Hello film fans, Slick Dungeon here. I’m back to review another Oscar nominated film. This time I’ll be reviewing the Brazilian film I’m Still Here. Don’t confuse this one with the Joaquin Phoenix film of the same name. That one is definitely not up for an Oscar. The Oscar nominated film is based on true events surrounding the Brazilian military coup where they had a habit of making people disappear. You might already guess this but if you go see this one, bring along some tissues because it tears at the heartstrings pretty hard. Let’s get into it!
What’s I’m Still Here about?
The movie is based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir of the same name. This is a political biography and it deals with the disappearance of Paiva’s father, Rubens Paiva.
At the start of the film we see a family who is happy, has lots of friends, and is well off but seems like an average family otherwise. But even at the beginning there are signs of trouble. There are military soldiers everywhere. Teenagers are routinely stopped and questioned. And the military has kidnapped a Swiss ambassador.
It’s not until we are pretty far into the movie that we learn Rubens was at one time a congressman. He was exiled and now the military suspects him of helping what they deem are terrorists. Things come to a head one day when men with no identification come to the house and take Rubens away. Eunice Paiva who is Rubens wife, and one of her daughters is also taken and they end up in a military barracks where they are questioned and several people are tortured.
Eventually Paiva is released but no one will tell her where her husband is. This kicks off a twenty five year journey for Paiva to discover the truth. Along the way she commits small but meaningful acts of defiance. She yells at men who are watching her house, she refuses to look sad and upset when the propaganda media shows up. And she fights with everything she has to keep her kids safe.
The awards
This one is up for three awards. Best International Feature, Best Actress, and Best Picture. I think this is easily the best international feature of the year. It’s moving, heartbreaking and powerful. I think Fernanda Torres has a shot at winning. But Demi Moore has gotten a lot of buzz around The Substance so I actually think she’s going to win. I’d be pretty surprised if this actually won Best Picture. It’s not often that international films win that award, although this movie is certainly deserving of consideration.
I’m Still Here in conclusion
As far as films this year that are based on a true story, this one is the strongest. There are great performances all around and it’s the kind of film that hits you in the heart. And when you think of all it took for Paiva to get where she ends up in the end of the film, you have to recognize courage in the face of adversity. I highly recommend watching this one but just be prepared for an emotional roller coaster.
Awardingly yours,
Slick Dungeon
P.S. Want to see what I thought of the Best Picture winner last year? Check out my review of Oppenheimer!
Jack Nicholson stars alongside Shelley Duvall in The Shining (1980)
Hello horror fans! Slick Dungeon here back to review another Stephen King adaptation. Out of all of the King films, The Shining (1980) might be the most famous. It is without doubt the most scrutinized. It’s a horror film classic made by a master film maker. One critic of the film is Stephen King himself as he hated this adaptation. Yet, it stands as film classic on its own and has an enduring legacy to this day. There will be spoilers in this review so if you have not watched it and that bothers you, check into a massive isolated hotel, ask for the key to room 237, ignore anything undead in the room, watch the movie, and then come on back here to read the review!
The Shining (1980) Background
While the movie is based on the novel, the screenplay was co-written by Stanley Kubrick and novelist Diane Johnson. Stephen King was not a fan of the tone this created. The film stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance, and Danny Lloyd as Danny “Doc” Torrance. Most of the film was shot at EMI Elstree Studios, not on location. This allowed Kubrick to do tons of takes, basically to the point of exhausting the cast and crew. Shelley Duvall in particular had a legendarily horrible time on this film set.
This is considered an all time film classic now but even at the time, not everyone liked it. In fact, the first Razzies in 1981 nominated Kubrick for Worst Director and Duvall for Worst Actress. The latter has been taken back after the treatment of Duvall by Kubrick was made public.
Despite the mixed reviews at the time, this film has done nothing but endure. It’s studied in film schools, there are entire documentaries about a single room in the film, one of the most recognizable images in film is Jack Nicholson’s face peeking through the hole he’s just made in a door with his ax, and even now, this film is flat out scary as hell.
So how did a film with such mixed reactions, and outright hatred by the originator of the story endure for so long? Let’s take a look and find out.
Jack Gets a Job
Stephen King visited a huge hotel and became fascinated with the idea of it being closed and isolated in the winter. And he hit on a pretty damn good idea for a horror story. A haunted hotel. King set out to make a story about falling into a cycle of abuse, addiction, and madness, and pulling your way out of it. Kubrick was more interested in the idea of a psychopath let loose and encouraged by the haunted hotel. For Kubrick’s version, Jack Nicholson is perfectly cast.
The film starts with Jack Torrance interviewing for the position of caretaker at the Overlook hotel during the winter months. For the winter, Jack and his family would have free run of the enormous place. Jack would be expected to fix anything that needed fixing and to keep the hotel in good shape. Jack is excited by the prospect because this will give him a chance to write a novel he’s been working on. For him, so he believes, the isolation is good.
The only problem? One of the previous caretakers killed his wife and twin daughters with an ax. In other words, this job can make some people go mad. Jack isn’t bothered with these ghost stories and he’s accepted for the job.
There’s More to Danny
Back home in Boulder, Colorado, young Danny Torrance has a vision. His “invisible friend” Tony who Danny describes as a little boy who lives in the back of his mouth, doesn’t want to go to the hotel. Tony also knows already that Jack has accepted the job. Danny has a seizure and ends up with the doctor. The audience knows Danny is psychic at this point but Danny doesn’t exactly understand it and Wendy is pretty far from believing it. Jack has no idea about Danny’s abilities and wouldn’t believe it if he saw it right in front of him.
Danny’s mother Wendy tells the doctor a story about Jack being drunk and yanking Danny’s arm hard enough to dislocate it. This is the first hint we get that Jack might hurt his own kid.
Wendy defends Jack, telling the doctor it was ultimately a good thing since Jack hasn’t touched a drop of booze since. The whole seizure incident is chalked up to a bit of a strange episode that could happen to any kid and nothing to be too worried about.
Danny’s Not the only One
The family gets a tour of the hotel on the closing day. There’s a bustle of activity as they are shown around. More than enough food is provided for the winter, there is a fun hedge maze for Danny to play in, and Jack has plenty of room to spread out and write his novel. Wendy is expected to cook all the meals and take care of Danny during these months.
On this tour, the family meets Dick Hallorann, the head chef at the hotel. Hallorann is played by the late, great Scatman Crothers who knocks this role right out of the park. Dick is showing the family around when his voice is heard inside of Danny’s head. Turns out Hallorann has the same talent as Danny. And it’s from Hallorann we get the name of the film and book. He calls this psychic ability The Shining and says some people have it and others don’t. Not only that, some places have it and others don’t. Hallorann basically warns Danny to be careful in this place. And specifically warns him about avoiding room 237.
Things Get Bad
Time passes and strange things start happening. Danny sees twin girls in the hallway. Jack isolates himself to write but mostly seems to be annoyed he isn’t drinking. He gets angry and snaps at Wendy. He starts dreaming about killing his wife and son.
Throughout this time Kubrik lets the tension build. It feels slow at times and I’m not sure any other film maker could have pulled off the pacing we see here. Ultimately, the long, slow shots, of huge empty corridors and endless patterned rugs, create an atmosphere of menace about to strike.
Room 237
In this story, there is no doubt Room 237 is the bad room. It’s likely where Grady, the caretaker who snapped, killed his wife and girls. Twin girls, just like Danny saw. Danny ends up in room 237, just as the hotel wants. He is attacked and comes away with some angry bruises on his neck.
At first, Wendy confronts Jack because that’s the logical conclusion. Jack flies off the handle and really does nothing to dissuade anyone. But he does agree to check out room 237 after Wendy decides it was a crazy woman in the hotel who attacked Danny.
In the room, Jack sees a beautiful woman in the bathtub. And he starts kissing her. For a moment, let’s forget how bad of a husband that makes him. What happens next is horrifying. The beautiful woman turns old and decayed and Jack gets a glimpse of what she really looks like in the mirror.
Jack gets out of the room but when Wendy asks what he found, Jack says he didn’t find anything. And then, this dude has the nerve to say his own kid caused the bruise marks on himself. If you liked Jack at all before this, here is the point where you should realize he is an out and out sociopath.
A Hair of the Dog That Bit me
Jack is an alcoholic. There’s no question about this in either the book or movie. But, he’s even more tempted when he walks into the hotel bar and is served drinks by a man named Lloyd. Maybe Jack thinks this all is a hallucination but I suspect he doesn’t care. He’s got his alcohol and that’s what he wants. He’s only slightly disturbed when a man named Grady talks to him. Jack knows this is the caretaker who killed his family. Yet, with a drink in his hand, Jack is nothing but friendly to these guys.
More and more we see Jack slip into a kind of madness. He’s either obsessively typing, having drinks with ghosts, or yelling at his wife to leave him alone. At one point he does reassure Danny he would never hurt Danny. But it is anything but believable when he says it. I don’t think even Jack truly believes it, he’s just making excuses for his past behavior.
Finally, Jack complains to Lloyd about his wife and kid. And he says he never meant to hurt Danny in Boulder, it was just an accident because of, “physics.” He says Wendy will never let him forget the incident for the rest of his life. Grady tells Jack that Danny has been speaking with Hallorann. Jack doesn’t know this is because Danny thought of the man when he was in room 237. And this sent out a sort of signal to the fellow psychic. Grady tells Jack that Hallorann is on his way to check in on the snowed in family. Grady also tells Jack his wife and child must be, “corrected.” And by corrected, he means cut into pieces with an ax. Yep, two amazing fathers here.
All Work and No Play
Wendy ends up in Jack’s writing room. She takes a peek at the manuscript but all that is there are pages and pages and pages and pages, like seriously a ton of pages that say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” For those of you who are not writers or not old enough to have learned to type anything on a typewriter, this is a warm up sentence used to help you learn to type and one that writers use until an idea comes to mind. But it is especially eerie here because the man writing the words is in fact named Jack and his head space is really not good.
This and a confrontation with Jack makes Wendy paranoid enough to grab a bat. Jack basically threatens to kill Wendy so she knocks him unconscious and locks him in the kitchen pantry.
Now is the chance for Wendy and Danny to make their escape.
RedRum
Wendy goes to grab Danny but Jack has sabotaged the two-way radio they use to communicate with the outside world. The only vehicle that can get the two of them out of there is the snowcat but Jack has sabotaged that as well. In the hotel room, Danny goes into his “Tony” voice and repeats the word redrum over and over. Danny writes the word on the bathroom door in red lipstick. Wendy is confused by this until she sees it in the bathroom mirror. It’s the word murder spelled backwards. And it’s one of the most memorable moments in both the book and film.
We’re Running for Our Lives
Essentially, from here on out the film becomes a chase sequence. Grady unlocks Jack from the pantry. Jack grabs an ax. He chases Wendy and Danny all around the hotel. At one point Dick Hallorann does show up and he’s able to distract Jack momentarily but Jack kills Dick.
Danny escapes his father because he can make it through the hedge maze in the snow. As Wendy runs through the hotel looking for Danny she encounters all of the ghostly phenomena Danny did. Including an elevator that opens to buckets of blood filling the hall.
In the hedge maze, Danny covers some of his footprints in the snow and misleads Jack. Wendy finds Danny and they make it to Hallorann’s snowcat. This time they are in luck and make it out.
As the camera pans out, it’s clear Jack has frozen to death in the maze.
The final shot of the film is Jack in a photograph of the hotel hallway from July 4th, 1921. Jack has joined the Overlook hotel staff. Permanently.
In Conclusion
If you are the right age, and watched this film as a kid, like I did, it made an impression. As a kid I could imagine myself zooming down the hallways of a huge, empty hotel, only to be confronted with malicious visions. It was terrifying.
As far as films go today, the movie still holds up. It has a unique look and feel to it. The directing is amazing, although Kubrick pretty much bordered on abuse to get this made. And Shelley Duvall actually has a great performance here, despite what critics said at the time. The soundtrack is fantastic and the cinematography is unforgettable.
But, whenever he is on screen, the only thing you can look at is Jack Nicholson. There is a reason this is one of his most iconic roles. It’s an intense performance in an already intense film.
While I will always prefer the book to the film, this is one I would re-watch any time.
Want More?
Like Stephen King books and movies? Let me know which one is your favorite in the comments below!
Hey film fans, Slick Dungeon here, back to review the second installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Paul Walker is back for this one but there is no Vin Diesel in sight here. But there is still plenty of action, lots of fast cars, a few good stunts and plot that is, well… pretty thin. Note there will be spoilers in this review for both The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious. If you want to catch up and read my review of the first movie, you can do so here.
The Fast and the Furious set up a situation with Dom Toretto and Brian O’Conner which leaves Brian in trouble with the law and Dom presumably free. One would expect the sequel to try to continue those stories but there was a major problem in doing that for this movie. Vin Diesel was filming a different action movie xXx and couldn’t come back for 2 Fast 2 Furious without leaving that project. So, instead of having the two breakout stars of the first film come back, we only get Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner.
The good news is this second film does introduce us to some of the recurring cast we’ll see in later movies, including Roman Pearce played by Tyrese Gibson, Monica Fuentes played by Eva Mendes, and Tej Parker played by Ludacris.
The first film was better than it had any right to be, although it accomplished that in large part by borrowing a plot from an older movie. The sequel needed to be more action packed with bigger stunts and to keep the interest of people who saw the first one without one of the main stars.
So, did they accomplish this goal or was this a forgettable sequel? Let’s dig in and find out.
Spoilers follow!
We’re Moving to Miami
This film starts with a street race in Miami, Florida. There are three cars ready and raring to go but the race can’t happen without even numbers so the organizer of the event, Tej Parker calls in a fourth driver. This is Brian O’Conner, the undercover cop who let a felon go at the end of the last film. Brian wins the race handily and earns himself some money. But just after that, the police show up and Brian tries to get away. He’s got a super fast car and he’s a highly skilled driver so it should be easy. However, the police have some kind of harpoon style weapon they shoot at his car. Once this hits, it seems to deliver a sort of EMP jolt to the car, cutting out the electronics and basically making the car stop. Brian is taken into custody.
This time the arrest is not a ruse, it seems Brian really is on the run from the law. Lucky for him, there are some people who can use his help. One of Brian’s former superiors, Agent Bilkins (Thom Barry) and a US Customs agent named Markham want to catch a drug lord named Carter Verone. They need someone who can gain the trust of Verone, while also not giving away the fact that there is an FBI agent named Monica Fuentes who has already been monitoring Verone. They try to give Brian a partner but after a simple question it’s clear this police officer knows nothing about cars. Brian demands to choose his own driving partner. This is Roman who we first see wearing an ankle bracelet while competing in a demolition derby.
Roman is an old friend of Brian’s who has gotten into some trouble. After a brief fight, Roman and Brian hash things out a bit and Roman agrees to help the police in exchange for his record being wiped clean. Brian will get the same deal so if they pull off the job, they won’t be going to jail.
Monica Fuentes arranges it so that Roman and Brian can audition to work for Verone. They arrive at the mansion along with a number of other street racers. Verone takes everyone’s identification and tells them his Ferrari was impounded. The job is to go retrieve something important from the car and come back with it first. There’s a chase scene where Brian and Roman both show off their fast driving skills and, of course, they get to the Ferrari first. I don’t really know how they knew how to get there since no one gave them directions but we’ll ignore that for the sake of the movie.
Anyway, just as Roman and Brian are about to take the package back, Markham shows up, hoping to arrest Verone. Roman sees the guy with a gun pulled and Roman starts firing his own gun. This was clearly not supposed to happen. Markham thought Brian and Roman were running when they were just doing what they were supposed to. Roman and Brian do get away from Markham and end up back at Verone’s place.
Verone is impressed enough to hire the two of them. But we find out the only thing they got from the car was a cigar. Also, Verone promises there will be a job for the two of them if they meet him at a club later. Monica lets Brian know Verone plans to smuggle money on his private jet from an airstrip nearby. Brian and Roman go back to police headquarters where Markham is beyond mad and Roman is furious the cops showed up at all. Turns out there were GPS units on the cars they were driving. This was back when GPS units were not all that common so it’s no surprise that Roman and Brian weren’t expecting that.
After they leave police headquarters, Roman and Brian realize they have a few problems here. First, Verone’s men seem to be following them around. Second, it’s going to be tough for them to get anything done if they are constantly being tracked by the police. So, what’s the solution? I mean, it’s a Fast and Furious movie so obviously a street race! Roman and Brian have a tag team race to get two more cars. The race it set up by Tej and it’s a pretty good race sequence. Ultimately, Brian and Roman succeed and have two cars, GPS free to use when they need them.
This whole time, Brian has been making puppy dog eyes at Monica which Roman notices. When they get to the club where they are supposed to meet Verone, Monica is there and seems to flirt back with Brian a bit. Verone sees this. Verone has Roman and Brian go in the back with him where he has an police detective tortured. He wants a fifteen minute window of time where there will be no cops monitoring him so he can gather his drug money.
Monica warns Roman and Brian that Verone plans to have them killed as soon as the job is over. Roman and Brian go see Tej and make some contingency plans of their own.
On the day of the job, things start as they are supposed to. Brian, Roman and two of Verone’s guys go to get some money out of a trailer Verone owns. The cop who was supposed to keep the area free for fifteen minutes lets his conscience get to him and he tells the cops to move in. This now means Brian and Roman are caught between the police and Verone’s men. There’s a nifty car chase as Brian and Roman misdirect everyone. They pull into a warehouse with cops in hot pursuit. They think they have the men surrounded when the warehouse doors open up and a bunch of big trucks come out and basically demolish the police cars. Then there is a scramble where what seems like every high end race car in Miami comes out of the warehouses and speed off in all directions. The cops think they still have GPS on the cars so they aren’t worried and Markham is in waiting at the airstrip. When the cars Brian and Roman were driving arrive at the airstrip, it’s Tej and his partner Suki who are driving.
Roman and Brian each have one of Verone’s men in the cars they won racing the night before. Roman hits an ejector seat button to dump the thug. Before Brian can do the same, Verone tells him the plan has changed. He now has to meet Verone at the docks. When Brian gets there Verone puts a gun to Monica’s head and takes her on the boat. Verone’s thug is supposed to kill Brian but before he can do so, Roman shows up to save the day. Verone does manage to get Monica onto the boat and they are already speeding away.
How does Brian stop Verone? Well, again it’s a Fast and Furious movie so he drives real fast, launches the car off a ramp facing the water and lands on the boat. It’s the biggest stunt in the movie. And when it happens, Roman breaks his arm and Brian is banged up quite a bit as well. This was before everyone in these movies seems to take no damage from major car crashes.
In the end, Roman and Brian are cleared, Verone is arrested (although he swears revenge), and Monica is safe and sound. Roman does pocket a bit of the cash from Verone’s take though. That’s where we leave our heroes for this movie but we’ll see more of them in the future.
What About Dom and Mia?
On top of Vin Diesel missing, since this film takes place in Miami with Brian on the run, there is no Mia from the first movie. I’ll say, Brian sure moves on quickly from her and seems to have roving eyes everywhere he goes. If Brian has a weakness in this movie, it’s definitely pretty women. I feel like the relationship with Mia not even being addressed in this movie was a mistake. Like, they could have at least had a phone call or something on Brian’s end where he might tell her not to worry or something like that. But nope, we’re going to pretend that whole thing didn’t count in the first movie here I guess. It makes sense why Dom isn’t here. He’s still back at home or maybe on the run. Brian probably wouldn’t want to call him because presumably everyone is watching Dom. But Mia has nothing to do with the whole thing so she’s getting ignored for no reason.
Did This Work at All?
2 Fast 2 Furious is not a great film. It’s miles away from the quality of the first movie. The dynamic between Diesel and Walker are missing and this film feels like it could literally be called something else. It’s got a fairly caricatured villain, the plot is really thin, and while the acting is fine, no one is going above and beyond here. That’s not to say there is nothing good in the movie. The car stunts are still fun, although I would argue the ones from the first film tend to look better. And Roman and Tej are both good additions to the franchise and probably the most entertaining parts of the whole movie. Eva Mendes is also great in her role here.
While the first movie was meant to be a B film that feels more like a quality picture, the second feels like a movie meant to be a quality picture which feels like a B film. On a pure action level, this film does work but it doesn’t obtain the greatness of the first one by any stretch of the imagination.
In Conclusion
There are still a lot of films to go in this franchise. We’re going to witness a bunch of odd twists and turns here, especially once Vin Diesel is truly back. But the second movie just needed to be a half decent action flick. And it does deliver on being about half way decent. It did well enough to garner another sequel but if this film had come out first, the whole franchise would have been forgotten. It’s still one you need to watch if you want to be completely caught up with the franchise but just remember this one is meant to be nothing more than a good time.
I will say though, compared to some of the later sequels, this one does at least seem to adhere to the laws of physics for the most part.
Overall this is still an enjoyable watch but it might be the least enjoyable of the sequels.
Hello movie fans, it’s Slick Dungeon here. I’m back to review another Oscar nominated film. This time I watched The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical coming of age film by the one and only Steven Spielberg. There will be some spoilers in this review so if that sort of thing bothers you, grab yourself some popcorn, go watch the movie and come on back to read the review.
The story of The Fabelmans centers around a young Jewish boy named Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) and his love of film. The movie starts off with a very young Sammy being taken to see his first movie. He’s a bit scared to go but his father patiently explains the technical aspects of film while his mother talks about how magical the experience will be. In the theater, Sammy watches The Greatest Show on Earth. Sammy is instantly enthralled and becomes obsessed with trying to recreate one of the scenes from the film.
It’s clear from early on that Sammy has a genuine gift for filmmaking. He’s encouraged by his mother and his father appreciates what Sammy does. Sammy’s father, however, does think it’s just a phase before Sammy moves onto doing something practical like engineering.
We see Sammy grow up into a teenager and it seems the one constant for him is film. His family has a shift in dynamic as it becomes clear his mother and father are not happily married at this point. Film seems to be a bit of a mixed blessing for Sammy for a while. The Fabelmans move to California and things get even more difficult as Sammy is one of the few Jewish kids at his high school. He finds a bit of romance and he continues making movies.
The film deals with a lot of personal struggle and turmoil. It also explores topics of art and creativity and trying to find some meaning in the world as you grow up. More than any other film I’ve watched so far for the Oscar nominees, this one understands film. Steven Spielberg knows that film is not just about spectacle. It’s about capturing small moments of personal stories to tell us a larger story. Sure, special effects are nice to have, but that’s not the only thing required to tell a good story.
Watching The Fabelmans gives any cinephile the same feeling we had the first time we walked into a theater. It’s downright magical. The difference is that most of us just continue to watch movies while Sammy realizes he needs to make movies. And while this is a fictionalized version, it’s obvious a lot of Steven Spielberg comes through in this character.
So far, out of all the movies I’ve seen for the Oscars this year, this one seems the most deserving to me. It’s able to transport the audience in a way other films haven’t. I will admit I am a little bit biased here as I am a sucker for movies about movies but I think anyone watching this will not be able to deny how skilled a storyteller Spielberg is.
If you love coming of age movies, movies about movies, or films that tell a personal story about art and creativity, this one is a must watch.
Hello out there internet people, it’s me Slick Dungeon. I’m back to review another movie for you. I watched Don’t Look UP on Netflix. Fair warning that there will be spoilers below so if you haven’t seen it and want to, have a look first and then come back here.
Stop me if this sounds familiar. There is an impending global crisis, almost certain to wipe out all life on the planet. There is solid, irrefutable scientific proof of this event. However, due to political considerations, a distracted public, and enormous financial interests on the part of the wealthy, the clear reversal of this problem is completely ignored. The wealthy get to come up with alternative solutions more friendly to them at the cost of everyone else. Don’t Look Up is a disaster comedy that hits way, way, too close to reality.
The whole film is an obvious allegory for climate change but really it could apply to any number of impending global crises we have going on now. The film is chock full of big name stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill.
While the subject matter of the film would make anyone who believes in science uncomfortable, there are laugh out loud moments that are impossible to ignore. As usual Leonardo DiCaprio puts in a fantastic performance but the lines that keep sticking in my mind in this movie come from Jonah Hill and Jennifer Lawrence. There’s also a really funny sequence involving a four star general and some snacks that cracked me up.
It’s also a very American film. The basic premise is straight forward. There is an impending comet heading toward Earth, large enough to be an extinction level event that will wipe out not only humans but a good chunk of the planet itself. The science is solid and the group of scientists who discover the comet have to go convince the president to do something about it. But, political times being what they are, the president is more focused on her poll numbers than committing to a real solution. Because of this inaction there is a wide swath of the population that simply doesn’t believe a comet exists at all. Soon people are on both sides of the issue, the media doesn’t want to cover it because there are stories that get better ratings, and the scientists are trying to get people to understand doom is actually impending.
All in all it is a brilliant film, if a bit on the nose. If you watch it, I promise there are laughs to be had but don’t go in expecting this to be a feel good movie. It’s just so close to the surface of reality it’s genuinely frightening.
Howdy evil fighters, it’s me Slick Dungeon back with another review for the Ash vx Evil Dead television series. There are some spoilers below so go have a look at the episode before reading the review. Or in other words, “Focus up and let the boomstick do the talking.”
When we last left Ash he had just finished fighting off a bunch of Deadites in his trailer. His coworkers Kelly and Pablo are still new to the fact that the dead rise and are a bit overwhelmed by the bloody gore they’ve just seen. But Kelly is convinced her missing mother has turned up at home. She takes off on Pablo’s motorcycle so of course Ash and Pablo have to follow behind, hoping to protect Kelly.
The utter gore and insane humor of the series continues in the follow up episode, especially when Ash is told to play nice at family dinner. Bruce Campbell continues to ham it up in every good way in this show and it makes it well worth watching.
In addition to Ash some of the other characters have great lines in this episode, especially Kelly who gets to start to give as good as she gets. For example, “Pablo, believe it or not, the rude, middle-aged man you brought is kind of ruinin’ my mom time.”
The plot to this series is never going to be even the slightest bit believable but the fun factor here is just too good to pass up. I could attempt to write a super lengthy analysis of this episode but I think I will let the words of Ash sum it up, “Don’t you get it? If you snag a little fish, you’re not gonna eat it. No, you use it as a bait fish, to catch the whale. I’m the whale, Pablo.”
If this series continues like this I am going to be all here for it. Until next time Deadites.
Hey Dungeon Dwellers, it’s me Slick Dungeon. I’ve got a quick question for you. What do you want to see more of on this blog? Let me know by clicking on one of the buttons below.
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here, hoping March was an amazing month for you and that April will be even better.
(Note that there are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you)
In January I put out three challenges for this year, one for books, one for movies and one that combined books, movies and role playing games. I wanted to take today to see if anyone has done any of the challenges and update everyone on my own progress.
As a reminder, if you complete any of the three challenges and talk about it on your blog, I will review anything in that category that you want me to and post that review on my blog with a link to your blog.
Don’t worry if you haven’t started, each of my challenges is only 12 items long and there is still plenty of the year to go.
In case you want to participate and still need the challenges, just take a look at this postand download yourself a neat little PDF or three.
Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, how did I, Slick Dungeon do on my own challenges in March? Let’s find out.
Challenge 1: Book Challenge
For the second month in a row, I did not make my book challenge. I am going to try to make reading a bit more of a priority for April. I make no promises though because I am a pretty slow reader. That being said below are the books I intend to read this month for my challenge.
This is a book recommended to me by a friend and I am about two thirds of the way through it so hopefully I will be reviewing it soon. That was the challenge from way back in February but this month is the month I will get this done!
For March the challenge I wanted to take on was a book you swore you would never read. I haven’t quite finished it but I am close. I am reading none other than Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I definitely have some thoughts about it and I’ll be sure to let you know what those are so stay tuned.
Challenge 2: Movie Challenge
My challenge this month was to watch a movie that scares me. I remembered being terrified by the film Phantasm when I was a kid and wanted to revisit it. If you want to check out my review of it, take a look at this post.
Challenge 3: Read-Watch-Play Challenge
This month for the Read-Watch-Play challenge, I did one of the play challenges. I had a little trouble getting a group together so I went with a solo campaign called The Executioner’s Daughter. Check out my review for it here.
Well, that’s it for March. Let’s hope I will be able to complete all the challenges in April. Here’s what I am going to be attempting.
A book recommended by a friend (left over from February)
A book you swore you would never read (left over from March)
A book that has a BIPOC author or protagonist
A movie with an ambiguous ending
Read a book with a quest
Good luck to the rest of you out there and if you have decided to participate, feel free to let me know how it is going in the comments!
If you would like to download any of the challenges you can do that on the original post or right below.
Challengingly yours,
Slick Dungeon
Book ChallengeMovie ChallengeRead-Watch-Play Challenge
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon here, hoping February was an amazing month for you and that March will be even better.
(Note that there are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you)
In January I put out three challenges for this year, one for books, one for movies and one that combined books, movies and role playing games. I wanted to take today to see if anyone has done any of the challenges and update everyone on my own progress.
As a reminder, if you complete any of the three challenges and talk about it on your blog, I will review anything in that category that you want me to and post that review on my blog with a link to your blog.
Don’t worry if you haven’t started, each of my challenges is only 12 items long and there is still plenty of the year to go.
In case you want to participate and still need the challenges, just take a look at this postand download yourself a neat little PDF or three.
Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, how did I, Slick Dungeon do on my own challenges in February? Let’s find out.
Challenge 1: Book Challenge
Ack, this one is the one I failed at this month. I did get a book recommended to me and I have started reading it. It’s by one of my favorite authors Isaac Asimov and is called The Gods Themselves. I’m about half way done so there should be a review for it in the next week or two here. In case you want to get it for yourself, check it out below.
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Assimov
Challenge 2: Movie Challenge
My challenge this month was to watch three films by the same director. I went with 3 early Alfred Hitchcock films. Challenge completed on this one woohoo! If you want to know what I thought about the movies check out the posts for them below.
This month for the Read-Watch-Play challenge, I did one of the watch challenges. I chose to watch (well re-watch) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. While I love the book and I enjoy the film well enough, I think there is considerable room for improvement in the film. Check out my review for it here.
Well, that’s two out of three for February. Let’s hope I will be able to complete all the challenges in March. Here’s what I am going to be attempting.
A book recommended by a friend (left over from February)
A book you swore you would never read
A movie that scares you
Play a Dungeons & Dragons one shot adventure
Good luck to the rest of you out there and if you have decided to participate, feel free to let me know how it is going in the comments.
Note: this review was first posted on Reedsy Discovery, an awesome website that pairs independent authors and readers. To see the post there click here.
If you are a book reviewer and want to contribute reviews on Reedsy Discovery, click here.
SUMMARY
This is a book about mistakes and possibilities- some that change the lives of a few, and some that change the lives of many. In The Old Man, Bob is two hundred fifty years old, a survivor of the global warming that nearly destroyed humanity. Things have gotten boring lately and his best friend is thinking about ending it all. Their extended lifespans also have a small liability that makes them both wonder if it’s worth it to stick around. In Long Shot, most of the Northern Hemisphere has been destroyed in a global nuclear war. A team of American aviators is assigned to assassinate the Russian marshal who gave the order for a nuclear attack. Only the U.S. Navy has resources remaining that can reach across the globe to complete the mission. In the title story Damage Report, a colony ship of a starfaring people goes into orbit around a planet bearing the remains of an extinct civilization. The ruins are only a thousand years old and are the best chance of the star people to understand why only their species has survived out of hundreds of predecessors within hundreds of light years of their home world.
REVIEW 3/5 STARS
Damage Report is a collection of short stories that involve life and death in some way. The first story, TheOld Man, deals with a man who appears old in a civilization that has defeated disease and aging. There are a few others like him but when almost everyone alive is young and beautiful and you have lived far beyond what your expected life span, is there still any purpose to life itself? The second story Long Shot deals with the immediate aftermath of a nuclear war on earth. The Navy has found the man responsible for starting the war and they decide to do something about it even with the limited resources they have. The third and final story, Damage Report is about a colony of space travelers who come upon a planet that has recently destroyed itself through nuclear war. The colony must decide if they should live on the planet but their findings also leave them questioning why their species seems to be the only one who has thrived long enough to conquer other worlds.
While all three stories have their strong points, the best of them is The Old Man. Bob is faced with a quiet existential dilemma. He has few friends left and barring an unexpected violent accident he might live nearly forever. Should he continue on or do as some of his friends have and choose to end his own life. The story confronts the reader with the question of how much life is necessary.
Long Shot is interesting due to the use of drone warfare and the realistic aspect of what would be likely military actions post nuclear war. At times it may give a bit too much information about the weapons and hardware used but if the reader loves to know about those things there is plenty here to stay satisfied.
Damage Report does a fine job of telling what it would be like to be a civilization that has not only survived but thrived because instead of repeating mistakes they learn from them.
All three stories make the reader think about the possibilities for this world and what might or might not bring about the end for us all. It’s a solid meditation on life under the threat of global disasters.
If you enjoy short fiction and like hard science fiction, realistic military fiction and stories that make you think about life, Damage Report is certainly worth a read.
