Review by Acoucalancha
VIP4"Is that a mini Kong?"
Same recipe as Godzilla vs. Kong, it's dumb, it silly, it's full of problems but it's exactly what I want from a Kaiju movie: over-the-top non-stop titan action fun!
It has the same problems as Godzilla vs. Kong, the humans storyline brings the movie down and the story feels like it was made up along the way. Some continuity errors, it demands a suspension of disbelief and A LOT of plot conveniences. The dialogue is so cheap and the constant exposition by the humans is frustrating.
Godzilla is once again a secondary character in his own movie and Kong gets all the spotlight and story arcs. BUT at the same time Kong is better equipped to be the central character as he has more humanity. The dynamics between him and Suko "mini Kong" were the heart of this movie.
The best thing about this is the action, there's so much of it and it's epic. So much CGI it's basically an animated movie. The adventure to Hollow Earth (part 2) was better than the last i'd say, discovering the unexplored parts, seeing new creatures and going in deeper into the lore of the titans was interesting. Dan Stevens was my favorite character, he's funny and entertaining even though his character could be erased from the movie and it wouldn't change much.
I wish that little girl wasn't in the movie, not a fan. Scarking was introduced too late in the movie and he didn't feel like a big enough threat on his own. Epic final battle but the action was a bit hard to follow at times. What was the point of Godzilla being pink?
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@acoucalancha Yo Bruv Great Review.... But... I think there are reasons why they named it G x K and not K x G (eg: Who won the fight on screen in 21 G v K, secondly marketing states that Godzilla is more popular than Kong, I mean there are more movies with Godzilla but Hey... and pink is arguably and you know it, just like the point (which is to have you know that The Big Lizard is Super Charged and Ready to Fire). I would say maybe they could change the color to red I would rejoice but perhaps it's because G has different states and they plan to use a different color later, could be that the color was cannon to some source material they used idk pick your poison.
Review by Acoucalancha
VIP4–"I got the garlic."
–"Sammy, those are fucking onions."Go in blind without seeing the trailer for this one. The trailer ruined the first and part of the second act for me, it's basically a whodunit mystery in a mansion with the characters being clueless and blaming each other. We've all seen the trailer! That first act is worthless. Why show us the twist it's so frustrating.
Abigail is Ready or Not but with a vampire twist, nothing original and not as good as Ready or Not but it's still a decent fun time. Perfect set, lots of blood, lots of action, and some laugh out loud moments. The tone is completely off though, it's campy most of the time but also tries to be a heartfelt drama at other times—those are polar opposites, it doesn't work! The vampire powers were so interesting, probably my favorite aspect of the movie.
Don't let the title fool you, this movie should be called "Dan Stevens" cause he steals the spotlight as he usually does. The moment when he says "I feel great" and everything after that was peak. As much as I enjoyed him, it's a shame that he steals the spotlight from Abigail (Alisha Weir) because this was supposed to be her movie. She's excellent in the role, always believable, so confident and actually scary. Kathryn Newton was absolutely killer in a certain scene. Melissa Barrera's best performance yet, I wasn't a fan of her acting in Scream VI but she was actually believable here.
As good as the cast is, it tries too hard with the characters. They're not that interesting and the execution for the character buildup could have been better handled. Constantly having to build up those characters in between action scenes slowed down the movie considerably when they should really be dying instead sinse this is a horror movie. It also had no right being this long, a good 20-30 minutes could be cut out. The last twist was laughable and overstayed it's welcome.
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@acoucalancha I regret watching the trailer when it came out, they actually spoiled the whole damn movie in the trailer dint they. Gotta wait for the digital release to watch but they gave away a lot of stuff in the trailer.
Clay: "I was bringing her a jar of honey."
Parker: "Who are you, Winnie the Pooh?"Fun, dumb, entertaining and violent. It's essentially a copy of John Wick, even Statham's character gives off John Wich vibes; quiet, impassive, a man of few words... not much of a performance BUT he's great in the physical scenes. It's a shame there's no unique style to it but the action is good nonetheless. The gas station and the final fight were pretty epic.
A simple story of revenge like we're used to, fast-paced and straight to the point. So satisfying watching scammers getting what they bee-serve. The villains are over-the-top and take ridiculous twists and turns. The dialogue is awful but the bee puns really sting, you know it's bad but can't help but chuckle. Bee puns are good for your health, they give you a dose of Vitamin Bee!
Overall not very memorable but I had a good time. I want to know more about the other Beekeepers but I don't think this is worth a sequel. Buzzing off!
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@acoucalancha more bee puns here than the whole movie, unbeelievable
Review by Acoucalancha
VIP4Snape: "Turn to page 394."
Without a doubt the best in the franchise. The Dementors have affected the tone of this one because it's more serious, mature, dark and even scary at times. I love the storyline with Sirius Black and the Dementor/Werewolf looming threat throughout the movie. Best story yet, best score yet, great cinematography, great acting (kids are better now) and the third act is bonkers. David Thewlis is such a great addition as Professor Lupin. Alan Rickman (Snape) was the standout once again, favorite character. The white neon lighting at night is something I hate in movies and this one has a lot of it, although it makes sense because of the moonlight so fair enough. The time travel is the icing on the cake, amazing use of it. I wish they had kept Cuarón as director for the next few movies.
Magical Creatures Ranked (by favorite):
- Hippogriff (Buckbeak) - who wouldn't want to take a ride on one of those.
- Dementor - a monster that feeds on human happiness and eats your soul. Straight out of a horror movie.
- Werewolf - so cool, so deadly, one of the greatest moments of the franchise. The transformation scene was epic.
- Animagus - not quite a Werewolf but still deadly.
- Boggart - a shapeshifter that takes the shape of your greatest fear. Mine would probably be spiders too.
- Whomping Willow - one hell of a ride.
- The Monster Book of Monsters - reading will kill you.
- Shrunken Talking Head - that was a thing.
- Singing Toad - that was also a thing.
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@acoucalancha you just made me wanna watch the whole franchise all over again
"Scary stories make life less scary."
Haven't watched Murder on the Orient Express yet and thought Death on the Nile was boring but I really enjoyed A Haunting in Venice.
It's very slow but kept me glued to the screen the whole time. Good story and mystery but the characters are what drives this, they're interesting. The interview format got a bit repetitive at some point but it works for the most part and it elevates Hercule Poirot as a character every time. I didn't predict the culprit but the clues were definitely there! A criticism; I'll be vague but the mystery solver felt a bit overpowered and the problem solving unearned.
The supernatural and horror twist is what really elevated the experience for me, we even got a few jumpscares and it's spooky. The palazzo set is perfection and the dark, rainy, stormy atmosphere is always a great choice. The imagery is absolutely stunning, amazing lighting, stylish camerawork and great cast.
Worth watching in a theater but at the same time I would save this for the Halloween season—i'd consider it a Halloween movie. I had no expectations going in but overall this was a good murder mystery!
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@acoucalancha the other two are dull as a rock, but this one genuinely got my attention most of the time. It's definitely the best of the trilogy, though Michelle Pfeiffer's acting from the first one still has a special place in my heart.
Why does this feel like I'm watching one of Kamala's Captain Marvel fanfics
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@chelentano For real... Monica even gets stuck in an alternate universe so Kamala and Captain Marvel can be besties without her getting in the way
"Show some enthusiasm. Thanksgiving is an institution here."
Scream goes on holiday. I'm a sucker for holiday horror and Thanksgiving is everything I wanted from a Thanksgiving themed slasher. It's very standard old fashioned 80s campy. You need to watch this with the intent of having fun cause it's a lot of fun.
Perfect intro with the Black Friday sequence, really well done. The kills are everything you want in a slasher; gory, fun, creative and memorable. Great effects. The oven kill was my favorite but they were all great. The 'sitting at the table' part was peak I had a huge smile on my face and the one-liners were excellent.
The tone is probably my biggest criticism, it's too serious at times when really you want this kind of movie to be silly. The fun parts are too distanced apart, more fun and less teen drama would have been great. The characters are hard to root for and the teen actors are all cringe. I actually predicted who the killer was for once but I think it was pretty obvious.
No leftovers.
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@acoucalancha Those one liners by the killer while he was smashing that guy's head in.. perfection man. It would've been better if the killer was given more mystery. Like the Scream movies they dint mislead the audience enough in my opinion. Wdyt?
"Those are... flamingos."
What in the nonplussed, haunting soliloquy was that?! Went in completely blind and that was the right choice. It felt like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's essentially a psychological drama comedy with a "mysterious event" happening in the background—a great mix! The characters are interesting, the drama works because of this and some well-placed sharp comedy. It's weird, creepy and the mystery is intriguing.
This was actually my first time seeing Julia Roberts in a movie and she was hilarious. Really good acting from everyone. Myha'la is a newfound favorite. Simple yet effective suspenceful score, artistic visuals, nice camerawork and editing. The back and forth between two suspenceful scenes technique is done really well here. Incredible how many themes this movie tackles, there's always something to disect on-screen.
Some weird nonsensical character decisions that are a bit frustrating at times. Too long of a runtime which would make a rewatch difficult, it was totally possible to trim down. Favorite moments are the boat scene and the Tesla scene—on the edge of my seat! I thought the ending was perfect. There are sooo many clues and hints dropped throughout the movie that there's no way it could feel unresolved at the end.
I've never watched Friends
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@acoucalancha I just now only saw the reply.. sorry for the late response.
Friends isn't the funniest sitcom, but it has one of the most beautifully crafted characters ever, from the romance stuff to the weird jokes. It's a hit or miss, I am assuming you're not that big into sitcom so I cant really say whether you'll like it or not, but try watching it and if you enjoy it I guarantee you wont be able to stop yourself from watching it. I remember binge watching the whole thing in less than 2 months
So unoriginal, watching this just feels like watching a recycled version of every movie it's based on. Snyder saying that this is his version of Star Wars doesn't excuse any of it, that's just lazy.
It's a good looking movie overall but the set and action pieces lack originality, there's nothing visually memorable here. The same can be said about the characters, they're so incredibly run-of-the-mill and cliché. I like the storyline of recruiting members throughout the movie but it's done in such a repetitive way and we barely get to know any of them. Not enough interactions between them either. It's as if scenes are missing from the movie to connect everyone.
There's at least a lot of action throughout the movie, especially in the second half. While they're nothing we haven't seen before, they feel pretty engaging and the slow motion is used well—I'd even say not enough slow motion for a Snyder movie. If I had to pick, my two favorites would be the "riding the Harry Potter Hippogriff, Game of Thrones style" and the "Sith woman vs. Spider woman" sequences.
There's a few exceptions but the acting is bad, unnatural cringe dialogue, underwhelming story and too much exposition dumping. Very disappointing overall. Not excited for part 2. Apparently there's an R-rated version of this, why not release the two versions at once?!
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A kind review to a total piece of crap. Star Wars (which I love) was excusable in 1978 but to do sci-fi like this today that makes no sense is pretty unescusable. Why not table the cash and talent and make something that makes sense?
"Those are... flamingos."
What in the nonplussed, haunting soliloquy was that?! Went in completely blind and that was the right choice. It felt like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's essentially a psychological drama comedy with a "mysterious event" happening in the background—a great mix! The characters are interesting, the drama works because of this and some well-placed sharp comedy. It's weird, creepy and the mystery is intriguing.
This was actually my first time seeing Julia Roberts in a movie and she was hilarious. Really good acting from everyone. Myha'la is a newfound favorite. Simple yet effective suspenceful score, artistic visuals, nice camerawork and editing. The back and forth between two suspenceful scenes technique is done really well here. Incredible how many themes this movie tackles, there's always something to disect on-screen.
Some weird nonsensical character decisions that are a bit frustrating at times. Too long of a runtime which would make a rewatch difficult, it was totally possible to trim down. Favorite moments are the boat scene and the Tesla scene—on the edge of my seat! I thought the ending was perfect. There are sooo many clues and hints dropped throughout the movie that there's no way it could feel unresolved at the end.
I've never watched Friends
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@acoucalancha totally agree with you on the runtime, I love rewatching mystery movies but most of the time the 2hr+ runtime holds me back.
also you gotta watch Friends now
Review by Acoucalancha
VIP4"A sound man, by not advancing himself, stays the further ahead of himself."
Not many horror movies scare me nowadays but Insidious still scares the shit out of me! It does use jumpscares a lot but they're really well-thought out and a lot of the stuff happening to these characters is actually scary. That is if you find ghosts scary, which I sure do. Well this is as good as it gets. I find it even more effective than The Conjuring (on a ghost scare level).
Bone chilling over-the-top score and intro title card. The sound is pristine, every movement and object has it's own sound. Camerawork and editing is creative. The lighting especially the scenes in the dark are always on point. I get totally absorbed by the movie, it's so captivating and the runtime goes by so fast. So much suspence. The pacing is perfect exactly when it's starting to get a bit redundant, we're introduced Specs, Tucker and the true star of this movie (and franchise): Elise. They breed new life into the story and it doesn't get any better than Lin Shaye explaining the horror in a horror movie, that woman is so damn dramatic. It doesn't go without saying that Patrick Wilson is equally awesome.
The shadow standing right next to the bed always gets me, most scary part to me. The Darth Maul entity is nightmare fuel and The Further is such a great concept it clearly inspired Stranger Things with the Upside Down. It's crazy the amount of Easter eggs planted in here that serve the later entries of the franchise, I applaude James Wan for that. The third act is so epic and unforgettable, elevates the movie to amazing. One of my favorite modern horror movies for sure. So effective and fun.
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@acoucalancha I'm glad someone around here (who's even a friend of mine on this site, yay!) actually gets the feel of the movie. It's a terribly underrated masterpiece of modern horror.
I originally watched the movie in the theatre, which obviously increased significantly the fear effect and it did blow my mind (and scared the shit out of me), at the time. I just finished watching it for the first time, since then, at home, now, and it still managed to creep me out and make me disappear into my couch almost completely. It definitely stands the test of time (unlike The Ring, which I also revisited recently and the effect wasn't near as strong).
It's funny that you mentioned the Easter eggs, as I usually suck at finding those, but this time around I did notice Billy Puppet drawn on the blackboard at the end of dad's class.
I hope you also like The Conjuring and Sinister, those are also among my favourite modern horror movies!
I could listen to Benedict Cumberbatch talk all day but good thing this is a short because it was very tiresome. It was the perfect amount though and a type of storytelling I haven't seen much of (can't say i'm crazy about it). Same scrupulous sets, impeccable dialogue, symmetry in every shot, aspect ratios galore and carefully chosen color palette as the usual Anderson. It was very visual but I feel like judging the acting based on vocal performances, because holy shit was it ever vocal. Probably more words spoken than most 90 minute movies.
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@acoucalancha do you happen to have more short movies that are worth watching? Haven't really got much time these days so I am searching for some shorts movies
Review by Acoucalancha
VIP4"Are you ready to get rushed? ... Yeah, maybe you aren't rush material, you ugly bitch! U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi!"
You know what you're getting into with that crazy opening scene! Slotherhouse demands you leave your logic and common sense at the door to be appreciated. When making these movies you have to fully embrace the absurdity and squeeze in as much comedy and be as entertaining as you possibly can. It has a bit of a hard time sustaining itself for the entire 90 minute runtime but overall it achieves that fun campy B-movie factor!
Alpha the sloth has charisma, she's funny and love the use of a puppet over CGI, keeps it real even though it reduces the movements that are possible. Made me think of Chucky a lot (before he was mentioned in the movie) because of the puppet, the fact that it's small, looks harmless at first sight and it's clearly influenced by it.
Takes a laugh at social media and teens/YA with their slangs. The characters are entertaining but empty shells. The ideas for the kills are good but they're cut short a lot of the time which is a shame and there isn't much practical effects or gore to be shown. I'd take a sequel of this for sure but put more love into the kills next time!
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@acoucalancha finally someone who reviews a movie exactly for what it is. I agree with pretty much everything you have said here, though maybe not a sequel ... I'm stil waiting for 'Zombees' (iykyk)
A capitalism critique disguised as an alien invasion. Original concept, entertaining and so weird. A bit of comedy but I didn't laugh much, except when Josh Hamilton was on-screen. The social commentary and themes (class, wealth, race, art, colonisation...) are very on the nose but they're what makes this standout. Mix that with weirdness and you get something similar to Sorry to Bother You. The way it deals with it's themes felt like a very cynical approach, almost nihilistic in some parts? The world-building is worth mentionning, love the sci-fi weird score and good looking special effects. Characters are not the most interesting and it has a hard time with the pacing. The YA romance was the least appealing to me but it was necessary for the setup.
Some of the weirdest aliens i've seen!
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@acoucalancha I came here to say that this film is a critique of capitalism and class species traitors but you beat me to it. Really enjoyed the weirdness of it all.
Very similar to It Follows and The Ring. It builds tension quite well and gives you a well crafted jump scare once in a while. I found some parts pretty scary. The camera work in here is top notch and so is the transition between scenes. The psychological horror elements weren't anything new or impressive but still pretty enjoyable. The story got very predictable but I loved the third act it was a blast and some nice CGI/practical effects? I wanted more smiles in the movie it feels like there weren't that many but then again too much would ruin it too. One things for sure I was smiling whenever it happened on screen! Would of liked more explanation as to what the hell kind of entity that was and why it likes to smile so much... I'm willing to bet this is getting a sequel.
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I just realized it’s basically IDENTICAL to it follows
I'll start off by saying biopics aren't my go to, history wasn't my favorite subject in school. Oppenheimer isn't an exception. It without a doubt tells the story of an important piece of our history but as a movie it didn't keep me interested for very long. It goes for emotional but I didn't really feel much (except for the historical impact obviously). I wanted more ethical questions and less of the complex politics and law maneuvering.
It's way too long, a lot of it could have been cut out like Oppenheimer's character setup, the love interests and even (that's an unpopular opinion) the whole court room third act which was way too politically convoluted for me and straight out boring! If the movie had ended with the explosion this would have been a way better watch but unfortunately it overstayed it's welcome and lost it's steam. It's basically: buildup, payoff, buildup—.
A fabulous score with impressive sound in the theater but there's too much of it. The score was way too intense for what was showed on-screen a lot of the time and that's just distracting. There's also a few moments where I couldn't hear what was said because it's too loud. The dialogue is super fast-paced too so you can't miss a word or you're doomed not to understand what's going on.
Such a beautiful movie visually I like the WWII period aesthetics and clothes, the black & white scenes and the transition between different aspect ratios was used cleverly. The explosion scenes could have been longer but it looked amazing. The cast is stacked with stellar performances but Cillian Murphy really blew me away. A strong contender for the Oscars. Robert Downey Jr. for supporting role also.
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@acoucalancha summarised my thoughts perfectly
Shout by Tasa24
That was a nice twist! :open_mouth:
Even if it's not very good all the time, I hope they give it a 3rd seasonloading replies
@acoucalancha hope that's true, but the writers' strike might change that
Indy: "Wear your jewels to bed princess?"
Willie: "Yeah... and nothing else. Shock you?"
Indy: "Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist."The first 20-30 minutes of this are non-stop well-thought out action, it just doesn't let up. One event leads to another which leads to another. Temple of Doom for me, beats Raiders of the Lost Ark to a pulp... the kebab kill, the plane crash, the weirdly disgusting dinner, the bugs, the more macabre themes, the wagon chase, the bridge scene, the father son-ish synergy with Short Round and what a unique tone—it goes from silly to more serious to creepy to straight out comedy but I never felt like it was too much, it just gives you a bit of everything. Short Round is a great addition he's the perfect squire. Willie is incredibly annoying at times but she made me laugh more than once. Some of the sets actually look creepy with the voodoo shit, the skulls and the fire. Brillant cinematography. Incredible score. Perfect pacing. What an adventure!
I too would have passed out at the monkey brains part. Yuck!
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my opinion exactly, the dinner was indeed horrendous but immediately after that we were compensated by the "fruit" scene...if you know what i mean lol
Review by Acoucalancha
VIP4Some payoff, lots of well-shot edge-of-your-seat action and we finally have our first monster kill!
- "Leaves changing colors and falling off the trees"—so are we getting winter at some point? Do the creatures hibernate? And they're going to lose all their crops for real if the cold happens.
- Bullets don't do anything to them but Boyd was able to cut it in the throat. He even grabbed him by the throat and for a second there the monster looked afraid and that was before the worms entered. Are the monsters helpless when you attack them, unafraid? Knives work that's for sure. Monster wasn't bleeding at all though.
- I hope they do an autopsy on that monster. Also, we'll find out why they hate the sun. Will it burst into flames?
- Loved the ballerina. Her existence means that she was probably present in the Martin scenes. Was she the one that threw the rope down the hole to Boyd?
- Confirmation that the worms were keeping Martin alive to the point where his body was decomposed and still kept alive. Transfering the worms for sure killed him. To that point, doesn't it mean that the worms won't let the monster die sinse Boyd transfered them? Will it wake up in human form in the next episode?
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Yep maybe "From" is just like the Netflix Korean zombie show named "Kingdom", these monsters hate the daylight is because thay cannot take the temperature? As Boyd found out the leaves falling, maybe it heralded that the winter will come and then monsters can be out all of the day? That's really a challenge for everyone.
