Fellowship of Filming(s)

Binge Watching Amazon Prime: The Wheel of Time Season 01

The Wheel of Time is an American epic fantasy television series released through Amazon Prime Video. The series is based on Robert Jordan’s novel series of the same name and is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios, with Rafe Judkins serving as showrunner.
The first season, consisting of eight episodes, premiered on Prime Video on November 19, 2021, with the first three episodes released immediately and the remaining five on a weekly basis after that, culminating in the season finale on December 24, 2021. A second season was announced in May 2021.
via Wikipedia

First, I want you all to know that this series does not follow the same timeline as the books, it is much more condensed. And due to it being a different format, actor issues, and other situations, not everything that happens in the series happens in the books.

With that out of the way…

I really enjoyed watching this series. Two friends and I watched it together which gave me some good memories (<3). I love the opening, I love the animations for wielding the source/channeling, and while the pacing is fast, I do think it fits the urgency of the overall storyline, which is the world coming to an end.

As my friend pointed out at the end of the current season – there is so much that hasn’t been covered yet. Even though I have not read through all the books myself yet, I do agree. I’ve only read about half the book series and much of that was either skipped or not covered yet.

There is so much more left for a second season, which is supposedly in the works.

As for the current season, I’m hooked. I am interested to see what a second season will bring to The Wheel of Time.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★ ★

From Within (2008)

From Within is a horror film directed by Phedon Papamichael Jr. and written by Brad Keene. Filming took place in Maryland in fall 2007. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April–May 2008.
via Wikipedia

Netflix thought this would be a good movie for me to watch based on my recent activity. Having recently watched “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (a film about recently graduated high school students) I guess it’s not too far a swing to a film about high school students.

But these are Christian high school students, and in very cliché fashion, the outsiders are labelled witches, and the upstanding Christians become bullies (there is some historical basis for this, but I doubt this happens in this present).

From there it gets a bit more complicated as to who is actually the villain, but I love the character arcs of the two main characters (and two side characters for that matter). Horror stories traditionally do not have happy endings, and well I’ll leave you with that.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★

Rodan (1956)

Rodan (Japanese: 空の大怪獣ラドン, Hepburn: Sora no Daikaijū Radon, lit. ’Giant Monster of the Sky Rodan’) is a 1956 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it was Toho’s first kaiju film to be shot in color, and is one of several giant monster films that found an audience outside Japan. The film stars Kenji Sahara and Yumi Shirakawa. In the United States, it was released in 1957 as Rodan! The Flying Monster!.
via Wikipedia

If you are miner in Japan, you have more to be scared of than cave-ins and floods. Your rival could also be mining on the same crew you are. Oh and the giant bug larvae and million year old flying monster eggs.

Rodan is classified as a pteranodon, that starts off innocently enough, eating cattle and horses around Mount Aso, and those pesky giant bug larvae. However, Rodan soon becomes a menace, destroying airplanes and causing sonic booms that wreck havoc upon the local population.

The military gets involved, sending tanks, surface to air missiles, and more jet fighters to fend Rodan off from causing more destruction. Their solution? Seal up Rodan’s cave, leaving him inside forever.

What follows is a lot of very expensive explosions and an eruption, which if you’ve watched any number of Godzilla movies, you’ll know that it doesn’t quite work out the way it was planned.

This is an origin story for Rodan, who continues to reappear in Godzilla movies, sometimes as the antagonist, sometimes as the protagonist, but always the giant flying monster.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★

Son of Kong (1933)

The Son of Kong (also known and publicized simply as Son of Kong) is a 1933 American Pre-Code adventure monster film produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Willis O’Brien and Buzz Gibson, the film stars Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack and Frank Reicher. The film is the sequel to King Kong, being released just nine months after and is the second entry of the King Kong franchise.
via Wikipedia

If I had to sum up this film it would be: Carl Denham’s redemption arc.

In the aftermath of King Kong’s demise there was a lot of death and destruction and it was all pinned on the man who brought Kong back from Skull Island. So in true Denham fashion, he skips the country to avoid his debts and lawsuits.

Eventually he winds up meeting with the man who gave him the map to Skull Island (and well, he’s not much better) who lies to get himself off that country because he murdered a man. He tells Carl there is treasure on Skull Island.

Well, you can probably see where this all headed, except a girl Carl met stows away on their boat for added intrigue.

This complex group of characters do eventually make it to Skull Island where more chaos ensues. The natives are angry, the wildlife is angry, and the crew is angry. And, like the title says, they meet Little Kong on Skull Island.

I’ve said this before: traditional horror movies don’t end well, and while this is true for most of the characters in this movie Carl Denham does finally redeem himself – though it is never explained if he went back to New York or not.

I did enjoy this movie more than the first because of that redemption arc, and that it put a final ending between the two movies.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★

King Kong (1933)

King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure fantasy monster film directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose was developed from an idea conceived by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. It stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot, and tells the story of a giant ape dubbed Kong who attempts to possess a beautiful young woman. It features stop-motion animation by Willis O’Brien and a music score by Max Steiner. It is the first entry in the King Kong franchise.
via Wikipedia

Let’s address the pre-Code bit, it means that rules regulating what could be shown in movies weren’t completely in place yet, so violence, nudity, sexual assault, and basic woman’s rights were always regulated. Even so, this movie still pales in comparison to some of the movies of today.

King Kong is featured by stop-motion animation (I honestly do love this kind of cinematography and wish more movies featured it), which I found ingenious, and makes the movie for me. However, it comes down a notch in the scene where King Kong starts undressing our little starlet (who’s only requirement is to have a blood-curdling scream it seems).

Our pretentious instigator is the typical businessman/move producer who’s only got eyes on the prize which, of course, causes disaster (do I really need to tell you about this movie?), and the other male involved is the “Alpha Male’ (I don’t like women, but I guess I like you, now you’re mine to protect) who is useless apart from saving Anne when Kong left her alone.

As the first American Creature Feature horror movie it’s pretty good for the time period, but the remake in 2005 has better character development. I can’t rag on it too much as it is a classic piece of cinema and I’m not going to tell you not to watch it, but it is a product of it’s time.

My Ranking: ★ ★

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Annabelle: Creation is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg, written by Gary Dauberman and produced by Peter Safran and James Wan. It is a prequel to 2014’s Annabelle and the fourth installment in the Conjuring Universe franchise. The film stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, and Miranda Otto, and depicts the haunted Annabelle doll’s origin.
via Wikipedia

While I am enjoying ‘The Conjuring Movies” I’m not overly enthused about the focus on just one case from Ed and Lorraine Warren’s files. It seems a bit wrong somehow. But anyway, onto the movie itself.

I do usually enjoy origin movies, they’re some of my favorites actually, but this one is somehow, not there. I know the story of Annabelle, I mean what horror enthusiast doesn’t at this point? The tale of the two nurses hounded by a possessed Raggedy Ann doll is a bit classic at this point.

The idea of going into her origins, and going a bit off the rails as I’m pretty sure that this movie is completely fictitious, is a bit too far. The movie itself isn’t bad, it’s full of jump scares, lots of screaming girls, and lonely disfigured woman, distraught parents, orphans, and a nun, well, the tropes are all there.

I guess I’m not a fan of the “Annabelle” series then.

My Ranking: ★ ★

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

The Conjuring 2 (known in the United Kingdom as The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case ) is a 2016 American supernatural horror film, directed by James Wan. The screenplay is by Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes, Wan, and David Leslie Johnson. It is the sequel to 2013’s The Conjuring, the second installment in The Conjuring series, and the third installment in the Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren from the first film. The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Enfieldcouncil house in 1977 which later became referred to as the Enfield poltergeist.
via Wikipedia

First impressions:

I love the soundtrack, but then I love British oldies.
Why does it seem that Ed and Lorraine are always quitting their jobs?
I like the fact that there are more skeptics involved.

The more films from the Conjuring series I watch the more I wonder if this isn’t just a romance series in disguise – and I’m not mad about it. Usually I get upset with gratuitous sex scenes, but the ones hinted at in this movie are cute, endearing, and show how stable the Warrens’ relationship is.

I’m also finding that I’m enjoying this movie based on real events in England. I did live there for a few years and enjoyed a bit of nostalgia from my old homeland.

I’m also happy, that the real event isn’t the bog standard ones (though I think I either missed the Amityville movie as it is referenced, and they haven’t delved deep into “Annabelle” yet) that horror movies tend to pick up and exaggerate.

I guess I just really like the point of view of the people trying to solve the mystery, and now I’m hooked.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★ ★

The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in the Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their purportedly real-life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story and film franchise. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.
vi a Wikipedia

I’ve watched this movie a few times now, and it’s not boring yet. Pretty good for the first film in a series, right?

The Conjuring film series follows the cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the first officially recognized Paranormal Investigators, and they work with the Catholic Church. I’m sure some of the events were exaggerated to make the film more exciting, but for the most part this feels pretty accurate.

It somehow feels right to start with the series of events that inspired The Amityville Horror. Tackle the big story right out of the gate.

I do really like the point of view for this version of events, from the perspective of saving the family, not enduring the horrible, tragedy that the movie is all about.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★ ★

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1998 slasher film directed by Danny Cannon and written by Trey Callaway. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Muse Watson reprise their roles, with Brandy, Mekhi Phifer and Matthew Settle joining the cast. It is the second installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. The film takes place one year after the events of its predecessor.
via Wikipedia

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★ ★

While I have nostalgia for the first movie, I don’t have the same feelings for the second movie. This movie follows along another year from the first movie. With some of the same setup too, but we changed locations, we’re now in the Bahamas, during storm weather.

Another thing I’ve realized: Ray is a jerk. Why is Julie back with him again?
And Julie is a hazard. Every boy that develops a crush on her dies.
A young Jack Black with dreads is a friend I would love to have!

Also, the violence escalates, there are quite a few more dead bodies to be had. I guess Ben Willis is a lot angrier now.

Since this movie near enough follows the same story as the first movie, I did not see the twist ending coming. At all. I mean, I probably should have, but I was waiting for that person to die instead. Also, very upset that Jack Black doesn’t make it to the end (not a story spoiler, he’s just not the main character).

I’m stil confused about the ending though, I think it might just be a dream as the next (and final) movie in this series features a different cast of characters and they all live in Colorado.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Lois Duncan and is the first installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. The film centers on four young friends who are stalked by a hook-wielding killer one year after covering up a car accident in which they killed a man. The film also draws inspiration from the urban legend known as the Hook, and the 1980s slasher films Prom Night (1980) and The House on Sorority Row (1982).
via Wikipedia

This is a very 90s film. The soundtrack for one is a dead giveaway, but also this is a film about high school kids and none of them has a cell phone. There’s even the classic scene of a car breaking down and walking to someone’s house to use their phone to call for help.

I’ve got some nostalgia for this movie, as I was in high school at the time this movie released. I will say that nostalgia does cloud my judgement somewhat, it’s not all I base my move reviews on. That would make a very unbalanced review now, wouldn’t it?

Like I said, very 90s.

While that does date it a bit (and the cars), there’s still enough teenage angst, hormones, sex appeal, and action behind what actually happened last summer. And it’s not as straightforward as it seems.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★