jamespurcell-17815 Reviews

Fallout (2024– )

I've never seen a bigger echo chamber for a mediocre show

[6/10 · 15 April 2024]

I just finished this series. The writers took the goofiness of the games and copy/pasted it over into the show, expecting game goofiness during horrific events to translate well over to show goofiness during horrific events. This is a similar flavor as the "horror comedy," which I think is an abomination, save a few rare examples. Like during a massacre, one of the vault leaders is more concerned about the caterers bringing out the jello too early. I mean, he's literally being chased by a machete wielding maniac when he says this. That's the kind of mood-killing cringe that peppers through this show. You know that feeling where you get invested in a mediocre show? And you know there's better things to watch out there, but you aren't invested in those; you're invested in this mediocre show, and you know it's not going to get better, but too bad, you're invested. That's what watching Fallout felt like.

The backgrounds, effects, and general world building is pretty cool, and definitely captures that Fallout vibe. I give it a 7 because of the nostalgia, but if I hadn't played the games then I imagine this would be a 5 or 6.

Pignorant (2024)

Very Interesting for non-vegans in my opinion

[9/10 · 2 April 2024]

I can honestly say that if I had seen this one 12 years ago before I went vegan then I would have been compelled to stop eating animals, overnight. Unlike how I found other docs like Earthlings to be, this one isn't gratuitous - it's graphic in very specific parts (and it needs to be because the truth is graphic), but it's never gratuitous. This documentary actually has a story and an advancing narrative that keeps the tension up. It's actually entertaining, the drama being ratched up or brought down, and keeps you laser focused on what's happening. It's not just a slog through slaughterhouse footage, not even close. I found that this doc aims to answer the most common questions that animal eaters have or anti vegan statements that they make.

Vegans should watch this as well as non vegans. Seeing the horror up close puts the fire in my belly to keep speaking up.

Beneath (V) (2013)

Absolutely worth my time

[6/10 · 1 December 2022]

I love when I skeptically click on these 5.4 rated movies on imdb (what it's at now), but what I get is a 6.3 calibre movie. There wasn't any point in this one where I was like "nah, that wouldn't happen" or "nah, I'm bored." This was just solid all the way through, with no boredom, no cringe moments, no scenes that drag out, just pure claustrophobic terror. I will say most of the jump scares were predictable horror tropes (girl turns around quickly and there's a face behind her, etc.), but they were still high quality for what they are. It's interesting, the fact that something this good only got a 5.4 has me wondering about other horror movies around that score. Maybe there's a lot more good ones then I thought.

Good scares, good atmosphere, good acting, good gore, basically good everything. The only reason I didn't rate it higher is that it's a very simple premise. It accomplishes what it set out to do, but what it set out to do is not very ambitious. This isn't high art, like Event Horizon or Annihilation. It reminded me of The Descent, although not quite as good due to less character development. In The Descent, I really cared for the characters. In this one, not so much.

If you want simple and effective claustrophobic horror, this is it.

Black Christmas (1974)

Damn this was effective!

[7/10 · 23 November 2022]

Think of the most compelling and interesting modern slasher you've ever seen, and then imagine if it was filmed in 74'. That's what this is. I was put off by the fact that this movie looks and sounds dated by today's standards, just like all movies from that era. For me, that's usually a deal breaker. But goddamn this movie truly is tasteful and classy horror, with well acted characters that make smart decisions and say smart things that a real person would do and say, and a truly terrifying psycho killer! This movie absolutely puts to shame all "slashers" that have come after it. Seeing a brooding atmosphere set up like this really makes me understand just how much my standards have been lowered by the current offering of horror movies out there. I've just gotten used to the mediocre and accepted it as normal, but Black Christmas is true home invasion horror, like I've never imagined. And this might be the creepiest psycho killer I've ever seen.

I could see how this generation might be put off with the slowness of some of the movie. From my perspective, it wasn't slowness, it was absolutely necessary scenes to properly build an atmosphere where the actual terrifying scenes are extra terrifying, but that's getting rarer and rarer to see in modern films.

What a movie.

Scream (I) (2022)

No, Wes Craven's movies were not "waaay" better.

[6/10 · 17 November 2022]

I just watched Scream 1, 2, 3, 4, and Scream 2022 this week. I wasn't sure where to start because I kept reading reddit reviews with people talking about their favourite scream movies, and which ones were bad, but eventually I noticed a trend with all these reviews: it's always people who had seen the scream movies 5 or 10 years ago and we're just operating on "nostalgia." But I, dear reader, have seen them all just this week, and they are super fresh in my mind. I can give you helpful information, where others can't (because they saw the movies 5 or 10 years ago and are just going by the "feeling" in their head that they can recall, but they will never tell you that.)

Scream 1: This is a perfect movie. There is absolutely no silliness, no absurd horror tropes, no super strength that makes no sense, no "I just bumped into someone that has been in front of me for 5 minutes" loud noises, none of that. Just horror satire, with a BIG emphasis on horror and a small emphasis on satire, relatively. This movie knows exactly what it's doing at all times. There is no wasted breath, no dragging scenes, everything serves a purpose. A perfect movie. And it holds up completely. I'm telling you, it was just as good when I saw it this week as it was when I saw it 15 years ago. There's no silly special fx that age, or cgi, or anything like that. It's all perfect, like it was made today.

Scream 2: This is where the scream movies first introduce silliness and horror tropes that annoy you and don't make sense. Super strong teleporting killers, loud noises from bumping onto someone that she should have seen or heard for the last 5 minutes, brushing off near fatal wounds like they are nothing, etc. All that gibberish that takes you out of the movie. It only gets worse from here though. However, this is still very much a scream movie, and it has some really effective scenes, like the opening scene. Scenes that are on par with the original. Unfortunately, this is far from a perfect movie.

Scream 3: This is as silly as the series gets. We have now maximized the silly horror tropes. Maximum teleporting super strong killers, maximum people brushing off near fatal wounds like they are nothing, maximum loud noises from trivial events, just maximum eye rolling moments. This movie is the bad joke of the series. Unlike Scream 4 however, this movie does advance the overall story a bit.

Scream 4 Takes itself more seriously then the last which I appreciated, but we are still at maximum teleporting killers, and maximum brushing off near fatal wounds like they are nothing, as well as maximum loud noises from trivial events.

Scream 2022: They did it. They recaptured the magic of the original, even moreso then Scream 2. This isn't a perfect movie either, with annoying horror tropes like teleporting killers, people brushing off near fatal wounds like they are nothing, and loud noises because of trivial events, but it's to such a significantly less degree then it was in scream 3 and 4. And other then those tropes, this is a fantastic movie. Not even close to as good as the first though, due to the horror tropes as well as spotty acting from a few of the new main characters. The original had none of these problems.

Scream 2022 was fun though, and I would re-watch it. It is the best sequel.

Now here's the bad news: you will definitely enjoy Scream 2022 more if you watch Scream 1 and 2 (worth it), 3 and 4 (awful) beforehand. But honestly, I want to burn all copies of screams 3 and 4. They brought the series down.

I will never again re-watch scream 3 and 4. They can go to the wayside for me, forever. If (more like when) I do a scream marathon, it will always and forever be Scream 1, then 2, then Scream 2022, and that's it. In that order.

Kalifornia (1993)

Very compelling first half, less so for the 2nd

[7/10 · 9 November 2022]

I'm really happy I watched this movie. The first half is deserving of an 8 from someone who rates movies extremely harshly (I hate everything). The 2nd half gets a little uninteresting, when we know what the deal is and yet the movie continues to drag on even though there isn't much more to be revealed or to shock us with. But man, up to the point that the protagonist discovers what is going on, what a movie.

Juliette Lewis playing the character Adele is very endearing in this movie. I mean that, this is the best I've ever seen her, by a huge margin. I can't remember the last time I cared so much about a character in a movie, so if you are a fan of hers then this is the singular movie you must see right now.

As someone who hates just about everything I watch, I am blown away by this movie. What a gem. I'd give the first half an 8 and the second half a 6.5.

Fear of Rain (2021)

This is a special movie.

[7/10 · 18 October 2022]

This might be the best 2021 movie I've seen. I saw other reviews talking about rear window/disturbia similarities, and I feel like something special was missed. This is such a touching movie regarding mental illness; I really felt for the protagonist. It's the rear window / disturbia stuff that feels tacked on. This movie isn't really about that. I found myself almost bursting into tears multiple times during this one, because of how powerful the performance of our protagonist was as she goes through her daily life of confusion and suffering that no normal person can come anywhere close to understanding.

The twist is awesome in this one!

The special effects used to express psychosis and schizophrenia are terrifying and powerful. Seeing this was a weird experience for me - it's sitting at a 5.9 now, so I'm sitting on my couch all geared up for a 5.9 calibre movie. And instead I get a 7.5 calibre movie, but maybe a bit less because the hollywood ending wasn't nearly as impactful as all the events preceding it.

I'm going to be thinking about this one for a bit. What a gem. Reminded me a bit of the movie "Still Alice," even though the actual events that unfold are drastically different. Both of those movies just hit me in the same emotional spot.

Byzantium (2012)

Neat little movie

[6/10 · 5 October 2022]

This movie grabbed my interest and held it for the first half or so. The first half was really sweet and the characters were all really endearing. It just got boring for the 2nd half. I mean, this movie really does have it all, albeit just in little sprinkles - it has endearing characters that you care about, violence and implied dark sexual violence which just adds to the overall feel of empathy you have for the 2 female leads, excellent performances from everyone involved, nice music, nice sets, great story. It's got it all, but only in little sprinkles of greatness. Sadly, the 2nd half, the whole half, is just boring! It annoyed me, because I was really captivated by this movie in the first half. Still, it's absolutely worth your time.

For the most part, this is a slow movie. We aren't talking art-house crap or anything (only the pod-people like that garbage), but it's slow, so you'll want to be in that headspace. But it's really sweet, when it's not horrific. I really felt for the characters.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

One of the most powerful movies I've ever seen

[8/10 · 28 September 2022]

I saw this one last year, but watching the new Jeffrey Dahmer series on netflix has got me to start thinking about it again. This really is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I had no idea Zac Effron had this kind of capacity as an actor; the man is absolutely brilliant. It's awe inspiring, and chilling. And the clips of the real life court events at the end, just to let you know how insane all of this was, were just perfect. Having not read about the case, I thought the movie was taking some absurd liberties, eg "there's no way THAT could have happened in real life." But then they showed the real life court clips and yes, it was exactly that absurd.

Speak No Evil (2022)

Man, what a stinker of a movie.

[4/10 · 21 September 2022]

I thought I was prepared for the level of bizarre decisions the protagonists make in terms of basically letting themselves be killed, but I wasn't. Not to this level. I'm amazed that I sat through this, because the level of ineptitude and sheer lack of desire to survive they display gets worse and worse as the movie goes on.

*spoiler*

the father literally allows his daughter to be mutiliated, while conscious, and then kidnapped, right in front of him. He barely makes so much as a murmur. Sure, he gets hit a couple times, but then he just LETS IT HAPPEN IN FRONT OF HIM. It's mindblowing. And then after the daughter has her tongue SCISSORED OFF, in a car sitting next to her parents who barely do a thing to protect her, then the daughter is pulled out of the car, and BOTH PARENTS do nothing! I would be clawing at the bad couples' eyes, I would bite THROUGH their neck! Anything to save my child! Where is your sense of self preservation, for your loved ones and yourself? What is this garbage? And yes, it gets even dumber! Afterwards our protagonists literally allow themselves to be murdered! I seriously mean they follow all instructions from the killers, immediately, and then they are killed, with absolutely zero resistance. It's mind numbing.

*end spoilers*

It is for these reasons that this movie should be trashed. It's low quality, boring and insulting to your intelligence.

No Escape (I) (2015)

Holy crap this was intense!

[8/10 · 25 August 2022]

What a movie! I am in awe! Absolute awe! How are you going to lay a movie on me with a title as boring and cliche as "no escape," and then make it one of the most edge of your seat media experiences of my life?! When this nightmare ordeal finally faded to black, I just had to sit there and watch the credits for a while. This was intense! There were moments in this movie that were so intense, so jaw droppingly horrifying that I noticed afterwards that my arms were tense like a statue, like I was experiencing a mild flight or fight adrenaline rush. I can't remember the last time I saw a movie that had this effect on me. I was not expecting this at all.

An easy 8, and I rate movies very harshly. I think I've only seen a handful of movies that I'd rate that high. I'm still reeling from this one!

Alone (V) (2020)

Had me on the edge of my couch!

[7/10 · 18 August 2022]

Now this is more like it! This is a horrifying movie. Not in the sense of hyper violence or anything, but it gets the blood pumping! It's realistic, and terrifying, and plausible! If you like realistic horrifying survival situations against other human beings with no help anywhere for miles, this is the movie for you.

I Think We're Alone Now (2018)

Unbelievably boring

[3/10 · 18 August 2022]

It REALLY speaks to Peter Dinklage's acting ability that he could carry this movie. He is an unbelievable actor. No one else could have made this movie watchable. This is absolutely one of the most boring movies I've ever seen, but I kept watching because Peter Dinklage is so consistently compelling as an actor.

You will absolutely regret putting the time in to watch this, assuming you don't switch off in the first 10 minutes. The best I can tell you - the first 10 minutes are just as boring as the rest of the movie. The pace never changes, right until credits roll.

Parallel (II) (2018)

Time Lapse is a far better movie

[5/10 · 18 August 2022]

All the other negative reviews are right. Take a look, there's a common theme with all of them that I didn't pay attention to - yes, the first 20 minutes of this one are great, but then the rest of the movie turns into silly pop-music riddled candy crap fast consumption silliness. If you haven't seen Time Lapse, immediately switch off this and watch that one. If you have seen Time Lapse, you will absolutely be wishing that this was half the movie that that one was.

The Terminal List (2022– )

Thrilling, but manipulative in a bad way

[7/10 · 9 August 2022]

The writers spend so much effort and are so successful in making you feel absolutely dreadful for the main character, and sympathizing with all his actions. And then he starts trying to murder innocent federal agents. And then he successfully murders innocent federal agents. This would have been fine if the show respected this descent into darkness as his character arc, but the writers still clearly expect you to be sympathizing with the main character. Only I can't do that anymore; he's a monster and a murderer of innocents now. So stop expecting me to sympathize with him, you just undid all the sympathy you worked so hard to achieve in the first 6 or so episodes. It left me with a puzzled and weird feeling, like the show writers were lying to me about how I should feel.

That said, this show is really good. You should watch it.

X (II) (2022)

Excessivly geriatric killers are not scary. They are a joke.

[5/10 · 3 August 2022]

This movie is a pretty poor offering. Excessively geriatric killers are insulting. It's insulting what the movie expects us to accept. There's just nothing here of value, it's going to be a waste of your time. Not to mention the random cheesiness, like the recoil of a barreled rifle sending one of the aforementioned geriatrics flying backwards 7 feet and killing her. Like, what? Geriatric or not, grandma was still like 100lbs. So on top of being unable to take this movie seriously in any way, they also sprinkled in nonsense scenes. It's all a time-wasting joke.

Stranger Things (2016–2025)

S03 is unbelievably bad

[4/10 · 9 July 2022]

Season 1 had some truely brilliant scenes with some truely annoying scenes sprinkled in. It was worth it.

Season 2 had a similar feel, but many more plot lines that were just underdeveloped or completely dropped. It wasn't close to as good.

Season 3 should have got the show canceled, in terms of quality. It's unbelievably bad, and unbelievably annoying. I'm watching it just to get through it because I heard season 4 goes back to what made season 1 good.

Season 4, which I just watched, was as good as season 1 up until about episode 5. Then the taint of season 3 creeps in, and just gets amped up and more silly and annoying (just like season 3 was) until it becomes unwatchable, all the way to the end. Season 4 was a bait and switch. A Trojan horse that killed you into thinking that this was a return to the greatness of season 1, only to do a 180 and rehash the childishness of season 3.

It's worth looking up on the internet to see if season 3 can safely be skipped. It is a series ruiner. It's that awful. If I had to do it all over again, I'd only watch season 1. Ultimately, stranger things is a bad show. There are too many good shows out there to waste your time with bad shows.

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

Insulting crap

[2/10 · 29 May 2021]

I just know that if I start clicking on user names of other reviewers here that I'm going to see obvious plant accounts. I've never actually seen a "twist" that is this insulting to the audience. It almost had to be seen to be believed. An absolute fail of a movie that should never be watched by anyone. It was a serious effort not to turn this one off at the twist reveal, but I wanted to be able to write an informed review.

Click on my user name and pick one of those movies; I have good taste.

The Block Island Sound (2020)

Maybe the best movie of this genre I've ever seen

[6/10 · 30 April 2021]

Just finished this 2 seconds ago. It's a slow-burn supernatural thriller. I haven't seen very many movies in that genre, but within that genre this movie SLAPS. It's really good. Solid acting, solid story, solid creepiness factor, solid mystery that leaves you wanting more, solid music, solid everything.

I am super impressed with this one. I was not expecting something of this high calibre. And the story is for once not spoon fed to you! It's amazing, and yes it's super easy to piece it together but there is absolutely 0 exposition. Creepy stuff happens, it becomes obvious at the end what happened, but no one ever talks about it. I feel like the movie treated me like a functioning adult.

And at the end there's even a subtle vegan message! Just fantastic all around.

I give it a 6.5.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Yes, it is indeed a masterpiece

[8/10 · 15 April 2021]

I think this is one of the highest ratings I've ever given to a movie. The first review I saw on IMDB for this was titled "a masterpiece." I agree. The actor who played the protagonist was just off the charts awesome. Unbelievably convincing for the role he played. Add Morgan Freeman being Morgan Freeman to that and goddamn was this a stellar movie. And it was DARK too! It really just checked all the boxes for me. This one definitely commanded my attention for every second of it's runtime.

It has a 7.6 currently, I would give it that if I could. I'm rounding up to an 8.

Solace (II) (2015)

Strong start, pretentious and annoying towards the boring end

[5/10 · 15 April 2021]

This one was deceptive because I thought it started out pretty cool, and of course Anthony Hopkins dominates every scene he is in, as is standard. But then we get to the 3rd act, and we get introduced to the 5 minute scenes of 1 second jump cuts that irritate me and make me lose interest. Then we get quick millisecond cuts of pretentious imagery sprinkled amongst every scene from the start of the 3rd act until the end. We also get some acting from Colin Farrell that is so silly that it instantly made me stop taking what was going on in the movie seriously.

I would never recommend this movie to anyone. If this were on TV, I would change the channel once we got to the 3rd act. It was THAT bad. It was a serious struggle not to turn this one off at the 1 hour mark.

Resurrection (1999)

An EXTREMELY poor man's Se7ven

[4/10 · 31 March 2021]

This movie is a joke. It's so bad that I actually burst out laughing at the final shot. It was one of those "Really?" moments. Let's get into it:

Color scheme of the movie is made wonky with the flushed out blues and greens and browns to look "darker" and more "noir-ish." It's laughably bad.

It is embarrassing how much content is lifted directly from a far superior movie that we all know and love, Se7en. It's so bad that I would not be surprised if directors got sued over this. The partner even wears Brad Pitt's leather jacket! It's a joke!

In addition to having so much content lifted from Se7ven, this one is chock full of schlock, ie. The bad guy dies falling with his arms spread like Jesus on the cross. Without being too spoilery, remember how I said tons of content is lifted directly from Se7en.

People break character in the 3rd act. Lawyers walk into crime scenes of dismembered bodies and don't even bat an eye, meanwhile all the hardened cops are puking their guts out. Except for our main guy of course. It's all a joke.

This movie makes me want to watch Se7en again. Like, really bad. This is definitely made-for-TV level garbage.

The Devil's Candy (2015)

a SOLID movie

[6/10 · 19 March 2021]

For me, the strength of this movie really lies in the acting. All members of the family and the villian are really really compelling. And then there's the very disturbing elements; I'm used to seeing movies with disturbing elements that have spotty acting, but movies that have very disturbing elements with immaculate acting are rare.

6.5, but lost .5 because of a boring and cliched hollywood ending:

**minor spoiler**

When the lead stabs the villian in the final scene, it's made out to be this huge dramatic thing despite looking very stupid. The music swells and crescendos right at the moment of attack, the villian is killed by a weapon that is super ironic; it's really just crap. Thankfully it's only like 20 seconds of the movie. And while all this cliche crap is going on, everyone is being engulfed in flames including the lead's daughter, so maybe MOVE YOUR ASS instead of having your cliched dramatic hollywood moment. Yea, it was stupid. But every other aspect of this movie is awesome.

It's also important to note that this is one of those super rare movies that really EARNS your fear. There are approximately ZERO "loud noise" jump scares in this one. We don't have time for that childish bs here. It's all just creepiness to the max, and I loved it.

"Relic" is another one of these movies that earns your fear, and I highly recommend.

Afflicted (2013)

Probably the best "cam" movie I've seen

[7/10 · 18 March 2021]

I watched this one last night without knowing anything going in. It started out goofy and I was facebooking on my phone not paying attention, but it does not take long for some creepy stuff to start happening. And then when it goes, it goes, and this movie gets seriously cool. The only problem I had with this movie was the goofy start which I found annoying, but that's like 10 minutes. Everything else checks out, and if you click on my name you'll see that I rate movies very harshly. I highly recommend this one!

The Burrowers (2008)

I found this one REALLY boring

[3/10 · 1 March 2021]

It was just so boring. Everything about it. All the acting, the script, the characters (I don't remember any names), the "horror" elements. This is a really uninteresting movie. There isn't a whole lot to say about it - it's just boring.