Quick Thoughts: Grade – B – Fear Street Part One: 1994 is a fun slasher film that combines 1990’s horror nostalgia, mean kills, and likable characters to create a memorable experience.
Fear Street Part One: 1994 is the first of three films directed by Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon – watch it!) that will be released on Netflix in 2021. Janiak shot the three films back to back to back, and all three have stories that revolve around teenagers battling a cursed witch named Sarah Fier who ran amok in the 17th century. The R-rated slasher film was inspired by author R.L. Stine’s wildly successful Fear Street series that have sold over 80 million copies and topped the New York Times Bestseller List for weeks at a time. The more adult themed books by Stine provide plenty of fun material for future installments, and the series is kicked off promisingly with Fear Street 1994. What’s fun about the movie is how it celebrates nostalgia but still is its own thing, with its own wildly intricate storyline. Another bonus is the fun gore that Janiak (seriously, watch Honeymoon) fought to include. In a recent interview with IndieWire, she said “Right away, I was like, these have to be R-rated slasher movies, I was thinking about being 10 and 11 and sneaking to the video store and renting things I wasn’t supposed to rent, like ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’ That was an important part, always, for me.”
The trilogy starts off in 1994 with a Scream-esque opening that features Maya Hawke (this film’s Drew Barrymore) being killed inside of a shopping mall while she’s closing up the bookstore she works in. The cat-and-mouse game features shots directly lifted from Scream, and it lets you know what to expect during the 107-minute running time (1990s music, movie references, blood). From there, we meet Deena (Kiana Madeira), her younger brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), her ex-girlfriend Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), and two high school drug dealers named Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger) who live in Shadyside, Ohio, a meca for serial killers who have been terrorizing the town for hundreds of years. The majority of the teens in town suspect that something paranormal is afoot, but the adults and sheriff don’t buy the theory, and thus it’s up to the teenagers to solve the mystery after they disturb the grave of Sarah Fier during a melee between them and the residents of Sunnyvale (the nice section of town).
What makes Fear Street Part 1: 1994 so entertaining is that it has a mean streak. There are unexpected character deaths that probably won’t entertain hardcore horror hounds who grew up on 1980’s (and late 1970s) slasher cinema, but, will excite young kids who are just getting into horror and haven’t watched A Serbian Film yet. Also, the glossy digital cinematography by Caleb Heymann (Stranger Things, The Mortuary Collection) contrasts well with the surprise head slicing, and he finds fun ways to make the movie visually exciting with overhead shots, cranes, and inspired shots that subvert horror tropes.
The performances are all solid, and the standouts are Kianna Madeira and Fred Hechinger (watch News of the World, he has a small but memorable role), who find ways to make their characters likable and three-dimensional during all the killing. There really are no weak links, and the only complaint about the movie is that it adds layers and layers of plot atop a film that doesn’t really need it. Fear Street 1994 could’ve been streamlined to create a tight 90-minute film, but you probably won’t mind spending a few more minutes with the likable actors and memorable killer(s).
Final thoughts: Watch Honeymoon
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Mark and Nathan discuss the 1999 film Desert Heat (AKA Inferno), Directed by John G. Avildsen (Rocky, The Karate Kid), and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Pat Morita, Jaime Pressly, and Danny Trejo, the film focuses on what happens when a group of dumb people steal JCVD’s motorcycle. In this episode, they discuss drunk acting, spin kicks, and movies with multiple titles.
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Quick thoughts: Grade – B- – Fast 9 is wildly silly, occasionally unfocused, and lots of fun. Director and writer Justin Lin has created a truly bonkers film.
If you are looking for a film that has a total disregard for logic, gravity, human life, and focused storytelling, Fast 9 is the movie for you. The 10th installment in the Fast & Furious franchise will put a smile on your face as it goes to space, destroys hundreds of cars, and features some glorious flashbacks that fill us in on Toretto family history. It comes nowhere near the quality of Fast Five or Furious 7, but it does go out of its way to make sure the audience gets its money’s worth.
Fast 9 focuses on what happens when Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew battle his estranged brother Jakob (John Cena), who wants to put together a mysterious device that will make him rich (there’s more to it than that, but it gets overcomplicated). To battle Jakob, Dom, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris Bridges), Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Mia (Jordana Brewster) travel around the world and engage in car chases, fist fights, and action scenes that go wildly over the top. During these battles, supporting players such as Queenie (Helen Mirren), Han (Sung Kang), Twinkie (Shad Moss), Stasiak (Shea Whigham), Earl (Jason Tobin), and Cipher (Charlize Theron), pop up to blow stuff up, or move the plot along to its next bonkers location. It’s a lot, and the 60% Tomatometer score is understandable because the film is nowhere as focused as its predecessors – and it legitimately becomes a superhero bonanza that has forgotten how grounded the franchise used to be (don’t worry, the characters are aware of this).
While watching, you might find yourself saying “what, huh, when, where, why?…..Yes!” a lot, because it goes places that are extreme by Fast & Furious standards. During the 143-minute running time, you will see Dom Torreto attach a car tire to a swinging rope, defeat dozens of henchmen with ease, and wear a plethora of sleeveless t-shirts. The action can get a bit oppressive, but it’s nice to see Nathalie Emmanuel and Jordana Brewster contributing more to the plot, as they get standout moments to drive around, contribute jokes, and get in on the action. Also, it’s really cool to see Sung Kang and the Tokyo Drift crew back in the fold after Han was supposedly killed off in Tokyo Drift. It’s always been annoying watching Jason Statham in the Fast franchise, because his character Deckard Shaw supposedly killed Han (and many other innocent people), and yet somehow became an honorary member of the Fast family. Han’s return makes Statham’s character much more appealing, and opens up new and exciting doors for future Fast movies
Final thoughts: F9 is a blast, but it goes to such extremes that I’m a bit worried about future installments because I really don’t want bigger sequels.
Here are my updated rankings (Yes, I love 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift a lot).
- 2 Fast 2 Furious
- Tokyo Drift
- Fast & Furious 6
- Fast Five
- The Fast and the Furious
- Furious 7
- Fast and Furious
- F9
- The Fate of the Furious
- Hobbs and Shaw
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John’s Horror Corner: The Superdeep (2020), an awesomely gross, very creepy Russian Sci-Horror creature feature.
MY CALL: Great for fans of Sci-Horror and those who appreciate gross special effects, grosser creatures, and honoraria to The Thing (1982). MORE MOVIES LIKE The Superdeep: Well I must direct you to the recent Russian Sci-Horror Sputnik (2020). But more infectious horrors that must be kept from reaching the rest of mankind consider Gaia (2021), The Color Out of Space (2019), Life (2017), Splinter (2008), The Ruins (2008), Oats Studio’s Zygote (2017), Harbinger Down (2015), Leviathan (1989), The Thing (1982) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).
After an “incident” of sorts, Anya (Milena Radulovic) is sent with a research and military installment to investigate what happened in a superdeep underground research facility. The access doors to the cavernous environs’ greatest depths of the station have been welded shut and bear the scratchy writings of missing victims reading “insatiable hunger” and “help us” and “demons are here.” Already I feel as if I’m wandering into a subterranean iteration of The Thing (1982) with warning vibes that smack of Event Horizon (1997)… and I LOVE this feeling. Deep at the bottom of this borehole, abyssal recesses were punctured that housed something… something infectious.
Set in the USSR 1984, the opening shots of the arctic tundra with a helicopter approaching a snow-besieged facility feel undeniably inspired by The Thing (1982)—as will be the case for many other aspects of this film. When Anya and the team find a presumed-dead lab assistant (Darya Shagal) emerging from the dark caves, something is very wrong with her. She has been infected by a symbiotic, fungus-like growth that echoes H. R. Giger’s artwork that brought us the creatures and ship design in Alien/Aliens (1979, 1986). Like so many movies that clearly inspired it, the urgency placed on our protagonists is that this infection must not reach the surface; the rest of mankind.
The visual effects are a disgusting gory delight. There are gooey squishy mold gardens on floors, bodies nearly turned inside out with their bioluminescent fungal growths like a body horror Chia Pet, bubbling pustules erupt geysering gouts of fungal spores, and a disturbing creature concept lurks at the end.
The story isn’t riveting nor is it original. In fact, its components are very clearly borrowed and retold with the rather cool real-life scientific spin of the ant-Cordyceps fungus symbiosis (i.e., parasitosis). But you know what? I still think it’s well done, well shot, well (or well enough) written, very stimulating, very creepy, and loaded with incredible effects. Moreover, while a story told and retold and borrowed again and again, this film makes some serious efforts to deliver magnificent shots, to add additional higher concept biology to the well-established infection paradigm of The Thing (1982), and to spin a solid ending, even if a tad cliché.
Director Arseny Syuhin’s first feature film strikes me as a wild success. I thought everything about it was well done, and some familiar horror tropes were defibrillated with visceral flavor.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 52: Clever Kills, Angsty Shark Music, and the Tremors Franchise
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Jay and Mark are joined by Harmony M. Colangelo (@Veloci_trap_tor on Twitter) to discuss the fourth chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss river monsters, angsty music for sharks, and the Tremors franchise.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 373: Airplane!, Bad Fish, and Classic Comedies
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Mark and Norbert discuss the 1980 film Airplane!. Directed by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and starring Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays and Leslie Nielsen, the movie focuses on the hijinks aboard a Chicago bound airplane. In this episode, they discuss disco dancing, drinking problems, and the film’s legacy. Enjoy!
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Black Widow – Review: Scarlett Johansson Finally Gets Her Own Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie
Quick thoughts: – B – Black Widow is a fun MCU film that should’ve given Scarlett Johansson more to do. I enjoyed the action and performances, but it makes you realize how wasted Johansson has been since 2010.
Directed by Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome, Lore) and written by Eric Pearson (Godzilla vs. Kong, Thor: Ragnarok), Black Widow focuses on what Natasha Romanoff (Johansson) got up to between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. The 24th Marvel Cinematic Universe film feels like Ant-Man met Captain America: Winter Soldier, and spawned a cheeky (and serious) action yarn that reminds the viewer of wasted opportunities and exciting future storylines. The biggest issue with Black Widow is how it sidelines Johansson, and focuses a lot of attention on supporting characters like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh – excellent as always), Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour – having a blast), and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz – always great). The three characters are all solid, but they give Johansson little to do, and, sadly, it’s reminiscent of her treatment since 2010’s Iron Man 2. It’s easy to understand why Marvel would want to introduce new players after Avengers: Endgame, but they come at the expense of finally giving Black Widow something meaningful to do.
The film focuses on what happens when Natasha sets her sights on killing the bland MCU-esque villain Dreykov (Ray Winstone – slimy as always), the man who brought her into the Russian Red Room program and turned her into an unstoppable killing machine. To kill Dreykov, she teams up with her “sister” Yelena, a former Black Widow operative who has defected after receiving an antidote that allows her to escape the mind control of Dreykov (it’s more complicated than that). The duo eventually team up with their scientist “mother” Melina, and their “dad” Alexei (we learn more about them during the film’s opening flashbacks scenes), a former Russian super soldier and total maniac who also has beef with Dreykov. From there, things explode, people fight, and thrilling things are set up for the future.
Black Widow features massive stakes for its characters, but relatively small stakes when it comes to the world exploding. This is refreshing as we are treated to motorcycle chases, kitchen fights, and bridge brawls that don’t feature large purple purple beings punching large green giants into nothingness. Black Widow has always been the most interesting Avenger because she isn’t a super soldier or a god, and instead relies on stealth, craft and smarts to survive. Her presence has always been welcome because she can be killed, which makes everything more human and relatable (her fight with the Winter Soldier in Captain America: Winter Soldier is so good). The problem in Black Widow, is that her relatively serious presence (she is a former assassin who turned good, and has many issues), is met with comedy from Yelena and Alexei, who are never really serious. Thus, the tone of the film feels a bit all over the place as we are treated to serious issues, then a gag involving a crashing helicopter. The jokes land, and they are truly funny, but they feel out of place with Natasha around, which then takes the focus away from her.
In the end, Black Widow is a lot of fun, but it makes you wish it would have focused more on the title character. If you are looking for a fun action film, Black Widow will hit the spot. If you are looking for a film that gives Johansson’s 11 years of MCU dedication their due, you might not be pleased.
Final Thoughts: I can’t wait to watch it again, but I wish it could’ve given Johansson a Thor: Ragnarok or Iron Man-esque movie to thrive in.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 51: Beefcake Montages, Living Jet Skis, and R.E.M.
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Jay and Mark are joined by Zanandi (@ZaNandi on Twitter) to discuss the third chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 3 Blu-ray. In this episode, they discuss living jet skis, intense death stares, and scuba conversations. Enjoy!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 372: The World’s End, Elbow Drops, and Pub Crawls
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Mark is joined by Pete and Justin (of the Rambling Ramblers Podcast) to discuss the 2013 film The World’s End. Directed by Edgar Wright, and starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Rosamund Pike, the film focuses on a pub crawl that goes horribly awry. In this episode, they talk about unnecessary elbow drops, failed pub crawls, and the Pauly Shore Cinematic Universe (PSCU).
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MY CALL: For real, if you took a werewolf movie and sanitized it to barely being rated R for the Hallmark Channel, this would be it. Perhaps they only aired it after 10pm so they wouldn’t have to edit it for TV. Just to be clear, I despise this movie. MORE MOVIES LIKE Skinwalkers: Well, for more and much better werewolf blood-feuding try Underworld (2003) and sequels. Blood Quantum (2019) likewise brings Native American heritage into the horror genre.
A Navajo bloodline that some call a gift, and others call a curse, has created a divide between two warring sides. And like Ultraviolet (2006) or Underworld: Awakening (2011), a coming-of-age child is the key to everything. But unlike Ultraviolet (2006) or Underworld: Awakening (2011), I never want to see Skinwalkers again.
Your lycanthropic cast of goodies and baddies: Jonas (Elias Koteas; Fallen, Let Me In, The Fourth Kind, The Haunting in Connecticut), Rachel (Rhona Mitra; Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Doomsday, Skylines, Hard Target 2, Hollow Man), Nana (Barbara Gordon; Cube 2, The Silence), Katherine (Sarah Carter; Falling Skies, Final Destination 2, Wishmaster 3), Doak (Lyriq Bent; Saw II-IV), and Adam (Shawn Roberts; Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Land of the Dead) are all protecting Timothy (Matthew Knight; The Grudge 2-3) from Varek (Jason Behr; The Grudge), Zo (Kim Coates; Sons of Anarchy, Innocent Blood, Fantasy Island, Resident Evil: Afterlife), Sonja (Natassia Malthe; Lake Placid, Disturbing Behavior).
From the opening scenes, the quality of the dialogue and acting harbingers something akin to a ScyFy Channel movie-of-the-week with a tossed-together script and minimal preparation. But this movie’s overall vibe is actually less ScyFy channel and, truly as weird as it sounds, more like a Hallmark Channel movie with werewolves and a very soft R-rating. It feels like a family movie… but with strangely tame gun fights in the streets of a quaint little town on a nice sunny day, and a pack of werewolf bikers that want to kill a young boy before the Red Moon.
This whole Red Moon prophecy regarding Tim’s 13th birthday is explained in devastatingly blatant expository dialogue, complete with the most phoned-in CGI werewolf transformation scenes I’ve seen after the year 2000. The werewolves are thankfully done with practical effects, and they aren’t exactly terrible even if closer to human-form than I’d prefer. The weakness of the werewolves is in the execution of their action scenes… wire stunt jumps, cheap action B-movie gags, randomly throwing people when it would make way more sense and be easier to just gash their guts open with their claws. There’s even a werewolf feeding scene split-montaged with a very sweaty, mostly human-form werewolf sex scene. The effort behind the filmmaking feels very color-by-numbers; this is essentially a Walmart generic brand Underworld (2003) without the vampires or anything remotely as cool as leather wardrobing or machine guns.
An attempted assassination followed by a gunfight in a hospital may sound like a good time to anyone who saw Blade (1998), but not in this movie. It’s a bore. And dear lord, when the film attempts a tense dramatic hostage standoff scene… I just… I just can’t. I don’t care about anything that happens in this stupid movie.
Director James Isaac (Jason X, Pig Hunt) has made some entertaining movies—but this is certainly not one of them. The finale is an extra-long werewolf versus werewolf fight scene. And somehow, there’s not an exciting moment to be found. Hard pass on this movie. HARD PASS!
MORE WEREWOLF MOVIES: The best werewolf movies would have to be An American Werewolf in London (1981; semi-humorous), Silver Bullet (1985), Ginger Snaps (2000; metaphoric), Dog Soldiers (2002; unconventional) and The Howling (1981; serious).
If you want another utterly ridiculous werewolf movie, then move on to Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (1985), Howling 3: The Marsupials (1987) and Wolfcop (2014).
And for more stylish werewolf movies The Company of Wolves (1984), Meridian (1990), Cursed (2005; cliché-loaded and contemporary), Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004), Wolf (1994), Wer (2013), The Wolfman (2010), An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Late Phases (2014), Howl (2015), Raw (2016), Good Manners (2017; aka, As Boas Maneiras) and the Underworld movies (2003, 2006, 2009, 2012) are also worth a watch.
We could consider that Waxwork (1988), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Van Helsing (2004), Monster Squad (1987) and many others also feature werewolves, but not to such centerpiece extent that I’d call them “werewolf movies.”
Movies, Films & Flix 