9603Reviews Reviews

Cadaver (2020)

An "ok" horror movie to watch if you like the genre

[5/10 · 29 June 2023]

I recently watched Cadaver and wanted to share what I think about it.

Cadaver is a Norwegian horror film about a rich man who puts on theater performances in his hotel for the poor, in order to give them a full meal and an escape from the nuclear disaster the outside world has become. You follow our main character Leo as her and her husband search for their lost daughter inside of the ever shifting walls of the hotel.

Cadaver has highs, and lows for sure. I felt like the antagonist of the film Mathias was very well done. Well written, well acted, and definitely had a frightening, unhinged aura to him while on screen. I also felt that the movie had an interesting, albeit done before, twist to it. The movie doesn't rely heavily on jump scares or gore, so it is a relatively easy watch if you don't mind subtitles, or can speak and understand Norwegian.

However, where Cadaver shines, it definitely has its low points. The score is incredibly forgettable, in fact having just watched it last night I can't remember a single moment where I noticed the score. Cadaver also fails in the character department. Antagonist aside, most of the characters suffer from awful decision making, or are just downright annoying. Our main character wants the daughter to be able to roam, and is then surprised when the daughter disappears, after 2 seconds before telling her husband it was fine to let her wonder around the hotel. Supporting cast are all forgettable as well, as the only characters that have any real depth to them are Lars and Jens.

Overall the movie was still enjoyable but I wouldn't go into it expecting a masterpiece of the horror genre. It is tense at times and Mathias steals the show IMO. IMDb has it at a 5.2 and I couldn't agree more. Very middle of the pack, fun to watch on a movie night if you're low on options or just looking to cross a horror movie off the watchlist. 5/10

TLDR- Cadaver is an easy to watch, "ok" quality horror movie with a good antagonist and some redeeming support characters, while also having no jumps or extreme violence. Give it a watch if you have a chance and are a fan of horror. 5/10.

Elemental (2023)

Great movie to watch with the kids on movie night

[8/10 · 29 June 2023]

Recently we went and watched Disney's "Elemental", and we've got a bit to say about it!

First off, we both loved this movie! The worst thing about this movie is how little we saw about it before hand. "Elemental" centers around Ember, a fire elemental immigrant to element city, with a bit of a temper and a ton of pressure to save and take over the family business, and Wade, a water elemental who just so happens to also be an extremely emotional city code inspector.

Elemental does very well bringing to light the challenges an immigrant family/group faces in a new environment, while also making sure it's wrapped up in a cute animated rom-com. The other elements are afraid, hostile, or dismissive when it comes to the the fire district and its people,but it's evened out with the budding romance between your two main characters. It also does very well in showing how important unity is among different groups of people. The art and animation in this one are amazingly done as well! The characters, in our opinion, are all well animated, well designed, and unique enough in their own ways. The animation, as standard with Pixar, is 100% on point.

Elemental, however, does lack in a select few areas. The side characters for the air and earth elements were all forgettable. Clod, Fern, Gale, and Lutz are all forgettable. The main characters and their families are well done and fleshed out. But they miss the mark on the backup characters. The story is also, nothing we've never seen before. Obviously it's hard to continuously come up with brand new never done before stories, so this is only a small critique, but it's been done before.

Overall though, we loved Elemental. It's a fantastic choice to watch with the family/kids. It didn't feel like anything was forced, there's good jokes for both parents and kids, it has an emotional ending, and the movie does do a good job of getting its message across. It's a Pixar romantic comedy movie and it does what it set out to do. It won't change the world, but it's got a good message.

We recommend this movie 100% if you're a fan of family friendly animation, or Disney movies in general. IMDb has this at a 7.1 but collectively we give this an 8/10.

TLDR - With a few lows, we still loved elemental and feel it's a great movie to watch with the family on movie night! Catch it when it comes to streaming! 8/10.