Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “Clifford the Big Red Dog”!

Posted on October 29, 2021 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.

Who didn’t love these books when they were a kid? (And who else thought Clifford existed IRL? Just me? FINE.) Well’p, November is my Birthday Month, so I’m scooping up all the passes for y’all! Synopis!

When middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) meets a magical animal rescuer (John Cleese) who gifts her a little, red puppy, she never anticipated waking up to find a giant ten-foot hound in her small New York City apartment. While her single mom (Sienna Guillory) is away for business, Emily and her fun but impulsive uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall) set out on an adventure that will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat as our heroes take a bite out of the Big Apple. Based on the beloved Scholastic book character, Clifford will teach the world how to love big!

Ready? Let’s go!

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Halloween Horrors – “Ten Minutes to Midnight”

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Denise

“Everything’s the same, ’til its not.” 

Genre – Locked Building Freakout Fest
Splat Factor – Lots of blood, though the most gruesome bits occur offscreen.
Year Released – 2020 festivals/2021 wide
Where I Watched – Amazon Prime

What it is – Amy Marlowe has spent thirty years as the midnight DJ at WLST, a small radio station. But tonight she got bit by a bat on her way to work, a category 2 hurricane just hit and so the station is on lockdown, and now she’s just found out she’s gonna be replaced by a young college graduate (that may or may not be schtupping the boss…) What would YOU do? Go nuts? I knew you were cool.

Why Watch This – Midnight plays on multiple levels. A psychological thriller about a woman trying to accept that her time is up and she’s being replaced by younger woman. A crazy look into the process of becoming a vampire through the eyes of a freaked out baby vamp. A Jacob’s Ladder-esque tale where the end of someone’s career equates to death. Writer/director Eric Bloomquist doesn’t choose just one, he adds it all in, giving viewers a lot to chew on while the blood sprays and the freakouts…freak out. While this film may not be for everyone (looking at you, folks in the mood for a plot that makes sense from the jump), Midnight delivers plenty of blood, tons of insanity, and a whole lot of fun.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “King Richard”!

Posted on October 28, 2021 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.

It’s time for the Award Season Onslaught y’all! So, ready for Will Smith’s latest bid? Synopsis!

Based on the true story that will inspire the world, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “King Richard follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever. Two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Bad Boys for Life”) stars as Richard, under the direction of Reinaldo Marcus Green (“Monsters and Men”). Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard has a plan that will take Venus and Serena Williams from the streets of Compton, California to the global stage as legendary icons. The profoundly moving film shows the power of family, perseverance and unwavering belief as a means to achieve the impossible and impact the world.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Halloween Horrors – “There’s Someone Inside Your House”

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Denise
Looking for fun during The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? I’ve got a few ideas this season, and a few clunkers too…

Genre – Masked High School Slasher
Splat Factor – Middling? Knives, people attacked on screen, that kinda thing.
Year Released – 2021
Where I Watched – Netflix

What It Is: Makani Young (a supremely talented Sydney Park) has transitioned from life in Hawaii to life in Nebraska. She’s got friends, a DL beau, and college prospects. Yay! But a masked killer has begun picking off her classmates one by one, and showing everyone the secret the newly deceased had been hiding. Boo! Oh, and the killer is wearing masks of the individual they’re hunting…eek! [Based on the novel of the same name by Stephanie Perkins.]

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Halloween Horrors – “Paradise Hills”

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Denise
Looking for fun during The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? I’ve got a few ideas this season, and a few clunkers too…

Genre – Stepford Handmaid’s Tales
Splat Factor – All but nonexistent
Year Released – 2019
Where I Watched – Netflix

What it is – A girl who wants to buck her family system finds herself in a “perfect” rehab that’s a bit too perfect. She meets her two roommates, and they try to figure out what’s going on…before it’s too late.

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“The French Dispatch” – Another Anderson film filled with wonder and…Ennui?

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Denise

“He brought the world to Kansas.”


Story: Arthur Howitzer Jr. was one of the best journalists Kansas had to offer. Stationed in the little town of Ennui-sur-Blasé, France, he created a wildly popular newspaper with a worldwide circulation. But when he passes away, the Dispatch is to pass away as well. So why not take a good look at the articles in this final edition?

Genre I’d put it in: Andersonville

Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: A Wes Anderson joint is always original. But you will get the same comforting, unusual vibe he typically has in his ouvre, along with many of the usual actors from his earlier films.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “The French Dispatch”!

Posted on October 26, 2021 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.

These passes are for tomorrow, so let’s get rolling right now, ‘kay? Plus, I saw it two weeks ago, and if you’re a Wes Anderson fan, you’ll really want to see this. Let’s go!

What: ADMIT TWO passes for the B’more screening of The French Dispatch!

When: Wednesday, October 27th, 2021

Where: Cinemark Egyptian

Why: WES FREAKIN’ ANDERSON’

How: Clicky! http://www.searchlightscreenings.com/XYpyN36063

REMEMBER – seating for screenings are first come first served and not guaranteed. So get there early to get yourself a seat.

Good luck, everyone!

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My thoughts on Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune”

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Denise

I’ve read the first four (five?) Dune books quite a few times. I’ve watch the David Lynch film a few times. I’ve seen the Frank Herbert’s Dune miniseries a few times. And now, I’ve seen this new Dune, and I want to watch it a few times. Why? The cinematography is so incredibly gorgeous I could watch this puppy on mute (ditto for the inclusion of a whole lotta man-candy in the cast, because I am basic as hell.) The score is lush, rich, and is Hans Zimmer at the top of his game; Best Original Score will be your “gimme” vote in this year’s Oscar poll. And deeeeeeeam those costumes. Makes me want to learn to sew…or learn how to pick a lock and raid a wardrobe department. (What? I have no pride or shame when it comes to incredible wardrobe work.) But I do have a few points I need to address before I give my ultimate yay or nay. Let’s do this.

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“Last Night in Soho”

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Denise

“London can be a lot.”

Story: Eloise is a young and talented girl who’s just been accepted into a fashion school in London. She’s also a huge fan of all things “Swingin’ Sixties”, and has an ability to see spirits – like her deceased mother – in reflective objects. So when Eloise gets to London, is it any wonder she starts seeing the spirit of Sandie, another young, talented girl? But there’s a dark shadow over Sandie, and Eloise is getting way too connected…

Genre I’d put it in: Trippy Time Travel Terror

Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, though you may notice hints of Audrey Rose, Midnight in Paris, The Sixth Sense, and other films that deal with living alternate lives.

Gotta say: Gotta love Edgar Wright. His films take tropes I thought I knew backwards and forwards, and manages to give ’em a little spin I never thought I needed. Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver, and of course his crazypants TV series Spaced; they all have a touch of newness about them, even in genres we’ve seen dozens of times before. The same can be said of Soho, a ghostly, time-travely, murdery mystery set both in modern times and in the “Swingin’ Sixties”. Wright takes a story of how a newcomer to London feels out-of-water, and combines it with another tale of a newcomer to London, adds in the ability to see spirits from the past…and hits frappé. And viewers get a frothy, fun look at being a twenty-something in London, while getting chills from the sinister actions Eloise becomes an unwitting party to. So basically, it’s everything you’d want in a delicious diversion, minus the brain freeze.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “Antlers”!

Posted on October 23, 2021 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 for some Hallo-week shenanigans? Synopsis!

From the visionary world of acclaimed director Scott Cooper and horror maestro Guillermo del Toro comes ANTLERS.  In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them.  Based on the short story The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca.

Gotta say the short story this film is based on freaked me all the way out. Are you up for it? Ready? Let’s go!

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