Mike Goes To Movies

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) So, it's been a minute, hasn't it?? I've been away doing some cool work out in Vancouver that left me with little time to entertain you with my sub-par reviews. But like I said... "I'd be back!" (*cue cymbal crash*) Ok, right, lame joke, I get it.... Dark Fate is the newest instalment in this everlasting franchise. One might be surprised why they continue beating the dead horse of this series as each of the recent sequels have been underwhelming and not entirely successful. But, like the T-800 itself, I guess the Terminator series really is that hard to kill. But with Dark Fate I must say there was hope! The new sequel marked the return of creator, James Cameron, as producer and co-writer, as well as the return of original stars, Arnie and Linda Hamilton. As such, this one would seemingly be a return to the source formula that made the two originals such resounding classics. Unfortunately, a saviour to the series Dark Fate w...

The End Of The F***ing World (Seasons 1 and 2) There's something about Netflix's The End Of The F***ing World that just does it for me. I don't know if it's the dark, quirky world its created, its comically nihilistic outlook on life, or the deeply compelling characters its created in James and Alyssa (and many of the supporting characters), but there's something about the show that demands me to binge each new season in ungodly compulsive speeds. Perhaps this is an indication of my own inner-disturbances (note to self: look into this further...), but under the surface of antisocial behaviours, violence and sex TEOTFW is a very relatable story of two teenagers simply trying to understand themselves and their place in this oftentimes perplexing and challenging world. It is attempting this Herculean task that our two leads, James and Alyssa, ultimately find one another. As said, much of the show's success likely comes down to the black and quirky (I am going...

Parasite (2019) For anyone who knows anything about contemporary film I'm sure you've heard of Parasite. It's that new one by veteran Korean writer/director, Bong Joon Ho, that won a little something called the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes... whatever significance that all holds. Okay, now for real, Parasite really is a near perfect thriller illustrating the masterclass talent, as both writer and director, of Bong. Parasite has the feel of a Hitchcockian thriller - it is grounded in its strong characters, its tension mounts and mounts towards its epic climax, and to give too much away about its plot, which is slowly drawn out, would be to ruin much of the fantastic surprises. I will tell you though that the film's title is very apt in its description and relevance to the plot, as well, that this is a story about family (or two families): the dynamics between them and within its members and their everyday activities in order to get by. The cast are all ...

The Lighthouse (2019) Though his style likely isn't for everyone, I must say that to me writer/director, Robert Eggers, is a pretty fucking cool guy. The Lighthouse is Eggers follow up to his fantastic, family-driven, nightmarish folk tale, The Witch (a must-see for all horror fans). In a similar vein, The Lighthouse is another psychological horror/thriller period piece that is about two lighthouse keepers, or wickies , as they're called, who work on an isolated lighthouse that sits atop a rocky outcrop constantly battered by poor conditions and extreme storms. Like the best psychological horror, The Lighthouse is a downward spiral: it starts off normal enough but, like the psyches of our wickies, things slowly begin to derail as forces both natural and unnatural seep into their lives and haunt them from the inside out. Willem Dafoe plays the veteran keeper; the nature of the job has clearly taken its toll over the years and he may be hiding some insider knowledge of the ...