Meg 2: The Trench (2023) - Movie Review

Y’know, I questioned the point of making a big-budget B-movie like this back when the first Meg came out, but with the industry still recovering from the COVID shuffle, I especially question it now. Doubly so because of the director for this one: Ben Wheatley. While he has a storied history with out-there horror material (also helping to produce just plain weird shit like Aaaaaaah! and The Greasy Strangler), and he’s done a bit of pop work in the past like directing two episodes of Capaldi-era Doctor Who, I’m… still trying to figure out where this fits in his larger catalogue. And bear in mind that I managed to find something about his Rebecca remake that made sense, so it says something when I’m struggling with this one. Then again, there’s a lot about this film that I’m struggling with.

Doctor Sleep (2019) - Movie Review

Of all the movies to come out in 2019, including several I haven’t even gotten to yet, this is the one I was most looking forward to. Not because it’s the sequel to one of the most classic horror films of all time, although I am thankful that I rewatched it in preparation for this as I have a much better appreciation for it now than I did before. No, it’s because this is the latest feature from writer/director/editor Mike Flanagan, a filmmaker I have been shouting praise for for as long as this blog has existed.

The Meg (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: The underwater research facility Mana One, led by Dr. Minway Zhang (Winston Chao) and his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), have discovered a previously-uncharted area of the Marianas trench that is even deeper than the current record. As they send a team down to explore the new depths, they soon find evidence of a Megalodon, a gargantuan shark thought to have been extinct that is far from dead. The mission, the facility, even the entire world could be in jeopardy if the Meg makes it to the open seas, and it's up to retired rescue diver Jona (Jason Statham) to stop it.

Risen (2016) - Movie Review

Since I’m talking about yet another religious film, with a biblical story no less, I’d remiss not to mention how I feel my own paradigm has shifted regarding religious cinema. Have I finally seen the light and thrown aside my blasphemous ways and accepted our Lord and Saviour? I just got done giving a one-two punch to good taste and feminism with my last two reviews; I’m still the same arsehole I’ve always been.

However, since seeing Hacksaw Ridge, I will admit that my expectations when it comes to Christian films has definitely softened a bit, mainly because I now know that it is possible to do it right even in this day and age. Sure, mainstream biblical epics like Exodus: Gods And Kings are just as capable of being garbage as the independent scene, but as long as the potential for good is there, I am willing to be receptive. Hell, that’s one of the big reasons I love Ouija: Origin Of Evil as much as I do: Because of the further potential it could lead to. So, with all that in mind, let’s get started with today’s look into the theological mindset. This is Risen.