P-Pi

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P.O.V. - A Cursed Film [2012] P2 [2007] Pacific Rim 2: Uprising [2018]
The Pack [2010] The Pact [2012] The Pact II [2014]
The Pale Door [2020] Palm Springs [2020] The Panama Deception [1992]
Paranormal Activity [2007] Paranormal Activity 2 [2010] Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night [2010]
Paranormal Activity 3 [2011] Paranormal Activity 4 [2012] Paranormal Activity 5: Marked Ones [2014]
Paranormal Activity 6: Ghost Dimension [2015]
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin [2021] Parasyte: Part 1 [2014] Parasyte: Part 2 [2015]
Parker [2013] Passengers [2016] Patient Zero [2018]
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank [2022] Pearl [2022] Peninsula (Train to Busan 2) [2020]
Peppermint [2018] Perdidos [2014] The Perfection [2018]
Pet [2016] Pet Sematary [2019] Peter Rabbit [2018]
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway [2021] Phantasm [1979] Phantasm II [1988]
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead [1994] Phantasm: OblIVion [1998] Phantasm: RaVager [2016]
Phantoms [1998] Phobia 2 [2009] Phone [2002]
Phone Booth [2002] Piercing [2018] Pig [2021]
Piranha [1978] The Pit and the Pendulum [1991] Pitch Black [2000]

Pearl [2022]


         

An abusive and oppressive mother, an invalid father, a husband off to fight the Great War, the threat of the Spanish Flu, and a dream to be a dancer all combine to slowly drive a young woman insane in a catastrophic manner. A prequel to X, this slow burn is handled expertly by director Ti West with the exquisite performance of Mia Goth as Pearl. My 'Good' banner is a personal rating as it really didn't take me to the next level as much as I would have liked but this is an exceptionally well made film and certainly worth the accolades it's been getting.

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank [2022]


            

A clueless dog is forced into the position of samurai for a town full of cats ...and they're powers that wish to destroy him. My wife and I found this film to be quite entertaining and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. The characters were a joy to watch and provided with plenty of personality by an all-star cast of voices. Being the engine behind this, Mel Brooks pulled out a hefty bag of tricks that included Blazing Saddles tropes, constantly breaking the fourth wall and a parody of toilet humor using toilet humor that was a riot. The low IMDb rating confounds me. Fun!

Phobia 2 [2009]

aka Ha phraeng

            

Following 4bia, this anthology has 5 stories and let's make it clear that my rating is based solely on the first 4. 'Novice' - a haunting exercise in karma / 'Ward' - Why is the brain dead guy in the next bed terrorizing me? / 'Backpackers' - A brutal and violent zombie-like tale and the star episode / 'Salvage' - Intense ghostly apparitions that lead to a tragic and sad end. All quite serious and done extremely well. Excellent writing, acting and direction brings this almost to V/H/S level. The last story, 'In the End', tried to be funny but failed and really doesn't belong here.

Pig [2021]


            

A self-exiled hermit will stop at nothing to find his stolen truffle pig. This simple premise belies the incredible depths this story reaches within its characters. Nicolas Cage is fantastic in his portrayal of, what seems at first, a simple man who just wants his pig back but as the layers of his character are slowly peeled away, we discover a multi-layered individual with a rich history well beyond outward appearances. His relationship with his reluctant truffle buyer is also a delight to watch develop from irritation to a true, heartfelt friendship. Great character study.

Palm Springs [2020]


         

Three attendees at a wedding find themselves stuck in an infinite time loop which repeats the day over and over again. A somewhat zany romantic comedy that is truly funny. The characters are colorful and extremely likable from the moment you meet them, the writing is superb in that it doesn't waste time getting to the jest of it and moves along at a nice brisk pace. The dialog is honest, intelligent and, at times, down right hilarious. My wife and I had to back track a couple times as we missed something by laughing so hard. ...and it never got sappy. Quite fun!

The Pit and the Pendulum [1991]


         
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In the late 1400s, an innocent is accused of witchcraft by the local psychotic inquisitor. Beyond that premise, the film was pretty much filler material for the first hour with much ado about not much. Things picked up, though and, in the end, it was really quite entertaining. Although the whole affair was dreadfully melodramatic, Lance Henriksen put in a delightfully over-the-top performance as the devoutly, out-of-control servant of God and Mark Margolis did a great job as his disturbed valet who's beginning to question it all. Really quite fun, overall.

Peninsula (Train to Busan 2) [2020]


         

4 years after Korea has been sealed off due to a zombie outbreak, a small group of folks heads into the peninsula to find a truck with $20M. Taking a page from the Romero book of making zombie films, this is not a sequel but rather a stand-alone film in the same universe as Train to Busan but having a vibe far more akin to Escape from New York. Lots of CGI action that, unfortunately, looked it and the few human moments were so overblown with emotion as to be absurd. Still, it's an exciting film ...just don't expect it to have the impact of Train to Busan.

The Pale Door [2020]


         
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A wild west gang robs a train they think is loaded for a big payday but, even though it's protected by a squad of Pinkerton detectives, all they find is a trunk with a young woman in it. Despite the un-authentically low-budget look of the film, and the somewhat sub-par acting, this loose variation of From Dusk Till Dawn was generally entertaining until the overly sentimental and maudlin last 30 minutes sapped what little energy the film had left. By the time they finally got around to its predictable ending, I really didn't care anymore. Few good moments.

Parasyte: Part 1 [2014]

aka Kiseijuu

            

Parasitic creatures are taking over humans by infecting their brain but one teen stops the assault resulting in the parasite just taking over his hand. This symbiotic relationship is the heart of this story as 'Migi', the parasite, wants to joins it's kind and the teen wants to save humanity. Delving into compassion, sentimentality and the like attempting to define what's human, makes an excellent backdrop for some gnarly monster effects and good action. Although it got redundant at times, it never failed to entertain and the sequel ought to be great!

Parasyte: Part 2 [2015]

aka Kiseijuu: Kanketsuhen

         

While the parasytes are establishing their foothold on earth, our hybrid hero gets really sappy and maudlin. After a pretty descent setup in Part 1 (above), I was expecting an explosive Part 2. Unfortunately, any excitement or energy it had was continually knocked out of it with these incredibly long scenes of philosophizing about human and alien nature all the while trying to suck all of our sympathy out of us to the point of, "Oh, come on!". And it got worse as the film went on ...the last half was so excruciatingly sentimental, I wanted to scream. What a pity!

Piranha [1978]


         
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Military grade, genetically modified piranhas are stupidly released into the river system where they proceed to munch on lots of people. This is your typical film involving freaks of nature killing man. It moves along at a quick pace and excitement level, the attack scenes were well done and it maintains a light level of campish humor. This was good but I've seen better. I've seen worse.

P.O.V. - A Cursed Film [2012]

aka POV: Norowareta firumu

   

Two girls, who run their own little talk show, show some fan submitted videos of ghosts filmed at one of the girl's school. They decide to investigate and things get strange. This was a weird little film that was more entertaining then say an episode of Ghost Hunters but ultimately, like said show, nothing really happens. There's a few cheap spooks and the false ending was a nifty twist but I would have enjoyed seeing something a bit more sophisticated than just one spook after another.

Peter Rabbit [2018]


         

Peter Rabbit and his family and friends (the other animals) go to war with a new neighbor. Put aside all the crud we've been hearing about it not being like the book and some protest about an epipen (which I don't understand), this was a genuinely fun film. The creatures are realistically flawless, the situations were humorous and well thought out and there's plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Anytime my wife and I start talking about scenes in the movie on the way home, and laugh all over again, that's a good thing.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway [2021]


         

Bea gets a publisher for her children's books on Peter Rabbit and the garden. When Peter finds out he's regarded as 'The Bad Seed', he runs away and gets involved with a gang of thieves. In a word, cute and endearing ...I guess that's two words. Doesn't have nearly as many LOL moments as the first film but it was still quite humorous with plenty of colorful characters, several running jokes and a story that, although somewhat familiar, keeps the viewer firmly engaged. No language and a few moments of goofy animated violence makes this excellent for the whole family.

Pitch Black [2000]


         
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Riddick's first film takes place on a planet with multiple suns making it perpetual daylight ...except once every 22 years when a total eclipse occurs. That's when the creatures come out to play and all hell breaks loose. Tense, action-packed story with everyone not sure who to be more scared of ...the creatures or Riddick. Quite a worthy introduction for our anti-hero with more adventures to follow.

Pacific Rim 2: Uprising [2018]


         

10 years after shutting down the initial invasion of the Precursors, and their creatures, the Kaiju, the human controlled robots, the Jaegers, are brought back into action to fight drone Jaegers and then a super Kaiju. This is a perfect example of writing, directing, editing and spec fx coming together in just the right way to present an explosively exciting roller coaster ride while still finding ways to interject good character development and tell a story. Great escapist entertainment from start to finish.

Pet [2016]


            

Seth has an obsession with Holly and begins stalking her. I didn't think anything was going to change along that line of thought, even after he puts her in a cage. But then, the entire dynamics of their relationship changes and you realize that this familiar story is not anything like you thought it was. As the movie goes on, you start asking yourself who's really the captor and who's really the prey? The psychological warfare that ensues could have been written better but I loved the film for its twisted originality.

Passengers [2016]


            


Huge settings and masterful sci fi special effects punctuate this simple romance of passengers aboard a starship that are woken up 90 years to soon. Entertaining but it's really just a variation of a pretty standard romance story with some action, adventure and danger thrown in. Well done, though.

Pet Sematary [2019]


            

The 2nd adaption of one of Stephen King's most horrific stories about a special graveyard where the dead come back ...sorta. If you've read the book or seen the 1989 version, you know the story and it's pretty faithfully done here with just a few variations. The pacing of a family excited about starting a new life and slowly discovering there are things worse than death was excellent and engaging. The final half hour is macabre, savage, unrelenting and disturbing with a final scene that's priceless and will send shivers up your spine. Good stuff!

The Pact [2012]


         

An eerie little mystery with paranormal overtones and disappearing family members. It's a slow, methodical journey of a women trying to figure out what happened to her sister and her cousin in the house of her recently departed mother. Even though it's very slow, they did an excellent job of maintaining an extremely heightened level of tension keeping me intensely involved throughout. Excellent story with some spine tingling moments and characters that seemed very real and genuine. Nice job!

The Panama Deception [1992]


         

A documentary about the real reasons we invaded Panama in 1989. Some of the comments I've read from the naysayers labeling this as pure propaganda seem to nit pick details about silly things that don't matter and completely miss the point. The point is unmistakably clear. With the full collaboration of the press, we invaded a country in full violation of World Law, killing thousands of civilians to "restore democracy" (of which they never had in the first place) solely to eliminate their military and regain control. Could have been better but it makes its point.

Parker [2013]


         

A professional thief offers to lead a state fair heist. Once it's over, they ask him to work on another job. When he refuses, they leave him for dead. They should make sure. This was a enjoyable film that I just had a couple problems with. I know the cinema human can sustain far more damage than a real human and still function but this was seriously over-the-top in that respect. Also, I never felt any chemistry between Statham and Lopez ...in fact, the movie probably would have been better if they had just written her out.

Paranormal Activity [2007]


            
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A man uses a camera to record what may be paranormal activity going on in his house ...even though he doesn't believe it. This film is proof that you don't need a huge budget of special effects to make a scary movie. Reminiscent of one of the scariest films ever made, The Haunting, only sounds (including subsonic), a few cheap practical effects, and the disintegrating psyche of the characters involved makes this one an uncomfortably creepy ride. I wasn't thrilled with the boyfriend for being such a skeptical jerk but overall, good flick for late at night.

Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night [2010]

aka Paranomaru akutibiti: Dai-2-sho - Tokyo Night

     

A brother must take care of his sister, who's just returned home from a vacation where she's had a accident and broken both legs, and they begin to experience hauntings similar to the first film. The US has been pretty big on remaking Japan horror movies so it's only fair they do the same. However, about halfway through this one, I learned this wasn't being presented as a remake but rather an actual sequel to the first film. In that, they didn't do a bad job. I think there was far more down time than the first but they managed to maintain that creepy sense of dread.

Paranormal Activity 2 [2010]


         
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A family, the mother of which is the sister of the girl in the first film, sets up CCTV cameras in their home after an apparent break-in and records some spooky stuff. With the timing of events split in two, this is mostly a prequel that takes place within the month prior to the first film but ends as a sequel. Both are prequels to the unofficial Japanese film, Tokyo Night. Does well to maintain the level of creepy although the impact isn't as great ...probably because it's no longer new. But it is exceptional at bridging the two stories together. Good stuff!

Paranormal Activity 3 [2011]


            

This one takes us back 18 years prior to the first two films and chronicles the events surrounding the sisters when they were kids ...and their imaginary friend, Toby. Just as creepy as the previous films, I'm not really sure what the attraction is. They're extremely slow paced. In fact, down right uneventful for semi-long periods of time. Maybe it's the insidious nature of the haunting coupled with the voyeuristic viewpoint. Whatever it is, it keeps me glued to the screen in a constant state of dread. The twist ending of this one was quite a bit different and brutal.

Paranormal Activity 4 [2012]


         
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The first true sequel, this one takes place about 5 years after the others where a new family becomes unwittingly involved in previous events. Although it did a fair job of maintaining that intense Jack-in-the-Box feel, it started getting a bit long in the tooth after awhile and the characters were more annoying than usual. The infrared tracking lights were very cool and I wish they would have done more with the gimmick. The last half hour certainly paid off for the sometimes suspenseful, sometimes frustrating wait to get there. A lesser effort overall but, I'm still a fan.

Paranormal Activity 5: The Marked Ones [2014]


         
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Seemingly unconnected to the previous films, at first, this one involves the slow possession of a young man while his family and friends try to figure out what's wrong with him. As an individual film, it's not a strong entry in the franchise ...although it still holds up rather well. But, it's obviously clear that all the films are firmly in the same universe and probably should be rated on how well it fits in. In this case, the film does a very interesting job of weaving itself into the current time line and hits us with another slam ending that all the films are noted for. Nice!

Paranormal Activity 6: The Ghost Dimension [2015]


            
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A family is haunted by a demon when they move into a house built over the site of the house from 1988 in PA3. They also find a camera that films ghostly activity making this film far more active than the slow-burn, wait-for-it style of the previous films. It's not as insidious and relies more on jump scares but they were done effectively, it has some really clever moments involving a time shift and, watching all the films in order, I found that this one did a good job of bringing everything full circle with an ending that was, once again, excellent.

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin [2021]


            

A girl, with film crew, goes to an Amish farm to discover her roots. The Paranormal Activity films are all connected in some way ...except this one. I think they used the name to grab viewers like me who watched it as a sequel. Surprise! Be that as it may, it's still a rather good, hand-held camera creepfest despite those moments when I was wondering who was holding the camera. It may be slow paced for some but it kept me interested and involved with a couple jump scares to grab ones attention. The climax is terrifying and worth getting to. Not bad. I had fun with it.

Phone [2002]

aka Pon

         
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A journalist is forced to change her phone number ...to one that belongs to a vengeful ghost. This exceptionally dull and confusing film had me totally perplexed through most of it. It just didn't seem to have any logic and sometimes I didn't know I was watching a flashback. I finally got the jest of it in about the last half hour which presented nothing new. Why do Asian films think long black hair is scary? The only scares here are terrified looks. However, Eun Seo-Woo's performance, at only 5-years-old, is fantastic!

Peppermint [2018]


         

Five years after her husband and daughter are killed by a gang drive-by shooting, a woman comes back to L.A. to take out the entire gang. Reminiscent of Death Wish on a much larger scale, she's had five years to train herself to be a bad-ass and she's pissed off and practically unstoppable. This is a pretty familiar story but done to perfection. Jennifer Garner is fantastic as the woman you continually cheer for regardless of the body count. Choreography was fantastic, pacing was fast and logical, tight story, the other characters fit right in. Awesome entertainment.

Perdidos [2014]

aka Strayed

         

Found footage of four students making a documentary in a haunted prison. They film halls and cells as they wander around with hand-held cameras. Then they use some hand-held cameras to film cells and halls as they wander around. Then one of them looks in a mirror! Deep breathing! They film cells!! They film halls!!! Oh, yeah ..then there's that scene in cell 18 where..... The ONLY thing this movie has to offer beyond what's in the trailer (which is as good as the film gets) is 90 minutes you'll never get back.

The Pact II [2014]


         

It appears a Judas Killer copycat is on the loose and a comic book artist and trauma scene cleanup girl begins having paranormal visions of the murders. This is a fairly worthy follow-up to The Pact. Camilla Luddington's performance is good as a girl who is smart and doesn't scare easy and Patrick Fischler's performance as an FBI Profiler was just plain creepy. As usual, the ending left us with a handful of ambiguities ripe for another sequel. Not a lot of scares and nothing really new here but it was an enjoyable watch.

Piercing [2018]


         

A shy piquerist (look it up) decides to invite a prostitute to his hotel room to indulge his fantasies but finds that she's just as perverse as he is and totally insane. Although there was an attempt at black comedy (and will probably please those with a specific sense of humor), this movie suffers from being to sadistic to be funny and too absurd to be taken seriously leaving it just sorta flat and lifeless. The characters weren't particularly engaging or likable, either. Basically, just a lot of hurting themselves and each other for 90 mins. Blah!

The Pack [2010]

aka La meute

            
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A young woman and a hitchhiker stop at a saloon in the middle of nowhere. When the hitchhiker disappears in the bathroom, the woman decides to investigate. Bad idea! Just when you think you're watching a film that's reminiscent of Frontier(s), it takes a sharp left placing it in a category all its own. This French film is visceral, perverse, savage, and brutal with no humor and no happy endings. If you like well made extreme horror, this movie definitely fits the bill but you better have the stomach for it. Good job!

Phantoms [1998]


            

A few people find themselves stuck in a seemingly abandoned town ...except for a few bodies and body parts. I've read practically everything Dean Koontz has written so I was naturally interested, especially since he also wrote the screenplay. I would consider this one of his few Lovecraftian style tales and it's not bad. I think it suffers from being under-budgeted. With a few more bucks, this could have been plenty monstrous. As it is, it looks a bit dated and cheap but still not bad.

Phantasm [1979]


            
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A young teen and his older brother begin to suspect the tall man at the mortuary is doing strange things with the corpses of the deceased. Despite the below average acting and amateurish dialogue, the movie has a certain weird and uncanny charm that has made it a cult classic and spawned 4 sequels over a 33 year period. Delightfully bizarre, it'll keep you guessing as to what's going on throughout and, just when you think you've figured it out, they throw an ending at you that simply makes no sense ...and it still works. Very fun!

Phantasm II [1988]


         

After being stuck in a mental institution for 7 years, Mike, and his friend Reggie, are on a search to stop the Tall Man. With acting and dialogue just as cheesy and low budget as the first film, I found that I actually liked this film better. It had a couple of weird plot points like, why spend time showing us how Reg makes a 4 barreled shotgun and then only use it once? However, excellent practical effects with some really good gory moments and decent pacing keeps the viewer's attention despite its shortcomings. A worthy sequel and definitely worth a watch.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead [1994]


            
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Reggie is in pursuit of the Tall Man who has now abducted Mike. This film didn't really provide much in the way of a new story angle and was more just a series of gags, one after another. Some worked. Others, not so much. Some of the charm from earlier efforts is missing and everything seemed more forced like they're trying too hard to come up with new ideas and really pushing the ones they have ...especially the flying balls. The ending was similar to the first film and a bit perplexing. Generally entertaining but a disappointment after the last one.

Phantasm: OblIVion [1998]


            
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Mike continues to be pursued by the Tall Man and Reggie is trying to catch up to him to provide assistance. Beyond that, there isn't a whole lot of story here - generously padded with flashbacks made up of deleted scenes from the first film - and what is here doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Far more serious than previous films with a few meaningless gags tossed in to give it some energy and a mysterious subplot about how it all began that made as much sense as the rest of it. Include a totally ambiguous ending and you have a waste of a good evening

Phantasm: RaVager [2016]


         
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The conclusion to the Phantasm series is anything but. Centering on an aged Reggie looking for Mike ...or has Mike already found him ...or he's demented ...or perhaps multiple Reggie's in different dimensions and times ...or living the tall man's dream. I have no farking idea. Utterly senseless, this film was simply a chance to get the original characters together for one last time before Angus Scrimm (the Tall Man) passed away. He's the prize of the film, actually. But instead of making it comprehensible, we get no story, no resolution, no climax, nothing.

Patient Zero [2018]


         

A strain of rabies has taken over nearly every human on the planet. A small scientific research center attempts to find patient zero in hopes of developing a cure. Most of the movie is talking. That in itself isn't so bad as the writer has a knack for decent dialogue. But, after a whole lot of philosophizing with an infected human, we have a big action scene culminating in an anti-climactic ending that was pretty lame. With all that talk, I figured there would be a resolution of some kind but, nope ...nothing's resolved. Mildly entertaining.

Phone Booth [2002]


            


Tense performances by Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker and Donald Sutherland (even though it's only his voice) makes this story about a guy trapped in a phone booth by a crazed sniper who will shoot him if he hangs up, quite a thrill ride. If you like edge-of-your-seat tension and suspense, check this out. Alfred Hitchcock considered making this film, at one time, for obvious reasons.

P2 [2007]


         

A psychotic security guard terrorizes a woman in a parking garage on Christmas Eve. I defy anyone to say they don't feel some anxiety walking though an empty parking garage. So, I expected this film to be quite a thriller. What I got was frustrated as I'm forced to watch a woman running around aimlessly trying to avoid a stupid psycho in one contrived scene after another. She only defends herself in the last 15 minutes. Ample fire axes and hoses in the garage but no fire alarms? Seriously?? Dumb movie.

The Perfection [2018]


         
  
A cello master, forced to leave a special school to care for her mother, returns 10 years later and befriends the current protege. What happens next is a totally unique and seriously bizarre, sick and twisted journey that takes you firmly down one path to an obvious conclusion only to jerk you around. I wasn't quite sure how to take it - some scenes seemed to drag on and I wasn't sure where it was going - but the final payoff was well worth the trip and brought everything together ...although not in a way you'd ever expect.

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