Each time I watch To Catch A Killer I am more impressed. Most impressive are the characters and their interactions. These are deep and intricate characters and you can tell that the film only scratches the surface of the backstories that were created for them. The plot and discussions within also touch on complex timely and enduring societal, political, and interpersonal issues, which affect the case in real ways, recognizing that there are no simple solutions. Basically, To Catch A…
Fear Street: Prom Queen has none of the elements that made the 2021 trilogy unique. It's a generic slasher with no backstory rooted in the Shadyside/Sunnyvale lore, and which suffers even as a generic slasher, as it fails to establish any suspense or intrigue. The plot is predictable, the characters are lifeless and boring, and the relationships feel cursory and contrived. And with a weird color grading (possibly intended to invoke a feeling of 80s nostalgia?) it doesn't even offer any aesthetic value. It feels like a lazy attempt to piggyback on the success of a fun, quirky set of movies. Truly, utterly disappointing.
The magic of Judd Apatow is his ability to make the mundane and relatable entertaining and exceptional, to blend devastating reality and honest emotion with hilarity. This Is 40 showcases that talent above all his other films. It is the honest portrayal of the stresses of failing in businesses that are supposed to be fulfilling ion-projects, negotiating detante between pre-teen and pre-pubescent warring offspring, and making sense of loving but disappointing parents, all centered around a charmingly relatable couple who…
