Santodemeo Reviews

Halloween Ends (2022)

A direct insult to fans of the series

[1/10 · 14 October 2022]

What can I say about this dreadful film that hasn't already been said in the thousands of reviews posted already? Probably nothing.

It is no exaggeration to say that this movie failed to deliver in every possible way and provided absolutely no satisfactory closure for the series. It feels ridiculous to even type these words, but Michael Myers is apparently taking on apprentices now, for anyone interested in honing their murder skills. Michael takes a complete backseat to the character of some town reject who the movie initially tries to build sympathy for. This reject inherits Michael's evil, develops a mean streak, and commits murders of his own around Haddonfield. We're even given a few scenes where old man Michael and his newly adopted son run around as a tag team committing several uninspired, lackluster murders. Rinse and repeat, with things gradually becoming sillier and more confusing along the way. I know reviewers say this a lot, and it's a bit of a cliche, but I truly could've walked out of this one and not cared a bit. I wouldn't have missed a thing.

Laurie is the same old jaded and paranoid woman she was in the last two films. Nothing awe-inspiring or jaw-dropping about her presence in this film. The actress playing her granddaughter looks bored most of the time, like she's just praying for filming to wrap soon so she can get her paycheck. We have the usual array of wooden law enforcement characters, none of which add anything memorable to any of the scenes.

I've said it before, and I'll say it yet again: Halloween H20 is the true end of the series. It was a good film with a perfect conclusion. That's how it was supposed to end. Laurie had decapitated Michael and the story was finished. The only reason the series continued after that, and turned into a clown show, is obviously because of money. What really aggravates me is how disengaged the creators of this crap film are from the fans. The group of idiots who greenlighted this mess had to have known that this was is no way an entertaining or well-made film. If they honestly thought this film was quality material, then every single one of them degenerates should be fired and sent to a psychiatrist. The truth is that they couldn't have cared less about giving the loyal Halloween fans what they truly deserved: a strong, satisfying, and memorable finish to the series.

A very disappointing, disgraceful end to what used to be one of the most terrifying horror series. This was one of the very few times that I was physically agitated sitting through a film. It felt like I was being force-fed poison.

This film will leave you with nothing to remember, except for maybe lighter pockets and a headache. Dismiss it like it was never there. It plain old sucks.

House of Gucci (2021)

Not Good or Bad. Bland is the word for it..

[5/10 · 6 December 2021]

With all the buildup that this movie had I thought it was going to be the most stylish thing to come out of Hollywood in maybe the last 15 years. I didn't know a damn thing about the Gucci family or legacy, but I figured with the cast and director that it had, it must be worth a look.

Well, not really. Let me just say that there's nothing exceptionally terrible about this movie. The actors do their thing with their respective characters, convincingly enough. The problem I had with the movie overall is that nothing about it jumped out at me or gave me that "Wow" feeling or impact. The movie was a straight shooter, with the creativity and originality being rather low on the spectrum. It seemed like you could fill the same roles with a bunch of no-name actors and still get the same result. The scenery and visuals were nice most of the time, but we're talking Italy, so I would expect some beautiful environments by default. The soundtrack leaves something to be desired, at least in my opinion. I felt that this movie had a real opportunity to do something innovative or spectacular in the music department, but it really didn't. We get some of the cliched Italian operatic pieces (which is great stuff, don't get me wrong) that play during some scenes, but the rest of it was easily forgettable. The plot follows a very linear, rather predictable path, with little to no surprises that catch the viewer off guard.

I must say I had a very weird feeling after seeing this film. Talk about ambiguous. I watched it with a friend, who I went out to dinner with afterward. We talked about the movie and I told her about the strange sensation I had about it that never really happened with any other movie before. This movie pretty much brought my mind to a stalemate, which I'm still conflicted about to this day. Like I said, it's not really good or bad in my opinion. I think that, in the end however, it will leave a lot of people disappointed more than satisfied. It felt like a missed opportunity, more than anything else. It's like a big, colorful, lavishly decorated birthday cake with no taste or flavor.

Sinthia: The Devil's Doll (1970)

What a mess

[3/10 · 26 November 2018]

Somebody was drunk or high when they came up with this one. A completely nonsensical collage and mishmash of random scenes with no solid plot. As immature and stupid as it sounds, the only benefit to being on set for this disaster would've been the beautiful, naked women.

Gotti (1996 TV Movie)

A great movie...put's the Travolta circus to shame.

[8/10 · 26 November 2018]

I usually prefer longer, in-depth reviews, but I'll keep this one short and sweet. Assante nails the title role of Gotti, giving a perfect blend of charisma, menace, and paranoia, particularly in the latter half of the film. The supporting cast are all guys you've seen hanging around in other movies of the genre and lend substance to the material and storyline. My only minor gripe with the film would be having to rush the rise and fall of Gotti into 104 minutes. That being said, the film struck a nice balance in terms of time allotment for key points of the plot and the ability to keep moving the story along.

Watch this entertaining movie for what it is. It's not "Goodfellas" or "Casino," but manages to portray the seedy underworld for the haven of violence and betrayal that it truly is. Assante's portrayal of Gotti makes John Travolta's version look like a poorly-developed fifth grade school play. This is THE Gotti movie to watch if you are interested in his life story and years as head of the Gambino family. Enjoy!

Gotti (2018)

Wow. Just wow...not in a good way

[1/10 · 15 September 2018]

A very superficial film with no character development and no steady flow. Just a bunch of random snippets of emotional nothingness. No depth to this film whatsoever. Stay away and go watch Armand Assante's version. It looks like Casablanca next to this whirlwind disaster.