Wes Craven was a man who managed to re-invent the horror genre at least three times during his entire career. Craven was a man who helped define a lot of the modern tropes we take for granted, and yes, even brought the nineties out of the drudges with his jolt of adrenaline known as “Scream.” However, sometimes Craven’s efforts didn’t always click, and while he had a knack for fascinating characters and complex situations, “Deadly Friend” is one of his more notable genre misfires.
Tag Archives: Romance
Legend (1985): 2-Disc Limited Edition [Blu-Ray]
I haven’t been the biggest fan of Ridley Scott’s output over the years, but there’s no denying his one two punch of “Alien” and “Legend” is immense. Often times modern audiences forget to cite “Legend” as one of the benchmarks of the fantasy genre. It’s probably the quintessential dark fantasy film and the one film I think of when I refer to fantasy films. There’s everything here from goblins, and trolls, to unicorns, and a valiant warrior, in the form of Tom Cruise. There’s also the unparalleled performance by Tim Curry whose delivers a stunning turn as the Lord of Darkness.
In the Heights (2021) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
In a really crappy summer and a pretty hectic year in Hollywood, one of the bigger releases in 2021 was “In the Heights.” It’s a movie I’d been looking forward to for a long time, since Lin Manuel Miranda is one of my personal heroes. It’s finally brought to film by director Jon M. Chu after being in literal development hell since 2008. Jon M. Chu is no stranger to films involving dancing and urban settings, thankfully, and we’re given an absolutely dazzling, emotional, and energetic musical.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
“The Conjuring” cinematic universe/series has been a horror ride of varying degrees. It’s had its great highs and its depressing lows (Ahem—“Annabelle”), and in spite of delivering two genuine horror classics, the mainline movie series can’t quite escape the dreaded curse of the third film. While “The Devil Made Me Do It” is not at all a bad movie per se, it’s not high in scares or tension as the first two films. The first two movies relied on mounting tension and absolute terror, while “The Devil Made Me Do It” feels a lot more like if they took the series and tried to turn it in to a crime procedural.
The Last Thing Mary Saw (2021) [Fantasia Film Festival 2021]
Writer/director Edoardo Vitaletti’s debut feature, The Last Thing Mary Saw is a horror drama that promises to be one of the most polarizing films of the year. It’s a return to the rising resurgence of folk horror much in the vein of “The Witch” and “Midsommar” but explores the more relevant ideas about religious oppression, sexual oppression, and the perils of the love between two young girls, which becomes increasingly dangerous over the course of the narrative.
Baby, Don’t Cry (2020) [Fantasia Film Festival 2021]
Director Jesse Dvorak’s crime drama is a bit problematic in that it’s a film that constantly jumps from theme to theme and never quite decides on what kind of story it wants to tell. It’s both about the immigrant experience in America, followed by culture shock often experienced by main character Baby. Most of the time she struggles with what she thinks are the norms for American culture, and this amounts to a script that’s never quite focused and feels ultimately under cooked.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
Director Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” movie series has been very good so far. What’s kept the series from being great is the films’ lack of really interesting super villains that can make Diana’s heroic quest difficult. “Wonder Woman 1984” is a very good movie that has its sights set on paying tribute to the iconic heroine, and in those respects it’s a very good follow up to the original film—save for some glaring flaws that keep it from being a great follow up.