Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare Review

 

Yep, I'm reviewing another one of these. What can I say? Brandon Tenold is the Godzilla guy, Shady Doorags is the King of the Hill guy, AVGN is the LJN guy, and I guess I'm the childhood public domain horror movie guy...? Enough of this stupid opening let's get to it.

Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare is a British indie horror movie and is the third installment of the Twisted Childhood Universe. Production was done ITN Studios and Jagged Edge Productions and distributed by Iconic Events Releasing. Scott Jeffrey both wrote and directed.

The story is, adults have been getting murdered and their children have been kidnapped. One of the kids that have been taken is Michael Darling. Now, his older sister Wendy goes on a quest to find him, but first she must survivor the killer behind all of this, Peter Pan.

Initial Reaction

Now as I've stated before, I've been reviewing these types of movies for quite awhile, so what's the point of stopping? But I also wanted to see this because Peter Pan can be a horror movie. Yeah if you read the original J.M. Barrie story it's messed up and a far cry from the Disney flick.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

We've got not one, not two, but three gray areas with this one. Starting with the pacing. It wasn't too bad but we do have moments were things are slow then speed up for the better, then slow, and then speed up. So the pacing can be a bit of a roller coaster ride. Then we have our characters. Some are okay but I think the one that got the worse was sadly Peter Pan. I get they wanted to keep things a mystery and that's perfectly fine. Not every horror villain needs e every aspect of their backstory told, but we got nothing, absolutely nothing. So it's not gonna be surprising to hear that people had a hard time understanding Peter's character cause they weren't given anything. Then there's the story. Yes, it's very typical. You're not given something groundbreaking BUT, there is some fun to be had. Whether it's because you actually like the movie or you & your buddies just riff on it like Mystery Science Theater 3000/Rifftrax, you'll have some sort of fun.

Pros

There's two things going for the flick. That's makeup and special effects and the kills. Now the kills might not go on a top ten list but they're very brutal. So don't say I didn't warn you. Then there's the special effects and makeup. After the first Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey movie it's very refreshing to see the makeup is given a huge upgrade, even if that budget is only in the hundred-thousands range. But hey, the magic of wise money management and makeup artists am I right?

Much like the previous installments, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare isn't perfect but as long as you're entertained then you won't be bored.

My final rating is, Okay.

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Jan 18th, for yet another horror movie review only this time with Wolf Man. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to Captain America: Brave New World - Captain America: Civil War Review

 

Well folks here we are, the last part of the Road to Captain America: Civil War. Let's get to it.

Captain America: Civil War is a comic book movie loosely based on the Marvel Comics' miniseries Civil War. The movie serves as a sequel to the first two flicks and is the 13th installment to the MCU. Marvel Studios produced while Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures did distributing. The Russo Brothers returned to direct and also writing to write was Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

The story is, after an explosion killed several humanitarian workers during a mission the U.N. has had enough of heroes doing their own thing. They pass the Sokovia Accords which will oversea and control the Avengers. Because of this, Captain America and Iron Man have not only gone head to head with each other, but have also started to bring in others in their war as well.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

There's quite a few slight issues, one being the use of humor. Now in some instances it's very effective and can get a laugh out of you. But there's other times when it's just not needed. Like for instance Black Widow and Hawkeye are fighting, but instead of the exchange being heated it's just them cracking jokes at each other even though this is supposed to be a war of both physicality and ideologies. So if there was ever a time when the humor factor should've been very very very low, this was one of those movies.

Then there's the villain. Yes while the heroes are fighting each other there's a villain pulling some of their own strings. And I gotta say this guy needed more development. I liked that pulling the string factor that was good, but we don't get to know a single thing about him until the third act and by that time the movie's wrapping up. I get the writers wanted to do a whole shrouded in mystery thing but we could've have gotten information sprinkled throughout. 

Lastly there's the story. Let's talk about the good. I liked how Captain America and Iron Man got great development. We get to know how they feel about the Sokovia Accords, and why Tony supports it and why Cap is against it. And much like the graphic novel the question is brought up about how much control should the government how over something like superhumans. Those parts were truly the best and I loved that stuff. However we do got two other problems. One being the structure. Now we do get a couple of moments to breath and see a debate between Iron Man & Captain America. But then in what felt like a snap of a finger we're in action scene and then another action scene. It's like they couldn't decided whether to a serious political thriller with bits of action or have an action flick with some slight slow moments. So they thought "Hey let's try the best of both worlds". Then there's character development. Now like I said before Cap & Tony great stuff, everybody else not so much. Okay not everybody everybody. Black Panther has a good revenge arc and the story between Wanda & Vision is alright. But other than Steve, Tony, Black Panther, Wanda, and Vision, others don't have much to do. Some are just standing around waiting for the next thing to happen or they'll be shoehorned into the story, *cough Spider-Man cough*.

• Positives

Alright I'll get this next part brief cause you're probably winded after my mix feelings. One positive is the Russo Brothers' directing. I mentioned in my Captain America: The Winter Soldier review I said they weren't the flashiest directors. I misworded. What I should've said was they weren't the flashiest for that movie. Here, there were a lot of good looking shots. So with this movie while not having the strongest story, I think I saw the Russos' step up, like they took the next step when it comes to style.

The last thing I'll touch on is the action. I can't deny it, I will debate about the story until the end of time, but I won't deny that the action is awesome. The airport fight and Iron Man vs. Captain America & Bucky being the biggest highlights. Especially Iron Man vs. Captain America & Bucky, that had some great, intense emotions put into along with some great fighting.

While it has flaws I still enjoyed Captain America: Civil War. It's serviceable and if somebody whether it'd be friends or family decided to watch it with me, they won't hear any arguments.

My final rating is, Okay.

So that's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Jan 16th, for my review of Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Civil War Review

 

Just wanted to say, great variant cover by the late and underrated Michael Turner.

Civil War was a 2006-2007 crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics. It consisted of seven issues but as the per usual case with these big crossovers, there were many tie-ins. Mark Millar wrote the story arc, with Steve McNiven being the penciler.

The story is, after a huge battle causes an explosive that kills more than 600 civilians, people's perspective on superhumans is changing. Soon a Superhuman Resignation Act is put into action, now heroes supporting the act and heroes rebelling it are at war with each other.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

If there's one mixed feeling I have it's with the story. First let's start off with all of the good, because there's plenty of it. For instance there's a very realistic reason for why the resignation act is put in place. It was all because of a fight that escalated. And by fight I don't mean something cosmic or anything. It was a simple heroes vs. villains. Then there's how much character work was put into this. We get to understand why Iron Man and Captain America are chose which sides they're on. And we're left debating who's side would we pick. Not to mention put we also get other points of view. Some characters we know and some we don't know. We especially dive into how Spider-Man's all conflicted, and he winds up being the heart of the matter. Then there's how we see both Iron Man and Cap get desperate and both are falling from grace. Now we get into the mix bags. One being the pacing. Sometimes the pace is good, it goes by perfectly. But then there'll be times when things do rap up quickly. The biggest example being the final fight. I don't mind the character's reason for surrendering, but it did feel like the two leaders are fighting then it's stopped, and we're wrapping up the story. I think the ending would've been better had it been eight issues. Issue seven can be the big brawl for all, then we end with a cliffhanger on the character being shocked by their actions, then issue eight can be the ending. Oh and there's also this weird cyborg clone thing with one of the original founding members of the Avengers. I bring this up because even though we get a prison from another dimension, the story was, for a majority of the time, mainly feeling very grounded. So this whole robo-clone did feel a little weird, for me anyhow.

• Positives

Now for the real praises. Let's start off with the rising tension. From back to issue one you just feel the escalation starting to build, and the more and more it builds you know this isn't gonna end pretty. I also like how this story had stakes. Usually these big crossovers are just a way for the big two [DC & Marvel] to make the comic book version of a popcorn blockbuster. Which I don't mind. Because unless it's something huge like a multiverse crisis or a big monumental invasion then yes the entire universe should feel this. However here, it's not either of those two. This story effected the Marvel universe because the resignation was such a big deal. It divided friends, co-workers, couples whether they're married or not. Hell, Civil War did what some, not all, but some crossover events don't do. It had ramifications. The last but best praise goes to Steve McNiven's art. He's phenomenal. His art makes the characters feel and look real, we see how they feel with just facial expressions, and the way he draws action can be pretty brutal. And sometimes, it can just look really cool. Just look.

And I didn't even show half of the incredible work Steve did. At best that was bare minimal and even then that's a stretch to say that's the bare minimal.

Civil War does have some issues, but honestly I just can't help but love it. Cause there is quite a lot of good in it.

My final rating is, Good.

So anyways, come back on Thursday, Jan 9th, for the last part of my Road to Captain America: Brave New World, with my review of Captain America: Civil War. Yeah, much like Winter Soldier I figured I'd review the comic story before the movie, as a way to get you interested in my review. So until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

My Most Anticipated Movies of 2025

 

Alright! New year, new movies, and new anticipation lists. Let's do this!

First up is Wolf Man. I want to see this because of one man, Leigh Whannell. I swear when he's directing you're gonna get something great. He absolutely killed it with the remake of The Invisible Man, and I think he's gonna kill it again with this one.

Next is Dog Man. Now I didn't read any of the Dog Man books, I'll make sure to do that later but, having seen the trailer and getting a few good laughs out of it, I'm gonna give it a chance.

I don't typically get excited for a movie because of a studio, but because 87North Productions is the one behind Love Hurts I just can't help but be excited. When it comes to making action flicks this studio hasn't disappointed me or anybody else. Everybody loves the John Wick films, I liked Nobody, Bullet Train was awesome, Violent Night is one of my newer Christmas movies to watch during the season, and The Fall Guy was pretty good too. So fingers crossed we get another entertaining movie.

Not counting Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Deadpool & Wolverine, lately the MCU has either just been decent or terrible. Hopefully Captain America: Brave New World is one of the better ones. The trailers have been really good and they've sparked my interest. So once again, fingers crossed.

Next we have The Gorge. Much like Wolf Man the reason for wanting to see this is because of who's behind the camera, in this instance it's Scott Derrickson. He did great with his last film [The Black Phone] so I'm very excited to see what him and his cast and crew have in store for this one.

Here's a movie I'm looking forward to because it felt like it took forever to find a distributor even though Warner Bros. themselves could've been the distributor, but I digress. Anyhow, I'm looking for to The Day The Earth Blew Up. It seems like it could be funny, it couldn't possibly be worse than Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Then there's The Electric State. I think the Russo Bros. have done a great job both with the MCU and outside the MCU. Then I saw the trailer and got even more hyped. It looks like it could get pretty crazy and I'm all for it.

The next movie is titled A Working Man (formerly called Levon's Trade). This one is packed with talent. We've got Sylvester Stallone writing, we've got David Ayer directing (by the way #ReleaseTheAyerCut), and we've got Jason Statham starring! With just those three names alone how could I not be excited?!

Moving onto The Accountant 2. I like the first movie, I think it's underrated, and it feels so good to know we're finally getting sequel after so many years of waiting.

Next is Karate Kid: Legends. I'm a fan of Karate Kid, so much so that I'm watching the old movies, then later on reviewing them, and catching up on Cobra Kai, so let's hope we got a good one.

Onto The Life of Chuck. The director for this is Mike Flanagan. He's done great work within the horror genre with movies such as Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game, and Doctor Sleep. So I'm very interested in how he'll be going out of his comfort zone with this sci-fi drama.

Then there's Ballerina. It may not have John Wick in it but I'll be interesting to explore more of the world that John Wick lives in.

Our next movie is 28 Years Later. The first two movies [28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later] are just phenomenal, and we've been waiting for the third movie for almost eighteen years. Holy f@#k did I feel old writing that, anyways, and lastly that trailer...wow. I don't know who made that but he or she better have gotten one hell of a paycheck.

I don't know what is about racing movies but as of late then seem to be a winning formula for Hollywood. First Ford v Ferrari and then surprisingly Gran Turismo. So because of those fun flicks I'm hoping F1 will be another great time at the theater.

Now for another horror movie, that one being M3GAN 2.0. Simply put, I thought M3GAN was a fun horror flick, especially if you saw the unrated cut, so naturally I'd be excited for the sequel.

Next on the list is Jurassic World Rebirth. I want to see this because yes I love the Jurassic Park franchise, but mainly this is curiosity. Because after Dominion where else are you going to go with the story?

Yeah I bet this one totally caught you by surprise (I am of course using sarcasm). Yes I'm planning to see Superman (2025). Now I'm highly skeptical about James Gunn's DCU, I'll explain in July when we're closer to the movie being out in theaters. But, I'm a fan of this character and that trailer did give me just a tiny itty bitty piece of hope. However I'm still gonna skeptical.

Next one is The Naked Gun (2025). Now I'm primarily going to see because I suspect that Liam Neeson has done comedy before, but after the Taken movies I'm so use to seeing Neeson being a serious guy that seeing him in a full blown comedy might just be an experience.

First it was Dog Man, now we have another animated movie with The Bad Guys 2. I enjoyed the first movie, thought it was pretty fun, and I'm hoping the sequel will be that same enjoyable vibe.

There's also gonna be a sequel to Nobody. Much like The Bad Guys, I found enjoyment out of the first and became of that I'm planning to see the sequel.

Apparently Scott Derrickson thought he didn't have enough work to do, because not only is he giving us The Gorge but he's also giving us The Black Phone 2. The first Black Phone was very well done, I thought it was one of the better horror movies to come out of 2022. So hopefully the sequel can recapture that magic.

Now to move forward to Mortal Kombat 2. The first one was very much flawed but I felt like there was potential. So hopefully the filmmakers heard the constructive criticisms and deliver something good. And hopefully they gave Cole Young a personality.

Next up is Predator: Badlands. Other than Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, I haven't been fully disappointed with this franchise. Yes, some installments are better than others but for me nothing has gotten me truly mad other than the previously mentioned AvP: Requiem. So I'm looking forward to this, especially since this time around we're going to wasteland with this one's story.

2025 will also bring us a remake of The Running Man but were not gonna have just any director for this, we'll have Edgar Wright. Wright has made some great films such as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, to more recently Last Night in Soho. So I think Edgar is gonna bring it.

The last one is Avatar: Fire and Ash. I thought the first two were very well done, so I'm looking forward to where James Cameron takes the story this time around, obviously a fire tribe but you get what I mean. And better yet, we didn't have to wait over a thirteen years for this 😆.

Alright so that was my list. Hopefully I can review at least half of these, but that's all for now. Come back on Monday, Jan 6th, for my review of Civil War...the Marvel comic book series not the movie that came out last year. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Looking Back at the Films of 2023 Finale - Wonka, Migration, The Iron Claw, and Ferrari

 

Alright, it's finale time! Let's straight to it!

Why Didn't I See Wonka?

It's because I kept forgetting about it. Honest truth, I kept forgetting this was a thing. Then when I did remember all that kept coming to my mind was "Why do we need an origin story for Willy Wonka? Didn't we get that with Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

What is Wonka?

Wonka is a musical fantasy movie and acts as an origin story of the character of Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl's classic 1964 book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Production was done by The Rolad Dahl Story Company, Village Roadshow Pictures, Heyday Films, Domain Entertainment, Québec Production, and Services Tax Credit with Warner Bros. Pictures doing distribution. Paul King directed and also wrote the story alongside Simon Farnaby.

The story is, Willy Wonka arrives at the Galéries Gourment in the hopes of starting his own chocolate shop. But some setbacks and some greedy competition are trying to stop those dreams from becoming a reality.

My Thoughts

The Good: One good thing was there was some pretty good themes here. Such as a entrepreneurship, corruption, and the classic little guy vs. the big greedy bad guys. It's not deep, but it does add a good layer to the movie. Another thing I liked was yes, the movie was clearly made for kids, no doubt about that. But adults can watch and won't feel like it's a chore to get through it with their children. I also felt like the movie struck a good balance. They definitely added their own twist, but they also burrowed from the old material as well. Which was a good call on their part. Because had they not found this balance, there's a good chance this could've just been Wonka in name only. The last thing I'll credit is Timothée Chalamet's performance. While not at the same level as Gene Wilder and Johnny Deep, Timothée was really good in the role. Not only did he make it his own, but you can tell he was having fun in the role of Willy Wonka.

The Bad: I've got nothing.

The Okay: There were two gray areas, one being the CGI. Sometimes it was fine, nothing to really complain about. Other times it's very noticeable. Then there's the humor. Some jokes and gags work, some really missed the mark.

Final Verdict: Good.

Why Didn't I See Migration?

Just a general lack of interest, and that's pretty much it.

What is Migration?

Migration is an animated adventure comedy movie, that's produced by Illumination and Universal Studios, with Universal also doing distribution. The movie was written by Mike White with directing by Benjamin Renner.

The story is, an overprotective mallard named Mack refuses to let his family leave their New England pond. After a having a talk with Uncle Dan, Mack changes his mind and they head out to Jamaica. But the journey won't be so easy when there's somethings trying to kill you.

My Thoughts

The Good: One pro is the pacing. It goes be pretty quick but we don't loose any story. It's a nice breeze to get through. There's also the humor. Some jokes don't land, like how there's a poop joke, but other than that, there's still some good jokes here. I would say eight times out of ten I was laughing and having a good time. Now to move onto the animation. While they are third place behind the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks, Illumination has shown they're just as good when it comes to 3D animation. There's a lot of times when it looks stunning. Such as sunset and nighttime settings, I thought those looked great. The last aspect goes to the cast. They didn't win any awards, but they were really good, even the child actors did a good job. All of them provided some entertainment and they had a good chemistry with each other.

The Bad: Nothing here.

The Okay: Now the movie is predictable but, if any of you have read a lot of my reviews then you know my philosophy is even if your story is predictable, the least you can do is make it a very entertaining, make staring from point A to point B fun. And this movie did. It's not perfect but I still had a good time.

Final Verdict: Good.

Why Didn't I See The Iron Claw?

Now I was planning to see this. Because why not? I've reviewed pro wrestling movies before. Granted one was god awful and the other one was criminally underrated, but still. Sadly my theater didn't get it until much later.

What is The Iron Claw?

The Iron Claw is biographical sports drama film based on the pro wrestling family, The Von Erichs. It was produced by Access Entertainment, BBC Film, and House Productions with distribution by A24. It was written and directed by Sean Durkin.

The story is, brothers Kevin, David, Kerry, and Mike wrestle for their father's promotion World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). First there's success, but as time goes on tragedy after tragedy follows them.

My Thoughts

The Good: One praise I'll give is a very similar praise I gave to Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. That being, you don't have to be a pro wrestling fan to enjoy this. Sure, pro wrestling does play a big part in the movie, but the true focus is on the family. Which is what the movie felt like, a tragic family drama with the backdrop being professional wrestling. Speaking of the family, the film does a spectacular job with character work. We really get to know the brothers as people. So when one of them die, you actually feel sad. I also want to praise the story. Yes, it's dark, very dark given the themes such as suicide, but despite everything we are given a bittersweet, but hopeful ending. Sure if you knew the story of the Von Erichs, then you saw it coming, but it's just refreshing to see. Which now brings me to my last praise and I can't believe I'm saying it but, Zac Efron stills the show. I'm not joking, if you haven't seen this you'll be blown away by how good Efron is. It's absolutely crazy how Zac knocks it out of the park in the role of Kevin Von Erich. It's such an insane sight to see how at one point we (myself included) just saw him as Troy from High School Musical, to now saying he should win an Oscar for his performance.

The Bad: Nothing for here.

The Okay: The only slight issue stems from somethings were glossed over. One is the movie doesn't really touch on the success that the Von Erichs experienced. Another being is the WWF (now WWE) is on the rise and spells trouble for the families' company, but it's brought up in what I believe was only two sentences? However I think a lot of it can be forgiven because Durkin wrote such a strong story.

Final Verdict: A Must Watch!

Why Didn't I See Ferrari?

Because sadly there wasn't a showing. Which sucks because I like a lot of Michael Mann's work. Heat being an obvious but fantastic choice when mentioning his best stuff.

What is Ferrari?

Ferrari is a biographical sports drama film based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by motorsports journalists Brock Yates. Companies such as Forward Press, Storyteller Productions, Lady Bacardi Media, and STX Entertainment produced with Neon distributing. Michael Mann directed while Troy Kennedy Martin wrote the story.

My Thoughts

The Good: First let's start off with the cinematography. This is a beautiful looking movie. It truly captures the 1950s. Then we have Michael Mann's directing. While the script isn't without its faults, Mann still does a good job making sure he brought his all. The last good thing I'll say for this section is Adam Driver was really good. It takes some time to get use to the accent he's using, but much like Mann's directing, Driver manages to bring a great performance to the film, which really helps bring up the movie's quality even if it's by a small margin.

The Bad: I've don't have anything for this section.

The Okay: There's three slight issues. One being the pacing. Sometimes things can be pretty slow. Then there's the visual effects. Now there were a few times when they were pretty good. But then there's some bad ones. One being a crash that sadly killed people, the aftermath was done well, but the CGI was so bad it unfortunately took me out of the moment. Then there's the story. Now I get they primarily focused on Enzo and not so much on the racing aspect. That's not a bad route to take but, I think they should've found a balance between his life and the racing, that way the divide response might have lessened.

Final Verdict: Okay.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Jan 2nd, for my list of my most anticipated movies of 2025. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, have a Happy New Year, and let's hope 2025 is not only great for cinema, but a great year overall.