Film Review:" Black Phone"

Eager to check out this movie due to the fact it is an adaptation of a Joe Hill story, I confident the writing would be solid. Granted this is the one book of his i have not read. Little did I know it would serve to use the same themes as found in his other book "NO4A2". As a parent the thought of kidnapped kids is pretty horrific, but a plot all too similar to "N0S4A2". Granted no vampires in Christmas land. Instead, we get a Stephen King like kids in peril thriller from him.  Was the movie well made? Yes, though it was cashing in on the formula already used by "Stranger Things" to some extent. Both are influenced by Stephen King, so there is that. 

The kids acting might have been the best part of the movie as most the adults felt like they were overacting.  In many ways there was elements of this movie that reminded me of "the Lovely Bones". Some of these were in the plot points. The tone of the film stylistically was also similar though, this movie was not as visually interesting as the Lovely Bones. Sure, there is the ghosts giving him at advice, which is a pretty common horror trope.  Ethan Hawke being the exception when it comes to the adult actors in this movie, as he is certainly creepy enough to get the job done, though until Moonknight not someone you would think of in that light. 

This felt like a straight to streaming release, though I know it did receive a theatrical run. I would have been pissed if I paid to see this move. Watching it at my leisure in the comfort of my phone makes the more mediocre elements seem ok, because Not having to go to the extra work of leaving the house, seems to begin a trend of lowering our expectations to what we might expect from television budget. This is hurting theaters as if you go into a movie not expecting a bigger spectacle than what you get from American Horror Story on the small screen then what added incentive does the theater experience have ? No that this film is at fault but a part of a bigger problem.

Film Review: " Prey"

Fandom is a funny thing. It can cause us to accept things from a perspective of what we hope to see filtered through the lens of nostalgia. While I have enjoyed the previous films in the Predator franchise, I would not say I am a fan but have an appreciation for it thus making me less invested in this prequel. Thus, allowing me to be objective in my expectations. When going into a sci-fi or fantasy film there is a suspension of disbelief we agree to. Great writing understands suspension of disbelief works best when all fantastical elements work within the rules of the world we have created. If you are a great writer, you can work within that framework. There is less to suspend as you have agreed, "Ok, this is Captain America, so I can expect his super serum to allow him to do things that someone who is able to lift close to a ton can do. If he picks up a tank, that is asking too much of me as a viewer, since he is not the Thing or the Hulk.

This can be applied to a Native girl in here 20s as you set these expectations but showing me in the beginning of a film what here strengths and weaknesses are. No super serums or shamanic magic, just a girl who is trying to be a better a better hunter than she is. She is driven to compete with people like her brother, who proves if push comes to shove, they can take her in a fight or at best she might struggle to best them, they are pretty scrawny model looking guys, so this is believable. After all they are pretty evenly matched, when her determination is factored in.  Then we get to a predator, who is able to not only kill her peers with ease but lift a half ton bear over its head and move with superhuman speed. It is a warrior designed to hunt and kill. With that kind of strength, if it were to choke slam a 120 lb. girl, no matter how fit or determined she was, her spine would snap. The basis of the movie is it is an underdog with an actual dog, going up against a predator. The encounters span perhaps three days at most. Not a great deal of prep time or training oneself, you are working with wherever you are at which is closer to the bottom of the tribe's totem pole when it comes to hunters. Not rained enough to hit or evade something that moves at superhuman speed. While we are at it a woman fighting without doing a flying head scissors would be a wonderful trend to start as that has worn thin.

 The Predator's slaughtering of Indians and trappers is fun to watch and brought to screen masterfully there would have been many smarter ways to write it from there. The movie's strength was the leading lady. I am a fan of Amber Midthunder's work in both "Legion" and "Banshee". I think she did a great job here with what she had to work with. The film looks good, the CGI on point for the budget they had to work with, not perfect but impressive at times. If it leaned into being a horror movie more than the Clan of the Cave Bear feel the movie plodding into when violence was not exploding on screen, it might have felt better. More often than not I was entertained, but the inconsistencies with the suspension of disbelief, to measure up with the mythos they have created was a tough one to sit through, I think a grading system for me to use when it comes to movies, I see outside of a theater is how long did it take for me to watch. One that really captivates me i can watch in one sitting, this one took six days.