Idris Elba and Andy Serkis star in the latest installment of the Luther series, Luther: The Fallen Sun
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Hey movie fans, it’s Slick Dungeon here. I’m back to review another movie, although this one has a pretty limited release and it’s more of an episode of television. If you’ve seen the Luther series starring Idris Elba, currently airing on Netflix, you know what this series is about. If not, you may want to skip this review because there will be spoilers and they may cover more than just the movie but also the series. You’ve been warned.
I’m reviewing this here because I want to post about every movie I see in theaters this year. I’ve watched the other episodes of Luther but never caught them in a theater so you won’t see the review for those episodes here (at least not yet). None of those episodes, as far as I know, were ever released as movies like this one was.
The Luther series is a gripping psychological thriller series starring Idris Elba as detective John Luther. This is a man who has a special talent for catching bad guys doing unspeakably bad things. But Luther has gone too far in some instances to see justice done. Luther: FallenSun continues this story.
The movie starts out mysteriously with a young man receiving a phone call in the middle of the night to show up at a random location in the middle of a road. When he gets there he finds a car has crashed and a body on the side of the road. The young man calls the police and moments later is attacked by the person who was lying in the street.
We cut to Luther who is investigating a case. A desperate mother asks for Luther to promise to find her missing son for her. Luther promises but he’s clearly got other priorities at the time. A few months later some of the things Luther has done in the past which cross the line of the law come to light and he ends up in prison. But there is a serial killer on the loose and Luther wants to end the case he never finished.
Obviously this presents problems. He can’t do much if he’s in jail and he is not a detective anymore so he’s pretty limited. However, he’s still got more insight than most people in the police force and Luther has a plan. He’s able to get out of jail and go after the man who is causing such havoc.
It plays out like most Luther episodes otherwise, where Luther is a step behind a killer but he’s determined. There are tons of disturbing and uncomfortable scenes in this movie but if you have watched Luther before, it’s nothing new.
Andy Serkis puts in a great performance here as usual and Idris Elba is fantastic as always. The story is gripping and believable, although there are parts which seem a bit far fetched. The end also feels like it will be the beginning of something bigger so I don’t think this will be even close to the end of Luther.
If you like psychological thrillers like Silence of the Lambs, or Wallender, you’ll enjoy Luther: The Fallen Sun. While I did see this in a theater, I don’t think that’s necessarily the best way to watch this. It’s a highly bingeable show and this is another solid entry in the series.
Hello internet people and insects, it’s Slick Dungeon here, and I’m back to review another movie. This time I watched the weird world of the quantum realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. If reading film spoilers makes you feel like you have ants in your pants, go watch the movie and come back here to read the review because there will be spoilers ahead. Just a side note I don’t usually review Marvel films on this blog but this year I am trying to do a review of everything I see in theaters and since I saw this in theaters, I wanted to review it here.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the third film in the Ant-Man franchise, the first film of the fifth phase of the MCU, and I don’t know, like the millionth film in the MCU. Spoilers follow so, once again, you have been warned. This film starts with a flashback to when Janet Van Dyne (Michell Pfeiffer) was trapped in the quantum realm. This is a universe that exists below the surface of our own, on a sub-atomic scale. I would wonder how people can breathe there but let’s just ignore that for now. In the quantum realm, Janet meets a stranger named Kang (Jonathan Majors). If you’ve seen Loki on Disney+ you know exactly who this is, and that he is dangerous.
The movie then shifts to present day and injects a good dose of comedy with Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) going through his day, being recognized as Spider-Man, posing for selfies with dogs, and doing book signings of his book. We get the idea Scott realizes things get weird in his life and he’s sort of okay with that fact. He saved the world, and he’s back with his daughter. Things are going well, but… he gets a call that his daughter is in jail for shrinking a cop car during a political protest. Scott meets up with Cassie (Kathryn Newton), Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). It turns out Cassie has been working on a project which can send signals into the quantum realm and broadcast them back. Janet tries to shut the whole thing down as soon as she learns about it but the whole little family of ant/insect heroes ends up getting sucked into the quantum realm.
In the quantum realm things get weird pretty fast. There are bizarre creatures, sentient buildings, human looking people who are not human, and… Bill Murray. There’s also the introduction of one of the weirdest characters in Marvel comics history to the MCU, that of M.O.D.O.K. Just in case anyone hasn’t seen the movie I don’t want to give the reveal of who this is and how they became the ultimate killing machine but it’s probably weirder than you would have guessed and it’s not the best interpretation of the character from the comics but it works well enough.
The movie goes on with Scott trying to get everyone home and Janet trying to prevent Kang from threatening Earth. It’s standard superhero action with a bizarre background of characters more at home in Guardians of the Galaxy than in any previous Ant-Man movie. You won’t find the film stretching its muscles too far or doing anything truly innovative but there are some stand out reasons to watch the movie.
First of all, it is a little refreshing to break out of the last phase of movies with the set up of a major villain who can be seen in multiple Marvel projects. Second, it’s got a good amount of fun action to it, and the weirdness of the movie makes it feel more fun than it might have otherwise. Finally, every second Jonathan Majors appears on screen is compelling. His talents shine here and while it might seem silly to have him in an Ant-Man movie, it really works in the quantum realm. It’s not the best MCU movie by any stretch of the imagination but what it did do was get me excited for what might come next, and it has been a while since a Marvel movie has done that.
If you’re a die hard MCU lover, of course you will enjoy this. If you’re a casual fan who has seen most of the movies you’ll probably like it well enough. If you haven’t watched a good chunk of the MCU, this will seem like an insane mess of a movie. If the latter is you, go back to the early movies and let the crazy stuff build up over time.
Hello internet. it’s Slick Dungeon here, back to review another movie. This time I watched Tom Hanks perform as a grumpy old man in the film A Man Called Otto. If having movie spoilers makes you want to yell at people for cutting through your driveway or shout at the young folks to get off your lawn, go watch the movie and come back here because there will be spoilers ahead.
A Man Called Otto stars Tom Hanks as the man in question and is adapted from the book A Man Called Ove. It’s billed as a comedy drama but the emphasis here is on drama over comedy. The story follows Otto, a widower, who (spoilers start here) is tired of life without his beloved wife and is ready to take his own life. He has a daily routine of making sure no one drives across the private street he lives on, shoveling his snow covered driveway, sorting through recycling bins and generally grouching at people. At the moment Otto first tries to end things, he’s interrupted by annoying neighbors who don’t seem to know how to park a trailer. Otto helps out and does it for them. This pattern keeps repeating in a number of ways as Otto, reluctantly, ends up helping others and getting closer to people. One incident even leads Otto to be thought of as a bit of a local hero. As this is happening, we get flashbacks of Otto’s life as a younger man. Truman Hanks takes on the younger role and does a fine job selling the part.
At the start of the film, it’s easy for the viewer to guess where it is going. The movie makes no attempt to mislead you, knowing we’ll all get more and more attached to Otto, who despite being a bit of a crank, is not judgmental towards others, has a kind heart, and has the core impulse to help others, even when less convenient for himself. By the end, it’s inevitable the whole audience will end up crying buckets of tears.
As usual, the acting from Tom Hanks is top notch and he’s compelling to watch, although with the distinct feeling we’ve seen something like this film before. While I would not give this film points for originality, I would say it is well constructed, and entertaining. There are a few lighthearted laughs but it is through and through a tearjerker drama.
I don’t see this being voted one of the best films for 2023 but I could see it garnering some awards for Tom Hanks, Truman Hanks, and Mariana Trevino who plays one of Otto’s neighbors, Marisol. In fact, I would say the best performance here, with subtle grace and dignity through the film is Trevino’s and I hope she gets some accolades from the industry for making what could have been a one note character, engaging, emotional and complex.
If you love dramas, if you love Tom Hanks performances, and if you don’t mind crying in an ugly way while watching a movie, this is a good one to go out and see. It’s not perfect but there is a lot to like here.
Happy Valentine’s Day internet people! Slick Dungeon here, back to review another movie for you. It’s Valentine’s day but that doesn’t mean you have to watch some sappy romantic movie to have a good time. I’ve got an oddly creepy film for you this time. I watched Picnic at Hanging Rock which is about a group of girls who go missing on St. Valentine’s Day in 1900. There will be mild spoilers ahead so if that sort of thing breaks your heart, watch the movie and come on back here to read the review.
Picnic at Hanging Rock is an Australian film from 1975. It’s a period piece adapting a novel of the same name as the film. At the time it came out it was a commercial and critical success and brought some attention to the film scene in Australia at the time.
As far as the plot goes, it’s not complex. There is a private girls’ school called Appleyard College. Each year the school allows the girls to go on a picnic to a local mountain named Hanging Rock with some interesting geological features. One girl, named Sara has to stay behind at the school with the headmistress. Everyone else leaves to have a good time. In the carriage ride over, the girls are told the mountain is around a million years old, and there are deadly snakes and ants they need to watch out for.
Once on the mountain the picnic starts and eventually a group of four girls decide to go exploring on their own. This group of girls goes up the mountain but only one comes back. And when she comes back she’s screaming and unaware of what exactly happened.
The rest of the movie is spent figuring out just what happened. A teacher who went to find this girls is also missing and there are some observers who might well be suspected of wrongdoing.
That’s most of the plot in a nutshell but there is an incredibly menacing tone throughout. It almost feels as if Hanging Rock is alive and seemed to be waiting for these girls. It’s also a very, very, slow burn. The pacing is decidedly slow, even for a movie made in 1975. This does add to some of the menace but it makes it a little hard to get through. There is something hypnotic about the movie though and there are some unsettling scenes. There’s no major gore or anything like that to speak of. Jump scares are not at play here either. It just makes you feel overall uncomfortable watching.
It’s an interesting little film and if you need something to watch related to Valentine’s day but you don’t want to watch a cheesy romance, this might be a good pick for you.
Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic (1997)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Hello internet, it’s me, Slick Dungeon back to review another movie. James Cameron has a visually stunning, incredibly brilliant, emotional and moving film in theaters right now. And there are not any blue aliens in it. I’m talking, of course, about Titanic, his masterpiece from 1997. It was released in theaters in 3D for a limited engagement and I thought I would give it a review here. Do be forewarned there will be spoilers below from a 25 year old movie and an even older historical event. But if reading spoilers doesn’t float your boat, go watch the movie and come on back here to read the review.
There have been countless new reports, historical records, in depth analysis, scientific recreations and eye witness accounts to one of the most well known disasters in human history, the sinking of the Titanic. If somehow you don’t know, the Titanic was the largest ocean liner ever made at the time and it was thought to be unsinkable. Unsinkable it was not. There were tons of factors into how and why it sank but the fact is, it did sink and a great number of people lost their lives in the disaster. But all of those historical records etc. don’t seem to quite make the tragedy feel as real as James Cameron’s Titanic which still, 25 years after release, has the ability to make an entire audience ugly cry.
The film starts out with Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) in modern day times, leading an ocean expedition to recover valuable goods at the wreckage site of the Titanic. He’s clearly a bit of an opportunist but has a large team of ocean researchers working for him. They are looking for a lost jewel known as the heart of the ocean. After a dive to recover a safe turns up nothing but a drawing, Lovett is surprised to find there is a Titanic survivor over 100 years old who can shed some insight into the necklace and the events of the sinking of the ship.
The elderly woman is Rose who was the person in the drawing. James Cameron uses this framing device to allow Rose (Kate Winslet) to relate the story as the viewers go back in time to see Rose in her younger years and the audience gets wrapped up in a love story which takes place in the midst of a disaster. Rose is engaged to Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), a wealthy business man who believes himself to be deserving of the elite status bestowed upon him. In other words, Rose and Cal are members of the 1% of the time.
Our perspective shifts as we see Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) win a lucky hand of cards which just happens to have two tickets for him and a friend to board the Titanic. As you might guess, the love story is a bit of an opposites attract or kind and intelligent rich girl meets freedom loving and good hearted poor boy sort of story. Since Rose is engaged to be married this is a bit of a problem. Jack may not have the resources of other elites on board but it’s clear from their first meeting they belong together.
If the love story was all there was to the film, this might make for a mediocre romance. But we all know the real story is the disaster of the ship. James Cameron uses several scenes with Rose and Jack running around the ship and away from Cal to make sure we see all parts of the ship before it hits the iceberg. There are a few key characters who play sort of a background role but are important to the actual historical events. We see the captain, the designer and builder of the ship, and one of the more famous survivors of the tragedy, Molly Brown (Kathy Bates). Through these characters we pick up most of the information we need to know about why the boat sinks and how so many people drown. While it was an impressive ship, there were not enough life boats, the elite class was seen as more valuable than those below decks, the visibility was poor, and the ship was going too fast. The initial collision doesn’t seem that bad but the builder of the ship knows it is a mathematical certainty the boat will sink. And, to make matters worse, there are no ships less than four hours away to help rescue the Titanic passengers and the Titanic will sink in around an hour.
The first two thirds of the movie really focuses on the love story and how Jack and Rose are meant to be together while Cal is just the worst. Like, so bad he’s willing to pretend a kid he does not know is his just so he can get on a lifeboat kind of worst. Oh, and also he tries to shoot Rose and Jack while the ship is sinking. It’s kind of insane to be honest.
The last third of the movie is the disaster and Jack and Rose doing everything they can to survive.
This is where the visual effects are most impressive in the movie. I will say that although I saw this in 3D, I don’t think the 3D effects really add much here and it’s fine to watch this in 2D, it’s still just as good.
We again see bits of things we know from history intermingled with Jack and Rose, such as the dance band continuing to play right until the end, lifeboats made for 70 people being loaded with a dozen before being launched, and the passengers in steerage being locked behind a gate until it was far too late for most of them to survive.
As anyone would expect in a film about a disaster, the end is heartbreaking and tragic. But the performance put in here by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are career bests for both of them. If you can watch this movie without finding yourself crying at least once, you are either a robot or have a heart of stone.
There are a few things in this movie that probably could have been improved but they are quite minor. One of my complaints here (which again is very minor) is that a bit of the running around Rose and Jack do on the ship really does seem designed to do nothing more than make sure we see all the parts of it. My other minor complaint is Jack seems to somehow know exactly how the boat is going to go under and where they need to be for the best chance of survival. This is mostly to show the audience how the ship sank from the moment of first impact to it finally going completely under the water. And of course, if you have seen the movie, there is the argument of whether or not Jack could fit on the door. Whether or not he could is in some ways irrelevant since Jack and Rose are both fictional characters and what happens at the end is in service of the story being told. Finally, the length of the movie is on the longer side for sure but this is definitely not the only film which fits into that category of complaint.
If you have never seen this movie, or if you have never seen it in theaters, don’t hesitate, it’s worth every penny to see this masterpiece of filmmaking while you can.
If you have seen it before and you watched it again what did you think? Did it hold up to what you remembered? Let me know in the comments.
Happy Friday the 13th everybody! It’s me, Slick Dungeon, back to review the meetup of two titans of horror, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees in a film quite obviously titled Freddy vs. Jason. If spoilers are what gives you nightmares, be warned I’ll be slashing my way through my thoughts on the movie. So, if you haven’t seen it, run through a cornfield and hope not to meet a flaming Jason on the way and watch the movie. Then come on back here to read the review.
For years horror fans had clamored to see a couple of the biggest names in horror meet up. We’d even seen a tease of it years before this famous crossover came out. But due to lots of behind the scenes copyright issues and negotiations it was delayed so much that both Freddy and Jason ended up having movies set far in the future before this one actually takes place. Who would win, and deliver more fear, between the machete wielding, hockey mask wearing, un-killable lunatic, and the man who has a burned face, knives for fingers, and can invade your nightmares? Surely this would be an epic battle and one of the scariest movies of all time right? Meh. Not so much.
Both Freddy and Jason have gone to hell at this point. Freddy is having a bit of trouble because Springwood doesn’t seem to remember him. And if no one remembers him, no one is scared of him. If no one is scared of him, Freddy has no power. Good thing for Freddy, Jason is an unstoppable killing machine. So Freddy decides to let Jason loose in Springwood, assuming correctly that people there would think it was Freddy doing the killing. Freddy’s legend would grow again and he can terrorize teenagers once more. At least, that’s how he wanted it to work.
What the movie results in here is more of a… clip show? Yeah. One of the biggest problems with this movie which was made for fans who already love both franchises is that the film makers seemed to feel the need to rehash a whole bunch of what we’ve already seen to explain who Freddy and Jason are. They recreate some of the famous scenes from both franchises and those are somehow the most interesting part here.
That’s not to say there is no good stuff in this movie. It is definitely fun to watch Freddy and Jason fight. Freddy wins in the humorous quip department because, well, Jason doesn’t ever talk. But Jason is also quite the workhorse and he’s pretty hard to stop. They also bring back Jason’s mother for a few scenes and that’s always a good touch.
Once Freddy gets Jason out in the real world, Jason starts killing teens as all of us might expect. Said teens don’t know about Freddy or Jason but the police who are trying to do everything they can to cover up the existence of Freddy Krueger say the name Freddy Krueger right in front of the teenagers.
The teens fall asleep and Freddy visits them but he’s still not strong enough to get them so he lets Jason run wild for a bit. More teens die but now they have a person in a hockey mask to blame. Some people seem to know this is Jason because… well there was a cop from Crystal Lake but for no other reason.
When you are threatened with death and you are a teenager what do you do? Throw a huge party in a cornfield of course! At the party, Jason picks off a few more victims but one of them happens to be sleeping. Freddy ain’t too happy about that.
Eventually there is a bit of exposition about both Freddy and Jason and the teens come up with a plan. They want to put Jason to sleep so Freddy will fight him and then drop Jason off at Crystal Lake and high tail it outta there figuring Jason will be home and won’t leave the camp. Either way their odds are better if one of them dies.
We get to see Freddy toss Jason around in the dream world and then we get to see Jason shred up Freddy in the real world. Epic battle ensues. And of course you kill Freddy with fire and you drown Jason to stop them. We get a stinger at the end which implies Jason won the fight but Freddy is never going to be gone for good.
Is this the most enjoyable film of either franchise? No. Is it the worst movie in either franchise? Again, no. I do feel like if they had spent less time telling us and showing us stuff we already knew, this could have come off a little better. Freddy seems funny but menacing for most of this and Jason is certainly the juggernaut he’s become. But at times the film dips into a bit of the ridiculous and it seems like our final teens figure out how to stop Jason and Freddy way, way, way too easily. Not that they don’t have a lot of friends die first.
One issue I have with this is pretty simple. Jason is an undead, unstoppable killing machine. Does he even dream? I mean why would he? That’s never addressed, it’s just assumed he does. Still, that’s kind of a small issue. Also, the teens assume Jason wouldn’t come after them if they leave him in Crystal Lake but did they not notice Jason when he was in the middle of Times Square? Seems like the dude can leave when he wants to.
While the movie does retread a lot of old material, I still only recommend this if you have seen at least some of both franchises. It’s more fun that way. Just don’t expect it to have the intensity of some of the better movies in both franchises. There are still some fun and inventive kills here and they do the best they can with the story here, it just could never quite live up to the hype and build up of what was expected. If you’ve seen all the rest of these movies, give this one a watch.
And I also hope this movie acts as a lesson for horror franchises looking to do a crossover in the future. Make it early, while the buzz is going, but take the time to develop a good story that makes sense. And yes, I am staring directly at your murderous child doll eyes, M3GAN and Chucky!
Hello all you people living out in the internet! It’s me, Slick Dungeon, and I’m here to review the film that goes along with the viral dance video, M3GAN. Please be warned there will be some spoilers here so if you have not seen the movie shut down, take a break, watch the movie and come back here to read the review after.
If you are reading past this sentence, you will be spoiled. What if you took Hal 2000 from 2001, allowed it to learn about death and murder and all the bad stuff humans do, paired it with a human child, and gave it the durability of a terminator robot? Bad things? Do we think bad things would happen if we did that? Yes, the answer is yes. If anyone is working on this as a project right now and happens to read this review, stop it now. Please.
Anyway, this movie is definitely an argument for why we should make sure people working in robotics adopt Asimov’s three laws of robotics post haste.
As far as the plot of the film, here’s how it goes. The movie starts off with an ad for what I can only describe as the worst version of Furby you’ve ever seen. A little girl named Cady is heading towards a snow vacation with her parents. She’s a little distracted by the furby-style toy pet she has in the car and it’s a pretty bad snow storm. The parents die in a car crash.
Cady is orphaned and her aunt Gemma is now responsible for her. Turns out Gemma helped to create that little toy pet and she’s working on a much more ambitious project. Basically a sentient, child sized doll that can learn and adapt. She’s behind on some work projects because of this and has to deliver something amazing. She rushes it a bit and develops M3GAN as the newest hit toy without adding in stuff like parent controls or an emergency off switch of any kind. And also, M3GAN seems to be able to pair with any bluetooth enabled device near her.
Things start off calmly enough. M3GAN is almost like a replacement friend/parent to Cady. While doing some testing in the toy lab M3GAN asks about death after she overhears a conversation. Before anyone can stop her, M3GAN has downloaded everything about the subject on the internet. Her prime directive is to keep Cady safe and this is where, shall we say, stuff hits the fan. A dog bites Cady and soon the dog is no more.
Things escalate when Cady is brought to an outdoor school setting and an older boy bullies her. Let’s just say M3GAN is not a fan. Bad things happen to people who cross Cady and/or M3GAN from this point forward. Even Gemma seems to have lost control.
The most entertaining part of the movie comes in the end when they try to have a global launch for M3GAN as the hot new toy and instead she basically goes on a rampage.
If you’ve seen evil doll or robot movies before, you’ve pretty much seen what happens in this movie. Bodies drop, some people do things they shouldn’t, more bodies drop, and eventually someone has to get a grip on this thing and stop it and we’re given a stinger at the end to imply M3GAN is not entirely gone.
I will say, M3GAN does have a bit more flair than some of the killer doll movies I’ve seen and most of it is entertaining. However, it seems a hundred percent obvious to anyone watching that maybe instead of focusing on the potential sentient death doll for profit, most of this horror could have been prevented if Gemma just did what most normal humans would do and gave her niece a hug instead.
If you like sci-fi or horror movies involving evil little dolls or robots, you’ll probably get a kick out of this one. Ronny Chieng has a pretty hilarious performance here as well and there’s enough humor to keep it interesting. While overall this movie is fairly predictable, it’s still fun. If creepy dolls do freak you out too much though, stay far, far away from this film.
If you’ve seen this what did you think? Let me know in the comments. Should Gemma have just, I dunno, taken Cady to the park instead of going back to work?
Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon, back to review another film. This time I watched the Predator series prequel simply called Prey. I will be giving a few mild spoilers below but nothing major. Still, if you are bothered by that sort of thing, watch the movie then read the review.
Prey is set in 1719 long before the first Predator movie happens. The good news is you definitely don’t need to have seen any of the other Predator films for this one to make sense. And, for my money, this is easily the best movie in that series. It stars Amber Midthunder in an excellent performance and all I can say is I hope we get to see more of her in action films in the future.
If you have seen Predator movies before, you’ll see a lot of what you would expect. There is a hunter with advanced technology hunting humans. The humans are far outmatched for a variety of reasons and the goal here is survival at best. This also has something most Predator films don’t. Character development is a central focus and they take the time to develop the story. While there is plenty of action, especially in the third act, this film feels way more threatening and a lot more thought out than the others by how understated it is. It takes time to build up some fear for the audience and allows us to care about characters before they are killed.
It’s also refreshing to see this happen in a time period where our modern weaponry is not yet developed. The central plot revolves around a woman named Naru who is a healer but wants to be a hunter. She’s underestimated as far as her hunting skills go but is generally accepted by her family and friends. When a lion attacks and one of the tribe’s hunters goes missing Naru joins to find the missing hunter and to kill the lion. Naru is pretty quick to pick up on the fact that there are more dangerous things than lions hunting the party.
I won’t go into too much more detail here but this absolutely ratchets up the tension in interesting ways. Like all of the Predator movies it gets bloody at times but there’s nothing more extreme than usual here.
With the unique time setting and welcome change in protagonists and the time given to develop a story, this shines as the best of the series. If you don’t really like action movies or hate all of the Predator movies this is probably not for you.
I didn’t think we needed a Predator prequel at all so I was really pleasantly surprised here. If you’ve watched the other Predator films and were kind of done with them like I was, this will breathe a bit of life back into the franchise for you. If you’re curious and you’ve never seen a Predator movie, my recommendation would be to watch this one and maybe the first Predator but stop there. This will be the best one on the list for sure.
Hello internet, Slick Dungeon here! I know it’s a little late for a yule log but I heard about this movie and was told I just have to watch it. It’s definitely not what I expected. This one is really hard to review without spoilers but I am going to do my best to remain spoiler free here. I am going to give a few odd warnings for a yule log though.
Adult Swim Yule Log starts like any other yule log video you could watch. Like, when you’re at a Christmas part on Christmas eve and you decide to just throw an image on in the background with some soft music playing that feels warm and homey and spreads that good ol’ holiday cheer. If you were take the first three or so minutes of this movie and put it on a loop, you would not be able to tell a difference from those popular YouTube clips and this film.
But if you want to see some interesting and downright weird stuff just keep watching. Around three minutes in, the frame of the fire gets interrupted by someone vacuuming and from there it turns into one of the most insane movies I have ever seen in my life. If you are a horror fan and you are tired of all the usual stuff and need to see something different, oh this one is it. I guarantee there is something here you are not at all expecting.
But, some trigger warnings for viewers of this particular yule log, there is a fair amount of gore and violence here so be warned. It’s also odd to say this but the acting in the yule log video is pretty good and they sell a fairly outrageous story. There’s a few loose ends that don’t seem like they tie together completely for me but if you have a decently strong stomach for gore and violence watch this one.
I can honestly say, I was not expecting what I saw. This is a film that really works best to go in blindly on so I’m not going to say a lot more about it. Except for this; it’s really nice to see an innovation in horror where someone is not just rehashing old plots but actually trying something new here.
If you want a calming experience don’t watch past the third minute. After that, well my friends, you are on your own and it’s pretty wild.
If you’ve seen this, I’d love to hear what you thought, especially if you went into it blind. Let me know in the comments.
Hello internet, it’s Slick Dungeon here! Well, today is the last day of 2022 and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there thinking about making New Year’s resolutions. One of mine will be to watch more movies and post about them on this here blog. But, not all resolutions are good and you shouldn’t necessarily listen to anyone on the internet telling you how to live your life. For these reasons I decided to watch the horror film on Hulu titled New Year, New You. Be warned there will be some spoilers ahead. I’ll try to keep them mild but if that sort of thing bothers you, give the movie a watch and then come on back here after.
Still with me? Good. You know how at the end of the year, mixed in with all the best of lists, the reflections on celebrities we lost, and headlines of what’s going to be the next big thing, we get tons of self help style videos from influencers telling you how to live your best life? Have you ever wondered if those videos are pretty much full of garbage like you think they are? New Year, New You answers that question with a resounding yes.
It’s a small cast of characters set in a single setting but it delivers one of the most epic takedowns of “influencer culture” I’ve ever seen. As far as the plot goes, there are four women who get together a few years after a traumatic event has happened. Three of them are living fairly normal lives, working, dating, and struggling to just get through the day for the most part. The fourth woman is a media influencer who is wealthy due to a line of health and wellness products she sells through her videos.
As you might guess there is more to the story and the past events than it seems. You might put this movie under dinner party horror. You could also call it a revenge gone wrong film. But, in my opinion, this is what I Know What You Did Last Summer had the potential for but failed to live up to.
The acting performances here are basically perfect although there is one character who seems to be led around a little too much for me to fully believe it. I was definitely guessing at most turns in the plot and there are several jaw dropping moments that make this worth a watch.
There’s nothing here overly gory. In fact, most of it is not scary at all. If you have any empathy in your soul you will feel uncomfortable for most of the movie though. The first act is a little bit of a slow burn but by the start of the third act, things really get going. There are not tons of scares, although there are a few twists. But, each moment that is meant to be shocking delivers fully on the shock.
I don’t think this is one I would rewatch over and over again or anything but I’m glad I watched it once at least. If you like a sort of slow burn horror without tons of blood but that still manages to be really shocking, this is for you. Also, if you’re sick and tired of advice about how you need to change your life just because the calendar date is getting one year bigger, watch this and you won’t feel that way anymore.
Stay safe out there, have a happy new year, and I’ll see all the rest of you in 2023!
