So highly ambitious, so incredibly flawed, but oh so engrossing is M. Night Shyamalan’s (Signs, The Sixth Sense) return to form his latest mind-**** Old. Suppose you’re new to Shyamalan (which I would understand if you are a bit younger and have avoided all of his critical flops since 2002’s Signs, Old might be the coolest thing you’ve ever seen. For the rest of us, we know that somewhere in the film will have a twist. It’s a matter of either trying to figure it out (which is something we inherently do now) or trying to enjoy the ride. I attempted to do both. I succeeded in enjoying the ride. I did not figure out the twist. There’s also the idea that Shyamalan might try to do one of these types of movies without a twist so that it also can be something that plays in your mind. All in all, I was able to set aside all of the many, many imperfections associated with Old and appreciate it for what it was worth and then some.
Category Archives: 2021
Wrong Turn (2021)
I recall watching the original Wrong Turn movie in the movie theater in 2003. I enjoyed the movie so much that I bought the DVD when I discovered it in the previously viewed movie bin a few years later. I went over fifteen years between viewings because I wanted to wait for that perfect dark and stormy night to revisit this gem of a film that introduced me to the slasher movie genre. Unfortunately, my rewatch of the movie fell flat. I thought the movie was so poorly made and cheesy that I couldn’t believe I had initially been spooked by it. However, as I look back, I realize this was because I had nothing to compare it against. Of course, there were the Friday the 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, and Halloween movies, but those had all been established franchises well before I was born. And honestly, I had no interest in watching any of these.
Pig (2021)
Knowing little about it, I went into my local theater to watch Michael Sarnoski’s directorial debut, Pig. I saw it playing at my local theater, checked out its score on Rotten Tomatoes (97% and 95%), and then looked at the scores assigned by Richard Roeper (4/4 stars) and also the score on Roger Ebert’s website (also 4/4 stars). The movie poster made it look like a backwoods thriller. It was enough for me. I had no idea what the movie was even about. I recall when I saw David Fincher’s Se7en back in 1995. I knew nothing about that film, which is one reason I am still so mesmerized and starstruck by that film. Had I learned more about it, it still would have been a forever classic with me. But there was something about that journey of not knowing anything about it but being completely engrossed by it. The comparison between Se7en and Pig ends there but is a notable mention nonetheless.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Of all of the movies that have been released since the start of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Army of the Dead is the one that I Of all the films released since the start of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Army of the Dead is the one I watched at home that I most wished I had seen in the theater. As I watch this movie a week ahead of A Quiet Place 2 (a movie that should truly signify a return to the movie theaters), I almost wish I hadn’t had the option to watch Zack Snyder’s (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 300) on Netflix. I intended to go to the theater this weekend to see this film, only to see it sitting there as an option to stream with my Netflix subscription. It was both a blessing and a curse. Free is excellent, as is the ability to play and pause a movie as you see fit. But it is hard to beat the in-theater experience of a film that is supposed to be watched on the big screen.
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Perhaps a perfect popcorn flick for moviegoers who can close off their brains and enjoy a decent action story with some pretty good cinematography that also stars one of the most marketable movie actors of the last 25 years, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a movie that fails to capitalize on its potential. Outside of Maleficent, Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, A Mighty Heart) hasn’t had the best decade in front of the camera. However, her fanbase is still tremendous. Her opportunity to return to the action-adventure drama helped solidify her career (Salt, Wanted, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). She may have done enough to secure future starring roles with her physically impressive performance as a Montana smokejumper named Hannah. She was the highlight of Taylor Sheridan’s (Sicario, Wind River) movie that otherwise failed to deliver.