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Posts Tagged ‘NYCC’

by LaTaeya Lane

Black Phone 2, directed by Scott Derrickson (Black Phone, 2021) and Starring Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeline McGraw and Jeremy Davies, follows brother Finn and sister, Gwen, after surviving a terrifying kidnapping.


A mind-bending psychological and supernatural thriller. The film’s edgy energy presented something classic and unique. Now 17, Finn (Thames) is struggling with the emotional scars and impact that (The Grabber), portrayed by (Hawke), has had on his life. Unable to shake off the dark and traumatic experience, Finn has changed, using those experiences as a means to protect himself.
Meanwhile, his sister Gwen (McGraw) is struggling with her special abilities as her dreams become more vivid and her power grows stronger within each dream. After a very disturbing dream, Gwen’s abilities force her and Finn to follow a lead connecting their past to a series of unsolved murders at a Winter Christian camp in the mountains.

The Black Phone becomes the key, while Gwen’s dreams become the door through which The Grabber can penetrate. The evolution of Finn and Gwen’s story is built on solid character development. Both present a vulnerability that connects resilience, pain, love, hope, and faith into a force that is capable of bringing evil to its knees. This film was a great horror that was well written and visually composed of many frightening elements that blended reality and the supernatural, creating a marriage between the two. Thames and McGraw’s chemistry as brother and sister balances well with their personalities. At the same time, Ethan Hawke’s hauntingly dark portrayal of the evil antagonist brings out an emotional rawness that further enhances the development of Finn and Gwen.


The music throughout the film took us back to the 80s, shaping the mood and atmosphere of this cinematic world. The special effects were scary, realistic, and visually stomach-churning at times, and grossly entertaining.


I gave Black Phone 2 (5)stars for an exciting, fun time!
Watch the trailer below.

Check me out having a little fun at the Black Phone 2 experience at New York City’s Comic Con NYCC2025!

The Black Phone 2 experience at New York City’s Comic Con NYCC2025.

Happy Halloween Season!!!

L.L.

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Joker starring  Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro and directed by Todd Phillips, tells the story of a Gotham City man Arthur Fleck as he attempts to achieve his dreams of becoming a standup comic while battling mental illness and struggling to find his place within a society that does not treat or accept him fairly.

I saw this movie opening weekend in October 2019, and then 5 more times after that. With so many things going on with work and grad school, I just did not have the time to review this film. This by far, I think is the best Joaquin Phoenix movie I have seen, in addition to one of the best movies of all time. There is something extremely deep about this film and the story behind it. There is such an odd connection that moviegoers have with the lead character Arthur. We see that he does his best to live a life that mainstream society may call, “normal”. Arthur works as an entertainer, trying to make ends meet, he takes care of his sick mother, and he is even receiving treatment and attempting to live with his inner struggles, by dealing with his mental illness, to the best of his ability. The character tries to deal with his issues as he displays independence and even attempts to have a relationship with a neighbor that appears to understand him, but overall the movie is not quite what it seems to be, at least through the main character’s eyes.

Arthur, as portrayed by Joaquin, is completely transformed into this the dark and complex character that we all thought we knew just through our background knowledge of the Batman comic book and film franchise but as we all know now, this film is a standalone movie but still artistically connects the historical relationship between the Wayne family and Arthur aka the Joker in a way that makes the two storylines blend together very well.

All the elements of this film are massive ingredients for a film success on so many levels. The visual representations were creative and authentic.  We were brought into the character’s world and underwent a journey of emotional experiences that enveloped a multitude of highs and lows, as well as revels shocking moments and moments of happiness and potential hope. This film has won several awards including a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actor as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Score. The Score took me to that place where emotions dwell deep within, where questions about the structure of how our society appropriately and inappropriately deals with mental illness, bullying, and the differences among people. Joaquin Phoenix in conjunction with  Robert De Niro and the supporting cast all created a world where the moviegoer sees the world of mental illness, poverty and the other complexities of life including the horrors of child abuse and enabling as ongoing issues that need to be exposed and changed for the better to improve the quality of human life.

Overall, I gave this movie 5 stars

Joker is a great film.

L.L

Check out the trailer below…

Check out the Amazing Bathroom Dance song that received an award for Best Score.

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Us directed and written by Jordan Peele and starring Lupita Nyong’o is a supernatural horror that tells the story of a family’s encounter of doppelgangers. A family vacation at the beach becomes horrifying as Adelaide Wilson’s past portrayed by Lupita Nyong’o come to resurface with deadly vengeance. This movie had me at every turn. The opening scene in conjunction with a strong and mysterious score set a very intriguing tone for this film. The process of storytelling was done extremely well and the fact that I have never seen or heard of a horror film concept such as this made this movie so fresh and new. Lupita did a wonderful job holding her own in displaying a vulnerable inner and outer character strength. The children played by Joseph and Alex were very believable and shared a great presence with Nyong’o. My only reservation was the character of Gabe Winston portrayed by Winston Duke, the character appears to be a little out balance for me, but, the overall family dynamic and chemistry was blended well. There were some elements of light comedy that added to the authenticity of the film.

The dark aura that the film carried was a sheer genius and it gave me more reasons to question how deep is our reality. It was a fun thrill ride with unbelievable twists. This movie is an example of bringing horror to a whole new level of thinking and realization. The effects were good, just the perfect balance of visual representation through a lens. This movie is worth seeing twice.

I gave this film 5 stars.

L.L

Check out the trailer below.

 

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Captain Marvel directed by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and starring Brie Larson tells the origin story of how a Kree Military agent becomes a superhero. Bound on an intergalactic mission to capture alien terrorists, Carol Danvers learns the truth about her past and understands how her past connects the future of the Universe. Brie plays a very stoic character that is determined to embrace the power she has to defeat the evils that surround her. Overall I thought that this movie was interesting but lacked the full development in the storytelling process. Carol’s storyline seemed to be all over the place and appeared pretty disjointed. As far as Brie holding her own as the leading lady in the film, she did a nice job with making the role her own. Visually the movie did not disappoint. The costume designs were fierce and for the most part, the supporting cast was well matched.  I thought Jude Law tried too hard to capture the essence of his character, but Ben Mendelsohn as Talos was one of my favorites. Carol and Fury had nice chemistry, and their relationship made me appreciate his character more. I did enjoy the movie very much, but I think the overall concept was rushed to be marketed to the apparent links that will surface in Avengers Endgame. I hope to see more and learn more about Carol’s story in a way that will put the pieces together more clearly.

I gave this movie 3 ½  stars.

L.L.

Check out the trailer below

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 Marvel’s Venom, starring Tom Hardy and directed by Ruben Fleischer tells the story about an investigative journalist named Eddie Brock who is on the verge of exposing some dangerous and incriminating information about a company lead by Carlton Drake. In the process, Brock is exposed to a powerful extraterrestrial substance, which transforms him into a powerful creature known as  Venom. Venom/Brock, who is also known as a symbiote wrecks havoc upon the city as he tries to protect himself from the very people that claim to want to help others. Brock’s life is turned upside down as he tries to make sense of what is happening to him.  In the process of him trying to protect himself and the one he loves he loses everything that he has worked so hard to gain.

Venom is a great movie. The storyline works well, but I think it does conflict with the past knowledge of the fact that Spiderman and Venom are enemies. This stand-alone film eventually portrays Venom as one of the good guys, so I am assuming that Marvel must have another Spiderman movie in works that will go back and fill in the gaps among these two characters. The special effects were great, and the character design was really vivid and creative. The character transition between Brock and Venom was multidimensional and done in a very unique way that showcased the individualism between the two. Hardy did a wonderful job portraying the double role and bringing both characters to life in such a self-defining manner. Everything with this movie fell into place, the score, supporting actors and the visual representation worked well. I’m looking forward to seeing Hardy reprise this role in the near future. I want to know more about Venom.

Overall this movie is a must-see, a new villain is introduced which will be portrayed by the great Woody Harrelson (Cletus Kasady). The complexity and depth that he puts into his acting will be much anticipated in the Venom sequel.

I gave this movie 5 stars!

Check out the trailer below.

L.L.

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