The Reel World

"All right, kids. This is the part where you get to do the things the grownups don't wanna do anymore. Door to door on foot. Knock-knock, 'have you seen this man?' Just like in the movies. Partners have already been assigned so no one will get hurt feelings. Suspect likes to visit a certain kind of neighborhood. He's a middle-aged Caucasian male and not likely to go quietly, so let's always assume he's armed. We'll go alert and careful. That's all."

But that's really just the beginning. Writer/director Osgood Perkins has created one of those serial killer films that is bound to draw comparisons with some of the best of those films and most certainly Silence Of The Lambs. Let me just get that out of the way fast. This is a pretty solid film that deserves some attention, and is absolutely worth a look. It isn't anywhere as good as Silence Of The Lambs, and that appears to bother some folks. I'm not one who thinks if you can't make a classic that stands up to the best ever, you shouldn't be making movies. It's not as good, and I'm very OK about that. Longlegs has its moments, to be sure.

"I just love children's imaginations. What I don't like is when they get so violent."

Blumhouse is one of those horror factories that have changed the way horror films are created, seen, and marketed. There have been some powerful horror films to come out of those doors. When I think of Meg3n, the first couple of Paranormal Activity films, and even the Purge franchise, I see clever and innovative films. But the production house can be a bit feast-or-famine, and there have been a number of famine films on the bill.  Among the famine list of films you'll find Truth Or Dare and the crazy horror/hybrid take on the old Fantasy Island series. What do both of those films have in common? They were directed by Jeff Wadlow. So imagine, pun intended, my surprise when the latest collaboration between Wadlow and Blumhouse, Imaginary, turns out to be yet another disappointment. For Blumhouse there are more hits than there are flops. For Jeff Wadlow? He's 0-3.

"Let me tell you a story. A story of a great king."

Let me begin by admitting that the original 1994 classic animation feature film The Lion King has remained my all-time favorite animated film. It wasn't just the Elton John/Tim Rice songs, but that didn't hurt. I've been an Elton John fan as far back as I can remember. There was just something special, something timeless, in that film. Since that time I regard it as the very last breath of the Walt Disney Studios classic animation. It started the studio's last string of hits, and it was the end of an era. So that film has become somewhat bittersweet for me. The animated sequels were low-budget made-for-video quality, and the more recent "live action" version did not impress me with anything more than the technology it displayed. The heart has been gone for a long time. With the release of Mufasa, Walt Disney is attempting to pull on the heartstrings of people like me who love the original. Sometimes they pulled it off. Sometimes they did not. The film has its moments, and it certainly has its flaws. With all of that said, I expect it will generate pretty good box office numbers, and while its legacy won't last half as long as that of the 1994 film, it's good family entertainment, which has been missing from Walt Disney Studios for nearly a decade. Maybe the studio has learned something of late. If that's true, I welcome what is yet to come, and Mufasa is a pretty solid start.

I always found it a bit funny when Hollywood churns out movies that have similar plots to compete against each other. Back in the 90s Armageddon dueled the same year with Deep Impact, when disaster films were all the rage. 2024 had the same situation, though not in the form of big blockbusters, but this time in the form of two horror films about nuns and strange pregnancies taking place within the confines of the convent. The prequel to The Omen was better than I had anticipated, and when Immaculate was released, I just never got around to seeing it … at least until now. While The First Omen is a slow burn that actually pairs well with the first film, Immaculate I feel is the more bloody and popcorn-friendly romp that I feel fits into the sub-genre of nunsploitation (something I wouldn’t object to seeing more of).  So is this film worth congregating in front of the television for 90 minutes, or is this a hard pass in a year that seems to flourish with quality horror films, but not much of anything else?

Cecilia (Sweeney) is travelling from the States to live in Italy, where she is going to take her vows to the church. She’s been devout to her faith ever since she survived falling through the ice and nearly drowning. We don’t really get much more about her life back in the States, and that’s fine. The film does a good job of quickly establishing who Cecilia is. She’s sweet but naïve; you know, basically catnip for those with bad intentions in a horror film. The first friend Cecilia makes at the convent is ironically a nun with a bad-girl streak who joined the church more out of convenience than out of faith. Of course there are other members of the church. Most are just used to be ominous figures, but mostly the focus is on Cecilia and the main priest at the convent, Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte).

With it being December this is when all the critics and groups start to announce their picks for best films of the year. This year has been a bit of a lackluster year in my opinion, but there have been a few gems that have managed to surprise me. A Real Pain, the directorial and writing debut for Jesse Eisenberg, is one of those few gems that crackles with great dialog and impressive cinematography, but most importantly is anchored by the performances of its two leads, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin. On a surface level, this is a story about two cousins going on vacation together, but really it’s about two young men struggling with their own pain. You’d think a film like this would be a drag or even a chore to sit through, but instead it is engaging and heartfelt throughout and has moments that will have you laughing and crying.

After the passing of their grandmother, Benji (Culkin) and David (Eisenberg) are cousins who decide to take a trip to Poland not just to reconnect, but to see their grandmother’s homeland and get a glimpse into what her life was like during the Holocaust. Right from the get-go we see that Benji and David are a bit of an odd couple, Benji is prone to emotional outbursts and a bit of a free spirit, while David is more timid and serious. As for the tour the boys have signed up for, it’s with a group of four other travelers who have made the pilgrimage, each with their own personal reasons. What I wasn’t expecting is how the other travelers integrate into the story and are more than just background characters, but are there for the journey and help the cousins in their own way.

It’s that time of the year again when critics start to makes their lists of the top films they’ve seen since January. Personally, this year has been a bit lackluster when it comes to “great” films, but there have been a lot of fun films to come out this year. To be even more specific, the horror genre has kind of taken off the year in my opinion. Now, while Sting may not be the best horror film of the year, it is a lot of fun.  Every year there’s that fun movie that comes along that flies under the radar, but I feel is great. Cocaine Bear and Violent Night immediately come to mind. Sting, at least in my humble opinion, is what going to the cinema is all about. It’s not high art, but instead it’s pure escapism, and it’s just a fun way to shut your brain off for 90 minutes while a giant alien spider wreaks havoc on a New York apartment. Is it the most original concept? No, but it has just enough scares and blood to make arachnophobes squirm in their seats.

Sting is a film that I feel could have been made in the heyday of Amblin films, when Spielberg was behind films like Poltergeist and Gremlins, and I’d almost put it on that level if the plot wasn’t so familiar. The film takes place within an apartment complex in Brooklyn after an alien spider egg crashes through a window and Charlotte (Alyla Browne), a young girl with a rebellious streak as well as a talent for comic book art, finds the baby spider and calls it Sting. The film spends a good portion with her family: Ethan (Ryan Corr), her stepdad who happens to be a comic book artist while also working as a part-time super in the complex; then there is her mom, Heather (Penelope Mitchell) and her newborn brother. A good portion of the film revolves around Ethan struggling to juggle his work life as well as adjust to becoming a family man, and we see the stress that he is going through. As for Charlotte, she finds sanctuary in her room and enjoys spending time with her new pet and slowly starts to realize that Sting is no typical spider.

As a horror fan, 2024 has easily been one of the best years for horror releases in a long time. It’s not just that we’ve gotten several horror releases this year, but the quality and the diversity of the genre has kept the year fresh. Cuckoo is one of the better horror films of the year. It sadly got overlooked at the box office, but it’s one of those films that for those who have seen it, I feel it leaves an impression, because aside from taking familiar tropes, it manages to feel fresh but also has a WTF factor that seems harder to come by these days. In my opinion, Cuckoo is a film that works better knowing as little as you can about it. Going in blind definitely puts you firmly in place to enjoy the film’s ambiguity, and when it starts to go into some strange directions, just go with it. The film may seem a bit odd and confusing as it progresses, but that’s the fun of it.

Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) is the film’s protagonist; she’s a precocious American teenager who is stuck going on vacation with her father, Luis (Martin Csokas), along with his new wife (Jessica Henwick) and their mute daughter, Alma (Mila Lieu). The vacation is to a remote resort in the Bavarian Alps. It’s a beautiful setting, though you’ll have to allow for the slightest bit of suspension of disbelief that a fully equipped hospital is nearby. Now this sort of makes sense as the film plays on, but it’s really just a way to keep the narrative going. The resort is run by Herr Konig (Dan Stevens), and he has invited Luis to the resort with hopes of them working together on creating a new project … though from the moment Gretchen meets Konig, she knows not to trust him, but it takes a bit to find out if she’s right or not.

"What we do in life echoes in eternity."

What Ridley Scott does often echoes quite nicely at the box office. In 2000 Ridley Scott released Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe as the Roman Legion turned gladiator that ended in a fight to return Rome to the Senate and its citizens. Maximus fought gallantly and fell just short of his goal. But the story that the film wove was truly a masterpiece and stands as one of my top 10 films of all time, up there with Unforgiven and the first two Godfather films. I've often said in these pages that expectations kill, and I was well prepared for that to be the result when I sat down to the press screening for Gladiator II. Scott himself calls this the best film he's ever made. That's a big boast coming from the guy who brought us Alien, Blade Runner, and, of course, the original Gladiator. I disagree. While I found Gladiator II to be an impressive film from every perspective, it didn't quite make me feel the way I did when I left the theater for the first time after seeing Gladiator. But take heart. It's a damn good movie, and it's a can't-miss for any true film fans out there in the arena. The question is pretty simple. Are we not entertained? The answer is, "oh yeah".

It has been a while since I’ve seen a movie as clever and as bonkers as Hundreds of Beavers. This is a movie that no studio would ever consider doing; it’s a fun and wild homage to the silent film era and the old B&W cartoons, most notably the Warner Brothers cartoons. But really this film is more than that. It is rich with so much slapstick influence, while visually it’s a marvel with its use of miniatures and creating images that make it look like cell animation that has come to life … all while looking like a film that a group of friends got together and decided to make. On a surface level this film seems like it would fail, but after the first 15 minutes I was mesmerized and in love. I’d imagine the casual filmgoer would take a look at this film and immediately check out, and that’s fine. This is a movie for a niche audience and is destined for cult status … It’s funny … It’s weird … But what’s it all about?

The film kicks off with Jean Kayak (Ryland Brickson Cole Tews), an apple farmer who has his business destroyed by a group of beavers. Months later while trying to survive in the harsh winter, Jean struggles to find food, that is until a kind hunter takes him under his wing. But it isn’t long before a new threat comes along and Jean is left on his own again.  I should mention that the animals in the film (raccoons, beavers, dogs, rabbits, etc.) are played by mascots … yes, people in costumes, and this only adds to the fun absurdity of the film. There is also the Merchant (Doug Mancheski) who Jean goes to for supplies. The Merchant has a daughter who Jean is fond of, but he has to prove himself to the father in order to ask for her hand in marriage. Just how does he need to prove himself, you may ask? Well, Jean has to become an accomplished trapper and bring the merchant “hundreds of beavers”. What ensues is a hilarious but repetitive quest we see Jean go on to kill all these beavers. There’s more to the story, and when this gets into the third act, it takes a fun little twist and just manages to get even crazier until the credits roll.

At first glance it would appear that the crew for Red One is made up of folks who have had long associations with Dwayne Johnson, from director Jack Kasdan, who also directed two of the Jumanji films, to writer Chris Morgan, who wrote many of The Fast And Furious films including the Johnson-led spin-off Hobbs And Shaw. He also wrote the last Shazam film, which led to Johnson's spin-off black hole Black Adam. It's a working environment friendly to the actor. But the rumors from this set are loaded with tales of Johnson blowing off work and/or showing up late and unprepared. It's honestly not his usual vibe, and when you consider his divorce from Fast And The Furious's Vin Diesel revolved around Johnson throwing the same kind of shade on that actor's behavior, I was curious if the on-set issues and also word of a ballooning budget would show up on the finished product. I'm happy to report there doesn't appear to be any disrupted chemistry on the film, and it became easy to dismiss all of that with just a few minutes on the Red One ride. It's nearing Christmas, and every year a film or two vies for that potential future classic position that I don't honestly think has been achieved since the 1980's and A Christmas Story. I'd say the next most recent might be the Dickens romp The Man Who Invented Christmas. In any case. I won't be adjusting my traditional holiday viewing to accommodate Red One. That doesn't mean there isn't some fun to be had.

We first meet Jack, played by Captain America himself, Chris Evans, as a guy who is definitely ending up on the "naughty" list. This is the kind of lowlife who takes candy from babies ... literally. There's nothing but coal slated for this guy's stocking. He's a good tracker and bounty hunter, and part of what makes him so good is that he doesn't care what he has to do to bring in his guy. On the other side of the equation we have J.K. Simmons, playing a typical mall Santa. It's Simmons' second time playing jolly St. Nick. He voiced him in the 2019 animated feature Klaus. This mall Santa ain't no typical Santa, it turns out. He's got a huge bodyguard team that looks and acts like the Secret Service (just not when they're guarding Donald Trump). It's a well-oiled machine, and at its head is Callum Drift, played by Johnson. Turns out this is the real St. Nick, codenamed Red One, and he happens to enjoy getting out there with the real people during the holiday season. This is going to be Callum's last Christmas in charge. He has just lost that Christmas spirit, and the dickens of the thing is he's just not having fun anymore. He sees that "naughty" list grow and has kind of lost faith in humanity himself.  Nick tries to talk him out of it, but that show has closed. It's a normal everyday Christmas prep back at the North Pole until someone breaches the security dome that protects and hides the magical land that brings Christmas to the hopeful boys and girls every year. They grabbed Nick, and now he's got to be found before Christmas rounds begin. And this doesn't do a lot to strengthen Callum's faith in humanity a lot, either. Neither will his future partner.