Series Review: Shogun (2024)

I am kinda shit at keeping pace with modern television, I have a habit of neglecting the new to watch older stuff I haven’t seen before. But on occasion I manage to tag along on a newer release. This is one such time.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Shogun”.

The year is 1600. English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) ends up crashing on the shores of Japan, soon to be captured and finding himself at the mercy of Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada). And we see how the men affect each other’s lives, along with the effect their collaboration has on Japan. Part slow burn character drama, part political thriller, the narrative in “Shogun” starts strong and then just goes from strength to strength all the way to the end. We see how political allegiances within the country are frayed from the start, and the way we witness it develop over the 10 episodes, both through quieter discussions and more violent actions is utterly riveting. It’s a complex web of motivations, manipulations, and misconceptions, and it caught me off guard at every turn. But it’s also a story of people, and the profound effect we can have on each other, how we can learn from each other, and how we might not be so different despite coming from such faraway nations. It’s a masterfully constructed narrative that unveils marvelously over the 10 episode run.

The characters in this are some of the most richly written ones I’ve ever witnessed, with each one expressing so much with even the subtlest of posture shifts. And to see over the course of the series what their personalities are like, what makes them tick, and how their relationships develop makes for some of the strongest parts of the show. And the entire cast is just superb. Cosmo Jarvis, Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai (MVP of the show), Tadanobu Asano, Takehiro Hira, Fumi Nikaido, Tommy Bastow, Nestor Carbonell, and so many more, there’s not a weak link in this, everyone is fantastic.

The score for the show was composed by Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross, and Leopold Ross and sweet mother of god, the music here is spectacular. Sweeping and epic, but also quiet and contemplative. Abrasive, yet tender. Serene yet intense. It weaves in and out between so many moods, but it all feels cohesive and works so well in helping create a stunning soundscape for the show.

Based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, “Shogun” was developed for FX (streaming on Hulu/Disney+) by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, with writing and directing by various awesome people. And holy crap, I wish I had the words to describe the beauty of this production. Marvelous directing and cinematography, great outfits, really solid effects, great facial hair. You can tell that a lot of time, love, care, attention, and money went into making this look and feel special. And it all paid off spectacularly, everything about the production is immaculate. Also, this show is violent. Like, I was shocked at some of the gruesomeness in this show. It’s not just bloody for the sake of being bloody, but it’s really grisly and gory to really sell the weight of violence. I say this both further praise for the show’s craft and also as a warning for anyone who might have trouble with detailed, visceral violence.

This show has been very well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 99% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 85/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 9.0/10 and is (at the time of writing) ranked #29 on their “Top 250 TV” list.

So “Shogun” is one of the most riveting shows I’ve seen in quite a while and probably ever. It has a fantastic story, great characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Shogun” is a 9.95/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Shogun” is now completed.

Well now what the fuck am I supposed to look forward to every Tuesday?

Movie Revisit: Pacific Rim (2013)

So as promised back in January (consistent scheduling be damned), I’ll be going back to some of the earliest movies I ever covered on this here blog to celebrate a decade of cacophonous writing. So… big robits, eh?

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Pacific Rim”.

The world has gone to shit. A fissure between two tectonic plates causes giant monsters known as Kaiju to come into our world and wreak havoc. So in order to combat this, the world’s governments came together to create Jaegers, giant mechs, in order to fight the monsters. And in this movie we mainly follow Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam), a Jaeger pilot who gets pulled back into the action after a few years of retirement. In this rewatch, I didn’t find the story as engaging as I used to. Now, I don’t necessarily have high demands from a big monster smashy-smashy story, and there are certain sections here I find super enjoyable to outright terrific, but something about the flow and pacing just doesn’t quite work for me the same way it used to. I can’t quite put my finger on how, but while individual scenes can engage, the overall flow isn’t quite as riveting as I used to think. But then I also remember the good stuff. The original deployment of Gipsy Danger, Mako’s backstory, the scientist’s little adventure, there’s a lot of great stuff here. It’s sort of just the thread between them that doesn’t quite hold up. I’d generally say the story’s more really good than bad, and at times even fantastic, but that it’s also flawed in execution.

The characters in this are… a little bit of a mixed bag. Let’s start with our main character, Raleigh. He’s…eh? Like, there’s some stuff there that you could build a compelling arc from, and I don’t think he’s necessarily a bad character… but he feels a bit flat, like they’re not doing much with him. And that doesn’t necessarily let Hunnam get to flex, because while I know he can kill it as an actor, here he’s just alright. Supporting characters on the other hand tend to be a bit more interesting, with the character of Mako Mori (played marvelously by Rinko Kikuchi) being a standout, a layered, fun, and well defined character. Their lieutenant, played by Idris Elba, is good. The two “Australians” (played by an American and a Brit) are kinda fun and are given a decent arc. The two scientist characters played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are a blast. Ron Perlman  plays a very Ron Perlman-y character who I love. Generally it’s quite a great cast, which sadly becomes a little lacking in the lead department.

The score for the movie was composed by Ramin Djawadi and it is fantastic. Big, bold brass, distorted guitars, strings, some electronics, it’s a varied mix of instrumentation and inspiration that makes for a frankly awesome soundscape. Big and epic, but also inspiring, oddly warm, and at all times… fun. From the fantastic main theme, to the Asian-Cowboy mix of Hannibal Chau’s theme, there’s a great assortment of tracks here that I just love listening to. Also, Tom Morello came in and helped out on some of the tracks here, and I love that guy, so that’s bonus points in my book.

Co-written by Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro, with del Toro directing. And this is where I can keep outright gushing. This is a marvelous mix of practical and CG creations, marrying elaborate sets and costumes with giant digital mechs ‘n’ monsters. Señor del Toro, along with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, and of course the amazing VFX crew, have a great sense of scale, really making these hulking combatants and their destruction feel big and lumbering in ways sometimes missing from media about giants robots/monsters. And it leads to grounded effects that give battles a satisfying weight that I love. The movie also has a lot of bright, saturated colors and I love looking at each and every one of them. Makes the movie pop in a way that modern blockbusters of the era didn’t get to do much. But yeah, cool action, great effects, and purdy colors are a few more notches on this film’s ginormous belt.

This movie’s been decently well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 72% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 65/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.9/10.

While I don’t love it like I used to, I still do really enjoy “Pacific Rim” is has a pretty fun story, good characters, really good performances, great music, and fantastic directing/effects. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Pacific Rim” is an 8.22/10. So I’d say it’s worth buying.

My revisit of “Pacific Rim” is now completed.

“When will we get more revisits?” I hear none of y’all asking. Well, here’s my answer: I don’t know, whenever I remember, I guess.

Movie Revisit: Unforgiven (1992)

Hiya, pardner. So as like… two and a half of ya might remember, to celebrate this blog’s tenth anniversary, I’d revisit some of the first few things I ever reviewed on it. And we’re kicking it off with the first film I ever wrote about on here. So let’s go.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Unforgiven”.

Once upon a time, William Munny (Clint Eastwood) was known as the deadliest outlaw, but he has since retired and become a farmer. However, this quiet life gets put on hold as Munny decides to take on one last bounty hunt with an old friend (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky whippersnapper (Jaimz Woolvett). The story of “Unforgiven” is not one of simple rootin’ tootin’ hijinkss. It’s a moody tale of self-reflection, giving us a repentant exploration of morality, pain, and guilt, how time can make violence and past mistakes turn us bitter and damaged. How insecurities and our actions can create so much hurt. It’s a tale that can be gritty and intense, but also surprisingly tender and heartfelt, and I found it riveting from start to end.

The characters in this are fantastic. They’re all these complexly woven, very well realized figures, showing us all their sides over the course of the movie. They’re some of the richest characters I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in a western. From our leading man being full of regret over what he’s done, to a young man with a secret, to a sheriff that can be as jovial as he can be violent. And I find all of them really engaging. What also helps is the cast, all of whom are fantastic. Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Jaimz Woolvett, Frances Fisher, Richard Harris, Saul Rubinek, and more, there’s not a weak link here.

The score for the movie was composed by Lennie Niehaus, and it’s stellar. Dark and brooding, but with an underlying sorrow to it that gives it this chilling sense of foreboding. It helps build some really good suspense and even gives certain scenes a bit of a horror-y vibe. There’s also a recurring motif in the score called “Claudia’s Theme”, composed by Clint Eastwood himself, and it’s an emotional powerhouse of a piece. Its main melody being a fairly simple series of notes played primarily on the B-string on an acoustic guitar. It shows up a few times throughout the movie, melding marvelously with Niehaus’ moody-broody musings, making for just an emotionally rich soundscape.

Written by David Peoples, “Unforgiven” was directed by Clint Eastwood, and I think this might be some of his strongest direction. Sweeping, yet intimate. Big, but also not so big that you lose scope of the small, important moments between characters. It manages to feel grandiose without really going for a super huge scale. But what makes it shine even brighter is the cinematography by Jack N. Green, which is not only pure eye candy at times with some marvelous use of light and shadow, but it also works in tandem with Eastwood’s direction to create a stunningly crafted visual experience that always keeps the characters in focus.

This movie’s been very well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 96% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 85/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 8.2/10, and is ranked #147 on their “Top 250” list. The movie won 4 Oscars in the categories of Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Hackman), Best Director, and Best Editing. It was also nominated for an additional 5 Oscars in the categories of Best Actor (Eastwood), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Set Decoration, and Best Sound.

So yeah, “Unforgiven” still absolutely holds up. It has a great story, fantastic characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Unforgiven” is a 9.91/10. Which means that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My revisit of “Unforgiven” is now completed.

So what’s next on the revisit agenda? I ain’t tellin’, you just have to stay tuned.

Ten Years of Blogging

Time. A fleeting abstract, something we created to try to make sense of and create structure out of life. And with that brief attempt at pseudo-depth out of the way, how the fuck have I been doing this for ten years? Starting in 2014, I opened up a blog, not really expecting to keep it going really beyond two months, partly due to being bad at keeping projects going, and partly due to not fully understanding the appeal at first. Well, aren’t I looking like a fool? Or maybe I’m a symbol of endurance and passion? Nah, the foolishness is funnier. Also, the ten year anniversary was actually yesterday, the 27th, but I may or may not have been potentially playing the new “Like a Dragon” game most of the day and thus forgetting to post before now, oopsie-god damn-daisy.

Me realizing that I still have stuff that I need to get done after I’ve played Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth all day instead.

But what a decade it’s been. It’s broadened my horizons, giving me a better grasp of writing (allegedly), exposing me to new culture and entertainment (to the chagrin of gatekeepers), and allowing me to make some marvelous new friends (who’ve clearly been affected by Stockholm Syndrome). It’s allowed me opportunities that I never would’ve thought possible. Getting some contact with creators whose work I like, being given shots at seeing a few rad indie productions before other people, and even kind of acting as a bridge to getting a few paid writing gigs. Am I saying these are norms for everyone getting into blogging/reviewing? No, and I didn’t even do it for these opportunities, but I can’t deny how extraordinarily lucky to have experienced all of this, in large part thanks to this site.

But I also gotta thank any of y’all reading this or that dropped a follow via wordpress over the years. Going into any creation venture purely with subcribers/followers in mind is the wrong mindset, but I will not deny that seeing those numbers tick up has helped keep me going. And seeing the comments and support has kept me going and has meant more than I could ever explain.

So what’s next? Well, for the most part things will go as normal, posting mad ramblings about film and TV when I feel/can. However, in order to celebrate the horrifyingly inevitable passage of time, I am doing something special. Coming up, I am going to re-review some of the first films I ever covered on the blog, partly as a fun anniversary thing and partly because I’m a petty bitch who can’t stand his old words. So within the coming weeks, if you like my stuff, look forward to the first anniversary Movie Revisit, covering the first film I ever talked about on here… Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven”.

So with that, whether you’re new or a long-timer, thanks for reading. I appreciate you… a lot. Have a great one.

Series Review: Poker Face – Season 1 (2023)

I love procedurals. Sure, a lot of the time they’re quite trashy, but they bring me a certain comfort. Just something nice about that structure that I can easily hunker down with and enjoy. But on occasion something comes along that sticks out within the genre…

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Poker Face”.

Living lie detector Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) finds herself traveling the states, on the run from people who want to hurt her. But as she tries to stay one step ahead, she often finds herself helping out random people she meets, using her skills to get to the bottom of a situation. Have you seen “Columbo”? Now take that, mix it with the semi-meta sharpness of “Knives Out”, and you get this show. It’s a procedural, very much borrowing from the structure of the aforementioned “Columbo”, but twisting it a bit akin to the creator’s previous works. And as a fan of both those things, this was very much up my street. I love seeing the setup at the start, and seeing how ol’ Chuck figures out how to prove that the villain of the week is… well that. It follows that familiar formula while also letting the writers and directors still have fun with how they play around with what happens, all while keeping the tension of Charlie’s own journey every looming in the background. So you get that familiar case of the week thing, which in itself tends to be clever, a little tense, and funny, while also having a bit of a ticking clock silently going in the background. Makes the story/ies of this procedural constantly engaging, even if some episodes of course stand above others.

The characters in this are wonderful, layered and written with a slightly self-aware edge without it ever feeling snide or smug. Our protagonist herself is such a good example, often leaning into classic procedural hero tropes while also successfully subverting them and even commenting on them without it feeling too much like a wink. But she’s also kind, supportive, funny as fuck, and can instantly sniff out a liar, so she’s just a delight in the writing department. And Natasha Lyonne is excellent in the role. As for the supporting cast, we don’t *really* get much in terms of recurring, as the show focuses more on a cavalcade of guest stars. What a list though. Benjamin Bratt, Adrien Brody, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hong Chau, Ellen Barkin, Lil Rel Howery, just to name a few. It’s a colorful list of character actors, and everyone brings their A-game, marvelously playing interesting characters.

The score for the show was composed by Nathan Johnson and Judson Crane and it was solid. A nice mix of classic thriller stings and droning, with a few minor western and bluegrass influences. Charlie’s theme in particular is this jaunty, yet also melancholy banjo tune that really leans on those things I mentioned, and it’s arguably the best bit of music in the show. There’s also a few licensed songs used throughout and they work pretty well in their respective scenes.

“Poker Face” was developed by Rian Johnson, with writing and directing by him and various other cool people. And I love how this show is crafted, just perfectly balancing serenity, suspense, and snappiness. Each and every person directing the show manages to perfectly deliver whatever mood is needed, while never letting any moment overstay its welcome. And as this is a bit of a mystery show, they do such a brilliant job with what to show/hide and how to reveal it. It’s just beautifully crafted.

This show/season has been quite well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 98% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 84/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.9/10.

Season 1 of “Poker Face” makes what’s familiar feel new and delivers on 10 episodes of procedural goodness. It has a great story, great characters, fantastic performances, really good music, and great directing/writing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for season 1 of “Poker Face” is a 9.45/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Poker Face” season 1 is now completed.

Puh puh puh Poker Face, puh puh Poker Face.

Movie Review: Addams Family Values (1993)

Two years ago I covered the first “Addams Family” movie for Month of Spooks. And in my review I made it clear that I had a thoroughly good time with it. And then people started saying “Watch the sequel, it’s great!”. So I suppose that’s we’ve done now.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Addams Family Values”.

Things are about to get hectic for the creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky family as not only do they see the arrival of a new baby, which sets Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) off a bit. But things also start changing drastically when Fester (Christopher Lloyd) falls for the family’s new nanny (Joan Cusack), who may or may not have ulterior motives. Cue homicide attempts, interaction with chipper outsiders, and batshit insanity… and I loved the tale being told here. It’s a darkly comical, whimy cartoon of an adventure/caper, weaving fun antics and some surprisingly layered writing about family and well… values into a hilarious and clever journey that I found myself smiling and laughing at from start to end.

What is there to say about the characters in this family that hasn’t been said before. They still have their delightfully off-kilter personalities that are so much fun to experience, but they’re also tested in some interesting ways throughout the goings on of the movie. And any newcomers are great additions as well, every part is written in such charming and funny manners that never fails to entertain. And the cast is of course perfect. Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman, Carel Struycken, Carol Kane, and Christopher Hart are all still flawless in these roles. As for newer additions, we of course have Joan Cusack (love her in everything), David Krumholtz, Peter MacNicol, Christine Baranski, Mercedes McNab, and more, all killing it. There is no weak link in this cast, everyone’s simply fabulous.

The score for the movie was composed by Marc Shaiman and it’s delightful. Big, bombastic, spooky, playful, pompous, pfun… doesn’t work, but you get it. It has such a bouncy vibrance that fits in line with the cartoony, creepy, kooky shenanigans. It makes the already broad antics pop even more while also being a general musical delight.

Based on the classic comic strips by Charles Addams, “Addams Family Values” sees the first film’s director, Barry Sonnenfeld, returning to helm this one. And once again, he absolutely nailed it. He captures the gothic, yet goofy vibes so damn well, while bringing a certain playful energy that makes the cartooniness somehow not feel completely out of place within the live action space. And on a related sidenote: I feel like these movies and this darkly playful nature is what also made him such a perfect fit for “Men in Black”. That’s all, I just wanted an excuse to talk about “Men in Black”… I guess. Anyhow, back to *Snap, snap*. So Sonnenfeld killed it, but I also gotta give massive props to production designer Ken Adam whose set design is simply a marvel to look at.

This movie’s been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 75% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 61/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.8/10. The movie was also nominated for 1 Oscar in the category of Best Set Decoration.

So yeah, I loved “Addams Family Values”, it takes what the first movie did and build on it in hilarious and charming ways. It has a really good story, great characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing/production design. Time for my final score. *Snap, snap*. My final score for “Addams Family Values” is a 9.45/10. So it most certainly gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Addams Family Values” is now completed.

Aaaand that wraps up the Month of Spooks for 2023. Have a good night and a Happy Halloween, friends!

Movie Review: Project Wolf Hunting (2022)

Last few years we’ve managed to get at least one South Korean movie into the Month of Spooks pipeline. So why let this year be any different?

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Project Wolf Hunting”.

A group of dangerous criminals are being transported from the Philippines to South Korea via cargo ship. The seemingly simple journey is however made a hell of a lot more difficult when said criminals manage to break free and begin violently slaughtering anyone they find on board. But the violent criminals aren’t the only threat on board, as there’s something sinister lurking below deck. Part “Overlord”, part “Con Air”, part mind numbing monotony. I don’t mind the premise behind this movie, and there are a few decent ideas going on throughout, but instead of using it to build a really tense, claustrophobic thriller, it resorts to nigh non-stop violent carnage. If you know me, then you know I don’t mind a bit of gory violence, and at first I found the rampaging a bit interesting in this, but after a while of it going on with little to no change in pace or style, it sort of just ends up kinda dull. And even when it threatens to bring out some interesting plot developments, its interest lasts maybe five minutes, or it’s too little too late. It’s not horrible, and its fast pace does keep it from dragging, but I found the narrative too monotonous and undercooked to fully thrill.

The characters in this are… I guess that’s it, they just kind of are. A few of them have glimpses of being interesting, but much like the plot, there’s not enough development put to them for me to really care. I’m not even asking for them to be the greatest, most nuanced characters ever, but I’d like to at least have SOMETHING more to them. Something to make me care, something to make the violence perpetrated by or against them interesting. At least I can safely say that the entire cast is great, all delivering damn solid work. Seo In-Guk, Jang Dong-Yoon, Jung So-Min, Choi Gwi-hwa, Sung Dong-il, and more all deliver good work.

The score for the movie was composed by Kim Jun-sung and Jo Ran and as I write this sentence, I can’t recall it at all. It just sort melts into the the background as the sound of screaming, gun shots, and hammers cracking skulls drowns out anything else. It didn’t leave any real impression for me.

“Project Wolf Hunting” was written and directed by Kim Hong Sun, and while I’ve made it clear that I found his script a bit on the underwhelming side, I do have to give some kudos to his skills as a director. The way he frames the hallways of the ship, or how he shows the carnage going on is genuinely quite good. All the violence and action is shot and edited really well, which does keep the blood-soaked carnage somewhat interesting, even as its constant barrage does reduce a fair bit of impact. Speaking of violence, if you don’t like blood, then this isn’t for you. I read somewhere that the director claims they used like two and a half tons of blood during production, which I fully believe. Hell, if they had to redo a take, then he may as well be selling it short. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this much crimson liquid spraying in a movie, it’s honestly kind of impressive. Almost makes me want to see an excel document of how the budget was used in the movie, just to see what percentage was spent on blood.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an 88% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 53/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.1/10.

While it’s a bit too repetitive to give a glowing recommendation, I’d still say that “Project Wolf Hunting” is pretty good. It has a fine story, meh characters, great performances, forgettable music, and great direction. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Project Wolf Hunting” is a 6.23/10. So while quite flawed, I would still say it can be worth a rental.

My review of “Project Wolf Hunting” is now completed.

Row, row, row your boat, look at all this blood.

Movie Review: The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)

I think this might be the only year we’ve had two animated features within the Month of Spooks. First “Resident Evil: Death Island” last week and now a feature about two winged rats. So that’s fun, I guess.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “The Batman vs. Dracula”.

On a cold Gotham night, a recently escaped Penguin (Tom Kenny) finds himself accidentally bringing the one and only Dracula (Peter Stormare) back to life… unlife… undeath? The vampire then begins wreaking havoc on the citizens of Gotham, and it’s up to the Caped Crusader (Rino Romano) to find a way to stop him. The plot here is fine, a perfectly passable story of a hero battling a classic monster. I will give it some credit for going considerably darker and leaning more on horror tropes than I anticipated. Now, this movie builds on from a cartoon that was running at the time, and from the little I’ve seen, that show did have some darkness to it. But this movie wasn’t afraid of really going horror dark, or as far into horror dark as they dared while still trying to have it be family friendly. So while I do appreciate it having that added edge, it otherwise doesn’t do much special/standout. Narratively it generally feels like an extended episode of an alright cartoon, but with a *slight* horror edge.

The characters here are enjoyable, giving us some fun spins on classic “Batman” characters, along with giving us a fairly classic, solid rendition of the prince of darkness. Voice cast is great too, Rino Romano does a really good Batman, Tom Kenny’s a fun Penguin, Tara Strong is good as Vicky Vale… but the standout here is of course Peter Stormare (one of the best actors of my home country) as Dracula. He’s so creepy and plays the character with a charismatic intensity that made me hang onto every word he spoke. He’s stellar. Entire cast is good, but he is just… wow.

The score for the movie was composed by Thomas Chase and I thought it was rad as hell. It blends a broody guitar with some hero brass and high pitched, gothic strings to create a series of tracks that create such a fun, unique atmosphere that marvelously blends horror, superheroes, and the inner turmoil of Brucey. It’s wonderful.

Tying into the 2004 cartoon series “The Batman”, based on the DC Comics character created by Bill Finger (and also a Bob Kane, kind of), “Batman vs. Dracula” was directed by Michael Goguen. And I think the direction here is pretty good. The animation itself is pretty good, it has an art style which is hit or miss for me, depending on the character. But otherwise the animation flows nicely, especially in the action scenes. But what I appreciate most is that there’s some really fun horror-inspired imagery going on through this, using shadows, silhouettes, and various intense colors to really lean on the spookiness of Dracula coming into the eternal hellscape that is Gotham City. It makes it pop and allows the filmmakers to have a bit of extra fun.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an audience rating of 66%. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.6/10.

While it’s not one of my favorite bits of DC animation, I still found “The Batman vs. Dracula” to be a pretty fun little spooky adventure for the Dark Knight. It has an okay story, pretty fun characters, great performances, great music, and solid directing/animation. Time for my final score. *nananananananana*. My final score for “The Batman vs. Dracula” is a 6.77/10. So it’s worth a rental.

My review of “The Batman vs. Dracula” is completed.

I’ve honestly intended to have this for Month of Spooks for a few years, so it’s nice to finally have it cleared.

Movie Review: Halloween 2 (1981)

Friends, it has once again become time to talk about a spooky movie. I know, I’m as shocked as you, but it’s the truth. So let’s ge- oh, and spoilers for the end of the first movie, as that leads into what happens here. So if you’ve somehow not seen the 1978 original and rather not be spoiled, you know what needs to be done.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Halloween 2”.

While Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) gets brought to a hospital so she can be treated for the injuries that were given to her by Michael Myers, a frantic Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) must go on a chase across Haddonfield in order to find Myers, who seemingly survived the Doctor’s ballistic intervention at the end of the previous movie. I found the story here to be pretty enjoyable, a decently tense horror romp that builds on the ideas set up in Carpenter’s original, though also not without its own set of flaws. While the main thrust of the narrative, the hunt for Michael Myers and Myers’ hunt for Laurie, is a fun, intense ride, some of the specifics surrounding certain plot beats and reveals that just feels like it undermines some of the creepiness and suspense that made the first film’s plot so good. The way they craft some of the set pieces I really like, and they roll into each other quite nicely, but some specific details in story evolution and in some of the kills just keeps it from being as solid of a narrative as it could be. Fun and tense, but also a bit contrived.

The characters in this are fine, you get the gist of them all fairly quickly, but most of them feel a bit underdeveloped. Though you also have the returning Dr. Loomis, a man hellbent on stopping Michael, but who also seems to harbor some regret behind his eyes, about how he couldn’t help Myers. And Donald Pleasence is stellar in the role. Laurie doesn’t do much here, but when she does get shit to do, Jamie Lee Curtis is really good in the role. Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Lance Guest, and a bunch of the other supporting actors are good too. Then you have Dick Warlock as Mikey My-My. He does bring a pretty good physicality to it, though I do miss the eerily cold and efficient movement of the first movie’s Shape. All in all, solid cast.

The score for the movie was composed by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, and it’s fantastic. Takes the motifs and musical ideas from the first film and builds on them marvelously. From the remixed main theme to some of the new, creepy tracks, it’s an absolute feast for my ears and I loved every second of it.

“Halloween 2” was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, with directing duties now being handled by Rick Rosenthal, who I think did a really good job. His direction brings a similar creepiness as Carpenter did, crafting some really awesome and intense wide shots that uses shadow and negative space in really unsettling ways. Doesn’t hurt that Dean Cundey’s cinematography looks spectacular as well, marrying with Rosenthal’s direction beautifully to create a really visually rich movie that also manages to maintain the grimy, low-fi aesthetic of the first one.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 33% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 40/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.5/10.

While the writing is a little bit of a letdown at times, I very much enjoyed “Halloween 2”. It has a fun plot, okay characters, great performances, fantastic music, and great directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Creepy breath*. My final score for “Halloween 2” is an 8.44/10. So while flawed, I’d say it’s worth buying.

My review of “Halloween 2” is now completed.

Hospitals really make for a good horror setting.

Movie Review: Resident Evil: Death Island (2023)

Oh hi there. Time for another Month of Spooks post, this time covering a franchise that started in the mid 90s and is somehow still going. Hell yeah.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Resident Evil: Death Island”.

When evidence of a new strain of T-Virus leads them to Alcatraz island, Jill (Nicole Tompkins), Chris (Kevin Dorman), Leon (Matthew Mercer), and Claire (Stephanie Panisello) find themselves having to team up in order to prevent this new outbreak from spreading and wreaking absolute havoc. The setup is fairly standard “Resi” stuff, and most of it is honestly just an excuse to get all of these beloved franchise characters together “Avengers” style and have them take part in silly shenanigans… and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The tone switches from a few dark and macabre scenes to absolute silly buggers, from a villain with somewhat understandable motives to characters dropping some “Commando” level quips. It’s the kind of insane series of events that fans have come to expect from this series since at least 2005, in particular if you’ve followed along with these animated spin-offs, and I am all for it. Is it technically a good, well written story? Not exactly, but the sheer entertainment value and the way it had me grinning ear to ear made me not care.

The characters in this are a delight, following in line more with the old timeline and other animated movies, rather than with the arguably more nuanced remakes. Not that I don’t love the characters in those, but there’s something about the adorably over the top sincerity of the original that I always find myself a bit more drawn to. But it’s also nice to see these characters all interacting and I do think everyone’s used well. The voice cast is entirely great too, mixing actors from original game timeline, remakes, and also two of the actors from “Resident Evil: Vendetta”. Nicole Tompkins, Kevin Dorman, Matthew Mercer, Stephanie Panisello, Erin Cahill, and Salli Saffioti are all great. As for the supporting cast, they’re good too. Cristina Valenzuela, Lucien Dodge, Daman Mills, Frank Todaro, and more all do very well.

The score for the movie was composed by Rei Kondoh and it’s solid. Instrumentally speaking it skews more towards typical orchestrations, but what I did enjoy is that is keeps a fairly consistent kineticism that adds to the fun vibe of the movie. It’s pretty good stuff.

Building onto the “Resident Evil” video game series by Capcom, “Resident Evil: Death Island” was directed by Eiichiro Hasumi and I love every bit of the directing in this. Kinetic, over the top, silly, and just leaning on every bit crazy of action filmmaking you can think of. Sure, this means it lacks the scariness or intensity of some of the games, but I’m fine with it because of just how fun it is. What further helps is just how good the animation is. Character models are ludicrously well detailed (LEON HAS ARM HAIR NOW), environments look really nice, and movement is fluid. This crazy production value makes all the shenanigans pop off the screen quite a bit and it just put the biggest, silliest grin on my face. The crew of this movie did such a good job with crafting it and I have to give them the biggest possible applause.

This movie gotten a little bit of a mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 67% positive rating (on both critic and audience sides). And on imdb.com it has a score of 5.7/10.

“Resident Evil: Death Island” is one of those movies that I don’t know if it will appeal to any uninitiated people, or even some franchise fans… but I had an absolute blast with it. The story is so much fun, the characters are wonderful, the performances are great, the music’s good, and the direction/animation is genuinely stellar. Time for my final score. *s.t.a.r.s*. My final score for “Resident Evil: Death Island” is a 9.77/10. Which does mean that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Resident Evil: Death Island” is now completed.

Do you ever have those movies where you tell yourself “This was made specifically for me”? Well, this is that for me.