Huh. I usually watch way more TV in winter, but . . . not this winter, apparently. Here’s the short list of everything I did end up watching (and, in many cases, abandoning):
Running Man (Episodes 89-101 and 631-645) Star Trek: TOS (Season 3, Episodes 19-24) Connect Alice in Borderland (Season 2) The Last of Us Willow (abandoned, probably for good) 1899 (abandoned, probably for good) Kaleidoscope (abandoned, probably for good) Avenue 5 (Season 1) Poker Face Ticketing With Two Feet/Bros on Foot Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special Our Blooming Youth (abandoned, may return to)
Of the shows I’ve abandoned, I’m probably the least likely to return to Kaleidoscope. The structure really interests me—I’m fascinated by the idea of a heist show you can watch in any order—but I bounced off the first episode I tried and haven’t felt like going back, despite the excellent Giancarlo Esposito and my deep nostalgia for Bad Guy Rufus Sewell. I also probably won’t return to 1899, although I had originally planned to. I did find the first episode very intriguing, but then Netflix cancelled the show, those bastards, and I’m not sure I wanna pick it up again when it feels doomed for an unsatisfying conclusion. (I’m also less interested in returning to Willow, now that I know it’s been cancelled too, although I did enjoy the first episode well enough.) Then again. I did recently finish playing Return of the Obra Dinn and am VERY into ship based murder, weirdness, and horror right now. So, 1899 is still a possibility.
I’m most likely to give a second chance to Our Blooming Youth: I didn’t get into quite as much as I’d hoped, but there’s a lot to potentially to work with here: Park Hyung Sik, mysterious curses, murder investigations, female friendships, etc. I’m also happy to see more of Yoon Jong Seok, who I enjoyed in The Crowned Clown, but I’m already worried I’m not going to like where his character arc goes. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong!
In the St. George household, Valentine’s Day is traditionally celebrated with horror movies—although, admittedly, that hasn’t been very consistent in recent years due to, you know. Life. This year, however, Mek and I decided to pick two scary movies each and celebrate Bloody Hearts by watching them over the course of the week.
Here’s what we ended up checking out:
Blood Quantum
Year: 2019 Director: Jeff Barnaby First Watch or Rewatch: First Watch Streaming Service: Shudder Spoilers: Hm, some are definitely implied Grade: Vanilla
Sometimes, I get frustrated with people who talk shit about zombie stories as if every one is the exact same. If zombies aren’t your jam, that’s cool—I’ve got my preferences, too—but when you reduce any sub-genre to only its most well-known tropes, you usually end up overlooking stories that are fresh, subversive, and/or come from new or diverse perspectives. Blood Quantum is an excellent example of this with a fantastic premise: when the zombie apocalypse hits, Indigenous people—unlike white people—are immune to the disease. They are not, unfortunately, immune to being eaten and torn apart, so we get a really great power shift where the Indigenous characters (who make up the vast majority of the cast) are the people in power, the ones making the rules and providing refuge—while still having to fear white people’s betrayal, as their selfishness and unwillingness to follow the rules can absolutely get our heroes killed.
The movie is super gory, which is excellent, and there are definitely a few upsetting moments, so it might be worth checking out a site likes Does The Dog Die if you find CWs helpful. I did feel some of the performances were a bit awkward and stilted, and that may have contributed to the movie feeling slower than it really is. I did generally enjoy Michael Greyeyes as Traylor, though, and Gisigu (Stonehorse Lone Goeman) is my absolute favorite. Also, it’s extremely sad that writer and director Jeff Barnaby passed away so young. I would liked to have seen more of his horror films, and still need to check out Rhymes for Young Ghouls at some point.
Finally, a few things that Blood Quantum teaches us, or at least reaffirms: A) white people will manage to be a constant threat to people of color, whether they’re currently in power or not, B) it never, ever pays to be pregnant in the zombie apocalypse, and C) men really will fuck everyone over and burn it all to the ground if they become upset about their dicks.
Popcorn
Year: 1991 Director: Mark Herrier First Watch or Rewatch: First Watch Streaming Service: Shudder Spoilers: Some Grade: Chocolate
You know, I can’t remember exactly how I first came across Popcorn, but the premise alone—a killer begins murdering a group of film students as they host a horror movie marathon in an old theater with a bloody past (a past which our final girl has been mysteriously dreaming about)—meant I was always gonna check this one out. And I’ve gotta tell you: Popcorn is just, IDK. Joyful? Sure, some parts are cheesy as hell, and certainly some acting is better than others. Final girl Maggie (Jill Schoelen) is pretty boring, even if she does have a fabulous early 90’s Winona Ryder aesthetic. This movie also leans hard on that whole “disfigured, thus evil and crazy” trope, which very much isn’t my favorite.
That all being said, anybody who loves 50’s B-horror movies, midnight movie nights, and William Castle gimmicks is probably gonna get a kick out of this film. The movie marathon looks like an absolute blast, like, I want to go to it—except, you know. Preferably not get murdered or anything. (And, well. Maybe not the tiny electric shocks, either. 100% there for all the shouting back at the screen, shitty 3D, and giant flying props, though.) Everybody in Popcorn seems like they’re having a really good time: the students, the audience, the killer, the delightfully random reggae band, etc. It certainly looks like it was fun to make. My absolute favorite scenes are probably the ones we get from the fake B-movies themselves, but I’m also extremely partial to this running gag where Mark, Maggie’s kinda shitty love interest, gets beat up a lot, like, this movie could easily have been retitled Mark and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. (What makes this especially hilarious is just how little Maggie gives a shit, too. Christ, I wanna rewrite this movie just so I can realize her potential as an awesome final girl.) Also! I was happy to see A) certain characters live, and B) actors I didn’t know or had forgotten were in this movie, like Dee Wallace, Kelly Jo Minter, and Ray Walston. (Also! Ellen Sue from A League of Their Own!)
Finally, my very favorite surprise of all time: when the students find a deeply weird short film with a gruesome true crime history behind it, they quickly decide not to air it during the marathon, and like . . . I just . . . I don’t know if I’ve ever been so shocked by such excellent common sense in a horror movie. Bravo, kids. You really didn’t deserve this killer in your midst.
Pontypool
Year: 2008 Director: Bruce McDonald First Watch or Rewatch: First Watch Streaming Service: Apple (rental) Spoilers: Yes Grade: Vanilla
Holy shit, FINALLY. Pontypool has been on the Horror Bingo list so long that I had honest to God forgotten what it was about. And while I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, this . . . probably wasn’t it. (Actually, that’s a lie. I do know what I was expecting. British. I was expecting British. It sounds British, doesn’t it? Canada really threw me for a loop here, although I will say that Stephen McHattie does have a very nice voice to listen to.)
Pontypool is an interesting movie. Truthfully, I haven’t fully made up my mind about it quite yet and probably won’t until I feel like giving it a rewatch. I mean, some of it is goddam fascinating. I am absolutely obsessed with a virus that transmits through language—in this case, English. (Like, if ever there was an incentive to keep up with Duolingo, right? Mek and I have decided that we’d survive through a combo of her poor French and my abysmal Spanish, with maybe a few Korean words we’ve picked up from various K-dramas.) There’s just so much here that I like. The idea of getting stuck on certain infected words. Grant saving Sydney by mixing up the word definitions. (That kiss/kill scene is particularly fantastic.) There are some awesome creepy moments, too, most of them with Laurel-Ann. And some of the dialogue really made me laugh.
For me, though, the movie did take a while to get going, which I suspect I would’ve minded less if our protagonist wasn’t, you know, a shock jock. I have to admit, too, that I don’t really know what to do with the after credits scene. And seriously, what the fuck is up with that whole weird Lawrence and the Arabians bit? The brownface? The Osama bin Laden joke? Seriously, I do not understand the point of this scene at all. If it’s meant to be some kind of clever commentary, then . . . cool, but if so, the satire went right over my head, because it mostly struck me as some extremely blatant, extremely random racism thrown into the first act for shits and giggles—and all my Google searches have not helped me find a deeper meaning here.
Re/Member
Year: 2022 Director: Hasumi Eiichiro First Watch or Rewatch: First Watch Streaming Service: Netflix Spoilers: Not really Grade: Vanilla
Okay, look, I had every intention of watching Skinamarink as my second pick for Bloody Hearts—and I still really want see it—but for once in my goddamn life, Netflix popped up with a “you might be interested in ____” email that I was actually interested in. I mean, come on. Time loop horror? Strange curses? A group of teenagers having to scavenge hunt for body parts and reassemble a corpse? It’s like this movie was made for me.
The tonal whiplash on this one is wild. Initially, Re/Member plays it pretty straight, just a regular supernatural teen slasher, albeit with a fun plot device—but then abruptly we’re getting this fucking amazing violent montage that flip-flops between the darkly hilarious and some cutesy feel-good shit. This is a teen slasher that’s very much about gore, but also very much about loneliness and friendship. Obviously, I love all of that. I do kinda wish it was a bit more balanced, like, we definitely could’ve had some of this dark comedy from the very beginning. Still. A mixture of humor, Feels, and violence? Like, that’s my whole brand. I seriously adored all the gory heartwarming shit.
Considering that Re/Member is very much about friendship, I wish we got a deeper look at each character, particularly at our heroine, Asuka (Hashimoto Kanna), who is predictably and unfortunately very bland. It’s especially disappointing because time loop stories are amazing vehicles for character development, and we could’ve done a lot more with that here. I’ll also say that the after credits scene doesn’t do much for me, as horror movie stingers rarely do. Still, I had a pretty fun time watching this delightfully weird and mostly optimistic teen horror. It reminded me a bit of Another, actually, which I also quite liked, despite very mixed feelings on the ending. (The book and anime, anyway. I haven’t read the manga or watched the movie. At least, not yet.)
Last week, I posted a list of all the novels, novellas, web comics, and graphic novels I read in 2022. Today, I’ll be discussing some of those books in more detail, with some normal categories like Favorite Nonfiction but mostly silly categories like Favorite Fluffy Zombie Apocalypse. It’s kinda like a Top Ten, except it’s really a Top Whatever Number I Arbitrarily End Up At—and then there are a bunch of honorable mentions, too, because, goddamnit, I couldn’t help myself.
As always, I’ll be discussing any books I loved reading in 2022, regardless of what year they were actually published. There actually are multiple things on this list from 2022—pretty rare for me, as I’m forever playing catchup—but still. I’m not just gonna ignore something I loved because it came out in 2021, like. Why?
Happy Halloween! Looks like Horror Bingo is definitely going into November this year. Pray for Pontypool, everyone! I know that would be a miracle, but it would also assure me a sweet, sweet victory. (Against Mekaela, anyway.)
But to today’s film! 28 Days Later is an old favorite. I saw it for the first time when I was, IDK, 17 or so, and it might have been the very first zombie film that I fell in love with.
Obviously, there have been any number of excellent zombie films since then (Shaun of the Dead, One Cut of the Dead, Train to Busan, etc.), but this one still holds a special place in my horror-loving heart.
I’ve been meaning to watch One Cut of the Dead for actual years now. It consistently gets nominated for Horror Bingo, only to just as consistently never get chosen. In fact, the only two movies that have stronger “always the bridesmaid” energy are Pontypool and Lake Mungo, two films that astute readers will notice still have not been picked.
But today, at long last, the time has come. We have finally watched this beloved Japanese zombie comedy, and you know what?
Everyone is right. I absolutely adored this movie. Which is why I’m begging you now: please, PLEASE do not watch this trailer if you haven’t already seen the film. Hell, even the trailer itself begs you not to watch. Just stop reading this review and go check out One Cut of the Dead immediately because it is, without a doubt, my favorite Horror Bingo 2022 film we’ve seen to date.
And we’re back! Welcome to Return of the Winter TV Superlatives: The Big Spoiler Edition. A reminder of the shows I’ve been watching for the past 3 months.
Midnight Mass Guardian Hawkeye (Episodes 4-6) Nancy Drew (Season 3, Episodes 5-13) Running Man (Episodes 36-49 and Episodes 582-593) The Expanse (Season 6) The Witcher (Season 2) The Silent Sea Ted Lasso Yellowjackets Happiness All of Us Are Dead Beyond Evil Star Trek (Season 3, Episodes 1-3) Last Week Tonight (Season 9, Episodes 1-2)
SPOILERS will start off light, but we’ll be getting to the plot twists and secret villains and such very quickly, so read carefully, my friends! (Seriously, read lightly if you’re even considering watching shows like Beyond Evil—WHICH YOU SHOULD. Remember, the Honorable Mentions are spoilers, too!)
Now that we’ve hit March, it’s time to discuss the last three months of television! Here are all the shows I’ve been watching.
Midnight Mass Guardian Hawkeye (Episodes 4-6) Nancy Drew (Season 3, Episodes 5-13) Running Man (Episodes 36-49 and Episodes 582-593) The Expanse (Season 6) The Witcher (Season 2) The Silent Sea Ted Lasso Yellowjackets Happiness All of Us Are Dead Beyond Evil Star Trek (Season 3, Episodes 1-3) Last Week Tonight (Season 9, Episodes 1-2)
A quick reminder for how these work: superlatives may be bestowed upon any show I’m watching, no matter whether said show is currently airing or not. As always, I will do my best to clearly mark all awards with appropriate spoiler warnings. I may discuss events from past seasons, however. Which is to say, I won’t spoil TheWitcher, Season 2, without a heads up, but any Major Revelations from S1 are totally fair game. (Though that’s just an example, like. NGL: The Witcher didn’t exactly get a lot of love here.)
Also, I apparently had a LOT to talk about because by the time I was finished writing this post up, it was already over 8,000 words, which some might consider, you know, excessive. Thus I decided to split my TV Superlatives in half, which is . . . well, still an excessive word count, honestly, but that’s just how it goes at MGB. Part I is generally spoiler-free. The Big Spoiler Stuff will all be in Part II.
Happy New Year, everyone! I’m loathe to even express hope for 2021 at this point, so let’s just belatedly talk about the Christmas movies I watched last week instead.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Year: 2017 Director: John McPhail First Watch or Rewatch: First Watch Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or Other: Amazon Spoilers: Some, but I don’t think any Big Ones Grade: Vanilla
Ah, the traditional zombie musical holiday movie. I enjoyed Anna and the Apocalypse, although it’s a bit darker than I expected it to be. Ridiculous of me to assume otherwise, I know–horror comedies obviously tend to skew dark, not to mention Clear Foreshadow song “Hollywood Ending”–but I suppose I was thrown by all the dancing and cheer and cast full of generally likable characters? Musical comedies and horror comedies generally have different rules about who and how many people you can murder, and I found myself expecting a story that adhered more to the former than the latter. As such, some of the character deaths here definitely took me by surprise.
My absolute favorite character, though, is Assistant Headmaster Savage, who starts out this movie as a curmudgeonly antagonist–as all vice principals must–before transforming into a glorious mad villain–as all vice principals must. I’ve read a few reviews now that feel this turn is forced or unnecessary, and TBH, they aren’t wrong. But I also don’t care because Savage is so utterly delightful that I don’t give a damn what he’s doing, so long as he keeps talking. Every line is somehow drier and more disgruntled than the last until this dude’s sitting in the dark, ominously explaining that he’s eating his Christmas dinner, and I’m near in tears. Savage, BTW, is played by Paul Kaye, who also played Thoros of Myr in Game of Thrones, and now I’d really like to see a slideshow comparing every GoT actor with their absolute LEAST GoT-like roles.
Anna and the Apocalypse is also one of those movies where the horror might take you by surprise if you just stumbled across it on TV without knowing anything about the story. The first, IDK, 15-20 minutes play as a standard cute high school musical, and then we get “Turning My Life Around,” which changes everything. This scene is epic, delightfully having fun at the vast suspension of disbelief one inherently needs to enjoy musicals. Other favorite songs include “Soldier at War,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now,” and “It’s That Time of Year.”
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Year: 1984 Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr. First Watch or Rewatch: Rewatch Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or Other: Other – Personal Collection DVD Spoilers: Yup Grade: Strawberry
Despite owning this movie, I haven’t seen it in years and was a bit worried Mekaela wouldn’t like it and/or the film wouldn’t hold up, especially since some movies–especially ridiculous ones–are best experienced in a big group of people. These concerns proved groundless: Mek was hilariously indignant on Billy’s behalf, rooting for his inevitable killing spree to begin, and–despite the dreaded grade of Strawberry–I still find Silent Night, Deadly Night pretty solidly entertaining. There are things I’d change, certainly: the attempted sexual assault in the prologue, for instance, or the sheer number of tits on display. (The most egregious moment is when Scream Queen Linnea Quigley pulls on a pair of Daisy Dukes to go outside, but doesn’t bother putting on a bra or shirt? What?) Also, while I love that a kindly old priest gets killed after being mistaken for Evil Santa . . . IDK, maybe don’t make him deaf?
A list of standout moments: any time Billy says “NAUGHTY!” or “PUNISH!” (I’m definitely going to start yelling that at my cats now.) The ending, which sets up for the sequel that I still haven’t seen. (2021 Goals!) That fucking amazing moment when Billy gifts his bloody knife to a little girl. (Wait, this movie has five sequels and none of them are about this kid? JFC, hire me; I will write the shit out of an Evil Girl Santa movie!) Little Billy punching Santa Claus is pretty great, too, and that this toy store sells, like, actual bows and arrows, I guess? I mean, yeah, why not? Some of the death scenes are fantastic, like, Bully Decapitated on a Sled is just *chef’s kiss,* and the dude who dies when he gets thrown through a window? YES. Partially because he’s impaled on just a ludicrously large piece of glass, but mostly because holy shit, someone in a movie finally dies from going through a window pane! I’m also in love with the blatant changes in film quality that sometimes happen mid-scene. It’s the absolute best.
The gigantic controversy that emerged when this movie came out is still shockingly absurd. I feel sorry for anyone whose career might’ve suffered just because people lost their minds and decided Silent Night, Deadly Night was an attack on Christmas, like, this wasn’t even the first Killer Santa movie, goddamn it. I remain vexed on this film’s behalf, and never mind that the movie is a year older than I am and no one cares anymore. This is nonsense. People should still be ashamed of themselves.
Die Hard
Year: 1988 Director: John McTiernan First Watch or Rewatch: Rewatch Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or Other: Other – HBO Max Spoilers: Obviously Grade: Chocolate
Well, I mean. Die Hard is always gonna win for me: I grew up on this one, and the nostalgia factor is just too strong. It’s been my favorite Christmas movie since childhood, and honestly works even better for me as an adult–except that, like most cop movies, it’s kinda 2+ hours of police propaganda. (We need more mavericks like McClane! It’s only pesky rules that stop hardworking cops getting the job done! Thank God Al Powell learned the Will to Kill again after shooting an innocent kid!) Still. Messaging aside, I do love this one. There are just so many little moments I enjoy: all the humming and singing (“Ode to Joy” has honest to God become a Christmas song in my brain), Al Leong’s improvised candy bit (it is low key my favorite joke in the whole movie), Karl and Theo’s bet (which I somehow didn’t notice for years), etc.
The dialogue, too, seems effortlessly funny. All the Big Lines, of course, but also the little asides. The way Alan Rickman says, “I must have missed 60 Minutes.” The obvious amusement in Reginald VelJohnson’s voice when he asks, “Hey, Roy, how you feeling?” How Tony’s actions–wait, his name is TONY–somewhat belie his words when he assures, “I promise I won’t hurt you,” or the way James Shigeta quietly reminds Ellis, “Holly’s husband. Holly’s policeman.” TBH, I just adore Shigeta in this movie and always get a bit bummed when Takagi dies. Hans, too, of course, because let’s be honest: we all want to see the AU version where Hans wins, right? Or at least some deleted scenes with Exasperated Hans listening to John and Powell talk? Basically, I want more of Alan Rickman at every given opportunity. Damn, I still miss him.
Obviously, there’s really not much I can say about Die Hard that hasn’t already been said a billion times over. But I’m here, so: A) I have a lot of Feels/Ideas about characters who build a relationship (of any kind) before actually meeting, so of course, I think it’s awesome that John does this with his closest ally Powell (only one scene together) and Big Bad Hans (only two). B) I like that John is mostly a regular guy who gets caught in a bad situation, rather than the Super Cop he’ll become in subsequent sequels. (He’s also a bit of a sociopath–evidence HO HO HO–and probably would’ve gotten everyone killed with that C4, but we’ll ignore this for now.) C) A bad guy actually does die from being thrown through glass; however, this moment is somewhat negated when John swings straight through a glass window himself and is basically fine. And D) I love that Kristoff survives because I don’t care what anyone else says; he lives, and it is the BEST.
Finally, I’m mildly obsessed with recasting movies, just for the challenge of it. Lately, Mek and I have taken to recasting movies and TV shows with Korean actors–I always end up casting Choi Won-Young as somebody–and, of course, we’ve already did a genderbent cast for Die Hard a couple years ago. (Scroll down quite a ways.) I mention all this because while watching Die Hard for the 574th time, I was struck by a strange if charming idea: what if LeVar Burton had been cast as Theo? Not because I dislike Clarence Gilyard Jr. in this, but . . . I don’t know, I’m just very amused by the idea of everyone’s favorite children’s show host/mild-mannered Chief Engineer playing a bad guy (albeit, a comic relief bad guy). He could absolutely do it, and I think it would’ve been fun to see. Which naturally led Mek and I to a new game: recast actors who could somewhat reasonably have played these roles in 1987. We haven’t settled on a full cast yet, but I can tell you that some of the nominees for Karl have seriously cracked me up.
Well. 2020 has been . . . a lot, and will surely keep on being a lot right till the bitter end. No doubt at least one bit of catastrophic or otherwise world-shaking news will break between my posting this review and you reading it. And yet . . . it’s Halloween season. And I love Halloween season, and am determined to enjoy as much of it as I can.
Year: 2020 Director: Jo Il-Hyeong First Watch or Rewatch: First Watch Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or Other: Netflix Spoilers: Not really, no Grade: Vanilla
Okay, so, technically, this movie doesn’t count for Horror Bingo; I actually watched it a few weeks ago and just haven’t had the opportunity to write it up yet. But I’m throwing it in here anyway because I really enjoyed #Alive a whole lot. It’s definitely a film that embodies 2020, Our Year of Quarantine, Misery, and Despair–except that it’s actually much more optimistic than that, and I’ve long been excited by horror that is optimistic, uplifting, or otherwise hopeful. One cool thing about this type of horror is that it can lead to interesting trope or genre subversions; after all, a thing going right is sometimes more shocking than a thing going horribly wrong.
I will admit to being a bit tired of protagonists who are, like, IDK, gamer loser boys? But I genuinely enjoyed Yoo Ah-In in the role; he’s pretty fantastic, which is great because we spend quite a bit of time with him alone in his apartment, trying to survive. The film takes its time here, really delving into Oh Joon-Woo’s emotional journey, and I absolutely love that. I also adore Park Shin-Hye as Kim Yoo-Bin, Joon-Woo’s badass neighbor. I became very invested in their survivor bond and enjoyed watching all the moments where they risked themselves to share food or otherwise help each other. In fact, I think my only real complaint about the film might be in the last act when a new character is introduced; I feel like the pacing is a bit off here, though I might feel differently with repeat viewings. I sometimes do.
Otherwise, yeah, this is a pretty fun Korean zombie film. Bonus points for some great music, fantastic booby traps, and also for being the rare film where social media is actually depicted in a positive light. This particular millennial appreciated that.
Freddy vs. Jason
Year: 2003 Director: Ronny Yu First Watch or Rewatch: Rewatch Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or Other: Amazon Spoilers: Absolutely Grade: Strawberry
NGL: This GIF is 116% better than this movie.
Last year, we rewatched Jason X, which is legit one of my favorites in the Friday the 13th franchise. This year, it was Freddy vs Jason’s turn, so we decided to make it our Free Space in Horror Bingo. Alas, Freddy vs Jason is actually even worse than I remembered, and I wasn’t exactly fond of it the first time around. The acting, the editing, the writing, Jesus, the writing. Of course, there are multiple cringeworthy lines, but the one that sticks out most is when our heroine decides– completely out of nowhere–to provide the worst exposition of all time with, “Freddy died by fire, Jason by water. How do we use that?” Oh God. I was dying. I was in serious fucking distress.
Also, let’s be clear here: Freddy Krueger is useless in this movie. Jason Voorhees kills, like, 22 of 23 people. Freddy gets one dude, one. When Freddy somehow holds his own against Jason after Lori drags his ass to the waking world? Nope, not buying it. Jason would obliterate this dude. And while I’m not entirely unsympathetic to the difficulties in coming up with a coherent storyline for this kind of crossover, like, come on. If your movie is titled Freddy vs. Jason, then either I wanna see a much better murder competition between these two, or way more battles between our titular villains, like, give me some Mortal Kombat shit, I am begging you.
Honestly, I have a lot to say about this movie, and very little of it is positive. Things I do genuinely like: A) Trey’s death scene (I cheered), B) Charlie’s death scene (surprisingly sad), C) the part where Charlie insists he can’t give Jason Voorhees mouth-to-mouth because he has asthma (“Kia, he has asthma!” LOL LOL LOL), and D) Katharine Isabelle, who is easily the MVP of the cast. (So it’s a bummer her part is so small–and that the director tried to go back on her contract and make her do nude scenes, ugh.) I honestly forgot just how many people were in this movie: Monica Keena, Kelly Rowland, Jason Ritter, Chris Marquette, Lochlyn Munro, a Zach Ward cameo, etc. This is delightful.
Then again: A) not to harp on this shit script, but aspiring writers, please don’t give your heroine two different back-to-back origin stories on why she doesn’t date (“my cherished boyfriend mysteriously ghosted me” and “my tragic dead mom”), B) also feel free to leave out any homophobic jokes (allegedly an improv, still total bullshit), C) also leave out any dumb possession scenes (Freeburg), D) or shitty death scenes (Kia), E) or bullshit resurrections (Freddy waking up Jason, somehow–although to be fair, Jason’s resurrections have never really made any sense). Finally, less laughable gratuitous nudity, if you please. Cause come on. Who buttons up their shirt just enough that one boob is sticking out all the time? Honestly.
Train to Busan
Year: 2016 Director: Yeon Sang-Ho First Watch or Rewatch: Rewatch Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or Other: Other – Viki Spoilers: Yep, all of them Grade: Chocolate
I enjoyed Train to Busan the first time I watched it; I liked it even more on the second go. I wonder how the translation differs between Viki and Netflix. I’m afraid it’s been far too long for me to compare.
My thoughts are largely the same here: while lousy redemptive fathers are even worse than loser gamer boys, Gong Yoo makes this shit work, like, this is the gold standard of daddy redemption arcs. The Feels in this movie are incredible. Obviously, Ma Dong-Seok is the best and thus his death hits very hard, but I feel invested in almost all the characters: the sisters, the baseball player, the pregnant wife, the train conductor, the small child who gives her father Judgment Eyes for two hours straight, etc. It remains impressive that I even feel a bit sorry for Selfish Asshole, especially since he’s directly responsible for so many deaths. This is an emotional movie; I definitely cried more than once and felt pretty wrung out after watching it. (Though, to be fair, I also found out that Trump was COVID+ at the same time, which, like, I have zero sympathy for that man. Still, I remain anxious for how this will impact the election; besides, the news in general is just overwhelming lately. My reaction was basically “. . .” because I’m lacking even the emotional bandwidth for proper schadenfreude these days.)
I do still wish at least one of the women in this movie had an action scene where they, you know, did something. It bothers me less this go around, but it’s still likely my biggest disappointment with the film. OTOH, Jong-Gil’s decision to open the door played much better for me on a second viewing. And I still love so much else about this film: the pacing, the action scenes, the clever use of tunnels, etc. Also, on a positive note: Train to Busan was the first thing I saw Choi Woo-Shik in, who I rather adore. (He’s such a puppy in this movie. The expression on his face when he enters the train car full of Zombified Teammates, oof. Poor puppy.)
I maintain that Small Child’s singing at the end of the film is a terrible idea and should have gotten our two survivors dead (rather than be the instrument of their salvation), and damn the themes and symbolism. Still, it’s not a serious complaint. It doesn’t look like either character is in the sequel, either, which I’m actually grateful for, and not just because Peninsula is, by all accounts, nowhere near as good as its predecessor. It’s just if a character makes it through a zombie apocalypse, I have zero interest in watching a sequel where they inevitable die. LONG LIVE SUNG-GYEONG AND SOO-AN, SURVIVORS OF THE ZOMBIE HELL TRAIN.
Well. All is chaos right now, and it’s an absurd time to be talking about TV Superlatives. Regardless, that’s what we’ll be doing here today because at MGB, we believe that when people could use a moment’s break or distraction, what they really want is 5000+ words about cartoons, Chinese dramas, and CW shows.
Still. Before we get to any of that, let me list a few of the many places you can donate to help protestors and support Black Lives Matter:
Please feel free to comment with links to any other related organizations or crowdfunding campaigns that you think need attention/donations. Please do not comment to say “blue lives matter” or any other inane bullshit. Save that crap for your Facebook page that nobody wants to read.
And now for the main event: our Spring TV Superlatives!
A quick reminder for how these work: I will bestow whatever TV shows I’ve recently been watching (whether they’re currently airing or not) with awards like Most Adorable, Best Kiss, Most Unintentionally Hilarious Moment, etc. As always, any awards with spoilers will be very clearly marked.
As a reference point, here are the shows I’ve been watching for the past few months:
The Untamed Altered Carbon (Season 2) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season 7) Star Trek: Picard Nancy Drew Legends of Tomorrow (Season 5) Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness Nailed It (Season 4) Harley Quinn (Season 2) Kingdom (Season 2) Medical Examiner: Dr. Qin (Season 1) Village Survival: The Eight (Season 1) She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Season 5)
My Geek Blasphemy 