Reviews

After just watching Halloween Kills, I dared to watch this one straight after. I had read one review warning me of a plot departure. So I buckled up!

While not as rubbish as some of the reviews might portray it, Halloween Ends is problematic but can still be enjoyed as a, slightly patronising, philosophical take on nature of evil.

My main complaint is that the creators seem to have forgotten why people are coming to watch a Halloween film, the boogeyman, the cat-and-mouse chases, evil lurking in the shadow, the creative kills, basically a thrill-ride with, possibly, a societal message (if you are a clever and mindful writer). This is not what you get with Halloween Ends.

Michael Myers is THE rockstar, the whole Laurie Strode victim hood/curse/crusade arc should have ended in the 2019 film or, maybe in Halloween Kills; in this one, it feels like a stretch. Michael Myers has no purpose besides being a punchline to a lecture on the nature of evil that was sprayed so thickly, it was borderline insulting. While I like what they tried to do and say, the Halloween universe is the wrong place to do so; what's next, reboot Friday the 13th as a family tragedy.

Please click UNDO or go re-watch the 1978 original, David Gordon Green's Halloween films are a six-hour reboot trying to mansplain Evil with CAPS locked. Donald Pleasance managed it with subtility in a few lines 44 years ago.

David Gordon Green's next film is The Exorcist (a reboot, a sequel, a whatever). GOD HELP US.

After the fantastic 2019 reboot/sequel, my expectations were very high for the follow ups Kills and Ends. So much that I decided to wait and watch them back to back. Sadly, it was like watching a nearly 4 hour anti-climax.

Halloween Kills works strangely well: they are moments of well crafted pure joy (the kills, the "heated resurrection", the flashbacks and callbacks) and then, there are utter moronic moments (most of the mob scenes, maybe that was the point).

The script start to lay the ground for its philosophical theory on evil which will continue and culminate in Halloween Ends (basically, Dr Loomis '1978 meta description of Michael Myers stretched over a trilogy).

Halloween Kills has its problems, the good stuff easily makes up for the bad but it remains a Halloween film (unlike Halloween Ends).

Sadly My Best Friend's exorcism falls flat, pretty much a faceplant on its attempt to emulate 80s horror.

While on paper(back), it may sound great; its screen version is so uneventful, it's somewhat painful to watch.

First thing, the film could have taken place in any decade, the plot is not remotely attached to the 80s or maybe that was an excuse to have really tedious dialogues. I mean nobody speaks like that, not even during the 80s.

The main bug is the film doesn't seem to know what it is: a comedy, 80s homage, horror, horror comedy,... not sure. Sadly, it just fails at any of them, it's horrific enough to please horror fans, it's not funny, some of the jokes made me cringe. It's R rated but it seems to be geared towards young teens.

Baffled... this is the word that can describe my feeling after watching it.

It's watchable but it's also utterly forgettable. Better off reading the book.

NB: Between this film and Paper Girls, it'd seem that Amazon is desperately trying to find its own Stranger Things; Won't happen, ST was and is the perfect storm.

Ghost in the Shell for a western audience... I am not entirely sure who was the target audience for this film? The fans of the source material have absolutely annihilated this picture with scathing but well-founded reviews. On the other hand, the uninitiated have discovered the universe of the Hanka corporation and its dubious plans for mankind. Being a fan of the original film, its sequel, and short forms, my disappointment was justified: terrible casting (besides Takeshi Kitano and Juliette Binoche), simplified plot losing all philosophical subtleties of the original material, the amalgam of shot-for-shot references from the original were a good addition but pointless. At a time when we get smart science fiction films like Arrival, Interstellar, Inception,... why the filmmakers decided to dumb down the story. Was it for the sake of western audiences? The original concept is unique and asked so many ethical and philosophical questions about cyber technology, religion, self-awareness, how far should technology go and how much should we depend on it. The 2017 version simply heavily signposted these deep meaningful questions and didn't bother capitalizing on them. Wasteful! The only redeeming aspect of this pointless, white-washing remake is that it makes you desperately want to watch the original material. If you want to watch Ghost in the Shell, go watch the original, please.

With Prometheus, Ridley Scott is exploring and explaining Alien. While this is a commendable idea, the exercise remains wholly unnecessary. But hey! Who am I to disagree with Ridley Scott? Prequels are rarely justified and they tend to fail as much as sequels. I was clearly in the minority when declaring that I REALLY loved Prometheus and I still wonder what was so difficult to understand about it. Alien Covenant had the same effect on me: I REALLY loved it, and, like Prometheus, it took me a few days to process that thought. Like its predecessor, Alien Covenant suffers an unusually large number of unforgiving flaws: plot holes, unrealistic (not to say stupid) character actions and reactions, Alien lore contradictions, predictable dialogue, and twists,... sadly I could go on and on. However, I still love Alien Covenant regardless.

The first and foremost reason could be a Xenomorph love story ever since I saw Aliens at the cinemas back in 1986 (sadly, I was too young to see the first one in the theatres). This is such a fascinating creature/concept; the Alien (forget the AVPs) franchise always included those subtexts: corporate greed, weaponization, evolution, god complex, questionable human origins, redemption, sacrifice et al. Serious Science Fiction.

The other reason why I love Alien Covenant and forget about all its flaws: this is a Ridley Scott film we're talking about; his films are not all masterpieces but, by David, they are gorgeous to look at, I mean, they are visually faultless.

If you love the whole Alien mythology like me, you will try hard not to like Alien Covenant but, eventually, it will defeat you and you will proudly add it to your BR collection.

Promising premise, disappointing delivery. It starts well and hooks you in. Sadly, all the motivation to watch the film is lost after 20 mins. However, the viewer sticks to it while hoping it might get better. There was so much potential to be visually bonkers, it just falls flat. Michael Socha plays the most annoying and despicable lad. While not a bad film, Double Date is sadly forgettable. Special mention: the excellent soundtrack, Kelly Wenham kicks ass literally and Georgia Groome is full of charm.

When reading reviews about Jurassic World upon its theatrical release, I was baffled by a large number of mixed reviews: some people loved it and some hated it or dismissed it. Now, I'm not a huge fan of the first three films, but, in all honesty, Jurassic World kicks butt; it sports all the necessary elements for a very re-watchable piece of entertainment: it's bigger, faster and louder and contains some powerful cheering moments. This could have suffered the same fate as Jurassic Park: The Lost World but thanks to the heady approach of sequel/reboot, Jurassic World feels fresh and stands its own, you don't have to have seen the previous installments and you won't have to watch the next. This is what I called the perfect pop-corn film: wholly enjoyable, re-watchable and leaves wanting you more. More teeth, please.

Growing up in the 80s, Paul Schrader's Cat People was (in)famous, mostly for its reported violence and sexual content. As a pubescent cinephile obsessed with horror movies, this film was a mainstay in my must-watch list. Sadly, it wasn't so until 2018. I have many cherished memories of wanting to watch Cat People: the awesome Giorgio Moroder soundtrack, the divided and heated reviews, the haunting poster and the much talked-about sexual content of the film. I am sure that if I had discovered the film during the 80s, my appreciation of Paul Schrader's film would have been quite different to my current opinion. I have the greatest respect for Paul Schrader's body of work whether it is his scriptwriting or directing; the titles simply speak for themselves: Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, Raging Bull, ... to name a few Scorsese pictures. One thing is sure about Mr Schrader, his scriptwriting is absolute genius. So what went wrong with Cat People? Please don't misunderstand me. Cat People is perfectly watchable from beginning to end and I do recommend the film. The source material, Jacques Tourneur's Cat People, is an established RKO classic from the early 40's, where it was all about oppressive atmosphere with extremely efficient cinematic expressionism. Stepping away from the traditional horror mould, Paul Schrader explores the themes of sexual frustration and emancipation pointing towards perversity, masochism and desperation doing so without holding back on nudity, violence and taboos. Again, the film is fine but, halfway through, I was getting that niggling feeling that it could have been so much more: bolder, more dreamlike or more nightmarish, more morally violent and more engaging (Lucio Fulci did it with The Beyond and Ken Russell with Altered States). Sadly, the film ends up being a sleazy piece of entertainment with just a few moments of genius. As an open-minded cinephile, I tend to forgive plot holes based on how gaping they are. Be warned, Cat People has its fair share. Once controversial upon its release, Cat People is tame to today's standards while still interesting in its exploration in sexual liberation.

I always get excited about a new Jim Carrey movie. In my opinion, he has rarely done anything unwatchable in whatever genre from The Mask to Liar Liar via Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind. Yes Man is an excellent feel-good comedy with an outstanding turn from Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel & Terence Stamp. The movie is unfortunately predictable (like most Jim Carey flicks) but very enjoyable with a hard-to-ignore message about how people should live their lives. Don't be surprised after seeing the film to start saying yes a bit more often and how much of a difference it may have on your daily life. Yes Man is a worthy addition to Jim Carrey's filmography.