Over on Soda & Telepaths I took a look at the only superhero movie we’re getting for a while, that being Project Power on Netflix. Go there and read it to make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Force of Nature (2020) – Stormy Weather
Released: 13th August
Seen: 17th August
In 2017 Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. The deadly category 5 hurricane was the worst natural disaster to ever hit those islands, causing over 3000 deaths and doing well over 90 billion in damages. It was a devastating event that was made even worse due to a poor response by the president, who at the time disputed the death toll and in general just did what one would expect a failed businessman to do when a disaster hit. Most people look at Hurricane Maria and they see a tragedy that changed millions of lives and shook the island of Puerto Rico to its core… and some looked at it and said “there’s a movie in that” and for some strange reason no one stopped them.
Continue reading “Force of Nature (2020) – Stormy Weather”
Work It (2020) – Dance Magic Dance
Released: 7th August
Seen: 11th August
So yesterday I talked about the movie Magic Camp and compared it to the cinematic classic Sister Act 2, except Magic Camp was crap. The idea of a team of underdogs learning some kind of art in order to win a competition is nothing new but when done right it can be a lot of fun. If Magic Camp is an example of taking this story setup and handling it badly, then Work It is a great example of taking that setup and actually making something fun out of it.
Continue reading “Work It (2020) – Dance Magic Dance”
Magic Camp (2020) – Abraca-NO!
Released: 14th August
Seen: 16th August
Disney+ original movies are what we will kindly call a mixed bag… unkindly we can say I’d like to put a mix of them into a bag and then throw that bag in a river. They aren’t good, and today I will be talking about another not good one because apparently somehow we started with a movie called Magic Camp that was meant to be written and star the iconic Steve Martin and ended up with a discount TV movie starring Jeffrey Tambor… fun.
Continue reading “Magic Camp (2020) – Abraca-NO!”
The Beach House (2020) – An Extremely Psycho Beach Party
Released: 26th July
Seen: 14th August
There’s a certain setup in horror that can either work really well or backfire painfully. You’ve probably seen it in films like mother! and it’s certainly the backbone of The Beach House. The setup is that a couple are staying at a remote location all on their own until a stranger or two turn up and the nightmares begin. Either the new people are what brings on the horror (see The Strangers) or they’re part of the nightmare itself (again, mother!) or they’re not really related to the source of the horror but are the first ones to go through it… that last one describes what happens to the new people in The Beach House, and if they’re the warning of what’s to come then the main characters are in for a bad time.
Continue reading “The Beach House (2020) – An Extremely Psycho Beach Party”
Scare Package (2020) – The Roast of the Horror Genre
Released: 18th June
Seen: 12th August
The anthology horror film is making a comeback and I’m loving it. Over the course of the last few years I’ve talked about a lot of them that on this blog, from Necrologies which featured the ultimate adorable creature Pozu to the more watchable Ghost Stories. Even a couple of indie films tried to tackle this format to mixed results. Now, out of the ones I’ve reviewed I’ve yet to find one better than OK but there are some great ones out there, Trick ‘r’ Treat and VHS are among some of the best anthology horror films you could hope for. Well, now I’d like to throw Scare Package onto that pile of amazing anthology films. It might not be scary, but it’s whip smart and funny as hell.
Continue reading “Scare Package (2020) – The Roast of the Horror Genre”
23 Walks (2020) – Promising But Tiring
Released: 26th July
Seen: 11th August
With all the movies out of the cinema, I’m noticing more and more of the replacements seem to be these quiet little films that might’ve gone straight to DVD or just been shown once on Sundays for seniors’ tea screenings. Little quiet films like Love Sarah and The Secret: Dare To Dream are so small and quiet that they’d probably never even be noticed on a normal screening schedule but we’re not on a normal schedule anymore, which is how a background noise film like 23 Walks can find its way onto a big screen.
Continue reading “23 Walks (2020) – Promising But Tiring”
7500 (2020) – Just Plane Awesome
Released: 18th June
Seen: 10th August
You know what’s hard? Starting reviews on movies about difficult subjects, like 7500, because I have to try and give a brief catchy way to clue you into the movie. This opening paragraph is designed, in part, to catch your eye while you’re scrolling through my site and maybe make you curious about the content of the review and normally can involve backstory or a comparison or even an anecdote that relates to the media at hand… well, 7500 is about a bunch of people hijacking a plane so how exactly do I ease into that? Guess what I just did might be the best I’ll be able to do.
Continue reading “7500 (2020) – Just Plane Awesome”
Howard (2020) – Lyrically Beautiful
Released: 7th August
Seen: 8th August
Were it not for Howard Ashman, there’s a chance that Disney studios wouldn’t be the behemoth that it is today. The legendary lyricist is partially responsible (in conjunction with his friend Alan Menkin) for the songs from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin which would be the three films that began the Disney Renaissance and, effectively, saved the company. He also wrote one of the greatest musicals of all time with Little Shop of Horrors, a masterpiece no one expected to work. His career was the stuff that icons are made of but judge as Howard was reaching his peak, he was taken from us. Now, in this hell year, we are given a documentary to honour a legend who should never be forgotten.
Continue reading “Howard (2020) – Lyrically Beautiful”
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020) – Running on Embers
Released: 26th July
Seen: 8th August
The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the greatest and strangest things that we, as a society, have ever put together. A competition show like no other, it’s where Abba became world famous and it’s regularly known for having the weirdest and wildest acts to ever be put on the stage. It’s one of those things that’s so perfectly weird that it seems like it should be almost impossible to parody, making jokes about Eurovision is a little bit like putting a hat on a hat but Will Ferrell certainly tried and what he ended up with was… interesting.
Continue reading “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020) – Running on Embers”
Movie Meister Reviews 