Movie Review – “Late Night With the Devil”

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Denise

“Don’t worry about your TV show. I think you’re gonna be very famous soon.”

Story: It’s the crazypants 1970s y’all! While late-night hosts duke it out for supremacy, the real world is filled with all sorts of mayhem. Y’know, like cults, devil-worshipping crazies that do a Waco, and a lone, traumatized and possibly possessed, little girl who survived a horrific experience. That last one’s Lilly, a fourteen-year-old who’s been scheduled – along with her therapist, June – for the Halloween ’77 live episode of UbcTV’s “Night Owls” midnight broadcast. Nope, nothing worrisome here. So why not also invite a psychic and a skeptic for the vibes? What could go wrong? *lights flicker*

Genre I’d put it in: Retro TV Broadcast Horror
Release Date: 2024 (theaters/streaming) 2023 (SXSW)
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, but harks back to other TV-centric horrors.

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TrailerWatch – “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” teases a return to the ol’ homestead

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Denise

“The Juice is loose.”

I love Beetlejuice. It’s such a touchstone of my youth. Plus, Wynona Ryder’s wardrobe was EPIC. So I got stoked when the sequel promised all the cool kids would be back.

This teaser gives us a peek at Jenny Ortega’s Astrid Deetz, our beloved Lydia’s daughter. She fits in with the Burton aesthetic, probably because she cut her teeth on Wednesday. Wynona still looks like a goth vision, and Michael Keaton? Just the grin on his face as he channels this chaotic spirit let me know he’s all in.

I’m guessing Lydia, Astrid, and Catherine O’Hara’s momma Delia are coming back to The House after the death of patriarch Charles. It’s an excellent way to rid the sequel of Jeffrey Jones. Well played, Warner Brothers.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice haunts theaters September 6th, 2024.

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TrailerWatch – “Alien: Romulus” drops a bloody teaser

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Denise
(Searchlight Pictures/epk.tv)

“RUN.”

I love Fede Álvarez’s work. Okay, so 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre was absolute garbage, but he was one writer among three, and didn’t direct. So I’ll give him a pass. This time, he helms an Alien-set story, set in between the first Alien and it’s sequel, Aliens. And it looks like he’s got that claustrophobic feel that worked so well in Don’t Breathe and his 2013 Evil Dead reboot. Synopsis!

Young people from a distant world must face the most terrifying life form in the universe.

I love that this story in the Alien universe jumps ahead in time, leaving that wildly uneven Prometheus/Covenant storyline. Should be a good, suspenseful ride, if this teaser is anything to go by.

Alien: Romulus hits theaters August 16th, 2024.

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TrailerWatch – “The Crow” (2024)

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Denise

I have to admit, I felt a bit iffy on this film. Brandon Lee absolutely OWNS this role. I was fully prepped to hate what this re-imagening had in store. (Plus, the first images harked back to Leto’s Joker, and I hate an obvious ripoff.)

But. Color me intrigued. This trailer is gorgeous, and while I’ll always love Brandon Lee, I’ll let this film try to convince me that it’s got a cool idea too. I make zero promises, but now? I’m officially open to it.

FKA twigs is positively ethereal as Shelley, Eric’s doomed love. Plus, the Big Bad is Danny Huston, who killed it – literally and figuratively – as the lead vamp in 30 Days of Night. And Bill Skarsgård looks absolutely in as Eric Draven.

I’m still questioning the cringey why-so-serious makeup – seriously, everyone is charge looked at that and said “Yep, that’s absolutely original and not goofy in any way”? But it seems that look will be used in the climax. She said hopefully.

Read on for messages from Skarsgård, Twigs, and director Rupert Sanders. The Crow (2024) hits theaters June 7th, 2024. What do you think?

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The YouTubes – “The Best Picture Winner the Academy Doesn’t Want You to Know About” from Too Much Film School!

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Denise

I love TMFS. The way they poke fun at all of us who spent too much time taking cinema too seriously in undergrad… And how they demystify film analysis so everyone can be a part of the party.

So, as the Oscars are this Sunday? I’m loving TMFS’s look at the first Academy Awards, and how the two Best Picture awards – Artistic Merit and Production – could definitely help these awards show film goers how truly amazing films can be. Rather than drifting into self-congratulatory irrelevancy.

And yeah, I might start sharing more YouTube essays with y’all. Because they’re fascinating. Enjoy!

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “Arthur the King”!

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Denise

Ready to hop on your bikes and pet a good boi? Synopsis!

Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, ARTHUR THE KING follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Award Season – Dead Meat Horror Awards 2024

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Denise

Yeah yeah the Oscars are this weekend. And I’ll be interested to see who and what take the little gold men this year. But how about horror movies? Genre films are notoriously left out of the running when it comes to Academy consideration. Thankfully Godzilla Minus One got a nod for this year’s awards…though I’m still ticked it didn’t get a Best Picture or Best Foreign Film nod. And don’t get me started on how Mia Goth has been repeatedly robbed of consideration…

AHEM. Anyway. Dead Meat, the YouTube channel that dives into horror films (and provides fun “Kill Count” videos) has given us their 3rd Annual Dead Meat Horror Awards! Winners receive the coveted Prime Rib (can I call it the Ribby?), and viewers get an fantastic look at the nominees for categories we’ve always wanted. Best Stunt Work, Best Practical Effects, Best Kill, and a touching In Memoriam that highlights some greats in the genre we lost last year.

Seriously – Dead Meat put love into their show, and it’s so wonderful to see. So check it out! And prepare your to-watch queue; it’s gonna get packed. Enjoy!

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“Dune: Part 2” – sand and power

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Denise

“He’s afraid of the fundamentalists. And he should be.”

Story: Now that the young Paul Atreides has met the Fremen, and been taken into their mountain home. But does he have what it takes to become one of them? Meanwhile, his Bene Gesserit mother Jessica is heralded as a seer by the Fremen, which could help Paul achieve his dream of revenge on the corrupt House Harkonnen. But once Paul’s visions show him that his quest could cause destruction on a galactic scale, he begins to rethink his path. Can his new Fremen love, Chani, help him forge his own way? Can anyone?

Genre I’d put it in: Blockbusters With Deep Thoughts And Stuff
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the book of the same name, and the Dune Chronicles.

Gotta say: I really, really wanted to title this review DUNC 2: SPICE BOOGALOO. But one, I’m sure The Boogaloo will be done to death in other reviews. And two, this sequel is too much of a gorgeous existential think-piece of a film to be saddled with that kind of silliness. Part blockbuster, part surrealistic art piece, this two hour and forty-six minute (yep) film gives you a feast for your eyes, and themes to ponder once your popcorn bucket is empty. And if you managed to snag one of those popcorn buckets? I am outrageously jealous. Post pics and tag my no-bucket having tuchas.

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Columbia Screening Pass-palooza – “Dune: Part 2”!

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Denise

Ready to get back to Arrakis? Synopsis!

“Dune: Part Two” will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.

Ready? Let’s go!

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“Drive Away Dolls” is a fun, queer, flip-fantasia

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Denise

“Pull that out! That is not a public receptacle!”

Story: Jamie and Marian are BFFs, living their best lesbian life in 1999. Well okay, so apparently Marian needs to lighten up. But when Marian decides to drive down to Tallahassee and visit her Aunt? Jamie sees this as an opportunity to loosen up her friend. So they hop in the Corolla Marian scored as a driveaway, and hit the road. Maybe don’t check the trunk though… Oops. Too late.

Genre I’d put it in: Retro Road Trip Romance
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Wholly original!

Gotta say: Dolls is a Goofy Cohen movie. In the truest sense of the descriptive I just made up. It’s got that crazy Cohen aesthetic, ala Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Over-the-top characters, non-sequitur dialogue/situations, music you haven’t heard since you can’t remember when, and a strange but satisfying happy ending. Oh, and it’s super gay. Like, so totally gay. Kristen Stewart’s Rolling Stone covershoot gay. Towing your U-Haul to the Home Depot with your Subaru Outback gay. And it’s freakin’ awesome.

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