I have watched several movies and TV shows in my lifetime. I have increasingly viewed more as I have a pop culture podcast. To have content besides your typical Hollywood drama and confusion over nepo babies, I need to view as much as possible. During this strenuous semester, I have been watching all kinds of things to keep my mind off all the papers I need to start. Without further ado, I will list the ones I have watched and my opinions on them
MOVIES
Knock at the Cabin (2023): M. Night Shyamalan’s movie was riveting, and a bit odd. This movie is about a couple and their adopted child moving into a cabin for the summer. When they arrive, this group of people breaks into their house, claiming the apocalypse is near. The couple and their child fend for their lives and try to see if they are telling the truth or if they are out of their minds. I love David Bautisa and Johnathan Groff so I was excited to see this.
Overall rating: 9/10
Scream VI (2023): If you know me, then you know I love a good slasher film every now and then. This movie includes the iconic fictional serial killer Ghostface. In this movie, the four survivors from the last film move to New York City to move away from the murderous town of Woodsboro. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in cases where Ghostface’s masks from each movie appear on murder sites. The four try to survive the murderous hands of Ghostface. Again, I love slasher films so I enjoyed this one. Of course, I love the original (Billy Loomis still has my heart)
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
65 (2023): This survival movie takes place on planet Earth 65 million years ago. A pilot named Mills crashes on Earth and attempts to survive the dinosaurs who still roamed the Earth. He and another survivor by the name of Koa tries to find a way back to their time instead of becoming dinosaur food. This is not my type of movie, but I did want to see Adam Driver (love the Man). This movie piqued my interest, but I do not think I would ever watch it again. I also now have a fear of dinosaurs (even though they are dead).
Overall rating: 7.5/10
Sinister (2012): This story is about a writer named Ellison Oswald (played by Ethan Hawke) who moves his family into a house where a murder took place recently. While exploring the house, Oswald finds a projector in his attic that has some snuff films. Upon watching these movies, he finds out this is evidence of the murders that had happened, which Oswald tries to research for his crime book. Random things happen in his house that are out of the ordinary, and it began to turn the family insane. After putting the pieces together, Oswald realizes their lives are at stake. This was an older movie, which I tend to like more than the new ones. Moreover, it was good but it was something I would not watch again. But I did like Ethan Hawke’s acting in this movie!
Overall rating: 6/10
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975): This movie is about a man named Randle Patrick McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson) who is put in a mental institution. He does not have any mental diagnoses, but he was a threat to the city. There is a nurse named Nurse Ratched, who rules the institution with an iron fist which Randle is not fond of. This allows him to get together a bunch of men to wreak havoc. They even went as far as having a party with adult beverages and making a mess all over the common area. This movie was a humorous look into the flawed physiatric systems in the 60s which presents the movie as a dark comedy. This has been on my watch list for many years, and I was glad I watched it. It was humorous, and Jack Nicholson did a wonderful acting job in this movie. Also, Danny Devito was great in it.
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Kadaver (2020): This movie is about a family in a Norwegian city where a nuclear disaster occurred. Struggling to find food and a safe place to live, the mother Lenora goes out into the world. She sees an opportunity to attend a show in a local theater including fine dining. Lenora, who happened to be a performer of the theatrical arts before the disaster, takes the offer. When they went to the theater, it turned into a dangerous game. It was interactive, so they had to wear masks and walk around. From there, children begin to disappear and people start dying. In a fight to survive, the couple sticks together to find a way out. This movie freaked me out to the point where I could not finish it. It was a slow movie and the camerawork made me a little queasy.
Overall rating: 4.5/10
TV Shows
The Last of Us (Started in 2023): Based on the video game, this show is about a man named Joel and a girl named Ellie. This tv show takes place during an outbreak of a fungal virus. Joel and Ellie face many dangerous situations with Infected people and many crooked salespeople. I started this originally to gawk at Pedro Pascal in every episode. I am still working through the episodes (they are like an hour long each). Moreover, I love this show and I highly recommend it.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Abbott Elementary (Started in 2021): This show is about an inner-city public school in Philadelphia where the teachers strive to help their students succeed. They run into problems like classroom behavior, broken lights, and nutrition. As an Early Childhood Education major, this show stands out to me. They do a wonderful job of highlighting problems and situations a teacher might face. It is a hilarious show and has similar camera work as The Office. Moreover, I highly recommend it!
Overall Rating: 10/10
Southpark (Started in 1997): Yes, I had clips from this show on my For You page on TikTok! If you are not aware of this raunchy cartoon, it is about a group of children that goes on big adventures. This show is deemed controversial for its inappropriate elements, but they make fun of almost everybody. There are some elements they incorporate that make me a little uncomfortable, but other than that, I think it is funny. I love Butters the most because of how sweet he is! Any episode with him makes the show ten times better!
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
