Bottom Row (L-R): ‘Dear Santa (Paramount Pictures),’ ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s (Universal Pictures).’
In this edition of Bite-Sized Reviews, I reveal my thoughts on a horror video game adaptation, a Jack Black-led Christmas film, an Apple TV+ film whose title references a Frank Sinatra song, and an indie horror film with an interesting premise.
F.A.Q.
- What are Additional Bite-Sized Reviews?
– My movie and television catch-up review series ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews‘ is an evolution of the Overview-article section previously titled ‘What I Didn’t Write About.’ In articles such as this one, I will provide my readers with my thoughts on select new films, new shows, or even classics that I feel like giving my thoughts on relatively briefly, since I don’t have the time to dedicate thorough reviews to them at this point in time. - Why do the bite-sized reviews not include either a letter grade or a review score?
– In my full and thorough reviews, I like to score or grade what I watch. But since these reviews aren’t as detailed, I think it is fairer to the films and shows to simply just decide whether or not to recommend them. I guess you could say this is the only type of review that is basically ‘scored’ with the classic thumbs-up/thumbs-down-method on my site, though sometimes my recommendation answer comes with a caveat.
Fly Me to the Moon | Film | Directed by Greg Berlanti | Screenplay by Rose Gilroy | Release Year: 2024 | Recommended?: Yes.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t really have a lot of patience for moon landing conspiracy theories, and, because this film was specifically about faking it, I was, sort of, crossing my arms, or raising an eyebrow, from the get-go. That said, I will say that I mostly had a pretty good time with Greg Berlanti’s Fly Me to the Moon. For long stretches, the film has these cozy, charming screwball comedy vibes that I thought were really soothing and effective. It felt like a movie they don’t make anymore, and I was happy to be won over gradually. Scarlett Johansson is particularly good here, and it is another reminder of the fact that if you give her something to do in a film, she’s capable of delivering top-notch work. As a Community fan, it was also just so nice to see Oscar-winner Jim Rash in a big movie where he gets the chance to be deligthfully over-the-top. I loved every second with him on screen. There are also some neat digital transitions and montages that keep things breezy.
Unfortunately, the film does overstay its welcome. It is, maybe, thirty minutes too long. Sure, it’s packed with easy on the eyes actors doing solid work, and it is working off a crowdpleasing formula, but it is just way too long. Also, its tendency to emphasize tragic backstories turns out to be a little bit more than the film can sell tonally and in the allotted time. It’s occassionally a supremely entertaining popcorn flick, but because it stretches the story out over 132 minutes, the standout elements are stretched a little bit thin. As such, it’s an OK but unremarkable flick.
Late Night With the Devil | Film | Directed by Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes | Screenplay by Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes | Release Year: 2024 | Recommended?: Yes.
You know, I really enjoyed this a lot. It is a solid indie horror film that does a good job of nailing its era-specific late-night aesthetic. Sure, it takes a little while to get going with the actual horror elements of it all, and it feels like it’s a little bit longer than it actually is, but I thought the filmmakers did a good job of landing the style and supernatural tone they were going for (despite certain unconventional, over-the-top things that may take casual horror fans out of it).
Admittedly, learning about the AI controversy was really disappointing, but I still think there’s a lot to like here about this genre and aesthetics exercise, including Dastmalchian’s strong lead performance. I will say, though, that it was strange that it insisted on both having found footage, behind-the-scenes, voice-over mockumentary elements, and more (the hallucination sequences are also somewhat at odds with its style choices and, sort of, break the illusion of the film). I think it could’ve been more effective if it had opted for just one of those styles.
Dear Santa | Film | Directed by Bobby Farrelly | Screenplay by Ricky Blitt and Bobby Farrelly | Release Year: 2024 | Recommended?: No.
Once upon a time, the combination of a Jack Black-led feature from a Farrelly brother probably would’ve sounded like a perfect match for a good time. Today, well, let’s just say Farrelly’s comedic touch is quite rusty. Dear Santa is, frankly, unfunny, and whenever it earns a mild chuckle it is because Jack Black is doing his thing, which, to be fair, is also hit-or-miss because of how much, I assume, he’s improvising.
Other than its problems as a comedy, ‘unconvincing’ is the first word that comes to mind with this film. The acting and the way the young characters are written (their actions and dialogue) are wholly unconvincing. Furthermore, the film breaks its own rules in its unearned ending, and, from scene to scene, there are moments that feel ‘too serious’ or ‘too silly’ for a family film. So, it really feels like the filmmakers or the studio don’t know who it was made for.
Five Nights at Freddy’s | Film | Directed by Emma Tammi | Screenplay by Scott Cawthon, Seth Cuddeback, and Emma Tammi | Release Year: 2023 | Recommended?: No.
Admittedly, I enjoyed watching Matthew Lillard in this (and the actual animatronic creatures looked pretty good), but, other than that, it was a pretty empty experience. Five Nights at Freddy’s feels longer than it is, is surprisingly generic, and is full of both annoying jumpscares and numerous exposition dumps. The reveals are always pretty obvious, the horror movie elements are fairly bland (the dramatic elements aren’t all that engrossing either), it’s not scary, and, every once in a while, it feels like they’re wrestling with whether to go the serious route or put their energy into a deeply silly adaptation. It’s a shame because there’s definitely some potential here with its simple ‘night watchman being put through hell by the ghosts at his workplace’ premise. Oh well.
– Reviews Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 