VIRTUAL Screening Pass-palooza – “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania!

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Denise

Oh my God, I unironically love this series. Who doesn’t love a good monster mash? And Winnie the werewolf is #LifeGoals. So how about a fourth serving? Synopsis!

Drac and the Pack are back, like you’ve never seen them before in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. Reunite with your favorite monsters for an all-new adventure that presents Drac (Brian Hull) with his most terrifying task yet. When Van Helsing’s (Jim Gaffigan) mysterious invention, the ‘Monsterification Ray,’ goes haywire, Drac and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny (Andy Samberg) becomes a monster! In their new mismatched bodies, Drac, stripped of his powers, and an exuberant Johnny, loving life as a monster, must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it’s too late, and before they drive each other crazy. With help from Mavis (Selena Gomez) and the hilariously human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Fandango Pass Giveaway – “The 355”!

Posted on January 4, 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 catch your first film of 2022? Because I’ve got vouchers for The 355! Synopsis!

When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild card CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Oscar®-nominated actress Jessica Chastain) will need to join forces with rival badass German agent Marie (Diane Kruger, In the Fade), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Oscar® winner Lupita Nyong’o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Oscar® winner Penélope Cruz) on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve it, while also staying one-step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan, X-Men: Days of Future Past), who is tracking their every move. As the action rockets around the globe from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the opulent auction houses of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world—or get them killed. 

Ready? Let’s go!

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In Queue Review – “In the Same Breath”

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Denise

“I realized I had fully bought into the idea that America was too advanced to suffer an outbreak like China’s. But every time I turned on the news, I heard echoes of China’s outbreak all across America.”

Genre: Must-watch Current Events Documentaries
Release Date: 2021
Where I Watched: HBO

Gist: A Chinese-born American filmmaker with family in Wuhan looks at the pandemic, and the similar reactions from the Chinese and American governments.

Talky talk: There are so many documentaries that have come out this year. But this one should be at the top of your holiday break binge list. Why? Because even though it’s extremely depressing, heartbreaking, and will remind you that we are indeed living in an out-of-control dumpster fire, Breath is a time capsule of the COVID-19 pandemic from start to…well, now. (Anyone else feeling like this will go on forever?) It’s the kind of film all anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and anti-masker “people” should watch, to get a good hard look at exactly what’s been going on while they’ve been popping off.

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“Spider-Man: No Way Home”

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Denise

“You know what’s cooler than magic? MATH!” [No. Sorry. – your math-stupid eds.]

Story: Spider-Man is having a really bad time of things right now. First, he’s blamed for the “murder” of full-on nutter/con artist supreme Mysterio/Quentin Beck, who then outs Spidey as Peter Parker. So Peter, his Aunt May, girlfriend MJ, and BFF Ned are put through the wringer big-time. Wouldn’t it be great if that name-drop never happened? Wouldn’t it be great if there was, say, a Sorcerer who knew how time could be manipulated? No, and oh gods no. Just…NO. Oops, too late. Hey, what’s that rumbling noise?

Genre I’d put it in: Sequels That Better Their Origin Stories
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: The third film in the Tom Holland-helmed Spider-Man films. Part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Gotta say: As an immunosuppressed gal who had no access to an early screener for Home, I could barely wait ’til the first week’s moviegoing onslaught died down. But now that I’ve seen this film? I want to see it again. Immediately. Hey Marvel, why not just release the Blu-Ray right now? I need it. And you will too. Home is the very best an MCU film can be, and though there have been a few missteps in Phase 4 – I’m still mad that Black Widow’s movie got dumped in this phase – here’s hoping this is the film that sets the bar for the rest of the films this round.

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In Queue Review: “The Power of the Dog”

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Denise

“For what kind of man would I be if I did not help my mother? If I did not save her?”

Genre: Westerns With A Complex Underbelly
Release Date: 2021
Where I Watched: Netflix

Gist: Brothers Phil and George Burbank have been riding the range together for years. They’ve got everything; a wealthy family, a ranch that pulls in even more dough, and plenty of ranch hands to help them succeed in just about anything they set their minds to. Phil is the consummate cowboy with an Ivy League education…and a misogynistic, grandiose air that’s thisclose to sadism. George is everything Phil isn’t; quiet, sweet, and kinda educated, with a penchant for things Phil doesn’t seem to enjoy, like kindness and bathing. When George decides to wed local widow Rose, bringing her and her son Peter to the Burbank ranch, Phil is less than pleased. In fact, Phil makes it his top priority to make Rose’s life a living hell. Happy ever after? Not even.

Talky talk: This is a film I should have pounced on the second it hit Netflix. But I hemmed and hawed. “Meh, I’m not feeling a Western right now.” “I should probably take a look at a holiday movie instead, ’tis the season.” “Ooh – Wheel of Time just dropped a new episode!” I had a million reasons to lodge this firmly in my Laters Babe Queue. I was an idiot. Because Dog is incredible. The story takes its sweet time to get from plot point to plot point, but as with Bone Tomahawk and Unforgiven, if you give this film your time, you will be rewarded with a wicked yet satisfying tale.

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In Queue Review – “Don’t Look Up”

Posted on December 26, 2021 by Denise

“This is nuts! This is so crazy!”

Genre: Dark Satire That’s A Bit Too Close To Home
Release Date: 2021
Where I Watched: Netflix

Gist: Kate Dibiasky is just your average, run of the mill astronomy grad student, kicking back at the Subaru Telescope and singing along with Wu-Tang. When she notices a new comet, her professor Randall Mindy does the math and realizes that comet – soon to be known as Comet Dibiasky – is on a collision course with earth, and will cause an extinction level event. Before anyone can say Armageddon, the world pulls together to stop imminent disaster. JK; the population of the US is torn into fractious sides who’ll do anything but take this threat seriously. Parallels, I see you.

Talky talk: Up is a choppy, overly busy, fourth-wall-breaking storyline along the lines of The Big Short, which works well within this absurdist comedy. A star studded cast that seems to be enjoying the hell out of goofing on the myriad of ways human beings can be short-sighted and self-interested makes this an enjoyable watch. But there’s a whole lot of filler here, with characters pulled into directions that may mimic our real live divides, but looks way too crazy on screen. Those jokes about how the tenure of a certain former guy would feel like bullshit if it were fictionalized? Yeah. Put Idiocracy, Armageddon, and Wag the Dog in a blender, hit frappé, and then sift out everything but the histrionics. Boom, you’ve got this film.

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In Queue Review – “Til Death”

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Denise

“Figured you’d want to spend your last moments with the old ball and chain.” 

Genre: OH CRAP Thrillers Suitable For Holiday Season Viewing
Release Date: 2021
Where I Watched: Netflix

Gist: Emma’s spending the weekend with her hubby for their tenth anniversary, mazel! But she’s just broken things off with her side guy, her hubby is a controlling douche, and when she wakes up the morning after a strangely overkill romantic evening? Her hubby blows his brains out…after handcuffing himself to her. So I guess it’s as bad as things can be, unless you count the hired killers gunning for her. Tis the season for dragging your dead jerkwad hubby around?

Talky talk: Death had me sucked into giving it a look the moment I saw the bonkers trailer. Weekend At Bernie’s: Psychopath Edition? I’m here for it. The story take a while to truly hook me, but once it does, I was pretty impressed. Bloody, fascinating, and with moments of pitch-dark humor, this might not be the perfect holiday thriller, but it’s a very good time.

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TrailerWatch – “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” gets BONKERS

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Denise

“Your desecration of reality will not go unpunished.”

DEEEEAM y’all. This looks crazy in the best way. Madness seems to be tying together threads from earlier stories into one wild ride. And I’m here for it.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters May 6th, 2022.

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“The Matrix Resurrections” – by a gal who’d forgotten the original trilogy ( #SpoilerFree )

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Denise

“Maybe this isn’t the story we think it is.”

Story: You remember Neo, right? The One? Well, it’s been twenty years since Neo sacrificed himself for the good of humanity. And he’s a game developer whose weekly appointments with this therapist make him just regular folks. But wait – didn’t he die? And what is this, if not the Matrix itself? And who are these new rebels? WHOA.

Genre I’d put it in: Mind Boggling Sequels
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: The fourth film of the Matrix series. Also takes in bits of the Animatrix series and the Matrix video games.

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“Ghostbusters Afterlife”

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Denise

“There is no mom, there is only Zuul.” (Yep. They go there.)

Story: Callie and her kids Trevor and Phoebe are barely making ends meet in a run-down apartment. Scratch that; they’ve just been evicted. So why not head out to the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma, and check on the inheritance her father left her? Surprise – no money! Seems her dad was penniless too. Except for two things; a ramshackle old farmhouse, and a bunch of weird equipment. Did I mention her dad’s name was Egon Spangler? And did I also mention that a nearby town dug too deep when mining, and before anyone could say Reign of Fire, “earthquakes” started? I’m sure these two plot tidbits won’t intersect in any way.

Genre I’d put it in: Sequels That Successfully Introduce A Next Generation
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Third film in the Ghostbusters series. A part of the Ghostbusters franchise.
Release Date: 2021

Gotta say: Afterlife is that rare beast of a film; both a “sequel” that harks back to the originals without an over-reliance on them, and a modern-day retelling whose characters are interesting enough to deserve leading a story of their own.

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