Horse Girl (2020)

Netflix for a very long time had come out with material that was just phenomenal whether it be original documentary films/series, original series, stand up specials, or even their original films. Now with Disney Plus being around, the company has to step up their game. The film that I chose for today features a slew of actors that have all either been on Netflix shows or films as we watched 2020's Horse Girl which was co-written and directed by Jeff Baena (The Little Hours). The film stars Netflix veteran and co-writer of the film Alison Brie (The Little Hours) as the socially distant, but innocent Sarah who has a love for paranormal TV shows, horses, and arts and crafts. One day after a weird dream, Sarah begins to decline mentally as the things she dreams about start to trickle into her real life and start becoming a hindrance. The film also stars Debby Ryan (Netflix's Insatiable) as Nikki,  Jake Picking (Netflix's Hollywood) as Brian, Molly Shannon (The Little Hours) as Joan, John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook) as Roy, Lauren Weedman (Date Night) as Cheryl, John Reynolds (Stranger Things) as Darren, Meredith Hagner (Set It Up) as Heather, Paul Reiser (Aliens) as Gary, Robin Tunney (Empire Records) as Agatha Kaine, Matthew Gray Gubler (Alvin And The Chipmunks) as Darren, and Dylan Gelula (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Jane Doe.

The film is actually very good and definitely one that I think is worth checking out if you are into the more psychological side of thrillers because this is a story of a girl falling into hysteria. I couldn't have thought of anyone better to play the role than the amazing Alison Brie who is yet to disappoint me with what she releases whether it be G.L.O.W., BoJack Horseman, The Little Hours, etc. The poor girl even has an awkward full frontal nude scene in the film that must have been interesting to film, but she does such a great job. She makes you believe that everything is OK with her in the beginning of the film, but the thing is you have to pay attention to the signs when given to you. I say that because she eventually descends into madness and the signs have been there all along with how some of the people act when they are around her. I should have known when I saw them, but I was like why are they acting like she's weird and then the film progresses and you begin to understand. She is definitely the main star of the film while everyone else is literally a supporting actor to just her and it definitely works. They did a great job with the acting and I loved when they went into the dream sequence towards the end because that was a trip. I definitely recommend this to anyone because a good story can take you anywhere and they accomplish that with good cinematography as well.  With that being said, I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Aliens (1986)

One of the evolutionary films of the 20TH Century was 1979's Alien which was one of the first films to feature a woman as the main hero of the film. That was a huge move back in the day considering that most films featured men as the heroes and women were always rescued. That is why I decided to check out the sequel in 1986's Aliens which was written and directed James Cameron (Terminator: Dark Fate). The film once again stars Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters) as Ripley who has been frozen for over 57 years on her ship when she is found after the events of the first film. Since that time, as colony had already set up shop on the moon, but the problem is that they've lost contact and now Ripley is on her way back with Colonial Marines, but do they have the firepower to handle what is happening? The film also stars Carrie Henn (Alien³) as Newt, Michael Biehn (The Terminator) as Corporal Hicks, Paul Reiser (The Little Hours) as Burke, Lance Henriksen (Alien Vs Predator) as Bishop, Bill Paxton (Weird Science) as Hudson, William Hope (Captain America: First Avenger) as Lt. Gorman, Jenette Goldstein (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas) as Private Vasquez, Mark Rolston (Rush Hour) as Drake, Al Matthews (Superman III) as Sgt. Apone, and Ricco Ross (Mission: Impossible) as Frost.

Prior to viewing this film, I had only seen Alien and Alien: Covenant so I didn't really know what to expect going into this one. I will say that the original had a certain magic to it thanks to Ridley Scott who gave it that horror element whereas James Cameron was going for the more big budget blockbuster style we had seen in plenty of his films. Now I am not taking anything away from his version because it was really good and it had me glued, but I liked that he added a more corporate element to it. The addition of Burke (Reiser) added a different element naturally because he looks at things in a dollars and sense kind of way and he would naturally have conflict with everyone else. Up until now, we never really had that element in the previous film so you need a more human villain and he was perfect. The Aliens themselves were absolutely awesome including the introduction of the very pissed off mama alien who does not appreciate what Ripley and Co. are doing. The element of suspense wasn't as great as the first film, but there were some really good intense moments in this one. I absolutely loved the cast of the film and I thought the choices were great especially the late Bill Paxton. Some of the special effects were a little noticeable at times, but overall it was actually pretty good and it has to be for a film like this. I think I am definitely looking forward to continue the journey towards having seen every film in the series, but I fear they are not as good as this one. I am going to go ahead and give this film an A- for a final grade.

The Little Hours (2017)

To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of the film that I chose for today, but it featured a really good collection of a cast that I couldn't resist watching it. Back in the 14TH century, Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a collection of novellas that has been restored to it's original form in the book The Decameron and director Jeff Baena (Life After Beth) decided that he would write the script and turn it into a film called The Little Hours. The film stars Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist) as Massetto, a guard for a wealthy Lord who gets into something he shouldn't have and now he is on the run. Massetto by chance runs into a priest by the name of Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) who agrees to take him in under one condition, that he pretends to be a mute. That will prove to be challenging when the nuns in the convent begin tempting him. The film also stars Alison Brie (How To Be Single) as Alessandra, Kate Micucci (The LEGO Batman Movie) as Ginevra, Aubrey Plaza (Ingrid Goes West) as Fernanda, Molly Shannon (Wet Hot American Summer) as Sister Maria, Fred Armisen (Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy) as Bishop Bartolomeo, Jemima Kirke (Girls) as Marta, Nick Offerman (Bad Times At The El Royale) as Lord Bruno, Adam Pally (The Mandalorian) as Guard Paolo, and Paul Reiser (Mad About You) as Ilario.

Have you seen the collection of actors in this film in the above paragraph? That alone should be the sing that you are actually about to watch a really good film. Now I will warn that there is a lot of sexual content in the film because that is what the story was based around in that no matter what we do sometimes even the holiest of people can give in to sexual desires. These are women that are training to be nuns so that they can make their families proud because I guess back in those days it was the noble thing to do. Today we want our kids to go to college and get a great job and back in the 14TH century it was I would like my son or daughter to be a priest/nun. At one point in the film, I wanted to be frustrated with how over the top Audrey Plaza was as she acted like herself, but then again I said this is a comedy after all so I believe it fits the context of what they are doing. Dave Franco deserves all of the honors in the film as he did such an amazing job in the film. I mean John C. Reilly was simply John C. Reilly and that equals great, but Franco deserves some credit as well for everything he had to do. Alison Brie and co were fantastic as well and big props to Molly Shannon who held her own as well. I loved the chaos of the film especially during the witchcraft scenes because it added something different to the film and I loved the cinematography and imagery of it. I definitely think the film is worth checking out and you can find it on Netflix as we speak. I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.