NYC2TC

Honestly I never thought I would watch this film, but with the hype and release of Terrifier 3 curiosity finally got the best of me. This movie truly is sadistic to a degree I've never seen before. The bedroom kill scene is the most I've genuinely felt nauseous watching a horror film as an adult. However the one thing that makes this movie work and got me through it is the comedy. That truly is the film's secret sauce. Without it, this film would be a zero star 2 1/2 hour excruciating ordeal to get through, and I would have tapped out long before it ended. Somehow Art can be as shockingly funny as he is sick.

I also have no comprehension how Damien Leone made a film which looked this impressive for under a million dollars. When so many other low budget films look like garbage with more money behind them, how Terrifier 2 looks so good is beyond my wildest comprehension. If I owned a movie studio I would hire Leone to create practical effects and manage the budget.

If I could have given this film a 7.5 rather than a 7, that's what I would have left. As an anxious person myself, I was stunned at how much from this film resonated with me. There was so much they put on screen I could really relate to. Personally for me, much more than the first film. The only thing holding it back from a higher score, is I felt certain plot points were over simplified and/or cut corners to keep the movie moving forward. The first film definitely did a better job letting the story breathe and taking its time with the characters. At the end of day though, the images of how your mind processes anxiety, and spirals during an attack is what will linger with me most from the film.

This is the first time I've truly watched a film blind in as long as I can remember. The little bit of reviews I read said to go in blind, so I really tried to commit to it. I never even watched a trailer or read a synopsis. Not only did that make for a film watching experience I'm not used to, but was particularly important for this movie. Also the soundtrack all performed by an artist called Z Berg really set the mood in a powerful way. It reminded me of how watching the original Wicker Man the folk music really got under your skin. I'm not being original, but really do go in blind and have an experience at the theater that doesn't come around often.

While I really did enjoy watching this film, the number of logistical issues are continued to take me out of the film. As a result I could never get fully invested. I probably had this movie as an 8 leaving the theater, but the more I thought about it the lower my score went.

For instance, if the government knew the aliens followed sound, why would they tell everyone to start the evacuation together causing an inevitable wave of sound? Why not start causing a bunch of noise as a distraction on one of the end of the city to draw the aliens away, and then direct everyone to the boats taking a different path? Also if they figured out they couldn't swim, why not use sound to lure all the aliens to the coast, and then send a bunch of war ships to attack them as a cluster. This is New York City. If there's any city the government would prioritize defending, it would be New York. Decisions like that were what bothered me the most, and kept me from fully getting invested in the film.

My Ranking: #1. A Quiet Place (By Far) #2. A Quiet Place Part 2 #3. A Quiet Place Day One.

Immediately this is one of my favorite films from 2023, and would have received my personal vote for Best Picture at the Oscars. I have yet to see Killers of the Flower Moon, however no matter how good Lily Gladstone was, there's no way Emma Stone's performance was undeserved for winning Best Actress. Everyone talks about how much she gave of herself to the role, but I was most impressed with how convincing she was with the dialogue. She has to slowly grow her vocabulary from that of a child like mind, and in the hands of a lesser actress it would have sounded ridiculous. However she's completely believable and authentic the entire time, and her progress feels natural. The movie is also shockingly hilarious, especially from a petulant Mark Ruffalo performance that is unlike any of his previous roles.

I always know that I'm going to have a good time when I see a Mission Impossible film, as they're one of the few film franchises that has no legitimately bad entries. However I had no idea it was going to be THIS good! It's difficult to create a film with this much action to sustain excitement for its entire runtime, without it becoming numb and getting repetitive. As much as I enjoyed John Wick: Chapter 4, I definitely felt like it hit overload for me after a while. Especially since he kept surviving so many injuries without being a Marvel/DC Superhero. The last movie I can actually think of with this much action without ever getting boring was Mad Max: Fury Road. Like Fury Road, this film uses RIDICULOUS practical effects and stunt work to shoot its action scenes. I highly encourage anyone who watches this film to check out the behind the scenes of these stunts on Paramount Pictures YouTube channel. Say what you want about Tom Cruise, but there is no other actor that better understands how to deliver a summer blockbuster, and puts everything on the line to create it. Between Top Gun: Maverick last year and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning this year, he's created the best movie theater watching experience in back to back years. Can't recommend enough on the biggest screen you can find.

I saw Abigail this weekend. I was especially excited for this film since Ready or Not is one of my favorite films, and this is from the same directing team of Radio Silence and had a similar look. Although I really enjoyed it, there is absolutely no taking Ready or Not's crown.

First of all, I cannot begin to tell you how exponentially better this film would be if the trailers hadn't given away its main conceit. Given how the movie was advertised, I assumed it would be revealed in the film right away. However the movie treats it like a mystery, and isn't revealed until almost an hour in. I can't imagine how entertaining it would have been to be legitimately surprised (if somehow you haven't seen the trailer, DON'T). Secondly it's a super small cast, so every personality matters. Based on the reviews I've seen, I'm obviously in the minority, but I absolutely couldn't stand Dan Stevens in this film. I've seen and read so many reviews talking about how entertaining he was in this and Godzilla X Kong, and I found him terribly obnoxious in both. I don't get the appeal, but I'm missing something.

Thankfully there were stand outs like Angus Cloud (RIP), Kevin Durand as the not so bright Canadian Muscle and especially Alisha Weir who is an Absolute ROCK STAR as Abigail. She is already so, so good, especially as a young actress.

This film is tremendously bloody, so not for the faint of heart. Unrelated to the film, but there was a 9 year old girl at the screening with her parents holding a stuffed animal while watching it, which was definitely an eye-opener.

This movie only having a 6.6 average rating feels criminally low to me. This is how I wish more movies based on real events took place. Using the actual transcript, so there's no room for dramatization or fluff. The acting is fantastic, and at under 90 minutes I felt more tension with this movie than most Hollywood action blockbusters. I fear it will be overlooked, but it's a must watch that requires almost no time investment. If not exactly, it's pretty much shown in real time as the actual interrogation took place. I would love any recommendations in the replies of other films based on true events that use factual evidence of what was said and took place in its making.

A less than 90 minute taut, exciting thriller from Steven Soderbergh. A perfect example of a film being effective with less is more.

No idea why this film isn't getting more credit. It's rare to find films with a small cast and single location done so well. More exciting than most films that cost millions of dollars more.

It's not LOL funny, but it is extremely smart, dark in its humor and themes, and captures the era perfectly. I do wish more of an emphasis was placed on making the audience laugh, but there's so much to appreciate if you're a child of the 80's and 90's and a fan of Kyle Mooney. I really want to see Mooney find success and appreciation at the level he deserves.

This was a 4 out of 4 star film for me, and the best since 1996. There are no bad films in the franchise for me, but this is the rare movie of any genre where I truly felt there was nothing about it I would change.

I so badly want this movie to be a success since I feel Ready or Not was one of the most under appreciated films of the past decade, and I really want these directors to find more success and opportunities to make new films.