Deals with plenty of worldbuiding on "the ape world after-Caesar", and I quite liked that Caesar is presented as this mythological figure whose legend is misused by the next generation. But it doesn't stand on a best-written story, at least not after the first trilogy, with the 3rd film already showing its weakness.
There's a whole new generation of apes and humans taking the spotlight here, and I feel like this setting could've been utilized better as it can be a fresh start to the world for new audience (the audience being as clueless as Noa or Mae here). But there's no "real" conflict... the film plants us the seed of doubt toward Mae and her supposedly ulterior motives that Proximus sometimes appear to be a reasonable voice, but there's no payoff to that build up, even when the film ends with Noa agreeing in some part with Proximus.
The film rehashes the question of "can apes live together side by side with humans", which makes sense given that these are new generation of apes and humans, but we've seen that in the 2nd film already, and I feel like this film just ends up being a filler to set the stage for the sequel.
Not that MCU is good, but this film feels like a weaker DCEU version of Thor: Dark World (with Orm siding with Arthur - they even throw a shade at Loki) and Black Panther (with Atlantis opening up to the world and Arthur preaching about kindness and technology to solve... climate change, lol).
The film has no stake at all. Throughout the film you'll see some supposed tense between the characters, but every instances of supposed betrayal or any semblance of conflict is a cop out or played out as a joke. People get hurt, they are burned or stabbed badly, but they recover minutes later. The emotional hook is supposed to be Arthur's failure to manage his kingdom but this never got developed further. Instead we see some council lecturing Arthur in one scene and Orm's motivational speech about believing in yourself in the next. The Thor-Loki-like reluctant brotherly dynamics of Arthur-Orm is mostly about a competition of delivering funnier banters.
The film is a jumble of one action scene to another, but even if you count this as an action film, the action sequences are super underdeveloped. Most action scenes literally happened off-screen, and while the camera moves swiftly to deliver some speed when there is an actual action, it lacks the punch and impact when our heroes and villains exchange blows. The penultimate showdown with Black Manta is super short, and the centuries-slumbering monster-king of the titular The Lost Kingdom is vanquished in one trident blow.
I like the visual and some world-building of Atlantis though. Flashy CGI, beautiful flowing hair. The scenes in the bar, the underworld, and daily lives of Atlantean makes me feel like it's an aquatic version of Star Wars galactic life. Much potential here, but I don't know if it's something that the directors will tap into further in the next films.
For a final send-off to DCEU before James Gunn's takeover, The Lost Kingdom delivers its job as a popcorn flick Christmas blockbuster albeit with too much forgettable substandard story and action sequences.
A slow-burn crime drama sprinkled with dark comedy up until the third act as they are really close to solving the murder cases. The first two-thirds are very characteristic of South Korean film drama with awkward humor paced between drama and thriller mystery, but it never drifted away from the cinematic piece in the third act. The sound design and minimalist score emphasizes dramatic moments; with Bong-Joon Ho giving the third act an intense jolt as everything gets connected and arrived at the powerful climax (the famous train track scene), and, ultimately, a chilling ending that revisits the opening scene with an lingering feeling of bleakness.
"Do you get up each morning too?"
Layer Cake is a stylish British crime drama with a keen eye for cinematography. Daniel Craig's performance as a savvy amateur crook already gets mentioned frequently, but I'd like to highlight Matthew Vaughn's slick directing, crafting some of the slickest transitions and interesting camera work depicting deaths and pivotal moments in the film. You can almost glimpse the blueprint of his future projects like First Class and Kingsmen.
The script might not break new grounds; it offers the expected crime film twists and turns, but enough to keep you glued to your seat and enjoying the ride--as long as you get your eyes fixated on the screen and not on your phone like most Netflix goers nowadays. The film veers into a Fargo-esque vibe as events spiral out of control as the characters straddling through the chaos. As with Fargo, there is no real focus on making them "interesting" and just a depiction of how they navigate through the haywire they got themselves into. In the end, everything is artfully resolved.
The concept is intriguing. The theme of local wisdom set in Saranjana, a mythical city beneath the waters of South Kalimantan, is captivating. Unfortunately, the execution is embarrassingly poor.
The film aims to blend horror, drama, and science fiction, but fails entirely. The storyline is incredibly flat—while this might work for a horror film, the execution here is so poor that the film lacks any grounding whatsoever.
The film starts without any clear direction, featuring a band concert somewhere, followed by a petty drama among the band members leading to the vocalist's disappearance. There's a hint of horror initially, but it abruptly intensifies when the vocalist seems possessed and wanders off to Saranjana (we find out after 15 mins that the film actually takes place in South Kalimantan). The band embarks on a quest before the film transitions into a horror segment as they try to find their way to Saranjana. Once the mythical city is revealed, a science fiction element is introduced, closing with a return to drama.
The horror is subpar, the drama fails to evoke any emotion, and the science fiction lacks imagination.
Let's discuss the horror first. The film markets itself as a "horror" film, but it merely throws various supernatural entities without any horror tension. Pocong appears, a supernatural baby emerges, the spirit of a dancer appears, but everything comes off as absurd. The scene with the pocong is particularly ridiculous. It seems the director hoped to induce horror through quantity—every appearance of a pocong involves a multitude (sometimes a dozen), yet there's no buildup whatsoever. The characters rely solely on screaming in fear without taking any meaningful action.
There's one absurd scene where the character floats down a river full of pocongs. Suddenly, one pocong emerges from the river (among a dozen others just watching from a distance), and the character just hysterically screams in fear, and the pocong does nothing but stare blankly. Suddenly, their boat starts moving again after they stop screaming. Another foolish scene shows a character trance-dancing due to possession, and another character suddenly becomes possessed as well when approaching. The solution for the character still in control? Get close to them and shake their body to bring them back to consciousness, even though a moment before they realized that being close might lead to possession. Strangely, only the main character avoids possession with no reason explained.
Now, onto the science fiction part. Saranjana, the unseen city with an advanced civilization. Our protagonists, after a bloody and sweaty struggle, finally steps into Saranjana (this isn't a spoiler as it's in the trailer, which is also a dumb decision). However, this mystical city turns out to be just like Dubai. The portrayal of Wakanda, which I still think lacks imagination, is miles better. Here in Saranjana the supposedly futuristic city consisting only of skyscrapers with Arabic writing (basically Dubai). The streets are paved. The cars are Toyota Avanza, the motorcycles are scoopy. It's genuinely sad and utterly lacking in imagination from the concept artist.
Whether it's a budget issue or a vision problem, I don't know. There are futuristic gadgets in the story, but they're reduced to simple smartwatches with 3D holograms to be easily comprehensible for the audience. The effects are also terrible. Despite the city supposedly having advanced surveillance, the surveillance cameras are Xiaomi brand (yes, the white ones). The police guarding the city don't use any vehicles to chase criminals; instead, they run barefoot. People wearing traditional Banjar clothing seem to be directly transplanted: in this supposedly super futuristic city, their traditional attire remains unchanged.
The irony is that there should be a contrast between the high-tech city and the low-tech traditional clothing. However, because the depiction of the city is incredibly low-tech and trashy, I don't feel anything. It's quite amusing.
Finally, the drama.
The director should have hired a screenwriter instead of writing the script themselves. The dialogues are incredibly cringeworthy. The main character has a talk-no-jutsu like Naruto that can change people's minds just by rambling and getting angry. Whoever was responsible for editing should be fired because every drama scene feels rushed. In one scene, a character is determined, and in the next scene, they suddenly cry and change their mind.
I heard that the budget for this film wasn't large. But they managed to fly the film crew to South Kalimantan and shoot on location? Instead of spending the money on shooting on location, it should have been used to hire a more skilled concept artist and an experienced screenwriter. No one cares if the film shot in a city forest in front of a housing complex or on the actual location, as long as it looks authentic. Authenticity is achieved through adept film production, not by jetting off to a set location.
The only positive thing about this film is the theme music. The Saranjana theme is mesmerizing, very ethnic. The acting is standard for Indonesian film standards. Everything else is truly... a headache to watch.
E for Effort though. Hopefully the director learned a lot from the process and someone (or the director in the future) will pick up this fascinating myth with a better project.
A gripping thriller with standout performances from its cast, particularly Butler, Grillo, and Huss. The film mostly maintains a grounded and realistic tone throughout, notably defying the overused Mexican standoff trope during action sequences by having characters take swift action.
Unfortunately, the film ends up as a typical action hero shootout during its climax. The atypical upbeat ending also feels out of place. Very bummer for an already good cop thriller.
Bandersnatch stands out as the most Twilight Zone-esque and perhaps the best episode of Black Mirror to date, thanks not only to its innovative and gimmicky presentation, but also its ultimate secret ending.
A slight nod to other comments: when following a straightforward path, Bandersnatch can feel somewhat bland and slightly uninteresting. Even though the various choices may lead to very meta and/or interesting schizophrenic endings, this isn't the main appeal of the episode.
The true gem of Bandersnatch lies in the culmination of all choices you make and the different endings or dead-ends you encounter. As Colin Ritman puts it, what matters is the choices that led you to a particular path, rather than the specific fate you experience in one lifetime.
Here's a hint: when faced with a dead-end, don't hit rewind and choose another option; instead, select from the options the episode provides. It remembers your choices and will open up alternative routes you can explore.
Only after going through those multiple dreaming sequences, RPG/visual novel playthroughs, and exhaustively exploring Bandersnatch's depth, do you truly appreciate its richness. Just like Stefan, who finally exhausts his options through the experiences of hallucinogens and brutal murders, you'll encounter a bittersweet moment when the episode reveals a secret ending that, to me, feels like the canon conclusion.
At the core of Stefan's obsession with "multiple choices" adventures is one pivotal moment when he wishes he could revert to be with his mom, accompanying her through her eventual demise, regardless of his prior knowledge about it. As "O Superman" by Laurie Anderson plays, the episode takes us back to the first sequence of the episode, and both Stefan and the audience finally find a sense of peace after the Jacob's Ladder-esque nightmare - asking if, after all, it is the lack of acceptance that burdens us when we grieves ourself into the deep hole of what ifs.
Two hours and half have past by the time the credits roll; Bandersnatch asked me if I want to give another go. I closed my eyes and put it to rest.
A welcome return to the exaggerated action swagger post-Fast V, Fast X: Part One delivers a thrilling over-the-top action flick.
The film shares a similar issue with Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1: it attempts thoroughly to set the stage for the grand finale in Part 2, connecting everything to past films and reuniting the entire cast, even if only briefly. This effort to showcase familial bonds between characters sometimes leads to overdrawn comedy and drama sequences. Several sequences, like the Roman vs Tej fistfight or Letty vs. Cipher brawl, feel like padding to extend the 2.5-hour runtime. And there are character deaths... but as the credits rolled I've accepted that it might not really mean anything. As that one obtuse now-Disney-franchise told us, "No one's ever really gone" in Fast.
Despite this, Fast X manages to maintain a relatively well-paced tone. The film is cognizant that dialogue is never its strong suit and it avoids getting bogged down in overtly serious drama with weak lines, as seen in F9. It also steers clear of relying heavily on exposition to create tension and drama, a trap Dead Reckoning Part 1 fell into. The film effectively brings back the best formula from previous Fast movies, featuring thrilling speed car sequences and gadgety/car gimmicks, while discarding elements that didn't quite work. Jason Momoa's portrayal of Dante is a refreshing departure from the usual tough guy typecast, and the tie-ins to previous Fast films work better here than in Dead Reckoning Part 1,
Although the all-star cast doesn't allow every character to shine (this is, after all, Dom's film), Fast X remains an enjoyable ride from start to finish. Looking forward to the Part 2.
This installment fell short for me, and I didn't particularly enjoy Fallout either, so it's not a matter of comparing campy action movies from the 1990s vs the stylish Nolan-esque action in the 2010s, as Jordy mentioned in another comment.
My biggest issue lies in the film feeling like a setup for Cruise's Ethan Hunt's sendoff in Part 2 and the rebuilding of the IMF team for future films. As a sendoff preparation, it tries hard to tie back to the first MIssion Impossible, bringing back Kittridge and connecting the main antagonist, Gabriel, and the righteous agent, Briggs, to Ethan's past. As a setup for sequels, it incorporates all the MCU-esque sequel-building elements: character pep talks, recruiting new team members, bonding moments, and hints of seemingly dead characters but not-that-dead. It only lacks the typical post-credits scene.
The film, unfortunately, tends to drag in certain sequences to accomplish these two points. Scenes with Luther and Benji at the airport, proclaiming their friendship and teamwork, or the aftermath scene with Ilsa as Grace is about to join the team, feel overly explicit in driving home the theme of being alone vs being with friends. The dialogues come across as unnaturally flowing, as if the characters were reciting lines to evoke emotions, humor, or impact. Dialogue, indeed, is not the film's strongest suit, especially when compared to Ghost Protocol.
The convoluted AI plot is another drawback. While I don't mind a yet-another-Skynet storyline or campy 90s action, the long musings on AI's world domination during the party scene with Vanessa Kirby's White Widow/Alana are cringe-worthy. The stakes seem unclear, and the repeated lines about fates being written and rewritten become tiresome, especially given the dialogue-heavy sequences. There are too many expositions on how the AI is threatening yet we barely see it does anything except that one sequence where it pretends to be Benji. The film's dialogue, once again, hinders the enjoyment of these scenes.
To its credit, Dead Reckoning Part 1 does have impressive stunts (Cruise's mountain jump and train sequences need not another applause) and enjoyable choreography. When the action delivers, it truly shines. The film also starts on a strong note, with the submarine opening instilling a sense of lurking danger of a potential mysterious enemy despite ended up falling into typical Skynet tropes. The portrayal of Gabriel almost reminds me of Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, if Gabriel was given better writing. Still, the action suffers from tonally inconsistent pacing and certain action sequences that drag, such as the car chase in Italy or the awkward fight with the charming la femme Pom Klementieff's Paris in the alleyway.
To conclude, if you have ample spare time, perhaps it's still worth giving the movie a shot. Although not the best MIssion Impossible in the recent years, the setups presented in the film leave me hopeful for a promising payoff in Part 2.
A drama-thriller superhero film, Chronicle is Brightburn if it was more competent and spent its time to develop the characters. The pace can be quite slow in the first half, but its slowness is crafted in such a way that you can't help but sympathize with the confusion, exhilaration, satisfaction, disappointment, and anger the group feels throughout the film - especially Andrew. It takes you to the time when high school was full of possibilities and, at the same time, full of disappointment.
The use of "found footage", despite the at times erratic angle, helps with connecting to the guys in the film, as if you're part of the group witnessing the event unfolds. I like that the film uses different cameras (surveillance camera, others' phones, etc) to convey scenes where Andrew's footage would not make sense.
When the climax eventually hits it feels quite painful as you've seen the group's ups and downs, and you'd find yourself believing under different circumstances they would've been something else. That being said, the final showdown lacks a little bit of oomph from the hectic and chaos it caused. Perhaps the only sequences where the found footage angle could use better work.
Not the greatest film, but still worth watching.
Not novel, we've seen this kind of film all the time - Memeto being one of the best - but still managed to provide an enjoyable, thrilling ride where you may second guess what happened.
"A king has no friends. Only followers, and foe."
This line encapsulates the essence of the film. A somber retelling of Henry V, loosely based on Shakespeare's play, The King is a slow-burn tale following a reluctant Henry V as he navigates the deceitful royal court to establish his rule.
It is a non-action serious drama, with no pretension to be historically accurate, that relies on cinematography, acting, and brass-heavy music to create a brooding atmosphere, establishing Henry's isolation as he stands atop the lonely peak of royalty, devoid of trust. The film's bleakness, gripping the audience throughout its two-hour runtime, reminds me of Robert Eggers' The Viking, although with much less arthouse touch and much less visceral intensity; serving a calmer ambiance reflective of the peace Henry longs for. As Henry softly implores his wife to speak only the truth in the film's ending, the climax deliver a decent twist, leaving us wondering if Henry is willingly plunging himself into another pit of deceit.
The performances by Chalamet (Henry), Sean Harris (William), Edgerton (Falstaff), and Pattinson (Dauphin of France) are outstanding, even if Pattinson's portrayal leans a bit too heavily into goofiness.
The Flash proves to be a competent superhero film. Not the best, but a breath of fresh air amidst the hot mess that has flooded the genre in recent years. It stands on its own, requiring only a basic understanding of past character portrayals, unlike the convoluted soap opera often seen in DCEU and MCU lines.
Despite its ensemble of superheroes and characters, the film manages to strike enough of the right chords.
It balances humor without overdoing it like Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Black Adam, or any Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the last 10 years. The fanservice of Keaton's Batman is tastefully done, providing memorable lines and explosive gimmicks without overstaying his welcome. The action sequences are well-choreographed, particularly those involving Affleck's and Keaton's Batman, although the initial speedster scene falls somewhat short as Days of Future Past already sets the bar high. The most important, the film possesses a straight enough plotline to propels the story forward, but still offers moments of intrigue and uncertainty where you would ask the direction the film will be taking.
The film however stumbles in Kara/Supergirl's parts. The plot revolving around General Zod and Kara's arrival and departure feels clumsy. It underplays the significance established in Man of Steel regarding Clark's purpose on Earth, not to mention the spandex that Kara somehow brought everywhere makes her feels comical. Sasha Calle seems unable to pull a good Kara impression; her attempt to embody a complex yet tough character feels like forced, relying on screaming and unnerving facial expressions, and her decisions throughout the films appear abrupt. Her bitterness leaves more to be desired as it seems to be quickly resolved. The grand battle feels tonally inconsistent with some rock music, Keaton's soundtrack, and Kara's theme blasting over each other. Although Michael Shannon delivers a menacing performance as Zod, the thin plot he walks on undermines his presence.
Fortunately, The Flash remains true to its scale.
While the film introduces multiverses, at its heart is Barry's personal desire to save his mother. Barry isn't driven by a grand mission to save the multiverse; he's a reluctant hero who finally acts when met a seemingly dead end. One might say that the resolution offered by the film presents a fatalistic view of history, unlike the practically optimistic tone of Avengers: Endgame, but the strength of the film is not to have the final say of all of these actually work: as the climax unfolds, both Barry and the audience are left wondering where the breaking point lies in history that must remain untouched. The film avoids drowning the audience in pseudoscience for explaining the multiverse, opting for Keaton's short and humorous spaghetti metaphor. The most compelling aspect is the film's ability to maintain a personal scale despite the high stakes, leaving the audience emotionally moved with effective lines in the resolution that in the first 15 minutes of the film seemed clichéd. The ending provides a pleasant surprise, setting the stage for a fresh start in the DC Universe.
Without boasting the concept of multiverses like Doctor Strange: Multiverses of Madness, The Flash is an enjoyable soft-reboot multiversal superhero film that leaves quite an impression. Not the best superhero film certainly, but perhaps still ranking among the better ones in the multiverse/time-reversing subgenre of superhero films, possibly trailing only a few steps behind Days of Future Past.
Flashy visuals with some terrific work on the animation, dashed with a right amount of tasteful comedy, poking fun of previous Spider-Man iterations and common superhero tropes in general without dragging it down. The first half of the film has the story going well with coming-of-age drama and superhero team up; but the second half kind of resolved the conflict very quickly and just get done with it - including the film version of "who murdered the Uncle Ben" - which made the pace kinda abrupt and downplayed the tension, but still somehow worked. It's not the best story out there but still manages to give short bursts of emotional touch in-between the visuals and the multiverse concept. Certainly it did much better than Far Away From Home.
Film with interesting premise and potentially interesting world-building, hampered down by sloggish pace, run-of-the-mill dialogue, and less-than-stellar writing. The whole film feels like a jumble of events made possible because the plot wills it, very apparent in every scenes when the people pursuing the duo somehow tracked their location and somehow they escaped for the Xth number of time.
F9 speeds onto the screen with a mix of excitement and disappointment. While I wouldn't label it as the worst installment in the franchise, it certainly lacks the punch and adrenaline rush, especially after the high note that Fast 7 played.
The film's action sequences feel disjointed, failing to jolt the anticipated adrenaline rush. The opening sequences attempted to burst into high-octane moments with explosions and spectacle, but they never really delivered the gripping excitement expected. The subsequent action scenes veer into run-of-the-mill territory, especially in the process of the Avengers-like assembling of characters with the return of Mia and Han. Many action sequences feel arbitrary, lacking narrative purpose.
However, to the film credits, the action gains momentum in its second half after the team assembled. The Fast franchise always has gimmicks and here's where the film's gimmick comes into play - electromagnetic tricks. The creative use of this concept in the final battle injects some much-needed freshness in an otherwise stale action sequences.
What makes F9 a very dull Fast film is its attempt at adopting a darker tone, which falters heavily. The pivotal brotherly feud between Dom and Jakob lacks the necessary kick for the audience to care enough about the newly introduced character. The underdeveloped relationship fails to justify the character introspection and moments of fragility. The actors struggle to convey the conflict, hindered by lackluster scripts and dialogue.
This darker tone is contrasted to the usual Fast humor and banter which fail to maintain a nice blend of tonal consistency. There is an appreciable attempt to satirize the implausibility of the characters' invincibility, a self-awareness that permeates the film. However, it feels too on-the-nose as the script repeats the point on and on.
In the end, F9 doesn't reach the heights of its predecessors, lacking in both thrilling action and bogged down by its attempt to be serious and darker. While it has its moments, it falls short of delivering the exhilarating experience fans have come to expect from the Fast & Furious franchise. If you wanted to watch F9, I suggest to skip right onto the second half. You won't miss anything.
Joey King has such a punchable face here.
You've seen the premise and plot of the film in other sci-fi films before. Yet it still manages to be intelligent, not spoon-feeding (which explains why the film is lost to some viewers), while still simultaneously thrilling and plot-twisting.
I've seen the twist miles away: that the robots are creating a better version of humanity, a typical sci-fi cliche but the film remains interesting along the way. It continuously straddles in showing the Mother in heartwarming scenes and pose her as a commanding presence that you keep trying to figure out what her true intention is. But the best part of this is to me the stranger-Woman herself. You've seen her archetype in every other "beware of outside" films out there (10 Cloverfield Lane comes to mind) but what makes her as a perfect setup for this film is the way she is presented: her casting, her interaction with the Daughter, her memories. All points out to the fact that she is the original daughter. The film started with saying that 38 years have passed, yet we have only a teenage Daughter. Then we are shown that 3 embryos are missing, and 1 of them being "failed", not "aborted" like the rest. Then we are shown the Daughter recalling vague memories of her past. Last, the one that was a dead giveaway to me: the Woman looks very similar to the Daughter. It all makes sense in the last scene with the stranger-Woman, as the event finally unfolded.
Of course, the film still stumbled here and there. The typical plot of unstable teenager where curiosity gets the best of them is a bit annoying as it is a tired cliche (although admittedly that's just teens being teens). The whole idea that the Mother is an authoritarian AI trying to make humanity in a better form is also a tired cliche. Given the fact that Daughter is still a teen, her taking the mantle of Mother is also unconvincing, as I'm not sure how perfectly ethical she is educated, that she can raise a kid - perhaps that's also a point of contention that the film tries to raise? What is maturity when you are breeded to be perfect?
But the intelligent way the film is presented, and most of all, the performance by Clara Rugaard as Daughter makes the ride totally worth 2 hours. I like how Daughter started as a curious, naive teen to a lady with conviction (while still retaining her naivety) by the end of the film. It's partly due to the great makeup and lighting and general cinematography, but Rugaard's acting really established the performance.
All in all, this is in no way a masterclass in sci-fi, but still an enjoyable watch to think and discuss about. Especially with the advent of ChatGPT, we may want to talk again how much we want to technically intervene societal problems, and if those problems warrant technicalization in the first place.
For a film taking multiverse at the center stage there surely is a poverty of creative vision what multiverses could be. Other than vaguely green futuristic city and people blotched in pink paint, there's barely any imagination of what other possible worlds may exist out there, e.g., the most obvious, why is America Chavez's sexuality or her parents no different than what we have now? Of course this is MCU film, not Ursula Le Guin's, so shallowness is to be expected...
... but shallowness creeps all over the segment in this film. Characters can't seem to get over one dimensional portrayal: Strange's looming over his ex-wife, Maximoff's obsession with her children, and Chavez's constant uncertainty with her powers. They went across multiverses but couldn't even get across those simplistic characterization when nothing really happens until the eventual climaxes. Characterizations are dull, featuring a lineup of people with different costumes that is only good for merchandizing but is exhibiting nothing more than simplistic "bad" and "good". Characters made dumb decisions, such as the Illuminati and Richard Reed's scene that has been memed to death. Chavez as the spotlight is incredibly bland and boring, serving as nothing more than talking McGuffin that the characters have to grasp.
I do wish the dialogues are just forgettable, but the level of cringe it induces, especially in the grand finale of the film, really made it hard to forget due to how bad it is. The plot is complete bollocks and nonsensical. Rather than a Multiverse of Madness this film feels more like a Scriptwriting of Madness.
Sure Sam Raimi's directorial touch is here and there with some camera panning and transition, but that's all about it. Visually the first Dr. Strange is better, I say. Won't even recommend it even if you have some hours to kill. Only MCU fanatics would consciously watch this one and give it a good rating.
A great sci-fi horror with strong performance from the cast and serious questions to reflect on after the credit title rolls, if only a little bit arthouse-y and very violent. People here asking about mechanics is missing the point (this is not MCU's quantum gibberish).
Thematically it raises similar questions of body, mind, and identity to Blade Runner (2049 and the original) and, to some extent, Inception. The personality test even reminds me of Blade Runner's baseline test. If we could experience multiple memories, would we still be the same person?
The horror in the film is two-fold, and perhaps not for everyone. There is no jumpscare here. It is a horror first from the almost slasher-like quality of violence. This violence is productive in the film because it helps us to figure out Tasya's character. As we initially wonder which of her multiple identities that really hers - a loving person damaged by her job? a cold-blooded killer? or something else entirely? - it slowly expresses the character of Tasya Vos not only as an assassin, but a sadistic murderer one that.
And second it is a horror from the constant suspense; the uncertainty and eeriness that lingers throughout the film. The way the event unfolds with the "botched" murder contract keeps you guessing and thinking. Was that Tasya acting? Was that Colin? What would she/he do next? Would she/he harm them?
I think this is where the extreme violence serves its second purpose. It's not bloody for the sake of bloody; it's to show an almost fetishtic obsession of gory murder juxtaposed with the humane supporting characters. The seemingly lovely individuals, ordinary people living their life waiting for their time to lie dead in the hands of a psychotic sadist. Who's really doing the killing there? Why are they doing that?
This is where the last 15 minutes reaches its disturbing climax and ending. As the pinned butterflies were put down, we were left wondering what remains of Tasya Vos. Is that a sign of the waning of his/her humanity, as the plot summary in Wikipedia suggested? Or, more creepily, who's really in that body? Was that Tasya Vos? Or was that Colin taking over Tasya's body? But if we consider her stress and struggle of cognitive disassociation as shown in the film the whole time, does it matter to ask the question of identity?
The sound design and music really helps selling the creepy atmosphere the whole time. Great sci-fi film with great questions.
Another Michael Bay film with unnecessary character bonding moments that mean nothing minutes later, and sort of spastic drone shots across the film. It's as if someone had just learned how to film stuff with drones but the use of those crazy camera angles only make headaches. Lots of dialogues between characters that don't really contribute to the whole film as a whole. Characters making weird decisions that don't really make sense for their survival.
The claustrophobic setting is an interesting premise though. So is the mobile surgery - it's the highlight of the film. Some of the drone shots are also cool. Sadly three of them are not utilized to its fullest potential.
The mention of this being an "arthouse film" is inevitable due to some demographics strangely expecting this to be some action-packed Vikings or Game of Thrones (let's just say then thsi is a wrong film to watch). But I'd like to say that The Northman is much less arthouse-y than Robert Eggers' previous films like The Lighthouse.
Which is a good thing. The film is visceral, and it takes its time to build the atmosphere of tense, anger, anddiscomfrot through sequences of long shots and vivid hallucination as experienced by Amleth. I was expecting this to be much more arthouse-y especially in the beginning, but the film gets into the meat of the story very quickly in the beginning (the death of the king and Amleth's quest for revenge). Even during the long momentums Amleth spends to indulge himself in revenge is full of composites through the play of sound design, music, and shots of the character's emotion or their lucid imagination.
Although yes, the film does not draw the line between vision/hallucination with the actual events happening, and the ambiguous boundaries between magic and reality, there is almost none of the shot that feels like a filler as is common in arthouse films. I'd even say Amleth's imaginative battle to obtain the Draugr sword is not a waste of sequences as it sufficiently depicts his conquest of himself and his journey into the depths of revenge that he can only imagine prior but not actually take it.
Despite being testorone-inducing by showing sweaty muscular men fighting on the field (or on the bed with their women, at times), I find the film's aim to say about the pointlessness of revenge is clearly stated.
The sequences where Amleth realizes the situation with his father reclined him to reconsider his goal of revenge, only to gain enough drives when he realizes what it would cost in the future. And although the ending with triumphant music admittedly seems a bit ambiguously glorify Amleth's ambition to be awaited in valhalla, but we've shown the folly he has to go through and even when it had to cost him the people he thought would dear to him.
The last scene reminds me eerily of The Revenant - in fact, the whole film's bleakness reminds me of it. But if The Revenant's bleakness hinge upon the desolation, desperate, and cold world of DiCaprio's character's perilous attempt at survival, the grim world of The Northman inhabited by Skarsgaard's character is a world of sorcery, rage, and trollish vengeance of undying spirits.
I think Eggers has done a wonderful job in bringing to life the vengeful spirit of the Bjornulfr with his own style.
The film offers nothing new, but it's not as bad as reviews made it to be.
It comes with familiar tropes, even similar punchlines and comebacks ("careful with the words you choose" ala The Dark Knight). It's filled with dashing CGI visuals and intense slo-mo reminiscent of Snyder's styles, but lacking the dramatic buildup and especially suffer from tonal inconsistency where one grim situation is overshadowed by quips and sarcastic comebacks. In an almost mediocre attempt to mimic MCU - which in itself is already mediocre - it almost feels like a carbon copy of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad or Peacemaker.
However as a standard blockbuster it fits the exact cliche. Nothing serious to talk or think about. Just something to enjoy while you gulp your drinks and mash that popcorn, interspersed with disbelief remarked by your friends or family members.
The biggest crime this film has made is its excessive 2.5 hours, along with the unsatisfying red herring when it was revealed that the Big Bad was the real enemy all along. The film spends too much time in the conflict between Justice Society and Black Adam, which ends as nothing anyway. The full resolve of Black Adam to finally submit himself to surrender is immediately contradicted by the imminent danger of Sabbac, which resulted in leaving Dr. Fate's motivational speech with no impact and even kinda silly as the one who convinced Adam to surrender was Justice Society themselves.
Is it the worst movie in 2022? I've seen worse this year, including those with big hype like MCU films (which in my opinion warrants more scrutiny - what's the point of beating the underdogs like Black Adam?). But am I going to revisit this film? Not anytime even in a bit far future.
Ewan McGregor plays a naive, lovestruck accountant who was befriended by a charismatic lawyer played by Hugh Jackman. Things went haywire when McGregor got involved with a woman played by Michelle Williams that he met in an exclusive sex club.
Sounds like an interesting premise, and the film manages to hold the thrill as the mystery slowly unfolds. However the film doesn't spend enough time to build a chemistry between McGregor and Williams to have McGregor's passion seem to worth pursuing, and although Williams' beauty does look irresistible, the lack of charm between the two turns an adult desire to teenage-like puppy love.
The film falters when it eventually reaches the climax involving McGregor, Jackman, and Williams. The whole suspense build up ends up as nothing when McGregor just threw away the billions of money and Williams' sudden appearance feels like a deus ex machina (of all parks they decide to meet, she just knew it's going to be that park?.
Pretty good though a bit cliched premise that doesn't quite hold up in its execution, unfortunately, the film is not something I would revisit anytime soon.
Such a downer ending for a great film in the first half. This film had everything right: the unique scifi aesthetics, the quirky characters, the comedy, the music. But the second half, especially in the last 45 minutes was just, in Zorg's word, disappointment.
The climax is the worst offender. The end of the world as we know it was just such a hurried, nonsense mess. If the planet can go to Earth instantly in the first place, why bother waiting and making some weird deal with Zorg? What the hell? What was the reason for that? The hunt for the ulimate weapon and the quest to activate it was resolved in less than 5 minutes (3 minutes per movie time) through some kindergarten puzzle.
Before the climax, the beatdown with the two big vllains (the mercs and Zorg) was disappointing. The big setup for the big showdown with the mercs was resolved by Bruce Willis being the unstoppable force Bruce Willis instead of impactful action like Die Hard. Zorg went down with the most cliche way a 90s villain can do: because of dumb stupidity.
Other than though, the film is great as everyone has said. The unique non-sleek non-white asthetics give unique touch to the imagination of retrofuturism. The funky crazy costume the characters wear paint a future that looks nothing like a cold, damp techy stuff we see in popular imagination, nor did it look like the gruffy grunge hard-boiled grit like in Dredd, but more like an embrace to the DIY and cyberpunk culture of the 80s. I like it.
Plot was unpredictable and very entertaining, taking you in an adventerous journey - up to the last 45 minutes. It went downhill so fast when the writers decided to just wrap up every plot point in one or two big bang bada boom.
Watch it once just for the experience, maybe revisit if you like the aesthetics.
Less an action-thriller film and more a film about a girl tagging along a professional killer.
There's barely any action until the last 15 minutes of the film - and it's not a well-executed Hollywood action (the SWAT team in particularly are tactically dumb). But the film's charm is not in action but in the relationship between Leon (Jean Reno) and Mathilda (Natalie Portman). Both performances are really good with the emotionally challenged Leon and young girl mistaking her feelings with a guardian for love. I watched the extended/director's cut where the film fleshes out fully the sexual tension between Leon and Mathilda (and Leon's continuous attempt to brush Mathilda's advances).
There's nothing really new in the writing or the plot, but I like that Leon doesn't take the traditional route of Hollywood action with the protege taking their master's mantle. It's literally just two persons trying to bond in a difficult situation they're facing. It's a very grounded film, albeit at times a bit stiff here and there, made by the great performances between the two casts and supporting role by Gary Oldman which buffoonery really contrasts the two and sometimes put the thrill back into the film. The only criticism is that, despite the excellent French-esque score, the music directing can be a bit strange at times, especially in the beginning, but it still hits the right note when Leon and Mathilda's scenes are on the focus.
The difficulty in watching classics is to judge them fairly in the time they were released.
The positive side is, while I have limited knowledge of 1980s animation, it is not too hard to see how the Akira excels in the animation quality, even today, particularly in the very first sequences with Kaneda's Capsule gang driving though the city night lights, and the climax with Tetsuo's blowing up to a gigantic mass and the extradimensional inflection with the ESPs.
The excellent animation is used masterfully for conveying the atmospheric world-building: the sky-high lives of Neo Tokyo with a drab scummy lives of its citizens, brutal police forces, and economic insecurities painting the world bleak. Perhaps the strongest aspect of this film that I wished they could've took us a walk a little bit further like the politician Nezu took us in a stroll around the city. And like Blade Runner, watching through the film I recognised how the plot points and the themes raised in this film would later be used very familiarly in many other science-fiction films, thus setting up the cyberpunk genre in the years to come.
However, speaking of plot and story, I would say that perhaps writing is not the aspect this film shines on. Characters leave much to be desired. They feel like devices for the plot to move forward, even with our main characters Kaneda and Tetsuo, and even the McGuffin Akira.
While I appreciate the film doesn't blurt out everything and treat the audience as smart, some genuine questionable plot points left me wondering: why did the ESPs lure a certain character? What was really the reason of the rebellion? What's the point of the last sequences with politician Nezu and the opposition Ryu? The film seems to save some points for a future setups (that seem to be never realized) and the awkward fade to blacks between scenes and unexplained sequences made me feel like I'm missing out something and have to check Wikipedia - something that I realize later that I have to find out in the source material (manga).
As the credit rolled, my mind wander, not unlike Tetsuo's, the possibility of remake (even a live action one) that could amplify the excellence of this film and connect the half-painted tods. That being said, Akira is still a masterful cornerstone of science fiction/cyberpunk material that deserves at least a watch in a lifetime.
If you plan to watch this because everyone keeps saying how this film is "different" from MCU films, stop right here.
That's a false advertisement. It's not a "black and white monster film from the '40s". Werewolf by Night is an MCU film through and through. There's nothing "different". Let me list:
And those are just from the top off my head. Sure you can find more if you're observant.
Well, sure Werewolf by Night is dressed in black and white but that's about it. It's a gimmick. It's not even trying to capture the essence of classic black and white films The Artist (2011) did it or build the atmosphere like Sin City (2005) did it. People saying this film is "different" from MCU needs to get their eyes checked and watch more films.
If you just wanted to watch an MCU, sure you get what you asked. But if you expected more, then whatever you heard about this film is a big fat hoax.
A slow-burn methodical drama telling the story of a man trying to find meaning in his life through a discovery of his superpower. Though labeled as 'superhero film', this film has none of the usual flick: no fast-paced action, quippy jokes, or comical heroism. Like Mr. Glass (Sam Jackson's character) says: it is like a real life. Film has excellent acting, family drama, and character interpersonal relationships woven into the plot seamlessly. It is a Shyamalan drama as per usual with the characters' superpower in the background - you don't even get to see plenty of superhero action until the last 15 minutes. And that's good.
Best part of the film is its slow build up revealing the final sequences: great lines and twists, just like Sam's comic book story has in the beginning of the film.
A historical naval war movie with good production value, nice cast, but a subpar screen writing.
As an admiral who famously defended the Korean strait with only 12 ships against 300+ Japanese adversaries, Yi Sun-Shin isn't written as an interesting character. His speech to boost the morale of his soldiers doesn't inspire any confidence, and his tactical genius doesn't really shine. 10 of his 12 ships fleet only show up in the last 15 minutes of the battle - which is strange, since his "turning fear to courage" tactic is supposed to bring more people into the battle. He really carried the whole battle by himself/his flagship, relying only on pure luck (whirpool, sea tides, and random clamoring of escaping civilians) and one small support from his XO.
In a similar vein, the Japanese antagonists are not written that interestingly. They're nothing but brute invaders. Either they're scaredy cats (Kato et al) or incompetent commanders who think too highly of themselves (Kurushima). The final battle scene, both against Kurushima and against the remaining Japanese fleet, feels really anticlimactic. The supposedly competent Kurushima just charges against storming arrows and the rest of the Korean ships somehow manage to barge against the remaining Japanese fleet relatively unscathed (and that's a lot of ships to barge).
And while the naval combat is good, the close combat sequences leave much room for improvement. You do get them interspersed within the naval battles.
Last, the last 15 minutes of the 1 hour battle scene is just full wishful thinking like what you typically see in Korean war movies regardless of setting, unfortunately. This is a shame since the event it's based on is a turning tide (pun intended) that merits a glorious depiction.
To sum it up: the first hour (story and drama building) is a-okay, the next 45 minutes is good war movie (war starts exactly after 1 hour), the next 15 minutes is anticlimactic and unsatisfying, and the rest 8 minutes is just happy ending and credits.
Still a worthwhile watch just for the production value alone though. :)
