William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill (2023): I really liked AO Philippe’s Exorcist documentary, so I was glad to see he helmed this one, about William Shatner. It’s a warm, spiritual work, sometimes overly so, with the ninety year-old Shatner proving marvelously with it. It’s a classic docu, covering key biographical parts, as well as its protagonist’s acting career. I don’t reckon it unravels any great mystery about Shatner, but it surely emphasizes Shatner’s fascination with mysteries. It seems like a fairly healthy approach to life and Denny Crane is more than apt to talk about it. 7
Conclave (2024): What starts out as a serious piece of contemplation and film-making, resting on the shoulders of an excellent cast, slowly veers towards disappointingly cheap shock value. It has a few outrageous moments, but none so outrageous than the belief that a thirty second speech can sway a hundred power-wielding adults to vote one way or another. It’s a real shame, because up to the last twenty or so minutes, Conclave holds it all together well, in spite of being challengingly dramatic. Ralph Fiennes is exceptional throughout though, making Conclave’s excesses easier to tolerate. 7
The Grinch (2018): There’s nothing adventurous about this newest (?) Grinch, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead (animated) role. It’s a sweet classic story, but neither sweet enough, nor funny enough to really stand out. There are many better animations out there, which isn’t to say that I have been a big fan of animations recently. The mixing of seasonal rap songs makes for a musical twist, but it doesn’t gel very well with the overall tone. That said, a comfortable enough watch for the seasonal feelings. 6
Terrifier 2 (2022): I agree with the general sentiment, that the sequel (also done on a fairly modest budget) is a considerable improvement in style and atmosphere. It attempts to tell a story, as well, which it does rather clumsily. The main drawback to T2 is its inordinately long runtime, going well over two hours. While it didn’t feel as sluggish as the first, it still overstayed its welcome. Thankfully, the movies is more playful with its antagonist and delivers exceptional levels of gore. I somehow enjoyed being dumped in the deep end by watching the third first, with no a priori info, but I’m also glad to have caught up now. 6
Terrifier (2016): Time to delve into the first two Terrifier movies. Their reviews were on the lukewarm side, which is why I had not given them much of a chance. That is, until the successful third entry. The first movie unfortunately lives down to its ratings, with a very different tone to what I expected. It’s pretty much boilerplate horror tropes, a movie with no urgency or purpose, which feels long even at less than ninety minutes. One has to appreciate the very very low budget it was made on though, which shows on occasion, but not disturbingly so. 5
tributary stu 