Some Dude Reviews Movies

Add caption I try not to cross over into TV as much, with these reviews. It's hard, really, to review multiple-hour epics in a single go. But every once and a while I feel compelled to share my thoughts, and write about a TV series or show that struck me as incredible. Or I did feel compelled, when I was posting these reviews on my Facebook page. I haven't written a TV show review on this blog. Until today. I sat down to watch The Haunting of Hill House (2018) two weekends ago, because the wife was out of town, and I knew she wouldn't mind missing it. I binged it across two days, having found that, once I started, I was compelled toward the end. I have reviewed other Mike Flanagan Joints on this blog, and have found him to be one of the brightest stars in the new horror scene. Mike Flanagan makes horror with a keen eye on the psychological. The ghosts are real, yes, but so is the trauma they inflict. So is the echoing damage that reverberates throu

"I would suspect the notion of being a predator or the fear  of becoming prey keeps both of them alive." The original Halloween  movie looms large in my childhood. I remember watching it, and greedily seeking out all of its sequels, even the third one that didn't make any damn sense, at my local Blockbuster. I remember being scared and fascinated by the Michael Myers character. I remember the heroic Dr. Loomis: the one no one listened to, until it was too late. I remember Laurie Strode, the girl who never gave up. I remember that stinging synth score. John Carpenter's 1978 original would popularize the slasher sub-genre and become a pop culture touchstone. It was brutally simple, and chillingly effective. It was a masterclass in making a small budget work. When the film was rebooted in 1998, with Halloween: H20 , I went and saw it in the theater. When a sequel was made in 2002,  Halloween: Resurrection, I dutifully went and saw that. I even wat

When I decided to do a horror-themed October Playlist, my wife asked me what my favorite horror film was. I genuinely had to think about it for a minute. The first film that leapt to mind was David Robert Mitchell's 2014 tale, It Follows . I did not want, initially, to commit to that choice, however. How could I say that a movie made four years ago was my favorite horror film of all time? Yes, I thought, I really liked it the first time I saw it, but that was four years ago. How had the thing aged since? Was it still my favorite? Was it ever, really? There was only one way to find out. I fired up Netflix, where It Follows  streams, snuggled in for the night, and pressed "Play." Summary: A young woman (Maika Monroe) is stalked by a slow-moving, but ever-advancing malevolent presence. It was given to her, and the only way to get rid of it is to give it to someone else. *     *     * I have decided to depart from my usual format in order to talk about som

One of my favorite movies, a movie that always brings a smile to my face, is not what you think. It's not Deadpool , though I really liked those movies. It's not Avengers: Infinity War , although that movie is a towering feat of cinema. It isn't even Captain America: Winter Soldier , which is probably Marvel's best MOVIE, period. No, one of my absolute favorite Marvel films is Lexi Alexander's 2008 romp, Punisher: War Zone . It is balls-to-the-wall insanity. It is a cartoonish parody of American hyper violence. It is stylish, gorgeous to look at, and every actor is firmly onboard. It isn't a "good" movie, per se: but it is a helluva fun time. What does that movie have to do with this year's (surprise) hit, Venom ? Well, I really like bad movies. I like movies that are audaciously terrible. I have fun watching them. As soon as the reviews for Venom  started to roll in, I had high hopes that Venom  would rise to Punisher: War Zone

In the year 2011, Gareth Evans delivered one of the best action films ever made in The Raid: Redemption . It was slick, well choreographed, and heralded a prodigious new cinematic talent. He followed that movie with The Raid 2 (2014), which, again, is one of the best action films ever made. Evans proved that his freshman effort was no fluke, and bought my fandom for the forseeable future. Since then, his name has been bandied about by big studios looking to bank on his growing legend. But he decided to take a different route. He walked away from the action game (hopefully not for long), and signed up with Netflix to deliver a horror film. Any time a promising director jumps genre, I am always a bit worried. Evans had enough clout to make me suitably excited for the film's release. And as buzz grew, pics were released, and trailers dropped, my anticipation grew. And then it dropped on Netflix. And I decided to review it for this here October Playlist. Summary

In discussions of new voices in horror, it is hard to avoid Mike Flanagan's name. With a few indies and shorts under his belt, he burst onto the scene with 2013's Oculus . Since then, he has shot to the top of the field: writing and directing the sleeper hit Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), getting the Stephen King seal of approval for an adaptation of Gerald's Game (2017) and The Shining  sequel,  Doctor Sleep (2020), and creating, writing and directing Netflix's own The Haunting of Hill House  (2018). Netflix even rescued one of his films, Before I Wake (2016) after the original production company went bankrupt, saving the film from an ignominious fate gathering dust on a shelf in some Hollywood warehouse. I thought that I hadn't seen any of his movies, but, cruising through his IMDB page, it appears that I checked out Hush  (2016) two years back and I remember really liking its spin on the home invasion sub-genre. Perhaps, I thought, I should go and

Jeremy Saulnier doesn't make easy movies. They are dense, brutal, and challenging. To view one is to be engaged in its world; they are no passive bystanders. They demand to be prodded and challenged and talked about. It's probably why I have loved his work so much. I've never simply walked away from something he's made. I discuss. I hypothesize. Saulnier is one of the filmmakers that has, on the strength of his previous work, Blue Ruin (2013) and Green Room  (2015), bought my continued fandom. When his latest film, Hold the Dark (2018) dropped on Netflix, I knew that I was all in. So I decided to include it, here, on my October playlist. Summary: Russel Core, a naturalist who specializes in studying wolves, is called out to the Alaskan wilderness to help track the wolf that took a woman's son. While hunting, the woman, herself, disappears, leaving behind a grisly scene in her cabin. That woman's husband returns home from war, injured. Both Core

Having enjoyed (for the most part) what I've seen of Mike Flanagan's movies ( Oculus  review coming soon), and having thought his work very Stephen King-like, I thought it only fair to check out his actual Stephen King adaptation, Gerald's Game  (2017). I must admit that I was hesitant: the story didn't sound exciting to me. I've heard many things, and those things unsettled me: it's a sex game gone wrong, it's an exploration of grief and assault trauma. It sounded like some heady shit that I didn't really want to venture into. Upon reading some reviews, however, it appears to be Flanagan's highest-reviewed work. It is also often cited as one of the best adaptations of King's work. I'm a bonafide Stephen King enthusiast, and I couldn't turn down his best cinematic adaptation. So I strapped in, fired up Netflix, and allowed myself to be taken there. Summary: Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald Burlingame (Bruce Greenwoo

"I'll never stop trying." I saw You're Next (2013) a few years ago. I remember it being a lot of fun. I remember likening it to a kind of R-rated Home Alone  for adults. With a decidedly feminist edge. My October Playlist needed a proper Home Invasion Sub-genre addition, so I decided to return to the movie, these many years later, to see if it held up. First, I had to purchase it on Amazon (only ten bucks: a rental can be had for three). And away we went. Summary: The Davison clan gathers in a secluded mansion in the woods of Missouri. What the Davisons don't know, is that they aren't alone. Someone is hunting them. What those hunters don't know? One among this flock of sheep can fight back. Pros: A Real Final Girl: Sharni Vinson plays Erin, who's been invited to the weekend getaway by Crispian. What she hasn't told her boyfriend, and what becomes incredibly pertinent over the course of the film, is the fact that she grew u