Nick Cavuoti
Bio
An avid movie watcher, and I have been writing short stories and novels on the side for years now. Hoping to hone my craft here on Vocal!
Stories (61/0)
Review: "The Unforgivable"
Sandra Bullock is a bonafide movie star that lifts up any movie that she is in, however, The Unforgivable has one too many flaws. It is a personal tale that Bullock does a great job of in an almost unrecognizable role for her, but the direction of Nora Fingscheidt and the script leave a lot to be desired. Beyond Bullock, the film has a star-studded cast including Jon Bernthal, Viola Davis, and Vincent D'Onofrio. The cast is fine, but for such a personal journey, the writer and director put focus on far too many characters leading to a jumbled and rather uninteresting plot.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
Review: "Candyman"
Bernard Rose's take on Clive Barker's Candyman back in 1992 still stands the test of time as one of the best horror films to come out. Inevitably, the hit film spawned a bunch of sequels that never quite hit the success of its predecessor. In comes Jordan Peele off the success of hit films like Get Out and Us looking to rejuvenate the franchise and largely he did. Peele worked with director Nia DaCosta on this film and both shared writing credits. The pair disregarded the sequels that followed the original Candyman and instead focused on the aftermath of it created a pseudo-spiritual sequel. This take on the character enriches the universe and builds on it to incredible success.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Horror
Review: "8-Bit Christmas"
With Thanksgiving in our rearview mirrors now, it is inevitable to see Christmas movies on our televisions as it is the season to be jolly. On Thanksgiving Day, this film was available to stream to anyone with a subscription to HBO Max. Anyone that watches it will surely be hit with just as much nostalgia as product placement. However, it is a heartwarming tale that many once had a Nintendo console or memories of wanting a video game console so bad will surely enjoy. 8-Bit Christmas sticks to the old tropes of most Christmas movies for better or for worse throughout the film and at its core, it is really difficult to have a hard time enjoying Christmas movies on some level.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
- Top Story - November 2021
Review: "King Richard"Top Story - November 2021
Many sport films follow a simple formula that all too well feature a heartwarming underdog story and at its heart that is exactly what King Richard is. On top of that, it also seems a bit of an "Oscar-bait" type of film as it features arguably one of the best performances of Will Smith's long career. The film tells the story of the man behind two of the greatest tennis players to ever grace the sport, their father, and his pursuit of stardom for them both. During Venus and Serena Williams ascension to stardom, something that constantly made headlines at the time was how controversial their father was. You'd assume this film at its core would be about the two sisters but instead, it shines the light on the father to paint him in a better picture than the media ever did. In the process, it instills in the audience that it is always important to keep sight of what truly matters, the ones you love and protecting them.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
Cabin in the Woods
Nothing exciting happens in Lake Chripon which Wes Brandt could always attest to. He has lived in the least populated town in all of the United States for as long as he could remember but the one claim to fame it did have, it was rather high in crime, which is why he was the sheriff of this town. Lake Chripon is a typical low-end, swampy town where everyone knows one another. It’s filled with a ton of fishermen due to being so close to the ocean and that is sadly about the most exciting thing about it. Wes was well-liked by the people, which helped him become sheriff, he had always been a man that stood out in this small town. In his heyday, he was a hell of a quarterback that made standout plays on the regular for a town that never had any claim to fame or relevance in the sporting arena. No matter how good he was, his teams never amounted to anything anyway. Wes had received a report of a disturbance out in the run-down part of town’s seldom-visited area called Moonachie, or better yet the Moonies. No one went out there except for kids at night to party or smoke weed. It was a secluded area, so Wes thought that would be what he saw getting out there. Just some kids on a bender, lord knows he did the same back then.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Horror
Review: "The Night House"
The Night House, at its core, is an old-fashioned horror film that can be compared to the horrors from the 70's era. It differs greatly from the recent genre fare, trading in cheap thrills or jump scares for a more personal touch. It is a much more intimate and impressive film that is not only thought-provoking but also horribly unsettling from start to finish. The Night House also features a powerhouse performance by the always solid Rebecca Hall that really rounds the film out wonderfully. Beyond what appears on screen, the work put in by director David Bruckner who also worked on another terrific horror film in The Ritual is spectacular, the way the action is framed is nothing short of stunning.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
Review: "No Time to Die"
This new iteration of the master spy James Bond has been a favorite among critics and fans as it has been a strong action series but also a wonderful darker tale on the character. Daniel Craig has played the character for five films now with No Time To Die and firmly placed himself as one of the best to do so. It is also crazy to think about how he is now the longest-tenured actor to play the role, spanning fifteen years. Here we are after Craig had said, "I'd rather slit my wrists than play the character again." The Bond films with Craig as the lead have often been a culture shock to the character but with No Time To Die there is more of a focus on the character rather than explosions. In a sense, it is a smaller more intimate film which makes the ending all the more impactful knowing we won't be seeing this iteration anymore. This film may have after all benefitted from a change in director from Sam Mendes to Cary Joji Fukunaga and it may have just rejuvented Daniel Craig in the role who was clearly exhausted with it after Spectre.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
Review: "Finch"
Apple TV has had a great run as of late churning out hit after hit on the television front and lately with movies as well. Finch is the new addition to the streaming giant and features impressive visuals along with one of the greatest actors of our time in Tom Hanks. It is a tour de force by the talented actor in the hands of a lesser actor, the film would have folded upon itself. At first glance, you may think the film borrows from "I Am Legend" or "Mad Max" but it is not that kind of dire film. Instead, the focus is more on the connection that the protagonist has with his remaining family which happens to be an adorable dog and an endearing newborn robot. In a way, Finch is a bit of a fairy tale that borrows elements from Pinocchio as it is about a man whose interactions and experiences with life begin to be shared with the very robot he created to keep his beloved dog alive. As he shares his wisdom with the robot it begins to evolve into a mechanical real boy.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
- Top Story - November 2021
Review: "Army of Thieves"Top Story - November 2021
It seems rather odd that Netflix had green-lit a cinematic universe for Zack Snyder seemingly overnight even before seeing the returns on his entry film "Army of the Dead", but here we are with a prequel entry to said universe starring the eccentric wisecracking criminal fan-favorite Dieter. Snyder stays on the film as a producer and writer but passes his director chair off to the main star of the film in Matthias Schweighofer. Army of Thieves ends up being a surprisingly fun heist film and at times more fun than its predecessor but it hides some horrible pacing issues and horribly written bland characters with a flurry of kinetic editing.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
Review: "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin"
The franchise of Paranormal Activity had been on life support after the fourth installment and somehow made it all the way to six before deciding to do a soft reboot with Next of Kin. In a long list of films that had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Next of Kin could be added to that list as it originally was scheduled to be in theaters but instead went straight to streaming only on Paramount Plus. That alone could have also been an indication of how little faith the studio had in the film of actually being profitable despite it being a once successful franchise. Looking at the history of soft reboots to a horror franchise, they have rarely been succesful. The attempt to "reboot" this franchise is a modest one at best, being the seventh installment in the franchise it has very little to any kind of connection to the previous six films. In fact, it seems more like it could be connected to the Blair Witch franchise. It seems rather lazy by the studio, and maybe this film was originally conceptualized as a stand alone project that may have not sold well on it's own so they slapped the Paranormal Activity title to it.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Geeks
A Siren's Song
On a cool crisp day in the middle of fall, a man runs through the serene park just a bit outside of his apartment in an expensive part of Potomac, Maryland. The entire area was beautiful, filled with color but the people that inhabited the park and even the apartment were a bit uptight and closed off from one another. The man took this very day to decide to run through the adjacent park as it was something his late wife had always wanted to do. She had heard from their neighbors that there was a beautiful lake at the end of the path, so to honor her, he wanted to see it for himself.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Horror
Top 5 Halloween Movies
Halloween is just around the corner and with it comes more of a desire to be scared. It is often associated with elaborate costumes, drinking alcohol, making bad decisions and haunted houses. All things that Hollywood has certainly capitalized on. Not only is Halloween about being scared, but also about having fun with friends and having a good laugh. Thus, with that all being said, the idea of writing a top five Halloween films spawned and thanks to those over at the Vocal Social Society for really giving me the idea. The films below are measured on their merit in terms of scares as well as their fun factor as most Halloween movies are shared with those we care most about.
By Nick Cavuoti2 years ago in Horror