I'm a goddamn sex symbol

A Prodigy For The Culture

[webalothebruja]

MAY DUMP 2026⭐💕✨

This month felt extremely long. I did so much though! Transitioning from my old life to my new one. I visited my boyfriend’s family in Colorado all while moving to my new apartment. And all while slaying! I’ve never been so stressed, happy and sad all at the same time. I felt so much loss all at once, not even realising I was gaining a new sense of freedom. To new beginnings!

I'm so sexy like god damn

My many faces in May 2026. Experimented a lot this month. Going back to my Euphoria roots and glueing stuff on my face again. Nature is restoring.

Prima's birthday! This was so fun. It was just me and her. No big party. Just dinner and day drinking. Hence the brown dot on my forehead lmao. Dinner was deliches omggggg. 

📍La Popular in Claremont, CA

I hung out with my mom as much as I could before I moved. Not like I wasn't gonna see her again but I would be moving an hour away. It's strange moving away from your parents. I was so scared yet so excited. I miss her right now while I write this. We got dinner for Mother's Day and saw Obsession and Shrek 2 at the theatre. Not to mention we watched like 80% of Euphoria season 3. I still have to go back to her house to watch the season finale. 

Me and Honeybun went to Colorado to visit the fam! Rose was graduating high school. We're so proud of her! We went to the club to celebrate. Colorado clubs are definitely not as cool as West Hollywood but I still had fun and I might be on a TV show!

Me sexy again. Part 2 the remix featuring charli xcx

My many looks in Colorado. If there's one thing ima do its leave a lasting impression and knowing I would be meeting my bfs mom's side of the family, I had a task.

On the other hand, knowing I would be meeting more of my boyfriends's family excited me and stressed me the fuck out. Which I really had nothing to worry about other than the fact that when I went home I would be living with my boyfriend and I'm currently unemployed. I feared I looked like a total freeloader. Luckily I am a very lucky girl and everyone was super nice. 

My baby with his baby🤍

Moving Core! For context this is my first apartment! Top left is my empty room which for some reason made me incredibly sad. Top right is me and prima driving the dogs to the new apartment. This is their first time moving as well. Bottom is me so freaking happy that the dogs were resting after they barked for 24 FUCKING HOURS STRAIGHT.

God damn May. You dragged me through the trenches. 

[webalothebruja]

APRIL DUMP 2026🌦️🌷✨

It just wouldn’t quite be a comeback to me if I didn’t post some shit I was supposed to post two months ago. Alas this is my April dump.

April was sorta stressful for me. I felt a lot of emotions because not only was I preparing to move but everything I had planned to do was coming into fruition. I was no longer stagnant which is what I had felt like for a few months.

Me and the honeybun saw Thomas The Tank! He was embarrassed to ask me to go to the train museum with him. Little does he know I love a side mission and it was so cool!

I’m going to start grouping my looks together. I slayed this month. Was going thru a no lash phase cuz I was being lazy.

My little brother makes me laugh so hard sometimes.

I think I’ve come to a point in my life that no matter how thin or thick I am I’m ok cuz I’m delusional.

“I have no idea why she left. She seemed so happy.”

Always will be!

Enough said.

Family vacation!!! I went to Disney with the fam! As you can tell I don’t do well on rollercoasters.

I like Jack a lot.

I was sick TWICE this month! I caught the plague everyone had been talking about. It was hell on earth but god did it make me grateful to be alive. I would really like to not get sick again this year so we started taking our vitamins again.

[webalothebruja]

ATTEMPTING TO WATCH 184 MOVIES IN 2026: February 2026

By Gabriella Alcala

Since starting my attempt at watching 184 movies in a year, I’ve only become increasingly aware of how insanely hard this actually is. Watching films didn’t feel so tedious last year because I just happened to be very bored a lot of the time. Nowadays I feel like sitting down to watch a movie has actually become a task- which breaks my heart. I’m in a very busy time in my life-which I hope to see eventually calm down in the incoming months. Unfortunately I think it is going to get much busier before it slows down. Even when I am feeling like watching a movie, I have become so tired that I have to rewind the film and watch what I missed. So if this list feels lackluster, I understand. I’m disappointed as well. I’m 3 months into the goddamn year and have only watched 11 films! What's wrong with me? Can I even call myself a film reviewer? A cinephile? I'm a fake! A phony!

Well anyway, here are the films I watched in February:

🥇DISTURBIA (2007)

🥈ALL ABOUT STEVE (2009)

🥉PSYCHO (1960)

OBSESSED (2009)

MEET DAVE (2008)

SCOOBY DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998)

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DISTURBIA (2007)

I will be doing a thorough review of this film in the future because in all honesty, this film deserves its flowers. It deserves to be on every list. It deserves to be completely overrated. I think this movie deserves the same hype as 13 Ghosts (2001) and House of Wax (2005) but it goes overlooked time and time again. I’m not sure if it is due to the casting of Shia LaBeouf, who I know has caught fire in the last couple of years due to his personal life. Frankly, as much as everyone hates the guy, this is some of his best work-at least as far as thrillers go. No denying the guy can make someone laugh which we’ve seen in Transformers numerous times.

Everything about this film screams the 2000s. From the clothes, to the setting, to even the color of the film. I had seen this movie on tv before, catching it at various points but this was my first time watching it on streaming. I was unaware of how much depth the film has from the start. I always knew the basic plot which is Shia LaBeouf is on house arrest. The overall story that this film takes us on can sometimes be brutal. It's not just a story of a boy spying on his neighbor. It takes us on a journey of grief and betrayal. If you’re a fan of thrillers as I am, I recommend adding this film to your watch list.

ALL ABOUT STEVE (2009)

It feels odd to follow up with a movie like All About Steve after just reviewing Disturbia, but we have a system here and I rank my films in the order I enjoy them. Funnily enough I watched both this film and Disturbia in the same night. I was looking for something to lighten the mood and if there is one thing that will get my boyfriend to watch a film with me, it's knowing there is an ✨All Star Cast✨

Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. Say less. What I find interesting about this film is that it dresses itself like a romantic comedy straight out of the 2010s and it couldn't be any more wrong. Sorry to get your hopes up-if you haven't watched it yet-but this movie isn't about the two stars falling in love. This film is actually about self love. Yes, the relationship between Bullock and Cooper does play a part in the film but this movie doesn't end with them driving off into the sunset together. No.

I fear this film might actually be for its time as Sandra Bullock’s character in modern day would just be labeled as autistic whilst in the 2000’s, they were actually trying to play her off as just being the quirky “weird” but hot girl.

I appreciate this movie for existing. I don't feel like this film tries too hard to make Sandra Bullock seem weird. Everything she does feels as naturally weird as Angela Bettis’s character in May (2002)-I know it's an odd choice to compare it to but not many filmmakers get this trope correct. I think this movie feels so special to me because I grew up feeling like my interests and choices weren't the same as my peers and instead of being open about it like the main character is, I only let few people see those interests. As an adult I can't believe some of my crushes made me feel bad for screenwriting in my spare time. I mentioned this in my video, but I am extremely lucky to have a boyfriend who watched this movie and felt bad for Sandra Bullock’s character because he understood it! I have unfortunately had many crushes who were Steve's.

One final thing I'd like to mention is how much I love that Bradley Cooper and Sandra Bullock don't end up together at the end of the film. I like that they made it seem like Cooper finally came around and started to see why Bullock was so special and she still decided to stay by herself rather than be with him. Never back down, never what? Never give up!

PSYCHO (1960)

This is going to sound so shallow of me as a movie watcher but I had never seen Psycho. I watched all of Bates Motel-which was a great show by the way- but never made my way to watching the content it was based off of. God, they are never going to ask me to choose my top 5 films from the Criterion Closet.

This absolutely has to do with my hatred of black and white films. I may go into it one day as to why I can’t stand them, but it for sure has to do with the fact that I think they’re overrated. And I can hear you now getting ready to throw tomatoes at me. Yes I know they're the reason why film is the way it is today. Yes I know some of you are yelling “It was the golden age!” Yes I hear it all.

What I can say about Psycho is that it deserves all of its recognition and flowers. I can assure you that this film is not like the rest! Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it all felt familiar to me. I mean if we’re being honest I had seen most of Psycho and knew of the story. I just hadn't sat down and properly watched it. Obviously I had seen the shower scene. I had been to Universal Studios and seen the house in all its glory. I knew what I was getting myself into.

Something I find interesting is how washed up the story has become. No doubt, the shower scene has become an icon, an influence and impacted horror. I just find it interesting that the story has been cut down to one sentence.

A woman escapes to a motel only to find that the innkeeper is a serial killing maniac.

But why was the woman going to the motel in the first place?

Marion, our lead character played by Janet Leigh, steals a large sum of money from her workplace. Whilst on the run, she stays at the Bates Motel. Why do we never hear about how our main character is a klepto!I think Hollywood makes it out to seem like this innocent woman is killed in her motel when in fact, no. I mean do I think she’s as terrible of a person as Norman Bates? No. But she came face to face with karma! It changed my entire perspective of the film once I found this out.

To finish off my review, I want to note that I am thoroughly intrigued to watch the Vince Vaughn remake of Psycho. Not only do I want to see his impression of Norman Bates but I am also interested in how his height makes Norman scarier. I have always been intimidated by Vaughn’s height and the thought of a serial killing maniac coming at me with that long of legs sends goosebumps to me immediately.

OBSESSED (2009)

I will be doing a full review on this film in the future as well because I have more words than I can comfortably put down here. What I will say is this is an interesting take on men being sexually assaulted and the repercussions that comes with it. I fully think David Loughery wrote Obsessed with this in mind. There are not too many films that I believe go into this topic as thoroughly as this movie does, especially considering the stigma surrounding it.

MEET DAVE (2008)

You cannot tell me Eddie Murphy wasn't forced to do this movie in one way or another. I’m not sure if he owed someone money or maybe he had a contract to fulfill. Something about this film just gives off the vibe that this wasn't his choice.

First, I’d like to start by saying I had never heard of this film nor had I seen an ad for it or a commercial. And rightfully so because apparently it bombed at the box office.

The best way to describe this film is fun. I think it's insane that it got the budget that it did considering this feels very much like a Nickelodeon movie. All my previous critiques aren't to say that this movie is terrible. It's a cool concept and though it has been done before, I have never seen it in this type of light before. It has an all star cast. The film is definitely something I would've thought was a made up dream, had I not had the DVD itself. I do think Eddie Murphy was a good choice for this role. His facial expressions are so eccentric sometimes that they feel fake.

My only critique is that the likelihood of Eddie Murphy and Gabrielle Union felt odd. The first movie that comes to mind with Gabrielle Union is Bring It On (2000) in which she plays a teenager. Upon further research I totally forgot she was in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). As someone born in 2002, Eddie Murphy has always felt “old” to me so when the movie progressed and I saw where these two were going, I was like hold on. Eddie Murphy and Gabrielle Union’s age gap is 11 years. At the time of this film they were 46 and 38 but god did it feel like Gabrielle was a little on the younger side. It might have been due to their chemistry. Its not the worst duo i’ve seen on screen. Just interesting.

SCOOBY DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998)

This film was a rewatch for me. I attempted to watch this film a few months ago and fell asleep about 15 minutes in. The only reason why I gave this film another chance was because of a Ryan Hollinger video I watched recently which went in depth about the lore this film speaks of and some of it is pretty deep.

If you were to look into the lore in a more historically accurate perspective, you could compare some of the events in this film to real life occurrences. I can appreciate the film for giving us the kid version cliff notes of these events because I think topics like this can be hard to understand at a young age.

Now, I'm not fully educated on the direct to video era of Scooby Doo but I have watched some of the shows. I think it's very interesting how each era seems to highlight specific characters. I would say the characters highlighted in this film are Fred and Daphne whereas the old 70’s cartoon spotlighted Shaggy and Scooby Doo.

Even though this film wasn't my favorite this month, it was still an enjoyable watch. Helped my brain tune out for a bit.

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Thank you for reading! Please like and follow for more!💋💋💋

[webalothebruja]

Puppet Master (1989) Review: How The Hell Did They Make 15 Of These Movies?

By Gabriella Alcala

Yes, you read the title right. There are 15 films in the Puppet Master franchise. I attempted to watch the first film when I was in high school. I didn’t make it past the 20 minute mark and since then I had always had intentions of rewatching this film but it never felt like the right time. 

Let’s set the scene.

It’s Friday night. My boyfriend and I are trying to find something to watch. We scroll past every movie we see on Tubi waiting for “the one.” My boyfriend says he doesn’t care what we watch and frankly that’s true. This man has sat through Show Girls (1995) and Hairspray (2007) so this choice is really all mine and that’s terrifying. I scroll past Puppet Master (1989) and he gives me the look. I explain to him I’ve never watched this film past the 20 minute mark. 

He says 

“Perfect!” 

With so much enthusiasm in his voice, you’d think he was just waiting for me to pick this film. This movie’s 1 hour and 30 minute run time felt like a weird 80’s nightmare with dreamy suspense sequences, death scenes that seemed to go on far too long and claymation a high school student would be proud of. 

I’m going to give you my most honest review of Puppet Master (1989). Be warned, I hated it.

Now I wouldn’t call myself a hater of campy cult 80’s films but there's few that I like. I watched Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988) for the first time last year and was surprised to see how much I liked it considering that movie is about as ridiculous as it gets. 

Puppet Masters’ plot goes as such: 4 psychics are brought to a hotel for an open viewing of their deceased colleague and find themselves as the targets of homicidal marionettes. 

No doubt, the thing that ultimately draws most people to watch the film is its cover art. Honestly I think it is what has carried this film throughout the years. 

I can only guess that they made the characters and then created a story around them because the flow of this film gives me the sense that they were just making up everything as they went. 

The big thing that caught me off guard and felt almost distracting was how nonchalant every character in this movie was. Your dead friend is moving from room to room and YOU DONT BAT A SINGLE EYE? I feel like they wrote these psychics like how they were writing strippers in the 90s. 

For some reason because they are psychics, they should be ok with the dead. 

These people don’t have a single clue what a psychic does.

One of my biggest critiques about the film is its lack of realness. What felt distracting was the fact that these psychics felt like caricatures of what they were supposed to be. I think the writer of the film wrote these people like they were wizards.

I enjoyed that each psychic all had their own unique powers-which I thought would eventually all tie into the ending-but frankly they ran with main character Alex being able to tell the future and never brought up anyone else’s power once it was introduced. 

The writer also thought all psychics were just cool about dead bodies. Again, I'm not sure what he thinks psychics can do, but if I was anyone staying at that inn, I wouldn't just put my dead friend back in his casket like everything was cool. When it happened the first time, one of the characters passed out and from then on, all of the characters would just be ok with the fact that the deceased friend was most likely “possessed.” I feel like the characters became more enthralled as to why they were brought to the inn rather than the dead guy moving from room to room. Like people, can we focus on the task at hand?

This movie is considered a horror flick so we have to talk about the deaths. As a fan of the Child’s Play franchise, no doubt the biggest critique is why no one drop kicked Chucky across the room to get away from him. I can confidently say that this movie listened and the characters do in fact throw these dolls across the room left and right. What I just can't understand is why the kill count in this film is still 7. 

Well, let's see why. 

The short answer is: no one runs. This is especially frustrating when watching the scene in the elevator. Like I mentioned before, the victims chuck these puppets multiple times, but once they do, the victims don't go anywhere. No one is ever taking the extra step to get away from the dolls and in a sense I understand the logic of not wanting to keep your eyes off the thing once it's off of you but for gods sake, you’re telling me a little dagger in the shin means you're paralyzed? Where is the adrenaline in all of these people?

Is the film scary?

No. And I'm not entirely sure if it is supposed to be. 

I personally judge something by how scary it would be if I was in the victim’s situation and frankly death by leeches isn't something keeping me up at night. Though the puppets are unsettling, I would say the only one that got a reaction out of me is the leech woman-which I know sounds entirely contradicting to my last statement, but she kills her victims by throwing up leeches. She spends most of her time on screen gagging and that made me feel a little unnerved. 

Speaking of the puppets, initially I was pretty impressed by the puppeteering. The opening sequence made me feel that the puppeteers themselves and the cinematographers worked together closely to execute the vision they had. Unfortunately the longer this movie went on and the more elaborate the puppeteering needed to be, it started to look a bit for its time. 

After watching No Strings Attached, the behind the scenes look at the making of Puppet Master, I learned that making the puppets move was a mixture of true puppeteering with occasional stop motion. By the time this film was made, Child’s Play had only been out for about a year. Child’s Play’s technological advances, I imagine, had not even made the rounds yet and considering Puppet Master had a fraction of the budget, I can understand why they made the choices they did. Do I think the stop motion is anything to recognize? Well yes, because it looks like a cutaway produced by MTV, but do I feel like it drags the quality of the movie down? Not anymore than the story is already doing.

As much as I disliked this film, I kind of can't help but wonder if the movies in the franchise progressively get better. I mean I'm surprised they found budgeting for the 2nd film considering this film was made straight to video. Word on the street is, the sequels are better than the first and I sort of believe them. You're telling me there are 15 of these movies? And while doing research for this review, I found out one of the films features Nazis. 

WHY IS THERE A PUPPET MASTER FILM WITH NAZIS? 

I think the world building for this specific film is interesting because it really does feel like they had these characters and wanted to make a film about them, but just made some bad choices along the way which ultimately killed the vibe for this film. These characters were never meant to be featured alongside a story. They were simply just really cool to look at. 

I mean that's why we’re all here right? 

We found this movie that had cool spooky puppets on the cover only to find out that it was a straight to video, cult horror film made with a $400,000 budget. The worst part feels like even if there were talks to revive the Puppet Master IP or remake it, the film would still not be good. I can maybe imagine the film as a book, but even then it feels like a stretch. 

As with all films I review, I recommend you watch the film yourself to see what I am speaking of. 

[webalothebruja]

Video Essays I Watched: January 2026

By Gabriella Alcala

The year is 2026. People can no longer eat a meal without the need of entertainment involved. If there isn’t a 20 minute moving picture before their eyes, how can one enjoy thy meal? Feel the flavor. Consume the nonsense high protein diet the media told them they need to be able to nourish their body. The question is, what are the people watching?

Well, when I feed my cattle, I like to watch video essays. Today we will be going over all the video essays I consumed in January 2026. From the best to the worst to the noteworthy and not so noteworthy.

My fav creator: GSully

GSully really stood out to me this month. I, a regular watcher of Five Nights At Freddy’s content, stumbled across this channel due to his many uploads regarding animatronic history. Specifically, Chuck E Cheese and The Rockafire Explosion. His video on Concept Unification is really informative and really sets the scene as to what kind of drama Chuck E Cheese was experiencing at the time. Even in the case that you’re not a huge animatronic/puppeteering fan, I think anyone can find interest in these type of history storytelling type of videos.

Sully’s channel is a small one, with regular uploads and informative well thought out videos. His comedic timing is what sets him apart from the rest. I hope to see his channel grow in the future.

Favorite video:

Uncle Klunk: An Animatronic Abomination by GSully

The reason why GSully became one of my favorite creators this month, was because of this very video. This video came upon me by the front page of my YouTube feed. The thumbnail along with the title caught my attention.

Did I know of Uncle Klunk before watching this video?

Absolutely not.

His appearance is uncanny and shortly after finding out that this character was meant for kids, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of nightmare fuel this guy must have been. Especially seeing him up close.

I also wondered what the hell the engineers had in mind making him look like this and sound the way he did. Nothing about this animatronic feels kid friendly. His character design seems lost. I find it considerably funny that he ultimately became the main antagonist of a Creepy Pasta story because that’s truly where he belonged in the first place.

There are quite a few funny moments in this video and the history of this character is very interesting. I 100% recommend to anyone willing to put in the time to watch this.

Good but hard to reccomend:

Horses- The Banned Horror Game by Painticus

Look, I love learning about horror games. I find myself watching playthroughs of games where maybe I would never find myself playing but I’m interested in the story. I don’t know how or why the games Horses became a topic in my YouTube feed but after seeing the many recommended, I couldn’t help myself from wondering what everyone else was.

Why is everyone so fascinated with this horse game?

Well, you see, this game isn’t about horses. The name of the game comes from the horse masks the people in the game wear.

Without completely spoiling the plot of this game, the story this game follows is metaphorical. It features many graphic scenes and elements which the video goes into. Obviously they are not shown in full detail as they would go against YouTube’s guidelines.

This is what makes it incredibly hard to recommend, at least in my case. I do not have very many friends who watch this level of gore or graphic media. Was it an informative video essay? No doubt. I would never had heard of this game otherwise but this type of content is very niche, therefore that is why I feel it is hard to recommend.

Least favorite:

The GREATEST FNAF Theory | FNAF Arkham Theory by CharacterHistory

I want to address, I do not judge my least favorite videos by the quality but by the subject matter.

Unfortunately this video fell into my least favorite category this month due to the theory itself. I hate a theory video that has to force its point. If the theory doesn’t make sense then it doesn’t make sense. Simple as that. I felt the points made did not justify the theory and it ultimately fell short. The video itself was just sort of silly.

Short and sweet:

I Found The Video That Haunted Me For Years by Nightmare Movies

This video had been put away in my “watch later” folder for what felt like centuries. I never felt the urge to want to watch it but clearly it was in my water later for a reason.

The video goes into detail about the filmmaker Koji Shiraishi and one of his films that deeply impacted the narrator. The film is one of many featured in a series by the same director. The video has influenced me to look into this directors other films. With this video hitting just under the 15 minute mark, I recommend this to anyone interested in the subject matter or who just wants to dip their toes into horror. Though the subject matter is scary, the video itself talks about the film in an unhorrifying matter.

Honorable mentions:

Evil Parents Burned Their Kid for Punishment, Neighbors Rescue him by The Crimepiece

Genuinely I couldn’t believe what these two parents put this kid through. Abusing a kid for the sake of punishment is insane and are definitely not the same thing. That poor baby.

Ratatouille The Pixar Film with No Haters by Framearc

This channel is a great one. I would highly recommend looking into this channel if you enjoy the behind the scenes features of films. It has influenced me to rewatch Ratatouille and Shrek 2.

Exploring Ireland’s Scariest Film by Ryan Hollinger

Of course, I have to shout out one of my favorite YouTubers. I hadnt watched his channel for few months so I had some catching up to do. His commentary on this film was really interesting, especially considering it being a foreign film. I would not have caught a lot of his points regarding Ireland folklore, I wouldn’t have caught upon watching the film by myself.

These are all of the video essays I watched:

Disney’s HORRIFYING LOST MEDIA Dark Ride- Alice in Wonderland (1958) by Theme Park Crazy

Resilient Jenkins — Tiktok’s Most Degenerate Parents by Kiwi Tapes

The Resilient Jenkins Keep Getting Worse by Kiwi Tapes

Evil Parents Burned Their Kid for Punishment, Neighbors Rescue him by The Crimepiece

This Horror Movie Only Gets Weirder And Weirder… by Mista GG

Solving The Incredibles Timeline by Cartoonshi

I Found The Video That Haunted Me For Years by Nightmare Movies

Horses- The Banned Horror Game by Painticus

The Ridiculous and Tragic Stories of Fent Cop by Dire Trip

When The Villain Isn’t The “Bad Guy” by Nightmare Movies

Shrek 2 You Didn’t Fully Understand by Framearc

Ratatouille The Pixar Film with No Haters by Framearc

I Always Thought This Movie Wasn’t Real…(The Gingerbread Man Review) by Mista GG

Exploring Ireland’s Scariest Film by Ryan Hollinger

Why BRING HER BACK is More Disturbing Than You Think by Ryan Hollinger

Remember Those Direct-To-Video SCOOBY DOO Movies? By Ryan Hollinger

The GREATEST FNAF Theory | FNAF Arkham Theory by CharacterHistory

TikTok’s Worst family has big problems- Resilient Jenkins by Kiwi Tapes

Uncle Klunk: An Animatronic Abomination by GSully

The Death of an Animatronic: Concept Unification by GSully

I Watched 4 Disturbing Documentaries…And I Can’t Believe They Got Away With This by Mista GG

The BIG Twist of FNAF Sister Location by FuhNaff

Please like and follow! I will be doing regular reviews here! Thank you💋💋💋

-Gabriella Alcala

[webalothebruja]

ATTEMPTING TO WATCH 183 MOVIES IN 2026- JANUARY

By Gabriella Alcala

As someone who critiques films and yearns to be in the film industry one day, I have made it my mission to do my research. With that in mind, my goal this year is to watch 183 films, meaning I would have spent half of my year watching movies. 365 felt extremely ambitious, especially considering Letterboxd reported I only watched 99 films last year. 

Now, the audience is going to probably laugh in my face because I only watched 5 films this month. Meaning I have 11 months to watch 178 films-which isn’t hard to do. I just need more determination and structure. I need to at the very minimum be watching 15 movies a month. 

I’m ready to hold myself accountable. That being said, these are the movies I watched in January 2026.

🥇Shrek 2 (2004)

🥈In Whose Name (2025)

🥉Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Stuart Little (1999)

Puppet Master (1989)

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Shrek 2 (2004)

I was inspired by this video to watch the movie again:

SHREK 2 You Didn’t Fully Understand

I’ve seen the film over hundreds of times. My brother and I watched it so often, our DVD was permanently damaged and we had to buy a new copy. 

After watching the trials and tribulations of what it took to make Shrek 2, it made me want to rewatch it. The film still holds up as an adult. It made me reflect on the current era of animated film we are seeing at the time. I think the creators of Shrek had every intention of making an animated film, not a children’s film which is what makes it timeless. The jokes are adult-like. Not completely inappropriate to where a parent wouldn’t want to show their child, but enough to where when I was a kid, I remember laughing at this same jokes, not fully understanding the context. It’s a sneaky way of doing comedy but it works! We need more of this nowadays. My parents loved watching Shrek. We saw every one at the theaters. I think something we are missing in this age of film are family movies. Everything is so split to where at my big grown age of 23, I have no urge to see Zootopia. The characters are cute but other than that, it isn’t something that interests me as an adult. 

In Whose Name (2025)

I have been interested in this film since its release. After seeing many clips surface of Kanye West freaking out in front of his family with no context, I felt it was time to understand what it was that he was freaking out about. 

For clarification, I didn’t know anything about Kanye West previously to watching this. I only know what he has said in the media, and what has been reported to TMZ so this was my first exposure to his personal life. 

I kind of feel bad for the guy. Do I think he deserves to be forgiven? I think he’s going to need to do more than just a written statement with an apology. 

I think there needs to be a discussion about what it should mean when someone says something when not properly medicated. The Kanye we see at the beginning of the film vs the ending are two very different people. He was honest about not being on his medication. And as someone who has seen a family member not take their medication and turn into a completely different person, I get why it feels like we should just forgive them when they say something very inappropriate. I understand why it feels hard for someone to not recognize that when a person is mentally ill, sometimes they’re not always in control of themselves. Especially when someone hasn’t witnessed it first hand. 

I find it interesting that the whole reason they were filming Kanye in the first place was because he wanted to make a film on mental health. This is absolutely a film on mental health. The problem is, Kanye feels he is the director of his own life and when things on screen don’t go his way, he freaks out. Now that is my own opinion. I don’t know the guy but that’s what this film taught me. 

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

This is a film that could not be made today. By the end of the film you’re probably wondering where the r-word count is at. 

Besides the highly inappropriate banter in each scene, I’d argue that if this movie was made today, it would probably not be as funny. And that’s not to say that some of the inappropriate stuff they say is the only reason why it’s funny. 

I think the reason why comedy lacks nowadays is due to the fact that everyone in the entertainment business has to be seen as a role model. People continually label my generation as the “sensitive generation.” If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it at all right? You see, the older generation had a problem. They were making jokes about peoples looks and the way they talked but most of those jokes weren’t funny. And after cancel culture was introduced it almost made it unacceptable to make fun of anyone. Which brings me back to why Drop Dead Gorgeous was funny.

It unapologetically making fun of the residents of Minnesota but tastefully, following a stereotype of the small town Midwest idiot. Do I think all the people of Minnesota act like this? Absolutely not. 

I had only seen this movie recently so I put it on as background noise while I dyed my boyfriend's hair. This man was laughing out loud. I recommend it to anyone looking to watch something absolutely ridiculous.

Stuart Little (1999)

This film should not be on the list as low as it is but unfortunately I didn’t watch a lot of shitty movies this month.

Stuart Little is great. It is considered a classic in my house and one of the movies I watched religiously when I was younger. 

I have maternal instincts for little Stuart now that I am an adult. I think it is actually hilarious and heart warming that none of the family questions the parents about adopting a mouse. Also I very much forgot Stuart’s parents are Gena Davis and THE DOCTOR FROM HOUSE. What a wild duo. 

Puppet Master (1989)

This will be getting its own separate, very detailed review and be linked here when posted: 

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Thank you for reading! Like and follow💋

-Gabriella Alcala

[webalothebruja]

My Predictions On Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood Haunted Houses 2025

By Gabriella Alcala

Yes, this is the longest title to ever exist. I feel like i’m naming a goddamn Fall Out Boy song in 2007.

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As someone who has gone to Hollywood Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, I can confidently know what to expect going into an experience like this. Upon hearing the news of people getting aggressive with the scare actors to people being surprised about waiting in a line for longer than an hour, I can't help but feel…old.

This isn't a new experience. To be honest, this is how it always is. I am someone who feels like unless you get an express pass, it really diminishes the experience of Horror Nights which may or may not be a hard take. The reality of the situation is that after waiting in a line for over an hour, you can't help but overly critique the experience you’ve had due to your patience wearing thin at that point.

I have plans to attend Horror Nights at the end of this month. I am going to predict how scary I think each house will be, purely based off looks and rumors I’ve heard. My rating will be on a scale of 1-5. 1 being not very scary and 5 being the scariest.

Fallout

I think this house is going to be a 2. I believe there will be one big jumpscare, but in all honesty Fallout isnt really scary? Though I didn't finish the show, I don't remember anything up to episode 4 that really struck me. I’m honestly surprised this is even going to be a house at Horror Nights but I have faith in Universal that they are going to up the scare factor. That being said, I still stand on it being a 2 on scariness. I don't think it won't be scary at all. Universal knows better than to ruin the look of a franchise…or at least I hope they do.

Five Nights At Freddys

This is based on my own personal experience with animatronics but I am going to give this house a 3 on the scare factor. Disneyland freaks me out. I dont like the robots that move slow and only slightly like in Peter Pan and I especially dont fuck with the ones that movie life-like like in the Little Mermaid ride. I’m talking about you Ursula.

This is one of my worst nightmares brought to life. Do I think it will scare me nearly as much as some of the other houses on this list? No. But I have a feeling this is going to be an experience I won't forget. I am also a huge Five Nights At Freddy’s fan so this is definitely going to be one of my favorites.

Terrifier

A five. A big fat FIVE. I was just recently introduced to Terrifier 2 years ago. Not to say I avoided the clown like the plague, but something freaked me out about the reviews on these films so it wasn't until I walked into the living room to see my parents watching it out in the open that I realized maybe this wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Then my boyfriend took me to see Terrifier 3. I’m not a gore whore enthusiast. Art the clown is a cool character and his kills are unique, but the films draws tingles down my spine and I can only imagine that feeling will be enhanced in this house.

I am mostly excited to see my Auntie react to this house because she has never watched any of the Terrifier films.

I’m also interested in seeing this “wet” factor come to play as well. Some say you're soaked by the end of the house. Others say it's nothing more than a sprinkle. I guess it will be me and my pancho against the world.

Jason Universe

Friday the 13th and Jason have never been one to scare me. I’m not a huge fan of the films myself but my boyfriend enjoys them so I’m excited for him. I think this house will be a 3. I predict lots of cheap but effective scares. Jason isn’t a scary guy, but a man that tall and that threatening coming around a corner fast will have me running into my boyfriend's arms like a scaredy cat.

The Horrors of Wyatt Sicks

I am suspicious of how quiet the reviews have been for this house. Haven't heard anything good nor bad…which makes me wonder if anyone is going in. I’m going to give this house a 2. I don't know much about this man and his lore. I will be interested to see what the story behind this is but nonetheless nothing in the WWE has ever scared me besides these wresterler’s real life stories.

Poltergiest

This is another house I have not heard much about as well. I still believe this house is going to be a 4 on the scare factor for one main reason. The clown. The clown in this scares me more than Art the Clown could ever. Even when they parodied this film in Scary Movie 2, he still freaked me out.

The ambience in this house is going to play a huge role for me and if is anything like the Insidious house from last year, no doubt I am going to freak.

Scarecrow Music by Slash

Call me crazy but hear me out. This house is going to be a 5. Last year, to my surprise, The Weeknd house scared my shorts nearly off. I went in with the impression that nothing about The Weeknd was scary and boy was I wrong. Turns out there is something deeply wrong with that man and it turned out to be a great house. One of the scariest in fact. I think this house is going to have the same effect. Everyone will go in with the idea that this house isn’t going to be anything to write home about and will actually be surprisingly scary.

Monstrous 3: The Ghosts of Latin America

This house will probably be a 2. I’m biased to this because this is generally one of the houses I never make it to every year and to be honest, I’m not mad at that. I don’t have FOMO over it. It’s just not a house that I’m begging to go see. Usually this house is next to one that has a very long line and they’re practically flagging down people to come into the house. Monstrous, unfortunately for me, you won’t be missed.

There will be a review of each house at the end of the month following my trip!

Thank you for reading! Like, comment, or reblog!🎃💕✨

[webalothebruja]

MOVIES I WATCHED IN AUGUST 2025

We are back with another edition of Movies I Watched. For someone who takes appreciation of the art of film, not a single cell in my being was interested in watching anything new. If we’re being honest it was probably influenced by the new films I attempted at watching. Let’s just say I wasn’t impressed.

These are all the films I watched with the ones at the top the ones I enjoyed the most and the ones at the bottom being films I didn’t enjoy as much.

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🥇Event Horizon

🥈My Big Fat Greek Wedding

🥉Lisa Frankenstein

⭐️Bring It On: All or Nothing

⭐️The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

⭐️Monster In law

⭐️The Amateur

⭐️Free Guy

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*****SPOILER WARNING****

Free Guy (2021) ⭐️⭐️

Joe Keery, I love your work in Stranger Things. I just wish your films were better. Sincerely, yours truly.

I cannot find a reason to watch this again. It feels very influenced by many things. 1. Fortnite. 2. Wreck it Ralph. 3. Pixels. But it fails to make it its own. This movie gives off the vibe that it was written by AI which is funny considering the movie is about AI having a mind of its own. I was more transfixed on the side plot between Millie and Keys. I hope to see those two in a romantic comedy soon. I like their chemistry.

Also whoever wrote the lines for Key’s character, for a guy who’s life revolves around code, the guy doesn’t seem like he knows a single thing about it.

The Amateur (2025) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This film may have 3 stars but don’t go giving it hope. I was very lenient on ranking this film because if we’re being honest I had hope that this film was going to blow me out of the water. I wanted to see this at the theater and I’m glad I didn’t.

Rami Malek. No denying he’s a star. One of the few greatest and most mysterious actors of our generation…but maybe he’s not ready to be an action movie star and that’s ok.

I loved the idea of this film but I was left feeling like for a guy who kills 3 people in the film, it almost feels like he didn’t kill anyone. And I think that has to do with the type of murders this character is executing. I don’t think every murder on film needs to be this gory thing but I do think that the audience is left with dissatisfaction when they’re watching a hitman movie and we’re seeing explosions but no dead people.

Heller as a character doesn’t feel maniacal or sneaky enough for me. I want him to feel like the kid from Home Alone but unfortunately he didn’t fulfill that role for me.

This movie is something that ends up playing FX. I don’t care for the beginning or the ending. I just need something to play for background noise.

Monster in Law (2005) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really only watched this movie because I wanted to know why Jennifer Lopez was so confident in asking Jane Fonda to be in her film This Is Me Now: A Love Story (2024). I’ll say this, they seemed to have had some kind of chemistry.

I didn’t like this film when it started and I sort of left it on as background noise, but fortunately ended up getting stuck on the last 45 minutes. The ending is good. Maid In Manhattan (2002) and The Wedding Planner (2001) along with this movie are all the same. Jennifer plays the same character, she’s got a white boyfriend and they live happily ever after.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This movie has 5 stars because of its nostalgia factor. Every Twilight movie will always be 5 stars to me whether you ask me today or tomorrow.

This one use to be my favorite growing up but as I’ve gotten older I’ve grown fond of New Moon a lot more. Something is missing from this one and as much as it’s entertaining and the fight scenes are incredible, I’m just left with this sense of “none of this really mattered?”

Maybe it’s got the 3rd movie curse. I’m not sure. What I do know is that my boyfriend told me when he watched this for the first time.

“This movie is like a Marvel movie. A whole bunch of shit happens and at the end, none of it matters.”

And Tannar, you’re absolutely right.

I say this as someone who is currently reading the book, the stakes were a lot higher. Bella in the books is a lying scheming heart breaker. As much as she tries to give Jacob the benefit of the doubt in the movie, she does not match the type of borderline cheating she does in the book. I just wished they’d show more of that in the film. The tent scene is just a small snippet of the type of out of pocket behavior Bella exhorts in the Eclipse book.

Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The casting director must’ve had a field day working on this movie. We have Pon Da Replay era Rihanna. We have Solange. We have our favorite white girl Hayden Panettiere. The hot lifeguard from Aquamarine! Everyone and their mother is in this movie.

For a kids movie, this movie is very openly racist and I understand that is the point but I was literally watching this at 6 years old day dreaming about being a cheerleader. I did not have a single idea what these girls were going through! I find it funny as well that Hayden Panettiere's character tries her hardest to get the black girls to be racist towards her and they won’t. The only people being racist in this movie are the white people.

Also not to go all spirit fingers on yall but this movie is about cheerleaders competing to be backup dancers in Rihanna’s music video…Cheer and dance are like cousins. Somewhat the same but not. Someone who clearly wasn’t a cheerleader wrote this.

Lisa Frankenstein (2024) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have already reviewed this film. 10/10. If you haven’t watched it, go watch it immediately. My brother Panch bought this for me on DVD for my birthday so shoutout to him!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This film has become a comfort movie for me as I’ve grown older. I remember watching this movie for the first time feeling just like Toula. Which is kind of funny because some of the conversations Toula and Ian have in this movie, I’ve had with my boyfriend. I don’t have to be Greek to understand that as someone who has non white family members, sometimes we do things…differently. And that’s ok. The right man will come along and embrace it!

John Corbett is so handsome and he’s aging gracefully! That’s how I know he’s not toxic. I could not believe Carrie from SATC had the nerve to play with the man's feelings when he was THIS FINE.

Event Horizon (1997) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Within the last year I have dabbled in science fiction. My boyfriend and I watched this film purely because it was referenced in Family Guy. The girls that get it get it. I can’t express how much I recommend this movie.

It is the love child of Alien and Hellraiser. Demonic possession in space? I’d usually find it hard to want to see something like this and I think it was probably the best case that I went into this blind. I didn’t even watch a trailer beforehand.

But as Chris Griffin said this movie was AWESOME.

Spoiler warning, there are a few gory bits in this film. People's eyeballs explode out of their skulls. But if you’re an avid horror fan like I am, this isn’t anything you haven’t seen before.

It also features as all star cast. Sam Neill (the guy from Jurassic Park) plays an evil scientist and does a very well job at doing so. Laurence Fishburne is also in this film and happens to be one of the main characters which I was pleasantly surprised by.

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Thank you for reading! Like, comment, or reblog💕💕💕

[webalothebruja]

Movies I Watched In May 2025

I have been meaning to post this reflection since the beginning of the month, but with everything happening in the news, I wasn't sure it was appropriate for me to be talking about the films I watched whilst the world felt like it was ending. But with this month feeling like it's bound to end abruptly, I figured the universe will find my post when the time is right. 

This is my ranking of the films I watched in May with the top being the best and the bottom being the worst. I want to note that none of the films I watched were necessarily bad. I just liked some more than others!

Uncut Gems (2019)

Lilo and Stitch (2002)

Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch (2005)

Life Of Crime: 1984-2020 (2021)

The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)

Fight Club (1999)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Back to the Future (1985)

Pervert Park (2014)

Sausage Party (2016)

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*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Uncut Gems (2019)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Julia Fox Voice Uncut jems. This movie gave me an immense amount of anxiety, but in that horror movie kind of way. That surprised me. I am not new to these types of dramas but something set this one aside from the rest. I think casting someone like Adam Sandler not only gave the audience a sense of comfort, but seeing him in these types of situations made us feel more bad for him as a character. When I got to the end of this film I was devastated. Disappointed by the actions he had made, but not enough for me to justify his death. It was inevitable. I felt like someone I had known since childhood died. The impact of the film left me shaken for the rest of the day. And this is exactly why I think everyone should watch this movie at least once. Coming from a horror fan, this is the closest thing to a real life horror movie. 

Lilo and Stitch (2002)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was one of my favorite films as a child. I grew up watching the tv show on Disney Channel. It was one of the first times I saw myself within the media I was viewing. Though Lilo isn’t Mexican, she still had dark skin and dark hair, something I didn’t see much in other cartoons. 

To see that this film is getting the “live action” treatment makes me sick to my stomach. The film was already perfect and even with Lilo and Stitch’s casting coming right off the page, I don’t feel the need to see the live action attempt as soon as possible. I will eventually watch it, but it’s not on my to-do list.

Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch (2005)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This may come off as a hard take, but I prefer this film over the first. The story line could’ve used some work. My boyfriend pointed out that this film just felt like a longer episode of the show which I couldn't agree with more. But between the jokes and the overall stylization of the film, this film has my heart.

Life Of Crime 1984-2020 (2021)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Life of Crime was a film reviewed by Mista GG on his “Disturbing Documentaries” series on Youtube. After seeing his review of the film, I was interested in watching the documentary myself. Again, this is not my first rodeo of drug documentaries. I went through a phase a couple of years ago where I watched an infinite amount of documentaries surrounding people with addictions.

This one was very impressive. The fact that the crew kept communication with these people for so long, through them going to jail and getting sober. This is what documentaries were made for. These small town addicts felt like movie stars by the end of the film. 

I found myself upset when these people died. It is sad to see someone lose a battle with drugs, but the film itself was also extremely graphic. We see most of these people’s corpses in the film, with one being shown in the morgue, discolored and what’s left of him after the decomposition process had already begun. 

Sadness wasn’t the only emotion I felt though. Because of how we follow these people through different stages of their life, I felt an array of emotions. Some moments were surprisingly funny. It helps us remember that these people were human, just like us.

The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve said it once and I'll say it again, there is not one film where Maggie Gyllenhal plays a normal person. At this point I think she gets a kick out of playing the deranged. 

This film’s build up is slow and gradual, yet Maggie Gyllenhal somehow makes the smallest of gestures feel predatory. I would be interested to see how she prepared for a role like this. 

Something I wanted to note was, it took me the entirety of the film to notice Jimmy’s father played by Ajay Naidu was the guy from Office Space (1999). 

Fight Club (1999)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fight Club has been a movie I had been meaning to watch for years and I finally got the opportunity to watch it! Everytime it would go on streaming I would somehow miss the chance and before I knew it, it was either watch it on Youtube for $3.99 or wait for it to go on the streaming rounds again. 

Before watching, I had known about the twist. It didn't ruin the ending for me one bit. Luckily I hadn't watched anyone review Fight Club so I didn't really know what to expect. I had perceived this film to be a lot more artsy than it actually was. I had categorized this film in the Pulp Fiction (1994), film school, “I only watch real film” category.

But something no one told me was that this film is actually a psychological horror film. 

Edward Norton is no doubt probably one of the best actors of the 90s. Seeing him in films like American History X (1998) and The People Vs Larry Flynt (1996), I never really understood his dating history, but after viewing Fight Club, it all feels like it makes sense. He’s not some quiet, serious man from the city. He’s a wild child. A celebrity. A socialite. Then again, I don’t know the man, but I feel I’ve seen a side of him that I didn’t know was there.

I also want to add that I miss when Brad Pitt played weird characters. His macho action movie persona is ruining him as an actor.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This film was another one that sat on my watch list for a very long time. I had seen so many parodies of this film that I felt like I had almost watched the whole thing. To my surprise, The Silence of the Lambs was incredibly slow. It wasn’t a painful watch, but I slowly came to realize that all of the media inspired by this film really took the best parts of it. 

Then I thought about something my boyfriend had said to me last year after watching Long Legs (2024). 

Long Legs (2024) is the modern day Silence of the Lambs (1991).

And if you’ve watched both, you couldn't agree with me more. Down to the female detectives, their personal issues involving their families, and the face to face battle between the detective vs the murderer. 

Back to the Future (1985)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back to the Future (1985) is my father’s favorite movie. I prefer the 2nd installment. I wish I knew what it was like to see this movie for the first time. I’ve watched it over a thousand times. The way my father used to describe how this film made him want to be a director is something engraved in my brain and probably always will be. 

Pervert Park (2014)⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was another film Mista GG reviewed in his series. This one I find a lot darker thematically. Many online have discussed what the reason was to make this film. And though I don’t agree with the actions of the people in this film, I'm glad it was made. I found it interesting hearing everyone’s story and point of view. A lot of the people documented have obvious neverending guilt. I don’t think this was made to swerve people’s perception of pedophiles by any means. I think art can be made about topics we feel uncomfortable about and if that means we have to face the uncomfortableness directly then that should be ok. 

Sausage Party (2016)⭐️⭐️⭐️

This film was not a bad film. Being the last entry on this list, it may look that way. When I make my ranking, I'm careful to place each film. Placing Sausage Party (2016) next to a film like Fight Club (1999) feels like a crime in some sense. 

Now, this movie felt silly for me because of my history with the film. Sausage Party came out when I was around 14 or 15. I had seen numerous commercials for it, heard about the backlash and it finally came to Redbox. Mind you, I had been watching Family Guy and Robot Chicken previously, but for some reason when this movie came out, my parents told me I couldn’t watch it. So I never did. 

And now almost 10 years later I got to watch it in a room with my boyfriend and his siblings. I cannot believe my parents banned me from watching a movie depicting food sex when I had been watching worse things at the time. I could only imagine the thoughts that went through their heads when they thought they could rightfully justify me not seeing this movie. My parents unfortunately will never experience what it was like to be a teenager with unsupervised access to the internet. 

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Once again, thank you for viewing my ranking! Comment down below if you agree with my ranking. I’d love to talk to someone about movies!

[webalothebruja]

MY EXPERIENCE AS A MEXICAN WHO CANNOT SPEAK SPANISH

By Gabriella Alcala

I can hear my ancestors booing and throwing tomatoes at me already.

I come from a white mother and a Mexican father. I, a half Mexican woman, cannot speak Spanish. I’ll admit, I don't experience as much peer pressure as someone who is full Mexican. Do I feel guilty for not knowing Spanish? A little bit. Would I like to put in the work to know Spanish? Yes.

My father passed away about a year and a half ago. He made very few efforts to make sure my brothers and I knew Spanish. If anything, our urge to learn the language came from me being curious. My father moved here when he was a kid, maybe 6 or 7 years old. He was in ESL classes all the way into high school and unfortunately felt like Spanish was more of a barrier for him instead of something to embrace. “The 90’s were a different time” says everyone who has ever lived though the 90s. From what I have heard, being Mexican was something that his family wanted suppressed. They were in the United States now, so it was about time they started acting American. It went as far as my Abuela telling my dad that he needed to date a white girl because Mexican girls lie and cheat. “They would only want him for his money.”

I once heard someone say that culture is passed on because culture means something different to women than it does to men. Women are more likely to pass on traditions and beliefs and men follow along because a happy wife means happy life, I guess. From my own experience, that is all I have ever been shown.

My mother showed more than a few times that she wanted my father to embrace his culture and the things that made him, him. Sometimes he would lean into it. Growing up, I felt I was raised Mexican. We ate Mexican food in our house. We consumed Mexican media and celebrated holidays the way our culture did.

What got me to the point of wanting to learn Spanish was an ex. He was half white and half Mexican like me too, but he was raised in a Spanish speaking home. He lived with the Mexican side of his family. He was overbearing when it came to comparing the way I was raised vs how he was. It felt like he thought he was more Mexican than me because of his morals, upbringings, and most importantly because he could speak Spanish. The best way to describe it was “I could never understand because I could not understand them.” I was under the impression that he was trying to undermine my experiences as a half Mexican woman because I hadn't gone through what he did.

I was raised by a white mother. I had spoken only English for most of my life. We’d have spaghetti a few times a month. We lived in the middle class for a while. But did that make me less of a Mexican? I don't think so.

My urge to learn spanish was due to me trying to prove myself to people who tried to undermine me. On state testing, when they asked my race, I said Mexican. I’m not sure why, I just always did. I remember my dad asking me about that. He never told me to choose that. I just always did. When I got to middle school, people didn't even know I was Mexican. They said I looked too white to be Mexican so I shouldn't be telling people I am. After high school, I got with my ex and I couldn't help but feel like his family looked down at me for being Mexican and not knowing Spanish. It was the first time I had ever experienced that.

It isn't abnormal to feel less Mexican because of a lack of speaking Spanish. People express that every day. Now, after we broke up, I still felt this urge to learn some sort of Spanish. I had been exposed to a surplus of spanish songs and tv when I was with him and that was only amplified once I felt ok viewing that type of media. It wasn't that I couldn't do that before, but my dad only showed me so much. Once I was at my own devices, I went down a steep rabbit hole of everything I had been missing out on due to the language barrier. It hadn't occurred to me that maybe I wasn't as close with some people because of it.

I have an interesting relationship with my Abuelos. I know about them, they know about me, but it has always been with my dad present. My dad was the only way we could communicate. My Abuelo being a truck driver, he knew a lot more English than my Abuela, but would still find it difficult to find the words to what he was trying to say from time to time. When my dad got sick, it only made me wonder, what would happen if my dad wasn't there? How would we communicate? I feared our relationship would slowly deteriorate if I didn’t at least try. My Abuela and its relationship already isn't the strongest because of our language barrier.

I will say, it's hard to learn Spanish when the only Spanish speaking person in the house dies.

I think part of me not wanting to learn Spanish when I was in high school was fear of failure. My dad in particular laughed at me for getting words incorrectly before he would correct me. If the humiliation factor hadn't been so present, maybe I would have tried harder to learn.

Luckily in my house, we’ve always spoken “spanglish.” I know a lot more Spanish words than I do phrases which makes me one step closer already. I just need to learn how to casually speak Spanish. I can order my dinner. I can get meat from the market. But I'd like to be able to have a conversation with someone without losing it halfway through.

I regularly practice speaking Spanish with my boyfriend (he’s learning too) and some of my coworkers. I have been trying to watch more Spanish dubbed tv shows so I can get familiar with phrasing and the dialect. My favorite right now is Kitchen Nightmares. If there's one thing I'm going to know is food and if someone is talking shit. That's what is important right?

I think something important to remember is that it is never too late to start learning. I feared when I first started that I wasn’t going to get it. My brain wasn't going to absorb the information as fast as I wanted. But this isn't a race. I have my whole life to perfect my Spanish and I know a lot more than I give myself credit for.

[webalothebruja]

Ranking The Final Destination Films

With the newest installment of Final Destination released today, Final Destination Bloodlines, I wanted to go over and rank all of the Final Destination films. This is my favorite horror franchise and though it tends to get pushed to the side when talking about horror movies, I think the first three films deserve more praise in the genre.

Part of the reason why I think it doesn't get as much talk in the horror genre is due to its identityless killer. Slashers are the horror’s identifier and without them, I believe it's harder to push for those films without them. Films like The Conjuring (2013) get away with this because they have a consistent set of main characters: Ed and Lorraine Warren. Whereas Final Destination, we have William Bludworth played by Tony Todd as a recurring character, yet he is never our main character. In fact, he feels like an easter egg at times. Is he god? Is he death? We’re not sure. Promotional materials for Final Destination Bloodlines hint that we may find out this character's origins finally-which I am ecstatic about.

My ranking of the Final Destination films is going to be based off of their impact on me, their characters, and their deaths.

Starting with my favorite Final Destination film, Final Destination 3 (2006). This cast of characters is by far my favorite. I love the way they played with different stereotypes in this film and it feels very right for its time. It sort of gives me the same vibes as The Faculty (1998) in the way that all of these stereotypical high school characters have to work together to defeat the one thing that is killing them.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead has many great performances, but this one by far blows me away compared to any of the other final girls in this series. She is one I can relate to the most. And I’m not kidding. This movie freaked me out so bad, I didn't go on a rollercoaster til I was 10 and I felt the same way she did getting on that ride at Six Flags. I grew up watching Winstead in films like Sky High (2005) and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) so when I saw this movie for the first time, I think seeing her face sort of shocked me as a child. Ryan Merriman was a face I was also familiar with. Watching him in films like Luck of the Irish (2001) and Smart House (1999).

I was familiar with them and seeing them in these kinds of scenarios scared my poor kid brain.

I can't lie, the goth couple in this movie awoke the bisexuality in me as well. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be them or be with them as a kid.

Like I mentioned before, this movie had such a deep impact on me that it made me deathly afraid of rollercoasters growing up. Even now, I still have a little voice in my head that has to remind me that it is only a movie. Besides the nail gun scene in this film, most of the deaths are hit and miss for viewers. I think one that gets brought up a lot is the tanning bed scene. As someone who has been to many tanning salons, I have never been to a salon where there are tanning beds right next to each other, but many people I've talked to about this film see this as a completely real scenario.

The death that stuck with me the most is Erin’s death. She gets shot to death with a nail gun. Something about the look of this scene felt realer than others. Come to find out, this was done with no CGI. A lifesize mold of the actress was made and shot at with a nail gun which feels wrong, but made for a great effect! Ah, the magic of filmmaking. If you love this film as much as I do, this is a great behind the scenes video about it:

Runner up for me is Final Destination 2 (2003). Some might argue that the highway scene alone, should make me want to give it the #1 spot, but for me, some of the deaths stop it from being ranked that high. I will admit, the highway scene did make me afraid to drive, but it didn't make me want to not drive forever. Final Destination 3 made me never want to get on a roller coaster ever again.

Some of the lackluster deaths I am speaking of are the elevator death and the glass falling death. Both being scenarios that could definitely happen, but would you actually die from that? I mean the poor kid who gets smashed with the glass almost died from a fake fish falling in his mouth, that shockingly was cutting off his oxygen. It's just silly to me.

A death that does haunt me is the airbag suspension death. The side profile that is shown after Kat gets a pole shanked into her, takes my breath away. Plus the sound of the impact itself makes my gut sink.

Character wise, the two main characters Kimberly and Thomas carry the story for me more than enough for me to hope they make it in the end. None of the characters stand out more than Clear, though. I love the fact that they brought her back and the blonde hair suits her so much better than the brown. Something I will note about Kimberly is that out of all of the final girls in the series she didn't freak out as much as some of the other characters. Considering her premonition is one of the more chaotic ones, it's kind of crazy how much everyone was trying to downplay the accident.

In third place we have Final Destination (2000). I think this was a great set up for the franchise, but compared to the other ones on this list, it didn't phase me as much as some of the other installments.

1. I didnt go on a plane til I was 20 so when I initially saw this, I figured this could never happen to me because the likelihood of me getting on a plane was slim to none.

2. I watched the Final Destination films out of order when I first watched them. I watched 2, 4, 3, 1, and then 5 when it was released.

So I had already been traumatized by some of the most gruesome sequences already. Watching the 1st one feels like a PG 13 film when you watch them in this order.

As for the characters, I do feel like the characters were written pretty basic. Other than Alex and Clear’s storyline, everyone else was written on the basis that they were a supporting character with the same motive. No one wants to believe Alex. I always forget Seann William Scott is in this movie so he comes up on screen and I'm always like oh Stiffler is here.

In regards to the deaths, the one that comes to mind always is Tod’s death in the bathtub. Most of it has to do with the sound effects. The wrapping of the line on his throat is pretty gruesome and watching his eyes go bloodshot makes the effect even more vigorous.

Now Final Destination 5 (2011). I always argue that this movie starts great and then they just sort of run out of ideas once they get to the end. Death by escalator pisses me off the most. This movie had a great foundation. I don’t think anything could have been worse than Final Destination 4. But this is this movie’s biggest problem.

If you watch the films in order, this movie feels one thousand times better than The Final Destination, but compared to the other installments it is still not one of the best in my opinion.

Though, I don't think their main premonition sequence is the strongest, it's not terrible by any means. I think they play with the idea of who could make it to the end which I appreciate. I honestly don't know how the main character Sam could've even remembered the death sequence because I feel like this premonition was very long compared to the others in the franchise.

Their characters are fine. None of them personality wise stand out to me. We have the Tom Cruz lookalike actor which I thought was sort of distracting. The actress who plays Olivia (the eye surgery girl), gives me Madison Beer vibes which I haven't seen anyone say anything about. David Koechner is also in this film which I think is funny.

This movie could honestly pass off as a drama rather than a thriller. Final Destination 5 is not as fast paced. The deaths don't feel like the main focus. They just happen to be part of the movie.

The death that stood out to me in this one was the gymnastics scene and I will say that's probably one of the only moments in this movie where my heart was racing. I think it was a great idea that they started off the film with that because fans who enjoyed the franchise were familiar with this style, but by the end of the film I cant help but feel like these are recycled deaths that weren't used in the other films.

I can appreciate their tie-in to the first film. I think that was the best way to end this franchise overall. Unfortunately this film’s rewatchability for me isn't very high. I’ll watch it if i’m showing it to someone or having a marathon of the films but otherwise I have no reason to watch this one on its own.

The Final Destination (2009) aka Final Destination 4 is my least favorite. If you read my Movie’s I Watched in April blog, you may already know this. My biggest problem with this film is the look and feel of it. It feels like a fan film. From the direction to the acting. Tony Todd doesn't appear in this one-thank god. From the 3D aspects to the deaths themselves, I don't know which is worse. This movie comes off as very annoying to watch because they shot this movie in 3D. The entirety of the premonition, though a fun idea, has as bad effects as Disaster Movie (2008).

For a movie that's supposed to play on our worst nightmares, I don't know whose idea it was to drown a girl in her car? Or gets a guy's guts ripped out by a water drain.

The car drowning scene specifically makes me laugh considering in the film A Cinderella Story (2004), the sisters go through the car wash just fine and come out with silly hairdos. So it's like were you really going to die in the car wash? The filmmakers had Janet acting like the car brush was made of knives.

I have high hopes for Final Destination Bloodlines but there is a part of me fearing that we may get another Final Destination 4. In an era of remakes-which I hate- I’m going to walk into this film with an open heart. Hopefully it won't tear my expectations to pieces. There's not a lot to expect in this sort of franchise.

Please like and share my blog! If you scroll down my page, I do lots of movie reviews. Check those out if you haven't already. Thank you for reading! Mwah! xoxoxo

[webalothebruja]

My Favorite Teas

As an avid tea drinker, it is mad how I have not even broken into a third of my tea stash. Drinking tea for me started as a way to cope with my smoking problem. I smoked weed everyday, not only as a habit, but as an assistant to help me get a full night’s rest. After getting with my current boyfriend, who has been sober for over two years, I started to feel like maybe I was doing too much to just “go to sleep.” Turns out I am not addicted to smoking weed. I just happen to like having a little night routine.

Instead of rolling a blunt and sitting on the porch to smoke, I resorted to preparing myself a hot cup of tea and sitting on my porch. I like having ‘me time.’ I like to reflect on my day under the stars. Who doesn't? I’m afraid I'm coming off as quite the hippie.

Since my tea making journey I have found what I like and don't like. I can’t drink a cup of tea without some sugar and honey. It's a must! I have also found which flavors I'm fond of, which is what we will be going over today.

Spearmint by Tadin

This is my go-to tea. As a kid, I thought all tea tasted like chamomile or cough syrup.

This was the first tea I had tried outside of chamomile and cinnamon and wow. I feel like mint is sort of one of those flavors you can't go wrong with. Now I will say, I prefer peppermint over spearmint, but at the end of the day, they're all pretty much the same. Peppermint just happens to be a little stronger for me which I enjoy.

I prefer this one before bed mostly for flavor purposes. It doesn't tend to leave a funky taste in your mouth the next day. I was also drawn to this specific flavor due to its digestion benefits and hormonal balancing which I need badly. Something great about Tadin teas is that most of them do not contain caffeine. This makes many of their teas bedtime friendly!

Fun fact, apparently my Abuela used to work at the Tadin factory at one point which is why this is the first brand I had tried as an adult.

Bedtime by Yogi

This tea is amazing as a sleep aid. I believe one of my homies gave me one of these when I was talking to them about needing help sleeping through the night. For a long time I couldn't sleep due to drug use and living in a stressful environment. When I was a teenager, the only way I could get myself to sleep was if I cried beforehand.

One cup of this tea and I can confidently get a full 8 hours of sleep. Like no joke, I will not wake up. I’ll be drooling all over the place and everything. Of course, nowadays I only drink this if I really need to get some sleep. It is not an everyday thing.

Seven blossoms by Tadin

This is a great alternative if you cannot get your hands on the bedtime tea mentioned before. It pretty much has the same benefits as far as being a stress reliever and sleep aid. I think this one might be a little cheaper than the Yogi brand depending on where you purchase it. Both bedtime teas have strikingly different flavors. I would say this one may be more fragrant than the Bedtime tea by Yogi.

My pen pal sent me a sample of this. She knew about my sleep issues and would send me all kinds of tea. Love ya Dany!

Raspberry Zinger by Celestial Seasonings

My friend Faith was looking into teas about a year ago and stumbled her way upon this tea. I’m not exactly sure what made her want to drink this one in particular but she didnt like it and gave it to me and let me tell you. The flavor in this tea is amazing. I can honestly drink it like juice. This one is great for periods and cramps so I always drink this right before mine comes.

After visiting the Celestial Seasonings factory in Colorado this past week, I learned this tea brand is very environmentally friendly. Their packaging doesn't use plastic wrap to encase it, their tea bags use as little paper as possible and all together they reduce the contribution of 3.5 million pounds of waste annually. I’m not the most environmentally conscious gal out there but that's pretty impressive for a company in my opinion.

Cranberry Pomegranate by Stash

I came across this tea after delving through the tea my local donut shop had to offer. After researching this brand I found that they have collections of teas based on the seasons. I am working on being a casual tea drinker. I’d like to steer away from coffee at the office as much and try drinking tea in that sort of setting. Out of the autumn flavors I purchased, this one seemed to be the one I liked the most. It has the same palette as the Raspberry Zinger, but the difference in flavor is more apparent. I think this one outshines the rest in the pack because cinnamon and maple for me are very breakfast flavors. This one can be drunk at any time and I don’t feel like a breakfast mascot is going to burst through my front window.

Thank you for reading my rambling about tea. Comment down any tea suggestions you have!

[webalothebruja]

VIDEO ESSAYS I WATCHED IN APRIL

This month I submerged myself into longer video essays. Though this list may be shorter than the last, there wasn't one video essay that I was entirely disappointed in. The videos on this list range from long to VERY long. Please let me know if you want shorter video recommendations and I can accommodate that.

If you are not already following me on instagram, I would appreciate it if you did @/webalothebruja. I post weekly recaps of my recommendations on my instagram story!

This month's fav creator: Tom Harlock and Mr Snowflake

This was a tough spot to fill. In April, I did not consistently watch one creator more than the other. I had already been watching Mr Snowflake. This month’s installment was his long awaited update in the Amberlynn Reid series. When I saw his notification come up, I clicked on it immediately. And though I saw it had a 4 hour runtime, I was not intimidated by any means. Mr Snowflake’s calm and gentle voice narration through the hectic life of Amberlynn is something of a yin and yang. Honestly if he did the news in the morning, I think people would come out tranquil about today’s events. I recommend watching a video yourself to understand what I mean behind all of this. He is an underrated creator in my eyes and deserves more views than what he is currently getting.

Tom Harlock’s Amberlynn Reid video was one of my least favorite this month, but that doesn't show his abilities as a creator. I was entertained the whole time. He has a captivating voice unlike anyone else I've heard and he’s quite funny. I’d like to watch more of his videos in the future. 

Favorite video this month: Victims of an Empath, an Amberlynn Reid Series: Episode 4- Beck by Mr Snowflake

Mr Snowflake's capability to not only tackle such a plethora of footage, but tell the story of Amberlynn Reid in a reliable and intriguing way is incredible. I think that with such a problematic figure, sometimes getting the facts down can be hard to distinguish when everyone’s opinion is getting in the way. Mr Snowflake isn't afraid to share his opinion either, but he tells the story the way it was shown in real time. No outsider thoughts. Nothing edited. He presents all of his evidence in chronological order, posted straight from Amberlynn Reid’s youtube channel. Now, the video above is from a series where Snowflake deep dives into Amber’s relationships. I don’t think he necessarily shows Amber in a bad light which is refreshing considering she’s the internet icon everyone loves to hate. He gives her an even playing ground where the actions and words speak for themselves. His opinion is the people’s opinion. 

Like I mentioned before, his runtimes can be intimidating at first. I don't see his videos as something you need to “lock in” for. This video in particular I was listening to during my gym seshes, while doing dishes and smoking in my bed. It can really be viewed as more of a podcast than a video itself which I like. I’d say if you have a few hours to spare or don't necessarily want to listen to music, put this on and give it a try. 

Mr Snowflake is well deserving of his flowers and I hope to see him continue to grow in the future.

Good but hard to recommend: The Acacia Kersey Saga: The Darkest Influencer Family by Cruel World Happy Mind

Acacia’s story is one I am semi-familiar with. I remember her early days on the internet where everyone either hated her or wanted to be her. All of her tumblr pics were inspo for fanfics or used on polyvore edits. I’d like to think more people are familiar with her face than her story. 

And her story is a sad yet demented one.

Acacia was always known for showing groupie behavior. My experience was when I was deeply in love with 5 Seconds of Summer and she was seen walking around backstage with Michael Clifford. People had hinted at the fact that they may have fooled around, but my young brain never processed that she was the same age as us. She was in her teens when she was doing this kind of behavior. Though 5 Seconds of Summer were in their teens and early twenties, Acacia found herself surrounded by bands with older members. 

Which could only make more people wonder, where were her parents? Well it seems they too had some skeletons in their closet. From grooming to taking nude photos of underage girls (allegedly), this family has a lot of allegations. 

I think the family’s persona along with their history is an interesting topic, but not one that a lot of people would find interesting unless they were looking into the topic. It doesn't seem to be a widespread story either, with many new fans of Acacia (hence her time she’s spent on tiktok) being unaware of her history and past. Her story is a cautionary tale, but one that has seemed to be swept under the rug. 

Least favorite this month: Amberlynn: A Decade of Disaster by Tom Harlock

Like I mentioned earlier in this ranking, Tom Harlock was not the problem with this video. Unfortunately this is just a topic I am too familiar with. This video just goes over the surface level of the Amberlynn Reid saga. This is a great video for those who don’t know her story. Especially after watching Mr Snowflake’s video this is like comparing a student film to a blockbuster. 

Every Family Guy Controversy Explained by Lydia Loves Timelines

Again, I went into this thinking it was going to be something that it wasnt. Most of the episodes in this video that are either “banned” or “unseen” are on Hulu now so it sort of defeats the purpose. This is no hate to the creator because I watch her quite a lot. This has everything to do with my expectations as a viewer. 

Short and sweet: The Scams of Sean Kingston by Naomi Cannibal

This video is a great explanation of everything that is currently going down with Sean Kingston. The news sort of manipulated everyone into thinking Sean was this sort of Grand Theft Auto styled thief when in reality he just stopped making payments towards a lot of the stuff he owned. The reason is still unknown other than the fact that his mother had been caught doing this sort of thing in the 2000s. It is a quick video, with a runtime of 14:05. 

Honorable mentions:

The Instagram Model Who Fabricated Her Entire Life | Lillee Jean: The Beauty Community Fraud by Primink 

This is a case of, is the creator at fault or the mother? In some cases it feels like the creator, Lillee Jean, is trying to manipulate her audience into believing something that is not actually true, but it's hard to see her mother threaten people online and feel like maybe she is the one creating this reality for Lillee. Is Lilee being coached? Is she not aware of the situation? We don’t really know.

The Forgotten Youtube Pr*dator by FXK Nate 

As someone who used to watch a lot of Veeoneeye in my early days on the internet, I surprised myself when I realized I had completely forgotten that this ever happened. 

The Rise and Fall of Jimmy Neutron: Nickelodeon’s First CG Show by slow start

This was almost my favorite video of this month. So nostalgic. So interesting. I love Jimmy Neutron and it's a shame this show was taken advantage of and thrown away so quickly.

The Lost Art of DVD Menus by Dream Jelly

This might be super niche but it's honestly such a lost art. I love physical media. Please bring back physical media! Also if you don’t know about Fight Club’s DVD menu, please watch this.

How The Most Hated Man In Comedy Lost Everything by Patrick cc:

Dane Cook is a weird guy…Like every comedian is a weirdo at one point or another so I can't be surprised.

When Hiring Your Biggest Fan Goes Terribly Wrong by 2lazy2try

This was another contender for my favorite video of the month, but I felt that the structure of this video didn’t meet my standards. The topic of this video was something I was unaware of and it is a truly terrifying scenario. Although Howard Stern has tormented many likenesses in Hollywood, I guess this is his karma. 

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Please like and comment to boost my blog! Love yall xoxoxoxo

[webalothebruja]

MOVIES I WATCHED THIS MONTH: APRIL 2025

April was a great month of film for me. Most of the films I watched, I had already seen, with a few here and there that snuck their way in thanks to my boyfriend’s recommendations. I guess a good way to describe this month was “show and tell.” I showed him a film and he returned the favor. This is my ranking of the films I watched with the top being the best and the bottom being the worst.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Secret Window (2004)

Batman Begins (2005)

Christine (1983)

House of Wax (2005)

Hairspray (2007)

The Thing (2011)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Death Race (2008)

The Final Destination (2009)

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The Dark Knight (2008)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

HOLY MOLY. I totally get the hype now. I’m not one to enjoy superhero movies. With the over saturation of Marvel, my interest in those kind of movies have steered away over the years but this felt completely different than any other superhero movie I had watched. I liked the dramatic take on the franchise and I’m so glad I watched this sooner rather than later. Honestly it makes me sad that superhero movies don’t get nominated for Oscars because any actor in this could’ve easily won Best Performance. I love Christian Bale’s Batman voice lmao. Heath Ledger is of course great and never goes unrecognized. Along with Gary Oldman’s performance which might I add is my favorite character. Every time they attempted to kill him off I was so sad.

I also want to note that this is the one film Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn’t play a freak. As soon as I saw her come up on the screen I got worried.

Secret Window (2004)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Secret Window is a hidden gem for fans of 2000s psychological thriller. The big three for me are 1408 (2007), Stir of Echoes (1999) and Secret Window (2004). Whenever people ask me for recommendations, this always seems to be one of the films that comes to mind because of the pure shock and fascination this movie drags you through.

The film is a rollercoaster of emotions and from the beginning there is this feeling like you’ve been dropped into the universe of the film with nothing but the clothes on your body. Not only is Johnny Depp’s character, Mort, dealing with a stalking stranger but also a traumatizing divorce. When both issues collide, it feels overstimulating, making you wish Mort’s ex wife would leave the picture so he can finally focus on one thing at a time. There are a few funny moments in this film that bring a light heartedness to it, but overall this movie brings twists and turns, unlike any other movie I have seen before. I am one to compare art to other art, but this movie is hard to compare to other films because there is just nothing like it.

In my opinion this is one of Johnny Depp’s best roles. The film is based on a Stephen King Novel Secret Window, Secret Garden. I have this book on my wishlist and hope to compare the movie to the novel soon!

Batman Begins (2005)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This film got me so excited to watch the series. I totally understand Christopher Nolan’s infatuation with Cillian Murphy. That man is beautiful. Honestly I didn’t know anything about Scarecrow as a character before walking into this film but he’s really cool and interesting. I love this Batman universe.

Christine (1983) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this film. It was my favorite movie I saw this month. Click here for my full review.

House of Wax (2005)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

House of Wax is an underrated cult classic. With similarities to Freddy vs Jason (2003), this movie brings a Y2k spin on a classic horror story. I would like to disclaim, this is not a remake of the original 1953 film House of Wax. Reviewers have noted this is closer to being a Tourist Trap (1979) remake. But nonetheless, the film brings aspects of boogeyman storytelling and a very eccentric cast. Paris Hilton is in this movie. *SPOILERS* The way they killed off her character felt personal, but I'm happy to see she looked very excited to promote the movie where we get to “see Paris die.” Great marketing.

Chad Michael Murray and Jared Padalecki also star in this film. MTV even did a little behind the scenes segment, showing the making of the film. Something I want to note here, apparently they actually built a set made of wax and then decided they were going to burn it to the ground because practical effects are cooler than digital…

They lit an entire set made of wax on fire and then had to shut down production because it got too dangerous…We can't make this stuff up guys!

Anyway, though corny and sometimes cheesy, this movie brings me immense joy. Whenever it is on tv I always stop and watch it. This movie has a fair amount of gore in it but is nothing like Saw or even Friday the 13th. Definitely recommend it if you just want to watch something and let your mind go numb for a bit.

Hairspray (2007)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hairspray holds a special place in my heart. From a young age I was VERY into musicals. High School Musical was my everything when I was in kindergarten so when I went into 1st grade and saw Hairspray with Zac Efron, it changed me. I watched this film so many times, I broke two DVD players. And after I broke the second one, my mom refused to buy this movie for me again.

Anyway, seeing that this movie was free with ads on Youtube, me and my boyfriend had this ongoing joke that if we couldn't decide on a movie we were going to watch Hairspray, risking my TV of the curse that has been following me my whole life. There was a good chance that after we watched Hairspray, my tv was just going to lie down, roll over and die.

So we watched it. It was my boyfriend's first time viewing. All of the songs in this movie have burned into my brain that even when I find myself thoughtless and bored, I will play Hairspray songs in my head word for word. I hadn't watched the movie in over 10 years and to say it aged poorly…Well.

Hairspray in my opinion is one of those things that ages like bread. The more time that goes by the worse it gets. The production of this film isn't what I'm talking about either. This movie is visually gorgeous and has an all star cast!

I find myself hearing facts about Nikki Blonsky and the making of this film and I catch myself cringing. Though this movie will always be in my heart, it goes back to the fact that me and my boyfriend were THREATENING each other to put on Hairspray. I think that says a lot.

The Thing (2011)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Thing from 2011 is something I don’t think we needed but at least it was made in a way I can appreciate rather than some asshole in 2025 remaking it. Now, not to get it mixed up with The Thing (1982). The 2011 remake is a prequel. It is basically the same story, with little bread crumbs here and there tying it back to the original. Our main protagonist is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead who I absolutely LOVE. She is in my favorite Final Destination film. The whole cast was great, the story was fine, and the effects, though very 2010’s, were still visually intriguing. I think this movie got a lot of shit when it came out because it was around the time Hollywood was remaking A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. With slashers on the rise again, I can't imagine anyone was asking for a The Thing remake. It is not a bad film, it may have just come out at a bad time. I don't think it will ever get the recognition it deserves, serving that the original is a classic, but I don't think it deserves a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)⭐️⭐️⭐️

You are all going to call me fake and hate me when I say this but I did not like The Empire Strikes Back as much as everyone told me I would. To start, not that this took off a star of anything but Harrison Ford is not as sexy in this one as he was in the previous.

Now that I got that off my chest, I will admit a lot of stuff happened in this movie. There is a lot of storyline progression and a lot of Princess Leia trying to kiss her brother, but it feels like a fragment in time that didn't really matter? It was giving Sophia Copola. A whole movie about nothing.

Maybe I missed something, but this movie did not have me locked in at all. It felt like a full two hours, sadly. A lot of references are taken from this film particularly. All of the Star Wars Family Guy jokes are finally making sense.

Another thing that pissed me off was the whole gang kumbayaing at the end of the film like Han wasn’t just turned into a block of cement and fucking kidnapped??? Y'all are celebrating for what? The mission is not over! I don’t know if this is the worst one but it’s definitely farther down on the list.

As of right now, this is my ranking of the ones I have seen:

Attack of the Clones

Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars

The Empire Strikes Back

The Phantom Menace

Final Destination 5 (2011)⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have a love/hate relationship with Final Destination 5 in the sense that this movie is either great or shit depending on how you watch it. Something I did not like was the fact that both 4 and 5 were produced with 3D in mind so when you watch the movie casually, it still has that 3D effect where everything pops in your face.

If you view Final Destination 5 after watching The Final Destination, it comes across as a better movie than it actually is. Though I liked the tie-in to the original Final Destination, I can't justify that this whole movie is great because of it. The first couple of kills from the gymnastics fail to the eye burning are all very cool and unique deaths, but the farther you get into the movie the more you can't help but feel like production ran out of steam. I mean come on, is death by escalator something I really need to be worried about? I also feel a disinterest in the characters too. I’m not necessarily rooting for them or hoping they die.

What I will say about the cast is that it was sort of distracting having the Tom Cruz lookalike in there. He’s not a bad actor, I just wish he didn't look like Tom Cruz so much. Also David Koechner being in this??? I wasn’t ready for him to die. This wasn't his last horror film either because he was also in Krampus (2015). Dude loves side missions I guess.

This film is good and bad but not in the same sense as the other Final Destination films. If i’m having a marathon of the films, i’ll watch it. Otherwise, I have no reason to put this movie on.

Death Race (2008)⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh Death Race. I have childhood memories of my parents watching this movie on TV and to much dismay I own 1 and 2 on DVD. My dad was the target audience. With films like XXX and Fast and the Furious-do you see the trend here- my parents, from what I thought, loved this movie. I had only seen parts here and there, but as an adult I had never tried to watch it. I mean how bad could it be? It has Jason Statham in it.

I was wrong.

This movie isn't bad in the sense that it's unwatchable but it proves to be more funny than serious. For one, Tyrese is the villain in this movie. He’s known in jail as the guy who always has a different racing partner because his partner usually dies while racing, but for some odd reason people really want to be his racing partner? It comes off as sacrificial. These guys don't come off as the type of people who want to kill themselves either though. They are enthusiastic to be his partner…knowing they are most likely going to die.

The story itself isn't completely bad. The politics of it all give it this apocalyptic feel to it. And then you find out it takes place in 2012 and just giggle.

It’s 100% a movie you watch on TV. This easily could have been put on Spike or FX and I sort of think this is what it was made for. It's a “dad” movie in my eyes and I'm ok with that.

The Final Destination (2009)⭐️⭐️

The Final Destination has to be the worst installment of the series. As someone who loves the franchise, I have seen all of the films many times. I’m pretty sure my parents rented this from the Redbox when this came out. I vaguely remember watching it on a box tv and noticing how this one, at the young age of 7, didn't scare me as much as 2 or 3. I KNEW AT 7 THAT THIS WAS A BAD MOVIE.

What brought me to watch it was that my boyfriend had yet to see The Final Destination and Final Destination 5. With Final Destination: Bloodlines coming soon, it was about time we had a refresher. From the deaths to the acting, it's just not a great movie. It is actually insane to think they were going to end the series on this one because it’s one of the only films that doesn't feature Tony Todd and lets just say, I can see why he didn't agree to be in this one. Visually, it comes off as a fan film. This was also the first installment that was in 3D and lets just say they absolutely abused the feature. Not one death doesn't feature some insane body part coming towards the screen.

I will say, one of the funniest deaths is that guy getting his ass ripped out of his body by the pool drain. Like who thought of that? Is that actually a fear someone has?

————————————————————————-

Overall, it's sad to see that this is an installment of the franchise. I think it really set an expectation for the film that came after it and I really hope I don't see any remnants of it in the new one.

Thank you for reading! Follow me on Letterboxd for reviews in real time! @/gabriellaalcala

[persianmom-deactivated20251026]

woman of your nightmares

[webalothebruja]

Christine: The Movie That Blew My Expectations Out Of The Water

Christine (1983) is one of the most surprising watches I’ve had this year. As this movie collected dust on my “films to watch list,” I, someone who judges a book by its cover, was wrong for once. The hard lesson I’m learning this year is that I need to keep that habit in the past.

This film, based off of the Stephen King book under the same title, was brought to me on a Friday night. My local theater plays older movies for a discounted price and with tempting titles like Sinners and The Ameatur, me and my boyfriend decided that Christine was the vibe we wanted to endure that night.

The movie follows Arnie, our main character played by Keith Gordon. Arnie is a shy and awkward teenager. His best friend Dennis, played by John Stockwell, poses as the complete opposite. This duo, which goes against all odds, presents the good and the bad of these characters early on. We want to feel good about Dennis because he defends Arnie from the evils of highschool but we can’t help but feel like his jock persona may get in the way of that later.

Arnie finds himself mesmerized upon seeing Christine, a shiny red 1958 Plymouth Fury- except she’s not exactly shiny or inviting upon them meeting. Christine is actually what we call a lemon. With her bumper dented, a slash across the drivers door and caked on dust and debris. While Dennis tries to talk Arnie out of buying the junker, Arnie insists he wants to fix it up and make it his, seeing something in her that even the audience can’t see.

It’s not long after Arnie buys Christine that Christine impacts his life. Arnie’s parents are disappointed he bought a car without consulting them first. Later Christine tries to kill Arnie’s lover by suffocation and Arnie soon engulfs himself in madness as he attempts to take on Christine’s evil ways. Justifying her deranged ways and knowing what she is capable of but still choosing to follow her into the darkness.

Walking into the film, I had expected something a little more ridiculous and careless. My grandma actually recommended this movie to me long ago, but seeing that my granny’s taste in film is questionable-I’m not saying this to be mean. Her favorite franchise is Sharknado-this film was just something I never got around to. I thought this movie was going to be an unofficial prequel to Rubber (2010). No real story or motive. Just death and cheesy 80s horror. I was impressed by the film’s motive for murder and how it manipulated a typical “car guy” language into something much darker.

I’ve been around more than a few men who are passionate about their car. Arnie doesn’t show much of a difference between those guys but what makes his intent feel malicious is his manipulation of situations. Even when Arnie knows his car is different, he gaslights his friends and lover into feeling crazy-when Arnie has just about lost his marbles himself. He’s sacred of the relationship him and Christine share. There are many scenes showing Arnie talking to Christine whilst experiencing some of the darker points of his life. He treats Christine like a human being and while most people would brush it off and laugh, Arnie’s support system is concerned for his well being.

Keith Gordan plays Arnie incredibly. He has a very well understanding of his character and leads me to believe he either knew someone like this or was this guy in real life. Keith plays Arnie with a weakness that doesn’t come off as over exaggerated. Though this movie falls into the stereotypes, it has a more realistic approach to highschool which is proven through Arnie and Dennis’ friendship. They fall into separate social circles but that doesn’t matter to them. Even when we watch Arnie evolve into this machismo persona, his schoolmates don’t awe at him. If anything they’re asking all the same questions I'm asking. What happened to Arnie and where did he get that cool car?

I have yet to read The Christine book but I do think this idea comes from Stephen King. King has written many characters and they prove to be based on reality more than what stereotypes cinema wants us to believe.

The direction and look this movie presents us brings a fantasy approach, but it still feels real. Christine is a mythical character. She has a soul and though she is not able to speak, she interacts with Arnie in many ways. I feel I sometimes felt her blink or shake her head even if she was parked. The design of the car and the way it’s able to mold itself in scenes isn’t something we’re used to seeing but it doesn’t feel fake. It almost comes across as dream-like when we watch the car fix itself for the first time.

Blowing itself up like a balloon before our eyes. I appreciate the effects because in an age where things look so real it feels fake, this effect shown feels somewhat practical. In my head this is exactly how a car would mold itself without the help of hands.

Which brings me to my next point. There have been talks of a Christine remake. Now, I’m not afraid to admit I am a remake hater. There are few sequels I enjoy and seeing things reimagined honestly makes me mad at this point because I think filmmaking should be enjoyed beyond the ages. Most of the horror remakes nowadays don’t feel like the original material they were based off of. For example, Child’s Play (2019) felt far more like Megan (2022) than the original Child’s Play.

If it really turns you off to watch a movie that didn’t come out in the present day then piss off. There is nothing wrong with Christine as a film. The movie can be enjoyed without it having to take place in today's times and though the idea may be cool, it might as well be its own movie than taking the Christine name and patching it on to get fans of the franchise to go see it.

I fear that with this remake it would come across as a man vs a robot rather than a man vs a car.

Let me explain.

Christine has a soul like I mentioned. Her only speaking abilities come from the radio and even then, they aren’t overused. She’s not really communicating with Arnie. My worry with this Christine remake is they are going to give the car a voice. With AI and new technology coming out everyday I believe the new Christine would feature this, thus making Christine a robot, which she is not. Surprisingly making Christine have a voice would lessen her as a human which is how I viewed her in the original film. It changes the kind of movie that it is, especially when we account for Arnie's character arc. He’s driven into madness because he’s talking to Christine and coming up with a voice in his head. Without this factor, Arnies psyche is changed. Arnie would come off as someone driven by the orders he was given, not because he gaslit himself into becoming this horrendous human.

Overall I’d like to recommend this movie to anyone who hasn’t seen it. As a person trying their best to incorporate DVD into the digital age, I’d say buy the movie if you can. It’s not streaming at the moment which makes it a perfect opportunity to buy second hand. Trust me when I say this, this movie is going to be worth your while. It’s fun. Something this age is lacking.

Please follow me on Letterboxd for more updates @/gabriellaalcala

[webalothebruja]

Video Essays I Watched In March

With the lack of film watching in my life, I have noticed video essays becoming a big part of my entertainment. This usually happens when I find myself not having the time to sit through a whole movie. I gravitate towards video essays because of their convenience. I can watch a whole one during my lunch and not have to find other things to watch to fill my time. Some might suggest I need to invest in a TV show and to that I say have you seen what is on TV nowadays?

These were some of the highlights of my month. The full list can be found on my instagram under the “video essays” story on my profile.

If you’re not following me on instagram-what are you doing @/webalothebruja

This Month's Fav Creator: Ryan Hollinger

I found myself so far up Ryan Holliger’s ass I could hear him say HIEVER from a mile away. Though it's not very hard to influence my boyfriend, he even enjoys Ryan Hollinger and found himself waiting for his next video on the queue. My particular fondness of him comes from not only his views on the films (because I couldn't agree with him more) but his confident understanding of the films he is reviewing. I consider him a reliable source and the influence on the horror films I will be watching in the future. For me, watching a video essay on a movie I have yet to see doesn't ruin the fun for me. If anything it makes me want to watch the film more because I can then go back to the video and see what points he was making. These are some of the videos I watched from him this month:

Ryan Hollinger-Exploring The Things Shockingly Faithful Video Game Adaptation ⭐️9/10

Ryan Hollinger- Exploring Nicolas Cage’s Most Disturbing Film ⭐️9/10

Ryan Hollinger- Why Is The House That Jack Built So Messed Up ⭐️8/10

Favorite Video This Month:

Hailey Elizabeth- 14 Year Old Murders Mom Over a Vape: Case of Carly Gregg

⭐️9/10

I had heard of this story briefly when it came out but I NEVER heard the details that made this story wickedly evil. This was one of those videos that had been sitting in my “watch later” folder on youtube for the longest time. I had enough interest to put it in there but I hadn't come around to watching it until recently. I used to watch Hailey Elzabeth a lot during covid and surprisingly missed the style of her videos. She is one of those creators who is just good at telling a story. And even if she’s doing something as simple as putting on makeup, I never lose interest in what she is talking about.

Unfortunately for me she was a youtuber that happened to fall through the cracks of the algorithm so I rarely see any of her videos but I'm glad this is the one that brought her back to me. One of the great things about Haley is she uses footage from different outlets. She shows the video they used in court that presents the crime that was done. When I finished watching this video I couldn't help but send it to my homies. That's how much it impacted me.

Good But Hard to Recommend:

Nicole Rafiee- Chronically online girl explains Nikki Blonsky controversy + lore.

⭐️10/10

This is a category that I am unsure will stay here but it felt needed. I loved Hairspray when I was a kid so I clicked on this video mainly for nostalgia purposes. I had briefly heard about Nikki Blonsky’s racist past recently. I am no longer on tiktok due to political indifferences so I had no idea she had a resurgence over on that side of the internet. This video really went into detail on her past which I appreciated because I wasn't keeping tabs on the girl. Really the only thing I knew her from was Hairspray and all her tweets where she would introduce over the internet numerous times.

This video feels educational, even though there is chisme being spread which I appreciate. I think what sets Nicole apart from other drama channels is she's really just here to tell a story and update anyone who may not have all the details.

What makes this hard to recommend is the topic. To be honest I dont know anyone around me who gives a shit about Hairspray as much as I do. I showed my best friend Micah Hairspray for the first time last year. I want to say it didn't age well but then again, was it ever really considered a great piece of film when it came out? I’m unsure. I was only 5 years old when it was released.

Least Favorite This Month:

Whang!- Reddit’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery: SecretHDD and Dovic - Tales From The Internet

⭐️0/10

This video essay, though short, pissed me off. I haven’t watched any of this creators videos previous to this one but just based off the recommendations under the video, I believe this is part of a series. This topic may have been a huge mystery on Reddit but I dont necessarily think it translated to that big of a deal in video form. I think Reddit mysteries sometimes come off as a bigger deal when you’re looking at the threads and the numerous comments but if you’ve ever tried to explain some of the things you’ve seen on Reddit to a friend, they can come out lackluster. Which is probably why those videos exist where they’ll tell a story from Reddit but have some Minecraft gameplay in the background. Because without that gameplay, people would probably find nothing to hook themselves onto to want to watch the full video.

Now, this isnt any hate to the creator. His rendition of this story wasnt the problem. It was the story itself. This “great” Reddit mystery was never solved because the case itself never came to light.

The story goes that a Redditor found a hard drive sewed into a bag he had purchased online that happened to be second hand. When he tried to contact the previous owner he got no response. After numerous attempts to try to get the information off the hard drive, it was then going to be sent to another Redditor who believed they could retrieve the information. Which is a great set up cause now we’re all wondering what the hell was on the hard drive. Turns out the original redditor never sent it to the guy so now we’re just left with a guy who found a hard drive. There. Done. No new information…

So in that case why are we telling this story?

Short and Sweet:

Popicana- Iconic Pop Culture Moments: The Meat Dress

Popicana is a channel that makes various videos on drama from the 2000s. It can sort of be seen as a time capsule for all things seen in the tabloids or topics that may need more information beyond the rumors.

The Selador-Rage by Stephen King | The Book You’re Not Supposed to Read

I don’t want to give away too much information about this video but this was one of my favorites this month as well! If it hadn’t been so short I probably would have placed it in the number one spot but I think the length of the video is excellent.

This was a topic I knew about briefly but I did not know the details. Leave it to Stephen King to write some freaky shit. I couldn't be more surprised. Then again, reflecting on the events that led to Stephen King outing himself makes me realize we as a society would have cancelled this man to death had this happened in the present time.

Honorable Mentions:

Defunctland- The History of the Muppet Show

⭐️9/10

I love Defunctland! This is one of their videos from their Muppet series.

Brie Cheese- Shane Dawson Won $250,000 For Directing Not Cool (2014) | The Chair Review

⭐️9/10

Even though I have watched numerous videos about Shane Dawson in The Chair, this video is what got me to finally watch the series.

Theft King-The FNAF game that DISAPEARED

⭐️9/10

I cannot believe this game is actually real. After hearing about the lore surrounding this game, I can see it easily becoming lost media.

Coldcrashpictures-Candyman: Breaking All The Rules to Horror

⭐️9/10

If you’re curious about Candy Man lore-and don't mind spoilers-this is an interesting watch. I have recently become infatuated with Tony Todd so I have been looking more into his filmography.

If you have any recommendations for video essays please let me know! I’m always open to new creators and topics!