Category: March 2024

Late Night With the Devil “Review”

Release date: March 22, 2024 (USA)

Directors: Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes

Distributed by: Umbrella Entertainment

Box office: $4.4 million

Cinematography: Matthew Temple

Produced by: Mat Govoni; Adam White; John Molloy; Roy Lee; Steven Schneider; Derek Dauchy

For a movie that wasn’t on my radar. Then the amount of buzz surrounding opening week put this film on my radar. I’ll have 2/3 different reviews for this feature from non spoiler to somewhat spoiler.

Non Spoiler Review: – The setting wasn’t for me but I’m glad I stuck with it.

Non Spoiler with more info Review: – The 70’s look of the film. The biography style intro to the host and his Night Owl passed before getting into the main show was off putting for myself. I was honestly ready to leave if it wasn’t for the first act of the main late night show bringing my attention back to the film.

Honestly I don’t want to say to much with this title for those on the fence as to not influence your experience. I’m glad I stuck with it and the first 20minutes (Guessing time frame) were the most slow / dryer parts to get through.

Before going into some spoiler info in the next section I came out with this feature for myself is a 6.5/10. I class this as a niche film like that of Lisa Frankenstein which I’ve yet to review. This could be someone’s most favorite movie of the year however not for all, specially those having a hard time getting into the beginning of the film. Which is important mind you for the show itself.

Spoiler ish Review: – Late Night With the Devil is set in the 70’s and focuses on Jack Delroy played by David Dastmalchian (Poker dot man from suicide squad) hosting a late night talk show and aiming to grow his numbers and beat the top competition.

The parts at the beginning setup his past / history which is used later for the film. It did drag me out of the film and needed some time to cook for me to get back into the experience.

The premise of Jack Delroy late night show is around a Halloween episode and focuses on proving a skeptic of the supernatural wrong in his skeptic beliefs.

I won’t go any further than that as I want you to experience the film and make your decision. I personally went from a 4 up to a 5 and slowly climbed to a 7 before settling at a 6.5/10 for my rating. Which is slightly below that of Lisa Frankenstein which got a 7/10 but fits in that niche horror/comedy genre.

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Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire “Review”

Release date: March 29, 2024 (USA)

Director: Adam Wingard

Distributed by: Toho Co., Ltd., Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures

Based on: Godzilla; by Toho Co., Ltd.

Budget: $135 million

Music by: Tom Holkenborg; Antonio Di Iorio

How does one begin to write this other than going all in with a mighty titan rawr!

Godzilla X Kong is a monster movie through and through. Switch off your brain. Grab the bag of popcorn and let’s get into some mighty titan action in this epic feature. The New Empire maybe crossed over with ghostbusters Frozen Empire last week but that doesn’t get in the way with introducing the epicnes that is Godzilla & Kong.

Since their battle with Mecha Godzilla in the last installment Godzilla now watches over and protects that of the human world. Kong has resided to the hollow earth and protects its lands whilst in search for his family and home.

Sadly once these beautiful titans have been introduced we have the humans. Which are the weakest point of this film and could have easily been reduced by half their screen time for a better monster flick.

For those that have seen the trailer you’ve seen a lot of beats from the film including the poster. However this movie can’t really be spoiled as the amount of depth / lore is king of tarnished by the humans storylines. Kong easily has the best story and reminds me of Kong X God Of War.

Speaking of human storylines, we’re introduced to our merry band of human characters when Kong goes to the dentist. A mini series I’d love to watch as a joke. Kong despite taking a beating from Godzilla in the previous movie seems to be in more pain going to the dentist than almost dying to Godzilla.

Something is calling to Jia whom is connected to Kong, she’s an orphaned Iwi Native to Skull Island. In addition something is calling to Godzilla as he goes around powering himself up against other titans.

Godzilla X Kong is a beautiful movie and truly something to behold. Each time we visit locations on earth and Hollow Earth its breath taking. Diving back to Hollow Earth Kong enters into a deeper earth undiscovered and finds a tribe of other Kong’s before epic battles with rather funny attacks with a certain new friend.

This is where I couldn’t see Kong outside of him playing Kratos and our new friend being Atreus. Which I absolutely loved and would have cut all the humans out of the movie from here out to just see more Kong and Godzilla.

Godzilla took the meme a little far with “ima firin mah lazer” which was so cool to see but got comical. If the humans took a backseat I’d have given this movie an easy 8/10 however I settled with a 7.5 due to how cool Kong’s scenes / story were. How epic the battles got with Kong & Godzilla and all the visuals which I’d love to see this movie once more for.

I won’t go into spoilers from here despite seeing a lot of this in the trailers / poster. I’ll just say that after Kong finds the movies big bad it’s voiced over in my head as “It was at this point this movie became a popcorn action monster movie and went over 9000% insane!”

I’ll sum it up as Kong going into the MCU and securing the infinity gauntlet and thors hammer. Godzilla came from power rangers and called out It’s Rawring time. Other characters maybe X Avatar? But what do I know the scenes were insane!

Nothing to stay for at the ending, no mid nor end credit scene. Movie ends pretty nicely and I’m curious where the series can go from here? For those that know this lore. What Titans are yet to appear or lands yet to be discovered? Love to hear in the comments.

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire “Review”

Release date: March 22, 2024 (USA)

Director: Gil Kenan

Distributed by: Sony Corporation

Based on: Ghostbusters; by: Dan Aykroyd; Harold Ramis

Box office: $7,521 (Iceland)

Budget: $100 million

Is 2024 picking up? Well it’s definitely improving with our new contender Ghostbusters Frozen Empire. The opening to this film was such a fantastic setup. Loved the mood, the atmosphere the scene created and the tension felt entering 1904 within a very familiar location ;).

Walter Peck is back and still hates the ghostbusters finding any little thing to bring them down and destroy their ghost corp. 40 years later and still gunning for them 😛 gotta love William Atherton.

I have to give it to Gil Kenan for being able to navigate between Ghostbusters of the 80’s and weaving in the modern story that Afterlife setup. At times this felt so ghostbusters in areas and I love it! So many throw backs and returning characters to enjoy and discover along the way.

If Ghostbusters is PG13 horror then Imaginary was a G rating in comparison because there was so many good spooky tension and ghosts in this movie. Thoroughly enjoyed the expanded world, almost felt like I just watched the first movie and jumped forward in time to 2024 and seeing how this Ghostbusters universe had grown since saving New York city.

I’d compare the universe being that of GB 1 being Jurassic Park and GB Frozen Empire being Jurassic World. Maybe this will pay off down the road if more sequels get created? Will the series have an end point or left open to continue exploring? As long as the story is good I’m down to keep watching.

This title explores and develops lore for 4000 years which you can imagen many stories can be told if their going back that far. Did it weaken the ending? I felt so, bringing down something that felt like a potential 8 to a 7/10. The wrap up of the conflict was kind of weak sauce and didn’t feel right with how quick things progressed.

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire was a fun ride and I’d return for another or a repeat viewing for sure. Hopefully this family continues and maybe give room for other characters to be allowed to be developed going forth?

If you’re still sitting in the theatre past the first end credit scene then save yourself some time and leave already. Nothing at the end of the credits just a mid credit scene.

Enjoy yourself a spooky fun ghostbuster time and I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.

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The American Society of Magical Negroes “Review”

Release date: March 15, 2024 (USA)

Director: Kobi Libii

Distributed by: Focus Features, Universal Pictures

Box office: $1.3 million

Edited by: Brian Olds

Music by: Michael Abels

Usually with movies that show a lot of the story points within the trailer I’ll tune out as I’ve already seen the movie. With this title I still had a good ride throughout. Sadly several moments felt slow due to watching the trailer however I appreciate having those scenes to better connect and learn about each of the characters being introduced into this world.

I enjoyed the messaging and teachings the movie offered while having a fun entertaining world brought to life with fantastic acting and visuals. The trailer had me but the review ratings I saw prior to watching the title had my expectations in check. Maybe that’s why I came out on top of some of these rather low scores.

I’d of loved some more magic however that wasn’t the point nor focus of this story. Now I haven’t read the other reviews giving this feature average to lower scores however I could only criticize a few things mentioned above.

Question for you all though. Would you be able to put your job first or others if it meant any connections with loved ones along the way would be erased and be forgotten? A thread of the movie which is shown in the trailer but a thread that asks a hefty price to either uphold or sacrifice.

Justice Smith (Aren) is a gem along with his supporting cast members, most specifically his mentor along the way David Alan Grier (Roger) & love interest An-Li Bogan (Lizzie). These three actors / characters were what kept me in this world wanting more and enjoying the slow times despite taking this movies score for myself down a couple pegs.

Despite not typing up a review for it yet. I give this movie the same score as that of Argylle 6/10. Despite enjoying this movie overall, the execution of certain slower scenes did kill momentum and excitement in my watch despite loving them for building the other characters and the world.

A double edge sword but a sword I would say keeps me wanting to come back for any potential sequel or continuation within this magical society. Argylle on the other hand had an excellent stellar first hour which nose dived to the bottom of the barrel and would be hard to come back for a sequel unless tempted by a positive word of mouth.

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Imaginary “Review”

Release date: March 8, 2024 (USA)

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Distributed by: Lionsgate, Lionsgate Films

Budget: $10–12 million

Music by: Sparks & Shadows

Production companies: Blumhouse Productions; Tower of Babble

Despite seeing a trailer for IF first, Imaginary was released this month to a fairly quite response. Now think back to January when I mentioned my hopes for Night Swim and I’ll recap those thoughts here.

I’m hopeful that once Black Phone 2 releases we get to understand what Universal is attempting with this horror verse their cooking up. Imaginary would be a great fit and a helpful boost for Night Swim if connected with 5 Nights at Freddy’s along with M3gan etc.

Possibly going in with low expectations from review scores, but I had a pretty good time in this one. I enjoyed the characters and was curious of the plot threads moving the feature forward. It’s not an overly long film but does attempt to throw in some twists and reveals for those invested.

A slight weakening towards the end and overall feature wrap up with repeated content from their competitor studio films. I enjoyed getting to know this family. Somethings that pulled me out at first was the cheap or poor “monsters/creatures” which didn’t feel scary or create tension when on screen.

The ending scenes were probably the weakest in my opinion with quick out of nowhere resolutions and “bow ties” to the story but I’m hopeful this goes somewhere within a horror verse….and please no sequel. Having a universe for the horror franchises will be fun to create a combination original movie using material from these mid movies to hopefully get something truly epic.

I can hope can’t I? Haha with that being said I felt this movie is a 6/10 putting it slightly above Night Swim as this movie actually has some enjoyable content that could bloom into something sinister with some extra cooking.

“Side note I looked up Sinister as this title was in my mind almost the whole movie” – If that interest you, then do yourself a favor and watch Imaginary. If my hopes come true then let’s discuss this movie in the comments as I could see this being my most favorite movie of all time if a potential sequel or sequel verse movie came from these foundations.

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Kung Fu Panda 4 “Review”

Release date: March 8, 2024 (USA)

Director: Mike Mitchell

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Budget: $85 million

Music by: Hans Zimmer; Steve Mazzaro

Produced by: Rebecca Huntley

Kung Fu Panda 4 has returned since it’s last feature length film back in 2016. To my surprise there’s been a tv show spin off for Kung Fu Panda between 2016 and now 2024 which is probably why I was disconnected from the character after all these years.

I did have some fun for about half the movie however that start and ending was a slog to get through. If you want any surprise to the story or what’s going to unfold in this feature then I’d recommend skipping the trailer. It shows the whole plot….which you could probably peace together by the time the adventure gets going.

If you’re finding it hard to get through you wont have to wait to long as about 25 minutes in Po and our newly added character Zhen come across the Happy Rabbit Tavern while looking for passage to the main city. This was when surprise laughs and a spark of fun ignited the film and kept me going until the final few acts.

Happy Rabbit Tavern & The City for me personally was so much fun and kept me in the film. Outside of that I’m reminded this series has defiantly out lived my younger years and stayed with the youth with few jokes for the adults to get.

I probably wont be back for a fifth Kung Fu Panda unless something drastic happens like a cross over with Shrek or Puss & Boots… ? Possible? Na I doubt it but that would totally be fun.

I’d give Kung Fu Panda 4 a 6/10 some fun acts to help with the predictable and sloggy destiny of this movie coming and going in a eh batch of popped reviews.

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Dune Part 2 (2024) “Review”

Release date: March 1, 2024 (USA)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Adapted from: Dune

Budget: $190 million

Cinematography: Greig Fraser

The 2024 slump is over as we kick off March with Dune Part 2! Thus far we’ve had Mean Girls in my top movies of 2024, well the place holders can start dropping off as Dune Part 2 has taken the first of 10 slots on my top 10 movies of 2024.

If you skipped Part 1 I think you’d be fine jumping in here and going back for further details later. This literally picks up after the ending of the first part, minus a slight time passing as Paul & Lady Jessica (Paul’s mother) felt apart of the Freman he met up with at the ending of Part 1. After defeating his opponent that challenged him in order for Paul to prove himself worthy to join.

Part 2 is the second half of the first book in this epic sci-fi feature which I’m hopeful and excited to see the remainder of this story on the big screen.

I’m not going to spoil as I want you to go out and watch this on the biggest screen you can find. Beware to bring ear plugs if sensitive to loud music/sound as Part 2 has several LOUD scenes that feel totally epic but LOUD!

Dune Part 2 picks up the War over Spice and turns it to 12. This feature is packed with action of various variety that keeps the pacing engaging which is welcome for a rather lengthy 2 hours and 45minute mammoth war film.

Dive into the War is one layer of this epic, the other follows the titles of later books, if Paul is the Prophet that will lead the Freman to paradise as written.

Again without going into spoilers those that have seen the trailer will be delighted by the epic ness of that arena scene. The action is so good and the second half has so much more to unpack that I look forward to hearing from everyone once you’d enjoyed your popcorn watching this movie.

I thoroughly loved: Spice Wars – How to Train your Sand Worm: Edition 😀 With a mighty 8.5 out of 10 which I’d love to watch once again for those awesome action set pieces as we wait for the next title in this epic series.

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