The teens and I have spent the summer, and now early fall, watching horror movies. We do our research and been lucky so far in picking decent, if not great ones. We’re only asking for entertainment and jump scares “Ready or Not” is a 2019 movie that we didn’t read up on. We’d heard it was fairly good so we took our chances and watched it last night. It is a fast-paced movie that plays into a lot of horror movie tropes, villains are mostly moronic, and you know what the ending is likely to be. All of this said we liked it. It did its job and provided 90 minutes of macabre fun. Its main saving grace is the lead character played by Samara Weaving, an Australian actress and the niece of the great Hugo Weaving. Hugo is well known for the “Matrix” and “Lord of the Rings” trilogies.…
The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 black and white classic that wasn’t as lauded when it originally debuted. The premise is a tough one today let alone in 1955. Based on the novel written by Davis Grubbs, it tells the story of an itinerant preacher, the Reverend Harry Powell, turned serial killer who tries to charm a widow out of $10,000 left to her by her executed husband. Her husband robbed a bank, hid the money, told the secret location to his children, and was later hanged for his crime. He shared a jail cell with Powell who gets released and then pursues his prey, mainly the children. The “preacher” is based on a real-life serial killer by the name of Harry Powers who in reality committed far more heinous crimes. Executed in 1932, he was one of the first men in U.S. history to truly be labeled…
El Orfanato or The Orphanage is a 2007 Spanish film we found one night on Netflix. Listed under “Horror” it is really more of a supernatural ghost story. Both suspenseful and sad and worth watching. The story centers around a young girl, Laura, who lived in an orphanage until one day she is adopted. Leaving the staff and other children behind, she won’t return for 30 years. The film opens with this flashback, and then the story moves to her and her family’s return. Poe in Wonderland is about sharing what we like and it may not always be something happening in the present. We find things all the time that may have been well known to others but new to us. So, a book or movie review on our site is not necessarily going to be a movie that is either upcoming or in theatres now. And, that is…
https://youtu.be/NWPoSZo1ms0 Video with Soundtrack Credit: Yestervid.com “Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” The Queen in Through the Looking Glass
Knives Out opened on Thanksgiving and I could not wait. I love mysteries in books and film and the trailer looked so good especially with its cast. Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer and more. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) fame and another worthwhile mystery – Brick (2005), the story is obviously styled after Agatha Christie. Rian Johnson has referenced her in interviews. Nothing more thrilling in a mystery setting than a large, stately manor with scores of rooms crammed with objets d’art, stuffed animals, books, fireplaces, and bickering relatives. Photo Credit: Lionsgate Knives Out is about the death of Harlan Thrombey an internationally famous mystery writer who’s written hundreds of novels translated in multiple languages. He’s the patriarch of a family who’s gathered for his 85th birthday at his manor. The morning after the party Harlan is discovered…
Universal Pictures My friend, Lane, and I love to see movies together. We’ve hit up some good ones over the past few years. Recently, Crazy Rich Asians and Rocketman. After all of the steroid holiday hype of Last Christmas with Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding, we decided it was one we had to check out. Lane watched all of Game of Thrones (me only here and there) with Emilia Clarke and we both love Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians. It still amazes me that was his debut movie – or at least his first big role. Emilia Clarke as Kate in “Last Christmas,” directed by Paul Feig. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9CEIcmWmtA Great holiday rom-com! Best Christmas movie ever. …dripping with holiday sweetness Worth Giving your Heart To These are some of the promotions on social media and tv/radio to get you over the top excited. You have to know it isn’t going…
It’s a good lie is part of the main foundation of Lulu Wang’s film The Farewell about a Chinese family in a medical crisis. Based on her own grandmother’s experience, Wang has written and directed a meaningful film about what happens when a family with different viewpoints and lives has to reunite and support a cause for the greater good even if they truly don’t want to. Nai Nai (meaning paternal grandmother) is the head of the family. We see her in the beginning of the film talking long distance from China to her beloved granddaughter Billi, played by the wonderful Awkwafina, in New York. Nai Nai is seen at the doctor’s office being tested, and later we see her younger sister receiving the news that Nai Nai has terminal cancer. Interestingly, in China the law does not require doctors to give patients their diagnoses so her sister can inquire…
https://youtu.be/S3vO8E2e6G0 My friend and I saw Rocketman this past Monday, the bio pic about Elton John. My pivotal years – middle and high school – were in the ‘80’s and I was aware of some of his story but didn’t know about his early years. Of course, then you didn’t have the internet so you couldn’t exactly deep dive into his life. My whole life has had his music in the background. The way the film intersperses his music with his story is fantastic. It’s campy at times. It is Elton John known for his duck suit, baseball uniforms, overalls, dresses, and wild outfits so you can expect this. And, his signature glasses. The glasses cover a lot of emotion in the film. Quite devastating at times. I never knew he was a child prodigy. It’s jaw dropping to learn about his childhood in more ways than one. I won’t…