Categories: Movie and Series Reviews, Drama

Halloween (2018) – 3.5/5

Categories 3.5/5, Crime, Drama, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller

In listening to people talk about games, I have heard the phrase “swimming in sevens.” This means to convey a serviceable experience that isn’t perfect but brings some joy. I had some joy watching Halloween! It was a good feeling to after my feelings for the original flick, feelings which would have many series fans knife me to a wall. That will be my next review.

I loved the direct haunting nature of the movie. Michael ruthlessly takes lives with very little flair, and there is a really captured overwhelming dream for anyone in the room with him. The bathroom scene really sold the terror for me in a way the series had not yet.

I know some people may find the movie a bit more busy than the original, but I needed that. I don’t ever want to yuck the yum choices of others, but I desperately needed a bit more and this delivered. There was a balance to the development to, utilizing the podcasters as a way to reconnect everyone together. I also thought, while not necessarily done cleanly, the utilization of a Doctor as the anti-Loomis was a neat twist. Future movies push this too far, the idea that being around Michael may make you a bit more twisted, but it is believable here because of the characters backstory and the fact that he says that the podcaster should stay behind the yellow line while also allowing him to dangle Michael’s mask at him well within said yellow line. Something was up.

I will say I think Laurie’s basement kill chamber needed a bit more development. It was really cool, but I also wonder what her plans was for getting him down there and her out. She had years to prepare, you would think she would have a few more exits. I think some people may take issue with her becoming a super prepper, after all only the events of the first movie count here, but I think seeing someone fall apart to her extent is not out of bounds. I took issue with the scene of her running into her daughters home and waiving a gun around, but I like the idea of further showing that she can’t even articulate the way she needs to. Horror trope or calculated planning? I am unsure but I think a finer hand could have sold that a bit more.

Overall, I enjoyed Halloween 2018. It may even be my favorite as its own movie. I think it sits comfortable at the opposite end of H20 for me, it is a bit more serious and a bit more brave. Both are enjoyable but one is an easier copy/paste 90’s-horror-vibe and the other is this fun flick. Be kind to yourself and watch the original, this one, and then stop. It is a complete story and it is best executed this way. I say this as someone who wasn’t even super-keen on the original. I can recognize that most people enjoy it thoroughly more than I did and I can see how well it ties together with this gem.

Halloween Kills (2021) – 2/5

Categories 2/5, Action, Drama, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller

Oh boy. The opening was pretty good and there are also some really strong parts, and that is what makes it so frustrating. To have some really great aspects, only to mix them with what feels like a lack of understanding for the basic lore for this setup world.

I’m new to the franchise, I watched H20 as a kid and I think perhaps also its followup but my brain forgot it and I hear that is a good thing. Certain characters returned that didn’t make sense to me, like Marion Chambers. If I recall right, she was working at a sanitarium far away from Haddonfield. You are telling me she just decided to move to visit the town and join with pitch forks? Nothing in the characters prior portrayal painted this person as someone to do this. I don’t buy her at all as part of the support group, and it feels forced and unnatural.

There is an escalation of Michael’s violence here but I am okay with that. It could tie into this idea this new reboot takes of Michael growing in power as he escalates in violence. I think that could build onto the idea that Loomis’ put forth that Michael is a purely evil force. What doesn’t work for this is that Michael is drawn to his childhood home. It gives a characterization that goes against the spirit of the original and that is a shame for a reboot that wanted to be more true to its roots.

The movie just has trouble with its legacy character treatment. While I thought 2018 did some cool things in that regard, this is not the case for Halloween Kills. Sheriff Brackett’s return as a security guard feels like a wild minor introduction that only clouds the movie. I think in this case, less would have been more and having him play a much smaller role, maybe even something on the phone (but seen) and out of town, could have worked a lot better.

I like Anthony Michael Hall. I think mostly because I feel bad that they didn’t get to do more with him in the Dark Knight trilogy as was supposedly planned. Here though, I think there needed to be more nuance to his portrayal. For getting so much screen time as the man to rally the town, he only ever has one mode. It starts to become a deep-sigh-endeavor each time he comes on screen.

I get that bringing people back, adding more subplot to existing characters backstories, and so on were all to serve the idea that this is a real place being affected by all of this. I just don’t think it works though, and I think it is the hand that crafted this project. There is a disconnect in appreciation for the original intent. I learned that Halloween was meant to be an entirely new story each film. Michael would have just wandered off into the dark, Evil at large and always present. I think there was room to build more on this with the side characters, but I think they should have just used Laurie’s family and cooked up some new characters for this. As is, it is stretched very thin.

Halloween Ends (2022) – 1/5

Categories 1/5, Drama, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

What the heck was that?! Having watched quite a few Halloween movies recently, almost all for the first time, this has to be the worst I have seen. This gives A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 a run for its bad idea territory. Spoilers ahead, big ones, so brace yourself.

In what world is having Michael become beholden/connected to an unlikable young adult a good idea? On top of that, you make the granddaughter of Laurie suddenly have the emotional intellect of a potato and compete for the most unlikable person award. From playing house, baking pies, to arguing and not trusting one another for no reason. To top this off, the direct has this weird idea of Laurie being seen as blamed for all of this and it just doesn’t feel sincere at all. What a bunch of wasted talent. The same problem persists from the last movie but worse, nobody ends up being likable and every betrays their character development.

I preface what I say next by stating that I think this new series went a couple of movies too long. I normally don’t write alternatives but in a franchise with way more misses than hits, what is one more swing? The prior film established that Michael may be sort of becoming empowered by all of the evil he is doing. I would go further with that and instead have him kill Corey when he is dragged into the sewers. This is the first juice he needed and it is just enough for him to then clear out the homeless camp right outside of the sewer. Michael is back baby, powered by EVIL. What is Laurie doing though? Certainly not baking pies and writing a book. I would love to see Laurie reflect a bit more on the loss of her daughter. Yes that wasn’t a great movie either, but it is easier to talk nice about people who aren’t around. As is, it comes off very strange to have Laurie operating at what looks like her peak mental health in a long time, all while Michael is at large and her daughter was murdered not long ago. They can commit to the town going all pitch forks out but not the existence of her daughter? What in the. Ultimately I think Laurie needed to seek out the fight and to lose. Following off of the ideas of the first film and the prior, about being energized, he is now pumped to the max and disappears once more into the darkness except never to be seen.

I mean it. Never to be seen! If the reboot was trying to be more true to the original film then go all the way with that. Treat these movies like an extended series of events from the first movie but keep the spirit. Pure evil is out there, and Evil does not die.

Midsommar (2019) 2.5/5

Categories 2.5/5, Drama, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Mystery, Thriller

There are elements of greatness to Midsommar that are undeniable but I treat each review with how I valued the movie and not necessarily the merits I can objectively see. The production is incredible and the design is used in interesting ways that emphasis all of the effort that was put into pulling it all together. However, and I know I am regretfully kicking at someone a lot of people loved and I wanted to love, I just didn’t think Midsommar was a great movie and I found it often to be superficial.

I normally connect to the oddities that come out of A24 a bit more, but I just couldn’t do that here. The characters all ended up feeling apart from the scenarios they were in, and not in an artistic way but in a nonsensical way that felt like the script was in the room with us most scenes. The situations were all just too much fantasy and the characters universally reacted with words and emotions that did not make sense unless we accept that they have to make sense for the goals of the story.

I have no doubt that the director, Ari Aster, is extremely talented. I still need to watch his other work, Hereditary has especially been on my list for some time. I am hoping to see an equal amount of strength in the story as I found in the atmosphere here. For someone like me, who often feels most at home with movies that take place in a single place, I felt my patience was going to be rewarded with Midsommar rather than wanting the time back that I spent.

I am glad people enjoy the movie more than me. I feel like they should. There is a treatment to grief that I feel it is good to consider. Ultimately it feels like a modern take on the slasher movies of old, with very patient shots and the destination taking priority.

True Detective: Season 4 (2024) 2.5/5

Categories 2.5/5, Crime, Drama, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Season 4 of True Detective benefits a lot from its cast, with everyone involved turning in great performances. Kali Reis and Jodie Fosters, the leads this go around, give nuance to their characters that make them compelling to watch. Reis has to play it a bit more straight while Foster gets to come across more as an antihero, and it is legitimately fun to watch. Reis does get an interesting romantic relationship though that flips what we are used to seeing and that was exciting.

Not all of the supporting cast can say they get as much to do. Christopher Eccleston is a presence that is around until he suddenly isn’t, and Fiona Shaw is mysterious and underdeveloped for the role that she plays. Again though, nobody does poorly with what they get.

The first episode sets high expectations and is truly unsettling. Unfortunately it did not pay off, and the final episodes explanation just made me wonder if these were really True Detectives if so much went unnoticed. What is worse is the use of horror-like elements sometimes come across cheap. An orange can be a powerful way to connect ideas together and imply something going on with a persons mind, but what are we to think of random spirits behind our characters that they never see? There is no story there, unless the implication is that the audience is hallucinating or going through something spiritual.

Benefiting the show is its cold atmosphere, set in the remote town of Ennis, Alaska. The sets are great and become a bit of characters themselves. Visually, the show should be commended. It really sells this cold setting and the cast leans into it.

Jodie Foster’s character asks people around her to ask the right questions, but you aren’t rewarded for doing that here as the audience. Why was there a need for secrecy in these two peoples relationship? There wasn’t. Why did that guy sit up in his bed and say what he said? Spooky vibes. And on and on. The show wants to be really smart, but it does not stand up to even the most basic questions.

By the end of it all, I felt a bit cheated. It never reaches Lost levels of not paying off, but it doesn’t slouch either and its final explanation and whimsical sendoff did not feel good. This is a story that promises a lot and delivers very little. If you can survive on vibes alone though, they are there and they are good. I’m not really mad, just feeling a bit let down. For a show that started so strong, and felt like it had something to say, it could have gone with a much stronger writer to make it all feel connected. I may never know who wrote, or had the time to write, “we are all dead,” but I certainly died a bit from the lack of cohesion.

The Knick: Season 1 and 1/2 of Season 2 (2014-2015) 3/5

Categories 3/5, Drama, History, Movie and Series Reviews

The Knick is treated to an excellent cast and some incredible direction leads to scenery that is captured in fantastic ways. However, I couldn’t bring myself to finish the series even after so much time invested. It was just sitting there, and I did not want to look at it.

There is an interest in the first season that is inherent. Seeing medicine in a period of time and without reservations is compelling. The drug fueled medicine feels unique, even in a world where House exists. Clive Owen, the shows center-focused lead, is both awful and endearing as he threatens to sew a nurses mouth shut. None of the other cast members are slouching either.

Still though, season 2 just was not the same for me. The concerns of the show seemed to have changed and my interest went with it. I think I deserve credit for sticking it out, I believe, a good five or six episodes before sort of wandering off. I had the time, but I just did not want anymore. Perhaps if it were sewn as tightly as the first season.

Old Henry (2021) 5/5

Categories 5/5, Action, Drama, Movie and Series Reviews, Western

Old Henry feels like a throwback to rarely seen westerns. It lacks a lot of flash and for some that could feel as tired as Henry himself feels, but I think this western works so well because it keeps things simple.

Tim Blake Nelson gives an amazing performance, capturing a look and feel that sells the character. The supporting cast is no slouch either.

If anyone has patience for an economical story like this, then they will not regret it. The director and writer, Potsy Ponciroli, is someone to look out for. This is a movie that could bridge the gap between grandmas wanting to watch their westerns and the modern movie goer.

Fallen (1998) 2.5/5

Categories 2.5/5, Action, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Movie and Series Reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Carried largely by an idea and a stellar cast, Fallen is unable to bear the weight of talent. People like to do hypotheticals about movies that could use a remake, and this is a high candidate in my opinion.

Despite its failings, its uniqueness make it still an enjoyable watch and I am a sucker for its vibes. If only it were a little tighter in its writing, rethought its camera tricks, and came across just a bit smarter.