Movies I Watched in April 2021

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Date: 4/1/2021
Viewed: In theaters
First Viewing

Note: After waiting so many years to see another crossover fight between these two legendary movie monsters, it was worth it. I was worried that Adam Wingard (the director) was going to screw it up because the guy's track record is not the best. To my surprise, I had so much fun watching Godzilla vs. Kong in a movie theater. Watching Godzilla vs. Kong brought back that movie magic that I missed ever since the pandemic started. Watching two giant monsters destroying buildings is a visual treat to experience on the big screen. Unlike the movies in the Monsterverse, you can actually see what is going on. No more fights in the dark or in the rain. Adam Wingard understands what people want from these movies. Giant monster fights and less stupid drama from human characters that we do not care about. The characters in this movie are basic, however, they are not totally paper-thin because they do have some personality to them, and they keep the plot at a nice flow.

Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) as Bernie Hayes is probably my favorite character in the movie because he is a crazy conspiracy theory nut job. Demián Bichir (The Hateful Eight) as the main villain is another fun character because he feels like a Saturday morning cartoon character by being cheesy and over the top. Later in the movie, we finally see MechaGodzilla and this is the first time that the Godzilla franchise had an evil MechaGodzilla since Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975). MechaGodzilla does not show up until the final act of the movie, it is worth it. It was cool that Godzilla and Kong team up to take on a bigger and stronger enemy. Another thing that I like about Godzilla vs. Kong is that Kong has some level of character to him. The friendship between Kong and the little girl is cute and heartwarming. You almost feel sorry for Kong because the military is using him as a tool and nothing else.

I have some minor issues with the story that annoyed me. Bernie Hayes and the two other teenagers can sneak inside the secret facility at the Apex base so easily. Where are the security guards if people can easily walk into an elevator right next to them? Stuff like this in movies always makes my head hurt. I know it is fictional, but I have a hard time believing that they would want to keep it so secret and yet have people easily find it. Other than that, I have no other problems with this movie. I still recommend Godzilla vs. Kong if you enjoy fun big budget popcorn flicks.

Date: 4/2/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: God Bless America is one of my favorite movies released in 2011 and I decided to revisit it because the movie is now 10 years old. It is amazing time flies because 2011 still feels like a few years ago to me. A decade later and God Bless America is still a great movie in my opinion. This movie is a satire of the dark, violent, and tragic underbelly of America. God Bless America pokes fun on America's obsession with guns and the mass media's coverage of gun violence. It shows that people are so reckless and stupid when they are using guns. I love that the movie points out that the mass media likes to blame the victim on violent movies and violent video games because people need a scapegoat. Even in 2021, America has not changed at all since this movie was released.

God Bless America feels like someone threw Network (1976), Falling Down (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Idiocracy (2006) into a blender because this movie does share several things in common with those films. Similar to Falling Down, the main character (played by Joel Murray) is your typical middle-class person that is going insane with the surrounding world. Every time when you turn on the TV, it is always the same thing over and over again. You have the news telling people that the world is falling apart, reality TV shows for the lowest common denominator, and dumb shows for children. Watching and hearing the same old thing repeatedly is going to drive anyone into insanity. Also, just like with both Falling Down and Natural Born Killers, the story is a reminder not to be like the two main characters with their self-destructive behavior.

Like both Network and Idiocracy, God Bless America pokes fun on consumerism and how TV can manipulate people for star power. People will do anything for fame and glory because they like to see themselves recorded for the world. With all the fame and glory in their heads, people just want to lose touch with reality and only want to escape into their childish fantasies. Even the main character in this movie says it the best by saying "No one has any shame anymore, and we're supposed to celebrate it."

The performances from both Tara Lynne Barr (Hulu's Casual) and Joel Murray (The Artist) are fantastic because they have great chemistry with each other. You can tell that the two characters enjoy being around each other. The humor in this movie is hilarious with plenty of dark humor that is not always politically correct. They were able to make dark humor without crossing the line in my opinion.

Overall, God Bless America is a fantastic movie and I do highly recommend checking it out.

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Date: 4/2/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime
Re-Watch

Note: The Pit and The Pendulum is one of Roger Corman's best films in my opinion. The production values are amazing and the cinematography from Floyd Crosby (Tabu: A Story of the South Seas) is colorful to look at. Roger Corman did a fantastic job of trying to recreate Edgar Allan Poe's vision. The creepy music from Les Baxter (Savage Sisters) helps the movie feel more atmospheric. It's been years since I have read the original story from Edgar Allan Poe, so I can't compare the two. The story is well written with a solid cast of characters and good performances in my opinion.

Vincent Price steals the show by being both campy and serious at the same time. Vincent Price never lets me down no matter how bad a movie can be. I don't have anything else to say about this movie other than it's a great classic. Check out The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) when you get the chance.

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Date: 4/3/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray (Red Box Rental)
First Viewing

Note: I'm not the biggest Pixar fan because I don't think they are the end all be all of animation like many people do. I was still eager to check out Soul because it looks interesting. To my surprise, Soul is a pretty solid movie in my opinion. Just like every Pixar movie, the animation is amazing with a great amount of detail. Pixar has come a long way in the last 25 years since the first Toy Story movie back in 1995. I do like how experimental the animation can be by mixing different animation styles such as line drawings. I'm also surprised that Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) did the music for this movie because it sounds like nothing anything that he has done. I'm not saying that is a bad thing because the music is excellent.

Even though the story does suffer from predictability, they still did a good job of creating a fun cast of characters in my opinion. Jamie Foxx as Joe Gardner is a likable guy and you can really feel his love for music. Joe's friendship with 22 (voice by Tina Fey) is fantastic and I love the message of this movie by showing that everyone has a purpose in life. I thought it was nice to see Wes Studi (Deep Rising) in this movie because I always thought he is a cool actor. I still have some minor issues with Soul because you do have some plot holes that made me scratch my head at times. Other than that, I have nothing else to say about this movie. I'm glad that this movie exists and I still recommend it if you enjoy Pixar movies or animation in general.

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Date: 4/4/2021
Viewed: Vudu
First Viewing

Note: Happy Easter everyone. I decided to celebrate Easter by watching an Easter theme horror movie. Seeing it's now available on Vudu for free (As of 4/4/2021), I thought I might as well check it out. Easter Bunny Kill! Kill! is probably the darkest Easter movie that I've seen. This movie is very violent with strong scenes of gore. I like that they use practical effects for the gory kills because they do look great on screen. You even have some death scenes that are homages to other movies such as The Driller Killer (1979) and Oldboy (2003). Another thing that I like about this movie is the atmosphere because it has a low-budget shot on video vibe to it that you would find in many old direct to VHS films.

Timothy Muskatell (Chop) plays a total sleazeball named Remington and he does a good job with his performance. His character is like watching a darker version of Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The other characters in this movie are not very interesting except for the mom played by Charlotte Marie. It is cool to see Trent Haaga (Starry Eyes) have a role in the movie even though it's a very small role. I would rate this film higher if it was not for the bad pacing. The first 40 minutes of this movie are hard to sit through because you have terrible dialogue and unlikable characters. It takes forever for the good stuff to happen. Without spoiling things, the story does jump the shark during the final act of the story.

Overall, Easter Bunny Kill! Kill! is a decent low budget horror movie and I do recommend it if you enjoy trashy movies.

Date: 4/4/2021
Viewed: Youtube
Re-Watch

Note: Dogma is one of my favorite movies from Kevin Smith and it never gets old when I rewatch it. I probably watch Mallrats (1995), Dogma, and Jay & Silent Bob (2001) more times on VHS as a kid than I did with Kevin Smith's other movies (I didn't appreciate Clerks and Chasing Amy until I was older). I still remember when this movie was a big deal back in 1999 when I was a kid with the controversy of this movie being talked about on the news. You had people who thought no one would want to be a religious person anymore after watching this movie lol. What I love about Dogma is the humor and the creative story. Every time when I watch this movie, I always laugh hard because almost every scene is hilarious. You have so many quotable lines that I still like to quote once in a while with my friends. Dogma has a great cast of characters with many solid performances.

I always enjoy the story in Dogma for being fun and creative. You have an abortion clinic worker (played by Linda Fiorentino) that has to save the universe from being destroyed and wants nothing to do with it. Linda Fiorentino's character is someone that has never believed in God and is now finding out the truth of the world. I find it interesting to have a story that deals with an atheist that is finding out that a God exists instead of the other way around. I also like the apocalyptic religious theme of the movie because the movie did come out during the Y2k fear. You did have similar end of the world religious theme movies that came out around that time such as The Minion (1998), End of Days (1999), and Stigmata (1999) as well. Dogma does feel like it belongs right at home with those films in my opinion. What I also love about the story in Dogma is the satirical approach to organized religion. I like that Kevin Smith is able to point out the flaws in Catholicism without coming off as too mean-spirited in my opinion. The special effects in Dogma still hold up except for some scenes of CGI. Dogma is probably Kevin Smith's biggest budget movie and I can see why Kevin Smith decided to wait 5 years after Clerks to make this movie. He would never able to pull it off back in 1994.

Overall, Dogma is a great movie and I do recommend it if you enjoy comedies. If you're a very religious person, you are probably not going to like this movie at all.

Date: 4/5/2021
Viewed: Tubi
First Viewing

Note: I have never seen any of the Turbulence sequels until now despite me always seeing them at my local video stores. I was curious to check out the sequel despite it being a direct-to-video title. After watching the movie for the first time on Tubi, I didn't like it at all. Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying is not a good movie. The first Turbulence movie was hardly a great movie, but at least it had a suspenseful atmosphere and fun characters. Turbulence 2 is a chore to watch because the movie seems to just drag on with nothing interesting happening.

It almost feels like that they decided to make a sequel to Turbulence at the last minute because the story has almost no connection to the first Turbulence movie at all. I would have never known that this movie is a sequel if a character never mentions the airplane crash from the first movie. The characters are even worse than the characters from the first movie because they are so forgettable. I can't think of a single character in this movie that was good or memorable. The only good things about Turbulence 2 are the production values and the acting. For a direct-to-video movie, the special effects didn't look bad. You do have decent performances from Tom Berenger (Inception), Jennifer Beals (Before I Fall), and Craig Sheffer (Nightbreed). You can tell that they really did try with the material that they were given with.

I don't recommend watching Turbulence 2 at all. Go watch Air Force One (1997) or the first Turbulence movie instead.

Date: 4/5/2021
Viewed: Criterion Channel
First Viewing

Note: I wanted to watch Fish Tank for years after hearing great things about it. After watching this movie on the Criterion Channel, I did enjoy it. Fish Tank is a solid drama film in my opinion. I really like the atmosphere in Fish Tank because it has a slow burn slice of life feel to it similar to movies from Sean Baker. The atmosphere sucks you into the world that these characters are living in. I did felt like that I was in London with these characters when watching them on-screen. The acting is fantastic because every character felt like people that you would know in real life. As someone who grew up being socially isolated, I can totally relate to the main character in Fish Tank. The cinematography from Robbie Ryan (Marriage Story) is breathtaking with many wonderful shots of London. Watching this movie makes me want to visit London (I hope to do so after Covid is over).

The reason why I'm not rating this movie higher is that it took me a while to get invested in the story. I can see myself rating this movie higher when revisiting it again in the near future. I still highly recommend watching Fish Tank if you enjoy long slow burn movies.

Date: 4/6/2021
Viewed: Shudder
First Viewing

Note: People have recommended this movie to me because they told me it's a good horror movie. I end up watching this movie on Shudder and I didn't like it at all. I do like the premise of The Taking of Deborah Logan because a horror movie that deals with Alzheimer's disease sounds interesting. Too bad, the movie was boring to sit through. I didn't like any of the characters and I had a hard time getting invested in the story. Not a single character was likable or memorable in my opinion.

I do have to give credit where credit's due because they did a lot of research on Alzheimer's disease. The production values are solid and the atmosphere is very spooky at times. Even the acting is decent in my opinion. If you do enjoy found footage movies, you may want to give it a try if you're curious. You will probably like this movie more than I did.

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Date: 4/7/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray (Shout Factory)
Re-Watch

Note: Cobra is one of my favorite movies starring Sylvester Stallone that isn't Rocky or Rambo. Cobra gives you what you want in an 80s action movie. You have a badass action hero played by Sylvester Stallone, cheesy one-liners, awesome fight scenes, and cool explosions. "You're a disease and I'm the cure" is one of the coolest lines ever in my opinion. There's not a single dull moment in this movie because almost every scene is filled with nonstop action. The story is messy, but there was interference with the studio when filming. Cobra was originally a 2-hour movie with many scenes cut to avoid an X rating (Now NC-17). From what I've read, the original footage is lost and we will probably never see the original cut of the film. However, I'm still happy with the movie that we have. Even though Cobra is a silly movie, I do feel like the movie does have a nice social commentary on people that use the system to cover up their crimes. In Cobra, you have criminals that abuse the system every day, and sometimes the police don't care. It shows that even goofy action movies can have something to say about the real world.

I have nothing else to say about Cobra other than it's awesome. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should get on that ASAP.

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Date: 4/8/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
First Viewing

Note: I have been looking forward to watching Willy's Wonderland ever since it was first announced. I decided to wait for the price to drop because I'm not spending $20 on a rental (I was also not going to drive one hour to see it in a movie theater). You can now rent it digitally or rent it at your local Red Box for a cheaper price. It was totally worth the wait because Willy's Wonderland is awesome. I had a blast watching Willy's Wonderland because it's over the top, stupid, and fun. Willy's Wonderland has a stupid premise and actually makes it work. I went into this film to see Nicolas Cage fight evil robots and that's what I got. If you go into Willy's Wonderland for high art, you are watching the wrong movie.

Willy's Wonderland mixes horror, comedy, and action very well into one movie. I found myself laughing hard both intentionally and unintentionally. Willy's Wonderland has crazy gory moments from Nicolas Cage that I felt like was missing in Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021) in my opinion. You have plenty of brutal kills that are fun to watch. The gory kills in Willy's Wonderland almost become like a video game by having gory kills similar to fatalities from a Mortal Kombat video game. Even though Nicolas Cage has no dialogue in the movie, he still plays a cool character. Nicolas Cage's character loves to drink beer and play pinball while fighting robots. I do like that they use practical effects for the gore and the robots. It makes the movie feel more authentic in my opinion.

Willy's Wonderland is still far from perfect because I do think they should have developed the other characters better. Nicolas Cage's character is the only character in this movie that is interesting meanwhile the other characters feel paper-thin. Most of the characters in this movie only exist just to be killed and that's it. I still recommend checking out Willy's Wonderland if you enjoy dumb horror movies.

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Date: 4/10/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
First Viewing

Note: I finally had the chance to sit down and watch this movie after hearing good things about it. Survival Skills is a solid movie that is very creative and funny in my opinion. I love the aesthetics that Survival Skills has because the movie looks and feels like a shot on video movie. I felt that they did a great job of recapturing the style of a low-budget tape from the 1980s. I like how creative the story was by being a mixture of a cheesy police training video while also being its own story at the same time. Without going to spoilers, the story goes in a darker direction that I didn't expect to happen.

The humor in Survival Skills is very funny by being a satire of the police force. It also pokes fun at America during the 1980s with people being scared of heavy metal music and communism. Stacy Keech (American History X) is the best actor in Survival Skills by playing the narrator in my opinion. The other performances are not bad, but they could have been better in my opinion. Vayu O'Donnell (Cell) does a good job with his performance while other actors in the movie feel wooden at times. Other than that, I have nothing else to say about this movie.

I highly recommend checking out Survival Skills when you get the chance.

Date: 4/10/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray (Scream Factory)
Re-Watch

Note: I love Freddy vs. Jason and the movie does hold a special place in my heart. During the summer of 2003, it was a big movie summer for me which contain Terminator 3, The Matrix Reloaded, and Hulk (which end up being a letdown). It was the first time that I saw an R-rated movie in theaters without any parental supervision seeing that they didn't care that they let a 12-year-old kid in without an adult :D. I end up seeing the movie twice on the big screen and watched it countless times on DVD during the 2000s. I also feel like Freddy vs. Jason was the last big slasher movie because Hollywood started to move on to more splatter films such as the Saw franchise and the Hostel movies after 2003.

I don't think Freddy vs. Jason is a great movie because it does have dumb dialogue and weak characters. Monica Keena (The Devil's Advocate) as Lori Campbell is probably the best character in the movie in my opinion. The CGI in this movie is terrible (even back in 2003). Despite the flaws that this movie has, Freddy vs. Jason is a fun popcorn flick. You get plenty of action and great gory kills. Unlike the first Alien vs. Predator movie, Freddy vs. Jason has the audacity to be R-rated. It feels so satisfying to see these two horror icons fight each other face to face.

Robert Englund is still great as Freddy and it's a shame that this is the last time we get to see Robert Englund as Freddy. Even though we didn't get Kane Hodder back, I still enjoy Ken Kirzinger (Insomnia) as Jason Voorhees. I love Jason's design in this movie and Ken Kirizinger does a good job of capturing the unstoppable nature of Jason Voorhees in my opinion. Freddy vs. Jason is very early 2000s with the nu-metal music and characters wearing outdated fashion trends. It feels like a fun time capsule when watching it now in 2021. Another thing that I love about Freddy vs. Jason is that Ronny Yu is able to reuse some of his film techniques that he used in his wuxia movies in Freddy vs. Jason.

I like the story because it was cool to have Jason being a puppet for Freddy. Compare to the other story scripts that they made for the movie, I'm happy with the movie that we got. We dodge a bullet when you look back on the development of this film. I still feel salty that we never got a sequel to this movie. The Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic is fine, but it's not the same. We end up getting two bad remakes instead.

Overall, Freddy vs. Jason is a fun schlocky movie and I do recommend it if you want to turn off your brain for 95 minutes.

Date: 4/11/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen Reign of Fire since the early 2000s and I was curious if the movie still holds up. To my surprise, Reign of Fire is still a pretty good movie in my opinion. I really enjoy the story with it being set in a post-apocalyptic world with humans fighting against dragons. I actually like the characters in Reign of Fire because I found them to be interesting. Christian Bale does a better job of playing a character similar to John Connor in this film than he does in Terminator Salvation (2009) in my opinion. Matthew McConaughey's character is my favorite character in Reign of Fire because he is awesome on screen.

The atmosphere and visuals are the best things about Reign of Fire. I love the dark and gritty tone that this movie has because it almost feels like a horror movie at times. I like that the dragons feel like a force of destruction. Reign of Fire did a great job on mixing practical effects and CGI in my opinion. This movie is almost 20 years old and the special effects still look good. The pacing in Reign of Fire is perfect by having a run time of 100 minutes. They were able to keep the pace at a nice flow without being too short or too long. If Reign of Fire was made today, I bet it will be over 2 hours long with tongue-in-cheek humor because people love to copy & paste the MCU formula.

Reign of Fire is still a flawed movie because you do have actors and actresses that overact at times. The script could have been better because I wish they explain where the dragons came from. I also find it odd that nuclear weapons didn't do anything to stop the dragons. It's a shame that this movie never became a franchise because I would love to see more of the world that these characters live in.

Overall, Reign of Fire is a solid popcorn flick and I do recommend checking it out.

Date: 4/12/2021
Viewed: Netflix
First Viewing

Note: I honestly wanted to like this movie because I always like stories that deal with time loops. Unfortunately, I could not get into this movie at all. Before I fall is not a bad movie, it was just not for me. I do think the performances are pretty good and the cinematography from Michael Fimognari (Ouija: Origin of Evil) is very pretty to look at. You even have a fun role from Nicholas Lea (Xtro 2: The Second Encounter). The reason why I didn't like Before I Fall because I could not get invested with the characters at all. None of the characters click with me and the story is filled with cliché high school characters that you can find in a bunch of other movies. This movie didn't offer me anything new or unique that I haven't seen before.

If you're curious, you may want to check out Before I Fall because you may like it more than I did.

Date: 4/13/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray (Code Red)
First Viewing

Note: Just Before Dawn is a classic horror movie that I never saw until now. I always hear that the movie was never fully uncut which is why I never watched it growing up. Thankfully, the Blu-ray from Code Red is uncut and I end up buying a copy on Amazon (I could not find any streaming services that were playing this movie). To be honest, I was let down by it. Just Before Dawn is an average movie at best. I don't get the hype for Just Before Dawn when you had other slasher movies that came out that same year (1981) were better in my opinion. I find this film be slow and boring. I didn't like any of the characters and the story was not very interesting. The film moves at a snail's pace because you have scenes that go on far longer than need to. I was not even a fan of the gory kills and the main villain was lame in my opinion.

Even though I didn't like this movie, I do like the atmosphere and cinematography. Just Before Dawn almost feels like a wilderness documentary with many wonderful shots of the Silver Falls State Park. You even have decent performances from Gregg Henry (Scarface 1983) and George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke). I still respect Just Before Dawn as a classic because I get why many people like this movie. Sadly, Just Before Dawn did nothing for me.

I only recommend watching Just Before Dawn if you're curious.

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Date: 4/14/2021
Viewed: Amazon Prime (Rental)
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't watched this movie since it was on VHS back in late 1999. The Thirteenth Floor holds up very well and I consider it to be an underrated gem in my opinion. I love the overall atmosphere and the aesthetics that this film has. The Thirteenth Floor has amazing visuals and they hold up very well even over 20 years later. I love how they were able to recreate the 1930s by giving it a classic pulp feeling to the narrative. The cinematography is excellent with many wonderful shots of Los Angeles and the pretty green colors do blend well with the environment.

The Thirteenth Floor has solid performances from Craig Bierko (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Night on Earth), Gretchen Mol (TV's Boardwalk Empire), and Vincent D'Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket). The story may not be 100% original, but I do think it's well written. During the late 1990s, there was a trend of movies dealing with other realities. The Thirteenth Floor came out during the same era as The Matrix (1999), Dark City (1998), Truman Show (1998), Existenz (1999), and Being John Malkovich (1999). Sadly, most people didn't watch The Thirteenth because it was buried by other popular movies.

The Thirteenth Floor has a suspenseful story that keeps you intrigued. My favorite thing about The Thirteenth Floor is the themes of the technological development of virtual reality and how it affects people. Being inside a simulation does make people wonder what is real or not. Without going into spoilers, you do have some cool surprises that you won't see coming. I have nothing else to say about this movie and I do hope Sony will release it in 4K UHD. The Blu-ray is out of print and people sell it for crazy prices on eBay.

Overall, The Thirteenth Floor is a great movie and I highly recommend watching it.

Date: 4/14/2021
Viewed: Shudder
Re-Watch

Note: Yet another movie that I haven't seen in years and I wanted to see if I still like it or not. StageFright is still a great movie in my opinion. Michele Soavi is a solid director and it's too bad he has not done many horror films (I would like to check out his other non-horror stuff in the near future). StrageFright has a cool story with a fun premise because I like the idea of people being trap inside a stage theater with a crazy killer on the loose. It creates a feeling of claustrophobia with someone wearing a disguise as one of the crew members. The main villain in StageFright wears an Owl Mask and it looks pretty creepy in my opinion.

I love the colorful lighting in StrageFright because the lighting makes the movie feel more atmospheric. Like most giallo movies, StrageFright has a nice use of dark colors that are very pretty to look at. The production values in StrageFright are fantastic with set pieces that look awesome. Michele Soavi did a wonderful job of making the movie feel like a stage play coming to life. The practical effects of the gory death scenes are delightful to watch. The music is very catchy to listen to as well. I'm also a big fan of the camera angles in this movie because you have many great wide shots and zoom shots that put you in the perspective of the characters.

While I do love this movie, I can admit that it is not perfect. I feel like they could have added more character development for the story. None of the characters are memorable except for the main villain. With that being said, I still highly recommend watching StageFright when you get the chance.

Date: 4/15/2021
Viewed: Vudu
First Viewing

Note: I went into this movie thinking it would be total crap, but it was not bad. Crush the Skull is a pretty decent movie in my opinion. I find it interesting that Crush the Skull has a similar premise to Don’t Breathe (2016) despite this movie coming out first. I like the characters and they did a good job with a diverse cast. I honestly don't see many horror movies with Asian lead roles in North America. Tim Chiou (Plus One) did a solid job with his performance and the rest of the acting is not bad for what it is.

The production values are decent for a low-budget movie and I like how suspenseful the atmosphere was. The special effects are pretty good except for the CGI blood. I did not like the comedy in this movie at all, to be honest. Crush the Skull has dumb jokes and cringy dialogue. This movie didn't need to be a comedy when it would have work just fine as a serious horror movie. You have characters that make really dumb decisions that made me facepalm. Without going into spoilers, the story jumps the shark during the last act of the movie.

Overall, Crush the Skull is not a bad movie and I do recommend it for a rainy day.

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Date: 4/16/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie in the last 15 years and I was in the mood to watch something funny. Old School is still a good movie. I honestly like this movie over the Hangover movies in my opinion. Some of the jokes are dated, but I still find the rest of the movie to be pretty funny. Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Luke Wilson are hilarious to watch on-screen. I can't help to laugh hard when they are doing wacky shit together. The story is basic and predictable, but it works. I don't go into these types of comedy movies for anything new or unique.

I have nothing else to say about Old School because I feel like enough people have already seen it. I recommend watching it if you're curious.

Date: 4/17/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: I grew up watching many 50s sci-fi and horror movies, but I never saw The Monolith Monsters until now. I don't recall this movie ever being on TV or being sold on VHS as a kid. Better late than never, I recently picked up the Blu-ray from Scream Factory at Best Buy today. After watching this movie for the first time, I liked it. The Monolith Monsters is a fun B movie in my opinion. You would think that a movie about killer rocks would be boring, but it's not. The Monolith Monsters is entertaining to watch with an interesting story. I like the idea of alien rocks that are trying to terraform the Earth and they can multiply with water. It's something new and different from your typical alien invasion movie of the 1950s in my opinion.

The Monolith Monsters has solid production designs with cool miniatures. The special effects of the giant rocks are pretty neat thanks to Clifford Stine (King Kong 1933). I like how the giant rocks look like crystals and not something boring. The acting in this movie is surprisingly decent for a B movie. Grant Williams (The Incredible Shrinking Man) does a good job with his performance as the lead role in my opinion. You even have a fun role from William Schallert (RIP) that is also noteworthy. I also like that the movie is in black & white because it gives it an eerie tone. The script for The Monolith Monsters could have been better because the story is super predictable and some of the logic that we see on-screen doesn't always make sense.

Overall, The Monolith Monsters is a surprisingly decent movie and I do recommend it for anyone who enjoys 50s B movies.

Date: 4/18/2021
Viewed: DVD
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie since it came out on VHS and I was curious to see if this movie still holds up or not. I thought this movie would be another childhood movie that has aged poorly. However, it holds up pretty well in my opinion. I like the dark atmosphere that Komodo has because it almost reminds me of Jaws (1975). Similar to the Shark in Jaws, they build up suspense by not showing the Komodo Dragons earlier in the movie to create atmosphere and tension. Komodo Dragons in real life are scary animals and the movie did a good job of making them feel deadly.

While the story is not high art, I do think the writing is not bad for what it is. It was interesting to see a killer animal movie that deals with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). You even get an interesting plot twist that happens later in the story. The acting is not good, but it's not terrible neither. Jill Hennessy (Dead Ringers) is probably the best actress in the entire movie and her performance is not bad at all. I do like the special effects in Komodo because they are pretty good for the most part. They do a mixture of CGI and practical effects similar to special effects in the Jurassic Park movies. Even the CGI is not that bad compared to most CGI from that time period.

Overall, Komodo is a lot of fun to watch and I do recommend it for anyone who enjoys killer animal movies.

Date: 4/21/2021
Viewed: HBO Max
First Viewing

Note: I always heard good things about this movie for years and I finally got the chance to watch it on HBO Max. I thought Happy-Go-Lucky was a pretty good movie in my opinion. I like the vibe and story because you can feel the positive energy when watching this film. Sally Hawkins (Shape of Water) is fantastic as the lead role and you also have solid performances from everyone else in this film.

I almost wanted to give Happy-Go-Lucky a higher rating, but the humor didn't always work for me. I'm not the biggest fan of British comedies (except for some exceptions) and most of the humor didn't feel funny to me. Happy-Go-Lucky is nearly 2 hours long and I feel like the story didn't need to be that long. They could have cut out 10-15 minutes of the story and things would still have been fine in my opinion. I still recommend watching Happy-Go-Lucky if you've got time to spare.

Date: 4/21/2021
Viewed: Shudder
Re-Watch

Note: I was browsing around Shudder for movies to watch and I notice that they have both Dentist movies on there. I have fond memories of me watching these two movies as a kid on VHS. After watching the first Dentist movie again as an adult, it holds up pretty well in my opinion. The Dentist is a solid horror movie in my opinion. The movie takes itself seriously and it actually works without trying too hard. I like the vibe and atmosphere that The Dentist has because it has a unique feeling to it. Many independent films and direct-to-video movies have a cool charm to them that I feel like most movies today rarely have.

For a movie with a small budget, you have effective gore effects that are very well done in my opinion. Some scenes in this movie still make my skin crawl. I'm someone who rarely gets gross out by stuff, but scenes with teeth drilling or needles give me the chills (The torture scene in GTA5 comes to mind). Corbin Bernsen (Major League 1-2) does a great job of playing the lead role in my opinion. Even though he does overact at times, he still did a good job with his performance. His character feels like that he can be your friendly dentist that you would see every month or two. It's also interesting to see how his character completely changes by going through a mental breakdown over time.

The rest of the performances are fine for what they are. You get to see an early role from Mark Ruffalo long before he became a famous actor. The writing in this movie is far from perfect because characters will make dumb decisions. Corbin Bernsen's character does a terrible job of covering up his crimes. His character will leave things wide open for people to find out. Despite The Dentist being a flawed movie, I still recommend checking it out.

Date: 4/22/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: I decided to celebrate Earth Day by watching Godzilla vs. Hedorah aka Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster. Not to mention, this year is the 50th anniversary of this movie as well. Godzilla vs. Hedorah is still a fun movie in the franchise in my opinion. It's probably the closest thing to an avant-garde kaiju movie. I love the bizarre nature of Godzilla vs. Hedorah because it's dark, surreal, and campy. It has an eerie tone with people being killed by pollution. You get to see people turn into skeletons when Hedorah spreading his smog. Yoshimitsu Banno (the director) wanted to create a message about climate change and Hedorah is a metaphor for the pollution that was created by humans. 50 years later, the movie's themes are still relevant in today's world.

Hedorah is a very cool monster with a creative design in my opinion. Hedorah is probably one of Godzilla's strongest opponents in the Showa era because Godzilla needed help from the military to defeat Hedorah. It was refreshing to see Godzilla working with the military to defeat a powerful villain. Godzilla vs. Hedorah is also very campy and surreal with random animation sequences that feel like they are ripped from an episode of Schoolhouse Rock. You also have a nightclub scene that feels like it was directed by David Lynch himself. I can't talk about Godzilla vs. Hedorah without talking about the famous flying scene. Godzilla flying on his tail is so much fun to watch in my opinion. My least favorite thing about Godzilla vs. Hedorah would be the human characters. They do feel lackluster compare to the other Godzilla movies from the Showa era in my opinion.

Overall, Godzilla vs. Hedorah is a solid movie. I still recommend checking it out when you get the chance.

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Date: 4/23/2021
Viewed: In Theaters
First Viewing

Note: I have been a huge Mortal Kombat fan for almost my entire life and I waited forever for a new Mortal Kombat live-action movie. After years of rumors and delays, we finally have a new live-action Mortal Kombat movie. I actually did like Mortal Kombat (2021), but it's far from being great. What I like about this movie were the cast and the production values. The special effects are great in my opinion and the CGI blood didn't bother me as most digital blood does in other movies. Unlike the 90s Mortal Kombat movies, you get plenty of blood and gore that feels like it was ripped straight out of the video games. I like the vibe that they created for Mortal Kombat (2021) because it does have a wuxia feeling to it. The Mortal Kombat games are inspired by many classic movies from the Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest. It makes me happy that the filmmakers did a good job of making the movie feel close to the series roots.

The fight choreography is amazing and every fight scene in this movie was not boring at all. The acting is nothing Oscar-worthy, I do feel like everyone did a good job with their performances in my opinion. Even Chin Han (The Dark Knight) as Shang Tsung was good. It was even cool to see Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer) as Raiden. Most of the characters look as if they are ripped straight out of the video games. Unfortunately, the writing is the biggest problem with this movie. If you're not familiar with the source material, you will probably be confused by the stuff that they are explaining to you. Too much exposition is not a good thing because it overwhelms the audience.

The story in Mortal Kombat (2021) is about finding warriors for the tournament and not the tournament on Shang Tsuang's island. They seem to go with a Seven Samurai (1954) approach with the story. On paper, that sounds like a great idea. However, the execution for it is poor. They set up so many characters in a movie that is under 2 hours and some characters are just added to be killed. The most iconic characters in the franchise such as Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, and Sonya barely have any depth to them. The movie focuses more on Cole Young (played by Lewis Tan) and Cole is a boring cliché character in my opinion. I didn't care about him at all whatsoever. Why do we need this original character when you could have stuck with Liu Kang instead? Heck, I would have been okay with Johnny Cage as the main character at this point.

The plot point with the dragon tattoo is so stupid. I don't know why they thought that was a good idea? We don't need a stupid gimmick on why characters have superpowers. Mortal Kombat is not a superhero franchise. People can easily buy into people learning superpowers on their own or if they are born with them. I did love seeing both Scorpion and Sub-Zero in the movie even though Scorpion was barely in the movie. You do get plenty of Easter Eggs that will make the fans of the series happy. I didn't think we would see cameos of Nightwolf and Kotal Khan in Sonya's bedroom.

Despite the many flaws that Mortal Kombat (2021) has, I still enjoy watching it. I do recommend it if you enjoy gory action movies or if you're a fan of the series.

Date: 4/24/2021
Viewed: TubiTV
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't watched any movies from Jean Rollin in years and I felt like this movie was a good choice to revisit. I'm glad that I revisit this movie because The Living Dead Girl is still an awesome movie. My favorite thing about The Living Dead Girl is the atmosphere. The atmosphere is eerie and it makes the audience feel uncomfortable (in a good way). The story in The Living Dead Girl is grimy and brutal that deals with a tragic woman who has come back to life. Françoise Blanchard (Revenge in the House of Usher) does a good job of playing the lead role in my opinion. You can feel the tragic nature of her character with her trying to control her humanity. The ending for this movie is perfect because it's depressing and it wraps up the story nicely.

The blood and gore in The Living Dead Girl are awesome and the special effects still look pretty good in my opinion. The gory death sequences are satisfying to watch. You have enough blood and gore to sink your teeth into. My least favorite thing about this movie is the American couple. I found them to be annoying and their acting was bad in my opinion. With that being said, I have nothing else to say about this movie.

Overall, The Living Dead Girl is a great movie and I do recommend watching it if you enjoy French cinema or art-house horror movies.

Date: 4/24/2021
Viewed: First Viewing
Crackle

Note: I honestly forgot that this movie exists until someone recommended it to me for Film Club's Secret Cinema. When I found out that the directors behind Daybreakers made this movie, I was actually looking forward to watching it (Daybreakers is an underrated gem of the 2010s in my opinion). Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset for this movie, but I could not get into it at all. The story did remind me of Looper (2012) despite the source material coming out first in 1959. I like the characters in this movie, but I had a hard time getting invested in the story. The time travel stuff felt like it was all over the place in my opinion.

The production values and the acting are fantastic though. Both Ethan Hawke (The Sunrise trilogy) and Sarah Snook (Pieces of a Woman) did a great job with their performances in my opinion. Maybe I will like this movie on a second viewing in a better mental state. I still recommend checking out Predestination if you're curious.

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Date: 4/25/2021
Viewed: First Viewing
Amazon Prime

Note: The only reason why I decided to watch Containment is that there was a decent cast involved. Unfortunately, Containment is a dull movie in my opinion. The story is nothing special and the characters are paper-thin. I had a hard time caring about what was going on in the story. I can't think of a single good or memorable character at all. However, I did feel like the story had a lot of potential because I like the idea of being locked inside with no power when you have a virus outbreak going on. Isolation horror is one of my favorite types of horror and you can easily make a scary movie about being mysteriously quarantined overnight.

You can tell that they put a lot of effort into the movie because the production values are surprisingly good in my opinion. Containment has nice cinematography and the special effects are decent for a low-budget film. Even the acting is not bad with fun performances from Shelia Reid (Brazil) and Lee Ross (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). Containment is also a short movie with a run time of under 80 minutes. At least, it moved at a nice pace without feeling rushed.

I don't recommend watching Containment because there are better virus outbreak movies to watch instead.

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Date: 4/26/2021
Viewed: First Viewing
Hulu

Note: To be honest, I never had any interest in watching Nomadland because the advertisements for this movie look really boring. Seeing that it won best picture at the Oscars, I finally watched it on Hulu. Nomadland is a solid movie in my opinion. I didn't love it as many people did, but I'm still glad that I watched it. The atmosphere and the cinematography in Nomadland are truly breathtaking. Everything about Nomadland is atmospheric in my opinion. When watching this movie, it makes you feel like that you are actually there with these characters. Every shot in this movie is so beautiful, it almost made me feel like that I was watching a documentary in real-time. I love seeing the locations that the main character (played by Frances McDormand) goes to when traveling across the United States.

The characters in Nomadland are very well written in my opinion. Everyone in this movie feels believable as if they are people that you know in real life. You can relate to the main character and the struggle that she is going through after the death of her husband. She has no luck in making money despite working at multiple jobs. With the current times that we are living in, it sucks to not able to sustain yourself. Everyone did a great job with their performances in this movie and I can see why Frances McDormand (Fargo) won an Oscar for her role.

My least favorite thing about Nomadland is the pacing. I know that I sound hypocritical because I enjoy slow-burn atmospheric movies. However, that does not mean I enjoy all of them. Nomadland feels like a 180-minute-long movie (3 hours) and not a 108-minute-long movie. When it was over, I felt like I was sitting through a long car ride (that could have been intentional lol). Thankfully, the story and characters keep you invested when you are watching this movie. Otherwise, I would have turned it off if I didn't care about the story and characters.

Overall, Nomadland is a great movie and I highly recommend watching it.

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Date: 4/26/2021
Viewed: First Viewing
DVD

Note: I found a copy of this movie at my local Dollar Tree over a week ago. I had nothing else to lose because I only paid $1 for it. I almost regret watching Candiland because it was terrible. The best thing about Candiland is the poster. Going by the poster, you would think that the movie would be a horror version of Willy Wonka. Instead, you have a boring movie about people starving themselves.

Candiland has terrible acting, annoying characters, and awful writing in my opinion. I hated every character because they are so annoying. I just want to yell out "Shut the fuck up" when I see characters arguing with each other on-screen. Gary Busey is probably the best actor in the movie and even his acting was bad. The story tries to be deep about having a message about people rejecting God in their life, and they did a bad job of executing those themes. The worst thing about Candiland is that it's so boring. Candiland is probably the longest 100 minutes that I had to sit through. If you thought Nomadland (2020) was a slow movie, Candiland takes the cake when it comes to pacing. Nomadland feels like a 5-second clip on Youtube when it comes to pacing.

I highly recommend staying away from Candiland at all costs. Don't even watch it for free on Tubi.

Date: 4/27/2021
Viewed: First Viewing
IMDB TV

Note: I always wanted to watch New Rose Hotel for years because I love movies from Abel Ferrara. Better late than never, I watched the movie on IMDB TV (As of 4/27/2021) and I loved it. New Rose Hotel is a great gem from the 1990s in my opinion. My favorite thing about New Rose Hotel is the vibe and atmosphere that it has. The dark colorful filters and the neon-sign lighting helps create a moody atmosphere to the film. The atmosphere captures a dreamlike state as if you are in someone's dream. When watching this film, I do feel that Abel Ferrara took some influence from Wong Kar-wai. New Rose Hotel did have a similar vibe to Fallen Angels (1995) because both films have a similar atmosphere and aesthetics in my opinion.

New Rose Hotel can be trippy at times by using surrealistic and disjointed imagery. It's like watching something that was made for Liquid Television on MTV. The story in New Rose Hotel is well written with a solid cast of characters in my opinion. I love how Abel Ferrara is able to create chemistry with the main characters. Willem Dafoe and Christopher Walken did a wonderful job with their performances in my opinion. When those two characters were on-screen, you can feel the connection between them. I like Asia Argento's (The Church) role in the movie, but I can see why some people didn't like her performance. Without going into spoilers, I like that the story is open for interpretation. You do have stuff that happens in the story that makes you think about what really happened.

Overall, New Rose Hotel is a fantastic movie and I do highly recommend checking it out. I hope Arrow Video can release it in 4K UHD soon.

Date: 4/28/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-watch

Note: I've been meaning to rewatch Shivers for a while now after buying the Vestron Blu-ray a few months ago. Shivers is still a great movie in my opinion. This was David Cronenberg's first feature film, and he knocks it out of the park. Shivers has the blood, gore, and dark atmosphere that you would find in his later movies. The practical effects are sick and gross looking in my opinion. Even by today's standers, I feel like some people may want to throw up when watching this movie. The blood parasites are super cool in my opinion because they are so creepy. It's also cool that Shivers is pretty much Cronenberg's answer to Invasion of the Body Snatchers because both movies have creatures that turn the human host into a dangerous person. Another favorite thing that I love about Shivers is the atmosphere. Shivers has that dark and gritty low budget atmosphere that you find in many Grindhouse movies from the 1970s. You can feel the sleaze when watching this film.

The characters are probably the weakest thing about Shivers in my opinion. I didn't find any of the characters to be memorable at all. Thankfully, David Cronenberg did improve with his storytelling afterward in his later films. The acting is not bad for what it is. Lynn Lowry (The Crazies) probably has the best performance on screen in my opinion. You even have a fun role from Barbara Steele (8 1/2) that is worth mentioning.

Overall, Shivers is a fun classic movie and it's worth watching.

Date: 4/29/2021
Viewed: Criterion
Re-watch

Note: I haven't watched Pandora's Box since I was in High School and I remember liking it. After watching it again on the Criterion Channel, it holds up very well, Pandora's Box is a masterpiece in my opinion. I don't know where to begin with this movie because everything about it is fantastic. I love Louise Brooks as Lulu, and she is so lovely to watch on screen. Pandora's Box has the best pacing for a 2-hour movie because it goes by so quickly. You don't even realize how quickly time goes by when watching it. The story is incredible because you're invested with the characters and you want to see what direction the story will lead up to. Lulu is a character that you can really connect to because Lulu's sexuality always causes more harm than good. You can't help to feel sorry for her.

The cinematography is breathtaking because every scene is beautiful to look at. To be honest, I can't think of a single bad thing that I didn't like about this film. Everything about this movie was perfect in my opinion. I hate to end things on a shorter note, but I don't think I can add anything new to say.

I highly recommend watching Pandora's Box if you enjoy German cinema or silent movies.

Date: 4/29/2021
Viewed: Tubi
First Viewing

Note: Even though this movie has mixed reviews from horror fans, I was still curious to check it out because I love movies from Hammer. Countless Dracula is not a bad movie in my opinion. The production values are solid and Ingrid Pitt (The original Wicker Man) steals the show as Countess Elisabeth. All of the set designs and costumes in the film look fantastic. I really like how they are able to recapture the feeling of 17th-century Hungary on-screen. The rest of the actors did a great job with their performances too. However, I can see why Countless Dracula is not as popular as the other films from Hammer. None of the characters are memorable or interesting in my opinion. The pacing is really slow at times and the entire movie feels like a big historical stage play than a horror movie. I'm probably going to forget about this movie by next week.

Countless Dracula is still a decent movie and I do recommend it if you're curious.

Date: 4/30/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
First Viewing

Note: I'm going to end this month with a movie that I always wanted to watch for years. I decided I had to bite the bullet and bought the Blu-ray on Amazon because you could not watch it anywhere on any streaming services. After watching this movie for the first time, I was blown away by it. The Hourglass Sanatorium is an amazing gem from the 1970s in my opinion. I love the eerie atmosphere and the visuals that this movie has because The Hourglass Sanatorium feels very unique. The art direction is an odd mixture of gothic horror and fantasy with eye-popping visuals that makes this film feel like a dark fantasy picture book coming to life. It almost has a vibe of Alice in Wonderland with the main character going on a surreal journey to a different world where he meets unusual characters. I also love the aesthetics because the aesthetics for this film remind me of movies from Andrzej Żuławski (On the Silver Globe), Terry Gilliam (Brazil), Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Holy Mountain), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Even though this movie predates most of those movies).

Another thing that I love about this film is that the pacing is perfect. It's 2 hours long and it moves at a nice pace. The story in The Hourglass Sanatorium is fascinating with the idea of
dreams and memories becoming a total blur. It makes you really think about what was real or not when you look back on your past. The characters in this film are very enjoyable for how unique that they are. It was also interesting that this movie has a social commentary on Jewish culture in Europe after the events of WW2. From what I've read, Wojciech Has (the director) uses Jewish symbolism to reflect his life in Poland during the 1940s. You can put this movie together like one big puzzle with your own interpretation. Some people will probably say that this movie has no meaning to it, but I disagree. It's always fun to read people's thoughts on surreal art-house movies because everyone has their own interpretation.

Overall, The Hourglass Sanatorium is a masterpiece and I hope to watch more movies from Wojciech Has soon. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys surrealism.

Date: 4/30/2021
Viewed: Blu-Ray
First Viewing

Note: I could not sleep last night and I had a copy of this movie sitting on my shelf for months now. I only bought for it $1, and I was like "Why not". Distorted is a forgettable Sci-Fi movie. It has too many cool ideas that are not very well executed. The acting is decent and the production vaules are good. Everything else is meh.