10-19-25 - Christina Critiques - Movies

Title: THE DEN

Director: Zachary Donohue

Run Time: 1 hour, 21 minutes

Rating: R

Synopsis: Elizabeth has a grant proposal accepted by her university about communication through technology. She has to stream herself everyday and talk to people like Chat Roulette. The problem is you shouldn’t talk to strangers.

Pros: It had an interesting premise and is a found footage film. It was creative, tense, and hopeful… until it wasn’t.

Cons: A few plot holes did it in for me. The boyfriend’s apartment and the lack of information about the sister just made me confused.

Thoughts: All in all this was a positive film. The found footage aspect just worked so much in this one. The creepy ass police man was brilliant! The boyfriend was super annoying and a total dick, honestly the characters are pretty unlikeable but I think that’s kinda the point. As a viewer, you have to decide if the “game” is worth a life.

Star Rating: 8/10

Title: PONTYPOOL

Director: Bruce McDonald

Run Time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Rating: R

Synopsis: An aging radio DJ starts a new gig on Valentine’s Day. His producer and assistant are there to help ease him in… to a blood bath. Because obviously on his first day it is also the end of the world.

Pros: Everything. I haven’t loved a movie this much in a long time.

Cons: It wasn’t longer.

Thoughts: Usually I bitch and moan about a movie being too long (V/H/S Halloween, I’m looking at you) but this one… I mean, everything freakin’ worked. 99% of the film is set in the radio station and somehow it is the most claustrophobic setting ever. The characters were believable. And let’s be honest, there’s some sweet social commentary in this film from PTSD and the horrors of war, to how news stories are ran with little to no source validation, and how language is cannibalized and evolving. Definitely a movie you can watch numerous times and see something new every time.

Star Rating: 9.5/10

Title: BRING HER BACK

Directed by: Danny and Michael Philippou

Run Time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Rating: R

Synopsis: A mother must navigate the death of her daughter while fostering a stepbrother and sister who have their own situations to deal with.

Pros: The acting was superb!

Cons: It just felt off somehow. It’s hard to explain but the plot had so many holes. The biggest example is when Laura is giving Andy the body spray and she makes a very quick but jarring revelation. It’s never mentioned or explained. I call shenanigans.

Thoughts: Grapefruit. That should be the review, ha. The repetition of circles and circular images was clever but the most clever thing about this movie was the soundtrack. If you had subtitles on (or know the song lyrics) many times it synced with the situation on the screen. That kind of planning can’t be easy. A24 films seem to be either 10/10 or midlevel for me. At least they didn’t do TERRIFER - Blech.

Star Rating: 7.5/10

Title: THE CANAL

Director: Ivan Kavanagh

Run Time: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Rating: R

Synopsis: A married couple who are starting a family decide to move into a new forever home. Although, as time goes by things begin to get bloody.

Pros: The unreliability. Like, damn, what do I believe happened? And you know I love that.

Cons: That damn detective. His acting was tragic and kept taking me out of the movie. It also felt a bit of an Amityville Horror ripoff, but make it Irish.

Thoughts: I wanted to like this one, I really did. The premise was interesting, the characters (minus the detective) were completely believable, the settings were unnerving even in the bright scenes. The other big problem was the background story felt like an afterthought until the writers needed to get out of a corner they had written themselves into.

Star Rating: 6/10

Title: HAUNTED HOTEL - Season 1

Created by: Matt Roller

Run Time: 22-25 minutes/episode - 10 episodes

Rating: MA

Synopsis: A sister and her children inherit a hotel that is infested… with ghosts, including that of her dearly departed bumbling brother. Can she make it a moneymaker or will she die trying?

Pros: Hilarious characters, my personal favorites are Abaddon and Stabby, great one liners, and 100% bingeworthy.

Cons: None.

Thoughts: I chose this series as something on in the background but found myself quickly ignoring what else I was doing to watch it. It’s funny and quick to watch (about 22-25 minutes an episode) so the viewer doesn’t have to devote an hour or more at a time. Even though it’s a cartoon, there are bloody scenes that make the viewer a bit nauseous. I’m so excited for Season 2, but knowing Netflix, that will be the last season. (They are the worst with getting viewers addicted to shows and then cancelling them - I will NEVER forgive them for cancelling CUPCAKE AND DINO). If your kids are OK with gore and you are OK with them watching some suggestive situations, this is actual a show the whole family can get into.

Star Rating: 9.5/10