Jake Peffer Watches

2022. R. 136 mins. Directed by Noah Baumbach White Noise is the latest movie from director Noah Baumbach, who has had a rather successful career thus far. Baumbach brings a lot to the table this time around and unfortunately it feels as if he brought a little too much to make it work. This is a movie that tries to pack so much into it that ultimately it feels like not everything is executed well enough to be a success. That's not to say that there aren't things here to praise or enjoy, however the story and structure are so convoluted that it ends up being a disappointment. There are moments throughout White Noise that will have you scratching your head. The story tries to give you a little bit of everything. It's a comedy, a drama, a thriller and even has a little bit of sci-fi and horror elements to it as well. Trying to juggle all of those elements just doesn't work here the way you would hope for. Baumbach's direction seems too disjointed, and it never feels lik...

  2022. PG-13. 139 mins. Directed by Rian Johnson In 2019 Knives Out was released to critical and financial success. Director/writer Rian Johnson put together one of the best movies from that year and solidified himself as a top notch director and writer. Netflix bought the rights to release to more movies in the Knives Out universe. Enter in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. With only Daniel Craig returning from the first movie and a new cast of characters, does Rian Johnson manage to strike gold once again or does it suffer from sequel-itis and pale in comparison to its predecessor? This time around we follow Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he is invited to a remote island owned by billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton). Miles has invited his close friends to his private island for a weekend party where he plans to have a murder mystery party in which all of his friends try to solve the mystery of his murder. Along for the ride is tech entrepreneur and Miles’ ex-partner Andi (Jan...

  2022. PG-13. 161 mins. Directed by Ryan Coogler After the massive success of the first Black Panther, and because Marvel typically gives all their hero’s multiple movies, it was inevitable that a second movie was going to happen. Unfortunately, main star Chadwick Boseman sadly passed away in 2020 after a battle with cancer. Now the question is how does Marvel move forward with second movie after their main actor passes away? Well thankfully Ryan Coogler is back in the director’s chair and most of the crew from the first movie comes back meaning we should have another hit on our hands. Coogler and company have done the impossible of successfully making a good sequel when they no longer have their main actor. In Wakanda Forever King T’Challa has passed away from an undisclosed issue. The country of Wakanda is in mourning and they don’t really know how to move forward with no longer having someone under the Black Panther mantle. Fast forward to a year later and Queen Ramonda (Angela...

  2022. R. 111 mins. Directed by David Gordon Green Halloween Ends marks the final installment in the David Gordon Green trilogy that is a direct follow up to the 1978 original John Carpenter film. Whether or not this is the definitive final Halloween movie remains to be seen but it seems likely within the next 5-10 years we'll see another reboot of some kind. Halloween (2018) kicked off this new trilogy with arguably the best Halloween movie since the original. Last year's Halloween Kills was a bit underwhelming but still managed to be entertaining despite some odd choices. Does Halloween Ends give the franchise a proper send off or does it drop the ball with it's finale? It's been 4 years since the events of Halloween Kills. The town of Haddonfield is still not right after Michael Myers tore through the community and wrecked havoc once again on Halloween night. Michael has gone underground and hasn't made his presence known since that night. Laurie (Jamie Lee Curt...

  2022. R. 121 mins. Directed by David Bruckner. The Hellraiser franchise has been one of the more overlooked in the horror genre over the years. Outside of a good first entry and a decent sequel the rest of the series is mostly forgettable. It does boast one of the more memorable villains in Pinhead and the Cenobites are an interesting group that we unfortunately never really get to know too much about throughout the series. We are at the point now where the series needs an overhaul so we have a new take that tries to reignite some life into the series. Director David Bruckner takes over behind the camera and the story used is a lot closer to the original story from Clive Barker. When a young woman named Riley (Odessa A'zion) comes into contact with an ancient puzzle box she inadvertently summons the Cenobites, a group of supernatural beings from another dimension. Riley's friends and brother end up getting involved with her situation not knowing that the Cenobites will stop ...

2022. R. 134 mins. Directed by David O. Russell. David O. Russell has had a pretty solid track record over the years. The last four movies he's directed have all been nominated for Oscars and while he has never been nominated for one himself he has still become one of the more competent directors over the years. He generally likes to work with big casts and an array of A-list actors to shotgun his movies. Amsterdam is his latest directed movie and boasts what is easily his biggest cast yet. While ambitious with its intentions, Amsterdam is unfortunately one of the most disappointing movies of the year. In Amsterdam, we follow three friends; Burt (Christian Bale), Valerie (Margot Robbie) and Harold (John David Washington) as they get involved in one of the most outrageous plots in American history. Burt and Harold witness a murder and are framed for the killing of a young woman. They link up with Valerie and her brother Tom (Rami Malek) who gives them the advice to speak with Genera...

  2022. PG. 103 mins. Directed by Anne Fletcher. Hocus Pocus  opened in 1993 and was a moderate hit at the box office. Over the years it has become arguably one of the biggest cult classics off all time. From home video to playing on TV to now on streaming this movie has garnered a huge success since its release. This is a mainstay every Halloween for kids, families and adults that grew up with the movie to watch so it was inevitable at some point we would probably see a sequel. The original is a fun and entertaining Halloween movie that doesn't break any new ground but is a good watch especially for families.  Hocus Pocus 2  stays consistent with what worked in the first movie and is able to make a sequel that holds up well against its predecessor. This time around we follow three new girls: Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham). With them being into witchcraft, Becca and Izzy decide to check out the old Sanderson house that t...