Movie Reviews 4/5 Stars: Zombieland 2: Double Tap

October 21, 2019October 19, 2019 Julie Gilbert comedy, Movie Reviews Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harelson, Zoey Deutch, zombieland, zombies

movie promo pic, got off google images at random

Starring: Woody Harelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, and Zoey Deutch

Summary:

The sequel to an absolutely ridiculous movie (Zombieland). Our heroes have started categorizing the zombies into Homers (stupid ones), Hawkings (smart ones), and ninjas (athletic ones). Their happy little family is disrupted by the ladies running away. The world’s still a mess, but there’s hope out there somewhere. They’re not really sure where they want to go, but everybody’s seeking something.

Additional Comments:

This might be the one movie (besides the first) where breaking the 4^th wall doesn’t really bother me.
The displays of the rules at various pts was amusing.
Side characters 3.5/5: I didn’t like Avan Jogia’s character, Berkley. On the other hand, Luke Wilson’s character and Thomas Middleditch’s character, Flagstaff, were hilarious. The makers specifically did everything they could to make the two carbon copies of Tallahassee and Columbus. Madison’s voice was extremely annoying by design.
For being a zombie movie, it had a decent (if stereotypical) message of finding one’s true home.
This must have been a fun movie to be an extra for. The makeup probably took forever. Lots of CGI effects. The action scenes are amusing.
Content warnings: language and innuendo of course.

Conclusion:

If you enjoyed the first, you’ll likely be satisfied with the second. If you never saw the first but just like watching zombies get killed in awesome ways, you may still enjoy it. Seeing it on a big screen may help you appreciate the special effects more.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Movie Reviews 3.5/5 Stars: Joker

October 12, 2019October 9, 2019 Julie Gilbert drama, Movie Reviews DC comics, Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Starring Joaquin Phoenix

*could contain some spoilers; more spoilers after

Summary:

Joker follows the slow series of unfortunate events that take a downtrodden man from mental case to inspiration for a violent uprising in Gotham. Arthur Fleck doesn’t just wake up one day and say, “hey, I’ll be joker… and unleash some hell on random people.” This movie chronicles the changes.

Additional Comments:

While everything’s dressed up in the guise of Gotham, there’s still a lot of social commentary. Probably some political stuff too.
While not a part of the horror movie genre, there are some definite horror-y vibes from the movie.
I feel like such a series of misfortunes could happen to a mentally ill guy. The plausibility of flipping from beaten man to madman is terrifying. Worse, most of the victims don’t garner much sympathy, which can also be true in life. Not saying the punishment of death is worth the crime of being a lousy human, but it’s all to easy to take Joker’s side on things.
I wonder how many takes they needed to do on that stair scene when Fleck’s dancing down them. Props to the actor for not breaking his neck on them.
Disclaimer: I’m a completely casual fan of the batman universe, so I’m not really in the prime target audience for this movie.
Acting 4.5/5 stars: Joaquin Phoenix is pretty much the beginning and end of the cast that matters here.
It did have some humorous moments.
Music 3/5: They went way over the top with the discordant, disturbing themes. It fits the movie perfectly, but it also grates on the nerves.
I think there are 20 solid minutes of the audience listening to that hideous laugh.
Overall feel: Disturbing, intriguing, gross, sad, and fascinating.
Would I see it again? Only if I had to.

Conclusion:

Probably more interesting for those who are obsessed with all things batman, but it’s a well-acted and worth watching once. Not sure seeing it in theaters adds anything.

Never Again isn’t available on audio yet.

Audiobooks on Offer:

These are my books. I have free codes for everything.

New Release: Shadow Council Books 1-4. FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek finds several different kinds of trouble from Hawaii to Pennsylvania and back again.

New Release: Fatal Interest. Miranda Kale doesn’t believe in ghosts … until one sends her on a crazy case at a private school.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms.

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Spoilers

When the joker killed the big dude then let the little man go, it was a fantastic, slightly humorous point.
Making the joker smile with the blood from the accident was a nice, disturbing moment.

3.5/5 Stars: It Chapter 2

September 15, 2019September 13, 2019 Julie Gilbert Horror, Movie Reviews Bill Skarsgard, Finn Wolfhard, Isaiah Mustafa, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Sophia Lillis

*There will be spoilers in the discussion.

*I never saw It Ch 1.

Summary:

A group of misfit friends who call themselves The Losers, leave their hometown and forget the weird happens in their small Maine hometown. 27 years later, people are dying again, and only this outcast group can stop the horror.

Additional Comments:

So, this might be the first horror movie I’ve ever seen, unless you count something bizarre like Zombieland. It was interesting and oddly thought provoking, but I am not in love with some of the messages it presented.
The movie is bookended with two bullying incidents. In the beginning, a young gay man gets beaten and thrown off a bridge. He’s the first victim. At the end, the heroes essentially bully the scary clown into submission. It makes sense from what I understand of the lore in this world. (Pennywise feeds off fear, so standing up and making him feel small and useless would defeat him, like a video game boss.) Weird message: bullying can sometimes be the right answer.
The Losers were once 7, but before they meet up again, one commits suicide. At the end, each member of the group receives a letter that claims not to be a suicide note. It’s an explanation that this guy was afraid and didn’t want to take his friends down with him. Therefore, he chose to die by his own hand to remove himself from the equation. Weird message: suicide is sometimes the best solution. That’s a very dangerous message for anybody to be putting out there. I get that the movie is not meant for children, but even some adults may have let that thought infest their heads.
When they were kids, one of the boys sent the lone girl of the group a love note. She mistakenly believed another boy sent it. The love note writer was a fat, not physically attractive boy. He grew up to be a chiseled, hot guy. Weird message: the unattractive kid’s got no chance, but the hot guy gets the girl. Okay, so that probably holds true, but I’m surprised that it’s a message Hollywood let fly. It’s a trope, but these days, it seems the politically correct monitors would have pitched a fit.
Was it an entertaining story? For the most part. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. It’s long, but kind of necessary. Each person had to revisit their past and find an object that meant something to them. (Casting was amazing.)
How scary was it? Depends what level of scary we’re talking about. Sheer fright, not so much. Creepy messages getting out there. Very much so.
Content Warning: 100% random inclusion of a brief nudity scene. Language (though to be fair, homicidal clown does warrant something stronger than “oh, my goodness”). Flashing lights. I had to close my eyes through a few parts, not because it was scary, because I wanted not to get a piercing headache.

Conclusion:

I would have rated it higher if I could get behind the 3 major messages I could pick out upon reflection. I’m told that people probably shouldn’t read into horror stories, but any story told is going to put a message into the world. This is the first movie in a long time that I think has some really crappy messages.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.