Premise: A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Eve flight.
My Premise: A cat and mouse game between a TSA agent and a mysterious man on Christmas Eve.
Cast: Taron Egerton, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Jason Bateman.
Review: Jason Bateman is one of the best comedic actors of our time. And is you listen to his podcast, Smartless, with Will Arnett and Sean you will know he’s also hilarious in real life. But damn is he a good serious actor.
I just started watching Ozark. I had seen a lot of it before but never finished it. It had been too long so I wanted to restart it. Bateman’s directorial debut was also in a film called The Gift which is one of the most disturbing movies that I have seen.
Bateman plays the antagonist in Carry On, playing against Taron Egerton, an extremely nice and easy going TSA agent who just found out he is expecting. The two of them play very well together in this movie.
While a lot of the movie plays out like Phone Booth, mostly with tension done over the phone, the second half of the movie includes a lot of action.
Premise: Two scientists try to stop a mutation that turns people into werewolves after being touched by a super-moon the year before.
My Premise: A a year after a super moon, turned millions into werewolves for the night who killed off a lot of of the world’s population, scientist try to figure out how to stop this mutation once and for all.
Cast: Frank Grillo, Katrina Law, Ilfenesh Hadera, James Michael Cummings, Lou Diamond Phillips James Kyson.
Review: I believe that this movie knew it it was doing. I think I’m honestly not sure. Whether or not it did I don’t know if that made this a good movie or not.
The director and Frank Grillo, both from the start dubbed this movie The Purge meets werewolves and this was exactly that. I will watch anything with Frank Grillo. He is a great action star and one that I wish got his due in the Marvel universe. But he has still gone on to be in great movies like two of the The Purge films and the Groundhog’s Day action film, Boss Level.
I think my biggest issue with this film is it revolves around the night of the second super moon and a few known werewolves are being studied to find the cure and they are using a spray on them to keep the werewolf at bay and guess what it’s called? Moonblock. Yup. I just hope this was something that the cast and crew all laughed at while writing it and making the movie.
I will say this is a fun action horror movie. And, like many movies this year, the movie substitutes CGI for mostly practical effects. Which that is worth it in its own way, in my opinion.
What It Reminds Me Of: The Wizard of Oz (Because it’s a prequel!)
Writer: Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.
Director: John M. Chu
Premise: Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman because of her green skin, and Glinda, a popular girl, become friends at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads.
My Premise: A group of quiet high schools girls learn to stand out.
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum.
Review: Here is the review that I texted to a few family members:
“I really liked it! I fell asleep during parts because I can’t stay awake during in theaters movies anymore. I thought Ariana was fantastic and this was the role she was born to play. I thought it was the most Jeff Goldblum role that Jeff Goldblum has ever played. I really liked the music and the scenery. It was very funny. It really makes you think about The Wizard of Oz which I know is the point of this and the origin story. I don’t think I’ll be rooting for Dorthy next time I watch it.”
In longer terms: I am not a big fan of musicals or musical movies, but, man, I loved this musical movie. I will admit that I feel asleep, briefly, in parts of the movie. But that is not due to the content of the film. That is do to me not sleeping enough at home and movie theaters being way too dark and way too comfortable these days.
Anyway, the music in this movie was so catchy. “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” and obviously “Defying Gravity. The
The movie is pretty long at two and a half hours. Which might not seem long, except there is a part two coming out next year. But the way this one ended was a perfect ending sure to set up the next one to really be even more powerful.
Ariana Grande is perfect for this role. She has shined as an actress in things like Don’t Look Up and on SNL and was really great in this.
It’s super impressive that the people sang live for this movie. The set design and CGI are both impressive. The Set Designer actually planted 9 million tulips for the movie! Nathan Crowley, who did this movie, also did the set design for Interstellar and all of the crops you see in that movie are real.
Opener: Narrow Head, co-headlining tour with Saves the Day who is playing the 20th anniversary of “Through Being Cool.”
Band Members:
• Buddy Nielsen – vocals
• Gavin Caswell – guitar
• Jason Milbank – guitar
• Steve Carey – drums
• Daniel Wonacott – bass
Review: Senses Fail has got to see the band I have seen the most. I have been seeing them since high school at Warped Tour and I try to see them every time they are in town. I have seen them on many anniversary tours. I saw them play “Life is Not a Waiting Room” and “Still Searching” on anniversary tours. When I was at s conference in Atlanta in 2019, I hopped on Bands in Town to see who was playing and got last minute ticket to the “From the Depths of Dreams” tour. And last month I saw “Let It Enfold You” for the 20th anniversary. And this wasn’t even the first time I saw it played for an anniversary! In 2014, I saw them play it for the 10 year anniversary. It is my favorite album of theirs and I hope to see it in another decade for the 30th anniversary.
The show was at the House of Blues in Boston, a venue that I surprisingly haven’t been to in a long time except for seeing Bowling for Soup there a month prior when they played their second album, “A Hangover You Don’t Deserve” in it’s entirety. It is a great venue of a 1000 people. It is right outside of Fenway and the MGM, a new favorite menu. It’s a lot of fun coming out of the show there at night and seeing all the bright lights. They have the downstairs floor and upstairs balconies, which I imagine cost a little more. It’s pretty quick and easy to get a drink there. I just wish that the only option for water was not Liquid Death. I don’t know how that company has monopolized the concert industry, but it really doesn’t taste good enough for a seven dollar canned water.
There is something about an anniversary tour. A Time Machine back to simpler days. Seeing a favorite album of yours from when you were a teen and being instantly transported back to those days.
My friend and I got there for most of Saves the Day set. We hadn’t really listened to them and hadn’t seen them since high school. We had a memory of seeing them playing an acoustic set at Work door and met them after. Nothing will ever be quite like Warped Tour again. Especially the one they’re doing next year.
Anyway, Saves the Day put on a super fun show with really trippy background visuals. I go to a lot of concerts and the bands mostly have a giant backdrop and that is the background of the show. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that both Saves the Day and Senses Fail had different videos during each song of their set lists.
Senses Fail played my favorite album, with the audience singing along to every lyric. The bonus songs were Bloody Romance, Calling All Cars, Can’t Be Saved, and the final song was a cover of My Chemical Romance’s Helena with Chris Conley, the singer of Saves the Day.
Premise: Follows a group of teens learning to love their bodies through inclusive fashion design and friendship.
My Premise: A group of quiet high schools girls learn to stand out.
Cast: Rainn Wilson, Missi Pyle and Mia Kaplan, Jemima Yevu, Jolene Purdy
Review: I went to see a screening of this at Capital Theater in Arlington. Writer-director, Claire Ayoub, was there in attendance. Ayoub is a graduate of Wellesley college where my girlfriend, Sarah, went to college. Sarah has been following Ayoub’s career and got us tickets for the show.
The theater was packed with proud alumni there to see Ayoub’s debut film. The movie is funny. Like, really really funny. Rainn Wilson and Missi Pyle are the big names in the movie, and while they certainly shine, the whole cast stands out. The movie definitely has many serious moments to it. I would call this movie a dramedy, but you will really laugh your ass out throughout this movie. The main cast of six girls are all so funny and work so well together. I love a movie where an ensemble of kids or teens work so well together on camera you would think they have been friends forever.
After the film ended, Ayoub did a Q&A with the audience. She talked about how long it had been since the movie was first written. How she toured the screenplay around the country to get buy-in, the audition process for the teen stars, and how much research and resources when into making an inclusive and powerful movie like this one. I want a director’s cut!
Premise: An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.
My Premise: A love story told non-linear through the years.
Cast: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield
Review: I really wanted to love this movie. I adore Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh—two of my biggest celebrity crushes in one film. Plus, when I first saw the trailer, it reminded me of One Day and Like Crazy, two movies I truly enjoyed.
One thing that didn’t work for me was the non-linear storytelling. It was hard to build up to that emotional, tear-jerking ending when the film kept jumping around. I just finished watching This Is Us for the second time and loved how that show jumps through time. I cried plenty of times watching it, but you never fully feel the weight of missing Jack because you know you’ll keep seeing him in future episodes. Maybe this storytelling style works for television, but in film, it can be harder to pull off.
The third act of this movie also left me disappointed. There were choices made that I didn’t fully understand or agree with, and one big moment didn’t really land as intended.
As much as I wanted to love this movie—I love dramedies, I love love stories, and I enjoy getting emotional from a show or film—I didn’t quite get that feeling from this one.
That said, the acting is fantastic. It’s worth seeing for that alone. And the press surrounding this movie is definitely worth exploring. Garfield brought a cardboard cutout of Florence Pugh to a screening, which was hilarious. His interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and his segment with Elmo on Sesame Street are both beautiful, as he talks about channeling his grief over his mother’s recent passing into his performance for the film. And his appearance on Chicken Shop Date is one for the books!
Genre: Live-action/adult animated psychological horror-thriller film
What It Reminds Me Of:
Writer: Robert Morgan, Robin King
Director: Robert Morgan
Premise: A stop-motion animator struggles to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother.
My Premise: An artist’s work starts to come to life. Is it to help cope with her trauma from her abusive mother or is everything truly coming alive?
Cast: Aisling Franciosi
Review: I put off watching this movie because of how creepy it looked. And wow, was it creepy. It feels like every movie I’ve reviewed lately is about someone’s ‘descent into madness,’ and this one fits right in.
This film would have been plenty scary without the stop motion, but adding that element makes it downright chilling.
The art design is incredibly impressive, and the way it feels like you’re watching two movies in one adds a unique twist. It starts a bit slow, but really picks up, and the third act is wild.
I won’t spoil anything—just go watch it with the lights on, and be prepared to lose some sleep.
Where to watch: Shudder (Included), Rent it across other streaming platforms
Genre: Horror movie
What It Reminds Me Of: I don’t want to say, haha! It reminds me of a movie that I loved in the early 2,000s. But mentioning it could give it away.
Writer: Damian McCarthy
Director: Damian McCarthy
Premise: A psychic medium attempts to uncover the truth behind her sister’s murder at the site of the crime.
My Premise: A blind woman enters the home of her dead sister to find out the answers behind her murder.
Cast: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Jonathan French, Steve Wall
Review: This month, I have been watching one horror movie a day. I started watching classic horror movies that I had never seen before. Then, I moved into newer horror movies. I have been watching them late at night after my girlfriend falls asleep. A lot of the movies that I have watched were too old or too cheesy to provide any really scares. This was the first movie I watched this month to really scare me. Honestly, this was the first movie in a while to scare the hell out of me.
This movie introduces a new character, the Wooden Man. Who is very, very creepy. I wish that people would dress up as him for Halloween or put him out on their lawn.
I don’t want to give much away on this movie. I just want people to watch it. It is original, it is genre-crossing, it is scary and it will have you guessing until the end.
Damien McCarthy has another recent movie out called Caveat that I plan to watch soon. After watching this movie, I want to watch whatever else he puts out.
What It Reminds Me Of: Talk To Me, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, Clue
Writer: Greg Jardin
Director: Greg Jardin
Premise: A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that awakens long-hidden secrets, desires and grudges.
My Premise: A reunion turns from sexy to crazy when old friends live out their long-awaited desires, including revenge.
Cast: Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Gavin Leatherwood, Nina Bloomgarden, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Reina Hardesty, Devon Terrell, David W. Thompson, Madison Davenport
Review:
This movie is being hailed as this year’s Talk to Me, and I agree. It’s an indie horror film that feels very original, fresh, and innovative. Instead of drugs, a group of friends sits in a circle and experiments with something new, something mind-altering.
I was definitely confused at certain points during the movie. I think it’s one of those films you might need to watch once or twice to fully grasp. Watching it with captions can help too, as the dialogue clarifies who is who. One thing I really appreciated about this movie is that the writer and director also edited it. I love when that happens because it’s rare, and in this case, it feels essential. The movie can be confusing at times, but the director uses unique methods—such as lighting, lenses, moods, and other techniques—to help us easily distinguish between characters.
I liked how the movie starts off with a sexy, intriguing vibe and then descends into madness. It begins with characters exploring their curiosities and missed opportunities, but it quickly turns into something much darker. There’s a strong presence of lust and greed, and both come with consequences.
The film tackles themes like jealousy, the pitfalls of social media, missed opportunities, and the boundaries between friends and lovers. Now that I think about it, it has a bit of a Shakespearean feel. It would actually make a cool stage play.
It also reminded me a little of Clue—a modern-day murder mystery, a “whodunit” with a technological twist.
I love when TV shows or movies involve body-swapping, where actors have to mimic the mannerisms, features, and reactions of other characters. It takes a special kind of actor to pull that off, and this ensemble cast does an amazing job.
Also, the editing was really cool when the group was gathered together. It reminded me of the scenes in That ’70s Show when the gang passes around a joint—except in this movie, the substance has real side effects, is highly addictive, and… well, you’ll have to watch the movie to see the rest!
Premise: In 1993, a mysterious children’s show host, Mr. Crocket, magically emerges from television sets to kidnap young children, brutally slaying their parents in the process. After Mr. Crocket snatches her son, one determined mother embarks on a perilous quest to track down the demonic entertainer and rescue her boy.
Cast: Jerrika Hinton, Elvis Nolasco, Ayden Gavin, Kristolyn Lloyd, Alex Akpobome.
Review: If you ever wondered what it would be like if someone made a movie that was The Ring meets Pee Wee’s Playhouse, look no further. I, at first, thought of this as more of a Mr. Rogers inspired character. But it wasn’t long until I got the Pee Wee vibe. I won’t give away much but the whole set of characters on his show comes alive.
Every Halloween, Hulu unveils a new release of original horror movies. When I first saw the trailer for this one, I was hooked. It is really original. It definitely has some parts that are inspired by other movies, but the premise is original and we really need that right now.
This movie was really cool. Innovative, fun, dark, supernatural. It provides backstory of the antagonist, which is really nice. You learn why he is the way he is. How he got there. How he does what he does.
I really wish that this got a theatrical release. I read that it started as a short film and I am so glad it got the funding to make it feature-length. It needed a full-length version. And it wasn’t too long. It didn’t drag on.
And the opening scene. You will be all in once that scene opens.
