Change Your Image
michaelarscott76
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Poltergeist (2015)
Okay okay. It's a remake
When the original Poltergeist came out, I was enchanted with the privilege of viewing a masterpiece of horror. Then, I didn't sleep for a week.
Last night, I watched the remake with the understanding that I wasn't going to be losing much sleep over it, but then something magical happened. I found myself in the middle of a fun thrill-ride, that doesn't match up to the original, but that definitely entertains on a lot of levels.
So, Okay, it's a remake. You'd expect a lot to be the same. Honestly, I was hoping that while the base product was the same, that they'd find something new to enter into this. By the end of the movie, I found myself having no problems with the movie. It's not perfection and it's not horror. It's a fun, thrill ride you can walk away from when it's over.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Heartbreakingly Joyful
It's Del Toro making the darkest out of light and the lightest out of the dark. He's the master of creating worlds that you can't take your eyes off, but this world includes Pinocchio, the wooden creation of an old man that's lost his son in the most horrible way.
Told through the narration of a little cricket that goes through a lot of pain and physical torment while traveling with Pinocchio through a world ruled by Facism and magical creatures, the movie quickly lets us know who is making this film and that it's not Disney.
The take on this can be cruel in its harrowism, violent in a heartbreaking way, and it will keep yanking your heartstrings and sawing them until Del Toro drives his point home.
Ironically, in the end, when things should feel one type of way, Del Toro's storytelling has us feeling exactly the way he wants us to feel. Just listen to Cricket's song at the end and you'll understand.
I Am Rage (2023)
Low Key, but Fun
Some years ago, I remember watching BECKY. This movie has some of the feels from that other movie. It doesn't speed through at all. A big action film, this is not. It's a slow burn that will deliver on most of its promises, but asks for a little work along the way.
But they do put in a couple of really odd and surly performances to keep you busy with the obvious: are all these people after the same thing?
In my humble opinion, you can't ask much more from a film that encompasses The Hunt with a touch of Becky and Wolf's Creek. It delivers its biggest promises, even though it falls short of making some of the bad guys as "bad" as they can be.
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
Not a bad outing at all
There's going to be mixed reviews on this one for sure, but for me, Knock at the Cabin has some truly great moments that stuck with me. The question of "what if..." is a constant. You can think one thing or another, but you'll constantly be trying to answer the ultimate question asked by this film---"Do we go through with something horrible, even if we believe them?"
I won't say I loved every second of the film, but the convictions of the characters were believable and felt organic enough that I was really really worried that belief was a scam. Give this a watch. Don't expect anything, and like it or not, you'll get some entertainment out of it.
Firestarter (2022)
Set fire to the production
I think there was a script written that needed lots of meat added to the bones. Choppy, heartless, and mindless as characters go through emotionless motions in this poorly lit, dreary uninvolved recreation of Stephen King's classic.
We wanted to really like our new hero, but the journey she takes shows a lack of growth as she follows a nonsensical "superhero" origin story to its foggy conclusion.
With some care to the script and pacing in the story, we might be able to feel for these characters, even the most evil ones. Unfortunately, the execution is just that.... An execution. I sincerely hope another remake is made that sets this franchise back on fire and gives us a version that glorifies Stephen king's vision.
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
Perfect Start
Picard establishes itself as a series of its own, even when employing the talents of the Next Generation cast. It's clear we're going to see something new out of Star Trek. It certainly isn't the Star Trek that fans are used to seeing, but then, Star Trek: The Next Generation was also hated by many fans of the Original Star Trek. We feel betrayed that they'd "trade-in" the old story-telling ways, in favor of the ultra fast talking, multi-line story waves, turning complexity into something that was once fascinating into something we have to decode. That is the way stories are told now and like Picard, we have to navigate this process and fit in with the new. We have to grow into this new world make it.
I want to watch season 2 before making any other judgements. I personally enjoyed season 1 while trying to figure out the story-telling formula. I'll have to find out if I really do like this as a series in the next.
Captivity (2007)
So bad they misspelled a name
Captivity is the ultimate shocker film of last decade. It was shot and re-shot so poorly that there wasn't a single scene that didn't scream so loud from its own lack of quality and actual mental thought process. Realizing that the movie had to be re-shot for genre purposes, there isn't much excuse for a professional crew to come up with nonsense. The premise is clear, but when every scene looks like Elisha Cuthbert changed wardrobe, makeup, and hair styles about 3 times per, you start to wonder what chance they had to make this film successful.
This movie is so incredibly unbearable that they even misspell Michael Harney's name in the end credits. Enough said?