Mr. Harrigan's Phone

 

Mr. Harrigan's Phone is a supernatural mystery based off of the short story of the same name by Stephen King. Starring Donald Sutherland as Mr. Harrigan. The plot follows Craig, a teen who befriends the retired, very rich and unpleasant Mr. Harrigan. A friendship brews during their time together with Craig ushering the elder into the 21st century with a new cell phone. Unexpectedly Mr. Harrigan dies and Craig, rather distraught, puts his friends smart phone in his pocket before burial. What happens next is unexpected and puts Craig in a tailspin.

Although it was an interesting concept, I should have known based off of the preview just how terrible this movie would be. I wanted to give it a chance because Donald Sutherland is a really great actor but even he couldn’t save this film. The storytelling was lazy, it didn’t make any sense and there were plot holes galore.

I appreciated the diversity in the casting but that is the only compliment I can give. Some of the cast were way too old for the roles they were playing and there was not one character that I could connect to.

I’m actually surprised I finished this film. I kept hoping it would get better but even the ending was a disappointment. I would definitely recommend skipping this waste of time.

After Yang

 

After Yang is a story set in the future following a family that must deal with the aftermath of losing their family A.I. helper, Yang.

The cinematography and editing did well in contributing to the artsy and futuristic feel of this movie. The plot was a little too slow moving for me. I did however appreciate the themes around managing grief, the dependency and even at times, the exploitation, of technology and the complexity of family dynamics.

The acting was strong. Colin Farrell played Jake, a struggling tea shop owner and Jodie Turner-Smith played his wife Kyra. They did a great job in showing how easily one can get disconnected from what is really important and what happens when you let your spousal and parental responsibilities fall by the wayside. The emotional connections throughout were subtle but very poignant.

Even though After Yang wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea I can see the importance of this type of film. It really makes one think about what is important in life.

Hocus Pocus 2

Hocus Pocus 2 is a fantasy comedy and sequel to the 1993 original with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprising their roles as Winifred "Winnie", Sarah and Mary Sanderson, respectively. The film picks up 29 years after the original and follows two Salem high schoolers after they accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters on Halloween. With time running out, they must figure out how to stop the witches before they become too powerful to defeat.

I re-watched the 1993 original before watching this one, to be fully immersed and to be able to catch the call backs more easily. I’m glad I did that because the second film was full of nostalgia. While the sequel’s storytelling was just a re-hashing of the original movie, I actually have more to criticize about the original film and I do the new one. I felt like the '93 version was more superficial, and lacked the strong character development that was present in this movie.

Even though they lacked in originality of story, they did manage to keep the some of the comedic genius that made the first so enjoyable. The casting also greatly improved. Whereas the original cast had zero diversity, this cast was full of diverse characters. I also liked the theme around the importance of family and a deeper dive into the personalities of the Sanderson Sisters.

Overall this movie was a family friendly and fun film for Halloween. Even though Disney has not green lit another sequel, it appears that they set up this film one. I enjoyed Hocus Pocus 2 but I think would be unnecessary to do a third one.