Monday, December 27, 2021

TOP TEN YEAR IN REVIEW: 2021

Ladies and gentlemen it has been a really hectic year in film. So let's talk about the elephant in the room, first; the pandemic closed theaters for a year and prevented the release of a whole slew of films that were held back for theatrical release. The longer the pandemic stretched out, the more desperate distribution companies became and eventually developed a number of plans to cash in on their releases as soon as possible. Firstly, they started to follow a "Direct to Streaming" model that first released films directly to pay-to-steam services, charging an arm and a leg for movies and recouping some losses there. Secondly, several companies started to develop a direct to streaming option directly related to those distribution services, such as Disney+, HBOMax, and Paramount+. And then, thirdly, started to release films both theatrically and direct to streaming- resulting in massive financial returns due to the nature of content piracy. The results saw a strange mix of films benefiting from Streaming while other films were hurt. And the public zeitgeist is somewhat all over the place-

Comic book films seemed destined for burn out with several financial failures such as Black Widow, Wonder Woman '84, and The Suicide Squad getting hit pretty bad by this dual release strategy and the massive failure of The Eternals to live up to industry hype (even as fans were already rolling their eyes at yet another retcon group of heroes that would "alter" the MCU). 

Now, with all that industry fan talk out of the way- let's get on to the list of my own TOP TEN films that were released in 2021- 

10. Antlers: One of the many films held off on release during the Pandemic, Antlers is based on the short story "The Quiet Boy" by Nick Antosca.  In a small town, a town slowly dying with the closure of it's coal mine, lives a small family- a father and his two sons. Their mother has passed away and their father is struggling- scavenging and cooking meth, the man does his best and his children are not in a good place. And then, one day, things go terribly bad for him- and he starts to change. I love me a good Wendigo story, and Antlers creature effects live up to the hype. 

9. Nobody: Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is about as "average" as they come- clocks into work monday through friday, works out Thursday, takes out the garbage on tuesday, goes to sleep, rinse, repeat, one day to the next. An average man, milquetoast even, with no major personality quirks or exceptional skills to speak of. His daily life is the photo-perfect example of a man who is only going through the motions. But, after a home burglary, something eats away at him and we find out he's a former operator in some very dark dealings. 

8. Army of the Dead: Style of substance here as director Zach Snyder returns to the horror genre.  It takes it's cues more from "Escape from New York" and "Doomsday" rather than George Romero's zombie films,however- a group of ex-military are tasked with the opportunity to make in excess of several million dollars, tax free, if they can raid a Casino Vault  the day before the government plans on dropping a nuke atop the zombie infested Las Vegas.

7. PG Psycho Goreman: This film is about the most terrifying creature in the galaxy. A horrible, loveless, sadistic creature with no pity, no remorse, and no compassion and her hopeless captive, PG Psycho Goreman; An eternal and evil warlord from the Planet Gigax. He is enslaved by Mimi, a young girl who finds a secret gem that gives her the power to control the ultimate power in the universe. 

6. The Suicide Squad: As mentioned above, the film was not exactly tearing it up at the box office but I do beleive that had much more to do with its dual release to streaming and cinema. It probably could have done much better, but the film's "R" rating release probably didn't do much favors. Still, I had a blast and it was balls to the wall a good time. 

5. Rurouni Kensin: The Beginning- The fifth and final film in the Rurouni Kenshin live action adaptation of the popular manga and anime series is also the FIRST in the series. A prequel to the first four films, the fourth of which was shot back to back with this feature- it is the story of a swordsman during the Meiji uprising and his work as an assassin and the things that would later lead to his future redemption. 

4. DUNE: Villanueva's Dune is  an epic visual feast, adapting James Herbert's sci-fi masterpiece without sacrificing much to cinematic pacing. The hot desert winds run dry and ragged across the soft flesh, and Arrakis is an unwelcome place for its newest stewards, the Royal House Atreides. Duke Leto and his family prepare to take their new seats from their bitter rivals, House Harkonen. The Native Fremen people have long been at war with their former overseers, and Leto hopes to sway the people to foster a mutually beneficial relationship. 

3. Halloween Kills: The sequel to Halloween 2018, the film picks up right from the prior films' end point with Micheal having escaped Lauri's death trap. The film explores more of the horror surrounding Michael, the man himself simply a force of nature that drives the arcs of various other characters. 

2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife- After the death of Egon Spengler, his long estranged daughter and her two children move into the dilapidated farmhouse he's been living in for the past few decades. Grand-daughter Phoebe takes center stage as an awkward science nerd investigating the cause of her grandfather's death (And life.). 

1. The Harder They Fall: One of those rare films that hit all the right notes. The Harder They Fall features a collection of real life characters from the Old West, although artistic license had been taken when delving into this story. Nat Love (Jonatan Majors) leads his gang on a revenge-fueled quest to track down and kill recently released outlaw Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) and his own gang. And, while we're at it, let's throw in legendary lawman; Bass Reeves (Delroy Lind). The violence is ramped, there's a good bit of social satire, and the whole thing builds to one tremendous climax. AMAZING film from top to bottom.

Sunday, October 31, 2021

31 Days of Horror... 2021

 Annual "31 Days of Horror" movie list.

I missed a few days... kind of sad about it. Tried to make up for it.
 1. Creature From the Black Lagoon
 2. Dracula
 2.B Frankenstein
 3. Friday the 13th
 4 Friday the 13th Part Two
 4B. Friday the 13th Part Three
 5 Friday the 13th Part Four: The Final Chapter.
 5.B Venom: Let There Be Carnage
 6. Solomon Kane
 7 Nightmare on Elm Street
 8 Terror Train
 8B. Angel\

9
 10. People Under the Stairs
 10B. Prince of Darkness
 11 Freddy Vs. Jason
 11b. Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan
 12. Friday the 13th (2009)
 13 Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives
 14. Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream WArriors
 15. Halloween Kills
 16. V/H/S/ '94
 17.. Seance
 18 Blood REd Sky
 19. Night Teeth
 20. Superhost
 21 The Curse of the Werewolf
 22.
23
24.
25 Slumber Party Massacre
26 Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight
27. Young Frankenstein
29. Halloween
30. Invisible Man
30b Wolf Man
30c. Butchers
30d. Butchers
30e. Shadow in the Clouds
31. Arsenic and Old Lace
31b. Monster Squad
31c. The Evil Dead.

 

Friday, October 15, 2021

Halloween Kills 2021: Evil will die tonight!!!

 

"Evil will die tonight!" 

The movie opens with a trip down memory lane, just past the closing moments of the original Halloween- as police are on the trail of Myers, following him to his home where he kills again. Where we see more of the terror he left behind on that awful night, after the credits rolled in the original John Carpenter classic. It closes a small hole left behind with the 2018 "sequel", which ignores all of the franchise films and focuses on what was left behind in that original film. 

And in 2018, Evil will die tonight. 

For Laurie Strode, it was a promise that failed to materialize within the opening moments of Halloween Kills, as Michael escapes the "death trap" we last saw him in. He is still the Shape, he is still the essence of evil. And he still has evil to do. 

He Kills again. And again. 

Evil will die tonight. 

For the former victims of Michael Myers, it's a rallying cry to strengthen them against fear of the dark and the lingering memories of Halloween 1978. Four survivors, Tommy Doyle, Lonny Elam, Lindsay Wallace, and Marion Chambers reminisce at a bar where they relate the events for locals and pay tribute to the dead and still living. Then they receive the news- Michael is back. 

Evil will die tonight. 

Tommy Doyle (Anthony Micheal Hall) will not stand aside to let others protect him anymore. He declares the above statement with rage, with fear, with determination to fight against the dark, to cast out the demon that has haunted his sleep for decades. It's a battle cry quickly picked up by the other people in town- echoing down the streets, in the hospital corridors, in the homes of frightened Haddonfield- it echoes loud, insistent, and virulently. 

Michael's greatest evil is the fear he creates- not just the victims of his brutality, but the families, the friends, the lovers, wives, husbands, children, and parents. And righteous rage will burn and it will consume- Halloween Kills is horror at it's best, at it's most brutal, at it's most gory, at it's most primal, it's most savage, it's more fear-drenched and it is a work of cinematic perfection.

10 out of 10

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

GI JOE BINGE thoughts.

 

GI Joe had some very odd seasons- in the first season, it was mostly a short serial involving the Weather Dominator and it focused on the initial Joe figurines. General Hawk led the team with the first figures, but this initial series focused mostly on Duke, Scarlett, and Snake Eyes.They fought the evil forces of Cobra, attempting to regain the broken pieces of Cobra's "Weather Dominator" device- a satellite that could control and terrorize the planet. It was fairly straightforward and was, itself, designed to act as a commercial to sell the toy-line.

The second season included the second series of Joes, though they still had many episodes that involved or focused on some of the classic Joes, including an "Elseworld" episode where the classic characters Grunt, Clutch, and Steeler would stay behind in order to fight the forces of Cobra in that other world where their duplicates had been killed in action. Joes featured in this series were largely Flint, Lady Jaye, Quick Kick, Alpine, Wild Blll, Mutt & Junkyard, and many more-- including my favorite episode that heavily featured Barbecue, the Joe fire rescue specialist.

I am currently on the third series, which focuses on the creation and rise of Serpentor as Cobra's new leader, replacing Cobra Commander. This would also heavily introduce Sgt. Slaughter as one of the lead trainers for GI Joe, and introduced many new recruits to the team: Lifeline, Leatherneck, Sci-Fi, Beach-head, and Wet-Suit. One of the primary running side-plots was the impending star crossed lover story between Zartan's sister Zaranna and GI Joe computer specialist Main-Frame.

All of this led to GI Joe: The Movie- intended for theatrical release, the animated feature film included celebrity voices such as Don Johnson as Duke's younger brother, Falcon. This film would introduce the far more fantasy-centric villains from "Cobra-La", an ancient snake cult that would ally with Cobra to fight our erstwhile heroes.

It was that film that sort of jumped the shark by stretching beyond the high concept ideas of a specialized Military Unit fighting an organized criminal terrorist organization. While occasional episodes introduced time travel, other realms, spirits, supernatural, and and other sci-fi elements to the series- it was all still wrapped around the idea of Cobra and the Joes.

The film marked the end of the "Real American Hero" cartoon series, but a new series developed by DIC would attempt to continue the series in 1989 with a five part series, and then continuing for another 44 episodes in 1990.

Monday, July 5, 2021

The Forever Purge

The Forever Purge dares to ask the question: "What if the Right Wing Extremist Chodes acted just like the Antifa Rioting Dipwads? Your answer is this ham-fisted attempt at a "morality" play. At it's core, it's the same high concept idea that's gone on for probably too long, but this latest film does get a few kudos for bringing out the "Mad Max"-esque aesthetic and filling the runtime with enough blood and violence to make it worthwhile. 

So here we are, four years after the Purge "ended" and the New Founding Fathers have been elected BACK into power and have immediately restarted the annual purge. Seriously an sincerely, I have to sk how this idea ever blossomed- it's such a dumb concept. But that's not what I'm here to talk about- I'm here to talk about THIS movie, the latest in a long series that includes FOUR films and TWO seasons of television programming. So let's get to the plot of this film... 

Two Mexican immigrants have fled the Mexican cartels to the United States where they find gainful employment and wind up experiencing their first Purge. Meanwhile, the husbands' wealthy employer is protecting his own family on the same night, across town. We see a bit of tension between Juan and the eldest son, Dylan. The night is mostly uneventful for both families- and then, when the sirens echo and the Purge is called to a halt- a new group of Racist Anarchistic Lunatics (called the "Ever Afters") decide to enact their own rebellion with the Forever Purge. With this act, the two families are thrust together ad forced to flee to Mexico. Tensions are high as the two families are also forced to face their own racism, their own paranoia, and also learn to trust and rely on one another to survive. 

THE GOOD: Okay, one of the things I actually liked about this film was that we see the "aftermath" of an annual "purge" event. We see the smoked out ruins of homes, businesses, and bodies that litter the streets and the carrion that feast.  It's an eerie thing and might remind some viewers of a zombie film in a few ways. 

THE BAD: It's a whole lot of political nonsense delivered with a ham-fisted approach that dumbs down a great many issues. There are a number of scene chewing performances, but none more ridiculously over the top than a Neo-Nazi with a swastika tattoo on his freaking cheek "identifying" the sounds of various "gunfire" taking place out of sight. It was was just silly and forced.

Mild recommendation if you enjoy the Purge films. There isnt much new here, though having an opportunity to experience the aftermath of one night is actually kind of chilling and further builds the world.

 

Monday, June 28, 2021

"With Teeth" by Brian Keene

 I am a big fan of Brian Keene's work. 

Not going to lie here, as this crazy sonofabitch caught my attention and absolutely shredded my soul with his novel "DarkHollow" (AKA: The Rutting Season). He just continued to shred me with a series of Zombie novels that completely reinvented the genre in a way no film has managed to capture, twisted a coming of age story into horrific discoveries and revelations regarding the cycle of abuse, and introduced a ruthless "hero" willing to do anything to stop the Elder-thing forces that constantly threaten Keene's shared multiverse of horror. 

Now, here's the thing- EVERYONE eventually has to write a vampire story. It's practically a "coming of age" event for horror writers and such. And while I am a fan of Keene's work, I in no way have a full collection of his books and stories at my fingertips. So when I managed to get a little extra money on "Prime" day, I saw that Keene had a fairly new novel out and that it was going to explore some very ravenous vampires in the West Virginia Hills. 

I had to have it. 

And with the opening lines of the novel, I was hooked- my cheek drawn down to the page, ripped by the cold steel of Keene's wordplay. He knows how to turn a phrase, capture the voice of his lead character, and lead the reader through a journey that finds a group of middle-age men taking a trip to a dark hollow deep in the West Virginia woods. 

What stands out about the novel, however- is that Keene captures the very real and compelling reason for their journey. He describes the characters, letting us know about the economic struggles of their families, what is driving each man, and how each character connects to the others. These are all familiar faces that many people have seen in their day to day lives- poor men in dire straights hoping to make a quick buck on a "get rich" scheme. They're all just as hungry as the vampires they're about to encounter, just as desperate, and maybe just as brutal when it comes down to it. 

Keene's novel comes with two additional vampire stories, one of which references the clan of monsters in the West Virginia woods- the other deals with another group of vampires trapped within a watery grave. 

Highly recommended 8/10. I think a part of me wanted the story to go on, but there you go.

Monday, May 17, 2021

Army of the Dead 2021

Zack Snyder's return to basics directing is a fairly "paint by numbers" zombie action film. It takes it's cues more from "Escape from New York" and "Doomsday" rather than George Romero's zombie films,however- a group of ex-military are tasked with the opportunity to make in excess of several million dollars, tax free, if they can raid a Casino Vault the day before the government plans on dropping a nuke atop the zombie infested Las Vegas. When the group get there, they encounter far more than the shambling, mindless hordes that they fought before. 

Snyder's new zombies have developed into an savage and largely barbaric society, complete with a King and Queen to rule over the city of the dead. Communicating with one another through primitive growls, howls, grunts, and screams; the creatures have developed a hierarchical structure between "shamblers" and "Alpha" zombies, the latter of which were all bitten by Patient Zero (AKA: The King). 

Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) leads his rag tag team of ex-military and other criminal sorts into the Zombie City. Tagging along for the ride is his daughter, a volunteer with Las Vegas refugees looking for some of her people who tried to go back inside for that loose cash laying about the city. Their expectations soon go south and it isn't long until the zombies start to converge on our little group of would-be casino robbers. 

The nitty gritty is that this is a lot of gory action fun eye-candy and the social dynamic between the group is pretty good. Tig Notaro puts in an especially caustic performance as a snarky Helicopter Pilot. Dave Bautista is believable as a veteran struggling with the inability to communicate with the people around him due to his own feelings of guilt in having to put down his wife. The growing camaraderie between Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer) and the philosophical Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) is often entertaining to watch. Theo Rossi shows up as a despicable refugee camp guard, while Ella Purnell rounds out the cast as Scott's daughter, Kate Ward. 

A satisfying 8 out of 10, though don't expect it to be the "best thing evah!"- it's fun popcorn munching at it's best.

 

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Psychoape! (2021)

 In the low to no budget tradition of "Gorilla" film-making, a bunch of film makers set out to follow a vision. Armed with a love for and admiration for the classic monkey horror films of yesteryear, a lot of puns, a bushel of bananas, and some fairly basic digital effects (A lot of splatter effects) the crew put some guy in an ape suit and set out to make a film. It had all the tell-tale signs of being shot on video- poor sound quality mixed with some decent shots, and actors in bad wigs. And with all the heart director Addison Binek could muster up, they set out into the cold cruel world of promoting their film.

Which, oddly, led to me answering a tweet that happened to pop up on my feed with the film makers asking for reviews. They sent me a link and a password- a little more than an hour later, I am back from the jungles with a report. 

I am torn between being highly amused and feeling slightly like the Banana Spinning Sign Guy from the early portion of the film, in which I am also torn between the brilliance of and confusion in choosing to keep much of the footage the crew actually shot for this scene. Admittedly, the most talented performer and hilarious performance comes from the news anchor, played by Grover McCants. Many of the scenes are cut a little oddly, with pacing being a little too brisk at places and then dragging in others. In one scene, the film moves to New York City to follow a pair discussing the ape as they walk through the park. The acting is awful as both performers struggle through dialogue that seems largely improvised on the spot. There are a couple of scenes just like this, including an oddly stretched out argument between two sisters- which seems to stray very far from its original intent. For the record, I agree with the one girl on the rat movie- it's better than the other movie in my book. 

The movie quickly loses steam at around the fifty minute mark as I kept glancing down to check my phone during PsychoApe's trip to New York, which was an inevitable moment given the direction of the film. The puns keep coming and the monkey movie jokes stack up.

3 out of 10, and while not a high recommend I would recommend it for fans of low to no budget studios like Troma and directer Chris Seaver's Mulva: Zombie Ass-kicker series. I got a small kick out of the film, though I also recognize it's not going to be everyone's top banana.


Friday, March 26, 2021

NOBODY review, CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI review


NOBODY (2021)

Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is about as "average" as they come- clocks into work monday through friday, works out Thursday, takes out the garbage on tuesday, goes to sleep, rinse, repeat, one day to the next. An average man, milquetoast even, with no major personality quirks or exceptional skills to speak of. His daily life is the photo-perfect example of a man who is only going through the motions. 

But, after a home burglary, something eats away at him. He has a distant brother (RZA) he communicates with over a short wave radio, his retired father (Christopher Lloyd) urges him to take care of things, and he finally goes out to pursue the robbers. But that doesn't settle things with the doting father and husband, the milquetoast family man, that he wants to be. When a group of Russian thugs accost the people sharing the bus with our boring hum-drum "every man", all the pieces click into place and he isn't about to let things slide. In his words, he's going to "Fuck (them) up". 

Unfortunately, this begins a chain of dominoes that results in Mansell now becoming a marked man with a local Russian mafia boss. And all bets are off when he sends his thugs to Mansells house. When his family is threatened. When the life he has carefully crafted is finally blown up and we learn just WHO this veritable "nobody" really is. 

I loved this movie. The action was frenetic and brutal, with broken teth and bones- ripped tendons, slashed muscles, and plenty of knuckle cracking, body-jolting impact. Guns were blazing and the soundtrack was excellently selected. 

Highly recommended, 8.5 out of 10.

 

CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI: 400 vs. 1

TAK Sakaguchi is best known as the Convict from the 2000 film "Versus", though he's had various action roles throughout the decades and was recently seen in "Re:Born". In this film, he plays the legendary swordman; Miyamoto Musashi. Shortly after his duel with Yoshioka Seiji and his younger brother, the clan decides to strike back with their 100 retainers and an additional 300 Mercenaries... what follows his a non-stop duel with all 400 and is considered one of Musashi's most famous legends. 

Director Shimomura Yuji approaches the material as an experiment, presenting an introduction and climax in a typically cinematic style- but the 77 minutes between are a non-stop, uncut, single-take action extravaganza following Musashi from the moment he kills the youngest brother with a surprise appearance to his exit at sundown. And for the sheer effort and marathon of choreography, both the star and directed should be commended and applauded. Though the maneuvers get a little repetitious at times- the film maintains it's approach of completing the task with one long take AT sundown. Watching the sun move throughout the scene, watching the shadows deepen and stretch, you keep expecting a cut at every turn and moment. 

Definitely worth watching for fans of the Samurai genre. 

7 out of 10


Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Seven Souls in the SKull Castle (on Netflix, live stage show)

 

Netflix so rarely presents live stage shows on their platform, so I was kind of surprised when this came up as a new release this evening. Doing some rudimentary research, Seven Souls in the Skull Castle was filmed in 2013. The story takes place in 1590, after the demise of Oba Nobunaga. The nation still sits on the brink of war and unification under the Toyotome Hidoyoshi. In the Kanto region, there sits a dark castle in which the evil Tenma (Mirai Moriyama), a self proclaimed "demon". He wants to ally himself with foreigners and rule the rest of Japan in his evil ways. Muahaha! 

Standing in his way is a wandering swordsman, Sutenosuke (Shun Oguri) who helps to rescue a young woman, and he then meets members of a small village supported by a former ally named Ranbe (Taichi Saotome) populated with thieves, vagabonds, prostitutes, and many other outsiders. The sweeping Shakespearean drama unfolds at a thrilling pace, with epic sword battles, stunts, lavish costumes, and a glorious soundtrack echoing with the clang of blades and driving the action onstage like a live-action Anime come to life. Having so much movement on stage seems counterproductive to many Western techniques, but all of the action actually serves to highlight the more emotional moments as characters struggle as another remembers the past in stark lighting as the others fade... emotional moments dig deeper and the visuals serve as a highlight. 

This original Samurai Drama has played every seven years since 1990 and was the first original production to take place in the historic IHI Stage Around Tokyo for a whopping 15-month run. Highly recommended!!!

10 out of 10

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Wrong Turn 2021

 

The "Wrong Turn" series has had a bunch of ups and downs- but the recent reboot doesn't attempt to continue the story, the series, or really keep with the general premise of the original film in general. The only "wrong turn" made was when the characters chose to leave the trail, encountering a primitive group of people-

This both works and undermines the efforts of the film. Utilizing the title and tropes of the original series, our expectations ramp up some of the moments a bit more than they eventually deserve. We are already believing what we want so the twist that the primitive group aren't inbred, aren't cannibals, and that the characters themselves are far worse than the "monster people" in the woods sort of sticks the landing but leaves a sense of disappointment. This is Friday the 13th part 5, where Jason in a blue mask isn't really Jason after all...

So where the first film and the preceding series chose to remain in Killer Hillbilly territory, this film attempts to make strong socio-politcal commentary regarding the nature of discourse in America.

But heck, the kills are fun and it's a good time anyway. Even in spite of the ham-fisted Political "message" it attempts to relay.

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Pyscho Goreman

 

Psycho Goreman

They had me at "Planet Gigax". 

This film is about the most terrifying creature in the galaxy. A horrible, loveless, sadistic creature with no pity, no remorse, and no compassion and her hopeless captive, PG Psycho Goreman; An eternal and evil warlord from the Planet Gigax. He is enslaved by Mimi, a young girl who finds a secret gem that gives her the power to control the ultimate power in the universe. 

AT every turn, Psycho Goreman usurps expectations at every predictable turn to hilarious results. A special effects tour de force, with winking nods to Kaiju films, Power Rangers, and the most insane Puff'n Stuff. The movie never lets up- psychotic blood-baths and insane gags drop throughout the film. 

From the production team that brought us The Void, is just crazy gory fun. Nita-Josee Hanna is an absolute treasure in this film, where she is the irresistible Mimi.

8 1/2 out of 10. High recommendation. 

Sunday, January 10, 2021

The Social Dilemma, as recommended.

 I am not optimistic for a better world. 

As the world melts down throughout the past week, the past year, the election results, the protests, the chaos, the riots, the social media- The Social Dilemma? See what I did there? 

Horror writer Brian Keene sent out a Tweet regarding this new documentary on Netfix, he specifically described it as his prediction for the most terrifying film of 2021. Hyperbole? Just a recommendation? Hard to tell- because we all have different tastes and different thoughts and different considerations. So let me give this one a watch and share my thoughts. 

Is it terrifying? I believe it is- for so many of the reasons that one would expect, for so many of the details that it shares, and what so many people are going to take away from the film itself. It is even more frustrating in that the film is- almost ironically- exactly what it sets out to warn you against. It tells you nothing that you don't, deep down, already know about Social Networks- how the algorithms work, how advertising are manipulating all of us, how our internet experiences are changed depending on our clicks, our likes, the amount of time we stare at one photo or one video or one app over another and another. How it is so obviously someone out there who is to "blame" in the end of all this. 

 The Social Dilemma attempts to explore the influence of Social Media platforms on our lives, our ability to communicate with one another, and our ability to interact with a series of interviews engaging industry insiders who initially designed these very same algorithms that now threaten to overwhelm us and lead us into dystopia. They talk about the profit motive, the lack of ethical guidance, the pinging interest that drives their own careers- they discuss the responsibility of Social Media and how they use their data collection, how they collect revenue, how they trade their real product, how we catch up to the technology that is evolving faster, spreading wider, growing beyond our abilities to even comprehend, much less control. 

Throughout the interviews, the film-makers weave in a dramatization of a family and how it is affected by Social Media. It shows a young teen girl who is unable to give up her phone for even a single dinner, a teenage boy who is quickly being radicalized by conspiracy videos and websites, another who is terrified of the affect social media is having on her siblings, a mother who seems distant, and so on so forth. 

And it tries to leave us with a "hopeful" message in it's closing moments.

 Unfortunately, it's a message that is every bit as manipulative and destructive as the one they are warning us against. They tell us that we need to start agreeing that there is a "truth", but none of them can really agree on where that "truth" comes from. They say the business model is evil because it focuses on a profit motive, the next speaker says that we need to use the profit motive to change the business model, another speaker things the government needs to step in with laws, another one reminds us that the people attempting to sway our elections to BECOME the government, and the list goes on and on and on.

I respect Mr. Keene as an author and I follow him for his views on the world and his observations. It may come as a shock, then- in that I don't often AGREE with Mr. Keene. What a boring world that would be for me if I were only sold the things that I was already going to agree on, if I were only expose to the things I "liked", or just lived in an echo chamber 24 hours a day. And, much like him, I am going to go out on a limb and declare that the Social Dilemma may just be one of the most terrifying movies I watch in all of 2021. 

8 out of 10