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Reviews
Sexy Beast (2024)
Solid Series...now give us more!!!
After having watched the finale, I can say definitively that this show has cemented itself as (easily) one of the best series of the decade thus far. I don't want to spoil anything other than to say that we'd better get at LEAST a 2nd season (or as many as showrunner Michael Caleo has planned), because the show's future is positively dripping with promise.
Anyone who hasn't given this show a chance yet -especially fans of the 2001 film- absolutely should. Ignore the negative reviews (which seem to have gotten buried beneath positives over the past few weeks/episodes - a testament to the quality of the writing, acting, & direction) and give it a watch. Even if you're not immediately grabbed by the first episode, your patience will be rewarded, as each successive episode is better than the preceding. I can't imagine anyone who invests their time in all 8 episodes being disappointed.
Please - watch it ASAP - don't sleep on it; the more interest shown NOW, the better the chances of avoiding cancellation. It's too good of a show to lose, and you really don't know what you're missing. Even critics seem to have warmed to it and/or changed their minds (I discovered just before feeling compelled to write this review, while trying to find out what band performed the punk cover of "Strangers in the Night" that played during the end credits; said band being Square the Circle, for anyone else interested).
I can't think of another recent series I can recommend as highly. Top tier entertainment; it's an absolute masterpiece. Enjoy.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Beyond Logic (2024)
11/10 - Best Possible Payoff
It's exceedingly rare these days for big budget productions to simply not ruin beloved franchises...rarer still that they honor & do justice to the history of what's come before. Rarest of all is when they do everything right, AND add something well-written, acted, & produced with heart.
Monarch has done it.
This is the level of quality fans hope for (and should expect) from every studio that capitalizes on our favorite franchises; they don't need 'fixing' or modernizing, or inserting agendas - they only need to be respected. All fans want are good stories. This finale is proof.
THIS is The Bar, Hollywood. Aim for what this show did.
Thank You everyone who worked on this season - very much looking forward to the next!
Fright Night (2011)
Awesome movie. Completely satisfying remake!
Ignore the haters. This movie deserves all the positive reviews that it's earned. Solid writing, direction, and acting. Thoroughly satisfying and entertaining.
As a die-hard fan of the original, my initial reaction upon hearing of the impending remake was disgust. Then, I found out Marti Noxon was writing the screenplay, and I started to hope. I hoped that it would be a respectful adaptation of the original, and join the ranks of Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (2004) and 2003's Texas Chainsaw Massacre as one of the very few Remakes That Don't Suck...and it did. Not only did it not disappoint, it lived up to all my expectations.
What made the original awesome is that it had charm. A vampire moves next door to you, and when he finds out that you found out what he is, he offers you a choice; you be cool & he'll be cool. I would've been cool, but the original Charlie wouldn't stand for a bloodsucker wasting beautiful women within view of his bedroom window, and a great movie ensued. Roddy MacDowall's Peter Vincent alone made it worthy of repeat viewings, and Chris Sarandon's underplaying made Jerry Dandridge THE most relatable fanged villain to date.
The remake differs in many aspects, yet complements the 1985 classic. Whereas the original's vampire next door seeks to blend in suburbia, Colin Farrell's "vampire Jerry" couldn't care less who finds out what he is, because he plans on having everyone for dinner anyway. No brooding. No 'Twlilight' b.s. He's more of an apathetic predator than his predecessor, and it works for this adaptation.
Since late-night local horror flick hosts are a long-lost remnant of the 80's, it wouldn't have made sense to try to fashion the updated Peter Vincent the same way. Like Roddy MacDowall's performance, David Tennant's Vegas illusionist Peter Vincent alone is worth the price of the tickets (AND the extra charge for 3D, which wasn't the least bit annoying, for once). As a bonus, it was especially amusing for me to watch Doctor Who drop f-bombs.
Anyway, this film's as clever, charming, and all-around awesome as the original, and should be doing better at the box office than it did opening weekend. Check it out while there's still time & send a message to Hollywood that good writing, direction, and acting MATTER.