Hocus Pocus 2, Jeepers Creepers Reborn and Don't Worry Darling
Hocus Pocus 2
Star Rating: 2.5
I was really excited for this. Hocus Pocus is probably one of my favorite movies to watch around Halloween. When I heard about the sequel I was confused because they got rid of the witches in the first movie but I was game. Watched it yesterday. It had its moments of funny. The witches were fun to see back again but the overall story was bad.
First, they go into the story as if the Sanderson sister were driven to their evil ways... yes evil because even in the first movie they say their master is Satan. But this movie wants you to believe they are innocent yet different girls who are driven out of town and another witch finds them and give them Book. Even when we go to present times and there is a shop where their home was the man running it believes the Sanderson sisters were bad because they were given no other choice. He is proven wrong but the point is that is a stupid assumption because he knows and has Book which is full of evil spells and is bound in HUMAN SKIN.
Second, the teenage angst in this is just bad writing. But we can forgive that except we are told in the first movie that the witches are bad and yet we learn one of our teens is a witch. This I can also forgive. Maybe they are giving her the Glenda good witch thing even though by definition witches are evil. I know people love to say there are good witches who worship nature. But I believe the joke is on them because if you aren't worshiping God who created nature then you are worshiping the other guy and maybe don't know it. Whatever. Say this is a Glenda the Good Witch situation....
Third, Winifred is told from the beginning not to do a spell in her book EVER. By the end, she decides to do it..... spoiler warning....
[Spoiler (click to open)].... There are consequences to this spell. She looses that which she cares about the most which is her sisters. So because she does the spell, Sarah and Mary go bye-bye. Winnie is beside herself when the teens show up and tell her what she did. She wants this new witch to undo it and she does... which makes Winnie join her sisters not the other way around. But before this we are made to sympothize with evil Winifred Sanderson. I'm sorry but while I love Hocus Pocus and the antics of the Sanderson Sister... I love that evil is vanquished as it should be. But here we are supposed to feel bad for evil? Sorry no. But if that isn't bad enough, teenage witch is choosen as the new owner of the EVIL Book and plans to keep it. It is EVIL and is bound in HUMAN SKIN. So is she a good witch because I'm pretty sure a good witch would destroy this book. It just makes no sense and that is why I marked it down to 2.5.
Jeepers Creepers Reborn
Star Rating: 0.5
So I get the rebooting of a franchise especially one tide the the criminal actions of its creator/director but if you are trying to improve it and drive attention away from the original maybe make it good.
The writing was bad. I mean from the beginning the conversations between characters were some of the worst I've ever seen on anything. The acting wasn't any better. The main actress must have an accent in real life or she just can't talk. Everything she said came out weird. The main characters were all bad. The story was so weak it couldn't pick itself up out of a 0.5 rating and any effects they applied were a joke. Literally every background looked like a painted screen pulled down behind them.
Then they ended up in the Jeepers Creepers house and things got stupid with them running up and down the stairs like morons only for the main actress to finally announce she knew what to do... and then proceeded with the stupidest plan I've seen in any movie.
They referenced the previous movies heavily so I started thinking this is another sequel but they just did a disservice to the previous movies by associating this movie with them.
I typically tell people they should try the movie for themselves but if you never see this movie your life will be better.
Don't Worry Darling
Star Rating: 3.5
I was never going to watch this movie in a theater. Why pay that much for a movie I don't care that much about? But, alas, my best friend was visiting and she wanted to see it so we went. I didn't hate it. I think the main reason I didn't was because of Florence Pugh's performance. She is such a good actress. I really want her to be in more and not horror films. I loved her in Little Women and, of course, Black Widow. Her portrayal in this movie was fantastic. Her struggle with reality and what she's being show was so good. If she'd not been the main actress in the movie, I'm not sure I would have liked it at all.
I thought some of the writing felt cluncky. The acting wasn't too bad when it came to the rest of the cast but Pugh out-shown them all. The movie was a mind trip for sure and the end twist I hadn't saw coming. Still the story was slightly disturbing and not my favorite. Though can we say cult.