November 7, 2023

Insidious the Red Door

Rating: 3 of 5 doors
Pretty good chapter in the never ending Insidious franchise. This one mostly focusses on the son, so that’s a refreshing change. It’s got your usual collections of scary stuff, just out of focus background terrors, and plenty of jump scares. All in all, a fine, if unnecessary, addition.

October 29, 2023

Terrifier 2

Rating: 2 of 5 plucked eyeballs
Pros: Better than Terrifier 1. A really scary clown. Cons: Stereotypically idiotic “victims”. Seriously, if these people hadn’t acted so stupidly, it could have gotten 4 eyeballs.

October 28, 2023

The Nun II

Rating: 3 of 5 jump scares
Weird thing, I was enjoying the movie as an atmosphereic horror film, with interesting photography and camera angles, well done sets, and the occasional jump scare. Plot wasn’t really complex, evil from the first film is back and spreading. About half-way through, I realized the young girl was not a younger version of the main character, and it was then I realized, I had no idea what was going on, since the scenes with the young character was NOT in fact flashbacks.

October 20, 2023

The Russians Are Coming

Rating: 5 of 5 stars
A funny 60’s ensemble comedy. Was shot in and around the town of Mendocino, CA.

October 8, 2023

Totally Killer

Rating: 4 of 5 Smoke filled station wagons
Wasn’t expecting a lot, but this time travel horror/comedy has great writing, well acted, lots of 80’s memorabilia, and was also scary and bloody. It also gets a big shout out for the quick Monty Python and the Holy Grail visual gag.

October 4, 2023

Train to Busan

Rating: 5 of 5 undead
A train. Fast and furious undead. Superb practical special effects. Scary and intense and bloody. If you like zombie flicks, it’s a must watch.

September 30, 2023

The Meg 2: the Trench

Rating: 3 of 5 Sharknados
Good guys, bad guys, sharks and other scary creatures. That’s pretty much it. A much less violent and bloody sequel, with a lot more goofyness. Felt like a Sharknado movie with better production values at times. But, you get to follow Jason Statham actioning with all the action he can muster. Continuity errors everywhere, but it is a story about monster sharks, so I guess a tight plot isn’t high on the list.

September 30, 2023

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Rating: 5 of 5 floating yogis
A short story written by Roald Dahl in 1976. Wonderfully performed by Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, and Dev Patel, along with some others. Directed by Wes Anderson, and has both his and Dahl’s wonderful visionary magic all over it. The sets are also wonderful, feels like a play with the moving scenery. Rapidly spoken, it’s a short but very intense 40 minute experience.

September 27, 2023

No One Will Save You

Rating: 4.5 of 5 greys
Geesh, saying just about anything would be a spoiler that I’m glad I didn’t have. Knew nothing about this going in, other than Steven King saying it was really good, and the poster looking like some light beam was levitating someone up. Spoiler free review, it’s scary, and reveals the story slowly, but with plenty of good frights in between. Once you get the various bits of the story, you understand pretty much everything that’s gone on.

September 26, 2023

Operation Fortune

Rating: 4 of 5 capers
A nearly perfect Jason Statham vehicle. Action, more action, a little acting, and more action. And for the acting we have Aubrey Plaza, being a snarky, caustic delight, dread pirate Wesley, and Hugh Grant, plus some other folks, but they didn’t capture my interest. A few twists and turns, but it’s an action flick, and it doesn’t disappoint.