Movie: Last Night in Soho (2021) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Last Night in Soho

Came out; 2021

Time; 1 hours 56 minutes

Watched: Hulu

Rating; R for bloody violence, sexual content, language, brief drug material and brief graphic nudity

IMDB Rating; 7.1/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise

Anya Taylor-Joy as Sandie

Matt Smith as Jack

Diana Rigg as Ms Collins

Terence Stamp as Silver-Haired Gentleman

Story Line;

Aspiring fashion designer Eloise is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s, where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker

Thoughts;

This is so much more than what the story line says. It goes much deeper than what is appears.

The fashion, the music and the visual is all amazing. All the pieces just fit together at the end, it sucks you in and keeps going

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

The film starts as Eloise "Ellie" Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is dancing in her room. She is an aspiring fashion designer who lives with her Granmother 'Gran Peggy' (Rita Tushingham) and has been mourning the death of her mother (Aimee Cassettari), who appears to Ellie in mirror reflections at times. Peggy shows Ellie a letter she has received informing her she has been accepted into a fashion school in London. Ellie is excited, but Peggy warns her that there are bad men up where she is going.

Ellie takes a train to London and is driven to her room by a local taxi. The taxi driver (Colin Mace) makes creepy comments to Ellie, so she gets off at a shop and waits for the man to leave so she can keep walking to her room. She gets there and meets her roommate Jocasta (Synnove Karlsen).

Ellie goes out with Jocasta and her friends, where it is revealed that Ellie's mother died by suicide after a struggle with mental illness. While in the ladies room, Ellie overhears Jocasta talking trash about her to the other girls. Ellie leaves the pub and walks back to her room, spotting an older man (Terence Stamp) looking her way and smirking. Jocasta later brings a guy back to her room to hook up with while Ellie tries to sleep. She leaves her room and finds a party going on outside. The only student to befriend her is a young man named John (Michael Ajao). The next morning, Ellie wakes up late and runs to class where she makes it on time for attendance.

Ellie decides to find a place of her own for peace of mind. She finds a room in a boarding house kept by an old woman named Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg). She gives Ellie a set of rules to follow and allows her to stay in the bedroom upstairs. Ellie likes the place and rests for the night, sleeping all the way under the covers, enjoying the quiet.

When Ellie gets out of bed, she finds herself somehow in the 1960's. She walks into a venue called Cafe de Paris and sees her reflection as another young woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy). Ellie follows Sandie as though she is there watching everything unfold like an invisible spirit. Sandie wants to be a singer at the venue but is met with unwanted attention by a surly patron (Paul Brightwell). She is told to speak to a man named Jack (Matt Smith) about being a singer. Sandie meets Jack and is charmed by him. He starts to leave with her when the patron makes rude comments. Jack punches him in the face and runs away with Sandie, kissing her in a phone booth, which is reflected as also happening with Ellie. As Ellie keeps moving, she finds Sandie in her bed, but when she tries to touch her, she wakes up back in the present.

At school, Ellie becomes inspired to create a design based on what she saw Sandie wearing. Jocasta notes a hickey on Ellie's neck from where Jack had been kissing her/Sandie.

Later that night, Ellie goes back to sleep hoping to wake up in the 60's again. She finds herself as Sandie and Jack get closer, and he brings Sandie to meet the owner of a different venue, the Rialto, so that she can sing for him, performing the song "Downtown". The men note that she can definitely sing.

Back in the present, Ellie dyes her hair blonde like Sandie's and continues to work on her dress design, which her teacher seems to like, while Jocasta just mocks her out of pettiness. Ellie later sees the venue where she saw Sandie perform as it appears in the present day. She then goes to a pub to ask for a job. As she heads back to her room, the old man who saw her from the other night follows her and claims to recognize her because of her hair, but he insists he is not trying to pick her up.

Ellie returns to the 60's and goes to the Rialto but finds Sandie is now performing as part of a group of skimpy-dressed women dancing as backup for a woman performing as a marionette. As Ellie follows Sandie around a little more, she sees that Jack is more abusive and is telling her that she has to make certain men happy if she wants to make it in the music business. Ellie sees Sandie in the bedroom as a lecherous man approaches her with his pants off. Ellie screams at the man to not touch Sandie, and he appears to hear her, but Ellie wakes up. The experience causes Ellie to rip up the pink dress design she originally drew in class.

Ellie continues to get through work and school while keeping her excursions to the past a secret from everyone else. In her next trip to the 60's, she sees that Sandie is becoming more jaded and unhappy as Jack her forced her into prostitution and she must service a barrage of horrible men, while she also develops a drug and alcohol problem. She uses fake names like "Alex", "Lexie", or "Anna". Only one man (Sam Claflin) does not take advantage of her and is polite and charming to her. Sandie talks down about herself while Ellie tries to get her attention through the mirror. She manages to smash through the glass and grab Sandie, but she wakes up.

John sees that Ellie is looking a bit unwell, so he invites her out to a Halloween party. Jocasta and her friends see them together and give them drinks. They all start dancing, but in the middle of things, Ellie hallucinates seeing ghoulish visions of the men who took advantage of Sandie, as well as Sandie herself dancing alone. John takes Ellie home when he sees her looking bad. They start to kiss and go to her room for sex, but Ellie looks up and sees the ceiling mirror showing Jack attacking Sandie. Ellie starts yelling at him to get off her. She then appears to see Jack stabbing Sandie to death. Ms. Collins overhears the noise and orders John to leave, as one of her rules is not having male visitors. She simply tells Ellie to go to bed.

The next day, Ellie apologizes to Ms. Collins about what happened. She asks her if anyone died in her room but Ms. Collins is dodgy about it. Later, Ellie goes to the library to look up murders in the 60's. She begins to hallucinate the ghost men following her around the library, nearly leading her to stab Jocasta in the face with a pair of scissors. John runs after Jocasta to explain things while Ellie leaves in a panic. She runs to the police station to report the murder, now believing that the old man is Jack and that he got away with killing Sandie, but the detectives know she has little to go off of.

Ellie arrives late for work and finds that the old man is waiting for her. She takes out her mobile phone to try and record a confession out of him, but when she brings up Sandie, the man says "Alex killed Sandie" and that whatever happened to her was something she got herself into. Ellie runs after the man, but he gets hit by a car on the street and dies. Ellie's boss tells someone to call for help and say he's a former cop named Lindsay. Ellie realizes the man is not Jack, but rather the gentleman who was polite with her and didn't sleep with her.

Ellie returns to her room and makes plans to go back home in the countryside to live with her grandmother. Ms. Collins gives Ellie tea and her mail. One letter is addressed to Ms. Collins, revealing her name to be Alexandra.... which is what Sandie told Jack her name was short for. Ms. Collins reveals that someone did die in Ellie's room: her. Ms. Collins was Sandie. After enduring all the abuse in her life, she let her life as Sandie die when she stabbed Jack to death. She later got revenge on all the men who abused her by murdering them. Ms. Collins then reveals that she poisoned Ellie's tea and will make it look like a suicide. John then comes looking for Ellie, who regains enough strength to warn John to run. Ms. Collins stabs him while Ellie tries to run upstairs, seeing the younger Sandie attacking her. Downstairs, a fire starts and begins spreading. Ellie locks herself in her room where the spirits of Sandie's victims break through the floors and walls, begging Ellie to kill Ms. Collins. When she finally breaks in, she sees her reflection as Sandie and realizes she has become just as much of a monster as the men who hurt her. She tries to slit her throat but Ellie stops her and tries to help her. Ms. Collins chooses to stay and die in the fire while letting Ellie go. Ellie gets John out of there as medics arrive, and Ms. Collins allows the flames to consume her.

Sometime later, Ellie presents her work in a fashion show with Peggy and John in attendance to cheer her on along with the rest of the audience. Her teacher congratulates her, as do the other girls (excluding Jocasta who continues to remain a petty bitch), and she once again sees her mother's reflection smiling at her. As Peggy and John come to congratulate her, Ellie sees Sandie's reflection in the mirror waving at her.

Movie: The Invitation (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 The Invitation

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 45 minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rating; PG-13 for terror, violent content, some strong language, sexual content and partial nudity

IMDB Rating; 5.3/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie

Thomas Doherty as DeVille

Sean Pertwee as Renfield

Hugh Skinner as Oliver

Carol Ann Crawford as Mrs. Swift

Alana Boden as Lucy

Stephanie Corneliussen as Viktoria

Courtney Taylor as Grace

Story Line.

After the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes a DNA test...and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she's at first seduced by the sexy aristocrat host but is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family's history and the unsettling intentions behind their sinful generosity

Thoughts.

This movie looked interesting when it first came out, I'm not gaga over vampire movies but this one had a different feel to it.

This movie was great! I loved it, the way it played out was more secretive and kept you guessing than I first figured it would.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

In New York City, struggling artist Evelyn "Evie" Jackson makes a living freelancing for a catering business with her best friend Grace. Evie takes a DNA test, discovering she has a distant cousin in England named Oliver Alexander. She meets Oliver, who tells her the scandal of her great-grandmother, Emmaline, who had a secret child with a black footman. He invites her to an upcoming family wedding in England. Evie arrives in Whitby at the New Carfax Abbey, where she meets the lord of the manor, Walter De Ville, and Mrs. Swift, a longtime maid of the estate. She also meets the rest of the Alexander family and the maids of honor, friendly Lucy and condescending Viktoria.

Evie gradually begins to notice unsettling occurrences during her stay. She sees an apparition of Emmaline, who was shown in a flashback, hanging herself from the staircase. Maids start disappearing as they are attacked by a shadowy figure. Evie finds herself romanced by Walter before discovering he had been researching her before her arrival. She confronts him and threatens to leave, but the two reconcile and have sex.

The family hosts a rehearsal dinner, where Evie expects to finally meet the bride and groom. Instead, Walter announces that he and Evie are to be wed. The butler, Mr. Field, slits a maid's throat and pours her blood into a bowl. Walter, Lucy, and Viktoria are all revealed to be vampires who then drink the maid's blood. Evie's ancestors, the Alexanders, are one of the three families who, for centuries, have each offered one of their women to become Walter's wife in exchange for protection and wealth. Emmaline was originally intended to be Walter's third bride, but she killed herself due to her guilt of killing humans, and due to the loss of her love, Evie's great-grandfather, and infant son. The Alexander family had trouble finding a female member until they found Evie. Viktoria locks a frantic Evie inside a coffin, but she is freed by Mrs. Swift, who is killed by Mr. Field. Evie makes it into town and asks an elderly couple, who reveal themselves to be Jonathan and Mina Harker, for help but is knocked unconscious, as they work for Walter.

Evie wakes up to find herself with one of the maids, Imogen, and Walter. Walter reveals himself to be Dracula as he mentions he was once known as the "Son of the Dragon". Evie then watches Walter bite into Imogen's leg and falls unconscious. Upon waking up, Evie is now in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle to wed Walter. As they finish exchanging vows, she bites Walter's arm, consuming his blood, and instantly transforms into a vampire. She sets the wedding chapel on fire, stabs Walter in the heart which rapidly ages him, and flees with Diya, another maid. An enraged Viktoria ambushes Evie, who is helped by Diya. After Diya flees, Viktoria attacks Evie again before Lucy intervenes. The two vampires fight before Lucy impales both Viktoria and herself onto a spear, turning them both into ashes.

Shortly thereafter, Evie is attacked by Field wielding a spear, who states that he wished he had killed her great grandfather and grandfather, before she kills him by breaking off the spearhead and stabbing him in the chest. She is then chased by a wall-crawling Walter, who grabs her by the throat. She breaks free by severing his wrist with a cutting wire and kicks him into the flames. As he burns alive, she loses her powers due to his death, and reverts back to human form. Evie escapes as the manor is engulfed in flames.

Two weeks later, in London, Evie and Grace have tracked down Oliver, who prepares to flee after having paid off the police. The two women intend to kill him for tricking Evie and being complicit in the murders committed by the vampires.

Movie: Boss Level (2020) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Boss Level

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 40 minutes

Watched: Hulu

Rating; TV-MA

IMDB Rating; 6.8/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Frank Grillo as Roy Pulver

Mel Gibson as Colonel Clive Ventor

Naomi Watts as Jemma Wells

Michelle Yeoh as Dai Feng

Will Sasso as Brett

Story Line;

Retired special forces agent Roy Pulver is clueless why his worst nightmare day keeps repeating in a seemingly endless time-loop, but became resigned at going through the spectacular motions, starting with a man trying to cut his throat while he wakes up and being killed by rapid fire from a helicopter, jumping down several floors, next hijacking a sports car, meeting and interacting with his ex Jemma Wells and several weird people at a diner and being killed there. Slowly he works out how to get further in a next run, and that it all relates to Jemma's invention and how to use her hints, while finding out it's also about his pre-teen son Joe, who doesn't even know him but ditches school for a gaming arcade, and the key is guarded by a Chinese sword expert in the skyscraper fortress of mysterious colonel Clive Ventor. Besides learning better physical motions, his view in things also evolves, even his priority becomes leaving a world to Joe

Thoughts;

After watching the preview, I wasn't sold on this, it seemed like a more violent version of Ground Hog Day which I never cared for. This was decent, it kept my interest, and, in the end, it was a great movie.

There were many clues, and it was comical with some twists and turns.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Roy Pulver, a retired Delta Force soldier in Atlanta, awakens in his loft with a machete-wielding man trying to kill him. He disarms the assassin before a helicopter gunner kills the man believing him to be Roy. Roy kills the gunner causing the helicopter to crash into Roy's loft. Roy leaps from the window into a truck full of sand, carjacks a man and is chased by a pair of assassins. Roy's car is hit by a bus, into which he is thrown and dies. It is revealed that Roy has been reliving the same day for over four months, and is being targeted by multiple assassins. He now knows their locations and strategies.

On attempt 48, Roy tries to call his estranged wife Jemma. Her phone is answered by her boss, Col. Clive Ventor, head of defense contractor Dynow Labs. Ventor tells Roy that Jemma died the previous evening in an accident in the lab. Roy is suspicious, but is killed before he can act on the information.

In the unlooped timeline, the day prior, Roy visits Jemma at Dynow Labs, believing she has gotten him a job interview. Jemma and Roy argue over their son Joe, because Jemma has not told him that Roy is his father. Dynow's head of security summons Jemma to speak with Ventor. Jemma reveals that she needs Roy's services, not the company.

On attempt 143, Roy arrives at Underground Atlanta and spots Joe, Roy follows him into the main arcade area, where he confesses he ditched school to participate in a video game tournament. The assassins arrive, and Roy uses his body as a shield to protect Joe, revealing that he is Joe's father before he dies. Roy realizes he is being tracked and discovers a transmitter in his tooth.

Roy uses the next several resets to probe Dynow's defenses using trial-and-error. On attempt 156 Ventor reveals the truth about the machine in the lab and his plan: it is called the Osiris Spindle, a quantum device capable of rewriting history. Ventor plans to use it to set himself up as the world's dictator. Ventor also confirms his responsibility for Jemma's death. Roy realizes that Jemma used the Osiris Spindle to put Roy in a time loop. A later attempt reveals that the Osiris Spindle can't be shut down and that if it runs too long it will destroy the world. Roy discovers that while he is at Dynow, Joe was being targeted by the other assassins. Roy arrives at the arcade to find police removing Joe's body from the scene. As Roy attempts to get past the police, the Osiris Spindle explodes, destroying the world.

Roy starts spending his days bonding with Joe through various activities. On attempt 249, Roy & Joe have a longer conversation and Joe reveals that he had gotten a voicemail from his mother that morning. Roy sees the timestamp on the message and realizes that Jemma is still alive when he wakes up each morning.

On a subsequent attempt Roy jumps onto the helicopter and orders the pilot to fly them to Dynow. He knocks out the pilot, uses the minigun to kill all the assassins who tracked him to the facility - thereby saving Joe - and fights his way downstairs just in time to kill Brett & Ventor and save Jemma. Roy reveals he has been spending his attempts being a father to Joe, and that he saw the end of the world. Jemma explains that they may be able to stop the chain reaction if Roy enters the Osiris Spindle, which will send him back to the start of the day one last time. Roy enters the Osiris Spindle, and awakens in his bed.

Movie: Violent Night (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Violent Night

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 52 minutes

Watched: Amazon

Rating; R for strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references

IMDB Rating; 6.8/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

David Harbour as Santa

John Leguizamo as Scrooge

Beverly D'Angelo as Gertrude

Alex Hassell as Jason

Alexis Louder as Linda

Edi Patterson as Alva

Cam Gigandet as Morgan Steel

Leah Brady as Trudy

Andre Eriksen as Gingerbread

Brendan Fletcher as Krampus

Mike Dopud as Commander Throp

Alexander Elliot as Bert

Story Line.

A team of elite mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage. But the team isn't prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he's about to show why this Nick is no saint

Thoughts.

This movie peeked my interest from the preview, these movies tend to be a fun spin on classic Christmas movies and this one didn't disappoint.

I like David Harbour as an actor, he has a range that can go from serious, to silly to mad all within one character with ease.

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect, movie previews can be deceiving, but this movie gives you an expectation of what type of Santa you're dealing with from the opening scene. From here we see glimpses of Santa's night, but we also see the starting of the main plot. Of course, it's rich people, but Beverly D'Angelo gives this a spin that's hilarious.

All in all, the plot wasn't totally what I expected but it was really good. It was a great bad guy/good guy spin on Santa.

From perfectly executed Home Alone bobby traps and references to drunk tattooed Santa, it's a delight to watch!

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus drinks at a pub in Bristol where he laments to a mall Santa how the kids have begun to lose their Christmas spirit and have become increasingly materialistic. He leaves on his sleigh pulled by his reindeer, shocking and delighting the pub's bartender, before accidentally vomiting on her from his sleigh.

Jason Lightstone, his estranged wife Linda, and their daughter Trudy travel to the countryside mansion of Jason's wealthy and crude mother Gertrude to celebrate Christmas at her lavish estate that has been funded by the profitable family business. They are joined by Jason's alcoholic sister Alva, her new boyfriend and wannabe-action star Morgan Steele, and Alva's son Bertrude. After realizing he didn't take Trudy to the mall to see Santa, Jason implores Linda to make up with him with Jason promising to quit his job working for Gertrude and leave it all behind. He finds an old walkie talkie which he gives to Trudy to "talk to Santa."

Santa arrives at the Lightstone estate to deliver gifts, when the catering staff and some servants reveal themselves to be part of a group of mercenaries, led by a man known as "Mr. Scrooge" where they all use Christmas code-names, and take the family hostage. Santa gets into a fight with one of the henchmen whose gunfire scares away the reindeer. Santa inadvertently kills the henchman when a string of Christmas lights pulls him out of the window and is impaled on an icicle decoration outside. Santa later kills another henchman, stabbing him in the eye with a tree topper, before plugging it in and electrocuting him. Taking the henchman's walkie talkie, Santa accidentally finds Trudy's channel and, seeing that she is on his nice list, decides to help save her while also finding that all the mercenaries are on his naughty list.

Over the course of the night, it is revealed that Mr. Scrooge is after $300 million given to the Lightstone company to funnel oil into the Middle East, but was stolen by Gertrude and kept in the mansion's vault. When Trudy's walkie talkie is discovered, Jason and Linda attempt to convince the mercenaries that Trudy is simply playing make-believe. When she refuses to go along, Jason tells her that Santa isn't real causing her to run and hide in the attic. Over the walkie, Santa reveals that before he was Santa, he was a Viking warrior, giving context to his barbaric nature. He confirms to her that he is real by telling her about the letters she wrote to him. Santa is taken hostage by Scrooge, who wants to ruin Christmas because his father was laid off in his childhood, so he never had a good Christmas. He snuck into a house to steal gifts and inadvertently caused the death of an elderly man. Scrooge and his henchmen Gingerbread and Candy Cane are stunned when Santa reveals his knowledge of their identities before Santa escapes through the chimney.

Gertrude's "kill squad" arrives to the mansion, but they are on Scrooge's payroll, killing Morgan in the process. The squad's commander Thorpe opens the vault which contains nothing. With a gun to Linda's head, Jason confesses that he stole the money and was planning to escape with Linda and Trudy, which shocks everyone but Gertrude, who learned of this from Jason's gift that she was forced to open by Scrooge's lead henchman Krampus but acknowledged as part of a Lightstone rite of passage.

Santa retreats to a shed where he discovers a hammer. Inspired, he brutally slaughters the kill squad before rushing to save Trudy. Upstairs, Trudy creates traps inspired by Home Alone. This leads to Gingerbread being killed by a bowling ball driving a nail into his head. Candy Cane escapes her traps and prepares to kill Trudy, but she is rescued by Santa who kills Candy Cane.

The family is taken outside by Scrooge and Commander Thorpe. Jason surrenders the money, but Scrooge intends to kill the family anyway. Santa arrives, forcing Scrooge, Commander Thorpe and the remaining soldiers to flee. Santa crashes into an old cabin in the woods where Scrooge, finding the list, acknowledges Santa is real, but wants to kill him to end Christmas. Scrooge gains the upper hand, but Santa flies up the cabin's chimney, eviscerating Scrooge's body. Commander Thorpe shoots Santa, but he is quickly killed by Gertrude. Santa succumbs to his wounds.

Trudy is able to get her family to believe in Santa, and burn $500,000 in paper money to keep Santa's body warm. Eventually, Santa is revived, stunning the family and Santa himself. The reindeer return and Santa bids goodbye to Trudy before flying off to finish delivering gifts with his inspiration and love for Christmas renewed.

Movie: Black Adam (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Black Adam

Came out; 2022

Time; 2 hours 5 minutes

Watched: HBO Max

Rating; PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam

Aldis Hodge as Hawkman

Pierce Brosnan as Dr Fate

Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher

Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz

Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone

Marwan Kenzari as Ishmael

Bodhi Sabongui as Amon Tomaz

Mohammed Amer as Karim

Story Line.

Reawakening after 5000 years, Black Adam becomes the world's ruthless protector: an anti-villain to take on the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman. Now in the 21st-Century, Black Adam must face off against the Justice Society of America and its heroes: Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Cyclone. The fate of the world hangs in the balance

Thoughts.

I generally like superhero movies. I'm not the biggest fan of DC, I do like the campiness of them vs the seriousness of Marvel.

I have liked that in everyone they are referred to as Meta-Humans and Amanda Waller always being in charge. It ties the movies all in together.

This seemed really like a knock off of marvel with the characters

Hawkman vs Hawkeye

Atom Smasher vs Ant Man

Like can we not copy and paste? All in all, it was decent. The movie did keep your attention with the action and plot.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Five thousand years ago, the city of Kahndaq was under the tyrannical rule of king Anh-Kot, who intended to create the Crown of Sabbac, which is known to give the wearer great power. After enslaving his people and forcing them to dig for "Eternium" - the magical crystal needed to create the crown - a young boy leads the slaves to revolt against him. When the boy is given the power of Shazam, transforming him into Kahndaq's heroic champion Teth-Adam, he kills Anh-Kot and ends his reign.

In the present day, Khandaq is oppressed by the Intergang. Archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz tries to locate the Crown of Sabbac, with the help of her brother Karim, and colleagues, Samir and Ishmael. As Adrianna obtains the crown, they are ambushed by the Intergang, killing Samir in the process. Adrianna accidentally reads an incantation which awakens Adam from his slumber, who subsequently slaughters most of the Intergang troops. After an Intergang soldier shoots an Eternium rocket at Adam which renders him comatose, it is revealed that Ishmael is an Intergang member who intends to take the crown for himself.

Government official Amanda Waller learns of the incident and contacts Carter Hall / Hawkman to assist in taking Adam into custody. Hawkman is accompanied by his fellow members of the Justice Society of America (consisting of Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate, Maxine Hunkel / Cyclone, and Albert "Al" Rothstein / Atom Smasher) to stop Adam.

Adrianna sees an inscription on an inner part of the Crown which states "Life is the only way to Death". Adrianna's son Amon sees Adam as Khandaq's hero, but Adam denies it and departs. Wanting to prove to Kahndaq that their champion has reawakened, Amon makes a ruckus with the Intergang, successfully leading Adam to intervene and overpower them. The JSA arrive in time to stop Adam from doing further destruction. As they fight, Fate senses that Adrianna has the Crown of Sabbac. They manage to stop Adam for a while before he flees to the ruins of Anh-Kot's palace. The JSA ask Adrianna to give them the crown, but she declines until they tell her the truth that Adam was the one who lost control of his power five thousand years ago and destroyed most of Khandaq.

The crown is given to Amon, who takes it back home. Ishmael is there with Karim, and reveals his true colors. Amon runs away from Ishmael, who shoots and wounds Karim, and chases Amon. Meanwhile, Adrianna and the JSA meet Adam, and attempt to convince him that he can be a hero to Khandaq, before Amon calls Adrianna, who pleads to Adam to save him. Adam immediately comes to the rescue, but Ishmael manages to abduct Amon and flees on an Eternium bike. Adam tries to rescue Amon by dealing with the Intergang on bikes to no avail. As Adam goes back to Adrianna's home, Hawkman manages to capture two Intergang members and interrogate them about their hideout. Adam uses brute force to interrogate both of them and learns where the Intergang's hideout is, but his way of interrogation enrages Hawkman. As Adam and Hawkman fight, they find that Amon hid the Crown of Sabbac in plain sight. They intend to use the Crown to trade with Amon and must fight side by side to save him. On their way, Fate reveals to Hawkman of his premonition about Hawkman's death.

They reach Ishmael, who reveals that he is the last descendant of King Anh-Kot and, wanting his rightful place in the throne, demands the crown, which Adrianna willingly gives to save Amon's life. Unfortunately, Ishmael betrays his part of the deal by shooting Amon and putting the crown on himself. As Adam tries to save Amon, he loses control again and destroys the hideout with his power, until the JSA protects Amon and Adrianna as Ishmael dies in the process.

Guilt-ridden, Adam flees to the ruins again. There, he reveals to Hawkman that it was actually Hurut, his son, who was Khandaq's champion; knowing that Hurut was invincible, the king's men executed Hurut's family instead, killing Isis and mortally wounding Adam in the process. Hurut gave his power to Adam to save him, but Anh-Kot's archer managed to kill the now-powerless Hurut. Enraged, Adam slaughtered all of the king's men, before he was summoned by the wizards of Shazam, who imprisoned him after deeming him unworthy. Feeling incapable of becoming Khandaq's champion and protecting it, Adam then surrenders to the JSA, who take him to Waller's underwater prison. Soon after, Fate continues to see the ominous premonition. It is later revealed that Ishmael intentionally made Adam kill him so that he can be reborn as Sabbac, which he succeeds in doing so, and arises from the underworld to Khandaq to claim his throne.

The JSA arrive in time trying to stop Sabbac, who summons the undead to Khandaq. Adrianna and Amon fight them, with Karim joining them. Amon asks for the people of Khandaq to fight together against the undead for Kahndaq's freedom.

The JSA prepare to face Sabbac in Anh-Kot's ruins. However, Fate creates a magical force field which forbids Hawkman, Cyclone and Atom Smasher from coming into the ruins, and reveals that Hawkman's death can be avoided, with Fate's sacrifice. Fate then fights Sabbac alone, and at the same time uses astral projection to release Adam from his suspended animation so Adam can help them. Adam manages to escape the prison, but Sabbac kills Fate. Fate's death causes the force field to disappear, allowing Hawkman, Cyclone and Atom Smasher try to fight Sabbac, who overpowers them. Just as he is about to kill the JSA, Adam arrives, and engages Sabbac, but is slowly losing as Sabbac's power can harm him. Hawkman uses Fate's helmet to create magical duplicates and spells, having learned from Fate, to help Adam kill Sabbac, ultimately stopping the undead.

The JSA depart on good terms with Adam, who accepts his new role as protector of Khandaq rather than its ruler. In a mid-credits' scene, Waller communicates with a defiant Adam, warning him about forces ready to stop him, before he is confronted by Superman.

Movie: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Came out; 2022

Time; 2 hours 19 minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rating; PG-13 for strong language, some violence, sexual material and drug content

IMDB Rating; 7.4/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc

Edward Norton as Miles Bron

Kate Hudson as Birdie Jay

Dave Bautista as Duke Cody

Janelle Monae as Andi Brand

Kathryn Hahn as Claire Debella

Leslie Odom Jr as Lionel Toussaint

Jessica Henwick as Peg

Madelyn Cline as Whiskey

Noal Segan as Derol

Jackie Hoffman as Ma

Dallas Roberts as Devon Debella

Ethan Hawke as Efficient Man

Hugh Grant as Phillip

Story Line;

Five long-time friends are invited to the Greek island home of billionaire Miles Bron. All five know Bron from way back and owe their current wealth, fame and careers to him. The main event is a murder weekend game with Bron to be the victim. In reality, they all have reasons to kill him. Also invited is Benoit Blanc, the world's greatest detective

Thoughts;

This movie was great! I loved Knives Out, it was so perfectly put together that I was super excited for this one. We literally counted down and watched it as soon as we could on netflix!

This one is a little campy compared to the first one, however it's written in the same style with the same types of twists. Daniel Craig does not disappoint and

figures out the murder mystery before it even happens in an extremely funny dinner scene

This movie combines comedy, murder mystery and multiple character plot lines all into one great movie

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

During the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, Miles Bron, the billionaire co-founder of the Manhattan technology company Alpha, decides to host a murder mystery weekend at his mansion, the Glass Onion, on his private island in Greece. He invites five friends: Alpha head scientist Lionel Toussaint, Connecticut governor Claire Debella, fashion designer Birdie Jay, men's rights streamer Duke Cody, and fellow co-founder and ousted Alpha CEO Cassandra "Andi" Brand. Detective Benoit Blanc also has an invitation and joins the group along with Birdie's assistant Peg and Duke's girlfriend Whiskey.

Upon arrival, Miles questions Blanc's presence, but allows him to stay, assuming that another guest invited him as a joke. Blanc overhears Peg confront Miles over a PR statement he wants Birdie to release and sees Duke watch Whiskey Flirting with Miles on a bed. Before dinner, Miles shows off the Mona Lisa that he has on loan from the Louvre and reveals that the Glass Onion is powered by "Klear", a hydrogen-based alternative fuel that Alpha will launch in a week despite Lionel and Claire's safety concerns.

Blanc solves the murder mystery immediately and tensions over Andi's presence culminate in her leaving the party. Suddenly, Duke collapses and dies after drinking from Miles's glass; the panicking group suspects Andi. After the group discovers that Duke's pistol is missing, the power goes out, and everyone splits up in a panic. Blanc finds Andi but an unseen assailant shoots her. Blanc gathers the rest of the group and announces that he has solved Andi's murder.

An extended flashback shows that Andi actually died a week before the trip, and her twin sister Helen Brand hired Blanc to investigate Andi's death. Andi had recently been ousted from Alpha based on her safety concerns around Klear. She lost the subsequent trial after the group perjured themselves: claiming Miles had drawn the idea for Alpha on a napkin. But Andi rediscovered her original napkin and emailed a photo of the evidence to the group. Helen suspects that someone in the group killed Andi to avoid being discredited, as well as gain favor with Miles. With news of Andi's death still private, Blanc asks Helen to pose as Andi for the weekend trip, helping him investigate.

Helen helps Blanc discover motives for the group to protect Miles: Lionel and Claire have already staked their reputations on Klear, Birdie is being paid off to take responsibility for using a sweatshop in Bangladesh, and Duke is using Whiskey to seduce Miles in exchange for a role at Alpha News. Helen also discovers that all four other guests had visited Andi's home the day of the murder. Blanc and Helen ruin the party so she can search the guest rooms for the napkin. When Blanc finds her again that night, he instructs her to also search Miles's office. The assailant's bullet is blocked by Andi's journal in Helen's jacket pocket, and Blanc subsequently fakes her death to the other guests, creating an opportunity for Helen to search the office.

In the art room, Blanc concludes that Miles was responsible for both murders. Miles killed Andi after learning about the napkin's reemergence from Lionel and was spotted leaving by Duke. After news of the death was released online during the party, Duke realized the truth and attempted to blackmail Miles. This prompted Miles to poison Duke based on his food allergy with pineapple juice, then snatching Duke's pistol to later shoot Helen. Helen locates the original napkin in Miles's office and her true identity is revealed to the group. However, Miles burns the napkin and gloats about eliminating the evidence against him. Helen begins to destroy Miles's glass sculptures, which motivates the others to do the same. She then lights a bonfire and throws a sample of Klear into it, setting off an explosion that destroys the Glass Onion and the Mona Lisa, though everyone survives. Knowing the subsequent investigation would discover the dangers of Klear and ruin Miles, the group decides to testify against him. Helen and Blanc sit on the beach as they watch the police arrive.

Movie: It Chapter Two (2019) Caution Spoiler Alerts

 It Chapter Two

Came out; 2019

Time; 2 hours 49 minutes

Watched: HBO Max

Rating; R for disturbing violent content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language and some crude sexual material

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh

James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough

Bill Hader as Richie Tozier

Isaiah Mustafa as Mike Hanlon

Jay Ryan as Ben Hanscom

James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrak

Andy Bean as Stanley Uris

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise

Jaeden Martell as Young Bill Denbrough

Wyatt Oleff as Young Stanley Uris

Jack Dylan Grazer as Young Eddie Kaspbrak

Finn Wolfhard as Young Richie Tozier

Sophia Lillis as Young Beverly Marsh

Chosen Jacobs as Young Mike Hanlon

Jeremy Ray Taylor as Young Ben Hanscom

Teach Grant as Henry Bowers

Nicholas Hamilton as Young Henry Bowers

Story Line.

Defeated by members of the Losers' Club, the evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years later to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine, once again. Now adults, the childhood friends have long since gone their separate ways. But when people start disappearing, Mike Hanlon calls the others home for one final stand. Damaged by scars from the past, the united Losers must conquer their deepest fears to destroy the shape-shifting Pennywise -- now more powerful than ever

Thoughts.

Another movie that I wanted to see when it first came out but just put on the back burner. I love the first one along with the original staring Tim Curry and read the book. My parents have almost all Steven King's books so I'm very familiar with them.

Loved that it played as true to the book as a movie could. The graphics/CGI was fantastic in this, and I know Bill Skarsgard has said to have had nightmares about his role he did an amazing job as the original killer clown!

It was a long movie, but it didn't feel long because it sucked you in and kept going. It was perfect and I enjoyed every second of it

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

This sequel to the 2017 film opens in 1989. Shortly after defeating the evil entity known as Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard), the Losers Club - Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Martell), Ben Hanscom (Jeremy Ray Taylor), Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis), Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard), Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), Stanley Uris (Wyatt Olef), and Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs) - gather as Bev tells the boys about the vision she saw of all of them as adults when she faced Pennywise. The Losers make a blood pact to return to Derry in the event that they must face IT once more.

27 years later in 2016, a gay couple - Adrian Mellon (Xavier Dolan) and Don Hagarty (Taylor Frey) - are enjoying a night out at the carnival when they are harassed by homophobic thugs. Even as they walk away from the carnival, the thugs follow them and start to viciously assault them. They throw Adrian over the bridge and flee into the night. Adrian almost drowns until he is pulled out of the water... except the one who pulled him out was Pennywise. Don watches in horror as the monster clown grabs Adrian and takes a huge bite out of his chest. Mike (now played by Isiah Mustafa) overhears a report of the incident over a police scanner, and when he arrives at the scene, he discovers the message "COME HOME" written in blood on the side of the bridge. Mike knows that IT has returned.

We catch up with the other Losers in adulthood. Bill (now played by James McAvoy) is married to Audra (Jess Weixler) and has found success as an author/screenwriter, but he is frequently told that his endings are not good. Eddie (now played by James Ransone) is a risk assessor who is married to a woman, Myra (Mollie Atkinson), who is just as controlling as his own mother. Ben (now played by Jay Ryan) has slimmed down and is a successful architect, though he lives alone. Richie (now played by Bill Hader) is a stand-up comedian. Stanley (now played by Andy Bean) is a partner in an accounting firm. Bev (now played by Jessica Chastain) is a fashion designer, married to the abusive Tom Rogan (Will Beinbrink). Mike calls everyone, and they do not immediately recognize his voice until he mentions he is from Derry. Everybody becomes slightly unnerved by the phone call, and Mike beckons them to return to Derry. Bev tells Tom that she will be returning to Derry to visit friends, but he is paranoid and thinks she is lying to him and is cheating on him since he heard Mike's name. Tom starts to hit Bev until she fights back and runs away from their home. The other guys start to make their way back to Derry. The only one who doesn't go is Stanley, as he commits suicide by slitting his wrists in the tub rather than facing the nightmare from his childhood again.

A flashback shows that psychotic bully Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton) survived being pushed down the well by Mike and had washed out of the sewers. When he returned home, police arrested him after they came across the body of Henry's father and deduced that he murdered him. Today, Henry (now played by Teach Grant) is in a mental institution and has become even more insane. He is visited by Pennywise in the form of a zombified Patrick Hockstetter (Owen Teague), who presents Henry with his old knife.

The Losers meet at the Jade of the Orient restaurant and catch up after a long absence. They joke and reminisce, but also note Stanley's absence. They start to split fortune cookies, only to each get single word fortunes that they realize form a full message. Bev's fortune reads "Stanley", and put together, the fortunes read "Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It". The Losers know that Pennywise has found them. The fortune cookies then start to crack open and reveal hideous little spider-like creatures. The Losers bash at them on the table, which only makes them look crazy when others see them attacking a table. Outside the restaurant, Bev calls Stanley's wife. Before she can say what happened, Bev knows that Stanley was found in a bathtub, and the other guys figure what happened to him.

Everyone gathers at the hotel where they are staying, and Mike confesses that this is the real reason he summoned everyone back to Derry. They ask Bev how she knew how Stanley died, and she says she has seen how they all die, as she was the only one who saw the Deadlights when Pennywise captured her. Bill goes back to Mike's house, where Mike drugs Bill's water to cause him to experience a trippy vision. Mike explains that in all the time he has stayed in Derry, he has studied the history of IT and learned from a Native American tribe of the Ritual of Chud, which can be performed to destroy IT once and for all. He produces a ritualistic piece of pottery with a depiction of the ritual. They bring it back to the other Losers, and Mike explains that they need to gather artifacts from their childhood and place it in the pottery so that they can destroy Pennywise.

Somewhere else in Derry, we see a little girl named Victoria (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) at a football game with her mom. Victoria is lured away by a firefly, and she follows it under the bleachers until she meets Pennywise. He uses the same manipulative trick on her to make her think he is playful, and he appeals to her sympathy when he cries about not having friends, as Victoria is made fun of for a birthmark on her cheek. Pennywise promises to make it go away, only to end up devouring Victoria.

The Losers go to an old clubhouse that Ben built for them over the summer they all became friends. There, they find an artifact for Stanley, which is a shower cap. A flashback shows them as kids with Stanley asking if they will all remain friends as adults. His friends assured him that they would be.

The gang splits up as they head back to their homes in Derry. Bev goes to her old home and meets the elderly Mrs. Kersh (Joan Gregson). She invites Bev inside for tea and cookies as Bev looks around. She finds an old pack of cigarettes, as well as the poem that Ben wrote for her, although she still thinks it was written by Bill. As Bev sits with Mrs. Kersh, the old woman displays unusual behavior. Bev notices what looks like rotted flesh on Mrs. Kersh's chest. She mentions to Bev that her father joined the circus. Bev sees what looks like a human Pennywise in an old picture. Mrs. Kersh then asks Bev if she is "daddy's little girl," as her father had called her. The old woman is then revealed to be Pennywise as she takes on a grotesque and monstrous form that chases Bev out. Before Bev gets away, she sees Pennywise in his human form as "Bob Gray", who wears his clown makeup and scratches the red lines on his face to taunt Bev.

Richie goes to an old arcade he went to as a kid where he picks up a token as his artifact. In a flashback, he is seen playing a game with Henry's cousin, and the bully teases Richie for being a "fairy". Adult Richie is then found and tormented by Pennywise, who claims to know his "dirty little secret." He takes on the form of a Paul Bunyan statue and tries to attack Richie, but he gets away in time.

Bill goes to an antique shop and sees that his old bike is on sale. He asks the shop owner (played by none other than Stephen King) if he can buy the bike. The owner knows of Bill's work, but agrees that his endings suck. Bill gets the bike and rides around his old street, passing the sewer where Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) was taken. Pennywise taunts Bill with an apparition of Georgie calling to him from the sewers. Bill is almost lured in by the monster clown. As he rides away, he sees a kid named Dean (Luke Roessler), whom the gang had seen at the restaurant because he is a fan of Richie's stand-up. Dean has also seen Pennywise lately after Bill had mentioned it. He firmly orders Dean to get himself and his family out of Derry as soon as possible.

Ben gets an old yearbook page, in which Bev was the only one to write for him. He is haunted by a flashback to his childhood where Pennywise took on Bev's form to ridicule Ben for his weight, as Pennywise knew that Ben loved Bev, and he still harbors feelings for her to this day. Her form's head took fire as Ben hid in a locker, only for Pennywise to be in there with him.

Eddie goes to the pharmacy where he would pick up his medications. Creepy Mr. Keene (Joe Bostick) and Gretta (Juno Rinaldi) still work there. Eddie gets an inhaler before he is haunted by Pennywise in the form of his mother being attacked by the Leper (Javier Botet).

Henry kills a guard and escapes the institution. He finds the Losers and attacks Eddie by stabbing him in the cheek. He manages to pull the knife out and stab Henry in the chest, albeit non-fatally, and he runs to his friends for help. However, Henry gets away again before he is caught.

In another Pennywise haunting, Bill sees the message "The fun is just beginning" written, which is what Dean said to Richie at the restaurant, itself a line from Richie's stand-up. Bill knows that Pennywise is referring to Dean, and he goes to a carnival to try and save the boy after learning he will be there. Bill follows Dean into a hall of mirrors, but Dean just thinks Bill is a crazy weirdo. The two are then found by Pennywise, who bares his long tongue and razor-sharp teeth. Bill desperately tries to kick the glass out to save Dean, but Pennywise breaks through first and brutally attacks the boy, blocking Bill's view. Bill can only watch in horror as he fails to save the boy.

Mike is in the library where Henry finds him and attacks him. Not long after, Richie comes and kills Henry by stabbing him in the back of the head. This causes Richie to puke.

Bill reunites with his friends and vows to kill IT himself. His friends gather their artifacts and they join him at the Neibolt House to face off the evil entity for the last time. While there, they make it into Pennywise's lair and use the pottery to begin the ritual. The Losers throw in their artifacts, being Bev's poem, Ben's yearbook page, Richie's token, Eddie's inhaler, the boat that Bill helped make with Georgie, and a rock that Mike recovered from their rock war with the Bowers gang. The Deadlights appear and sink into the pottery with the artifacts, but just when it seems that things worked, out rises a red balloon that produces Pennywise. He faces the Losers again in his true form, as a monstrous spider that still carries his clown face, and he states how he has waited so long to see them again. Mike then reveals that the ritual never worked, and the tribe that attempted it on Pennywise got killed themselves. He splits the Losers up with more nightmare visions, including one of Stanley's severed head as a spider.

Eddie and Richie find themselves in a similar scenario to when they were kids as Pennywise places three doors with "Scary", "Very Scary", and "Not Scary At All" for them to walk through. They see the severed half of Betty Ripsom's body, as well as a small Pomeranian that morphs into a monster. Meanwhile, Ben and Bev are trapped and split from each other, and Pennywise tries to kill Ben by having him sink into the earth while Bev is trapped in an illusion of a bathroom stall where he is harassed by the forms of Mr. Keene, Gretta, Henry, and her own father. Bev fights back against the visions and manages to pull Ben out from sinking, and she realizes he is the one who wrote her the poem as he had recited it as he was almost dying.

Bill is trapped in what looks like his childhood basement. He sees his young self talking to Georgie, as the image of the little boy blames Bill for lying on the day that he died, as Bill had pretended to be sick so he wouldn't go out to play with Georgie in the rain. This had haunted Bill for years, and Pennywise knew he blamed himself for it. Young Bill goes to his adult self with a nail gun, but Adult Bill forgives himself and shoots the apparition instead.

The Losers get close enough to fight Pennywise, with Eddie managing to muster up the courage to strike Pennywise himself. As he runs to Richie, however, Pennywise impales Eddie with one of his talons. The Losers try to seek a way out of there, and they figure that since Pennywise is a spider, he can make himself small to try and go after them. They then quickly realize that the only way to make him small enough to defeat him is to force him to believe he is small. They begin to yell at Pennywise and call out all of his otherwise harmless forms before he starts to shrink and shrivel into a powerless shell of his former self. This allows the Losers to pull his heart out of his chest and crush it, destroying him for good. The lair begins to crumble and collapse around them. Richie tries to get Eddie out, but he is already dead. The Losers escape the house and watch as it collapses on itself.

The remaining five head to the quarry where they all swam as children. They think about Eddie and how he would have hated it since it's so dirty. Richie then starts to cry for his fallen friend, and the others console him. As they continue to swim, Ben and Bev share a kiss. As they later walk home, they see their reflections on a window and see their childhood selves, including Eddie and Stanley. One last flashback shows the group as kids riding their bikes home.

Later on, Bill has gone back to work with writing, and he feels his endings are getting better. He speaks on the phone to Mike, who is thinking about finally seeing the rest of the world. They tell one another that they love each other, and Mike mentions a letter that all the Losers have been getting. Bill finds his letter and sees that it's from Stanley, written before his suicide. We hear his voice reading the letter over a small montage of the other Losers in the present. Ben and Bev are now in a relationship, while Richie goes to a bridge where he carved his and Eddie's initials, revealing that he was in love with him. Stanley's letter states that he knew he could never be brave enough to face Pennywise again, so he removed himself from the equation to give his friends a chance to honor him, which would give them the strength to fight IT. He turned out to be right.

The film concludes with Mike driving away and finally leaving Derry.