Heyyy
Yeah, I'm still alive. I never get personal on this blog, but suffice it to say that this past month has been crazy. I started a new job three states away, been crazy busy, had trips to Denver, Cincinnati, and Rochester in there - it's a lot.
But ever since June 2009 this blog has had at least one post per month, and although my yearly pace is basically shot now, we need to go through some movies from the past few weeks. Now, it's tough because for a lot these my pre- and post-release hype would be very different. I was really eager for Venom. Then apparently it sucked. Oh well. Here is a list of notable crap I wanted to talk about in the past six weeks:
The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018): I don't know who this film was for - too childish for adults, too scary for children. Also, somehow a Goosebumps (2015)-esque Jack Black movie a month before an actual sequel to that movie came out? Also somehow directed by Eli Roth - this is a big case of "Why Aren't I a Studio Head" and could have just told everyone this wasn't going to work. It didn't have much of a splash, but did alright domestically all things considered.
Hell Fest (2018): Seemed to really try to be a catchy Fall Horror, but landed a little too soon and too soft. Also I saw Blood Fest (2018) this year, which was totally the same movie but way more satirical and clever.
Night School (2018): I actually expected this to be a little bit better - it seemed like a dream pairing of Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart. Is Kevin Hart getting old? The trailers looked pretty funny. Maybe it could be the comedy movie of 2018! Maybe I've been living in isolation the past six weeks (definitely true) and it did alright, but not a huge cultural force. Or I'm just too white.
Smallfoot (2018): What the fuck is this shit? This is literally all I know about this movie. That's how I heard it existed. This, Night School, and Clock in Walls literally all made $65-$67 million.
Venom (2018): Did surprisingly well! All things considered. Did it suck, though? I'm still excited and wanted to avoid spoilers. And this was me not really getting pumped until the trailers came out. Is it kind of lame? Ugh. I'm wondering if it really sucked or just critically sucked. From what I read about The Predator (2018), that movie seemed to genuinely miss a mark it was trying really hard to hit. I'm curious if Venom was similar, but in a vain PG-13 glory. Still, it seemed to have a nice cultural wave.
A Star is Born (2018): It's a really nice moment when a lovely drama makes a big splash and Brad Cooper, GaGa, and Dave Chappelle all killed it. I assume. There are probably other people in this, but Chappelle stood out. It's the Oscar presumptive right now and has a lot going for it. It's one positive thing we can rally behind, from memes, musicals, country stars, it's got a bit of everything. I haven't actually seen it, nor do I really care to, but I'm rooting for it.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018): I did NOT know this existed - the aforementioned Goosebumps is actually super underrated as fine children's spooky fare. It looks like it has not done that well, and the sliced budget and shunted cast aren't doing it any favors. Also - Goosebumps were so totally 90s, man. This could be entertaining in that bored on an October Thursday Night so let's Netflix Some Crap sort of way. That's how I caught the first Goosebumps.
Halloween (2018): I also did not realize that there had been so many renditions of Halloween. Like I definitely forgot about that Busta Rhymes one. I guess on some level I'm aware that Michael Myers keeps coming back again and again, but the Rob Zombie one was 11 years ago! Holy crap! Feels like yesterday. This one is apparently pretty sweet and definitely the 2018 version of IT (2017) - nice Fall Horror that capitalizes on an ancient franchise that still has some life in it. It also had a monster opening. The Shape lives!
First Man (2018): More like First Bland! Nah, this probably has some merit, and it's crazy that Neil Armstrong has never had a biopic besides Kirk Lazarus in Moonshot (2007). It's just not quite what interests me. Damien Chazelle has had some great flicks, but is also now this ingratiated Oscar kid who seems to be checking boxes to get a Best Picture winner. Am I the only one to get that vibe?
Not listed here are BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) which I HAVE seen in theaters and will write up...one day. I've written about every film I've seen in theaters for the last nine years and can't stop now! I did see BlacKkKlansman in early September...I hope to remember it. It was memorable.
How was your October?
Yeah, I'm still alive. I never get personal on this blog, but suffice it to say that this past month has been crazy. I started a new job three states away, been crazy busy, had trips to Denver, Cincinnati, and Rochester in there - it's a lot.
But ever since June 2009 this blog has had at least one post per month, and although my yearly pace is basically shot now, we need to go through some movies from the past few weeks. Now, it's tough because for a lot these my pre- and post-release hype would be very different. I was really eager for Venom. Then apparently it sucked. Oh well. Here is a list of notable crap I wanted to talk about in the past six weeks:
The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018): I don't know who this film was for - too childish for adults, too scary for children. Also, somehow a Goosebumps (2015)-esque Jack Black movie a month before an actual sequel to that movie came out? Also somehow directed by Eli Roth - this is a big case of "Why Aren't I a Studio Head" and could have just told everyone this wasn't going to work. It didn't have much of a splash, but did alright domestically all things considered.
Hell Fest (2018): Seemed to really try to be a catchy Fall Horror, but landed a little too soon and too soft. Also I saw Blood Fest (2018) this year, which was totally the same movie but way more satirical and clever.
Night School (2018): I actually expected this to be a little bit better - it seemed like a dream pairing of Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart. Is Kevin Hart getting old? The trailers looked pretty funny. Maybe it could be the comedy movie of 2018! Maybe I've been living in isolation the past six weeks (definitely true) and it did alright, but not a huge cultural force. Or I'm just too white.
Smallfoot (2018): What the fuck is this shit? This is literally all I know about this movie. That's how I heard it existed. This, Night School, and Clock in Walls literally all made $65-$67 million.
Venom (2018): Did surprisingly well! All things considered. Did it suck, though? I'm still excited and wanted to avoid spoilers. And this was me not really getting pumped until the trailers came out. Is it kind of lame? Ugh. I'm wondering if it really sucked or just critically sucked. From what I read about The Predator (2018), that movie seemed to genuinely miss a mark it was trying really hard to hit. I'm curious if Venom was similar, but in a vain PG-13 glory. Still, it seemed to have a nice cultural wave.
A Star is Born (2018): It's a really nice moment when a lovely drama makes a big splash and Brad Cooper, GaGa, and Dave Chappelle all killed it. I assume. There are probably other people in this, but Chappelle stood out. It's the Oscar presumptive right now and has a lot going for it. It's one positive thing we can rally behind, from memes, musicals, country stars, it's got a bit of everything. I haven't actually seen it, nor do I really care to, but I'm rooting for it.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018): I did NOT know this existed - the aforementioned Goosebumps is actually super underrated as fine children's spooky fare. It looks like it has not done that well, and the sliced budget and shunted cast aren't doing it any favors. Also - Goosebumps were so totally 90s, man. This could be entertaining in that bored on an October Thursday Night so let's Netflix Some Crap sort of way. That's how I caught the first Goosebumps.
Halloween (2018): I also did not realize that there had been so many renditions of Halloween. Like I definitely forgot about that Busta Rhymes one. I guess on some level I'm aware that Michael Myers keeps coming back again and again, but the Rob Zombie one was 11 years ago! Holy crap! Feels like yesterday. This one is apparently pretty sweet and definitely the 2018 version of IT (2017) - nice Fall Horror that capitalizes on an ancient franchise that still has some life in it. It also had a monster opening. The Shape lives!
First Man (2018): More like First Bland! Nah, this probably has some merit, and it's crazy that Neil Armstrong has never had a biopic besides Kirk Lazarus in Moonshot (2007). It's just not quite what interests me. Damien Chazelle has had some great flicks, but is also now this ingratiated Oscar kid who seems to be checking boxes to get a Best Picture winner. Am I the only one to get that vibe?
Not listed here are BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) which I HAVE seen in theaters and will write up...one day. I've written about every film I've seen in theaters for the last nine years and can't stop now! I did see BlacKkKlansman in early September...I hope to remember it. It was memorable.
How was your October?