The nerds conclude their month of celebrating the films of Wes Anderson. They end the month with Wes Anderson’s stop motion film, Fantastic Mr. Fox! They discuss various things about the film and if this one was able to reach the top of their favorites of Anderson’s filmography. They also decide on International Film Month’s movies for next month’s theme! Listen and find out all about this fantastic goodness!
The nerds are joined by our good friend Timber to discuss the latest Disney animated film, Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). We discuss what we like and did not like about this film. Do these nerds like dragons? Do they enjoy this animated film? Click and find out what their thoughts are on this very important film!
The nerds continue on with their month looking at the films of Wes Anderson as they discuss his 2007 film, The Darjeeling Limited. They talk about what makes the film such a pleasant experience along with some of their favorite moments. Are Raul and Brad turning into your local hipsters who are in love with the films of Anderson? Listen to find out all about that!
If you didn’t already know, the US Supreme Court and the overall US Justice System is one of the most absurd, broken and mal running things in today’s society. It’s really not a news flash as we’ve all clearly seen, yet there are many out there that wouldn’t agree, so to those that don’t agree even with factual evidence I leave you to live your life in your own singularity.
Naked Singularity actively speaks on the matter stated above as we follow the story of Casi, played by John Boyega, who is a district attorney bent on helping the people who are labeled as criminals. He believes they all should be given a second chance, at least to some extent as the majority of cases he receives are based on very minor misdemeanors but would otherwise be label criminal activity to the court of law. This film takes an amazing jab at the problems of the court while throwing a heist theme, physics, and philosophy in the mix.
Now to give you a short run down Casi is a DA who is hit one after the other with false accusations of his character, work and defense for his client by the court of law and his designated judge. He ends up hopeless all while witnessing strange events that only he seems to notice. Until an old acquaintance arrives at his doorstep and opens up a world of choices. This leads to him making the decision of stealing the price tag of a truck load of drugs also trying to be attained by Craig, the main antagonist of the film. He ultimately does get the money and also has the drugs seized making it a clean getaway. With his new found earnings he starts up his new funded attorney office and the rest is up to the imagination.
I REALLY enjoyed this film as it incorporated many aspects that I’ve studied in my own personal life, such as philosophy, philosophy of laws, physics, and a love for a good heist. John Boyega really plays his character well and although it received a rating well below average of 30% rotten I believe it deserves more praise. I honestly believe more people should go see it as it tells a good story, and even though it seems to be showing in select theaters it is available to be rented on Vudu, and other major media distributors.
If you are looking for more reason to like John as an actor then this is definitely the movie for you, not to mention the incredible characters played by Olivia Cooke, Bill Skarsgard, and Ed Skrein. And also as a personal choice I have to mention my EXTREME DISTASTE for this district judge played by Linda Levin, who plays into why the justice system is so broken, following what the “law’ says is wrong even when the perpetrator has signs of a new leaf.
With more detail I want to speak on how they use the idea of a naked singularity, which in physics is at its over simplification the idea that we are able to see inside what a black hole holds which is a singularity that isn’t normally visible, ergo the “Naked” aspect in the title Naked Singularity. John plays an outstanding role in depicting what happens when a man who believes everyone deserves a second chance get grind down to see the injustices that the system brings all in the name of the law. He posed a good picture of a man figuring out what exactly is good and what is actually bad, which I have a lot of research papers down on, especially when faced of stealing money from drug runners. I loved his ideology and his character development at the end, which is a drastic yet understandable new found face of logic.
I don’t just want to speak on John though, as this film really carried its onslaught of big names, as I mention we had Olivia Cooke who you may know more easily in her role as Samantha /Sam in Ready Player One. She also played an outstanding role having her character deal with tough choices, all while trying to keep herself as safe as she can be while getting tangled with the wrong person. We have to mention Bill Skarsgard too, as a more comic relief best friend to John, although he has fewer instances in the 90 min film, he really brought some fun to the plot and not to mention his switch up from playing Pennywise the Dancing Clown in IT. His few scenes really brought out a laugh from the more dramatic tones this film carries and honestly balances out comedy and seriousness that’s covered in here. We also have to mention Ed Skrein who if you don’t recognize his name maybe you’ll recognize Francis as Deadpool calls him in Deadpool, that’s right, he also plays the big bad in a superhero movie which makes him the perfect contender for a drug mule in this film. He plays his role in an immaculate manner that honestly leaves me wondering if he’s too good to not play the bad guy then will he get other roles?
The dynamic that these character play are spot on and just increases the watchability of the film. Yes they are big names for a movie that many may not recognize but it should have been, and I hope that more watch after reading this review.
Overall I give this 5 out of 5 stars, I saw really no problems with the film, it was easy for me to follow and my love for reforming the justice system, philosophy, and physics all stand tall in this film. I can honestly say that if you watch and you don’t enjoy the film then maybe I’m the oddball out, but hey don’t just take my word for it really watch it and let me know what you think, till next time, peace.
Viewer Discretion is Advised!
Before anything is said about this trilogy I want to address and warn before watching these movies that in these films there are scenes and dialogue that may be triggering to some viewers. These films include trauma in characters, talk and attempted suicide as well as self harm, including deaths of children or people under the age of 18, not to mention the extreme gore. It goes under their R rating, but be advised if such activities listed above are triggers for you, these films may cause harm please tread carefully when watching.
If you or a loved one suffer from self harm or suicidal tendencies please reach out, you may call the hotline for suicide prevention at 800-273-8255.
If you grew up watching or reading R.L Stine’s Goosebumps then you are familiar with the kiddy horror that we love. Classics like Night of the Living Dummy, The Haunted Mask, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, and so much more are fan favorite, but what if I told you that R.L Stine’s first horror series of books were oriented more for a young adult reader?
Now, what if I said these books were mixed with cult classic horror films like Jason, Scream, and others? Well Netflix’s newest addition to their originals exclusives is the Fear Street Trilogy.
These films are not of the normal trilogy making though, normally when we think of trilogy movies we think and expect to find these movies a few years apart in their release date. This isn’t the case for these three films, in fact, they were released one after the other in the same month, July to be precise, during 2021. It’s an unexpected move from major companies to pull especially if we are talking about creating demand for more, causing more potential financial benefit. Well Netflix was confident enough that these movies were going to gain fans and decided to released them as I mentioned, and with all honesty they were CORRECT! Now I DON’T want to spoil the films so I’ll keep the reviews as spoiler free as possible.
As an overview, these films are great for what they are marketing, having Fear Street: Part 1 1994 build an amazing start to the series and honestly left me wanting to finish all 3 by the end of the first one. To be completely honest I watch all three in one night and having each be 15 minutes short of 2 hours in runtime, that goes to show how good they were at keeping one’s attention for a total of nearly 6 hours of one’s day.The only problem I have was these movies were the extremely low light shots and sometimes I couldn’t tell if my tv was on or off. Yet these films are a mix of society’s favorite pop culture horror villains while having it’s originality in their origins. They are a great weekend watch if you want to have a watch along with friends, or if you need something to binge Saturday night because you’re not prone to going out, like myself, they’re also great. I’d say they are currently on my top 3 in the horror genre and without spoiling, the twist endings will give you chills. But with all 3 out now, I HIGHLY recommend watching them or atleast check out the trailer below.
The story begins in 1994 as the title suggests, with a town ironically named Shadyside, in which we have one of our major characters we’ll be following named Deena played by Kiana Madeira and Josh, played by Benjamin Flores Jr, her brother. Shadyside lives in infamy as mass murders seem to be a recurring thing, happening every couple of years, with the first recorded event being in 1666 which is rounded to about 300 years worth of killings.
Deena has had troubles after recently breaking up with her closeted girlfriend Sam, played by Olivia Scott Welch and Josh is a shy introvert deeply knowledgeable on murderers, conspiracies and the town’s “lure”. Now after a recent mourn from a recent mass murder the town and their neighboring town, called Sunnydale, certain events led to an escalated situation and then to Sam finding the bones of Sarah Fier a witch from the 1600’s who placed a curse before she was hanged for witchcraft. This curse is speculated by a few to being the cause for the murder sprees that have happened over the years, while others simply blaming the poor providence turning junkies and going psycho. This statement coming from Sunnydale’s Sheriff Goode played by Ashley Zukerman.
So far everyone in town believed it to be just that people having breakdowns and going on murder sprees. Things get intense as Deena, Sam and their other friends fighting to survive the night. When they figure out who and what the killer is, they figure out how to temporarily stop them or at least how to stop it from killing them, in addition to finding out there’s only ever been one survivor setting up for the second film.
All in all, the first part of this trilogy really sold how the other movies were going to be. It’s a thrilling horror movie that really sells the use of practical effects, as at times I was a bit sick at looking at the gore which normally doesn’t happen. There are twist all while technically being the first act out of three total and by that I mean part 2 and part 3 not the structure for a film. Netflix and the films’ director Leigh Janiak really made three films feel like one whole, not time skips just in the way plot and story telling were used here.
We move forward to Part 2 of the trilogy, which sets up after Deena and Sam find out that a survivor exists, being Ziggy Verman played by Sadie Sink as the younger version in 1978 and Gillian Jacobs as the older 1994 version. Although during the first film, Ziggy never actually helped to figure out how to stop the killers, instead she warns the girls at the end saying it will never stop. Deena goes on to find her and ask her to explain and to help them, which Deena finds out that she was actually a survivor from the 1978 camp massacre.
Clearly taking a crack from the original Friday the 13th, it was fun to see that films plot mixed in with the story of the towns curse not to mention the double action in all the gore and violence that takes place in these films. Now I do need to mention that here is where most of the advised triggers happen and although they were rough to see and hear, it added more depth to characters and their stories.
Now seeing as this film is majority the retelling of Ziggy’s memories of that night, we see Sadie’s version as the main character. Sadie and all the other actors like Ted Sutherland who plays a younger version of Sunnydale’s sheriff, were incredible in their roles. She and the others play off of each other in a sense that seemed like we actually got to project someone’s memories onto our screens and I don’t mean like a first person perspective more so that Sadie actually had these events happen to her and used that trauma to play the role. Not to mention the work of McCabe Slye who plays Tommy Slater and the killer in this film, who kept the same monotonic rhythm like I’ve seen Robert Patrick play in T2 as the T-1000.
After we finish the story of that night Ziggy reveals that there might actually be a way to stop the curse of the town which brings us to part 3.
In part 3, as it is titled 1666 it places us in the 1600’s were we see the town’s first establishment. This part really takes a turn and reveals so much on the history and origin of what the town calls a curse. Up until this point we’ve acknowledged that the curse can’t be easily stopped unless we bring an object to where Sam first came in contact with it. When Deena goes on to find the object, upon returning it to the first contact spot she unlocks the truth through obtaining the memories of Sarah Fier, the supposed witch who placed the curse. These memories taking place as if Deena was the witch, and all the towns’ folk being her friends, bringing back the original cast from the first and second part as well now all together.
With that, the first and third act we find out the truth of who and what the curse is, leading to a very climactic third act in the film, and not just for the film but of the trilogy’s entirety. WHEN I SAY YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE TRUTH YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME.
As I mentioned the revelations that come out of 1666 are so unexpected but they also make sense if you went Sherlock Holmes while viewing at the very beginning. While I was watching, the end of the second act gave me chills and left me with goosebumps on my skin until the end. I also have to mention the person that stole the show for me was McCabe Slye as Mad Thomas who without a doubt gave a performance like Robert Pattinson as the old preacher in The Devil All The Time. All I could think about was the similarities between the two and how McCabe’s performance sold for a mad preacher that would blame anyone as heathens and even prosecute innocents as witches and other. But nonetheless Kiana Madeira does an amazing job at playing her part as Sarah Fier.
Overall, as I tried keeping it spoiler free, I want to just say that these films were great to watch and a fun time. Kiana, Olivia, McCabe, Sadie Sink, Benjamin Flores Jr, and everyone else really did an outstanding job.
There was ever only one problem that was out of their hands and left in the production crew which was lighting, as many of the night and dark scenes were literally too dark to tell what was going on. It thankfully wasn’t enough to take me out of it but seeing as I watched in complete darkness with no glare on the glass, it was still a problem.
From that being my only take away, I really hope that people who enjoy horror and overall good films go and watch these on Netflix, even if you don’t have one ask a friend, ask your parents, borrow a neighbors account, you have to watch. But as I always say don’t take my word for it, go go go and watch for yourself and let me know what you think, till next time, peace.
The Nerd Corps 