Watch with Me

Renfield: Dracula is THAT Toxic Boyfriend

Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

Image from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11358390/

The movie Renfield, starring Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina and Nicholas Cage, recently released and has moviegoers raving.

The horror movie is a direct sequel to the 1931 Dracula film, and follows a lawyer to the Dracula estate as he becomes the henchman to the notorious vampire lord, with a comedic twist.

While the story itself was somewhat lackluster, what made it really shine was the relationship between Dracula and Renfield. 

The odd couple was characterized as a codependent relationship, with Renfield being verbally and physically abused by the iconic villain.

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Watch With Me: The Super Mario Bros Movie

Rylee McDonal ~Copy Editor

Image from https://www.thesupermariobros.movie/synopsis/ 

The anticipated “Super Mario” movie released last week on April 5, and has broken box office records within the short time it has been released.

The cast of this animated movie consists of Chris Pratt as the fan favorite hero, Mario. Jack Black played the villain Bowser and many other incredible actors were also cast. 

Even though the movie was targeted towards a younger audience, it was still enjoyable for any age. For the younger audience, there was plenty of humor and silly moments to keep their attention. 

The overall plot of the movie was very simple to follow, while also staying true to the video games as source material.

For audience members who grew up with the Mario games, there were plenty of easter eggs for them to enjoy. 

When Mario begins a fight with Donkey Kong, the arena they are staged in resembles the Donkey Kong arcade game. In addition to this there were many more subtle easter eggs. For instance, a pack of Yoshies running in the background of a scene. 

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Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review

Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

An early screening of the new “Dungeons and Dragons” movie took place this past Sunday, and it was an amazing experience.

Starring an ensemble cast of Chris Pine, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Paul, Justice Smith and Hugh Grant, the movie was a spectacular representation of what a heist movie should be.

The movie kept with the tropes of most heist movies: main character leaving/escaping prison, the characters finding something new to steal, and even the formation of the team to steal whatever they are after.

However, what made this movie different from those was the added fantasy element. With this movie being based off the popular tabletop RPG, it took the typical heist movie genre and dialed it up to eleven.

For starters, the movie came off as an actual “Dungeons and Dragons” campaign, and if you have ever been in one, you know it can be absolutely ridiculous. 

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Cocaine Bear: Too Much Cocaine, Not Enough Bear

Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

The highly anticipated movie, Cocaine Bear, has recently been released, and is nothing to scoff at.

The movie is based on an event where park rangers found a dead bear in the woods, later learning that it overdosed on cocaine that had been dropped by former narcotics officer, Andrew Thornton. The bear was then stuffed and placed in a mall in Lexington, Kentucky.

While the movie may have been inspired by true events, the producers utilize their creative license by turning the bear into a drug fueled mass murderer searching for more cocaine.

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Spoiler-Free Ant-Man Review: Is it Worth the Watch?

Ali Morrison ~ Assistant News Editor

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania officially came into theaters on Thursday, February 16th, and will continue to be shown in movie theaters around the world. 

While there is not nearly as much hype for this movie as there was for Spiderman No Way Home or for the newest Dr. Strange, Ant-Man’s franchise is quite important to a multitude of series and movies. With this spoiler-free review, you can decide whether Ant-Man is worth your time or not. 

To start, the soundtrack and the graphics are middle of the road at best. The soundtrack is exactly what you expect. 

It’s not a legendary music playlist like Guardians of the Galaxy, but the music in and of itself is generally good. For the most part, the graphics are good. There were some moments that were a little much, as in it almost looked like a video game instead of a real life movie. Despite this, the graphics do not distract from the plot of the movie. 

In terms of casting, there are no big surprise cameos that have importance in the Ant-Man series. No Matt Murdocks in this one, sorry. There are a couple of celebrity cameos that get a few “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd, but no big surprises on the casting front. 

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Watch With Me: West Side Story (2021)

https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/west-side-story

Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

This 2021 remake, directed by Steven Speilberg, is a visually stunning renewal of a classic musical.

The movie centers around two lovers, Tony and Maria, played respectively by Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler, as they are caught in the midst of a gangwar between the Jets and the Sharks. With incredible vocals and choreography to match, it is no wonder that the movie had been nominated for several oscars.

As well, the way the movie was directed made the viewer feel as though they were watching the movie on stage. There were times during the movie where the lighting would either be focused on the eyes of a character, or be spotlighting a character. This would make the character or certain features of said character stand out to the audience. 

This was also key to the main story, like when Tony went looking for Maria and she was given a spotlight to make her stand out more among the alley way of hanging laundry. 

What one would infer from watching this movie is that it is another retelling of Romeo and Juliet. There are two people who fall instantly in love with each other, being kept apart by their two families. And this would be mostly correct. However, while it is a retelling of a classic play, it still takes it in a different direction.

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Watch With Me: The Tender Bar

The Tender Bar movie review & film summary (2021) | Roger Ebert
Screencap from the movie. From https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-tender-bar-movie-review-2021

Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

The Tender Bar is a movie that follows the true life story of journalist J.R. Moehringer. The cast is composed of many well known actors including Ben Affleck and Tye Sheridan. However, the true magic of the movie is less in the actors, and more in the message that is conveyed. Spoilers ahead…

As a writer who often struggles to write an article or a story, it was very easy for me to relate to the main character. While our upbringings were very different, I felt like I was able to understand his struggle to find what he really wanted to write about. 

In the movie, Moehringer is raised by his mother, always bouncing from one house to the next, as she couldn’t hold a job and his father was only really known to him as a voice on the radio. 

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Watch With Me: Dune

By Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

Dune 2 Officially Announced, Will Get Theatrical Window
Dune Poster. https://collider.com/dune-2-announced/

Dune: Part One is an exciting and thrilling movie that leaves viewers begging for more. The movie stars many renowned actors, such as Zendaya and Timothy Chalamet. Additionally, the movie is a major development from its 1984 counterpart.

Both Dune movies are inspired by a series of 15 novels with the first being released in 1965. 

They are essentially Star Wars, even inspiring George Lucas to make the classic series. 

Both share very similar qualities, from an order of beings with powers over the mind, to a galactic empire bent on becoming the most powerful force in the universe

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Watch with Me: ‘Halloween Kills’ at The Box Office

By Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

Halloween Kills (2021) - IMDb
Halloween Kills poster, image from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10665338/

The movie, Halloween Kills, premiered nationally on Oct. 15, 2021. The movie picks up immediately after the Halloween movie in 2018. This new addition to the franchise makes the very idea of the masked killer quite ridiculous.

It plays off the idea of mob mentality, with the entire town banding together to take down Michael Myers, who miraculously survives a house burning down around him, while also killing 12 firemen in the process. I personally can’t believe it took them this long to realize they should stay in groups when facing a killer like this. 

As a slasher film lived up to what everything is meant to be, it is meant to be full of kills that make you want to throw up. 

Also, the movie brings in characters that we have not seen for a couple of movies. Some of these characters were side characters that had no real role in the events of the previous movie. We see a recast of Tommy Doyle, played by Anthony Michael, and Lindsey Wallace, played by Kyle Richards. Both characters were children when Michael first attacked Laurie Strodes, played once again by Jamie Lee Curtis. 

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Watch with Me: Free Guy

By Andrew Wheeler ~ Assistant Opinion Editor

Free Guy Director On Making A Fun Movie For Gamers And Non-Gamers And Ryan  Reynolds On Keeping The Film "Authentic" - The Illuminerdi
Free Guy promotional poster. Image from https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/08/04/free-guy-shawn-levy-reynolds/

There’s a certain expectation surrounding movies based on video game properties, as companies all too often try to maximize profits without actually caring for the source material. When it was announced that Ryan Reynolds would be headlining Free Guy, a film with its own identity on top of numerous video game inspirations and elements, many were skeptical despite the charm he brings to projects. I was skeptical too, but I am happy to report that this movie is an exception to this concern.

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Watch With Me: Cruella! Cruella! Cruella!

By Hunter Epperson ~ Copy Desk Chief

*Article contains spoilers 

On Saturday, my friend Rose and I went to Venue Cinemas to see Cruella

Picture of the flyer for Cruella. Photo retrieved from Wikipedia.org on Aug. 22, 2021.

Rose and I enjoyed the movie.

For me, what I enjoyed about Cruella is that it gave a backdrop to why Cruella from 101 Dalmations became the evil, cold-hearted, controlling woman that she is. 

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Watch With Me: The Owl House

By Andrew Wheeler ~ Guest Writer

Flyer for “The Owl House”. Photo retrieved from IMDb.com on Aug. 24, 2021 by Hunter Epperson

I am sure that the majority of us in this day and age were brought up with Saturdays watching episodic cartoons, enjoying the silly antics of classic “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Scooby Doo”. For those with more relaxed parents, perhaps there was even a dash of something like “Family Guy” mixed in. Good or bad, these memories stuck with us and will always be looked back on fondly as a result. However, the cartoon age is changing.

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Watch With Me: Manifest

By Jessica Head ~ Media and Marketing Manager

Warning: mild spoilers

Photo of Manifest flyer. Photo retrieved from RottenTomatoes.com on Aug. 24, 2021 by Hunter Epperson.

Imagine coming back from vacation and seeing your fiancé now married to your best friend. That is in a way what happened to Michaela Stone, one of the main characters in Manifest. 

Manifest is the story of flight 828, a commercial flight going from Jamaica to New York. Once it lands, the flight team and the passengers are informed that six years have passed for the rest of the world and everyone on the flight was presumed dead. 

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Watch With Me: Love, Death & Robots

By Jessica Head ~ Media and Marketing Manager

*content warning: article does contain mild spoilers, and not safe for work (NSFW) content. 

Photo (above) is a flyer for “Love, Death & Robots”. Photo retrieved from IMDb.com on Aug. 16, 2021. 

The Netflix series, “Love, Death & Robots”, volume one aired in 2019, and volume two aired earlier this year. This series is a collection of animated short clips, each with a unique story. The stories include shapeshifters, vampires, cats, monsters and even the ocean. 

The genres span across science-fiction, horror, dark-comedy, fantasy, and multidimensional. Some fans were upset that volume two  was noticeably shorter than volume one, but if you are like me, I watched both volumes in a day and a half, and already rewatched episodes multiple times. So does it even matter? 

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Watch With Me: Twin Peaks Season 1

Alyson Draper ~ Web Editor

CW: Mild Spoilers, Abuse

     I am sure any fan of cult classic TV shows is familiar with Twin Peaks, the TV debut of David Lynch. 

     David Lynch was already well known for his surrealist approach to filmmaking, especially with his flagship film “Eraserhead” (1977). So seeing Lynch take a stab at a prime time TV show was a bit strange for people familiar with his work. 

     The show is supposed to be a parody of the prime time soap operas that were popular at the time, but with that signature Lynchian twist. “Twin Peaks” follows Special Agent Dale Cooper as he enters the small Washington town of Twin Peaks to investigate the mysterious murder of the primaddona Laura Palmer. 

     As Cooper and the police force of Twin Peaks begin to uncover the mystery behind Laura’s death, it is clear that something dark is happening behind the scenes. But despite its rather dreary premise, the show still keeps an air of comedy about it with Cooper’s endless positivity and love of coffee mixed with the strange and endearing characters that populate the town. 

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