Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is the sequel to the 2023 horror movie “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” This sequel stars Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games), Piper Rubio (For All Mankind), Elizabeth Lail (You), Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo), and Wayne Knight (Seinfeld).

It’s been a year since the terrifying events went down at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Abby (Rubio) misses her animatronic friends and decides to sneak out one night to find them. When she breaks in at night to a second closed location of Fazbear’s Pizza believing her friends are there, she unknowingly unleashes a new evil and wave of animatronics who are hell bent on bringing revenge on parents everywhere.

I went and saw this one on opening night, and just like when I saw the first one, I still haven’t played any of the video games. So, my entire review is going off of how good of a sequel it is and not compared to the games themselves. The original cast returns for this one, and there are several references to the first movie throughout the film as well as some nods to the video game. There are some good action scenes in it, and a pretty good kill scene. Overall, it’s not super action packed. It tries to rely on a creepiness factor with a new character that is introduced. I didn’t really find it creepy or scary but it’s a good horror film for a teenager or fan of the games. There are some loopholes. The biggest being an entire Fazbear’s Pizza location that is in bike riding distance for Abby, but yet no one knows it’s there in the movie. How can you have a closed down Fazbear’s location especially with what happened after the first movie, but yet have no clue of its existence? Overall, it’s not a bad watch, and it’s a good sequel that sets up for another one. I think it’s going to be like the “Scream” franchises, where they ride it until the wheels fall off. I give it a 6.5/10.

Roofman

“Roofman” is a 2025 biopic crime/comedy starring Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street), LaKeith Stanfield (The Harder They Fall), Kristen Dunst (Spider-Man), and Peter Dinklage (Elf).

“Roofman” is based off the true story of Jeffery Manchester who robs over 40 Mcdonalds by going in through the roofs at night before eventually getting caught. He later breaks out of prison and hides out by living in a Toys “R” Us for nearly 6 months. While in hiding he ventures out into the community during the day and gets romantically involved with one of the Toys “R” Us employees.

This one looked like it would be pretty good, it has a star-studded cast. I love Channing Tatum, I find him hilarious, and this movie looked like it would be nothing short of that. Really cool thing too, is that it’s based on a true story, that someone really did this. I found it to be one those films where all the best parts you already see in the previews. Where it looked like it would be really funny, it just wasn’t. It’s not a bad watch, it has some pretty good parts, and it’s interesting. It’s just slower and a little bit of a let down from what I was expecting. One of the best parts is the credit scenes where they show actual footage and interviews regarding the real roofman. I give it a 6.5/10.

Venom: The Last Dance

“Venom: The Last Dance” is a 2024 Marvel Superhero/ Action movie and the third installment of the Venom series. This one stars Tom Hardy (Venom), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Juno Temple (Horns), and Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spiderman).

A force not of this world set on destroying earth sends its minions to find Eddie and Venom. They are the only ones that hold the key to stopping this force. Can Eddie and Venom pull off saving the world one more time, or will this be the end?

The Venom movies are an amazing series. One of the best Anti Heros in the Marvel universe, outside of maybe Deadpool. So, there is a lot of hype and anticipation for this one. I love Tom Hardy, and I love his Venom character. This movie however left me wanting more, and it was underwhelming. There’s not as much action as the other two movies, but the main fight scene is pretty cool, but it comes towards the end of the film. Most of the movie is them on the run. It’s supposedly the last film in the Venom series, which I hope not because Venom deserves a better send off. It’s not a bad movie, it’s still good just lacking. I give it a 6.5/10.

Trap

“Trap” is 2024 thriller by M. Night Shyamalan starring Josh Hartnett (The Faculty), Ariel Donoghue (Wolf Like Me), Saleka Shyamalan, and Alison Pill (American Horror Story).

A father takes his daughter to a concert to see her favorite pop star Lady Raven. Only the whole concert is a set up to catch the serial killer dubbed The Butcher. Unfortunately, the dad is The Butcher. He must now find a way to escape the venue before he is caught.

I love M. Night, he is one of my favorite directors, and his twists are top notch. Josh Hartnett is also a great actor who hasn’t been in a lot lately, even though he did recently kill it in an episode of “Black Mirror.” Then add in the unique story line, this movie seems like a no brainer.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t live up to expectations. Most of the better scenes of when they’re in the venue, are shown in the trailers, so there isn’t a lot of suspense or build up. It does get better later on in the film, but still not enough to save it. Also, the twist in this one isn’t up to par as most. I was hoping for more out of this one being an M. Night film and with such a unique story. I give it a 6.5/10

Under Paris

“Under Paris” is a 2024 original Netflix French horror/action film starring Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Nassim Lyes (Mayhem!), and Aurelia Petit (The Science of Sleep).

A grieving scientist who lost her husband and team due to a shark attack from a giant shark they were studying finds the same shark years later on a radar signal she thought to be lost. The shark has swum up the Seine River in Paris and it proves to be the perfect breeding place for it. A massive triathlon is about to be held using the Seine River, the scientist must now try to stop the shark at all costs before it’s too late.

What better movie to watch than one taking place in Paris as the 2024 Olympics finish up? It’s perfect timing. Now most monster/creature films are cheesy, we know this. This one isn’t any different. It’s a shark trapped in the waters of Paris, very “Anaconda” vibes. However, the story in this one is pretty good, and does a good job getting you invested in it, even if it is on the cheesy side. Downfall is the shark scenes look bad, really bad. Terrible CGI where it is laughable. Overall, it’s worth the watch. Just have it to take it at face value. I give it a 6.5/10

Night Swim

First review of a movie from 2024, let’s get to it! “Night Swim” is 2024 horror/thriller from Blumhouse, it stars Wyatt Russell (Black Mirror), Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul), Amelie Hoeferle (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), and Gavin Warren (Fear the Walking Dead).

A former MLB player (Russell) is trying to make a comeback but has been diagnosed with MS. He and his family move to a new house with a pool to help out with his water therapy. Little do they know the pool has a dark past. Soon they’ll find out exactly what dark secret the water is hiding.

First horror movie of 2024, so you know I’m going to see it. The reviews haven’t been very good, so I went in with the bar pretty low. It’s actually a pretty decent movie. I don’t think Blumhouse has put out a bad movie. The acting is pretty solid. It reminds me of if the Amityville Horror got a swimming pool. The dad slowly descends into madness due to the pool. I wish it went a little more in depth of exactly why the pool is haunted, it touches on it briefly, but that’s about it. Overall, it’s about as good as a movie can be about a haunted pool. I give it a 6.5/10.

Murder Hotel

First review of 2024, I’m kicking it off with a review of the 2015 documentary “Murder Hotel.” This documentary takes a look at H.H. Holmes and his infamous murder hotel.

If you’re not familiar with H.H. Holmes, he is considered to be America’s first serial killer. He is one of the lesser talked about serial killers but is one of the more gruesome ones, and probably the highest kill count. He built a three-story hotel in Texas for the world’s fair when it was in town. He had his hotel designed to make killing easier for him. Including a safe that pumped gas into it, floors that would drop into shafts, and a basement designed for dissecting and chopping up his victims.

It’s an interesting documentary. He did his killings in the late 1800’s and there are wax cylinders that still exist today that have him admitting to some of his killings. He only admitted to 27, but studies suggest the number was more around 200. It’s mind boggling something so fragile but important survived all these years. The documentary goes in depth of why he did it, and the timeline of when he did it using some of these wax cylinder recordings. I found it very interesting, but I feel like it only scratched the surface. I would have liked it to go more in depth about the hotel itself, into the mind of H.H. Holmes, and even more into the wax cylinder recordings. What exactly made him tick? It explained why he did it for monetary gain, but it didn’t go in depth beyond that. Maybe it’s hard to go much further into depth since it was so long ago, and the hotel itself isn’t around anymore. It makes an interesting watch though, and it’s mind boggling that a place like that really once existed. I give it a 6.5/10.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

I have another offbeat Christmas movie coming at you, tis the season. “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” is a 2010 Christmas Adventure/Horror movie from Finland starring Jorma Tommila (The Christmas Party), Onni Tommila (Big Game), Tommi Korpela (Distractions), and IImari Jarvenpaa (Last Cowboy Standing).

High up in the mountains in Finland, an archeological crew is digging and blasting into the mountains. Unknowingly, they unearth something that has been frozen for centuries. It’s Santa Claus, and it’s not the one we’ve come to know and love. It’s now up to one boy to save his small mountain town before it’s too late.

This is an interesting concept. A great ancient evil that is accidentally released into the world, we’ve seen a million movies like this, but I haven’t seen one where the evil is Santa Claus. It is from Finland, but it’s subtitled and not dubbed. Which is great, most dubbed movies tend to bug me. It’s labeled as a horror but nothing really scary or suspenseful happens, it’s more along the lines of a fantasy or adventure. The main character is a nerdy, loner type kid, just trying to make his dad proud and ends up overcoming obstacles along the way. It’s an intriguing movie, and it’s well done. Not anything real special, like I mentioned nothing scary or suspenseful really takes place. It’s still worth a watch though, you can catch it on Tubi. I give it a 6.5/10.

Candy Cane Lane

It’s that time of year again. Christmas is upon us, and the holiday movies are rolling out. “Candy Cane Lane” is a 2023 Prime original Christmas/family movie starring Eddie Murphy (Bowfinger), Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish), Jillian Bell (Workaholics), Genneya Walton (Project Mc2), Thaddeus J. Mixson (Reasonable Doubt), and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation).

A man (Murphy) who has recently been laid off right before Christmas desperately needs to win his neighborhood Christmas light contest, winning house gets a hundred thousand dollars. He unknowingly makes a deal with a mischievous elf, when buying Christmas decorations for the contest. Chaos ensues as his 12 days of Christmas decorations come to life. He now only has a certain amount of time to reverse it before it’s too late.

Eddie Murphy is hilarious, my favorite comic of all time. So, if an Eddie Murphy movie comes out, I’m going to see it. It’s cute, it’s heartfelt, and like all Christmas movies, they find the true meaning of Christmas. That’s why we watch Christmas movies, right? For the warm fuzzy feeling this time of year. It achieves that, but I think it’s lacking in the comedy department. Especially with Eddie Murphy, it’s just not very funny. It’s a good family Christmas movie, but it won’t be a holiday classic anytime soon. I give it a 6.5/10.

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.