J. Y. Tao

Holy cow, the first episode had me sweating, shocked, and when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it got worse. I gasped in shock so many times. Amazing acting, great story telling, fantastic effects, and very realistic set design/costume/imagery. I really felt like I was there, like I could feel those character's emotions. I'll edit this post once I finish the series, but I'm so blown (oh gosh, pun was not intended or perhaps it subconsciously was) away by the first episode I felt that I needed to write something - that was how moved I was by it. I was interested in this show because of The Terror - they had two of the same actors - but damn. This could've been another season of The Terror. It was so horrifying.

Boring. I tried watching the first episode but it was slow and boring. The first 15 minutes was just at a wedding. Like, we get it, they got married and they're in love. Someone else wrote that this was shot documentary style, and I have to agree. I also don't understand why they didn't put English subtitles for the non-English dialogue. I know that many movies don't because of aesthetics, but I feel like TV is different. Also, the music was really cheesy. Everything feels overly serious and sentimental. I didn't like it.

All I've learned about this show is that Chris Hemsworth is a very attractive man no matter what he does. Sweating in a 175F sauna? Attractive. Swimming in ice cold water? Attractive. Getting out of a van? Attractive. In all seriousness though, it is very impressive that he actually pushes himself to do all these extreme physical challenges. They're definetly not easy. I would not be able to do those things, but it has inspired me to take baby steps. I'm not going to swim in the artic ocean in only my bathing suit, but I will start my shower with cold water. The show said to end your shower with 30 seconds of cold water, but it just makes more environmental sense to start it with cold water. Don't waste water by not waiting for the water to warm up. Also moved to do another half marathon to build endurance. Not going to run a full marathon or climb 100 feet of dangling rope, but I will do another half marathon. This show is inspirational and has some really amazing graphics - the way they show the biology and molecular makeup is so retro and quirky, I love it! Plus, did I mention that Chris Hemsworth is an attractive man? And you learn how you can optimize your body.

I'm sure I'll forget this movie but it was entertaining while it lasted. I'm more amused by the fact that Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg, and Dave Franco made a song and accompanying music video for this movie. This is one of those movies that, when you see it, you think, Netflix must've offered them a buttload of movie to do this movie. And it shows. Clearly there was a lot of room for creative expression and not a lot of consideration for perfection. In the end, you got one of those splashy, action-comedy, bloody movie. The movie takes place in San Fernando Valley. Where Jamie Foxx, Bud, works as a 'pool cleaner', i.e. vampire hunter. There's a John Wick/MIB-like underground society of vampire hunters in which there is a strict guidebook to killing vampires. Each vampire fang bagged equals a cash payout. So I guess more like vampire bounty hunters than vampire hunter. Yes, the difference is money. In order to pay for his daughter's tuition and braces, Bud must come up with $12K in 1 week. Desperate, he begs for his place at the Union back but he's given a probationary period in which a Union rep, Dave Franco/Seth must monitor his actions at all times. In this world, there are different vampire species and their behaviors and payout vary depending on their species type. This movie includes some ridiculous fight scenes. Including a man chambering out a bullet mid-fight and having his brother catch that bullet directly into his chamber. And then immediately firing said bullet. Of course, Bud and Seth don't get along in the beginning but by the end they are semi-good friends. And of course, Bud saves the day and his family get back together. Yay. Although, unfortunately, Seth does turn into a vampire. But he's a good vampire. So it's ok. However, just earlier in the film, Seth was having a moral dilemma about killing vampires because he thinks they're just like regular people and Bud assured him that they're not. So what about Seth? And did we not forget that Bud was basically wantonly murdering vampires without checking if they were good or bad for monetary gain? Or all vampires are bad. But just those 2 that are good are ok? Rather big logic gap there. Overall, 5/10. Fun to watch once but not again.

Trash Horror, B Horror, whatever you want to call it, at its finest. It's got it all. Bad special effects, tropey characters, bad acting, and a lot of plot holes. Oh, lord have mercy, the number of plot holes and bad cuts this film has is almost laughable - actually it is so bad that it is laughable. Which is why I actually liked this movie. The movie starts off with this random white goop bubbling out of a mine. A miner takes one look at it and thinks, 'hmm let me put it in my mouth, great idea'. So he eats it and discovers it's delicious and forces his coworker to eat it, too. It's addictive. So they package it and sell it en masse to the public. They call it, "The Stuff". The ice cream conglomerate start to feel threatened and hire a corporate spy, Mo, to take own The Stuff. At the same time, a parallel story about a adolescent boy, Jason, growing suspicious about The Stuff occurs. At one point, Mo partners up with Chocolate Chip Charlie and they discover that The Stuff is actually some kind of sentient goo that kills and takes over people's bodies. Like some kind of hive-mind zombie goo, but also has the ability to leave the hosts' bodies. In order to sneak into the manufacturing plant, Mo seduces the publicist/marketing lady and she joins the investigation. Running around in 4 inch heels and a white dress. At least it was a midi-dress. Overall, I would recommend to a friend if anyone wants to watch a campy, 80s style, low budget horror. Great for parties. Especially of the 420 variety.

This movie is pretty bad, I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Although there are some interesting twists, overall, it's not good. Pretty cheesy story, lame, unlikable characters, and, although there weren't any obvious plot holes, I don't think they ever explained how Ben broke his arm. Basically, the story goes: a boy comes into town, something strange is happening in the town, boy investigates, nobody believes boy, and boy must save the town. In this case, he only saves 2 people, but you get my drift. The film included a little origin story about something that happened 30 years ago but that never really related back to the plot ever again. Ben doesn't go back to look at old police reports or newspaper clippings to uncover that something has been happening in the town for decades. Nor do they ever really get into the 'lore' of whatever that inhuman creature is. Though they quickly brush by it by just referring to it as "wretched" in brief passing moment. I guess he just googled it. Also, the characters were just unlikable. Especially Ben. Like, what's his deal? He's so unnecessarily sullen. And petty. Incredibly petty. Also, the movie didn't pass the Bechdel Test (which means to have 2 women in it, speak to each other, not about a man). 5/10 would not watch again, would not recommend, but entertained me enough while I was watching it.

Very tropey but pretty scary. Scary Level: 6/10 The actress who plays Mia is pretty good but the actor who plays the husband, John, is almost laughably bad. The man was clearly selected because of his looks. Tall, blonde, blue-eyed, square jawed man. Don't get me wrong, he is attractive, but the scene where he had to call home and urgently warn his wife of the demon trying to kill her is almost comical in how terrible it was. Dude, work on your panic face, cause it sucked in Annabelle. Also, he seemed like the least believable doctor I'd ever seen. Overall, the story was decent. Husband gives soon-to-be mother a doll but their neighbors are brutally murdered by their estranged daughter and her occult pal. Strange things start to occur around their Santa Monica house. They move to an apartment building in Pasadena (why - I don't quite understand because how do you go from unemployed with a house in Santa Monica Santa Monica house to employed and in a Pasadena apartment?) but the doll and more creepy things follow them. The neighbors kids prognosticate through drawings and the doll returns from the garbage bin. Turns out, this cult was trying to raise a demon that then latches itself onto the body of the doll, Annabelle, and wants a soul.

Not bad, but not my favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie (that would be The Sixth Sense). The villain of the film was rather obvious and the constantly aging, and therefore different actors, of the characters made it hard for to empathize with any of them. Additionally, the characters felt a bit one-dimensional. The rich doctor with the hot young wife. And the 'good family' - the Capas. However, the film was very diverse in its casting without it feeling like it was intentional (you know how studios are afraid of being cancelled these and their 'woke' attempts feels forced). It was rather thrilling when everyone started dropping like flies and there were a few jump scares. But it didn't play too much on the psychological component of aging - other than with the deterioration of Chrystal's character. Overall, good to watch if you like horror but I wouldn't recommend to a friend.

A good story, great cultural represenation of indigenous people, an amazing tale of female empowerment, and, best of all, a dog with a central role! It also has really great action scenes and really authentic scenes of the native way of making things - like medicine or a stretcher. Tearjerker level: 8/10 (1-2 tears were shed) Hard to believe that this is a presequal sequel, made-for-TV, Disney+/Hulu streamer movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see this film exceed my expectations. This is supposed to be the prequel to the Predator movies. I've never seen any of the Predator films but I don't think it detracts from the overall movie. I really liked that the film casted real indigenous people and incorporated their language in a way that worked seamlessly with English. I'd say it was a 70/30 mix of English and Comanche. Although I heard there's an all Comanche version. The movie tells the story about a young Comanche woman, Naru, and her kuhtaamia (the big hunt). A hunter's rite of passage in which tone must successfully kill a very powerful beast; "hunt something that's hunting you". Of course, that something happens to be Predator. The relationship that Naru has with her older brother, Taabe, is very realistic, endearing, and sweet. (I also found Taabe rather handsome as well). Also, what an amazing animal actor the dog, Saari (real name Coco), was! She was such a good girl throughout the film. The incorporation of the French furtrappers as villains was an appropriate twist. At first I thought it had to be Predator skinning animals and leaving them for dead (because who else could be so cruel as to just dozens of animals?), but it seems another foreign being was the cause. The only downside is the fact that Predator is in it. But, hey, for a franchise filmi that's like 20 films in, this movie is really good.