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_{The pictures that didn't have a source were screenshots from the series.}

Misgivings (S04E10)

Airdate: November 19th 2006

Written by: Eric Overmyer Directed by: Ernest Dickerson

Running Time: 58 minutes

HBO’s The Wire remains unparalleled in its unflinching, multi-faceted dissection of urban decay, renowned for presenting Baltimore through the fractured lenses of race, class, profession, and crucially, temporal perspective. Season 4’s Misgivings exploits this latter dimension, situating its narrative deep within the city’s late autumnal chill. This is not the sweltering, volatile Baltimore of summer; the biting cold transforms the notorious streets into a bleaker, more desolate landscape, its damp pavements and skeletal trees mirroring the pervasive sense of encroaching doom and diminishing hope that grips its characters. The episode harnesses this seasonal shift not merely as backdrop, but as an active narrative force, its pervasive gloom seeping into the very marrow of the institutions and individuals struggling to survive within them, setting the stage for a profound meditation on the crushing weight of systemic inertia.

As the calendar inches towards year's end and Tommy Carcetti’s mayoral inauguration looms, the initial fervour of his reformist promises has already been doused by the icy reality of Baltimore’s entrenched power structures. Commissioner Ervin Burrell, acutely aware his position is temporarily untouchable during the transition, cynically exploits this limbo. He orders a mass campaign of petty arrests – "juking the stats" – flooding the system with low-level offences to artificially inflate clearance rates and mask the city’s true crime levels. This calculated manoeuvre represents Carcetti’s first significant institutional challenge, a stark demonstration of how the bureaucracy actively resists change. Simultaneously, the ever-opportunistic State Senator Clay Davis recognises Burrell’s vulnerability and Carcetti’s need for legitimacy within the Black community. Davis dangles the promise of securing commissioner's pay rise specifically designed to attract "adequate African American replacements," cynically leveraging racial politics to consolidate his own power while appearing to assist the new administration. Meanwhile, Cedric Daniels, Carcetti’s chosen successor for Commissioner, begins to feel the first gnawing disappointment in the mayor’s willingness to compromise with the very machine he vowed to dismantle. Unbeknownst to Daniels, this disillusionment is compounded by the quiet conspiracy between Burrell and Council President Nerese Campbell, who are actively working to block his ascension, ensuring the status quo endures regardless of the mayoral election’s outcome.

Burrell’s directive fractures the Western District’s ranks along stark moral lines. On one side stand officers like Jimmy McNulty, who, despite his own flaws, takes the time to pursue meaningful police work – apprehending thieves targeting churches – prioritising genuine community safety over arbitrary arrest quotas. On the other side, officers like the corrupt and brutal Officer Walker (Jonnie Louis Brown) seize the opportunity to abuse their authority with renewed vigour. The human cost is brutally illustrated through Donut, a young man who narrowly evades Walker’s car theft arrest but not the officer’s vindictive rage; Walker deliberately breaks four of Donut’s fingers, a savage act of punishment for perceived disrespect that underscores the terror inflicted upon the community under the guise of crime-fighting. Elsewhere, incompetence proves equally destructive. Herc, desperate to redeem himself after previous failures, coerces the vulnerable addict Bubbles into helping retrieve a video camera stolen by Marlo Stanfield’s crew. Bubbles, still reeling from Herc’s past betrayal that nearly got him killed by his tormentor, reluctantly agrees, given a burner phone as his only lifeline. Feeling utterly ignored and used, Bubbles exacts a cruel, deliberate revenge. Using the burner, he falsely identifies an innocent elderly man and his car as belonging to Marlo’s organisation. Herc, acting on this tip, violently accosts the man – revealed to be a minister (Franklin Ojeda Smith) – an act of brutality almost certain to end Herc’s career once Internal Investigations Division (IID) scrutinises the incident. Herc’s downfall stems not from malice but from staggering incompetence and a desperate need for validation, making it tragically self-inflicted.

Amidst this moral quagmire, glimmers of compassion and street wisdom persist. Sergeant Ellis Carver, arresting Namond Brice for petty drug dealing, makes a critical, human decision. Instead of processing the boy into the juvenile detention system, Carver delivers Namond directly into the custody of his former commander, Howard "Bunny" Colvin. This small act of mercy leads to a revealing scene at Colvin’s home. Over a proper meal, the usually swaggering Namond sheds his forced "gangsta" persona entirely, displaying unexpected politeness and vulnerability. The stark contrast between this nurturing environment and the chaotic neglect fostered by his irresponsible, status-obsessed mother, De’londa, lays bare the profound influence of environment on a child’s development – a core theme of Season 4.

Colvin himself, now working within the Franklin P. Tilghman Middle School, confronts the crushing limitations of his innovative special class programme. While students show tentative progress in socialisation and basic skills under his patient guidance with Dr. Parenti, the school bureaucracy remains fixated solely on standardised test scores. Administrators, devoid of understanding for the nuanced groundwork required before academic testing can be meaningful, demand immediate test preparation. Colvin’s position is fatally undermined when education officials witness a violent incident involving his students, confirming their worst assumptions. Prez, meanwhile, adopts a more subversive tactic, developing a method to appear to teach to the test while continuing to impart genuine mathematical understanding – a necessary act of quiet rebellion against an inflexible system.

The episode’s most devastating chain reaction stems from Herc’s earlier, shoddy interrogation of Little Kevin. Upon his release, Kevin reports the incident to Bodie Broadus. Bodie, recognising the potential threat Marlo poses, instructs Kevin to report everything directly to Stanfield. Marlo, with chillingly detached calculation, determines that Kevin, despite not revealing Lex’s disappearance to the police, now knows too much simply by being questioned. He orders Chris Partlow and Snoop to execute him. When Kevin, in a final plea, names Randy Wagstaff as the snitch who led police to him, Marlo opts for psychological torture over immediate death, decreeing Randy should be branded a snitch and shunned – a fate he deems an adequate punishment. Bodie’s visceral horror at Kevin’s execution is profoundly significant; despite his own involvement in Wallace’s murder, he sees a crucial difference. Kevin, unlike Wallace, remained loyal and betrayed no one. His reward for that loyalty is death, exposing the brutal, arbitrary logic of the drug trade where even faithful service offers no security.

Michael Lee’s path towards becoming Marlo’s "loyal soldier" culminates in a horrific reward. As initiation, Chris and Snoop abduct his brutally abusive stepfather, Devar. However, the routine execution fractures when Chris, realising Devar is a sexual abuser, is violently triggered by his own past trauma. Abandoning their meticulous protocols, Chris savagely beats Devar to death on a public street, leaving the body exposed with potential evidence. Snoop watches, bewildered, as Chris’s professional detachment shatters under the weight of personal history. This deviation from their usual clinical efficiency is profoundly unsettling, revealing the deep psychological scars carried even by the most hardened enforcers and demonstrating how the cycle of violence perpetuates itself through inherited trauma.

Written by series Eric Overmyer and directed with assured, unflinching precision by Ernest Dickerson, Misgivings largely sustains the exceptional quality of Season 4. Burns’ deep understanding of institutional failure and street dynamics permeates the script, while Dickerson’s direction ensures the Baltimore chill feels palpable. However, certain narrative choices strain credibility. Namond’s remarkably swift transformation and polite demeanour during the dinner at Colvin’s home, while thematically potent, feels somewhat contrived – a convenient vehicle for character revelation that edges towards narrative expediency rather than organic development, momentarily disrupting the show’s otherwise ironclad realism.

Yet, the episode’s power is undeniable, culminating in one of The Wire’s most graphically brutal sequences: Chris’s frenzied street execution of Devar. The violence is raw, shocking, and deeply disturbing in its physicality. However, the episode cunningly manipulates audience complicity. Knowing Devar is a child abuser, viewers are likely to experience a complex, unsettling mix of revulsion and grim satisfaction – his fate feels, within the show’s moral universe, deserved. This calculated ambiguity is the episode’s masterstroke. It forces us to confront our own capacity for condoning brutality when directed at a perceived monster, blurring the lines between justice and vengeance.

The cold Baltimore streets of Misgivings are not just a setting; they are a reflection of the frozen moral landscape where reformist hopes die, institutions calcify, and the only warmth comes from the brief, fragile sparks of human decency – easily extinguished, but never quite eradicated.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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**

Hola amigos, buenas vibras para todos.

Hello friends, good vibes to all.

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The universe of films involving the Warrens is immense, starting with The Conjuring films, Annabelle, The Nun, and even a parallel with a film called "La Llorona"; they're all connected. Now, to see this fourth installment, do you have to have seen this entire saga? - not really. It would be cool if they knew the basics, but it's not strictly necessary. This film came as the definitive conclusion to the Warrens' career. I understood that the case they handle here would be the one that would permanently distance them from continuing to receive cases, so I imagined it would be a truly powerful and sinister one. At least for me, it wasn't. What we do see is a much more emotional, more family-oriented film that touches Lorraine and Ed's veins.

As you well know, all the cases seen in these films were authentic, and this time we have the well-known "Smurl Family Case." It's about a Pennsylvania family who, after a device arrived at their home, began experiencing all kinds of paranormal situations that may have put the lives of those living there at risk. For a long time, the Warrens, knowing about the case, had decided not to intervene since they were retired from all work, but something specific happens that forces them to make an appearance at the Smurl house.

Source!

Source!

This time, the Warrens aren't alone. They're joined by Judy, their daughter; a person born under strange circumstances who has some bearing on what ultimately happens in the film. The thing is, the film's plot revolves around providing context and background to the Warrens' family relationships. I'd say more than half the film is about that: how Judy is with her parents, her relationship with her boyfriend, and her sensitivity to picking up and perceiving things, just like her mother. I think this is done to establish the character as a possible successor in future films. I may be making this up a bit, but throughout the film, there are hints that this could happen.

As for the fear or terror seen, it must be said that it's a bit less than in other films. For example, the second Conjuring film, in my opinion, was the best, so this one is quite a departure from that. Obviously, there are scenes where we see the typical apparitions, jump scares, tension, and mystery, but very honestly, nothing, at least for me, made me alert or even in the least bit afraid. Considering the most complicated case the Warrens went through, that wasn't detectable on screen. I think there was also a lot of anticipation surrounding it; it took more than two years to wait for this conclusion, only for it to end up being a very average paranormal horror film.

Source!

Source!

The visuals are very good, if they've maintained them. The design of the demons and apparitions are truly disturbing. Everything related to the poltergeists also plays an important role and is equally well done, some simpler than others, but they do their job. In the end, what was missing, for me, was more intensity. As for the performances, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga were up to scratch, as always. They alone are capable of carrying the entire film on their shoulders. On the other hand, Mia Tomlinson as Judy, I think, goes a bit under the table, even though she's the protagonist of the story. We needed to see more of her.

In short, a very average film; it's not terrible, but it's not the best in this universe either. I give it a 6.5/10. It falls short in many ways, despite being well-made. It's over two hours long, so yes, it can drag at times. I'll leave the trailer below.

Source!

***

Bueno mi gente por hoy es todo, espero que les haya gustado. ¡Un abrazo a todos, nos vemos en la próxima!

Well, that's all for today, everyone. I hope you enjoyed it. ¡Hugs to everyone, see you next time!

The Royale (S02E12)

Airdate: March 27th 1989

Written by: Keith Mills Directed by: Cliff Bole

Running Time: 46 minutes

Amongst the devoted legions of Star Trek: The Next Generation enthusiasts, the second season holds a peculiar status. It is frequently heralded as the pivotal moment when the series decisively stepped out of the long shadow cast by The Original Series, shedding its initial growing pains to embark on the genuine transformation into the undisputed classic of science fiction television it would ultimately become. This perception, however, risks oversimplification. The episodic nature of TNG, particularly in its early years, meant its evolution was far from a smooth, linear ascent; it was a jagged trajectory marked by significant fluctuations in quality, ambition, and execution. Within this context, the Season 2 episode The Royale emerges as a rare and egregious instance where The Next Generation delivered a narrative and conceptual product demonstrably worse than many episodes of the comparatively raw and effects-limited Original Series.

The episode commences with a premise brimming with potential intrigue: the USS Enterprise-D investigates mysterious debris orbiting the unmapped planet Theta VII, debris initially reported by a Klingon cruiser. This detritus, shockingly, bears unmistakable United States insignia, ultimately identified as part of a NASA manned deep-space vessel launched in the mid-21st Century, a craft whose disappearance had long been a historical enigma. The mystery deepens profoundly when sensors confirm Theta VII’s surface is utterly inhospitable to human life – a barren wasteland devoid of atmosphere, subjected to extreme cold and ferocious winds. Yet, paradoxically, a single, inexplicably habitable zone exists. Captain Picard dispatches Commander Riker, Lieutenant Commander Data, and Lieutenant Worf to investigate this anomaly. Beaming down, they are immediately plunged into absolute darkness, confronted only by a strangely out-of-place revolving door. Passing through it, they find themselves not on a desolate alien world, but inexplicably transplanted into the interior of what appears to be a 1980s-era Earth hotel casino. Staff and guests, including flamboyant characters like the gambler "Texas" (Noble Willingham), populate the space, yet they remain utterly oblivious to the Starfleet officers’ arrival and prove frustratingly unhelpful when questioned, insisting they are still firmly on Earth. Data’s tricorder reveals the chilling truth: there are no life signs. The away team’s attempts to exit or beam back to the Enterprise are thwarted by an impenetrable force field, trapping them within this bizarre simulation.

The resolution, when it comes, feels less like clever deduction and more like narrative surrender. After exploring the casino’s labyrinthine corridors, the team discovers a skeleton in a room – that of Colonel Stephen Richey, the sole survivor of the vanished NASA mission. His final, despairing log entry reveals the core conceit: Richey was rescued by an alien species after his crew perished from a virulent pathogen. However, misinterpreting a tawdry, cliché-ridden pulp novel ("It was a dark and stormy night...") found aboard his ship as an authentic anthropological guide to human culture, the aliens constructed this elaborate, inescapable casino simulation as Richey’s "ideal" environment. He was condemned to relive the novel’s trite plot for 38 years until his death. The Enterprise crew’s escape hinges on manipulating the simulation’s programming by fulfilling the novel’s predetermined ending – Riker and his team posing as the novel’s protagonists to resolve a a plot.

Herein lies the episode’s fundamental flaw: its core premise is profoundly unoriginal. Dedicated Trek fans immediately recognise strong echoes of the Original Series Season 3 episode Spectre of the Gun, where Kirk and crew are trapped in a simulation of the O.K. Corral gunfight by non-corporeal aliens testing humanity’s violent tendencies. While Spectre of the Gun itself is often regarded as a subpar entry even by TOS standards, it possesses a distinct conceptual purpose – Roddenberry’s vehicle for promoting his philosophy of non-violence, culminating in the crew simply refusing to play the deadly game. In stark, damning contrast, Tracy Tormé’s script for The Royale feels like little more than a cheap, cynical excuse to utilise Paramount’s readily available, slightly shabby modern-day sets, bypassing the need for the holodeck or time travel tropes. The potential for deeper commentary on cultural misunderstanding, the nature of simulation, or even the absurdity of human constructs is utterly squandered. Cliff Bole, a director otherwise respected for his work on the series, appears utterly uninspired. His direction lacks the necessary surreal, disorienting, or even subtly menacing quality that could have elevated the material. Gone is the psychedelic, disquieting atmosphere of Spectre of the Gun; instead, we get flat lighting, perfunctory camera work, and a casino that feels less like an alien construct and more like a half-empty, slightly tacky Las Vegas lounge on a Tuesday afternoon.

The comparison extends beyond Trek itself, and The Royale falters catastrophically. When measured against cinematic giants exploring similar themes – Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, whose enigmatic Star Gate sequence utilised alien simulation for profound, almost spiritual transcendence, or Kubrick’s The Shining, where the Overlook Hotel’s haunted grandeur generated genuine, lingering dread – The Royale’s casino appears laughably banal and devoid of any thematic weight or visual poetry. It lacks the conceptual ambition of 2001 and the oppressive, character-driven horror of The Shining. Even the later, immensely popular Groundhog Day, which explored the existential torment of reliving the same day, handled its central loop concept with far greater wit, emotional depth, and narrative purpose than Colonel Richey’s dreary casino purgatory.

Producer Michael Hurley, seemingly aware of the script’s inherent weaknesses, attempted a clever meta-narrative justification: the simulation’s awfulness is the point, stemming from the aliens’ reliance on a poorly written novel. The opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night," was intended as satirical commentary on the clichés being presented. Yet this device spectacularly backfired. Instead of providing clever critique, it merely highlighted the episode’s own derivative nature and lack of originality, making the audience hyper-aware of every tired trope without offering any meaningful insight beyond acknowledging them. The satire was too on-the-nose and insufficiently woven into the narrative fabric to succeed. Tormé himself was so dissatisfied with the final product, feeling his script had been compromised and mishandled, that he disowned it entirely, insisting on being credited under the pseudonym "Keith Mills" – a rare and telling indictment from the writer himself.

While there are fleeting moments of attempted humour – primarily from Noble Willingham’s scenery-chewing performance as "Texas" – they feel forced and fail to elevate the overwhelmingly predictable, plodding plot. The solution is telegraphed early, the stakes feel artificial, and the entire scenario lacks the intellectual spark or emotional resonance expected of TNG at its best. The episode is, quite simply, utterly forgettable, a bland interlude that fails to engage on any level beyond surface-level puzzle-solving.

Furthermore, "The Royale" suffers from the ignominy of becoming another notorious example of Star Trek’s frequent struggles with futurology. During their investigation, Picard and Riker discuss Fermat’s Last Theorem, a famously intractable mathematical problem, and remark that it remains unsolved even in the 24th Century. In stark reality, British mathematician Andrew Wiles definitively proved the theorem in 1994, a mere five years after the episode aired. This specific, easily verifiable error didn’t just date the episode; it rendered a key piece of its "futuristic" dialogue instantly obsolete and unintentionally comical, adding a layer of historical embarrassment to its already considerable flaws.

The Royale represents a significant low point in The Next Generation’s critical second season. While the season overall showcased the series finding its voice, this episode exemplifies the perilous dips in quality that accompanied the ascent. Its unoriginal premise, poorly executed direction, reliance on tired clichés masked as satire, utter lack of thematic depth, and subsequent obsolescence due to real-world events combine to create an experience that feels not just mediocre, but actively regressive. It is not merely a bad TNG episode; it is a rare instance where the sequel series produced something conceptually and executionally inferior to the original, a garish, forgettable casino built on the shaky foundations of a cheap novel, serving as a stark reminder that even the path to becoming a classic is paved with missteps of considerable magnitude. Its legacy is one of squandered potential and a cautionary tale about the perils of prioritising production convenience over imaginative storytelling.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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In the movie, a couple, Jessie and Mark, lost their son after he drowned in the bathtub unattended. They're both struggling to move on, but they're trying to do so.

One day, they decided to adopt an 8-year-old boy named Cody. He's sweet, loving, and respectful. However, he's scared of falling asleep.
At first, the couple thought that this might be because of Cody's experiences in his previous foster homes. However, they then discovered that he had an entirely different reason for not wanting to sleep.

Every time Cody sleeps, his dreams become real. At first, it was fascinating. He dreams of stunning and mystical butterflies, which his new parents enjoyed. However, his dreams turned into nightmares. The butterfly dreams turned into what he calls the "Cankerman", which he claimed to be the horrific entity that devoured his biological mom.

With the hopes of becoming a new family, Jessie and Mark took on the dangerous quest to find out the truth behind the little boy's nightmares.

It's such a fantastic movie for me. I'm interested in dreams because I sometimes have lucid dreams, although at times they're questionable and even scary.
There was even a time when I woke up, but I found myself in a different position, and I realized I was still in another dream. I tried pinching myself in my sleep, but I only felt the pain and still stayed in that dream for a while.
I had to calm myself before I could finally wake up. It actually happened last night, too. I had another lucid dream and woke up to another dream before finally waking up to reality. XD
Just like in the film, dreaming can be amazing. You can experience things that are impossible in real life. You can encounter mystical creatures or visit beautiful places. However, dreams can also be a part of your subconscious.
They can be the things you're trying to suppress at the back of your brain because they're either insignificant or cause you anxiety and hurt.
It's what happened to the child in the movie... he had fragments of hurtful things in his subconscious that made him dream of dreadful things. The scary part in the film, though, was that his dream became reality, which affected the people around him.
Some people in his life vanished to the point of nonexistence, and only those directly related to them and the boy are aware that they ever existed.
I love how selfless the boy is. He's trying to stop himself from sleeping, despite it being damaging to his health, to save the people around him. But, he's just a child, and he's to be protected.
In life, we also encounter things that can be likened to nightmares. Of course, we can try to run away from it. We can even deny its existence, but doing only these won't make them disappear.
Sometimes, we have to stand our ground and face them head-on. It could be challenging, unbearable even. However, we can always ask someone for help. Having a significant support system matters.
Another thing I like about supernatural movies like this is how they can relate to the human psyche. Sure, they're beyond the ordinary... but they help us better realize or understand reality.

I love this movie... It's way more than just the jumpscares. The actors were so effective, even the young ones. The flow of the story and effects were also to my liking. Mike Flanagan has become my standard for films like this.
The way his films connect the supernatural to people's psyches has always fascinated me. There are other films directed by him that I haven't checked yet, but I surely will someday.
That's it for this post. Thanks for reading, and I hope you give this film a shot if you haven't already! :)
See you around! (^^,)/

PS: This is my entry for Cine TV Contest 146: Favorite Supernatural Movie. Feel free to check it out and submit your entry while you're at it! ^^

Now that "The Conjuring" franchise has been announce to be officially over, they had to retire the Warren's at some point, decided to watch the entire franchise a movie per day and chronologically have to start with "The Nun (2018)", this thing was kind of a mess if we being real about it, another prequel to The Conjuring universe that just does not deliver the same punch as the original movies do. The whole thing takes place back in 1952 Romania, at this creepy monastery, where a nun kills herself and the Vatican sends Father Burke and Sister Irene to investigate what the hell happened there, sounds good on paper but it kind of falls apart after sometime because honestly this demon aside from scary didnt feel like a threat to anyone's soul. The biggest problem with this movie is that its just one jump scare after another and Im a fan of the franchise so Im big bias and I know many might want more than just cheap scare jumps that you can literally see them coming from a mile away and after the fifth or sixth time someone gets attached by something jumping out from behind them, it gets old real fast. Taissa Farmiga does her best as Sister Irene, and she actually looks so much like Vera Farmiga, from the main Conjuring movies, that it makes perfect sense she was her younger sister but even good casting cannot save boring characters, that you just do not care about at all, like I kept waiting to feel something for these people but it never happened for me. The one bright spot is this dude they call Frenchie, who with the little part he got becomes way more important and not only for his movie in specific but others in the future, for that guy you are going to care about like he is the only character that really commits, made him also way more fun to watch.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/
• Platform: HULU

Rottentomatoes Rating

The story are Romania sounds cool enough at first, you got Father Burke who was this priest investigator that the Vatican sends out to check on weird supernatural stuff and Sister Irene, whos not even a full nun yet that part felt like a joke to be hones because she was still in training or whatever they call it. They get sent to this abbey in Romania because some nun hung herself and the Vatican is like tf how that going to happen on our watch, we need to figure out what's going on over there so off they go with Frenchie who was this French Canadian guy that found the body and knows the area pretty well. The hole visuals of the place looks amazing, super gothic with all these crosses in the cemetery and fog everywhere it was like the perfect scene for a movie like this, to complement the scenery there is this big creepy castle type building, thats supposed to be the monastery, it really does look like something out of an old classic monster movie. The main problem of the movie is been repetitive because once the scary stuff starts happening its just the same thing over and over, quiet hallway with someone walking around holding a candle then BAM loud noise and the nuns face appears or some demon thing jumps out at them. When the same formula keeps going you start to see the pattern and it stops being scary anymore, the joke is over as it just becomes too predictable, the not scary parts of the movie are way more interesting and what kept me watching.

By the end I was just disappointed but also entertained and laugh a couple of time, the demon was scary looking but was not a movie that gives you nightmares, very classic cliche crosses turning upside down and dark figures in hallways and people getting thrown around by invisible forces, all stuff we have seen done way better, if they had only included something or someone very dramatic getting possesed and tormented during the most part of the movie like in the other Conjuring movies. The whole climax feels more like an action movie with everyone running around this flooded chamber, fighting the demon, instead of actual horror, Frenchie even shows up with a shotgun at one point trying to shoot ghosts and I was like wtf but even that felt more natural because its that defense, horror and ignorance at the same time. The very last scene tries to connect it to the first Conjuring movie by revealing that Frenchie is the guy who got possessed that Ed and Lorraine Warren had to exorcise, they show the demon leaving a mark on his neck so you know he was gonna get taken over later, its supposed to be this oh damn moment but it doesnt hit because of how the movie was developed, like they were trying way too hard to throw you this bone at the end to tie everything in the franchise together. The Nun had potential with this awesome looking scenery and the look of Valak, who was very creepy looking, the makeup is great, but good visuals cant carry a whole movie specially when there is nobody to play the over dramatic part as the script and pacing are this weak and repetitive. Maybe a 7 out of 10 for me just because Im bias but I can understand why it got destroyed on the internet, easily the weakest entry in The Conjuring series.

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Hoy les quiero hablar de una peli de terror, no soy mucho de terror o sea si me gusta pero prefiero más que todo la acción o las pelis rosa jajaja, pero como mi hijo ya me había complacido con ver algunas pelis de otro género esta vez me tocó a mi complacerlo y vimos The Black Phone, todo porque ya estrenaron la parte 2 y el no había visto esta primera entrega. Toavía mo he visto la 2 pero lo haré pronto y al recordar esta quedé con cierta intriga solo espero que sea una buena secuela y no sea sacar una historia por sacarla. Esta peli me gustó bastante porque los actores son muy buenos y te lleva directo a los 70, además que tiene esa mezcla de thriller con un toque de horror sobrenatural que hace que valga la pena verla si te gustan este tipo de películas. En la historia está Finney un muchacho que vive con su hermana Gwen y su papá que es alcohólico y además los maltrata, viven en un pueblo donde están pasando unas cosas raras de secuestros de niños por alguien conocido como el Grabber. Finney termina siendo secuestrado y encerrado en un sótano donde solo hay un inodoro y un teléfono negro desconectado en la pared pero mientras más tiempo pasa atrapado ahí el teléfono empieza a sonar y del otro lado están las voces de los niños que fueron asesinados antes que el y están tratando de ayudarlo a escapar. Me pareció que el concepto es bien interesante porque combina elementos de un thriller de secuestro con aspectos sobrenaturales que le dan algo diferente a la historia, no es solo un chico tratando de escapar de un asesino sino que también tiene la ayuda de los espíritus de las victimas anteriores y eso le da esa parte sobrenatural y también de profundidad a toda la trama.

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Mason Thames quien interpreta a Finney hace un trabajo increíble considerando que es bastante joven, logra transmitir ese miedo y desesperación de estar atrapado pero también muestra el crecimiento del personaje a medida que va ganando confianza para enfrentarse al Grabber y eso no es fácil de lograr para un actor tan joven. Madeleine McGraw que hace de Gwen la hermana de Finney también lo hace excelente y es un personaje con mucha profundidad porque tiene sueños psíquicos que heredó de su mamá quien se suicidó años atrás y eso le da más parte emocional a su personaje, ella fue mi personaje favorito de toda la película porque tiene mucha personalidad y no es solo la hermana que está preocupada sino que activamente trata de ayudar a encontrar a su hermano usando sus visiones. Ethan Hawke como el Grabber da miedo, el tipo es un psicópata usa diferentes mascaras a lo largo de la película que tienen diferentes expresiones y eso lo hacen más perturbador porque nunca sabes que versión del Grabber vas a ver, a veces tiene la máscara con una sonrisa otras veces con el ceño fruncido y como esto es impredecible da más miedo.

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Cada uno de los niños asesinados ayuda a Finney de diferentes maneras, esto fue o que más me gustó de la peli porque al final ves como se arma todo el rompexcabezas, cada llamada le da una pista o una herramienta que necesita para escapar como cuando Bruce le dice donde cavar un hoyo o cuando Billy le muestra el cable que puede usar o cuando Vance le dice como romper la pared para llegar al congelador, es como si cada víctima le estuviera dando una pieza para que pueda lograr lo que ellos no pudieron hacer que es escapar y matar al Grabber. Robin el amigo de Finney que también fue secuestrado tiene uno de los momentos más emocionales de la película cuando le dice que tiene que pelear y vengarlo porque no quiere que su muerte haya sido en vano, esa escena demuestra que Robin aunque está muerto sigue siendo ese amigo protector que quiere que Finney tenga éxito. La parte del entrenamiento donde Robin le enseña a Finney como usar el teléfono como arma llenándolo de tierra para darle peso y practicando los movimientos es como un montaje de entrenamiento tipo Karate Kid pero en un sótano oscuro, le da a Finney la preparación que necesita para el enfrentamiento final y también simboliza su transformación de un joven tímido y pasivo a alguien que puede defenderse.

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El enfrentamiento final entre Finney y el Grabber es intenso y satisfactorio, Finney usa todo lo que aprendió de las victimas anteriores para tender una trampa al Grabber haciendo que caiga en el hoyo que cavó y se rompa el tobillo, luego lo golpea muchas con el teléfono lleno de tierra y lo estrangula con el cable mientras el teléfono suena una última vez y Finney le dice que esa llamada es para el Grabber antes de romperle el cuello, toda esa secuencia es de catarsis porque Finney al fin se defiende y venga a todas las victimas del psicopats ese. La película toca temas de abuso infantil de una manera bastante directa, el papa de Finney y Gwen los golpea con un cinturón cuando hacen algo mal y el Grabber también usa un cinturon para castigar a los niños cuando intentan escapar lo cual crea como una semjanza entre ambos personajes. La mama de los niños también tenía visiones psíquicas como Gwen pero la gente pensaba que estaba loca y se suicidó, el papa le tiene miedo a que Gwen termine igual y por eso la castiga cuando habla de sus sueños pero al final de la película cuando encuentra a Finney vivo se da cuenta que las visiones de Gwen eran reales y le pide perdón a sus hijos, ese momento es importante porque muestra que tal vez pueden sanar como familia.

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Algo que no me gustó es que la película corta mucho entre Finney en el sótano y Gwen teniendo visiones y tratando de encontrarlo, entiendo que es importante para la trama pero siento que rompe un poco la tensión que se está construyendo en las escenas del sótano porque cada vez que las cosas se ponen intensas corta a Gwen y eso hace que pierdas un poco ese sentimiento de claustrofobia y desesperación que debería tener la película. También siento que si ya viste el tráiler casi que viste toda la película porque muestra demasiado incluyendo el momento donde Finney usa el teléfono como arma y eso le quita impacto a la escena cuando pasa. Otra cosa que me pareció rara es que Finney ve los globos negros en la camioneta del Grabber y aun así se acerca, se supone que en ese punto todo el pueblo sabe que el secuestrador usa globos negros y una camioneta entonces porque carajo se acerca, entiendo que la trama necesita que lo secuestren pero pudieron haber hecho que pasara más rápido en vez de darle tiempo para darse cuenta del peligro y aun así no hacer nada, además que nunca entendí la motivación del tipo para secuestrar carajitos si será que su papá lo maltrataba y quedó con ese toque o si será que el tipo tenía múltiples personalidades.

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La parte visual está bien hecha todo parece como si estuviera en los 70 y eso ayuda a meterte en la historia, también me gustó que la película no es muy gráfica o sangrienta a pesar de que trata sobre un asesino serial de niños, hay violencia pero no la muestean directamente. Las máscaras del Grabber son perturbadoras y le dan un aspecto diferente al personaje, auqneu son simples el hecho de que tenga diferentes partes intercambiables le permite mostrar diferentes estados de ánimo o personalidades. Al final The Black Phone es una buena película que mezcla thriller con horror sobrenatural de una manera interesante, tiene buenas actuaciones, me pareció que la premisa es única con lo del teléfono y los espíritus ayudando a Finney, yo le doy un 7.5/10 porque aunque tiene momentos buenos hay cosas que pudieron haberse manejado mejor, ya pronto veré la segunda parte espero que sea una secuela que valga la pena.

[ENGLISH VERSION]

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Today I want to talk to you about a horror movie, I'm not much into horror I mean I do like it but I prefer mostly action or romantic movies hahaha, but since my son had already indulged me by watching some movies from other genres this time it was my turn to indulge him and we watched The Black Phone, all because they already released part 2 and he hadn't seen this first installment. I still haven't seen the 2 but I will soon and remembering this one I was left with some intrigue I just hope it's a good sequel and not just pulling out a story for the sake of it. I really liked this movie because the actors are very good and it takes you straight to the 70s, plus it has that mix of thriller with a touch of supernatural horror that makes it worth watching if you like these types of movies. In the story there's Finney a kid who lives with his sister Gwen and their dad who's an alcoholic and also abuses them, they live in a town where some weird things are happening with child kidnappings by someone known as the Grabber. Finney ends up being kidnapped and locked in a basement where there's only a toilet and a disconnected black phone on the wall but the longer he's trapped there the phone starts to ring and on the other side are the voices of the kids who were killed before him and they're trying to help him escape. I thought the concept is really interesting because it combines elements of a kidnapping thriller with supernatural aspects that give something different to the story, it's not just a kid trying to escape from a killer but he also has the help of the spirits of the previous victims and that gives it that supernatural part and also depth to the whole plot.

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Mason Thames who plays Finney does an incredible job considering he's pretty young, he manages to convey that fear and desperation of being trapped but also shows the character's growth as he gains confidence to face the Grabber and that's not easy to achieve for such a young actor. Madeleine McGraw who plays Gwen Finney's sister also does it excellently and she's a character with a lot of depth because she has psychic dreams that she inherited from her mom who killed herself years ago and that gives more emotional part to her character, she was my favorite character in the whole movie because she has a lot of personality and she's not just the sister who's worried but actively tries to help find her brother using her visions. Ethan Hawke as the Grabber is scary, the guy is a psychopath he wears different masks throughout the movie that have different expressions and that makes him more disturbing because you never know which version of the Grabber you're going to see, sometimes he has the mask with a smile other times with a frown and since this is unpredictable it's scarier.

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Each one of the murdered kids helps Finney in different ways, this was what I liked most about the movie because in the end you see how the whole puzzle comes together, each call gives him a clue or a tool he needs to escape like when Bruce tells him where to dig a hole or when Billy shows him the cable he can use or when Vance tells him how to break the wall to get to the freezer, it's like each victim is giving him a piece so he can accomplish what they couldn't do which is escape and kill the Grabber. Robin Finney's friend who was also kidnapped has one of the most emotional moments in the movie when he tells him he has to fight and avenge him because he doesn't want his death to have been in vain, that scene shows that Robin even though he's dead is still that protective friend who wants Finney to succeed. The training part where Robin teaches Finney how to use the phone as a weapon filling it with dirt to give it weight and practicing the moves is like a training montage Karate Kid style but in a dark basement, it gives Finney the preparation he needs for the final confrontation and also symbolizes his transformation from a shy and passive kid to someone who can defend himself.

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The final confrontation between Finney and the Grabber is intense and satisfying, Finney uses everything he learned from the previous victims to set a trap for the Grabber making him fall into the hole he dug and break his ankle, then he hits him many times with the phone filled with dirt and strangles him with the cable while the phone rings one last time and Finney tells him that call is for the Grabber before breaking his neck, that whole sequence is cathartic because Finney finally defends himself and avenges all the victims of that psychopath. The movie touches on themes of child abuse in a pretty direct way, Finney and Gwen's dad hits them with a belt when they do something wrong and the Grabber also uses a belt to punish the kids when they try to escape which creates like a similarity between both characters. The kids' mom also had psychic visions like Gwen but people thought she was crazy and she killed herself, the dad is afraid that Gwen will end up the same and that's why he punishes her when she talks about her dreams but at the end of the movie when he finds Finney alive he realizes that Gwen's visions were real and asks his kids for forgiveness, that moment is important because it shows that maybe they can heal as a family.

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Something I didn't like is that the movie cuts a lot between Finney in the basement and Gwen having visions and trying to find him, I understand it's important for the plot but I feel it breaks the tension that's being built in the basement scenes a bit because every time things get intense it cuts to Gwen and that makes you lose a bit of that feeling of claustrophobia and desperation that the movie should have. I also feel that if you already saw the trailer you pretty much saw the whole movie because it shows too much including the moment where Finney uses the phone as a weapon and that takes away impact from the scene when it happens. Another thing I thought was weird is that Finney sees the black balloons in the Grabber's van and still gets close, supposedly at that point the whole town knows that the kidnapper uses black balloons and a van so why the hell does he get close, I understand the plot needs him to get kidnapped but they could have made it happen faster instead of giving him time to realize the danger and still not do anything, plus I never understood the guy's motivation for kidnapping kids whether it's that his dad abused him and he was left with that touch or whether the guy had multiple personalities.

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The visual part is well done everything looks like it's in the 70s and that helps get you into the story, I also liked that the movie isn't very graphic or bloody despite it being about a serial killer of kids, there's violence but they don't show it directly. The Grabber's masks are disturbing and give a different aspect to the character, although they're simple the fact that he has different interchangeable parts allows him to show different moods or personalities. In the end The Black Phone is a good movie that mixes thriller with supernatural horror in an interesting way, it has good performances, I thought the premise is unique with the phone thing and the spirits helping Finney, I give it a 7.5/10 because although it has good moments there are things that could have been handled better, soon I'll watch the second part I hope it's a sequel that's worth it.

TranslatedwithDeepL

Posted Using INLEO

Posted Using INLEO