Chuck's Movie Breakdown

    Hey guys, Chuck here. Happy Halloween, everyone! Let's wrap up this year's edition of HallowScream with a review of the 2018 film Halloween . Now, I've gotta be honest, I've never been a really big fan of this franchise. It just wasn't among the slasher film series that caught my attention the way that franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Child's Play , and Hellraiser did. And no, I did not watch the Rob Zombie versions of Halloween either. However, after seeing the TV spots for this new spin on the series back in 2018, I decided to check it out. And when I learned that it's a direct continuation of John Carpenter's original film, and none of its sequels, it made me more interested in watching it. So, now let's get into this, our last review of HallowScream : Halloween 2018.       So, we open with a pair of true crime journalists, Aaron and Diana, who head to the psychiatric institution that has held Michael Myers for 40 ...

     Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we have just a couple of reviews left in HallowScream , and for today's review, I'm taking a look at a film, or rather a film experience that hit theaters in 2007. I'm  talking about the Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino double feature released theatrically as Grindhouse . Produced as a throwback project to the old Grindhouse theaters, which were noted for showcasing exploitation films in the action and horror genres, and often paired up films in the double feature format. So the question remains: how the hell am I going to possibly review Grindhouse ? Well, I'll be dividing it into three sections: the fake trailers, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror , and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof . So, let's take a look at Grindhouse .      Okay, so starting with the four fake trailers. First off, there's the fake trailer for Machete . Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Machete stars Danny Trejo as an ex-Federale, here in the US...

     Hey guys, Chuck here. You may recall that last November, I took a look at the show The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius , in particular the 2003 made-for-TV movie  Operation: Rescue Jet Fusion . Well, a few weeks after that aired, Nickelodeon released a Halloween special for Jimmy Neutron . However, while horror and monster-themed episodes have aired in the past, such as The Phantom of Retroville, Sleepless in Retroville , and so on, this particular episode was made specifically as a Halloween episode/ So, here we are: Nightmare in Retroville .      It's Halloween night in Retroville, and Jimmy offers to turn his friends Carl and Sheen into monsters for Halloween. Using his latest invention, the Neutronic Monster Maker, a machine that can turn people into one of 102 different monsters at the molecular level, Jimmy turns Sheen and Carl into a werewolf and a vampire respectively. Meanwhile, Jimmy's dad, Hugh, accidentally falls into the lab a...

      Boys and girls of every age, if you would like to see something strange, then come with me and you will see a loving dedication to my favorite movie. You'll hear the story, it's origins, too, and I'll wrap it all up with my personal review. It's time now to journey to Halloween Town. My name is Chuck, and this is the one year anniversary of Chuck's Movie Breakdown .         The Nightmare Before Christmas  is a stop motion animated movie released in 1993. The movie establishes that holidays don't just appear from nothing, and there are entire world's that create them for us. We then are introduced to the world of Halloween Town, and all of the bizarre creatures that live there. And as everyone is returning to celebrate another successful celebration of Halloween, we meet Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King, who is the figurehead of the entire Halloween operation.       We learn that Jack is something of a tormented spirit, and af...

     Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we dove into the world of Stephen King earlier in the month with the first It , so today for HallowScream, let's head back to the world of Stephen King's It with the 2019 film: It Chapter Two . Now, believe it or not, this movie marks one of the few occasions where I went to an opening night screening of a horror film, and yes, the showing I went to was pretty well packed. But, let's just dive right into It Chapter Two .      Alright, so it's been twenty-seven years since the Losers' Club last encountered Pennywise, and most of them have moved on from Derry. Bill is now a horror novelist, who struggles to come up with a good ending, Richie is a stand-up comic, Eddie works for an insurance company, Beverly is a fashion designer in an abusive relationship, Ben, who's slimmed down tremendously, is an architect, and Stanley is a founding partner in an accounting firm. When they each receive a call from Mike, who stayed in Derry...

    Hey guys, Chuck here. If you ask anyone who was around during the 2000's about the most popular horror movie franchise of that decade, the answer would most likely be Saw . Beginning with a short film made by director James Wan in 2003, Saw quickly grew in popularity after film studio Lionsgate films acquired the feature film rights to the franchise, alongside production company Twisted Pictures. My own interest in the franchise kicked into gear around 2008, just between the releases of Saw IV and Saw V . Heck I even went to a movie theater that showcased the tenth anniversary re-release of the original Saw , and I got excited when it was announced that an eighth entry, Jigsaw , was set for release in 2017, and a ninth entry, Spiral , is now on the way for release in spring of 2021. So, today for HallowScream , let's take a look at the modern horror classic that started it all: Saw .      The movie opens up in a grimy bathroom, where two men, Adam St...

    Hey guys, Chuck here. You may recall that back in August, I reviewed Fred: The Movie , and it was honestly the worst movie I've ever reviewed. Well, in October of 2011, Nickelodeon released a sequel. Yeah, that's right a sequel. And since I pretty much confirmed that I'd review this one as part of HallowScream , here's my review of Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred .      The movie opens with Fred Figglehorn, played by Lucas Cruikshank, who is freaking out over something that is apparently terrifying. Fred then fills us in on his and Judy's break-up (which explains why Pixie Lott doesn't return for this one), the disappearance of his favorite teacher at school: Mrs. Felson, who is replaced by the odd and mysterious Mr. Devlin, played by Seth Morris. Meanwhile, Fred is followed home by a girl, played by Ariel Winter, which unnerves Fred, at which point he returns home to learn that Devlin moved in next door to the Figglehorn house. All of these events, except ...

     Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, it wouldn't be the Halloween season without talking about Stephen King, so, during HallowScream , it's only appropriate to review some of the films on my shelf based on the works of Stephen King. And what better one to start off with than the 2017 horror sensation: It . Based on the iconic horror novel by Stephen King, It was directed by Andy Muschietti, and was the first film in a two-film adaptation of the original novel.  But was splitting the story into two films a good move, or just a ploy to ring more money out of film-goers? Let's find out as we take a look at It .      We open up in the town of Derry, Maine, in the year 1988, and we meet Bill Denbrough, who makes a paper sailboat for his little brother, Georgie. Georgie, decked out in rain gear, then goes to send it sailing in the rainwater-filled gutter, only to fall behind and see it fall into the storm drain, upsetting Georgie. Georgie is then greeted by Pen...

     Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, October has begun, and that mean's it's time for my annual Halloween review series: HallowScream . Throughout the month, I'll be looking at different horror films and films with ties to Halloween. So, for the first review of HallowScream , let's take a look at a newer horror film with the recent remake of The Invisible Man . A modern re-imagining of H.G. Wells classic story, this movie is the latest attempt by Universal Pictures to release modern re-imaginings of their classic monster movies. In 2014, Universal released Dracula Untold , a Marvel comics-style re-imagining of Count Dracula starring Luke Evans as Dracula, and in 2017, we got The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, a film that attempted to kickstart a shared cinematic universe called the "Dark Universe." Both movies failed spectacularly, which led Universal to focus more on individual films rather than a shared universe. And that leads us to today's review of The Invisi...