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Showing posts with label 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2021. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Re-Review: The Suicide Squad (2021)

 After seeing this Film in a small Theater during the Pandemic, I haven't seen it since.

I got a nice Blu-Ray and, well, this seems like the best time to look back at this one.

This is The Suicide Squad, the 2021 Sequel/Reboot/something to the 2016 Film that people still want to tell you has a super-secret good Cut out there.
I'll be surprised if it does.

Another group of Villains is sent out by Amanda Waller on a strange mission of great importance.  Look forward to reuniting with, well, 3 Characters from the last Film.

This one sadly didn't do well, but did lead to a Streaming Show about one of the Characters.

Is it a Film that is bound to be remembered well or just a bunch of weird nonsense?
To find out, read on...

When Amanda Waller has a mission, she assembles a new Suicide Squad.

This includes Pete Davidsen, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker and Jai Courtney playing a bunch of C-D List DC Villains.
They are sent to a Central American Island to destroy some technology and its link to the US Government.

Are they Epstein-ing someone?!?
Wait- if that is The Suicide Squad, what are Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, Peacemaker, King Shark and Polka Dot Man doing here?

Well, they're the real Main Characters.
Save for Harley Quinn, who gets her own mini-Movie and Arc inside of this same Movie.

They spend a long time with her and eventually cut back to the rest of them.

She'll eventually join up- don't worry.
Can the group- united with Colonel Flagg- work together to get past a small Army to complete the mission?
Can they hit all of the usual beats- like slow motion walking as a group IN THE RAIN no less- as they do?
What are they fighting now?
What's the deal with that javelin?
Also, wasn't that Taika Waititi in that Flashback earlier?

To find out, stream this or pop your disc in now.
A Film that is both a glowing endorsement for and a warning about what to expect in Gunn's DCEU.

As a reminder, Gunn was briefly fires by Marvel for reasons you'll either rage about or agree with.  Freed up, DC/WB said, 'Make whatever you want- we don't care!'

He did.

The Film is all about manic excess, pure insanity, a heaping of heart and lots of blood.
Seriously, if you are allergic to CGI blood and gore (somehow), this is not for you.

If you only know Gunn from the Guardians Film, this may not be for you.

I've seen far worse, but this Film definitely leans into the brutal violence.  There are moments where they add in flourishes- like Harley's big Action Scene- but it mostly is just there to shock you.

In addition, they do that trick where you see a Scene and then see a Flashback to give it context.  It is neat once.  They do it three times.

Having said all that, I really bought in to the Character moments, the Story, the fun little Cameos and the whole presentation.

I'm a weirdo and I was the Audience.  What about you?

Just remember that Sharks are not as scary IRL as they are on Film...

Next up, let's see if I can get back on Schedule.  It is a Film about a Director and all of his problems.  Stay tuned...

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Shudder Day: The Found Footage Phenomenon (2021)

 A Genre that I have a real love/hate relationship.

All bad Movies are bad (obviously), but the Found Footage ones always find more ways to be annoying.

Here are all of them I've covered so far (the List will, of course, include this one too).

The Documentary talks about the Origin of the Horror Subgenre, talking about early Films and how they were influenced.

They thankfully credit such Films as Peeping Tom (below) and others that I'd genuinely not heard of.
Throughout the Film, you hear from various Directors and a few people that study Films.

This means that you hear plenty from guys like this before you eventually learn what Film he made.
They obviously spend lots of time talking about The Blair Witch Project.

If you're not familiar with it, this is informative.
They eventually talk about later ones in the Genre- like REC- and how they were made.

If you like this kind of Behind the Scenes talk, it is nice.
If you don't need every Found Footage Film Director to tell you how clever they are, it is less nice.
No disrespect to Andre Ovredal, of course.

Trollhunter rules.
We hear many times from this lady, who is pretty informative.

She has a French Poster for The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (and no, I didn't need to Google that), so I do like her.

In closing, if you don't know all of the minutia and history of these Films, this is a good watch.
The End.
A pretty enjoyable Documentary, even if it repeats itself a bit.
In fairness, the Film is made up of a couple dozen interviews taken at completely different times.  

I guess they couldn't be bothered to cut out the THIRD Director make the same point.

Joking aside, they got a great number of interesting people to talk about their Films, from Ovredal to Ruggero Deodato to Eduardo Sanchez.

More love for Ghostwatch- yes, please!

I love that they cover the History of the Genre (going back to the 1960s) and the realities of the World that inspired it.  Again- a very informative Film.

My final gripe- they gloss over all of the bad Found Footage Films, somehow not mentioning Area 407 (which this picture appears on if you Google it)...

A very enjoyable and fact-filled Documentary.  Just know that it makes the same points a few times too many throughout the runtime.

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Shudder-day: Chucky- Season 1

 At the recommendation of a family member, I finally checked this Show out.

Naturally, I start watching it once it is cancelled.  Oy.

This is the first Season of...

A young guy named Jake is not the most popular guy in School.
He's openly gay and is into making Art out of dolls.

He finds a 'vintage' Good Guy doll to use for his sculpture, but it won't come apart.

With his drunk Dad at home, he can't keep it there, so...
He soon learns that Chucky is alive and has been in hiding since the events of Cult of Chucky (I guess I need to see that one, eh).

He tries to get Jake to kill for him, 'earning' that by killing his Dad with a loose wire.
Jake is antagonized by his classmate Lexy, who is also dating his Cousin.

He tries to resist Chucky's push to kill, while also trying to get anyone to believe him.

Somehow Chucky has killed people since 1988 and nobody believes it.
The Season is 8 Episodes long and I won't recap it all.

I'll give you a brief summary to end this though...

A fiery dance party.  
Death in the Hospital.  
Old(er) faces from the past Films.

To see it how it plays out stream it now.
A Show that is a must-see for fans of the Franchise.

I've never hated the Films (like, say, Hostel), but I've also never been a huge fan of it.
Did it win me over?

Kind of.  I liked the Show's Story, connecting with Jake and his friends.  I wanted to see them win.

Dourif, as always, is great as Chucky.  I was less of a fan of watching him dub over someone who looks like Tommy Wiseau that was supposed to be him from 1988.

The returning Characters was a nice thing.  As someone who didn't watch Cult of Chucky, I was definitely missing some details.

The new additions to Chucky lore were good, but a bit weird.  Things don't get explained super well.  When they resort to the 'it is magic, we don't have to explain it' thing, you know something is a bit off.

The Show is also pretty gory at times, so be warned.

With all that said, I'm curious to see how it all plays out in the next 2 Seasons, regardless of how USA treated it...

A Show that has renewed my interest in the Chucky Franchise.  Let's see where it goes from here.

Saturday, July 6, 2024

Streaming Standard: A Quiet Place- Part II

 A watch/review I meant to get up before the new Film came out.  Life got in the way.

Let's take a SPOILER-FREE look at the Sequel while you ponder whether or not to see the Prequel.

The Film begins with a Flashback to how it all began for our Heroes/Heroines.

I guess this part did so well that people demanded a full Film like this perhaps?
This gives us a brief look at life before everything changed and more of a look at the creatures.

Did I miss the point in both Films that they are called 'Death Angels' or is that just from the new Film?
The Film proper follows our Leads as they leave the Farm to spread the word about how to defeat the creatures.

I was getting real 'Walking Dead Episodes where they follow the train tracks' vibes, but thankfully this isn't spread out nearly as long.
They find that the creatures- whatever they are called- aren't the only danger, as they walk into a trap.

However, it turns out to be someone they knew before things got all terrible.
The Plot splits when the Daughter- who is deaf- is convinced to follow a radio signal.  
The man they met- Cillian Murphy- reluctantly goes with her to keep her safe.

Back at the other place, keeping a baby quiet and safe in this World proves to be just as difficult.

To find out what happens, stream it now.
A solid Film that builds upon the same formula and expands it a bit.

To start with, the Flashback Intro is really good.  If that really was the reason to greenlight a Prequel, I get it.
The creatures get time to shine and the chaos is well-orchestrated.

What's also nice here is that plenty of Characters get Arcs here.
The Daughter is the most obvious one, as her confidence is tested and maybe she learns to be careful too.
The Son gets to go from a familial liability to a brave helper.
Cillian's Arc is a mixed one, as it is the fairly standard 'Survivor who has suffered loss' one.  No need to reinvent the wheel, I suppose.

Part of me thought at first that having him as the reluctant Father Figure was a bit lazy, but he's so good that I got over it.

All in all, this does what a Sequel should do.  It expands the Story and Setting, it has bigger moments, and it leaves you wanting to see more.

Just don't SPOIL the new one for me now.

A good Sequel that seemed to fly under the radar a bit.  Why did that...oh right, COVID.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Tubi Thursday: Cube (2021)

 A pretty famous Remake is coming next as a proper Review on the Schedule, so why not another for this Thursday?

Well, I've had my eye on one for a while now, so let's check out the Japanese Remake of...

In the Cold Open, a man tries to escape from a strange Cube-shaped room.

He makes it to another...but let's just say that he made a bad choice.
A group of people wake up in a similar room and try to figure out what the hell is going on.

Oddly like in The Maze Runner, the Film's lone Female shows up suddenly and the Plot gets moving.
They have to navigate between the Rooms, avoid the traps and find a way out.

Easier said than done.

Harder for many people these days in America- it involves doing Math without a calculator!
Can they escape?
Is there anything to escape to?

Will lazy Critics compare this to Squid Game, even though that is from South Korea and not Japan?

To find out the answers to the first 2 questions (the third one is 'Sadly, no'), stream it now.
For better or worse, it is a very Japanese Remake of the 1997 Cult Classic.

Weirdly, it started to give me Dimension High flashbacks- although this is far better!
The fact that I had to watch Japanese people solving puzzles- mostly just Math- in a weird 3-D environment is a very specific comparison though.

To be fair, that was in the original Film, so they didn't add it.

Speaking of the original Film, there's large parts that are, understandably, very similar.  
This one also answers as many questions as the Canadian Film did as well.

I do wish that there was more of the creative death trap stuff in there.  What we get- spinning blades, gas and the like- is good.  They just focused more on the Characters than that.

I don't pretend to know Movie Financing- let alone in Japan- but I feel like you could do more with the same amount of money and CGI in 2021 than you could in 1997.
I just wanted more- a truly American complaint.

If you go in expecting Saw, you'll be disappointed.
For better or worse, this is a Cube Film.

A weird Film with some good moments and an interesting mystery.  Like the other Film, it is just far less interested in answers than you might hope.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Shudder-Day: Werewolves Within (2021)

 A Film about mistrust in a small town full of guns- what a fantasy!
Oh, and there's also a Werewolf.

Let's see how this Horror Comedy leaves its mark (and not just on your good shoes) ...

In 2016, a Video Game was made about people trying to figure out which one of them was a Werewolf.

How does that become a Film?
A new Park Ranger comes to a small Town.

He's super nice and that's definitely not going to come to bite him in the butt.
In this case, it might be literal.
A small series of murders begins to happen, which freaks everyone out.

Is it the bad couple?  The new folks?  The Mailwoman?  The Oil Executive?
Please be the last one!
They think that getting together in the Hotel will make them safer.

This is a Movie, so that doesn't work out.

Can they find the culprit?!?
Will our Park Ranger step up to the task?

Will you guess who the lycanthrope is?

To find out, stream it now.
A fun Film, although the balance of humor to violence may not be your taste.

The Film has a great Cast and a great Setting.  The adaptation is a pretty good one.  They get the feel of the intrigue and paranoia.
That said, much of the Film is people arguing and accusing each other of doing bad things (like eating each other's hands).

In summary, it is an accurate adaptation of a Game based on not trusting each other.  Just know what to expect.

Fun Fact- you have to license the Post Office Logo to use in your Film.  You'll see why I bring it up when you watch the Film.

I would have liked more Werewolf action in this, to be honest, but it is more a low-budget Comedy.  That said, there's still plenty to like...
Don't judge me- they put this in Slow-Motion, so...

A fun Film that manages to be a good adaptation of a weird Game.  Just know that it is more of a Comedy than a Horror Film.

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Tubi Thursday: Escape from Death Block 13 (2021)

 A dead Action Star lives again...in the form of a Hungarian Man.

I've not seen a Robert Bronzi Film yet, so let's fix this before 2023 ends.

A man- Bronzi- goes to America to get, um, Death Insurance, I guess, from his Brother.

The Boss- Nicholas Toturro- won't pay out and frames him for some crimes...that he kind of committed, but for a good reason.
He's sent to Prison and must agree to work with the Feds to uncover a Drug Ring in said Prison.

Does he have a Death Wish or something?
Well, the place is corrupt.  A corrupt Prison, eh?
Science Fiction!

He finds some cliche Friendly Prisoners- since Murderers are nice chaps.
Can he survive his time there?
Can he save the day?

Will he ever learn to emote or deliver a line well?

To find out, stream it now.
A dead man lives...and he acts about as well as the real Bronson would these days.  Sorry, Robert.

Look- if someone thought that I looked like a dead Actor, flew me to Hungary and asked me to act in Hungarian, I'd be pretty shit too.

The Plot is nothing special.  Does it do anything new or interesting?

Well, the Lead Muscle turns out to be a good guy by the end.
That's...about it.

I will say that they have a few bits of decent Action Scenes with fist fights.  They are less successful when they try to mix in gunfights, which they had to shoot against green screens.

They used the Prison from Shawshank Redemption, which doesn't always make your Film better.

If you want to see Bronzi in action and don't care about the Story, watch this.  If you're more discerning and/or not curious, then skip it.

Sorry, Charlie.

Bummer- the Film isn't good.  Bronzi is a sight to behold, but not for 80+ minutes.

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Shudder-day: Creepshow- 'Time Out and Things in Oakwood's Past.'

 After an unplanned absence from the Series, let's jump back in to finish up before we get the new Season.

To catch up, I'm doing both Segments for a change.

We begin with the Morality Play of...

A young man is gifted a strange piece of furniture by his Grandfather.

He can use it to step inside and get more time (time passes for him in there, but not out here).
It becomes an issue when he uses it all of the time and needs to rely on it.

Will something inevitably go wrong?


In the second tale, we get an animated look at a Town's secret.  
Should it be unearthed?
A young woman- the Mayor's Daughter- is behind the local story of a Time Capsule from 1821 being unearthed.

However, it also ties into the date when the Town's Residents disappeared all those decades ago.
She keeps looking into it as a the Local Reporter attempts to romance her.

She finds out what the secret of the Box is and, let's just say you don't want to be in Oakwood anytime soon!

To find out, stream the Segments now.
This is a great example of why I tended to do the Segments separately.  If you can find a throughline in these two, be my guest!

That said, I liked both Segments in their own right.  They are just very, very different.

'Time Out' is much less about direct Horror and intentionally more mundane.  Of course, things take a turn as the time manipulation is abused far too much.  You feel for the guy as it seems to be the only solution and you know that something bad is going to happen.

'Oakwood's Past' is an interesting foray into Animation- and not just to cut down on the expensive Shots like earlier Episodes.  I'm not a huge fan of the Animation Style, but I also don't hate it.  For what it is worth, they make full use of the fact that it is animated in the second half.

This is definitely the most disproportionately different Episode as far as Segments go, but still a solid one.  Let's see how the Finale goes next.

If there ever was a case for watching the Segments of Creepshow as individuals, this sure is it.  They are still good, of course.