groovygirl112006 Reviews

Squid Game: The Challenge (2023– )

The low ratings make no sense...

[7/10 · 23 November 2023]

I'm astonished how many people rated this poorly, all because they thought it was season 2. THIS IS A GAME SHOW based on Squid Games. I thought this game show was as well done as it could be having been done in the US and also lacking the motivation of losing your life. The reality TV portions are a but much, but the overall premise was intriguing. I'd watch another season if they could come up with interesting games a 2nd time. I thoroughly enjoyed the original show and was shocked to see them try to channel that into an actual game show. I think it was mostly successful and a worthy enough follow-up to the original show from the US perspective.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

I rarely write reviews for movies I like... but this deserves a review

[8/10 · 23 November 2021]

I will start out by saying, I'm a purist when it comes to my 80s movies. Ghostbusters is literally one of my all-time favorite movies and I hated it when it got put on the rotation for reboots/sequels. (I'm not even going to touch the Paul Feig female fiasco). However, once I learned of the baseline story of this new iteration and that Reitman/Aykroyd would be returning as the writing duo, my interest was piqued. After seeing some of the sneak peeks, I actually thought there could be hope for this movie. I do also enjoy Paul Rudd. I can honestly say that this movie does live up to the original. It is not better than the original and couldn't be in my nostalgic brain, but I am glad to say I was not disappointed at all with this movie. It had just the right amount of nods to the original without copying the same formula. It even has very subtle nods that only hard-core Ghostbusters fans will get. It had enough new blood without trying to completely remake it in a new age. The young cast was likable and the characters felt real. I only had one complaint about a scene that was a bit too drawn out, but other than that, I have no other major complaints. It's a well-paced movie that appeals to the franchise newcomers but hits the right notes for those of us that are loyal to the original. The cameos of the original cast are not forced and give the nostalgic viewer a triumphant flutter with a slight kick in the feels. Give it a chance. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021)

Another attempt to cash in on nostalgia...

[4/10 · 15 July 2021]

Netflix has had some real stinkers and this is no exception. We get it, you played 90s music, but nothing else felt 90s. I grew up in the 90s and was hoping for the nostalgia feels with some horror (which Stranger Things did extremely well with the 80s). The story is uninteresting and none of the characters are likeable, except the younger brother nerd. The first 5 minutes were a good hook, but that was it. If you want 90s cheese, watch Scream; at least it knew what kind of movie it was trying to be. I know the 90s were angsty, but the characters in here are downright depressing and a little psycho to the extreme for teenagers. Hard pass on watching the next 2 installments.

Dracula (2020)

Absolute worst version of Dracula ever!

[3/10 · 5 January 2020]

Dracula is one of my favorite stories and I'm all for jazzing it up and twisting it a little, but this show went so far off the reservation! I can't even call this a retelling since all they did was slap in some names of characters from the book. Pretty much everything else in the story was null and void. Such convoluted explanations for everything and in the end, am I supposed to feel sorry for Dracula? Am I supposed to be relieved for him? I don't think even the writers knew. This "version" lacks the heart of Bram Stoker's Dracula with Oldman, lacks the creativity of Dracula 2000 with Butler, the creepiness of Nosferatu with Schreck and hell, even lacks enough excitement to keep me caring beyond the first hour unlike the Lugosi or Lee versions. Save yourself 4.5 hours of watching this travesty and fill that time with the above mentioned Dracula versions that are actually good. Two thumbs down, Netflix! They better start producing good horror material real quick!

Daybreak (I) (2019)

Some good one-liners and homages, but overall, weak

[6/10 · 27 October 2019]

This show seemed entertaining at first... Almost like a teenage version of Zombieland. It had some good jokes, lots of references to 80s movies and such, but as it went on, the show seemed to become confused about what it was trying to be; teenage rom-com, self aware horror comedy, insightful look into the modern teen? Who knows? I definitely don't think Netflix did. It was hard to make it through the last 4 episodes (which is almost half of the season). The ending was predictable... Clearly making a bunch of plot points to set up a 2nd season... Which I hope doesn't happen. The jokes and overall silliness is its only redeeming quality as the story became lost many times and again, Netflix clearly had an agenda in pushing many social justice ideas that simply didn't fit in the story. We get it, Netflix, you're "woke", but there's no need to put it in EVERYTHING you produce. I still give it a 6, mostly for the humor and because Angelica is hilarious. Otherwise, nice try, poor execution.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Too much hype for groundbreaking nostalgia

[5/10 · 24 August 2019]

I know I'm going to get backlash for this, but as a lifelong horror fan, I just plain don't care for NOTLD. I know it's a classic and it is definitely due it's certain amount of respect for being a pioneer film in its day for the horror genre. But in reality, the movie is slow, the acting is subpar for everyone but Duane, the soundtrack is out of place and overwhelming and the ending is well.... Dumb. A good movie is ruined by a bad ending. It's not because the movie doesn't have a happy ending, but mostly because it just happens. We spend an hour building up all that tension in the household, leading up to the climax: the final showdown with the overwhelming horde of the dead. And then BOOM. Our lone survivor is so unceremoniously shot in the head. Its Romero, so I know it's for shock value, but in my opinion, it cheapens the film. There's no reward in it for anyone. Even with a sad or unhappy ending either the good guys or the bad guys get a payoff, but in this case it's nothing. It's good for it's time period; edgy and gory (which comes across great despite being black and white), and holds strong with a concept that is still quite scary in itself. I can't rate NOTLD lower than a 5 out of respect for one of the classics that launched so many wonderful successors, but could it have been better? Yes. Yes, it could have been better.

Monster Party (2018)

Starts off great, but then becomes a nightmarish mess

[6/10 · 22 August 2019]

I had heard the mixed reviews about this Shudder original. I'm pretty partial to slasher flicks or anything to do with serial killers, so I thought I'd give this movie a try. Honestly, the first 45 minutes did a pretty decent job of building tension and following an unconventional plotline. But as the characters descended to the basement, so did the story and any interest I had in what was going on. The end of this movie can only be described as a cluster**** (for lack of a better word). The ending is dizzyingly quick and scatter-brained (no pun intended lol). The ending, also, just plain doesn't make sense. I think they were trying to be dark and edgy, but it just comes off as goofy and ridiculous. Nice attempt.... Poor execution.

Lost Girl (2010–2016)

Confused... And I don't just mean the sexual orientation of half the cast

[6/10 · 1 July 2019]

This show had great potential for a new take on a supernatural underworld hero story. I give it brownie points for covering a little talked about supernatural phenomena: the succubus. It started strong, but quickly became confused on what it was. It was trying to pull off what Buffy, Supernatural and many others have SUCCESSFULLY achieved... Deep characters with complex storylines that can still pull off humor and serious overtones. It mostly just fell flat. The acting is pretty good. Solid performances from almost all actors, but the writers apparently couldn't decide on the direction of the show. Characters would make the most baffling decisions and half the time, the stories just plain didn't make sense. Many contradictory things happened throughout the series. I won't even get into all of the inaccuracies of the lore. It's one thing to put a spin on an old story, but bending and changing it to suit some ridiculous plot hole is unforgivable. The sex scenes became too frequent and given that the emphasis was on the girl on girl action, it was obvious the audience they we're aiming for. Yes, she's a succubus, but geez, there's got to be a point where we don't have to explicitly SEE every sexual encounter between her and Lauren. Let's not even mention the fact that she sleeps with both her step mom AND her lover's son! Was that necessary? Overall, it had potential, but quickly ran off the rails. By the end of season 3, I no longer cared about the character development... Because there was none. In the end, poor writing led to practically no resolution for anyone, making this an entirely forgettable aeries (except for Kenzi's excellent taste in shoes and Bo's sexy closet full of leather and corsets).

Slasher: 6am to 9am (2019) Season 3, Episode 1

Add another show to the list of Netflix pushing an agenda

[3/10 · 25 May 2019]

This episode started out mildly interesting. Characters are diverse in background and sexuality. Great. But it felt forced and not contributing to the story. Honestly, this is the 3rd series created by Netflix that I will not bother finishing. Netflix is so hell-bent on shoving political commentary down our throats that I can't just enjoy my show. The politics need to serve a purpose to the storyline, not just be crammed in to check the boxes of diversification and political commentary. That aside, the first season of Slasher was the best. The 2nd was okay, but this one is not worth your time. The kills are uninspired, sex is just ridiculously shoved in your face, none of the characters are worth caring about and the plot is filled with very unrealistic chains of events. Overall, don't waste 8 hours on this. Better yet, don't waste any more energy than you already have on this season. Get out while you still can!

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020)

Hot mess of occult references sprinkled with politics

[4/10 · 27 October 2018]

I had high hopes for this show, but sorely disappointed about 20 minutes. Political rhetoric runs rank where it doesn't even fit in the story. The acting is sub par. The "good girl" that is totally okay with Satan but wants girl power makes no sense. The blurry ring camera effects are annoying, etc. Good idea, poor execution and plot.

Summer of 84 (2018)

Could've been special, but not so much....

[6/10 · 6 October 2018]

I sat down to watch this movie for a couple reasons: I like horror/suspense/thriller movies, I enjoy serial killer plots and I love the 80's. Hoping to be blown away by an amazing, immersive 80s flick, I ended up with a dry, superficially nostalgic and all-around cliche teen movie. The 80s vibe is lost on this. Yes, Le Matos does an amazing synth soundtrack as always, but that is not enough to save this movie. Short of name dropping a bunch of TV and movie references and sticking 80s props in scenes, there is no 80s heart to this movie. Stereotypes run rampant, and not in a good way. Character development is very shallow and nonexistent for certain characters and the plot is very slow. I know that the 80s were a time when people still felt safe in their neighborhoods, but people in this fictional town are downright oblivious and negligent. Kids out at all hours, no one notices strange activity, how the single next door neighbor watches the kids play, etc. I really wanted to love this movie (despite it being a very similar ripoff of Stranger Things, Disturbia, Rear Window and The Burbs all rolled in to one). The only thing I truly respected about this movie was the ending. It was not cliche or expected, however a little dopey given what the antagonist was able to pull off with NO ONE noticing. It was dark and not happy, which is rare for a coming-of-age flick. Overall, not the worst I've seen, but nowhere near the best. At least it kept me watching until the end, despite being fairly bored and irritated at ridiculous plot points. Worth a watch for the novice horror or nostalgic movie fan.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

in Ron's words "bloody brilliant"

[10/10 · 21 November 2005]

This movie was incredible. Not only in the story line itself, but also with the effects and performances of the actors. The movie sucked me in from the very beginning. I jumped at some parts of the movie and almost cried at the ending because Daniel Radcliffe gave such a powerful performance. While the movie was not exactly like the book, I am not in the least bit disappointed. They did a magnificent job in presenting Voldemort. And everyone is making a huge deal out of the PG-13 rating. Younger audiences will probably have very little trouble dealing with the graphic images, especially the ones who have read the books. It had a good balance of suspense, character growth, and humor. While this is the darkest of the series so far, it was somewhat lightened by the constant humor (i.e. Mad Eye Moody and Professor Snape). This is the first movie to show real growth in the characters, a developing love story and a preview of the trouble yet to come forth.

I'd recommend it for anyone.