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Cuckoo (2024)
I really wanted to rate this movie higher, but it doesn't deserve more stars, unfortunately.
I had high hopes for this movie. It starts off pretty well, slow paced, setting the isolated stage in a good way, odd characters and an eerie setting. I liked it. Then it started getting creepier and creepier and it felt like I was in for something good and different, and I was. Just not consistently the way I hoped for as it only lasted up to a certain point, and then it dropped the ball. Suddenly it felt like the movie didn't know what it wanted to be, as it went in different moods and directions.
It did try to get back on the creepy track here and there, but it was not enough. The illusion of a really creepy and eerie setting was over, and the rest was a rather bland mix of pointless motions which had me simply waiting for the end of the movie so I could go and do something else. It's a shame, I wanted it to keep on the way it initially did. That would have set it apart from other horror movies, but alas no, it wasn't meant to be. It just had to try to add some action into the mix, and not in a good way. The whole premise was explained and I lost interest in it.
One of the rules when making creepy and unsettling stories; do not explain! Do not! That ruins everything. I don't want to know what the monster or horror is, I want my mind to try to fill in the blanks. I don't want it explained to me. I can take the fact that I don't know what I just saw is, that makes the effect that much greater. The thing about not knowing what the evil really is, not knowing where it came from, that's a great part of the horror it represents. The fear of the unknown is as old as all living things and should not be ruined when making these movies. Once you explain it, it's over. How copywriters and directors misses this point again and again in movie after movie is completely beyond me. If you can avoid it, don't show the monster, but if you do, make sure it gets maximum effect and not for shock value. Ever since Alien there's not a monster in any movie that tops that one, so don't go over the top trying to beat it, because you won't succeed. In this one the monster worked, it was creepy as hell, even though we got to see it so it was well done in this circumstance, until they explained it. Do not ever explain the monster!
Just like the movie Smile, which also showed a great initial promise, this movie simply faded away into just another horror movie that explains a really good and mysterious premise and then ruins it because of it, that couldn't keep itself together, and so became just another easily forgotten movie. It is indeed a real shame as it showed such promise from start.
Perhaps the director will learn from his mistakes and do better next time.
Oddity (2024)
The oddness of Oddity
It is...a curious film. It's low budget and I don't recognize any of the actors; at times I get the sense of a B-movie, except that it isn't and never becomes one. It's actually quite good in its simple and slow paced mannerisms.
The few special effects there are, are very effective and keeps the sense of creepiness and growing dread going. It did take a turn that eroded that sense somewhat, however, and it made certain things quite apparent. Until it didn't. After these certain things played out more or less as could be expected, it turned again, and left me with wonder instead. No pun intended, but it was the oddest turn of events, and it resulted in a quite confusing ending and I'm now not really sure what to make of it.
It does harbor a really eerie ambience though and the effect lingers. The calmness of the actors and script coupled with the somewhat bare setting makes it even more so. It's like a sedated horror creeping up on you without jump scares or any of the usual horror clichés, and if you like horror movies based more on atmosphere and a growing unease and sense of impending doom, then this is a movie for you. As aforementioned, it's quite good.
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
The Fall Of The House Of Usher...
... does not seem like it's for everyone. I've seen a few comments about it here and there, that it isn't that good, not a good version of the story, not a good enough adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's work, etc, etc. But to me it is, it's a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.
It's not meant to be what its detractors think it should've been, it's something else. It's like Poe's work, thought provoking, it stirs something beyond the main story. It's not meant to be a thing to be taken apart by people who constantly looks for cracks in everything; this show is wasted on them.
I haven't read enough of Poe's work to really be able to measure this show against it, but I found it to be stirring something within me. It's gruesome and there's gore for sure, but those things are only the means for delivering the point.
Each of the characters met the end befitting them, based on their own choices. They were all the orchestraters of their own demises, even though they didn't know it, and that's the lesson to be learned from the story. The devil is not evil, she tests people. They all made choices that granted her attention, much like all of us do.
I'm not a religious man, and the Devil in this show can be discussed, but the essence and moral of the story is that we all are responsible for the choices we make, be they good or bad, consciously or unconsciously made, and in the end no one can take them away from us. Not even we ourselves can do that, and this is the truth permeating this story. We are the choices that we make, and regardless of the existence of heaven or hell, we will all be rewarded for whatever choices we do make, be it a good thing or a punishment. Whatever comes, is up to us. Whether we like it or not.
This is a creation with depth and one of Netflix's best shows and well worth the watch. It is a really good adaptation of what I know of Poe's work, and it also serves as a reminder of what consequences my own choices in my life might have when I make them.
I don't know about anyone else, I don't speak for them, but for my part, this is a show that will stand in the years to come. I know I will come back to it, again and again. It's just that kind of show. For me at least. What you do is up to you. See it, don't see it, the choice is yours.
As Above, So Below (2014)
Not for the claustrophic person...
...or perhaps it is, if you get a kick out of challenging your claustrophobia. I'm slightly claustrophobic myself, so this movie proved to be very difficult for me. Same with the movie Descent, I had the same problem with both of them. I knew I avoided this movie for a reason all these years, and I was right. Closed off spaces where nowhere to go, deep down in the immeasurable depths of darkness has always frightened me, and this movie sure did its trick on me in that regard.
This movie isn't for the "connoisseur" either, the one who's in the habit of picking movies apart based on beautiful photography, expensive special effects, or whatever snob nosed ideal said person follows, etc. It's a low budget movie in the "found footage" genre, and I agree, most of them are a bit tedious, as being the viewer we all know it's not really found footage, but entertainment disguised as "being real". This movie did in contrary to many others a great job of it though, surprisingly so, and even though they had little to almost no budget to work with, they worked that budget really well and created something that I simply couldn't stop watching.
But I feel a bit ambivalent about this one, I'm not sure if I like it or not, even though it is rather good, but it did provoke something unsettling within me, and maybe that's why I really can't make up my mind about it. And as aforementioned, for some reason I can't really explain, I pushed through the sense of dread caused by my claustrophobia and just kept watching.
The premise of finding The Philosopher's Stone was good, I liked that we got to see the road wind down into the depths of dry and terrifying darkness, leading down to the very gate of Hell itself, and a little further beyond. The attention to subtle detail was in place, and if you have no knowledge about them or the theme the plot went along, you'll just miss them, missing out on interesting structural storytelling. Their take on the whole concept of The Philosopher's Stone was a dark and gruesome one, i.e, not as cute as the Harry Potter-version, but a foul and terrifying roadmap to Hell.
I felt relieved when they finally found the way out, but at the same time I felt a little disappointed, because I could see two other endings going down as well, but they did unfortunately not happen. Either of them. After everything the protagonists had endured down there I felt that the ending seemed a little flat. This is the reason for not giving the movie a full rating.
The one ending I could see before me in my mind's eye was that they went to the actual Hell and we would get to see their vision of it, but given the budget I knew that wasn't going to happen, but I think that if they had gotten their hands on more resources, they could've showed us something really obscene and loathsome.
The other ending I saw before me was along the same lines as it did end, but instead of just coming back to the ordinary world, as they did in the end, I saw in my mind that the ordinary world was a mirror, as the way on the other side of the gate to Hell was a mirrored version of the way they went in, and that they didn't escape at all. That the ordinary world they finally found their way back to actually was an ordinary seeming, Hellish mirror version instead. But alas, this was not to be, but it'd been a very fitting ending for the movie.
Still, I can't deny it had the intended effect on me, and it left me with a sense of creeping darkness. As with The Descent, and The Road, I found this movie to be surprisingly enough a very good one, even though, like the other two, it did manage to instill a growing unease and an oppressive, black feeling in me. It was good, but I will never watch it again.
Titanfall 2 (2016)
A fantastic FPS game!
I remember seeing it now and then in ads and didn't think much of it, just another generic fps game, so I didn't bother acquiring and playing it. Then the other day this week my son tipped me off about this game which went for a 90% discount on Steam and I thought "sure, why not, it won't cost me much at all, can't hurt to try", and then all hell broke loose. I've been playing it nonstop since then and just finished the campaign and I've got to say it is indeed not what I first thought it was; it's awesome and so much kickass! Had I known it was this good I wouldn't have bothered buying it at a discount, I'd have bought right away when it was released. It's a (for me at least) rather unusual fps game as the fighting and above all shooting along with the movement is just flawless and engaging. I loved it. My son also told me they used the Source engine to make this game which baffles me quite a bit since I can find little to no evidence of it anywhere. The Source engine is a good engine, but a bit dated these days, but still, this game just runs so smoothly it's ridiculous. I still can't believe they made this out of that!
The campaign felt a little short, but it was epic just the same in many ways; it provided many really good fights and cool abilities to use. The dynamics in fighting styles between running as Pilot or Titan and switching between the two when needed was really good. Suffice it to say, I had a really good time playing this game and I loved it. I feel sorry for BT though, I liked that guy.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Nice take on the Dracula story
It's well made, I like the cast, it's a got a good ambience, but it seems short somehow. Maybe it's because the whole thing mostly takes place on a boat, I dunno. But I do like the premise and the implementation, but there's something missing in it, and I can't really say what it is. Maybe it's too even paced, lacking in contrast. I don't know what it is, but I feel I want something more from it, which is a bit of a shame since I actually like the movie as such.
But, like in so many other well made movies of the same caliber, there are plot holes. Some are really stupid ones, and I find it hard to adjust to this. Maybe the makers of the movie were too busy making it as best as they could so they missed above all the one fatal logical flaw in the story, like so many other movies often does. Perhaps they were aware of it, or thought their chosen way was the one to go with, but the whole thing about setting a trap at night and sinking the boat at the same time seems rather too glaringly dumb to me. I can get behind the idea if the protagonist(s) had no other choice and this was the only sure way of getting out of their predicament, but they did have at least one other choice to make which would actually have worked. They should've set fire to the boat during daylight hours instead of trying to sink it at night. That would've been the end of Dracula, but that would also have been the end of the movie, so I understand why they didn't go with that. Thing is they should've come up with a convincing reason as to why they had to sink the boat at night, but they didn't. To me that just seems ridiculous and it's unfortunate that they chose this fate for the boat. Once they realized that what they were up against wasn't human and only hunted them at night they immediately should've thought of at least setting the boat on fire, seeing as they get a rather obvious hint when one of their crew mates caught fire in the morning light. Sunlight/fire/kills the monster, so fire should've been their first choice.
Still, apart from this annoying detail it is a good movie and I like it. Not sure if I like the design of the Dracula character however. He looks awesome in his vampiric bat form, but at the same time he looks a little too much like a generic Nosferatu, and this is a shame. I could understand if that form was the chosen one on the boat as he didn't really need to change forms during the voyage, but it would've been nice to have seen him as he once must have been. I find it hard to believe his blendability in London, even at night looking like Nosferatu, but he does look good as such.
Overall, it's a good movie and I do recommend it, even if it does have its apparent flaws.
Good Omens (2019)
An instant 10 star rating for me
I've read the book so many times that I'm now into my fourth copy of it since it tends to fall apart after a couple of times, but suffice it to say; I had a pretty sure idea of the characters etc in it from reading it so many times, so I was a little skeptic at first when it came to the main protagonists Crowley and Aziraphale when I heard the show was in the making. And the first episode of the show felt a little odd to me at first since David Tennant and Michael Sheen didn't look and feel quite the way I had them pictured in my mind, but after having seen the whole first season (two times now) and now finished off the second episode of the second season I must say I can't for the life of me see anyone else portraying the characters. They are Crowley and Aziraphale, in every nook and cranny. The synergy between the two is just incredibly perfect and I feel I can't get enough of them. They're like Laurel and Hardy, a perfect match.
The show itself is spot on, every bit as wonderful as the book is and a pure delight to watch. Everyone in it and creating it are doing an amazing job of it and I rarely feel as consumed by watching it as I am with this one. There are plenty of great TV-shows out there, but none of them contain this level of convincing warmth as this one does.
The show is extremely well made in all aspects from script to special effects, the casting is superb, and above all, it radiates the exact same level of coziness as the book does. They've really managed to nail it down perfectly.
I wish Terry Pratchett had been alive to see it for himself as this is such a great homage to the book he wrote with Neil Gaiman. They should've been enjoying it together. My hat off to this show and its creators (book and show respectfully), it really is a wonderful one and I can't recommend it enough. Just go see it, wherever you find it. You will not be disappointed.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
I like it, but...
...it lacks a certain something, and I can't really point to what it would be.
The movie is pretty straightforward enough, and I think they pulled off the evil in it rather well. Some things are really creepy and I think they picked a good cast for the Ellie and Beth characters. The kids, not so much except for the kid Kassie.
It's gritty and grimy in every part of the movie and I like the ambience (which I found unsettling), and the makeup and effects are convincingly well made, especially Ellie's. She looks and acts scary as hell, but then again, she's a really good actress so she's pulling it off tremendously well. Her contribution is eerie and disgustingly good. Alyssa Sutherland who plays Ellie is a very beautiful and attractive woman, and this fact makes it even more disturbing since in this movie she's also repelling and repulsively evil. It's a very strange thing to feel attraction to someone who's so vile and revolting at the same time, and this makes her characterization even more deliciously evil. Had it not been for the choice of her as Ellie and her talent as an actress I don't think the movie would've been as interesting and good.
I've seen some comments here about this movie, and some people thinks it's not a big deal and they're disappointed etc, etc, but I think they would've been ecstatic if this movie came out in the early 90's or late 80's like the first movie did. For being a movie about simply and uncomplicated chaos evil it's filling its purpose perfectly, even though it does raise a few rational and logical questions as there are rather glaring plot gaps in it, but regardless, it's a good movie IMO. You never expect anything going well for any of the characters, and it really doesn't.
But, even though I like it I, as aforementioned, still feel there's something missing in it. Perhaps it relies a bit too much on the fan's knowledge of the lore from the previous movies on the same theme, and this in effect makes it feel slightly too thin as the writer/director could've fleshed it out a bit more. Alas, it's still a good one, and it's extremely well made.
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
I guess it's entertaining... I think...
... but I don't know... some things in it are good, as it is with the other three movies before this one. But to me it all becomes a bit... silly? I mean, the world it's playing out in is clearly not our world. There's only the one cop (that I know of) that actually shows up throughout all the movies, and he's kinda ok with John Wick killing people in heaps, and it's the neighborhood cop, but one would think that all that killing and shootouts in public spaces would attract the attention of at least a squad car, or anything, but nope, the killing is a free for all ride wherever you go, and this little detail alone tells me right there that this is not our Earth. And then there's this absurd amount of hitmen just crawling all over wherever John Wick goes, so it seems this is a murder world where the murderers are running things. Well, perhaps not that far off reality in some respects, but even so, it becomes rather in your face a tad too strong I think. And then there's this weird penchant for polished and posing rituals that really kicks the silliness into gear. I get that even the criminal world has its rules because everything needs to have rules of some sort, but this almost religious and highly ritualistic approach to them makes things seem rather childish and cartoonish. It's way over the top, to say the least, but hey, if you're into that sort of thing then you're in for a treat, because there are quite the few of them.
As for the acting it seems farfetched and strained, not the least overplayed in many cases. Lawrence Fishburn's character for one thing is just too much. The only two characters I actually feel ok with are Ian McShane's and Lance Reddick's characters, especially Reddick's, but the rest are all a bit too iconic and they make me feel like I'm watching a teenager's naive wet dream idea of what criminals and murderers are supposed to look and act like. McShane and Reddick gives it a little dignity, but the rest of them? I don't know... I find it hard to take them seriously. The first movie is good and I love my fellow swedish actor Michael Nyqvist's portrayal of the russian crime lord, it all works really good in that one, but it soon starts to slide in the sequel, and then Parabellum entered the scene and it all became a bit silly with the over dramatic rituals and characters, and now this one which makes the whole thing absurd.
On the plus side is, it's good looking. The photography is on point for the most part and so is the scenery many times. The fight scenes are good (even though when binging all four movies in a row I started to notice a repeating pattern to them. Especially Wick's fighting style where we get to see much shooting, of course, a few hand techniques and a lot of balls kicking, and the throw-them-over-the-shoulder-and-then-shoot-them-routine), but in order to make Wick seem like an awesome fighter his opponents many times become rather stiff and sloppy when going up against him, but when they are fighting each other they're really formidable fighters for some reason. But as soon as they're facing Wick he just kicks them in the balls, throws them over his shoulder and shoots them. The boss fights are better in this regard, but still, there are some details in them that irks me a bit.
The scenery, as aforementioned, is really something here and there, the locations and environments can be really awesome, while others makes you wonder why anyone would build them in the first place, because some scenery is just pointless.
The pacing is good, I think, and it's easy to follow along as the movie(s) progresses, and you get your fair share of action in all of the movies, because there's a ton of it. Hundreds of people gets to bite the bullet, or knife, or axe, or whatever Wick gets his hands on. Some scenes are really good and the choreography can be impressive. Some of them must've been really exhausting to film as we get to see long fight scenes without much cutting from angle to angle as can be a problem with many other action movies. Keanu Reeves gets to show off his prowess many times, and this I like.
But the overall impression I get from these movies (the first one excluded in certain aspects) is that I'm watching an over stylish and childish fantasy movie where one almost could expect John Wick hopping on a heavily tattooed goth unicorn with a bad guy beard and riding it over the rainbow made out of nine millimeter bullets (which actually sounds kinda awesome now that I'm reading my own words!) to exact his vengeance without getting into trouble with any law enforcement whatsoever anywhere at all but the one's being enforced by the mythical High Table. It's hard to take anything seriously in these movies (apart from the first one) since they all are so far removed from anything that resembles reality. But(!), if you're looking for simple and silly entertainment, without any high expectations of seriousness, then these movies are for you, because they are in spite of all their silly absurdities actually entertaining. They're bordering on being annoyingly silly in places, but it's bearable for the most part. You have to take them for they are, which is to say, childishly simple and playful with extreme takes on what a murder world would be like, and that alone can be a fun thing.
Penny Dreadful (2014)
I really want to give this show ten stars...
... but I can't. In many parts it's a masterpiece, but there are things in it that just keep pulling it down. The side stories in it is the cause for this, unfortunately. The main storyline is great, even throughout all three seasons, but the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monsters is a real drag and seems to me like some romantic monster filler more than anything else, just because the writer(s) couldn't come up with anything else to fill the minutes with. Now, I do like how it's all put together, and I do like having Frankenstein on the team, but the whole ordeal with John Clare and Brona/Lily is rather boring. John Clare's overtly dramatic input becomes quite boring pretty quickly and his whole story does nothing for the show itself in as much as it doesn't really contribute at all to the main storyline, and the same thing naturally goes without saying for Brona/Lily and her monster version of a feminist movement blablabla.
I would much have preferred to seen more of Sembene's background, seeing as he is a very interesting and mysterious character. Not utilizing this is a total waste of opportunity. Dorian Gray is another character who really could've been made to shine as well, but he too is just kept on the sidelines, and hadn't it been for his interactions with Vanessa Ives and the consequences that led to he wouldn't have contributed much at all either, seeing as he for the most part is put in the same pointless waste of space and time as John Clare and Lily. He could've been a serious contender and added much more value to the main story, and as with Sembene I'd have loved to have seen more of his history. Being an immortal as he is there would be a gold mine's worth of wealth to learn about him. Mr. Lyle is also a very interesting, and amusingly charming character; I'd have liked to see more of his story as well. Instead we got John Clare and Lily, the two least interesting characters in the whole show to deal with.
It's not that I mind sidestories; if they contribute in any way to the main one they can enhance the experience tremendously, but these two just breaks it off from everything important in the show. Like they're their own main storylines, running alongside the real one, but never really a part of it. And, they're not really that interesting to begin with (as I guess you already have gathered from my previous words about them). So I don't mind sidestories, but these two are just so boring that on the second viewing (which I'm having right now) I just fast forward past them, cause I can't stand them and they ruin the experience for me. Had they had a minor impact on the show I wouldn't have minded them, but there's so obscenely much of them that they indeed ruin the show (for me at least), and this is a real shame because when the show is at its peak it's bloody awesome in every sense of the word. I really want to give this a 10 star review, but the sidestories ruins it for me.
Even so, in spite of the extremely pointless and useless sidestories, I do recommend the other parts of the show. You're in for a real treat.
The Gentlemen (2019)
Once in a while there pops up that particular movie...
... that you simply wish you hadn't seen yet because you so much want to see it for the first time again. This is one of them. As a movie in this genre I'd have to say it's one of the best ever made, if not the best. It's got it all and it's a real treat to behold, in all it's aspects. The cast is perfect, the plot and pacing too; I simply love it, and it was just as beautifully good the second and third time as well. My only gripe with it is that I already knew it the following sessions. The characters are as well thought out as in Richie's other movies in the genre, if not even more so this time around, and I was especially delighted to see Colin Farrell as the coach. His odd ball characterization was danged great. Then again it was awesome to follow all of the respective characters in the movie, everyone really brought their absolute A-game. This movie is simply a masterpiece and I can't recommend it enough.
Just go see it if you haven't already, it's totally worth the time.
Smile (2022)
It could have been a good movie...
...but it isn't. It's just another monster movie and A-Train kinda ruined the scary stuff for me. Don't get me wrong, I love his character in The Boys, but seeing him popping up in this one makes me sort of waiting for him to take off in super sonic speed.
But there actually are parts that are creeping up on the watcher, it's got a great ambience and it's very well made. It's a rare thing, finding a movie that actually makes one sit on edge now and then these days. You know from start that things are not going to go too well for the protagonist. I do find that research of her profession would've been a good thing though, seeing as I work with the kind of people she's treating and I found that the lack of research for her supposed profession annoyed me a little. Still, that isn't what the movie is about so I guess it's ok nevertheless. I'm just a stickler for details sometimes.
But, I have to say, the movie starts out really good. The premise is interesting and as aforementioned, parts of it is indeed very creepy, but as the movie goes on it slowly starts to drop the ball. There aren't many jump scares, but the very few that there is are too many as it cuts the ambience right off every time. Some scenes even made me annoyed; as with the one where Rose is talking to her psychiatrist Madeleine in her living room and it turns out that she's not talking to her but to a vision the entity is showing her. It is a great moment of creepiness, but then the thing starts to talk and ending the scene by grabbing Rose by the throat while drooling like an alien. That ruined the mood completely, as did later scenes where the entity is shown as just another monster. While Rose where backing away from the sofa the entity should've just stayed put, smiling and not having said a word beyond those of Madeleine's until it was out of view. That would've been so much better and it wouldn't have ruined the illusion of terror. Instead she went after Rose, talking with a distorted stereotypical demonic voice and completely ruined the scene. I felt that every time it turned out that Rose interacted with the entity it should've just stopped talking and gone silent with that dead smile on it's face. It should never have talked as itself to Rose,a and it should never have gone into Marilyn Manson monster mode (yes, it looks like some version of Marilyn Manson at the end of the movie).
There's an old movie (Fallen) starring Denzel Washington where they successfully did manage to uphold the illusion of the premise. It's not as creepy as this one at first set out to be, but it did work amazingly well and that one is a movie on this 'passing the demon on-theme' done right. That one worked, but this one doesn't.
They had the opportunity to create something truly scary, but in the end settled for making just another generic standard monster movie. It's a real shame, it showed so much promise at first. Never show the monster, never let the viewer work things out himself beforehand. Never let the viewer be bored even before the movie ends.
Oh well, perhaps there will come a movie that actually delivers on the promised concept, who knows.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Man... where to start...
As soon as I heard about this movie I got curious, and then I heard some more about it, and I got less curious. Even so, once it popped up I finally got around to watch it and man, it was even worse than what that nagging feeling about it told me.
Thor is a complete moron in it, it was painful to see what they did to him and had him do in it. It's one thing to make fun of him like Dr Strange did when they first met in Avengers, that was fun, but this movie? Not so much. The only fun thing here and there were for the most part the screaming goats, and that got old too. The whole thing is a long meaningless gag reel, but not that fun. The humor simply didn't deliver at all for the most part, seeing as the entire thing seemed to be regarded by the team to be chance of making a kindergarten buffoonery out if it. The actors (except for Bale) all seemed strained, like they actually didn't want to make this movie in the first place, but went along with it anyway and made a steaming pile of crap out of it.
The plot is thin, way too thin to sustain a movie as long as this one, even though Christian Bale was great in it. The rest of the characters seemed too tired and bored to be interesting, their banter and dumb interactions were pointless and boring, yet still they tried to make an effort to entertain but failed miserably. The story feels unhinged, like they didn't really know what they wanted to do with it but had to come up with SOMEthing, so they made this. Wasted good money on a couple of hours of pointless idiocy. It's good looking however and I did like the Omnipotence place and the Dark Realm, but you can't make a movie based on such things only and hope to get away with it.
Taika Waititi usually manages to amuse me, he can be a pretty fun guy, but how an Earth he managed to screw this one up so enormously is a mystery to me. Besides, I get that when making a movie based on comic book characters you really want to widen the audience so it's not the fanboys/girls watching it only, but a lot of other people not accustomed to the characters or the comics they're from as well. It's a natural thing of course, but you can't just grab any character like Thor for instance and just crap all over him like this. It's bad enough that they grabbed the chance of adding woke garbage in it, garbage that doesn't belong. You simply can't do whatever you like to the characters and expect everyone to like it, and especially not forget the original audience in the process of hunting new fans. This movie wouldn't even be fit for the dumbest and most ridiculous issue of any Thor comic book, that's how bad the plot and story combined with the not fun at all humor really is. I'm really disappointed in this movie, and if this is the way the rest of the MCU is heading I guess it's safe to say that I won't pick the coming movies up at all in the future.
Compared to the previous movies, which are actually good, this one's a complete disaster. Screaming goats or no, it's a really bad movie.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The Grand Budapest Hotel: A Brilliant Masterpiece
How this movie isn't top-rated in every instance is beyond me, it is as my title says, a brilliant masterpiece in every aspect. The story just flows, performed masterfully by all participants. It's interesting and engaging, funny, and surprising in places. The ambience and flair of it is so refreshing and it'll leave you with a warm feel-good sense of well-being. The characters are spotless and each and every one of them unique in their own way. The plots just weaves into one another effortlessly and it's visually a a delight to behold. The only gripe I have with it is that there are way too few movies made on this level. It's a 10/10 for me (even though 10 isn't even enough for this scale) and I can't recommend it enough. Sheer brilliance at every turn.
Swamp Thing (2019)
Fail Thing
I've got to say, I don't mind that this show was cancelled, because it's simply not up to par. The swamp atmosphere is good, as some mention in their reviews here, and Swamp-Thing as such looks more or less like he should, but that's it.
This is not a show about the comic book character Swamp-Thing, as it should be. The comic book was ongoing and centered around that character, in each and every issue of the book. In the show however he's just a footnote, a thing that pops up now and then. Instead of making the show about him they made a show about Abigail Arcane, a woman who only now and then figured in the comic book, and a bunch of other bland, and often sarcastic and pointless people, as not a one of them is interesting enough to keep the show going. They're flat and superficial, the layout of the story is in many places dumb. The supposed connections and familiarity between different characters seem strained and contrived, and not a one of them invites the viewer in whatsoever. I felt that I didn't care if they all died or not. There are so many different details that just doesn't add up in the story, like for instance the very weird part where the character Matt Cable's mom looks to be about the same age as he, but the viewer is supposed to just buy into it.
The acting is uninspiring for the most part, with a couple of exceptions, and I didn't feel like I cared about the protagonist at all. She isn't the most sympathetic of characters, and neither is any of the others she maintain some sort of relations to. The focus of the show seem to be on the disease that spreads in town, even though the characters bump into vegetation that moves by itself, Swamp-Thing, a dude that was ripped apart by Swamp-Thing being animated by insects and is killing people, etc etc, but even though the characters encounter these things it's like they never did so since the focus simply shifts away from them all the time. They don't seem to question these things more than a second or two, which kills the suspense and breaks the illusion quite a bit.
There are so many wrong things in the story that doesn't line up with the comic book story in the first place, and the show is filled with things that I didn't really care about. It's like the director wasn't sure what to do with it and simply created an atmosphere of really uninteresting half horror, half relations drama with a dab of monsters here and there, set among people who could burn for all I know, and I wouldn't mind it if they did.
The swamp gets one star, it's a nice setting, Swamp-Thing gets a star because he looks the part, but none of the rest deserves any stars. The show is too poorly performed and made for any stars to be given.
Wounds (2019)
A full score, just because...
This is not a movie for the ones who want things to be explained, it's for those who like to use their own imaginations to spin and find ways to fill in the blanks. You get some hints of the core meaning of it here and there, but you have to actually use your mind while watching this movie. Otherwise you'll just find it confusing, a waste of time, boring and that it sucks, etc etc. This one's for a rather narrow audience, and if you're not a part of that audience, you'll probably not like it at all. I happen to be part of that audience, and I love to use my imagination, so for me it was a good one.
I'm not interested in seeing the monster, or having everything explained. That breaks the illusion for me, unless the story is about the monster itself and not a protagonist being confronted with said monster. I'm not intellectually insecure or lazy like that, so I prefer it when I have to work my mind while watching a movie, even though there's a charm to simpler movies as well. But this one will have you either feeling misled, insulted, bored to death, whatever of the same or like, or it will have you thinking about what actually is happening. I found the slow burn, the setting, the obviously flawed individuals in it, and the creeping mood coupled with the growing sense of dread and total doom refreshing and I loved the ending of it.
Nothing is explained, unless you really pay attention to certain details and know what they mean; even so you still have to kick the imagination into gear, and that's why it has such an impact on the receptive ones. I for one think it's a very good movie in lots of ways, and as far as the horror part goes, it provided eminently exactly that. I felt very ill at ease when the credits rolled, and that was the whole point of it.
If you want to watch it, then do so, but be prepared for disappointment, unless you're like the very few, like me for instance, who appreciates 'the not so wrapped up in a pretty little bow for your lazy mind's convenience'- movies. Then I think you'll like it more than you were prepared for. Watch it, or don't; you won't miss anything, or you'll miss one of the creepier movies out there.
Knives Out (2019)
A surprisingly wonderful movie...
... I simply put loved this one, and my only regret is that I just watched it yesterday, seeing as I want to go through it again. The build-up and plot is masterfully done, the cast is spot on and I loved the characters. The house is exactly my kind of place, I could live there in that beautiful mansion for the rest of my life. There is actually nothing negative to say about this movie in my opinion, everything just falls beautifully into place in this 'who dunnit'-movie. I wasn't prepared for this one at all, i just wanted to watch a movie, found this one and thought to myself, "what the hell, let's try it, see if it's worth my time" and man, it sure was, I love it! It's one of the best movies I've seen in awhile, I highly recommend it!
Brightburn (2019)
A curious movie...
... I really like the premise of it; if Superman for some reason, despite all the love put into him by his adopting parents while growing up, still turn out to be evil, things would become horrifyingly disastrous. It's rather slow paced at times, but I don't really mind that. It adds depth in my opinion, and even though I feel this should've been a TV-show where we would really get to know the characters and watch them develop better than we do in this movie, I still feel that twisting of Brandon's mind became more and more evident. When he uttered the line "Take the world" I felt that this is truly the nightmare version of the Superman concept and I hope we will get to see more of it. The downside of the movie is that it is too short for the pacing, since we don't really get to know the characters much at all. The contrasts between the good and the evil could've been better utilized in some ways. Still, I really liked this one, despite the rather short introduction of Brandon and the murderous fate of his world.
Under the Dome (2013)
It's alright, but...
... there are definitive weaknesses in it.
*SPOILER ALERT* A SLIGHT ONE*
Consistency for one thing, the characters are way too fluctuating between good and bad, without being body snatched, they tend to completely blank out of their minds that one of their own is a multiple murderer, to suddenly become acutely aware of this fact, and then later seem to forget it altogether again. Emotionless beings show emotions etc etc, more can be added to the list. Besides, it suffers from the general problem with very unconvincing extras, sub key main characters simply non-existent for a row of episodes, even though I felt many times they should've shown their faces here and there, if for nothing else to give the viewer a sense of coherence. There are other things I found rather dumb and out of place, but I won't go into extreme detail here.
All in all, it's an entertaining show, albeit a little annoying sometimes, but overall totally ok to watch. A little long and drawn out storyline though, some things could've been done a little more effectively I think, but nevertheless, it's an ok show. I really disliked their daughter in the third season though, and I think they sidestepped the whole emotionless quality of the beings by having her behave in that manner. It ticked me off a little.
So, if you have some time to kill and want to watch something for the entertainment value alone, then by all means, watch this show.
Annihilation (2018)
An eerily beautiful movie
I see a lot of bad reviews on here, so let me add some contrast to the nay sayers' view of things. This is a really, really good one, I enjoyed it to the fullest. It's one of those flicks that moves something within me, and this is a rare thing these days. But the mystery, the beautiful horror of the scenery and happenings inside the shimmer, coupled with the perfect terror of the unexplained together with the eerie ambience, makes for a very intense experience. I can't really remember when I last felt this way about a movie. Unlike all the (apparently) Einsteins commenting here about their bruised intellects, broken logical pathways and such and yaddayaddayadda, I like to keep an open mind so for me this one's a brilliant movie. Top rating from me, one of the best movies in a long, long while. But I'll leave it up to you to form your own opinion of it. Either you hate it or you love, and I happened to love it.
Preacher (2016)
Another one of them shows I'll come back to watch over and over again.
When I first read there's going to be a TV adaptation of the comic book series I wasn't really sure what to think. I didn't read the comic book in its entirety, I had a ton of other stuff to read back then. I kept meaning to get hold of the complete series to read later on, but then other things got in the way and I forgot about it. But I do remember that I liked the very few issues I did read. But since I didn't read the entire series from cover to cover I didn't really have any expectations of this adaptation, since I didn't really have that good an insight into the story as such. Well, I watched the pilot episode and I was instantly hooked after 5 minutes.
I'm not going to go into detail about the story, characters or anything the like, you'll have to find out yourselves if you like this one or not. But, I must say I love how everything is played out, the way the characters keep growing super fast as personalities, the mood and ambiance is awesome (to me at least) and the setting makes me want to go there and see things for myself. Very few shows manages to instill such a thing in me. Penny Dreadful with all of its Victorian beauty is one of them, and so is the little town Bon Temps in True Blood, with its clammy, simple and lazily rough atmosphere. And now Preacher does the same for me and I love it. At first I was a little dubious of the casting of Preacher, but Dominic Cooper is doing a perfect job of it all as are the rest of the crew as well, and I have yet to see any failed choices in this show. Now that I've seen episode two I know that this one is one of the shows I'll come back to and revisit many many times in the future.
The bad reviews I've seen here are probably made by people who are more linear in their minds, and as such they need the same linearity in their shows, movies and stories to be able to peak their interests. Preacher is not linear, and it doesn't explain everything instantly just to keep you on board. It requires of you that you have an active mind that is sensitive to details, that you enjoy being brought along inside a story, not outside of it. If you are that kind of person, then you're in for a hell of a ride, but if you're not then this show probably will be a bummer for you. It's not a show catering for everyone's tastes.
But I wouldn't think too closely about the negative reviews, but then again, maybe you shouldn't take too favorably to the positive reviews either.
Just watch the show and come to your own conclusions.
Tata
The Revenant (2015)
Cinema history of epic proportions right here!
I'm not really sure I can add more to the reviews here than what's already been submitted, but here goes.
This is a once-in-a-decade movie, it's incredibly good. Everything from the direction to the awesome, harsh, beautiful and unforgiving scenery, script and to the overall acting is fantastic, and DiCaprio's performance is beyond flawless. A clear 10/10. DiCaprio needs a retroactive shower of Oscars, and this movie should be his crowning jewel.
A slight warning to those who cannot keep up with deeper movies where nothing continuously explodes, and there's no half-porn blonde chick with big tits running around topless licking Jason Statham's bald head while he shoots people; this movie isn't for your shallow minds. Go squeeze some popcorn and watch something simple instead.
But to every one else with active minds; watch this movie, you won't regret it. Awesome to say the least.
He Never Died (2015)
Don't be fooled by the guy who says "Don't be fooled by ratings and reviews"
This movie really is excellent in so many ways. That guy obviously missed the point in this movie, but that's his problem. You can't cater to every one's taste.
Henry Rollins surprised me completely when I watched it. I was prepared for his former way of acting which I never really cared for, but he's developed quite the acting skills it seems. I think he liked making this movie and it shows.
The movie itself is brutal and funny in unexpected places, and Rollins' character is a sleepy, conflicted and surprising one. What I really appreciate is the fact that this isn't the typical 'kick some ass'-Hollywood movie. It's got an unexpected depth and even in the end you have to think a little to fully grasp it. I found the movie to be a refreshing take on the bad ass theme and Henry Rollins instilled a new view of himself with this one. In other words, it's well worth the watch.