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Archives for : horror films

Movie Review: “M3GAN” is a Fun Start to the New Year

After so many heavy award contenders, it’s nice to have a fun palette cleanser like the new sci-fi/thriller, “M3GAN”. January is known to be dump month. So going into this film, I had no expectations but to hopefully have a good time. Luckily, the film turned out to be a whole lot of deadly fun.

Chucky, you’ve met your match. It’s the model 3 generative android, aka M3GAN for short. She is a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. She’s a life-like doll that listens, teaches, and looks after the child she has bonded with. However, when it comes to protecting her owner, M3GAN may go off program and leave a bloody mess behind.

In the film, Allison Williams stars as Gemma, a brilliant roboticist who is obsessed with her job and perfecting the AI for her company’s new toy. Unfortunately, a terrible accident leaves her responsible for her 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw). She rushes her newest project so that M3GAN can take on the responsibilities of a guardian that she doesn’t want to be bothered with. But soon M3GAN takes her role to the extreme, and Gemma must do everything she can to deactivate the AI for good.

This hilarious, campy horror is written by Akela Cooper and James Wan; and directed by Gerald Johnstone. It has all the makings for an instant horror classic. The film provides the similar thrills and humor of “Child’s Play”, while adding its own original spin. “M3GAN” is self-aware and embraces the silliness of its premise. Though, the plot is ridiculous, the film also has a lot of heart by exploring grief and its impact on children, as well as people’s dependency on technology. There is a reason why these AI’s shouldn’t replace parents, and at some point, children need to outgrow their toys.

“M3GAN” is a comical story with some foolish scenes, but man, is it one hell of a good time! From her random dance break to her creepy spider crawl chase, you’ll be laughing and shuddering at the thought of M3GAN as your new best friend.

Rating: B+

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Movie Review: “Freaky” & Preview of “The Last Vermeer”

“Freaky” is a re-make of the 70s hit comedy, “Freaky Friday” which features a mother and daughter who switch bodies. Except that the 2020 version is a comedy/horror movie, so there’s a lot of laughs and, well, a lot more blood. Susan Stephens says it’s not for the faint of heart, but there are some laugh out loud moments for horror fans. Keep watching for a preview of the historical thriller, “The Last Vermeer.”

“Freaky” is currently playing in theaters

“The Last Vermeer” opens in theaters November 20, 2020.

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Interview: Garth Stein talks “The Art of Racing in the Rain”

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is the new comedy/drama, based on Garth Stein’s bestselling 2008 novel. The film is told from the point of view of Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner), who watches his owner, race-car driver Denny’s (Milo Ventimiglia) life unfold. Enzo witnesses Denny get married and have a child; along with the hardships of losing loved ones and dealing with criminal charges.

It’s a journey through life that makes us wonder just how much our pets are taking in, and what would they say if they could talk? And like almost every dog movie, this one will have you reaching for all the tissues. 

Author Garth Stein visited Mutts Cantina in Dallas this week for a fan event, and I sat down with him to chat about the film which is based on his own personal experiences.

Garth Stein, Author of “The Art of Racing in the Rain”

I haven’t seen an audience react so strongly to a film like this one in a long time. There was cheering, there was laughing, and of course, crying. What do you think it is about this story that has people so emotionally invested while they watch?

Well it’s a good old fashioned family story that’s told by a dog. So there’s the endearing quality of Enzo, who’s a really keen observer and he studies human behavior and that’s his goal. But he also doesn’t get everything right. It’s a very black and white world for him, in a sense. You’re either a good guy or a bad guy. And though he may not always be right, we’re invested in him. When something happens that’s funny or exciting, we’re going to be especially responsive.

There’s a really great scene between Denny and Eve (Amanda Seyfried) when they’re discussing if loving the race is enough to keep doing it, since it’s clearly a huge obstacle for them. Do you think loving a job is enough to keep pursuing it?

Yes! I mean there’s a point where you have to have a gut check. There’s a point where you have to say, “Okay am I really with this?” And if the answer is, “Yes”, then you have to make the sacrifices. You have to do the work. I mean that’s what happens with Denny in the book, and that’s what happened with me when I was writing the book. You know I wrote the book and I sent it to my agent and he said that, “you can’t do this, no one can sell this book, throw it away.” And I fired him. I did a gut check, and I had to sit with myself and meditate on it. And if I had listened to him, no one would have ever met Enzo.

I think it’s great that Enzo knows how to distract Denny when he’s down. One of those ways is by making him watch TV. When you’re upset and you need a good distraction what do you like to watch or do?

You know it’s interesting, I do meditate and I do play tennis. There’s nothing like a good hard work out to get your mind off all your troubles. But I think that’s the idea.  To go to something that does not need much conscious mind input, and therefore can alleviate any anxieties one might have.

I really like watching movies. Movies are my medicine. When I’m down I watch either a comedy or horror flick. (i.e. “Tommy Boy” or “Scream”). What movies do you like to watch to clear your mind?

So my go to movies would be, “The Godfather” movies, “Alien”. Yeah so there are some movies that make me go, “You know what, I don’t want to think about anything right now, so I’m going to watch Alien 2” (Laughs).

My youngest kid is 12 years old and this summer we’re doing “The Summer of Horror”. So he wanted to see like more scary movies. We’ve been doing like “Halloween”, “Friday the 13th”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, and we started with “The Shining”, which freaked him out a little bit. And then we watched “The Babadook”…at some point I looked over at him and said, “You know what we’re going to stop right now.” And he was okay with it (Laughs). That one might have been too soon to watch (Laughs).

It’s interesting to see people’s lives from a dog’s perspective in this film. It reminds us of what all dogs are able to see and listen in on. If you could be any person’s dog in this world for a week and get insight into their lives, who would you choose and why?

That’s tough. Honestly, I have to be with Enzo on this and be with one of the great drivers. Well with the actors, Steve McQueen or Paul Newman would be fun. But you know, what about someone like Louis Hamilton? He just won his seventh Grand Prix of Hungry. That would be pretty awesome to be with one of the great Formula One drivers.

There’s a great line in the film while Denny is fighting for custody of his daughter, “There’s no dishonor in losing the race, there’s only dishonor in being afraid to race.” Metaphorically speaking, what has been your most challenging race?

You know there’s been a lot of challenging races. My father died 10 years ago. Obviously that’s pretty challenging. It was an interesting transition, and it took me a while to get use to the change in the family dynamic when that happens. There is an accommodation that has to happen. My mother and I got through the difficult part and now were cruising.

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” hits theaters August 9th

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Top 5 Heroines Of Horror

For those of you who prefer to make Halloween a “scary movie night,” deciding on what to watch can be a difficult.  However, I have narrowed down a few choices that are equally entertaining.

Some of the best horror flicks include a fierce heroine that you don’t want to piss off.  Here are the top five bad ass “scream queens.”

5.  Anna Peterson (Maika Monroe) – The Guest

Fights the Beautiful Beast

Though this film is fairly new, The Guest is an inevitable cult classic and it features a quite memorable Anna Peterson, the teenage daughter that seems to be the only one in her family that has suspicions about their recent house guest, David.  Once she discovers the unsettling truth about David, she admirably overlooks his blazing baby-blues and irresistible charm so that she may take matters into her own hands and protect her family.

 

4. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) – Halloween

Selfless Fighter

Laurie Strode is considered by many to be the first true horror heroine.  She is a regular “girl next door” who fights off her psychotic murderous brother, Michael Myers, time and time again.  Although she struggles with her own war against Michael, helping children in danger is her first priority before her own safety.

 

3. Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) – I Know What You Did Last Summer

Haunted by Regrets

Julie and her friends thought keeping the secret of their deadly hit-and-run would prevent damage to any of the teens’ future plans.  Little did they know the man they “thought” they killed was already a wanted for murder.  Julie deals with the regrets of not calling the cops in the first place, which has led her to be stalked by a killer seeking revenge.  She stands out as the heroine who could have prevented this terror.  And of course, we can’t forget this classic line… “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, HUH? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOOOOORRRR?”

 

2. Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) – A Nightmare On Elm Street

Sleepless in Battle 

Nancy battled it out with Wes Craven’s monster masterpiece, Freddy Krueger, a burnt serial killer who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams.  Being the only one of her friends that was able to stay awake, Nancy drove Freddy into a realm where he could be defeated.

1. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) – Scream

Wrestles the Ghostfaces of her Past

In the course of four films, Sidney is terrorized by various killers who claim the Ghostface mask.  Each time these murderers make his or her way into Sidney’s life, it’s a guilty reminder of what started this crime wave to begin with.  Having your mother’s infidelity be the reason why your own boyfriend turned into a psychotic killer is a traumatic experience all in itself.  But, Sidney is forced to relieve this horror through copycat killers and a cheesy, mimicking, Hollywood slasher with infinite sequels.  Suffice it to say, there’s no escaping this never ending nightmare.  And sadly, repeatedly getting betrayed by the people you trust most and continuously making it out alive earns this heroine our top spot!