Final Review!

For the final review in this line-up, I'm going to be looking at "The Addams Family"! Released in 1991, this film boasts an impressive cast with Raul Julia, Angelica Huston, and Christopher Lloyd.

Photo courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes.

In this classic adaptation of Charles Addams famed New Yorker comics, as well as the equally classic 1960s sitcom of the same name, the film follows the Addams Family- a clan of macabre, eccentric, supernatural, yet warm and loving people. Patriarch Gomez (played by Raul Julia) misses his brother Fester who has been missing for over a decade after a falling out they had. Gomez's scheming lawyer, Tully Alford, realizes that the portrait of Fester bears a strong resemblance to the son of a loan shark that he owes money to, so the three crooks stage a plot to rob the Addams of their treasure- have the lookalike pretend to be Fester to sneak into the vault, with his loan shark mother acting as his psychiatrist. The plan goes south as "Fester" slowly integrates himself into the family and grows to love them as much as they love him.

Thoughts:

This movie is iconic and for a good reason. All of the actors are perfectly cast, with Julia and Huston being a standout as Gomez and Morticia, who are wonderfully insane and dramatic without being too much. Spiritually, it is ne of the most faithful adaptations of the Charles Addams comics, and even sneaks in a few cameo references, such as the gag of pouring hot tar on Christmas carolers. It's a film that you can enjoy even outside of Halloween.

ABOUT ME!

Hello! My name is Alex! I’m a 20-year-old student currently double majoring in political science and journalism. I started this blog as a class project but it’s becoming pretty fun. I like anything pop culture and sci-fi. Like a follow for more!

Even More Movie Reviews!

For this post, I'm covering the 2005 classic, "Twitches". Adapted from the YA novel series of the same name, "Twitches" centers on a pair of twin sisters- Artemis and Apolla- who are born to the King and Queen of the magical country of Coventry. Coventry is under threat of the Darkness, a magical force that devours all in its path. The twin sisters are separated at birth on Halloween and are teleported to the human world by the family's servants who spend the next 21 years watching over them in hiding. Artemis is raised as Alex Fielding, a working-class writer who shares an apartment with her best friend Lucinda, while Apolla is adopted by the wealthy Barnes family and renamed Camryn, and develops a talent for art. Both sisters are able to divine visions of Coventry through their chosen medium, and are reunited on Halloween. The sisters realize they have magical powers together and dub themselves "Twitches" (twin witches.)

Photo courtesy of iMDB.

Thoughts:

Not my favorite of the Disney original Halloween movies, but I always think this one warrants a nice nostalgia re-watch, I think. The dynamic between twins Tia and Tamera Mowry (who are no strangers to playing twins separated at birth, like in "Sister, Sister") makes for some fun scenes, as does the bickering old-married-couple dynamic of the twins' guardians, Karsh and Ileana, who seem more concerned over deciding where to move than doing their jobs. (Ileana: "This dimension has 10-cent chicken wings on Wednesdays!") The action does get pretty scary at times, and it would be fairly easy to reframe this as a horror movie when considering the premise involves a giant shadow monster terrorizing them and their kingdom. A fairly overlooked film in Disney's lineup, but worth a watch.

Even More Halloween Reviews!

In this review, I'm going to be looking at "The Nightmare Before Christmas"! Another classic and a childhood favorite, the movie follows the king of Halloween as he tries his hand at the exact opposite: Christmas.

SYNOPSIS

Jack Skellington is the King of Halloweentown (separate from the DCOM Halloweentown), an entire town dedicated to creating Halloween for the human world every year. Bored out of his mind, Jack goes wandering into the forest where he finds portals to other holiday towns. Blindly wandering into the realm of Christmastown, where Santa and his elves work to bring Christmas together, Jack decides to alleviate his boredom by trying his own hand at Christmas, creating a grim, twisted version of it complete with skeleton reindeer to carry Jack through the skies. Things take a turn from bad to worse when Santa Claus is taken hostage by Oogie Boogie, a bug-themed monster with a casino/torture dungeon.

Thoughts:

This is a masterpiece of a film. The stop-motion animation still holds up 30 years later, the music is beautiful and well-written, the characters are so well-designed and dynamic. It is nothing short of a visual feast for the senses, from the music to the characters to the settings to the costumes. It is genuinely a great film to watch and enjoy and it is perfect for both Halloween or Christmas (or both or Thanksgiving if you want to meet in the middle.)

spooky campfire stories 👻🔪🎃

5 posts!

Cat witch party

Anyway, no-fault divorce, easy access to birth control, and abortion on demand all serve to make families stronger, healthier, happier, and more robust, because they allow family to be a matter of choice rather than a means of social control and violence.

“hallelujah” by leonard cohen being played as an easter and christmas song, “zombie” by the cranberries” being played as a halloween song, and “born in the U.S.A.” by bruce springsteen being played as a Fourth of July/generic us patriotism song have got to be a special trifecta of the most no-listening-comprehension musical moments that happen on seasonal playlists every single year 

More Halloween Reviews!

In my continuing series of Halloween movie reviews, I'm going to be covering Hocus Pocus! Released in 1993, Hocus Pocus is one of the more iconic and fondly remembered Disney Halloween movies for millennials and zoomers.

Synopsis:

Starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, "Hocus Pocus" centers on a new kid in town, Max Dennison, whose family has recently moved to Salem, Oregon. He's dragged along to babysit his little sister Dani while trick-or-treating and accidentally unearths the local legend of the Sanderson Sisters: Winifred, Mary, and Sarah- a trio of witches who vowed to come back on Halloween night 300 years after their execution. Max, Dani, Max's crush Allison, and a cursed cat named Binx must work together to defeat the witches before they gain immortality.

Thoughts:

This movie was absolutely hilarious. I know the witches aren't supposed to be the main characters, they're the bad guys but they're honestly the most entertaining characters of the whole film, particularly when they're the only ones with musical numbers. The plot with the kids doesn't age as well (particularly the many references to him being a virgin) but its still overall enjoyable.

Halloween Movie Reviews!

In honor of it being spooky season and the week leading up to Halloween, I’ve decided to dedicate this little project to reviewing some of my favorite Halloween movies from my childhood! Rewatching them is a yearly tradition for me, and it’s always nice to see if whether or not they still hold up for me. For this post, I’ll be reviewing the original Halloweentown film from 1998, starring Kimberly J. Brown and Debbie Reynolds.

Photo courtesy of iMDB.

“Halloweentown” centers on Marnie Piper, a teenage girl who’s mother, Gwen, refuses to allow her or her siblings, Dylan and Sophie, to celebrate Halloween. When Marnie’s grandmother, Aggie, pays the family a visit on Halloween night, Marnie finds out the family hails from Halloweentown, a separate dimension populated by a variety of Halloween-themed creatures and monsters that is only accessible from the mortal world on Halloween, and Vice versa. Marnie, Dylan and Sophie sneak onto the bus going to Halloweentown, and uncover a shadowy conspiracy aiming to undo the peace between the worlds and bring monsters back to rule the Earth.

Thoughts:

This was one of my favorite films as a child, and it still is. I will admit, there were certain aspects that did not age well- the clearly rubber masks used for the denizens of Halloweentown, for one- but I really enjoyed it. The setting is well-designed, the basic conceit behind it is interesting, and the plot is actually pretty intense for a kids’ movie at time. While it is pretty cheesy- it is a Disney movie from the 90s- I think it’s still worth the yearly rewatch.

Photo courtesy of IMDB.