Drabble Geeks

Geeks…Being Total Geeks.

Tag: movie

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 4

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Let me start by saying, “I am confusion.” I went into watching the fourth Saw movie, not expecting much. The third movie was a good enough ending in my opinion, and the story could have been done. But no, I am more confused about the story than I was before and putting more pieces together than the creators probably would have wanted. There is really no real way of describing the story without too many spoilers (if you know, you know). While this is the weakest movie in the franchise so far, my need for answers is overcoming my distaste for it.

The movie honestly starts immediately, and there is no time to gently get yourself ready. As soon as the opening title cards are over, you are in it. While I did like that the movie immediately started and got going, they did a bad job of interesting me in the different characters. The only thing that was really keeping me engaged was knowing that the story would have to get to a certain point and the reappearance of characters they did well to introduce before. While there were new puzzles, the main “puzzle” of the movie was the same as a previous one, with someone who should have known better. I was honestly rolling my eyes most of the time. While I’ll be watching the rest of this franchise, it is definitely to only answer questions and not because I can’t stop thinking about the story and trying to work out different clues or situations. Definitely not that.

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 3

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I’ve just finished watching the third Saw movie and am slightly confused. I am somewhat happy with the story, but there’s more… First, this movie is definitely not for the squeamish, as the body horror is very hard to stomach, and it should come with an epilepsy warning. Also, my theory from the last movie was both correct and wrong. I just knew there was something weird about the second movie, and I was smart enough to pick up on it even though I didn’t know what. It was somewhat explained toward the end. Also, this movie kind of pissed me off.

While this movie does include an escape room for someone to escape, I feel that this person is the worst. He stands there. Where people in the other movies were trying to figure out the puzzles or freaking out, this guy just stands there. In fact, there are no puzzles; he just has to do something and fast. In horror movies, I sometimes get mad when people do stupid things, but at least they are doing something. I have never been so mad at a horror movie “protagonist.” Can I even call him a protagonist? No one really is in these movies, except Kerry; she’s awesome.

The last thing that confuses me is that this movie feels like it is the perfect ending for the series, yet there are more movies. At this point, we have reached a suitable stopping point, especially as it appears to be shifting from a psychological thriller to a more gory horror. I’m going to watch the fourth movie to see if it’s even worth commenting on the rest series. I know it’s a classic, but at a certain point, too many sequels spoil the franchise.

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 2

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I’m back after watching the second movie in the Saw franchise, where instead of two people stuck in an escape room, there are seven. The puzzles were back and still blew my mind. I did get some of them, then there were others that were head scratchers, and I was still piecing everything together at the end. (Is it weird that I was slightly proud if I solved a puzzle before the characters? They technically have more time to figure things out than I do.) The other interesting thing was that there is a converging outside plot line that really kept the intensity high.

This movie was interesting in that it introduced a group dynamic to everything. Not only did they have to worry about solving the puzzles, but they also had to worry about others. While the puzzles were still surrounding human desperation, I’m not too sure that that’s entirely true. Probably just part of it. Connecting back to everything in the first movie, and all that we learned in this one, I’m suspicious of some of the motives. It will be interesting to see if my theories turn up with anything, or if it’s just the writers messing with our heads. I could have done with more of the type of body horror from the last movie, where you didn’t really see anything, you just knew it was happening because of the context and other character interactions. So, if you are squeamish, this probably isn’t the film for you.

Let’s Solve a Puzzle Pt 1

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Happy Spoopy Month, everyone. In honor of the best month of the year, I have started my annual rewatch of the English dub of Ghost Stories, and more importantly for you, I’ve decided that I would begin to watch that famous series Saw, starting with the first one and then slowly working my way through the movies available to me. Spoopy Month is the perfect time to willingly terrify myself for the fun of it, so let me begin making my way through this classic series.

Even though this movie was made upwards of two decades ago, it is still beautiful, in a horrifying, hiding part of the screen with my hands, and needing to pause sometimes type of way. Watching it, I know why it is considered a classic. While it doesn’t evoke the stereotypical monster or supernatural horror vibes, I would definitely classify this as a psychological, ‘is this even real?’ horror. For those who don’t know, and without spoilers, Saw follows two guys in an escape room, and they’re not having fun. Everything is, unfortunately, at times, very grounded in reality as you delve into the depths of human desperation. At all times, I was wondering if there was another choice for characters to make. Some, yes. Others, no. I’m very interested in how the rest of the series unfolds, as it seems that the horror is not necessarily in the puzzles, but in the extent and desperation of the will to live. Also, as a Criminal Minds fan, I’m very interested in how the victims are decided. It feels like there should be more exploration of that and I can’t wait to see.

Patterns on Our Skin

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This will probably be the only time that I admit that it took me too long to watch something. Usually, I stick to my gigantic list to “Want to Watch” and the time comes when the time comes. I will admit that I was completely and utterly wrong about K-Pop Demon Hunters. I thought it was being overhyped, but it wasn’t. If you search around my blog you know that I love Japanese media. When my dad said I should watch it, I blew it off because obviously he confused the two countries. He may have had a point.

K-Pop Demon Hunters may quite possibly be my favorite movie of the year, and not just because I don’t really watch new movies. It has everything. Amazing animation, lovable characters, action, drama, and a dash of romance. Going further than the understanding of three Korean pop-stars who fight and save the world from a demon takeover through song who be too many spoilers for this amazing story. I am also sometimes skeptical of in-universe soundtracks, but the songs are beautiful and heartwarming. I’ve either had them on repeat or stuck in my head for days now. Check it out, if you haven’t, because at this point it is a complete sin. Seriously, drop everything and run, don’t walk, to your nearest Netflix account.

Another thing that I’ve done since watching this movie is find the Korean translations and a couple of people who are speaking on some of the aspects of Korean culture that I, as an American, would not get. It’s been really interesting how much deeper the story gets with some of the extra background people are supplying. I would explain it, but again, spoilers… Just know that I am expecting some amazing cosplays for these characters. I make no promises, however, since my cosplay game is sorely lacking.

How Does It Hold Up: The Lost World: Jurassic Park II

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I’m back after watching another part of a series movie that was a core memory of some people’s childhood. I did watch movies with dinosaurs in them, they just never included humans. I may have just been busy watching cop shows. (Let’s be honest, it was definitely the cop shows.) Either way, I have made my way through the second Jurassic Park movie soon after watching the first, and I have some notes. While I did somewhat enjoy this movie, I didn’t love it as much as I enjoyed the first; it did have a low-key feel to it. Before going into the specifics of the movie, I do love when sequels are able to get the kid actors again, even if it’s just for a short cameo.

Firstly, there was a logical reason for having another movie, which I immediately questioned at the end of the first. With science fiction movies, for me at least, there needs to be a very good reason for having a sequel. There was probably some help since this movie was based on a book to help with the grounding, but I won’t know that until I read it. (Hint, hint.) I also enjoyed that there was some growth within the characters. One, not willingly letting children around dinosaurs? Check. Two, not necessarily profiting off of animals for the sole purpose of entertainment? Check. It was good. I’m now scared about how and why there are more movies. Why? It was a perfect ending. It is very much a “what now, humanity” as it included the very real conversation of how can we preserve animals and leave them in a somewhat natural habitat. Perfect ending in my opinion. The only thing that would have made it better is a way to actually see most of the movie. One or two more flashlights here and there would have helped.

Now, there is one more movie to finish the series. I did watch Jurassic World, and I was meh before, but I’m definitely not a fan of the new movies. I now get some of the easter eggs, but I really don’t care. I’m really hoping the third movie doesn’t disappoint me. I’m crossing my fingers.

How Does It Hold Up: Jurassic Park

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I almost feel ashamed to say this, but I think this is the best platform to say this. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Jurassic Park. I know, “how did I go twenty-six years before seeing this movie? Surely, you’ve seen some clips, right?” I went into this movie being told that it has some of the best CGI of an older movie, it was way better than the trash that was Jurassic World, and there is a book series. So now, this being the first time I’ve seen this movie, I’m here to say that this movie holds up very well.

Being a scientist, I’ll admit that I went into the movie trying to find problems with the science. I can’t help it; it’s what I do. Other than the one time they mentioned DNA and showed a picture of RNA, pretending someone can handle liquid nitrogen with their bare hands, and the slightly weird conversation about default sex, the science was pretty solid and believable. Yes, I did suspend my disbelief knowing that the science of bringing extinct species back to life had come this far in the 1990s, but it is still fascinating to look at the past understanding with where science currently is. Also, some of the ethical questions brought up in the movie are some of the same ethical questions we are looking at now with genetically engineering extinct species. Current conversations include bringing back the dodo, Woolly Mammoths, and some ancient type of tiger. I will admit that I am of two minds on this conundrum, in case anyone was wondering. I think if we can, we should bring back species that are extinct due to human influence, but those from natural selection, I don’t really see going too well. I have no justification or reasoning really, but that is currently where I stand.

Now, let’s talk about my main problem with the movie: Why did Dr. Sattler not get a gun? There was an entire locker full of guns as she was running around outside where we knew the dinosaurs had started escaping, yet they were thinking that only the men should have guns. There was a point where they bring up the sexism of the situation as the only physically-abled person available, but they still decided to run with this. Yes, it’s super minor in the scheme of everything, but that really pushed my buttons. You can give Dr. Sattler a gun and have Goldblum have his “French Girl” moment and have nothing about the movie change.

After seeing this movie, I am finally giving in to my exclamations that I will eventually see the eventual series and then eventually read the books. So, be on the lookout for my reviews of those. I’m actually really excited to see this series. Let’s see where this goes. I am skeptical about the number of sequels considering there are only two books, and there was a pretty solid out for any other movies. We’ll just have to see.

Be Your Own Fairy Godmother

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To be completely transparent, I watched the movie based on this only about a dozen times and then found out that there was a book attached. There is very much fairytale element that, in ways, could have been a lot better, especially given the title. The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer tries really hard at being a fairytale but fails in a couple of ways.

The story follows a woman named Nola who has an alter-ego named Belinda, who everyone just loves. Unfortunately for Nola, “Belinda” wrote a magazine column on losing weight, so Nola’s friends make a pact to lose weight once and for all. The typical story happens where love is maybe found if only Nola would stop lying. This is one of the few cases where I feel prepared to say that the movie is better than the book. The movie “Lying to be Perfect” takes out all the things that were just annoying: counting Weight Watchers points, shaming other women for their appearance and perceive sexual activities, and uninteresting random characters that get inserted into the story for… reasons.

It’s a cute little story that you can get invested in but won’t really take anything away from it. It’s pretty much a feel-good story about a woman who struggled with her sense of self-worth. I still say watching the movie is better, though.

When Birds Attack

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Over the course of this quarantine, I have continued watching amazingly bad movies. As of writing this post, I have watched the entirety of the Birdemic series. For those who have never heard of this series, it is a really bad attempt at having an environmental message. Both movies center around birds coming and attacking people because they are mad at global warming. Yes, that is the premise of both movies.

The thing about both movies is that even though I have told you the summary of the entire movie, you are still going to have to wait about forty minutes for anything to happen. In the first movie, Birdemic: Shock and Terror, a good portion of the movie watching the protagonist drive to work, fill up his gas tank, and get stuck in traffic. For a movie about saving the environment, a lot of time is spent driving. That and protagonist and a flat board of nothingness. Also, the CGI is utterly atrocious, but that is part of the fun.

The second movie, Birdemic 2: The resurrection, the protagonist spends the majority of his time getting from place to place on foot, so there is an improvement. Also, he does show emotion. It’s really creepy but is an improvement over a flat board. The majority of the second movie revolves around call-backs from the previous movie. Not much was added, but references. I would say the second movie is a bit better because it is more self-aware of how crazy everything is.

Love bad movies, most definitely check this series out. Both movies are on Amazon for your viewing pleasure.

Modern Jurassic Era

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Let me preface this by saying that I love terrible movies. The lower the IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes score, the better. That is what led me to watch Velocipastor. I spent the entire movie laughing at the movie with my friends, while still practicing social distancing. I honestly can’t tell if this movie was purposely bad or accidentally bad. Either way, it was hilarious.

The movie starts with a young priest needing to get away from the church in small-town America for a bit after the death of his parents. After driving to China, he comes across a woman being chased by a ninja for a stone that she possesses. On her death bed, she gives the stone to our priest and he ends back up in America. Turns out, this stone allows him to turn into a dinosaur. One night, he saves a prostitute who later convinces him to use his powers to help save people. That is where the story begins.

I’m pretty sure from the small description that I gave you, you can figure out where some things are heading towards. The Christianity piece of the movie doesn’t add anything to the movie. Honestly, it makes things more ridiculous if you actually think about it. Also, there’s a Vietnam flashback… for reasons. If this sounds interesting to you, I would definitely recommend watching this. Even if you think this is stupid, I would still recommend you watch it because honestly seeing is believing when it comes to this movie.