Before I get into the review, there's two things I want to go over.
1) What do I mean by quick edition? Well this means is as suppose to those long reviews I do when reviewing multiple films at once, this is gonna be quick. I'll give tell you the story then my thoughts on it. No why I didn't see it, no what kind of movie it, or who produced/distributed. I'm doing this because if any of had review my delay post, then you'd know I wasn't feeling very well. Thankfully I got better but at the cost of this post. But I found a way around that. So if you prefer my more longer post, well I'm sorry but that's not gonna at least for this post.
2) I swear this is the last Popeye horror film from 2025. I don't what it was about 2025 that filmmakers felt like we needed three of these from month to month to month, but thankfully this is the last one...until 2026 decides to give us a new one.
Alright, now that I got all of that out of the way, let's get to it.
Shiver Me Timbers - The Story
The story is, it's the summer of 1986 and a group of friends are hoping to have a good time to see a rare meteor shower from Halley's Comet. However what they don't know is a meteor from this shower has changed a fisherman into a grotesque, superhuman killer. Now the friends must find a way to survive and live to see the next summer.
Shiver Me Timbers - My Thoughts
I've have seen all three of these Popeye horror films and I gotta say, this is the worst of the trio. I thought Popeye's Revenge was terrible, but this one dethroned that movie. I mentioned how the filmmaking in Popeye's Revenge was poor but this one takes the cake. Revenge looks like a B-movie, Shiver Me Timbers looks like a student film. The cinematography is atrocious. I'll show you with a screenshot.
And this isn't any sort of pre-production or behind the scenes shot, this is actually in the movie. And this is just nighttime shot, you don't what to know how bad it looks in the day. And when we're not dealing with bad cinematography then we have bad editing. When we get to the big final fight, there's so many quick cuts and shaky cam that it'll honestly make you feel like your having a stroke. That's how badly that scene was put together. Then we have the characters. They're bland and there's not much to say. Other then they talk about college and other (and much better) movies. And when it comes to Popeye, holy crap. What is with these horror flicks and just making him a dollar store Jason Voorhees? All three films have done this. If you take out what little dialogue these horror versions of Popeye have, they'd just be a Jason Voorhees character...only not as entertaining. Then we have the acting. I'll give Popeye's post-transformation actor [Tony Greer] credit, he was pretty good just with his body language. But everyone else is soooo wooden. There's hardly or not emotion behind any of their lines. Lastly there's the gore. Some practical effects are okay, but when the CGI comes out, oh boy is an eye sore. PlayStation 2 graphics look better than what this movie has. And yes I know it's low-budget just like the other Popeye horror movies, but if I saw special effects this bad when putting the movie together, there's no way I would release it like this, I'd delay it till next year.
Oh and I just thought of something. I love how this movie is suppose to be set in 1986 but there's nothing to indicate that. They could've said this was set in the 90's, 2000's, 2010s, or even set 2020s and I would've never second guessed it.
Shiver Me Timbers - Final Verdict: Destroy It!
G20 - The Story
The story is, U.S. President Danielle Sutton was heading out to the G20 summit of world leaders. But things take a turn when terrorist Edward Rutledge takes over the summit and uses the world leaders as hostages so everyone will follow his demands to give their money in crypto currency. Now, Danielle must use her military skills to put a stop this and save everyone.
G20 - My Thoughts
Oh boy, where do I even begin? Let's start off with the fact the writers tried using current tech stuff without having much of an idea of what they're talking about. Anytime they enter the subject of crypto it all sounds like a bunch of gibberish. And they definitely don't know A.I. deep fakes, because when there's footage of the leaders saying stuff they didn't say we're supposed to believe Rutledge used A.I. when that's clearly not the case. A.I. has come a long way from the early days, but it still hasn't come to the point where it perfectly replicates people's movements and voices. Then we have our villains. When they're not being generically evil they're making stupid decisions. Reminder that Rutledge big plan is to make their crypto currency huge. But...here's the thing...HE HAS WORLD LEADERS AT HIS MERCY! He could be forcibly making these people do whatever he wants! But no we gotta focus on that crypto bro 😆. Keep in mind this isn't a comedy, it's supposed to be a very serious action movie. Lastly there's Viola Davis. Listen, she's a very talented actress and she's got the talent and awards to prove it. But nobody's believing she's this action star. Not only is she not in shape but when this was made and released she was in her late 50s. So when she's fighting men who are younger, twice her size, and in shape you not buying she's kicking their asses, you thinking the stuntmen are putting in the work to make her look good. The only real positive I can give is Anthony Starr as Edward Rutledge. He's trying to make this work despite the writing being really bad, so bless his heart.
G20 - Final Verdict: So Bad, It's Good.
Sinners - The Story
The story is, in 1932 twin brothers named Smoke and Stack have returned to Clarksdale, Mississippi after working for the Chicago mob for several years. The brothers were planning to use the stolen money to set up a juke joint, but when vampires plan to feed on the brothers along with other people. Now it's a fight for survival if the brothers ever want to make their dreams come true.
Sinners - My Thoughts
Let's get into the real good stuff. Starting with how the movie looks. The cinematography is absolute gorgeous and does a fantastic job capturing the 1930s look and feel whether through smaller details or some top notch set pieces. I'd also like to praise the atmosphere. We get a nice build up to the vampires but even before then there also seems to a gritty feeling throughout the movie, and if you know me you know while I like my lighter movies I also love when a movie nails a darker tone. Now there's the story elements. Yes there is a more racial theme going on, at first I was dreading that because as we all know modern Hollywood seems to be obsessed with that stuff because they want to look morally superior and get a couple pats on the back from terminally online activists. However I think Sinners does it better because it's not trying to beat over the head with that theme, especially since the story as much more going for it. Such as how music brings people together even when your from a different time period. But we also have other themes such as temptation, human flaws, and guilt. Then we have the acting from both Michael B. Jordan and Jack O'Connell. Michael B. Jordan has to pull double duty by playing the twin brothers and he does a terrific job. He's able to bring the characters two very different personalities whether it'd be with drawl variations, facial expressions, and body language. Then there's Jack O'Connell as Remmick. He provides both charisma and intimidation, and sometimes he's just entertaining to watch no matter what evil his character is committing. The only downside is the pacing. The first half is a lot of setup and the ending does feel like it's dragging, and with both those elements there'll be times when you can feel that 2 hour runtime.
Sinners - Final Verdict: Great.
So that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this version of Looking Back and if not don't worry because the next part will be more traditional. With that being said, due come back on Saturday, May 2nd, for my review of the newest shark survival movie, Deep Water. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.
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