The mortal kombat fight co-ordinator scenes were a perfect mix of action comedy horror for me. Hilarious video game gore. Fans of this over the top style will be pleased. A lot of the middle dragged, but it was overall far far more enjoyable than I imagined. Actual movie score? 6.3. My score? 7.5 for the enjoyment.
The show's drama to comedy ratio is all over the place. The show catches you off guard with hilarious, laugh out loud moments - but they're so few and far between that you are usually stuck waiting for the part of the dialogue that is relevant to the plot. At some point in the first season, when you've almost given up on the show, it's like they do a Hail Mary and change everything for the better. Until that point, you're left with mostly boring episodes that usually end with an upbeat song playing during the credits - it's like the equivalent of a mic drop... because they made the final minute of the episode interesting? This show gets points for being original - and the action scenes and comedy are actually great. If it hits it's stride and the drama is weaved in more subtly, this could easily be a 9/10 or 10/10. For now, I rate it 6.8 out of 10.
I had high hopes for the sequel to the groundbreaking Avatar, but I was sorely disappointed by this bloated and boring mess. The movie is much too long, clocking in at over three hours, and most of it is spent on rehashing the same themes of learning and adapting to a new environment that we saw in the original. The only difference is that this time, the environment is underwater. As a showcase for underwater mo-cap tech it's great! As a film, much less so.
The movie introduces some new mysteries and conflicts, such as the differing clans and types of Na’vi, the threat of a rival clan, and whatever is happening with Kiri, but none of them are resolved or explained satisfactorily. Instead, they are left hanging for a potential sequel, which is frustrating and unsatisfying, especially after sitting through such a long film. There's half a dozen scenes where the forest<->water Na'vi are being set up for exile or fighting, but despite their repetition nothing happens with it. The water Na'vi bounce between wanting to help the blue Na'vi and hating them, and back again, for no reason. They largely just disappear in the final act as well.
The worst part of the movie is the finale, which is supposed to be an epic showdown between the Na’vi and the humans, but instead turns into a glorified drowning risk scenario. The movie spends two hours showing us how the Na’vi adapt to living underwater, using special techniques to breath, but then in the final battle, they somehow forget all that and just swim around like any other drowning human, while the actual humans try to shoot them with harpoons and guns. There's half a dozen times they could have used their "we're fine for minutes under here actually, go cry about it" to their advantage but don't. Isn't a theme of these films meant to be "living and adapting with the natural world is an advantage"? It makes no sense and undermines all the previous worldbuilding.
Avatar: Way of the Water is a huge disappointment for fans of the original and a waste of time for anyone else. It is a dull and derivative sequel that fails to live up to its predecessor or its own potential.
Barbenheimer: Part 1 of 2
This is the kind of film I really don’t want to criticize, because we don’t get nearly enough other stuff like it. However, mr. Nolan has been in need of an intervention for a while now, and unfortunately all of the issues that have been plaguing his films since The Dark Knight Rises show up to some degree here. Visually it might just be his best film, and there’s some tremendous acting in here, particularly by Murphy and RDJ. However, it makes the common biopic mistake of treating its subject matter like a Wikipedia entry, thereby not focussing enough on character and perspective. As a whole, the film feels more like a long extended montage, I don’t think there are many scenes that go on for longer than 60 seconds. There’s a strong ‘and then this happened, and then this happened’ feel to it, which definitely keeps up the pace, but it refuses to stop and let an emotion or idea simmer for a while. There are moments where you get a look into Oppenheimer’s mind, but because the film wants to cover too much ground, it’s (like everything else) reduced to quick snippets. It’s the kind of approach that’d work for a 6 hour long miniseries where you can spend more time with the characters, not for a 3 hour film. I can already tell that I won’t retain much from this, in fact a lot of it is starting to blur together in my mind. There are also issues with some of the dialogue and exposition, such as moments where characters who are experts in their field talk in a way that feels dumbed down for the audience, or just straight up inauthentic. Einstein is given a couple of cheesy lines, college professors and students interact in a way that would never happen, Oppenheimer gives a lecture in what’s (according to the movie) supposed to be Dutch when it’s really German; you have to be way more careful with that when you’re making a serious drama. Finally, there are once again major issues with the sound mixing. I actually really loved the score, but occasionally it’s blaring at such a volume where it drowns out important dialogue in the mix. I’m lucky enough to have subtitles, but Nolan desperately needs to get his ears checked, or maybe he should’ve asked some advice from Benny Safdie since he’s pretty great with experimental sound mixing. My overall feelings are almost identical to the ones I had regarding Tenet; Nolan needs to rethink his approach to writing, editing and mixing. This film as a whole doesn’t work, but there are still more than a few admirable qualities to it.
Edit: I rewatched this at home to see whether my feeling would change. I still stand by what I wrote in July, though the sound mix seems to have been improved for the home media release. It sounds more balanced and I didn’t miss one line of dialogue this time around. I’m slightly raising my score because of that, but besides that I still think it’s unfocused, overedited, awkwardly staged and scripted etc.
5.5/10
Not sure what other people were expecting... I thought it was the perfect blend of humor, action, gore and even some heart.
At 93 minutes, it was a lot of fun and didn't drag at all.
It's an objectively well made and well acted movie that I really enjoyed. The plot is well structured, fast paced, and dialog well written.
It has the moral imperative to end sex trafficking but it's not through heavy handed guilt tripping, but through telling a true story about a man who made personal sacrifices to do the right thing and courageously go into danger to be a genuine hero. I think anyone who has any sense of altruism will leave this movie inspired to take action against this truly heinous evil that is real and happening now. Go see this movie.
Horrifying that this is actually happening in the world. And mind boggling that more people are affected by slavery now than when it was legal.
It also sickens me that they had to battle for 5 years for this film to be shown.
For the first two thirds, "Triangle of Sadness" is a really strong, funny, but also bitter satire. Director Ruben Östlund targets the world of the rich and beautiful and relies heavily on black humor. The cast is strong across the board. In particular, the long discussions between the main characters Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (the recently deceased Charlbi Dean) were always fascinating. The film is by no means subtle. Bodily fluids play a significant role in a crucial sequence.
What I didn't like was the film's final third, which dragged on far too long. The film is at least 20 minutes too long. The finale was neither surprising nor particularly exciting. Östlund most likely wanted to demonstrate what happens when the previously established hierarchy is turned upside down. That was unnecessary, especially at that length. Overall, I would still give the movie a clear recommendation.
Sisu feels like John Wick trying hard to be a Tarantino film. It ends up better than Wick but falls very short of Tarantino. If the impossible survivalism took two steps closer to realism, this movie would've landed higher for me.
Adored this movie. Solid performances, amazing screenplay, and McDonagh’s most gorgeous looking film to date. All of the actors were fantastic in this. This has to be my favorite film of the year.
One of my favorite moments of the film was Siobhan correcting Colm about Mozart. It shows that Colm was not as smart as he appeared to be, and cracked open his wise old man facade. He was being truthful to about his reasons for tanking the friendship, but his methods for doing so are still bullshit. He is wise, but also bitter and stubborn, and that so he thinks that the key to breaking his monotony is by suffering.
Colm resents Pádraic for being content with his simple life and not being concerned with having a legacy or being remembered beyond those he cares about in life. Colm, due to his frustration with his own existence, concludes that the only reason Pádraic is so content and untroubled is because he is dull and stupid.
Ironically I think Pádraic is actually Colm's muse, after each encounter with an impassioned Pádraic Colm seems to progress with his work on his magnum opus 'The Banshees of Inisherin'.
Moral of the story, in my opinion, is that men create meaningless conflict for contrived reasons and that leads to innocents being hurt (kind of like a civil war).
The forgettable younger sister of Black Swan. A bland Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton playing type, and one good performance by Mia Goth. The score and the choreography are more than solid, the cinematography is alright. The rest of the film is not even worth talking about: trash.
I really gotta eat my words on this one. I talked so much shit about how it was gonna be terrible. On and on I went, with reason after reason. "The runtime!" "The color palette!" "The lead actress!" Blah blah blah. Stellar. I was so tense for so much of this thing. Absolutely amazing!!!!
This movie is a comedic masterpiece of nonsensical action, and the numerous plot holes and questionable choices disrupt the overall experience.
Expected it to be a WWII flick where some dude goes all John Wick on the Nazis, but it ends up looking like a parody of Rambo.
Honestly, I can't understand what was so great about The Banshees of Inisherin. Did I watch the same movie as everyone else? My feelings about it are the same as Siobhán's feelings about the men on Inisherin. I'm always aching for original stories in Hollywood so maybe I hyped this movie up a lot in my head.
Nothing really happens in this film except for the complete overuse of the word 'feckin' (officially the most annoying word in the lexicon after this movie). I'm fine with films where 'nothing happens' but this never went anywhere.
I got the metaphor and the point, I understand the allegory and comparison to Ireland in the civil war, and how people don't change and would rather 'cut off their own fingers' to admit they were wrong, and I can appreciate the themes the script is trying to explore but that's just it, it tried and failed miserably at that. This movie is another case of when a film is more concerned with working on a metaphorical level that it forgets that it needs to work on a literal level as well, there’s got to be a line between expressing a metaphor and making an entertaining film.
The film felt very tedious and exhausting. Dialogue is not awful not great. The Banshees of Inisherin has no plot and an unexplained conflict, it drags the audience along in anticipation of an explanation for what's going on. I'm fine with leaving things unexplained to give people the chance to use their own imaginations but it's just that I expect there to be some sort of narrative conclusion when I go along with a story of a man cutting off his fingers for no sensible reason.
I can't really ding any of the technical aspects like cinematography, writing, and music, they are great but the whole package was kind of dull. I didn't feel one single emotion throughout the whole movie and didn't even realize it was a drama/comedy because I didn't chuckle even once. If you laugh when you hear someone say 'feckin' or 'miniature donkey', this movie is just for you.
The Banshees of Inisherin is pretty much a character study of 2 very boring and annoying people, who act like middle schoolers for almost 90 minutes, and we know nothing about them, which means that movie is really boring to watch. Colm's motivation to stop being friends with Padraic is very childish. I would have really liked to see their relationship or what a conversation of theirs was like before Colm made this decision. I absolutely didn't care about none of them. Colin Ferrell and Brendan Gleeson are good but absolutely not a standout performance.
I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but this film just didn't really do it for me. I was probably expecting too much.
You're funny. Balls don't have names
It's a risky thing to write a television show about a group of people who are, and I think this is possibly too mild, utterly abhorrent. The closest thing we get to a sympathetic character here is Cousin Greg, an outcast and half-forgotten relative who is given an opportunity to try and wedge his way into the inner circle of his great-uncle, the not-Rupert-Murdoch-stand-in Logan Roy. What makes the first episode so compelling is how well-drawn this cast of terrible people are; Jesse Armstrong takes much of the 'can't look away' factor from Peep Show and transfers it to a more high-flying concept. Kendall Roy rapping in the back of his chauffeured car and trying to 'dude' and 'shizz' his way through a takeover meeting is pure cringe television. Roman Roy cheerfully treating those around him, including a child, with nothing less than utter contempt is nearly painful to watch. The rest of the unfortunates drift around Logan, alternately simpering and jostling for his attention and favour.
Much is done here to set up the family dynamic, but it never feels too obvious or over-done. Characters are sketched out in broad strokes but they're compelling enough despite their flaws for me to want to spend more time with them. Like being in the court of a Roman emperor, I'm interested to see these people destroy themselves through their own hubris and utter lack of self-awareness. It's competently done, with Adam McKay in The Big Short mode, although thankfully the knowing, irritating tone of that film has been dialled back significantly. The pieces are in place at the episode's end for the succession battle to really begin, and I am, as the phrase goes, 'here for it'.
You have to be in the right frame of mind for this. It isn't a heroic epic where everything turns out all right.
It is a graphic and real depiction of the horrors of war from the eyes of those fighting on the front lines in ww1. It is meant to make you question the motives of leaders. It is meant to make you think about how much the normal people putting their lives on the lines to kill each other, actually differ from the ones they are killing. And it's meant to show you/make you viscerally feel the shift that happens when you move from only hearing the media/govt rhetoric - to seeing first hand the conflicts of interest / cruelty in your own / illogical decisions - to finally becoming a numb, automaton following orders blindly to stay alive.
It is a very well made film. You care about the characters. You feel the emotions. You really understand the implications of the fruitless efforts at the western front. You end feeling how tragic it was. I ended feeling anger for how people were treated like throwaway chess pieces. You've got to be in the right frame of mind!
A great movie that reduces the Zemeckis version to a minor footnote. Setting it in fascist Italy adds a whole new layer of depth to this story, but I also noticed Del Toro’s pulling some ideas from his own work here, The Devil’s Backbone in particular. Voice acting’s great, I love that he cast the greatest working actress as a non-speaking monkey. Visually it’s perfect, that’s almost to be expected from this director. However, this film in particular has a stop motion animation style I’ve never seen on film before, the textures are unique and beautiful. My only real complaint comes with the songs, not only because they’re generally poorly written and performed (I’m very clearly hearing the pitch correction, which isn’t intentional), but they also felt more sentimental and Disney-ish than what the rest of the film seemed to be going for. Thankfully, most of them were quite short.
8/10
"Just be a rock."
The only thing I knew going into Everything Everywhere All at Once was that it starred Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis. I didn't expect it to be this kind of awesome film that ended up hitting me in the feelings bone and that Jamie Lee Curtis would play a IRS agent.
What I also didn't expect was that I would see a awesome fight with someone using a fanny pack as a weapon, that Michelle Yeoh would fight two guys trying to stick something up their asses to power up and that sausages as fingers will never be useful.
Anyway Daniel Scheinert and Dan Kwan's film is just such a unique one. It is deep, it has loads of action, humor and drama. Even though it is over two hours long time flies, which is always an amazing sign. Everything Everywhere All at Once is maybe one of my favorite movies released over the last 5 years.
And let me end it with discussing Michelle Yeoh. This really might be her best performance and it shows her range. From her starring with Jackie Chan and jumping a motorcycle upon a moving train to her being in a film like Memoirs of a Geisha to films like with wire-fu like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to starring in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film and even in big blockbusters like the next three Avatar movies. Her range is huge and she's one of my favorites. Hopefully she'll get a nomination nod with her performance in this epic film.
If you're looking for one of 2022's best, this is it.
Really liked the camera work on this first episode. Great setup episode.
I stayed far from spoilers so I didn’t know what to expect. Watched the next 2 episodes in a row. I love that the runtime is 30 minutes.
The way her fierce fight for survival against neglect, judgement, and loneliness was portrayed hit right in the feels beautifully
Just found this on netflix and ended up getting through it very fast. I found the way they handled the underlying addiction topic to be fantastic, as they represent it pretty accurately. This was a hidden gem for me, and my only complaint was how season 3 ended in 2020, and it is now 2024 with no update...
The good: incredibly well acted and directed. This oozed modern neo-noir. The music and vibe were great although at times overzealous.
The bad: convoluted and complicated plot. Far too long. Instead of a slow burn, it's just a slog. A lot of irrelevant pseudo-plotting to fill air.
This could have been a lot better with a better editor and writer. Give a little more narrative meat worthy of the scene chewing.
Was the movie being in Black & White supposed to make it edgier? I recommend watching :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:Django Unchained (2012):asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:, instead of wasting 2 hours watching Will Smith overacting here. :rofl:
I was a little worried due to all the backlash I saw about the first episode. Watched it, and thought it got too much hate. Please don't cancel this.
Am I in the minority in enjoying Marcus's character? His one-track mind, naivete, and zeal for wanting to improve are all interesting characteristics. His mom being sick is kind of a cliche backstory, but I like that he is sort of an aimless wanderer trying to figure out his new role.
I don't know what to say...the matter is pretty serious, sexual abuse is the worst thing and when it's about kids there is not a word bad enough to describe it.. If anything even close to what is narrated is really happened, respect to the woman who grew up, managed to leave all behind her. Point is the while watching this and hear the story they tell, you can't avoid to think that any adult can't be so naive and dumb...period. No excuse. I can believe a kid might be easy to manipulate...but to let a grown up man to sleep with your daughter in her bed...really???? Come on...seriously? Those two are as guilty as the one who took advantage of them all.
The story is so unbelievable that it was hard to pay attention to it...guess i reached a point when it was too much..
If i think about it as fiction, it would be too stupid.
If i think about it as a documentary telling a real story, it just makes you mad to think humans can be so dumb.
Decent actors, acting poorly, terrible dialogue, terrible sound track and audio effects, terrible stunts and visual effects. Must be embarrassing for David Rodriguez to screw up so badly. He should definitely look for a different line of work. I’m sure the actors and the crew hate him for adding such crap to their resumes. Some scenes are so bad they seem like spoofs. The inception folding city scapes are particularly hilarious. It starts off bad and gets worse and worse… I was very tempted to turn it off at minute 110 and I should have. The end is mind bogglingly pathetic. They actually have a final “twist” that would make you think there could be a sequel lol. How is this movie even possible… didn’t anyone read the script before agreeing to participate?
Religious psychological mystery drama with great atmosphere, score and very slow pacing. A thought provoking piece dealing with science vs. religion. Florence Pugh is stunning as always and I was also impressed by the young talent, Kíla Lord Cassidy gives an emotional performance. Not sure what the fourth wall breaking was all about.
Certainly the most clever and elegant burn against Donald Trump to date.
This cutting satire takes on Trump's travel ban, the Confederate flag debate, and asks the question, who is the real danger to the U.S., foreigners or white middle class?
Frankly, I don't see why there's so much hate against this film. Maybe there are more conservative Republican Trump supporters than I'd been led to believe? Too bad and screw the lot of them!
