Wonder Watchlist

I’m way too hit or miss with posting my favorite first watches of each month, but this year I wanted to get back into the groove of it. Don’t mind that I’m starting with March, and not January, it’s been a busy year so far! Especially when it comes to writing, and I couldn’t be more thankful. I didn’t get to the theater as often as I would’ve liked, but I still managed to catch some great watches.

March was a doozy, once again I over booked myself, but I wouldn’t have it any other way to be completely honest. And the movies I watched in March were all over the place. I thought this month was going to be a bust, with disappointment at almost each theater experience I had. But thankfully there’s some gems within a sea of just “okay.” All of the films that are listed at newer releases, further proving my point that they still make good movies.

Some runners up: Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, Vampires of the Velvet Lounge, The Serpent’s Skin, and Project Hail Mary (I’m prepared for the tomatoes being thrown at me for not having it on my fav list).

Dead Lover, Dir. Grace Glowicki

Synopsis: “A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap scientific experiments, resulting in grave consequences and unlikely love.”

My thoughts: I watched only a few seconds of the Dead Lover trailer before deciding I needed to watch it. A stank-tastic take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with a twist. A minimal budget lets the film feel like a stage play at times, with lots of black backdrops and only a few props, letting the lead performance, also the writer and director Grace Glowicki, truly leap off the screen. At the end of her days, the lonely gravedigger just wants to be loved like anyone would. Why should her thankless occupation get in the way?

Raunchy as hell, and at times overstimulating with its intensity, Dead Lover walks a tight rope between brilliance and over the top. I loved it, and would recommend it to any of my monster-loving readers!

Full review for InSession Film can be found here!

The Forbidden City, dir. Gabriele Mainetti

Synopsis: “The son of an indebted restaurant owner joins a foreign girl in search of her sister. Together, they’ll have to fight side by side against the most ruthless members of the Roman criminal underworld.”

My thoughts: Lately i’ve been trying to avoid many trailers, and reviews before seeing movies, and with this one I’m so happy i did. I found myself totally swept up in this enemies to lovers itialian kung-fu movie with intoxicating fight sequences. Whenever I get an e-mail from WellGoUSA to review one of their films I get excited, because so many of the ones I check out are the fantasy I yearn for. The Forbidden City isn’t afraid of being cliche or cheesy, and the love story held within is sometimes overly complicated, but it pays off in the end.

The visuals of The Forbidden City is what took this from good to great in my mind, with the use of colors in not only Mei (Liu Yaxi) outfits, but the lighting within the scenes. Matching the boldness of Mainetta’s directing, it’s not everyday a love story like this is released.

Full review for Wonder Watchlist can be found here!

The Bride! Dir. Maggie Gyllenhaal

Synopsis: “A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride is born. But what ensues is beyond what either of them imagined.”

My thoughts: Going into this year The Bride! was at the top of my must watches. Starring Jessie Buckley? Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal? And it’s based on the work of Mary Shelley? I was signed on day one. A few weeks removed from seeing it I have to say that although I was expecting more, I still stand by my initial review. It’s a mess, and when it works it’s such a riot to behold, but when it doesn’t work it struggles to keep its momentum going.

I love the aspect of giving a voice to voiceless victims through the use of The Bride, and women using her as a symbol of strength. But there’s a disconnect with the screenplay, and it’s like major portions of the film were removed entirely. I still found so much to enjoy, like Buckley’s performance. What an actress she is, and her work here shifts between many different thoughts and phrases even mid sentence. And it ends with “Monster Mash”, how could I not love it flaws and all?

Full Review for Nexus Point News can be found here!

Forbidden Fruits, Dir. Meredith Alloway

Synopsis: “Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours – with fellow fruits Cherry and Fig. But, when new hire Pumpkin challenges their performative sisterhood, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.”

My thoughts: Anyone that knows me, knows that Mean Girls is one of the most perfect films in my eyes. So anytime there’s a film that releases that looks as if it’s an homage to that movie, I’m totally down. And Forbidden Fruits not only feels like a love child of Mean Girls and Charmed, but is also stylish, funny, and has some of the best use of Lili Reinhart I’ve seen.

It’s exactly what I imagine working in the mall would be like, filled with a hierarchy of stores and status. A blend of when friends become too codependent, controlling, and all the mess in between.

My full review for Geek Vibes Nation can be found here!

Anima, Dir. Brian Tetsuro Ivie

Synopsis: “A young woman and an old man embark on a road trip to preserve his consciousness at an experimental facility.”

My thoughts: Light sci-fi movies aren’t done enough anymore, especially ones that are as effective as Anima, ones that are life-affirming and filled with empathy. What starts as a road trip movie between two seemingly unrelated strangers turns into a journey of accepting the mistakes of the past, whether from troubled relationships with parents or relationships that you never gave enough time to. When you know your life’s expiration date, who is worth saying goodbye to when you have the chance?

It’s one of those movies that makes you rethink what grudges are worth holding, and just because we have the technology to never have to grieve our loved ones, doesn’t mean we should use it.

Full review for Geek Vibes Nation can be found here!