Childs Play

MY RATING: 1

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 21 June 2019

Genre: Horror
Director: Lars Klevberg
Writer:Tyler Burton Smith
Running Time: 

Staring:Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman

RatingR

SPOILERS? YES

STORYLINE

A mother gives her 13year old son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature. 

MY REVIEW

Oh, holy hell, this was bad. I need a new word for how ridiculously bad this movie was. All I can think of is the scene in Kung Pow! Enter the Fist where Chosen One decides that killing is bad AND wrong and it needs a new word- BADONG! Yes, there are spoilers in my review, but it's for YOUR benefit! This movie did not know what it wanted to be when it grows up, some serious identity issues. I get that the writer/directors were trying to update the story with the removal of the supernatural and addition of the AI gone wrong concept, but they tried too hard. Charles Lee Ray IS Chucky. It needed that little piece for me to be CHILD's PLAY. It was just overkill. So many glaring missteps and missed opportunities that I could never let myself actually enjoy the movie. It's weird over-reach into a world where Alexa/Apple/Uber are all wrapped into one service that is all powerful is off-putting. I get how people are all crazy about how these things are intrusive but this was over the top. I'm still not getting rid of my Alexa.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• My favorite kill was the Shane (David Lewis), when his head was run over by a roter tiller. I'll talk about what was WRONG with that scene below.
• Some of the one-liners were funny.
• Detective Mike (Brian Tyree Henry) was the star for me. His acting was natural and did not feel forced.
• Aubrey Plaza was braless for most of the movie. (.)(.)
• Mark Hammil as the voice of Chucky

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:---This is gonna take a while...

• Opening scene brings us to the factory in Vietnam where the Buddi Dolls are being made. Let's just call this one right here. EVERYONE knows that factories have been using the assembly line with interchangeable parts since Ransom Olds in 1901. (No, it wasn't the anti-semitic asshole Henry Ford). The factory was dark and there was no assembly line, just a  bunch of single work stations that were at various stages of doll completion. The tech guy who is putting in the "chip" is getting fired and was told to finish his work and leave forever. Like that would really happen! Anyway, he resets all fo the "parameters" that keep the doll from being evil. Okay, so I have a HUGE issue with this as a concept. You mean to tell me that the simple act of him turning off the barriers is what makes this doll evil? Would that even make it through R&D? I am rolling my eyes right now!! THEN, not only does he finish the doll, but HE is the one who packs the doll and puts it on the truck? Then they make a huge point of showing the viewer that the one box that has the evil Buddi doll has a dent in the top. Why do they pack the truck with the dolls only shrink wrapped around the middle and not in a separate container? That's not how this works! @#)*&!!!!!
• Now, let's talk about the fact that they tried to get all inclusive by giving the kid a hearing aid, only one. I immediately thought that they were going to use it as some sort of evil prop, but the only thing they did was have the Chucky doll hack in and talk to Andy through the thing, LAME!
• At what point does the kid realize that there is something massively wrong with this doll and take out the battery/disconnect it from the internet... I mean the thing strangles the poor cat and grabs random knives... I can't believe for a second that a 13 year old boy would just go, yeah, whatev's, this doll is cool as it is.. I won't call anyone. Ugh oh, my doll just killed y mom's boyfriend and left his face in my room. STILL NOT calling the cops!
• Speaking of killing the mom's boyfriend. So, he decides to take down the outdoor Christmas lights at his house on a very tall ladder with no stabilizers in the middle of the night. Yeah, that makes COMPLETE sense! BUT then, not only is he taking them down but he's wrapping them around his torso and of course he falls. At least he had a good death!
• WHO designed that doll? It was not a cute little doll that it should have been. I give them credit for NOT using any CG effects on the doll. Valiant effort to use real tech to get the doll to move right on the screen. It still felt wrong to me.
• The cliches were too abundant. Hearing aid loner kid with a single mom and her overbearing boyfriend who's secretly married and they live next to the funny black detective and his mom. I can't. This was insane. 

Perfection

MY RATING: 8

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 24 May 2019

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Director: Richard Shepard
Writer: Eric C. Charmelo and Richard Shepard
Running Time: 90 Minutes

Staring: Allison Williams, Logan Browning and Alaina Huffman

Rating? TV-MA

SPOILERS? NO 

STORYLINE

When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) seeks out Elizabeth (Logan Browning), the new star pupil of her former school the encounter sends both musicians down a sinister path with shocking consequences.

MY REVIEW

Brilliantly Dark! I may have passed this one right by if had not been for the comments online about this movie actually making people feel physically ill when watching. I have two words for the people who had that reaction.. F&*$ing Really? Yeah, it was a wee bit on the disturbing side and maybe I've seen so many horror movies that this TV-MA made for Netflix show was just one in the list. It was good. I loved the unique story as well as the interesting way that the story was told. Not going to give too much about that or it will RUIN the movie.

I think the best way to describe this movie is the idea that when you pul on a three of a sweater, the whole thing will soon unravel. This movie is the epitome of that statement. The threads just keep pulling and it keeps getting better and better. Yes, there were some things that I was not a fan of, but for the most part, this was a solid 8.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• Writing- This is a unique story. Yes, there are nods to other movies like this (Black Swan), but this is new. Unique.  Eric C. Charmelo didn't have much movie died in his writing portfolio (some episodes of Supernatural) and  Richard Shepard, who was also the direct also has a very short list of writing credits, but both have a lot of production history. I think that helped them to craft a well written story that did its job by getting us from point A to B in a very interesting and unexpected way.  
• The story at its core is about perfection and the sacrifices that one gives up in their personal lives to attain such feats. While the actual story stays on target to the theme, the expanded concept was really bland. (see below)
• Filming/Editing. I felt like the nod to Darron Aronofsky with the rewind sequences were brilliant.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Special effects were not really that great. I mean the vomit looked like they really just opened a can of Mountain Dew and thickened it to make it look more realistic. The green color was a bit too over the top.
• The end was just more of a surreal mess. You'll see what I mean. Was not what I expected.
• The story, while it was good was a little over the top. I had a hard time with the suspension of reality. It felt like they were telling me that this was a real situation but the ridiculousness of the scenarios that ensue are not believable in any way.

On a more personal note..... 

I did a thing this week. I started work on the remainder of my half sleeve with the best artist on the East Coast, Clay Thames. We have a few more sessions before I will show you guys!! It's going to look amazing!! It was also Dexter Morgan's 4th Birthday this week. He's such a good little baby!