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: Scream VI (2023)

So last year I watched and reviewed the entirety of this franchise leading up to the fifth installment. I had fun going through the series and was intrigued when a sixth one got announced. It then came out in cinemas and I missed it because my local cinema has really given horror movies the short end of the proverbial stick when it comes to showtimes this year. Anyhow, I finally saw it on Netflix last night and am ready to talk about it. So let’s go.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Scream VI”.

Following the traumatic events in Woodsboro one year ago, Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), and the other surviving youngsters have moved to New York City to try and get a fresh start. This peace doesn’t last however as a new Ghostface seems to emerge, stalking and creating another gruesome nightmare for our heroes. Cue murder, mayhem, whodunnit, and further commentary on the state on not just horror, but film franchises as a whole. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of “Scream VI”, it manages to evolve the familiar beats of the franchise in interesting ways, increasing the scale of set pieces and its approach to its legacy, all without straying too far from what people generally enjoys about these movies. I don’t necessarily think it’s as strong or packs the same punch as last year’s “Scream 5” (which I’ll keep calling it), and the longer runtime does make the pacing feel a tiny bit sluggish at points, but it’s not so bad that I’d call it a drag. It’s still an engaging, decently clever, intense, and solidly enjoyable slasher story that thrills, chills, and brings some very good laughs in equal measure.

The characters in this are as colorful and interesting as ever, with most of them getting some decent development throughout. From Sam dealing with the fallout of what happened last year, to Tara trying to come into her own with an overprotective sister around, to the twins getting some time to shine as well. Everyone has their moments and not one member of the cast is weak. Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Roger Jackson, Dermot Mulroney, Samara Weaving, Tony Revolori, Liana Liberato, Hayden Panettiere, Courteney Cox, Josh Segarra, and more all kill it.

The score for the movie was composed by Sven Faulconer and Brian Tyler, and I think this score is great. It takes a lot of the traditions of earlier movies, along with the bolder orchestrations that Brian Tyler brought with “Scream 5”, and develops it further to creative this really fun, surprisingly varied score that I think marvelously sets the mood whenever needed, be it for intense chases or for some of the more quiet character moments we get throughout. It’s possibly my favorite score in the series, or at least it’s around the level of the original. There are also a bunch of licensed tracks used throughout (including the returning “Red Right Hand”) and they work quite well for their respective scenes too. So yeah, the music here is really good.

Following on from their success with the fifth movie, “Scream VI” was directed by the returning Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (AKA Radio Silence), with script duties once again falling on James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. And I think this movie is really well directed. They just have this flair and energy to their style that makes them perfect for this series. Whether it’s two characters talking, or Ghostface stalking someone in a convenience store, they absolutely brought their A-game. Their direction brings a really riveting intensity to the action scenes, and when the more intimate character moments show up they do a beautiful job in bringing us into those as well. And holy moly, the violence in this is something else. With “Scream 5”, they brought a new level of savagery to the violence of the series and its spooky-mugged killer, and they didn’t skimp on that here. In a lot of ways it’s even nastier, gorier, and very much made me squirm once or twice… so good on them for that.

This movie has been decently well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 76% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 61/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.6/10.

So while I wouldn’t put it at the top of my franchise ranking, I still thoroughly enjoyed “Scream VI”. It has a good story, really good characters, great performances, great music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*.. My final score for “Scream VI” is an 8.43/10. So I’d say it’s worth buying.

My review of “Scream VI” is now completed.

New York, New Rules. Even the tagline’s really fucking good.

Movie Review: John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

So I actually saw this a little over a week ago, but I wanted to give it some time to marinate before I talked about it. You wouldn’t think an action movie would require one to think, but this one had my mind in a whirl. But now I’m ready to ramble about the latest entry in this franchise.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “John Wick: Chapter 4”.

Continuing in his globetrotting defiance against the enigmatic High Table, world’s greatest headshotter John Wick (Keanu Reeves) finds himself in his most difficult quest yet, as he has to face off with powerful foes both new and old around every corner, all hindering his journey to try and be free of the assassin life. Cue then the shootouts, fisticuffs, sword fights, and existential musings on the futility of their lifestyle, the consequences of John’s actions, and the longing for something else beyond the carnage. For as much as the action tends to be the focus of these movies, I found myself caught off guard by and also adoring the more quiet moments, letting the characters breathe, adding this somber and surprisingly beautiful tragic drama to proceedings. Of course it’s not necessarily the most profound drama out there, but there’s a depth here that we haven’t really seen from this series before, and it makes this story hit a bit more, especially as certain narrative escalations occur throughout. It gives things weight, it made me care about everything in a way that I haven’t really felt since the first movie. It makes the bombastic shenanigans feel like they have action heft and stakes. ’tis a great god damn story.

One thing these films have always been good at is giving us colorful characters that really feel lived in and like they have an actual presence in this world, and “Chapter 4” is no different, and even does a great job of making them way more interesting than before. Again, they’re not necessarily THE deepest out there, but there is an amount of depth here that makes them stick out way more. Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick, assassin extraordinaire, a man fighting the current of destiny, wanting an out from the violence. He’s always been a compelling protagonist and here he continues to really be a good character, with Keanu giving a good performance. The next one I want to talk about is Caine, an old acquaintance of John’s. He’s a skilled fighter, swordsman, gunman, and a loving father. He’s been reluctantly drawn into this fight and they use this for a good dramatic arc. Caine’s played by Donnie Yen, who is absolutely fantastic in the role. From the physicality to the drama to the comedy, Yen is electrifying. And then finally we have the man in charge of the villainy, Marquis, played by Bill Skarsgård. An arrogant, slimy cunt of a man. He’s such a bastard and I think he works well for the movie, with Skarsgård giving a delightfully punch-worthy performance. We also get supporting work from people new and old, such as Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Shamier Anderson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Lance Reddick (R.I.P.), Marko Zaror, Scott Adkins (who is fun as hell in this), Clancy Brown, and many more, all delivering really solid work.

As with the first three movies, the score here was composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, and once again it is fucking spectacular. A kinetic, operatic cacophony of strings, distorted guitars, acoustics, synths and percussion, creating a symphony of carnage that drives the action marvelously. But it also knows when to go more quiet, leading to some emotionally resonant bits. But we also see DJ Le Castle Vania returning to create some thumping club tracks and they rule. Hell, I’ve had “Blood Code” on fairly frequent rotation since seeing the movie. Then there are a few licensed songs used throughout and they work very well too. This movie just has one hell of a fantastic soundtrack.

“John Wick: Chapter 4” was, as with the previous ones, directed by Chad Stahelski who just continues to kill it, developing his stylish style of stylishness even further here. Wide, stunningly blocked shots of guns firing, punches hitting, and dudes dropping, with kinetic movements from actors, stunt team, and camera alike. Combine it with Dan Laustsen’s breathtaking cinematography and you get one of, if not the best looking action movie I’ve ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. But it’s not just eye candy for eye candy’s sake, every shot feels deliberate in telling story both immediate and in the background. It’s just crafted in a way that is awe-inspiring to see. And I can’t speak enough of how amazing the action scenes are. They’re brutal, kinetic, slick, mesmerizing, a little unhinged, and creative as hell. There was a part of me that was a little worried that maybe they were running out of tricks after the third one… but holy god damn mother of mercy, am I glad to have been proven wrong. It’s ludicrously good.

This movie has been very well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 94% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 78/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 8.3/10 and is ranked #155 on the “Top 250 Films” list.

The more I think about it, the more I absolutely adore “John Wick: Chapter 4”. It has a great story, great characters, great performances, fantastic music, and fantastic directing/cinematography/action. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “John Wick: Chapter 4” is a 9.91/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “John Wick: Chapter 4” is now completed.

Not often does a nearly three hour movie fly by this fast.

Movie Review: Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)

I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while. If there’s anyone unaware and/or forgetful, last March I had myself a little review series I called The Ides of Elba, in which I review every season of the BBC police drama “Luther”. It was fun, and now I can technically continue that journey as Netflix has given us a little follow-up movie. So, without further ado… BEWARE THE IDES OF ELBA.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Luther: The Fallen Sun”.

After finding himself in prison for some of his past transgressions, DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) must find a way to escape custody in order to track down a sadistic killer (Andy Serkis) that’s terrorizing London, all while trying to stay ahead of the officers attempting to re-apprehend him. I found the story of this movie to be quite enjoyable. Granted, it never reaches the dramatic peaks of the TV show, but it does find ways of retaining a lot of that grit while leaning more into a cinematic action-thriller style, rather than the smaller scale cop thriller we’re used to. The cat-and-mouse game between Luther and Andy Ser(ial)kis is quite a bit of fun, building up this really fun and decently tense back and forth that is quite compelling to watch. Then you add Luther trying to stay ahead of the law, which adds its own mild tension. It’s quite a rollercoaster of a journey, featuring some really fascinating and kind of tense set pieces. There’s even a few horror-ish moments, akin to a few standout bits from the show, that I found to be really creepy and engaging. On the whole it may not engage *quite* on the level of the show’s stories, but it’s still a really fun and decently tense action-thriller narrative.

The characters in this are pretty good. Idris Elba returns as brilliant, but troubled detective John Luther, who once again gets pushed to his limits by everything going on around him. And as with all the seasons of the show, the characters remains really compelling, with Elba once again killing it in the role. We also see the return of Dermot Crowley as Luther’s soft-spoken but surprisingly tough boss, Martin Schenk, and Crowley is also damn good here. Now let’s talk about Andy Serkis who plays our villain… his character is a truly despicable son of a bitch, a disgusting sadist that made me shudder. And Serkis plays it to perfection, as he gets moment to go a little ham, and moments to be quietly menacing. He rides the line marvelously and gives a truly memorable villain performance. We then have Cynthia Erivo as Odette Raine, a detective on the hunt in the middle of this whole debacle. She proves to be quite an engaging foil in the entire thing, with Erivo (unsurprisingly) delivering a great performance. Filling out the cast you have people like Thomas Coombes, Hattie Morahan, Einar Kuusk, and more, all delivering really solid performances.

The score for the movie was composed by Lorne Balfe and I thought it was pretty good. Maybe goes a little bi with the brass at times, but for the most part I think it does a decent job at escalating tension and making the atmosphere shine. It especially works for me when it goes slightly more quiet, creating this creeping dread that actually managed to really help put me on edge, and I thought those bits were great. There’s also a handful of tracks used throughout, and those work well in their respective scenes. So yeah, the movie has good music.

As mentioned before, “Luther: The Fallen Sun” follows on from the five season long BBC series “Luther”. And before we move on, I just want to mention that you don’t need to see the show before going into this. It works as a standalone adventure, but there are a few minor nods throughout, little treats for the fans. But the show is not required viewing… you should watch it though, it’s fantastic.
Anyhow, “The Fallen Sun” was written by series creator Neil Cross and directed by season 5 director Jamie Payne. And I think Payne did a damn good job with his direction. He retains a lot of the grit from the show, while also being allowed to flex the big movie budget a bit. Sweeping and creeping, big and tight, intense and intimate, Payne does a good job of bringing Luther’s antics to a cinematic scale without sacrificing what made the show’s direction work. Combine this with Larry Smith’s gorgeous and well thought out cinematography, and you get a movie that’s just well crafted.

This movie just came out, so ratings will change. But at the time of writing, it has a 68% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic it has a score of 53/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.9/10.

I thoroughly enjoyed “Luther: The Fallen Sun”, it’s another solid romp from the detective. It has a good story, good characters, great performances, really good music, and fantastic directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score “Luther: The Fallen Sun” is an 8.21/10. So it’s certainly worth watching.

My review of “Luther: The Fallen Sun” is now completed.

I’m not saying that I had an effect on it, but I find it interesting that I reviewed the TV show in March, and then the movie came out the following March.

Movie Review: Scream (2022)

My friends, it is finally here. The reason for my content output the last two weeks. It’s finally here and I can talk about it. And after this, you’ll be free of me rambling about this franchise… until the next inevitable one in 5-10 years. But for now, this is the last one you’ll hear me talk about. So let’s see if it’s another worthy entry in this franchise.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Scream”, which is also “Scream 5”.

25 years after the original Woodsboro murders, everything is seemingly nice and quiet in the small California town. But this peace is brought to a halt when a new masked murderer starts stalking a group of teens, seemingly with the intention of drawing out the town’s darkest secrets. The story of “5cream” is really strong, and talking about it is difficult. Of course we see a lot of the familiar meta/characters aware of horror tropes stuff come back, but it doesn’t just feel like a retread of what’s come before. While it’s here to poke that sort of fun at horror tropes, it also takes its time to satirize lovingly legacy movies and so-called “elevated horror”, while als taking some absolutely brutal stabs at toxic fandoms. And all of that helps make for a strong, pertinent, funny, tragic, and quite well written satire narrative, while still of course also indulging in a bit of violent carnage. It’s a damn good story that I liked from start to end, but can tell will piss some people off.

The characters in this are all pretty good. Do I think all of them carry the same memorability as some of the cast from the older movies, not quite. But out of the core cast, there’s none that felt like they didn’t belong or like they were outright poorly written. And as for the actors, there’s not a weak link. Of course you have the old trio of Arquette, Campbell, and Cox coming back, all slipping beautifully back into these roles, once again delivering top notch performances. And within the new cast you have people like Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, and more, all great in their respective roles.

This is the first one in the series not to be composed by Marco Beltrami, with Brian Tyler instead taking on that task. And lucky for us, Tyler killed it. His score hearkens back to Beltrami’s scores with a lot of similar musical tricks and stylings, without ever feel like he’s just rehashing what came before. From brash, intense brass to more subtle, emotional tracks, it’s all here, and it all works wonderfully. There’s also a handful of licensed songs used throughout, and those work well in the movie too.

Unlike previous ones, “Scream 5: The Fifth Screaming” wasn’t written by Kevin Williamson or directed by Wes Craven (R.I.P). Instead writing duties fell on James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, with direction being handled by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (who also gave us the wonderful “Ready or Not”). Aaaaand, they knocked it out of the park. The direction here is really suspenseful and intense, never really letting the viewer feel at ease, even during seemingly safe scenes. This really helps keep the whodunnit element relevant and exciting, while also making sure that when Ghostface appears, it actually feels scary. Speaking of the ol’ mouthgaper, Jesus Christ, the kills in this are savage. Not that the other killers in the series weren’t violent psychos, but there’s something about the violence in this that just feels extra mean-spirited and brutal, which does fit with the story and tone of this movie, and helps make el spookerino feel like more of a threat than ever. So yeah… this movie’s well crafted.

At the time of writing, this movie been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 76% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 60/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.4/10.

I think it’s pretty clear that I think “Scream: Another Scream” is another fit for the franchise. It has a great story, really good characters, great performances, great music, and fantastic direction. Time for my final score. *Ooga booga*. My final score for “Scream” is a 9.76/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Scream the Fifth” is now completed.

Let’s end this on a classic question, because it’s fun and I genuinely wanna know… What’s your favorite scary movie?

Movie Review: Scream 4 (2011)

My friends, this is it. The final movie in this franchise… until I see the new one on Saturday. But for now, this is the final “Scream” movie. I’m finally caught up (woo!). So without further ado, let’s talk about it and see if it’s a good one.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Scream 4”!

15 years have passed since the Woodsboro murders, and we see Sidney (Neve Campbell) return to her old hometown as the first stop on her book tour. However, what should be a simple visit soon turns into a complex nightmare when people start getting murdered by another masked killer. Right from the get-go, “Scre4m” shows that it’s not fucking around, giving us arguably the most clever and expectation-subverting opening in the series. And from that point on, it doesn’t let up with its meta nature. The entire series has had a very meta approach to telling its stories, but this one leans into it the most, while also being a surprisingly prescient takedown of fame and social media, all while subverting and indulging in slasher tropes to great effect (as it has in the past), creating possibly the most intense, fun, and clever narrative in the series. Yeah, I really liked the story here.

The characters in this are all really solid, either through being well written and nuanced, or through being fun and colorful. But what does also help is that they all have some level of self-awareness, perfectly befitting the story told, which does also make it really tricky to identify who can be trusted and who can’t, keeping me on my toes from start to end. And the entire cast is terrific, featuring returning people like Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox, along with newcomers like Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Roger Jackson, Alison Brie, Hayden Panettiere, Marley Shelton, Erik Knudsen, Adam Brody, and more.

For the fourth time in a row, Marco Beltrami came in to do the score, and once again he did a damn good job. You get some familiar note progressions, some more typical horror stings, and some subtle, creeping tracks. It’s a solid score that works really well for the movie. There’s also a few licensed songs used throughout, and they work well in their respective scenes. It is a bit of a shame to not have “Red Right Hand” back in this one, but it doesn’t completely ruin it for me.

“Scream 4” saw Kevin Williamson come back as screenwriter, with Wes Craven once again directing (THE DREAM TEAM IS BACK, BAYBEEEE!). And the craft behind it is once again top tier. Intense, creepy direction once again manages to build a fair bit of suspense, it’s Craven at the height of his powers. Also, there’s a lot of really intense violence and gore in this. And while I don’t necessarily think more gore = scarier, I do think it adds a certain unrelenting intensity to this movie that makes it a bit more disturbing and scary. It’s just really well made.

This movie’s gotten a bit of a mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 61% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 52/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.2/10.

I might get severely shamed by people for this, but “Scream 4” might be my favorite of the bunch. It has a great story, really good characters, great performances, great music, and fantastic direction. Time for my final score.  *AAAAAAAAAH*. My final score for “Scream 4” is a 9.80/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Scream 4” is now completed.

Alright… let’s hope the Radio Silence dudes can do this franchise justice.

Movie Review: Scream 2 (1997)

Hi there friends! Let’s continue through this franchise!

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

Two years after the traumatic events in Woodsboro, Sidney (Neve Campbell) has moved a few states over and seems to be doing fine. She’s going to college, she has friends, and she has a sweet, caring boyfriend (Jerry O’Connell). But this nice quiet life will soon be interrupted when a copycat killer starts stalking Sidney and her friends. Much like the first movie, “Scream 2” takes familiar slasher tropes and turns them on their head in fun, sharp-witted ways, while also gleefully embracing them when needed. It’s a story that cleverly plants seeds of doubt about anyone and everyone within. Combine that with the relentless pace and you get a strong narrative that never bores. Do I think it’s as strong as the first movie through? No, not quite. Like I said, it’s strong, but the increased scope of it can make it feel a bit more unfocused than the first at times, which does keep it from being as strong as it could be. But overall it’s still a damn solid, highly entertaining story.

The characters in this are fun, charming, layered, and overall just highly interesting. The ones returning from the first movie have seen major developments since then, and I really like that, as it adds some extra depth and clever character drama to proceedings. And even the new guys are really good too. And I think the entire cast, containing people like Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Liev Schreiber, Jerry O’Connell, Jamie Kennedy, Timothy Olyphant, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and many more, do fantastic work in this.

As with the first movie, the score for this was composed by Marco Beltrami, who I think did a really good job with it. He very much brings back a lot of the stylings he used within the first movie, and then refines them to make for a more polished and more nuanced sound. There’s also a few licensed songs used throughout, and they work well in their respective scenes.

“Scream 2” was once again written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven, and once again the craft is top notch. The direction’s slick, intense, energetic, and a bit more creative with how it frames the action and violence. Speaking of which, my god, there’s some grisly stuff in here. Not that the violence in the first movie was “clean”, but there’s definitely a bigger focus on brutality in this… and I dig it, as it does fit with the whole “sequel = bigger” satire they’re going for. ’tis good shit.

This movie’s been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an 81% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 63/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.2/10.

While it lacks some of the focus of the first one, “Scream 2” is still a damn good sequel that entertains from start to end. It has a really good story, really good characters, great performances, really good music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Scream 2” is an 8.81/10. So while not as strong as the first, it’s still most definitely worth buying.

My review of “Scream 2” is now completed.

2 down, 2 to go.

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Hello there, hope you’re having a good weekend. Only a few days until “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is released, which means it’s time for me to cover the second (and final) movie in the previous reboot. So let’s go!

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”.

Peter Parker’s (Andrew Garfield) life is a bit of a hectic one, trying to balance being Spider-Man with being a regular New York teenager. But this is going to get way tougher when a series of new villains emerge and start causing chaos. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is a curious case of occasional good ideas getting absolutely crushed by the overabundance of superfluous plot threads. First is the Peter/Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) romance, fine. Then there’s the introduction of Electro (Jamie Foxx), fine. But then there’s also the backstory involving Peter’s parents. And a plot involving Harry Osborn (Dane Dehaan). And then there’s a few more threads throughout. There’s so much shit going on that it really messes with the pacing. First act is fine, and even has some great shit going on. But as the film goes on, it just becomes an overstuffed, underdeveloped, sluggish mess that is hard to engage with. There are moments of quality in the storytelling, but the overall narrative is just… ugh.

The characters in this are a mixed bag. Our two leads, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, they’re both charming, fun, engaging, and just overall a great pair, with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone both delivering top notch performances. Next we have Max Dillon/Electro, who is at first set up as our main villain. His characterization is bizarre, and I don’t completely get why they wrote him the way they did. And Jamie Foxx… it’s a mixed bag of a performance. On occasion I do enjoy it, but it often just didn’t click with me. Dane Dehaan as Harry Osborn? Decent performance, undercooked writing. Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich? Unnecessary, but very amusing. I’ll at least say that the rest of the supporting cast is solid, featuring people like Sally Field, Colme Feore, Marton Csokas, Felicity Jones, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, and more.

The score for the movie was composed by Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Junkie XL, Johnny Marr, Steve Mazzaro, and Andrew Kawczynski… FUCK, that’s a lot of composers. But they acted as sort of a supergroup to make the music for this, and I think it mostly paid off. It’s an interesting mix of styles and genres, making for a unique and slightly eclectic score that I thoroughly enjoyed hearing throughout the movie. There’s also a handful of licensed songs used throughout, and they are a bit of a mixed bag. Some work pretty well, some less so.

As with the first one, “Amazing Spider-Man 2” was directed by Marc Webb (HA!), and I think he did a solid job. Despite the script being a complete mess, Webb’s direction is sound, flowing beautifully and bringing some nice energy to proceedings. It especially shines in action scenes, which are all generally quite enjoyable. And that’s something I can say, on the technical side of things, this movie is solid.

This movie has gotten some very mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 52% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 53/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.5/10.

Despite a lackluster and overly messy script, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” still has enough bright spots in it to keep it from total failure. It has some good story moments, it has a few good characters, the performances are (mostly) great, the music is really good, and the direction is really solid. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is a 6.23/10. So while flawed, it’s still worth a rental.

My review of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is now completed.

*thwip*

Guest Post: Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Hello there, friends, I hope you’re having a great day. Once again, I get to take a slight break today (slight bits of editing and image searching doesn’t count as work, shut up), and lean back as my wonderful and amazing friend Mary gives us a third (and final) guest post for this Month of Spooks. So without further ado, let’s see what she has to say about “Bride of Frankenstein”.

Four years after audiences were delighted and horrified by Boris Karloff’s first outing as the Monster in James Whale’s Frankenstein, the director followed it up with a sequel. In this, he promised to find the lab-made man a bride. Whale was not interested in directing a sequel and Universal toyed with the idea of pursuing one without him, until he was finally persuaded to come on board.

The horror sequel drifts even further from Mary Shelley’s source material and – sadly – from the tone and emotion conveyed in the original movie. Nevertheless, it introduced audiences to a female horror icon, complete with startled eyebrows and lightning bolt hair.

The title credits roll and, whilst Karloff is given top billing this time, the actor playing the Bride is simply left as a question mark as a way to build suspense and keep your interest.

In a similar vein to having Frankenstein introduced by a bow-tied MC, Whale opens his sequel with a conversation between Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon), Percy Shelly (Douglas Walton) and, of course, Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester in a dual role). Mary insists that having her Monster die in a flaming windmill was not the ending she had in mind for her story – there are flashbacks to the original movie here in case you had forgotten what happened. Instead, she had planned for … cue wavy screen transition into the start of our new movie. It’s extremely twee and rather out of place.

The score is far more lively this time around, with sweeping violins and thunderous percussion in almost every scene. The expressionist inspired shadow techniques are once again prominent here – but only for the male characters in their laboratory. The females tend to get that soft focus close-up effect that makes everyone’s face look like a glowing moon.

Colin Clive is relegated to a relatively minor role in this sequel, owing to a broken leg (you’ll notice he’s sitting in most of his scenes) and his ongoing battle with alcoholism (making him increasingly unreliable on set). Valerie Hobson replaces Mae Clarke as the love interest, Elizabeth, and is given about as much to do as her predecessor.

Two new characters are introduced in prominent roles. The first is quite possibly the most annoying character to ever grace the screen. Minnie the maid (Una O’Connor) is seen – and heard – long before Henry or the Monster. She’s a gossip, scuttling around, over enunciating her Estuary vowels. Prepare to roll your eyes every time she appears on screen. Part of this is the poor, two dimensional “maid roles”, the other part of this is terrible overacting.

In contrast, we have the nefarious Doctor Pretorious, brought to life with a maniacal laugh by Ernest Thesiger. He is shot most beautifully, practically from his ankles to create a looming sense of doom and lit like something from The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. He takes on his own quest for creating new life, goading Henry back into the lab once more to stitch together some other poor soul. Thesiger barely blinks in the role and has a rich, deep Vincent Price-esque voice, making him the perfect villain of the piece.

Karloff has a far more to do in this film and we get to see even more of the Monster’s tenderness. The scenes with the blind violinist (O.P Heggie) are so touching. The violinist the only character to befriend him because he literally cannot see that he is a “monster”. The scene where he tucks him in for the night – resulting in a tear rolling down the Monster’s cheek – is a bit overdone, but rather sweet.

And, as the exclamation point on the promotional materials promised, we get to hear the Monster speak, giving the famous “Alone … Bad … Friend … Good” line. Karloff is alleged to have argued with the studios as he didn’t want the Monster to speak at all, but he was clearly overruled. And he was right – it turns the Monster into almost a comedy figure as he chomps away on bread and cigars, pointing out the new words he has learned.

Rather disappointingly, in a film called The Bride of Frankenstein, we do not get to see this ravishing creation for any longer than five minutes – and not until the very end of the film, either. It’s a shame that what could have been a very early prominent female horror role is reduced to nothing more than a gimmick for the finale of a film dominated by men and their desires. That being said, Lanchester looks truly resplendent in the role. Although she is not given too much to do, her jolting head movements, hissing and startled eyes convey all that they need to – she does not want to be there.

In fact, the gender politics are more prevalent than ever, here. Female characters are seen to be gossips or hysterical; fainters or screamers. It is the men who are brave and strong; daring and scientific. Yes, it’s the 1930s but it all feels a bit two dimensional. No female character is given any depth or, quite frankly, anything to do that doesn’t involve a male.

This definitely feels like one of these sequels that almost didn’t need to be made. It does look and feel relatively similar to the original, but tonally it’s all over the place, veering wildly from comedy maids to cackling villains. It’s clearly trying to capitalise on the popularity of the Monster by giving him more screen time but, in doing so, it almost changes the way you perceive him.

However, Karloff is once again excellent in the role and – despite the brevity of her screen time – Elsa Lanchester makes for a fantastic woman of horror.

Written by Mary Palmer

Movie Review: Doctor Sleep (2019)

I just love that header image. My amazing buddy The Craggus took the first poster that was released for this movie and added a little of my shenanigans to it. Anyhow, let’s talk about a belated sequel.

Ladies and gentlemen… “Doctor Sleep”. The director’s cut.

A little over 30 years after the horrifying events at the Overlook hotel, a now grown up Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) tries to get his life back together. While doing this he befriends a young girl (Kyliegh Curran) who also can Shine. But these powers also makes her the target of a dangerous cult that tracks down kids who can Shine, and then kills them and steals their power. So yeah, it’s a little bit of a departure from the claustrophobic thrills of “The Shining”. But that’s okay, because I found the story on display utterly enthralling. It’s a slow, contemplative burn of a narrative. Going in-depth with the effects that the Overlook incident’s had on Dan’s life, the story really gets to the heart of a lot of stuff, and it’s wonderful to follow… even made me cry at a point. But it’s not just heartfelt drama here, as this is also a horror movie. It’s not the scariest one I’ve seen, probably wouldn’t even crack the top five in terms of pure scariness. That’s not to say that there isn’t any creepy shit here. There is some good, subtle creepiness and suspense going on throughout, occasionally punctuated by some decently grim shit. And I think it works quite well here. Again, not the scariest, but I still enjoyed the horror elements of the narrative.

The characters in this are quite nuanced, flawed, and highly interesting. Ewan McGregor plays Dan Torrance, former tricycle enthusiast and currently broken man. Seeing the low point his life has come to after you-know-what is fascinating in itself, but it’s what comes from that that makes it even more interesting, as he has a really great arc in this movie. And McGregor does a great job with his performance. Kyliegh Curran plays Abra, the young girl that Dan befriends. She’s a smart, funny, and charming little kid who I think made for a good foil for Dan. And Curran is fantastic in the role. Next we have Rebecca Ferguson as Rose, a hat wearing lady who loves meeting new people… oh, and she’s also an immortal who kills people who can Shine, just so she can keep being immortal. Yeah, she’s our main villain, and she’s so mesmerizing and intense, with a lot of that coming from Rebecca Ferguson’s spectacular performance. We also get supporting work from people like Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind, Carl Lumbly, Cliff Curtis, Bruce Greenwood, Jacob Tremblay, Carel Struycken, and more, all doing very well in their respective roles.

The score for the movie was composed by The Newton Brothers, and I thought it was great. It’s an emotionally charged and eerie score that, while taking a lot of familiar horror cues into certain tracks, manages to feel somewhat unique to this movie. They also utilize some familiar notes from the original “Shining” film on occasion, and it never feels overly intrusive, but rather works as a nice tie-in to that. So yeah, there’s some good music here.

Based on the “Shining” sequel of the name name written by Stephen King, “Doctor Sleep” was written and directed by Mike Flanagan, and I think he did a fantastic job with it. His direction is bold, confident, and manages to create a good amount of suspense throughout. There’s something otherworldly about it, which helps add a good amount of eeriness to proceedings. And Michael Fimognari’s cinematography certainly helps add a lot to that, giving us a lot of gorgeous, dynamic shots that add to the atmosphere of the movie. It’s just really well crafted.

This movie has been decently well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 77% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 59/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.3/10.

“Doctor Sleep” (director’s cut at least) is a fantastic horror-drama that manages to both entertain and deeply engage. It has a great story, really good characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing/cinematography. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Doctor Sleep” is a 9.90/10. Which means that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Doctor Sleep” is now completed.

Three hours seldom fly by so fast for me.