Reviews

The movie follows Paul (Nicholas Cage) and his 2 sons Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins) and Joseph (Jaeden Martell) as they try to survive on a post apocalyptic earth where monsters emerge during the night and the days are spent gathering supplies, making repairs and in Thomas's case going to meet a nearby farmers daughter that he likes.

The story is very simple, the remaining humans do their best to survive with what they have left while avoiding the monsters every night that are out to kill them. It takes a turn for the worse when Thomas gets stuck outside after dark while meeting Charlotte (Sadie Soverall) at her parent's farm. His dad goes out to look for him and the remainder of the story is a consequence of his actions and of the information gathered by his much smarter brother Joseph.

Unfortunately the movie lacks one thing and that is backstory. The characters have little to no development since the movie focuses on the survival aspect mostly. There is also no background to the apocalyptic event or how the monsters came to be.

The cast is pretty solid with Nicholas Cage giving us a wonderful performance though we don't get enough of him on screen. Maxwell Jenkins does a good job as Thomas even though his character is not the most likable. Jaeden Martell does a lovely job as well as Joseph whose character is far more likable and also pretty smart. The beautiful Sadie Soverall plays Charlotte and gives us an entertaining performance.

The VFX and SFX are great, the monsters are different from what we've seen on screen before and look really good. While the soundtrack helps to set the scene.

Overall a solid 6/10 from me. The movie has a simple, enjoyable story though more background on the characters, the whole apocalypse and the monsters are needed. The cast is solid though I wish Nicholas Cage had gotten some more screen time and the VFX and SFX are really enjoyable.

The New Empire is the latest installment in the MonsterVerse, bringing together the iconic titans in an epic clash and uneasy alliance. The film's narrative dives into the discovery of a new threat emerging from the Hollow Earth, prompting Godzilla and Kong to team up once more to defend the surface world.

The story unfolds with a fast-paced urgency as ancient secrets are unearthed and new monstrous adversaries rise. While the plot is undeniably engaging, it occasionally feels rushed, lacking the depth and development that could have elevated the film from great to exceptional. Some story arcs could have benefitted from more screen time to fully flesh out the intriguing mythology that surrounds these legendary creatures.

Despite this, the cast delivers stellar performances across the board. Rebecca Hall returns alongside Brian Tyree Henry and Kaylee Hottle ensuring that the human element of the story remains strong amidst the colossal battles. Dan Stevens also makes an appearance as Trapper, a pretty fun and interesting character.

The true stars, however, are the VFX and SFX teams. The visual effects are nothing short of spectacular, bringing the titans and their world to life with breathtaking detail and realism. The sound design amplifies every roar and explosion, immersing the audience in the heart-pounding action. The sheer scale and spectacle of the monster battles are awe-inspiring, making every clash a visual feast.

Overall Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire earns a solid 7/10 from me. The film boasts a fantastic cast and phenomenal VFX and SFX, ensuring a thrilling cinematic experience. While the story could have benefitted from more nuanced development, the movie's strengths more than make up for its shortcomings. Fans of the MonsterVerse will undoubtedly appreciate this latest adventure, and it sets the stage for even more exciting possibilities in future installments.

Abigail is a surprisingly entertaining movie, it has a simple premise with a twist and keeps you focused on the action while making you wonder what's really going on.

The story follows a group of criminals who've been brought together to kidnap a young girl and demand a ransom from her billionaire father. However all things are not as they seem, as the night takes a dark turn and sinister happenings are slowly revealed. The story is pretty simple, but still interesting and will keep you invested throughout the movies runtime.

The cast is really good with the beautiful and talented Melissa Barrera playing Joey our leading lady. We have Dan Stevens playing Frank the group leader and giving us an enjoyable performance. Alisha Weir plays Abigail the poor, innocent girl who gets kidnapped. Her performance is truly amazing with how she portrays Abigail from the start of the film to her portrayal of the character by movies end. The supporting cast is really great as well with some well known names like Kathryn Newton and Kevin Durand as well as short but extremely memorable appearances by Giancarlo Esposito and especially Matthew Goode.

The VFX and SFX are brilliant with lots of blood and gore throughout the film and quality CGI/prosthetics used when needed. The VFX definitely doesn't disappoint.

Overall a well deserved 8/10 from me. The storyline was good even if it could have benefited from some more world building and backstory before all the action goes down. The cast is brilliant and they all give us amazing performances, while the VFX and SFX enhance the quality and enjoyment of the movie.

The Thundermans Return is probably a nostalgia trip for most viewers, but for me it's just a movie as I've never seen any other Thundermans media. That being said I have seen other tv Disney/Nickelodeon movies like Z. O. M. B. I. E. S 1, 2 and 3 as well as Descendants 1 and 2 etc. All of which I really enjoyed.

The Thundermans Return doesn't seem to have the most interesting story, though I guess it is serviceable at least. It instead tries to relay on canned laughter and applause which is just really annoying to be honest. So for me personally the movie doesn't have any of the charm that Descendants or ZOMBIES does. Both of which have more interesting storylines to me at least and are not running a laugh track every 2 seconds.

The casting is by far the best part with the absolutely stunning Kira Kosarin playing Phoebe Thunderman. Jack Griffo plays her twin brother Max. The rest of the cast are not actors I'm familiar with and their characters are unfortunately rather lackluster though this could be due to having their character development in the tv show instead of any of it here in the movie.

The effects are just disappointing with worse Visual and Sound effects then you would find in Descendants 1 or ZOMBIES 1 both of which are much older movies. In fact you could definitely find better VFX done on youtube, to see this on an actual movie is just sad.

Overall I give the movie a 6/10. The storyline is boring and honestly is not worth mentioning. The casting is okay overall though none of the acting is any good, this could just be due to the poor story and lack of material for the actors though. I did enjoy Max and Phoebe's performances however. The VFX and SFX was just all around disappointing. I would have given the movie a 4/10 but Kira Kosarin is absolutely gorgeous and gets +2 stars just for being in the film.

I wouldn't recommend this film generally, unless you are a Thundermans fan and/or are coming from the TV Show. My review is rather critical but I am judging it purely on itself as I have not seen the TV Show or any other Thundermans media.

Frozen Empire is a solid enough movie with an okay storyline. The movie is basically about some evil god-like entity that comes back and the ghostbusters both old and new have to now all work together to defeat him. Which sounds alright and it is, but that's it, it's only alright nothing more. It's also rather silly at times with the main character Phoebe (McKenna Grace) basically getting angry for various reasons and thereby allowing the big bad to come back. The more is more about a brooding teenager throwing tantrums and not listening to her parents then it is about the Ghostbusters.

The casting is the best part with the beautiful McKenna Grace playing the leading lady Phoebe, Paul Rudd as Mr Grooberson, Emily Alyn Lind as ghost girl Melody among the returning faces of the OG ghostbusters Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd and supporting cast members Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Patton Oswalt and a surprisingly enjoyable performance by Kumail Nanjiani. Brilliant performances from the whole cast, especially the OG ghostbusters.

The VFX and SFX is where the movie really shines, with some amazing special effects and visuals along with a good soundtrack and the ghostbusters theme song.

Overall a solid 6/10 from me. Storyline was by far the weakest part of the movie with a solid cast and great visuals and sound effects.

Happy Gilmore follows the usual Adam Sandler formula of the 90's with a simple story, a beautiful woman and Adam Sandlers character being the hero, and once again it works out beautifully.

The story is simple, funny and works out well with Happy Gilmore a baseball obsessed person whose unironically rather bad at the game, but who needs to help his grandmother buy back her house from the IRS. So what does he do, he turns to golf and what follows is a series of hilarious encounters, a love interest in the form of the beautiful Julie Bowen as Virginia Venit and some enemies on the course. A lovely, enjoyable story overall!

The cast is incredible with Adam Sandler giving us a superb performance alongside Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, Julie Bowen as the stunning Virginia Venit, Carl Weathers as golfing legend Chubbs and Bob Barker as himself.

The VFX and SFX are perfect and will not leave you unentertained in any scenario.

Overall a solid well deserved 8/10 from me. Solid storyline, brilliant cast and great visuals and background music.

Billy Madison follows the story of Billy Madison, the rich, spoiled kid of a father who built a hotel empire. He does nothing but pull childish pranks and act like an idiot with his friends. That is until he finds out his dad won't be passing along the company to him. What follows makes up the bulk of the movie story as he goes back and tries to redo every year of school from first grade to matric in a bid to prove to his father his not useless. The story as a whole is pretty entertaining if a bit rushed at parts, with stuff like Billy's romance with his 3rd grade teacher Miss Vaughn not making total sense since she hated him at the start and 10 minutes later is totally into him. That being said the silliness at points aside the movie is pretty enjoyable. Solid storyline overall if not the best of executions.

The casting is really lovely with Adam Sandler putting on the usual comedic appearances we got so used to seeing from him in the 90's. His character and performance is both really good but also really annoying with the accent he puts on at times. His love interest and 3rd grade teacher Miss Veronica Vaughn is played by the absolutely stunning Bridgette Wilson who gives us a lovely performance, probably the best of the film. We also have a solid supporting cast with Jared Cook, Norm Macdonald, Josh Mostel and a lovely cameo appearance by Steve Buscemi.

The VFX and SFX are pretty great with the mid movie song actually being pretty enjoyable.

A solid 8/10 from me. The movie has a nice story, great casting and performances and enjoyable visuals and audio.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child Of Fire is the start of the Rebel Moon Trilogy. It follows the moon of Veldt and a small farming village upon it as a Motherworld warship stops to buy grain from the villagers. What follows is defiance by the villagers and the threat of them all being wiped out. The movies story follows Kora an ex-imperium soldier and once bodyguard to the Crown Princess Issa a child gifted with power and expected to usher in a new era for the Motherworld.

The story follows the adventures of Kora as she tries to recruit other warriors to defend the village from the motherworld warship and it's sadistic Admiral Atticus Noble. Overall an enjoyable enough story but a bit slow, though hints at a deeper mystery surrounding the Motherworld and the assassination of it's royal family and ascension of regent Balasarius are dropped through out. Look forward to more and to seeing how the story and world continues to develop in future installments.

The cast is pretty awesome with wonderful performances from everyone including Sofia Boutella as Kora, Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble, Charlie Hunnam as Kai, Djimon Hounsou as General Titus, Stuart Martin and Anthony Hopjins to name but a few.

The VFX and SFX however is the biggest draw of the movie with absolutely insane visuals and a enthralling soundtrack.

Overall a solid and well deserved 8/10 from me. Not everyone may agree, but I see potential to the Rebel Moon film series and I'm definitely interested in seeing and learning more about the history of the Motherworld and what happened to the royal family that allowed Balisarius to ascend to regent of the Motherworld. The movie has a decent enough storyline that once again I'm interested in learning more about, a star studded cast and brilliant VFX and SFX.

Battlecreek follows a boy Henry who can't go out in the sun due to a skin condition he has. He insteads spends his evenings out and about around his small town. Everything changes when a girl, Alison gets stuck in the town due to her car breaking down. They soon become friends and eventually more all the while her past tracks her down. The storyline is pretty interesting and also decently paced so you don't end up bored or lacking something interesting happening on screen.

The casting is lovely with Bill Skarsgård doing a great job as Henry, the beautiful Claire Van Der Boom playing our mysterious Alison. We have Delroy Lindo playing Arthur, the local mechanic and father figure that Henry never had at home. We also have Paula Malcomson playing Henry's mother. So solid casting overall and good performances by them all.

The VFX and SFX are fine as well, nothing crazy in terms of VFX really but nice audio and soundtrack.

Overall a solid 7/10 from me, It's a nice little romance/thriller and is interesting enough though a bit slow at times. It has a solid main and supporting cast and good soundtracks.

To start this review off I have to say that I have read the first 3 books in the series and will be comparing the movie to how it held up against the source material. That being said let's get to it, Dune Part 2 follows the events of the first movie which is still set within the first book.

In terms of story it's interesting and fascinating and is a beautiful introduction to the world of Dune. Though considering the storyline is all already there and developed decades before, it shouldn't really be that hard to make a movie about it. Dune however is a pretty hard series to adapt with the later books probably being best if left at books without any big screen adaptations. So in this regard I have to say that the movie is a really good adaptation of it's source material. It follows it quite well, which honestly many movies nowadays seem absolutely unable or unwilling to do and are instead focused on changing it completely and ruining it (Artemis Fowl, Vampire Academy Series, Percy Jackson Series etc), thankfully that is not the case with Dune and the changes that are made are small and help to develop the story or move it along in a way so that cinema audiences understand what is happening within the world that they have been presented on the screen. For example the ending and the Fremen Jihad and Paul's confrontation with the Landsraad.

In terms of cast we have Timothée (Paul Atreides), Zendaya (Chani), Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Dave Bautista (Beast Rabban), Stellan Skarsgård (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen), Charlotte Rampling (Reverend Mother Mohiam), and Javier Bardem (Stilgar) reprising their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler (Feyd-Rautha), Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan), Christopher Walken (Emperor Shaddam IV) and Léa Seydoux (Lady Margot Fenring) joining the cast in this movie. Brilliant performances from the entire cast even if I wasn't a fan of how certain characters were changed like Chani.

The VFX and SFX were obviously outstanding with the films massive budget and actual time spent on the special effects unlike the rushed jobs Marvel has been putting out recently.

Overall a really well deserved 8/10 from me. The movie is brilliantly adapted in most cases with changes being done well and helping the film for the most part rather then taking away from it. The cast is superb with some brilliant new additions and the special effects and soundtrack are just works of art. Definitely give this a watch if you enjoyed the first film or are a fan of the books.

Dear Dictator follows the lives of Dictator General Anton Vincent and rebel teen Tatiana Mills who admires him and becomes his pen-pal of sorts to meeting her hero in real life. The story sounds pretty decent and overall is pretty good with General Anton Vincent teaching Tatiana how to sieze power in her high school from this movies version of The Plastics. However while it's alright and I'm sure you'll still enjoy it, it just doesn't stand out or really shine at all in any place.

The cast is actually pretty damn awesome with the legendary Sir Michael Caine playing Dictator General Anton Vincent, Follow that up with the absolutely stunning Odeya Rush and you have quite a great cast already, especially when both their performances are just absolutely top notch! Playing Darlene Mills, Tatiana's mother, you have Katie Holmes who also does a solid job alongside Seth Green and Jason Biggs among the supporting cast.

The VFX and SFX is pretty decent as well so no complaints there either.

Overall a well deserved 7/10 from me, though at this point any movie featuring Odeya Rush is probably getting an extra point or so simply for having her in it. That being said it's a good story with some useless additions that would have been better left out alongside a really great cast who do their best to shine in their roles. Round it off with good visuals and sounds and it's an enjoyable movie to watch on a weekend during your spare time.

Freaks Of Nature follows the town of Dillford when its invaded by aliens, however Dillford's population is already made up of humans, zombies and vampires so as you can imagine adding aliens into the mix is definitely going to make things even crazier. The storyline is really enjoyable and I loved the wacky, fun nature of the movie and it's mix and match town of wacky weirdos.

The cast is brilliant with the gorgeous Vanessa Hudgens as Lorelei, An amazing performance from Nicholas Braun as our leading man Dag. The beautiful Mackenzie Davis plays Petra our kick ass vampire girl and Josh Fadem plays Ned our super smart zombie guy. Along with a supporting cast of Bob Odenkirk, Denis Leary and Keegan-Michael Key the movie is brim fill of acting talent.

The VFX and SFX which could have been the one thing that let the movie down turned out to be really great. With solid makeup for the actors and special effects.

Overall a well deserved 9/10 from me for a well done movie with a enjoyable story, solid cast and great visuals!

I will start off by saying while many people look at this film and say it's putting down x people or saying something about y group of people I simply look at this film and see it as an entertaining movie about a funny little what if scenario, that is all.

So with that being said in terms of storyline, a movie about the dumbest of dumb people, honestly turned out more interesting then I thought it would. Though it was also dumber then expected but hey that was to be expected haha. Enjoyable storyline, better then I expected it would be and had a solid start, middle ground and lovely ending.

The cast was really good for this type of movie with lovely performances from Luke Wilson as Joe Bauers the now smartest man in the world, Maya Rudolph as Rita a former stripper turned first land and smartest woman on the planet, Terry Crews as President Camacho and Dax Shephard as Frito.

The effects were solid though there honestly wasn't much of them to be honest. Still good VFX and SFX.

A well deserved 9/10 from me for the laughs I had, the enjoyable story and good performances from the cast as well as the nice VFX and SFX.

Pandorum's story is that of the ship Elysium, Humanity's final hope it would seem and all that's left of the human race as they make their way to colonize Tanis. The story follows two officers who awake from hypersleep, Lieutenant Payton (Dennis Quaid) and Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) as they try to fix what's wrong with their ship while discovering it's dark secrets and what has happened on board in the last 123 years they've been aboard. While battling cannibalistic humanoid monsters, hallucinations and memory loss, this leads to a dark but interesting storyline for the viewer.

The cast is pretty much perfect with an absolutely superb performance by Dennis Quaid as Lieutenant Payton. A strong performance by Ben Foster as Corporal Bower who has to carry the film alone for quite a while before running into the beautiful Nadia played by Antje Traue who also gives us a lovely, strong character and performance. The supporting cast of Cam Gigandet as Corporal Gallow, Eddie Rouse as Leland and Cung Le as Manh all do lovely jobs as well with what screen time they have.

The special effects and sounds are all brilliantly done and add to the dark, foreboding and scary atmosphere presented to the viewer throughout the movie.

Overall a well deserved 8/10 from me for a solid, entertaining storyline, a brilliant cast and great VFX and SFX.

I, Frankenstein unlike it's name suggests is not the usual Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein's monster movie you would expect. It follows the battle between good and evil and their war to save or destroy humanity as we know it.

The story is actually not to bad even if it does start off seeming like it would be a low budget, low effort kind of movie. The story follows Frankenstein's monster Adam as he falls into the middle of a war between Gargoyles and Demons aka Good and Evil. The demons as you would expect want to take over the world while the Gargoyles are there to save humanity and keep evil at bay. Pretty standard story but still interesting and entertaining.

The cast is actually really good, with a lot of well known actors. We have Aaron Eckhart playing Adam, Mirando Otto (Aka Eowyn) playing Queen Leonore, Bill Nighy as Prince Naberius, Yvonne Strahovski as Terra, Jai Courtney as Gideon and Caitlin Stasey as Keziah. Overall a pretty star studded cast and they all give us really good performances. Definitely enjoyed seeing them all in I, Frankenstein.

The weakest part of the movie is the VFX and SFX. It's not bad by any means but the death effects for the Demons were kind of weirdish. Still outside of that the rest of the special effects were all pretty good.

Overall a well deserved 7/10 from me. Solid storyline, good cast and decent enough special effects all leads to a pretty good movie that I enjoyed and I'm sure you will to.

When Evil Lurks is a spanish horror movie and after watching so many western/hollywood ones I had honestly forgotten what it is like to watch a horror that genuinely frightens you and that makes you want to turn away from the screen, close your eyes or even throw up. When Evil Lurks does all that and more.

The story follows two brothers who find a Rotten, basically someone who is infected/possessed and going to give "birth" to a demon. In the meanwhile people around it get possessed/infected and everything goes downhill as towns wipe themselves off the map. The story is really good, it is entertaining and full of action and delivers the information you need to understand what is happening at just the right time and in the perfect manner. Overall really, really well done story.

The cast is really great, no one I know or am familiar with, but they all did really great jobs and the acting was really on point throughout the whole movie.

The VFX and SFX was absolutely fantastic, like seriously the deaths and what they actually show is just pure gruesome and scary and makes you want to just look away at some points. Absolutely well done visual effects!

Overall a 8/10 from me, The movie has a really good storyline, a lovely cast that bring their characters to life on screen and above all some insanely good special effects for the viewer to enjoy or be grossed out at.

Dark Harvest follows the events of a town who every year have to fight a monster from the fields and kill it before it reaches the church in order to have a good crop or so they believe.

The storyline is actually pretty decent for the movie and I found it to be entertaining enough to ensure there is never a dull moment. Especially with the big twist near the ending which will really take you by surprise.

In terms of casting it's a cast of actors I am not familiar with but that being said they all did an alright job, nothing to really criticize. I did however notice Elizabeth Reaser who plays Esme Cullen in twilight and she does a lovely job for the few seconds of screen time she gets.

The effects are probably the best part with a pretty real looking harvest monster and some cool death scenes.

Overall a solid 6/10 from me, good story, decent cast and effects and worth watching to kill some time or see a harvest horror/thriller film.

The Beekeeper follows Adam Clay a clandestine Beekeeper operative, someone whose sole job is to ensure the nation and world runs correctly. If there is an issue he solves it, even if that issue is the president of the USA and her child. Whatever threatens the stability of the nation and the world the Beekeepers are there to solve the problem and keep the world turning in the right direction.

I won't say anymore outside of I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. I will also add that while many movies that have a really strong character have them end up struggling against some big buff dude or something along those lines, which always feels really cheap this movie does not do that for which I am grateful.

The cast is pretty great with Jason Statham doing an absolutely fantastic job as "The Beekeeper" Adam Clay. Follow that up with a brilliant job from Jeremy Irons as Wallace Westwyld and Josh Hutcherson as Derek Danforth and you have for the most part some very good characters and actors.

However the one performance I did not like at all was Emmy Raver-Lampman as Agent Verona Parker. I won't say it was all the actresses fault though as her character is heavily to blame as well. Her mother was just killed and instead of helping the man whose avenging her mum's death she tries to help the people who killed her... I leave it to you to make your own decisions on her character.

There was however something that I absolutely loved and that was Taylor James's character Lazarus, a gun for hire yes but not just any gun for a hire, he is a South African gun for hire. My sister and I always joke about every major Hollywood movie having one random reference or something to South Africa and here we ended up getting a whole character with some decent screen time and a stereotypical "Afrikaner" style accent . As a South African I whole heartedly approve, So long as we get our little reference or nod to our beautiful country I am more than satisfied haha.

The VFX and SFX were absolutely spectacular and I loved every fight scene and watching Adam Clay fix the hive.

Overall a 9/10 from me, loved everything besides the character of Agent Verona which is were the movie loses a star for me.

Unlike the first movie this one had nothing in terms of story, character development etc.

To start with the story is just a mess, they made this movie as a sequel to the previous one but it's got nothing that truly makes it a sequel. In fact the only thing similar to the first movie is the monsters. So in terms of story you honestly won't really be entertained.

The characters are really boring, in the first movie we got to know our 2 main characters a bit and feel for them. Here I honestly couldn't care less if they lived or died.

The effects and sounds were honestly not that great either. It could have been a lot worse though so I guess I'm happy it was alright at least.

Overall wouldn't recommend watching this movie, even if you are a fan of the first one, as this one is nothing like it. A 3/10 from me and that's being generous.

After all the trash that is being turned out of Hollywood these days this was honestly a real Blast from the Past in terms of just being a good movie, enjoyable and entertaining all around.

Blast from the Past stars Brendan Fraser as Adam, Alicia Silverstone as Eve, Christopher Walken as Adam's dad and Sissy Spacek as his mother.

The acting is all really great with an incredible lead performance from Brendan Fraser, seriously I'm used to only seeing him in The Mummy movies but this was honestly great to see another side to his acting talents. To follow that up we have the absolutely beautiful Alicia Silverstone, who also gives us a truly incredible performance. Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek both give us really good performances as well as Adam's very intelligent but also slightly crazy/eccentric parents.

In terms of the storyline it was honestly really refreshing, it was simple yet entertaining and enjoyable with no dull moments and a lot of laughs. Really liked the story, from a fake bomb scare leading a family to spend 35 years underground to their son whose never seen the world finally emerging a pretty refined gentleman but out of his time in the modern world to finding love and bringing his parents up to date with the modern world.

The VFX and SFX are great, I'm watching it in 2024 a movie made in 1999 and it looks and sounds better then some of the stuff coming out of Hollywood at the moment on massive million dollar budgets. The effects truly do hold up even today so don't let that put you off watching it.

Overall a very well deserved 9/10 from me. The acting is top tier, with Brendan Fraser and the beautiful Alicia Silverstone being strong lead actors and backed up by a great supporting cast. The storyline is simple, enjoyable and fill of laugher at just the right moments. Combined with great VFX and SFX and you truly have a good film for the entire family to enjoy.

I am going to start off by saying this, I am currently rewatching the OG avatar series so the differences and nuances from the animated show compared to this one are all fresh in my mind. Secondly I was first introduced to the world of ATLA by the 2010 movie and fell in love with certain casting choices from the movie, such as the beautiful Seychelle Gabriel as Princess Yue, Dev Patel as Zuko, Summer Bishil as our fiery Princess Azula (for the 5 seconds you see her) and Cliff Curtis and Shaun Toub as Fire Lord Ozai and Uncle Iroh. Not the most accurate castings I know but ones I fell in love with. I also liked the actor for Sokka, Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz and Noah Ringer for Katara and Aang.

So that being said lets get into the review for the 2024 ATLA show.

Starting off with the casting, while it's not the cast I fell in love with 14 years ago on the movie (which I know everyone hates) it is a more accurate casting to the original characters so as much as I would want to I can't fault them there. However what I can fault the cast for or maybe the director is the terrible acting. Now before everyone starts yelling at me and saying the acting is amazing go and watch the OG show again and you will see just how wooden the performances we get in the live action show are.

Aang is the worst with the Katara actress just being super shy and unable to express emotion properly, though this could just be due to how her character is written and the fact that Katara has unfortunately had a lot of her character depth removed in the show. On the other hand the actress who plays her, Kiawentiio is very beautiful and I do look forward to seeing her in future projects and in season 2 after she has had some more time to develop her skills further. My beloved Sokka is no where near as fun, bubbly and full of funny remarks as he is in the animated show, though once again this is also partially due to the script and the fact that those moments are just not included in the show. Ian Ousley is not a bad casting choice but I don't really like the casting choice very much as I just feel that Jackson Rathbone is a better embodiment of Sokka.

Princess Yue is played by the absolutely beautiful Amber Midthunder, who I am a fan of from her performance in the prequel Predator film Prey. While I enjoyed her performance here quite a lot I just couldn't get into it as every time I saw her hair aka that terrible wig they have her wearing it just throws me off completely. Seychelle Gabriel who plays Princess Yue in the movie is just as beautiful and unlike poor Amber is blessed with an actual realistic looking wig and beautiful blue eyes that enhances her characters beauty rather then take away from it. I do wish that Netflix had made Amber's eyes blue in the show as well via the use of contacts or something so she could more closely resemble her animated counter-part.

Zuko is okay to be honest but that's it, just okay. He definitely needs some fixing in the script so that his actor Dallas Liu has more to work with. Dev Patel while having barely anything to actually work with gave us a glimpse of the depth and character he could bring to Zuko given a better script and still gave us a really great performance. Azula on the other hand is terrible, I'm sorry but I just can't for the life of me see the show Azula as Azula at all. In the 5 seconds in the movie where I get to see Summer Bishil as Azula she makes me see her as highly intelligent, beautiful, eager to please her father and very, very powerful and dangerous. The casting choices for Mai and Ty Lee were just terrible, like I honestly don't know what the casting director was thinking there. Plus they shouldn't even have been introduced in season 1 and the introduction they did get was them just standing around watching Azula practice.

The actor for fire lord Ozai, Daniel Dae Kim is honestly not bad at all, I have nothing negative to say there and will actually say that his performance was really enjoyable though I do love Cliff Curtis as an actor. Paul Lee who plays Uncle Iroh is alright as well but I loved Shaun Toub's portrayal and can't help but compare the two and personally I liked Shaun's more (if only he had a good script to work with!).

An honorable mention is to the absolutely stunning Maria Zhang who plays Suki and whose portrayal of the character I absolutely loved! She really gave me the vibes of the OG animated show Suki and just did a wonderful job overall so props to her for her performance!

To round it off, in terms of acting the show is very wooden, without the expressive characters and emotions and interactions we have come to love in the OG show.

Next up we have storyline and while it's far more faithful to the OG show then the movie was I still am not happy with it, it feels very rushed with random things taken from other seasons of the OG show and mashed together. So while it is more accurate to the animated show I still hate what they did to it, for example they got rid of my boy Avatar Roku and replaced him with Kyoshi as Aang's go to avatar guide, which there was absolutely no need to do. This also completely destroys the importance of Avatar Roku and his connection to Fire Lord Sozin, Prince Zuko and the start of the 100 years war. The character development is also really bad with Aang, Sokka, Katara, Zuko and Azula no longer being the characters we love so much from the OG show. Sokka is no longer our misogynistic, sarcastic guy who develops into a well rounded and loved character. Also King Bumi is just a bitter, resentful old guy filled with rage now, gone is his wisdom and fun loving personality. So story wise while it's not bad, especially if you haven't watched the original cartoon, it is not to my liking and I am definitely disappointed with it. The parts I did enjoy was the little scenes taken directly from the OG show such as Master Pakku seeing his reflection in the ice piece Katara throws at him during their duel, The cabbage guy yelling "My Cabbages" etc.

To round it off what I'm trying to say is while the storyline is alright, they have ruined the depth and personality that made many of the characters who they are and that had profound impacts on them throughout their journey and helped shape their development throughout the story. The fact the OG show creators left citing Netflix not following their vision for it just drives the point home.

In terms of visual and sound effects the show shines. Seriously this is by far the best part of the show, which is kind of sad since I was hoping to be praising the acting, casting and story more than VFX and SFX. The sound effects and theme song are all actually really good, no real complaints there. The visuals are also really great to see and look awesome. There is a reason you see most instagram clips and stuff praising the VFX/SFX.

With all that praise heaped on the VFX and SFX there is one thing I have to comment on and that is the god awful costumes, wigs and world itself. What I mean by this is very simple, in the 2010 movie what M. Night Shyamalan was able to do very successfully was make a world that looked and felt real, the characters wore outfits and clothing that felt lived in and worn and the wigs used all looked and felt natural and real. In the show none of this is done unfortunately, the wigs look fake and just plopped onto the actors head, the clothing all looks and feels fake for lack of a better word, like it's not been lived in or used in real life at all and the world itself screams of tons of CGI without the authenticity that M. Night Shyamalans world brought to us in terms of it's looks and feel.

The final thing to talk about is the bending styles and I'm sorry to say but it is absolutely terrible. I don't know what they were thinking when they decided to go ahead with these but they are all literal copy and pastes of one another and it sucks that they all look the same. The OG avatar has each bending style based of a different martial art with the 4 being Tai-Chi, Hung Ga, Baguazhang and Northern Shaolin which results in really cool looking and unique bending styles for each element. Unfortunately the live action show completely throws this out the window.

Overall I will give the show a 6/10 as it's got brilliant VFX and SFX thanks to 2024 technology as well as quite an accurate cast and some cool scenes taken straight from the OG animated show. There are also a few really well done acting performances that I enjoyed. However it loses 4 stars for the overall wooden acting, lack of personality and character development as well as the terrible bending forms and mishmash of a storyline. Still if you are someone whose never seen anything Avatar The Last Airbender before then definitely give the show a watch (Or the movie since the storyline won't effect you then having not seen anything ATLA related before) if you want something live action otherwise go watch the OG animated show.

Thanksgiving is a horror slasher that is truly entertaining and was first premiered as a little fake trailer within the movie Grindhouse.

In terms of story it's pretty simple just like most old slasher films are. The movie follows a riot at a black friday special on thanksgiving where many are injured or even killed. A year later and someone is killing all those they deem responsible for the massacre. The story follows a group of friends who having been seen on a video made that evening are now being hunted down by the masked killer. Honestly overall it's fun, each death/killing is different and unique and if you enjoy slasher films this one is definitely for you!

The cast is pretty great as well with Patrick Dempsey playing the local sheriff and absolutely killing it in the role. We also have Milo Manheim from the Z. O. M. B. I. E. S movie playing Ryan and I for one loved his performance and I'm sure everyone else will as well. We also have Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Jalen Thomas Brooks and Addison Rae among others. The main actress is Nell Verlaque and she is both incredibly beautiful and insanely talented! Her performance was amazing and I look forward to seeing her in any sequels made as well as in other productions.

The VFX and SFX were awesome! There was blood and gore everywhere with awesome kill sequences and creatives deaths throughout the entire movie. Really well done for me!

Overall a well deserved 8/10. In a time when a lot of movies are no longer loyal to their roots Thanksgiving still manages to show it's old slasher movie roots and I'd recommend it to anyone whose a fan of the genre either for it's creative kills and mystery or for the performances from the cast especially it's beautiful leading lady Nell Verlaque!

Ticks (1993) is a creature-feature horror film that, despite its B-movie charm and memorable moments, falls short of cult status. The plot revolves around a group of troubled teens attending a wilderness therapy retreat, only to encounter genetically mutated ticks that wreak havoc in the forest.

The storyline of Ticks is a mix of typical horror tropes and creature-feature elements. The concept is interesting and provides some thrills and laughs while also offering a few gruesome moments. The film's saving grace lies in its commitment to the genre.

The characters, portrayed by a cast including Peter Scolari, Seth Green and Ami Dolenz bring a certain level of charisma to the screen. However, the character development is limited, and some of the performances lean into stereotypical horror movie archetypes. The result is a cast that, while entertaining, struggles to elevate the film beyond its creature-feature roots.

Seth Green as our main man Tyler does a good job of moving the film along with a hint of romance even with Virginya Keehne's character Melissa.

The beautiful Ami Dolenz unfortunately doesn't have much to do in the film as her only purpose seems to be for eye candy for the viewer, which she unfortunately fails as, as well due to her character not being given any eye candy moments.

The practical effects used to bring the mutated ticks to life are a mix of grotesque and amusing. The film doesn't shy away from the gore, and the practical effects contribute to the B-movie aesthetic. Despite the dated nature of the effects, they add a certain nostalgic charm to the viewing experience.

Ticks' main strength lies in its ability to deliver some genuinely suspenseful and creepy moments. The tension builds effectively, and the film doesn't hold back when it comes to delivering on the horror elements. The practical effects, while dated, add a visceral quality to the creature scenes, making them memorable in their own right.

In the end, Ticks secures a 6/10 rating. It's a movie that knows its place within the horror genre, providing an entertaining but somewhat predictable experience. For fans of '90s creature features and B-movie horror, Ticks offers a nostalgic trip back to a time when practical effects and campy scares were the order of the day. I'd recommend giving it a watch for any one wanting some scares and laughs due to some little arachnids.