Movie Review: Tremors 2: Aftershocks

For once the sequel is better

There is a stigma in the movie industry that sequels are typically downgrades of the movies they follow. The Tremors franchise however is much more different. Much rather then getting worse with each sequel, this Hextalogy (6 movies), soon to be Heptalogy (7 movies) later this year seems to just get better with every new entry in the series. As I said in my first Tremors review, I would take a look at the many sequels in the near future, and that near future is now. Anyway Tremors 2 takes place six years after the events of the first movie, and rather then following Earl, and Val, it is just Earl this time around as Val, and Rhonda gotten married, and moved to a big city together. Earl meanwhile is down on his luck when he is called to action by a Mexican Oil Baron whose oil refinery is infested with Graboids. With the reward of $50,000 per Graboid killed, he sets out to the oil refinery. While there however he, and his new partners will find that "The Worms Have Turned".

The movie begins at the aforementioned oil refinery where a worker is attempting to escape a Graboid. He almost makes it to safety, but is caught, and killed by the beast. We then skip back over to Perfection, Nevada, the setting of the first movie. It is here we find out that Val, and Rhonda had gotten married, and since moved away from Perfection while Earl is left behind running a failing Ostrich Ranch. He is then approached by Carlos who owns the refinery. He tells Earl that Graboids have been killing his workers, and that Earl is the only person he can think of to deal with the monsters. Earl at first refuses as he had barely survived the Graboid attack from six years ago. Grady, a Graboid fanboy who accompanied Carlos to find Earl then convinces Earl to come down to Mexico to fix the problem. Grady tells him that Carlos is offering $50,000 per Graboid he kills, and that the Mexican Army is willing to provide him with whatever he needs. With a monetary motivation, Earl, joined by Grady drive down to rural Mexico to hunt some Graboids. Arriving at the main office, Earl meets the rest of the cast, Handyman Pedro, and Geologists Katie, and Julio. Earl also learns that Carlos is willing to pay double if they manage to catch a live Graboid, though Earl says it's impossible to catch one. With the help of a computer that shows where the worms are in the area, we get a fun montage of Earl, and Grady using a new technique to kill Graboids based on Earl's idea from the first movie. The idea being "fishing". Though this time instead of lit dynamite on a rope, they now use remote controlled cars equipped with explosives. Soon enough the pair find out that there are much more Graboids in the area then anticipated, and because of this they need some backup from an old friend. A now divorced Burt Gummer, also from the first movie gladly comes to their aid bringing along a massive amount of heavy fire power, and 120-pounds of MREs (Ready-to-eat meals intended mostly for military use). We also learn that the Graboids are actually Pre-Cambrian, making them older then dinosaurs. All is going fine now, until later that day something unexpected happens.

Earl, and Grady come across a Graboid who much rather then charging after them, instead is running away. Earl suspects that it's trying to lure them into a trap as the Graboids have been known to learn over time. The two go after it anyway, though while chasing it, the chains on their truck gets caught up with the worm causing it to drag the truck towards a rock. With the car crashed, the two panic as they expect the Graboid to attack at any moment, but surprisingly enough, it doesn't. The two investigate, and find the Graboid completely above ground, and immobile. Earl, and Grady celebrate as they realize they can cash in this live in. With the truck destroyed they radio Pedro to come, and pick them up. Later that night while still waiting for Pedro, more unexpected things happen. With the Graboid now crying out in pain before suddenly stopping, the two investigate, and find their Graboid dead, and completely gutted. Earl seeing that something must've come out of it suggests that it metamorphosed into something new. In the distance they see Pedro's car finally arriving, only to suddenly stop. Reluctantly, they investigate, and find the car ripped apart, and Pedro dead. They also find that the radios are not working, and head to the radio tower to try, and fix it. When they get to the radio tower though, once again, it is completely destroyed. They soon come across their new enemy, a small Graboid like creature, that instead of crawling, walks on two legs. They manage to kill it, but soon more arrive. Luckily the are able to escape before the creatures got to them. Burt also has a run-in with the new creatures. Early the next day, Katie is just doing her science stuff when suddenly her assistant Julio is attacked, and killed by a group of them. Katie is soon enough saved by Earl, and Grady; and Burt returns understandably pissed off about the situation. Despite using up all of his ammo, turns out that he had managed to capture one live. Now with it locked up in a cage, the group can do some tests. 

They are quickly able to find out that the now named Shriekers are both blind, and deaf; they instead hunt by heat signatures. This means that the attacks on the radio tower, and cars were mostly accidental, Another thing we find out is that they reproduce asexually when fed enough food. This discover only helps foreshadow what is to happen now. Turns out, a lone Shrieker had sneaked into the building from being stuck under Burt's truck. To make matters worse, it gets into Burt's MRE supply. You can probably guess what happens next, absolute chaos. The Shriekers attack the group, and they are barely able to escape using their sense to detect body heat against them. We also get probably one of the best scenes in the series, Burt does what he does best, overkill. Using a handheld cannon, Burt blows a Shrieker into small chunks. Though doing that, he also accidentally destroyed the last working car in the area. With the Shriekers spotting the group, they mange to escape up a roof in classic Tremors style. Burt however, is now cornered in the scooping part of a bulldozer. Before they can devise a plan, the Shriekers begin to stack on top of each other to reach the roof. Burt then gets a idea, and runs out into the open causing the Shriekers to chase after him. He leads them all into a warehouse, and quickly shuts the door on them. At first this does the trick, until they realize that there are pounds of food in there, making the Shriekers rapidly multiply. Earl decides to have a fire extinguisher used on him to reduce his body temperature, and heads into the warehouse to grab one of Burt's bombs. Earl is barely able to escape as he sets off a detonation timer. Burt realizing what he's done warns everyone to run away as the blast will be huge. Indeed it is, almost a nuclear sized blast that left nothing, but a crater of what was once an oil refinery. I mean hey, it was either the refinery, or the world, so it's okay. With every single Shrieker, and Graboid in the area dead, our trio celebrate. Earl also gets with Katie, and as for Burt. Well let's just say that Burt becomes the main character of the franchise now, no more Kevin Bacon, or Fred Ward. 

Tremors 2 proves that good sequels can exist, and in this case, I would say that Tremors 2 is better then the first movie.For one thing, it nailed that Comedy part that was lacking from their last Horror/Comedy flick. The series in my personal opinion only gets better from here, so stay tuned for future Tremors reviews. For now though, Aftershocks gets a 5 out of 5 Paws up.

Movie Review: Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

This evolution for video game movies has shocked our expectations

When rumors of a "live-action" Pokemon movie began popping up in Spring of 2016, many people reacted negatively. At this point in time, there has been no good video game movie, ever. The idea of seeing a realistic Pokemon was also a bit unsettling to some fans. However, when the trailer for Detective Pikachu was dropped in the Fall of 2018, people began to praise it for it's already amazing portrayal of many different Pokemon, including the titular Detective Pikachu. Once released in the Spring of the following year, the movie was successful with box critics, fans, and made millions at the box office. It was with Detective Pikachu that ushered in a new era of video game movies that are actually good. The last one of these I looked at was my mini-review for Sonic The Hedgehog which released earlier this year. Enough with the history lesson though. Detective Pikachu takes place in the wonderful world of Pokemon. We follow a young man named Tim Goodman who while in Ryme City gets caught up in a mystery to find his missing father with the help of a talking Pikachu.

The movie starts with someone escaping from a mysterious laboratory where Mewtwo is being kept. Mewtwo escapes, and from the audience's perspective, Mewtwo destroys the car. After this opening scene, we then meet our main character, Tim, a 21 year old boy who works for an insurance company located in his small town. One of his friends tries to get him to catch a Pokemon, but fails. Tim replies saying that he doesn't want a Pokemon, he just wants to focus on his job at the moment. Though he then gets a call from the Ryme City Police Department. We can tell by his expressions that it isn't good. Next we see Tim on a train to Ryme City. On the way he reads a newspaper article revealing that the person in the car at the beginning of the movie was Tim's dad, Harry. The article states that his father, and partner Pokemon had perished in a car crash. Arriving in Ryme City, he meets up with Hideo Yoshida, a police officer that worked closely with Harry Goodman. Afterwards, Tim heads off to his father's apartment. Arriving at the apartment building, Tim meets Lucy, a young aspiring journalist. Along with her partner, Psyduck she wants to uncover the truth behind Harry's death. Once in the apartment, coming across his father's desk, Tim finds something a bit suspicious. Tim finds a small vial filled with purple gas, it is later referred to as R Gas, that he accidentally, and unknowingly unleashed onto a group of nearby Aipom. Upon breathing in the gas, the simian Pokemon's eyes turn purple, and they start becoming aggressive. Tim stops looking around the apartment though when he hears an unfamiliar voice, and grabs a stapler for self-defense. Though what he comes across isn't a intruder, but much rather our titular Detective Pikachu. Hearing the Pikachu speak like a normal human, causes Tim to panic a bit, understandably. The two's introductions are cut short however when the rabid Aipom bust into the apartment attacking both Tim, and Pikachu. 

Tim, and Pikachu get away from the group of Aipom, and see that they now have returned to normal. Tim then tries to see if anyone else can hear Pikachu speak, but of course all they hear is normal Pikachu sounds. Finally calming down, Tim agrees to go with Pikachu to a local coffee shop to discuss the case further. It is then Tim finds out that Pikachu is his father's partner Pokemon. The news article though said both Harry, and his Pikachu perished, but with Pikachu alive Tim is filled with hope that they can find Harry. Pikachu though doesn't know too much, as he had lost his memory shortly before meeting Tim. The next day, Tim, and Pikachu decide to go meet with Lucy at her place of work to ask her about the mysterious vial that was found in the apartment. Lucy tells Tim that Harry had been looking into a case about these vials, and must've found out too much. She then tells him that the vials were found around the docks. That night, Tim, and Pikachu go to the docks to try, and find the informant. The informant turns out to be a Mr. Mime, which leads into one of my favorite scenes in the movie. For context, Mr. Mime, is well, a mime Pokemon who can create invisible barriers. By using it's own power against it Tim, and Pikachu are able to get the information that they need from Mr. Mime. The due then arrive at an underground Pokemon Battle dome. At the place, the guy running it recognizes Pikachu for wounding his Charizard, and challenges them to a rematch. Tim, and Pikachu agree as they need the information from this guy. In a slight twist though, turns out that Pikachu's memory loss also affected his fighting ability, meaning that he can't use any of his specialty thunder attacks. It also doesn't help that shortly before the battle starts the opponent makes his Charizard breathe in a whole vial of the R Gas.During the battle, more vials of R Gas are accidentally broken causing all the Pokemon in the building to go wild. With this, the Battle Dome is ruined, and Tim, along with Pikachu are apprehended by the police as Pokemon Battling is illegal in Ryme City.

Tim, and Pikachu then meet with Mr. Yoshida who proceeds to show them both footage of the crash. Seeing the footage, the older police officer insists that there is no way his father could've survived. Pikachu is disappointed by this, though having bonded with Tim, Tim decides to help Pikachu recover his memory. He also explains that as a child, he wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, but after his mother died his father became more wrapped up in his work, making Tim feel unloved. Pikachu insists that his father loved him, and that he would be damn proud, yes Pikachu says damn. As the two decide to search for Pikachu's lost memory, suddenly a black van appears, and in it a mysterious woman let's them know that Howard Clifford, the founder of Ryme City wants to see them. Going to meet Howard, the old man explains that his son, Roger must be behind this. He also shows Tim that the car crash was caused by Mewtwo, and that he took Tim's father. The next day Tim, Pikachu, Lucy, and Psyduck head off to the now abandoned research lab from the beginning of the movie. There they find Pokemon that are being genetically experimented on from Greninja with power enhancements to Torterras with growth enhancements, though the Torterras seen in the building are normal sized. Tim, and Pikachu find out that the scientists at the lab were creating R Gas from Mewtwo for it's mind-controlling abilities. Looking further into the security footage, it's implied that it was Harry who had brought them Mewtwo. They want more answers, but that's the end of the security footage. As they finish their investigation of the lab, the group are attacked by the genetically enhanced Greninja who chase them outside the lab. They manage to escape however using Psyduck's incredible psychic power. As the Greninja are defeated though, a new threat appears. 

Turns out the entire outdoor area of the lab is the Torterra enclosure. The growth enhancements have made the Grass-type Pokemon grow to colossal sizes. As they are awoken from their hibernation, the entire forest crumbles around the protagonists. Pikachu is hit by falling debris, and nearly dies if not for the help of a group of Bulbasaur leading Tim to a Pokemon who can heal Pikachu. That healer Pokemon though turns out to be Mewtwo. Mewtwo isn't hostile however, and heals Pikachu. When Pikachu wakes up, Mewtwo tries to show them both what really happened at the crash. Though all they get to see is Pikachu, freeing Mewtwo, and Mewtwo saying that humanity is evil. Before it can finish it's explanation, Mewtwo is captured by Roger, and taken away. Now thinking that he had betrayed Harry, Pikachu insists on separating from Tim not wanting to hurt him too. Lucy, Tim, and Psyduck return to Ryme City. Tim tells Lucy that she needs to get to a news camera, and tell the city about Roger's plan, while he goes up to Howard's office. Meanwhile at the same time Pikachu comes across the location of the crash. Looking around, he finds a Greninja star. After some thinking, he figures out who the real villain is, and starts running back to Ryme City to save his friend. In Howard's office, Tim tries to tell him that his son got Mewtwo. Though it is then revealed that Mewtwo is inside Howard's office, captured. Howard sprays Mewtwo with R Gas which he then uses to transfer his mind into the legendary Pokemon. Having fused, he escapes into the city to do the same to everyone, and their Pokemon. Pikachu arrives in time to see the aftermath, and with his powers back, Pikachu begins to fight with Mewtwo. Meanwhile at the same time, still in Howard's office, Tim decides to try, and take off the mind control helmet that Howard's human body is wearing. Though he is stopped by another one of Howard's creations, a Ditto with the power to replicate not only Pokemon, but also humans to perfect detail, well except for the eyes. Tim also finds Roger trapped in a closet which shows that Ditto was pretending to be a evil Roger this whole time, Ditto was also the mysterious woman from earlier. Basically if anyone is wearing shade, assume they were a Ditto the whole time. I think i'll still be seeing human Ditto in my nightmares though.

Tim is able to finally defeat Ditto by spraying it with R Gas which causes it to transform multiple times before fainting. Back to the fight between Howard Mewtwo, and Pikachu though, Pikachu decides to use his Volt Tackle against Howard. Howard says it's useless as a Pikachu can't defeat a Mewtwo. Pikachu replies saying that he doesn't need to defeat Mewtwo, but buy Tim time. He then sees Tim taking the mind control device off of Howard, freeing Mewtwo. With Mewtwo now free it uses it's incredible power to reverse the city's transformation. With everyone back to normal, Howard is arrested, and Roger allows Lucy to tell the story to the whole city, as long as she puts in a nice thing about Roger planning to undo everything his dad did. Mewtwo also tells Tim that his father was with him all along, and we get the big reveal. The Greninja had caused the car crash, and his father was supposed to die, but Mewtwo taking in both of the selflessness decides to save Harry by fusing him with his Pikachu until the body recovers. In the next scene, Tim is at the train station seemingly planning on returning home, he then hears a familiar voice. Though the voice isn't coming from any Pikachu, it's his father, Harry, now returned into his proper human form. He is also accompanied by his Pikachu. Tim tells his father that he's decided to stay in Ryme City with him, and wants to become a detective. I can only hope that this leads into future adventures in Ryme City.

Let me first say, I absolutely loved how they made the Pokemon in this movie. The Pokemon still have their familiar designs, but they look like they could be a part of our world. The visuals have to be the best part of this movie. The plot is a bit predictable, but I forgive it since it's full of charm, easter eggs, and some nice laughs. There is a reason that this movie is one of my most favorites, and I hope that you see now as well. To me Detective Pikachu is a 5 out of 5 Paws up experience. 

by the way, did I mention that it's my birthday today?

Movie Review: Animal Crossing

Well boys, we did it, depression is no more.

As of today, Animal Crossing New Horizons is finally out! It feels so surreal since Animal Crossing fans have been waiting for so long. In case you are not aware, Animal Crossing is a life simulator game where you play as a new resident of a town populated by adorable animal villagers. Unlike other games, Animal Crossing has no end, it is simply life, and it can be very therapeutic. This 2006 movie is based on the second game in the franchise, Animal Crossing: Wild World for the DS. In this movie we follow a young girl named Ai, as she moves into Animal Village, and not much happens actually. This movie feels more like a slice-of-life episodic series, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Despite the movie using the the original Japanese names for the characters, I will be using their localized English names for simplicity. 

The movie begins introducing us to our main character, Ai. She is taken into Animal Village, and goes to the Town Hall where she meets the mayor, Tortimer, a tortoise who had been the mayor of Animal Village for many years (Although as of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, he has retired, and the player character takes over as mayor). Tortimer tells her that she needs to go visit Tom Nook at his shop, Nook's Cranny, as he is her landlord. Upon meeting, Tom Nook, just like in the games, puts Ai straight to work to help pay off her house loan. During this part Ai gets to meet all of her new neighbors as well. The first villager she meets is a peppy cat named Rosie. Next is the lazy alligator, Alfonso (who wears a cute little Mario shirt). She then meets the Able sisters, Mable, and Sable who run the clothing shop. Now after a hard day of work, Ai finally arrives at her new home. Though on her way she comes across a human boy from the next town over named, Yu. The next day while delivering a package to Apollo, the Eagle, Yu returns, accidentally knocking her over into Apollo's garden, crushing some of his flowers. She then meets Mr. Resetti, who in the games would only appear if you turn off the game without saving first to punish the player. Ai learns from Mr. Resetti that Apollo might be at the museum's cafe. At the museum she meets the owl siblings, Blathers, and Celeste who run the museum together. From Blathers we find out the the museum is almost complete, but they have yet to find one remaining fossil, the Seismosaurus (Nowadays, it's referred to as Diplodocus instead). Down in the cafe, we meet Brewster, the pigeon who runs the cafe, as well as Caesar, the Gorilla, and Cyrano the Anteater. Ai then meets Apollo, she tries to apologize to him, but he doesn't seem to respond making Ai think that he is mad at her.

On her last delivery of the day, Ai meets Margie, the elephant. The two bond over sharing cherries, and talking about each other's dreams for the future. Margie is hoping that she can become a famous fashion designer one day. The two then compare their aspirations, and talents to Cherry Pie. Margie states that you shouldn't leave a cherry pie in the fridge because then you might forget about it, just like how it's good to practice your talents, or risk getting a bit rusty. Ai then says that Margie's sketch book must be her cherry pie. We then skip a bit forward to nighttime where Ai is walking along the beach when she stumbles across a message in a bottle that speaks of a Winter Festival Miracle. Although she has no idea of what it could mean at the time. The movie skips forward a bit to the middle of summer. One evening when Ai is walking along the beach once more, she finds another message in a bottle. This time it's asking her to plant trees in certain areas of the village, complete with a map of where she needs to plant them. The next day, or so Yu, and Alfonso are searching the village for fossils. Rosie then mentions that she had found a whole bunch of them awhile back. The boys then have Ai, Margie, and Rosie join them on a small adventure to find the fossils. They end up in a large cave where they do find the fossils, but they also find something better. They come across an entire Seismosaurus fossil. Yu tries to break the fossil free only to make the cave start crumbling in on itself. The group make it out in time, but now no one will be able to get the Seismosaurus. Later that night is the Fireworks Festival, where the famous K.K. Slider is going to preform live (I wish I could see him live, America why you so boring). There Margie requests the song K.K. Bossa, which really is one of the best songs in the series. A little while after the festival, Ai goes to the beach again, and finds yet another message in a bottle, this is going somewhere trust me.

The movie then skips to early fall where Ai is approached by Rosie. Rosie berates Ai for not being at Margie's farewell party. The thing is though is that, despite being her best friend Ai was not even made aware of such a thing. Ai feeling hurt that Margie would leave without telling her heads out to the cafe to try, and calm down. However at the cafe, K.K. Bossa, Margie's favorite song comes on the radio, and the girl begins crying. Upon walking back home, still a bit bummed out she comes across the wandering artist, Wendell, the walrus. Ai takes him back to her home, and gives him some food, and water. She then finds a letter from Margie. The letter reads that she apologizes for leaving without telling her. She didn't want to leave for her next step in life with tears in her eyes, since she knew saying goodbye to her best friend would make her feel sad. Ai goes back into her house only to find Wendell gone, a painting left from where he was, kinda like in the actual game. Feeling uplifted by Margie's letter, Ai decides that she must make her own cherry pie, first by believing in herself more. Rosie also stops by, and apologizes to Ai for what she said. Ai forgives her as the two watch a meteor shower fill the sky. We skip time again to winter time, specifically the day of the Winter Festival. Ai walks around the village taking notice of the trees she had planted that summer as the letter asked. She wonders if the Winter Festival Miracle will even happen, oh little does she know man. That night, the village comes alive with a assortment of lights decorating both the trees, and the homes of the residents of Animal Village. Though as the Winter Festival starts, something strange happens. What appears to be a UFO crashes in the middle of the forest. In the UFO is Gulliver the seagull who during the Wild World game traveled via UFO instead of ship for some reason. Glad he went back to his seafaring roots as of New Leaf. The town's people actually do believe him to be an alien, and agree to help fix his ship.

Ai, Rosie, Alfonso. and Yu group up together to find one of the pieces which leads them back to the cave they had found back in summer. They however cannot push the boulder blocking the entrance, but help arrives in a big surprise. Margie had returned to Animal Village to celebrate the Winter Festival with her friends. Though hearing about the UFO, and hearing that her friends went to the cave she headed off to help. With her strength, they are able to move the boulder out of the way. Inside the cave, Yu spots a gear on top of the Seismosaurus fossil. With the cold making the cave more sturdy, Yu is able to climb up the fossil, and retrieve the gear. On the way down though he slips, and falls off the fossil. He is saved by his friend Alfonso though, while Ai catches the gear. The hood that Yu was wearing as part of his costume also comes off, revealing that this would be the first time anyone would be able to see his actual face, and Ai calls him cute (This is so sweet, i'm going to get diabetes). The group then return to Gulliver where they find that someone had already found a gear that looks identical to the one that they just got. Suddenly the gear begins to glow, and float, and shift into it's true form. Turns out, that gear was a tiny UFO that they saved, also a real UFO this time. Above them appears the mothership, but of course it's friendly, and only wants the tiny one back. Upon returning the small UFO, the fleet then creates a constellation in the image of Ai before leaving as thanks. Blathers decides that Ai should be the winner of the decoration contest since she used the sky to decorate the town. Gulliver then leaves, and thinks to himself that he really didn't intend for that to happen. How was he supposed to know that arranging the trees in that way would attract a real UFO. This also means that Gulliver was the one behind the bottled messages. Everyone celebrates as Ai finally feels like a proper member of the community. Apollo also apologizes to Ai for not making it clear that he wasn't mad at her the whole time. During the credits we learn that Margie had finally made a design that everyone wears. Tom Nook's shop also upgrades, just like how it does in the games. Blathers is able to receive the Seismosaurus. Ai helps Apollo re-grow his garden. Ai also becomes great friends with Celeste (Though she was starting to be friends with her as of the winter story arc). With the end of the credits is the end of the movie.

So, i'll state right now. I'm probably a little biased because Animal Crossing is one of the things in this world that makes me feel so happy. The plot may not be the best, but I think it makes up for it with charm, and wholesomeness. The more I play the games, or re-watch this movie, I just want to be a part of this joyful world. Especially if my cat, Mr. June was a villager. He'd make for a good character I think. Back on subject though! Another thing I really love about this movie is the soundtrack, and sound design, lifting straight from the game. Funny enough I actually have owned this movie on DVD for quite awhile. However, it is only in Japanese, it's only been recently that I've finally watched, and understood it completely. As you can probably guess, Animal Crossing is pretty special to me, so don't mind if I just disappear for a few months once I get my copy of New Horizons. This movie gets a 5 out of 5 Paws up from me (Mainly because of the sentimental value it has to me). 

Movie Review: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

"We've had a doozy of a day"

It seems to be common knowledge nowadays that Horror, and Comedy go together like Peanut Butter, and Jelly. It is so interesting though, how exactly does this work? Short answer is that both genres use tension that either leads to a scare, or a punchline. Genre hybrids are a very interesting topic to me, so maybe in the future I might do a short essay on it. I'll work on it faster if there is a high demand though. I should probably stop myself now though since I could go on forever about genre hybrids, and why they work. Anyway, as you may know today is the infamous Friday the 13th; the favorite holiday of everyone's favorite 1980s slasher, Jason Vorhees. Although it would be too obvious to review a movie from the Friday the 13th franchise, but I still wanted to review a horror movie. Immediately, this movie popped into my head, mainly because just like the Friday the 13th movies, it takes place in the woods, is a slasher type of horror, and it is unfortunately obscure. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a 2011 horror-comedy about two best friends, Tucker, and Dale spending the weekend at their new vacation home only to be mistaken for psycho killers. This movie successfully blends horror, comedy, as well as a surprisingly wholesome romance story together for one great film. 

The movie begins with a small found footage clip where the camera man is killed by a mysterious killer, it'll make more sense at the ending. We then skip to three days ago, and our introduced to our cast of college kids. To be honest I can't recall any of their names, but it's fine because the only ones we need to focus on is Allison, or Allie, and her boyfriend, Chad. On their way to the campground, they drive by our unlikely heroes of the movie, two well meaning rednecks named Tucker, and Dale, also Dale's dog, Jangers. Dale is a friendly, well meaning man who happens to be very socially awkward though which leads to many of the misunderstandings between the two groups in the film. Both groups happen to stop at the same gas station where Dale attempts to talk to some of the college girls only for them to panic, and run away. This makes Dale doubt himself, that no one will ever like him. Soon enough Tucker, and Dale make their way to Tucker's "new" vacation home. I say "new" because it is a run down Cabin-In-The-Woods type place. However the two were planning on renovating it anyway. Meanwhile in a different part of the forest, the college kids arrive, and start partying. Chad then decides to tell a scary story of "The Memorial Day Massacre", over 20 years ago. A whole group of college kids like them were brutally murdered by two psychotic hillbillies, only one person lived to tell the tale. This story helps set up the main conflict of the movie, as you probably guessed at this point. That night the group goes skinny dipping, coincidentally at the same time, Tucker, and Dale are doing some nighttime fishing. Despite Tucker's attempt to spy on the nudists, Dale is able to stop him, though in the process he accidentally surprises Allison who was standing on top of a rock. She falls, and hits her head, and without Dale helping her up, she would've drowned. As the two pull her into their boat, one of Allison's friends spots this. Seeing her as well Tucker, and Dale begin to yell out, "Hey, we got your friend!". Mistaking them for psycho hillbillies, the group runs away. The two well meaning guys are left confused, but proceed to take Allison back to the cabin to take care of her until she's better.

The next morning Allison comes to, and at first is terrified of Dale, until she sees his reaction to her assuming that she simply doesn't like pancakes. He goes to make her something else, and even brings along a small tin can full of flowers, somewhat wilted flowers, but flowers nonetheless. Meanwhile the other group is trying to find Allison, hoping that they can rescue her before the "killer hillbillies" can kill her. Though Chad tried to insist that they didn't need any help from the police, one of the guys leaves to go drive into town, and get help. They soon come across the cabin, and begin formulating a plan on saving Allison. Allison, and Dale now start getting along as Dale explains what had happened the last night, the two then start to play a board game where we learn that Dale is actually very smart. He doesn't consider himself smart because he barely passed Elementary, though Allison insists that it doesn't matter, and that he is smart in his own way. She also tells him of her dream of becoming a therapist, and confesses that she thinks most of the world's problems come from misunderstandings... hmm, sound familiar. Back outside the cabin, Tucker is in the back sawing up some large logs, accidentally cutting into a hidden wasp nest. This causes him to start running, and flailing his chainsaw in a very similar manner to Leatherface. Of course the college kids see this as him trying to kill them, and so they run off. They manage to get away, except for one guy who accidentally impales himself on a exposed branch. Tucker, oblivious to the death that just happened returns to the cabin covered in wasp stings. He then gets mad at Dale for not helping. Feeling guilty, Dale decides to help Tucker out with the other chores now. 

Before getting to the chores though, the two come across the body of the guy who impaled himself on the tree branch. The two hope they can resolve this before more people die. Though seeing as how no one is around, Dale decides to leave a message. A carving on a small log that reads, "We Got Ur Friend", of course though this scares the college kids. Now Dale begins working on the hole that they will build their outhouse on top of, and Tucker is taking care of debris with the help of a large wood chipper. Allison soon comes out of the cabin, and decides to help Dale out. Dale at first is reluctant of letting her help before she tells him that she was raised on a farm. The college group soon return to the cabin to find Allison digging what they assume to be her own grave, and so the group come up with a new plan to save her. After some planning, one of the guys lunges at Dale with a makeshift spear. Allison pulls Dale out of the way, leading the the unfortunate man impaling himself on his own spear. While this happens, another one of the guys tries to lunge at Tucker, only to throw himself comically into the wood chipper, splattering blood, and guts everywhere. With Allison accidentally being knocked out again, Tucker, and Dale retreat inside the cabin. More misunderstandings now arise as Tucker deduces that these aren't normal college kids, but people that made a suicide pact, meaning that they might want to kill Allison as well. Although they assume they are not at fault, Tucker realizes that they will need to dispose of the bodies, because to others it'll look like they murdered them. Right as soon as they pull the mangled body out of the wood chipper, the police finally arrives with the boy who took off earlier in the movie. The sheriff interrogates Tucker, and Dale before coming to the conclusion that they will be guilty of involuntary manslaughter. That won't be happening however, as sheriff leans on a booby trap pillar seen earlier in the movie (Not set up by Tucker, or Dale by the way). The trap is triggered, and the sheriff gets a board full of nails stuck to his head.

Seeing the police officer collapse dead, the kids freak out, and the guy who had originally gone to get the now dead officer grabs the gun off of the officer's waist. He attempts to shoot at Tucker, and Dale only to find out that the safety is on. Dale being the nice guy he is, can't help, but to tell him where the safety switch is. Though that then leads to the guy blowing his own brains out. With the safety off though, Chad gets out of the car, grabs the gun, and begins shooting at the two friends. Tucker, and Dale have a moment where Tucker argues that all of this is Dale's fault. Dale comes back though saying it's Tuckers fault for going fishing, when he doesn't even like fishing. This new fact hurts Tucker's feelings, and the two quickly reconcile. Just as they do, they find out that the college kids had taken Dale's dog, Jangers hostage, with Chad threatening to shoot him. The two then come up with a plan to rescue the dog. Dale distracts the kids by rapidly firing a nail gun at them while Tucker frees Jangers. However after freeing the dog, Tucker is caught, and knocked out by Chad. Funny enough this part parallels the scene from near the beginning of the movie where Chad is telling the story of The Memorial Day Massacre, although the roles are very much reversed with the college kids hunting down the hillbilly this time around. Tucker soon wakes up, tied upside-down at the college kid's camp. Chad then proceeds to interrogate Tucker before slicing at him with a hatchet, we do not see the damage done yet though. Next scene, Allison wakes up to an emotionally devastated Dale. She comforts him as he tells her what happened. She doubts it though as she doesn't believe her friends would do such a thing, at least that is until the two receive a small package from the others. Wrapped up in a piece of Tucker's shirt is two severed fingers from him. Allison reveals that when she had first met him at the gas station she was just as scared of him as her friends. This hurts Dale's feelings as it confirms his insecurities. He then leaves the cabin to go find Tucker.

Dale is able to find Tucker, and frees him. Though with no college kids nearby, they quickly return to the cabin thinking that Allison could be in danger. Meanwhile back at the cabin, Chad along with one other of the remaining four college kids sneak into the cabin to rescue Allison. Allison though tries to tell them that this is a big misunderstanding, and that she is fine. Chad however sees this as her betraying them, one of her friends even accuses her of having Stockholm Syndrome. Chad then decides to attempt to burn down the cabin, but is stopped in time by Allison. Soon enough the dynamic duo return, although instead of fighting Allison is able to get them to sit down, and try to talk it out. Here is when Chad tells more about the infamous Memorial Day Massacre. He reveals that it was his mother who survived the killing spree, while his dad's body was never found. This explains his intense hatred of rednecks. Dale then replies, trying to defend himself as he had nothing to do with the killing, and that he, and Tucker would've just been very young children at the time. During this, outside the cabin, the remaining two college kids go to the house as part of the plan. Armed with a weed whacker, the remaining guy breaks in, and accidentally rips his girlfriend's face off with the machine. Chad then breaks a lantern causing the fuel he poured around earlier to light up. Although some of the fire got on that remaining guy. The dumb blonde girl tries to help, but only makes it worse as the cabin now blows up. Only Tucker, Dale, and Allison are able to make it out. They think it's the end, though Allison is doubting her skills as a therapist. Dale reassures her that she's a great therapist though. This is before the reveal, that Chad it still alive, now extremely psychotic he gives chase to our heroes, putting us towards the climax of this movie.

The trio first try to escape Chad via car, but they crash, and Dale is knocked out for a short bit. When he comes to, he finds Tucker out of the car with a potentially fatal wound. Tucker tells Dale that he tried to stop Chad, but failed. He then motivates Dale, telling him that he has always been better then he thinks he is. Now full of confidence, Dale sets off with Jangers to go find Allison. He soon arrives at a abandoned saw mill where he has a quick gearing up montage. Dale then goes inside where he finds Allison strapped to one of those conveyor belts that lead to a circular rotating saw. If you know the proper term for that thing please tell me. With a lucky throw, Dale is able to rescue Allison, and stop Chad for a short bit. The two retreat upstairs where they come across an old newspaper with the image of the killer redneck behind The Memorial Day Massacre. They then notice that he looks a lot like Chad, and as confirmed via the text in the newspaper clipping, Chad's father was actually this killer all along. Chad now busts into the room they are hiding in, and Allison shows him the newspaper telling him that he is half-hillbilly. Chad refuses to listen though, and attacks the two. Although Dale finds some chamomile tea packets. Recalling earlier that Chad said he was allergic to chamomile, Dale throws throws some at Chad. Chad gets a severe allergic reaction, and proceeds to fall out of the window, onto some spikes, killing him. Although considering the opening of the film, Chad must not have died at this point in true movie killer fashion. Though nevertheless it's a happy ending for our heroes. Next scene shows a news broadcast in which they write off the event as a mass-suicide pact. It zooms out, showing the broadcast being played on a hospital TV. Tucker is shown to be recovering just fine, and Dale sneaks in a beer for him. The doctors were also able to sew back on his fingers... except one of the fingers has nail polish on it, so maybe it's a bit mismatched. Dale then tells Tucker he managed to get a date that night with Allison at the nearby bowling alley. We then cut to Dale, and Allison's date where they confess their love for each other, and kiss, and that is the end of the movie. Though it is somewhat foreboding with Chad still out there somewhere, it is overall a very happy ending that neatly wraps up this wonderful film. 

Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil is a one of a kind horror movie. It cleverly uses common horror movie tropes, and cliches to it's advantage to create a unique satire of the genre. Even if you aren't much a fan of the horror genre, I really recommend this movie. If it helps, don't think of it as horror, but as a dark comedy instead. This cult classic is a must-watch for anyone. This genre hybrid gets a 5 out of 5 Paws from me. Have a safe Friday the 13th everyone, don't go camping!

Movie Review: Legally Blonde

A classic feminist tale for every generation

First of all, happy International Woman's Day everyone! I'm going to be a bit serious for a moment, it's amazing how much has happened for Womankind in this last decade all over the world. From the rise of the #MeToo movement, to Disney's Frozen movies, to one young girl, Greta Thunberg going against all odds in a effort to save our home, Earth. There has been so much more notable feminist moments this past decade that if I were to list them all we would never get to our review. It is unfortunate however that sexism still exists. Being a denizen of the internet I have actually been on the receiving end of some rather derogatory comments. It is not good to dwell on the bad though, we must focus on the good, and improve from there, we got this. Due to today being such an important holiday, I've decided to review a movie that has stood the test of time, Legally Blonde. Released in 2001 the movie follows sorority girl, Elle Woods who decides to attend Harvard Law School in hopes of winning back her boyfriend. Now keep in mind that was a very nut-shelled description of the plot, just like Elle, this movie is so much more then it's basic premise. This movie I think means a lot to a lot of people. Though we may not exactly be like Elle, we, the audience can relate when she is judged based on her looks. This movie has also influenced a hit musical as well, so forgive me if I reference a song, two (Which I might link each song, because the musical is just as good as the movie).

The movie begins with Elle getting ready for the day when she is given a good-luck card by her friends. This is because her friends are suspecting that her boyfriend, Warren will propose to her that night. In order to fully be prepared, Elle, and her main friends... whose names I've forgotten, whoops. (They don't appear that much, so it's okay I think). While out shopping we already can see what the core conflict of the movie is when a shopkeeper says to her co-worker that "There is nothing better then a dumb blonde with daddy's plastic" as she then takes the tag off of a dress from the clearance rack. The shopkeeper then tries to sell it to Elle, expecting her to be the dumb blonde she sees her as, but Elle shows otherwise. Elle calls out the shopkeeper for attempting to sell her a old dress at full price. This scene helps establishes to the audience that although Elle behaves much like the "Valley Girl" stereotype (For younger readers, I think the 2020 version is the VSCO Girl sksksksk), she is actually very smart. Later that night Elle, and her boyfriend Warren are on a dinner date together. This is when Warren ends up disappointing Elle, by saying that he wants to not date her anymore. He says this because he is going to Harvard in less then a year, and if he wants to be a great senator he claims that he needs a Jackie, and not a Marilyn (Referencing Jackie Kennedy, and Marilyn Monroe). Elle returns to her Sorority, and enters a period of depression. Her two friends though manage to convince her to go to a local salon to get their nails done. There, Elle sees a picture of what Warren would describe as a "Jackie". It is from here Elle decides that in order to get Warren back she needs to go to Harvard, and become a law student.

Elle now begins the long process to get accepted into Harvard, even though the people around her say that it would be impossible for someone like her to go there. With the help of a study montage, Elle is accepted into Harvard with an astonishingly high score of 179 on the Law School Admission Test, combined with her already existing 4.0 GPA. Elle then heads off to her new dorm at Harvard, and is able to track down Warren. Everything seems to be going perfect until she starts her first class. There she finds just how different people on the East coast are compared to people from the West coast. She is shamed outside the classroom for not being completely ready. Outside the classroom, she meets Emmett who gives her advice on the teachers there at Harvard. When the class ends, Elle finds out that Warren is actually engaged to the same girl from class who had called her out for not being prepared, Vivian. Vivian, and Elle then become rivals competing for Warren's love. Along the way Elle becomes best friends with Paulette, a nail stylist at a local salon. Upon learning of Callahan's internship program, Elle really starts getting serious, as maybe getting the spot may impress Warren. Through her hard work, and determination Elle, along with Vivian, Warren, and one other student are accepted to become interns to Callahan, and just in time for a new case too. Elle learns that the client is famous fitness coach, Brooke Windham, who Elle actually had attended one of her classes before. Brooke had been accused of murdering her husband, though the evidence  proves it, Elle knows that isn't the truth. Although Brooke wouldn't give away her alibi, she tells it in secret to Elle who promises to keep it a secret. In the days leading up to the court showing, Elle meets up with Paulette again, and finds out that she is in love with the delivery guy. Elle then decides to teach her, and all the other girls in the salon how to the "Bend-and-Snap", a technique that gets any guy's attention. 

Back on the case with Elle refusing to reveal Brooke's alibi, later that night Vivian goes to Elle and says that she made the right choice to keep it a secret. The girls then bond over talking about the sexism seen from Callahan. The next day, she meets one of the witnesses, the pool boy, who claims that Brooke was sleeping with him. Though before his hearing Elle heard him talk about her shoes in great detail. With that information alone she finds out that he is actually gay, thus couldn't have slept with Brooke. To be honest Gay or European is the best song to come from any stage musical ever, okay. With that reveal Brooke is almost free, but the testimony from her stepdaughter might be enough to lock her up, though that won't be until tomorrow. Callahan complements Elle on her good work, and even says that he can get her to better places after college. He then proceeds to place his hand on her leg. Elle, in shock leaves. Vivian who saw it thinks that she had been sleeping with him though that isn't the truth. Emmett confronts Elle trying to figure out what happened. Elle tells him everything as she decides to quit. Why does one creep make her want to quit though? Well, throughout the whole beginning of the movie Elle is seen as a joke, a sexual object by others. When Callahan was praising her, that was the first time someone had complemented her for something other then her looks. Though seeing as he sexually assaulted her, all of it was a lie, making Elle realize that no one will ever see her seriously, and always see her a a sexual object. The next day though something surprising happens. Brooke fires Callahan, and taking his place is Elle, back in action thanks to her other Professor. Elle is also unapologetically herself, purse Chihuahua, and all. Along with that, her friends from the sorority have also come to watch her first court case. Elle at first nervous is able to get the witness' alibi. The alibi in which Elle completely pulls apart. 

Turns out the witness had gotten a perm that day, and was in the shower when the gunshots happened. Elle though knows better, you can't take a shower as soon as you get a perm, you have to at least wait a day. The witness then reveals that she was the killer all along, and that she didn't mean to kill her father, she wanted to kill Brooke. With the real murderer arrested, Brooke is free to go. Upon winning the case Warner tries to get Elle back, but Elle says that if she wants to be a partner in a law firm by the time she's thirty, she needs a boyfriend who's not a complete bonehead. We then fast forward two years to Elle, and her class' graduation ceremony. During this part we also get to see what the other characters had been up to, and what will  happen with them. Vivian dumped Warner, and she, and Elle are now best friends. Warner basically became a total loser. Paulette married the delivery guy, and is planning on naming their daughter after Elle. Emmett quit Callahan's ;aw firm, and opened up his own. He, and Elle have also been dating for these past two years as well, and plans on proposing that night. Overall this is a very happy ending, and it's so great to see Elle start out at the bottom, only to finish at the top while also discovering her own self worth along the way.

Legally Blonde, though the aesthetics are very early 2000s, the story itself is timeless. In this day, and age, we need more women like Elle then ever. Legally Blonde is just one of the many perfect movies to watch for international women's day. Maybe even check out the musical if you want something a little different. Legally Blonde is a great feminist movie, with a wonderful message for all girls, and for that, it gets a 5 out of 5 Paws up.

Mini Review: Onward

Pixar is moving "Onward" to greatness

Now don't get me wrong, I love Pixar very much, but the last half of the 2010s was a bit lackluster. The reason, mainly because they focused a lot on sequels. I don't hate these sequels, I think they did a good job on expanding their movie's story. Of course though, eventually the fans are going to want some new original content, and Pixar provided. Onward is a movie set in a fantasy world where magic exists. Though magic was hard to learn, so normal people instead invented electricity, and modern technology, as the years go by, magic basically disappears. However two Elf brothers go on a quest to find a little bit more magic in the world, so they may see their dad one last time. 

Onward is a emotionally driven movie with plenty of silly moments in between. Although, personally I feel that this movie is geared towards a older crowd, especially with the Dungeons and Dragons related jokes. This movie is ultimately about brotherhood, so those who grew up with a older brother taking care of them will be able to relate to the main characters. I know that after seeing this movie, I had to hug my older brother, and thank him for all he's done for me. If Onward was simply an appetizer before the main course that is Soul, coming out this summer, oh man, Soul is going to make me cry a literal river. In other words, this urban fantasy tale of brotherhood gets a 5 out of 5 Paws up.

Movie Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Four score, and seven years ago, Lincoln was a badass

Today is President's day, so obviously I should review a president related movie, and what better movie to review then Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Based on the book of the same name this historical fiction horror movie takes the real story of America's 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, and how he led a secret double life as a vampire hunter. This movie is pretty cheesy, that's a given, despite that though the movie takes itself very seriously which in a way I much more prefer for this movie strangely enough.

The movie opens in 1818 when Abraham was only a young boy. He saves his friend, a young black boy named William Johnson from a slaver at the expense of his father's job. Later that night the slaver from before sneaks into the house, and does something to his mother causing her to die shortly after the next morning. The movie then skips a decade later, Abraham is now a young adult bent on vengeance. Though first he gets himself drunk at a bar where he meets Henry Sturges who comments saying that men like him only get this drunk if they want to kiss a girl, or kill a man. Henry pats Abraham's back causing his gun to drop to the floor. He picks it up, and runs out of the bar, going to the docks where the man who killed his mother is located. Abraham then stumbles across the drained corpse of a woman. The killer, Jack Barts then attacks him. Abraham then shoots him in the eye with his gun, but it is proved useless as Jack gets up, and beats up Abraham. However before he can kill him, Abraham is rescued by someone else. The next morning we are introduced to Henry Sturges who tells Abraham that he was attacked by a vampire.Abraham demands that Henry teaches him how to kill vampires, but Henry doesn't want to unless he can toss away his lust for vengeance. Abraham lies, and says he agrees. We then get a training montage of Abraham learning how to kill vampires, using a silver coated axe to do so. After the montage, Lincoln moves to Springfield studying to become a lawyer while also killing vampires. His childhood friend Will returns to him as a grown adult asking for his help as a lawyer to prove his free status. Along the way, despite Henry warning Abraham that he can't have any romantic interests, he falls n love with Mary. 

After killing six or so vampires in the town of Springfield Abraham is finally tasked with killing Jack Barts. They have a intense fight, but Abraham comes out victorious, finally avenging his mother. Although, as Barts is dying, he tells Abraham that Henry is actually a vampire himself. This is true as the next scene we see him kill a man, and drink his blood. Henry explains his tragic backstory to Abraham. He was bitten by the head vampire Adam, and was forced to watch his wife be killed. Since he was turned into a vampire by Adam this makes it so then he is incapable of killing his kind. With this Henry has then been looking for humans to train to kill vampires, so they can kill Adam. However feeling betrayed, Abraham tries to then give up his hunting days, and gets married to Mary. Though he thought his hunting days were over, his friend Will had been kidnapped by Adam as part of a trap. Joshua Speed accompanies him on his hunt. At the plantation where Will is being held, Abraham kills a large crowd of vampires before being stopped by Vadoma, one of the main vampires. Speed also runs away, but surprisingly returns, saving Will, and Abraham. When escaping, they are assisted by Harriet Tubman, and I know, your brain is probably fried at this point. That's a good thing though, this is a movie you really need to throw out all historical accuracy. Upon returning to Springfield Abraham begins his campaign to become president so he can end slavery. Henry tries to warn him that he shouldn't do that as the vampires had been using the slaves as their main food source for the past century, and if Abraham messed that up, war would happen. As we know from our history books though, Abraham wins the election, and writes the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery across the country. The Civil War then breaks out, and the Confederates are assisted by the vampires, wiping out almost all Union soldiers on the first day. Abraham, and Mary's son, Will is also killed in the same way that his mother was (In the movie though he is played off as a single child, when in real life, he was their second child out of three. Though he did pass away from unknown causes making this somewhat accurate. Wow, learning!).

Almost giving up hope, he recalls that everyone has silver in some form. Remembering how silver kills vampires he confiscates all the silver in the area, and has it melted down into weapons for the Union. Meanwhile Speed thinks Abraham is making the wrong decision, and is tearing the country apart. Because of this, he betrays Abraham, and in secret tells the vampires about their plan. Knowing that the vampires are going to try, and stop the train Abraham, William, and even Henry decide to fight. During this fight scene it is revealed that they knew about Speed's betrayal, but it was actually part of their plan. The silver was actually being transported via a different railway. What he means is the Underground Railroad, led by Harriet Tubman they get the weapons to Gettysburg. The vampires then attempt to storm the union camp, but it fails as they all have silver weapons. Mary even kills Vadoma, getting vengeance for her son. The movie then skips to nearly two years later, April 14th, 1865. Henry offers to turn Abraham into a vampire,  but he declines, and instead gives his journal to Henry. Abraham then leaves to go attend a Opera with his wife, and the rest is history. Though we do quickly skip to the present at a modern bar. Henry meets a man in the exact same predicament as his old friend Abraham, and the movie ends.

If you're looking for a fun action horror that messes up history a bit, then this movie is for you. I mean what better movie to watch on President's Day then one that makes our 16th President into a vampire hunting badass. If this review gets popular enough i'll review Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies which is a movie based on another book by the same author as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. This cheesy vampire slaying adventure gets 5 out of 5 Paws up.

Mini Review: Parasite

And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to-

If you have been on the internet for the past few days chances are you have heard of the South Korean movie, Parasite, and how it became the first ever non-English film to earn a Best Picture award at the Oscars ceremony. That wasn't the only reward they earn though, Parasite also earned Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Original Screenplay. What this also means is that Director, Bong Joon-ho is now tied with Walt Disney himself for most awards earned in a single night. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a movie about the wealth disparity in South Korea, and how poverty forces the family in this film to do what they did.

Parasite beautifully illustrates the growing social divide between the rich, and poor. It is also written in a way that is understandable for anyone, anywhere, not just those living in Korea. Sure last year I said that Joker was the most thought compelling, and hard to talk about movie on this blog. I, take that back, and in the best way possible I mean. Parasite deserves all it's awards, and praise. I think it will be a long time before we see another movie like this. I really don't want to spoil anything, don't even watch the trailers, just go in completely blind. This Oscar winning masterpiece gets a easy 5 out of 5.