Let me start this off by saying that this sequel did not feel outside of what we remember.
Blade Runner 2049 maintains the mood and feel of its predecessor. The visuals, the sound... the dystopian future, it's all there.
| FIRST THOUGHT |
I love writing reviews, it comes somewhat naturally to me after watching something that I learn to feel passionate about.
This movie taught me to be passionate.
But... it's really hard for me to express judgment. And I'm going to explain why:
Actually, it's very simple. This was a 3 hours movie. Of these 3 hours, 2 were simply... air. Now, don't get me wrong, that isn't always negative, like in this case. It was refreshing air, but still... it doesn't (at first glance) hold anything on the plot.
Because of this, the viewer (me at least), is left with a lot of questions, the picture doesn't explain itself. Also; as a side note - you most definitely need to watch the first one. The great majority of the runtime is inexplicably useless.
The longer it goes, the longer it begins to add new stuff, and then some, then it seems somehow related to what's actually going on, but right after it deviates the actual story on an ideal from the characters involved, that at a certain point, evaporates. I'm really conflicted about this because it looks to me like the screenwriters and director wanted to leave all of this to theory and the fans.
Why is this confusing? Because it's a very strange mixture of linear narrative and non-linear narrative. One is focussed on one objective, the other starts a bunch of other objectives and then it simply dies. No explanation was given, no closure was given.
And this is aggravated by the fact that it's a 3 hours movie, of which 1 hour of the actual story is spread and mixed amongst 2 hours of absolutely nothing. VISUALLY IMPRESSIVE NOTHING. A VERY INTERESTING BUNCH OF LITERAL VOID.
This is actually the only thing I did not like about the movie. Which, again, if you are like me and enjoy movies that aren't patently explaining themselves, it's not a bad thing. I just feel like it could've been much more interesting if they explained somehow what happened to all the side characters, or just cut them out.
|STORY & ACTORS |
Aside from what I've mentioned before, the more "linear" part of the story is actually not that bad. It's nothing impressive. A part of what I said earlier connects to the fact that this movie constantly keeps juggling between what is real and what is not. Be it by robots, or actual reality that the characters are living. So it came out pretty obvious that the movie would have a twist at some point, somewhere. I will admit that I did not get it until the very end, so, don't be discouraged.
Ryan Gosling was great, also because he as an actor was perfect for his role. Being so that he has this way of being and looking conflicted, and so it portrayed really well on the protagonist.
Harrison Ford had less value to this movie than he did in the last Star Wars.
Jared Leto's character is a mystery to me, but he did a phenomenal job talking random shit.
All of the other actors, Jared Leto included, were there to push the story forward (or to add random bullshit) and that's it. They did a fantastic job, but unfortunately, as mentioned above, at first glance it looks like they don't mean shit.
| CINEMATOGRAPHY |
The movie is visually pleasing, it's bliss for people with OCD. It's perfectly round and at the same time perfectly square. It keeps smooth lines combining great color combinations in the palette, and utilizing great solid colors at the same time.
As I said before it holds perfectly a spot near its predecessor, the mood and feel are almost identical. (Having watched the first one only an hour before going to the theater to watch this one)
I have to say, this one looks A LOT, like A FUCKING GIGAZILLION LOT more gruesome and splatter than the first one. The fighting scenes are brutal, they do not go into dramatic effects, they just are what they should be. A punch in the face, exploding heads and blood.
There is no doubt that this movie looks fucking amazing.
It sounds amazing as well. It has a collection of deep, pure sounds. There is not a lot of music, but when there is it's powerful and present and it makes you wake up and amaze. Same goes for the special audio effects: I have watched it in ATMOS and I have to admit, they did not utilize it at all, except for one scene later in the movie, but the way it goes from absolute silence to seat trembling sensations it's really amazing. The sounds were so powerful I could literally see the movie screen shake and the subwoofer hit made the whole room shake.
I would also like to add that in the Italian version, you can clearly see that they used "incorrect" words grammatically, they used a lot of anglicisms, I guess they've done that to express how language is evolving? It's actually current of our generation, I see a lot of people adapting English words in Italian, so I was very impressed by that.
| FINAL THOUGHT |
I feel like everyone needs to understand, before watching this movie, that you need a time, a mood and a place perfectly fit to sit for a 3 hours movie that it's going to feel like a 6-hour long journey into colors, shapes, and absolute "living" silence.
This is NOT a Marvel movie, there is action, well-done action, but it's not about action. You need to sit, relax and don't think about time, because, trust me, it's going to fuck you.
Please like my comment if you enjoyed my review, it makes me really happy.
Note that all of this is driven by my personal opinion. If you think I wasn't objective in some of the parts of what I've written, you're welcome to make me notice where.
On Twitter, I review the entire world -> @WiseMMO
This is one of Marvel Studios’ riskier projects, the hyperlink structure combined with the villain being the main character immediately makes it stand out in the genre. It’s because of those two aspects that the film works as well as it does. Thanos is a great character with an interesting motivation. The animation is so detailed and lifelike that it never fails to bring out the emotion, in fact I’d argue that the scenes between him and Gamora have the most emotional punch (courtesy of Zoe Saldana and Josh Brolin, who both put in a really solid performance). The balancing of all the different plot lines is also quite well done as there’s a relevancy to each one, nor does the tone feel too disjointed at any point. Some transitions or the sudden pop culture riffing during serious scenes can be awkward, but it’s handled about as well as it could. The exposition is handled tastefully and kept to a minimum, it instead chooses to focus on unexpected interactions between characters from different branches of the Marvel universe, which is the more exciting part. I’m less into the action and filmmaking, however. Not a lot about the camerawork or score jumps out to me, I feel like what little vision the Russos brought to their previous MCU projects is completely lost here. The washed out colour palette (which for some reason is slightly more vibrant during scenes in space) and obvious music embellishments don’t evoke all that much. The staging and editing of the action is a little too quick for my liking, the moments that are meant to be memorable don’t leave much of an impression because the editing doesn’t take its time to punctuate the stunts properly. Some of the CGI also feels a little weightless, for example Stark’s suit looks and feels like its made from paper. The resulting scenes, such as the final battle on Titan, feel more like small scale, digital mush than the big epic scenes they’re aiming for. Once the film decides to slow down for the dramatic conclusion, I find its intent to be manipulative and disingenuous. I felt that way after watching it the first time in the cinema, and after every ‘death’ in this movie having been retconned in one way or another, it turns out I was right. Even in its riskier films, Marvel will find ways to take most of the edges off. Overall, it’s still decent but it’s lost a lot of its flavour for me over the years.
6/10
-- DISCLAIMER: THIS BELOW IS ENTIRELY MY PERSONAL OPINION, YOU MIGHT NOT AGREE WITH IT --
So "The Defenders" is out, or how I like to call them "Heroes for Hire" (Whatever happened to that anyways?)
The Defenders, is the endpoint of each and every single one of the stories we've seen so far in the Netflix MCU.
It puts closure on all of the characters, not indefinite, but closure of what we've seen of them so far.
Because of this, I was not going in with high expectations, and thankfully in doing so, I didn't leave entirely disappointed.
Here's the catch tho,
I believe we can all agree that - this - is Marvel trying a more "serious", a more "adult" way for their MCU.
We can all agree that we cannot expect a Netflix series on Daredevil, JJ or even the others to be action-packed, mindless punching, d!ck hard-straightfoward-nofucksgiven-whatdoesthepoliceevendoanyways as much as we're accustomed to see on the big screen with The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy.
But let me tell you this:
There is a point - in time - where a man (or a woman) has this "we're the police let us do our job" - "you gonna end up in jail" - "You shouldn't do this, that" kind of bullshit talk so far up his butt, that it is impossible not to hate it.
The extent of milking out minutes and minutes, adding absolutely nothing valuable to the story is REALLY starting to annoy me very much. It was very light in Daredevil, it started showing in Jessica Jones and from Luke Cage it really went downhill. There's a whole new way of talking around, and around, and around pointlessly in these last shows that is really tiresome.
I'm talking about the side characters pointing out the same things, over and over and over and over, one time after one time after one time after one time.
"We are the police we can help you"
"Let us help you, you can't do it alone"
"You're gonna get in trouble"
"You're gonna go to jail"
Listen, screenwriters: shut the fuck up! They gonna do whatever the fuck they want anyways. We know it, you know it. And it showed.
I believe we can all agree (or at least try to) that Marvel won't ever (hopefully not) come up with something so profound, so intense, so serious (Maybe like we've partially witnessed with Logan) because they are too focussed on cliches, too focussed on this bullshit way of having to show how rebelious their characters are, and never focussed on the actual emotions and portraying them or conveying them to the people. I don't necessarily believe they should, that they are trying to do this, but at least... cut the bullshit a little, huh?
And I'm not adding more to that statement.
Alright, since that's out of my system, let's talk everything else.
The baseline of the show and the story aren't that bad. I like that finally we get to see the Hand entirely, for what they are and who they are without the mist of bullshit that we ingested the past shows. The action "side" of "things" isn't quite as horrible as we witnessed in Iron Fist, so that's a huge pro.
The fighting coreographies weren't really that stale, let's be honest: who doesn't enjoy watching JJ or Luke simply lifting goons, or watching Daredevil jump around and that fucking metal batoon hit sound, ohhh so good...
But then... here comes THE LIVING WEAPON. HURRAAAY!
No. Definitely no hurrays for him.
Let me tell you this, chaps, and I won't put spoiler marks on this part because there's nothing new to this:
Danny Rand - did not - evolve from his standalone show, his character depth and importance is just words in the wind, his appeal is just as strong as watching a golden retriever with his face out the car window and his dribble splattered all over.
He's A FUCKING NOOB, and yes, I did scream that out loud, a few times. (Same goes for his girlfriend).
Someone needs to explain to me why Danny got a scar on his chest tattoo in the first episode and then it disappears for the rest of the season.
Plus, someone needs to explain to me if elektra can punch JJ and Luke so hard that it makes them shake a little bit, why doesn't she destroy Daredevil or Iron Fist with the same punch? How can they sustain a damage that can make Luke Cage feel pain?
And that's really most of what's wrong with this show.
Believe me tho, once you see it, you'll understand why I can get so upset.
What more could be said?
Music was good, I enojyed the few pieces, they were well placed.
The colors are always fucking cold and stale, the light almost always dark.
Sigourney Weaver is a great actress portraying a terrible, empty character, but ehhh, whatever.
It is definitely worth watching if you liked Daredevil and Jessica Jones. I could bare Luke Cage more here, he was kind of different, in a good way.
You know what's missing from this show?
A FUCKING GOOD ASS VILLAIN. BRING ME FUCKING KINGPIN.
Jesus christ I fucking hate Danny Rand and his stupid fisting duracell fetish.
World Premiere Review:
If I can sum up it up in one word, it's a giant "meh." I liked all of the new Star Wars up until this point, but this one was so forced. It didn't help that they had to reshoot more than half the movie with a different director, albeit with the great Ron Howard.
First problem, no one can fill Harrison Ford's shoes, it's impossible. The new characters are boring and forgettable. Still, Donald Glover just nails Lando...they should just do a Lando stand alone movie next time. Chewie is also awesome and funny as usual. I should also mention Malla is cannon now from the Christmas Special? Just speculating that's who he kisses with when he frees his people. Lumpy will probably show up in Solo 2. I saw George Lucas shift uncomfortably in the theater a couple seats over during that scene which was amusing. The story is just ok, it's a little slow and boring. At least the action sequences are fun.
Here's my biggest peeve: L3-37 is the most forced, obnoxious Star Wars character since Jar-Jar. I was so happy when this Social Justice Robot, who is supposed to be Lando's co-pilot, gets destroyed close to the end. This attempt to be "relevant to the times" sticks out like a sore thumb and the actress voicing it made me wince every time she spoke. Hopefully that's the last we hear or see of it.
Finally, Emilia Clarke's character has the depth of a sheet of cardboard. Worst of all though was the twist at the end where fucking Darth Maul shows up now post Episode 3. She is working with him and it was so cringey and shoe-horned in, I'm so tired of him not being dead. I tolerated it in the Clone Wars with spider-maul, but he just needs to go away.
Yet another show by Netflix that's sub-par. Superhero nuns fighting demons and monsters shouldn't be this dull of a dud.
It starts with a massive bang with a squad of women wearing stealth suits, crashing into church shouting about being ambushed by mercenaries. They pull an angel's halo out of their wounded leader. A nun dies to protect this artifact from a demon possessed solider. The opening scene felt like a mix of John Wick with John Constantine stories.
But then the action & show grinds to a halt. Nothing really happens for the first 5 episodes. Things slowly pick up & we get to last 10 mins where bad ass action once again picks up only to end with a massive cliffhanger (you will literally say "what the fuck").
This show was a waste of 10 hours of my life. What great potential this show had, but as usual Netflix gives you dud.
The entire 10 episodes are designed for the show creators to get budget for season 2 (where hopefully something happens that moves the story forward).
I would say wait for season 2 or even season 3 to be released before wasting your time watching this show.
Warning - Spoilers included for both this and the original British version.
Everything that made the original British version of Utopia special, intriguing and ultimately great is lost in this new version from writer, Gillian Flynn. The main thing that made the original show stand out so greatly was not just the story it created but through the visuals and the score, it was a stylised masterpiece. It was something we hadn’t seen before. This is not that. In Gillian Flynn’s own words, she wanted to make it “more gritty” and wanted to “Americanize” Utopia for the US audience and she’s certainly succeeded in that, but at the same time, she has, as mentioned taken away all of its wonder.
The introduction of new character Samantha adds absolutely nothing at all and when she is killed abruptly there is no sadness from either the audience or really from the rest of the cast. She dies and the reaction is not one of mourning but just a bit of shock. Honestly though, as mentioned she was a nothing character anyway. The show was trying to build her up as “the leader” but it just felt like they were stretching Becky’s original character across two characters instead and not leaving enough to make Becky interesting afterwards. Instead, both are barely a shade as interesting as the original character and ‘Deals Syndrome’ here is just a side-note. It may as well have not been mentioned.
But they don’t get much better from there. Rod (Lee in the original) is killed off early but again had no personality really as the show instead tries incredibly hard not to pull focus away from how excessively weird Arby is this time around. Arby in the original show is conflicted and simple-minded, easy to please and later builds his own life, grows, tries to have a family and saves them. Arby never gets that respect this time, instead being turned into a stereotypical Autistic man who has the voice of a serial killer and you’re never allowed to feel for him. He’s given no backstory.
Jessica, obviously the main character in the original is given a little more time than others here but Sasha Lane’s depiction of her is much like Arby’s. In the original, yes she is brutally honest, forward and knows she has to get things done right to save herself and the others but she also has an almost child-like innocence about her – A sense of wonder if you will. She is seeing things for the first time. She is experiencing love for the first time, she smiles, finds things funny and develops a relationship with Grant that’s almost like a big sister. Here, she is just brutal. Nothing else is given to her as a characteristic and it’s just weird when she splits from the rest of the group and they have an embrace in the final episode. None of them ever got that close to one another so what are they embracing for? They don’t like one another.
For some reason they’ve made Jessica’s story that she wants to find her daddy and go home rather than seek revenge and save people too. She’s selfish, yet cries her eyes out when she finds out daddy might be dead and that’s just so out-of-character it’s as weird as Arby.
Grant isn’t given enough time either but Alice is given far more. Wilson, I have fewer complaints about and Desmin Borges was a solid choice in his role, as was Rainn Wilson as Michael.
The main issue though outside of not caring about any characters, the wonderful score being a series of dulcet tones this time around and the visuals being unspectacular is that in this version of the show, the audience have no choice on what to believe. It isn’t until 42 minutes before the end that we’re told what the real reason behind the entire conspiracy is. We are given just 42 minutes of the near-eight hours to think about Dr. Christie’s world-saving sterilisation vaccine. In the original show we find this out around half-way through and it allows the audience to feel conflicted because we are given genuine reasons for it and enough information to allow us to truly think – what if?
There is so much that is lost in this version of Utopia that it ultimately isn’t worth the time. Instead, Amazon should have just pushed the original show like Netflix has with The Fall. The original show was so unique and ahead of it’s time that trying to re-make that was going to be a struggle and it does unfortunately fail here – As expected. Watching this version, we just feel like Dr. Christie is leading a cult who are trying to change the world with their “purpose” and it almost feels like this is because it is American. By that I mean, the original is more of a government conspiracy and I don’t think a show about a viral pandemic being led by the government would go down very well right now so it’s turned into a cult instead and it just feels silly.
And don’t get me started on John Cusack’s catchphrase, “What have you done today to earn your place in this crowded world?” – It is said SO MANY times that you just don’t care. I think Flynn thought this sounded edgey and cool or something but it just sounds awkward, clunky and becomes a catchphrase for the cult. I never want to hear that phrase again.
Ultimately, it’s predictable… We knew Colleen was on the bad guy’s side. We knew Dr. Christie was Mr. Rabbit. Milner was pointless in this version too. At the end of the series, you’re just left not really caring for anyone. Nobody is likeable except Michael and then he drives off into the sunset with an egg for some reason!
This is thankfully, just entirely forgetful and you can go back to the original and forget Gillian Flynn’s Utopia ever happened. She just doesn’t “get it” despite believing she did.
Well, I'll never listen to That's Life by Frank Sinatra in the same way again, that's for sure.
Before I start, there are two groups of people who need to be addressed:
- Regarding the people who are saying that it's too violent, and a movie based on comics shouldn't be like that: please, go back to watching Dora: The Explorer.
- Regarding the people who are calling it a Taxi Driver or King of Comedy rip-off: Is Mr. Robot a Fight Club rip-off? You have to see the difference between ripping something off and taking inspiration + adding your own ideas to it. Also, Taxi Driver is a vigilante story, something which this isn't.
So, most of the praise you heard about this movie I can absolutely get behind. The cinematography and score are without a doubt Oscar worthy. Joaquin Phoenix is front and center, and he absolutely shines. It is a full on character study, and the movie shows everything from the Joker's point of view. It keeps the movie focussed, but it has to be said that there are no other interesting characters to get invested into, something that other character studies don't forget. The pacing is also very well done. It doesn't feel like a slow movie, and the final 20 minutes are something special. To me, however, the first 90 minutes are a lot more interesting. I love the fact that we get to see an in-depth exploration of the causes of social exclusion and what leads to Arthur's downward spiral. Phillips very wisely points to a variety of causes at very different levels of society (elites, government, punks), while not forgetting that some blame also falls into the hands of Arthur himself (e.g. his megalomania). This is a very strong and nuanced message.
And then there's the film's other message. When it comes to a film like this (a protagonist with a downwards spiral), the movie often starts with making you feel sympathetic towards the character. The Wolf of Wallstreet does that. Breaking Bad does that. And Joker also does that. But then there's a point where the character crosses the line, a moment which you can almost pinpoint in this movie, namely the scene where he kills his mom . From that point on, a movie should clearly condemn what he's doing in order to not give out an immoral or wrong message. In The Wolf of Wallstreet, Di Caprio starts to lose everything. In Breaking Bad, Walter White starts to lose everything. Phillips, however, goes out of his way of condemning what his character does. Instead, he plays swelling and upbeat music during the film's darkest moments. Moreover, Joker gets a happy ending , and no other characters have a sincere conversation about the atrocities of what he's doing. In other words, the movie gives off the impression of still being on his side, thereby presenting violence as the answer to this man's problems, and I can totally agree with some of the critics who have a moral problem with that. I understand that they wanted to stay with Arthur's perspective through the end, but this comes at the cost of one of the biggest mistakes a film like this can make. At the same time, one major flaw doesn't make a film bad. I mean, Gone With The Wind is immoral in the sense that it is racist, but is it a bad film? Absolutely not.
7.5/10
Let me preface this by saying that I have watched all of the Netflix Marvel shows and found numerous flaws in all of them. However, I still liked Jessica Jones and Season 1 of Daredevil to a decent extent. I really disliked Luke Cage and Season 2 of Daredevil. I have no words for Iron Fist; it was that bad.
Obviously, I did not have high expectations going in. But, in a similar fashion to Jessica Jones and Daredevil, I at least expected to be entertained, even if the plot doesn't make much sense. Moreover, the showrunners were writers on Daredevil. So I had some hope before watching the show.
And boy, does this show disappoint. Every scene in so cliched and predictable. The dialogues are lifeless. As pointed out in another comment, many conversations are about how they can't let the police help them and they need to stop The Hand alone. The show drags and drags and yet, nothing happens. The plot is so stupid and boring and predictable and riddled with cliches. For all the buildup about the teaming up of the Defenders, they all don't get together until halfway through the series.
Superhero shows need a great villain if we want to root for the hero. Season 1 of Daredevil had an amazing villain in Wilson Fisk. Jessica Jones had it with Kilgrave. I very much disliked The Hand as a villain in Season 2 of Daredevil, so it was not encouraging to see them be the villain again in The Defenders. And here, we are led to believe that Sigourney Weaver's Alexandra is a strong, all-encompassing villain. Even though Sigourney Weaver is a great actress, the character isn't written well enough for her to do anything other than look cryptically at people and speak ominously. Yet, all of this is wasted, because they kill her off (just like they did, stupidly, with Cottonmouth in Luke Cage) in episode 6 and now Elektra becomes the big bad villain. I never liked Elektra as a character, so making her the real villain and creating some cliched romantic/tragic tension between her and Daredevil was quite irksome.
In conclusion, this show convinced me to never watch anything ever again from the Netflix Marvel universe. Eh, who am I kidding? I'll probably watch the Punisher series when it premiers at the end of this year. And I'll probably regret watching it as well, considering their track record till now.
This show is just "okay". -- And while I know it's inspired by the Australian crime-drama, Animal Kingdom (2010), I can't help but see how it parallels with Sons of Anarchy, a show that began in 2008 and ended in 2014. AK's opening credits even features a montage of tattooed bodies -- similar to SOA opening titles.
No Spoilers
Animal Kingdom tries desperately to be a gritty, macho, controversial crime drama, but falls just short of an unsophisticated, less inspired kin to Sons of Anarchy. SOA is one of my favorite shows, ever. As a woman of color, who leans slightly toward the title of feminist, this may come as a shock to some. But, unlike Animal Kingdom-- which currently lacks strong, smart, and crafty female characters -- SOA had a beautifully woven architecture of complex relationships, poeticism, and coming of age stories that were grounded in actual heartbreaking character development. In other words, we somehow came to care about the baby mommas, and the stomach-churning addicts. So far, AK as done little to make me want to care about the protagonist's (Josh/ "J") journey within this abysmal family. With knockoff Gemma Teller (Smurf) manipulating what's left of his shattered youth, it's hard to see how "J" could become a character worth adoring. The show wants to pick-up where SONS left off. It wants you to take it seriously, it also wants you to know that it can provocative, bloody, messy and sometimes a little violent. What it doesn't want is to be interesting, or remarkable at all -- even the cinematography is, meh. Animal Kingdom just wants to be "okay", a good summer fling on a cool Tuesday night. While I'm watching these grown men bully a young, teenage boy, I'm wondering, when will they grow up? Will it take all of season 1? Season 2? Or will we forever have to watch these "man-babies" be coddled by their mother (you know, the wanna-be Gemma Teller)? I'll admit that I have not seen the source material, but it seems that watching it may be a more satisfying expereince than the series. Nevertheless, I'm hoping the show grows up a bit overtime and can separate itself from those that have done this genre better.
This is going to be as spoiler free as possible. This was written following Ep 3 - And the Horns of a Dilemma. And this will hopefully help you make up your minds about whether to watch the show or not.
Now, the general plot is this; There is a building called the Library which houses magical items which the Librarian - Flynn Carsen - retrieves and protects. After Flynn and Eve have a chance encounter in Berlin, the Library - which sends out magical invites to potential employees - invites her to work for it as a Guardian. Flynn's guardian, to be more precise. Together the two of them discover that someone is killing off all the potential replacement Librarians, and they find and rescue the only three that are still alive; Ezekiel Jones, Jake Stone, and Cassandra Cillian.
So, what can you expect from this show?
*Firstly, a reminder that it's a TV show, so every episode has a set budget - this means that the special effects aren't always fantastic. Just try to look past that.
*Sometimes the acting is a little clunky, and the writing is too. Writing-wise they need to find their groove, sometimes they use humor and it falls flat, sometimes they use humor and it's actually kinda funny. They just need to find what works. Acting-wise - some of these guys are somewhat new to the game, give them some time they'll get better. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
*Action, fighting, mystery, and adventure. Saving the world every week. Or at least, every week the show is on. Almost like a short Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, and Nate Drake team up every week... except without Indy, Lara, or Nate actually being present.
*Sweet character interaction - developing future 'found family' dynamic - characters who care about each other, fight for each other, and would never bail on each other. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping for - it's looking that way.
*Possible romance subplots, and you'll probably get a few new ships out of it if you're into that sort of thing!
*The bad guy is played by Dr. Leekie from Orphan Black - Matt Frewer!
*Random appearances from Flynn Carsen - other than being in the first two episodes, I've heard he's in an episode later in the season.
I suggest you try watching it. If you don't like the first episode, and I know this is hard - give it a few more episodes, sometimes shows take a little while to get into the groove of things. Maybe it'll improve in your eyes during those few episodes, maybe not, but it's worth checking, that way you don't miss a show you will later love. Maybe check out the Librarian movies if you aren't sure, or if you like the show and want to get some back story on Flynn. (There are three movies.)
This show is far from perfect, but it has potential. Hopefully over the season it will continue to improve.
Psycho-Pass was an absolute thrill to watch with its excellent combination of a intricate plot and ever-developing characters that were all set in a very thought-provoking dystopian future Japan. This show grabbed me instantly and wouldn't let go. The over-arching plot is just superb with plenty of twists, shocking moments, varying sets/situations and even a few feels along the way. The use of criminal-coefficients and the Sibyl system along with the themes that they invoked have been done before but I thought that P-P put a very cool and unique spin on it. This wasn't just an "evil" big brother system that was controlling every one in a totalitarian manner. There were very clear benefits to this so-called "perfect" system and this is where a lot of the show's conflicts arise.
The characters are also where the show truly excelled. Kougami was a badass MC with a very clear motivation for "justice" but was constantly walking the tightrope between what was right and vigilantism. I initially thought that the female MC, Akane, was a bit weak but I was definitely proven wrong. Her development from a naive and gullible newbie to a true and intuitive detective struggling with the ideals and purpose of the Sibyl was handled excellently. It was very believable and followed along with my same feelings about the world of P-P. The other supporting characters were very strong as well especially Masaoka. And, last but not least, was the villain Makishima. He was truly one of the best villains that I've seen in a while with his brilliant schemes, awesome dialogue (so many quotes from brilliant authors from Shakespeare to recent philosophers), and his very distinct motivations. You could really sympathize and understand what he was trying to accomplish yet at the same time, despised/loved him at the same time.
Watch this show ASAP. This is one psychological thriller that you shouldn't miss. You won't be disappointed. I can't wait for the movie and the second season to come out.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain = MCU
(dont over think it).
this movie will take you on a journey. as you travel through every scene, you will expect to see Brie Larson emote, have some other expression except for the smug one she is fixated with. and that journey will end fruitless.
Yes its the truth, Brie larson phones it in as captain marvel. Average acting at best.
I dont care about the controversy she is casuing bla bla bla. (correction, didnt care about it WHILE watching the movie)
I saw kong skull island back then and i loved Brie, and i couldnt wait for Captain Marvel. (im a superhero lover and a mcu fanboy btw)
as i saw captain marvel trailer i had goosebumps. couldnt wait. but wow oh wow. this is a trainwreck (from marvel standards).
everyone , EVERY CHARACTER except the "leading ladies" did good acting. even Minn-erva and Keller's wife acted much better than Brie for God's sake.
The film had so many scenes and things that didnt land simply. so many things were simply off. whoever worked on the "LOOK" simply failed on Maria. again i have nothing against the actress. but she horribly failed to look like a mother and ex-pilot.
and to add insult to injury she is actually taunting Keller that CALL ME A YOUNG LADY again etc. etc. ........ ummm you look like a young lady . she looked like a bratty teen thruout.
so many questionable things have happened. dont wannt spoil . but MCU aware will know it immediately.
so they made legendary nick fury's eye loss story a joke. yahoo. any one else remembers how he told Cap (thats america obviously) how he LOST his eye when he used to bilndly trust someone, a very stern dialogue, . so i guess nick fury is a simple manipulator now. making up stuff to convince people.... okay...
i am writing this immediately after seeing. Pardon my grammar and haphazard writing.
in the end Captain Marvel simply didnt feel believable. I simply cannot believe she is supposed to go toe to toe with thanos??
Dr. Strange in his origin FELT like he could take on Thanos despite being not super powerful thruout his film. And then he did.
Captain Marvel looks like some brainless brat ready to get ass kicked. I simply refuse to believe She will be at helm in Endgame.
I hope the rumor is true, that 2 endings/stories are ready for Endgame and if CM flops. Endgame will put CM at sidelines. i really hope that happens. because CM just isnt working here!!1.
And for the love of God, anyone remotely thinking that im being sexist please **** off you dont belong on internet.
i dont have to prove anything to you but for the sake of some substance, I wholeheartedly believe that wonder woman ( i know not MCU) can kick thanos's ass. hell, scarlet witch can!! . dont know why they sidelined her. in a very bizzare scanerio even black widow might. but definitely not Carol "no white males please" Danvers.
Even technically the movie fails to impress. no beautiful shots. no superb moments.
I cant believe they had the chance to reveal the captain marvel costume first time in awesomeness like WW did on the battlefield. and they do it with the little girl (who surprisingly knows how to handle Kree bracelet because.... reasons) on their lawn...... in dark..... yay.......
Painfully Average.
EDIT 1: Adding this the next day. Yes i do want to comment on the agendas this films are pushing by the way. It throws feminism in your face. Not roughly but not subtly either.
so Captain Marvel doesnt have a love interest.... well done. wonder woman did that , and it went beautifully. you dont have to fill the movie with it. but a love interested should be there right? unless you justify the plot with it. but here the lack of love interested simply screams. IM A WOMAN I DONT NEED A MAN!!! . dr. strange didnt want to focus on a love interest. but she was there. it showed dr. strange's emotional graph and vulnerability.
And you know what, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THESE AGENDAS, im not being safe.. Let me tell you why. Because after SJW/Political/Feminist Agendas these movies throw, giving anything less than 10/10 makes you a WOMAN HATER. There might as well be an angry mob outside the theatre ready to shoot you if you dont have a smile stepping outside.
If Brie or moviemakers would be like = hey we are making this for women empowerment. its not a great movie. its a light attempt. please support us . thanks I would give a standing ovation for them. and ask people to see this movie myself.
but hey im a male so im not supposed to say ANYTHING about this movie. just pay for it, watch it , and call it awesome. or shut up.
thats why i have a problem !!
PS: see jeremy jahns, boogie2988, screen junkies videos on the movie. they are really good.
one thing jeremy jahns says really hits how nick fury is retconned into someone else entirely. so avengers 1 was a huge threat?? no captain marvel required then? and he didnt prepare black widow hawkeye etc. that there are super powerful beings outside earth? so dont be alarmed @ thor loki etc. nick fury is a lying deceiving jerk?? did CM makers see MCU movies at all?? (quoting him mostly)
9.1/10 -- the best of Season 19 so far. South Park is generally at its best when its teasing out little hypocrisies in our culture. There's a fine line between sensitivity and kid gloves, and it's pretty clear which side Matt and Trey think our culture has landed on. That said, they didn't skimp on the humor in the midst of their commentary. The escalating gags between Randy and the Whole Foods checkout guy in particular was a great comic runner, and the safe space song, with accompanying musical gags, is up there in the pantheon of great South Park musical numbers.
Butters, as always, is superb, and his being a hard at work filter to the mean things on the internet was an idea as silly as it was inspired. By the same token, tying the episode together by doing one final "starving children infomercial" parody where the kids used iPads to do Butters' old job was a brilliant way to tie a bow on the episode's themes. The "safe spaces" people construct to make themselves feel good when there's people with far worse problems out there is a striking theme. I can't say I loved that "Reality" basically acted as the creators' direct mouthpiece at the end, but it was still an episode with an interesting point, and a lot of excellent comedy to keep the episode flowing.
Best Sci-Fi series this season!
Like any good science fiction series, it starts with two episodes meant to introduce the characters. After that, you get some very interesting stories.
Capt. Ed Mercer is in some way a little bit like Michael Scott from "The Office US".
His Ex-wife and 1st Officer Cmdr. Kelly Grayson is very interesting. She's broken her husband's heart, but seems to still love him in some way. She's also very capable.
LaMarr and Malloy are a hilarious duo. They pilot the ship together and have incredibly funny conversations.
Bortus, who's got his husband in the ship, is a very dutiful officer with an interesting background and home life.
Kitan is a young bridge officer who only got the position as chief of security because people from her planet don't join the military often (she says so herself). She's extremely strong and can open any jar of pickles in the known universe (you'll get that after watching a few episodes).
Dr Finn has a humour as dry as Mars' surface. I'm surprised she's not British, she could very well be.
Isaac is the absolute Anti-Data. The president of his home world could be Skynet. His Android race considers any carbon life as inferior. And they don't mind telling you that. Isaac has taken the position on the Orville to study human behavior. Or their weaknesses. Like any artificial life form, he's got problems understanding jokes and slang. I like him and I don't fully trust him.
Last but not least, there's Yaphit, a jelly life form whose favourite hobby it is to annoy Dr Finn with his flirting.
So far, there've been great stories which got you thinking and had fun and action.
I can already see the potential for the development of more surprising and serious stories, running gags and maybe even some longer lasting story arcs.
You can see the love Seth MacFarlane put in this project. I'm not that often this enthusiastic about a TV series, but here, it's absolutely justified.
(No) Update after episode 6:
No need to update my review. The show just continues being great :-)
(No) Update after season 1 is finished:
This serial will become a TV legend like Star Trek TNG has become one. There'll be a time when fans will do fan fiction serials in the Orville's universe.
Whoooo Doggy.
This'll probably be the last place I explain this but I used to be one of those guys who hated Megan Fox. I refused to watch Jennifer's Body in part because of that (and in part because it looked TERRIBLE, in retrospect of course it was a Spring Breakers level of reversal). That said I watched Jennifer's Body and as I said in that review it blew. me. away. With how excellent and funny and interesting it was. Between that and Lindsey Ellis' video on Megan Fox in Transformers[2] and that video with Jimmy Kimmel coming around yet again only this time it finally clicked. I've basically done a 90 degree turn on Fox. I'm basically neutral. I'm perfectly willing to accept her as an actress in movies I want to see. I've been rather eager to see what she does next.
Then I heard about Rogue. At first I hear she was leading a mercenary crew to rescue yada yada yada and honestly I didn't like it. Fox is still a petite, super attractive woman. I'm actually perfectly willing to see her in an action role even one where she isn't a sexy demon beast or whatever but this is one of the few roles I wouldn't have picked for her.
Then I saw the trailer and it was basically everything I was worried about. She's like a model in fatigues. But hey I've definitely watched much much much worst movies for less. I figured I'd give it a shot.
Honestly the first thing I compare Rogue to is Hustlers. Hustlers was a movie about strippers from the strippers perspective that was so well crafted, so well written and acted and framed that even in a movie that gave me Jennifer Lopez looking like she's at the top of her game oozing sex in a way that for whatever reason didn't come off cheap. Popped Lizzo's big girl behind in a thong throwing all that weight around. It's a fantastic movie. Just good film making. And in spite of that I never for one second buy in that Constance Wu the main character is a stripper. She screams it in literally every scene she's in... not a stripper. Someone pretending to be a stripper. And yet.... I don't care. It never bothered me. I never saw her as a stripper but the movie is so good I never needed to.
Rogue is kinda like that, but in reverse. Rogue is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. I will watch this movie again just so I can point out all the stupid insane dumb things that happen CinemaSins style. None of these characters make sense. From the moment they casually tossed one of their own mercenaries out of a moving car when he got killed to when it happened literally twice. The bad guys[1] are just SO dedicated to hunting these three girls that no matter how many of them die, they're still running guns up to die. The hostages who were literally kidnapped from school, beaten (but not raped?) and kept in cages and pick the worst battles in history. In the middle of an escape one refuses to wade into a river crying about how she needs a break. Do you not understand what they're going to do if they catch you? Everyone else went across the calf deep water why would you demand to stop? Of course the movie tries to justify this by having her actually get eaten by a gator but gator would have left her along if she was with the group and thematically doesn't make any sense to the themes of the movie. When one of the mercs is bleeding they demand to know what's going on in full Karen effect. Ladies you're teenagers not medics. You don't even know or like him why would you get to know what's going on with his triage? They don't trust the man who saved their life because he admits he used to work for the bad guy. Everyone is just SO STUPID. I haven't seen this level of stupidity since Avenue 5 which is a hilarious comedy about a Space Gilligan's Island with one intelligent person and a shipfull of people at 3 different levels of stupid. It's worth watching for that one episode alone. It's so macabre and funny.
And yet, my worries about Megan Fox were justified. She can't pull off military gunner that well. She doesn't have the body for it. That said she tries. She's the only character who actually seems like she's taking anything seriously. There's an unnecessary "she's a GIRL?!? and military!??!?" dialog at some points. It serves no purpose the movie isn't about her being a girl with a gun. There's no reason for anyone to not trust her character's bona fides as the leader of this mercenary group. But again Megan Fox showed up on set to WORK. She goes seriously, not overly cheesy but with some snark when needed. She can relate to her men without trying to "be one of the guys". She's not one of the guys. She's the boss and she acts like it. She gives orders well, she controls the rescuees well. Megan Fox is the only one in this movie that makes any sense. It's a shame the movie can't manage to warp around her. Everything else BUT her is so bad including the closing tag trying to tell us that captive lions are an issue which has nothing to do with the plot and most will call hypocritical in light of the real lions used (at the end) of the film.
Rogue is a bad bad movie but it does still leave me interested in what Megan Fox does next.
[1] (hmm actually at one point they DO suggest an amount of religious zealotry)
[2] Framing Megan Fox: Feminist Theory Part 3 | The Whole Plate: Episode 7 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyrUMUervU]. Highly recommend it completely changed my perspective on the characters in Transformers. It's still a terrible movie but wow apparently for that first one the writers were at least trying and Michael Bay really went hard ruining it.
Okay. So. Star Wars The Last Jedi. Late comment. This is sort of a mixed bag. It does feel like a film for kids/teens and fangirls (or their parents). A jumbled mess with dumb characters' decision.
But it is -way- better than Star Wars The Farce Awakens. I mean The Forced Awakens. The Force Awakens. Rian Johnson deserves more credits than Jar Jar Abrams.
First thing first: at the very least, TLJ dares to try something new where TFA couldn't. By "something new" I mean not the new MCU-flavored jokes and quips slipping everywhere but new formula and new themes.
The best thing from TLJ involves Luke a lot.
Among them is the idea of grey morality and Luke being "ordinary human" shrouded in myth. The take with Luke and Ben (Kylo Ren) relationship is nice. He is no all-powerful all-wise Jedi; he makes mistakes, he hesitates, he regrets. We didn't get enough build up to explain why Luke did what he did in the past, and Johnson resorted to the typical Kylo being "too powerful", but I guess it was decent.
The scenes where Luke dispels the myth of him being the legendary Jedi is also great. This might be relevant in this day and age of celebrity politicians when a divorce of one politician suddenly becomes everyone's concern.
And, of course, the most important thing in-universe is Luke's explanation about The Force being some sort of energy that surrounds us. Not innate power. This should correct the mistakes Jar Jar Abrams made in TFA and Gareth Edwards made in Rogue One.
There is also one good thing from Finn and Rose mischievous adventure. It feels like it attempts to bring up Prequel Trilogy serious tone concerning arms trade. Benicio del Toro also has one good moment when he explains about "good and evil" is not as simple as Finn might think. Though that two are the only good things from their adventure (we'll get back to this later).
Luke and Leia reunion is beautifully done. Great lighting, very timely moment (though things that lead into the moment is very questionable), and the hallmark score accompanying the scene is perfect. This is a great tribute to the Original Trilogy and to Carey Fisher.
One more thing: Vice Admiral Holdo last resort is quite a spectacle. The scene feels like I'm watching something from anime. The idea itself is brilliantly executed (for an action fantasy) and would make a good move if there would be another Star Wars game.
Now to the worst parts. It does feel like a jumbled mess with dumb characters' decision.
There is one scene where Leia comes back to life and fly. This is the weirdest thing to ever happen since Starkiller Base. No explanation at all (let's not pull Abrams-esque excuse "it's in the novels!" because you should not need secondary material to understand a film). Maybe it's a tribute to Carrie Fisher, or a plot point for other characters (Poe/Holdo) to shine, but even so there are better ways to do that. Maybe by not having Leia stay in bridge and affected by explosion.
And then there is Finn and Rose mischievous adventure. This might be the worst, really worst part. Messy subplot and dumb characters.
Their adventure to snatch a hacker to sneak into the Star Destroyer feels forced in the first place. Do they really have that much time to go to another planet while the Resistance fleet is being chased by First Order? The whole "we can't reach The Resistance because shields and distance" feels like a terrible excuse considering in previous materials a ship that huge would have enough firepower to destroy a shiled--and even if they didn't, they could've sent a group of bombers.
Finn and Rose adventure itself feels like they don't really know what they're supposed to do. They were tasked to snatch a hacker, but along the way they seemed to be comfortable to only take revenge to the rich arm traders and slavers that have hurt Rose in the past. Meanwhile The Resistance is in the brink of defeat. Where's the sense of urgency in their mission?
But the worst is in the climax of the film, when Rose thwarts Finn's suicidal plan in his heroic attempt to save The Resistance. The reason? Because killing people won't solve anything and love wins every time. Right--exactly after that cheesy line The Resistance defense got breached. Thanks Rose, I guess trying to imitate Oprah is the most strategical decision ever.
There seems like really no point in Finn and Rose subplot. Dumb characters and pointless quest. It only seems like a filler to meet the 2,5 hours quota. The best thing from their childish trip is Benicio del Toro's hacker character. When Finn was obsessed with the idea of "good" defeating "evil", del Toro's character explains things are not that simple in war. Just like with Luke, his brief yet impactful speech gives a nuance to the simplistic black-and-white tone Jar Jar Abrams developed in TFA.
However the writer appears to be so consistent in making almost everything in Finn & Rose quest a mess: as soon as First Order foiled their plan, it is revealed that del Toro's character is just an opportunist prick with a sweet tongue.
About the MCU jokes. Jokes in The Last Jedi is almost on par with The Phantom Menace. Even TPM feels tame.
TLJ does have very bad moments because of the MCU jokes, particularly in the very beginning of the film when Poe plays along with Hux in the middle of supposedly fricking surprise attack (do you really have that much time?), ruining the suspension of disbelief. In plenty opportunities MCU quips slip and I guess if you don't like Jar Jar in TPM, you wouldn't also like this too much jokes.
Fortunately though, aside from some scenes like with Poe-Hux, I don't think the jokes are -that- bad. It's not Avengers: Age of Ultron bad. It's irritating and pulls me away at times, but it doesn't ruin a supposedly well-developed character like Ultron.
Last: Rey and Kylo relationship. This is why I said this is a film for fangirls. The telepathy is a brilliant plot device to enable communication between two teenagers in opposing side, but do they -really- have to make them able to see each other?
The part when Kylo went nude and Rey's face turns red for seeing a naked guy--is this something from teen drama? There is also this scene when their hands touch each other and Luke barge in, sensing a forbidden love develops in our Romeo and Juliet.
The whole Rey-Kylo depiction is a true OTP bait. Well, I actually have a mixed feeling about it. This isn't exactly bad--it's okay for a teen drama and there's nothing contradicting the canon lore from this. But it does feel like some sort of Anakin-Padme 2.0.
I guess that's all.
It's not great, but it's not as bad as people made it to be. It's better than The Farce Awakens actually.
It's entertaining enough as long as you can glance over the dumb characters. It's still a mess though, so unless you really have nothing else to do it's better to watch something else.
Ajin is the second time Polygon Pictures got Netflix on it's production committee but just like Sidonia it's all CG again which already kills off some interested parties which is weird seeing as the manga is rather popular. This series as it is now is pretty much a cross promotion: the first half of the series, with a little less content, ran in cinemas as a limited release (https://trakt.tv/movies/ajin-demi-human-compel-2015) with the content of the second half of the TV series premiering in May as Part 2 (https://trakt.tv/movies/ajin-demi-human-collision-2016). The final arc of the anime will stay exclusive to it's cinema release only. If you're wondering what route you should pick I'd say watch this and then the final movie. They're not that self contained that you need the "movie" experience.
As previously mentioned this is all CG and that is fine by me. There are still issues but I actually enjoyed watching it a lot more than reading. The story isn't really a standout and has enough violence in it to sell the seinen but it's still worth pointing out that just after a single volume the original writer left for another series of his and left the work to his artist who then took over both roles and that isn't a bad thing as it only improved. As of now we're pretty much at a Death Note-esque duel between the protagonist and the antagonist which is sort of enjoyable considering they're both immortal and can utilize some interesting strategies.
