Categories: Movie and Series Reviews, Fantasy

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) 3.5/5

Dream Warriors is not perfect. If I spoke to any diehard fan of the series, I bet they would give me grief for liking this more than the first. Yes the first flick has a darker tone and Fred feels scarier, but it is also wildly inconsistent in quality. As this is my first time running through all of the movies, I have only seen 1, 2, and 3 so far, but I recall the first had some of the very best scenes and also things like oatmeal stairs, prop dummy mom, and a lot of awkward running.

Three is an imperfect movie that is consistently imperfect. It only goes a bit far with the expansion of the origin, but it was not so bad as to feel ruinous like a lot of the second movie was.

Oh and “dream deprivation” is a phrase nobody should ever say. The extra camp though? If we can forgive the silly budget stuff in the first movie then a Jason and the Argonauts style fight at the junkyard is hardly something to fuss about. Plus I like the idea more than what we got in two, it felt as if he wasn’t strong enough to fully materialize but could basically mess with the environment some. Oh and the wizard stuff? It made sense for that character, as they were giving all of the kids some sort of identity and he was a fellow dork.

I am going to be in a small crowd, but I kind of like Dream Warriors the most so far.

Fallen (1998) 2.5/5

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.

Dear Santa (2024) 1.5/5

I am not sure who will be watching this once it disappears from feeds. It does not commit enough to any direction and turns its premise and in-world rules about wishes into nonsense by the end of the film, and it does so for no payoff.

Jack Black’s costume was cool though.

The Watchers (2024) 2.5/5

This felt like a Shyamalan film, and it turns out it was. The biggest twist of the film.

Characters reveal information and others ask no follow up and it makes the end feel cheap and predictable. When I watch a Shyamalan film, I hope to not know the ending up front.

The dialogue is a little off at times and there is a goofyness to how it all wraps up.

Atmosphere was neat, even if they showed too much in my opinion, and the overhead shots do a good job at evoking an enclosure.