Echeverria Reviews

     Without a doubt Scream is one of the most well-crafted horror films that is justifiably given credit with revitalizing the horror/slasher genre. Everything about the film works. From how meta it is to the kills to the mystery to the conclusion; it is a film that works on several levels. The cast is one of the best things about the film, as Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, and Skeet Ulrich all do a fantastic job to the point where I cannot imagine anyone else playing their characters. The opening scene of the film might be one of the best in the horror franchise. It sets the tone for not only the premise, but also the overall feel and style of the film, including the fact that it supposedly takes place in the real world where movies like Friday the 13 th are acknowledged.             From that opening sequence, the film does not let up at all. There are several different plots for ...

       J. A. Bayona pulled absolutely zero punches when he made The Orphanage which is truly something considering it was his debut feature. I absolutely love this film. It is not crazy to say that this is probably in my top five horror films of all time. It is just that good. But what exactly makes it so good? I wanted to review this because not only is it a great horror film, but it is also presented in the Spanish language, and I am a big advocate for foreign language films because they are some of the best. If you can get past the fact that you have to read subtitles throughout the film, I highly suggest that you check this film out. Now, let us discuss why you should.             For starters, this film is actually scary, and not in the jump scare type of scary. It genuinely brings a chill to your spine and builds up tension throughout it with its use of imagery, mystery, myth, and sounds. The performances...

       The first horror movie character that I was ever terrified by was without a doubt Chucky from Child’s Play . My two older brothers decided it would be funny to prank me by using a Chucky doll to scare me and it worked better than they could have ever imagined. In fact, I could not sleep by myself for over a week. In the spirit of that, and in the spirit of Halloween season, I just had to review this film and see how well it holds up. The answer, it actually holds up pretty well. I would not claim that it is incredible, or even great, but it is overall good. Let us take a look, shall we?             Right off the bat you know you are in for an interesting film because it shifts from a basic crime chase to a spell being chanted that results in a freaking thunderstorm that blows up a toy store. Honestly, that is a fitting opening considering this film teeters between good slasher and campy horror throughout...

       Let me take you back to 2003 when a young Leo Echeverria was watching cartoons in his room at night when his older brother suddenly decided to barge in, alert him to the fact that The Ring was playing on TV, put it on, and then promptly left the room. Now, for whatever reason, I did not change the channel after this exchange, and that is how I grew up terrified of The Ring for years before I finally decided to re-watch it to kick off my Halloween season of film reviews. Now, I will be honest, I was pretty worried heading into this because this movie did traumatize me as a kid, but in the interest of all of you, I decided to be an adult and conquer my fears, and I will be honest, it was not bad. The film is actually not as scary as I thought it would be, but it does have quite a bit of creepiness to it and the overall way it was shot and the color scheme used on it amplifies this.             Naomi Watt...

       This film marked a very interesting time in my life. There I was, bored in Mexico, nothing to do when suddenly my aunt brings over a DVD copy of The Day After Tomorrow . So, with nothing else to do I decide to watch it. And then I watched it again. And then again. You get the idea. This film just clicked for me, but I think the reason it truly clicked for me was because it introduced me to Jake Gyllenhaal who would go on to become a big part of my love of film. In a way, this film is what made me fall in love with film in general because of the performance of Gyllenhaal and the way it showed me that you didn’t need crazy explosions or superheroes and space battles to make a movie exhilarating. I know that this film was a miss for many but let me just try to persuade you to give it another chance by talking about all the good that the film does.             The main reason why you should give this film a ...

       Good Boys must be one of the more interesting films I have ever reviewed because while I am typically not a fan of gross-out humor, I found this one hilarious. The screenplay is perfection because when you consider that the characters are supposed to be in sixth grade, the little jokes and misunderstandings and mispronunciations amongst them is equal parts logical and funny. What I enjoyed the most about this film is that it does not just rely on its disgusting humor, but it uses that humor to compliment a story that is actually full of a lot of heart and has some great messages. The irony in the fact that kids cannot actually watch this is not lost on me because it really does have great life lessons that many kids would benefit from. Kids need to understand that friendship is important, and that being popular is not the end all be all of school or even life. It is important for kids to see that it is okay to chase what you want, and to not give up on what yo...

       I don’t think that we will ever fully escape the pop culture phenomenon that is Twilight , and with it being a hot topic again, I figured it was time to revisit the 2008 blockbuster and see how well it holds up in 2020. Okay, where do I begin? I have some major issues with this film, but I think my biggest issue with it is that Bella Swan is absolutely the worst protagonist to ever be presented in such a mainstream film. My main issue with Bella is that she makes no decisions for herself. Throughout the entire film everyone else decides her fate for her, and when she finally does want to make decisions for herself, it is simply because she thinks that it will help her relationship with Edward. It sends a bad message to anyone watching. She is also rescued at every turn of the film. She presents no real value to the film except for being the character that needs everything explained to, which brings me to my next issue, the exposition. There is so much expositi...