Cruella

A live-action feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, the villain from the Disney film, "101 Dalmatians'.

I really like this concept of Disney's.   The Malificent movies were enjoyable but this one really opened the door of giving classic Disney villains origin story movies.   The movie was honestly Disney's version of The Devil Wears Prada but was a very enjoyable watch.  Emma Stone was great as Cruella.  My only complaint about the movie is that it was definitely too long.   This movie should have been at least 30 minutes shorter and then it would have been even better.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It's a very enjoyable watch with an awesome performance that should open doors to a whole new set of Disney live action movies.

A Quiet Place Part II

Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.

Wow!  John Krazinski really has established himself off of these two movies as one of the best directors of massive amounts of tension and creating edge of your seat situations.  This movie was not as insanely intense from beginning to end like the first one.  There were a couple of breather moments here and there but when he turned it up holy crap.   And he managed to make things even more intense because of the single moment with the stress getting more and more - he would have three separate holy crap situations side by side and jumping from one to the other as the tension built up.   So well directed and acted.

I would definitely recommend people checking this one out.   It is an incredibly directed and acted movie and that makes it so much more than the alien invasion story.   I love these movies.

Army Of The Dead

After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.

This was a very fun and entertaining zombie movie ride.   You had all the typical characters and story playing out like you thought it would but still in an enjoyable way.   The one issue I had with it is that there is literally no reason why any zombie movie should be 2 1/2 hours long.   You could easily remove the whole Batista and his daughter storyline and this movie gets under 2 hours, has better pacing and would be much much better all around.

I would still recommend this movie to zombie movie fans.  Even if it is too long and drags some times its still a fun ride to just turn your brain off and go on.

The Woman In The Window

Agoraphobic Dr. Anna Fox witnesses something she shouldn't while keeping tabs on the Russell family, the seemingly picture perfect clan that lives across the way.

I kept lowering my expectations for this movie there more it got delayed.  Even before the whole Covid thing started and the rights for the movie got sold to Netflix, this movie had been delayed over a year.   So watching this with zero expectations definitely helped make it watchable.   I would go with this being one of those "okay" movies.  There is no need to watch this but if you are doing nothing and want to put it on - sure.   It's not great.  It's not terrible.  It's really just kind of middle of the road and if you are psyched to see it then it will definitely fall to a less than average watch.

I would very lukewarmly recommend anyone checking this out.   Like I said - if you have free time knock yourself out but definitely don't go out of your way to watch it.

Spiral

Working in the shadow of his father, Detective Ezekiel "Zeke" Banks and his rookie partner take charge of an investigation into grisly murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city's gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer's morbid game.

Not going to lie.  I did not remotely see this as a franchise that needed to be brought back in any way.  Like it had pretty much run its course but if Chris Rock and Samuel L Jackson wanted to get involved for some reason I would still check it out.   Didn't really have any expectations on it and it was a better than average watch.  Very predictable but still a good story to follow and not as many of the gruesome nasty scenes.  Still plenty of them but it's not on screen essentially the whole movie because that was what it had pretty much devolved in to.  

I would somewhat recommend people checking this out.  It is not a must watch by any means but if you are a fan of these kinds of movies it is entertaining.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

A smoke jumper and a 12-year-old boy fight for their lives as two assassins pursue them through the wilderness.

This is one of those movies that although it is watchable because of action stuff and the fire effects, you find yourself wondering the entire time why this movie was made.   I still don't know.  Like what was the need for this movie?   How does the title describe this movie in any way?   Again - it's a decent watch and entertaining at times but just overall an extremely pointless movie.

I would only recommend this movie to someone wanting to turn their brain off for 90 minutes and enjoy a pointless but watchable ride of a movie.

Here Today

When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz meets New York singer Emma Payge, they form an unlikely yet touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.

This was a decent watch and the pairing of Crystal with Haddish actually felt like it worked.   That being said - this is really not much more than a massive heartstring pulling movie.  They don't try to hide it at all.  They are milking all sorts of emotions through this.  

I would very lukewarmly recommend people checking this out if they like heartstring dramas.   It's not a must see by any means but not the worst watch either.   

Demon Slayer - The Movie

A boy raised by boars who wears a boar's head and another boy who reveals his true power when he sleeps, board the Infinity Train on a new mission with the Flame Pillar. Their mission is to defeat a demon who has been tormenting people and killing the demon slayers who oppose it.

I never in a million years thought that I would get into anime.  But Covid-19 forced down time has managed to open that door and I'm pretty much addicted.   This was the second show that I binged so I checked out the movie after the season was over.   This was a very enjoyable continuation of the series and even though the second half of the movie was much better than the first it was still a great watch.

If you are an anime fan I would definitely recommend watching the series and following up with this movie.   It is a great watch and continuation of a great story.

Wrath Of Man

Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard for a cash truck surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.

This is pretty much your textbook Jason Statham movie.  I have always been able to enjoy them and have been a fan of Guy Ritchie movies too.  Is this movie anything more than what you would expect after seeing the trailer?  Not at all.  There is some timeline jumping back and forth to mix it up but it's really unnecessary because you are not surprised at all with how it's going to play out because of said trailer.

If you are a fan of Jason Statham movies then I have no doubt you would like this movie.  If not - then why start now?

Separation

A lonely little girl finds solace in her artist father and the ghost of her dead mother.

As you can tell from that extremely vague movie synopsis, this movie had next to zero substance to it.   It's your textbook PG-13 creeper.  Lame acting, pointless story and minimal actual scares throughout.   I'll give this one a slight nod for a couple of creepy visuals where they used artwork but outside of that there is really nothing to see here.

I wouldn't really recommend anyone wasting their time with this.  Certainly not if you have to pay to see it.  That would be just crazy.