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Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Great but for the ending.
This film is good, but the ending does take away some. I felt like I was being hurled toward some fourth-wall-shattering brilliance. What I got was a big reveal about the main character. It's a shame because it went from being something scary to your typical Faustian story. I suggest you go into this with no expectations, no matter what you've heard. In fact, forget you even read this review. The less you expect, the less you know, the more you're going to like this film. If you think you're going into some incredibly original, never-done, type of horror film, you are going to be disappointed when it falls flat at the end.
Don't Worry Darling (2022)
It doesn't make sense
I honestly wasn't aware of all the real-world drama surrounding the film, and I certainly wasn't offended by it. But I have to say, on its own merits, this film just doesn't make sense in the end, mostly due to a lack of world-building. Why did the red plane appear? What was the deal with the eggs? Why did she get smooshed against the glass? Does the bus driver know he's in a simulation? Why does Frank's wife stab him? The more you think about this film the less sense it makes. Even though most of the good reviews I find seem to admit it's lacking. I think it's benefitting from its controversy because people are rating it higher in support of the message and not judging the actual film.
Umma (2022)
Sandra Oh is better than this.
Okay, so this is just every middle aged woman's fear of becoming their mother turned into a horror film, and while I'm glad it's not another shakey cam film or cautionary tale about premarital sex (looking at you It Follows), I've seen better. It's themes are painfully heavy handed. But then they throw this kitsune imagery from out of nowhere, and I cannot tell you what it has to do with the rest of the film. Really, what this movie lacks is any sense of subtlety. The whole concept of a woman living off the grid clinging to her daughter is very not subtle. Hell, one character even says, "I'm becoming my mother." NOT SUBTLE. It probably would have been 100% better if she'd just been any average woman in an American suburb, whose daughter is in school, and she's suddenly visited by her uncle with the remains of her abusive mother. Then it probably would have hit a little closer to home for most people.
The Munsters (2022)
I wanted to like this.
I really did. And there are some things to like. Sheri Zombie is great as Lilly Munster. There's a lot of nice winks and nods to the source materials. But in the end, it's just not that fun to watch. It tries to be as corny as the orginal, but it comes off as disingenuous, though that's probably unintentional. It's definitely a different side of Rob Zombie. I think his writing was more of a problem than his direction. Honestly, it's hard to say exactly where it went of the rails, but off the rails it certainly went. If this was a pilot, I don't see a series in the future. 600 is a lot of characters.
Riverdale: Chapter Ninety-One: The Return of the Pussycats (2021)
What is happening?
This episode feels completely disjointed. Not onlyndoes it not fit into the story arch, but it's just feels like a random selection of music shoved into unused plot points from the failed Katy Keene spinoff. And OMG the stripper version of the Josie and the Pussycats was SO cringy.
Pretty Smart (2021)
Weak Premise
The main character is pretty unlikable. The premise, as I understood it, is supposed to be she's a fish out of water, am intellectual surround by the most vapid denizens of California, but in reality it just comes off as a terrible person who treats the people kind enough to take her in badly. It's not funny when she tells the tarot card reader tarot cards are nonsense, it's mean. Seeing herself superior to everyone around her makes her really unrelatable.
It Follows (2014)
It's not that original
Everybody claims this film is so orginal. It's really just The Ring but with sex instead of a video tape. And The Ring was just a chain letter made into a horror film. Not orginal, not scary, and a major step back for the horror movie genre.
Into the Dark: Pooka! (2018)
Not what I was expecting
This is one of those movies that doesn't keep you engaged enough to prevent you from asking questions like "So what if nothing was stolen, breaking and entering is still a crime?", "What kind of business model is selling what's suppose to be the most popular Christmas toy at one store?", and "How is he dialing on a cell with those massive miss on?"
Any cinephile is going to see the title and immediately think of Harvey, and then probably Donnie Darko. That the creature has bunny ears seems to indicate the filmmakers were cognizant of this connection. There is something there with the creature being and extension of the protagonist, but ultimately this film is a little too conceptual to really warrant a comparison to those other films.
It's not the worst film I've ever seen, but I can't recommend it.
Colossal (2016)
It's a allegory
It's weird that most of the people giving this film a good review seem to miss the obvious. The whole thing is a metaphor for an abusive relationship, which destroys the SeOUL. It's not some deep profound character study or dark comedy, it's just a decent film which sets up an interesting visual metaphor. And Jason Sudeikis gives an awesome performance.
America: The Motion Picture (2021)
What movie were the negative reviewers watching?
First, why is everyone complaining about this film being so woke. I feel like that's saying Animal House and Porky's were woke. And it's no more a serious attempt at revisionist history than Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter was. It just stupid fun. Some people need to know it's okay to laugh at yourself a little.
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019)
Just not funny.
I kept watching waiting for something funny. It didn't happen.
South Park: Freemium Isn't Free (2014)
Hypocritical
Okay, so maybe Tray Parker and Matt Stone aren't models of integrity, but calling out "freemium" games and then putting out South Park Phone Destroyer maybe the most hypocritical thing ever done.
The Happytime Murders (2018)
Ave Q meets Lethal Weapon
Is it raunchy? Yes. But not nearly Meet the Feebles levels of disgusting. I feel this film suffers from pearl clutchers who expect puppets to only be for children's entertainment. Henson's directing gave us some amazing puppetry and the script is a raunchy good time captained expertly by Melissa McCarthy, whose natural delivery of the most absurd lines simultaneously grounds this film while delivering laughs. I can see why so much talent joined this project.
Legends of Tomorrow: The One Where We're Trapped on TV (2020)
Unexpected
Did legends of tomorrow accidently do an episode on media bias? Lots of nice little references here inclusing a shot reminscent of that famous Apple commercial and am end that was way too much like Shock Treatment for me to think it was accidental.
The Flash (2014)
It's just kinda bad.
I was going to write an review defending this episode. Some of the criticisms here seem unjust, like the show is "too feminist". But all I can really say for it is, "it's not as bad as late seasons of Arrow". The characters do pop in and out like a game of Whack-a-Mole. That worked for GoT, but this isn't GoT. What really put the nail in the coffin is Ralph telling Sue she was framed for Carver's murder. There's absolutely no explanation for how Eva accomplishes this feet, and given the team knows the chief of police (Joe is still chief, right, he came back from wit-sec?) and can all alibi Sue, I think a little explanation of why she's suddenly a suspect. And now they've fired Ralph (another actor to sloppily write off) and we're going to have to watch this plot unfold because, I guess, the show runners assume we're vested in Sue, but honestly even her "friends" are letting here get framed for murder.
Zombie at 17 (2018)
Not even "so bad it's good."
"So bad it's good" is honestly what my wife and I usually expect from a Lifetime Film. Believe my expectations weren't that high, but this was just a hot mess. The guy who played the murder reminded me of when the teacher used to make the calls read Shakespeare aloud in middle school. The plot itself is your typical Lifetime Film + iZombie + Santa Clarita diet. One reviewer mentioned something about showing her daughter the choices the female lead made. Because she makes soany good choices. For example she goes off with a kid she barely knows to the house of a grown man she barely knows, presumably not telling anyone where she's going because she's hiding the fact that she has a terminal desiease from everyone. Yep, that's a smart decision.
And don't get me started on the science. Animals injected with a neurotoxin somehow infect humans with there DNA. That's not how neurotoxins or DNA works really
Honestly, the whole thing felt like no making it cared. I think that's the worst thing I can say about any movie. I could tell the filmmakers thought it was a burden, so it burdensome to watch. Most lifetime
Arrow: Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Four (2020)
An interesting attempt
I can understand why this episode may be divisive for fans. It's not a particularly good episode. It's certainly can't stand on its own merits and was never intended to.
It does show how far television has come as a media and thaf there will always be inherent difference in comic books and television as mediume, but business is business. It's fascinating that the DC shows found themselves in the same perdicament as DC did when crisis was published. it was a bold choice for the producers to try and tell a similar story to accomplish the same goal. It was an excellent choice to hire Marv Wolfman to help with the teleplay.
But a television show is not a comic book. And even though photoshop has made it possible for TV producers to attempt the same kind of cosmically large stories comics have always been able to tell- better effects will never make a comic image the same as a TV one.
For my own take, the dialogue was not very good. They tried to hard to fit in to many in jokes and references. It got stilted quickly. Also being a fan of early DC, I couldn't help but feeling the Spectre was the wrong choice. His power seemed wasted, and he's less, IMHO, a cosmic being a more a supernatural one. Though at the moment I can't think of a better entity, as DC most powerful beings tend to be magical: The Wizard Shazam, The Phantom Stranger, and Doctor Fate for example. It might have been a good time to introduce the emotional spectrum to the small screen universe, but I'm sure there were practical and fiscal reasons for Evey decision made.
And that's why, for a change, I'm willing to give an A for effort. This was a bold attempt to recpature the magic of a groundbreaking comic series in a completely different format with many more limitations. The end result was entertaining enough, if needing some polish, and respectful of the source material while playing to a different audience I'm completely different market.
Daybreak: Post Mates (2019)
WTF happened?
I agree with everyone else who said this episode brought down the show. Turns out Sam Dean is a manic pixie dream girl with an emphasis manic. Even as an insecure highschioler I would have run screaming from someone that obviously in need of therapy. After watching this episode I'm hoping she doesn't make it through the 1st season. Josh's insecure b.s. doesn't exactly make him more endearing ether, and now I'm questioning his whole driving motivation in the show.
Arrow: Emerald Archer (2019)
So the writers just have up polishing this...
There are some great examples of shows that have changed format for an episode, usually to a faux documentary style, X-cops the being a clear example. The Zeppo from Buffy is another great example thats partially responsible for Blink from Doctor Who. Format changes can be amazing.But the storytellers at Arrow, as usual, refused to commit. They refused to challenge themselves, at all, to deliver a unique episode. Mutch has been made about the documentary crew being allowed access to a top secret facility, and that is odd, especially when the writers threw out the documentary pretense as soon as it was inconvenient. So why bother having them in Argus? Honestly the self calibrating, "yay it's our 150th episode," cameo filled documentary segments seemed straight out of the worst kind of format change- the 80's flashback episode. But at least 80's sitcoms had likeable characters. Still, I can honestly say this show hasn't jumped the shark; it fell right in to the shark tank.