A little more Black Mirror like than the first one, but come on.
The plot is a very basic hostage situation and they all look the same. The whole thing is totally predictable and hold little interest except for Andrew Scott performance. I didn't even recognize Topher Grace, so good on his part too. It's not bad, it has all what you would expect, but also yeah, you expect it all.
As for the theme, this show used to be about visionary stuff not dayly occurences. Social media is addictive and the company design it this way and it's bad. Really ? Now ? Also don't use your phone while driving, wow ! I mean, there's nothing special here, how many people died this way ? Thousands ? There are litteraly hundreds of people dying each year by taking selfies in stupid places, will they also make a whole episode about it ?
It's also showing that these companies can have everything on you, and spy on you, that's actually a bigger thing than the addiction issue, but it's just passed over when that should be a way better reason to go after them.
And where's the boldness in attacking Facebook now ? And not really attacking either, taking the choice of humanizing the ones that take these decisions like they just happened and were not conscious decisions to make money at the detriment of everything else, that's a poor direction for what this show used to be about.
A small point, that most people will probably not notice. The Persona company sends the mother her daughter's password. It kinda look like a nice thing, but it shows that they won't do it for legal reasons (wouldn't the heir of a deceased person would be lengally entitled to that ?), but they will share their customer data if another billionaire tech bro asks them too. It also means that they can access the clear text passwords of their users. Both things are very wrong. Both also happened to have been in the news about Facebook in the past months. Not sure if it's on purpose or a coincidence. It's pretty hidden for something that's on point on technology misuses, you know, the kind BM used to be about.
[7.4/10] Gosh that was long. I don’t think that any episode of television, even an epic season finale for one of television’s marquee shows, needs to be two and a half hours long. Sure, many movies are that long. But movies have the structure and pacing for it, with rising and falling action, act structures, and other foundational elements that make 150 minutes not feel that long. “The Piggyback is basically” fifteen minutes of prelude, followed by two hours of a third act climax, followed by fifteen minutes of an epilogue. It’s just too much.
But there’s good moments here! Eddie’s death is meaningful. Him playing Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” to lure the bats with Dustin is cheesy as hell, but just as awesome. His choice to stand and face the horror rather than run away from it as he did with Chrissy is inspiring and earnest. And there is irony and tragedy in his demise. He was the town pariah and scapegoat, but secretly one of its biggest heroes. The world will never know how he gave his life to save a town that hated him, but Dustin knows, and his uncle knows too. It’s sad, but comes with a certain poignancy.
The same goes for Max’s heartfelt admission that she spent so much time feeling guilt over Billy’s death that she wished something would happen to her, something that would make her disappear. It’s one of the most honest renditions of survivor’s guilt I’ve seen on television, and Sadie Sink owns the scene. The loss of someone who hurt you, but who was also hurt, is a complicated thing, and for all season 4’s missteps and questionable story choices, it gets Max’s vulnerability and strength in the shadow of unspeakable thoughts just right.
As tired as I am of “power of love” stories, I did like that it’s Mike finally saying the L-word that gives Eleven the strength to do her thing. It completes Mike’s arc, with him worrying that he’s not good enough to be with a superhero and that admitting his feelings would make it hurt more. But him deciding that’s baloney and affirming his love for Eleven in every form makes for a beautiful little monologue. The finale lays things on a little thick with visions of everyone’s plans failing and good folks suffering, but the idea that love spurs us to “fight” is a simple but effective tonic to that idea.
There’s a number of lesser but still good moments in the lead-up to this. Argyle finding a kindred spirit in a Nevada pizza shop is a fun win for him. Jonathan validating his brother and wanting to support him no matter whom he loves is a wholesome moment. The Russian prison guard convincing Yuri to once again be a “great man” and help save the motherland by saving “the Americans” is the best thing to come out of that storyline.
But again, there’s just too much going on, and a lot of it seems superfluous. It’s admirable that the Duffer Brothers want to give everyone in the cast something to do. But most everything outside of the Eleven/Max/Vecna confrontation seems like perfunctory piece-moving rather than a vital part of the action.
Lucas closes off the jock jerk/satanic panic storyline, but randomly finds the strength of will to avoid being strangled out of nowhere. Erica likewise beats up a bully twice her size almost at random. Steve, Robyn, and Nancy burn up Vecna in the Upside Down, but it doesn’t even kill him, so it feels like they just mildly inconvenience him. Eddie and Dustin fighting bats includes some cool sequences, and keeps Vecna’s minions from attacking the others, but is a sidestory at best. And once again, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray fighting the demogorgons and demodogs in Russia is the most tangential, tenuously-connected part of this whole season.
Jumping around to all of these storylines is just plain exhausting. While I wouldn’t call any of it filler (okay, maybe the business at the Russian prison), a lot of it feels much less urgent and essential than what’s going on in the main event.
The main event is good though. Max retreating to her happy place, and it being the finale of season 2, is a nice surprise. Eleven finding out how to “piggyback” and fight Vecna via Max’s mind is a cool trick and thrilling moment. And Eleven turning the tide and defeating One, however temporarily, is rousing.
But things quickly devolve into tired exposition and monologuing, where Henry explains how he’s going to shatter the borders between his world and ours, and how it was Eleven, not Dr. Brenner who made him. We already got a giant infodump at the end of episode 7, which was already kind of a stretch. This one is probably necessary, but listening to One simply announce his backstory with some of the usual visuals doesn’t add much intrigue or excitement to the proceedings.
Plus, the episode makes a big deal about how our heroes lose for the first time, but...it seems like they shouldn’t have? Sure, Henry succeeds, and there’s a giant Upside Down-fueled “earthquake” that devastates Hawkins. That’s unfortunate, and I’m glad there’s some kind of cost to all this interdimensional adventuring.
But Eleven found her inner strength and obliterated the guy in the mind realm! Robyn, Steve, and Nancy burned the hell out of him in the Upside Down and blasted him with a shotgun out the window! I’m not saying plausibility is the key in a show where the supernatural is the rule of the day. Yet, nothing in this feels like a loss. It feels like, by all rights, they should have been able to finish the job here and now with Vecna, and the only reason they didn’t is because there’s another season of Stranger Things that needs a villain, and the Duffer Brothers don’t want to have to come up with another one. It would have been better if Vecna had enjoyed more of an outright win than something that seems like a complete loss that turns out to be mere table-setting for season 5.
That said, we do get some great work with Max. It is harrowing watching the life leave her body as she cries out about how scared she is in all of this. It’s a nice contrast to where she’s reminded of what she has to live for with her friends and doesn’t want to disappear. Caleb McLaughlin does an extraordinary job as Lucas reacting to Max’s apparent death with his own cries of pain. And we’ve added to Eleven’s messianic nature by having her effectively revive Max, creating the second of two “miracles” in the episode, even if poor Max remains in a coma.
The epilogue is nice enough. There’s the bevy of tearful reunions you’d expect, with Eleven and Hopper being the best of them, naturally. I’m glad that the show didn’t just jump from climax to cliffhanger. It’s nice that we get some of the denouement and emotional aftermath of all these grand events. But considering how many concurrent storylines and characters they’ve been juggling to this point, even that soon feels overextended.
Regardless, Robyn forming a friendship that has the potential to lead to more with her crush is a really nice scene, and it’s good to see her get the win. Nancy and Jonathan’s deal continues to be confusing and pointless. Lucas reading a Stephen King book to a comatose Max is a creditable homage to one of the show’s clear inspirations. And seeing the town of Hawkins wonder why they’re cursed and forced to suffer like this, with the aftermath of Vecna’s handiwork coming to the fore, helps add a sense of place and scope to the scheme this season.
Overall though, this season finale bites of way more than it could chew. Why this couldn’t have been broken up into three episodes, or even just been built into a better act structure, is beyond me. There’s a lot of good material here. Some of it’s even great. But it’s presented in a way that makes it really hard to get your hands around.
Still, I like some of the big swings the show’s taken in season 4. Vecna introduces a retroactive backstory and mastermind for all that’s happened which is kind of hard to swallow. But having a villain with a face and a personality and a motive escalates this struggle into something broader and more meaningful as a reflection of Eleven’s own struggles. The show’s done good work with a number of the key relationships in the series, and introduced some solid new characters while reintroducing old ones. (I’m glad we got more Owens this year.)
But at the end of the day, this also feels like half a story, despite the ridiculously bloated runtimes for every episode. This is as much a prelude to season 4 as it is its own distinctive thing. Maybe that’s to be expected in the streaming era, but while there’s high points and quality elements at play, the season’s never more than the sum of its part.
Still, a friend described Stranger Things as a show that’s still exciting and worthy of investing in even when it’s missing half of its shots, and I think this finale is a good representation of that idea. Not everything works, and the time required prompts a certain exhaustion factor. But this feels epic and grand and satisfying enough as a temporary resolution to the season’s events. There’s a lot more ground to cover, but also enough to tug the heartstrings and make you cheer, which is still worth appreciating.
What a disappointing end to the Halloween reboot trilogy. Halloween Kills was so unbelievably good that I was excited to see what's next, it turns out that this film is vastly different. I'm aware that the filmmakers wanted to try different approach with this final entry but I wasn't expecting this messy. It's more of a drama, villain origin story, dark romance with some slashing. Definitely not an easy task to pull this off, but you can clearly see the struggle. The focus shifts on this new kid's descent into darkness which largely feels underdeveloped and hollow, with some super corny romance thrown in, cornier than people chanting 'evil dies tonight'. I find it super weird and get so frustrated because of how the kid got the main focus when this film is supposed to finish Laurie and Michael story which started a long time ago. Also, the romance part feels forced, downright cringy and unnecessary. Like seriously, who thought that it was a good idea?! The slashing is brutal and fun, at least, although you won't see the incredibly menacing Michael Myers like in the previous film. It honestly makes me appreciate Halloween Kills more since that one is the most 'slasher' out of 3.
3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Halloween Kills’:
If I had to hear “evil dies tonight” or one of the many other melodramatic one-liners again, I was going to scream. This film tried wayyy too hard — and it failed, miserably. Awful writing. I believe this is the worst contribution to the franchise and, considering a few of them, that’s saying a lot.
Intro and score aside, this didn’t feel like a Halloween film by any means. The theater was constantly laughing — and not in a good way. Michael Myers took on characteristics and acted in ways that were very unlike him. For example, our classic Michael was always super stealth. Barely ever seen. That was what was creepy about him. Frankly, we saw way too much of him here.
I hated how “deep” they tried to take this incredibly-jumbled plot. Insinuating that Michael was ultimately out to turn the town against each other, bringing out their evil. No. That’s not Michael. It’s quite a stretch. And the side plot of the escaped patient was random and ridiculous.
Bonus Thought: I’m honestly not at all a fan of this timeline. I think their biggest mistake was taking the connection away that Michael and Laurie were siblings. It provided motive and stakes and the family element that was always a part of the mythology.
OK, this is a pilot and they already judged sororities and men in general.
The lesbian one checks all the preconceptions there are about lesbians (for example: they hate men). Well, at least thats my take on her character.
Who goes around telling everyone what consent is and that it can be revoked at any time.
And then using the phrase while advertising for pilates?
using one or the other would have been kind of cool.
Using both in the same scene is just desperate.
Besides the SJW-Stuff: The speech about winning prices for deciphering magic scientifically was way too much.
Also: "Baking-Powder works too"? It exists for quite some time now, if witches are powerful and intelligent women you should think someone would have thought of it already or at least it would have happened by accident...
Also: Way too extreme special effects.
The Original Charmed worked as a mirror for boys/men who watched it (Can't speak to what it did for girls...), while still being fun.
This Pilot felt more like being judged for things you haven't even done.
edit:
To make it clear: Consent can be revoked at any time. I just have a problem with people, who feel the need to tell it to everyone every chance they get and kill the mood for people who are clearly both consenting.
And I also hate it, when people assume that a man won't respect a no. The ones that don't are an absolute minority.
Scenes like this strengthen that preconception...
I watched every episode of Supernatural because when it aired it was something new and refreshing. It was "The Boys" of its time. For years we were stuck with female oriented supernatural stuff. From the Scream franchise ... they clobbered to death over Buffy, Angel and even Lucifer, it was always love and relationships.
Sam & Dean were beer drinking, burger eating, rocking badasses! Relationships were more like a Bond movie. Instead we got banter with Bobby, Cas and Cromwell. Episodes of them breaking the forth wall or even Scooby-Doo tribute were legendary.
So I checked out the pilot and they cover a part that was already told in the original series. Without any explanation they changed that. I can't be bothered to look it up, but they also changed a LOT of lore. Introduced the most boring arc of the Original with the Men of Letters in such a tempo it had my head spinning. They don't speak like in the seventies, they don't act like that time and they don't dress the part. I know it's low budget but come on.
Now if that was needed to deliver a kickass spin off, I would have forgiven it, but then they showed us the supporting characters. A person of color and a dandy. I'm all for inclusion but both felt like the bare minimum to meet the quota. Either you go woke or you don't, this just pisses of everybody.
This pilot is something my son would have turned in as homework, something with minimal effort to get a passing grade.They even go hunting in a van like the Scooby-Doo gang. I was really looking forward to this but this only damages the original in my book
"iF yOu ThInK tHiS hAs A hApPy eNDinG, yOu hAvEn'T beEN pAyInG aTteNtIOn"
Literally everyone except Daenerys got a happy clean ending.
This episode and this season as a whole have been a complete and utter disaster. the decline of storytelling quality from the last seasons is shocking. The show is barely recognizable at this point.
A character who wasn't a contender for the throne ended up on it even though they have done absolutely nothing this whole season, had lots of potential to make for a very interesting role but was ignored and swept aside then suddenly elected king.
Daenerys's character being completely butchered as she was turned from someone who never showed the slightest disregard to innocents' safety to someone who commits mass genocide and shows no remorse afterwards, all in the span of 2 episodes.
So many character arcs were neglected or wrapped up poorly. Jon being reduced to a secondary character with a combination of three sentences of dialogue, Jaime's development being thrown out the window, Cersei barely doing anything and then getting killed by bricks, Tyrion, the master tactician, turning to a gossiping idiot then getting promoted after he quits his job (seriously?)
So many plot points were discarded or turned out insignificant. Azor Ahai, Jon's lineage, The Lord of Light, Cersei's prophecy...etc
The whole White Walkers storyline being eliminated in one episode, then the whole Iron Throne storyline being eliminated as well in the end (FFS)
So much shit not making the slightest bit of sense. Dany's army multiplying, Arya's impenetrable plot armor, The North getting the independence while the Iron Islands didn't when they were the first ones to demand it, Drogon not killing Jon after he killed Daenerys, hell, the Dothraki and the Unsullied not killing Jon after he killed Daenerys, The point of the Night's Watch now that the WW are gone. Tyrion being in chains and holding up a presidential vote over who would run the 6 republics. HBO c'mon man.
Overall the pacing was too fast and inconsistent, the ending was rushed, anti-climactic and nonsensical. This couldn't have ended in a worse way. Kudos to D&D!
Story time:
Once upon a time, Castle was my favorite show. I discovered it two years ago, and I loved everything about it. The writing. The characters. Castle and Beckett's dynamic. The way they balanced comedy and drama. It was perfect: well-acted, surprising, charming, funny, but also dark and intense when it needed to be. It was everything you could possibly want from a TV series. People say that when two main characters get together, it ruins the show because apparently established relationships are not interesting to the viewers. But in Castle and Beckett's case, it worked. It really did.
Until they decided to make Castle disappear on his wedding day in season 6 finale. That was the first time I was genuinely disappointed with the show, but I kept watching because I still loved it.
Season 7 was noticeably more forgettable than the previous ones, but it had enough good moments for me to feel somewhat satisfied. We got the wedding, they tied up the 3XK storyline (which, in hindsight, were the last two truly good episodes of Castle ever). Although Andrew Marlowe wasn't the showrunner anymore, he stuck around as a writer, and it was obvious that as long as he was there, he kept the show from going completely downhill.
And then the new showrunners took over in season 8 and destroyed everything that Castle had once been.
Season 8 was an insult to the audience. There's no other way to put it. The writing was mediocre at best and straight-up awful most of the time. Separating Castle and Beckett was unbelievably stupid. None of the new characters were likeable. Stana Katic had too little screen time, and Castle's PI business became the focus of the show. I wish I had something nice to say about this season, but there's nothing. All I feel is bitterness, and I can't imagine how people who have been watching the show since 2009 must feel. I stopped watching this trainwreck when I heard that they'd fired Stana, but I came back for the finale after they announced the cancellation. I was relieved. I hoped the show would end with some dignity. Which it didn't, but at least Beckett's alive, so I'll take it. If they'd got rid of the last shooting and made the epilogue longer, it would've been fine. But they very clearly wanted to show that they intended to kill Beckett before the series got cancelled. It was like one last slap from the writers to the audience.
I don't know if the rumors about Stana and Nathan hating each other are true. All I know is that those two seem like really nice people if their interviews and panels are anything to go by. Especially Stana has always struck me as a classy, lovely person. They appeared to be thick as thieves during their PaleyFest panel in 2012, and then, at the same event in 2013, they weren't even sitting next to each other. I can't imagine what happened between them, and we'll probably never know. But one way or another, their relationship off-screen didn't have anything to do with Castle's long-overdue cancellation. Low ratings and backlash from fans after the showrunners tried to make Beckett-less season 9 happen did.
If I decide to rewatch the show in the future (and I probably will because seasons 1-6 really were excellent, and season 7 still had some of that flair left), I'll be sure to skip the abomination that was season 8 entirely. The ending of season 7 was a better and more satisfying series finale anyway.
Goodbye, Castle. I won't miss you in the fall, and I'm sad that it had to end like this, but you were incredible once. And that's how I want to remember you.
Three episodes in and I'm already seriously annoyed by the characters' irrational choices and unrealistic behavior. Keeping secrets or lying for no good reason, promising one thing and doing another, etc. And they keep doing it over and over. And I'm not even mentioning their almost casual reaction to discovering a magic mirror that serves as a gateway to another realm. After such an experience any real person would start to seriously question their f****ng sanity or at least have a panic fit and leave that house to never come back again. I know I would. But no, these kids are like: "Wow, magic door. I guess that's nothing to be seriously alarmed about." Even after losing their father in a horrific and traumatic event it doesn't seem to bother these kids at all that they just almost lost their mother too inside this magic mirror maze. And these are just a few examples on the top my head. There's much more where that came from.
It's like watching an '80 horror movie where someone in an already dire situation hears a scary noise and decides to go towards it instead of running to safety. And sure, that was okay then. Maybe fun even. But today, these 30-40 old "proven devices" have become just that: old. Really old, both literally and figuratively. But apparently 30-40 years was not enough time for these writers to come up with something different or original.
It's a shame really, because I think the story overall is quite interesting. But it is starting to become almost unbearable to watch when the only reason the characters behave the way they do is because it's the easiest way to move the plot into a certain direction. It's lazy writing like this that makes characters unbelievable and unrelateble.
I'm old enough to remember the original Hellraiser (1987). That was a true horror film. There were horrible people, doing horrible things. It left you feeling really quite disturbed about the worst aspects of human nature.
The follow-up Hellraiser 2 (1988) managed to recapture a small part of that. But after that it was downhill fast. The sequels were nothing but parodies.
Well, for some reason, Hulu decided to remake it.
Shamefully, the film fails on nearly every level. It's not well written (terrible dialogue) and poorly acted. There's little horror and you simply do not care about anyone or anything happening in it. It doesn't give you a reason to care either. The Cenobites are not scary, or grotesque looking... they just look like cheap make-up and some bad CGI.
Like the later Hellraiser films It has more in common with trashy slasher flicks than anything else. Poorly done ones at that.
As is common today they gender-switched the main role. Did it add anything? Nope. In fact, I keep hearing about what a good performance Jamie Clayton was as The Priest. I don't know what they were watching. There isn't a performance, it's literally all make up and some lines read out flat. Look at the originals: Pinhead's character is all about small, slow movements and looming dread. He's literally an overwhelming threat and you are the prey. Not in this one though.
Or look at the secondary villain. In the original it's Uncle Frank, who is an awful person who fully deserves his fate. Even in the end as he's pulled apart by the Cenobites... he's drawn to it, and much as he tried to run he still wants what the Cenobites offer. In this new version... there's none of that same grimy, disturbing look into subcultures. It's all clean, boring and badly acted.
Watch Hellraiser (1987) and Hellraiser 2 (1988) and stop there. They did it better on much smaller budgets.
One year later, I am still heartbroken that Happy Endings actually did end. What an ominous title that was...
It took me almost the entirety of the first season to start feeling the love for Happy Endings, but I stuck it out and I found that while I was expecting a How I Met Your Mother meets Friends kind of show, Happy Endings was much more and very different in all the right ways.
Although the series builds from Dave & Alex's wedding, all 6 characters are equally hilarious, entertaining, adorkable (yes there's a k there), relatable and whimsical. I couldn't pick one strong character in this cast, neither could I pick a weak one (although Dave is a bit of an acquired taste). I will never forget Max' genius "hold your horses" or Winnie The Pooh episode, Alex' "I'm not as dumb as I am" and her couch prank or her "I may not know what an Ira Glass is", Brad's Sim-Brad, Penny's falls and head bumps, Jane's ideal salary negotiation, her calm authority and that episode she loses it all at the couples games night, and Dave's so subtle dorky behavior.
But that isn't even half of Happy Endings' strength. Never before has any show assumed the gay/black attributes of its characters so openly, without making that one particular define their whole identity. Happy Endings broke the stereotypes of those characters, and the stereotypical way in which they are usually dealt with in TV/Movies. It didn't dance around the obvious, try to make a political stance, or avoid laughing about it. As with any group of friends, they sometimes joked about Max not being gay enough, or Brad's black origins and the way he speaks, and the jokes were real and tasteful.
There's also the fact that Happy Endings is a physical + spoken + situation comedy at once, a traditional sitcom in that sense, but the spoken aspect was always subdued, full of references, and it made you work for your reward in every joke. I was often too focused on one aspect or character and didn't notice what else was happening simultaneously. I also missed some of the verbal jokes. That's why there is such an added value in re-watching Happy Endings.
I have seen every episode at least 5 times and I STILL find new things to laugh at. That's how much there is going on, and how brilliant the show is. I am grateful that we got 3 seasons of Happy Endings, but I would have loved more, so much and much and much more.
Eh wtf is this? Despite the huge hype for this episode it's probably the most dumbest, hilarious retarded shit I've ever seen. They literally killed their own infantry by sending Dothraki tribe first into the dark. Nice tactic, well played.
They could've lightened up the area with something to see what's coming instead of getting butchered like pigs. They had all the time in the world before the war and all they could come up with is a narrow burning trench? They already know there are lots of undead and no one saw that coming? So scared that they forgot to plan their defenses properly??
Jon and Dany, fuck were they doing so far away on the mountain top? They could've done some recon using the dragons or something, instead chose to watch lmfao.
How in the hell did Arya sneak up behind the night king without getting caught? The undead made up the path only to let The Night King in, if she were that invisible then she wouldn't have much problem escaping the undead previously in the library. It would've made more sense if she's up on the tree.
And Jon tries to close the distance between him and the dragon only to fucking shout at it?Without even trying to attack? Wtf was he expecting?
This is Game of Thrones we are talking about, not some B grade crap wth, totally disappointed.
[spoilers sorry lole]
last 2 eps completely ruined the show; too many things left unexplained or given corny ass reasons; last episode REALLY horrendous; tried to make us sympathize with psychos; mid ass ending; hella plot holes and pretty predictable (was able to guess that front man was cop brother cus like who else would it be + old man was behind it all due to the fact that he was #1 like srsly) . really peaked in the "game" part of the show. why fly the vips in so late too? why have the organ plot? and in the marble game, why did ali lose since one of the rules were they HAD to play a marble game, yet lost despite not playing any? i get theres very few rules but one of the rules was they HAD to play a marble game but idk. they should have both died at least as a compromise lole. and final fight was so predictable with the anime-ass rain + ground stab near head instead of the finishing blow and suicide lmaooo.
game-part alone nice 7.5. kinda stupid fun to watch and shit.
kinda psuedo deep commentary on society (yea bro ur not wrong capitalism is ass and pushes us to do wild shit) and show was also pretty corny lolz
Knives Out disappointed me, it’s cliched and not as clever as those it pays homage to. 2019 is really the wave of “woke” American movies that think they're way more clever than they actually are.
Every character is an exaggerated stereotype of some sort, shallow caricatures. The good senior millionaire – see he isn’t bad like the rest of his family! Except, who do you think raised this family? The well-intentioned “black” cop and dumb “white” detective. The members of the family are obviously meant to be parodies of stereotypes, but they’re either too on the nose or too underdeveloped, and just end up becoming the stereotypes they’re parodying.
But the impossibly kind messiah born to an illegal immigrant bothered me the most - Marta Cabrera has exactly two expressions throughout the whole movie, such an anti-feminist character, no agency whatsoever. She is the modern Mother Teresa – the best nurse, has to always tell the truth, and needs to save the woman blaming her for murder. It’s her story but she is so passive, and solves nothing. Her only defining character traits are that she’s an immigrant and has a kind heart. By the time Marta is referred to as good for the 20th time, they’ve ensured she feels less like a person and more like a symbol for The Perfect Immigrant.
I wish more was done with the big name actors. Daniel Craig (along with Ana de Armas) got the most screentime but his performance of attempted humor didn’t translate, and his fake Southern accent was really irritating. I get that it was exaggerated, but his acting sucked. A bad casting choice, he just doesn’t fit the character.
I felt like the story was building to something more than it actually was the entire time. The mystery felt like a backdrop for Rian Johnson to vent off his own political frustrations. You can tell he is way too online. Expect to hear things like, “How's your SJW degree coming?”, “Alt right troll”, or “Liberal snowflake”. This clunky use of buzzwords doesn't add anything to the characters or the story. These are manufactured quirks that try to disguise underdeveloped characters as developed. They don't even qualify as satire, because satire needs actual insight and depth to it, some sort of critique. The movie doesn't make any real points about class or privilege. Rian Johnson needs to learn few things about subtlety while bringing his ideologies in movie. And whoever has to clean his house should be given all his wealth I guess.
Overall, it's an 'immigrants vs. the rich people' movie and you can guess where it goes from the beginning because well, it's Hollywood.
As per usual with many popular shows and films, it’s overhyped, overly serious, emotionally manipulative and mostly dumb.
It’s a show that thinks that people with shitty lives and gambling problems are willing to die for a 0.1% chance of winning a lot of money.
Bit of a thin motivation, wouldn’t you say?
Wouldn’t you probably flee the country, if your financial situation was that shitty? Wouldn’t you rather rob a bank, or a rich family? Yeah me too, I wouldn’t hesitate for a single second if it was between that or participating in some sadistic game.
It’s such a silly concept, and yet it’s presented as if this is some sort of serious and important drama with a lot of social commentary about poverty.
I’m sorry, but this is a show where the big villain looks like he walked out of a comic book (he literally looks like Victor van Doom from the Fantastic Four), and his minions have masks with Playstation buttons on them.
It’s schlock, but it thinks it’s Parasite.
And don’t get met even started on the acting, it’s fucking horrible.
This might’ve worked if our characters would be forced to participate involuntarily, but at that point you’re just remaking Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, so you’re kinda screwed regardless with this concept.
This did not live up to my expectations. This is just an average movie, to the point that is borderline bad. I would not recommend watching, unless you are super Marvel Fan or for continuity of the Marvel movies.
Story: Average. While there are some good aspect (e.g. superhero from Africa), with somewhat believable story of hidden country there, the rest of the story is just sub-par. Completely predictable, generic. The middle of the movie will bore you.
Characters: Below average. Again some positives (Ulysses Klaue, made me laugh), all other were just textbook, one-emotion/purpose shallow characters. Also some storyarcs that are supposed to have emotional climax, are just blank as there is not enough story/buy-in.
Acting: Generaly OK. As mentioned I liked Ulysses Klaue (Andy Sarkis), I also liked Okeye (Dania Gurira), but otherwise again just an average movie.
Visuals: Good. Something to be expected and the driver of the movie. I like that compared to other recent movies, the scenery does not change every 5 minutes. Also the African location is a nice change.
Music: Bad. Generic Marvel Universe music here again. Nothing memorable. The lack of good music is even distracting.
Other observation:
1. It is also a weird mix of other movies. There seemed to be a hint of a Bond movie (when they the Black Panther was preparing for an action) which did not sit well with me. Too similar.
2. At some points the movie tried to be funny, but you could feel them failing.
This is atrocious. How this has the Halloween name on it is beyond me. Why are these 30 years olds acting like edgy, emo 15 year olds in an MCR music video? Why is Allyson so willing to go along with all this, and why is she so stupid compared to how she has acted in previous movies? Why does it feel like no one gives a shit and wants nothing to do with this production of this beloved franchise? The root message here about evil being born or created is an interesting one, but the implementation is some of the most amateur, hamfisted dialogue and storytelling I've ever seen, especially in a high profile franchise film like Halloween.
I was one of the few people that gave Halloween Kills the benefit of the doubt. I enjoyed it's metaphor-lead plot about mob mentality and the instigators being no better than the original perpetrator; but I felt it had middle movie syndrome that comes with being a planned trilogy. It couldn't push far enough because the finale still needs to be made so it just has to awkwardly tread water. Comparatively now to Ends, it appears they were just stalling for time. They had nothing left in the tank and were simply delaying the inevitable for this creatively bankrupt franchise.
Does that mean there is nothing of merit here? Not quite. The intro babysitting scene is very good and really sets your expectations far too high for the rest of the movie, and the compilation of kills throughout the last half of the movie are still decent enough for pure slasher fans. There is equally enough throwback visuals and easter eggs that will either be fun or annoying dependant on your tolerance for nostalgia bait and audience winks.
I'm just glad it's finally over, which I guess is the worst thing to say about a revival trilogy of a beloved franchise. Almost poetically, Mike Myers met his end just like this franchise. Slowly being chopped, cut and impaled until it didn't represent itself anymore, bleeding out slowly before being dramatically crushed before our eyes.
I had so much expectations going into this, with reason because this is promised as the closing chapter for Michael and Laurie. It does promise on that and gives us an end but that's about it. It doesn't offer much compared to the previous two entries in terms of centering on Michael and Laurie. We instead focus on this new character who's now the main character. What a confusing and bizarre direction for a final installment. The unnecessary romance subplot and cringe one liners didn't help either. It feels erratic, disjointed and is victim to bad writing. I found myself questionning Laurie's state of mind throughout it's like we don't know the character anymore which is weird after so many films. They should of focused on that instead! And answering a few questions about the "origin of evil", giving an explanation for the existence of the supernatural being that is Michael Myers - we get none of that!
What I liked about it is that it's very unpredictable they did good on that. At no point in the story did I predict what was going to happen (except for the stuff in the trailers, that's bad marketing!). The opening was amazing and made the movie quite promising. The third act is wild and you sure get a payout I was on the edge of my seat but whatever comes after is questionnable.
Overall this is a very lackluster ending to the Halloween trilogy and i'm baffled at the writing decisions. It's unsatisfying and I don't feel like i've been given a closure. At least we know why this was dumped on streaming day one.
Sadly, unlike Michael Meyer's infamous knife, Halloween (2018) is a bit dull. The film falls victim to the same pitfalls that drain the life from other horror films (vicious clichés, violent WTFs...) but also suffers from writing sloppier than a sleep away camp crime scene.
The script is really what kills this movie. Most of the deaths are of characters who have absolutely nothing to do with advancing the story (international true crime podcasters ) and are killed in the least interesting ways imaginable.
In addition to the silly murders there's a plot twist involving a character we can predict in the opening minutes, story lines that appear and disappear faster than Columbian drug dealers and an ending that is so ridiculous when considering Laurie's motivation throughout the film that it gutted me. As I said, the Michael Meyer's knife is the only thing sharp about this film.
So what works? The nostalgia factor is strong (when we first see Laurie Strode's granddaughter Allyson, she's wearing a sweater and carrying school books just like Laurie in the 1978 original), John Carpenter's soundtrack is titillating, and the whole continuation of the Halloween mystique is fun.
One could argue that it would be impossible for this film to live up to the reputation of the first, but I'd argue it died trying.
typical marvel origin story for doctor stranges first solo outing, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. the special effects are by far the best thing about the whole movie, and marvel are to be commended for the outstanding work they did.
Cumberbatch is excellent as Strange, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Marvel made an excellent choice when they picked him to play the part, and Tilda Swinton is also good as the Ancient One, despite the fact they changed genders for the role.
the only let down for me, was Mads Mikkelsen's villain character, who suffers from the same thing that a lot of marvel studios villains seem to suffer from, namely being boring and one dimensional. Dormammu is built up the entire movie as a major world destroying threat, but gets maybe 10 mins screen time at best, and is defeated far too easily.
overall, a good movie which you should see as soon as you can, but don't make the same mistake that a lot of people did at the screening i went to and walk out as soon as the credits start to roll. you will miss the mid and end credits scenes which most Marvel movies have now.
Aw yeah! This is a proper sequel for fucking nazi zombies!
I have to admit that I did't dig the first one all that much but with the zombie battalion moving from the get go it's a lot more fun.
Content wise this gets a lot more absurd which allows for some interesting setups and a battle between German and the Reds. The story continues where the first movie ended but there is a flashback so you get at least the gist of what happened if you haven't seen it (and we all know there isn't a deep story here).
It seems like after having directed a movie in Hollywood that Wirkola's budget for this one was a lot bigger. The zombie fx are all consistently good and the gore is fucking everywhere.
They also went out of their way to break plenty of taboos with holding no restraints when it comes to the nazi decimating the villagers on their final mission. You better not be offended because there are some hilarious deaths thanks to that.
The biggest weakness are probably the members of the US zombie hunter squad whose characters are written a bit too comic-ey but thankfully their screen time is balanced enough. I take it they were added to appeal to a wider audience since whenever they're involved the whole cast is speaking in English.
I can only recommend checking this one out as its funnier, gorier and even has cuter zombies than the first one!
Yeah, I love this series. I've always been a fan of Key anyway and I remember being so stoked when I heard about this new project. For what it's worth this ranks in my top 3 Key works (along with Clannad and Rewrite, the latter of which sadly doesn't have an anime adaption(yet...?))
If you've seen other Key works like Clannad, Kanon or Air, you probably already know that they tend to enjoy mixing comedy with tragedy, often whiplashing you between the two very quickly. Whilst these elements are certainly present in Angel Beats, and whilst the pasts of some of these characters are still pretty horrible and tragic, I don't think the series generally wallows in it as much as other Key works perhaps did.
The series has a nice mix of action, comedy, music and drama and it works really well. It also has TONNES of characters (A trait it shares with Little Busters I guess) which sadly, due to the series only being 13 episodes long, don't all have time to be developed to their full. Still, they are all a fun and silly bunch generally, and watching their antics is very enjoyable indeed.
Finally some good news for anyone who wanted more. Key have finally announced that an Angel Beats Visual Novel will be released in 2014. By the looks of it, it will be released in separate chapters (or beats), but hopefully this will give people a chance to learn more about the characters that didn't get much screen time in the anime (well, assuming it ever gets translated :D)
http://key.visualarts.gr.jp/angelbeats/index.html
Honestly, not as good as i was hoping it would be. There are a few moments that makes one jump but other than that.. it was just lotsa heavy breathing underwater XD All i can say is, once they mentioned bout the nitrogen causing hallucination part, i sorta see it coming, that it's gonna happen to one of them, it was a good twist but not really unexpected. Another part that was kinda stupid was, when they reached the surface and the rest was like asking them to swim, to me it was like really? There's a shark after them and you'd think they can swim faster than a shark? I'd throw them the float and tell them to hang on tight and prolly start the boat and bring them closer to the shore first, not driving too fast of course... At least, create some distance from the shark first or something :/ Then again, i know nothing bout driving a boat nor being an injured shark food and holding on for dear life when half of it is in the shark's tummy XD anndddd It was juz a hallucination anyway~ One thing's for sure, Mandy is the lucky one!
This series was certainly an interesting watch. From the synopsis alone you may be forgiven for assuming this could turn into another raunchy high school love comedy, but nothing could be further from the truth. This series is dark and twisted, and a brilliant watch because of it. The main character is a thoroughly unlikeable, cowardly (and pretentious) wimp, which may sound like a turn-off for watching the series, but stick with it, because the series basically revolves around him being tormented by the messed up girl, Nakamura.
What I really liked was that this series took scenarios that, in other series, would be played for comedy, only here they're not funny and cause a great deal of angst and torment for all involved.
Another thing that sets this series aside from most other anime is the style of animation which uses rotoscoping. This style sadly was enough to make a lot of snobs turn their noses up at the series without ever giving it a chance. Personally I have no problem with the animation style and in fact wish more series would do this. (Trapeze is the only other example I can think of off the top of my head http://trakt.tv/show/trapeze)
It's a shame that the series hasn't done too well in sales because that means we probably won't get a second season. This really is unfortunate, because whilst stuff definitely does happen in this series, by the end you are definitely left with the impression that things are only going to get more twisted and messed up and that we've only started down the path of depravity (and in fact, the last episode makes this very clear). This series is adapted from a Manga though, so if you do really like what you see you can read that to find out what happens next.
Much as I wish I could rate the series higher, there are a few things stopping me from giving it a better score. The animation quality is sadly somewhat lacking. There are lots of crowd shots where nobody is moving at all, which is all the more frustrating because if anything, it should be easier to animate crowds in this style. Some scenes were drawn out a big too long to the point where you just want something to happen already (a good example would be the walk home after the infamous "classroom" scene. Yes building atmosphere is fine and everything but 5+ minutes of just walking? Come on...). And even though there's a lot of schadenfreude to be had from watching Kasuga suffer at the hands of Nakamura, he is still pretty insufferable and cringeworthy to watch at times.
In spite of all it's flaws however, this is still a very interesting and different show that I would definitely recommend. Just be aware that if you want to know what happens next, you'll probably have to read the manga.
Based on a classic slice of short fiction by HP Lovecraft, this long-incubating adaptation is an overly flashy, effects-laden blend of sci-fi and horror. Nic Cage plays a semi-retired family man whose isolated upstate farm is struck by a meteorite, which then evaporates and causes all sorts of bizarre changes in the surrounding environment. Pink trees, mutated animals, unexpectedly abundant harvests, that sort of thing.
Among the afflicted is Cage himself, who revels in the chance to amp up every last one of his craziest on-screen tendencies. My god, what a Cage-being-Cage film this is. He's howling, he's gesticulating, he's painted in blood and cackling, he's... suddenly and inexplicably changing accents? I'm not sure how much direction he took here, because it looks like they just focused the cameras and kept rolling while their star actor did whatever felt good, with the occasional interruption from family members or special effects showcases. And, as perversely entertaining as that can be, it doesn't merit a film unto itself.
The scraps that surround those indulgent bouts of overacting are awfully scant, narrow and underdeveloped, like the worst '80s straight-to-video productions. It's trippy, but pointlessly so. We get cryptic prophecies and arcane imagery as props, mere window dressing that's waved around and then forgotten. Even the visuals can seem laughably dated, particularly the goopy, absurd creature effects. Catch the highlights when they invariably wind up on a YouTube gag reel - they're almost as funny as Cage's out-of-context lunacy in The Wicker Man - but do yourself a favor and skip the rest.
Like me at a dinner party, I can seem interesting for a long time but then I blow it in the end.
Freaks Out is an ambitious Italian film set in World War II Italy in which a group of circus freaks sets out to save their Jewish manager from a 6-fingered German officer with the gift of clairvoyance.
I love a lot of things about this movie. The directing is sharp, the sets are breathtaking, the cinematography is superb, plus there's the stunning piano version of Creep played by the man who takes drug trips to the future, not to mention the Wizard of Oz vibe with a trio of lost men being led by a young girl in braids and the army of misfit boys that consists solely of broken men with more heart than anything else... The acting is on point: especially young Aurora Giovinazzo who is electrifying in the lead role and German demi-God Franz Robowski (Great Freedom, Undine, Victoria) who throws himself into the part of the bad guy without reserve.
The first two acts are tight like a Lamborghini on the edge of a mountain curve, but in the 3rd act the film hits all of the various plot lines and spins of control, going over the edge in a blur and exploding in a chaotic mess. But at least it explodes, and doesn't burn out quickly like a birthday candle.
The film is a solid 7/10 that I'm giving an 8 because of how hard it goes, what it strives to reach and how it haunts me like a luxurious ghost days after having seen it.
I still have Absentia and Before I Wake of his non-obscure works left to see, but I find this the best thing Flanagan has done to date. It turns out "original work + heavily literary-influenced" is the ideal middle point of this director, so his preoccupied philosophical/religious ideas don't feel as grafted on as sometimes happen in his adaptations (like the last episode of Hill House), and the influence helps stressed the emotional/thematic resonance further than his more purely formal genre exercises (like Hush or Oculus).
The complexity here feels very much Stephen King-influenced (agreed with some comments of "best King novel that he has never written"), but being original work means Flanagan starts off with pure atmosphere and characterization of his own creation, which is why I don't find the pacing and monologues of early episodes to be too much like others do. They feel like carefully crafted momentums that deepen this rich world and cast of characters to parallel the horror-tinged mysteries taking place alongside them.
In fact, the only time they truly feel their length is when the other shoe drops a full reveal at the series' midpoint in Episode 4, because as good as its "after death" discussion and others are, they now feel in the way of a clear forward narrative now gaining steam proper. This problem persists a bit into Episode 5, but the devastating ending finally has the characters caught up with the audience, leading into the last two episodes that are the best landing in either of Flanagan's films or series. Horrific, supremely crafted, and surprisingly tender, the ending of series sees Flanagan has the characters confront their past traumas and current beliefs (whether firm or wavering) alongside the horror taking place, and the way he clearly grapples and ponders along with his own characters onscreen during the final stretch is the most moving filmmaking this director has ever done.
Let me quote a Google audience review:
"I'm only about half way through the fifth episode but I'm so frustrated. I read through some of the other comments and I'm glad I'm not the only one pulling their hair out over the stupid decisions some of the characters make, especially Kinsey. Don't get me wrong it's an incredibly interesting concept and the some of the effects are super cool but certain aspects have me banging my head against the wall. There's a bunch of discoveries that are forgotten like the ghost key or characters that seem important but disappear for multiple episodes such as Ellie or the great great grandfather. Ellie made some kind of huge discovery where she yelled for Lucas into the well but then she's just gone. And the dad's just dead so they have a sad backstory and unanswered questions.
The mother is scarily detached from her kids' life and lets her youngest son who seems to be in grade school stay alone in a mansion by himself, even though he shows repeated concerning behavior talking about a lady in the well and whispering. I know her character is supposed to be a grieving mother who was never good at parenting but they just made her useless and pitiful. I'm seriously curious as to why we follow her story even though she seems kind of unimportant and neglectful.
And don't even get me started on Kinsey. She was already very rude from the beginning but she was traumatized and grieving so it wasn't that weird. But then she literally kills her ability to feel fear??? Like she's in high school she should know it's a vital feeling in order to survive!! After that her character just becomes painful to watch, she straight tells her mother that she's bad at parenting and she should just stick to painting and house renovations because "that's what you're good at" and she sees absolutely nothing wrong with that until she finds out her mom was in her life more that she thought she was. It's purely downhill from there, she then shows the guy she likes the keys which is a stupid thing to do you, don't just start showing people magic! He's freaked at first but then afterwards is totally chill about it?? She then abuses the music box key to absolutely humiliate this one girl, who, sure was mean, but she took it way to far! And then Gabe joined in on it and he was totally fine with the fact that she was using magic??? All the girl did was say that Scot was mediocre, and they made her humiliate herself in front of the school. Kinsey isn't cute or quirky and is far from the yeah new confidence you go girl! She became an awful character to watch and main characters with bad personalities makes it hard to cheer them on. I'm sure it was to show the addicting power to abuse the keys but still!
There are moments when the acting is a little lack luster, like most of it is totally fine but then it's just these odd few second scenes where the actors are just weird and 100% unnatural. Also the Well lady straight up killed two people for like literally no reason?? And we're just fine with that? If she's into killing why doesn't she use her power to threaten Bode into giving her the keys? And Kinsey and Tyler keep going back and forth from super close and buddy buddy to I hate you and at each others throats.
Hopefully the show gets better!"
- Marissa Hebert
Unfortunately, as Marissa likely discovers, it does not get better.
Note: the home version is incredibly different to the theatrical release. Because of this intentional deception by the studio, to split audiences and confuse us, this is the first movie I'm rating a 1 on this website. I wish I could rate it 0.
Not as "dumb but fun" as the original. The weird tertiary subplot with the family dynamic is really ham-fisted and unnecessary. Some of the logic here is far too preposterous and contrived, even for a wacky horror/sci-fi movie like this. For example, at the end where the dad is locked in the daughter's room, why doesn't he just use the code that he himself implemented to escape... did I miss a part where the daughter was faking her imprisonment the whole time or something? And if the friend survived the quicksand, what about the priest guy who fell through the sand too?
The movie often doesn't trust the audience, flashing back to scenes that literally happened 5 minutes ago, as if we're too dumb to remember and even then these revelations don't pay off, like what's the point in the character who can't feel pain, she doesn't do anything with this "superpower" to help anyone and just dies randomly. The story here is not well thought out or plotted at all. These "contestants" die for little to no reason and we don't even get to see their fears realised, which was a big part of their character backstory and dialogue during their introduction.
The whole plane simulation in the first act never came to fruition and should have been cut... what, was it meant to "subvert expectations" because they took a car and a train instead or some bullshit? Then show us that they avoided the plane crashing, 'Final Destination' style or don't bother including it at all. (Edit: I just found out the theatrical version is completely different to the version I watched at home, which includes a different ending where they're trapped in this plane sim, Amanda from the original movie is involved with the Minos corporation thing, and there's a subplot with Zoey's therapist that foreshadows the events of this movie... why was all of this cut for the home release? I've never been gaslighted so bad, I'm so fucking mad lmao).
This movie is filled with Chekhov's gun moments and doesn't follow up on ANY of them. Not to mention half of the puzzles are solved in the characters' heads without including the audience (they just yell the answers to each other). It is incredibly frustrating and unsatisfying. Then the movie suddenly wraps up and ends with an allusion to a sequel. Please don't.
An anthology of pseudo horror story based on different myths around the world. No link at all between them. All are at least ok, often well done on the directing point of view, often nice visuals, but they are not that interesting. None of them is really good and would justify seeing the whole thing. They are generally too long on the exposition and way too short on the reveal. They all feel too rushed towards the end.
Die Trud
A village with only women. When a young one sins (kissing another girl), it seems to summon the trud, a monster that attacks (and rapes ?) her. The aesthetics and atmosphere are pretty good. It's nothing out of the extraordianry, but it felt like a good start.
Al Karisi
A young pregnant woman taking care of her grandmother seems to do something that summons a jinn that comes to steal her baby. This one has a nice oppressive atmosphere. It uses classical horror tropes in a basic but efficient way.
The Melon Heads
A couple and their sons in holidays in a house in the woods. The kid makes a mysterious new friends. Turns out there's a gang of children with huge heads that kill people. Meh. That's the american segment, so instead of a ancient folklore it's based on a stupid urban legend you would tell around a campfire and it should not take more than 10 minutes. Very disappointing ending. They could have gone for a native story instead.
The Kindler and The Virgin
A gravedigger is inspired by some spirits to gain knowledge and power by digging up recently deceased people and eating their hearts. There's not much of a story but it's visually interesting, very dark and oniric.
What Ever Happened to Panagas the Pagan ?
Really weird. People are partying, discover a goblin and kill him because its blood makes great psychedelic wine. Then it's mostly drug party scenes and I guess there's supposed to be a story and something related to a cave with blue flames, but didn't see it much. Good visuals, but not clear on what's happening and what's the point.
A Nocturnal Breath
A brother and a sister living in a small farm in the mountain. She's possessed by a small mouse that gets out of her body at night to kill. Images are really dark, but in the end, there's not much happening, not much stake, and the ending makes no sense as it's shown as a solution whereas it changes strictly nothing at the whole situation.
Palace of Horrors
I'm trying really hard to remmember what this one was about, but so far, nothing.
The Cobblers' Lot
It's a kind of fairy tale (well Grimm style) with a cobbler's love story with the princess and his jealous brother. No dialog, the styleand costumes, everything is made to look like an older movie. It works visually, but like most of the others the story is the weak part.
In the end only Die Trud has the potential to be something more. Maybe the format was too heavy a constraint. There are 8 stories but none really fit their length. Maybe 6 longer or 12 shorter would have been better.
