Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

 "There is not always a good guy.  Nor is there always a bad one.  Most people are somewhere in between." -The Monster As 13-year-old Connor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) faces the imminent death of his ailing mother and his entire life crumbles around him, Connor is visited by a Monster (Liam Neeson) who has some stories to tell him. What Works: I've got to tell you, I was not prepared for this movie.  I really didn't know a ton about it, just that a monster helps a young boy get through some stuff, but beyond that, I didn't know anything.  This movie is an emotional freight train that hits you at full speed.  The writing and performances come together incredibly well to emotionally devastate anyone who watches.   I have to give major props to all of the actors, but Lewis MacDougall is the standout.  I'm rarely impressed by child actors, but this guy goes above and beyond any expectations I had.  He makes you feel for Connor and with all the crap he has to

 "He broke into Dave Grohl's house!" -Chief Logan In the 29 years since the second film, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) have failed to unite the world with their music and time and space are beginning to collapse.  With less than two hours to write the song, Bill and Ted attempt to steal the song from their future selves. What Works: I love the first two Bill and Ted movies and it's great to see Winter and Reeves back in these roles.  Alex Winter hasn't missed a beat in his performance and it's awesome to see him acting again.  It's bizarre to see John Wick and Neo back in his role as Ted.  It's obvious Keanu Reeves is a very different person from his younger self.  That said, it's still awesome to have him back, which I never thought would happen. I also loved the inclusion of their daughters, Thea (Samara Weaving) and Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine).  The two of them are hilarious and brilliantly cast.  Weaving looks eerily like Winter a

 "I hate you." -Dr. Juliet Burke "D.O.C." kicks off with Sun (Yunjin Kim) being asked questions about her pregnancy by Jack (Matthew Fox), which gets her suspicious that Jack may be working with the Others.  When Kate (Evangeline Lilly) reveals the Others were taking pregnant women for experiments, Sun confronts Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) who tells her that all the women that get pregnant on the Island die. That night, Juliet approaches Sun and offers answers, if she goes with her into the jungle.  Juliet says she can figure out the date of conception and if she got pregnant before the crash, she has a good chance of surviving.  However, Sun reveals that if the baby was conceived before the crash, it isn't Jin's (Daniel Dae Kim).  They journey to the Staff, to a hidden room where all the equipment is stored.  During the ultrasound, Juliet tells Sun she got pregnant on the island.  She has about two months to live.  Sun is happy that the baby is at least Jin

 "They're here!" -Carol Ann Freeling The paranormal activity that starts happening around the Freeling house seems harmless enough at first, but things quickly escalate when the youngest child, Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke), is taken into into the spirit realm.  Her parents have to team up with a group of parapsychologists to get Carol Ann back. What Works: I love how quickly this movie escalates.  Most movies like this would drag out the paranormal stuff for a long time and spend too long on small and innocuous things.  These events ramp up quickly in Poltergeist .  We get the weird stuff with the TV, then the chairs stacking before all hell breaking loose with the tree attack and Carol Ann's disappearance.  With things getting so crazy so quickly, it keeps you on your toes because who knows what could happen next! The first time I watched this movie, I wasn't expecting much because I saw it was rated PG.  There's no way this movie could be scary, right? 

 "Camp!" -Jin Kwon "Catch-22" kicks off with Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) having a series of visions, which include him, Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) trekking through the jungle, Charlie accidently setting off a booby-trap, which kills him, and finding someone who has parachuted onto the island.  Desmond is convinced that person is his love, Penny (Sonya Walger).  Desmond gets the rest to accompany him on a camping trip to make the flashes happen, but leaves out the part about Charlie's death. That night, they see a helicopter crash off-shore, but someone bailed out with a parachute.  They follow into the jungle.  They find a backpack in the jungle with a picture of Desmond and Penny inside, as well as a satellite phone that isn't working.  Just before Charlie is killed from the trap, Desmond pushes him out of the way, saving his life again.  Desmond is now concerned he may have changed the future for the worst. 

 "It's gonna be a better world without this thing." -Edward Fazio 15 years after the first movie, a pipeline worker discovers a small piece of the Blob and brings it with him to Los Angeles.  It accidently melts and goes on a killing rampage across the city.  Can they stop it again? What Works: I didn't care for the original movie, but one thing I did like was the Blob itself and some of the set-pieces it gets used for.  That's also true here, but we get to see more of the Blob and we get more set-pieces.  We get to see it drape over a car, climb a rope, and flood a bowling alley.  These are some really awesome shots and exciting moments. The only other thing I liked about the original film is the 3rd act, where things actually got exciting.  That's also true here, as our heroes get trapped in an ice rink and have to get higher and higher to avoid the Blob.  I was getting Tremors vibes for a brief moment.  It's a fun 3rd act and it actually feels like ther

I just finished watching the entire series of Exorcist films for the first time over the past couple of weeks.  I had never seen any of them, including the original.  Now seems like a good time to rank the series from best to worst. #1. The Exorcist (1973) Of course the original movie is going to take first place.  How could it not.  This a great film that has held up very well.  The effects are incredible with some brilliant performances.  The medical gore really got to me and I'm usually fine dealing with that stuff.  What I liked most was how the exorcism was really a last resort and our main characters take every rational and reasonable option before getting to the exorcism.  This is a horror movie about belief for non-believers and I really appreciate that.  The decisions made by the characters feel extremely real.  If I had a complaint, there are a few moments where the film chooses to  tell us something rather than show us, which I believe rarely works in movies.  9/10: Grea

 "You created life where life wasn't supposed to be." -Richard Alpert "One of Us" kicks off with Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) making their way back to the beach.  Jack has suspiciously little to say about the time he spent with the Others and refuses to let Sayid ask Juliet any questions.  They return to the beach, where Juliet receives a frosty reception and as the group debates whether or not to let her join, Claire (Emilie de Ravin) collapses after having been sick all day. Juliet tells Jack and Kate that pregnant women die on the island because the body turns on the fetus.  Ethan (William Mapother) was getting blood samples from Claire and discovered she was showing the same symptoms.  He only kidnapped Claire when he was discovered.  It was never part of the plan.  Juliet had created medication that helped Claire safely deliver the baby and was suffering from withdrawal and would die wi

Normally, I do a 10 Worst Movies of the Year post, but I didn't get to see as many movies as I would have liked this year.  In fact, there are only 8 movies I saw that I would consider bad.  So, here are my 8 Worst Movies of 2020, from best to worst! #8. The New Mutants The New Mutants had a ton of potential and wasted most of it.  This final installment of the X-Men series is a horror movie first and a superhero movie second.  I love that idea.  We do get a lot of creepy and nightmarish elements that work well.  The 3rd act is fun and Maisie Williams does a good job.  Unfortunately, the movie handles the story in the least interesting way and makes the characters difficult to get to know, which makes it hard to be invested in their story.  The way the facility is run makes no sense and Anya Taylor-Joy's character is just the worst.  I would say this is my most disappointing movie of the year. #7. Scoob! When Ken Jeong is the best part of your movie, you know you have a problem

It's that time again: The Snubby Awards!  For those of you who don't know, the Snubby Awards take a look at all of the Best Picture nominees from a given year and determine if the best film won or if one was snubbed.  If that's the case, they win the coveted Snubby Award! This time we'll be taking a look at the 2009 Oscars, which was a mostly fine field with one exception.  The nominees were:  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, and The Reader with the winner being Slumdog Millionaire.   Did  Slumdog Millionaire  deserve to win or did another movie get snubbed?  Let's find out! #5. The Reader I hated The Reader.  Apart from The Tree of Life , this is probably my least favorite Best Picture nominee.  While the acting and the music are very good, the problem is the story itself.  It involves a 15-year old boy being taken advantage of by an older woman, played by Kate Winslet.  That itself isn't the problem.  The issues is their relationship is

 2020 is over, finally, and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  Granted, there weren't a ton of movies this year and I missed a few I would have liked to have seen due to quarantine, but I'll do the best I can.  I only saw 36 movies this year, so a lot of movies made the Top 10 that probably wouldn't have in a normal year, but here we go! #10.   Sonic the Hedgehog For the first time ever, a video game movie has made it into my Top 10.  I'm actually stunned.  As a character, Sonic is surprisingly well written and developed.  I was expecting him to be very one note.  James Marsden and Tika Sumpter have excellent chemistry, the action sequences are a lot of fun, and Jim Carrey is an incredible villain.  The second act is a little slow and there are too many pop culture references pretending to be jokes, but this movie was way better than I expected it to be and is one of the best video game movies ever made. #9. Wonder Woman 1984 Yeah, yeah.  This movie g