GODZILLA VS. KONG

Godzilla tackles Kong

GODZILLA VS. KONG (2021.) Director: Adam Wingard. 

Of the two monster icons  Godzilla is behaving badly since his last appearance in Godzilla, King of the Monsters, attacking a Florida compound, and the equally gigantic Kong wants out of the artificial habitat he has been imprisoned in since Kong: Skull Island. It is decided that Kong will be taken to a hole in the earth through which he can descend to the hollow world inside the planet (think: Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar) where he may find others of his kind; others are only after a new energy source. Meanwhile Godzilla attacks the ship transporting Kong, and then turns his wrath on Hong Kong while a kind of "mecha-Godzilla" -- a Godzilla robot -- shows up to battle the big guy. Will Kong fight Godzilla or help him beat up on the big robot? More importantly, will anyone over the age of five give a damn?

Admittedly striking scenic design of inner-earth

I am a big fan of monster movies, having written Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies, but I am appalled by the current state of the genre. The special effects in Godzilla vs Kong can not be faulted, but the direction and editing are simply terrible, the photography is cluttered and unappealing, and there isn't a single moment in the movie that I could call thrilling or especially suspenseful. The scenic design is wonderful and a lot of gifted technicians and artists have made major contributions, but when the whole project is bankrupt to begin with because of a mediocre screenplay, all of this effort is simply wasted. 

Where's my agent? Alexander Skarsgard

Godzilla vs Kong may not be as silly as the Japanese King Kong vs. Godzilla made in the sixties, but despite the great FX, it isn't much more entertaining. As for the human characters, most of them are irritating nerds, and the little deaf girl who can communicate with Kong (who speaks one word at one point), while adorable, is also annoying. While I won't compare Godzilla vs Kong with a cheap Syfy channel movie, I'd have to say that any actor who appears in stuff like this should have a serious talk with their agent. Alexander Skarsgard, who plays a scientist, may not be a major star, but surely he can do better than this? (He's done a lot of TV lately and that seems to be his future.) As usual all the dead people of Hong Kong are completely forgotten at the end. 

Verdict: Great FX work, yes, but little else. **. 

THE BLACK PHONE / BLACK PHONE 2

The Grabber (Ethan Hawke)

THE BLACK PHONE (2021). Director: Scott Derrickson.

BLACK PHONE 2 (2025). Director: Derrickson.

In a small town in the 70's a series of high school boys have been abducted by an unknown creep known as the "Grabber" (Ethan Hawke). The latest victim is 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames). Finney finds himself in a  locked sound-proofed basement where the Grabber -- wearing a hideous mask (modeled, I suspect, on Batman's Joker) -- visits him from time to time. Things turn especially strange when a disconnected phone in the basement begins to ring -- and Finney finds himself talking to the ghosts of the previous victims. Can one of these dead boys tell him how to escape, and will it be in time? In the meantime Finney's psychic and potty-mouthed sister, (Madeleine McGraw), tries to find him.

Mason Thames and Ethan Hawke

I had mixed emotions while watching The Black Phone. I admit I'm not overly fond of stories in which children are in danger and are physically or psychologically tortured. At least Phone is not overly graphic and can not be considered "torture porn." If the Grabber has a sexual interest in the boys it is not explored, although one imagines he does. The storyline borders on the pretentious at times and actually gets a little silly. But after awhile the efforts of Finney to escape and of the police, Gwen and others to find him, become compelling. Thames and Hawke give excellent performances, and there are also notable supporting performances from the victims and others. 

Verdict: A bit overlong but creepy. **3/4. 

BLACK PHONE 2 shows us Finn and Gwen four years later, where they decide to try to get jobs as counselors at a Christian winter camp where their late mother had worked. Snowbound, they come across another phone that is disconnected but somehow rings, and both brother and sister have conversations with people from the afterlife, including their mother and the Grabber. Seems the maniac killed three young boys but their bodies have never been found, and until they are, for some reason, the Grabber will have power in the real world -- he does his best to kill the teens and others. Black Phone 2 is a mostly unoriginal combination of a grainy found footage movie, the Blair Witch, and especially the Nightmare on Elm Street films with its surfeit of dream sequences. The Grabber is revealed to have been "Wild Bill," a maintenance worker at the camp. The acting is generally good -- Miguel Mora gets major points for his versatility by playing both the shy Ernesto in this film and his brash, rough brother Robin in the first movie -- but the picture is too tricky for its own good. There are some well-handled and moderately exciting sequences, but after awhile I just wanted the damn thing to be over. There's more gore in this film than in the first but nothing over the top. Way too long! 

Verdict: Where's Freddy Krueger when you need him? **. 

ALL OF THE MARVELS

ALL OF THE MARVELS: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told. Douglas Wolk. Penguin; 2021. 

With it looking to some people like the characters of Marvel Comics are taking over the cinematic universe, author Wolk attempts to put everything in perspective and give fans or wannabee fans directions in what to read and in what order. He does this by highlighting specific issues grouped together somewhat thematically in various chapters. The idea is intriguing, but I'm not certain that it's been especially well executed. For this long-time comics fan the most interesting sections have to do with more recent issues that I have missed, as the book does concentrate more on the past twenty years than the earlier days of Marvel. There are some interesting observations in the book to be sure, but you'll also have to suffer through tedious write-ups on stuff like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. (Wolk wants to make certain the world knows that Marvel's comics aren't just about, created by, or exclusively popular with the "old white guys" who basically invented the industry and kept it going for many decades.)  All of the Marvels -- I love the title -- comes off less as a labor of love than as a cynical "sure-fire" book project, although I'm not certain what its intended audience was supposed to be. Won't most people interested in Marvel comics already be reading them? 

Verdict: Some good things in this, but it's not really a fun read, and it should have been. **1/4.   

VIRAL

VIRAL. Robin Cook. Putnam; 2021. 

Brian Murphy and his wife Emma are trying to build clientele for their new security firm, but the Covid pandemic is getting in the way. During a vacation with their little daughter, Juliette, Emma is bitten by a mosquito and develops EEE (eastern equine encephalitis) and winds up in the hospital, then is sent home. While trying to care for his wife and daughter, who also has strange symptoms, Murphy has to deal with a staggering emergency room bill and the insurance company's denial of coverage. He comes to the conclusion that both the head of the hospital and the head of the insurance firm are greedy heartless bastards who live like kings while patients are sued, their homes taken, and some even driven to suicide. Murphy and a woman who lost her husband devise a scheme to get even and to make sure the horrendous greed of the American health care system becomes a top story in the news. 

Cook has written some good books and some bad ones, but Viral is just plain weird. The author is totally correct that our health care system is a mess, although it's bizarre that the book's protagonist would be surprised by any of this. Cook does reveal how hospitals jack up the prices to a ridiculous degree, and that not enough people bother to protest, and other things that may or may not be new to the reader. However, some developments are just contrived, and it's hard to believe that it would never occur to the hero to investigate Medicaid or bankruptcy protection. Instead his solution to the problem is criminal and immoral. 

The book details Murphy's problems with billing department clerks, hospital administrations, and insurance companies who collect premiums but do little for their customers. All of this is somewhat interesting, but little of it is thrilling. The book finally turns into a suspense novel of sorts in the final pages, but even these events seem a bit improbable -- everything goes without a single hitch. It's as if Cook just wanted to get the damn book over -- the ending is almost laughably flat. In order to make his point, Cook overstates things, stacks the deck, and compiles it all in undistinguished prose, with barely- dimensional characters, and very stilted dialogue.

Verdict: Read the fine print in your health insurance, but this is not an especially good read. However, without any hesitation I recommend Cook's Cell, a thrilling and suspenseful look at what goes wrong when smartphones are used as primary care doctors. **. 

JUSTICE SOCIETY WORLD WAR II

JUSTICE SOCIETY WORLD WAR II (2021). Director: Jeff Wamester. 

The Flash/Barry Allen (Matt Bomer) inadvertently jumps back in time to WW2 and discovers he is on a different earth where the Justice Society (as opposed to the Justice League) are fighting with the Allies against the Nazis. Barry meets the original Flash, Jay Garrick, as well as Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Hourman, Dr. Fate and Hawkman, who is killed. Reporter Clark Kent exists on this earth but at first he selfishly tries to stay out of the conflict. 

The Justice Society

The Justice Society tries to enlist the aid of Aquaman (Liam Mcintyre), King of the Seven Seas, but his mind has been taken over by a sinister Advisor (Geoffrey Arend) and he is now allied with the Axis. Meanwhile military man Steve Trevor keeps asking Wonder Woman to marry him at inappropriate moments (sort of what happened in the original WW comic books). This colorful animated feature gets better as it goes along and is especially exciting when the members of the JSA have to battle some slithering and absolutely humongous sea creatures summoned by Aquaman. The voice characterizations are all well-done, with particularly notable work from Geoffrey Arend. 

Verdict: Fun DCU cartoon feature for kids of all ages. ***.

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN PARTS ONE AND TWO

BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN Parts One and Two (2021). Director: Chris Palmer. 

A killer named "Holiday" is committing murders of gangsters, each crime occurring on a holiday. District attorney Harvey Dent (Josh Duhamel) is determined to bring mob boss Carmine Falcone to justice, leaving his lonely wife Gilda to fend for herself, while Bruce Wayne (Jensen Ackles) is embarrassed by the man's former connection to Wayne's late father. As Batman and Commissioner Gordon (Billy Burke of Along Came a Spider) try to determine the identity of Holiday and prevent more killings, Batman and Catwoman (Naya Rivera) pursue a relationship. Catwoman saves Bruce from the sinister manipulations of Poison Ivy while the Joker is up to his usual tricks and the Scarecrow breaks out of Arkham Asylum. Batman zeroes in on Vincent Falcone's mistreated son, Alberto, as Holiday but the truth may be much more complicated. 

Based on a graphic novel, Batman: The Long Halloween is a pretty classy animated feature, boasting excellent drawings and superior direction. True, the stuff with the mobsters is full of the usual cliches (and phony sentimentality), but the story is suspenseful and quite entertaining despite it being nearly three hours long. This is another cartoon that is better than a lot of theatrical movies.  

Verdict: One of the better DC animated pictures. ***. 

INJUSTICE

Superman kills the Joker

INJUSTICE (2021). Director: Matt Peters.

Superman (Justin Hartley) discovers that his wife Lois (Laura Bailey) is pregnant on the same day that she -- along with Jimmy Olsen and millions of others in Metropolis -- is murdered by the Joker. Understandably furious at the Joker, to put it mildly, as well as angry that Batman has never arrived at a final solution for the Joker, Superman punches his fist through the villain's chest and ends his menace forever. This completely understandable act of revenge -- or justice -- on the part of Superman, while perhaps out of character, leads into a conflict between him and other members of the Justice League.

The Man of Steel on the offensive

Superman decides that the super-heroes of the world should use their abilities to shut down oppressive governments and terrorists without mercy. Wonder Woman agrees with him, as does 13-year-old Damian Wayne (Zach Callison), Batman's edgy son. But even Wonder Woman is appalled when the Man of Steel literally murders some teenage geeks who think the Joker is "cool." Batman, Green Arrow, and other heroes then stand against Superman and the battle is on. 

Wonder Woman and the Justice League

Injustice is based on a DC graphic novel but many of its ideas are taken from the excellent Marvel Comics mini-series Squadron Supreme (whose characters were actually variations of the DC heroes), which dealt with similar issues of responsibility and the corruption of power. Other characters in the movie include Dick Grayson (who is killed and becomes "Deadwing)," Cyborg, Green Lantern, Flash, and the villains Ra's Al Ghul, Mirror Master, Amazo, and Harley Quinn, an idiotic character who nearly ruins the movie. The Atom and Green Arrow are also killed. While there are some exciting sequences in the movie, you might get the feeling that you've seen it all before, although much of it is fun.

Verdict: A lack of originality doesn't help but it's great to see the Joker finally get his! **3/4.

EASTER BUNNY MASSACRE

EASTER BUNNY MASSACRE (aka Easter Killing/2021). Director: Jack Peter Mundy. NOTE: Not to be confused with Easter Bunny Massacre: The Bloody Trail.  

A group of high school friends on a camping trip over Easter have to deal with the antics of "bad girl" Heather (Antonia Whillans), who is stabbed to death by someone wearing a weird rabbit mask. (Somehow blood spatter gets all over virtually the entire cast, something which is never explained). The rest of the group -- Neil (Tom Nyugen), Carl (Michael Hoad), Amy (May Kelly), Tom (Genna Lostkutnikov), and Jane (Sarah T. Cohen) -- decide to hide Heather's body and cover up the murder because it might prevent them from going to "Uni" (college) or something along those lines. A year later these people -- all of whom look like they are several years out of college let alone high school -- receive invitations to an isolated cabin from -- you guessed it -- Heather. Strangely, they all show up -- along with Amy's brother, Marty (Lee Hancock) and Neil's girlfriend, Maria (Beatrice Fletcher), who wants to know what the hell is going on. Then someone wearing a bunny fright mask starts stalking all of them ... 

Michael Hoad as Carl

While the plot is workable. the direction and editing of the film is off the mark. The characters are probably better developed than in other films of this nature, but the slow pacing may have you searching for the fast-forward function. There are also severe continuity problems, especially an attack scene that just seems to stop dead for no reason. The plot is an amalgam of I Know What You Did Last Summer with a solution that reminds one of the Scream movies, but Easter Bunny Massacre is in no way as entertaining or as slick as those movies. Surprisingly, the acting in this is uniformly good, better than the script deserves. A particular stand out is Michael Hoad as Carl, who has genuine screen presence. Antonia Whillans scores as the bitchy "tramp" who gets herself sliced, and May Kelly makes a positive impression as well. I must say that the furry bunny mask in which the murders are committed is much more creepy than you might imagine.

Verdict: Twisted British horror film with some points of interest but ultimately doesn't quite, ahem, cut it. **1/4. 

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

Shang-Chi in his spiffy new costume

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021). Director: Destin Daniel Cretton. 

Shaun (Simu Lui), AKA Shang-Chi, is the son of a woman, Li (Fala Chen), from the magical dimension of Ta Lo and an immortal man of various names, including Xu Wenwu and the Mandarin (Tony Leung). The essentially evil Wenwu was tamed by his lovely wife (one has to wonder why she ever fell for him) but after her death he trains a young Shang-Chi for combat and pretty much ignores Shang-Chi's sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang). Xialing now runs a fight club in another country while their father sends assassins after both her and her brother. This leads to an exciting fight on a bus between Shangi-Chi and Razor Fist (Florian Munteanu), as well as another thrilling battle high on scaffolding outside a skyscraper. Shang-Chi and his sister learn that Wenwu is convinced their mother is alive, and is calling to him from Ta Lo, but it's actually a voice from the Dweller in Darkness (how Lovecraftian!) who wants to escape from behind a mystic barrier. The race is on for Shang-Chi, Xialing, and Shang-Chi's adorable friend, Katy (Awkwafina), to get to Ta Lo before the Mandarin can and prevent disaster from affecting both universes. 

Razor Fist vs Shang-Chi

Shang-Chi was introduced to the Marvel Comics Universe in the 1970's in a series called Master of Kung Fu. The very serious, biracial Shang-Chi was the son of Sax Rohmer's licensed character Dr. Fu Manchu. When Marvel lost the rights, Fu Manchu was said to be only an alias (which was also true in Rohmer's novels), and then long-time Marvel (and Iron Man) villain the Mandarin was made our Kung Fu fighter's father. Although much less of a stereotype, the Mandarin as depicted in this movie is also much less interesting than the fascinating Mandarin of the comics, whose appearance was revised and updated over the decades. This movie has little to do with Master of Kung Fu (for more on that comic series see Superhuman: The Bronze Age of Comics Volume One), although Razor Fist was a recurring villain there. 

Meng'er Zhang

Considering that I always thought he was a minor Marvel character, Shang-Chi made a lot of money at the box office and a sequel is being made. The film is entertaining, but overlong, throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. The climax turns into Marvel's old comic series Where Monsters Dwell with two giant monsters battling each other while Shang-Chi and his sister are astride a mammoth flying serpent. Simu Liu is excellent as Shang-Chi, and the film's big delight is Awkwafina (gotta change that name, gal!) as the amusing and plucky Katy. Meng'er Zhang makes a striking and sexy Xialing, but Ben Kingsley, reprising his role from Iron Man 3, is just a waste as alleged comedy relief. The film sinks quite a bit into silliness when he appears along with a strange mouth-less creature named Morris. 

Verdict: Essentially a fun if relatively minor Marvel movie with some good FX work and great closing credit music. **1/2. 

DEXTER: NEW BLOOD

Father and Son: Michael C. Hall and Jack Olcott

DEXTER: NEW BLOOD (2021 Showtime mini-series).

Dexter ran for several seasons and was certainly an unusual series. The anti-Hero, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), was a serial killer who only murdered people who really deserved it, such as other serial killers, child molesters, or those who had gotten away with murder. His task was made easier because he worked for the Miami police department, and part of the "fun" of the show was watching him stay one step ahead of his colleagues, especially his detective sister. The show ended with Dexter presumed dead, but turning up far north in a small town in upstate New York.

Olcott, Hall and Jones

Dexter: New Blood takes up a decade later, when Dexter, under an assumed name, has become firmly established in the small town of Iron Lake. The utterly far-fetched premise has him becoming the boyfriend of -- get this -- the female Chief of Police, Angela Bishop (Julia Jones)! You would think that our dear Dexter would want to stay as far away from the police as possible, and if he had this mini-series might have had a very different conclusion. Another complication is that Dexter's son, Harrison (Jack Olcott, a 21-year-old actor successfully playing about 16), finding out that his father is alive, comes looking for him. But does the boy carry his own "dark passenger," and exactly how much does Dexter want to share with his son? And considering the number of women who have disappeared from Iron Lake over the decades, could there be another serial killer at large, and will he or she wind up on Dexter's kill table?

Like the original show, Dexter: New Blood is extremely entertaining, well-acted, and suspenseful. It also has a satisfying, dramatically-right conclusion, although it will undoubtedly disappoint those who were hoping to see another mini-series about Dexter. Michael C. Hall is superb as the conflicted, confused, morally ambiguous Dexter, and he is matched by Olcott as Harrison, who clearly has problems of his own. Jones, Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's late sister (appearing in fantasies), Clancy Brown in a fine turn as respected townsperson Kurt Caldwell, Alano Miller as Coach Logan, among others, all help make the occasionally absurd proceedings more convincing. The series is also unpredictable, and may not go in the directions you think it will. Dexter: New Blood can be gruesome at times, but nothing over the top, and there are no scenes of (practically) lip-smacking torture porn like you will find in Criminal Minds: Evolution. Pat Irwin's theme music is a decided plus. 

Verdict: Surprisingly moving wind-up to the strange Dexter saga. ***. 

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

Tobey McGuire, Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021). Director: Jon Watts.  

After the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, the world now knows that Spider-Man and Peter Parker (Tom Holland) are one and the same. Peter goes to see Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who casts a spell that will make the world forget this inconvenient fact, but Peter fiddles around too much -- there are some people whom he wants to remember his dual identity, such as close buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya) -- with the result that things go awry. Now other people who know the dual identity secret are popping up from other universes (the "multi-verse") -- Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina from Spider-Man 2), Electro (Jamie Foxx), the Lizard, the Sandman, and Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) -- and causing major problems. But Peter also gets help from other-dimensional Spider-Men ... 

Jamie Foxx as Electro

Actually the most interesting aspect of this production is that the two actors who played Spider-Man first (in big-screen movies, that is) -- Toby Maguire from the first three Spider-Man films and Andrew Garfield from the two subsequent Amazing Spider-Man films -- reprise their roles. It is also a plus for the film that Molina and Dafoe also reprise their roles, although Jamie Foxx is a rather disappointing new take on Electro. Although this was released by Columbia, it has the feel of a Disney film. There is way, way too much of Ned and MJ, who -- when you compare them to the original Ned Leeds and Mary Jane Watson -- are not terribly interesting characters. Of course this reboot of the franchise takes Peter Parker back to his high school days and reinvents everything, not always wisely. 

Alone: Tom Holland

There are some notable things about No Way Home -- some excellent FX work, good acting, a score that works on gullible emotions -- but the film is too long, there are dull stretches, there is only one fairly good sequence with Doc Ock attacking a bridge -- and not nearly enough suspense or excitement. Peter's actions are on occasion foolish. Apparently this writes finis to Holland's portrayal of the character as the contrived ending has everyone forgetting he ever existed (although apparently he will carry on as Spidey). It tries  hard to wrench out that pathos -- and the acting and the music help much in this regard -- but there's no real depth to it. 

Verdict: Although many Marvel-maniacs loved it, this is pretty much only for non-discriminating super-hero fans. **1/4. 

ETERNALS

Eternals Assemble!

ETERNALS (2021). Directed and co-written by Chloe Zhao. 

The Eternals are a group of immortal super-powered beings who allegedly come from another world and have been on earth for thousands of years. Their original adversaries were monstrous creatures called Deviants, who were supposedly destroyed but who are popping up again in modern times. The Eternals have scattered but now their leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek), calls them together. The Eternals, who were sent to Earth by a towering, mysterious race known as the Celestials -- in particular Arishem -- discover not only that they are "synthetic" beings, but that a new Celestial is even now birthing inside the Earth, and when he emerges the Earth will be completely obliterated. The rationale (?) for this is that it will create new celestials and new worlds throughout the universe. Having lived on earth for centuries, having lives and companions, the Eternals try to do what they can to keep this new celestial from awakening, but one of their number, Icarus (Richard Madden), objects, and the battle is on ... 

Richard Madden as Icarus

Eternals is based on characters created by comics legend Jack Kirby for a 1970's Marvel comics series. A lot of changes have been made -- the Eternals were actually an Earth race, not aliens -- especially in regards to ethnicity, sex and personality. Sersi  -- aka Circe -- (Gemma Chan) was originally an edgy sort of witch, hardly the earth mother type of the movie, and she and Icarus, who was her lover in the past, didn't even like each other. The Deviants were ugly-looking but they weren't all giant monsters as in the movie. The Eternals are basically supposed to be one family, but Eternals is relentlessly multi-cultural whether it makes sense or not. A gay couple (black/mid-eastern) is included -- of course they have a child, a new stereotype -- and all that's missing is a non-binary transsexual, but maybe in the sequel ... (There's nothing wrong with being all-inclusive, but it can come off like tokenism if it goes to the extreme.) 

Angelina Jolie as Thena

Eternals is much too long and convoluted and the jumps back and forth in time aren't helpful to the narrative structure. The movie does boast some impressive special effects and striking cinematography, as well as an effective musical score. For such an expensive movie, I couldn't believe how under-lit the nighttime sequences are -- you can hardly make out what's happening (although one hopes this was less of a problem on the giant screen in the movie theater). The acting is generally good, with best-known Angelina Jolie [Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow] making an effective Thena (a variation on Athena), but the movie is stolen by Richard Madden (of The Bodyguard series), a Scottish actor of great intensity and presence who gets to strut his stuff in the film's second half, when finally there is some dramatic conflict between the characters. Madden has acting ability and "it" but I don't know if movies like this will turn him into the major star he deserves to be. 

Richard Madden

Frankly, Eternals almost made it into my semi-annual or quarterly list of "Films I Never Quite Finished" because it takes quite a while to get going, and there's no real story until about an hour has gone by. The script is full of typical flip remarks and dumb comedy relief (such as an utterly unnecessary character who keeps carrying around a camera because one of the Eternals has become a Bollywood star and he wants to film him). This is a shame, because there are moments of splendor and excitement in the movie, as well as some wonderful visual moments. Although at the end it is announced that "Eternals will return," I don't think that's likely. Movies like this, with so much technical wizardry involved as well as cosmic storylines, need a very firm hand to guide them to success, but Chloe Zhao doesn't seem to be that hand, more's the pity. The action scenes in this are not well-crafted, the script is under-developed, and while all the multi-culturalism is very nice -- I'm not one of these people who goes on about something being too "woke" (recognize there are other types of people on the planet besides yourself, for Pete's sake!) it doesn't mean a damn thing if the movie itself is no more than mediocre. In addition, there is no real respect for Jack Kirby's original intentions. 

Verdict: Half a good movie here. **1/2.  

OLD

OLD (2021). Director: M. Night Shyamalan. Based on the graphic novel Sandcastle.

A group of tourists, most of whom have personal issues of one sort or another, are directed by the resort manager to a strange, if beautiful, private beach and nature preserve. The tourists include Prisca (Vicky Krieps), her husband Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal), and their very young children, Trent and Maddox (played by varying actors). Other people on this beach include a rapper named "Mid-Sized Sedan," whose real name is Brendon (Aaron Pierre); a mentally-disturbed doctor named Charles (Rufus Sewell) and his wife, Chrystal (Abbey Lee); and others. The group eventually discover that not only are they unable to get off of the beach without blacking out, but that they are all aging approximately one year for each half hour they spend in the area. Before long, Prisca and Guy's children are confused teenagers. And things get worse ... 

Rufus Sewell as the doctor

Movies by M. Night Shyamalan fall into two categories. Either they really stink, a complete waste of time, or they work. Old works -- at least it did for me. Thanks to some very good acting, direction, camera work and music, Old builds in horror and intensity until it etches a mesmerizing and chilling  portrait of absolute despair. These poor people are psychologically and physically tortured, and nothing whatsoever makes sense as far as they're concerned. Although the premise could have been left without a real solution, the Twilight Zone-approach, and that still would have made for an effective movie, Old does offer an explanation for the terrible events, albeit a far-fetched (if satisfying) explanation. (I think Old's viewers would have liked to see the perpetrators receive a more just and dreadful punishment, but at least things don't go well for these self-justifying monsters.) There's a large cast in this -- including the director himself as the hotel van driver --  and all acquit themselves nicely. 

Verdict: Worthwhile horror film with a very creepy and disturbing premise. ***

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (2021 TV SERIES)

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (2021 Amazon Prime Original TV series). Created for television by Sara Goodman. 

After a high school graduation party attended by twins Lennon and Alison (Madison Iseman), one of these two is run over on the highway and the others in the car -- even though this was clearly an accident and the driver wasn't drunk -- decide to cover it up, putting the body in a cave where it will be washed out to sea. A year later Alison -- pretending to be Lennon -- sees the words I Know What You Did Last Summer scrawled across her mirror and freaks out, contacting her friends. Over eight mostly tedious episodes these friends are gruesomely murdered until the big reveal at the end. 

Well ... what can you say about this series? It would be all too easy to dismiss it as simply godawful but it does have some interesting elements to it, such as brain-eating spiders and a cult that hangs out in a cave, and some genuine suspense towards the end. Some of the murder scenes are at least somewhat inventive. It has very, very little relation to the novel by Lois Duncan and even to the film version of that book. But the biggest problem with the series is that the characters are virtually all obnoxious and unlikable and it's hard to sit through long scenes (hit that fast-forward button!) showing these dipshits partying and acting like a-holes. They come off more like slasher movie teens than real teenagers in any case. It makes absolutely no sense that these characters wouldn't go to the police after the first incredibly sick double-murder no matter what trouble they may or may not find themselves in due to the alleged "cover-up." . 

Madison Iseman sees something awful: the rushes or the script?

The series, which takes place in Hawaii, has a number of multi-cultural and LGBT characters, but their sexuality seems dragged in to satisfy the twists of the plot and to show some presumably hot girl-on-girl action -- somehow it just doesn't seem real. In general the scripting for the series is absolutely abysmal, with cringe-worthy dialogue, and the acting for much of the cast isn't much better. Madison Iseman is pretty awful as the twins, and some of the other "teens" are directed to act in a "cutesy" fashion that is incredibly off-putting. And as for that ending!

SPOILER ALERT

I must say that the identity of the psychotic killer came as a complete surprise to me, although on reflection it makes little sense and she has no real motive to commit such fiendish acts upon her supposed friends. What's worse, after the heroine is stabbed by the killer, she tells the police that the villain is a perfectly innocent male friend while she goes off hand in hand with the murderer! Is this progressive or shockingly regressive? (The first victims are a gay male couple.) One has to wonder who's worse: a killer lesbian or a bisexual (if that's what she is) woman who lets this very sick lady get away with murder, including the beheading of the only one in the cast who gives a damn about her. 

If you want to watch a decent slasher TV series I will recommend all seasons of Scream and the first season of Slasher. 

Verdict: Spare yourself nearly eight hours of watching this grisly tripe. **. 

LAST CALL

 LAST CALL: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York. Elon Green. Celadon Books; 2021. 

This excellent book looks at a horrifying series of murders of gay men in the 1990's and unfolds almost like a suspense-thriller as the author delves into the lives of the victims, and finally the killer, a male nurse who lived on Staten Island. Although apparently not gay, Green did enough research and interviews to get a sense of the gay bar scene at the time, and views all of the murdered men with compassion; they are not simply dismissed as can happen in other true-crime volumes. Green also looks at the many people investigating the crimes, the extreme homophobia of the period (especially due to AIDS), and the calls for a more intense look at the killings by such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Anti-Violence Project. As the killer refused to do interviews with Green, we are not able to fully understand this monster, but can such people ever be fully understood?

Back in the day I frequented such bars as the Townhouse and the 5 Oaks, where some of the victims were regulars, and one of these poor men was a bar acquaintance that I saw virtually every time I went into the Oaks. I remember coming back from Boston and seeing this man's photo, along with the words serial killer in the paper, and was shocked. At first I thought the article was naming him as a killer, but it was worse -- he was the victim. None of the men who were killed deserved their fates. But at least their murderer was put away for life.

In the book the author wonders why these series of terrible murders have been virtually forgotten. I think the answer is that there have, unfortunately, been so many other serial killers since then who have captured the public's imagination. That the victims were gay men may also have played a part. Plus all the other things that have happened since the period captured in the tome. When you read books like this you realize that all of those movies about mad psychotics slaughtering people are in incredibly bad taste.

Verdict: Outstanding true crime story. ***1/2. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2021. 

If you can do without the Covid crowds just stay home on Halloween and watch some good -- or so bad they're good -- horror movies. This week we've got a fresh crop of films to watch and books to read on both this blog -- and in a few days -- Great Old Movies as well. 

THE SCHOELLECTION

THE SCHOELLECTION. 2021. Encyclopocalypse publishers. 

Will the horror never end?

Yes, all of my eight vintage horror-suspense novels have been re-published in paperback editions. The titles -- Things that Go Bump in the Night, Shivers, Late at Night, Vicious, Saurian, Dragon, The Pact, Fatal Beauty -- can be bought separately as trade paperbacks, or combined into one mass market paperback, with two books in each volume:

The Schoellection (I love it!) 

Volume One: Things that Go Bump in the Night and Shivers.

Volume Two: Late at Night and Vicious. 

Volume Three: Saurian and The Pact. 

Volume Four: Dragon and Fatal Beauty. 

Each title is also available as an e-book from Cemetery Dance publishers. 

You can see all the editions of my books on Amazon. 

NOTE: My most recent novel, Monster World, is also available on Anazon for Kindle. (Paperback coming soon!)

BARE BONES

BARE BONES 7. Summer 2021. Edited by Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri. 

Bare Bones is a thick trade paperback quarterly periodical that covers genre films, books. magazines, and comics in both a scholarly and entertaining fashion. The latest issue, in which I'm very happy to be a contributor, includes an article on filmmaker Stuart Gordon's Lovecraft adaptations by Matthew R. Bradley; a roundtable on Quentin Tarantino's novelization of his film Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood; a look at comic book adaptations of popular genre movies by yours truly entitled Fantastic Comics of the Silver Screen; "Sleaze Alley," Peter Enfantino's reviews of paperback crime fiction titles; David J. Schow on movie novelizations; and more on crime digests, pulp magazines and the like. The magazine is printed on thick paper stock and is well worth the price at only $9.95. it can be ordered on amazon. 

The cover of Bare Bones 7 is taken from the cover of Gold Key's excellent movie adaptation of King Kong, which was published decades after the film came out.

PARTY FROM HELL

Jackie Moore as Molly

PARTY FROM HELL (2021). Director: Jared Cohn. 

Denise (April Martucci) is planning to launch a new interface for her company with her sister-in-law, Ashley (Veronika Issa) -- bolstered by seven million from entrepreneur Peter (Eric Roberts) -- and a major party is planned for the event. Denise literally bumps into a party planner named Molly (Jackie Moore) and hires her to put the launch party together. At the tasting session, things don't go so well when Peter's allergy to peanuts sends him to the hospital -- no peanut products were supposed to be in the appetizers -- and things get worse from there. Ashley disappears as a vengeful Molly starts a campaign to not only destroy Denise but everyone around her, including her daughter Grace (Nicolette Langley) and husband, Josh (Matthew Pohlkamp). Molly takes no prisoners, even framing the nice black employee, Liam (DeShaude Barner) for theft of a corporate credit card. 

April Martucci

To be frank, Party from Hell isn't very good but it is entertaining, which counts for something. The actors are competent, although none of the performances stand out. Molly is the latest in a long line of sociopaths with a grudge -- in this case she hates a group of girls who tormented her in school and has already disposed of several of them. The story proceeds at a good pace, but is devoid of style or real tension. There's no elan to the murder sequences. As for primary victim Denise she fires Liam without doing any investigating, and gets absolutely hysterical because Josh has some lipstick on his collar after a party in a bar -- she's not too tightly wrapped, either. 

Verdict: Plan your next party yourself! **1/4.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE will be back on a regular schedule shortly.

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Bill

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