Disc Type

“Since 1970 a rogue group known as UFO Sweden has been investigating unexplained phenomena. This story is inspired by that determination to answer humanity’s ultimate question: Are we alone?” 

So, I don’t want to make this film out to be more than it was intended to be, a movie intended to capitalize on the nostalgia of Pitch Perfect fans by bringing together three of its stars (Rebel Wison and Anna Camp of the original trilogy, as well as Gigi Zumbado appeared in Pitch Perfect 2) in what amounted to a lackluster comedy. In addition, the film was to capitalize on residual popularity of Rebel Wilson, who won over so many with her quick wit and unique brand of humor. However, the film came off as more of a mash-up of already-seen Rebel Wilson movies, specifically Bridesmaids and The Hustle. And while I commend Rebel Wilson’s nunchuck skills as well as most of her own stunts in the film and her commitment to filming despite getting injured on the final day of filming, this wasn’t a movie that really did it for me. There wasn’t enough originality to keep my interest. The plot essentially felt like a rehash of another average wedding flick that shotgunned a hostage situation. Even with the addition of Justin Hartley and Stephen Dorff, this film felt like more like a direct-to-streaming movie than a theatrical release.

This episode collection was all right with me, but in the eyes of my son, it could do no wrong, and as he is the one actually in the age demographic, this will be the one time where I defer to the opinion of a three-year-old. In this ten-episode collection, Marshall takes charge and leads the pups from everything from a blaze at a lemonade stand to saving a lost penguin. This disc marks the first time that my son has willingly sat through the watching of something from start to finish. It’s not all that surprising, as he was a fan of the series before this disc, but I still found it significant, because he does remain selective about which episodes he watches. Fortunately, Marshall is among his favorite of the crew, especially now that Rubble is off doing his own thing. Luckily, Rubble also featured in this episode collection, so my son got the best of both worlds.

In 1887, readers of the popular periodical Beeton's Christmas Annual were to receive quite a special treat. There wasn't much fanfare or hype to the event. Inside the pages of the magazine was a story called A Study In Scarlet. It was a detective story, perhaps like many published before, except for the detective himself, a certain Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Together with his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson, Holmes would win the hearts of those holiday readers. It might have been an ordinary day, but the world was about to change. Sherlock Holmes would become the most famous detective in the world. His stories would remain in print nearly 130 years later. Over 100 films would be made featuring the character. There would be television shows and cartoon spoofs. No other character has appeared in more productions.

"The following is based on true events. The events depicted were transcribed by Father Joseph Steiger. The story represents the most thoroughly documented case of demonic possession in American history." 

Of course, the exorcism that we're all talking about is the same event that The Exorcist was based upon. I don't know what possesses filmmakers to keep chasing that lightning in a bottle, but I doubt it will ever be done. And I think that is something I like about The Ritual, directed by David Midell and starring Al Pacino and Dan Stevens. It's not trying to be The Exorcist. Instead they are trying to do something more faithful to the original story, and I think that is one of several elements which led me to appreciate this film more than I have much of any horror out in the last handful of years.

“I am large; I contain multitudes.” 

If The Life of Chuck doesn’t take home an armful of awards this year, it will be a criminal shame. I first read the Stephen King novella when it was released in his collection If It Bleeds (2020), It was a story that you can tell King wrote during the COVID-19 panic. I remember liking the story, but it wasn’t one of my favorites in the collection. What stood out the most was the unique way he wrote the story about the end of the world. It didn’t really surprise me that the story was being adapted into a film considering just how many Stephen King stories are brought to the big screen and streaming every year. It was the fact that Mike Flanagan signed on to write and direct that got me excited about this project. For those who may not know, Mike Flanagan has been making a name for himself in the horror genre. The Haunting on Hill House, Midnight Mass, Hush, Doctor Sleep, The Fall of the House of Usher and Gerald’s Game are all hits in his filmography

"You're going to regret that."

Did you know that those windup monkeys that clash the cymbals are called jolly monkeys? I did not .. .that was until I came across a low-budget slasher film called The Jolly Monkey. It's the feature film debut of writer/director Ryan Ebert. The film was obviously put together fast to capitalize on Stephen King and Osgood Perkins' The Monkey, which hit theatres early this year. It doesn't really share anything other than having a monkey in the title. Put together fast, it was. They shot this film in six days with a budget somewhere just under a hundred grand. I found the film also takes a little bit from last year's Imaginary by Jeff Ladlow. You really have many of the same story beats but with much less money than either of the other two films. That's going to be a problem. Let me tell you about it.