“Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” – An Education For Us All

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Denise
NOTE: I watched this film via a digital screener from the comfort my own home. Before hitting the multiplex, please consider the health risks involved with participating in group gatherings at this time. Take very good care of yourselves – I wanna see you on the other side.

“’Slavery is not our fault, we didn’t do it, we didn’t cause it, it’s not our responsibility.‘ But it IS our shared history…. What are we gonna do about it?”

Story: Former ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jeffery Robinson held a talk at Brodway’s Town Hall theater on June 19th, 2018. That Juneteenth presentation was filmed in its entirety, and is shown along with interviews with individuals from all walks of life, including but not limited to “States Rights” defenders, activists, historians, and individuals who survived the most horrific acts of violence done to their families. Buckle up; this one’s gonna grab you.

Genre I’d put it in: Powerful Documentaries That Educate And Fascinate
Release Date: 2022
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Documentary uses historical information and footage, as well as tons of facts anyone can verify

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “I Want You Back”

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Denise
Before hitting the multiplex, please consider the health risks involved with participating in group gatherings at this time. Take very good care of yourselves – I wanna see you on the other side!

Note: The Charles Theater is requiring Proof Of Vaccination to enter the theater, screening or no. So be sure to bring your Vax Card (or snap a picture of it on your phone) and your photo ID! Back also hits Amazon Prime on February 11th, FYI, yada yada.

Hey there! Anyone else hearing that fantastic Jackson 5 song right now? Because I’ve got passes for the B’more screening of I Want You Back! Synopsis!

Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are total strangers, but when they meet, one thing instantly bonds them: they were both unexpectedly dumped by their respective partners, Anne (Gina Rodriguez) and Noah (Scott Eastwood), on the same weekend. As the saying goes, “misery loves company,” but their commiseration turns into a mission when they see on social media that their exes have happily moved on to new romances, Anne with Logan (Manny Jacinto) and Noah with Ginny (Clark Backo).

Terrified that, in their 30s, they have lost their shot at happily ever after and horrified at the prospect of having to start over, Peter and Emma hatch a desperate plot to win the loves of their lives back. Each will do whatever it takes to put an end to their exes’ new relationships and send them running back to their arms.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Freaky Fridays – “Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum”

Posted on January 28, 2022 by Denise
Horror, Cult Movies, Exploitation Cinema, 70s Schlock, and more! Let’s look at something cool!

“All six are there. Who the hell is shooting this?”

Genre: “Let’s Explore, And Other Dumb Ideas” K-Horror
Year Released: 2018
Pedigree: Already considered a 21st century horror classic by many.
Where I Watched: Shudder

Synopsis: An abandoned psychiatric institute with a terrifying past. A group of YouTubers looking for those sweet sweet ad revenue clicks. A match made in heaven, or something. Probably wasn’t the best idea to perform a come-one-come-all ghost summoning ritual in a place like that. Maybe that’s just me over thinking; what’s the worst that can happen, right?

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “Jackass Forever”!

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Denise
Before hitting the multiplex, please consider the health risks involved with participating in group gatherings at this time. Take very good care of yourselves – I wanna see you on the other side!

Ready to say hello (and goodbye?) to that crazy bunch of crazies? Synopsis!

Celebrating the joy of being back together with your best friends and a perfectly executed shot to the dingdong, the original jackass crew return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd, and often dangerous displays of comedy with a little help from some exciting new cast.  Johnny and the team push the envelope even further in jackass forever.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “Moonfall”!

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Denise
Before hitting the multiplex, please consider the health risks involved with participating in group gatherings at this time. Take very good care of yourselves – I wanna see you on the other side!

Ready to get your IMAX on? Synopsis!

In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Academy Award® winner Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson, “Midway”) and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley, “Game of Thrones”) believes her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.

Ready? Let’s go!

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“Jockey” – a heartfelt look at a little known way of life

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Denise
Before hitting the multiplex, please consider the health risks involved with participating in group gatherings at this time. Take very good care of yourselves – I wanna see you on the other side.

“Another day in paradise, ain’t that right? Yes sir.”

Story: Jackson has spent most of his life as a jockey. But when a triple crown of health issues, a promising horse, and a young man who says Jackson is his dad shakes his world, he has to figure out what his life – and legacy – will be.

Genre I’d put it in: Dramas So Realistic They Feel Like Documentaries
Release Date: Sundance 2021, theaters 2022
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the lives of actual jockeys.

Gotta say: Here in Baltimore, Pimlico is just a stone’s throw away. But how many of us in this city actually know the world of horses and professional horseracing, let alone the folks that ride those thoroughbreds, beyond the Preakness race during Triple Crown season? Definitely not me, at least ’til now. Jockey is a Slice-of-Life film looks at a way of life most of us know nothing about; the life of a professional jockey. And I’m amazed.

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In Queue Review – “Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania”

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Denise

“It’s like Freaky Friday, but on a Tuesday though.”

Genre: Kid Friendly Sequels That Could Have Been Better
Release Date: 2022
Where I Watched: Amazon

Gist: Drac is looking to retire, and is planning to leave the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. But Johnny is having a big FONBAM (Fear Of Not Being A Monster) moment. So Johnny and Van Helsing come up with a plan; turn Johnny into a monster, with the help of a handy dandy human-to-monster ray! It’s got a reverse setting too, and thanks to a blunder from Drac, most of the Drac Pack are human-ified. But when the ray breaks, they have to come up with a way to get everyone back to normal, before things get permanent. Or worse…

Talky talk: Nobody wanted to completely and totally love this movie more than I did. I’ve been a fan of the series from Day One. Heck, I even have Bat Mavis as my personal avatar. But much like 3, 4 didn’t vibe with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the characters, and the voice actors are fantastic (special shout out to Brian Hull for doing excellent voice work taking over the role of Drac. Damn he’s good at mimicking Sandler’s version.) However, this entry into the series feels frenetic with no purpose for being so.

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In Queue Review – Woodland Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Denise

“Folk horror ultimately asks, what if the old ways were right?

Genre: Horror Documentaries
Release Date: 2022
Where I Watched: Shudder

Gist: A very deep (3+ hours) dive into the subgenre of Folk Horror, in all its permutations. From silent films to modern-day foreign films, if you’re interested in this genre? It’s in here.

Talky talk: At almost three hours and 15 minutes, I figured Bewitched would be a great documentary to just put on and listen to while I was crocheting, cleaning up or doing something else with my time. But I was completely sucked in, thanks to the myriad of clips from various folk horror films, the beautiful folk music score, and interesting chats from folks the creators had interviewed. So yeah, definitely carve out a space where you can completely sink into this doc. You’re gonna want to.

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#GoldenGlobes 2022 – a few knee jerk first reactions to the winners

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Denise
Image Group LA

And say “a few”, because I haven’t watched everything. The stuff I haven’t seen and don’t comment on below? I’ll get to you, my pretties.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!!

Best Motion Picture, Drama – The Power of the Dog: Blew. Me. Away. Stiff competition in this category, and I’d have been happy to have seen any of the nominated films take the bag. But last year, Dog detonated my brain cells like no other.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama – Will Smith (“King Richard”) : I’d said this was an Oscar bait performance, and I did not lie. Though Washington and Cumberbatch were big front runners as well, Smith’s performance is the kind of stellar, everyman type that the Globes was bound to recognize.

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Freaky Fridays – “Fatal Exam”

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Denise
Horror, Cult Movies, Exploitation Cinema, 70s Schlock, and more! Let’s look at something cool!

“This is bo-ring.” (true fact, my dude.)

Genre: Low Budget Horror Too Boring To Enjoy
Year Released: 1990
Pedigree: For most of the people involved, this was their only movie. And boy howdy, it shows.
Where I Watched: Shudder

Synopsis: A group of college students are supposed to stay in a “haunted house” over the weekend for their final exam in their parapsychology class. But nobody has to go, so only a few students go. And then…nothing happens for a while. Then more nothing happens. Will something happen before the film ends? Yawn.

Fabulous or Frustrating?: I knew this was gonna be a slog right from the jump. Exam started so abruptly that I thought I’d watched the beginning of the film before, and when I hit play it resumed from where I’d left off. But nope, the way this film starts was definitely A Choice. This 1990 film is pure 80s low budget schlock. Not even fun schlock. Exam is sad, boring schlock that’s an hour and forty five minutes I’ll never get back. This isn’t a review, it’s a warning.

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