Blue Beetle

“Blue Beetle” is a 2023 Superhero movie and the newest member of the DCU. It stars Xolo Mariduena (Cobra Kai), Bruna Marquezine (Women in Love), George Lopez (George Lopez), Belissa Escobedo (Hocus Pocus 2), Susan Sarandon (Mr. Woodcock), Raoul Max Trujillo (Apocalypto), and Harvey Guillen (What We Do in the Shadows).

Jaime Reyes (Mariduena) is a recent college graduate with a prelaw degree. He goes back home to Mexico and finds out his family is struggling financially. Jaime sets out to get any sort of work he can to help them out, when he unknowingly helps hide a top-secret government weapon for a girl he finds attractive. The weapon is a symbiotic host that chooses Jaime and gives him an armored suit and incredible powers. This allows Jaime to become the superhero known as the Blue Beetle.

I haven’t heard of the Blue Beetle before, and most DC movies outside of the Batman movies are absolute garbage. Two reasons I gave this a shot though, 1. James Gunn is now in charge of the DCU, and 2. Xolo Mariduena. James Gunn is a terrific director and has proven he can direct superhero movies (Guardians of the Galaxy series). Xolo Mariduena is a great actor in “Cobra Kai” and can already fight because of the show. So, lets jump into the movie. If you’re unfamiliar with the Blue Beetle like I was, think of a cross of Venom and Iron man, and that pretty much sums it up.

So, how is it? The acting is solid all the way through. It’s also great to see George Lopez back in a big role. He does a great job as the comedic relief playing Jaime’s uncle. Xolo Mariduena also does a great job as the lead star, which I figured he would. If you’re a fan of “What We Do in the Shadows” it’s also cool to Harvey Guillen in it. It’s a little over two hours and the firs hour does have some slow moments in it, but that’s just trying to set up the back story and plot. Once the action takes off in the second half, it’s nonstop and does what James Gunn knows how to do. Mix the perfect blend of action and comedy that we all have come to love. For a DC movie, it is very solid, and the future of DC is in good hands with James Gunn. I give it an 8/10. Which outside the Batman films, is one of the higher rated DC movies I have seen.

Strays

“Strays” is a 2023 comedy starring Will Ferrell (Elf), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers), Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat), and Will Forte (Good Boys).

A dog who is abandoned in the city meets up with a pack of dogs who help him get revenge on his awful owner.

This is a raunchy comedy that relies heavily on f bombs, and crude comedy to make it funny. Think of “The Good Boys”, and “Sausage Party” as examples. I like the premise, it’s unique. A dog wants revenge on his p.o.s owner by biting his dick off, and the two main voices are Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx. Comedy gold, right? A lot of the funnier parts are shown in the previews unfortunately, so you know those parts already which makes parts of the movie predictable. It still has a lot of funny moments outside of that though, which is good. However, I was hoping it would be better than it was. As mentioned before it relies heavily on the crudeness vs actual comedy in some spots. It still makes for a lighthearted, crude, movie that doesn’t require much thinking. I give it a 6.5/10.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is 2023 horror movie starring Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton), Aisling Franciosi (The Unforgivable), Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon), and David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer).

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” is a period style vampire movie. It comes from the captain’s log from the novel “Dracula” following the transportation of Dracula, unbeknownst to the crew, from Romania to London.

The movie opens up with the abandoned Demeter crashing onto the shores of London with everyone on board dead. So, off the bat we know Dracula kills everyone, which is to be expected being stuck out on sea with Dracula. However, this makes it shooting fish in a barrel type movie. Yes, there’s gore and some unique deaths, but overall it’s boring. You just sit around waiting for the next person to get killed, which it makes it rely heavily on jump scares, and the jump scares are not scary. Dracula himself, has major Stephen King “Salem’s Lot” vibes as far as appearance. The one bright spot in this movie is Corey Hawkins. His acting is superb playing his role very well, but it’s not enough to save the Demeter. Overall, it’s a little bit of a letdown. I give it a 6/10.

The Final Rose

“The Final Rose” is a Tubi original horror/thriller starring Christina Masterson (Truth or Dare), Brytni Sarpy (The Young and the Restless), Carrie Alexander (Paper Tiger), Taylor Foster (Saving Sloane), Robert Palmer Watkins (General Hospital), and Roger Howarth (General Hospital).

Jess Rose is a single mom with a seven-year-old who is struggling to find love. Her brother enters her to be a contestant on “Love at Last”. A “Bachelor” style game show where the women are eliminated one by one till one final girl is left and chosen by the bachelor, or as it is called in this movie the “Beau.” Only one problem though, the other girls start getting killed off one by one.

Tubi isn’t exactly known for having quality original movies. Most appear cheaply made and are more like Hallmark original type movies. This one isn’t too bad though. It’s a slasher movie with a unique plot that I can get behind. The acting is pretty good too, especially from Christina Masterson. She has the acting skills to be a good “final girl”. Now does it have its cheesy parts, of course and the gore looks very fake, but it does its job of being entertaining and keeps you watching. Main problem is it is a little slow for a slasher. It focuses more on the “reality show” than the killings. Which the reality show is entertaining but, I would rather be watching a slasher instead of a straight up “The Bachelor” show. If it switched gears and did this, it would have been a great horror movie. Overall, it’s entertaining. I give it a 6/10.

Oppenheimer

“Oppenheimer” is a 2023 Biography/Drama about the father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer. It has an impressive cast starring Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders), Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Robert Downey Jr., (Iron Man), Matt Damon (Downsizing), David Krumholtz (The Santa Clause), Josh Hartnett (The Faculty), and Dylan Arnold (You).

I feel this is one of those films you’re either going to love it or hate it with zero in between. If you like nonstop action, then this movie is not for you. It’s a three-hour movie, mostly about the process in Los Alamos, the development of the bomb, then later on in Oppenheimer’s life when he was trying to keep his security clearance. So, if you don’t like history, I don’t think you’ll enjoy it. I however, loved it. The timeline wasn’t linear it jumped between the actual process of building the bomb and Oppenheimer going through a trial process for his security clearance. Even though the movie is three hours, it doesn’t feel it. The acting is phenomenal on all fronts especially from Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon. I will be shocked if they don’t at least get nominated for an Oscar for their performance of these roles. Cillian Murphy is such a great actor, and his portrayal of Oppenheimer may be his best role yet. I feel this is a must-see movie. I give it a 10/10.

The Out-Laws

“The Out-Laws” is a 2023 original Netflix comedy starring Adam Devine (Workaholics), Pierce Brosnan (Tomorrow Never Dies), Ellen Barkin (The Cobbler), Nina Dobrev (Love Hard), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), Richard Kind (Spin City), Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy), and Lil Rel Howery (Uncle Drew).

A strait-laced bank manager (Devine) is excited when he finally gets the chance to meet his fiancé’s parents before their wedding. When his bank gets robbed, he has reason to believe his in-laws are the robbers. After his fiancé gets kidnapped due to old debts, he must now help his in-laws rob the top state of the art bank in order to get enough money to get his fiancé back.

The plot is outlandish with a lot of loopholes, and the comedy is dumb. Which the comedy part is to be expected with Devine. The juvenile dumb comedy is his thing, and he’s good at it. With all that said the movie accomplishes its job by being entertaining. It has several laugh out loud moments. Just don’t look too much into it and take the movie at face value. It’s just a lighthearted, funny movie. I give it a 7.5/10

The Tutor

“The Tutor” is a 2023 thriller starring Noah Schnapp (Stranger Things), Victoria Justice (Victorious), and Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers).

A professional tutor (Hedlund) takes on a mysterious wealthy new student (Schnapp), whose parents are paying him 1500 dollars a day to tutor. Seems like easy money, but soon the new student forms an unhealthy obsession with his tutor.

It’s a little of a slow burn at first. Nothing exciting or major happens and you think to yourself is this it? However, about halfway in things start to get dark, and it takes off fast. Noah Schnapp pretty much plays the same character as his character Will in “Stranger Things”, but maybe just a little more unhinged. Will isn’t exactly emotionally stable in “Stranger Things” either though. Both Hedlund and Schnapp play their characters well, although Hedlund is a little bit better. Overall, it’s a good watch. I wish it was a little faster paced in the beginning but still worth the watch as it engages and draws you in the second half. I give it a 7/10.

Barbarian

“Barbarian” is a 2022 horror movie starring Georgina Campbell (Black Mirror), Bill Skarsgard (It), and Justin Long (Tusk).

A woman rents an Airbnb for a night while in Detroit for a job interview. When she arrives, she finds a stranger who is already in the house and has also rented it for the same night. The two quickly find out not everything is as it seems with the house, and there is something very sinister also inhabiting the Airbnb.

This is an interesting movie. Halfway through they switch up the direction it’s going and go another way. Most movies, especially horror movies, I can generally figure out, but this one does a good job of guessing what is going on. It has a good blend of suspense and horror. I feel they could have done more with the creature living in the Airbnb and made the movie scarier, but overall, it’s a good watch. Plus, I love the random horror movies Justin Long appears in, he always does a great job. I give it a 7/10.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is 2023 action/superhero movie and newest installment of the “Transformer” movie series. It stars Anthony Ramos (Hamilton), Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah), Peter Cullen (The Transformers), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), and Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island).

It’s the mid 90’s and Noah Diaz (Ramos) a young US soldier, who is looking for his lucky break, gets caught in the middle of a battle to save earth against the Unicron. Now, Diaz, the Maximals, and the Autobots all team up to save earth before it’s too late.

I haven’t seen many of the newer Transformer movies, and I don’t think I’ve seen many or even any since Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox were the main stars. However, I didn’t feel like sitting through 2.5 hours of “The Flash” so, I went and saw this instead. I figured it would be good because the others are, but I didn’t have the bar set too high. To my surprise the theater was packed, so Transformers still has a huge following. It’s a little over 2 hrs which starts to get on the long side for any movie, but this one does a great job of being good throughout the entire movie without the feeling of any lags. It is filled with plenty of action, comedy, and enough drama to pull on your heart strings and get you emotionally invested. Also, you have Pete Davidson as the main Transformer, who wouldn’t want to see that? It also teases an epic crossover at the end of the movie. Not only is this a must-see movie, but it’s probably the best one in the series (out of the ones I’ve seen anyway). I give it a solid 10/10.

Terrifier 2

“Terrifier 2” is a 2022 horror movie and sequel to the 2016 movie “Terrifier”. It stars Lauren LaVera (A Taste of Christmas), David Howard Thornton (Terrifer), Elliott Fullam (Get Rolling with Otis), Sarah Voigt (We Have a Ghost), and Amelie McLain (General Hospital).

It’s Halloween time and it’s been a year since the Miles County Massacre. Art the Clown is back in all his bloody glory to release another series of killings. This time his main target is a girl and her teenage brother.

This one has major “Halloween” feels to it. The way people are dressed, plus the decor of the houses look like it could be from the 80’s, even though it’s modern times. Also, Like Michael Myers, Art has returned a year later on Halloween night to unleash bloody vengeance. However, Art is like Michael Myers on steroids. I don’t think there is a “Slasher” flick as gory as the Terrifiers, or many horror movies at all. Art skins a young woman alive from her head to her toes, then also serves candy to trick or treaters out of her mom’s decapitated head, and that’s just one small part in it. “Terrifier 2” walks a very thin line of gore vs sadistic. It is not for the faint of heart, if you like extreme gore. This movie is for you.

This one is just shy of two and a half hours which is long for a horror movie. It tends to drag towards the end. They could have easily cut 45 minutes plus out of it, the gore just goes on and on. To the point where you’re just like we get it, and you’re just ready for it to end. It is entertaining, and going in I knew it would be a blood bath, so my major qualm with this movie is the length. If you’re into these types of films, definitely check it out. I give it a 6.5/10. Now we wait for the third installment.