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Totally Killer (2023)
Solid, surprising and full of treats!
Totally loving the Gen-Z sass the lead xter brings to this movie. She portrays some of the best things about our upcoming generations in the 2020s, at the same time really time-shaming some outdated attitudes from the 80s.
This movie surprised the hell out of me and is up there with Not Another Teen Movie, Mean Girls and Cabin in the Woods for sheer watchability.
Kudos to the director and crew who made a tight film, with excellent editing that keeps the story moving at a cracking pace.
While obviously full of tropes, the movie doesn't rely on them like a crutch, it has the well-designed plot and excellent cast to sustain it.
Watch it. Love it. Review it. :)
Doors (2021)
True genre-bending movie - engrossing to the end
Don't be fooled by the low IMDB score folks... this movie is a masterclass in film-making. Here are the reasons:
1) No tropes. Many movies hack their way through a poorly written plot by embracing tropes. These are movie hacks that writers and directors use as non-verbal exposition. They are a sign of lazy writing. Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods purposefully packed in horror tropes to take the piss out of the genre (which was what made it great). This movie is so well written it didn't need to fall back on tried-and-true tropes.
2) Flow. The movie flowed so well that my wife and I didn't realise it was an anthology until it finished. WTF!!!? So good. Each story stood alone but connected to the others. Give that editor an Oscar!
3) Acting. Carrying the great scripts was a cast of fantastic actors who gave it their all. No spoon feeding here folks, so it must have been a real challenge to get across the mood and sense of mystery that the film needed. This cast was just fantastic.
4) Above all, this movie left us both hungry for more. The time passed by without us realising it, and at the end we were both wanting it to keep going. That's the absolute sign of a great film.
So there ya go. Watch and give it some better points. This movie is on a par with Primer, perhaps even better. It's a great representation of the movies created during the pandemic lockdown.
The Exorcism of God (2021)
Promises much, doesn't... quite... deliver.
How could this movie be better? Firstly, it could take itself a little less seriously.
There are some early homages to the Exorcist (nice) but little in the way of nods in Director William Friedkin's direction: it's almost as if the writers want the audience to believe they invented vomit a la pea soup all on their own. A little wink to the audience would have created a nice feeling of cameraderie here, which I think would have helped the movie incredibly.
The problem I had was that, after the initial setup, the story just delivered the same thing over and over again. We could have (and should have) skipped the entire 2nd and 3rd acts and shot forward to our Will Ferrell-lookalike taking over the Vatican.
Perhaps the budget wouldn't allow it, after all they couldn't seem to even afford the right sound effects for the tolling of the bell (see goofs). But early on I was geared up for some Devil-on-Pope action. It would have been fresh and original... instead it quickly transformed into Evil Dead without the humour.
Good try, they got the first bit right. Shame they threw away that setup to deliver a yawn-fest of zombie demons.
Anti Matter (2016)
Deserves a 10 - entertaining, good pacing, excellent cinematography and really good acting
We almost didn't watch this movies due to the (weirdly) low-ish IMDB rating.
So glad we did!
Nothing in this has to be taken seriously - like any hypothesis that involves things not yet discovered - but the movie sets up a compelling plot and tells a good story.
On a par with Primer... well, okay not in a scientific way, as Primer really broke my brain with its genius, but what I mean is that this movie is not pretentious, it is not packed with BS tech garble, it is what it sets out to be.
I love the tensions that it built up, the incredible roads it takes you down and the way it keeps you guessing.
Watch it and be pleased you did.
1pm Daily Update (2020)
Strong cast, little drama
It was the great Kurt Vonnegut who said "She was a tiny girl-a trinket brunette, very pretty, very pale, and hard as nails" in his book While Mortals Sleep - possibly the inspiration for the female lead in this 'docudrama'. And while the casting is excellent (a bespectacled Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs fame as the sombre Dr Ashley Bloomfield was a brilliant choice), the plot really goes nowhere.
Every good story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Even Groundhog Day eventually resolved, but 1pm Daily Update started feeling very 'samey' a few episodes in, and it didn't improve.
I admit I gave up after a while and invested my screen time in the local Chamber of Commerce-produced series 'How to use Zoom', a Big Brother-esque piece of fluff that entertained without much need for serious thinking.
1pm Daily Update was innovative, I admit. It was the TV series that first introduced sign language experts to provide movement on the screen during the main characters' lengthy wooden monologues. Without this many smart TVs would have turned themselves off to save power.
This series could be a life saver during a particularly cold Winter, but not a programme to snuggle to on a first date. I could be drawn back for second season though, with David Caruso lined up to play the inimitable Hon Chris Hipkins!