Over the past two years, I wrote four children’s books. Three of them I plan to turn into series. I took a break from those to put together a book of short horror stories.
Some stories we’re written long ago. Some we’re just ideas in my head that I finally put to paper. And some of them are brand new. I would love to one day to turn them all into a television show or turn one or two of them into a movie. More realistically, I hope someone else turns them into a show or movie.
I was raised on thing like Stephen King films and The Twilight Zone. My stories are heavily inspired by those things.
There are stories about ghosts, spiders, monsters, torture.
Review: if you have read this site, then you know that I am a big fan of horror. It is my favorite genre. I just released a book of short horror stories. The last two October, I watched 31 horror movies that were new to me.
I’m looking forward to this year as we have a lot of good horror. Movies coming out. A new Silent Hill film, and a new Resident Evil film. We have Ready or Not 2, Clayface, a new Evil Dead, a new a Scream entry. And I’m sure many more movies in the Poohniverse.
I was excited for primate from the first trailer that I saw. It reminded me of Jordan Peele’s Nope. At least the opening. Monkeys are one of my absolute favorite animals. But I also enjoy a horror movie about monkeys. Such as 28 Days Later or Congo.
I didn’t know if this movie would be kitschy or not. I walked out out of the movie, saying that I really enjoyed it, but then saying that I felt there were some plot holes within the writing. But the more I thought about them, the more they made sense. The film follows a chimpanzee who gets rabies in Australia. A good fact to go into going into this Movie is that rabies do not exist in that continent.
Troy, who played the father in the Oscar winning CODA also plays the dad in this. There are some cool sign language scenes used between the humans and the chimpanzee and also some where the humans are communicating in sign language quietly, to avoid the ravenous Chimp. And there’s also a very cool, unique scene, where we take the POV of the death, father, which sets up some good scares.
For some reason, I didn’t think that the kills would be as brutal and gory. But I was wrong. The first one alone was very graphic. I felt like I was brought back again to when I took my girlfriend to see the substance last year, and she covered her face for a half of the movie.
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Shakira, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, Alan Tudyk, Nate Torrence, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, Jenny Slate
Synopsis: Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.
Review: A Silence of the Lambs reference and a Shining reference in the sequel. A Godfather reference in both. These movies now how to cater to children and to their parents. Ke Huy Quan has the most adorable voice and plays such a cute snake. And we get the whole Handsome podcast hosts of Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin.
If you went to the theaters this week and saw Anaconda this week, you probably laughed your ass off. We all know Jack Black and Paul Rudd do comedy well. Jack Black has proven his comedic chops in films such as Orange County, School of Rock, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, and the Kung Fu Panda,Jumanji, and Super Mario franchise. Paul Rudd also entered our screens in the 90s, in things like Clueless. Throughout the next few decades, he worked closely with David Wain in films like Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models,They Came Together, and Judd Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and Knocked Up.
Movie: Saving Silverman. Release date: 2001 Cast: Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Jack Black, Amanda Peet Synopsis: A pair of buddies conspire to save their best friend from marrying the wrong woman. Why: Jack Black and Steve Zahn play the best friends of Jason Biggs and can’t stand his new girlfriend. They go to extreme lengths just to get rid of her. The Neil Diamond cover band in this movie is so fun.
Movie: Tropic Thunder Release date: 2008 Cast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr. Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Brandon T. Jackson ,Bill Hader, Nick Nolte Why:If you liked Anaconda, then you will love Tropic Thunder. Because they follow the same formula and both star Jack Black! In the film, a bunch of actors who need a win decide to film a Vietnam war movie on location. They then wind up getting caught up in their own war and have to find their way out using the skills of their characters.
Movie: Strange Wilderness Release date: 2008 Cast: Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Kevin Heffernan, Ashley Scott Peter, Dante Harry Hamlin, Robert Patrick, Joe Don Baker, Justin Long, Jeff Garlin, Ernest Borgnine Why: Like Grandma’s Boy, this was one of the movies that starred all of the people from Adam Sandler movies without Adam Sandler. I saw it in theaters in college and it is easily one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen. Like Anadona, it is so incredibly dumb, but so damn funny.
Movie: Orange County Release date: 2001 Cast: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Catherine O’Hara, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Lily Tomlin Why: This movie came out when I was 13. I saw this in theaters around the same time as Out Cold and the two comedies did so much for my love for comedy. Jack Black is a force in this movie. He plays the slacker, stoner, step brother to Colin Hank’s character.
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton, Daniela Melchior, Selton Mello
Synopsis: A group of friends are going through a mid-life crisis. They decide to remake a favorite movie from their youth but encounter unexpected events when they enter the jungle.
Review: I didn’t know what to think of this movie going into it. I knew that it would be funny, at the least, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn. That’s a good enough recipe for me to see a movie. I also loved the Tropic Thunder premise to it.
The movie is really, really funny. As always, Steve Zahn steals the show. Not to say that Rude and Black are not also hilarious. The scene with Jack, Black and the boar had me crying laughing.
Along with the movie. Being funny, it also surprised. We have some really good jumps scenes and some heart. I shouldn’t be surprised at the gym scenes, but there were one or two times where I literally jumped in my seat. The movie does play pretty well as a horror Comedy and not just a dumb buddy buddy comedy. The movie also has a lot of heart for people who feel stuck in their lives right now and want to do that one thing they’ve always wanted to do. The two main characters grew up making videos together and there’s a scene where they’re watching their old Movies together. The scene made be nostalgic as I also used to make videos with friends back when we were kids.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a few cameos in the movie that are pretty wild. There’s also some good jokes that almost break the fourth wall where they talk about how bad a remake to a classic can be. There’s also a story line in there about the IP for Anaconda.
The movie. Definitely surprised me. It wasn’t just a comedy. It wasn’t just a stoner comedy. It had action, it had heart, it had jumped scenes.
I hope that we get more movies like this. Movies within movies within movies within remakes. And allows people to get away with things on screen and really just make things fun and poke fun while also putting together a pretty good movie.
Writer: Steve Dawson, Andrew Dawson, Tim Inman, Jimmy Carr, Patrick Carr
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Radcliffe, Katherine Waterston, Emma Laird, Tom Goodman-Hill, Anna Maxwell Martin, Sue Johnston, Tom Felton, Damian Lewis
Synopsis: A new porter forms an odd bond with the youngest daughter of a well-known UK family. As the Davenport family, headed by Lord and Lady Davenport, deals with the epic disaster of the wedding of their eldest daughter to her caddish cousin.
Review: We are all patiently awaiting Scary Movie 6 to come out next year. The news of the original creators and cast got us all quickly onboard. The last few years have also spoiled us with horror movies, so the Wayans brothers have a lot to work with.
This year, we were lucky enough with two parodies. Liam Niesen starred in a new Naked Gun and Fackham Hall entered theaters just at the end of the year.
Writer: Rebecca Sonnenshine Based on: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, Elizabeth Perkins
Synopsis: A struggling young woman is relieved by the chance for a fresh start as a maid for a wealthy couple. Soon, she discovers that the family’s secrets are far more dangerous than her own.
Review: I went into The Housemaid not knowing anything about it. I knew it would be fun and have twists, but it exceeded my expectations. Seyfried is great at playing crazy. This also really allowed Sklenar to step in and play a different role, showing his range and depth. And, as always, Perkins plays the most insufferable person imaginable.
This movie is sexy, funny, and has some really good twists. I really like the direction that Paul Feig is going in with his last few movies. This movie has some similarities to A Simple Favor and Another Simple Favor, some of his most recently directed films, but is also very different.
The third act is pretty wild in this movie. There is violence, gore, twists and turns, and a really fun last scene.
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Writer: James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis
Synopsis: Avatar: Fire and Ash continues the story of Pandora, introducing a volatile fire-based Na’vi clan and shifting the conflict inward among the Na’vi themselves. Jake Sully and Neytiri face escalating threats that challenge unity, morality, and survival, expanding the Avatar universe into darker emotional and thematic territory.
Trailer:
Review: I saw this movie on opening night, because obviously. I’m one of the biggest Avatar fans in the world, and I geek out pretty hard over these movies. I, of course, saw it in IMAX3D. I went to the Jordan’s Furniture in Natick. The one in Reading I hope to get to for this movie, as well as it is the best in New England. By far.
A lot of people liked this one more than the second one. I don’t think I did for two reasons. Way of water hit really hard because it had been so long since an Avatar movie had been out. We only had to wait two years between Way of Water and Fire and Ash, luckily. But I also just really enjoyed the water theme. I am happy that Fire and Ash still included so much of the Water, but that whole introduction in the second film was breathtaking.
The introduction fire as a new element and clan was really cool. I love the new antagonist. I am over Miles Quartich. I love Stephen Lang. But I recently read in an interview that he is also going to be in 4 and 5. I just hope he is a minor character by then. Or an ally like he almost became in this movie. I thought Varang was sexy, and badass, and fun, and I did like her dynamic with Quartich. The planet was mostly peaceful, until humans showed up with their weapons. What else is new.
The movie, especially the third act, felt very, very familiar. But I had read interviews with James Cameron and it made sense. He always wanted Avatar 2 to be split between Avatar 2 and 3 and have Avatar 4 split between Avatar 4 and 5. So, the familiarity works. This movie really expanded upon Kiri’s relationship to Pandora. To the nature, the animals, the Goddess. The underwater nighttime scenes with her were visually stunning.
Based on: Silent Night, Deadly Night by Michael Hickey and Paul Caimi
Cast: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine, David Lawrence Brown, David Tomlinson, Mark Acheson
Synopsis: A child witnesses his parents’ murder by a man in a Santa suit. Years later, as an adult, he dons a Santa costume himself and embarks on a violent quest for retribution against those responsible for the traumatic event from his childhood.
Review: I am a big fan of Mike P. Nelson. He directed the 2021 reboot of Wrong Turn, which was one of my favorite movies that year. I was a massive fan of the whole franchise and looked forward to the new installment. It really took it in a different direction and I really enjoyed it.
He also wrote and directed the 2018 post-apocalyptic, horror film The Domestics. The movie is brutal and wild and features some great talent like horror icon David Dastmalchian and the late Lance Reddick.
Mike also had not one, but two shorts in the 2023 anthology, found-footage film, V/H/S/85. I believe he is the first and only to have two in one of the films.
I went into Silent Night, Deadly Night not knowing much. I haven’t seen the originals. I knew it would be a good holiday slasher and I really enjoyed Ruby Modine in Shameless and the Happy Death Day films.
A lot of this movie pays homage to the horror movies of the 80s. The camera work, the music, the campiness.
The trophy that the serial killer collects from their victims is just as disgusting as it is original and fun.
There are some really gory kills throughout the movie, including one all-out massacre that will, surprisingly, have you cheering in your seat.
The movie is like a mix of Dexter meets Venom meets Friday the 13th.
I really, really love how the movie ended and I hope we see more from it.
Go see it in theaters. Make it a new Christmas movie for the whole family. You will be surprised at how much you will be cheering throughout this slasher film!
Cast: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, John Early, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Synopsis: In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.
