was that it is a portrayal of nightmares, and given the process that was done to conceive it, that would make logical sense. My nightmares generally aren’t scary, but are instead, anxious. I get a feeling of claustrophobia and tingling, and an all-around sensation that I’m about to be crushed. I have to say that once that feeling started kicking in while watching “Skinamarink”, I found I didn’t give the slightest shit about the kids or the entity. All I cared about was how the contrasting elements that were rather brilliantly orchestrated in the surrounding environments of the house near and away from the two kids gave me the uncomfortable sensation of being underwater with no oxygen mask. I don’t know if that’s both a compliment and a criticism in the same breath, but either way, it’s a takeaway I’ve not had with a film in so long that I fail to remember what would have given something similar before. 

On that note, seeing as I didn’t give a single damn about the kids and their plight after a certain point in the movie, the aggravating presence triggering my anxiousness did come to a full stop with about 20 minutes left in the movie, and it was then I started feeling detached from it all. Sure, for some the big climax will be shiver-worthy, but for me it didn’t amount to much more than a hangover after the good buzz had evaporated. That being the case, it’s not likely a film I’m going to watch again, or at least not for quite some time, because I will feel that letdown coming.

To sign off on this one, no, I don’t think “Skinamarink” is an arthouse masterpiece or so off-the-wall creative that it’ll stand alone against the past, present, and future. What it certainly is, though, from where I stand, is a very well-made project crafted from a fun online tactic, and a project that does genuinely show that millions upon millions of dollars in budget CANNOT buy you a good movie, nor can it buy the courage to present such a thing without said bigger budget. It’s already garnered plenty of love and dislike, but I’m willing to bet no matter which way your pendulum swings, you will remember it.

“Skinamarink”: 8/10

MrMoviesETC Reviews: "Bones and All" (2022)

MRMOVIESETC REVIEWS:

"Bones and All" (2022)

It’s been over 5 years since the last film I saw by Luca Guadagnino, and for the life of me, I cannot remember much about “Call Me By Your Name”. I remember the beautiful Italian landscape, decent performances by Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer that also didn’t really leave a big impression, and a seductive grapefruit. At least, I think it was a grapefruit. The point is a piece of food got American Pie’d, but I digress. Overall, I’d say I was just on the right side of lukewarm about the whole thing, and my expectations weren’t all that high to begin with seeing as I was unfamiliar with Guadagnino’s work, I barely knew who Chalamet was, and Armie Hammer was already having a mixed career up until that point. Nothing gained. Nothing lost. “Bones and All” felt altogether different. When I first saw the trailer, I gathered it was a romance involving cannibals, stylish yet unpolished cinematography, and a score composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Well, stuff some moist dollar bills in my G-string - I’m in!

Not only was I in, but leading up to watching the film, I sampled some of said score because I have no self-control, and I got the impression fairly quickly that “Oh Christ, this is going to make fucking cry, isn’t it?” Why not? Whenever the question “What movie makes you cry?” comes up, having the answer be a cannibalistic romance wouldn’t be so bad for the resume, in my opinion. Not to mention it would create some diversity in a list mainly consisting of “The Notebook” and “The Notebook.” The story of “Bones and All” follows Maren Yearly (Taylor Russell), an 18-year-old living alone with her father in Virginia during the late 1980s, until he abandons her following an incident at a slumber party with classmates that reveals she has cannibalistic tendencies and needs. Shortly after, we hear an audio recording that he leaves for her and we quickly learn that this has been nothing new in her young life, and he has had to constantly pack her up on the run due her grisly nature. The only other items he left behind for her were an envelope of cash and her birth certificate, where she learns the name of her mother whom she’s never met. Now on her own, Maren strikes out on a road trip to reunite with her long-estranged mother. Along the way, she is first confronted by a lone, older stranger named Sully (Mark Rylance), who is also a cannibal and teaches Maren that “eaters”, as he refers to them, can sense each other through scent. Not only that, but these teachings show Maren that maybe she wasn't as alone in the world as she might have been led to believe. While swearing that he is harmless and would never consume a fellow eater, Maren feels something isn’t quite right with Sully and makes her getaway the next day. Further down the road, she has a run-in with another fellow cannibal, Lee (Timothee Chalamet), who joins in for her journey to Minnesota to meet her mother. She feels safe in his presence, and combined with the fact that he carries knowledge and ability on how to get human meat, a romance begins to bud. Anything beyond this point gets into spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it there. If my memory is serving me correctly, I feel one of the things I wasn’t quite sold on in “Call Me By Your Name” was the chemistry of the two leads. It was an amicable effort, but something never really felt right during the telling of their story. Russell and Chalamet are something entirely different together, and from where I sat, blended together nicely. For some reason, I thought this was the first time I had heard of and seen Russell in a film before, but after watching it and revisiting her past filmography, I saw that she was the lead in “Escape Room” a few years ago, and that being my only point of reference for her specifically, is probably the reason why I forgot. I wasn’t a fan - of the film, that is. Taylor was fine, I think, and in the case of this film, she's definitely more than fine. She's the main vessel for which the empathy of the view must be carried and she did a wonderful job doing just that.

Chalamet, on the other hand, is an actor I’ve seen quite a few times in recent years, and the best way I can think to describe his work is he’s either intriguing in a stiff and stoic way, or blends in with the wallpaper in a stiff and stoic way. There’s not really been any in-between to this point. Chalamet’s performance as Lee in “Bones and All”, I’m happy to say, is by far my favorite performance of his to date. There’s still some of his token Chalamet-ness hanging about, but he felt much looser and charismatic than I had ever seen before. He has an aura of confidence despite some clear fear and insecurity lingering beneath the surface. This blended well with Russell’s performance as an independent yet immaturely flawed teenager in need of direction and courage. I wish I could talk about Rylance’s performance more, because I’ve grown to admire him as an actor over the years, but a lot of his involvement in the story also gets into spoiler territory. What I can say about him and the character of Sully is it’s weird, subtle, yet effective. The best way I can describe him is that he’s forgettable, but he’s forgettable on purpose, and that takes a certain level of skill in any case. Now, moving on to the gooey and gory. What Guadagnino has accomplished here is crafting a remarkably human film - about cannibals. A good movie has the power to create empathy on any level for its characters and their stories. A great movie has the power to create empathy in situations that one wouldn’t consider having empathy for normally. Guadagnino has done a wonderful job weaving together a young love story about two people who commit murder to feed their carnal cravings that they have no control over and feel morally conflicted about giving in to. Outside of these cravings, all they want is a normal, domesticated life instead of being on the run all the time, and while the probability of their killings coming to end appears impossible, I wanted them to succeed. Of course, while the back of mind is telling me that they’re cannibals and what they’re doing and how they’re going about it is wrong, I did not wish any ill-fate on them. I found myself sold on their good intentions. I can think of way bigger assholes out in the world who don’t eat people and whom I would love to see fail. On the technical side of things, especially when it comes to the blood and the guts, and there is plenty of both in this movie, you’ll always win me over with some good ol’ practical effects. “Bones and All” has all of that in spades, and given a film set over 30 years ago, anything CGI would have felt inappropriate. I also want to give a tip of the hat to the sound mixing, because when it came down the scenes of feasting on the flesh, the sounds that came of them were so lush and engrossing that you might as well have been on your hands and knees right next to them partaking in the Nom-Nom-Nom festivities. If there was any one thing that didn’t quite work for me, and it’s a really small thing, it would be the ending. Not so much how it was drawn up and executed, but for me, it felt abrupt. Don’t get me wrong, abrupt and ambiguous endings have their place in the world, but for a film that deliberately and expertly took its time to get where it needed to go, the abruptness felt out of place. I wanted more in that “ride off in the sunset” kind of way. Even then, it wasn’t enough of a lurch to take away what “Bones and All” does well, and it does MANY things well. This was exactly the film I was hoping for when it hooked me with its initial trailers, and yes, Reznor’s subtle score in the background blended all the moods together tastefully. Speaking of taste, this isn’t likely one that is going to fit many individual’s out there, but if you enjoy horror and are looking for something on the deeper side of the blood pool, I’d say this one is well worth a look. “Bones and All”: 9.5/10

Top 10 Films of 2022

I won’t lie - crafting these Top 10 lists is one of my favorite annual events. After taking what we’ll call a “break” for the last few years, I reflected on why and drew one obvious conclusion, and another that I hadn’t really considered before: 1) Obvious - because it’s fun, and 2) there is a certain catharsis about being able to reflect on each film and reminisce about how there was at least 20 hours spent last year that didn’t suck. 

What? Isn’t that a good reason?

Okay, fine. To expand on that further, I appreciate how these lists are snapshots in time. A visual of a particular frozen moment. Any Top 10 list can change and can change quickly. These films listed below are what I would call my favorites from 2022 as of today, but it’s perfectly feasible that I will watch twenty more films from last year between now and April, and for all I know, five of those would be worthy Top 10 contenders. The reason I’m talking about any of this is because I spent previous years, especially from November-February, trying to cram as many films in from that year as humanly possible to compile data. This time around, and moving forward, I accept that there are plenty of titles I haven’t seen that could have potentially made the list, and I’m okay with that. I will still enjoy looking back at the snapshots. 

One last thing before jumping in, it will be noticed that there are some major titles missing from both this list and the Honorable Mentions that I might as well address and get out of the way:

Have I seen “The Batman”? Sure haven’t. I blame it on Batman fatigue, and before anybody trips over themselves, yes, I had MARVEL fatigue, too. I quit watching them for 3 years before just recently getting caught up again. I will see “The Batman” eventually, but I want to see it in a frame of mind that will let me enjoy it fully.

Have I seen “Top Gun: Maverick”? Sure haven’t. Yes, I will at some point, but to be honest, the original “Top Gun” has never really done anything for me, so the promise of a far superior sequel still isn’t going to excite me all that much. That’s like being excited about clear-jumping a bar buried 6 feet underground. I’ll know when the time is right, and it’ll probably be a rare moment when I look at the American flag and feel my loins tickle. 

Have I seen “Avatar: The Way of Water”? Sure haven’t. I do regret that one slightly. At the same time, I have a feeling I’ll feel about the same for “Way of Water” as I did with the original “Avatar” - praise and appreciation in the moment, then have no desire to see it again for a decade.

Alright, enough flapping on. This post is going to be long enough. Here are my Top 10 films from 2022:

10. “BEAST”

I mentioned in my “Honorable Mentions” that the movie “Prey” nearly stole this spot away, but ended up not doing that because there was one that scratched an itch in a more satisfying way. 

No, not like that, you dirty bastards.

“Beast” was a nostalgia needle that landed a bullseye directly into my vein. I have been begging for a decent Man vs. Wild feature for years, and not only is “Beast” decent, but it catapulted clear over my expectations and landed in the next zip code.

Is it a perfect movie? No, of course not, but what it does have is a cast that is game, and an extremely well-crafted CGI lion with a salty attitude hell-bent on vengeance against humanity. I know I can always stand behind a film when my subconscious mind can parrot “That’s a fake lion” throughout the entirety of the film, yet at the same time, I’m gripping my couch and trying not to mutter out loud “Dear Lord, will nobody save Idris??” That’s another thing - I loved how the filmmakers went the extra mile to give everything a sense of realism that somehow often gets missed. Combine that with a sleek 90-minute run time that doesn’t overstay its welcome, “Beast” certainly satisfied my hunger for some nature thrills. 

9. “THE APOLOGY”

I don’t keep a weather eye on Shudder’s new releases. I much prefer the game of opening the app once a week or so, seeing the five or six titles that have been added and whispering “Oo, that looks fun!” to myself. One such instance of that is “The Apology” that I believe was dropped sometime shortly after Thanksgiving. After a quick glance I was already sold with a cast I actually recognized and a premise that spoke seductively to my need for psychological thrillers. 

I really can’t say much about it as one wrong slip could hint at spoilers, but what I will say is that it knew exactly what notes to play and when to play them. I don’t care for frills or bells and whistles - I want to feel that sense of claustrophobia that only tension in small spaces can provide, and a small added bonus, a battle of wits and morals. For me, “The Apology” sets the bar high for Shudder exclusives. You’re up next, “Skinamarink”. 

8. “FALL”

Far and beyond the biggest surprise of the year for me, “FALL” is a prime example of what fantastic editing, pacing, and realism can do when they work together. Similar to “Beast”, my mind chatter was saying the whole time that of course this is fake and there aren’t real people on top of a giant, rusty tower in the middle of fucking nowhere, but that didn’t prevent the whitening of my knuckles and the puckering of my asshole. Hell, the film’s thrills are so effective that you do eventually forget the two main characters are adrenaline junkies attempting to escape their own dumbass decision, and that you do want them to survive because quickly falling to their splattery death would be anticlimactic. 

I do also believe that this a film that can maintain its bite after multiple viewings, which isn’t always the case for thrillers like these, i.e., “The Sixth Sense”. Besides, if nothing else, it’d be fun to play it with family or friends who haven’t seen it yet so you can have front row seats to see how much they twitch.

7. “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE”

It’s not that it would be impossible to expand on what has already been said about “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, but I don’t really want to. The best way to enjoy this film is to go into it knowing the least amount as possible so you can truly buckle in for how batshit fucking bonkers it is. 

What I will say on a basic level is that Michelle Yeoh is absolutely spellbinding in this film, and she has some fantastic chemistry with Ke Huy Quan, which is really what makes this engine work where it matters the most. As far as everything else you’ve heard regarding the action and a certain performance by Jamie Lee Curtis . . . yeah, it’s all true.

6. “MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON”

I’ve said it before, and have in fact a few times recently, and I’ll say it again - if a film can create empathy from me for robots, inanimate objects, or a shell with an animated mouth and a googly eye - congratulations, you’ve made a fucking great film. 

Going into “Marcel the Shell”, I was aware of the source material and the shorts that it was built off of, but I don’t believe I’ve actually read or seen any of them. Whether that would have altered my expectations or not, I’m not sure, but I’m glad that this film was my first real introduction to the character of Marcel and his world, because it was hands down one of the most delightful and joyous films I’ve seen in recent memory. I expected to laugh and possibly even cry, but it was the way the film made me do both that was most satisfying of all. Marcel has some unexpectedly witty humor and heart, and also flaws that make him easy to connect with as a viewer. I’m already excited to watch it all over again. 

5. “THE MENU”

Every year, there has to be at least one film that both gathers piles of praise, and also contrarian comments calling it “the worst movie they’ve ever seen”. The 2022 edition of such a film seems to be “The Menu”. Look, I get it, it was advertised as having a horror slant to it, and it turned out to be much more rooted as a satirical black comedy. Even as I watched it for the first time in the theater, I was thinking and hoping for a solid horror flick starring Ralph Fiennes - because I happen to love horror films starring Ralph Fiennes, or anything starring Ralph Fiennes. But I digress. What I got instead was a satirical black comedy, and I laughed my ass off at some pretty dark shit that will assuredly fill another space on the My Soul is Doomed bingo card. Sorry, not sorry.

I joke, but I can understand “The Menu” not exactly being everybody’s bag. There are really no likable characters (by design), the plot is criticism about criticisms, and for those looking for a thrill or two, “The Menu” doesn’t have the kind of deliberate pacing that is going to satisfy that craving. However, if you are fine with all of the above, “The Menu” has plenty to offer in terms of laughs and suspense, and one I will gladly be rewatching many times in the future.

4. “VIOLENT NIGHT”

David Harbour dressed as Santa and bloodying the ever-loving shit out of a hardy bunch of criminals isn’t something I ever knew I needed in my life, but now I do, and the result was AWESOME. Look, we have had plenty of horror movies in decades past that featured Santa and a trail of innards in his wake, but outside of maybe a choice few, none of them ever elevated past the level of good cheese. “Violent Night”, conversely, took the time to hit all the right boxes while not forgetting how to have a good time. It has heart, humor, and violence that steadily gets cranked up as the film goes along instead of showing all the cards in the First Act. It runs around 100 minutes, but feels much more like 80 with its near-perfect pacing. 

I don’t know if I can say if it will end up in the company of “Klaus”, “Home Alone”, and “The Muppet Christmas Carol” that I consider Must-Watches every December, but I’m more than willing to try it out and see how it fits!

3. “HELLRAISER”

Fuck it, I’ll say it right off the bat and run with it - the new imagining of “Hellraiser” both improves upon and transcends the Clive Barker original. I didn’t say it replaces or nullifies the original - I just said it’s better. 

When it comes to the horror mainstays of the 70s and 80s, “Hellraiser” is easily one of the most unique of the bunch. It dealt with the supernatural and the surreal, instead of a lone figure stalking neighborhoods and camps with an odd ultra-vendetta against fornication. Michael, Freddy, Jason, Chucky, and Ghostface all had their unique markers, but put them all in a line-up and none stand out quite as much as Pinhead, so in my mind, he deserves proper respect based on that and his particular breed of brutality alone. 

That being said, I absolutely loved the new take on Pinhead in this latest film, and Jamie Clayton completely owned the role. I was enamored by her new aesthetic, and honestly, the aesthetic of all the new Cenobites. They added a whole level of menace that I feel some of the Cenobites from the 80s lacked, and they brought some fun, creative kills along for the ride. Speaking of which, if I do have one complaint, is that I do wish they had used more practical effects for the gore instead of heavy reliance on noticeable CGI blood, but that issue disappears as quickly as it arrives.

There will always be a place on my list for the original “Hellraiser”, but when a reimagined version does it so right that it gives the classic car a shiny new coat of paint, I do feel I’ll be leaning towards this one more often than not when in the mood for Hell-like carnage.

2. “GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO” 

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s a wrap. For me, this is the official “Pinocchio” to end all Pinocchios, and I won’t need to see any future versions.  No, really, eat your heart out, Disney - there’s a new-old sheriff in town, and his name is Guillermo Del Toro. 

Okay, I could be a Del Toro fanboy all day, but there’s a list to finish. At the same time, it’s not my fault that (nearly) everything Del Toro touches turns to gold, and as such, my expectations for “Pinocchio” were some of the highest for any film in 2022. I was quick to dismiss the possibility at first, but as I was watching this “Pinocchio” for the first time, I began to realize that some of those expectations had to have stemmed from the fact that the Disney remake, which also came out in 2022, inexcusably sucked. I wasn’t expecting a lot seeing as the Disney “live action” remakes have been getting steadily worse, but said remake did leave a void in my soul that needed repairing. Thanks to Del Toro’s patience and craft, that repair came and then some in the form of wonderful storytelling, character depth AND design, and another step up for the art of stop-motion animation. Every character and landscape that was brought to the forefront stood with their own sense of individuality, making them memorable in a unique way - not to mention having Ewon McGregor voice of Sebastian J. Cricket be one of the best casting choices of the year. Lastly, I adored the gravity of the story, and how it dealt with consequences, mortality in an honest way, and how “Happily Ever After” really can’t last forever. 

“Pinocchio” is a gem all around, and while I don’t know if any film could ever surpass “Pan’s Labyrinth” as my favorite of Del Toro's filmography, “Pinocchio” may be a strong second for a long time. 

And, finally, my Top Film of 2022:

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1. "THE BLACK PHONE"

Talks of nostalgia have come up a few times on this year’s lists, and “The Black Phone” also fits into that mold; however, it only does so in terms of vibe and cinematography, while the rest lives and dies on its own creativity and filmmaking choices. 

99% of the time, it’s hard not to be bitter when a film, particularly a horror film, fails to live it up to the hype generated around it, even if the hype is no fault of its own. “The Black Phone” felt differently to me leading up to its release right off the bat, because it was generating buzz, but the advertising and trailers were incredibly subtle in the best possible way. I remember when I saw the first trailer, which was also my first time hearing about it, before “Jurassic World: Dominion”. The trailer couldn’t have been more than 20-30 seconds long, and showed nothing but the titular phone itself in a grungy basement room. That’s all I had to introduce me to “Black Phone” outside of the eventual poster with Ethan Hawke’s face beneath a mask, and that’s all I needed to instantly get excited with a “Fuck yes, I need to see that! It’s hiding something, and I need to know what it is." 

What it ended up being, in my opinion, was the best and most complete horror film of the year, and the race wasn’t close. Everything about this film, all the parts that matter anyway, simply work. Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw as the two main child actors were outstanding. Saying “Oscar-worthy” makes me cringe these days, but screw it, Ethan Hawke as the villain was Oscar-worthy in his performance, both humorous and unsettling. The set pieces were creepy and reminded me a little bit of “The Silence of the Lambs”. And tying it all together was a great, little editing choice to give the film a 70s tint style reminiscent of the movies from that era. 

Sometimes I do get too excited after a first viewing, but after I watched “The Black Phone” a second time at home, I’m thrilled to say it was just as good, if not better - leaving me with that fleeting, yet precious feeling of pure horror joy. 

Honorable Mentions of 2022

Wow.

It’s really been over three years since the last time I wrote about anything. Looking back at the date of my last post, it leaves an eerie feeling considering everything that happened in life shortly afterwards. 

Well, let’s see if I can make my brain fart out something useful by breaking the ice with some 2022 movie lists. 

In the past, I’ve never done a written version of my Honorable Mentions. Much to my surprise, 2022 ended up having more titles fighting for the Top 10 than I thought it would. That’s not to say it was an incredible year by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly better than the last three years or so. I swear it’s like everything after “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 went all blurry in my head, then 2020 rolled around and decided to make people disappear, unironically. 

Anywho, here is a list of films from the last year that I enjoyed quite a bit but didn’t quite make my Top 10 list, and these titles are in no particular order:

1. "PREY"

I was actually struggling as to whether or not put “Prey” as the #10 film on my Top 10 from last year, and I ended up not doing so, because while in terms of premise they are identical in many ways, the film I ended up placing at #10 had the timing of scratching a particular itch. “Prey” didn’t scratch that itch, but that’s also not to take anything away from it.

Outside the original classic, the “Predator” series has been in desperate need of a lift after some subpar sequels and C-grade spin-offs - though I will give the 2010 “Predators” its dues for trying and mostly succeeding. “Prey”, on the other hand, is that lift. If I had any gripe at all, and it’s a small one, I think it would have been pretty cool if they had attempted to use the Comanche native language with subtitles rather than English that sounded almost too modern for a film set in the late-1700s. I don’t know if that would be possible, I’m not the expert, but I do feel at times the dialogue was dangerously close to dropping a “bruh” or something on the sly, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t find it distracting at times.

That aside, Amber Midthunder was a total badass as the main protagonist/hero, the film did a great job of earning its suspenseful climax with carefully-paced character development and world building, and I absolutely loved Predator’s design in this movie along with its use of hand-to-hand combat instead of over-reliance on technology. 

I’m pretty late to the game when it comes to seeing “Prey", but if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend it.

2. "BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER"

While it does run a bit long and gives a fair amount of screen time to side plots that do not amount to much, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a pretty damn good film and addition to the MCU, especially given the circumstance from which it was born. I highly doubt even if Chadwick Boseman hadn’t passed away that this sequel was going to reach the heights of the first “Black Panther” - one of the best in the MCU, and truly lightning in a bottle. That being said, the success of “Wakanda Forever” hinged on the entire cast doing their damndest to fit that Chadwick-sized void, and I felt they did exactly that. Whether that’s something that can maintain this series for the future remains to be seen, but on its own and as a eulogy for Boseman, “Wakanda Forever” was easily the best MARVEL offering since “No Way Home”.

3. "MY FATHER'S DRAGON"

I cannot help but draw comparisons between Cartoon Saloon and LAIKA. They both have unique animation styles that are easily identifiable, they have similar release schedules that reflect studios taking their time rather than being film-pumping machines, and they have a nice mix of heavier, darker films and more lighthearted, child-centric ones. “My Father’s Dragon” is the latter by the former - silly, whimsical, colorful, but has that tear-jerking undertone that “fear is an antagonist we all have in common, and would you look at that, the adults are crying, too.” 

Normally, I give just about any film from either studio a free pass into the Top 10, but the competition was pretty stiff this time around. I do highly recommend “My Father’s Dragon” as well, and I hope it’s not slept on seeing as I thought it was released on Netflix rather quietly.

Damn it, Corporate Giants, don’t you know what you have?!

4. "CYRANO"

Yes, I know “Cyrano” is technically labeled as a 2021 film, but it went wide in 2022, so I’m counting it. 

I intentionally went into “Cyrano” as blindly as I could given that I knew vaguely that it was a musical, and that it starred Peter Dinklage, which is the only selling point I need for anything that he’s in. Now having seen “Cyrano”, I can add one item to the Things I Didn’t Know list - Peter can sing, too. He didn’t belt the roof off its wall supports or anything, but commendable nonetheless. I’m not sure why I’m surprised by that, because he’s fucking Peter Dinklage, but still, pleasant surprises are in short supply on this rock so I’m keeping it. 

If I had any complaints with the film at all, and they are minor, they would be that the last 20-30 minutes dragged a bit for me, and honestly throughout the film I felt like I was experiencing emotional whiplash. There are some truly poignant scenes and beautiful music in “Cyrano” that I really wanted to submerge myself into just a few moments longer, but I guess the film had a long To-Do List and had to whip the rug out from under me in order to move on. 

Be that as it may, Dinklage’s performance, as expected, was outstanding. The score and soundtrack is one I easily can (and have) listen to outside of the viewing experience, especially since they pulled a sneaky on me and had Glen Hansard cameo on one of the songs during a scene that already had me emotional. Bastards. Lastly, for once, it was an Oscar-hyped musical that didn’t feel like Oscar bait for a change, and if you know what I’m talking about, I have a feeling you’ll appreciate that as well.

5. "ENOLA HOLMES 2"

I loved the first “Enola Holmes”, and this sequel is right on par with its predecessor. Millie Bobby Brown is a star on the rise, and has long since been more than just Eleven from “Stranger Things.” For the time being, anyway, if they keep making ‘em, I’ll keep watching ‘em. 

6. "THE SEA BEAST"

Upon first viewing, I know I wasn’t the only one who thought “Huh, this movie feels an awful lot like ‘How to Train Your Dragon’...” 

Honestly, “Sea Beast” probably ranks as my favorite animated film from last year. The animation is beautiful and creative, Karl Urban was perfectly cast as the lead, and who doesn’t love a story about the trials and crimes of oppression, and the misunderstandings bred from it?  If anything holds it back slightly for me, it’s that pesky aforementioned similarity. “How to Train Your Dragon” is one of my all-time favorite animated series, and given the similarities between the two, if I’m offered a choice between any of the “Dragon” films and “The Sea Beast”, I’m going to take the former nine times out of ten. But hey, prior to its release, any other movie that felt like a mimic I would have chosen “Dragon” ten times out of ten, so good on ya, “Sea Beast”. 

7. "BARBARIAN"

Why? 

Because fuck it, that’s why. 

RAPID FIRE REVIEWS: November 8th, 2019

MRMOVIESETC REVIEWS:

“Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988)

“The Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, and nestled in-between all those for Director Francis Ford Coppola was “Tucker”; a biopic about Preston Tucker and his automobile lovechild creation – the Tucker Torpedo – back in 1948. While seemingly an odd choice for a man whom became legendary thanks to the other stylish aforementioned titles, Coppola did also place his name on other films lighter in tone, like “Jack”, “The Outsiders”, and “The Rainmaker”. Still, it’s understandable how a viewer could be a little underwhelmed with “Tucker” at first with its straightforward, no frills storytelling about the man that many, me included, know little about and yet had a huge impact on automobiles and the automobile industry as we know it.

In all honesty it is an interesting story, and I can imagine Coppola was able to produce it with relative ease having a talent like Jeff Bridges behind the wheel as the industry underdog, Preston Tucker. However, if it is a stout education you’re looking for, “Tucker” probably isn’t going to give you anything more than a taste despite doing a good job keeping all the Hollywood-isms to a minimum.

This isn’t a film that exactly has or ever will jump off the page next to Coppola’s other filmography, but definitely feels like a passion project all the same. For those into this type of subject matter, I suspect you might get the same general pleasure out of it as I did.

“Tucker: The Man and His Dream”: 7/10

“Stuber” (2019)

Damn, I’ve been trying to think of what “Stuber” reminded me of after watching it the other day, and now it finally hit me – this film is the gorier version of 2012’s “21 Jump Street”; only not quite as good. Yes, granted, there have been plenty of action comedies both before and after that time, but the two counterparts – both physically and emotionally – eventually bonding and teaming up to stop a deadly drug ring with tons of physical comedy along the way kind of speaks for itself, no?

Don’t get me wrong, Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani are excellent together and are the driving force of making this whole thing work, overall. Having Bautista’s character be almost completely blind throughout the duration was also a nice touch to hinder what would normally be effortless badass-ery for him. There’s little worthy argument at this point against the fact that we have likely already seen the full depths of Bautista’s acting ability, but he has such a stoically comical demeanor that it could probably work for him for a long time as long as he can be dropped into intriguing surroundings to use it in. The same can be said for Nanjiani, whom is displaying a lot of the same mannerisms here as he did in “The Big Sick” a few years ago, but he’s so damn endearing it’s hard not to be in his character’s corner.

As for the rest of “Stuber”, like I said, outside the particular character attributes, the story borrows a lot from similar comedies that came before it, and while Stu’s arc had a better subtext conclusion than Vic’s, there really wasn’t much else to grab hold onto. By no means, though, does it fail as a comedy. Plenty of laughs registered throughout, and while it was a one-time watch for me undoubtedly, I can recommend it at least as a rental.

“Stuber”: 7.5/10

“Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw” (2019)

“Hpbbs and Shaw”, because I am most definitely not spelling that whole obnoxious title out every time, is a textbook example of a potentially fun spin-off gone wrong because, goddamn it, Hollywood just gots to have that sequel, y’all. Outside of a few bright spots, this film is phoned-in and inexcusably boring, and by phoned-in, I’m not talking about the cast. Dwayne, Jason, Idris, and Vanessa are all in and looking to have had a grand ol’ time on the set driving fast cars and blowing shit up.

At the end of the day, I was completely fine with that, and truly, that’s all I wanted out of this. I wanted to see a bunch of goofy banter between Johnson and Statham, and watch Elba go off the chain as a new breed of Terminator bent on annihilating the weakest of humans so he can rebuild the remaining humans as the new partially-mechanical super race while Hobbs and Shaw attempt to stop him.

Oh. Yeah. That one sentence summarizes the whole plot for a two-plus hour movie, by the way. I have nothing in the slightest against longer movies, you know, as long as they’re not pumped full of forty-five minutes worth of a filler just to end up at a non-ending that you can and will see coming at about, eh, the ten-minute mark. It starts to become even more painful when the Second Act starts and it becomes glaringly apparent that the script has already run out of gas with the two lead gents recycling jokes and punching their way out of the same group brawl for the sixth or seventh time. Thankfully, once the Third Act hits and the scenery changes to Samoa, the movie does get a second wind of redemption for about a minute until all the ideas there are similarly spent entirely too quickly.

Ugh. How can a movie designed for mindless viewing piss me off this much? I know like everyone else in the back of mind that this was a cash grab, but with the original “Fast” series already raking in a stupid amount of money, did we really need a whole second branch of sequels? Apparently, Universal says “Yes”. I think I’m going to get off this ride now and stay off.

“Hobbs and Shaw”: 4/10

The Top Five Films of OCTOBERTHON VI

It's good to be back!

I had a pretty good feeling that there was no way in Hell I would be able to try and cram thirty-one films into one month along with keeping a healthy review regime going. I can get by without a ton of sleep sometimes, but that's a little much.

Instead, I took some time off and thought I'd wrap up another OCTOBERTHON with the Top Five films that I had not ever seen prior to this year. I figured that would be more fun than filling the top of the list with obvious ones, like "The Exorcist", the "Addams Family" films, "The Changeling", etc.

Okay, let's dive in!

5. "Hell House LLC" (2016)

Despite getting too cute with its own premise in the Third Act and draining the film of some mystique, I still have to tip my hat to what turned out to be an effectively atmospheric, mysterious, and outright creepy low-budget horror film. It certainly doesn't hurt that the found-footage documentary style was utilized to its advantage and enhanced some scenes that otherwise may not have been as captivating shot in a more traditional approach. Again, it goes off the rails a bit towards the end, and while I don't know what that did yet for the two follow-up sequels currently out, my curiosity is piqued and I fully intend to check them out in the near future.

4. "Cargo" (2018)

Just when one might think the Zombie Apocalypse genre has become a completely drained meat sack on the side of the road, there comes a film or two that still brings a touch of creativity. "Cargo" not only brings back the slow-burn to the genre, but additionally offers something genuinely personal and heartfelt. Here, the apocalypse has come and gone for an uncertain amount of time, but a little family of three (led by Martin Freeman) has managed to stay alive in the Australian countryside. The hook in this case is that both he and his wife get infected, and their daughter is entirely too young to defend herself. Armed with the knowledge that they have 48 hours to find suitable safety for her, they start their journey against hazardous terrain while racing against the clock. 

Depending on your tolerance level for such things, it may not be more than a one-stop viewing, though I definitely recommend giving it a try. It deserves that much. Freeman carries a bulk of the load, and that alone should tell you it's in good hands.

3. "Begotten" (1990)

I don't know if enjoy is exactly the right term for this, but I do unquestionably respect the Hell out of it. I was initially under the impression that "Begotten" was a completely silent film that relied solely on interpretive storytelling and insanely goth imagery to play out said story. While actual spoken language is at an absolute minimum, and by that I mean hollers and grunts, this film is anything but silent in the most evil of ways. Gagging, defecating, raping, masturbation, stabbing, etc. - it is all there for the ingesting, and kudos to the stark audio mix that brings that shit to the forefront. I can handle quite a bit, but to see some visible gagging and hearing that sound so vividly that it makes me want to do it is as gross as it is awesome. 

Merhige, I don't know who hurt you, but you're kind of a genius, and I love it. God Killing Himself is my next Halloween inspiration without a doubt. 

2. "The Innocents" (1961)

Goddamn, I really miss the good old fashioned ghost stories that mainstream Hollywood doesn't see fit to make anymore. Lead by an almost entirely female cast - back in 1961 was imaginably a pretty big deal - "The Innocents" carves a gorgeous black and white chiller about paranoia, spirits, domestic abuse, neglect, and abandonment; just to name a few. There were also some really neat smoke-and-mirror tricks with the cast and camera angles that has clearly inspired more modern day horror filmmakers.

I don't want to say much more because this film demands full immersion. Definitely give it a shot; preferably Criterion's release of it. They really made it look brand new!

1. "Midsommar" (2019)

Yeah, I know, when I popped this in a few weeks ago and noted it on my Facebook page, I went on a miniature rant about how this one had me thinking up front that it was going to be more indie horror nonsense, and no, I didn't care that Ari Aster directed it, because while "Hereditary" was a good film, nothing about it knocked my socks off. 

On the plus side, I emphatically love when my preconceived notions are wrong. "Midsommar" was a big step up for Aster, even if I thought at first that I didn't need to see it again because there were enough issues to keep me from being wholly satisfied. Said issues do still stand, i.e., the characters are as disposable as those in a slasher film, there's a family story-line that doesn't amount to anything, and perhaps the budget could have been dedicated to improving a few areas that made me laugh unintentionally. 

However, the pacing for a film of this length was excellent, the main story arc was engrossing, and the main set piece was stunning even with some of the obvious CGI. The more I think about it, the more I like it, and I have changed my mind as to seeing it again. I believe I will gladly be adding this to my collection in the near future.

I hope you all had a Safe and SPOOKY October!!

Only two months left in 2019 already, and still so much work to do. Thank you to all of those that take the time to check out A Journey Through Film!