Reviews

The Black Phone; A Detailed Review

Posted on by luigonword in Reviews

Potential Spoilers Ahead. Score 10/10

Careful who you help with spilled groceries!

The Black Phone is one of the latest releases from Blumhouse, featuring Ethan Hawke as the films lead antagonist. The film is of the few that has left theaters and has hit streaming services which is honestly a MUST WATCH!

Most would say or think Blumhouse productions bring a lot for the horror genre. But they usually have the classic jump scares and “I’m trying to scare you with imagery” tones to them which is not for everyone yet are still entertaining pieces. But The Black Phone definitely steps into the spotlight for the studio’s normal path for storytelling.

Overview

Ethan Hawke is the clear movie seller when dealing with publicity, and for good measure as he is a talented actor that has begun to be seen on the big screen again. The film brings out the “monstrous” side of his acting abilities compared to his Sinister role and he executes it phenomenally behaving like a psychotic serial kidnapper/killer. The overall film brings out fear of the real world with children being kidnapped, especially in the year this film takes place (around the 70’s/80’s). It definitely has intense moments but also adds its thrilling action points to not just leave the viewer terrified but also satisfied with the ending. Mason Thames and Madeline McGraw, who play Finney and Gwen, the two main protagonist siblings in the film do an amazing job in their roles while giving their all in their scenes. It’s honestly worth the watch if you have Peacock’s streaming service or just the weekend rental choice if you’re wanting a spooky movie night!

(From left) Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) and Gwen Shaw (Madeleine McGraw) in The Black Phone, directed by Scott Derrickson.

Review

As I mentioned, Ethan Hawke is the main antagonist to Mason Thames’ protagonist role. Both men give an amazing performance especially seeing as this is Thames’ first breakthrough role! We are familiar with Hawke’s acting skills, so I’ll keep his section to a minimal, focusing on his co-stars.

Hawke’s skills have jumped from dramas, action, thrillers and so forth. He’s not shy of being a villain, as seen in his latest role from Marvel’s Moon Knight series, or being in a horror/thriller film as seen in Sinister. But his performance as “The Grabber” really show his unhinged side, even leaning on the side of performing a little TOO close to a serial killer. This film just brings you in to give him a hand for coming back into acting with such an ease in skill.

Now, Mason Thames does a great job at being a kid with cool calm headed demeanor while still being a scared having such a thing happen to you. We see throughout the film that he knows how to handle situations but lets himself be attacked by the other kids only to be in a situation of, he either allows this killer to finish him or finally fight back in order to survive. Although, he is minimal in showing emotions of the character, the small mannerisms he chose really gave the film an intense viewing even to the point of doing what all the viewers would be thinking; like the classic “don’t go in there” or “I would do this” responses we say or think while watching scary movies.

In the case of McGraw, she goes all out with showing her reactions to the situations on screen. Like giving the cry of the year when she was being spanked by her on screen father, to the point that I asked myself “DID HE ACTUALLY HIT HER ON SET?!” She does a great job at playing a hardcore little sister looking for her brother, even if she had to curse out God himself to get clues. She’s a wonderful addition to the film and ultimately doesn’t feel like a different film when viewing her side of the story.

Furthermore, without going on a long typing spree I highly recommend this film for anyone who wants a well written and directed horror/thriller movie. But you don’t have to take my word for it, check it out yourselves as it’s out now for VOD and available on Peacock.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Curse Child Movie; A Detailed Review

Posted on by luigonword in Reviews

Spoilers Ahead. 10/10 Score.

A superb Intro to Shonen Anime!

For those that aren’t familiar Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Cursed Child is a prequel to the hit Shonen Jump series of the same title Jujutsu Kaisen. In its origins, the creator of the manga did make JJK 0 first, simply as a 4 chapter run in a monthly magazine panel but ultimately got enough love by readers to be picked up and made into a fully serialized illustrated graphic novel.

As mentioned, JJK 0’s story was technically completed, so for the full series they decided to create a new trio for the story, although still keeping majority of his original characters. Once the manga released in Japan, it gathered buzz and got picked up to become a show in October 2020 finishing in March 2021 with a 24 episode run.

With the release of the show, it became a hit worldwide, leading up to its original arc being made into an animated film. Like I mentioned the two arcs have a set of different main character(s), but the world building is the same; so here’s what you have to know.

This world is filled with cursed spirits that feed on the strong emotions of the human population. Adding that no one can see them… unless they have a special connection with cursed energy. So the people that CAN see them, see the chaos that they can create if left unmonitored and decide to create organizations to stop them. These people are also able to use said cursed energy to their advantage allowing them to harness it in weapons. Now, there are rankings of these people and at the top, aren’t what you expect, as there are people who can use cursed spirits to do their bidding… increasing the organization’s strive to stop chaos from happening.

Overview

This film focuses on the original 4 chapters, following the story of Yuta Okkotsu who was cursed with the spirit of his dead friend Rikka when the two were kids, now turned into a spirit “creature” (as seen above). Rikka protects Yuta from what she perceives as a threat leaving him with a trails of bodies behind him as he grows up. This news ends up coming into the Jujutsu Tech’s hands and left to task their best at helping Yuta become a good Cursed Spirit user. This film does a wonderful job in its animation (produced by studio MAPPA and TOHO) allowing full fledge intensity into the story. Of course, “anime” is in of itself just another different form of animation, having its specific motifs. And this film does everything in its power to create beautiful cinematography and visuals! NOT TO MENTION THE SCORE AND SOUNDTRACK! I had taken my non anime enthusiast friends to see it and they ended up enjoying the film, even starting the anime after. If that’s not a testament to how good this film is then I don’t know what is.

review

Like I mentioned, studio MAPPA was the one responsible to animate the characters to life. If you are familiar with their work, you know that they do an outstanding job at animating realism with a smooth colorful palate. Not to mention the flow of the cursed energy that they managed to recreate for the viewers to visualize! As you can see in the picture to the right, this is the level of animation we get when watching the film. Of course the show has a little bit more detail since they do individual episode animation, this film keeps up to it’s own pace. Having a nice bright color palate in its cheerful moments, and switching to their deeper colors when they have their more action/serious moments.

We also have to mention the music again, as it’s so good it imposes an intensity to fights, so much so that I added it to my workout playlist. Having a steady pace of orchestra and rock genre really brings everything together showing us through our ears how this world and their organization work. They need to have balance and ability to work together, like an orchestra, and yet they still have the ability to cause destruction themselves if need be, sort of how rock brings out that intense sensation of being able to break stuff if need be.

Overall, this is a great film brought to the audience and since it’s a prequel, it can be used as a gateway to enjoy other anime films or anime series in general. At the very least, it can bring an interest to this Shonen series as it’s a great watch and an even more intense read with the manga, which is apparently set to end sometime in 2023. But don’t just take my word for it, watch it for yourself in theaters since it’s still in its theatrical release, or watch it when it comes out on Crunchyroll, September 21st, 2022.

The Nerd Corps #503: ‘Prey’ Review

Posted on by The Nerd Corps in Podcasts

A new Predator film is out and it’s actually good! Brad and Raul sit down to talk about the newest release of this month, Prey!

IMDb Synopsis: “The origin story of the Predator in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. Naru, a skilled warrior, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.”