Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

This is the rare sequel that manages to be on par with the original. This felt like a long episode of the tv show. (That's a good thing). Unlike the first, where they just threw in every Goosebumps monster and villain they could think of, this feels more like watching the characters actually live a Goosebumps story. There were some good laughs, and there were actually a few genuinely scary moments. This has all the fun and cheesiness you'd expect from a Goosebumps property.  Although the film did work well with its own original story, part of me keeps hoping that one day they'll do an anthology movie where they adapt at least 3 Goosebumps stories into one movie. There were a few dumb moments in this movie, but they weren't so dumb that I was facepalming or groaning. They fit with the tone of the film, because that's what this film is: Dumb, but fun dumb, not bad dumb. 

Grade: B     8/10     4/5 stars

Venom

I was a bit skeptical when they announced this movie. Could a Venom movie work without Spider-Man? The whole reason the character even exists in the first place is because of Spider-Man. Surprisingly, this movie worked, and it worked well. Yes, the origin story has for the most part been changed, but it still made sense and still worked. Tom Hardy is great in everything he does, and this is no exception. Some of the dialogue is really stupid, and I feel certain scenes could have had more potential, but the stuff that was great was really great. The CGI was terrific, as were the action scenes. The story took a while to get going, but once it did, it really got going. I think this is one of those movies that has enormous potential, but it will never be fully realized, and everything it's setting up will sadly be cancelled. This has happened with "Cirque Du Freak", "Valerian", and others, and I feel this is going to join the "Potential franchise ends up being one and done" club, which is a shame. I want to see more of this!
Grade: B     8/10     4/5 stars