Killer Charm – Google

Basic b-flat horror flick about an entity that needs its host to commit suicide, with a witness. The witness must be traumatized by the suicide, only then can the entity invade that witness's body. It goes from one host to the next, killing and traumatizing willy-nilly. Sounds scary, doesn't it? It should be scary because it doesn't offer much else. Unfortunately, except for the occasional scary smile, which thankfully the smile in question appears more than once and is indeed scary, as I say, except for that smile there isn't much meat here. There's too much reliance on hallucinations, after the fact we learn what we just saw was an hallucination, a cheap trick. Not good enough.

This gojira movie is not the best of them. The flick itself ain't all that, but the gojira is pretty cool. He's got a temper as powerful as he is. We are reminded that godzilla is a god/monster in the Japanese tradition of this monster. He is half monster and half vengeful god, who is here to set Japan into the red after WWII brought the country to zero - minus one. The story is the usual gojira storyline since 1954: Tokyo is under attack by a big bad kaiju – a monster from the sea – and nobody can fight it properly. People are getting smashed and killed helter skelter. A deserter, Koichi, is going to bring this big bad kaiju down and redeem his deserting self.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

In this delightful fairy tale three sharp-as-tac orphaned siblings dodge their odious uncle who has been given custody until the oldest turns 18. Until that day the odious uncle, played to a turn by Jim Carrey, tries to off them in colorful ways. He turns up in disguise, thus affording us the chance to see Jim Carrey play different characters. He's a joy to watch. The movie has a great style; the clothes and sets create a world both modern and steam punk, floating between "real" and fairy-tale worlds. Each time the unctuous uncle shows up again the kids see straight through his disguise but, alas, they are the only ones who can. The adults are blind to Uncle Olaf's shenanigans.

This is a slick, stylish, lavish flick, which has humor that I apparently just missed. Perhaps a second viewing is in order because I just don't get it. This movie feels like it just missed, like the humor's there but not really. I love Ralph Fiennes in comedy but hard as I tried I couldn't see him funny. An exclusive group attend a super exclusive dinner where they PAY for the most extravagant meal, presentation, surroundings and atmosphere. We get to know the chef and his culture, which is a tad extreme. We see all this through Margot, played by Anya Taylor-Joy. As usual she's a treat to look at, delightful to watch. While the writing isn't all that the acting is. The cast is wonderful to watch them work.

Toney haunted house story based on Richard Matheson and it is exquisitely made. The music is to die for, with an excellent foreboding. The use of the cat outdoors is spot on. This flick is so beautifully made it's a joy to watch. A physicist brings science, machinery and a couple of mediums to the Belasco house, infamous for the wicked proprietor, his wicked ways, and his wicked haunting of the place. The goal is to prove the afterlife, or prove the lack of afterlife. When people tried to do this in the past everybody was killed by the house. That is except for one person, and he is one of the mediums coming to the mansion now.

A noir flick based on a Hemingway story, the opening scene is magnificent. This is a b&w tale told in noir pacing through the bifurcated windshield of the 1940s. Two killers show up in a small-town diner looking for the Swede. They want to kill him; it's what they do, and they're not quiet about it. This is a story told in flash-back. One highlight is the Swede's downfall, the femme fatale, Ava Gardner at her peak. She no good. All the men around her, as she's only surrounded by men, are rough but she's the devil. She looks like a different species when you first set eyes on her. The room is full of men who roughly look and dress alike and then you see her, on the bed *surprise* looking like an alien being. She's all smooth purring greed, which is lust-adjacent, so. Fact is, everybody in this flick is tough as nails. The best friend cop, the jilted good-girl girlfriend, the insurance investigator, even the lone diner who faced the killers. In this noir world everyone has as an iron will that's a bit twisted.

Beautifully made indie flick that starts the career of a truly fine director of horrors. Right away, in his debut we see his style and craft growing and glowing. I especially love the demeanor and presence of Aurora, the world's best grandchild. A grandfather and granddaughter pair find a secret but still sought-after alchemist's invention that extends life. It's a gold scarab beetle that houses a live bug. The bug grants immortality but enslaves the immortal to bloodthirst. Sweet and beautiful. The ending is a tad patriarchal but it's such a swift ending that it didn't have time to be truly distasteful.