Change Your Image
lorimoore-41068
Reviews
Save Yourselves! (2020)
Hilarious
This movie has definitely been labeled incorrectly as it really is mostly comedy with very, very little, if any, horror or science fiction. In my opinion, it's actually just a straightforward comedy with heart, and a story that asks the audience to have fun with a few ideas based in the two aforementioned genres (SF and horror).
Personally, I thought the two main characters, Su and Jack, were HILARIOUS, and though from a completely different generation, I felt a connection to them and their basic views of life and whatnot. I thought they perfectly embodied that age where we still have so many idealistic perceptions of the world, yet we begin to see things more realistically and pragmatically when viewing the world honestly. They go on this journey to 'make the world a better place' in the generic, but end up getting to know themselves and each other in better, more grown up ways. This is represented hilariously in varying scenes, from the ritualistic, couple sharing-of-the-vulnerabilities-and-odd-never-before-mentioned-behaviors revelations, to their ridiculous choices of self-defense weaponry and decision-making. They were real people and I loved them! Su and Jack's dialogue was GREAT; they spoke like normal people, with whom I would love to hang out and be friends. Jack in particular was a riot. Some of the things he said were so funny, random, and for me, laugh-out-loud funny, that I watched the movie twice just in case I missed any great dialogue the first time.
I will agree the ending is a bit abrupt and a bit disconnected from the rest of the movie, but whatever. If you want a bit of fun and can let go of your inner Rosebud, then this movie is definitely worth a watch. I absolutely recommend!
8989 Redstone (2016)
Just No...
In my opinion, the actors all deserve a much better movie. The story is one that has been told many times, in a genre that's been done to death, and neither well. Sometimes a really good story with the right people at the helm can take the clichés, the predictable, the worn out and make them fresh and interesting, but '8989 Redstone' was not one of those projects or outcomes.
The basic premise,a home improvement show's attempts to film an episode in a house with a murky history, are undermined by paranormal events and stubborn disbelief. This of course leads to escalating bad, and some storyline details that I guess were meant to help tell the tale. However I just didn't get the point and was left wondering what and why. The movie tries to be scary and it has a few good moments with potential, but again the story's greater problems annihilate the possibilities.
Though I thought the acting was good and the characters believable and at times amusing, the storyline, its tie-ins, and finale, were really disappointing and worn out. I was left hoping for some epilogue scene after the credits that would make it somewhat worthwhile, but never got any such thing.
Maybe another reviewer can shine better light on the plot so that others may like this movie better, but as for me I would just say no and don't waste valuable time that one could spend on their own home maintenance and DIY improvements.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)
Great Fun & Monster Scary-ish
I know this is a bit late in the review category, but I thought it was worth saying that this was a fun and sometimes monster-movie scary.
It's not jump out of your seat scary, but I felt monster-movie dread anticipating what's to come as monster(s) begin wreaking havoc. I thought Jack Brooks was hilarious, understandable, and real. He is someone I would like to know and the hilarity comes from his Happy Gilmore reactions to every day annoyances from unresolved issues. His character is believable in crazy, surreal circumstances and it was entertaining throughout. My favorite movies are those with characters for whom I am rooting whatever the story or how it's told, no matter their flaws or good-guy, bad-guy personas as developed(much like Ash's), and the character's humor when well written/played. I felt Jack Brooks fit this bill to a T. Loved him!
Don't look for an Evil Dead comparable; let go of pretense and limited expectations and just enjoy. This was, in my opinion, how we all first came to know and love Evil Dead movies to begin with, and how Ash and his exploits continue to entertain to this day...