Scream VI

“Scream VI” is a 2023 horror film and the newest installment of the “Scream” series. It’s the sequel to the requel as the movie proudly exclaims. It brings back the core four, Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets), Mason Gooding (Fall), and Melissa Barrera (In the Heights). It also brings back classic “Scream” stars Courteney Cox (Friends), Skeet Ulrich (The Craft), and Hayden Panettiere (Remember the Titans). It also brings in fresh faces with Jack Champion (Avatar: The Way of the Water), and Dermot Mulroney (Young Guns).

It’s a year after the last Ghostface killings and the core four has moved to New York for a fresh start when the killings start up again.

“Scream V” was amazing, so I was pretty pumped for “Scream VI.” It does a good job of picking up where the last one left off. It also does a good job of keeping you guessing who Ghostface is until the very end. It has plenty of Easter eggs from the past screams, for the “Scream” fans. Including clothing from previous films. It’s not as good as “Scream V”, and I think part of it is just because of how good “Scream V” is, that it sets the bar pretty high. It doesn’t seem to be as action packed, and a little more predictable. Overall, it’s still good though and I give it a 7.5/10.

M3GAN

“M3GAN” is the first big horror movie to come out in 2023. It’s from Blumhouse and stars Allison Williams (Get Out), Violet McGraw (I Believe in Santa), and Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians).

A robotic engineer (Williams) at a toy company is working on a revolutionary AI doll called M3GAN when her sister, her brother-in-law, and niece (McGraw) are involved in a fatal accident. The only survivor is her niece, and she now becomes the legal guardian of her. She thinks the doll she is working on will help comfort her niece during her mourning period. M3GAN quickly surpasses expectations with self-learning and adaptiveness. M3GAN will do anything to ensure her new friends happiness and safety, no matter how deadly the consequences may be.

I was a little hesitant to see this one. It looks like a rip off of the “Chuckie” series, and it pretty much is. A doll that goes on a violent rampage and kills people. This one is more current with our times with the development with AI technology and there could actually be something like M3GAN in our future, that’s what makes this movie creepy/scary. I didn’t find it either, but they did do a good job, making it suspenseful and there’s a couple of Oh Sh*t moments, which I always love in horror movies. I do wish they went a little bit further. There isn’t as much gore and killing as you think there would be. As soon as it starts to get ramping up, they’re already trying to stop M3gan. I read a thing saying there was originally a gorier rated R version, but they figured this pg13 version is scarier and that’s why they went with this. It is a good watch, but I think the rated R version would probably have delivered more. You can currently catch it in theaters. I give it a 7.5/10.

The Menu

“The Menu” is a 2022 horror/thriller starring Ralph Fiennes (Skyfall), Anya Taylor-Joy (Last Night in Soho), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies), John Leguizamo (Romeo + Juliet), and Hong Chau (Big Little Lies).

A young couple goes to an island for very exclusive dinner that is over 1200 a head created by a world-renowned chef. Little do they know, everyone is there for a certain reason, and the chef plans on making this his final menu. Every little detail is meticulously planned out, every deadly detail.

I’m a big fan of Anya Taylor-Joy she always plays a great role in her movies, and her starring in another horror, I knew this was a must-see movie. Ralph Fiennes also plays the perfect role of a detail-oriented perfectionist chef who has slowly gone mad by society and has finally reached his limit. This movie was different than I was expecting, it was still a great movie, just different. Not quite as fast paced as I was thinking it would be. It was a little more artsy than I was expecting. It reminded me of an artsier version of a M. Night Shyamalan movie. I also enjoyed how everything was targeted at the rich vs. the working class in society. I give this one a 7.5/10.

Halloween Ends

“Halloween Ends” is the latest (2022) and hopefully final installment in the horror series “Halloween” and it’s the third one in the most recent “Halloween” trilogy. This one stars Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), Andi Matichak (Halloween), Rohan Campbell (Virgin River), Will Patton (Yellowstone), and Michael Barbieri (Spider-Man: Homecoming).

It has been four years after the events of “Halloween Kills” and Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. A new killer emerges who idolizes Michael Myers and unleashes the evil that is Michael Myers. Laurie (Curtis) must now stop the new killer and hopefully once and for all put an end to Michael Myers.

Out of the recent trilogy this one is the best, the last one wasn’t bad. It gave a lot of nods to the original films, but my big issue with the last one was Michael Myers himself. The guy has to be in his 70’s and they can’t take him down? Enough is enough, it’s beating a dead horse at this point. The cool spin with this one is Michael Myers isn’t the main focal point but a much younger killer all together, with his own troubled back story. Laurie and Michael still have their showdown, and the ending is very fitting. As far as I understand it’s the end of Jamie Lee Curtis with the “Halloween” franchise. Which it is time, we all know remakes will still be made, especially since it still brings in money. Hopefully though, we’re done with senior citizen Michael Myers. Overall, it’s worth watching. I give it a 7.5/10.

Last Seen Alive

“Last Seen Alive” is a 2022 Netflix original thriller/action starring Gerard Butler (The Bounty Hunter), Jaimie Alexander (Thor), Russell Hornsby (Fences), Ethan Embry (Sweet Home Alabama), and Michael Irby (Mayans M.C.)

A married couple who are going through a rough patch are on their way to the wife’s parents for her to stay and think things over. They stop at a gas station and the wife (Alexander) goes in to buy some water and snacks, but she never comes back out. Now a desperate husband (Butler) will do whatever it takes to find his wife.

Gerard Butler is a great actor and he’s proven himself as an action star over the years. So, he does a great job in this as the desperate husband trying to track down his wife. I found it a little shallow in terms of the story. It’s a good story and it’s action packed but I felt like it lacked depth, they could have gone more into why she was missing versus just scratching the surface. It’s still a good action-packed watch. I give it a 7.5/10.

Hypnotic

When I hear the word Hypnotic I automatically think of the fruity alcohol drink. However, “Hypnotic” is also a 2021 Netflix thriller starring Kate Siegel (Hush), Jason O’Mara (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and Dule Hill (Psych). The second one is the one I’ll explore, even though the drink is pretty good.

A woman (Siegel) struggling with some issues goes and sees a hypnotherapist (O’Mara) recommended by her friend. Once she is put under his hypnosis she quickly finds out it has deadly consequences.

Kate Siegel is a great horror/thriller actress, she also plays the lead in “Hush”. Which, if you haven’t seen, you need to. So this movie is right up her alley. It’s quick paced and goes right into it, all the actors and actresses play their roles well. It felt a little shallow though, like you know why he’s doing what he’s doing, but there could have been more conflict than what there was. It felt as it gets resolved a little quick. Overall it’s still a good thriller, and worth the watch, maybe just a little forgettable down the stretch. I give it a 7.5/10.

Avengement

‘Avengement’ is a 2019 Action movie starring Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2), Craig Fairbrass (Villian), Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Thomas Turgoose (This is England) and, Kierston Wareing (Fish Tank).

A convict (Adkins) escapes prison in order to seek revenge on those responsible for putting him in there.

This movie isn’t going to be for everyone, it’s a gritty martial arts movie, a lot of fighting, blood, and cursing. To me though, it was awesome. I love martial art movies, problem is though a lot of the time, the acting and/ or story is cheesy. Which will sink a martial arts film fast, this one though, has a great story. I haven’t heard of Adkins before or just haven’t recognized him, but he can fight. He is Jason Statham esque, even with the way he walks and talks. Although you’re going to see more fighting in this than in one of Statham’s new movies. Sorry Statham, but it’s true. I give this one a 7.5/10. You can currently catch it on Netflix.

Welcome Home

‘Welcome Home’ is a 2018 thriller starring Emily Ratajkowski (Gone Girl), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Riccardo Scamarcio (John Wick: Chapter 2), and Francesco Acquaroli (Fargo). A couple (Ratajkowski, Paul) whose relationship is on the rocks spend a week in the Italian Countryside in an attempt to fix their relationship. They won’t be left alone by the overfriendly neighbor, and they soon find out his sinister plans.

This movie is basically ‘The Intruder’ with Dennis Quaid mixed with ’13 Cameras’. Instead of the overly nice creepy seller, you have the overly nice creepy neighbor. Then like ’13 Cameras’ you have cameras set up all over the house, with the creepy guy sitting there watching the couple. The best way to describe this movie is, it’s the perfect mashup of those two. I haven’t heard of ‘Welcome Home’, but it just came to Netflix, and I like Aaron Paul, so I figured I would watch it. Honestly it’s a pretty solid movie. It doesn’t have as many twists and turns as I would prefer in a thriller and it was a little predictable, but the acting is really good. Scamarcio plays the creeper part perfect. He reminds me a lot of Javier Bardem’s character in ‘No Country for Old Men’. I was surprised how well Ratajkowski does, she is mostly a model, not a whole lot under her belt as far as acting, but she plays a good part. Overall I give it a 7.5/10.

The White Tiger

‘ The White Tiger’ is 2021 Netflix original drama starring Adarsh Gourav (Die Trying), Rajkummar Rao (Newton), Vijay Maurya (Gully Boy), and Priyanka Chopra (Baywatch). A poor Indian man becomes a driver for a wealthy family, when he sees how the upper-class live he strives to break out of the rooster coop that is poverty and make something of himself.

‘ The White Tiger’ is up for an Oscar for best adapted screenplay in the 93rd Oscars, which happens to be this Sunday. So after Sunday it may be an Oscar winner, not just a nominee. The majority of Oscar nominated movies are really good, not all of them though. Some are just artsy terrible films that are nominated, that’s just how it is. So where does ‘White Tiger’ fall? Honestly, it’s a pretty good movie, it’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s a rag to riches story, and who doesn’t love a good rag to riches story? The accent’s are a little thick, which is okay, it does take place in India. Just be prepared to turn on the subtitles. It’s also a bit of a slow burn, the run time is a little over two hours, which it’s a great story, but not a lot of action. So you feel the full two hours at times. The biggest shock and awe of this movie is how they treat the driver (Gourav), you’re pretty much appalled at it the whole movie. Overall, it’s worth checking out. I give it a 7.5/10.

I Care A Lot

‘I Care A Lot’ is a 2021 thriller on Netflix starring Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day), Peter Dinklage (GOT), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Dianne Wiest (The Birdcage), and Macon Blair (Murder Party). A sleazy business woman makes her profession by claiming elderly are incapable of taking care of themselves and makes herself their legal guardian. She then goes on to stick them in a nursing home and sell all their possessions including, their house, car etc. while pocketing all the profits. She thinks she has finally found the ultimate target but soon finds out she made a horrible mistake when the elderly lady has ties to the Russian mafia.

I don’t know if I have ever been angrier while watching a movie. The main character (Pike) scams elderly people and sticks them away to never see daylight again, and essentially gets away with it at every turn. In fact, they push the fact it’s okay to be yourself and be a wolf and not a sheep, like WTF. It has so much build up and then nothing, she gets off scot free. They push her as the hero of the movie, I was ready to write boycott this movie, but without giving away any spoilers, the ending does reel everything back in, and all is right with the world again. I was seeing red, Pike’s character is probably one of the most evil characters I have ever watched. If you do watch it, watch it all, don’t get mad and give up like I almost did. Even with them pushing it’s okay to scam elderlies and be a wolf not a sheep. I give it a 7.5/10.