Movie Reviews
In this movie review, Deenie takes over this monthly column previously led by Justin Vinyard and gives her take on different movies she has watched.
Movie Reviews
By Deenie Bulyalert
Hi Scroll Readers! You normally don't see me here, but I thought I would try something different this month and do some movie reviews. This is my first time writing anything like this, so please bear with me while I navigate a new type of writing. I hope you like it.
I have never been someone who watched a ton of movies unless it is past midnight and I am trying to get out of doing homework. If that is the situation, then you will probably catch me watching so many bad movies.
I am really lucky. I have most streaming platforms: Netflix, Hulu and, if I don't have it, then I steal it from a friend of mine. I typically only watch movies on Netflix. I am a sucker for bad and cheesy romance movies and Netflix seems to have an endless supply of those.
Props to Justin Vinyard. He did an amazing job with these reviews previously, so we will see if I can fill his shoes. Today, I am reviewing two movies: Antlers, and Enola Holmes, two very different, but interesting movies.
Antlers
I watched this movie early November. I am typically not a horror movie person, but since I wasn't paying for the tickets, I thought I would go. I went into this movie blind, never watching the trailer or even knowing what it was about. It wasn't until I was offered to watch this with friends that I finally got a broad idea of what the movie was based off of.
Antlers is a movie based on an unknown, isolated town in Oregon. When I first heard this piece of information mentioned, I got excited, since we don't really see representation of Oregon in movies. My friend and I quite literally leapt out of our seats from this mention of Oregon. We were extremely happy. This was the only time throughout the movie that we actually jumped out of our seats.
It is a horror/mystery movie that was released on Oct. 15, 2021, directed by Scott Cooper. It was inspired by a short story called, “The Quiet Boy,” by Nick Antosca. These two stories are about a boy who attends school in this isolated town. He doesn't talk much, but his teacher tries to find out more about him. The teacher and her brother concluded that his father is abusive, but his story runs a little deeper than that. The movie follows different perspectives, which was quite interesting in movie form, but I'll stop writing before I spoil the whole movie.
Antlers adapts the wendigo mythology, which originated with the First Nations Algonquian tribe. Wendigo is part of folklore that was passed down from generation through the Algonquian people. They are creatures that are able to possess humans and take on their form. When they take over the human body, they become malevolent and cannibalistic. These wendigo cannibals then feasts on human flesh. Wendigo creatures are never satisfied when it comes to eating, so they continue to feast on humans until they become weaker and weaker. It is believed that the wendigo mythology is a reference to the colonization of indigenous lands and the killing of many indigenous people and tribes.
I watched Antlers in the theaters. Currently, it does not seem to be available elsewhere. There are spoilers in the upcoming section, so if you don't want to read spoilers, please skip this section.
My overall opinion of this movie was that it was okay. Maybe it is the "not movie person" in me talking, but I definitely thought it could be better. I liked that there was representation of Native American myths and a tiny bit of history, but I kind of wish there was more. In the movie, there was probably two scenes that mentioned Indigenous people and one scene that mentioned the myth itself. In a movie like this, that is based off a story told and originated by the Algonquian tribe, there should be a little more information on it. I might be too nit-picky about this movie, though.
Antlers was also pretty predictable. For example, many characters walked into houses or rooms that would predictabley lead to their deaths, kind of like the slow turning of the doorknob where we know the murderer is on the other side. One of the main characters was a police officer. Toward the end of the movie, his partner was killed by a wendigo, but he was left alive, even though he was hurt in the same way as his partner. It would have been a better twist if the main character was killed, but I understand why they didn't allow him to die in this movie.
A good film to compare Antlers to is The Quiet Place, which I believe was better than this movie. I know this review isn't about The Quiet Place, but the work and acting that went into that movie (without being able to say that many words) was incredible. When I watch a horror movie, I usually expect jump scares or unpredictable twists and turns. This movie didn't do that for me. It was creepy and was most definitely a horror movie, but we had more fun talking in the parking lot of the movie theater than actually watching the movie itself.
I will say that learning more about the inspiration behind this movie, the stories, the messages, and the work that went into it made me like Antlers a bit more. It was interesting reading about the wendigo myth and the Algonquian tribe. It was a skin-crawling, but interesting analogy for the colonization of Indigenous land. The pictures, although horrifying, were also super cool to look at. If you have time and energy to watch a horror movie, I would recommend watching Antlers, but I do think that it will make the movie much more enjoyable if you know the backstory behind it.
Enola Holmes
Enola Holmes was released Sep. 23, 2020. Most of us know about Sherlock Holmes, but this movie shows the story of his younger sister, Enola Holmes. "While searching for her missing mother, intrepid teen Enola Holmes uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brother Sherlock and help a runaway lord," is the description of the movie. This movie was directed by Harry Bradbeer and was originally supposed to be a Warner Brothers film that was later picked up by Netflix.
This was probably one of my favorite movies I have watched in a while. I watched this during one of my late night movie binges, and I had clicked on it randomly since I couldn't find anything else to watch. It was a movie I was not expecting to like, but Enola Holmes, really captured my heart. I may be a little biased, though. Millie Bobby Brown is the main actress in this movie and if she asked me to drop everything in my life right now to be her friend, I probably would. She is such a great actress. Also, the love story between her and the runaway lord was so incredibly adorable.
This movie was different from a lot of the romance movies that I watched and it really pulled me from the moment the film began. Although this movie had some romance in it, Enola Holmes wasn't a movie completely about romance. It was a lot of romanticizing yourself, knowing your worth, and finding who you are.
The movie broke the fourth wall right off the bat, having Enola talk straight to the camera. In the beginning of the movie, when this first happened, I thought it was kind of weird, but as the movie progressed, having Enola talk directly to the camera seemed fitting.
Another aspect of this movie I liked was its intricate details. The house, although believed to be dirty and unladylike, was gorgeous. It was basically a castle with plants overgrown on the walls and I thought it was so pretty.
This movie is difficult to explain without watching it. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It had a lot of unpredictable plots without making your head hurt from all the puzzles and riddles they incorporated into the film.
I would recommend this to everyone. It is something that keeps you on the edge of your seat while following different perspectives of people in the movie. It leaves you wondering what will happen next and the message just seemed really fitting for the story.
My favorite part of this film was the main character's name. Enola spells alone backwards. Enola grows up with just her mother, who teaches her everything. Enola is very intelligent. When Enola's mother ran away, she was ready to find her and, throughout the film, the producers never let us forget Enola's name. At the end of the film, Enola says something along the lines of, "Being alone doesn't mean you have to be lonely," and that really resonated with me because a lot of us forget that people can do things alone and be independent while also allowing other people in our lives. The film goes through the journey of Enola finally figuring this out at the end and understanding that being alone is not the same as being lonely. It was a good message in a world where a lot of us find vulnerability as a weakness.
Enola Holmes is on Netflix if you are wanting to watch it. If you do, then please come find me so I can fangirl over it to you.
Movie Recommendations for you: Holiday Love
All of these movies are on Netflix. These are great for holiday movie marathons that are not too holiday-themed and more romance-themed.
Holidate: "Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way." 6.1/10 on IMBd. 7.3/10 on my rating scale. This movie really took me on a loop. I won't spoil it for you, though.
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish: "An aspiring singer-songwriter dreams of making it big, but she is stalled by her stepmother and two stepsisters. As she works a demoralizing job, she starts to fall for the handsome new Santa." 5.3/10 on IMBd. 6.4 on my rating scale. It has a little bit too much cheese for me, but I am still in love with romance, movies no matter how bad they are.
The Knight Before Christmas: "After a sorceress transports medieval knight Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse) to present-day Ohio during the holiday season, he befriends Brooke (Vanessa Hudgens), a clever and kind science teacher who's been disillusioned by love. Brooke helps Sir Cole navigate the modern world and tries to help him discover how to fulfill his mysterious one true quest - the only act that will return him home. But as he and Brooke grow closer, Sir Cole begins to wonder just how much he wants to return to his old life." 5.6/10 on IMBD. 8.3/10 on my rating scale, just because the plot was cute and Vanessa Hudgens is the definition of nostalgia.
A California Christmas: "With his carefree lifestyle on the line, a wealthy charmer poses as a ranch hand to get a hardworking farmer to sell her family's land before Christmas. " 5.8/10 on IMBd. 8.9/10 on my rating scale. The plot was okay, but I fangirl over the main characters because they are married in real life and they only star in movies together, which is the ultimate fantasy love story in my opinion.
The Princess Switch: "Stacy, a type-A planner with a penchant for schedules, takes a spontaneous trip to the charming land of Belgravia at the suggestion of her sous chef and best friend, Kevin. While preparing for the Royal Christmas Baking Contest, Stacy faces an identical stranger and a strange request. Free-spirited but royally obligated, all Duchess Margaret Delacourt really wants is one last chance to experience life as a "normal person" before she dutifully marries the Crown Prince of Belgravia. Stacy can give her that wish." 6.1/10 on IMBd. 7.2/10 on my rating scale. There are three in this series. I feel like I'm in a funk because I could not get through the third one without feeling some kind of second-hand embarrassment but, again, Vanessa Hudgens. (I feel like there is a theme where she stars a lot in holiday romance movies, but that's another story.) I also liked the plot and, if it was executed differently, it would 100% be my favorite seasonal movie.
I hope that you enjoyed this movie review of two very juristically different movies, Antlers, and Enola Holmes. I can't guarantee that I will be here every month, but please leave some movie recommendations in the form! If I have time, I will definitely try to watch them and give you a review. Happy watching and reading, friends.
