Every single episode:
Velma/Teddi: Hey Colter, we got a new one for you. Reward is something of tens of thousands and it's in Generic City.
Colter: Oh, Generic City? It's only 122,30 miles from me and I'll be there in 58min and 29 seconds.
Parent/Spouse/Friend/Offspring: I know Grandma was a hardcore porn addicted, but it's not like her to go missing. IT'S NOT LIKE HER.
Local police: Yeah, grandma was bat shit cray cray no worth looking any further. And get out of my city. And checking John Doe is a waste of time.
Colter: Hey John Doe, where is grandma?
John Doe: I told the cops we were dating, they didn't listen. Must have been something to do with her cock fight betting. Me and granny were in love.
Cock fight Ring Leader: Yeah, bitch owed me a couple grand, so I made her cook me chicken soup until her debt was paid. You'll never find her.
(some 15 mins of Fights, lurking, gun tossing, calls to local police, Reenie, Bobby, Tedi, Velma and Scooby Doo)
Grandma: Who are you?
Colter: Hi, Grandma, your _____ hired me to find you. You're safe now. Let's go.
Grandma: They'll never let me leave.
Colter: Follow my lead as I used to do with my dad when he showed me how to survive in the woods.
Local police: Yeah, it was good working together. You shared a lot about your dad, hope you find more, since the audience hasn't had an update since the 1st episode.
Grandma (at home): Thanks for saving me.
Colter: You should thank the person who was looking for you. (that is by far my favorite lol).
Person who hired him: (slides check like all their money isn't gone and they will eat nothing but roaches for about 2 years before recovering financially) Thank you so much.
Anybody: hey let's do something.
Colter: Nah, I don't socialize and need to brood about my dad's death, while I do jack shit to solve it.
Hmm, I loved the first season, but so far (after only watching the first episode):
1) there's ~900% more Maria Sten~/Neagley~, who's dull and unconvincing in this role, and being tasked with delivering the majority of the annoyingly received retellings of the plot points via strings of exposition that would just be redundant and even stranger (than it is here) in real life, and
2) they haven’t introduced any interesting characters (like the white lady cop and the black male cop of the first season, or even some of the recurring dirty/corrupt folks of that season) to take the load off of Reacher who isn't supposed to say much via words, and
3) the poorly incorporated and delivered info-dumps I mentioned above leading to just a bunch annoyingly bad acting taking up too much a percentage of the watching time and very little moments of seeming realness to attach to (heck, the first of surely not much more actual highlights of character development, acting, or mere coolness was a mere ~90 second scene of Reacher interacting with two ephemeral characters during a merely incidental, passing carjacking).
…So, I'm hoping some of the positive commenters have similar taste to me and thus that their positive comments on the season means it gets better in the following two released episodes.
I have been unlucky enough to watch some truly terrible TV shows, and I have to say this makes the top 5, perhaps even the top 3 worst shows ever to grace the small screen. Emma Stone…? Is this the best you got now?
This is a story about the most shallow, despicable, reprehensible, zero morals, zero ethics people who are so far beyond phony that it’s not funny in the least. You will hate everyone, and I do mean everyone, in this show. The most dislikable person is the lead actor who is also the creator, the writer and the director.
There is absolutely nothing funny about this show. Seriously, there is no comedy whatsoever, it’s about people you cannot find a single redeemable quality for and if you don’t like the players then why watch the play? For the message? The message is terrible too.
Your time is better spent vacuuming your carpet - one fiber at a time with a microscopic vacuum cleaner than it is spending even a single minute of this insanely stupid show.
The acting is on par with a play put on by three year olds.
Do yourself a favor and forget this show even exists.
The first half of this movie is really good. A corpse is found buried beneath a home. Everyone in the house is dead but police think it looks like the dead family was trying to get out. The police bring the "Jane Doe" corpse to a morgue where the protagonists, played by Hirsch and Cox, proceed to dissect it. They gradually uncover the mystery of the dead body and it's by far the most intriguing portion of the movie.
As the story progresses, it turns into more of a haunted house flick, albeit an entertaining one. There are a couple of deaths along the way that tick up the body count. One of them is an animal death which seems to occur only to bolster sympathy for Cox and Hirsch. This was likely thought necessary for those character's perils later.
There are some sustained scares but it's nothing too frightening. Only a couple of jump scares happen...nice to see that trend lessening. If you're averse to gore, especially surgical gore, you may want to steer clear of this.
The ending was decent. Nothing mind boggling, but the best fit given the tone of the rest of the story.
Overall, this was a nice surprise. It was better than expected.
I honestly think this whole season was a waste of time because I can't even name three things that would make this season relevant. It just feels like pure filler with bad writing. I'm sure I could have skipped this whole thing and didn't miss out on anything.
- I can't believe Bear just suddenly remembered he had a camera installed. What an absolute lame "twist" to solve Kenny's death.
- Geraldine was just... pointless? I thought she might be involved with the Twelve or has some personal agenda, hidden secrets or something. But I guess the whole point of her was to have mommy issues?
- I was hoping for more infos about the Twelve when Villanelle becomes a keeper, but I neither know what a keeper even is nor do I have any more knowledge about the Twelve. Disappointing and feels like a wasted story that Villanelle tried to go up the ranks.
- The ending was okay. I wish I could be more emotionally involved, but the whole season was such a drag that I just feel... numb. It's nice they finally chose each other, but I hope that'll be relevant in the next season because the cat and mouse game gets a bit boring by now. And I hope they'll finish with season four.
Just what we can expect from the police these days (actually always, just disgusting). This documentary was okay but left us with more questions. It triggered some things for me, so if you're an assault victim, be careful watching.
Who were the other 2 guys they heard? Who was the main target? There are rumours out there the actual target was Andrea, the ex-girlfriend, to push her back into the arms of a cop, with whom she's currently married. She won't speak. Is this really true? Then why did Muller take Denise anyway even though he realised she wasn't Andrea. Makes me believe he would always do what he did and his stories were bullshit. He had some near misses in the years before, so...
Who was the person who ordered the hit? I would look really hard for those person or persons. But again, the police won't investigate further even though they heard 2 other men talking. This case isn't closed in my mind, more shit will come to light, as it always does and it wouldn't surprise me if more 'men in service' will be associated.
I think Muller actually was a real sadist, because he made Denise complicit in her own rape, which is evil on another level. She had to endure every second of that, without even having the escape of disassociation, just because he wanted the 'girldfriend' experience. Again, sadism on another level.
I truly admire her strength and want her and every assault or rape victim to know they did nothing wrong. We just follow our instincts and survive or die. Whether it's freezing, complying, fighting,... There is no right or wrong way to act in these situations, your gut feeling and sometimes sheer 'luck' will dictate all. And even then, you might not make it out alive.
And people please, just stop believing what the media or movies portray rape to be and how victims act. Like the lawyer said, this is real life and everyone is different and reacts differently to life altering trauma.
If you want more info, there is a book Denise and her husband wrote. They really deserved more than those measly few millions that probably didn't even cover their legal fees and loss of income and there are several episodes about this case on Real Crime Profile with interviews from them and Misty.
Time for some eyebleach now.
When I started this show, the night of the multiple Emmy wins, I was confused. It seemed like an Arrested Development rip-off with a load of more conventional sitcom tropes thrown in, but without the laughter track.
After the first two seasons, I found myself asking people who'd watched it all about when it gets good. And now, having watched every episode, I find myself asking the same question. There were some great scenes and some good episodes, but never a consistent run of great episodes. At no point was it funny enough to justify the tedious and saccharine sentimentality (if I'd wanted to watch The Waltons, I would've done), nor emotionally striking enough to justify the comedy deficit. The only 'emotional' moment really that worked was the final scene with Alexis and Ted.
In its favour, it had great leads performing the thin material very well, and it was an easy, unchallenging watch. One of the key features of a good comedy is whether I'd want to watch it again, and in this case it is very unlikely.
So I'm still left wondering what merited all those Emmys, not least because every main character (other than maybe Alexis) had become a broad caricature of themselves by the weak final season. That said, the Emmy's picked a serviceable but unremarkable Rick & Morty episode over one of the greatest TV episodes ever (the penultimate episode of Bojack), so what the hell do they know?
It was okay. Just okay. Nothing spectacular, nothing terrible either.
I think the same way Taika Waititi's last movie, Thor: Love and Thunder was flawed with lots and lots of cheesy often even bad jokes, Next Goal Wins is flawed. If you ask me the jokes are better than in Thor: Love and Thunder but still way to much.
The plot it self was a great "idea", if you can say so, as it is of course based on a true story.
The film still had a good entertainment value through it's cheesy jokes. Let's put it like this: I wasn't bored at the theatre.
Acting was okay i guess. The characters were okay as well. There was sadly no real good character development, of course the team's mindset and Thomas Rongen's mindset in perticular were changed throughout the film , but I still wished for a greater/better character developement than this predictable yet fair development.
One of my biggest issues with this flick is the cinematography. I mean there there were almost only medium shots or other "normal" shots in order to convey the dialogue/whats happening. There were nearly no "establishing shots" (extreme wide shots) nor any other interesting shots it was just a really boring shot movie. If Lachlan Milne was responsible for this, then I am really disappointed with his work here. If the comparatively small budget of 14 Million USD was the reason for this, the I will let it slide..
I don't want to shit talk this movie here, but these two aspects really annoyed me throughout the whole movie.
However these two aspects being bad don't mean that the whole movie is bad.
It's an "mid" movie. As I already said, nothing spectacular, nothing terrible either.
Kind of forgettable I believe.
My personal rating:
-Plot (Story Arc and Plausibility): 6/10
-Attraction (Premise & Entertainment Value): 6/10
-Theme (Identity & Depth): 5/10
-Acting (Characters & Performance): 5/10
-Dialogue (Storytelling & Context): 5/10
-Cinematography (Visual Language & Lighting, Setting, and Wardrobe): 4/10
-Editing (Pace & Effects): 4.5/10
-Soundtrack (Sound Design & Film Score): 6/10
-Directing (Vision & Execution): 5/10
-The “It” Factor (One-of-a-Kind & Transcendent): 5/10Overall: 5/10 || 51.5/100
[7.6/10] Another winning episode. The realization that the Roses are overdrawn and in need of a cash infusion leads to some good bits.
I particularly enjoyed Alexis panicking about the sudden lack of resources and being well-intentioned about it, but not actually equipped to handle it. Her trying to scoop make-up back in a bottle or forego her usual smoothie in favor of “a hose” are amusing attempts at frugality. There’s something noble, if misguided, about her trying to “earn” her way into a job that’s been offered by her ex. And her sympathy card for her dad is sweet. Color me shocked, but I’m actually liking where they’re taking Alexis after the show dispensed with the dumb romcom stuff.
I’m also liking the awkward position Johnny’s in of being used to being the provider but needing to ask his son for money. His less-than-smooth effort to convey that need to David, and the two of them trying and failing to negotiate and ATM were both good comic scenes. Once again, there’s even a nice bit of heart to it, with Johnny hugging his kids (over David’s objections). There’s even a nice comic follow-up to it, with Johnny announcing that he’s hugging them and Moira incredulously asking “why?”
Speaking of Moira, her search for nude photos of herself on the internet, and her despondency at not being able to find them, was another winning comic premise. The humorous reversal of someone lamenting the lack of naked pictures on the web continues to bring the laughs, and Moira’s speeches are great. Whether it’s her trying to cajole David into finding them for her or telling Stevie not to worry about how “spooky” she looks, O’Hara knocks it out of the park. Her lack of understanding of how the internet works is another good vein of comedy.
But I also like the touch of real feeling behind it. Her speech to Stevie, however insulting, ends on the note that we all get older and will one day look back at the parts of ourselves we’re insecure about and think how beautiful we were. Moira’s doing that wistfully, wanting some record of her salad days, and as funny as the framing is here, the show adds a touch of poignance. The fact that Johnny hung onto a candid polaroid is another oddly sweet resolution, one that makes the Roses a little more endearing even as they’re still spoiled and aloof.
Overall, a nicely funny episode with a little more going on under the hood.
Set between world wars, Amsterdam chases a trio of unlikely misfits who uncover a conspiracy to replace FDR with a fascist-friendly puppet. As the three sleuths are also old friends with a complicated history and unfinished personal business, we spend nearly as much time exploring their past as we do probing the contemporary plot. That’s where the famously free-spirited capital city comes in. Having met in a Dutch military hospital during WWI, grown restless together and summarily escaped, they proceeded to paint the town red until responsibility drew them back home to America and life got in the way.
Given the wealth of potential flavor in the mix, it’s downright shocking that this makes for such dull cinema. Secret Nazi societies, mentally-unhinged aristocrats and purveyors of postwar facial prosthetics? Speakeasies and sterilization clinics and posh, theatrical labor rallies? Christian Bale, Robert De Niro and Margot Robbie are here! Taylor Swift gets pushed under a bus! This thing is dying to be all loose and quirky and shocking, trying its hardest to mimic the Coen Brothers, but evidently it took the wrong notes and learned the wrong lessons from that filmography. Like peering through the window of a Ripley’s Believe-it Or Not, then visiting a doctor’s waiting room instead.
David O. Russell's first film in many years is very frustrating. It was already clear from the trailers that the large cast, peppered with many well-known names, was supposed to be the selling point of "Amsterdam". And that is precisely the film's major flaw. There are simply far too many characters who are frequently given little to do. Every time a new actor first appears, the camera lingers on their face forever. This can be extremely uncomfortable at times. Nobody in the cast even comes close to bringing their A-game. Of the main trio, I mostly liked Christian Bale's Burt. Meanwhile, Margot Robbie is in real danger of being typecast. And Harold, played by John David Washington, is a bore.
I also have little positive to say about the plot. Most importantly, it is totally convoluted. The majority of the film is made up of sequences with multiple people standing or sitting in a room. And there is a lot of talking. Every single one of those conversations overstayed its welcome. These scenes are accompanied by a score that is nothing more than background noise. To avoid being so damn boring, the story should have been greatly streamlined.
The only positive aspects are the solid cinematography, excellent costume design, and overall production values. Still, the absurdly high $80 million budget for this type of film can only be explained by the massive cast. There are no expensive set pieces or, at the very least, elaborate scenes. It is stated at the beginning of the film that "a lot of this really happened." I have no doubts about that, because nothing noteworthy occurs in "Amsterdam"—at least not in the movie.
I did not read the books, and I did not play any of the games (although I heard at least one of the games is of great quality in storytelling) so I went into this show more or less a blank slate.
And boy it is bad.... The writing is just dreadful. I think the writers assumed prior knowledge to the world and characters, and lean on that assumption too heavily.
From the very beginning it is poorly written. Timelines are messy and unclear, exposition is done terribly, worldbuilding looked like an afterthought and taken from a first draft, the pacing is all over the place and inconsistent over time as well inconsistent for each subplot. Episode structure is even irratic. They presented us a continuous story, but several episodes focused more on little episodic adventures that did not impact the main storyline all that much. And for a show with only 8 episodes, that is deadly and lead to other stories being rushed or simply put on hold for the next season (I assume.)
Toward the middle of the show, it started to get a bit better and I thought it could be promising after a bit rocky start, but in the end they could not deliver and it turned into an utter and complete trainwreck (oh that last episode, I almost fell out of my chair several times from disbelieve.) Rushed plot resolutions, while other characters stories crawled to a complete standstill with close to no progression or character development, in somecases even for the whole season.
What the show does have going for it: Photography, sets and costume design are beautiful!
I really did not want to dislike this, but it looked like they actively tried to make me stop watching.
Note: This review is about season 1.
Enjoyed this!
2023's 'Wonka' is very good! It's an original story based upon the Roald Dahl novel, so it isn't an adaptation as such like the 1971 and 2005 flicks. With that I didn't find it quite as interesting as what's portrayed in the aforementioned films, but I do appreciate (and prefer, tbh) that they went a different way with it here. And it comes out nicely.
Timothée Chalamet gives a strong performance in the lead role. Those behind Chalamet are entertaining, from Calah Lane to Keegan-Michael Key to the trio of Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas and Mathew Baynton - the latter three's dance number for the Chief of Police near the beginning is amusing. The musical elements in general are solid.
Tom Davis and Olivia Colman are fun too. All characters played by those mentioned above after Lane could've easily have been extremely cringey, but thankfully I didn't find that to be the case for any of them at all - very well written, shown and cast in that regard.
Someone I have yet to mention is a certain someone as Lofty, an Oompa-Loompa. Hugh Grant is excellent as the orange-skinned, green-haired fellow, even if they did use Grant's best bits in the trailers; which I usually avoid due to those sort of (albeit minor) spoilers, but evidently failed to do so here.
All in all, I'd say this is a success. Credit to them for delivering, especially as I was kinda nonplussed by the already noted trailers (Grant aside).
Anatomy of a Fall is a clever and compelling drama about a woman who must prove her innocence after the unexpected death of her husband.
It's not quite a mystery/why whodunnit, or a full-blown courtroom drama. And it's not a foreign movie either, as it slips in and out of English and French. It’s a movie about the complications of a situation and the language barrier to get information across, both literal, as our main character has some trouble speaking French, as she is originally from Germany, and metaphorical with trying to communicate what we are feeling and saying to people who don’t seem to listen.
We slowly learn what type of relationship it was between her and her husband during the trial, as she shares personal information to prove her innocence or a secretly recorded audio during a heated moment that gives you a better idea of their relationship.
Sandra Hüller's performance was fantastic, and her character is complex. One scene is when she delivers a fiery monologue, and it holds you in your place. I was unaware of her work beforehand, but after this film - she is on my radar. I cannot wait to see her in the Auschwitz film The Zone of Interest.
There is a stellar child performance from Milo Machado Graner and a challenging part, especially for his age, but he blew me away. The final speech he delivers towards the end is both beautiful and devastating.
All the acting from the cast was superb. Even the family dog was fantastic.
The directing and camera work was superb, and every shot was well thought out and presented effectively. The script was tremendous, as the dialogue and plot were terrific, but it also gave the actors a lot to work with.
My only issue with the film is the courtroom stuff, which slowed the pacing. While those scenes weren’t awful, they just got repetitive after a while.
Overall rating: Anatomy of a Fall is a gripping drama that keeps you guessing. Both while you are watching the movie and long after it’s over.
I'm trying to enjoy this and failing at every attempt. Don't get me wrong, this is solid entertaining mainstream tv. With that comes your typical lack of attention to details, plot conveniences, upped drama & visually pleasing action. As someone who read the incredible source material of the witcher though, I can by now clearly say that this is a mainstream retelling falsely advertised as a faithful adaptation.
The differences are not in any way, shape or form subtle. Yennefer, one of the 3 main characters of the series, has a widely different arc throughout this season than in the books and her arcs' climax in this episode is a betrayal to her character and her relationship with both Ciri & Geralt. Ciri can apparently open portals before training & learning how to control her chaos. And let's not start on Vesemir. The changes extend to the very lore of the continent with elves being able to reproduce now which would render some of the future conflicts with Ciri meaningless. That's just a small portion of the changes. Plot, lore & characters changes.
They had a perfectly apt source material with a huge fan base ready to love & support it. They advertised it as a faithful adaptation and spread stories on how henry cavill is making sure they're staying true to the books, which sounds ridiculous now. Then they either failed to follow up with their intentions or straight up decided the story wasn't good enough and needed their interference. Beyond disappointed.
It’s hard to pin down what precisely is the problem so far for me, other than the whole thing wrapped up together. But primarily the hair and makeup and costuming of the series so far isn’t doing any favors for believability. Everything looks either extremely pristine or over the top grungy.
Perhaps is it’s the way the scenes are shot, where lighting isn’t allowing characters to exist in any sort of environment. It’s often this very flat, non-textured lighting style that has no mood. This is primarily lit by candlelight and fires, yes? So it feels as though there should perhaps be higher contrast ratios, or some smoke added. Maybe even some light dappling. Exterior daytime scenes don’t really have this problem to the same extent and interior night scenes (where it’s meant to be very low light) don’t either.
And I’ll also cite an issue here with the length of these episodes so far. I totally understand we’re in the realm of searching for the next Game of Thrones, but runtime should be earned by their plot. So far I feel like these ~60 minute episodes are written to be an hour plus, rather than writing content that just would need an hour to pace out evenly.
These are nitpicks, but they’re nitpicks that contribute to a larger whole, resulting in a suspension of disbelief that I just can’t quite muster all of the time.
This makes me miss 90s Alexander Payne. The Holdovers is a warm blanket film, and while it's one of the better films in that 'genre', I think it’s hard to argue for this being better than just fine. As per usual with Payne, its biggest strength is the (comedic) voice that's found in the dialogue, which is maybe surprising because he didn't write this one himself. The performances by Sessa and Giamatti are also really good, and I appreciate the effort of trying to capture the 70s through its filmmaking style. It's bound to become a new Christmas favourite because of the warmth and sentimentality, most of which is rightfully earned (he goes a little overboard with the score, but it's not a dealbreaker). I was thinking a lot about Dead Poet's Society when watching this, and the emotion here definitely feels more authentic by comparison. However, it just doesn't have much of a story to tell. There's not enough conflict or thematic depth to fill the overlong runtime here. The character dynamics, while not awful, feel familiar and safe. This leads to a problem that can be found in a lot of films like this, which is that filmmakers don't want to go to a place that's challenging or bold. The end result is recommendable, but if you'd take Payne's stamp out of it, this would be called out for being a schmaltzy Hallmark film.
6/10
I have no familiarity with the Castlevania video games, so it was only word of mouth that convinced me to give this a watch. That, and the very appealing short length (4 episodes, each about 25 minutes) make for a good recipe to try it out. I was pretty impressed, this is a gruesome, dramatic and surprisingly funny series.
It's the voice cast that really sell it. A who's-who of the sci-fi and fantasy world give us the likes of James Callis, Richard Armitage and Graham McTavish providing three of the male lead roles, with the wonderful Tomy Amendola providing a supporting part. All the voice acting is stellar and fit the characters they were playing extremely well. Armitage in particular gets in some wonderful sarcastic humour as Trevor and it makes him far more likeable than if he were just a brooding outcast type. Meanwhile, Alejandra Reynoso gives him a run for his money as Sypher and I found her to be the most interesting character in the show due to her hopeful attitude, ability with magic and one of the funnier lines in the season (peeing in a bucket).
I appreciated that this wasn't a constant orgy of violence and action. Character building is done well, and time is taken for scenes to play out through just talking; there's a really funny bar scene in which two drunks discuss their woes which involve bestiality and apparant incest (full of disgusting dialogue, this is not a show for kids). Fighting is present, of course, and it's delightfully over the top in terms of blood and gore. as well as creative.
The animation and visual style are where I struggled to connect. It's modelled on anime which I find pretty much unwatchable, but that's just a personal preference. While the backgrounds are vibrant, the characters are bland and the movement is choppy. If this hadn't had the soul and charm brought by the voice cast and enjoyable script, I doubt I would have made it past the first episode.
I can say straight up this will not be a movie for everyone, but it really clicked for me. I would also say a blind watch is preferable in movies like this, I went in knowing almost nothing and if possible I think that's the way to watch the movie if possible.
For me it was incredibly immersive once established, with incredible sound design and score. The slow build of tension, unease and dread as things unfold. I'll admit, I've always been a fan of mediums that give the viewer the same amount of knowledge of whats going on as the characters have, and this nails that.
The premise has a whole has been done many times before, including this years Knock at the Cabin, but I've not seen that or read the book it was based on. But in relation to the other similar films, this takes the top spot for me.
While the ending itself is probably the weakest part of the movie for me personally because it answers just slightly too many questions a little bit too easily, the journey to get there was still worth the time and I think the ending might still work for others.
Between 1983 and 1997, Jim Varney gave us the Ernest anthology of films. This series was seemingly resurrected by Martin Scorcese, in this unofficially subtitled addition "Ernest Tap Dances On My Last Nerve For 3 Hours".
Come on folks, this is a Scorcese film. The man who gives us endlessly rewatchable films like Goodfellas, Casino, Wolf of Wall Street. Fantastic pieces of work that will last forever.
This is not such a film.
It is bloated. Poorly paced. Starved of any real emotions for much of its duration. And when the end comes to finally put it out of its misery, it lacks any punch. Much to the chagrin of the director who casts himself in an overly-wrought cameo.
It isn't a catastrophe. De Niro puts in a great day's work, Di Caprio is consumed by the role. There are plenty of fine actors around them doing fine work. It's just a mess of edits and lacking focus.
I struggle to see a great film in this even if the fat was taken off it. It just isn't a masterpiece in hiding. And that's sad because the bones of the story itself is well worth telling.
They say every great fighter has one great fight left in him. I wonder if we have seen that already from Scorcese and this is one fight too many...
Full of gorgeous cinematography and some tear-inducing acting by its cast, especially a surprising breakout performance by Alice Halsey, Lessons in Chemistry is a better-than-serviceable but too-trite-to-be-great miniseries that is, despite its faults, absolutely worth your valuable time.
Brie Larson is magnetic as Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant wishcast of a woman whose talent and ambition are stifled by all of the sexism and ignorance of 1950s America. As insidious as all of the offenses against her are, and as affecting as her performance navigating them is, at times the scenes feel like a checklist of problems that women trying to break through into male-dominated workplaces in a male-centric society face. Ironically, it's during her scenes with other women when the real malevolence of gender discrimination comes through and when she loses many of her battles.
But what starts out as the premise of the show is quickly overshadowed by the love story between Larson's Zott and Lewis Pullman's Calvin Evans. They have a wonderful, um, chemistry, and the twist that sends the show down a totally different pathway is gut-wrenching, to say the least.
The appearance of Madeline gives the show another boost, and Alice Halsey simply mesmerizes in the role. Her brilliance and precociousness suck up every scene that she's in to the point where the parts that she wasn't in felt unnecessary. Who cares what happens to Elizabeth's show? I want to see what Mad is up to!
And that's the irony of this show: The parts that are good are startingly good; they make the parts that feel too contrived or too convenient, or too formulaic stand out all the more. There's a great show buried within the series, but it's surrounded by to much fluff to ever break out and truly shine.
The most straightforward genre film Fincher has made since Panic Room, and probably his goofiest effort since The Game. It’s not great, what’s really lacking here is that inventive spark that makes his best work tick. The script is generally cliche, repetitive, predictable and sometimes cheesy. That’s not entirely surprising given that the film’s based on a graphic novel, and thankfully the film is at the very least somewhat aware of its own shortcomings. For example, there are some really funny moments of dark comedy through the film’s use of cynical narration. I also feel like Fincher is self-inserting himself in Fassbender’s character here (it’s kinda obvious if you’re familiar with his other work), but that ultimately doesn’t lead to a new, unique insight. It’s not a secret metaphor for filmmaking or Fincher’s career, at least I’m not seeing that. At most it just feels like Fincher taking a laugh at himself. It’s also not really reinventing the wheel when it comes to the way that it explores the serial killer as a cinematic archetype. Instead, this movie is at its best when Fincher’s finding new ways to present familiar ideas. The set pieces are pretty decent, he still knows how to bring the tension, shoot with precision and use great sound design & score. His use of songs from The Smiths adds a cool stylish touch, or it comments on scenes in an ironic way. Again, the sum doesn’t add up to something special or unique, but because it's made with a lot of skill and sleek style, it doesn't feel as disposable as a lot of other films like it.
5.5/10
"I'd like you to meet the team"
[Pans to a small child kicking a football against the side of a building]
I feel absolutely gaslit by the internet on this one. While I enjoyed the return of lofi traps over the extravagent, over-the-top machines they became later in the series, Saw X is absolute drivel and feels like it was written by ChatGPT. Outside of a few John and Amanda scenes which scratched my nostalgia itch for this franchise, this has little to no redeeming qualities that I can think of; it's just all so awful. The Mexico-yellow filter, Amandas comical wig, the truly awful dialogue, the song and dance they perform to pull off a twist with this threadbare plotline. I say this as someone that has a soft spot for Saw 1 - 6, this might be up there with 7 onwards in terms of how bad it is. I really thought after all the positive buzz on here and review aggragator websites that this might be a return to form for the franchise, but it seems I set my expectations a little too high.
Just watch Saw 1 - 3 again and pretend like nothing else was made after those. Trust me.
Barbenheimer: Part 1 of 2
This is the kind of film I really don’t want to criticize, because we don’t get nearly enough other stuff like it. However, mr. Nolan has been in need of an intervention for a while now, and unfortunately all of the issues that have been plaguing his films since The Dark Knight Rises show up to some degree here. Visually it might just be his best film, and there’s some tremendous acting in here, particularly by Murphy and RDJ. However, it makes the common biopic mistake of treating its subject matter like a Wikipedia entry, thereby not focussing enough on character and perspective. As a whole, the film feels more like a long extended montage, I don’t think there are many scenes that go on for longer than 60 seconds. There’s a strong ‘and then this happened, and then this happened’ feel to it, which definitely keeps up the pace, but it refuses to stop and let an emotion or idea simmer for a while. There are moments where you get a look into Oppenheimer’s mind, but because the film wants to cover too much ground, it’s (like everything else) reduced to quick snippets. It’s the kind of approach that’d work for a 6 hour long miniseries where you can spend more time with the characters, not for a 3 hour film. I can already tell that I won’t retain much from this, in fact a lot of it is starting to blur together in my mind. There are also issues with some of the dialogue and exposition, such as moments where characters who are experts in their field talk in a way that feels dumbed down for the audience, or just straight up inauthentic. Einstein is given a couple of cheesy lines, college professors and students interact in a way that would never happen, Oppenheimer gives a lecture in what’s (according to the movie) supposed to be Dutch when it’s really German; you have to be way more careful with that when you’re making a serious drama. Finally, there are once again major issues with the sound mixing. I actually really loved the score, but occasionally it’s blaring at such a volume where it drowns out important dialogue in the mix. I’m lucky enough to have subtitles, but Nolan desperately needs to get his ears checked, or maybe he should’ve asked some advice from Benny Safdie since he’s pretty great with experimental sound mixing. My overall feelings are almost identical to the ones I had regarding Tenet; Nolan needs to rethink his approach to writing, editing and mixing. This film as a whole doesn’t work, but there are still more than a few admirable qualities to it.
Edit: I rewatched this at home to see whether my feeling would change. I still stand by what I wrote in July, though the sound mix seems to have been improved for the home media release. It sounds more balanced and I didn’t miss one line of dialogue this time around. I’m slightly raising my score because of that, but besides that I still think it’s unfocused, overedited, awkwardly staged and scripted etc.
5.5/10
I have not watched Arrival since the year it came out (and even then I was late to the party). This rewatch definitely made me appreciate it more than the first time around.
I think my problem from the get go has always been that I thought the movie was massively overhped and I still do. I also get why people love it.
The movie does know how to deliver on its atmosphere and sets a very unique tone. It's something between melancholy, dread and even a sense of uncomfortable unsettlement. Different from any other science fiction film I've watched.
I also like the concept of the movie. Instead of your typical alien Invasion with a lot of explosions it's all about the communication, the use of language and the importance of it. That aspect is brilliant.
The lead performance by Amy Adams is also again fantastic. She gives a beautiful performance and deserved all the recognition for it and more. Or as we should call it: Another performance Amy Adams should've gotten the Oscar for and somehow didn't.
Also great in this despite not having much to do, Jeremy Renner.
The aliens also have a unique and interesting design and their form of communication is imaginative and new.
Then the plot twist happens and the film kinda loses me.
Before you think I'm nuts, hear me out on this one. I understand the film. I understand the twist. I like the general thought of this personal and also moral dilemma Louise is going through by knowing the future and still letting it play out. It certainly makes for an interesting discussion and keeps you thinking about it long after you finished the film. I appreciate all that. I also think this is one of the better uses of non-linear storytelling.
I just...found myself honestly not caring much about it all. Again, I like the thought provoking element of it, not the whole time travel hijinks and the "let's stop the Chinese from blowing up our new alien buddies" aspect, that's when the film suddenly borders into cliché territory.
The pacing is also a big issue for me. It starts out intriguing, slows down too much in the middle part and then turns into a messy third act. The middle part is especially frustrating because a lot of the linguistic centric parts of the story are told via montage and voice over. How was that thing with the show not tell?
Despite great performances I also think for such a "prestige" film the characters fall pretty flat. Especially the whole military cast surrounding Forrest Whitaker (who I can't take seriously no matter what he's doing) who are all pretty run-in-the-mill been there done that characters.
"Arrival" is an interesting film that certainly deserves it's fan base. For me it's trying a little bit too hard to be meaningful and important but "not for me" definitely doesn't equal "not good."
I have to admit, I was really confused during most of this. I don't get what Camille's plan was...? She realized her mom was the killer and was making Amma sick? So she went home and... pretended to be sick? So that her mom would poison her? And then she hoped she could get a message to Richard to come help? Or... what? Why didn't she... do... something else?
That aside, it was a pretty chilling climactic sequence and nice to have a final "confrontation" sort of, though I guess they don't really resolve much and we don't really get to hear from Adora. But I guess that makes sense since she's super repressed. Not much resolution for Camille and Richard either, but that also makes sense since their relationship never had anywhere to go. Nice to see a show take its time to have a proper ending though, nice little epilogue. I guess Amma is actually the killer in the end, so what does that mean for Adora...? She was guilty of killing her daughter and making her kids sick, but not of the other crimes? What's Amma's motive, other than just being messed up? Eh.
I didn't like this show very much, the style wasn't for me, and I couldn't relate to the characters.
This is the first episode of this show that I actually enjoyed. I thought this was very good. Maybe I am just getting used to the characters more, but I liked the relationship between Camille and her mother this episode, and with her sister. I thought her sister was sort of bratty and hard to relate to, but it's much more understandable here and the way they start making progress only to have the article tear it apart, then they make back up again was sweet. Camille's mom is also someone I disliked, but she really is quite tragic and I felt bad for her this episode. I guess she really is trying her best, though her best is rooted in so many outdated ideas and insecurities, but she started to realize it and open up about it, which is nice!
I also just feel Camille's situation very relateable. I understand being in a place that makes you feel like a bad person. And how hard it can be to do something as simple as visit a clothing store. Not to mention the torture of having to attend such a fake social event, haha.
I guess there's a murder mystery happening as well. I don't have any suspects. I'd guess it's not either of the two guys they suspect. I keep wanting to think it's that older lady, especially with how she literally spent the whole episode trying to shove herself into other people's business, but I'm not sure that really makes sense.
I would have liked maybe a tiny bit more of epilogue instead of just people taking their fateful places, but it was still quite fitting. From the swimming scene to the joyful but grotesque abomination of the kitchen scene to the ending.
There are two things I would like to highlight. The first one is water. There was that episode in the first season where people were joking that Logan can't swim, and at the end of that episode he did swim when only Marcia saw it, but ever since then Ken was obsessed with water and staying above water to prove that he can float and swim.Now we were literally shown that his sibling can swim as well, and it's fucking amazing he was even denied of water at the end. I don't know if him being gone and done would mean that he would kill himself after these events, but it can certainly mean he was ripped off of his natural habitat and while that does not make him repent for what he did and what he is, it is certainly the cruelest and most fitting poetic justice.
The other thing is person-on-person violence. This show has always been about verbal and emotional abuse, very carefully picking one moment every season where that emotinal abuse was not enough for someone and it manifested into physical. In season 1 Logan hit one of his grandkids, in season 2 he slapped Roman, in season 3 Roman pushed Kendall on his birthday and he fell. And while this season was pushing that limit e.g. Shiv falling and drinking while pregnant, now we got TWO of it, mainly the outburst of coincidentally Roman insulting Kendall's kids. The moments of violence are always carefully picked and always terrifying because they always made it seem like it can't get worse than emotional. But it can. Fucking amazing genius of a show.
That was such an incredibly sad but perfect and correct ending.
I don't understand people who didn't like the ending because their favorite character didn't win. After 4 seasons with these despicable characters did anyone expect the Roy kids to unite and defeat the bad guy with the power of love and friendship? It was never going to end that way.
The three siblings just could never get over their egos. They all proved, through the 4 seasons, that they’re basically useless and the only reason they were ever in the discussion to be CEO is because Logan was their father. They'd rather destroy everything than have only one of the trio take the upper hand. Shiv just could not let her brother have a win, even if it meant her losing as well. Perfectly summed up their whole family dynamic and the show as a whole.
The siblings are so entitled and self-absorbed they never saw Tom coming. They’ve never had to work for a damn thing. I don't like Tom, but it makes sense for someone like Tom, who worked his way from the ground up and earned himself the position he was in.
The scene with the siblings making that awful smoothie and them watching their dad reveal yet another side of himself was so nice among the insanity that came in between.
That penultimate shot with Shiv and Tom in the car was phenomenal. Complete shift in the power dynamic. After marrying him specifically because she thought he was weak enough to keep holding power over.
Kendall not winning every season. That’s rough.
Willa revamping Logan's apartment with a cow print couch.
In the end Conor was the only one to have any kind of a relationship with Logan, the other kids are never shown having moments with him like he did at the recorded dinner.
Greg translating the Swedish in real time is the smartest thing he’s ever done. Four seasons and I cannot for the life of me understand why he would put up with that. His uncle offered him $250mil to get away from the firm.
But the biggest thing for me coming out of this episode is Kendall’s son isn’t really his. It really came out of nowhere and seemed more like a fact than a rumor the way everyone reacted to it.
All in all, Succession stuck to the show’s core till the end. In a way it’s a predictable ending but because it’s television and we expect some twist where a cool character comes out on top we don’t expect the expected. The outcome is pretty much what you’d expect from all the characters knowing their faults
Some payoff, lots of well-shot edge-of-your-seat action and we finally have our first monster kill!
