From It Lives Inside to Spy Kids: Armageddon, Should You Add These To Your Watchlist?
Spies, demons, and… theater kid chaos? Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado breaks down the movies you want to watch this week — and the ones you don’t.
It Lives Inside
The new horror film It Lives Inside follows a Sam, a teen who rejects her East Indian culture and family to fit in at school. But when a mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she has to come to terms with her heritage to defeat it.
After supporting roles in Never Have I Ever and Missing, I was excited to see actress Megan Suri take center stage in this film, but unfortunately the cast tries to do a lot with nothing. The set up to the story is weak and the “horrors” feels more like a random chain of events. They don’t dig deep into their culture or the impact of this demonic spirit. An underwhelming and disjointed film, It Lives Inside will leave you feeling disappointed after the success of original horror films as of late.
It Lives Inside is playing in theaters.
Spy Kids: Armageddon
The Spy Kids are back… but is the new movie good? Spy Kids: Armageddon finds the kids of the world’s greatest secret agents accidentally helping a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology. Now they must become spies themselves to see their parents and the world.
The premise is cute and very reminiscent of Spy Kids meets Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. They’re going back to the roots, but also adding these gamer elements and it has a lot of fun Easter eggs. Did you catch the nod to the “How To Be A Spy Book” by Author Unknown? It’s great to see the kids are at a higher advantage when it comes fighting off this villain because they knew more about gaming and technology than their parents. I also liked the messages of truth and kindness over cheating.
While this wasn’t the greatest film of all time or even capture the magic of the original trilogy, young kids will enjoy it and people who grew up with the franchise will be able to share it with their families. Robert Rodriguez continues to be a beacon of light for Latino representation and even brings his whole family together to write, direct, producer, and even soundtrack this film.
Spy Kids: Armageddon is streaming on Netflix.
Theater Camp
When the beloved founder of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, its up to her bro-y son and the eccentric staff to keep the camp afloat in Theater Camp.
This movie will have you laughing through the whole thing. I loved how it was simultaneously a self-deprecating satire of the theater community but also a love letter to that same audience. The whole film is perfectly cast. Broadway veterans like Ben Platt and Noah Galvin bring an authenticity to the story, while Jimmy Tatro does a great job of bringing the humor for those who might not be theater kids. This film is for everyone and definitely surprised me by just how good it was. It brought me back to the joy and nostalgia of my own theater kid days. You can really see the love they put into this project, including Molly Gordon and Platt’s real life Stagedoor Manor theater camp home videos adding to the film’s credibility. This is the next generation’s Camp and you don’t want to miss a second of it.
Looking for the perfect theater kid double feature? Watch Theater Camp on Hulu, followed by 2003’s iconic Camp that gave actors like Robin de Jesús and Anna Kendrick their start.
