Unruly Movie Reviews

Writing reviews about movies without getting all sensitive about the material. If you’re the easily offended type don’t bother reading because you won’t agree with my opinions. You’ve been warned.

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Reign Of Fire is the post apocalyptic story of two men from different parts of the world who eventually become the best of friends, after having a manly brawl as a show of dominance to determine who the alpha is, and then try to save humanity by killing the patriarchal dragon who has a harem of female dragons at his side.

All kidding aside, it’s a popcorn kind of flick that doesn’t require that much thinking. The one liners aren’t all that memorable, the acting is decent, the plot is questionable (yes, even for a fantasy post apocalyptic film) because apparently everyone is just trying to commit suicide by dragon throughout the film.

If you’re looking for brainless, non thought provoking entertainment, then look no further. Pop your popcorn, sit down with your significant other, crack open a cold one, put your hand down your pants, and just chill.

Synopsis:

A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting everything ablaze, establishing dominance over the planet.

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It Lives Inside was passable, but it felt like a mishmash of other films that came before it. Unfortunately, this film suffers from a lack of imagination.

In the end, it was the vision and execution that failed. The main plot is about an Indian girl that’s trying to fit in. She’s embarrassed about her culture and avoids her best friend (also Indian) who has become a pariah at the school. The idea of trying to fit in (from the immigrants perspective) is a novel idea in the horror space, but in general it’s not really new anymore. We’ve seen this plot play out in TV shows and dramas. Maybe in a stronger film this plot would’ve been more gratifying.

I like when films set rules for the supernatural, but the demon in this film only seems to have one rule. Aside from that, it was more of a free-for-all for when it best suited the directors needs to generate scares. At times, I felt like I was watching a game of hide-and-go-seek, but for no reason whatsoever, the demon would appear and disappear.

The lead actress speaks Hindi fluently in the beginning of the film, but by the end has a hard time reciting Hindi words her mother tells her how to pronounce.

It Lives Inside feels like it borrows a little too much from It Follows, while constantly struggling to find its own foundation through its lack of imagination. It felt like the director/writer just took a story from the Hindu mythology and combined it with other horror movies and slapped it all together without much thought or consideration.

Thankfully the actors really helped pull it all together, but a weaker cast would have shown just how flawed this film really is.

I’d rate this film 5/10

Synopsis:

Sam, an Indian-American teen, lives in an idyllic suburb with her conservative mother and her assimilated father. Sam's cultural insecurities grow due to her estranged friend, Tamira, who mysteriously carries around an empty mason jar all the time. In a moment of anger, Sam breaks Tamira's jar and unleashes an ancient Indian demonic force that kidnaps Tamira. Sam searches for Tamira, following the trail of a young man who performed a deadly ritual, until the demonic entity starts targeting her, murdering her boyfriend and shattering her reality with terrifying visions. Sam must band together with her parents and a sympathetic teacher to save Tamira and put an end to the terror of the demon.

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Is Netflix worth it’s ever rising subscription price? Many years ago I wrote on my Facebook about the rising cost of subscriptions and how the model doesn’t work for companies that want to continue to grow because it has its limitations. In an industry where content is king it has become quantity over quality. In the past decade or so, I’ve found myself only enjoying about 10% of the content on Netflix and the rest is just filler. I also predicted that they would add an AVOD option and a streaming game service. The last thing, which I haven’t seen yet, is to start to sell their exclusive content (TVOD). I still believe this will happen at some point.

So when do people start to say it’s too expensive? Even with their AVOD plan now available, which comes in at $6.99 (at the time I am writing this) and that price will likely increase to $9.99 in no time. Companies are now double dipping by grabbing those ad dollars and subscription fees as well. Let’s be honest, Netflix wasn’t the first to do it and they won’t be the last. The only holdout so far is Tubi, which was purchased by Fox in 2020 and so far still remains free (AVOD only). But IMO, it’s only a matter of time before Fox decides to follow suit. I’ll take a guess and say they are on the 5 year plan, but I could be wrong. Fox does own a minority stake in Hulu and they also have their other platform Fox Nation so who knows for sure.

However, the only model that really works for companies that want to grow are models that have the potential for unlimited growth and AVOD has always been king (even since before streaming). But what do you do when the subscription costs outweigh the benefits? What are your options?

I remember when apps like PS Vue first hit the market, which allowed you to stream live cable (and eventually record it). I was one of the first to cut the cord (I joined in the beta) and when their prices steadily increased I started to switch over to an a la carte option through individual apps. Then the individual app prices steadily increased. Now it doesn’t seem like there’s a clear path forward for having your cake and eating it too. At some point you start to sacrifice one thing for another. Sounds a bit like what some of the older generations have had to do with their meds so I can’t really complain. But I feel like we all need a little entertainment sometimes to help us escape this ever growing morally corrupt hellscape we’re all living in.

So in an ever shrinking world where more and more companies are becoming larger and larger and where there’s less competition, will we really have a choice down the road? Disney owns 20th Century Fox, Pixar, Lucas Films, Marvel, and they are a majority stakeholder in Hulu, plus they will be hiking their SVOD plan to $13.99 come October. Amazon just bought MGM and Discovery joined AT&T in owning Warner Brothers, then almost overnight changed HBO to Max and jacked up the price for the subscription and AVOD plans.

From where I’m sitting the future is looking grim when it comes to quality entertainment at a affordable price, but don’t worry because it’s just my opinion and you’ll remember you don’t believe in any of this fate crap. You’re in control of your own life. So take a cookie. I promise by the time you’re done eating it you’ll feel right as rain. (Sorry couldn’t help myself).

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The Exorcist is not a movie that stood the test of time. If you’re a super religious person and fear the occult, then maybe you might still get scared watching this movie, but for the rest of us, holy shit is this movie hilarious.

I hadn’t seen this movie since I was a kid and since I had recently bought the director’s cut I felt it was time to give this film a rewatch especially with the new one coming out soon. Out of the series I’d say that at least it’s not the worst one. That honor goes to The Exorcist II: The Heretic.

Those scenes in this movie with Regan are fucking hilarious. Her walking on all fours down the stairs, trying to masturbate with a crucifix, rubbing the priests head into her crouch while saying lick me, are just a few examples. I know for the 70’s this was probably shocking for most viewers but now it’s just humorous.

It’s hard to really give this movie a rating because when it first came out it was probably one of the scariest movies at the time (based on audience reactions from back then). If I were to rate it today, it’d be comparatively lower than from the past. So because of that I’m not going to issue an official rating, but instead say it’s still worth watching if you’ve never seen it and I still love this movie even if it’s basically a comedy now.

Read the synopsis below:

When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

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Argento’s Dracula is quite possibly the funniest entry into the Bram Stokers’ Dracula adaptations that I’ve seen. To be fair I’m only aware of one other. Also I should say the version I watched was not in 3D.

As long as you don’t go into this movie expecting a masterpiece of some kind you might actually enjoy this movie. Yes, the CG is atrocious for the most part, however, some of the VFX were decent.

There’s lots of nudity and sex. I felt like I was being transported back in time to those late night skinamax shows. For any real horror fan I’d say this movie has some great horror scenes and of course horror movies of the late 70’s and 80’s were not much different, aside from the fact this movie was made in 2012. Understanding were Argento comes from may help you understand the reasoning why this movie is the way it is.

The cinematography is not something I would usually comment on, but everything was shot wide open with very little depth of field. That could be because they shot this for 3D and I was watching it in 2D, but it honestly looked like it was shot on a Mini DV camera.

That said, as a horror fan there’s some things that were actually enjoyable and as I began to let certain things go, and laughed a little the more, I really started to get a kick out of it.

I’d rate this film a 4/10.

Read the synopsis below:

Asia Argento stars in horror legend Dario Argento's sexy spin on the classic tale about the sharp-toothed count who craves human blood.

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A Haunting In Venice was a decent film. This film does a pretty good job mixing humor with some scares. If you’re a fan of horror you might be disappointed (I’m basing this on how the trailer portrays the movie), but if you liked the previous (recent) movie incarnations of Agatha Christie’s famous books then I’d say it’s a safe bet you’ll enjoy this installment as well.

I felt a little disappointed as I was able to figure out the ending halfway through the movie, but these murder mystery movies are always a bit too easy for me. It’s genuinely difficult to surprise me, but nonetheless I still enjoyed this installment more than the previous two.

If you don’t like being scared you may want to stay home, however on a scale of how frightening I thought the movie was I’d say 3 out of 10. I should say as a disclaimer, it’s near impossible for a movie to scare me so I usually base this on how the audience is reacting. As the movie progressed it actually steered away from the horror aspect and started to really dive into the murder mystery facet. I personally was hoping for a little more horror from this film, but overall I enjoyed it.

I’d give this film a 7/10.

Read the synopsis below:

A Haunting in Venice" is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows' Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world's most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

[unrulyreviews]

Strays was absolutely hilarious. If you're easily offended stay at home. The humor is crude, but the film has some heart as well. It has a few slow moments, but overall I thought the pacing was good. It felt like a lot of the comedy bits were in the trailer, which I hate when they do that, so if you haven’t seen the trailer I would advise not watching it prior to seeing the movie. However, they also had a few funny moments that wasn’t in the trailer that I saw (there could be more than one trailer for this movie). I found this movie thoroughly entertaining.

On a side note, to the people saying this is not for kids ??? it's a rated R movie. Shouldn't that be a clue that it's not for kids. You don't need to write obvious things. FML.

I’d rate this a movie 7/10.

You can read the synopsis below:

They say a dog is a man's best friend, but what if the man is a total dirtbag? In that case, it might be time for some sweet revenge, doggy style. When Reggie (Will Ferrell), a naïve, relentlessly optimistic Border Terrier, is abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug (Will Forte; The Last Man on Earth, Nebraska), Reggie is certain that his beloved owner would never leave him on purpose. But once Reggie falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier named Bug (Oscar® winner Jamie Foxx), a stray who loves his freedom and believes that owners are for suckers, Reggie finally realizes he was in a toxic relationship and begins to see Doug for the heartless sleazeball that he is. Determined to seek revenge, Reggie, Bug and Bug's pals--Maggie (Isla Fisher; Now You See Me, Wedding Crashers), a smart Australian Shepherd who has been sidelined by her owner's new puppy, and Hunter (Randall Park; Always Be My Maybe, Aquaman), an anxious Great Dane who's stressed out by his work as an emotional support animal--together hatch a plan and embark on an epic adventure to help Reggie find his way home... and make Doug pay by biting off the appendage he loves the most. (Hint: It's not his foot.)