#like Samara Weaving being badass

[ennaih]

Every Film I Watch In 2023:

239. Family Switch (2023)

[lara635kookie]

11-MechanicBrunt:

I don't know if that's their official ship name(what else would it be, MechaniCoach?) but they're neat anyway. They were each other's wife. The little we see from them, I loved it. The way Brunt was the only faculty member that actually liked The Mechanic and wanted her to be a part of the faculty is just so cute. They are two tough ladies who are soft for each other and only each other. I just love imagining the fact they they solve every single fight with an arm wrestling battle. They deserved more screentime.

12-OtterMoose:

Again, not sure if that's the official ship name for Otter Man and Moose Boy but they are legit. Forgettable, but when you remember them, you ship it. Just like Red Crackle and Spin Kick and Fly Trap, OtterMoose is a cheaper version of Jeantonio. They also don't have that much of screen time but Jeantonio works in all its forms and variations so it wouldn't be different with this version of Jeantonio.

13-PaperCarm:

I thought their official ship name was Red Star, ngl. Anyway, that's another one I thought wouldn't rank this high up but here we are. If these two could pull an "enemies" then work together for the same side adding "to lovers" they would be unbeatable and would win every single little time. No exceptions. It wouldn't be hard for them to find common ground since they have a lot in common and It's noticeable, and if the other goes to the partner's side, I can definitely see it working. Of course we know none of them is switching sides, but the tension is still there. Another IT couple vibes. I can imagine Shadowsan being done with their relationship and them just laughing at his face and keep dating anyway because they don't follow rules and can do whatever the hell they want. They are the most badass girlies alive so it's only natural we imagine how them as a couple would feel like and the off the charts competition would make it amazing and fun to watch.

14-MimeTiger:

Once again I don't know if that's their ship name but Mime Bomb and Tigress is a fun idea. Back in class days Black Sheep was Gray's partner, El Topo was Le Chevre's partner so it's only natural we think of Mime Bomb and Sheena as partners, since they are the only ones left of the part of that specific class we know. They just pass that vibe of "if you were my husband I would poison your food, coffee, tea or whatever" "If you were my wife I would eat/drink it" which I know it's kinda toxic but considering their characters it seems cohesive, at least it feels like it would be for a little while. I don't see them officially dating but maybe making out without commitment again. It's fun to imagine the possibilities of them mocking each other and just having overall moments.

15-Tiggray:

Yes, it stands for Tigress and Gray. Okay, just hear me out:I have a headcanon that Sheena had a little crush on Gray. They were side by side at Coach Brunt's presentation and I just can imagine it perfectly:They start having a small talk chit chat, maybe flirted a little(Sheena is blonde with light eyes, she probably reminded Gray a little from Australian girls, like queens Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Samara Weaving, Toni Collette, Angourie Rice, Teresa Palmer, Elizabeth Debicki, Abbie Cornish, Claire Holt, Teagan Croft and so many other australians with those characteristics), and bold Sheena wants a new toy to play with and Gray is her new found target. Not because she actually likes him, she just wants to have him to use. Own him and then go for another one after. She wants him to fall for her but doesn't want to fall in love for him back. Then, Black Sheep intimidates Gray. Gray is intrigued and his attention is no longer at Sheena, one of(not the only reason of course) the reasons she didn't like Black Sheep. At that scene, Sheena doesn't look at Black Sheep, she looks at Gray, seemingly analyzing his reaction to what Black Sheep was doing, looking jealous. Then at the dorm scene, Gray calls Sheena "Princess", like reminding her he didn't forget about her, and tells her to stop messing with Black Sheep's stuff and she immeadiately does as he said. I can't imagine she stopping if Antônio or Jean Paul said it. Also, from their class time, as Jeantonio were probably already living in their own little fairytale world, her rivalry with Black Sheep was blooming and Mime Bomb was being "the quiet kid", Gray seemed like the one Tigress hated the least from her class. When they graduate, Sheena pulls him by the arm to "sit at the big kids table". She clearly wanted him there. With her, instead of Black Sheep. Gray and Black Sheep being close/best friends, would only make Tigress's goal even more suitable for her. She would not only have Gray but also upset her rival, Black Sheep. She also could view him as a way of getting to Black Sheep's nerve. Also, the novel and the unreleased scenes footages show that Gray accidentaly called her Tigress and she kept it. Gray literally gave Tigress her code name. Gray is one of the reasons why Tigress is...well, herself. All of their interactions combined together could mean this or she actually liked Gray a little bit but seeing he's not interested she grew out of this, which would actually make them kinda cute if Gray reciprocated. They would be a power couple in a multiverse out there. They hold the potential of an interesting narrative but not the best, so their position here sounds fitting for them.

16-Zarulia:

Zari and Julia only worked together for a short while but you can tell they are competent at their jobs. They would be A.C.M.E.'s IT Couple if they were a thing. They are a little low because we don't see much of them but I really wish we had.

17-Julivy:

This one, they have little to no interaction but the idea of them amuses me. Based on her characters, I think they could be an interesting pair. Now that they are both co-workers at A.C.M.E. they could actually be something. Take the time to see where it goes, y'know? Maybe they wouldn't date in this super serious relationship but who knows? I think they could be kinda cute together.

18-Cari:

Zari and Carmen would be two girlbosses and I love that for them. The best vigilante with the best A.C.M.E. agent(yes Zari is that, I said what I said, sue me). I wish we could have gotten more of them, even in friendship terms.

[cressida-jayoungr]

Warning: (Non-explicit) blood below the cut!

One Dress a Day Challenge

June: Weddings

Ready or Not / Samara Weaving as Grace

The things I do for this blog! I am really, really not a horror fan--far too squeamish. But I was curious about this dress from @coeli1000's description of it when she recommended it to me. Plus, the top image in this post did look pretty badass! So I went ahead and rented the movie, and I at least found that it had enough dark humor in it to keep me entertained.

The story concerns a young woman who finds out that the family she's just married into have a strange ritual that involves her having to survive a night of being hunted across their estate. So she runs around in the wedding dress for the whole movie, and it gets very messy by the end. One sleeve gets ripped off to serve as a bandage when her hand is injured, for example. By the end of the movie, it looks like this:

[mooifyourecows]

Hello, I’m the anon who asked you about the movie rango, do you have any bad horror/scary movie recommendations? Like so bad it’s comedy kind of vibe but normal horror movies work too

Thanks :)

i watch a TON of horror/thriller movies/tv shows but i tend to avoid the "so bad it's basically comedy" genre. Ya know things like the one with the tire that goes around making people's heads explode or the one with the recliner chair that eats people and stuff like that. I know of them but never watched them because they just sound a little too bizarre for me

THAT BEING SAID... i really loved 'Malignant', and that's a movie that people kinda tout as a "so bad it's hilarious" movie. but I actually genuinely loved it, unironically. I thought it was gorgeously directed and original. the plot twist is WACKY but i actually really appreciated that it was so bizarre and i think it added a necessary element to the story and that, without it, the movie would have been less entertaining.

If you want to watch a "scary" movie for the sake of mocking it, then M. Night Shyamalan's 'Old' is definitely worthy of your taunts. It's not scary or even suspenseful. Or written well or acted well or directed well... it's very stupid and i spent most of the time making fun of it, so if that's something you like to do... give it a try? lmao

There was this one movie that i watched that sorta falls into the "so bad it's hilarious" category and it was called 'Ghosts of War'. I swear to god... the surprise ending had me REELING. (not in a good way, but still) like for reals i watched the whole movie out of stubbornness even though it was kinda... mediocre. And then at the end? the big reveal? I was like "WHAT???? BUT WHY????" so if you want to have that sort of reaction to a somewhat tedious movie, then by all means, check it out lmao (TW war stuff ofc)

'Hereditary' is one of the most recent horror movies that actually freaked me out. I think it was sooooo good. It was haunting and uncomfortable and the acting performances from Toni Collette and Alex Wolff (who was also in 'Old' but was WASTED) were beyond amazing. It does have some horrific imagery though so if you don't like to see gore, then there's a whole scene that you would probably want to avoid watching. Personally, I looked away from the screen because i did NOT want to see it lol

'The Wretched' was a surprisingly good horror movie. I thought the twist was interesting and I didn't see it coming, though when thinking back on it, i do recall noticing the hints and signs and wondering "what's that about?". Also the performance by the woman that plays the neighbor lady (i've forgotten everybody's names lmao) was creepy and well done 👌

Some of my favorite movies to watch are those unnerving ones that make you simmer and sweat in your discomfort and one that I watched fairly recently that I LOVE was 'Rent-a-Pal'. It really gives you those conflicting thoughts of sympathizing with the main character as you watch him descend into madness caused by his loneliness and WOW i remember getting to the end of that movie and looking over at my partner and saying "I LOVED that"

If you like to think "hey this is a really good commentary on Capitalism and so-called 'trickle down economics'" while also being disturbed, then I highly recommend 'The Platform'. I wasn't sure i was going to like that one, since it's more horrific in a "oh yikes this is too close to home..." kinda way but it really demonstrates the "dog eat dog" mindset of capitalism and greed (TW for the death of an animal and cannibalism)

If you're looking for more of a 'light' horror, AKA a thriller, then I def recommend 'Ready or Not'. I wasn't expecting to like that one as much as I did. Samara Weaving is a badass and the ending took me by surprise in a hilarious but satisfying way.

'Hush' is another good one if you like thrillers where the main character is a bit of a badass. it follows a deaf woman as a masked murderer tries to get into her home and kill her

'Triangle' surprised me by having a pretty interesting plot. it was fun watching the mystery unravel as you follow along

'The Autopsy of Jane Doe' is one of those horror movies that really makes you sweat as you watch because you're just constantly uncomfortable, waiting for something awful to happen. (TW for a cat death that still makes me mad with how unnecessary it was)

'Us' and 'Get Out' are great, but i feel like i don't need to tell you that lmao

'The Ritual' has some of the best monster horror I've seen. Genuinely creepy and so so so interestingly directed. Like oof some of the scenes are SO good that i still think about them years later

For more psychological horrors, i recommend 'Gerald's Game'. I wasn't sure i would like it but it was way more intriguing than i anticipated. (TW for some mild sexual abuse)

'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' is one of those movies that I feel like doesn't exactly fit into the "horror" genre because it's kind of a slow burn think piece, real artsy and introspective rather than scary. But if you like movies with a slightly creepy and confusing feel to them that seem to inch along with strange, almost dreamlike visuals, then i def recommend it.

Welp, I think that's all I got for you. I watch a shit ton of horror/thriller movies and shows but i really only remember the ones i actually enjoyed and then completely forget about the ones that didn't make an impact on me lol

anyway, hope you find some that you enjoy! let me know your thoughts if you watch any of them 🥰

[kimsgoeun]

muses and fcs i wanna use. lmk if you’re interested! 

fcs i wanna use

adeline rudolph

aisha dee

aldis hodge

amanda seyfried

anna diop

antonia thomas

ashley madekwe

brenda song

choi sooyoung

hwang in-yeop

jamie chung

jessica henwick

ji chang wook

john kim

jurnee smollett

kang han na

kang tae oh

kim do yeon

kim tae ri

krysten ritter

lana condor

lee da hee

lee do-hyun

lee pace

lee sun bin

lupita nyong’o

melissa o’neil

mena massoud

michael trevino

ni ni

okamoto tao

park bo young

park so dam

park yoo na

quintessa swindell

rachel hilson

rahul kohli

raymond ablack

rebecca ferguson

samara weaving

song kang

tahirah sharif

timothy olyphant

van veronica ngo

yoo in na

yoon so hee

muses i wanna use (some are more written out than others due to newness lol - down for other plots not listed)

-alisha murphy; 38; fc: billie piper

general practitioner at a small town practice; sweet; married to her job and will drop everything to help someone; surrounds her office/home with different plants; doesn’t really have time for romance but loves love; gives all the advice and never takes her own

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-charlotte kwan; 30; fc: jung eun-chae

medical resident; sarcastic/dry humor; straightforward; will stand up for herself and others; slightly competitive; has a good work-life balance

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3 

-chester “chess” mao; 52; fc: lucy liu

works for a supernatural verse if wanted (shapeshifter and/or immortal being)

oddball; works random jobs to have some cash but otherwise lives comfortably (by her standards); likes to help strangers and people in a bind; observant; likes to travel to random/obscure places; isn’t very serious; can sometimes talk in circles rather than getting to the point; loves cats; can be petty when provoked

inspo: phoebe buffay (friends), nick miller (new girl)

plot idea: 1, 2, 3, 4

-cordelia lee; 38; fc: song ji hyo* (alt. park bo young)

works for a supernatural verse if wanted (vampire or magical abilities)

astronomer; lived against her family’s expectations; fell in love at a young age but lost them to unfortunate circumstances; mostly a “spinster” due to it; finds comfort in the nighttime; goes camping; soft

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-evelyn wan; 31; fc: go bo-gyeol

interior designer; usually on the quieter side unless she’s talking about her work; type of person to be in love with their best friend and never say anything; homebody; also doesn’t sleep because she overworks herself

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-harmony rosales; 26; fc: cierra ramirez

got married too young and is now going through a horrible divorce; ex is an asshole; loves loves, so super sad about her marriage failing; also a marriage counselor; cares about everyone and everything; comes off sophisticated, but is a mess; likes to surround herself with pretty things

plot ideas: 1, 2

-isabelle wollf; 51; fc: rachel weisz

professor of biology and drama; lives in santa cruz; science nerd; goes to play, concerts, and art galleries; comes from money but doesn’t seem like it; disorganized teacher; tends to go on tangents when lecturing/speaking; was in one serious relationship set up by their families

plot ideas: 1, 2

-katharine goodwin; 42; fc: rosamund pike

money launderer; conwoman; pretend heiress essentially; likes to live lavishly; manipulative; will be cold/curt if she doesn’t know them/doesn’t like them; fiercely loyal to people she cares about; willing to get her hands dirty, but prefers not to; doesn’t have family ties

inspo: rio (good girls), mazikeen (lucifer), emily thorne (revenge)

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

-kayla driscoll; 41; fc: rose byrne

art curator; moved away from her family in australia for her job; paints in her free time; middle child of two sisters; makes bad choices when she’s interested in someone; ignores red flags all the time; always gives people the benefit of the doubt; constantly gives people a second chance

plot ideas: 1, 2

-kim joo won; 31; fc: choi sooyoung

works for a supernatural verse if wanted (fallen angel or immortal being)

enjoys antagonizing people; flirty; doesn’t think about boundaries most of the time; likes having stupid fun; has a difficult time opening up emotionally to others; collects art, clothes, and jewelry; made her money through investments and owning property

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

-lucinda “lucy” dyer; 46; fc: amy adams

bad at communication; uses physical intimacy as a distraction; black sheep/ostracized from her family; works at a book store; passed law school/exam but decided against her career; smokes and drinks a little too much; witty; comes off standoffish; pretends to not care; lonely; doesn’t know how to ask for help

inspo: fiona gallagher (shamless), camille preaker (sharp objects), jessica jones (jessica jones)

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-marlow mao; 40; fc: elodie yung

family made their wealth through shady means; sold out her father’s criminal activity and had to “runaway” essentially; artist; sells her work under a pseudonym; lives in one of those rich, beach towns; personable but private; doesn’t let people know about her past; worried/concerned about her family/her father’s connection’s finding her

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4

-natasha chung; 29; fc: shin se-kyung

event planner for upscale events; temperamental; difficult in relationships (trust issues, jealously, not emotionally available enough, indecisive); doesn’t necessarily trust people in general because her social status/family wealth; can be a tad immature at times personally; badass at work; high-end taste

plot ideas: 1, 2

-quentin dae; 25; fc: nam joo hyuk* (alt. lee young hwa, lee do-hyun)

actual nice guy; carpentry and repairs are his thing; very much a quiet nerd growing up; looks like he has it together, but does not; will highkey freak out and worry during inconveniences; rarely crushes on people and tends to like the same person for long periods of times; is very bad at flirting

plot ideas: 1, 2

-rosaline perkins; 29; fc: elizabeth lail 

architect at a big international firm; moved to paris for a job; found out she was pregnant after a one night stand; didn’t bother finding the bio dad before the move; decided with family support to keep her baby; can either be working in paris or has moved back to wherever else

plot ideas: 1, 2

-sun hee “sunny” park; 29; fc: lee sung-kyung

script supervisor; had a childhood best friend (and crush) that moved away without warning; feels like she’s surrounded by idiots a majority of the time; loves her job but hates it for dealing with people; has worked in the industry for nearly 10 years; super organized; slight control freak; social interactions exhaust her

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

-tara hwan; 49; fc: sandra oh

baker; owns a bakery shop in the city; very confident in herself and her abilities; comes across scary but is surprisingly sweet; likes to end her day with a glass of wine and trash tv; constantly thinking of new baking ideas/designs; doesn’t put up with rudeness or entitled people

plot ideas: 1, 2

-tinsley porters; 28; fc: jodie comer* (alt. adelaide kane, chloe bridges)

doesn’t stick to a job more than a year; like adventure/traveling; gets restless easily; immature at times; child at heart; can be reckless; believes in soulmates; follows treat others the way they’re treating you; avoids problems and serious situations/conversations; orphaned at 3 years old; believer in found families

inspo: peter pan (peter pan)

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3

-winona renwick; 30; fc: poppy drayton* (alt. jenna coleman, amber stevens)

aspiring chef; spent a majority of her time taking care of her father (widowed and an alcoholic) when her mom passed away; lost her mom in her early teenage years; decided to move away for college to live her own life; worked 3 jobs until she found a steady income after graduating; doesn’t know how to do healthy relationships due to her dad; doesn’t want to have to rely on anyone for help or be a burden; passionate when it comes to cooking

plot ideas: 1, 2, 3 

[callmebrycelee]

Movie Review in 700 Words or Less: Ready or Not (2019)

I’ve never been married before, but I’ve heard a lot of stories from my friends involving their rather interesting relationships with their spouses’ families. Ready or Not - directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet also known as Radio Silence - explores the hardships (and perils) associated with marrying into a wealthy family. When Grace (Samara Weaving) marries into the Le Domas family, who have made millions off of selling card games and board games and acquiring professional sports teams, she learns she has to participate in a time-honored Le Domas family tradition: Game Night. The rules are simple: Grace must draw a card and whichever game is listed on the card (Old Maid, chess, etc.), that is the game she will play alongside the other Le Domas family members that include her new husband, Alex (Mark O’Brien), patriarch and matriarch, Tony and Becky (Henry Czerny and Andie MacDowell), their other children Daniel and Emilie (Adam Brody and Melanie Scrofano), Tony’s sister Helene (Nicky Guadagni) and Daniel and Emilie’s spouses, Fitch and Charity (Kristian Bruun and Elyse Levesque). When Fitch and Charity joined the family, they had to play Old Maid and chess, respectively, but when Grace draws the Hide and Seek card, she enters, unwittingly, into a game of cat and mouse.

Soon Grace is running around the creepy and cool Le Domas mansion trying to avoid being hunted down and sacrificed to Satan by her new in-laws. While Grace is the heroine of the movie, if you are expecting her to take down each member of the Le Domas clan à la assassin Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill or the survivalist Erin in You’re Next, that is not what Ready or Not is all about. Instead, Grace is like us, the viewer, and a lot of her choices are made out of fear and often times result in her being shot in the hand or stabbed in the shoulder. Even though Grace is not the total kickass badass many were expecting her to be, it is quite entertaining watching her outsmart the members of the Le Domas family all the while donning a bloodied wedding dress.

Ready or Not’s script is pretty solid, but my favorite part of the film is actually the characters. Each member of the Le Domas family, even the kids, are given a unique POV which influences every move they make. The film explores wealth and how it affects the people who have it. For Aunt Helene, her husband was killed and sacrificed the last time the Hide and Seek card was drawn. Her view is if she can survive losing the love of her life, so can her nephew Alex. Becky is a bit more sympathetic towards Grace since she, too, married into the family – but make no mistake, she will do anything in her power to protect her family, even if that means sacrificing Grace. Daniel and Emilie are jaded by their wealth and use alcohol and drugs, respectively, to cope. Then there’s the Tony. Tony’s wealth comes from his parents and grandparents. He was born into wealth and has greatly benefited from that wealth. He will stop at nothing to maintain that wealth – even if it means hurting his children in the process. Yeah – they’re all awful, awful people but at least there’s a method behind their madness. Love them or hate them (I kind of love them), it’s refreshing to see fleshed out characters in a movie.

It goes without saying, I absolutely freaking love this movie. If Clue and Hunger Games got together and had a baby, that baby would be Ready or Not. Samara Weaving is a great protagonist and you are rooting for her every second of the movie. Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the movie is the ending. I won’t spoil it for those of you who have not seen the film but let’s just say it’s one of the most perfect endings to a film I have seen in quite some time. If you are seeking the perfect movie for the holidays, I highly suggest this movie. I promise you will not be able to hide the smile on your face.

[moonlightmadnessreviews]

Ready or Not (2019) : There’s No Crying in Hide and Seek!

When I first saw the coming attractions for Ready or Not, I felt it was the perfect mix of a classic Twilight Zone concept and the modern “hunter be hunted” genre of film popularized by The Purge and You’re Next. I thought I had Ready or Not’s card pulled before the movie even started, but directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett played a very different game from the one I was expecting.

The premise for the movie is quite simple: Newly-wed bride Grace Le Domas (Samara Weaving) must play a game on the night of her wedding in order to be accepted by her new family, only to find that these 1 percenters must kill her before sunrise in order to hold up their end of a bargain made with none other than the devil himself. As I said, the movie has a really simple concept, and one that’s honestly fleshed out pretty well in the trailers (most trailers now a days give up too much info anyway), so I went into it feeling like I had a solid grasp on what I was in for. Despite this, I was really excited to see Weaving fight her way through the family members, taking them out 1 by 1! Besides, for the most part, horror movies tend not to disappoint when it comes to their final girls.

Weaving first caught my attention with her starring role as murderous Satanic babysitter (oh, how the tables have turned) in 2017’s The Babysitter. I felt that movie would not have been tolerable if not for Weaving and co-star Judah Lewis as Cole, as the rest of the cast was made up of characters I couldn’t wait to see killed off. Weaving has a charm and wittiness to her, playing Grace as genuinely as possible once you consider her predicament, and her comedic timing plays really well in this movie. I also enjoyed Mark O’Brien’s portrayal of Grace’s new husband Alex Le Domas, and the way his character sat in contrast to Adam Brody’s Daniel Le Domas. Beside’s Grace, I feel Daniel has the best character arc in the movie and I really must say that, as much as I’ve never really like Adam Brody in any of his other roles (does he just play the role of insufferable jerk that well?!), he does a great job here playing a very conflicted character. The rest of the Le Domas clan is rounded out by Henry Czerny as father Tony, Andie McDowell as mom Becky, Nicky Guadagni as the hysterically menacing Aunt Helene, Melanie Scrofano and Elyse Levesque as sisters Emilie and Charity and finally brother in law Fitch Bradley played by Kristian Bruun.

Thankfully, for a movie about a murderous game of Hide and Seek, the tone leans more towards black comedy than gritty horror. The movie really doesn’t take itself too seriously, giving Weaving plenty of room to kick, scream and curse up a storm any time she’s shot at or left screaming for help on the side of the road. By the end of the movie she’s left communicating in a series of grunts and growls, but what would you expect from someone who’s had a wedding night as rough as hers? Aunt Helene and Fitch also work as great comedic relief, one looking like a real life Roz from Monster’s Inc, the other looking like a distant relative of Otho from Beetlejuice.

Being rated R, the movie does have a good deal of blood and gore. There’s a running joke each time a member of the staff is accidentally killed, and the last 10 minutes reminded me of the Blood Rave in Blade. One scene in particular had me cringing, as Grace must pull her way out of a pit of decaying goat carcasses, only to slam her hand down on a nail at the last minute. Don’t worry though-there’s a hole in her hand that fits that nail perfectly! Despite this though, the movie spends way more time on the Deal with the Devil storyline than the 1 on 1 kills I was hoping for. Between the previews for the movie and the hints littered throughout the opening scene, it’s pretty obvious the souls and fortune of the Le Domas family are at stake, making it feel redundant when we keep going back to arguments about what will happen if Grace isn’t killed before sunrise.

Though I would have loved to see Grace go full Rambo on the family, it wouldn’t have felt right for the character that the script (written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy) presents to us. In You’re Next, the character of Erin (Sharni Vinson) was raised in a survivalist commune, so it makes sense for her to use that upbringing to fight her way out of her situation. Grace, however, is completely out of her element. She’s simply trying to make it out alive and pushing herself to do so without the usual flash of an action star. This isn’t to say Grace isn’t a badass in her own right, but there are no cool one-liners here, safe for the very end, to make the character feel larger than life.

2019s Ready or Not turned out to be much different from what I expected, but I still had a really fun time watching it! Admittedly, I do feel like I spent some time waiting for it to pick up a bit. It would have benefitted from less time spent explained the overarching Satanic backstory and more moments like the goat pit scene. That being said, there is plenty of humor to keep you engaged, a few moments that will have you wincing in pain right along with Weaving, a surprising amount of emotion thanks to Brody’s character and (by the end) plenty of blood! If you go into this movie with an open mind, Ready or Not will be way more fun than you’d think, and more fun still than trying to figure out what the hell kind of game Old Maid is!

Rating: 3.5 Full Moons out of 5 🌕🌕🌕🌗

[reelhorrorshow]

Mayhem (2017)

Derek Cho (Steven Yeun, “The Walking Dead”) is having a really bad day. After being unjustly fired from his job, he discovers that the law firm’s building is under quarantine for a mysterious and dangerous virus. Chaos erupts throughout the office as the victims of the disease begin acting out their wildest impulses. Joining forces with a former client (Samara Weaving, “Ash vs Evil Dead”) who has a grudge of her own, Derek savagely fights tooth and nail to get to the executives on the top floor and settle the score once and for all

Where to Stream: Shudder Exclusive

    The age old story of the underappreciated, underpaid, and overworked employee who wants so badly to kick their bosses overpaid and over privileged ass is one we all know. Mayhem takes this story, and turns it into one we can all enjoy over and over again. Take a little dash of “fuck with your boss” phone apps, throw in some Belko Experiment vibes, and a fantastic cast and you have a perfect cocktail of awesome. 

   First, we need to talk about what an awesome job they did casting these characters. Visually speaking, all of the upper management even looked like the kind of bosses you’d absolutely hate. Then they continued to pull it off with a stellar performance backed up by a properly charged script. Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving are definitely the badass main characters we needed, and both are actors I truly hope to see show up far more often in horror films! In one scene, pthey both play up this amazing switch from a chill break in the violence to a heartbreaking moment to a passionate impulsively sexual energy. We get this genuine view into the drastic effect that the films virus has on its infected hosts. This scene more than most gives us an even broader acknowledgement that this isn’t just a rage virus or some cranked up psychopathy side effect, but impresses upon the audience that this is simply an actual lack of control against emotions that are turned up to high volume. 

    Second, I especially love the comedic elements that got thrown into this movie. In addition to the more emotional scenes, that keep this from just being a crank version of an office bloodbath, the comedy really ties it all together nicely. You have the snarky one liners from some of the characters, and those oh so satisfying throwbacks from the evil office hierarchy characters being shoved back into their throats. There’s a genuinely fun blend of different elements at play in this movie that help to keep it at a good balance. There’s a heart pumping out all this bloodshed, and we get to see that heart and have some lovely “aww” moments with it. Director Joe Lynch also helps this by letting us into the Derek’s headspace with the elements of storytelling that he allows the character to have. We’re getting this movie as a semi-flashback narrative, and in addition to that narration we also get lovely paintings of scenes from Derek as well. I’m especially wanting to send my love for the painting depictions of the office hierarchy characters in their portraits as Derek sees them. 

    In the end, Mayhem is a well put together and fun film that I encourage anyone to watch! I also heavily encourage it to appreciate the work of Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving, because those are two actors that really need to be seen in far more films & I hope movies like this help to let the world see that even more. 

Final Score:  5/5

[reviewsinfilm]

Ready or Not

Fair warning: I write with a lot of spoilers. So…spoiler alert.

Ready or Not (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, 2019) is a mystery/thriller that follows Grace (Samara Weaving) on the day of her wedding. She is about to marry into a family “richer than God,” and all she must do to be accepted into this family is play a randomly chosen game. Easy enough. However, when she unluckily draws the Hide and Seek card, the only bad card in the game, things take a turn for the homicidal. Basically, the family gets to hunt her. She spends her wedding night running and hiding from this group of maniacs that claim they need to kill her before dawn or else they will all die themselves.

If you’re a fan of The Purge films, this movie might be worth a watch. But even more so, as soon as I saw the trailer, I immediately got Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) vibes. In no way am I saying that Ready or Not even comes close to being as masterful as Get Out, but it definitely drew some inspiration from there. A young girl goes to her rich boyfriend’s family home, the family is creepy as hell and has some pretty dark secrets, they end up trying to kill her, she escapes a few times and is caught a few times, and her boyfriend eventually turns out to be a bad guy. I don’t know, you tell me.

This film had no problem with gore. Bullet to the face, arrow through the throat, or a skull being cracked, it wasn’t afraid to show the aftermath of a gruesome and fatal injury. I appreciate that. Most of the time they leave you wanting more when it comes to the gory stuff. Here, I almost wanted less. Almost.

Now this is more of a comment on the whole horror/thriller genre in general, but HEY. MAKE SURE THEY’RE DEAD. This film had no shortage of screaming-at-the-screen anger when it came to this. Multiple times Grace had the chance to kill several of the people trying to kill her and she just didn’t follow through. Mainly the scene when she strangles Stevens (John Ralston) in the field. GIRL. He dropped a gun right next to you. Shoot him.

My absolute favorite part about this movie was Samara Weaving. This is the first role I’ve seen her play and I thought she was brilliant. This part called for lots of hyperventilating, and one thing Samara is clearly quite good at is hyperventilating. She was the perfect amount of sassy and badass without ever coming off as annoying. Her reactions seemed really realistic given the situation. I was entirely convinced and enthralled by her performance and she gained a new fan in me. And watching her punch an eight-year-old in the face was fantastic.

Side note: Daniel’s character (Adam Brody) was another one I loved throughout this film. He was so dimensional and interesting and I was rooting for him.

And since I can’t seem to get through a movie these days without one jarring complaint, here it is: that awful ending. It literally felt like an episode of Scooby-Doo (no disrespect to Scooby-Doo). The film wasn’t perfect, it had its faults, but up until the last five minutes, I was very impressed by it. More than I thought I would be. But then they ruined it. The curse ends up being real and, no joke, the family members just start exploding. I literally thought to myself, “oh fuck off.” I was so disappointed I couldn’t even find the words. AND, to top it all off, there was a ghost. It felt so cheap to me and so poorly written that I was genuinely disappointed.

I will give them this, the final shot of the film was beautiful, with Grace exiting the burning house in her now black and bloodied wedding dress and sitting down on the steps. That was well done.

Here’s my suggestion for an alternate ending, in case anyone anywhere cares:

The family kept saying that anyone who objected to playing the game ended up mysteriously dying the next morning. So, instead of having them literally explode, add a character here. Introduce a last-minute addition to the family. A bastard cousin that no one knows about that has been the game master all along, maybe following in his father’s footsteps before him, as this game has been going on for years. Explain that he goes to each wedding and makes sure the game is being played correctly, and if not, he kills the cheaters the next morning, making it seem like there is a curse. This scene could have been incredible. Cue the creepy music on the record player – which here is apparently put on by the ghost. Sigh. He walks in, tells them who he is and that he is here for them because they failed, gives them 100 seconds to hide, and then hunts them down one by one, eventually prevailing with ease because he is clearly a badass, leaving only Grace alive to see the aftermath. Now that is an ending I would’ve been proud of.

Lastly, here’s some of my questions/observations:

Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni) says that Alex (Mark O’Brien) is the only one that had actually seen this game creator in person, sitting in the chair. This is never explained. When did he see him? Was it the ghost? Last time there was a Hide and Seek game, Alex was locked in a closet. So why was this randomly brought up?

Alex’s betrayal of Grace really seemed to come out of nowhere for me. He was willing to do just about anything for her, including betraying his entire family even though he knew about the curse. Sure, watching her beat his mother’s skull in may be a game changer, but the last thing I expected was for him to completely turn on her. Maybe leave the house or call the family in to come grab her, but he was literally going to be the one to stab her in the heart. Guess he didn’t love her that much.  

Where the hell did the “Hail Satan” chant come from...?

5 September 2019

[l1ve2r1se]

Style vs. substance has always been somewhat of a norm that films have come to rely on a little too much as the years have passed and “𝐆𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐤𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐨” is another one of the many MANY examples of how that can cripple a films quality. It’s a brash, crass and often mind-numbing ride that somehow managed to make even the more satisfactory aspects of the movie less tolerable. ⁣ ⁣ I did get a kick out of some of the action sequences, the acting packs a lot of energy (I admire the fact that Samara Weaving continues to be such a badass), every once in a while the set design would result in some good aesthetics, its mostly fast-paced, very tongue-in cheek when it knows what it wants to do, I appreciated it’s overly video game approach as a satire on overamped gamer culture and because of that I was never BORED per se. It’s just that what the film packs in thrills, there’s either too little investment in its premise or too much of it. The production values are fine as far as aspect ratio and music go but it’s cinematography and editing are highly frantic to a fault, dialogue is nothing but exposition, there’s hardly any character progression, plot structure offered more limitations than progressions, some of the references and musical choices came off as pandering and it’s vague messages are really muddled. Not to mention they can also come off as pandering also due to the way it was handled here because most of them either don’t create a lasting impact for the rest of the runtime or it’s never fully taken advantage of. It’s preachy as hell and it doesn’t even know what it’s trying to be preachy about. ⁣ ⁣ Out of everything I didn’t like, it’s the technical aspects that pretty much exacerbate all of its other problems and exemplifies frustrating mechanics inside a film that offered a lot a promise but ended up being aggressively mediocre. Oh yes, even without the frenetic camera and editing botching over most of the scenes, the entire presentation, execution and direction of this movie is the very definition of 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 and 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. For a film trying to appeal to gamers, they sure had me contemplating reaching for the killswitch. (at Tribble Mill Park - Lawrenceville Ga.) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xtDn3FYrc/?igshid=1ihjguvd3dekd

[smokeybrandreviews]

Harley Quinnade

I have concerns about this Birds of Prey movie. It releases tomorrow for everyone, but a few of the critics i follow have already released their reviews and a disturbing trend has shown itself. Praise is heaped on Robbie, Smollet, Winstead and Mcgregor, but there seems to be a laundry list of negatives throughout. The cons outweigh the pros, but no one wants to actually say it’s a bad film. Of course, there’s a chance it isn’t terrible but just because a turd doesn’t sloppy like diarrhea doesn’t mean it ain’t stinky. It feels like people are hesitant to actually call this flick out like it should be because of all the gender politics. I’ve literally watched a critic outright say she was torn between giving it a Rotten score or a Fresh as the movie is that middling, but she went with Fresh because “Muh representation.” That’s whack. BoP is written, directed, and starring women in what might be the first, all-female lead, ensemble action movie. That’s fine. That’s dope. That’s game-changing. I support all of that. My thing is, though, you can support the attempt but be honest about the product.

Out the gate, i was suspect about this whole venture when it was announced. The second Margot Robbie swung onscreen in SKWAD, i knew she was getting a spin-off. Disappearing accent aside, she looked the part of Harley. She was my number one choice for that casting, but that was before i knew about Samara Weaving. Have you seen Agent Smith’s niece in The Babysitter? If that doesn’t just exude Harley energy, i don’t know what does! Seriously, if Margot ever decides to retire her Dr. Quinzel, Samara can slide right in there and the character won’t miss a beat. Anyway, Margot had the choice to make either a Gotham City Sirens film, the right choice, or this Birds of Prey flick, the wrong choice. Margot chose wrong, which seems to be a pattern with the films she produces. It’s kind of weird. Cast in other people’s movies, they tend to be dope as sh*t. Her own films? Not so much. Like, i enjoyed The Terminal but that movie had it’s own problems. If BoP is as good as that movie, i can see why cats would be conflicted about their reviews. I don’t know it can be so aggressively “eh”, though, not with all the bullsh*t behind the scenes.

It sounds like i want this movie to fail. I don’t. I want it to be great. I love Margot Robbie. I love Marie Elizabeth Winstead. I enjoy Ewan McGegor, like, sixty percent of the time. I love these characters and setting. I’ve wanted a Huntress onscreen for years and they tell me this one is too dope for words. I’m here for the representation and hope this thing opens doors for other women to have the freedom to create dope, estrogen driven, kick-ass films. But i have seen those movies already, done much better. F*cking Atomic Blonde immediately comes to mind. That entire movie was amazing, gorgeous, visceral, and smoldering with the “Big Clit Energy”. No one went to see the f*cker though. No one even acknowledges how awesome that thing turned out. Alita: Battle Angel is another one that comes to mind. That movie was not only fun and action packed, it was groundbreaking in the effects department. Alita was a labor of love and you can see it in every frame. There are examples to follow, stories that can be told that don’t revolve around cliche and rehash, but that seems to be something BoP decided not to do.

And that’s my biggest problem. The leaked plot has this movie revolve around Harley Quinn’s break-up with the Joker. Her motivation is to “Get back at Mista J.” F*ck finding independence from a wildly abusive relationship. F*ck standing on her own to feet because she found the strength to be her own person. F*ck being the dynamic, beautiful, flawed, badass from the comics. No, the script has Harley starting off this journey of self discovery, as a bitter ex, cast aside by her horrible beau, throwing a tantrum to sate her anger. It just cheapens the character for me, especially when the Harley Quinn cartoon is so excellent and shows us how dope a Harley/Ivy dynamic could have been in a proper Gotham City Sirens flick. You want to tell the break-up story? THAT’S how you do it. You don’t need stolen dick picks and misandry to tell that tale but here we are. Everything i’ve seen about this flick has lead me to believe that the storytelling aspect is the weakest part of this movie, which is ridiculous, because that’s what movies are; visual storytelling. If you’re story is bad, then you’re movie is bad, right? No one seems to want to say that out loud though, not with this powder keg of political nonsense anyway.

I really hope i’m wrong in all of my assumptions. I really hope this thing can broach mediocre. If not, i really hope people can be honest about it’s flaws and shortcomings. Criticism isn’t there to tear down, it’s there to lay the foundation for growth. BoP might be terrible but there are lessons that can be learned from it, regardless. The next attempt can look at those cats calling out the faults, and shoe them the f*ck up. This is the first time something of this magnitude has been attempted. I read somewhere that the John Wick director had to be brought in to touch up some the fight scenes because Cathy Yan doesn’t know how to direct action. That’s fine. Baby, learn from a master and implement those lessons in the next outing. Grow that skill base so cats can’t say that about you going forward. There’s nothing wrong with admitting your weakness and letting cats show you how to get better. We just have to take our “Muh representation” goggles off and honestly look at this thing for what it is; a movie. Good, bad, or mediocre.

[smokeybrand]

Harley Quinnade

I have concerns about this Birds of Prey movie. It releases tomorrow for everyone, but a few of the critics i follow have already released their reviews and a disturbing trend has shown itself. Praise is heaped on Robbie, Smollet, Winstead and Mcgregor, but there seems to be a laundry list of negatives throughout. The cons outweigh the pros, but no one wants to actually say it’s a bad film. Of course, there’s a chance it isn’t terrible but just because a turd doesn’t sloppy like diarrhea doesn’t mean it ain’t stinky. It feels like people are hesitant to actually call this flick out like it should be because of all the gender politics. I’ve literally watched a critic outright say she was torn between giving it a Rotten score or a Fresh as the movie is that middling, but she went with Fresh because “Muh representation.” That’s whack. BoP is written, directed, and starring women in what might be the first, all-female lead, ensemble action movie. That’s fine. That’s dope. That’s game-changing. I support all of that. My thing is, though, you can support the attempt but be honest about the product.

Out the gate, i was suspect about this whole venture when it was announced. The second Margot Robbie swung onscreen in SKWAD, i knew she was getting a spin-off. Disappearing accent aside, she looked the part of Harley. She was my number one choice for that casting, but that was before i knew about Samara Weaving. Have you seen Agent Smith’s niece in The Babysitter? If that doesn’t just exude Harley energy, i don’t know what does! Seriously, if Margot ever decides to retire her Dr. Quinzel, Samara can slide right in there and the character won’t miss a beat. Anyway, Margot had the choice to make either a Gotham City Sirens film, the right choice, or this Birds of Prey flick, the wrong choice. Margot chose wrong, which seems to be a pattern with the films she produces. It’s kind of weird. Cast in other people’s movies, they tend to be dope as sh*t. Her own films? Not so much. Like, i enjoyed The Terminal but that movie had it’s own problems. If BoP is as good as that movie, i can see why cats would be conflicted about their reviews. I don’t know it can be so aggressively “eh”, though, not with all the bullsh*t behind the scenes.

It sounds like i want this movie to fail. I don’t. I want it to be great. I love Margot Robbie. I love Marie Elizabeth Winstead. I enjoy Ewan McGegor, like, sixty percent of the time. I love these characters and setting. I’ve wanted a Huntress onscreen for years and they tell me this one is too dope for words. I’m here for the representation and hope this thing opens doors for other women to have the freedom to create dope, estrogen driven, kick-ass films. But i have seen those movies already, done much better. F*cking Atomic Blonde immediately comes to mind. That entire movie was amazing, gorgeous, visceral, and smoldering with the “Big Clit Energy”. No one went to see the f*cker though. No one even acknowledges how awesome that thing turned out. Alita: Battle Angel is another one that comes to mind. That movie was not only fun and action packed, it was groundbreaking in the effects department. Alita was a labor of love and you can see it in every frame. There are examples to follow, stories that can be told that don’t revolve around cliche and rehash, but that seems to be something BoP decided not to do.

And that’s my biggest problem. The leaked plot has this movie revolve around Harley Quinn’s break-up with the Joker. Her motivation is to “get back at Mista J.” F*ck finding independence from a wildly abusive relationship. F*ck standing on her own to feet because she found the strength to be her own person. F*ck being the dynamic, beautiful, flawed, badass from the comics. No, the script has Harley starting off this journey of self discovery, as a bitter ex, cast aside by her horrible beau, throwing a tantrum to sate her anger. It just cheapens the character for me, especially when the Harley Quinn cartoon is so excellent and shows us how dope a Harley/Ivy dynamic could have been in a proper Gotham City Sirens flick. You want to tell the break-up story? THAT’S how you do it. You don’t need stolen dick picks and misandry to tell that tale but here we are. Everything i’ve seen about this flick has lead me to believe that the storytelling aspect is the weakest part of this movie, which is ridiculous, because that’s what movies are; visual storytelling. If you’re story is bad, then you’re movie is bad, right? No one seems to want to say that out loud though, not with this powder keg of political nonsense anyway.

I really hope i’m wrong in all of my assumptions. I really hope this thing can broach mediocre. If not, i really hope people can be honest about it’s flaws and shortcomings. Criticism isn’t there to tear down, it’s there to lay the foundation for growth. BoP might be terrible but there are lessons that can be learned from it, regardless. The next attempt can look at those cats calling out the faults, and shoe them the f*ck up. This is the first time something of this magnitude has been attempted. I read somewhere that the John Wick director had to be brought in to touch up some the fight scenes because Cathy Yan doesn’t know how to direct action. That’s fine. Baby, learn from a master and implement those lessons in the next outing. Grow that skill base so cats can’t say that about you going forward. There’s nothing wrong with admitting your weakness and letting cats show you how to get better. We just have to take our “Muh representation” goggles off and honestly look at this thing for what it is; a movie. Good, bad, or mediocre.

[thewolfmancometh]

Mayhem (2017) [REVIEW] [SXSW ’17]

How has Joe Lynch only directed four feature-length films?! Considering his notoriety in the genre film community, you’d think he was on his tenth by now. Granted, considering he was the star of the horror sitcom Holliston and hosts The Movie Crypt podcast, in addition to a handful of shorts, he doesn’t need to have a massive resume for his passion for genre cinema to be well-known. Having previously directed the sequel Wrong Turn 2, forcing him to use story elements he didn’t create, and with Knights of Badassdom being taken away from him, I’ve been waiting for the film that would let the filmmaker fire on all cylinders. Having seen Mayhem, I have now seen Lynch at his finest, and it’s a goddamn blast.

A virus has entered the world that unleashes an individual’s id and cranks it up to 11, resulting in individuals to fight or fornicate anyone their mind wants them to. Derek (Steven Yeun) is a lawyer working for a firm that recently cleared someone of murder charges from crimes they committed under influence of the virus, which he thought would lead to a promotion. Rather, Derek is the target of corporate corruption and is given his walking papers. Before he can vacate the premises, however, the building is quarantined as the building’s air has tested positive for the virus. The building erupts in violence as Derek sets his sights on the executive board on the top floor to defend himself, happily maiming anyone who stands in his way.

Apparently babes and hunks make good movie stars!

Boy oh boy, where do I begin? Well, let’s start with the film as a whole. For a movie to essentially be a “corporate revenge thriller,” the concept is too silly to be taken seriously, so Lynch leans on the absurdity to milk it for what it’s worth. The rules of the virus are laid out expertly in the opening scene to open the door for suspension of all of your disbelief without entering a fantasy world. The characters deliver some incredibly cheesy dialogue and dorky one-liners, but in the context of those words being an extension of the character’s deepest thoughts, it works perfectly. The blend of humor and violence wouldn’t have been at all possible without Yeun anchoring the whole piece together, who has proven he is a certifiable badass.

Of all the characters in The Walking Dead, Glenn has always been a favorite. Yeun exudes sincerity, fully committing to the premise of a zombie apocalypse and all the results from the situation. The actor not only mentally buys into the premise, but through all the rigorous stunts he’s done on his AMC show, was able to showcase his commitment to kicking ass with a variety of kicks, punches, and the occasional nailgun. Samara Weaving, who plays a woman who merely walked into the building for a mortgage extension, joined Yeun on the journey and proved to be just as charming, clever, and badass as Yeun. If the two of them aren’t inundated with more genre opportunities in the future, the world of genre cinema will suffer.

At its heart, Mayhem is about doing what’s right, no matter what the cost. Films like Bloodsucking Bastards, The Belko Experiment, and Us and Them have taken bloodier approaches to the exploration of corporate greed, but what makes Mayhem work is that there are any number of reasons for one man to fight his way through a building, so the messages of corporate greed just add flavor to an otherwise simple premise. Lynch is clearly a child of ’80s cinema where, to create a convincing bad guy, all you need was someone holding a briefcase. Mayhem honors those villains whose gun is a cell phone with the evil board members being the Boss Battle, as well as the office setting to allow for many hilarious office-themed gags. We’ve all wanted to tell off our boss or call out the douchebag coworker, so Mayhem lets us fulfill those fantasies. As a filmmaker, Lynch has fully embraced his enthusiasm and passion for genre cinema while also flexing his comedic chops, all thanks to the tour-de-force performance of his new muse, Steven Yeun.

Wolfman Moon Scale

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