A Review of “Smile (2022)”

Smile is a horror film directed by Parker Finn in his feature directorial debut. For someone’s directorial debut, this is very impressive.

There are deeply unsettling visuals and proper tension. The movie is reliant on jump scare and it can get tedious. However, there is a fair amount of jump scare with good build-up and payoff which did scare me. I also love the sound design in this film. The director uses it effectively to create a creepy feeling. The first 2 acts of the film are well done. We see our main character Rose (Sosie Bacon) slowly descend into madness as the ‘curse’ becomes more prominent. On that note, Sosie Bacon is phenomenal as the main lead. She gives a convincing performance of someone who is losing their mind.

Nevertheless, this film falls into a lot of the generic tropes of a horror movie. Its plot isn’t original, you’ve seen it in films like It Follows and The Ring. It has a lot of the same beat-for-beat elements you’ve seen a dozen times. Even the ending is something you have seen in other horror movies. The main character also says and does incredibly stupid things. There are also moments in this film that are unintentionally funny and silly but are meant to be serious moments.

Overall, it is a well-made horror film, especially for a director’s first film. Still, it never really goes beyond a generic horror movie. If you want something different in the horror genre then this is not it. I still look forward to what Parker Finn does next though because he is very promising!

Comments

A “QUICK!” Review of “Kandahar (2023)”

This is a 2023 action movie about a US operative having to fight his way out of Afghanistan with his interpreter while being hunted. Wait isn’t that the same plot as Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant? It’s a little weird that this movie came out just a month after The Covenant with almost the same plot. The 3rd act and the ending is also VERY similar. The difference comes in execution and unfortunately, Kandahar isn’t as good. The first hour is incredibly slow as it setups the whole plot but it takes ages. The relationship between the main lead and the interpreter isn’t that strong. The message isn’t delivered in a very meaningful way. There is also not a lot of action set pieces even though there is a stellar night sequence in this one. It’s just another passable movie starring Gerald Butler.

A Review of “Wicked: Part I (2024)”

I am not the biggest fan of musicals and it is the one genre in movies I rarely watch. I knew of the popularity of the Broadway show “Wicked” but I never brought myself to ever watch it. Now, there is finally a movie adaptation of the show. I did enjoy the legendary 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and a prequel about the Witch is an interesting idea hence why I gave it a shot. Does this movie defy gravity or is it wickedly bad? Firstly, the production of this film is phenomenal. The song and dance numbers are all incredibly choreographed. It is impressively visually seeing close to 100 people all dancing in unison. The songs and dance feel very flamboyant and campy but it works in the film. In terms of the actual songs, I liked a fair amount of them, especially “Defying Gravity” at the end. I also appreciate how this movie uses lots of actual practical set design. It makes the world of Oz feel more real and believable. There are some genuinely huge-looking sets in this...

A Review of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)”

I once said after watching Black Panther, that it would be cool if there was an all Asian cast similar to it. There were some all Asian cast movies like Crazy Rich Asian (2018), but that is a romcom, and Mulan (2020), but that was bad. In comes Shang Chi which is the first Asian lead Superhero movie ever. The premise is “Martial-arts master Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) confronts the past he thought he left behind when he’s drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization”. So does Shang Chi succeed in giving us a good all Asian cast big blockbuster or is it just another failed attempt? Firstly, the action sequences and choreography are some of the best from Marvel since Captain America and the Winter Soldier (2014). Martial arts are the focus of the action scenes in Shang Chi and they are beautifully choreographed. We get the classic wire-fu/floating style of Crouching Tiger but we also get some Jackie Chan style with the utilization of the environment for the a...

MovieRankingReviews

Search This Blog