Another Monkeypaw Production already. I didn't set out to do this; it was simply the next horror I found on Netflix. And it got a somewhat better reception.
Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o, getting top billing for the first time I've seen) is reluctant to go with husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and their children, teen Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and preteen Jason (Evan Alex), on vacation to Santa Cruz, because that's where she developed childhood PTSD from an encounter with an identical girl. Her anxiety increases as she notices coincidences. Gabe doesn't take any of this seriously until around the midpoint, when doubles of the entire family show up -- with murderous intentions.
Showing posts with label jordan peele. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jordan peele. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Wendell & Wild (2022)
In my continuing quest for Halloween-type movies that I haven't seen before and might want to, I accepted Netflix's up-front suggestion, which they had pushed quite a bit last year. It has fared a bit better with critics than with general audiences, but hey, I've seen and reviewed less popular on this blog.
At 13, delinquent Kat (Lyric Ross) gets transferred to a Catholic girls' boarding school in her fading former hometown, Rust Bank. There she discovers a captive demon (Phoebe Lamont) who makes her a "hell maiden" able to summon Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele), two disgraced sons of underworld lord Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames). She wants them to bring back her parents (Gary Gatewood and Gabrielle Dennis), whose deaths she had accidentally caused ages ago. The boys stumble on the revitalizing properties of their dad's hair cream. They also learn that two execs (Maxine Peak and David Harewood) could pay them enough money to start their own afterlife amusement park -- provided they use the cream only on the dead councillors who could sway the vote in favor of turning Rust Bank into a prison complex, a motion otherwise unanimously opposed. Let's just say demons aren't so good with promises. But despite Kat's efforts to avoid friendships lest she jinx more people, she can get a fair amount of support from certain students and faculty to save both the town and herself.
At 13, delinquent Kat (Lyric Ross) gets transferred to a Catholic girls' boarding school in her fading former hometown, Rust Bank. There she discovers a captive demon (Phoebe Lamont) who makes her a "hell maiden" able to summon Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele), two disgraced sons of underworld lord Buffalo Belzer (Ving Rhames). She wants them to bring back her parents (Gary Gatewood and Gabrielle Dennis), whose deaths she had accidentally caused ages ago. The boys stumble on the revitalizing properties of their dad's hair cream. They also learn that two execs (Maxine Peak and David Harewood) could pay them enough money to start their own afterlife amusement park -- provided they use the cream only on the dead councillors who could sway the vote in favor of turning Rust Bank into a prison complex, a motion otherwise unanimously opposed. Let's just say demons aren't so good with promises. But despite Kat's efforts to avoid friendships lest she jinx more people, she can get a fair amount of support from certain students and faculty to save both the town and herself.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Toy Story 4 (2019)
To me, the Toy Story series has been almost the antithesis of the Cars series. TS1, while flawed, was destined for classic status. TS2, while not feeling necessary, outdid it in my book. TS3, which I had long assumed would never happen, became my all-time favorite animated feature (tho I may revise that assessment with further viewings). Could TS4 continue the pattern?
A mere two years after the events of TS3, old toy cowboy Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) has lost favor with owner Bonnie, who's starting kindergarten. He's taking this decline better than he did in TS1, but his way of coping is to support Bonnie clandestinely against the advice of others; like the emotions in Inside Out, he prioritizes nothing over the happiness of "his kid." With his guidance, she makes an ugly yet fairly impressive arts-and-crafts toy named Forky (Tony Hale), who initially doesn't have the mindset for a sapient toy at all. By the time Forky's getting cooperative, Woody's eyes stray to a familiar sight in an antiques shop window, giving him a riskier new priority and prompting buddy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to go on his own rescue mission....
A mere two years after the events of TS3, old toy cowboy Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) has lost favor with owner Bonnie, who's starting kindergarten. He's taking this decline better than he did in TS1, but his way of coping is to support Bonnie clandestinely against the advice of others; like the emotions in Inside Out, he prioritizes nothing over the happiness of "his kid." With his guidance, she makes an ugly yet fairly impressive arts-and-crafts toy named Forky (Tony Hale), who initially doesn't have the mindset for a sapient toy at all. By the time Forky's getting cooperative, Woody's eyes stray to a familiar sight in an antiques shop window, giving him a riskier new priority and prompting buddy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to go on his own rescue mission....
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