What did you good folks watch this week? (06/23-06/29)
Five nights at Freddy’s (2023 Prime): The other day I watched Coraline with my 9 year old and now it was time for our 2nd horror movie experience together. My 7 year old also joined us as they both were aware of this movie because of a video game they saw clips of on YouTube. All that to say, the excitement was high on that afternoon (in order to prevent nightmares as much as possible). The movie did not disappoint. Entertaining story, solid cinematography, cool atmosphere, thrilling moments of (soft) terror. It was a success on all the line. Piper Rubio is such a great kid actress. She totally won me over with her charm. The rest of the cast was perfectly fine too. Good chemistry between Cop girl and security guy. My rating: 7.5/10
The uninvited (1944 TV): This is no doubt a solid film but the main character was a bit obsessed with Stella Meredith while I quickly became fascinated by Gail Russell, the actress playing the role. At first I was simply spellbound by her beauty and was impressed by her acting yet she gave me an eerie feeling. Then I read about her tragic life. How can such a beautiful, promising young lady annihilate herself with vodka? Very strange. Anyways, the movie looks good, it has an interesting ghost story that unravels well in the end yet it’s always approached in somewhat of a playful manner and the actors make it all work very well. This movie is better than Psycho, Vertigo and House on haunted hill. Yeah I said it. My rating: 8/10
Gifted (2017 TV): “Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.” I let myself get impressed by the rating of this movie; 7.6 for over 132K votes! Turns out it was a perfectly fine movie to watch with my wife and daughter but did it standout much from all the other emotional dramas we watched? Not really. The young actress was good but she ain’t no Piper Rubio. I normally cry during these films but I didn’t this time. Here’s the metacritic I agree with the most:
“Gifted wants to be an “honest” tearjerker, but it’s as plotted out as an equation on a blackboard. It’s the undergirding of formula that roots the movie in the commercial marketplace, but that may ultimately limit its appeal.” My rating: 6/10
Creed III (2023 Blu-ray): I much enjoyed the first two so I was really hoping a 3rd entry wouldn’t be too much but starting with a chronic 2000 Dr. Dre song (The watcher) is always good way to win my heart from the start. Then we get to the scene of this kid beating up an adult followed by the first boxing match and it almost looks like the special FX are worst than the previous ones but I got used to it as the movie went on (that fight scene with no crown and the intense choir music was dope). The drama is still good and emotional (essential to boxing movies it seems like and always a high point for this franchise), the cast does a good job but the boxing story is where it hurts. I’m not a big boxe connoisseur but doesn’t the story make basically no sense at all? I don’t think any of what happened with happen in real life. Anyways, good show, once more. And for those who are wondering, yeah, I did cry. My rating: 7/10
Ed and his dead mother (Friday night special): The story was quirky and fun, same for the look and feel of the film. The actors gave it their all and did not over play it, which would’ve been an easy trap to fall in. Buscemi’s role is perfect for him and he’s allowed to showcase all his talent, his facial expressions and peculiar looks. The scene where his uncle leaves the kitchen to go shoot the mother is s perfect example. I’m glad I picked this to kick off MCMC’s weekend. Yay! My rating: 7/10
Saved! (Friday late night special): This is the kind of movie that if you are not hooked in the story right off the start, you will struggle to enjoy all the way long as it is pretty much keeping the focus on the very same spot for the entire length. It’s a one note movie. I thought people would realize she was pregnant way earlier in the film and that she would be demonized and some silly stuff would happen around that, but not at all. I enjoyed Culkin’s and the evil girl’s characters but they were severely underdeveloped. I didn’t laugh once. I wasn’t excited about any of the events unfolding nor did I truly care about the focus of the story. That being said, it’s a competently made film with a few good moments that make you wish it was something more. I think the Christian thing to do would be to skip that movie. My rating: 5.5/10
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (Saturday special): This was at least 3 times better than I anticipated. I pretty much had fun with it from the first frame to the last one. It has funny dialogues and a tone of jokes. I’m glad I discovered it with the MCMC! Now I want more Elvira… More, more, more!! My rating: 7/10