RRR - Randall's Review Room

"Vicious Lips" Where I watched it: Tubi From z-movie legend Albert Pyun, "Vicious Lips" is the story of a female glam rock group (called "Vicious Lips") trying to get to a gig that's on another planet. This is barely a movie. It's more like 3 or 4 music videos that are strung together by scenes of extremely boring dialogue. The sound mixing is particularly bad in mostly all of the scenes with dialogue. At times, people's voices will pierce your eardrums, and at others, they are an inaudible muffle. To be fair, the glam rock songs are pretty rad. After setting course for the gig in their spaceship, they soon crash land on a desert planet where there is a manbeast of some sort. Ever so slowly, this creature works its way from the outside of the ship to the interior, where it chases the band members around for a bit before... SPOILER: it gets pulled out of frame by a different manbeast and never appears again. The movie ends about 5 minutes after ...

"Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You" In this short film by Brandon Cronenberg, we follow a young woman at a hospital who relives her nightmares as she reports their details to a doctor. In all of its 9 minutes of abstraction, it's actually quite profound. All the Brandon Cronenberg stamps are there: full frontal nudity, bloody body horror, red lights, and of course it leaves lots of room for audience interpretation. 7/10

"Possessor" Where I watched it: Blu-ray After seeing "Infinity Pool," it was clear that I needed to finally watch Brandon Cronenberg's "Possessor." In a way, the two films are very similar, stylistically and in tone. "Possessor" is set in an alternate 2008 where an assassin uses a machine to "possess" the bodies of others to carry out her hits. In this alternate 2008, many things are slightly off-kilter. Technology is both outdated and advanced. The only cars that exist are classic cars. Everyone vapes excessively... wait, that part's actually pretty faithful to our own world. Anywho, in this weird world, our main character with a Star Wars name, Tasya Vos, enters the bodies of people who she then pilots as she carries out her assassination assignments. Similar to the concept of "Being John Malkovich," the consciousness of the host is kept tucked away in the backseat of the mind while Vos is in control, watching helple...

"Infinity Pool" Where I watched it: Toronto Premiere at Scotiabank Theatre "Infinity Pool" is Brandon Cronenberg's third feature film. To be brutally honest, I stopped watching his first film "Antiviral" after about 20 minutes. I kinda hated it. I own a copy of his second film "Possessor" but I still haven't gotten around to watching it. I decided to check out his latest film in part due to the premiere screening having Brandon Cronenberg himself and star of the film Alexander Skarsgård in attendance. Another big draw was Mia Goth with "Pearl" being one of my favorite films of 2022. I knew very little about this movie going in and I would recommend keeping it that way for anyone interested in seeing this. The trailer is weird and vague enough that you can safely watch it without spoiling much. To say this film is an assault on the senses is an understatement. Imagine David Lynch, Gaspar Noè and David Cronenberg all stepped into ...

"Return to Oz" Where I watched it: Disney+ Bonkers. Absolutely bonkers. And ballsy.   Imagine the person that approached the Disney execs and was like, "Hey I got an idea for a Wizard of Oz sequel... it starts with Dorothy getting electroshock therapy!" Then the execs are like, "Ok... hardcore... but... let's go with it... tell us, at what point do we meet the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow?" To which the lunatic that conceived this movie says, "Well, they've all been turned to stone and won't be in the movie until the last 2 minutes... instead we will have a post-apocalyptic Emerald City where its only inhabitants are a gang of creepy punks with wheels for hands and feet... oh and they take orders from a woman who has beheaded the local women and keeps their severed heads in glass cabinets which she takes out and wears on her own headless body from time to time." The Disney execs proceed to wipe the sweat from their brows with hundred d...

"Run Sweetheart Run" Another dud by Blumhouse. I will admit some of this is kind of fun and engaging but in the end it's silly, nonsensical and lackluster. The film is about a young professional who is set up on a business date with a rich guy. The rich guy turns out to be an actual monster and bestows upon the young woman the challenge of surviving until sunrise. Parts "Funny Games" and parts Mr. Nimbus from Rick and Morty... this film is a jumble of stuff that feels out of place. Like "Funny Games" there are moments when the antagonist breaks the fourth wall and demonstrates abilities that seem to manipulate the narrative. Like Mr. Nimbus, the antagonist controls the police. Similar to "Barbarian" and other recent allegorical horror films, this movie is a symbolic introspection into the horrors and dangers of being female in a male dominated world or even workplace in this case. It's heavy handed to be sure and doesn't work as well ...

"Hellraiser (2022)" From David Bruckner, director of modern horror masterpieces such as "The Night House" and "The Ritual" comes the latest entry into the "Hellraiser" franchise. Not really a sequel and not really a remake, I guess this could be considered a re-imagining. "Hellraiser 2022" follows the story of an extremely unlikeable young woman who does just about everything horribly wrong. So much so that it ruins the lives of all of those around her. Maybe that's the message of the movie... bad life choices don't just f*ck up your own life but the lives of others too. But the way it plays out in the film is nothing short of irritating. Bruckner's films have until this point had incredible acting. The lead, all things considered, isn't awful but the supporting cast are shockingly bad. Fun fact, the lead character played by Odessa A'zion is the daughter of Pamela Adlon. Jamie Clayton does a pretty good job as the ne...

"Prey" I'm sure this goes without saying but "Prey" is the latest film in the "Predator" series. It's as far back as the predator lore goes (if you discount the Mayan pyramid shit in AvP) and follows a Comanche woman who wants to prove her abilities as a hunter to her tribe and herself. I'm not going to build suspense here, I loved this movie. It's a fantastic tale of overcoming challenges, misogyny, societal expectations and it ultimately demonstrates that cunning will always overpower bravado. From a horror perspective, there's not too much going on... unless you equate violence and gore to horror... because it's definitely not lacking in that department. But suspense building and genuine terror of the Predator isn't there like it was in the first film. Speaking of which, there are a lot of nods to the original Predator movie and a clever connecting element to the second Predator movie, none of which feel forced or shoehorned ...

"Harvest Lake" This movie is terrible. I wondered if it was a porno about 10 seconds before it literally revealed itself to be a porno. Normally I would immediately abandon a movie like this but what kept me going was the absolute comedy of it all. This actually should be submitted to Redlettermedia's Best of the Worst. It's sooooo awkward. It's basically non-stop softcore porn done in the most cringey ways possible. I honestly would be shocked if the people that agreed to act in this don't feel a great deal of shame and regret currently. In the midst of the horrible sex scenes, it becomes an experimental film about half way through with weird slow motion/warping effects and endless shots of a river. To be fair the shots of the water were the most competently done shots in the whole thing. But to be even fairer... the likelihood of those shots being stock footage is damn near 100%. The film ends with its big Lovecraftian money shot as the entire cast fornicate...

"Don't Worry Darling" The controversy surrounding this film definitely overshadowed the film itself but that's ok because the movie kinda sucks anyway. Imagine "Stepford Wives" "The Village" and "San Junipero" had a baby. That's what this movie is. I will say the first half of the film is engaging. It's mysterious, even Lynchian at times but it all starts to fall apart as the mystery is revealed. The subtext is pretty clear and while I do give it credit for its messages of female oppression and inequality, I've seen films recently that have done it better, namely "Barbarian" and "Watcher." Solid acting all around, Florence Pugh is great. Chris Pine does a good impression of Jordan Peterson (minus the Kermit voice). The sets are fun and the colors are vivid. Again the only thing that truly brings this movie down is the reveal. It just makes no sense. It makes everything that happens in the movie make no sens...

"Jurassic World: Dominion" Where I watched it: On the plane (Westjet In-Flight entertainment app) In this latest entry into a franchise that should have died out like the dinosaurs years ago, we have what might be the most incomprehensible film ever made. That being said... it wasn't as bad as everyone's making it out to be. At least not to me, gosh darn it. This movie franchise clearly went off the rails some time ago so I don't know why people expect it to not be sucky. "The Lost World" was a huge departure from what the first Jurassic Park movie accomplished and looking back I think I can say without a doubt that it's the best sequel in the series. In the 3rd Jurassic Park it was far fetched to see Alan Grant communicating with the Raptors by blowing into a replicated voice box... but Owen Grady took this ridiculousness to a whole new level in the Jurassic World series. Not only do Raptors not attack this man but he can control them with a simple ...

"Killer Klowns from Outer Space" Where I watched it: Tubi It's been on the watch list for a very long time and I finally got around to checking it out. "Killer Klowns" is a deep movie that stimulates critical thought and will move you to tears in a profound allegory about what it is to be human and what it is to be an alien clown. Just kidding. This movie is gloriously stupid. Literally about aliens that fly down to earth in a giant circus tent and start collecting people in cotton candy pods and just generally wreak havoc on a small town. For being such a silly idea, it's super fun and engaging. The "klowns" are legit unsettling with their slow blinking eyes and Alfred E Neuman facial proportions. Lots of practical effects to make the creature feature enthusiasts foam at the mouth. The acting is intentionally campy, this movie is clearly a response to films of this nature designed to be taken more seriously. Something like "Invaders from Mars...

"Nope" Where I saw it: Cinema The 3rd film by Jordan Peele is definitely his biggest directorial achievement. While I've enjoyed his other 2 films I've never really been overly blown away by the shots. This time, this dude has IMAX cameras. Acting is superb by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, they balance each other out nicely with one being pure energy and the other being a more subdued pensive personality type. Supporting cast is great as well with Steven Yeun and the legendary Keith David. I love that while Jordan Peele is becoming this horror auteur he still manages to fill his movies with humor that doesn't compromise the scary stuff. There's some hilarious bits in Nope, in particular a scene with a guy from TMZ. As with all of Peele's films, there is an underlying social message and this time it's focused on world matters that are turned into "spectacles" for our entertainment purposes. This is really obvious with the side story about Go...

"Demolition Man" Where I watched it: Hollywood Suite This movie is super fun. Baffling at times and sometimes seemingly incomplete but hot dang this movie is great. Fantastic performances from an all star cast... most notably Sandra Bullock as the naive, happy-go-lucky future cop. For those that aren't aware of the plot here it is... it's great... Stallone and Snipes are mortal enemies in 1996, they both get cryogenically frozen for crimes and are thawed out about 30 years later where they continue to be mortal enemies. But here's where the movie really succeeds. Everyone in the future is a complete softy. The police force has not had to deal with real crime since the "earthquake of 2010." You aren't even allowed to use curse words without being fined. It's kind of like Utah. So now that Snipes is thawed and is on the loose with a police force that has no idea how to handle the situation, they must resort to using a cop that knows how to deal wit...

"Moonfall" Where I streamed it: Prime Where do I start with this? So this is another disaster movie (in more ways than one) by renowned disaster artist Roland Emmerich. It stars Patrick Wilson and Halle Berry and is about AN ALIEN A.I. THAT DRILLS ITS WAY INTO THE MOON (WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE A MEGASTRUCTURE BUILT BY AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION) CAUSING THE MOON TO FALL OUT OF ORBIT WREAKING HAVOC UPON THE PLANET THROUGH FLOODS, RELENTLESS METEOR PUMMELING AND GRAVITATIONAL NONSENSE. This movie has a little bit of everything from Emmerich's previous films. The disaster elements of 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow with the alien sci-fi aspects of Independence Day. For a man who seemingly gets off on watching buildings crumble and cities flood, this is truly Roland Emmerich's ultimate cumpilation reel. Of course it goes without saying that this movie is terrible. But I'll tell you what, I watched this in bed sporting a gnarly hangover and it was exactly what I needed. It...

  "Underwater" I saw an early screening of UNDERWATER starring Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel and TJ Miller. In a blatant ALIEN rip off, Norah (Kristen Stewart) finds herself leading a group of underwater research facility crew members through the depths of the ocean after being attacked by sea aliens. It's important to note that the film was set to be released in 2017 but was delayed until 2020 due to allegations against TJ Miller and the recent acquiring of 20th Century Fox by Disney. There isn't much to say about this film as it's as standard a sci-fi plot as they come. Large group of crew members try to survive an alien attack in a other-worldly environment (in this case it's not space, its underwater) and get picked off one by one. While that might sound like a fun night at the movies, its ultimately dissatisfying due to it's PG-13 rating.   The acting is adequate, although TJ Miller's typical comic relief character completely goes against the to...

"Yesterday" I would highly urge anyone who hasn't seen this to check it out immediately. While it doesn't go as far as I would have liked to have seen it go, it still explores enough within it's amazing premise to satisfy. Great performances all around and of course a fantastic soundtrack. 8/10

"Terminator: Dark Fate" This was unbelievably bad. I went with a friend and we determined that this is actually the worst Terminator film in the franchise. Yes, even worse than Terminator: Genysis and Terminator 3. Linda Hamilton is absolutely awful in this as is everyone else. This film is Attack of the Clones level bad. 2/10

"Head Count" A cross between The Thing and Coherence but not as good as either. Totally passable low budget indie horror, good tension in moments, doppelganger shit that I love... but ultimately leaves more questions than it answers and feels more like an homage than it's own thing. (pun intended) 5/10

"See You Yesterday" Good social message hidden in teen time travel film that ultimately collapses due to characters being idiotic. 6/10