You're Going To Need A Bigger Statham! "The Meg"

The Meg (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, Shuya Sophia Cai, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy,

Directed by John Turteltaub

The Story:

Diving in the depths of the Mariana Trench to test a hypothesis on the actual bottom of the ocean floor, the submarine becomes immobilized and requires a deep sea rescue. The only man for the job is now a drunk, who refuses to step foot back into the ocean because he lost his best friends years ago in a freak accident. When he learns that the cause of the destruction may be the long extinct Megalodon, he heads back into the sea to extract revenge and save the day.

Or...

Jason Statham versus a giant killer shark!

:)

If you've seen the trailer, you know exactly what to expect with this one.

It's a B horror movie that takes itself seriously enough, while having fun in the process.

Turteltaub also fills the movie with plenty of homages to Jaws in the process. Nothing dialogue wise, unless I missed it, but a lot of shots are cribbed beautifully from that movie and are a nice touch.

I'm happy to say that in the pantheon of shark movies, this one joins the list of my favorite killer shark movies of all time:

Jaws
The Meg
Deep Blue Sea
The Shallows
Jaws 2

And no, sorry, Sharknado is nowhere to be found on that list. :)

Whether you want to rush out and see it in theaters, or wait until the eventual Netflix release, that's up to you.

I went last night, took my favorite date, and we both enjoyed it.

I'll be adding it to my home library by Christmas I would imagine.

Final Grade: Solid B for a fun B-Movie!

The One Time "Cooties" Isn't Too Bad

Cooties (2014)

Rated R

Starring Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson, Allison Pill, Jack McBrayer, Leigh Whannell, Jorge Garcia

Directed by Johnathan Millot and Cary Murnion

The Story:

Clint (Wood) has come back to his alma mater to teach after his writing career went nowhere. He sees Lucy (Pill) the girl he always had a crush on, but she's going out with Wade (Wilson) the gym teacher. Awkward love triangle on the first day, complicated by a sudden zombie outbreak among all the little children entrusted to their care. It's students vs. teachers in the ultimate battle for survival!

Okay, I'll admit it, this was a pretty fun movie.

I love a good horror comedy, and as zom-coms go, this was right up there.

An actual plausible reason why kids could get sick is introduced in the opening credits (and is rather disgusting to think about).

That it escalates so quickly is insanely glorious in the scariness of it all.

If the same concept were played straight and not for laughs, this could easily have been one of those blood curdling horror movies that is thinly disguising a social message.

:: whew ::

Thankfully, it's played for all the fun and gore that a name like Cooties implies.

Lots of humor, great job from the entire cast and a pretty fun script that takes itself seriously while never attempting to not have some fun at the same time.

As usual, Rainn Wilson does not disappoint in his role.

I know I'd watch this one again in the future, so that's always a plus.

Final Grade: - B