Hocus Pocus 2!!!

[SomeRandom]

Okay after days of resisting (due to making plans to watch it with my friend) I saw the sequel to the cult classic Hocus Pocus.
Apart from the opening sequence, which I absolutely adored lol, I thought it wasn’t as good as the first. But it was still a fun watch and I had a blast all the same.
Full disclaimer, I will admit my nostalgic bias towards towards the first film and I suppose the sequel was merely using the cliches of today, the same way the original used every 90s cliche ever lol
I thought the story could have focused a little bit more on both the Sanderson sisters and the kids. And I think they could have picked a better show tune for Bette Midler.
Overall I liked it and I will likely have many a drunken Halloween with my friends watching both films for many years to come. Not great films but who cares? They’re just fun to have a laugh at.
Guilty pleasures both. And I like the main leads. It’s cool they reprised their roles after so many years
What are your thoughts?

 

[RestlessSoul]

Oh. That Hocus Pocus

 

[Father Heathen]

I Watched it with my family. I've never seen the first one, but we all three thought this one was crap.

 

[pearl]

I have not watched this and don't intend to, but found this review interesting.

But if as you read this you, too, find yourself saying, “What is this ‘Hocus Pocus’ of which he speaks?” here is what we have missed: Way back in 1993 Disney released a movie starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson Sisters, a trio of 17th-century witches who are brought back to life in the 20th century on Halloween. They immediately set out to try to eat the souls of all the children of Salem, Mass.

But it turns out that “Nowheresville” was chock-full of young millennials, who know a good thing when they see one. Over the last 30 years they, their Gen-Z siblings and others have loved the movie so passionately that it became not just a cult hit but a genuine film favorite.
It was only a matter of time before sequel plans were put into motion, particularly in our current era, in which networks are much more willing to consider rehashing old I.P. than in producing new stories. (Among the current crop of “new” shows there is a new “Quantum Leap”; a TV series starring Tim Allen’s early 2000s Santa Claus character; a “Willow” TV show; and a reality TV version of “The Love Boat.” Isaac, fix me a drink!)

In many ways, the new “Hocus Pocus” adheres to the formula of other reboots. It returns to the main plot points and gags of the first film—a virgin teenager accidentally brings the Sanderson Sisters back to life, the sisters still want to kill all the kids of Salem so they can live forever, they are also repeatedly surprised by the ways of the modern world, and succeeding at their goal involves a spell cast on the town during a big song and dance number! As with other reboots, the new film also places women and people of color in central roles, which some will no doubt complain makes it “woke” or “P.C.” but actually allows the film to go in some interesting new directions.

But what is most endearing about “Hocus Pocus 2” is the way that it brings to the fore an aspect of the original film that you don’t often see portrayed today: sisterhood. As much as “Hocus Pocus” was ostensibly about a group of kids and a talking black cat who band together to fight off a bunch of child-munching witches (this film really is crazy), in fact, the heart of the film was the relationship between the sisters. They are the characters featured on the posters. They’re the ones doing the “hocus pocus.” And what makes them so compelling is not simply the individual performances of Ms. Midler, Ms. Najimy and Ms. Parker (though I believe 100 percent that this is Ms. Parker’s best performance ever). Rather, the magic of the film lies in the way the three of them interact: Bette Midler plays second fiddle to no one, and yet here all three actors allow one another to shine. The script likewise has no envy or jealousy subplot, no attempt to pit the sisters against each other. From start to finish they share a common purpose and unconditionally accept and delight in one another.
‘Hocus Pocus 2’ succeeds because it doesn’t pit women against each other | America Magazine

 

[Twilight Hue]

Okay after days of resisting (due to making plans to watch it with my friend) I saw the sequel to the cult classic Hocus Pocus.
Apart from the opening sequence, which I absolutely adored lol, I thought it wasn’t as good as the first. But it was still a fun watch and I had a blast all the same.
Full disclaimer, I will admit my nostalgic bias towards towards the first film and I suppose the sequel was merely using the cliches of today, the same way the original used every 90s cliche ever lol
I thought the story could have focused a little bit more on both the Sanderson sisters and the kids. And I think they could have picked a better show tune for Bette Midler.
Overall I liked it and I will likely have many a drunken Halloween with my friends watching both films for many years to come. Not great films but who cares? They’re just fun to have a laugh at.
Guilty pleasures both. And I like the main leads. It’s cool they reprised their roles after so many years
What are your thoughts?

Amuck amuck amuck! Ouff.......

 

[We Never Know]

I have not watched this and don't intend to, but found this review interesting.

But if as you read this you, too, find yourself saying, “What is this ‘Hocus Pocus’ of which he speaks?” here is what we have missed: Way back in 1993 Disney released a movie starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson Sisters, a trio of 17th-century witches who are brought back to life in the 20th century on Halloween. They immediately set out to try to eat the souls of all the children of Salem, Mass.

But it turns out that “Nowheresville” was chock-full of young millennials, who know a good thing when they see one. Over the last 30 years they, their Gen-Z siblings and others have loved the movie so passionately that it became not just a cult hit but a genuine film favorite.
It was only a matter of time before sequel plans were put into motion, particularly in our current era, in which networks are much more willing to consider rehashing old I.P. than in producing new stories. (Among the current crop of “new” shows there is a new “Quantum Leap”; a TV series starring Tim Allen’s early 2000s Santa Claus character; a “Willow” TV show; and a reality TV version of “The Love Boat.” Isaac, fix me a drink!)

In many ways, the new “Hocus Pocus” adheres to the formula of other reboots. It returns to the main plot points and gags of the first film—a virgin teenager accidentally brings the Sanderson Sisters back to life, the sisters still want to kill all the kids of Salem so they can live forever, they are also repeatedly surprised by the ways of the modern world, and succeeding at their goal involves a spell cast on the town during a big song and dance number! As with other reboots, the new film also places women and people of color in central roles, which some will no doubt complain makes it “woke” or “P.C.” but actually allows the film to go in some interesting new directions.

But what is most endearing about “Hocus Pocus 2” is the way that it brings to the fore an aspect of the original film that you don’t often see portrayed today: sisterhood. As much as “Hocus Pocus” was ostensibly about a group of kids and a talking black cat who band together to fight off a bunch of child-munching witches (this film really is crazy), in fact, the heart of the film was the relationship between the sisters. They are the characters featured on the posters. They’re the ones doing the “hocus pocus.” And what makes them so compelling is not simply the individual performances of Ms. Midler, Ms. Najimy and Ms. Parker (though I believe 100 percent that this is Ms. Parker’s best performance ever). Rather, the magic of the film lies in the way the three of them interact: Bette Midler plays second fiddle to no one, and yet here all three actors allow one another to shine. The script likewise has no envy or jealousy subplot, no attempt to pit the sisters against each other. From start to finish they share a common purpose and unconditionally accept and delight in one another.
‘Hocus Pocus 2’ succeeds because it doesn’t pit women against each other | America Magazine

Did you see this....

"TROY, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas mother is warning parents about “Hocus Pocus 2,” the sequel to the cult Disney favorite released this past week on the company’s new Disney+ streaming service.

“A worst case scenario is: you unleash hell on your kids and in your home,” said Jamie Gooch, “The whole movie is based on witches harvesting children for blood sacrifices.”

Gooch is turning heads with a viral post on social media and discussed her concerns about the new movie with KWTX.

“Do not watch this film,” she warned, “Everybody thinks it’s fake and innocent, but they could be casting any type of spell that they want to, anything could be coming through that TV screen into your home.”

‘You unleash hell on your kids’: Central Texas mom warns parents about ‘Hocus Pocus 2′

 

[pearl]

“Do not watch this film,” she warned, “Everybody thinks it’s fake and innocent, but they could be casting any type of spell that they want to, anything could be coming through that TV screen into your home.”

Maybe we ought to be leery around the microwave too.