Movie Review: "Hubie Halloween" (2020)

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Movie: "Hubie Halloween"
Director: Steven Brill
Year: 2020
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Well...no one can accuse Adam Sandler of being a bad friend.

Last year, the Sand Man appeared in "Uncut Gems" (2019), the critically acclaimed film by the Safdie Brothers, which showed that he could still be taken seriously as an actor and led to a host of awards buzz for him. During the lead-up to the Oscars, Sandler joked that if he didn't win an Academy Award, he would "fucking come back and do one again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay. That's how I get them." Were his words merely empty threats, or was he frightfully serious? Sandler returns to his bread and butter of silly voices and fart jokes in his latest spooky spectacle, Netflix's "Hubie Halloween" (2020), directed by frequent collaborator Steven Brill.

Adam Sandler dresses up as a ghost in the original Netflix film "Hubie Halloween." (Image provided by Netflix)

For the first few minutes of "Hubie Halloween" (2020), we thought Adam Sandler might actually be fulfilling his promise to make the worst film of his career post-Oscars "snub." As the mustachioed busy-body Hubie Dubois (Sandler) bikes down the streets of Salem with a cartoonish voice and an oblivious disposition, local area children pelt him with eggs that he catches in his self-made-Swiss-Army-wonder-Thermos. He then shakes it up, drinks it, and promptly projectile vomits all over the road. It's a lot of cringe all at once and made for a bumpy start to this Halloween-themed comedy. As the movie goes along its runtime, we must admit, we found ourselves laughing on occasion at the ridiculousness of it all, but we think it would have been a whole lot funnier without Sandler's obnoxious, grating, tedious voice choice. The Swiss Army Thermos gag is a recurring joke that gets pretty old pretty quickly, but a couple of the choice gadgets did make us smile from time to time.

Make sure you know going into this movie that the script gravitates towards references to Sandler's other works in place of actual substance. Lines are recycled ("O'Doyle rules!" was originally from "Billy Madison"), actors play similar parts (Julie Bowen has once again been cast as Sandler's love interest), and characters reprise their roles (Ben Stiller reprises his "Happy Gilmore" role as Orderly Hal, and Steve Buscemi played a werewolf in "Hotel Transylvania"). When in doubt, go for the nostalgia factor, right? Just as we've come to expect (given the last two and a half decades of precedent), Sandler and fellow screenplay writer Tim Herlihy have found another vessel to help keep all of his friend (Kevin James, Blake Clark, Shaquille O'Neal, Maya Rudolph, Tim Meadows, and active SNL players Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, and Melissa Villaseñor) gainfully employed for another year. Like we said, he's a top-notch friend.

We couldn't help but want more from "Hubie Halloween" (2020) because we're suckers for holiday-themed fare. This movie could be considered this generation's "Ernest Scared Stupid" (1991) or "Halloweentown" (1998). It's not something we would call "an uproariously hilarious annual necessity," but it's tolerable enough to view on Halloween afternoon with the older kids before the horror movies start playing. We say older kids because it might be awkward having to explain what a "Boner Doner" is to your younger children, as our good pal MannyInLofi would tell you personally.

Julie Bowen and Adam Sandler star in the Netflix comedy movie "Hubie Halloween" (2020). (Image provided by Netflix)

Netflix's "Hubie Halloween" (2020) is nowhere near as bad as we thought it would be, but that doesn't mean it's all that good. Still, it's a far sight better than most of Adam Sandler's other Netflix offerings. The best thing we can say about this movie is that we don't completely hate ourselves for having watched it, and that's a win where Sandler flicks are concerned. For people who are looking to turn their brains off for 102 minutes just to avoid the hellish nightmare that is 2020, Hubie Dubois, his cohorts, and their shenanigans might provide a much-needed escape this Halloween.

My Rating: 4.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 4/10
IMDB's Rating: 5.2/10
RT Rating: 47%
Do we recommend this movie: No.

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Movie Review: "The Seventh Seal" (1957)

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Movie: "The Seventh Seal"

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Year: 1957
Rating: NR
Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Ingmar Bergman is a name that is highly celebrated among cinephiles and film scholars. Despite being self-proclaimed "viewers of everything," Bergman's movies have always been a cinematic blind spot for us. So, we made our first effort in correcting that egregious error by watching his 1957 classic "The Seventh Seal." The film follows a knight named Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) who, upon returning from the Crusades, is approached by Death (Bengt Ekerot) himself and is told that his life is coming to an end. Block challenges Death to a game of chess, hoping it will buy him enough time to reflect on his beliefs and to do one purely good deed. This task may be difficult as the world he has returned to is being ravaged by the Black Plague and religious zealots who have capitalized on fear and suffering to spread their puritanical ideas of faith.

Bengt Ekerot and Max von Sydow play chess in Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal." (Image Source)

After only one viewing of just one film, we can see right away why Ingmar Bergman is such a heralded director. "The Seventh Seal" is brilliantly written, excellently acted, and spectacularly crafted. It deals with weighty philosophical subject matters in a daunting-but-insightful manner. The dialogue between characters is completely engaging, even poetic at times. They discuss subjects like life, death, faith, and nihilism in a world dealing with the rapid spread of the Black Plague. Some believe it is the end times, others believe God is punishing people for their sins, and some remain blind to the suffering of others and exploit it for their own personal gain. The story is very moving, not in a way that will necessarily make you cry, but more moving on a spiritual level that will make examine our purpose and existence on this great, big, hurling ball of rock and water in the middle of space. It's simultaneously the kind of movie you never want to experience again and the kind you want to rewatch immediately. There is a lot to unpack and a lot to take in here, and we're sure we will have to watch it several times to see what we may have missed. It is also filled to the brim with striking, symbolic, stunning imagery that drew an emotional reaction from us instantly. Each and every shot is meticulously crafted for maximum thought provokingness.

Death leads his followers in the Dance of Death in "The Seventh Seal" (1957). (Image Source)

"The Seventh Seal" is quite a film! We cannot wait to watch Bergman's other movies and hope they are as memorable as this one.

My Rating: 9/10
BigJ's Rating: 9/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.2/10
RT Rating: 93%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

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Movie Review: "Noelle" (2019)

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Movie: "Noelle"

Director: Marc Lawrence
Year: 2019
Rating: G
Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Santa's son Nick, who is poised to take over the role of the Jolly Gift Giver, disappears the week before Christmas. Now, his sister Noelle sets off to look for him so he can return in time for the holiday and save Christmas.

Movie Review: "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" (2019)

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Movie: "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil"

Director: Joachim Rønning
Year: 2019
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 59 minutes

When Queen Aurora agrees to marry Prince Phillip, his mother, Queen Ingrith, uses their engagement as an opportunity to unleash an evil scheme to destroy Maleficent and all magical creatures of the Moors.

Movie Review: "The Lighthouse" (2019)

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Movie: "The Lighthouse"

Director: Robert Eggers
Year: 2019
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 49 minutes

A lighthouse keeper and his assistant are driven into madness by tedious labor, long-term isolation, and the sea itself.

Movie Review: "Extra Ordinary" (2019)

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Movie: "Extra Ordinary"

Director: Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman
Year: 2019
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

A driving instructor with clairvoyant powers and a tragic past reluctantly agrees to help a man who is being haunted by his dead wife.

Movie Review: "Seed of Chucky" (2004)

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Movie: "Seed of Chucky"

Director: Don Mancini
Year: 2004
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes

A living doll that has been forced to work as a ventriloquist dummy named Shithead seeks out his parents, only to discover they are actually the psychopathic serial killers Chucky and Tiffany.

Movie Review: "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994)

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Movie: "Wes Craven's New Nightmare"

Director: Wes Craven
Year: 1994
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

As director Wes Craven begins to work on a new film, actress Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy in the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street," starts to believe that Freddy Kruger has left the silver screen and has entered the real world and is now targeting her and her family. 

Movie Review: "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991)

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Movie: "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare"

Director: Rachel Talalay
Year: 1991
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

For the past decade, Freddy Kruger has been wreaking havoc on Springwood, the town where his spirit is trapped. Freddy has killed all of the kids in Springwood except for one boy, who he hopes he can use to lead him to more victims outside of town.

Movie Review: "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child" (1989)

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Movie: "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child"

Director: Stephen Hopkins
Year: 1989
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

Dream master Alice thought she destroyed Freddy Kruger and believed she could keep him at bay for good. When Freddy suddenly returns, even when she's awake, Alice must scramble to figure out how this is possible and must formulate a plan to stop him.

Movie Review: "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" (1988)

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Movie: "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master"

Director: Renny Harlin
Year: 1988
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Freddy Kruger reemerges once again to finish off the last of the Elm Street kids. He also hopes to use Kristen's ability to pull people into her dreams so he can find new victims.

Movie Review: "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" (1987)

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Movie: "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors"

Director: Chuck Russell
Year: 1987
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

A group of teens at a mental hospital face off against Freddy Kruger with the help of the new psychological intern who has experience with such matters.

Movie Review: "Creepshow 2" (1987)

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Movie: "Creepshow 2"

Director: Michael Gornick
Year: 1987
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 32 minutes

The cartoon character The Creep tells another set of horror stories from writer Stephen King.

Movie Review: "Creepshow" (1982)

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Movie: "Creepshow"

Director: George A. Romero
Year: 1982
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours

Five horror stories are found in a discarded comic book.

Movie Review: "The Night Flier" (1997)

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Movie: "The Night Flier"

Director: Mark Pavia
Year: 1997
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

A tabloid reporter investigates a series of bizarre murders said to be committed by a pilot that no one has yet been able to catch.

Movie Review: "It Chapter Two" (2019)

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Movie: "It Chapter Two"

Director: Andy Muschietti
Year: 2019
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 49 minutes

27 years have passed since the Losers' Club faced off against 'It.' Since then, all the Losers (except Michael) have left Derry and have moved on with their lives. When Pennywise the clown returns to Derry, Michael calls upon his former friends to fulfill the promise they made so many years ago to return to their hometown and defeat It once and for all.

Movie Review: "Hellboy" (2004)

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Movie: "Hellboy"

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Year: 2004
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 2 minutes

A demon raised by humans must combat the evil sorcerer Rasputin, who wishes to open a portal to hell and unleash its fury on mankind.

Movie Review: "Yesterday" (2019)

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Movie: "Yesterday"

Director: Danny Boyle
Year: 2019
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

An unexplained global phenomenon wipes the band The Beatles, among other things, out of existence, leaving just one struggling musician left as the only person who remembers them or their music, which he uses to catapult himself to stardom.

Movie Review: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" (2019)

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Movie: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters"

Director: Michael Dougherty
Year: 2019
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 12 minutes

When an eco-terrorist group hatches a plan to release giant "Titans" that are being held in containment by Monarch, Godzilla rises from the ocean to battle them and once again establish himself as King of the Monsters.

Movie Review: "Hellboy" (2019)

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Movie: "Hellboy"

Director: Neil Marshall
Year: 2019
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours

Hellboy, a demon that has been raised on earth, is sent on a mission to prevent some old enemies from summoning an ancient witch known as The Blood Queen, who will release a plague upon the land that will destroy humans and let creatures of the dark reign supreme.