Malignant Review

 

Malignant is a supernatural slasher movie that is produced by Atomic Monster Productions, New Line Cinema, Starlight Media, and Midas Innovation and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Malignant is written by Akela Cooper and directed by James Wan.

The story is a woman named Madison is having terrifying visions of grisly murders committed by a man named Gabriel. At first she believes they're just nightmares, but she soon realizes that these aren't nightmares but realities. Can Madison find a way to overcome this terrifying experience or will Gabriel win in the end?

Initial Reaction

My one true reason for wanting to see this was James Wan. The guy can just direct horror. Saw was a horror movie that kids at my school who somehow managed to see was all they could talk about, I liked Insidious, I don't think I really need to say anything about The Conjuring. And even if the movie isn't in the horror genre the guy nails it. Everybody I know loves Furious 7, and he killed it with Aquaman.

Cons

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

Middle Ground

The one and only thing that's a gray area is the movie does start off pretty slow, but once we start to learn more and more about Gabriel things not only start picking up, but also get completely insane. So I think you'll be willing to forgive the movie for that slow beginning.

Pros

One thing I absolutely want to praise the film is this one of the most crazies and most unpredictable horror movies I've seen this year. At first I thought I had everything figured out, but nope. The movie truly does keep you guessing of what's going to happen next. Speaking of guessing, I want to give praise to the twist. At first I thought I figured it out, and I was somewhat right I was just a little bit off. I won't of course give it away, but what I will say is the twist is gonna make you scream "WHAT THE F*CK?!,". What I also enjoyed about Malignant was this is an original story. I can't tell you how much I was loving this brand new story, and the lore that both James Wans and Akela Cooper brought to us. It was quite a refreshing horror story. Since I brought up James Wants that's a perfect time to bring up his directing. Once again with his previous horror films, this one shows that the guy just knows how to direct horror. He sets up a lot of suspense. And he also shot an amazing prison escape sequence, that was a scene I could watch on repeat and never get bored. The last thing I'll give Malignant credit for is the score. Joseph Bishara gave what I believe an amazing set of music for the movie. I especially liked the opening song, "It's Happened Before", and "In My House".

Honestly I had an absolute blast with Malignant. It's insane and unpredictable, it's got a very disturbing twist, it's original, Wan once again shows how great he is at directing horror, and I loved the score. The slight downside is it does take a while to really get things going, but once we really get into gear oh boy, are we in for a trip.

My final rating is Good.

So yeah, I think you should give this movie a watch. Anyways, that's all for me. Come back on Monday, Sept 13th for A Look Back at review for one of my favorite childhood shows, Courage the Cowardly Dog. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to The Batman - Batman Begins Review

 

Batman Begins is a 2005 comic book movie based on the DC Comics' character, Batman. The movie is a reboot to the Batman film series and the first installment of The Dark Knight Trilogy. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Comics, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy, and Patalex III Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Batman Begins was written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer and directed by Christopher Nolan.

The story is Bruce Wayne has returned to the city he loves after spending so many years away after the death of his parents. Bruce has one thing on his mind, to clean up Gotham City. He soon learns that his old teacher Henri Ducard and the League of Shadows have arrived in Gotham one reason and one reason only, to destroy it. Now Bruce must suit up as Batman to put a stop to this, while at the same time deal with the threat of Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Mix

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Positives

One thing that made Batman Begins such a great comic book movie was it really did bring Batman back to being a dark and gritty figure of the night. We get a real vibe that things in Gotham City are just awful, and the city is in a desperate need for a hero. And we have not one but two villains that actually feel like true bad guys and not cartoon characters from the last Batman movie I reviewed.

What also makes the movie so loved is Christopher Nolan's directing. There are two shots that I just loved in this movie. One was when a now adult Bruce first comes across the what would become the Batcave and bats are just flying around and he just stands there with no fear. The other shot is when Batman is standing a building looking at the city and the camera spins around him. We really did get a lot of great shots like the ones I mentioned previously throughout the movie, which just makes in beautiful.

Another to praise about the film and I don't know if anyone has every brought it up and that's the pacing. This movie clocks in at 2 hours and 20 minutes. But I really doesn't feel that long, everything goes at such a great pace that I completely got sucked into the movie, that by the time it was over I was surprise at what time it was.

One other aspect of Batman Begins that has been well received is the action. Rightfully so, there are plenty of good actions sequences. Two of my favorites was when Bruce was fighting the League of Shadows because he wouldn't kill someone who may have deserved it, and the other was the chase scene with the Batmobile (or the Tumbler as it's known by) and the police. That was such a great chase scene that I don't really know what's a good word to use when describing it.

Now in my humble opinion you can not review Batman Begins without mentioned the fantastic score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Honestly, I don't know what to say about the score that hasn't already been said? It's great, it's awesome, it's every other positive word you can possibly think of. We get the memorable main theme in the Dark Knight Trilogy titled "Molossus", a song that no matter how hard I tried it's still stuck in my head.

The final thing I'll praise about the movie is it is a perfect Batman origin story. And what makes it a great origin tale is two things. 1) While it is cool we get to see Batman, what made this origin movie great was we really do focus on Bruce Wayne and how he transitions to become The Dark Knight. Because of that we do care about the man behind the cowl. 2) Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer truly did take bits and pieces from the comics. Mostly from the stories Batman: Year One and as Christopher Nolan puts it "his personally jumping off point" The Man Who Falls (which if you're curious you can find that story in Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes or Batman: Secrets of the Batcave).

Batman Begins is not only a spectacular Batman movie, but a spectacular comic book movie. It returned Batman to his dark and gritty roots, Nolan has amazing directing, the pacing is on-point, the action was great, the score is incredible, and it's an amazing Batman origin movie.

My final rating is A Must Watch.

Okay, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, Sept 11th for my review of the newest James Wan horror film, Malignant. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to The Matrix Resurrections - The Matrix Reloaded Review

 

The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 sci-fi action flick and the sequel to 1999's The Matrix. The movie was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, and Silver Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The Matrix Reloaded was written and directed by The Wachowskis Brothers.

The story is Morpheus, Neo, Trinity and the rest of their crew and humanity continue to fight on in their war against the machines. Things are getting worse when the last human city Zion is estimated to go under sieged from the machine army in 72 hours. And just make things even more horrifying, Neo finds out that Agent Smith has become a rogue program and can clone himself with either other agents or people inside the Matrix. Now humanity must find a way to stop both these threats or die.

• Negatives

I've got nothing to say. Let's move on.

• Mix

One mix bag was the CGI. There were times when it was pretty good, other times no, it was bad. Really bad. I thought the CGI from the first movie was outdated, but this is worse.

The other gray area was the dialogue. There plenty of times when the more philosophical talk was actually done well. Then there were those bits when it just came off as pretentious, and those parts will make you roll your eyes because those are the parts where the movie was trying to be smarter than it is.

• Positives

Now to talk about the better aspects of The Matrix Reloaded and that was the directing. The Wachowskis did a fantastic job once again. One shot that I liked was when Smith was walking towards Neo, and there were all of these crows flying away from him. Such a badass shot.

What I also liked was the action. Even if the CGI was bothering me, I still dug a lot of what was happening during those scenes. My favorites were definitely Neo vs. Smith and his clones and that epic highway chase. That last one probably being the most insane.

Another thing that I've come to enjoy was the score. A lot of that music got stuck in my head when I first saw the movie, and after watching it again for this review it's stuck in there. My favorite one is "Burly Brawl".

The all time best thing about the film was Zion. Where the first movie gave us very little details about Zion, Reloaded gave us a full picture of the city. We get to see how it operates, what the government is like, and how people live normal or normalish lives. This aspect along with everything else we were told during the movie, really helped expand the world of the Matrix.

I feel as though The Matrix Reloaded gets way too much hate. Yes, the CGI is good in some scenes and bad in others, and sometimes the dialogue can either be pretty good or come as trying to be smart. However, I still enjoyed the Wachowskis' directing, the action, the beautiful score, and the world of Zion.

My final rating is Good.

Okay I'm all done here. Come back on Thursday, Sept 9th cause we'll be going on another road. That one being the Road to The Batman with my review of Batman Begins. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Review

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a comic book movie based on the Marvel Comics' character Shang-Chi, and the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (aka the MCU). The movie is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is written by Destin Daniel Cretton and David Callaham and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

The story is the past has come back to haunt Shang-Chi. The mysterious Ten Rings organization has been causing a lot of damage as of late, and Shang-Chi wants to put a stop to them. However, he'll have to go through a lot of trails in order to put a stop to this dangerous group.

Initial Reaction

I'm gonna be fully honest, this was one of my most anticipated movies but after a while the excitement just started to go down. The biggest reason is, the trailers and the marketing just weren't good. It all made the movie feel like it was going to be generic. And the last MCU movie I saw that being Black Widow wasn't very good but, like many movies before I was going to give it a chance.

Cons

One awful aspect of the film is the humor. Dear lord, I have never been so silent when it came to jokes in my entire life. There was one joke I liked, but it was not worth sitting all the way to the final battle to see. Speaking of the humor, this film shares an exact problem that I had with Black Widow. And that's because of these humorous moments you have no idea what tone this film is going for. One moment I'm being told a story about a family that was broken apart because of a tragic event, then what seems like it came out of nowhere a character or characters will make some sort of joke. So now all of a sudden I'm in a more lighthearted moment. The tone is unbalanced that I'm surprised the script even went pass filming. Now to tell you my final issue with this movie and that is this a very forgettable film. I've heard lots of things about how this MCU movie is forgettable or how that MCU movie is forgettable, but I truly believe this one will be a very forgettable Marvel Studios film. Cause other than the mid-credit scene (which I'll get into later), there's really nothing about this movie that's gonna help it be talked about in the next few weeks or even for this entire month. Even if this movie is gonna be apart of some big overarching story much like the previous films were for The Infinity Saga, I'm not gonna feel an absolute need to watch this again even if it essential chapter one.

Middle Ground

One decent thing about Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the action. I did very much enjoy that final fight near the end of the movie. The middle portions of action I thought were okay, I was somewhat invested in them. The worst one was the bus fight scene. That scene was really trying to be Jackie Chan fight scene but it lack the charm and the charisma. It also didn't help we had really bad rap music, unnecessary slow-mo, and a REALLY unfunny joke involving some sort of Twitch streamer....yes, that was actually in the movie, and it's as dumb as it sounds. Another okay thing was the mid-credit scene. It was interesting, it did get more curious. But it really didn't need a joke in it (again, the freakin' humor is this movie is what really hurts it).

Pros

Now there are three positives about the film. One of those were the performances. Despite how weak everything is, the actors and actress were clearly doing their best even though the script isn't up to par. What I also enjoyed was the very beginning about how Shang-Chi's mom and dad meet. That was a very good story with a very good tone to it. That opening sequence really does it's job of hooking you in. The last thing I'll give credit for is the post-credit scene. It made curious about what's gonna happen with the Ten Rings after this, and better yet, it was played 100% straight with no jokes whatsoever.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is definitely at the very bottom of my list from bad to good MCU movies. The jokes REALLY needed to cut of the film entirely, the tone is complete mess, and despite what reviews are saying this isn't going to be a memorable movie regardless of critics calling it a "triumph". The alright parts were the action and the mid-credit scene. The real good stuff was the acting, the beginning, and the post-credit scene.

My final rating is Bad.

So yeah, don't even bother this one folks. Even if you are a major MCU fan. Anyhow, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Monday, Sept 6th for part two of my Road to The Matrix: Resurrections with my review of The Matrix Reloaded. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Review

 

Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms is a a direct-to-video adult animated martial arts film and the sequel to Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. The movie is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and NetherRealm Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is written by Jeremy Adams and directed by Ethan Spaulding.

The story is another tournament has begun, only this one is the tournament to end all tournaments. It's the final Mortal Kombat, the one that will decide the fate of the realms. Now, not matter what team it is one thing is certain, it's time to go all out and fight! But Scorpion has found out someone is trying to resurrect the One Being. If the One Being is resurrected than it means destruction for the entire universe.

Initial Reaction

The sole reason I was hyped for this movie was simply because the last movie, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge was pretty good. Action, animation, and bloody/gory fights what more could a Mortal Kombat fan want in animated MK movie?

Cons

The movie's biggest issue is, that's it's not broken up into two parts when it really should've been. Cause on one hand you got the final tournament and they in the last couple of minutes we have the One Being causing havoc. Because of that things do get rushed in some areas. But had if they did where part one is the tournament, sprinkled with the One Being story, and then cliffhanger ending, and then part two could've been about the heroes war against the One Being.

Middle Ground

Now in all honest I still feel as though the movie is still put together despite the issue with the script. Cause when I really thought about it, this movie could've been so much worse. So I do think even though it's not the two parter it should've been, the filmmakers still found a way to make a lot of this material work out to a decent degree.

Pros

Now to tell you about the more positive aspects of the movie and that's the animation. It's the same style as Scorpion's Revenge and much in that movie, I still love this still, and if they ever make a third movie or maybe an animated series (and if that happens they better not make it like Defenders of the Realm) I would love to see this style again. Another one of the more positive things about Battle of the Realms is the voice cast. Once again Joel McHale kills it as Johnny Cage, Patrick Seitz to me has become the voice for Scorpion, and I even liked Fred Tatasciore as Shao Kahn. The last thing I'll give the movie credit for is the action. Much like the previous movie and the 2021 live-action flick, the movie earned that R-rating for all of they bloody action.

Overall, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is okay. We get great animation, a great voice cast, and plenty of bloody action. Even though there were issues with the script, the movie is still put together nicely. The only issue I had was this was really one of those that should've been broken into two parts.

My final rating is Okay.

So that's going to do it for me. Come back on Saturday, Sept 4th for my review of the newest MCU movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Looking Back at the Films of 2020 Part 5 - Bill & Ted Face the Music & The New Mutants

 

Welcome to a brand new edition of Looking Back at the Films of 2020. For this installment I'll be giving my thoughts on Bill & Ted Face the Music and The New Mutants. Let's begin.

Why Didn't I See Bill & Ted Face the Music?

Really my only reason for not seeing this movie was not only was I not a Bill & Ted fan, but I also never saw the previous two movies. So that's really why I never saw this.

What is Bill & Ted Face the Music?

Bill & Ted Face the Music was a science fiction comedy, the sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Thus making this the third movie in the Bill & Ted film series. The movie was produced by Orion Pictures, Endeavor Content, and Hammerstone Studios, and distributed by United Artist Releasing. Bill & Ted Face the Music was written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon and directed by Dean Parisot. The story is it's been years since the events of the last movie, and Bill & Ted have yet to write the song that'll unite the world. Later on the receive news from the Great Leader that they have until 7:17pm to write that song before all of time and space collapses in of itself. Bill & Ted come with the idea to get the song from their older selves, while at the same time Bill's daughter Thea and Ted's daughter Billie travel through time to form a band that'll help their dads with the song.

My Thoughts

The Good: One thing that I enjoyed from the movie was the humor. I was laughing with every joke that was put into this movie. It was funny from start to finish. What also made the movie pretty good was how gleeful and charming it is. This is probably the most positive and upbeat I've from 2020 so far. Despite the stakes both Bill & Ted never seem to lose their positive outlook on life or the situation despite how high the stakes are. The other thing that made Bill & Ted Face the Music a good watch was how the writers managed to have an even balance between Bill & Ted's story and Billie & Thea's story. At first I was thinking one was gonna more attention than the other, but no. Both stories are handled well and then eventually find a good spot where they merge. The last thing I'll give the movie credit where credit is due is with the chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. Remember, I haven't seen the first two movies but, with Keanu and Alex's chemistry they really do make me what to go back watch the previous films.

The Bad: The only negative thing with the film was the subplot with Bill & Ted's wives. It really had no reason to be in here. Especially when the problem was wrapped up with a line. Seriously, that was it. They go on this journey then one line later, problem solved.

The Okay: Now for the most part the special effects are good. The only really bad one was the green screen they had when Bill & Ted arrive to meet the Great Leader. It almost looked Keanu and Alex were standing right in front of video game background.

Final Verdict: Good.

Why Didn't I See The New Mutants?

Since day one, I've wanted to see The New Mutants. I quite literally grew up watching this X-Men film series. Then the movie kept getting pushed back whether it was because of COVID or not. Then we finally have an official release date no more push backs I was excited, I even made plans to see this a friend of mine. But then he texted me that he was going to see it with his girlfriend. He still invited me, but I really didn't want to be the third wheel (😆).

What is The New Mutants?

The New Mutants is a comic book horror movie, based on the Marvel Comics' team of the same name. The film was the thirteenth and final installment in the X-Men film series. The movie was produced by 20th Century Studios, Marvel Entertainment, Genre Films, and Sunswept Entertainment and distributed by 20th Century Studios. The New Mutants was written by Josh Boone and Knate Lee and directed by Josh Boone. The story is five teenagers with superpowers are locked up in a hospital until they have better control of not only their powers but whatever personal problems are bothering them. Soon, strange and horrifying things start to happen around them. Their fears almost seem real and all five of them want to get out before it's too late.

My Thoughts

The Good: One of three things that's good about the movie was the cast. All five of them did a really good job despite how much was cut or shot, they still did a really good job with the material they were given. What I also enjoyed about The New Mutants were the characters. Even though I firmly believe we were suppose to get more development and backstory with them, I still grew to care and like them. The final thing that made the movie a pretty decent watch is the action. It mainly shows up in the final act but it's still good and very exciting to watch.

The Bad: The only negative thing I found with the movie was it's one of those films that did in fact needed to be longer. Cause while we still get some sort of character, it still would've been good had we gotten more of that and that's where the longer runtime would've been necessary.

The Okay: The really grey area with The New Mutants was editing. Now yes you still tell things were cut or reshoot, but given how the movie could've turned out it was handled fairly well.

Final Verdict: Okay.

So that's all for me. Due come back on Thursday, Sept 2nd for my review of Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Demonic Review

 

Demonic is a sci-fi horror movie. The film is produced by AGC Studios and Stabiliti Studios and distributed by VVS Films. Demonic is written and directed by Neill Blomkamp.

The story is a young woman named Carly wants to know why he mother all of sudden went a homicidal rampage. To do this, she agrees to a simulation that'll help figure out why, but the more she explores the most horrifying things become. Soon, a demon is now not only harming her mother, but now she's the new soul to torment.

Initial Reaction

My reasons for wanting to watch/review this movie is because of Neil Blomkamp. I think he has made a lot of good movies, and think he is only the most underrated directors of our time. The other reason is, I really love this concept. Using a simulated reality to get answers and then some horrifying stuff starts to happen, is a fantastic concept.

Cons

One thing that I hated about the movie was the relationship between Carly and her mother. The movie wants us to care but, the relationship isn't developed enough to really reel us in. Because of that we get not only a clichéd story with them, but a rather predictable one too. Now to tell you the biggest problem with Demonic and that's how sadly this concept isn't executed very well. I don't recall if we're ever given enough details about the simulation. And there's this one concept about this special ops team. We know of there job, but we never got to see them in action.

Middle Ground

One element to the movie that was pretty good but could've used more of, is the horror. We get a lot of good scares. Like there was this one scene where Carly's "friend" visits her and then next thing you know things get crazy really quick. Again, we get a lot of good horror moments, but we've could've gotten just a little bit more.

Pros

We've got two positives for Demonic and one of them is Blomkamp's directing. In all honesty he's directing was what really made me continue to keep on watching. The other thing is it's certainly unique. I don't know if there's another movie like this, and because of that I probably won't forget this one.

Demonic could've been an awesome movie, but sadly it wasn't. We've a generic story between Carly and her mom, but the biggest issue and this is what really let people down, were the concepts just weren't executed well. We get some good scares, but you do wish that there were more. The real positives were Blomkamp's directing and how the movie is different.

My final rating is Bad But Harmless.

Well I'm all done here. Come back on Monday, Aug 30th for part five of Looking Back at the Films of 2020. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.