Movie Monday: I’m not the only one…

I have two movie reviews to share with you on this Movie Monday but they really do go hand in hand.

First, the movie I watched over the weekend: Final Destination: Bloodlines

As a big fan of the very first Final Destination (2000) and the logging truck scene from Final Destination 2 (2003), I set my expectations low for Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) because what could be better than those first two installments?

I was surprised by a couple things, both good and bad.

The Positives:
-I really liked what they did with the plot. And you know that’s one of my scary movie criteria. It doesn’t have to be deep or Oscar worthy- but a scary movie should at least make sense. Final Destination: Bloodlines did. I like how it tied back to the original (even though it’s been many, many years since I watched it).
-The tense (will they or won’t they die right now) scenes are plentiful and delightfully stressful. Well done.
-I liked the characters. Everyone from the crazy Granny to the mouthy brother. They did a good job making these characters into people that you cared about. And then they killed them off one by one like a good scary movie does.

The Negative: (and you’ll notice that’s a singular negative – not negatives– although it’s a big one)
I cannot stand all the CGI in movies these days. I was unfazed by all the death scenes because they all looked so fake. Gone are the days of “real” fake blood being used on movie sets because a computer just superimposes the gore on the screen (and it shows). Everything is so crystal clear and fakey looking that it almost feels like I’m watching a cartoon. I feel the same level of disgust watching modern scary movies that I felt back in the day when the road runner fell off a cliff or was smashed by an anvil. Who cares, right? It’s just a cartoon.
Maybe this means I’m just old but I long for the good old days of the slasher movies on the grainy film. These days scary movies just aren’t as scary looking. And I miss that. A lot.

Which brings me to a listener review from over the weekend, too. And how funny that they seem to be saying the same thing!

Listener Movie Review: Blood Simple (1984)

Yes! I don’t remember watching Blood Simple but I can almost picture what it looks like on the screen and I love it already! Can we go back to those days where movies just looked real?

It reminds me of another great movie I recently watched called Strange Darling (2023). It just looked real as I was watching it and I was instantly more invested in it. Put that on your list if you like a cat-and-mouse suspenseful thriller. It’s newer but it looks old.

Because most of the new movies these days just aren’t cutting it for me. Apparently not for this listener either.

Want to recommend a movie to Laura? Email anytime: Laura.McKenna@civicmedia.us
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