So I haven’t been great about updating lately, but I still watch tons of movies. Here’s some mini reviews of films I’ve seen recently.
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is back after surviving the original attack by Michael Myers 40 years prior. Now a survivalist with an estranged daughter, she must once again fight the pure evil of Michael as he escapes from his asylum again. Ignores all other sequels in the franchise, being a direct sequel to the original movie. I enjoyed it. Does away with most of the ridiculousness introduced over the years about the myths of Michael. Final Grade: B+
Picking up where the first movie left off, the Parr family are living a quiet life since superheroes have been outlawed. A well-meaning titan of business decides the world shouldn’t be without heroes, and works with Mrs. Parr / Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) to make heroes loved again, but the evil villain Screenslaver has other plans. Honestly, I was never the biggest fan of the original, but it was enjoyable. I didn’t like this one nearly as much. For a sequel over a decade later, you’d think they could have had a better script. Final Grade: C-
When grandma dies, her surviving family members encounter strange and supernatural occurences. Although heralded as one of the best horror movies in recent years by most critics and many audience members, I was not a fan of this movie. It is certainly well made, well acted, and so on, but the overall story was disappointing to me, with an ending that seemed telegraphed from other scenes throughout the movie, particularly if you can read an onscreen page of a book quickly enough. Final Grade: C
A masked killer terrorizes fun-seekers at local haunted attractions each Halloween season. A silly, if slightly better than average, slasher flick. Of course many of the characters/victims-to-be are quite unlikable, and you can’t wait to see how they get dispatched by our killer. Final Grade: D+
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Animated movie about how New York City teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) gets bitten by a spider, starts developing powers like his hero Spider-Man. He seeks out the webslinger to get advice on what to do, but instead witnesses a villain opening a portal to another dimension. It goes wrong, and soon multiple Spider-heroes from various alternate dimensions end up in Miles’ world, and they must band together to take down the bad guys and get back to their proper homes. I enjoyed this movie way more than I thought I would going into it. It’s fun, exciting, and if you’ve seen the trailer, has a unique comic-book style of animation. Final Grade: A
The third decades-later (54 years later!) sequel on this list, and arguably the best of them all. Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is grown up with children of his own, and struggling to keep things in order after his wife passed away. His sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) tries to help out, but the bank has given Michael only about a week to pay off his loan or forfeit his home. His children start to worry until they are greeted by the one and only Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt). Much like the original, this is a charming, musical romp through the real world and a few animated worlds to boot. While Dick van Dyke makes a cameo, sadly, Julie Andrews does not. There is also a charming appearance by Angela Lansbury. Final Grade: A
Kevin's Blog 