Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an absolute blast and it’s cool knowing that Marvel let Sam Raimi be Sam Raimi. This might be the least MCU movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that makes me very happy. I hope Disney/Marvel continue to allow directors to take chances and have fun.
First and foremost, writing a review for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film is tough because I hate giving major plot points away. These films rely on secrecy and I was able to avoid all the spoilers, so I want you to have a chance to watch the movie without anything being spoiled. Just know that this sequel to the popular 2016 film Dr. Strange focuses on Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) protecting a multiverse traveler named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), from villains who want to use her multiverse traveling power for nefarious purposes. What follows is a chase through different timelines that features weddings, bloodshed (lots of death here), and stolen pizza balls that lead to a great Bruce Campbell cameo. I’m pretty sure the trailers have already given away who the villain is, but I don’t want to do that. Instead, I want to focus on the reason I was so excited to see the film. That reason is Sam Raimi, the director of Evil Dead, A Simple Plan, Spider-Man (2002), and Darkman (listen to the MFF episode we recorded about it).
The best thing about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is that it allows Sam Raimi to be himself. Sure, he can’t go full bonkers, but that would never be expected because the MCU is carefully managed. However, this is a gnarly picture that tosses you into the action and never stops. It’s chaotic, messy, violent, bloody, cheeky, and barely has enough time to develop characters. Raimi loads it up with his famous dutch angles, roaming camera and absurd moments that make you feel like you’re back in the 1980s watching Evil Dead in a theater (except it’s PG-13 and has a giant budget). There is WAY too much CGI, but Raimi finds a way to use it in his favor as Strange, Wong, America, and Wanda Maxmioff (Elizabeth Olsen – so good) battle demons, musical notes (yep), zombies and a one-eyed monster whose eye is plucked from its body with a sound effect that sounds like a gooey pop. There are moments in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that I never thought I’d see in an MCU film (a certain character goes full T-1000 from Terminator 2), and for that, I applaud Raimi and Kevin Feige.
It’s nice seeing Dr. Strange moving on from being Dr. Jerk Face, to become a less-jerky man who has helped save the world multiple times, but lost most of the people he loves in the process. His all-time love Christine Palmer has married someone else, and he lost the Sorcerer Supreme title because he was blipped during the rampage of Thanos. The character change makes him more human and appealing, and it’s nice not watching a sassy Cumberbatch be smarter than everyone for two hours. The biggest issue I have is that the America Chavez character is given very little to do aside from run, get caught, and run more. I’m hoping her further adventures allow her to become more of a character and less of a sprinter.
The production design by Charles Wood (Dr. Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy) is excellent and he must’ve had a stressful and fun time designing loads of sets that range from futuristic to total nightmares. Also, the cinematography by John Mathieson (Gladiator, Logan) has a corporate MCU-esque shine, but still finds ways to incorporate old school Raimi techniques that blend well and don’t take you out of the experience because the dutch angles are too insane.
Final thoughts – I love Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s messy, chaotic and over-loaded, but that makes me like it more. It means that the folks at Marvel are allowing things to get messy, chaotic, and over-loaded.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 424: Young Adult, Diablo Cody and Garage Booze
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Zanandi Botes (@ZaNandi on Twitter) discuss the 2011 film Young Adult. Directed by Jason Reitman, and starring Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt, and a cassette mixtape, the movie focuses on what happens when a successful writer returns home to win back her highschool boyfriend (there’s a lot more to it though). In this episode, they talk about diet cola, bookstore employees, and why this movie features Charlize Theron’s best performance. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Blacklight (2022) – Review – A Predictable Thriller That Feels Like Comfort Food for Liam Neeson Fans
Quick Thoughts – Grade – C – On the Liam Neeson action movie grading scale, Blacklight is a satisfying experience that features nothing new. Much like a Hallmark Christmas movie (which are insanely popular and trendsetting), it’s wildly predictable and easy to watch. If you want to relax and watch an undemanding action film, check out Blacklight.
While the 8% Rotten Tomatometer score is understandable, it’s a bit harsh because the critics should know what they are getting into when they watch a recently made Liam Neeson film. Blacklight is no Taken, Cold Pursuit or Non-Stop, it’s more of a Taken 2, Honest Thief or The Marksman-esque Neeson action film that can be enjoyable if expectations are set correctly. Filmed in Australia (standing in for the United States) in 2020, and directed by Mark Williams (Honest Thief), the movie tells of the story of an guy named Travis Block (Neeson), who has an excellent sets of skills, and uses them to retrieve undercover FBI agents who have gone too far undercover and gotten hooked on drugs, money or danger. The job takes him around the world at a moment’s notice and his crazy schedule means he’s divorced and constantly being insulted by his daughter Amanda (Claire van der Boom – given some of the worst dialogue my ears have ever heard. I felt bad for her because her character is so one-dimensional), who won’t let him visit his granddaughter Natalie (Gabriella Sangos). Block also suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as he does everything in threes, and is constantly worried about locking doors and security. Since it’s a Liam Neeson character, the guy seemingly has a heart of gold despite a shady past and you never get the feeling that this man was ever truly bad or a terrible parent (it’s all said, not shown). Basically, he’s a good guy, who got put in a bad situation, and now is trying to atone for past sins. If Neeson was more rakish or slimy, the scenes that feature him getting insulted by his daughter would play more real, but because it’s Neeson you just want the lady to leave her nice dad alone and stop calling him crazy (which she does).
Block finds trouble when a former agent Dusty Crane (Taylor John Smith – watch Shadow in the Cloud) threatens to blow open an FBI conspiracy to an intrepid reporter named Mira Jones (Emmy Raver-Lampman – watch Hamilton now). Crane’s whistle-blowing actions kick off a few fun car chases, and gun fights with Wallace (Zac Lemmons) and Lockhart (Andrew Shaw) , two deadly operatives who add genuine toughness and believability to the action scenes. In the end, it all comes down to a fun gunfight inside a mansion that showcases Block using his deadly skills to maximum effect. Throw in the obviously slimy Gabriel Robinson (Aidan Quinn), who is the head of the FBI, and you have a fun political thriller that never tries to be anything more than a movie you’d enjoy on an airplane. I don’t mean that as an insult, I’m just saying that it’s happy staying in its lane and giving Neeson fans what they want.
Final thoughts – Set your expectations and enjoy.
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MY CALL: You don’t watch this for an intense slasher or a gory, campy 80s horror. You watch these to see the unfettered mania in Terry O’Quinn’s eyes as he plays a murderous yet loving family man with delusions of grandeur. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Stepfather: For more “family therapy” horror, go for Relic (2020), The Dark and the Wicked (2020), The Lodge (2019), Hereditary (2018), Pyewacket (2017), The Witch (2016), Goodnight Mommy (2014), The Babadook (2014), The Uninvited (2009), The Good Son (1993) or Pet Sematary (1989).
Casually cleaning himself up as if a post-murder shower and shave was as routine as brushing his teeth, Jerry (Terry O’Quinn; Amityville: A New Generation, Pin, Black Widow, Silver Bullet) washes his blood-splattered body, gives himself a clean-cut makeover, and calmly dresses himself in the outfit he had neatly prepared. Beginning the scene looking shaggy, bearded and as rugged as James Brolin (The Amityville Horror), he parts ways with the house of his freshly slaughtered family looking more like a high school principal. He tidies up a bit on his way out, and the house is comically ransacked with blood, bodies and debris as if Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses (2003) literally just happened there. Were it not for the nudity or the brief but graphic macabre opening scene, I’d assume this could have had a PG-13 rating.
Now recently remarried, Jerry has moved in with Susan (Shelley Hack; Troll) and her daughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen; The Phantom of the Opera, Curse II, Popcorn) to bless them with all the love he has to offer… in his own twisted way.
Jerry vents in the basement, and this time is precious for us viewers. O’Quinn really lets loose in these scenes. When Jerry is caught throwing a tantrum by Stephanie, he channels the dripping sinister allure of Frank from Hellraiser (1987); an obvious malevolence that desires obedient acceptance. But deep down, Jerry just has an extremely unhealthy obsession with being loved and being part of a perfect family… and he’ll do whatever it takes to have it. Yet, as it turns out, it seems he’s happy to fold his hand and start over as soon as things get a little rough. Naturally, he then has some loose ends to tie up—like the lives of his wife and stepdaughter!
Look, this movie is really nothing special. But it’s entertaining enough, even if not ideally paced. Not much happens directly on screen, but the blood, tension and aggression run enough. Plus O’Quinn does an amazing job as a crazed “loving” family man. For me, this was probably my earliest exposure to a family-hopping evil stepfather movie. And for that, I’ll never forget it. Director Joseph Ruben (Dreamscape, The Good Son, Sleeping with the Enemy) served his viewers well and continued his career with quality domestic thrillers that should be seen.
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MY CALL: I mean, if you love low budget 80s monster movies (and don’t mind some very hokey writing) then you’ll probably like this. This is 80s B-movie fun at its best. MORE MOVIES LIKE Basket Case: If you enjoyed this, you need to see the 1990 sequel and, perhaps, Frank Henenlotter’s other films (Frankenhooker, Brain Damage).
Duane and his formerly conjoined twin brother Belial have a special bond. Ever-toting around a locked wicker basket that draws many curious questions, Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck; Basket Case 2-3, Brain Damage) carries his disfigured mutant twin brother around New York seeking revenge against the doctors responsible for separating them against their will.
Our first sight of Belial features the monstrosity hanging on the wall waiting to ambush his victim by grabbing his face with his big monstrous clawed hand. He’s a wonderfully fiendish mongoloid, but still, he has a sincere connection with his twin brother.
This film had a very low budget, and the sets are obviously meager. But fret not. For almost every dollar of this budget clearly went to latex lacerations in flesh, buckets of blood, and Belial’s latex creature effects. The monster is essentially a neckless head with black eyes on a squat torso with two asymmetrical beastly limbs. While a bit clunky in execution, I enjoyed the stop-motion of Belial trashing an apartment. Most of the time, Belial was presented as a latex puppet. For those who like it when things get weird, there’s a rather disturbing “sex” scene.
Writer and director Frank Henenlotter (Frankenhooker, Brain Damage) goes to great lengths to illustrate Duane’s history and connection with Belial with lengthy flashbacks. The surgery scene gore and sound editing was the best. And the visual of a screaming, bloody woman with five scalpels impaled in her face is a sight to behold.
The story crescendos to a violent, zany and somewhat shocking end that would seem to make a sequel an impossibility. Somewhat cruel, somewhat realistic (given the outlandish premise). I really enjoyed this low budget, gory classic. Despite its very low budget and clumsy production, it remains quite entertaining.
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John’s Horror Corner: Witch’s Brew (2011), death by craft beer… and death by bad movie.
MY CALL: I really wanted to like this movie. I wanted something deliciously bad. But for my taste, this is simply too stupid and poorly made for my giggles to outweigh my impatience. MORE MOVIES LIKE Witch’s Brew: For other (and actually good quality) movies about consuming deadly things, consider Street Trash (1987) and The Stuff (1985).
The set design, the adult movie/soap opera film quality, the writing, the acting… I’m but two minutes into this drivel and it’s already clearly awful. I’m reminded of my recent experience watching Tiki (2006). But much like Tiki (2006), this movie also promises some fun to be had. For within the first four minutes a young boy who wronged a witch is caught by her coven and hexed to suffer instant blistering boils and cysts, pulsating as his face squirts and crusts over into puffy burn-like latex work. The budget is clearly micro, but this movie sure is trying hard and I’d be lying if I didn’t crack a smile at this. Unfortunately, this would turn out to be the high point of the entire movie.
When two microbrewers on a beer delivery—Preston (Gary-Kayi Fletcher) and his annoyingly superstitious partner Jeff (Chris Magorian)—run over a black cat, they visit the owner to apologize. Distraught with the death of her cat, the witch owner literally curses their beer.
The cat roadkill scene is hilariously bad; like, top tier B-movie low budget bad. And it turns out, the cat was actually a transformed witch from a coven (incl. Lauren Lakis; Other Halves). The coven must now find a female sacrifice to transfer the witch’s soul and rejoin them.
Meanwhile, Preston and Jeff hit the town selling their cursed lager. Here’s where this movie becomes a poor man’s Street Trash (1987). Everyone who drinks it suffers a stupid, bloody death of sorts. A man in a wheelchair is kicked to death by his paralyzed legs (I giggled, but it’s mind-numbingly stupid), the liquor store owner craps out his own bloody intestines, there’s an aging uglification, a bloody on-screen castration… other deaths are annoyingly dumb and goreless. Just in case any of these deaths sound cool, be warned that they’re really not when viewed on-screen. Maybe some are momentarily amusing, but literally only for a moment, if at all. This movie also boasts the worst looking werewolf I can recall ever seeing—really, the worst. The highlight and weirdest visual of all is the sex scene, which featured some bizarre food-related imagery.
I’ve seen a lot of REALLY bad movies. But this wanders into a territory I like to call aggravatingly bad. I’m sure someone out there will revel in its badness. But this strikes me as several tiers below the movies we conventionally call B-movies or “so good they’re bad.” Its budget is far lower, the writing and acting are far worse, and there is little satisfying to be found.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 423: Walking Tall, Remakes, and Dwayne Johnson
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark, Phil and Adam (of the GoFigure YouTube show) discuss the 2004 film Walking Tall. Directed by Kevin Bray, and starring Dwayne Johnson, Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough and a large piece of wood, the movie focuses on what happens when some jabronis mess with Dwayne Johnson. In this episode, they talk about healing powers, remakes, and breakfast.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Petite Maman (2021) – Review – A Delightful and Absorbing Fantasy by Director Céline Sciamma
Quick thoughts – Grade – A – Petite Maman is an absolute delight that is filled with warmth, charm and excellent performances. It was one of my favorite 2021 films and I hope people go see when it hits theaters. Director Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) has been on a tear lately, and she’s working on all cylinders here.
What I love most about Petite Maman is how Sciamma wants you to absorb the onscreen emotions, and she rarely ever telegraphes or holds your hand through the brisk 72-minute running time. She lets the scenes play out in long takes that features interogations, pancake making, and a wonderful moment involving snack food and a juice box. The fantasy is never explained, and it doesn’t need to be because that’s not the point. The point of the film is to explore grief, loss, and childhood illness through the eyes of two precocious children.
Petit Maman focuses on an eight-year old named Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) who travels with her father (Stéphane Varupenne) and mother (Nina Meurisse) to clean out the home of her recently deceased grandmother. During some downtime she starts exploring the nearby forest and she meets Marion (Gabrielle Sanz) a girl who is similar in age and happens to be building a makeshift fort in the woods. After a few minutes of fort construction it starts to rain, so Marion takes Nelly back to her house, which happens to be the same exact house that Nelly was just cleaning out. After a brief tour to make sure the house is exactly the same and the secret doors are where they should be, Nelly learns that Marion is her mother and she has entered into another timeline where she and her mom are the same age. It’s magical realism at its finest and it’s neat to know that Sciamma drew from Miyazaki, Back to the Future, and Big for inspiration. Also, it was very refreshing to see this world from the viewpoint of Nelly, a wildly inquisitive child, who when adults don’t want to explain something to her because it’s “child’s stuff,” she responds with “I’m interested. I’m a child.”
Sciamma made this film during the pandemic, and it never feels like a movie filmed during a pandemic. Sure, the settings are isolated and the cast is small, but the movie has a universal feeling that doesn’t feel constrictive. Instead, the isolation and small cast draw you in because there isn’t much to distract you or pull you out of the experience. Sciamma purposefully didn’t rehearse the scenes with her young actors and that decision paid off because the performances of the two actors (who are sisters) feels natural and are a big part of why the experience is so successful. When the movie ends (with a hug) it’s almost disappointing because it means you have to leave a world you like, and that is a rare feeling. Very rarely do I find myself totally absorbed in a movie, and off the top off my head only Take Shelter, The Truman Show, The New World, Murderball and Portrait of a Lady on Fire come to mind.
Another positive about Petit Maman is that it reunites Sciamma with recent Academy Award nominee Claire Mathon (Spencer, Atlantics, Portrait of a Lady on Fire). Mathon is an excellent cinematographer and in this movie she makes sure that the focus is on the characters, but she still finds ways to make hallways, fallen leaves, and wood piles look appealing while never losing focus on the performances. The movie is shot very intimately, and that makes sense considering the material is so intimate.
Final thoughts – Watch this movie.
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John’s Horror Corner: Sator (2019), an atmospheric wilderness horror that cusps on a Wendigo film.
MY CALL: Style over substance, for sure, as not much is offered in terms of meaning, cause or explanation of any sort. The atmosphere is creepy, truly mystifying and ever-intriguing. The lack of anything else often feels sluggish as we eagerly await some form of result or action, but to little satisfaction. Hard to recommend, but I wouldn’t necessarily warn one away. MORE MOVIES LIKE Sator: For more mystifying wilderness horror, consider Black Mountain Side (2014) or The Last Winter (2006).
So let’s talk about atmosphere. Director and writer Jordan Graham’s (Specter) cold opening scenes feel like a toned down Hereditary (2018) finale remade through the eyes of Robert Eggers (The Witch). The tone is laid down thick and creepy, steeped in “WTF is going on here?”
Wandering the wet woods at dusk, Adam (Gabriel Nicholson; Specter) and his dog hunt, doing the rounds tending to DeerCams. Adam’s life is simple, Spartan for our time. He drinks from a jar, sitting down to his laptop beside a lantern at a desk that could easily have looked just the same 100 years ago, less the computer which he only uses for monitoring his DeerCams. Adam lives much as those who wish to be forgotten.
Despite his local brother and grandmother, Adam is an antisocial hermit haunted by his grandmother’s family legacy of a connection of sorts to a spirit of the forest: Sator. Adam has inherited this link to Sator’s whispers and influence. Throughout the film, we watch him struggle to maintain his grasp on sanity as the whispers from Sator become actions and real-world manifestations, if not only in Adam’s mind.
Sator feels very much like a softer-handed Wendigo story, perhaps without being a Wendigo movie at all. For much of the running time, this film is simultaneously boring and intriguing; very little happens, but you ever wonder what’s going to happen. I suppose this is a success on the part of the atmosphere. Still, I am left wanting for so much more.
Not that I disliked this film, but I never found any escape or clarity of my feelings of “WTF is going on here?” Sometimes, that works for a movie. In this case, I think far too little was offered under the guise of crafty mystique. The ending was shocking and intense, but like the rest of the film, much was left to be desired. Still, this film is… something. Never riveting, often boring, yet always intriguing.
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MY CALL: There should be a subgenre called “WTF horror” for bad movies like this that don’t make any sense. That said, it was more entertaining than I expected… but for gleefully dumb reasons. Yeah, it’s that kind of bad movie. MORE MOVIES LIKE Nightmare Weekend: If you like horror movies with inexplicable plots and seemingly random means of death, then try these “WTF horror” movies: Ghosthouse (1988), Superstition (1982), Witchery (1988), Hellgate (1990), Nightwish (1990), The Outing (1987)… I could go on.
So this is an 80s horror I’ve never heard of, by a director (Henri Sala) who has done seemingly only foreign erotic films, starring no one I’ve ever heard of (incl. Andrea Thompson, Karen Mayo-Chandler) who mostly have only ever acted in this movie, and it was picked up by Troma. So… I’m not expecting much, unless we’re talking about breastly expectations and some low budget splatter gore.
So in the opening scene a presumably villainous woman (Debbie Laster; Bad Girls Dormitory) is directing two guys that seem to be hijacking satellites while a “living” hand puppet—yes, like an actual puppet that is being treated as any other live action character in this movie—somehow remotely transforms one guy’s necklace into a floating silver murderball a la Phantasm (1979) which then attacks and gorily dislodges the guy’s now dangling eyeball and tears most of the flesh from his face. This sentence likely informs you of everything you need to know about this movie. For me, this is delightful! But fair warning, this movie may have peaked early.
There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense in this movie, and the animated hand puppet (which goes completely unexplained) is just the start. The computer the puppet uses to create, activate and control floating silver murderballs is also apparently a videogame console that a teen girl uses to play games that affect other people in reality (and the teenager is aware of this). And the puppet literally gives its teen owner life advice! You know, like about cute boys and crushes.
A group of college students sign up for a weekend of relaxation to be test subjects in some sort of paid experiment. They basically just have drinks, have sex, and hang out by the pool… the experiment isn’t explained very well. There’s a lot of nudity and numerous sex scenes, and it’s generally just there. Most of the time victims having sex creates vulnerability and opportunity for a killer. Nope, not here. Boobs abound simply because that’s what this director knows and likes. To the critical eye, this movie makes “gratuitous nudity” in other horror movies appear substantial and integral to the plot.
So the aforementioned super-computer, which is apparently what is being “tested” in this experiment, sends a signal that transmutes everyday objects into silver murderballs which have a propensity to fly into people’s mouths and either kill them or possess them. Sure… makes sense… No wait—none of this makes sense. Not even a little. Another Phantasm ball flies and ruptures a guy’s neck. I have no idea how these balls work. Commands are entered into a computer and what ensues looks more like magic.
I guess this movie is doing its best. It’s occasionally entertaining in terms of gore, equally boring for the majority of scenes, and sometimes simply ridiculous. This one shot of a guy dancing alone to music on his Walkman is actually weirdly entertaining.
As if this film was ever going well, the last 15 minutes degenerate into a lame murder zombie finale complete with horrid zombie make-up, green slimy drool, and random amok stabbery. No clue why they all became zombies. I guess that’s all a part of the mystique of the computer-generated murderballs.
I didn’t hate this, but it’s obviously something I’m not watching again nor would I recommend this. The greatest fun in this movie is for the fan of bad 80s horror who delights upon discovering a movie not yet seen that now must be seen.
Movies, Films & Flix 