This Review Roundup features a couple of titles hitting shelves this week and a couple of releases already available. First is It’s a Wonderful Knife, an overall fun Christmas slasher that borrows from It’s a Wonderful Life, even making reference to that film and its characters. On Christmas Eve a killer dressed as an angel kills some people at a party, but is brought down by Winnie, a teenaged girl. A year later everyone is acting like nothing happened and Winnie, thinking the town would be better off without her, makes a wish to never have been born. When her wish comes true she sees the downfall of the town after she wasn’t there to stop the killer. She must set things straight in a town where no one knows who she is. Jane Widdop plays Winnie and I can’t say I’m overly familiar with her. She was in the first season of Yellowjackets, but I barely remember her character. She’s good in this and I can see her getting more horror roles. Joel McHale and Justin Long star as her dad and the face of the town respectively. Long gives another solid genre performance. I had a couple of issues with it, but I can see it gaining a cult following. It has some good gore and it gets points for originality. I can see myself watching it again and recommending it to people who like Christmas horror or horror that deals with timelines like Happy Death Day or something like Freaky. Fun little film.
Second we have Monster, a drama from Director Hirokazu Kore-eda. This was interesting because you see the same story from different perspectives. From the mother’s point of view she thinks her son is being bullied by his teacher. The son’s perspective is about his friendship with another boy and the events unfolding because of their actions and you also see what’s happening to the teacher and how he reacts. I don’t know if I loved the ending, but I appreciate it not having a fully wrapped up ending. Both young actors are very good and carry the film brilliantly. The actors playing the mother and teacher are good as well as is the principal actress. If you are looking for a well made, well acted film with a strong story that unravels in different ways then check this one out.
Third we have Agonie which for me was a bit of a head scratcher. A female student in Vienna is murdered and the film follows two male leads. One is a fellow student, a quiet type who wants to be a judge and claims to come from a family whose father is a lawyer. The other lead is trying to find himself, works out, hangs out with others and gets into fights. I guess you’re supposed to follow along and guess who the killer is, but the problem is, I knew who it was from the get-go. I didn’t realize the two stories were supposed to keep you guessing and I sat there wondering when they would connect because I didn’t understand the point of having the one story when it has nothing to do with the murder angle. I honestly don’t know how you don’t immediately know who the killer is. It’s based on a real life event, but the film to me leads you in one direction only. Maybe something was lost in translation because you don’t need more than one story at all.
The Mysteries of Bradshaw Ranch: Aliens, Portals and the Paranormal came out last week from Mill Creek Entertainment, but I got my copy a few days after its release. If you read me enough you know I’m big into things like Ancient Aliens, but I’m not a fan of paranormal stuff. I was hoping this would be more science based than what it is, but it’s pretty much just a documentary type film about a ranch people claim to have ghosts and weird activities. It does touch upon portals to outer space and even mentions Bigfoot, but it’s mostly guys using paranormal equipment to show orbs and find “proof” of the ghosts. I don’t buy into any of it and the guys in the film didn’t do anything for me. A light in the distance or dust floating isn’t proof of anything. The worst part is, the Bradshaw Ranch has quite the history. It was once used to shoot movies including Westerns then out of nowhere the government bought it and fenced it off. I wish it was more about the government conspiracy angle and less about ghosts that aren’t real.
Last we have Ancient Empires from The History Channel. As a history buff this is more my speed. This 3 episode mini series takes a look at the rise and fall of three of history’s biggest empires, the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. Through live-action re-enactments and some of the world’s biggest experts, you learn about Alexander the Great, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. I’ve actually been watching a lot about the Egyptians lately so this was good timing. Plus I’ve always been fascinated by the Greeks and Romans. With The History Channel’s budget the production value is fantastic. Costuming and set pieces for the live-action sequences are great and you hear from former military types and so on. It’s 5 plus hours long so I binged through it over two nights. As someone who watches a lot of The History Channel programming I knew what to expect from it and fans like myself will thoroughly enjoy it. Even if you aren’t that interested in all three cultures it’s entertaining and educational enough to hold your attention throughout. I dug it.
The Nerds Templar 