Reviews of Christmas classics I have never watched before: Home Alone

 I've not written much for this blog. But I'll give you some more reviews of Christmas classics considering I have started with Christmas season in mid November. 

This is a movie I felt I'd watched through pop culture osmosis. Turns out I never actually did sit down to watch it before. It is fun, it is charming, it is clever. It has a classic sweet Christmas message of togetherness. The traps are just as inventive as I was promised but I have to disagree with the popular opinion that Kevin is a little "psychopath". What was he supposed to do? They explain why Kevin couldn't just call the cops and the thieves could have left at any moment and escaped but they wanted to kill him. So yeah. No sympathy for them.

Halloween Countdown: Wendell and Wild

 

Wendell and Wild (2022)

Years after the tragic loss of her parents Kat finally returns to her now desolate hometown and gets an offer from two demons who promise to bring her parents back in exchange for a summoning. Things don't quite go that way and then there's also the private prison to stop.

A wonderful Halloween stop-motion adventure about grief, guilt and responsibility.

Halloween Countdown: Jennifer's Body

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Needy and Jennifer are polar opposites and best friends. After Jennifer falls victim to a ritual she is transformed and has to consume people. It is up to Needy to deal with the situation.

Why am I explaining the premise to you? You likely know Jennifer's Body. It is iconic for a reason. The more time has passed the more the movie has cemented itself as a classic of the subgenre. It is for women more than it is for men as it deals with the use/abuse of the female body and the blurred lines of the close friendship of teenage girls. But it is enjoyable for everyone.

Halloween Countdown: Ready or Not

 Ready or Not (2019)

When a woman marries into the estranged eccentric family of her husband, she gets more than she bargained for. She has to fight for her life and make it to sunrise or else become a sacrifice for continued prosperity.

This is, first and foremost, a very enjoyable, very violent romp. It is also a scathing look at rich people dynamics and how they are willing to literally walk over corpses. Grace is a fantastic and funny main character that contrasts perfectly with her husband's family. The end is beautifully cathartic.

Halloween Countdown: Blood Red Sky

Blood Red Sky (2021)

A mother with a rare disease and her son board a plane in the hopes for better treatment. Criminals hijacking said plane is only the beginning of their troubles.

It's surprisingly good for a German movie (well, German-British but still). Bloody, tense, well made. The child actor does a phenomenal job.

Halloween Countdown: Nope

 Another newer movie tonight.

Nope (2022)

After their father's sudden death, siblings Emerald 'Em' and OJ Haywood try to keep their family horse training business afloat when mysterious happenstances start plaguing their ranch.

The wonderfully creepy trailer and poster (and to be honest, the name, too) enticed me to watch this movie which blew me away and became my favorite movie of 2022. It is one of the best movies - if not the best - that I've watched in the last years. Maybe it is not 'scary' in the way some people expect horror movies to be but it is tense and unsettling made me fear clouds on my way home from the theater.

Halloween Countdown: Bodies Bodies Bodies

 Next up a newer one from just last year.

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

A group of rich childhood friends meet up at a mansion to party through a hurricane. Their night takes a turn for the worse when one of them is found dead. Can they make it out alive?

I watched this one mainly because I really enjoyed the trailer a whole lot. The "What features are you bringing to the table?" - "Well, I just look like I fuck, you know what I mean? I look like I fuck and that's the vibe I like to put out there" exchange got me laughing in the theater. 

This movie is good, it's fun, it's sharp, it's tense, and I loved the ending. I don't want to say too much since I plan on writing a post about it one of these days.

Halloween Countdown: Nosferatu

 Resurfacing after one and a half years to bring you a Halloween countdown with horror movies I like, has some classics and some new ones and some which are more unknown.

Starting off with a true classic:

 

Nosferatu (1922)

This German film is an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula with the serial numbers filed off.  It is by far the oldest movie I have ever watched and my experience of first watching it with a projector definitely contributed to my enjoyment. It's interesting to see a familiar story in a, for me, unfamiliar way. If you are not used to silent films, it's fascinating to discover. And even if you are used to silent films it's still a good watch.