Mark McPherson's Blog, page 27

“Poor Things” Review

Yargos Lathimos seems to have this nature of freedom in his work. Poor Things is a film with all the stylish decor of a costume drama with a premise that could harken to Frankenstein. Anybody expecting that from the trailers or posters is going to be in for one hell of a surprise when they discover how chaotically absurd, grotesque, blunt, and horny this film turns out to be. There’s something instantly loveable about a movie that features a decadent dining room with whimsical costumes on upper...

“Dream Scenario” Review

There’s an interesting angle for how Dream Scenario tries to evoke a surreal comedy in the repetition of . You lose control over your identity when your face becomes the subject of online memes and decorative pillows. As powerful as Cage is as an actor, this aspect of his legacy seems to have taken a life all its own. It’s an aspect that’s both fascinating and frightening, even if this film only manages to scratch the surface of this concept.

The premise is alluring for the draw ...

“May December” Review

is a director who has a way of making his films as deeply cerebral as they are poignantly reflective. This is best showcased in a scene from May December where Elizabeth (), an actor, addresses a class of aspiring students. One student asks how she approaches sex scenes, and she addresses that the lines can blur between acting and attraction. She notes a similar sensation when another student asks why actors would want to play villains. The obsession with the flawed i...

“Wish” Review

Walt Disney Studios composed two tributes this year to commemorate a hundred years of productions. The first we glimpsed was Once Upon a Studio, a short and sweet crossover of Disney’s past animated characters acknowledging Walt’s legacy. The second is Wish, a film that looks original on the surface but embodies all the tropes and references of past Disney animated films. In the film’s attempt to hammer home all the stuff audiences love about Disney films, it waters them down into a mushy hotdi...

“Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” Review

Five years into his comedy career, appeared on stage to confess that he’d run out of material. He then showcases how simple laughs can be gained by wearing his shirt to reveal a painted-on face and slamming a pie into his face. This bit bookmarks this documentary about Albert Brooks’s career in comedy and filmmaking. He was hilarious but always insightful about finding something more to human nature within his bits. It was usually something deeply earnest about everything from fea...

“Napoleon” (2023) Review

There are many shades of how Ridley Scott approaches this interpretation of Napoleon Bonaparte. There are the expected moments of grandness, as when the elaborate wars of hundreds of soldiers soar across the screen. There are intriguing moments of subtle exploration of the French leader’s egotism and decay. But there are also scenes with absurdity, as when Napoleon ejaculates early on his wife and makes such ludicrous statements as “Destiny has brought this porkchop to me.” It’s a mess of eleme...

“The Marvels” Review

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has ballooned to such a degree that The Marvels represents an excess of the lore. Here is a film that requires you to not only be familiar with the films Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, but the TV shows WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, and Secret Invasion. Mind you, this is all required to understand the plot, not enjoy it. What might’ve been bonuses for comic book fans of past films has become so standard that a surprisingly dull superhero plot ...

“The Nun II” Review

As a sequel to 2018’s The Nun, and a spin-off to The Conjuring, this film feels like a bit of a wash. I’ll credit it for feeling more like a gothic supernatural horror of an evil nun spirit than the previous film, which segwayed hard into an Indiana Jones tomb-raiding tale by its finale. There’s a better setting, more at stake, and some decently staged moments of terror and kills. But when all is said and done, the sequel still comes off more routine than it should, making it feel just as ho-hu...

“V/H/S/85” Review

The V/H/S anthology horror films have had hills and valleys. The first film had a rocky start, but the foundation was solid for centering around unearthed and cursed footage from a dated format. There was an appeal for the dated nature of terror that might lurk in the darkest corners of a VHS shelf. This format was better perfected with films like V/H/S/2 and V/H/S/99. So, there’s a fair chance you’ll get a handful of great horror that utilizes the found-footage format well.

V/H/S85, as the ...

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” Review

The idea of the animatronics at a pizza entertainment establishment (Chuck E. Cheese, Showbiz Pizza) coming to life and killing people is a decent horror concept. It made for an addictive and simple horror game when Five Nights at Freddy’s was released in 2014. However, since that game’s success, the franchise has exploded with multiple sequels, novels, and comic books that the online fanbase has studied and scrutinized. All that lore gunks up the idea, turning the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie...