Something In The Water

Something In The Water- What Could It Be?!? Ariel? Nessie? Bo Derek? Nemo? Aquaman? Quick Take: Sharks. It is a shark movie. it shouldn’t be, but it is. The movie has a ton of promise, opening up looking nothing like a shark movie. We see a couple walking home one night, then a violent gang of teens badly beats one of them. From that perspective, we follow our victim,a year later, preparing to be a bridesmaid at a friends wedding. She’s since broken up with her partner from that night, but they’ll both be at the wedding. there are other … Continue reading Something In The Water

The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary

The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary- Where Found Footage Found Footing Quick Take: I remember the hype. Kids these days don’t actually remember what it was like when films actually came out, but people actually really believed this was some weird snuff film. People thought they had really died. Found footage, as a major genre for mass consumption, really wasn’t a thing. Then a few film students from my Alma mater decided to take some cameras out into the woods, and change history. For better or worse, this movie is responsible for the found footage genre, but also really the … Continue reading The Blair Witch Project: 25th Anniversary

Heretic

Heretic- Could Hugh Grant Get An Oscar Nomination For This? Quick Take: this is the year of horror. Normally, horror movies don’t get their day in the awards sun, but several films have popped up various places, from a surprising Best Actress nomination for Smile 2 at the Astro awards, to the strong showing for horror-adjacent films like Love Lies bleeding and I Saw The tV Glow, to even recognition for performances in movies like Cuckoo. The International Oscar race even had a few titles that were being submitted by IFC/Shudder, including The Devil’s Bath. The film with the most … Continue reading Heretic

America’s Burning

America’s Burning- Produced By Barry Levinson, Narrated By Michael Douglas Quick Take: Another screener afforded to me without audio description. However, this one becomes a bit of a challenge, as the time where you might add audio description has a built in narrator in the form of Michael Douglas. Douglas, who has teamed with Barry levinson as a producer, present a documentary that looks at the many things wrong with our country, and produces realistic options on how to change our bleak future. It would seem like a targeted hit job on either just Trump, or the right, but it … Continue reading America’s Burning

Blitz

Blitz (Apple Plus)- It Could Have Been So Much Better Quick Take: Steve McQueen is a great director. 12 Years A Slave, Widows, and Mangrove are all excellent.This is not. He made a very mediocre war film that was Apple’s final hope, that Oscar prognosticators had thought might find a groundswell at BAFTA, and it just ended up being one of the lost films of the year. Honestly, I didn’t hate Blitz. The audio description is insufficient, but it isn’t bad. It is just disappointing. Sometimes, it is bad to be disappointing. Like, while I still need to fully review … Continue reading Blitz

Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary

Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary- For Me, It Was Tuesday Quick Take:It was serendipitous. Sometimes I check Tubi, just to see if there’s something there to review, and right at the top of recommendations was Street Fighter. No audio description. 30th Anniversary. This is one of what I could call a “Good Bad Flick”, meaning I enjoy this, but I also think it is terrible. I remember being disappointed even as a kid, but also kinda blown away. What they do with various characters is just weird. Blanka? I guess it was always hard to put him on screen. The exception … Continue reading Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary

The Remarkable Life Of ibelin

the Remarkable Life Of Ibelin- A Love Letter To Those Gamer Friends You’ve Never Met Quick Take: The Warcraft doc of the year, available now on Netflix, talks about a player who was disabled, and found his online family through gaming, only to sadly pass away. It made me think a lot about being a gamer, and when someone you’ve known for sometime as a gamer tag just disappears, you wonder why. Before going blind, I played a ton of online games, and had a rich base of friends I’d never met. Some of us had exchanged real life information, … Continue reading The Remarkable Life Of ibelin

Borderlands

Borderlands- Eli Roth Was An Odd Choice For A PG-13 Version Quick Take: A lot has already been said about Lionsgate’s expensive foray into adapting Borderlands for the big screen. Not enough is being said about Lionsgate likely being the reason for the problem. Borderlands is a fun game, and it does have a story, which you advance through with the help of the most obnoxious sidekick in Claptrap. You can also team up with friends in the franchise, and run missions together. I’ve long wanted a Left 4 Dead movie, especially with how many excellent horror directors there are … Continue reading Borderlands

Rob Peace

Rob Peace- Am Inspirational Story weighed Down By Being An Inspirational Story Quick Take: Chiwetel Ejiofor tries his hand at directing again, and also acting in this inspirational film that is too busy being inspirational to really ever get off the ground. When we meet our young protagonist, we see that he has this challenged relationship with his father, which is made worse when his father is accused of, and convicted of murder. His son then has to balance seeking a better life for himself, getting an education, moving on with his life, finding love, and all the while burdened … Continue reading Rob Peace

Nickel Boys

Nickel Boys- A Bold Directorial Narrative Feature Debut Quick Take: Another screener without audio description, and one that I really wanted to have the track for. Ramel Ross made a strong directorial choice to tell this film in first person point of view, that I was really intrigued as to how the audio description team would handle it. Sadly, Amazon does not provide audio description for its screeners. Without my help, nickel Boys has gotten close to its Best Picture Oscar Nomination, after landing in the Golden Globe race. I ahve a feeling I will love the final product, but … Continue reading Nickel Boys

Escape From Alcatraz: 45th Anniversary

Escape From Alcatraz: 45th Anniversary- Clint Eastwood Must Get Off The Rock Quick Take: This is one I fell in love with at some point when it was on cable. It was in pretty decent rotation, so I think I’ve seen it more than once prior to watching it again with audio description. This is available in the Apple Store, if you are curious to see if Clint Eastwood can break out of the Rock. This is one where he’s just acting, and not directing, though it feels like he could have easily done both. It is an action packed … Continue reading Escape From Alcatraz: 45th Anniversary

Sing Sing

Sing Sing- Is This One Of The Very Best Of The Year? Quick Take: Last year, when critics were bouncing around festivals looking for 2023 Oscar contenders, the Toronto International Film Festival landed a buzzy indie that had everyone saying “just wait for 2024”. Coleman Domingo was already firmly in the race with Rustin, and the hope was this little gem would be given room to breathe by entering 2024 an early frontrunner. Then, A24 bought the film, and scheduled it for a summer release. last year, this helped the little indie Past Lives get noticed, but that ultimately led … Continue reading Sing Sing

Message In A Bottle: 25th Anniversary

Message In A Bottle: 25th Anniversary- Kevin Costner, Robin Wright, Paul Newman, Nicholas Sparks Quick Take: Get out the Kleenex. It is time for a good old fashioned Nicholas Sparks cry. This guy loves to make depressing romantic movies. Here, Robin Wright plays a journalist who finds this, well, you know, and decides to find out who wrote it. that leads her to a sad but hunky Kevin Costner, who is still mourning the loss of his loved one, while trying to care for his recovering alcoholic father (Paul Newman). Of course, she doesn’t tell him about the messages, and … Continue reading Message In A Bottle: 25th Anniversary

The Invisible Raptor

The Invisible Raptor- Did This Indie Horror Comedy Spare No Expense? Quick Take: I do wish this one had audio description. It is a horror comedy that really is paying heavy tribute to Jurassic Park. I’ve since been made aware of some visual cues that lean even more into this idea. But, yes, it is a movie about an invisible raptor. it is silly. It features absolutely nonsensical moments. It feels schlocky at times, but also spot on. I look at this, and then films like Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey and The Mouse Trap, and I think of … Continue reading The Invisible Raptor

Stop Motion

Stop Motion- A Horror Spin On The Painstaking Filmmaking Technique Quick Take: Shudder outdid themselves on several of their titles this year, producing some really interesting original fare. They even sponsored some international offerings vying for the International Oscar. Stop Motion is a great idea, that stumbles in the execution. It isn’t particularly surprising, and theres too much of a sense of predictability. There could have been so much more inventiveness with regard to the use of the art of Stop Motion, but it treads more into a psychological thriller, with a protagonist descending into madness. it certainly isn’t the … Continue reading Stop Motion