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I just like to stop by this every now and again. It's amazing how much traction some of my reviews on here have gotten and I greatly appreciate it.

I've greatly scaled back how many people I interact with on here, but if you're still interested in what I have to say for one reason or another, be sure to follow me on the other .

Hope everyone has been well. Happy 2024.

Hi. Hope everyone over here has been doing well.

This will likely be my final log on this . (Although I’ll be periodically checking it from time to time to answer any questions or comments on previous reviews of mine.)

Here is my review on my new : boxd.it/3QwsjL

I’m trying to be a bit more objective with my ratings over there.

Alrighty, here's the slightly longer post.

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Trying to make Letterboxd a more intimate experience and keep the amount of people I follow to those I regularly engage with. I followed a lot of people to find those that I can share my ion of film with and I think I've found them. I actually read every single review I can and it was becoming impossible to keep up with.

If I didn't follow you on the new and we talk or like each others' reviews regularly, it's probably because I follow over 3,000 people here and I'm bound to have missed a handful of s. If you've made it this far, that actually means you read my reviews and I will gladly follow you back on the new .

I really wish Letterboxd had more of a friend system instead of a follower system as it encourages more of a "film critic popularity contest" than a space to start legitimate film discussion.

I also want the people I do follow to feel like I'm actually giving them my attention and I care about what they're saying. Thanks for reading. See you on the new .

Hey.

Don’t usually do these and not a fan of them, but short blurb that I’m transitioning to a new . I got interrupted when setting it up, but will finish later. Just want to use Letterboxd a bit differently. If you get a follow from the other , it is me.

Longer post and actual explanation coming later. Thanks!

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Viewed last night on 35mm.

Definitely one of the more, if not the most unique film experiences I've had in a theater.

I started a new job this week and a lot has been thrown at me, so I was pretty zapped energy-wise during this screening. I'll even it there were times where I was struggling to stay awake which is never really a problem for me. Now that sounds bad, but here me out, I think it actually added positively to my viewing experience for this. Kagero-za doesn't have much of a traditional narrative structure and that's for a reason. It's almost supposed to be treated as a fever dream of sorts and boy, when you're zoning in and out from one endearingly bizarre scene to the next, it sure feels like one.

You'd be hard pressed to explain what's going on most of the time even if you paid your full and undivided attention. With that, it's not necessarily a film I would go a bring all the boys to watch on a Saturday night. More so, it's a film made to be dissected, analyzed, and observed.

While I have mixed feelings about the narrative experience as a whole, I will say that Seijun Suzuki is a master of his craft creatively and visually. There's a way that Suzuki frames his shots and transitions between his scenes that's strikingly beautiful and I haven't seen in any other films before. Sometimes you just have to sit back and marvel at what you're seeing on screen; even if you don't always understand it. I also loved the contrast of the cheery score to what was happening on the screen.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film as a whole experience, but there were times in the middle that I was too lost and the film was too slow for me to be extraordinarily engaged. I would recommend this if you're looking for something a bit different from your traditional western narrative and enjoy seeing some beautiful cinematography.

Still not entirely sure what a bladder cherry is.

Went back to the new dine-in theater because they were playing this. Completely sold out and packed. There were a lot of kids in the theater experiencing this film for the first time. — I hope I can bring my kids to see this film in theaters one day.

Spirited Away played four separate times in theaters near me over the past year. I went to two of those showings including this one. — I won’t miss another. — A perfect film. 5-1/2 stars.

Ok, so I don’t think this film is as “anti-vax” as some reviews claim. I’m basing this off of this review from one of the writers. It looks like they wrote this way back when the pandemic started and I think that explains why everything in the film seems like it was set right at the beginning of the pandemic. This is before we had a vaccine. I think this was a more benign “trust in God and we’ll get through this pandemic” message that was released wayyyy too late.

That aside, this is the worst film I’ve ever seen in a theater. I was pretty excited for a January horror film when I saw the trailer and the trailer itself was relatively well put together, but something irked me and I just knew it would be terrible, lol.

I was right. This completely fails as a horror film and is not enjoyable to watch. I started pretending it was an AI generated horror satire and that actually made it a little enjoyable in the first half, but then it kept going and I just wanted it to be over.

Biggest jump scare is when King Bach was researching the curse and his wi-fi suddenly went out accompanied by a “jumpscarey noise”. I felt that.

Tried a newer theater near me that offers at-seat dining. Honestly, I think I enjoyed this one more than The Godfather.

Tense and shocking moments contrasted well with a pretty light tone throughout the film. Fun performances. Brilliant and iconic cinematography. 

1m+ logs so you’ve heard it all before, but I will say the late 40s/early 50s guy sitting in front of me yelled “side boob! Oooooh, areola. 😏” during a sex scene, so that was pretty interesting, lol.

The film itself gets three stars for a decently captivating first half and amazing performances, but a not too interesting second half that turns into a drawn out court drama.

The story behind the film and its tremendous importance that it’s still told today along with the respectful and reverent way it’s told by a clearly ionate director gets five stars.

I’ll meet in the middle and give it four. I’ve been thinking about this film (more so the story behind it that I knew of beforehand, but never knew all the fine details) quite a bit since I saw it last night. Very impactful. Worth a watch for sure and it’s a notch better than the Wikipedia entry biopics we’ve been getting as of late. It’s criminal how Elvis got so many Oscar nominations and this got none.

An interesting enough watch if you’re into cosmic, Lovecraftian horror.

This one boasts solid practical effects and performances. There were also a few legitimately scary sections near the end and the atmosphere was top-notch. By the time the film ends, it gives you a lot to think about, but it’s not always good.

Really just an average horror experience. There was nothing I thought was done incredibly well or incredibly poorly. The pacing was probably the weakest point and there’s a bit too much dialogue and exposition in the middle section. Might have worked better as a short film.

Overall, it’s hard to explain, but there’s nothing that really makes The Void “pop”. It’s got style and an interesting story, but it slows down just as it seems to be going somewhere. I would recommend a watch as others might get more out of this than I did.

Movie night. My younger brother picked this after seeing a scene posted online.

This was a pretty fun spoof movie from the early 80s. It’s not the greatest film ever made or anything, but it has its moments.

As with most 80s spoof films, jokes will be thrown at you a mile-a-second and some land really well while some will make you roll your eyes.

Good to throw on if you want a laugh or two and don’t want to think too hard. This is also Val Killer’s first film role.

You know, actually pretty solid.

Although I wasn’t super on board initially (even if I did like the humor) when the plot was basically Bill Murray being a turd and manipulating women, I did like where the film ended up and how most of the aforementioned women manipulation typically didn’t work in his favor.

It’s been imitated many times since, but I think the premise is still as entertaining as ever. I really like how this film explored so many possibilities with what people would do with a never-ending day. Everything is here! Learning new skills, living without consequences, depression, and much more that I don’t want to just give away for those that haven’t seen this.

I’m not crazy about this film or anything and there aren’t too many technical aspects to rave about, but it’s a fun 90s Bill Murray romcom and it’s a very entertaining watch. Easy and fun viewing. The idea lends itself well to horror too and I would recommend the Happy Death Day films if you haven’t seen those.

(Wasn’t thrilled about the ending, but not too hung up on it.)

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Side note: There’s a blizzard in this film that traps the main characters in the city. I’m in Western NY and when I left for the theater in the early afternoon, almost all of our snow had melted. I was surprised because we usually have pretty tough winters, but I was pretty happy because it sucks to drive in. I specifically thinking “glad it’s not snowing like that here” when seeing the blizzard.

Well, after the film, I leave the theater and it is snowing like that here and probably the worst I’ve seen in a while. We had a snow squall warning in effect apparently. It was one of, if not the sketchiest drives home I’ve ever had as I’m taking the dark country back roads home (yes, NY is not just NYC and is mostly just farmland with metropolitan areas sprinkled around).

Literally could not see a foot in front of me and had to pull over multiple times as I couldn’t even tell if I was on the road or not at times. I’ve also hit a deer before and they are plentiful around here, so was on edge for that as well.

Anywho, a 30 minute drive became, like, 50 minutes and I was stressed the whole time. I’m home safe and I’m 97% sure I didn’t hit anything. So thanks Groundhog Day. I’m convinced the film willed the storm into existence, lol.

A very well-made and thoughtful film that uses the relationship of two lifelong friends as an analogy for the Irish civil war.

It’s dark, but surprisingly funny. I lucked out and got the theater to myself, so I laughed out loud multiple times. I suspect most people won’t find it as funny, but the subtle ive-aggressive humor of the film really resonated with me.

Looking at the film solely at face value and not as an analogy, it’s still deeply relatable. I’ve found myself on both ends of the relationship depicted in the film over the years. Mostly having friends decide, seemingly out of the blue, that they didn’t care for me anymore and then thinking that, if I just said the right words or did the right thing, I could fix it somehow. On the inverse, I’ve also related to wanting more personal time to develop myself and do the things I’m ionate about, even if it means some of my relationships with others may suffer as a result.

I can see why Banshees is a contender for so many awards this year and I’m happy it returned to theaters near me as I would have been kicking myself for missing it. It’s so beautifully shot and scored. With films like these, they often coast on the fact that the scenery itself is naturally beautiful, but I really feel like the framing, color grading, and editing was done masterfully here.

I also can’t get away with not mentioning the performances. They’re all so intimate and real and I think everyone did a phenomenal job across the board. When we think of someone doing a great acting job, we often think of bombastic and larger-than-life performances, but this film proves just how effective more subdued and expressive performances can be. You can really see the pain in Colin Farrell’s facial expressions and line delivery, hear the ire in Brendan Gleeson’s tone of voice, feel the contempt for her surroundings that Kerry Condon’s character has, and sympathize with the whirlwind of emotions that Barry Keoghan’s young character is going through.

This really is a fantastic film on all fronts and I believe you should take the time to view it if you haven’t already.

Watched in theaters as part of Regal's foot fetish series.

On one hand, this is clearly a George Miller film disguised as a cutesy kids film. It tackles topics of climate change, blind faith, pollution, humans roles in ecosystems, the patriarchy, and societal norms to name a few. There are even a few trippy scenes thrown in for good measure and, boy, it sure was nice to hear Robin Williams’ voice again. Baby Mumble was cute and then he turned into Elijah Wood.

On the other hand, the animated horny singing penguins made me uncomfortable and I’m still not sure this deserved best animated picture over my boy Monster House or even that one car that says Kachow all the time.

Uncut Version

Now this is more like it! After being pretty underwhelmed by Infinity Pool, I decided to give Brandon Cronenberg another chance as Possessor had been high up on my watchlist for quite some time and the premise seemed really interesting.

I thought this was fantastic. It’s lean, mean, and absolutely terrifying to think about at times. I loved the performances, the electrifying cinematography, the writing, the style, and the score. I really liked how the film completely explored it’s ideas of possession from the planning and execution to the aftermath and repercussions. It’s not often I feel like a film’s ideas are fully realized, but I feel so here.

Not a second is wasted with this one. The more you think about what’s going and and what’s going to happen, the more tense it gets. Even in the seemingly mundane scenes, you’re left wondering what’s an act of the possessor or a side-effect of the possession as our lead slowly loses herself.

Yeah, really dug this and, if the plot summary seems interesting, I would definitely recommend a watch and going in as blind as possible. There’s more I wanted to say about this film, but I didn’t want to potentially spoil any of the experience. Be warned (especially if you opt for the uncut version), it is just a notch more graphic than your average horror fare.

Much like Jellyfish, I’ve also had around twenty minutes or so to go on this film for the past few months and decided to finish watching it tonight. The reasoning behind delaying this one, honestly, was because it was such a slog to get through.

It’s not an incredibly long film, but it’s paced so poorly. There’s a couple of scenes back-to-back that straight up turn into full-length music videos? Anything that happens in this film happens in the last twenty minutes.

Poor pacing, bad acting, bad writing, annoying score, weird cinematography. I really love these “people trapped in a room/house and have to figure out how they got there” films and the best ones are typically from around this time period as they ride Saw’s coattails. This one did just not hit right.

Probably should only be 1-1/2 stars, but I’m bumping it up to two as the practical effects were done pretty well (even if they were mostly just gunshot wounds) and Hippolyte Girardot’s (what a name) unhinged performance towards the end was pretty enjoyable.

I would on this one even if you’re a fan of these types of horror films. Pretty dull.

I’ve had only fifteen minutes left of this film to watch for a little over two months now, but it’s been really hard to put myself in the headspace to do that. I’m not one to use this term often and I don’t like it that much, but if ever there were a film that accurately fit the description of “misery porn”, this would be it.

This film is relentlessly depressing and seldom lifts up. I’m conflicted as this is a really well made film. It features great performances, excellent cinematography, and a nice score. It really is not an enjoyable watch and I think it goes a little overboard with the misery including a completely needless sexual assault scene. (which, in fairness, is not graphic)

There’s a very small payoff towards the end, but I don’t think it’s enough to make the first two thirds of the film worth it.

It is, however, an interesting look into standup comedy as a means of escapism and the people that can turn their tragedy into something that can benefit them. I actually went and saw John Mulaney’s new special live in-person a day or two after I watched the majority of this film and he had a lot of material about his recent struggles with drug addiction. It was interesting hearing that material after watching something like this.

Overall, I do like the film and I do believe it to be well made, but I can’t recommend anyone watch it. It’s not good enough to go out of your way for and subject yourself to 98 minutes of feel-bad cinema — unless that’s your thing, of course.

Watched for family movie night. Picked by my dad.

I’ve been on a bit of a Korean cinema kick lately and I’m not complaining. This one is not quite as good as Parasite and some of the visuals have aged pretty poorly, but the film is engaging, the dialogue is well-written, and the social commentary feels like it has some actual weight behind it which I’m finding more and more isn’t the case with a lot of other films lately.

I’ll be eagerly working through Bong Joon-ho’s filmography throughout the year for sure. I think I’ll check out Memories of Murder, Okja, or Snowpiercer next.

I was expecting to hate this, but I really didn’t? It’s certainly better than the second film which seemed to boil down to random = funny. There’s still a little bit of that here, but there are a great deal of genuinely comedic moments that made me chuckle.

It’s easy to look at the first film, which I still hold dear to this day, with rose-tinted glasses, but I genuinely think this holds up to that film albeit not quite as good. The celebrity cameos are here, the silly humor is here, and the characters are endearing as ever. There’s a reason why SpongeBob is still culturally relevant today. While we as adults may think of the humor and references as cringeworthy, I’m sure our parents did back then as well.

Now, while I will defend the comedic aspects of the film, I certainly will not defend the fact that the second act essentially devolves into a bloated Kamp Koral ment. Those flashback segments did nothing to move the plot forward in a meaningful way and it’s astounding just how shoehorned the segments were. Exceptionally lazy writing and the tribute to Stephen Hillenburg at the end as his creation turns into bad spin-offs was the infuriating icing on the cake. Made this film lose half a star for that in my eyes and I almost want to make it a full star.

Also, the animation style, while not terrible, was obviously done to match the Kamp Koral show and I would have much preferred it to stay the same as the main show. I had the same problem with the second film.

Overall, it’s legitimately funny at times and is a decently enjoyable watch, but quickly loses its footing with lazy writing. I’ve removed that second half star after thinking about it more while writing this, lol.

Watched on Saturday January 28, 2023.

I’ve been meaning to get to this one for a bit now and told Chris in the comments of her review that I was likely to “get to it within the week”. That was two weeks ago, lol. My ol’ pal seasonal depression has been kicking in and I haven’t had the motivation to see many movies or do much of anything lately. That being said, I’ve got myself a week off of work before I start a new job and I want to use this time to do things I love such as watching slasher movies, haha.

Queue Sick. A sleek new slasher directed by John Hyams who brought us 2020’s Alone (which I’ve also been meaning to see) and written by Katelyn Crabb and Kevin Williamson; the latter of the two bringing us Scream 1, 2, and 4. This one is set in the not-so-distant peak COVID-19 pandemic times and, as a universally shared experience that only happened a couple years ago/is even still being felt to a slightly smaller extent even today, it expectedly nails the vibes of the early pandemic.

I’ll switch it up a bit from my usual review style and start with what I didn’t like that much. There’s a lot of things here that make this film essentially “COVID Scream” and that’s obviously to do with writer Kevin Williamson. From the cold open to the mysterious phone ca— I mean, text messages from the killer and even places the story eventually goes, there’s a bit too many similarities for this to feel like an entirely fresh experience. Speaking of where the story goes, without spoiling anything, I wasn’t too convinced by the revealed killer’s motivations and found them to be a bit odd.

The cold opening was a tad underwhelming and the camera movements during the action were pretty jarring.

As for the COVID backdrop and satire, while they did nail the mid-2020 feel, I don’t feel like the commentary was done particularly well. Some of the dialogue surrounding it felt a bit forced and the satire ham-fisted at times. Note that this doesn’t mean I particularly disagree with the commentary, itself being a bit muddy and hard to decipher sometimes, but it could have been done a bit better.

Now, if you take away those few shortcomings, this is still a pretty fun watch and a more than competent slasher. As a few small mentions, the protagonists have more than two braincells, which is always a plus, haha, and the kills, while not being crazy original, were fun and the effects were done well to boot.

Where the film really shines, however, is in its gorgeous cinematography/setting, its brisk pacing, and the way it presents the killer.

The cabin and countryside backdrop really is beautiful and there are quite a few shots near the end that really take advantage of that. Save for the cold open, the film was shot well and there was an appropriate frantic energy during the struggle/kill sequences.

Running at a tight 83 minutes, the film quickly introduces us to the small cast of main characters and offers just the right amount of time for us to get to know them before jumping right into the action. The runtime felt like it flew by and I didn’t feel like there were any unnecessary or drawn-out scenes. You could argue that half of the film is a chase scene, but I thought there were an ample amount of things happening and it was broken up enough to keep it interesting throughout.

Where other films try to keep the killer hidden to the audience for as long as possible — typically right before they’re about to strike — Sick only keeps them hidden from the characters. You get to witness as the killer sneaks around the house undetected, often looming in the background of seemingly innocuous scenes. This is probably the coolest aspect of the film and creates great tension where there otherwise wouldn’t be any.

So, yeah, a bit longer review than usual and I’m not even really sure why, lol. Slashers are my favorite sub genre of horror and I could probably talk on and on about them forever. Ultimately, Sick is a briskly paced slasher that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but if you’re a fan of the genre, it offers enough to keep you continuously engaged and entertained throughout. I would recommend a watch, but it’s not must-see viewing by any means.

If you ever need to recommend me a film, just recommend me the opposite of this one.

This was just not for me. Despite what the film wants you to think with all the flashing lights, hypnotic imagery, and imposing sound, this one is pretty dull. I didn’t find the scenes to fit together well, the tone was inconsistent, and it was just a forgettable experience altogether.

I really like the concept, but I really hate the execution.

This one is for the Mia Goth fans.

Sound design was cool tho.

EDIT: More of a valid reasoning why I didn’t particularly care for this film in the comments.

EDIT #2: Got around to checking out Possessor. That film rules!

Watched on Thursday January 26, 2023.

Watched on Saturday January 21, 2023.

He’s not a bad slime… Slurp!

Rimuru pulls a straight up Moses in this, lol.

I’ve been looking forward to this more than I’d like to it for the past month or so. I was browsing Fandango for movies when I stumbled upon this. I decided to give the show a shot to try and prepare myself for the film and, to my surprise, I loved it! I ended up binging the entire current two seasons in just a few days.

So now that the film has finally released in the States, I can say that it’s alright. I went to the earliest showing possible in my area.

There’s a certain inherent novel feeling to seeing your favorite television characters on the big screen. For fans of the show, it’s probably worth it for that fact alone. However, Scarlet Bond offers little new to the franchise. When you realize that the film is telling a new story in just under two hours while a season of the show can tell a much more developed one in around eight, it becomes more about pulling out all the stops and making the film as entertaining and flashy as possible which I don’t feel was entirely accomplished here.

Instead, it feels like a small story that would take place over the course of four or five episodes in between the bigger parts of the show. You’re still entertained, but not blown away by any means. I was really hoping for something more akin to the masterpiece of an episode that was “Megiddo”.

Still, if you’re a fan of the show, it’s nice to have some new slimy content to hold us over until season three arrives. With less time to fit things in, some of the show’s great humor is lost only popping up a few times. The action is also a bit lackluster. It sounds like I’m being a bit harsh, but it’s still getting at least 3-1/2 stars from me as I was always entertained and, like I mentioned, seeing some of my favorite characters in the theater was a treat.

If you’re new to the series, however… Stay away. You’ll be horribly confused as the film takes place directly after the second season and, as the TV show is largely about the growth of a kingdom and its constituents, there’s an extremely large cast of characters to keep track of.

So for fans of the show, worth a watch. If you’re not a fan, it’s not going to win you over.

—

(Review is over, but I have to mention that there were literally five people (including myself) at my screening. There were more than five rows of seats and some guy came in and sat right next to me… There were tons of great seats open, so I’m really not sure why he did that and it was pretty annoying, lol. It’s also not the first time it’s happened to me? Do people have, like, lucky seats or something? I was too self-conscious that I would look like a jerk to switch seats myself, so I watched this with some random dude right next to me in a very much not packed theater. Weird.)

Watched on Thursday January 19, 2023.

First 2023 release for me and it’s ridiculous mostly in the worst ways.

The tone is incoherent and inconsistent in this one. I feel like it was trying to be comedic in a lot of ways (including a silly-looking Nick Cage shooting outlaws that let out wilhelm screams not five minutes into the film), but the film never fully commits to this and I’m left scratching my head if I’m finding the humor amusing in a stupid way or just plain stupid.

I think my biggest complaint is just that it’s a Nick Cage gunslinging western that barely has any gunslinging. There’s very little action here and what is here In extraordinarily underwhelming. You mostly get a lot of dialogue between Cage’s character and his daughter or between the main group of bad guys. It starts to feel like a very poorly done character study. Why are we supposed to believe all of these characters fear Colton Briggs so much, but he never does anything to warrant those reactions in the film?

I’m writing a more scathing review than usual because, after Willy’s Wonderland and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it had started to look like Cage’s career was back on the right track, but this was a lifeless and derivative western that he was clearly only in for the paycheck. I wanted better!

I did like Noah Le Gros’ performance as the villain, even if his character was poorly written.

Despite all of this, the film is still watchable and moves along at a pretty brisk pace. It’s messy, it’s derivative, and it’s forgettable, but it’s still relatively inoffensive overall.

Dang. Job well done, Spielberg.

I’ll it I wasn’t exactly planning to go see this over some other films in theaters, but a showtime fit in with my schedule and I had been wanting to see it, so I decided to go.

A deeply personal work from Spielberg and it shows. Gone are the spectacles of giant dinosaurs, killer sharks, and otherworldly beings. This is largely a 2-1/2 hour family drama and it would not work nearly as well if it weren’t for Spielberg’s masterful storytelling skills coupled with outstanding performances from every member of the cast. Seriously, it takes quite a bit for me not to find Seth Rogan insufferable, but even he killed it here and I really liked his performance. Paul Dano also cemented himself as one of my favorite actors and Michelle Williams’ performance was perfect.

A lot of the drama is grounded and personal, but it’s usually kept pretty light with the more embellished “fable” elements. I particularly enjoyed a scene later in the film showcasing a confrontation between the main character, Sam, and someone who had been bullying him.

I really, really enjoyed this, but I’m not going to give it the full five stars. There were a few moments that I felt could use a little more punch, but I cannot understate how engrossing this film is and how easily it brings you right into its story.

I don’t expect this to be in theaters much longer, but that’s where it deserves to be viewed. Go see it!

Updated/Current Spielberg Ranking:

1. Catch Me if You Can
2. Jurassic Park
3. The Fabelmans
4. E.T.
5. Jaws
6. Jurassic Park: Lost World
7: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

“Can we watch something happy?”

Shoutout to the foley artists on this one!

Originally debuting in my city of Rochester, NY at the Anomaly Film Festival on November 4th, 2022, Skinamarink was something I unfortunately missed out on the first go around. I'm now finally seeing it during its wider release over two months later and wow... I was fully expecting not to be a huge fan of this one and I certainly wasn't planning on giving it a full five stars, but here we are.

This is the first film that I am sitting down at my computer to write a review for rather than on my phone as there's a bit I want to say and, as one of only two films in recent memory that have actually scared me, I think it deserves that much.

Skinamrink is a polarizing and experimental film that I can most definitely understand not being for everyone. On paper, Skinamarink is a nearly two hour long film with mostly static shots of normal household objects and areas. The Wikipedia entry for the plot, which I don't recommend you read ahead of time, only has a little over thirty sentences perfectly summing up what happens in the film which ittedly isn't much at all.

Even still, I found this film to be pretty terrifying. I'm someone who loves a genuine, but non-life-threatening scare. In fact, I love having nightmares as they feel like real life horror movies to me that I can wake up from safely after the fact. Finishing this film is the closest I've felt to the experience of just waking up from a nightmare without having just done so.

If you have memories as a child of falling asleep watching cartoons on an old CRT television just to fuzzily wake up around midnight to the George Lopez theme blaring and everything feeling surreal, this is the horror film for you.

Nothing is explained in Skinamarink and the way it's presented is jarring at first. This works in its favor as it allows the viewer to attach their own personal fears and beliefs to what is happening on the screen. There is no traditional plot or character development, just a surreal nightmare that you can't seem to wake from.

Reality bends and is warped in Skinamarink. It stuck with me even after it ended as I drove home and expected something to pop up in my rear view mirror.

As pretentious as this may sound, I'd consider Skinamarink to be more of a horror experience than a film. I actually found it to have more in common with psychological horror video games than traditional horror films.

I actually think viewing this in the theaters detracted from the experience as every time someone would cough or crinkle their snack bags, it would slightly break the immersion and take a second for me to get sucked back in. Even the low level of floor light around me took a little away from the experience.

To get the most out of this film, I would actually recommend watching this on a laptop with a good pair of headphones at night and free of all distractions.

This isn't going to be for everyone and I can very much understand the mixed reviews. Some people are going to say this is a pretentious experimental film with no artistic merit and some people are going to put you down for enjoying more traditional horror films over this. I find it to be just a unique experience that some will get more from than others and it's okay either way if you love it or hate it.

I recommend all horror fans give this a chance. It will take a while to get into it, but I found it to be a worthwhile experience unlike any other I've had in a very long time. An instant all-time favorite for me.

UPDATE: I’m alone in my room and there were knocking sounds I heard behind me and then my computer blue screened. I’m actually scared, lol. This is awesome!

Doesn’t hold a candle to the first, but much better than Dominion.

It’s still got that 90s PG horror feel to it, but a lot of the scenes were drawn out and the comedy misplaced in parts.

It’s certainly not top-notch Spielberg, but it’s more than watchable. Decent sequel.

Parasite. The behemoth. The film I’ve put off watching since I’ve had a Letterboxd as I was afraid all of the hype and prestige surrounding this film would hamper my viewing experience. How could a film possibly live up to all of these expectations?

To be 100% honest with you, I was mostly right. Parasite is a flawless film. Performances, social commentary, gorgeous cinematography, writing, direction, etc… All flawless. This is truly a masterpiece in film, but it’s not something I absolutely fell in love with.

It’s funny, it’s suspenseful, it’s timely and that one scene with Ki-taek laying still on the floor in the living room had me feeling fifty emotions at once.

So, yes, Parasite lives up to the hype in its quality, but there’s always the personal enjoyment factor and I thought it was just alright in that department. It’s not a film I’ll find myself particularly thinking back on and I’m mostly just content to say I’ve finally watched it. It’s odd, because I feel like I should like it more and I can’t genuinely fault anything, but it will sit at four stars for now and I will try to revisit it some time in the future.

Today I had to make the hard choice between seeing Belle or Friday the 13th in theaters. I had missed Belle during its initial theatrical run due to depression and lack of motivation to go. As you can probably tell, I’ve decided to go with seeing the former as I’m sure I’ll get another chance to see Friday the 13th in theaters some day with it being such a horror classic.

My local film museum of all places was screening this as part of a three film series centering around Beauty and the Beast. They also played the original animated version from Disney, but I wasn’t super interested in that.

The visuals here are incredible and the songs are beautiful. The characters are also very interesting and relatable. This film accomplishes what a lot of films fail miserably at, which is trying to set up a well-known story in the modern and digital age without it seeming forced or cringe-inducing.

I really thought the narrative of people using virtual reality to escape reality was timely and engaging.

There’s a few parts I thought could have been trimmed down a little and a few points in the story that I felt were a little far fetched which is why it’s not receiving a perfect score, but this really was a joy to watch. Oh, and Suzu was prettier than Belle. 🤷‍♂️

Unrelated to the film as a whole, but I’m not sure how many of these anime films I can take. By that, I mean the kind where the lonely and socially awkward teen outcast realizes they actually have a huge system of friends that care about them just as they are. I’m turning a quarter-century old this year and I’m still feeling like that depressed and socially-awkward teenager all too often, but unlike the movies, I’m not sure I’ll be getting out of that rut any time soon.

Small depressing monologue over and I’m thankful for this app to at least be able to freely discuss something I love (films) with other people who feel the same. Hope everyone is well. 🙂

I don’t know why, but I was expecting this to be really, really bad. It’s actually a pretty solid mid-2000s horror film that kinda made me nostalgic for that time period. If I threw this on Netflix at 1AM ten years ago, I would have eaten it up.

There’s some pretty dumb moments, some pretty infuriating characters, and quite a few clichés, but this is a pretty straightforward horror experience and I kinda really like that about it.

The acting is alright and the practical effects are pretty decent while the digital effects have aged pretty poorly. The whole idea of people being encapsulated in wax is pretty terrifying on its own, but a few scenes really drive that home here.

I wanted to give this an extra half-star for the end credits song being Helena by My Chemical Romance, haha.

Overall, this is a decently fun, classic horror film that’s just a bit on the longer side. If you didn’t grow up watching it, I don’t expect it to wow you, but it’s entertaining and is oozing mid-2000s horror charm. Jaume Collet-Serra has quite the interesting filmography.

What a blast! I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed yesterday and see the subbed version, but I was able to see the dubbed version today. Yay for seasonal depression!

I’m glad I did because this was a lot of fun. I never watched the show growing up. In fact, I had only first heard of the show last year while browsing Best Buy for steelbooks, but I’ve clearly been missing out.

It’s silly, it’s bombastic, and it has a lot of heart and soul. You can tell it’s based off of a TV show, however, as it cycles through many villains over its runtime and there never seems to be one big bad guy. That makes the film lose a little focus, but it doesn’t hurt it too much because the fights are still fun and the dialogue is entertaining enough to get through the slower human-focused sections.

One of my new favorite Kaiju films and I’m sure you’ll all see me review this again when I pick it for family movie night, haha.

Awesome! Sick soundtrack to boot!

More of an ultra violent revenge thriller than a straight up horror film, I Saw the Devil surprised me in a lot of ways.

It’s 2-1/2 hours long, but this might be one of the best paced films I’ve ever seen. The story is engaging and subverted a few of my expectations. The performances are phenomenal especially from Choi Min-sik who also starred in Oldboy.

This is an extremely dark, violent, and upsetting film. I can only think of a single darkly comedic scene that lightens the mood here. It’s not a feel-good film and it is certainly not for everyone.

If you can stomach more violent cinema and a cross between Se7en, Martyrs (this film being a hair less brutally violent), Saw IV, and Prisoners sounds like something you’d be interested in, I’d say check it out for sure!

I’m not too sure about Vicious fun, but this was pretty fun.

I wasn’t too sure how I would feel about Vicious Fun. The premise reminded me a bit of Jeremy Saulnier’s Murder Party and I was pretty underwhelmed with that one. Overall, I liked it quite a bit.

You can tell this was made by fans of the horror genre and that both really helps and somewhat hurts the film.

The cast of murderers are fun homages to different types of horror villains from your classic slasher Jason Vorhees to your more methodical Patrick Bateman characters. The kills are inventive and fun and vary from poor to great special effects. The pacing is pretty strong except for a small dip in the middle of the film, but it quickly picks itself back up. The performances were all serviceable and I quite liked Ari Millen’s in particular.

What isn’t so great is the joke writing and the seemingly needless setting in the 80s. This is a horror-comedy at its heart, but the jokes never seem to stop coming. Even though I enjoyed a good amount of the film’s humor, I would have appreciated a few more grounded and serious moments thrown in the mix to even things out. As for the 80s setting, I don’t think it adds anything to the film as a whole. It felt like an excuse to add a synth-heavy soundtrack, but they could have just done that anyway. It feels more like a modern film that is telling you it is set in the 80s instead of actually feeling like the 80s with nothing more than a few fashion choices, old cars in the background of shots, and a healthy dose of payphone usage even alluding to the fact this film takes place in the 80s.

Like I said, though, I did very much enjoy the film and will even add it to my list of favorite horror movies. It’s nothing crazy good that you need to see, but it’s a fun watch that was clearly made with a lot of love for the genre and I had a good time with it.

Is it Nolan’s weakest film that I’ve seen? Possibly. Is it still an entertaining film packed with interesting, albeit wildly confusing, ideas? Absolutely.

This film is almost worth a watch entirely due to its wacky inverted-physics fight scenes, but solid performances from both Kenneth Branagh and Robert Pattinson help to increase the watchability factor.

Despite its entertaining style and obviously high production value, the film is far from perfect. The “Nolan-style soundtrack” is here in full force and, for someone who ittedly usually likes his soundtracks, this one was a bit distracting a repetitive. I don’t believe it was used in the right places. A lot of the acting here, while very good, was also very monotone and expressionless. This is no fault of the cast, but rather a seemingly intentional choice of the director.

While I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed and not at all afraid to it I usually had no clue what was happening, the biggest fault of the film is its numerous exposition dumps that still don’t seem to properly explain anything that’s going on.

If you’re looking for something high-budget and a little different, then Tenet is your film to watch, but I don’t think it quite reaches its own potential.

Out of all the showings to sell out my local theater, I didn’t expect it to be this film, but I’m very glad it was. Such a blast seeing this with my brother and a packed crowd, it’s hilarious!

It’s been a while since my last viewing of Clue and I’d forgotten just how silly and fun it is. Tim Curry gives a fantastic performance, but the entire cast really nails their respective roles.

An easy-viewing whodunnit classic. My only couple of very small gripes are that a few jokes are played out a bit too long thus losing their effectiveness and that it’s not the most captivating of a mystery as motives are all established early on and it’s quite literally a coin toss of who could be the killer (as proven by the film’s multiple possible endings).

That second (again very small) complaint comes down to personal preference in being able to get wrapped up in a mystery, but it being a random chance of anyone being the killer really does stay true to the board game roots and, with Clue being my all-time favorite board game as well, I appreciate that!

If you liked Glass Onion and you haven’t seen this yet, I’d wholly recommend viewing it at your earliest convenience!

Pretty much a straight up comedy with some horror elements.

As always, I do wish the horror elements were able to shine through a bit more. I’ve mentioned before in my reviews how evil technology is actually something I find genuinely pretty scary and there were some really cool horror moments in this that I felt ended way too soon.

I also really wish this had an R rating. There were a couple of moments I sat up in my chair and thought “Oh boy, here we go!” just to be pretty underwhelmed by how tame it was.

Don’t let those personal feelings and criticisms deter you from seeing this, however. I brought my best friend to see it with me and we were dying laughing. It wasn’t exactly the killer doll absolute mayhem extravaganza I was looking for, but it was really funny and an easy watch.

Bring some friends to see it and you’ll have a good time. 😀

Actually a pretty awesome 80s “romcom” of sorts that is wholly unique in its presentation.

My dad threw this on after we watched the less-than-stellar Under the Rainbow and this was a vast improvement.

I really liked this and I’m even going to say it’s now one of my favorite 80s films. I think it deserves to be talked about a lot more.

Like another reviewer mentioned, it sometimes plays like a bunch of sketches stitched together, but I found most everything funny and charming.

It’s not perfect and not every joke lands. Also, Dan Schneider is appropriately the creepiest man on Earth in this. If you’re looking for some fun 80s cheese that’s not afraid to get ever-so-slightly dark every now and then, put this on!!

My dad picked this one for movie night.

Despite starring Carrie Fisher and Chevy Chase, it’s not very good at all. The plot is an incoherent mess, the jokes are pretty much all the same while usually in pretty poor taste (even for 80s standards), and it doesn’t look good.

I chuckled once or twice (usually because of just how genuinely dumb the humor is) and while I’d consider this a bad movie, it was at least slightly watchable.

This film has almost nothing going for it and I wouldn’t necessarily avoid it, but I also wouldn’t recommend watching it.

Finally ended up seeing this. I typically delay watching Marvel movies in theaters under the expectation they’ll be playing for months. That way I can go see them with my younger brother who hates large movie crowds.

This film was probably the biggest-budget, most sincere, and most revering tribute ever put on the big screen. It’s so abundantly clear how much Chadwick Boseman meant to fans, his co-stars, and the world. As a tribute to Boseman, it really is phenomenal.

As a superhero movie, it falls a bit flat in almost every other aspect. A lot of scenes felt drawn out, the action was underwhelming, and the birth of a new Black Panther didn’t feel as impactful as I thought it would. There were so many scenes with glimpses of what could have been both a fitting tribute to Boseman and a great superhero movie, but they never quite came together as well as they could.

A five star tribute to Boseman, a two-and-a-half star superhero movie.

Final movie of 2022 and, just like my first movie of 2022, it’s during movie night with my dad and younger brother.

John Wick has a lot going for it. It’s a sleek and ultra-stylish action film featuring everyone’s favorite Hollywood nice guy, Keanu. It’s a pretty tightly paced and entertaining, albeit a bit mindless, affair throughout.

There are a few things I didn’t love, however, such as the very limited backstory before the main course of events that brings the titular Wick back into the crime world and the pretty heavy plot armor the main bad guys seem to have as Wick seemingly never misses a shot unless it’s directed towards one of them. Would have liked to see a bit more than just gunplay and a few more people in on the action besides just Wick as well.

Overall, my expectations were pretty high and I’m not sure they were completely met, but I did have a pretty good time watching the movie with my family. I hear the sequels up the ante a bit, so I’m looking forward to watching those and the newest sequel some time over the next year.

Extraordinary casting choices and performances. After watching numerous 2+ hour films this week, this one was paced the best. Really flew by.

I love these dark, gritty detective-y films.

Seriously, does anyone have any suggestions for more films like this? (Along the lines of this, Zodiac, The Batman, Seven, or LA Confidential?)

Minus a certain indivdual’s performance, I genuinely believe this to be on the same level as the other two films and serve as a satisfying ending to the trilogy. I’m mainly just impressed and how it feels like a continuation of the previous films even after such a large time gap.

Come at me if you must, but I enjoyed this just as much as the others.

Viewed Martin Scorsese’s personal 35mm print from 1990.

A showcase of some of the best performances in film history and not much else.

I genuinely can’t tell if Aronofsky is a visionary or an idiot.

That is all.

The Godfather: Part II is impressive in that it often stands up right beside the first film on “greatest of all time” lists. I’ve heard many even place it above the first film.

While I certainly agree it is a quality film, I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as the first. Really, this is for two reasons.

#1: I don’t find Michael as compelling of a “mob boss” type figure as I did Vito in the first film. I was much more engaged in Michael’s slow descent from upstanding war hero to gangster, but now that he’s at the top and full-on crooked, his character becomes a lot less interesting to me personally. I found myself enjoying the flashback Vito scenes quite a bit more in this than the present day scenes.

#2: I felt like there was a lot more predictability here and, with largely the same theater audience as yesterday, that was reflected in the audience reactions as well. I’ve somehow managed to go into both of these films almost completely blind and there were quite a few moments in the first film that surprised me, but I was able to easily call most of the plot points in this one.

Overall, the first film was a bit flashier and surprising and I think that was the point. This film was a lot more character driven and it just didn’t hit the right notes for me to enjoy it as much as the first.

It is certainly worth noting that, although this review is seemingly a bit negative, that’s mostly due to my very personal comparisons to the first film. This one still has all of the world class performances, cinematography, score, writing, and story that it’s renowned for. It’s a top quality film, I just am lowering my individual rating a little from the first due to personal preference alone.

Super thankful, as always, to be able to see this on the big screen and I’m looking forward to wrapping up the trilogy tomorrow night.

A genuine master craft of film. The middle-of-the-road reviews mixed with the seemingly subpar promotion of this film really had my expectations set pretty low. I ended up having three hours to kill, so I went to see it. I’m so incredibly glad I did.

This film is wild and I don’t want to give really anything away if you haven’t already seen it. All I’ll say is that the trailers were pretty restrained. Speaking of restraint, this film handles that so well. We’ll be balls-to-the-wall in one scene, but feel so intimate in the next. You can tell Chazelle has total control over what he’s doing.

I’ll be as bold as to say I think this is a better film than Whiplash. There’s a lot of risks taken here and they all pay off for me. It’s clearly a divisive film, however, and it’s also easy to see why.

All that being said, this is one of my most pretentious-sounding reviews and I’m really trying to avoid going into more detail as I’d like to encourage at least one person to see this blind for themselves and in the theater. It really is a spectacle whether you enjoy it or not.

Five full stars from me. Easy.

Whelp, today I went from never seeing The Godfather to seeing Martin Scorsese‘s personal 35mm copy at the theater.

I guess I’m a real film bro now.

Movies I’ve seen in a movie theater of some sort.

• The Northman
• Firestarter
• Escape the Field
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
• Memory
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• The Bad Guys
• Ambulance
• X

...plus 197 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Everyone else has one of these lists, so why not? All-time favorites across any genre. No particular order.

• Spirited Away
• Only Yesterday
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Gone Girl
• Se7en
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

...plus 86 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These are in no particular order, but these are my favorite horror movies and there may be some hidden gems here that you haven't seen before. These are all my opinions, but hopefully, you can find something good to watch!

• It Chapter Two
• Monster Party
• Halloween
• It
• Split
• The Belko Experiment
• Sinister 2
• Circle
• Green Room
• Last Shift

...plus 84 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Movies I have steelbooks for.

• Spirited Away
• The Evil Dead
• The Cat Returns
• The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Kiki's Delivery Service
• Ponyo
• Pokémon: The First Movie
• Pokémon the Movie 2000
• Pokémon 3: The Movie

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Horror movies I watched in 2022. This list is in order of when I watched the movies and contains both full-length films and shorts. If it’s got the horror genre tag and I’ve seen it this year, it’s here.

First time watches only. Re-watches will not be added to the list.

• Cooties
• Confined
• Triangle
• Inside
• Inside
• High Tension
• Oxygen
• Son
• Wrong Turn
• Scream

...plus 59 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I’ve decided I don’t want these on my main films list. Anything under 50 minutes that I’ve seen goes here.

• Ice Trays

  Was told this was a medical feel-good drama.

  There were medical-related things, feel-good moments, and drama. Checks out. ✅

• asdfmovie3
• asdfmovie5
• Basilisk
• The Infernal Cauldron
• A Terrible Night
• Wishing Apple
• asdfmovie
• asdfmovie2
• asdfmovie4

...plus 51 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Official challenge list: https://letterboxd.sitesdebloques.org/spookysarahsays/list/100-horror-movies-in-92-days-2022/

Rules:

• The challenge runs from August 1st through October 31st.
• The goal is to watch at least 100 horror movies in this time period.
• The films must be new to you. In other words, you have never seen it.
• Films must be at least 45 minutes to count.
• Films must be classified as horror by either Letterboxd or IMDb.
• There is no limit to how many films must be watched per day or week, only that you should have at least 100 by the end of the challenge.
• Use the tag 100HorrorMoviesIn92Days on your list and reviews.

[Last Year's List Here]

• Detention
• Midsommar
• Pulse
• Outlier
• Nope
• Leviathan
• The Rental
• Color Out of Space
• P2
• Army of Darkness

...plus 19 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Didn’t want these in my main list of films. Comedy specials I’ve seen go here.

• John Mulaney: New in Town
• Bo Burnham: Make Happy
• Bo Burnham: What.
• Demetri Martin: Live (At The Time)
• John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid
• Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words
• John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City
• Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed
• Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale
• Jim Gaffigan: King Baby

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Yeah, the description.

• Die
• Dead Tone
• Shadow
• Breathing Room
• Choose
• The Traveler
• Amber Alert
• Mum & Dad
• Truth or Dare
• Nine Dead

...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

2021’s Horror Movies - Not in the order viewed because I’m starting this list in September, but next year’s will be!

• Spiral: From the Book of Saw
• The Slumber Party Massacre
• Are You Scared
• Are We The Waiting
• Hatchet
• Hatchet II
• Hatchet III
• Victor Crowley
• Watch If You Dare
• Lights Out

...plus 123 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Movies are ordered in the order viewed. These are not in the official rules, but I am only counting movies with the genre tag "horror" that are at least 50 minutes in length.

Challenge post: letterboxd.sitesdebloques.org/spookysarahsays/list/100-horror-movies-in-92-days-2021/

"The challenge, should you choose to accept, is to watch 100 horror movies you’ve never seen between August 1st and October 31st. There is no limit or requirement on the daily movie count. Only that you must watch at least 100 movies in the 92 day period."

• The Slumber Party Massacre
• Are You Scared
• Are We The Waiting
• Hatchet
• Hatchet II
• Hatchet III
• Victor Crowley
• Watch If You Dare
• Lights Out
• Monster Party

...plus 80 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.