Skippy318 Reviews

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

Quirky Film Revisits Prime of Teen Flicks from the 90s

[6/10 · 6 April 2024]

The vibrant visuals merging with the gothic aesthetic and outfits of the 1950s/60s gives Lisa Frankenstein (2024) a nostalgic yet familiar feel of a Tim Burton directed film, specifically Edward Scissorhands (1990). Parts of the film feel like a horror take on classic teen films from the nineties such as the Pauly Shore and Brendan Fraser classic, Encino Man (1992). As with all teen movies, there is an abundance of popular music. In this instance, however, it appears that the popular music included as part of the soundtrack is nineties rock. Lisa Frankenstein (2024) makes it sparkling clear that teen films are making a comeback.

While it is certainly nice to see slapstick comedy make a comeback, the timing of such humor seems to be off. The film is quite quirky in many respects. Even the horror elements are not frightful or even offer a jump scare. Simply, there is no thrill to the horror elements of the film. There is simply just grotesque images presented on the screen.

Zelda Williams' directing is intriguingly stylistic and genuinely atmospheric. However, the writing of the film significantly lacks horror elements as well as comedic elements. The story is slow paced.

As an artistic film, Lisa Frankenstein could quite possibly be one of the best teen films and artistic films in recent years. As a plot centric film for escapism purposes, there are other more films out there. For film critics and film buffs, Lisa Frankenstein could be a must see film. For generic movie goers, Lisa Frankenstein is a slow-paced film.

Buffalo Rider (1976)

Not a lot of Buffalo Riding

[3/10 · 23 March 2024]

Never before in the history of cinematography has there ever been so many shots of people's back on camera. Nor has there ever been so many shots of actors walking away from the camera, of course with their backs turns towards the camera.

Part way through the narrative, the film changes its focus on to wild life such as raccoons and fighting bears. Then some how, the footage transitions back towards the target narrative mostly through inexplicable means.

The film cannot decide if it wants to be nature documentary or an action film. Speaking of narrators, for unknown reasons, there are in fact more than one narrators working on the film. Thanks to the guys at Rifftrax for bringing that to my attention. The film seems like an hour and a half long nature short rather than an adventure themed cinematic film.

For the curious viewer, no. This film does not in fact have much buffalo riding. At least for the expectation of a film with name Buffalo Rider.

Should you watch this film? That's up to you, though I do highly recommend the Rifftrax version.

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

Started Fun

[6/10 · 20 January 2024]

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022) started fun. A step above for many of the direct to streaming movies. However, the cameos grew tiresome quickly. Ugly Sonic was the best part of the film. Mixing of animation styles with live action is a step above most in the genre, though it also grows tiresome quickly and detracts from the plot. There is an uncomfortable parallel between plastic surgery and 3D surgery. The film is a promotion of Hollywood and consumer culture.

Many of the cameos and easter eggs are integrated in an unnatural and distracting manner. A step above for current Disney Plus films but falls short of being entertaining.

The film misses the point of everything Walt Disney stood for and focuses on crude jokes and consumeristic themes. A depressingly arrogant choice for Disney. If not for the animation and mystery plot, this film would not be worth watching. Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers (2022) is a promotion of Disney's films as well as Hollywood and not a celebration of them. It's an hour and a half long Disney Plus commercial.

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

Soulless Remake

[4/10 · 20 January 2024]

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) seems like a soulless remake of Walt Disney's animated classic Peter Pan (1953). The opening sequence is nearly a shot for shot remake of the animated film without the charm, charisma, and excitement. The humor is missing as well as the music.

Casting of the film is well done, the dog playing Nana is my favorite character. Not to mention, Nana is the best character in this remake, just like in Lost (2004)!

Casting of the Darling family is well done, especially with Ms. Darling, Wendy, John, and Michael. Nearly all other characters were underdeveloped.

Jim Gaffigan as Smee is perfection, though he needed a big part.

Close up shots of Tinkerbell were quite frightening at first. The human-CGI combination was terrifying. As the film goes on, the appearance becomes more natural. Though the character is underdeveloped without much personality. However, the actress playing Tinkerbell does a phenomenal job of conveying emotion and thoughts through facial expressions and body language.

Peter Pan is severely underdeveloped and feels closer to stock side-character rather than a protagonist. Peter's arrogance and moody nature is never explained and he lacks any heroic characteristics.

The Neverland plot somehow manages to capture familiar shots and scenes from the story while completely changing the characters involved and the plot itself.

With all of the recent, and not so recent, interpretations of J. M. Barrie's play, this is by far the least entertaining. Even Pan (2015) with Hugh Jackman is more entertaining. Universal's Peter Pan (2003) is by far the superior live action film adaptation of J. M. Barrie's play.

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again (2022)

Humorous but Flat

[6/10 · 20 January 2024]

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again (2022) loses most of the charm from the original films. Though it does not enhance the story. The best part of the film is Zachary Levi. Though the slapstick humor is a close second.

Teddy Roosevelt's character is mischaracterized. Nearly all of the characters are shallow interpretations of the originals. The film is missing the historical and cultural undertones of the characters that were present in the earlier films. The theme of the series, that history comes alive in museum, is lacking throughout the film.

The plot feels generic and the film is unnecessary. It feels closer to one of the cartoons from the 90s that attempt to turn hit films into cartoons for all ages. Odd choice since this project is based off a series of family friendly films.

Absence of Owen Wilson and Robin Williams is felt. The majority of references to other films seem to exist solely to establish connection, the most memorable and unique parts of the franchise were exploited in the early minutes of the film. Emphasis on comedic elements detract from plot and character development aspects.

Assassin's Creed (2016)

Slow Adaptation has pros and cons

[4/10 · 24 June 2023]

Aesthetically, Assassin's Creed captures some aspects of the franchise well while noticeably neglecting others- mainly the animus. The present day story is very far from any of the other material in the franchise. One of the best parts of the videogame franchise are the protagonists who don't take themselves too seriously- in both the present story and the historical story. Historical action sequences are shot well and relate back to the source franchise well. However, its hard to watch the film for the cinematography alone. There is some borderline stunning cinematography and easter eggs for franchise people, but the story lacks writing. If the majority of the film was trimmed down solely to historical action it would make a much more enjoyable film experience. The quality of the film is very uneven. Assassin's Creed has potential to make a great film series but needs serious work.

Organ Trail (2023)

Slow Actionless Western

[6/10 · 19 June 2023]

Cinematography is great. Organ Trail (2023) captures a gritty and realistic antipastoral west. The first few minutes of the film are great, even the bloody and graphic violence is not off-putting. However, just as one grows to like the characters they are killed off. From this point on, the film stalls out. There are a lot of scenes with travelling and a stationary scene in a western ghost town. However, the language detracts from the film, as there is not a lot of interesting dialogue. Attempts at comedic relief are made about an hour into the film where four-letter profanities are passed off as humorous. As the film equivalent of a walking simulator, the film has great scenery. Its a bit slow paced but contains well received visuals. The film contains false endings and over the top action near the climax that detracts from the film. Most of the characters are flat and un-interesting, leaving little to grasp on to aside from cinematography and visuals. Well shot cinematography makes the film.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

Bloody Mess of a Film

[4/10 · 19 June 2023]

Cocaine Bear is an example of why movies should not be marketed as inspired by true events, or based on true stories. Sure, there was a real cocaine bear, but a quick google search reveals that it is a tragic story for everything involved. Facts included in the film are limited and changed for attempt comedic or humorous effect. Ultimately, it falls short.

Even the overwhelming majority of the characters that appear in the are fictitious. It is hard to understand why the film decides to follow these characters as opposed to the title character.

Severing the film from its extremely loose ties to real world events, Cocaine Bear ultimately fails to deliver what could have been a fun film based on the premise alone.

In terms of tone, the film was all over the place. Parts attempted to be comedic while others intended to be horrifying with characters meeting grotesque ends. The film tried to be a comedy film and a horror film. Ultimately, Cocaine Bear resulted in a dark comedy horror film. Blood and gore came to the forefront and placed the title character secondary. Only a few jokes landed. Many of the jokes were attempts at physical or visual humor. Blood shed does not make a good joke, even in a dark comedy work. Attempts were made to make the film have a slapstick feel, but ultimately fails to deliver as the aftermath of violence is depicted. It takes the humor out of the jokes. Frequent blood spatter is not funny or humorous. Violence and gore is not a joke.

Cocaine Bear attempts to make the cocaine bear into an antagonist, yet the viewer sympathizes with bear. It is a collision of morality. Something about the CGI bear makes the bear appear friendly and loveable as a character. The bear did not come across as menacing or terrorizing. Yet, it's actions did. Maybe there is a moral theme there, perhaps not. The bear seemed to be pushed into the secondary plot territory and viewers are left wanting to see more of the bear chasing after cocaine, as that is what the premise of the film would suggest.

In terms of the film's setting, it follows a seemingly recent trend of breathing new life into the 1980s. It is becoming a tired trend. While the film is supposedly inspired by true events, it should have stuck closer to the story and retire the use of 80s nostalgia. That being said, the first five to ten minutes of the film were enjoyable and appropriately applied news reels and factual evidence for the basis of the film. 80s nostalgia does not necessarily make for a good film in the 2020s era.

In comparison to other films, Cocaine Bear comes closer to an R-rated Kangaroo Jack (2003) rather than an original film. Like Kangroo Jack, viewers are left wanting to see more of the Cocaine Bear in Cocaine Bear (2023). Cocaine Bear (2023) attempts to join the ranks of raunchy comedy films like Seth Rogen films. Portions of the film specifically felt as though the filmmakers were trying to compete with Good Boys (2019). Cocaine Bear falls flat with its attempts to pass off bad behavior and poor choices as a joke. The resulting film attempts to be a more comedic version of cult films dealing with animals striking back against humans, mainly Grizzly (1976) and Day of the Animals (1977)- which already borrow their premise from Jaws (1975). In short, Cocaine Bear (2023) tries to be a comedic version of Jaws (1975).

With a premise about a bear living in a park addicted to cocaine, it would be a better film if it were approached as an R-rated Yogi Bear remake. Not in a grotesque way but in a comedic way. Since the bear is easily led to cocaine, the bear could have humorously attempted to get more and terrorize the park visitors in unsuspecting and comedic ways, similar to the way Yogi Bear attempted to get pic-a-nic baskets.

Cocaine Bear (2023) had potential to be a good film, but ultimately it falls flat. Viewers are left wanting to see more of the bear pursuing cocaine and less gory violence. Blood splatter does not make for a good film or good humor.

Buffaloed (2019)

Fun, Fictional dramedy set in Buffalo, NY

[8/10 · 12 June 2023]

With the recent trend of films based on financial situations, such as The Big Short (2015) or The Wolf of Wall-Street (2013). Buffaloed (2020) might seem like a low-budget knock off or even a parody. However, this artistic film is by far on par with its big-budget counter parts. Implementing a variety of cinematic and artistic techniques adds not only to dramatic side of the film but the comedic tone as well. Seemingly more common, fourth wall breaks filled with narration are not a distraction in this film but a form of comedic relief. What we see in this film is that the fourth wall breaks are actually Peg (Zoey Deutch) telling the story from prison as part of her sentence in which she teaches classes on finances to the other inmates. The film plays around the different definition of buffalo, which ultimately become the theme of the film. Colors seem to be important to this film as well. Peg, after prison, wears mainly dark red and black clothes giving the impression that her character is not a heroine but an unchanging hustler.

Acting performances were spot on especially from Zoey Deutch and Jeramine Fowler. Deutch's character, a departure from her other roles, is, at times, very unlikeable and irrational. However, Deutch's performance is spectacular in that she successfully pulls off the role and makes the film enjoyable. Fowler gave a stellar performance as well, despite having a more flat character.

Buffalo seems to be the theme of the film. In addition to the word play, social commentary is reinforced by the use of the stuffed buffalo head, an interesting yet surprising choice that somehow works. Assuming that the characters are symbolic of people stereotypes, it is interesting to see how the film plays out. What comes out of the film is closer to social commentary about financial concepts that the film does teach surprisingly well.

Abby's: Pilot (2019) Season 1, Episode 1

Pilot Doesn't Take Off

[2/10 · 4 June 2023]

The opposite of what a pilot should be. While the choice to film in front of a live audience, outside no-less, is a respectable decision. The cringeworthy characters, acting, dialogue, writing, and canned laughter, however, is unbearable. The first half of the episode attempted to make humorous commentary centered on alcohol. This is severely limiting the target audience with very little interest to the viewer. The last half of the episode gets dangerously close to being entertaining. If the pilot episode is supposed to grab viewer's attention, this episode failed to do the trick. As an advocator for television shows filmed in front of a live audience and looking for a modern replacement for sitcoms like "Cheers", which had a similar bar centric premise, it needs to lose the bar humor and social commentary on stereotypical people who hang out at bars. The constant reminders of bar culture detracts from what could be a fun show. What made traditional sitcoms, especially "Cheers" work was not the bar and beer references but the writing of characters. Sitcoms should be character driven with plots that deal with common real life issues. The humor should come from subplots or characters commentating on the situation. This episode had little of this writing. In addition, character development should be treated like a mystery. The characters unrealistically mentioned every defining attribute of Abby in a single paragraph length line of dialogue. It failed to make me care about the characters. It is easy to see why the show was cancelled after ten episodes. In the last few minutes of the pilot, I almost cared about the plot but not enough to stream the remaining episodes. I am curious to see where episode two goes, but not enough to tune in, stream, or purchase. The original appeal of sitcoms with the laugh track was to allow the television audience to feel as though they were a part of a live broadcast, or live performance despite being pre-recorded. "Cheers" is likely the best example. Many episodes, especially early ones, attract the viewer's attention because the audience becomes a part of the atmosphere as though they were really inside the fictional venue while keeping the fourth wall intact. "Abby's" did not even bother with the plot and threw character development unnaturally towards the audience. The few jokes that hit were made at the expense of other characters rather than situation or witty dialogue. Poor writing on all levels. No inventive, or even traditional, directing.

Money Plane (2020)

Stellar film

[2/10 · 16 May 2023]

Amazing! I can't believe this film was not a blockbuster. It should have been nominated for a couple Oscar awards. Phenomenal writing, directing, and acting. The lack of originality really sells the film.

A total 2020 of a film. Most of the production value of the film went into the artwork presented throughout the film. Realistic special effects really enhance the believability of the film. Swiss cheese has more plot holes than this film.

The action in the film never slowed. The double introduction credits at the start of the film drew me in from the beginning. I couldn't wait to see the end credits of the film!

Rifftrax accompaniment really helped the film along.