The Bride! Review

 

Maggie Gyllenhaal is now directing her second feature film. Did she do a good job or is it a flop?

The Bride! is a gothic romantic film that draws inspiration from the 1935 movie Bride of Frankenstein, which was also based around the Mary Shelley's classic 1819 novel Frankenstein. First Love Films and In the Current Company produced while Warner Bros. Pictures was in charge of distribution. Maggie Gyllenhaal both directed and wrote.

The story is, in 1930s Chicago Frankenstein's monster ask Dr. Euphronius to create a companion for him. Together they bring a murdered woman back to life as she's now known as "The Bride". What nobody knows yet is this event will not only spark romance but also things nobody saw coming.

Initial Reaction

Despite not seeing a trailer and only a brief TV spot, I decided to see this movie basically it simply looked like it was gonna be fun. Especially since it looked like a mash-up of Frankenstein meets Bonnie and Clyde.

Cons

NOTE!: I WILL BE GIVEN A LOT OF SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION! SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED JUST SKIP OFF THIS!

Oh boy, do we have problems. The biggest one being the story. Holy hell, Maggie Gyllenhaal seriously needed someone to polish this because damn. Firstly there's a recurring thing where Ida aka The Bride makes a big grand speech and her actions are inspiring people (or in this case just women) who feel like they're not being heard. And when that happened I couldn't help but have a familiar feeling. I mean we have a story set in the past, we have rioters inspired by the title character by the end of the movie. Only I think the character in that movie was more of a comedian. No that's not the word, I think he was more of a clown, a joker if you will. But even if you can ignore that the movie has a very not so subtle message about sexism and the "Patriarchy". Not only is it eye rolling and feels like something we would've gotten back in 2017, but it doesn't make sense. One example of it not making sense comes from the character of Dr. Euphronius. She went by a male's name because nobody was gonna take a female scientist seriously. Expect there were some very respected female scientists. One being Marie Curie who won a Noble Prize in Physics in 1903 and won another for Chemistry in 1911. Then there was Irène Joliot-Curie, she won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, ya know, the same 1930's this movie is set in. I guess Gyllenhaal couldn't be bothered to do a Google search like I did. Then we have some confusing things like Mary Shelley (or in this case her ghost) exist in the same world as her fictional characters? Don't bother asking me cause I don't got a single clue how that works. And when we're not dealing with story issues then we got a problem with the genre mashing. Now mixing genres can work there's plenty of movies that do it and do it well, but not here. Because one moment it's a dark romance movie, then it's a surrealist movie, then it's a period drama, then it's this, then it's that. The genres in this are more stitched together than Frankenstein himself.

Middle Ground

Sadly the mix bag is the performances. Sure they're all trying but your heart kinda aches for them. Christian Bale is doing decent but a lot of time his lines sounds like he's screaming them. Then we have Jessie Buckley who is good but more in an over the top sense. Then there was the cinematography. Some of it actually looked pretty good, but then there was instances where it made you feel like you were on drugs.

Pros

I've got nothing.

So yeah, this was the first real letdown of 2026. Hopefully the next movies I review will be much better.

My final rating is, Bad.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Mar 12th, for my A Look Back at review of season three of Invincible. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Hoppers Review

 

Alright, Pixar's got a brand new movie and it's not a sequel but an original idea. The question is, is a good original idea or will we have another Turning Red? Yes I know Turning Red was four years ago but I'm sorry, I'm still to this day pissed about how much of a waste of time that was.

Hoppers is an animated sci-fi comedy that was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Daniel Chong directed as well as wrote the screenplay along with Jesse Andrews

The story is, before her grandmother passed away Mabel grew to have a deep passion for nature. One day the mayor of city announces plans to replace the glade with a freeway since all of the animals have left. Mabel decides to put a stop to this plan, and after her failed attempt to get beavers to go back she discovers a piece of technology that can transfer her brain into a life-like robotic animal so humans can experience animal life up close. Seeing this as an opportunity she puts her brain into a robotic beaver and sets to continue her mission to save the glades but causing an animal uprising.

Initial Reaction

Now usually I'd be excited for a brand new Pixar, and I still look forward to them but much like everybody else it's easy to see they just don't have the same spark like they use to. But I'm still more than willing to give them a chance.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

The only thing I could think of is the story. I think it goes without saying but we've heard this one before. It's all about saving nature, we gotta love nature, we need to respect nature, and so on and so forth. We've been getting those types of environmental messages from movies for the longest time. However! I think what says Hoppers is the premise. How many movies can say they've had their characters actually be the animal by transporting their mind into said animal, well....more like a robotic copy but still. So while the story does have familiar beats it does provide some creativity here and there.

Pros

One good aspect is and I bet you didn't see this coming, is the animation. Take make this short because as we all know Pixar's animation is amazing. So what made it so good here was some very expressive animals but I think the biggest praise should go to the glades. The glades in this just felt vibrant and warm, it was gorgeous. Another praise goes to the humor. While some jokes and stuff didn't work for me,I still had a wonderful time. Some moments were unhinged and some were just plain funny. I wish I could've gone into more details but you know how I like to keep things spoiler free with newer movies. Although there is an actress who makes a cameo in this as a butterfly queen which got a few laughs. The last thing I'll credit is the energy. The movie is an hour and forty-five minutes but you'd never would've guessed that because of the energy it has. Hoppers has a great breakneck energy and lively driven momentum that made the movie a breeze to get through.

So yeah, Hoppers is thankfully a winner for Pixar and I'm hoping it does well then their last movie Elio.

My final rating is, Good.

That's all for now. Come back on Monday, Mar 9th, for a review for another recently released movie, that being The Bride! Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to Scary Movie (2026) - Scary Movie (2000) Review

 

Okay before I get into the review there's a few things I want to explain. Firstly I'm actually a tad bit late for this Road to. Cause when doing the math I should've started this in January but that was something I didn't realize until the trailer was released. I started to think it was too late to make a Road to. Which sucks because I actually grew up with the Scary Movie series. But upon thinking about it I decided to do something that I don't usual do. I'll be reviewing the first two Scary Movies during this month. Then reviewing Scary Movie 5 in June around the time the new movie will be released. Sorry for the somewhat long explanation, I just wanted to give a rundown of what to expect. So enough of my BS, let's get to the review.

Scary Movie is a parody movie and the first installment to the Scary Movie franchise. While other films are spoofed, the main movies being made fun of are Scream & I Know What You Did Last Summer. Production was done by Wayans Bros. Entertainment, Gold/Miller Productions, Brad Grey Pictures with Dimension Films distributing. Keenen Ivory Wayans directed, while his brothers Shawn and Marlon wrote the story along with fellow writers Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, and the forever infamous Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.

The story is, a year ago Cindy and her friends accidentally killed a man while having a drunken good time. But now a mysterious man wearing a Ghostface costume has set his sights on them and plans to kill them for what they've done. Cindy and her friends need to desperately wise up and figure out who's the man behind the mask.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

The only mix bag was the humor. Now I found myself laughing at a lot of the jokes in this. Even the ones I already knew were coming. Like Shorty's line of "Run bitch, run!" line, that hilarious chase up the stairs gag, Buffy's whole scene with Ghostface, and of course Ghostface's amazing rap. Those were all hilarious. But sometimes there's a fart joke or some gross out jokes that just didn't work. But for the most part this is a very funny movie.

• Positives

One praise I'll give is the pacing. This movie goes by perfectly. Not one minute feels wasted. Every moment felt well timed and didn't drag on and on. You can pop this in your player or stream it and have a good time without anything feeling like it's a drag.

The last thing I'll praise is the cast. Anna Faris is excellent as Cindy. She brought a lovely dim but endearing charm to the movie's very edgy tone, and I'm she came back for the later sequels. Then we had Shawn and Marlon Wayans who brought they own talent as well. I know Marlon has starred in other movies such as Requiem for a Dream, White Chicks, and more recently Him. But I will forever love his performance as Shorty. He's just a riot in this. Then there's Shawn as Ray. He was perfectly subtle for a character who's sexuality isn't quite subtle. And as for the rest of the cast they're all amazing as well. Whether it's Regina Hall bringing over the top sass as Brenda or both Elizabeth Shannon and Jon Abrahams bringing absurdity to the most cliché teen-slasher characters, everyone was fully committed to their parts.

Guys, I really like Scary Movie. Maybe it's because of my soft spot for it cause this was my first exposure to more adult comedies, but I thought this movie was fun before and I find it fun now.

My final rating is, Good.

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Mar 7th, for my review of the newest Pixar film, Hoppers. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Classic Film Night - Apocalypse Now

 

It's a brand new Classic Film Night, and as the title tells you I'm reviewing Apocalypse Now. Let's get to it.

Apocalypse Now is a psychological epic war film loosely based on Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, and it's produced by Omni Zoetrope and distributed by United Artists. Francis Ford Coppola directed and wrote the screenplay with John Milius.

The story is, in 1969 jaded operative Captain Benjamin L. Willard takes on a perilous journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz, who was reported to be a once promising author but has now gone mad. Willard and his crew set off on Nùng River to Kurtz's post, they'll soon realize the further and further they travel, the more they enter into the heart of darkness.

Why The Delay?

For anyone who read my review for Scream 7 then you're well aware I was suppose to have this uploaded on Monday. So what happened? Well just my luck, I suffered an outage. Nothing to serious just my internet wasn't connecting. It eventually did come back but when it did I just had to delay the review by day. So I hope you can understand.

My Thoughts

I do have but one slight criticism, and it's very common one when it comes to this movie, and that's the pacing. Now I've only seen the theatrical and Redux versions, haven't seen Coppola's perfered version that being the Final Cut, but going just by those two versions the pacing is a bit of letdown. There are times when things just and if you're watching the Redux version, you're gonna feel that three hour runtime believe me. And it sucks too because the movie is so brilliantly done and has great writing but that pacing.

Alright even with being a bummer, let's get to the good stuff. One of those being the cinematography! This movie came it in 1979 and the look of how has only aged well. From shadowy interiors to fiery napalm to lush jungles to the often duplicated helicopters flying while there's a sunset behind them, the look of the movie is amazing. I couldn't get enough. So props to Vittorio Storaro, he killed it.

I always want to praise the dialogue. I think everybody one way or another knows of the line of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning". And don't get me wrong, that's a great line, but there was also other lines that I fell way more in love with that one. One being "The bullshit piled up so fast in Vietnam, you needed wings to stay above it.", and my all-time favorite being "I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one." Oh how I love that mission line!

Then there's the performances. Martin Sheen (by the way I'm so use to seeing him as an old man that seeing a 30 something version of him took me by surprise) stands out as the emotional core. He brought raw internalized intensity. Throughout the movie, especially during the river trip, he perfectly conveys Willard's growing numbness and quiet rage. Now Marlon Brando as Kurtz appears late mostly in the final act, but he delivers. He's performance feels haunting, even more so with some philosophical madness with his monologues. Rounding the characters is a supporting cast of Robert Duvall (who sadly passed only two weeks ago, so my he rest in peace), Dennis Hooper, Laurence Fishburne (with this being one of his earlier roles), among many others. The supporting cast brought something grounded, something frenetic, and often times something relatable that helped bring some humanity to some more tense scenes and dynamics.

The final things I'll praise is what the movie is about. Now is controversial for a variety of reasons, you can look it up on online, watch the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, or do both of why this movie gets a lot of flack. But one reason is it people debate whether it was an anti-war movie or that it was glorifying violence. I prefer to view it as film that was showing soldiers dive deeper and deeper into insanity because of the violence they'd witness or were apart of. Now some of you could say that's being anti-war, but I don't think so. Coppola always felt like an anti-war film would be something more happy and didn't view Apocalypse Now as such a thing. Which I agree with. And you can't even say "well then it was glorifying violence! Checkmate!" No! Had the movie glorified violence there would've been scenes where it looked awesome or the solders would be standing up and cheering when one of their buddies killed someone whether they were innocent or not. So I view the movie as what it is. A psychological journey into how a few brave men lost their minds. And for that, I say the story should be celebrated.

While the runtime will always be an issue, it goes without saying but Apocalypse Now is essential movie to watch not only because of its place in the war genre, but for its place in cinema as a whole.

My final rating is, Great!

So that's all for now. Once again I apologize for the delay. But do come back on Thursday, Mar 5th, where I'll begin the Road to Scary Movie (2022), or Scary Movie 6 as we all know it is. But until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Scream 7 Review

 

Alright we've got a brand new Scream movie and this time around Sidney is back to once again take center stage. But the question is, is the movie any good?

Scream 7 is slasher movie, the sequel to Scream VI, and this goes without say but this is now the seventh installment to the franchise. Production was done by Spyglass Media Group and Project X Entertainment with Paramount Pictures in charged of distribution. Kevin Williamson not only returns to the series to once again write the story, which he did alongside Guy Busick, but he's also the director.

The story is, Sidney has build a life for herself outside of the Ghostface deaths. She's got everything a woman could ask for. Kids, a husband, and a peaceful life. But this peace is soon brought into trouble when a new Ghostface appears and plans to kill her oldest daughter Tatum. But this new killer brings something strange, cause the man claiming to be behind the mask is someone who's been dead since the original '96 Woodsboro massacre.

Initial Reaction

Alright I'm not gonna waste too much cause I think you know why I wanted to review this. I love this franchise. Simple as that, so when I heard we were getting another one and this time Sidney would be back (which means more Neve Campbell 😏), so I was excited. Even slightly more so knowing original '96 writer Kevin Williamson was also coming back.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

It's the story. Simple as the that. More importantly, it's the big killer reveal that drags the story down. Because up until that point, the movie was pretty good. We got a good mystery involving a long dead character, Sidney struggling with protecting her daughter, and a very interesting use of having A.I. and deep fakes being part of the mystery. But the identities of the killers was a huge letdown. One character kind of has more meat to them because we get to learn a bit about their backstory involving domestic abuse, but they're seen like I don't know two maybe three times. On the other killer we only saw for one scene and they were in that one for like one minute maybe two minutes. That's significantly less they the other one. So yeah, I loved a lot of this movie but this is probably the weakest killer identity twist out all of the Scream films.

Pros

Now for the pros. One being Neve Campbell's performance. She once again challenges Sidney's fierce grit when once again facing off against a new Ghostface killer, but what I also like is while she has shown Sidney's more vulnerable side before, what made it stand out compared to the rest was we get to see Sidney struggle as mother in the sense of raising a daughter and having to protect her daughter knowing someone wants to kill them. And Campbell really brought out that motherly emotional weight, probably because not only she is a good actress but she's also a mother in real life too. Regardless, Neve Campbell was great. Another thing I want to praise. I mentioned it before but I really want to dive deep on why I liked it so much. That being the use of A.I. Not only was it timely, but I felt it brought a refreshment to the whodunit mystery. Cause how many times have we've seen videos whether it's a celebrity or something crazy like let's an eagle snatches a baby and flies off with it, only to find out it was just convincing A.I. But I thought yeah, this could be a great way to torment someone. Cause throughout the movie, Sidney is being tormented by a past killer who's thought to be dead as well as other characters who have died along the way. The last thing I'll praise is the kills. Holy hell a lot of these were brutal. I think the ones that'll be the most talked about is where one character is killed on stage play with a flying harness and another one involving a beer tap. Those were definitely the best ones.

While I wasn't fully disappointed in the movie, I do admit Scream 7 is much like Scream 3, where it's one the franchise's weaker installments.

My final rating is, Okay.

So that's all for now. Come back on Monday, Mar 2nd, for my Classic Film Night review of Apocalypse Now. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Looking Back at the Films of 2025 Part Two - Heart Eyes & Popeye's Revenge

Okay we're on to part two. Let's do it!

Why Didn't I See Heart Eyes?

I didn't know about this until I saw it on the DVD and Blu-Ray copies on the shelves at Wal-Mart. So since I was way too late to get a review of it, it was best to save it for this segment.

What is Heart Eyes?

Heart Eyes is a romantic comedy slasher that was produced by Spyglass Media Group and Divide/Conquer with Screen Gems distributing. The screenplay was written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy with Josh Ruben in the director's chair.

The story is, each Valentine's Day a masked serial killer known as Heart Eyes hunts and kills couples. Elsewhere, in an effort to make her ex-boyfriend jealous marketer Ally kisses freelance advertiser Jay, but this fake loving kiss catches the attention of Heart Eyes who mistaken them as an actual couple. Now Ally and Jay must find a way to survive this deranged murder or else they'll be another set of victims.

My Thoughts

The Good: One praise I want to give is the kills. There pretty brutal and often times darkly funny, which mixes well with the movie's overall dark comedic tone. Speaking of comedy, let's get to it. While sometimes things just weren't funny, I found myself laugh more then less. My favorite part is when Ally and Jay yet just barely survived Heart Eyes, they're both frustrated and Jay shouts "Will you go kill somebody else!" I just loved that part. The last thing I'll credit is our leads Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding. While I don't think their chemistry is gonna blow the world away, I do think they were very charming and pretty funny together. And they worked so well with the movie's tone.

The Bad: I've got nothing.

The Okay: My only slight issue was the story. Now our characters trying to outwit and survive Heart Eyes, that was all good. We got some pretty good character moments, the previously mentioned comedy, the previously mentioned kills, etc. But where it dipped quite a bit for me was the identity reveal. Without trying to give too much away, one piece of the identity reveal involves a character we barely saw. They shared one scene with Ally and that's it. We didn't any other clues or hints.

Final Verdict: Good.

Why Didn't I See Popeye's Revenge?

Now truth be told I was keeping an on this newest public domain horror movie, but as time I went by I did start to slowly forget. So, I guess I'm sorry.

What is Popeye's Revenge?

Popeye's Revenge is a slasher film that's a horror reimaging of E.C. Segar's character Popeye. It was produced and distributed by ITN Studios. Harry Boxley wrote the screenplay with William Stead directing.

The story is, a boy named Johnny is born deformed and because of this he's treated like an abomination. This repeated mistreatment eventually leads him to murder a child and causes an angry mob to go after him. Year later and believed dead, Tara and her friends inherit the house where many tragedies occurred. What they think was gonna be a simple plan to convert into a summer camp, they quickly learn that Johnny now going by Popeye is back, and he plans to kill everyone.

My Thoughts

The Good: I've got nothing.

The Bad: Oh boy, where do I begin? Let's start off with our characters. Oh boy, these characters are so one dimensional. They either little to no personalities to talk about. They were boring. So when any of them get killed you're not gonna care because there was nothing to care about them. Then there's the filmmaking. Let me break it down for you. When it came to the kills, those were decent. It's clear the filmmakers took some time to bring focus to those, but holy crap, did anybody working on this movie knew how to throw a convincing fake punch? Remember how you and your buddies would pretend to have a fake fight, and when you went for a punch you'd always make sure your fist was a mile away that way you didn't actually hurt your friend? That's what the punches in this movie reminded me of. I don't know what the situation was. Either the filmmakers rushed to get this movie out to the public, so they didn't both to do more takes for the action scenes, or they were deathly afraid of any of the actors getting hurt. Either way, when it comes to hand-to-hand it looks incredibly amateurish. It was laughable. But I think the absolute worse thing about this movie, or maybe the second worse depending on your view point, is Popeye himself. This verison was Popeye in name only. We don't see him eat spinach, he doesn't say any of his iconic catchphrase like "Blow me down", "That's all I can stands, and I can't stand no more!" or his most famous "I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam". No, instead we get snarls, groans, grunts, and his one vocal line of "TaRa!". At least with those Twisted Childhood Universe horror flicks like Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey, they'll have one or two things that'll tell you these are truly those childhood characters corrupted versions. But with this Popeye he might as well put on a hockey mask on go by the name of Jason.

The Okay: Some actors and actress are decent at best, but then you have actors so bad I don't even think they'd be go enough for porn. Then we have the special effects. Now the practical stuff was actually pretty decent, but when they used CGI it's bad. So bad it would only be good for SyFy original movies or Asylum mockbusters.

Final Verdict: Bad.

So that's all for today. Come back on Saturday, Feb 28th for my review of Scream 7! Oh man am I excited for that one! Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Underrated Films - Legends of the Knight

 

Boom! That's right, another underrated film review and this review is another documentary. Now before I get into the review I do want to explain a few things. Now originally I was gonna save this for later because I thought it was still on Tubi. But in typically streaming fashion it was there one moment then gone the next. I was able to find on another streaming service called zoneify. So I figured I could save this review for the next month or the one after that. But I got worried it could quickly disappear by then and decided to do it for this month. So here we are, enough of the explanations, let's get to reviewing.

Legends of the Knight is a 2013 documentary that was produced by Brett Culp Films, Broadcast Thoughts, and POP Kollaborative with Brett Culp directing it.

The documentary gives us a bit of information of how Batman is a pop culture icon. But more importantly then that it explores how people from different walks of life have been inspired by the strength and resilience of The Dark Knight to overcome the odds, achieve their dreams, and do good in the world.

Why It's Underrated

Be honest, how many how you have actually heard of this documentary? No matter how much of a hardcore Batman fan, how many of you actually knew this existed? Don't be ashamed, I didn't know about this until high school when I was working on a PowerPoint project and that was back in 2013, and I think by that rate the doc was already out for months. So don't blame yourself if you haven't heard of this. I imagine it goes under a lot of people's radars.

My Thoughts

Now before I get into some of the documentary's more positive aspects there is just one slight, tiny issue. That being the pacing. Now 99.99% of the time things to by very nicely, but sometimes the documentary just get slow in some spots. But I was willing to forgive because of the much better bits.

Alright now that I got that out of the way, let's get into those better bits. That being this is a very uplifting watch. I was both interested and very touched by a lot of these people's stories and how they were inspired by Batman. There's one guy (sadly I don't remember his name so please forgive me on this part) who only has three fingers on both hands and one leg and yet he can kill it on Dance Dance Revolution, one boy named Kai fought through cancer, and then we had another guy who calls himself Petaluma Batman who helped bring awareness to a missing girl. And that's only three stories, there's plenty of tales just as inspiring just like these all because they were inspired by Batman.

I also want to praise Legends of the Knight on how it touched on Batman's appeal. While we see fans talk about how The Caped Crusader inspired them, there was a nice bit that I liked where we see psychologist and college teachers who wanted to study Batman and his villains. There's even one doctor (again I apologize for not remembering names) who actually uses the comic books as a way to have his clients be more open about being in therapy. If that doesn't tell you just how powerful storytelling in comic books can be I don't know how else I'm gonna convince you.

The last thing I'll praise is and I didn't think I'd ever say this about a documentary, but this something the whole family could watch. Now I'm being serious. If by any chance you have a family who like watching documentaries together give this a watch. You won't be disappointed. Well watch it if you can find that is.

I truly love this. I've seen it at least three times and I enjoyed after each viewing.

My final rating is, Great.

So that's all for now. By the way, if want to support Brett Culp and his mission to spread a positive message, you can check out his website right here. But anyways, that's all for me. Come back on Thursday, Feb 26th, for part two of Looking Back at the Films of 2025. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.