film

Abigail showed us that the horror genre are in good hands of the duo directors, Radio Silence

~ fewburnedkurnels ~ Leave a comment

Rating: Full

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Studios: Universal Pictures/

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir and Giancarlo Esposito

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet

Writers: Guy Busick and Stephen Shields

Based on: Dracula’s Daughter

Producers: Paul Neinstein, William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Chad Villella and Tripp Vinson

Music by: Brian Tyler

Rated: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language and brief drug use

Release Date: 04/19/24

Runtime: 1h 49m

Tagline: Children can be such monsters

Favorite Character: Abigail

Quote: “I’m sorry about what’s gonna happen to you.”- Abigail

Fun Fact: 95% of Abigail’s stunts was done by Alisha Weir herself.

The Review: I’d bet horror fans everywhere are bummed about the fact that Wes Craven is gone, luckily there are two of the horror directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and have their own production company. Like other major directors, they would go off to explore other genres. Before that happens, we got another scary movie of theirs to explore.

Radio Silence’s retelling of the Universal’s 1936 Dracula Daughter tells us a different kind of a vampire story, about a talented little ballerina named Abigail (Alisha Weir, Matilda the Musical) who gave us her demo during the opening credits. There is one twist though, she is a vampire. And perhaps a talented actress too since her expression kidnapping was so real during that part. They didn’t confirm that she is a classic monster till later in the film but we all probably already knew that. We do see Abigail retiring to her bed, acting all like a human being and not a stereotypical vampire that sleeps in coffins.

Moving on to the kidnappers, The opening pulls off a stunt that makes you think ‘I thought this was a horror movie, not a crime movie’ because, well, it does feel like a crime thriller, for the first 10 minutes. The leader (Scream’s Melissa Berrera) leads the team to kidnap the daughter (Abigail) of the wealthy man and bring her to the wooden mansion, intend to have her handcuffed to bed until her father gifts them with $50 million. I love the fact that the mansion well ensembles the setting from one of Radio Silence’s other films, ‘Ready or Not’

The group wad given instructions by Gus Fri…err i mean…Lambert assigned codenames to them, preventing us from learning their real names and identities but don’t worry, you’ll find out about them later. For the first moments, Abigail will fool the kidnappers by acting all damsel in distressy. Then…Karma will take a bite on them. Let’s check the horror tropes for this movie. Lock in the mansion? Check! The group slowly getting picked off one by one? Check! The remaining survivors trying to survive and get out? Double Check!

I would like to credit Composer Brian Tyler for giving us an epic version of the Swan Lake in what perhaps is one of the best parts of the film! I am not gonna say much, you’ll have to check it out for yourself! I almost forgot to mention something. One of the members of the soon to be unfortunate kidnappers, Dean is played by Angus Cloud who sadly passed away last July. It was sweet for Radio Silence to make him a ‘In loving memory’ trope before the end credits.

This is more of a horror movie for those who enjoy more of the bloody parts than the campy jumpscares. Yes, the final film wasn’t all too bloody brilliant, but the idea of a vampire ballerina is indeed is! I mean, what horror filmmakers wouldn’t have thought of that?

My 96th Oscars Predictions:

~ fewburnedkurnels ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time of year for Hollywood. The 96th Oscars! We are offically 4 years away from the big 100th! Till then, here are my Oscar predictions for 2024.

Best Picture: Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven and Emma Thomas)

Best Director: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

Best Actor: Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)

Best Actress: Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)

Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer)

Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

Best Original Screenplay: The Holdovers (David Hemingson)

Best Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction (Cord Jefferson; Based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett)

Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man; Across the Spider-Verse (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson)

Best International Feature Film: The Zone of Interest; UK (Johnathan Glazer)

Best Documentary Feature: Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha)

Best Documentary Short Film: The Last Repair Shop (Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot)

Best Live Action Short Film: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: Wes Anderson and Steven Rales

Best Animated Short Film: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (Brad Booker and Dave Mullins

Best Original Score: Oppenheimer (Ludwig Goransson)

Best Original Song: What was I Made For?; Barbie (Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell)

Best Sound: Oppenheimer (Willie Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell and Gary A. Rizzo)

Best Production Design: Barbie (Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer)

Best Cinematography: Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Poor Things (Mark Coulier, Nadia Stacey and Josh Weston)

Best Costume Design: Poor Things (Holly Waddington)

Best Film Editing: Oppenheimer (Jennifer Lame)

Best Visual Effects: The Creator (Ian Comley, Jay Cooper, Neil Corbould and Andrew Roberts)

So if all my predictions are correct;

Oppenheimer: 8 Oscars

Barbie: 2 Oscars

The Holdovers: 2 Oscars

Poor Things: 2 Oscars

Self Reliance

~ fewburnedkurnels ~ Leave a comment

Rating: Full

Genre: Comedy, Suspense, Thriller

Studios: Hulu/Neon/MRC

Cast: Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Morales, Andy Samberg, Mary Holland, Emily Hampshire and Christopher Lloyd

Director: Jake Johnson

Writer: Jake Johnson

Producers: Ali Bell, Joe Hardesty and Jake Johnson

Music by: Dan Romer

Rated: R for language throughout

Release Date: 01/03/24

Runtime: 1h 25m

Tagline: Surviving is all about the company you keep.

Favorite Character: Tommy Walcott

Quote: “This Show is a Comedy”- Charlie

Fun Fact: the bar in the movie ‘La Cita’ means ‘The Meeting’ in spanish.

The Review: I have only heard of Jake Johnson from the Spiderverse films and I don’t watch New Girl so I may not be familiar with him. So, I’m starting to get familiar with him in his directorial debut. I am, however, am familiar with SNL’s Andy Sandberg and it was quite interesting with his comedy band ‘Lonely Island’ producing this film.

Johnson also wrote and starred in the film as a guy named Tommy who is suffering from a bad breakup and goes through the loss by exercising, working and drinking every day. That really doesn’t sound like a fun life at all. That all changes when a mysterious limo came by and who is sitting in the limo is none other than Andy Sandberg, inviting him in the limo for what is about to be a game changing adventure. Sounds a man’s fantasy, it evens feels like it, but it is really happening. If Tommy actually thinks about it, something awesome like this will always have one big catch.

This turns out to be a Dark Web reality show and he will be watched, every move! But if he survives 30 days without being hunted, he will win $1 million, which sounds pretty tempting but deadly. Now the good news is that there is a loophole, the hunters won’t kill him if he is within a few feet of someone, but he will be at risk if he is all alone. Sounds like this dark comedy is really in a social experiment genre.

I wasn’t expecting Johnson told immediately tell his mother and two sisters about the game, I mean we probably would in a same situation. And as we expect, they don’t believe him and assume that he is having mental issues, turning him into a person who the world thinks he’s crazy (but he isn’t). The first five days was no problem for Tommy but after that, the dark web show begins and things are getting tense. So his only option is to have anybody with him 24/7. Anybody. Even if its a homeless man named James. But before that, comes a suspenseful and hysterical moment of the film. Involving his sister’s boyfriend, him taking a crap and Johnson panicking…yeah, you probably might figure out what this is.

You might have heard Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick is in the movie and you might be like, where is she? That’s what I was like, but thankfully, she appears in the movie at the same bar that was part of Tommy’s same old schedule. And as someone who is also participating in the game, so all they had to do way be within each other for the remaining of the game. Sounds easy right? Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath for that one because if you are in a movie, things will always take a radical turn.

I won’t say much about the ending, but by that time, the story really slipped. A very anticlimactic moment that would you will be like…really? That’s it? It also could use more of the humorous moments too, but Self Reliance did manage to teach the audience the same value of life that Tommy learned. It’s a squid game like social experiment that Johnson used to teach the audience and the results are various but entertaining.

Society of the Snow (La Sociedad de la Nieve)

~ fewburnedkurnels ~ Leave a comment

Rating: Overflowing

Genre: Survival, Drama, Adventure, Biopic

Studios: Netflix/Mision de Audaces films/El Arriero Films

Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Matias Recalt, Agustin Pardella, Felipe Gonzalez Otano, Luciano Chatton, Valentino Alonso, Francisco Romero, Agustin Berruti, Andy pruss, Simon Hempe, Juan Caruso, Esteban Bigliardi, Rocco Posca, Esteban Kukuriczka, Rafael Federman, Manuela Olivera, Agustin Della Corte and Tomas Wolf

Director: J. A. Bayona

Writers: J. A. Bayona, Nicolas Casariego, Jaime Marques and Bernat Vilaplana

Based on: the true events

Producers: Belen Atienza, J. A. Bayona and Sandra Hermida

Music by: Michael Giacchino

Rated: R for violent/disturbing material and brief graphic nudity

Release Date: 01/04/24

Runtime: 2h 24m

Tagline: N/A

Favorite Character: Numa Turcatti

Quote: “We huddle together the best we can. Living and dead, as one.”- Numa Turcatti

Fun Facts: There are already several films about the Andes crash site.

Tourists can actually visit the crash site.

It was submitted for the Best International film at the Oscars, and it has been nominated!

The film was shot in chronical order.

The Review: I did see a couple of J. A. Bayona’s films (The Impossible with the young Tom Holland, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and given that he’s a Spanish filmmaker, why wouldn’t he do a movie in Spanish. The tale was spoken in Spanish by actual South American actors, making this survival tale more accurate, unlike the 1993’s ‘Alive’ (which i never heard of before) when the cast doesn’t look as believable as Society of the Snow.

Now getting on with the story, In case you haven’t heard, Society of the Snow is a true story about a Uruguayan Rugby team who is on their way to Chile for a Rugby match. Rather than taking a commercial plane, they took a FH-227 to Santiago which holds 45 people, but 10 minutes into the film, the audience knew exactly where this is gonna go. And it’s into the Andes… in the middle of nowhere! The crash landing really went for the rough landing, which is what was supposed to be. The shaky camera really helped give the movie watchers such a shaky feeling. Once the plane crash sequence was finished, you might need to take a second to catch your breath!

You probably know this but by the end, only 16 people survive. If you do know the number while watching this, your insanity would be put to the test! Being in the mountains, with hardly any food, have only a broken down plane for shelter and no way to contact anybody for help doesn’t sound all that pleasant. That is what makes this story so incredible, was being stuck in the middle of nowhere with minimal supplies. But I do have to let you know, getting attached to the characters can be a bit risky.

What’s so infamous about this whole incident is when the survivors are forced to go to do the unthinkable, cannibalism but luckily, it’s only off the ones who already deceased. Luckily, Bayona has attempted to keep the cannibalism imagery to the minimal by shooting it from one of the survivors perspective, otherwise, we may have a controversial moments from audience when they throw up. Actually, the cannibalism was already controversial when everyone was outraged about their actions in the mountains, but i think it’s a great idea to leave the aftermath out of this biopic otherwise, it would take away what makes this film so extraordinary.

To make a long story short, Society of the Snow is probably, without a doubt, the best survival movie of the decade so far. And it’s all thanks to Bayona’s fantastic direction for making this a powerful and unforgettable experience. (And congrats on the film getting a nomination for the International films category at the Oscars! I hope it wins!)

Candy Cane Lane

~ fewburnedkurnels ~ Leave a comment

Rating: Empty

Genre: Family, Comedy, Fantasy

Studios: Amazon Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios/Imagine Entertainment

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino, Trevante Rhodes, David Alan Grier and Nick Offerman

Director: Reginald Hudlin

Writer: Kelly Younger

Producers: Brian Grazer, Charisse Hewitt-Webster, Karen Lunder and Eddie Murphy

Music by: Marcus Miller

Rated: PG for language throughout and some suggestive refrences

Release Date: 12/03/23

Runtime: 1h 57m

Tagline: N/A

Favorite Character: Carol Carver

Quote: N/A

Fun Facts: Pentatonix made a cameo as carolers.

The street filmed for the movie is the same street as the one from Desperate Housewives.

Summary: A recently unemployed father, Chris, desperate to win the annual christmas light contest, gets help from a strange woman who runs a christmas shop, which ended up bringing Chris and his family towards a christmas adventure.

The One Liner Review: What seems to look like a merry viewing, Eddie Murphy’s weird christmas movie turned out to be an excuse to try and adapt the classic carol ’12 days of Christmas’ and not to mention it’s about a family whose names are christmas related.

Leo

~ fewburnedkurnels ~ Leave a comment

Rating: Full

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Musical

Studios: Netflix/Happy Madison Productions

Cast: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Rob Schneider, Jo Koy, Allison Strong, Jackie Sandler, Heidi Gardner, Robert Smigel and Nick Swardson

Directors: Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel and David Wachtenheim

Writers: Paul Sado, Adam Sandler and Robert Smigel

Producers: Adam Sandler and Mireille Soria

Music by: Geoff Zanelli

Rated: PG for rude/suggestive material and some language

Release Date: 11/21/23

Runtime: 1h 42m

Tagline: Breaking out this November

Favorite Character: Leo

Quote: “Guys, you don’t have to be afraid of change. Change is a beautiful part of life.”- Mrs. Salinas

Fun Facts: On the shelf of Summer’s room are bobbleheads of Conan O’Brian, Billie Ellish and Chubbs from Happy Gilmore

This film actually prevented Adam Sandler from voicing Dracula in Hotel Transylvania 4.

Summary: In a Florida elementary school, a class pet lizard believes he only has a year left to live and tends to try to escape, with unexpected results.

The One Liner Review: Adam Sandler usually does comedy movies…but this one, he gave us something moving and if you wanted the one from the class pets eye…this is the film for you.