Friday, July 16, 2021

Fear Street Part Three: 1666: Movie Review





Satisfying conclusion to the Fear Street trilogy.
Fear Street Part Three: 1666 opens right at the beginning of the curse of Sarah Fier and the evil that has infested Shadyside. All of the important characters from Fear Street 1994 and 1978 have been repurposed into their former 1666 selves, including the Deena and Sam/Sarah and Hannah romance that started all the trouble. This final instalment of Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy delivers exactly what the audience wants.   2021

Directed by: Leigh Janiak

Screenplay by: Phil Graziadei, Leigh Janiak,
and Kate Trefry
Based on the books by R.L. Stine

Starring: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman

Thursday, July 15, 2021

A Perfect Fit: Movie Review



An Indonesian copy of mediocre American rom-coms.

Far from a perfect fit, A Perfect Fit threw in random elements of a typical romantic comedy whether or not they belonged in this story, and failed to elevate it beyond a mediocre rom-com. I was hoping an Indonesian-produced and shot film wouldn’t look so Americanized. The cultural aspects were minimized, broadening the appeal but lessening the uniqueness.   2021

Directed by: Hadrah Daeng Ratu

Screenplay by: Garin Nugroho

Starring: Nadya Arina, Refal Hady

Saturday, July 10, 2021

The Green Sea: Movie Review



A compelling lead character with a weird, slow-moving story.

The Green Sea has created a unique world. The setting is the Irish countryside, away from a small town, Simone lives independently and solemnly. Simone is the central character but the tone and direction of the film is very hard to pin down. Traces of a psychological drama or thriller are most prominent, but then comes a science fiction emphasis, and interest in the story starts to fade when things start making less sense.   2021

Directed by: Randal Plunkett

Screenplay by: Randal Plunkett

Starring: Katharine Isabelle, Hazel Doupe

Friday, July 9, 2021

Fear Street Part Two: 1978: Movie Review





More atmosphere, less mystery.
Have you seen Fear Street Part One: 1994 yet? That’s your first stop. Part Two opens shortly after we left Deena, Sam and Josh. Possessed Sam is locked up in the trunk of Deena’s car as Deena and Josh go to meet Christine Berman (Gillian Jacobs) and get the story of how she survived the Shadyside massacre of 1978. It’s summer camp at Nightwing and teenagers are up to teenage stuff.   2021

Directed by: Leigh Janiak

Screenplay by: Zak Olkewicz, Leigh Janiak

Starring: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd,
Ted Sutherland and Gillian Jacobs

Thursday, July 8, 2021

This Little Love of Mine: Movie Review





Meaningless, generic, but oh so beautiful.
I really hate it when romantic comedies can’t do any better than a meaningless generic title. Like what significance does This Little Love of Mine have? None. It is as meaningless and generic as you can possibly get, and they didn’t try that much harder for the actual movie itself. It is literally ‘big city lawyer goes back to hometown and falls for childhood friend’.   2021

Directed by: Christine Luby

Screenplay by: George Harrison

Starring: Saskia Hampele, Liam McIntyre

Friday, July 2, 2021

Fear Street Part One: 1994: Movie Review





Selling nostalgia and slasher gore in an R.L. Stine mystery.
Based on the Fear Street novels by R.L. Stine, Netflix’s release of Fear Street Part One: 1994 knows its target audience. We’re Gen X, 90s teens who grew up with R.L. Stine, came of age with Scream and slasher horror, and now we’re 38-45. And Netflix is selling us nostalgia with a three-week movie event. This is nostalgia – opens in 1994 at a bookstore in the Shadyside mall, follows that up with killer set-ups straight out of the Scream series, and sprinkled with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Sophie Hawkins, Radiohead and Soundgarden.   2021

Directed by: Leigh Janiak

Screenplay by: Kyle Killen, Phil Graziadei
Based on the books by R.L. Stine

Starring: Kiana Madeira, Fred Hechinger, and Olivia Scott Welch