All right, let’s make this short and sweet. I am really raging at my epic gardening fails atm. So, I need a break. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I decided to add woodchips into my garden. Now, I don’t have too many regrets in life., but I totally messed up with this one. Luckily, we don’t live in the 1800s or something, because my family would have starved WAY before we all died of dysentery.

In between messing up my soil, I’ve watched a few movies. Not all of them are horror, but here’s what I think.

The Breadwinner

This movie is a masterpiece, a ten out of ten. But, it is very sad. Like traumaporn said. I did like the story, even though I know deep down this may be coincidently autobiographical to some innocent Afghani children.

With what is going on in Palestine right now, I just wish the world could be a little more kinder to children. Not only for girls like Parvana, but for the main antagonist Idress as well. He was also a victim.

I wish the entire world could come to an agreement on the human rights of children. Everyone deserves to be cared for, every child deserves to eat. No one should be punished for being educated.

I’m glad the ending was on a hopeful note. I wanted that minor spoiler because almost everyone is suffering in horrible ways throughout the movie. This movies was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Coco. I love that movie as well. I couldn’t help thinking that in the future, Parvana, her parents, and siblings are able to be remembered like Migel’s family is able to.

Captian America: Brave New World.

I wish I could tell you what happened. But, I’m gonna keep it real with you, I fell asleep. It’s not the movies fault though. I’m just a little old lady trapped in the body of a young lass.

I didn’t go back to see it because I found out we were supposed to be boycotting it. I mean I know I’m not gonna save the world or anything. But, I do want to do what I realistically can in regards to that.

I did enjoy the television show that led up to the movie. The movie is on Disney Plus now, so I am going to give it another go maybe.

Soul Food

So like, this movie is very old. But I had never seen it before! My grandmother had it on VHS, and that’s all I really knew about it. Oh, and that time it was described by Huey Freeman. My youngest son wanted to watch the movie because he thought it was actually about food. Which, I can’t blame him. But, I do blame myself. Even though a child is narrating the movie, it’s not appropriate for kids. I liked seeing wheat everyone wore back then. And I really enjoyed the music.

I was a little disappointed that the family was so dysfunctional. Like my family is pretty messed up, but nothing like that. And maybe they were like that and I didn’t know because I was just a kid. The main character is also just a kid, and he had to also see a lot of things I don’t think kids should be privy too. I did appreciate the bond that he had with his grandma. At the end of my great grandmother’s life, people were also being really selfish and annoying. I liked that the made an effort to visit her. Even when my great grandma wasn’t making a lot of sense, I still appreciated that we could face time her. I think the boy in the movie will grow up to appreciate that as well.

Until Dawn

I wanted to see this movie solely based on the fact that my husband and I used to be obsessed with the game it was based on. I was a little bummed that more of the actors from the game didn’t return. No matter what, I am always gonna be rooting for Hayden Panettiere. Even though it’s not exactly like the game, I like how they somewhat incorporated the “choose your own adventure” narrative that we enjoyed.

But with that, I feel like the individualness of the characters suffered. Like, thank God they all look different, or I would struggle to tell who was who. I wish that the wendigo thing was…uh….better. Just all of it, the explanation, the makeup, the actual transformation, the cgi…just…all…of…it. They made such an effort into changing like 70% opf the story and then half assed the Wendigo. It didn’t particularly feel like the game. But I do appreciate that they tried to put a fresh spin on it.

The game ended up getting a remake, so maybe one day the film will get a remake as well. I think it would be cool if the characters in the remake were not the same characters from the game ( playing homage to this movie). However, they were investigating what happened with Josh +his friends a la Buzzfeed Unsolved/Watcher. Or even better, instead of a movie remake, have Until Dawn: The Miniseries. Instead of what they did with the movie, each episode can show what happens to each group that goes to Blackwood Mountain. The final episode should be a traditional remake of the game, and whoever makes the show can chose the direction of the episode. Or maybe Netflix can bring back the games and each episode can be a game. It would also be nice to have more Algonquin input, since we are taking from their culture.

Honestly, my biggest hope is that they film different choices and you don’t know which version you will see until you actually see the movie. Kind of like what they did with Clue. I would love that. Or even have some way for the audience to choose what happens. I think that movie theatres could make it an “event” like people do with Rocky Horror. That would be so fun. Wow, ok double Tim Curry mention. He is ON my mind.

Overall, this movie came form the same guy that made Lights Out (short + movie) and Annabelle: Creation. SO we have to stan.

The Wolf Man

Baby, I knew this was not gonna be great. It came out in January. Even though that’s the best month. I ended up pleasantly surprised. It was a lot better than I expected. As I’m sure you know, I really love Universal Studios. Especially the Dark Universe. In a way, I gave up hope that they would ever bring it back after The Mummy was hot garbage. Since it doesn’t seem like The Wolf Man is connected to The Invisible Man at all, I think they will all just stand for themselves. There was a real feel of finality with the endings of these two movies. So I don’t think a sequel is likely.

And, the way Wolf Man was deserving of a better advertising cycle. Because, it’s a bit different from traditional werewolf lore. It reminded me of Remus Lupin’s condition being comparable to HIV/AIDS instead of the integral primal force that all human’s struggle with. It really brought about a discussion of your body turning against you. Like, maybe I have some sort of media illiteracy in terms of lycanthropy; but I really feel like Wolf Man was the first time the werewolf transformation was truly scary. It was too realistic. These days we all are aware of at least one person that has a health issue that is physically or mentally degenerative. The prolonged transformation of Blake reminded me of William Utermohlen. He was an artist with Alzheimer’s. He did a series of self portraits that change over time due to his illness.

Anyway, what have you guys been watching? I’m excited to see Freakier Friday, Mortal Kombat 2, Him, and Americana.

xo Nik