The twist is how much you are tricked into listening to the young Shyamaln’s music. This is what I imagine a dark and edgy movie from early 2000’s Disney channel would look like. I’m just so surprised at the lack of polish and how many times things happen because the writer wanted them to rather than them making sense. Hartnett is the only cast given a chance to stretch his legs a bit and he does so admirably, but he is held back by the script and execution. If you are like me, you will want to leave the concert just as bad as our villain does.
Categories: Movie and Series Reviews, Horror
The Deliverance (2024) 2/5
Categories 2/5, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller 
It should have been a better movie but it felt like a shrug by the end rather than a dramatic turn that I suspect they were going for.
Split (2016) 4/5
Categories 4/5, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller 
James McAvoy carries this film on one of his many backs. Call me crazy, but I think Anya Taylor-Joy does a disservice to her role in comparison. Nothing egregious happens but I think the part allowed for a stronger presence at a few key moments and she never really got there.
The story itself is enjoyable but does not always unfold itself cleanly. I think some adjustments would elevate the movie further.
Longlegs (2024) 3/5
Categories 3/5, Crime, Horror, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller 
It is a bold movie but I felt like a lot was being overlooked. Mostly characters not acknowledging obvious things and not acting on their motivations like it would seem they should.
It was not all bad for me though, but the aggravations are akin to bad horror. Which is a shame, because so much of the movie is leagues above schlocky horror.
Doctor Sleep (2019) 4/5
Not perfect. It felt like some things got trimmed in editing and a couple of times the reverence for the prior film goes a little too hard. However, I enjoyed it a lot.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) 2/5
A movie that is so far removed from the sincerity of the prior two before it. Not that it doesn’t try, it really tries but its all vapor. The cast is fine but is given very little to shine with. The cinematography doesn’t really add anything either, as sense of scale never really hits hard. The fear of the creatures is also brought down a lot here throughout various scenes.
I really wanted to like this movie, a lot. I think the first two are pretty great but this is not it.
A Haunting in Venice (2023) 3.5/5
The twists aren’t so twisty, overly telegraphed to the point of being easy to see. However, the movie stays afloat above its necessity for subterfuge with careful direction and captivating atmosphere.
A house/hospital full of stuck people, literally and figuratively, makes a strong setting.
It is funny that you can walk away from the movie thinking Poirot gives some credence to mysticism or that you think he gives zero and everything can be explained. It makes for a little extra engagement.
I have a real soft spot for these movies. Even flawed, Hercule Poirot and Branagh are an attractive pair.
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.