Shout by Pradipa PR
A bit too on the nose in their attempts to poke the issue on darkly designed terms of service and deepfake, especially in light of the Hollywood actor and screenwriter protest (perhaps even inspired by it). The episode leans heavily toward being a meta humor, but it doesn't really work well. Annie Murphy does her best, and I believe Salma Hayek too, but they were given a rather one-dimensional, uninspiring script. As the episode ended I realized Charlie Brooker is the writer. That kinda explains the weak episode.
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@katurian actually, yes. Black Mirror is quite hit and miss to me. When it's good it's really good though, like Entire History of You and Nosedive. Which happen to not be written by Brooker. I think Brooker's episodes I liked are only White Christmas and 15 Million Merits.
This guy went and bothered an octopus for a while. That's pretty much it.
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@codex13 office drone's level of intelligence comment
Review by Jordy
VIP8This will probably become more beloved than Dune for being a bigger, more action driven film. Personally I prefer the first film by a long shot, but there's a lot to like here. I loved Paul's new journey for this installment as it doesn't develop in the way you'd expect based on the ending of the first film. The themes of colonialism, false prophecies and religion reach a level of depth that cannot be found in other sci-fi/fantasy contemporaries like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars; this film certainly made me understand why this story is taken so seriously as a piece of literature. Despite the source material being so old, there's still something new and refreshing about it. You don't often see major Hollywood productions calling out religion as a manipulative force helping the people in power. On top of that this brilliantly subverts the concept of the hero's journey we've become accustomed to by everything that was in one way or another inspired by Dune. The acting is pretty great, Timothée does a great job at playing the transition Paul goes through. Despite his boyish looks I was sold on his performance as the leader of the Fremen. Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem are also scene stealers. The visuals are once again mindblowing, in terms of set/costume design, cinematography and CGI this is as close to perfection as you could get to right now. The vision and scope of this movie are truly unmatched, which leads to some breathtaking sequences that I'll remember for a while (sandworm ride; the black/white arena fight; knife fight during the third act).
However, for all the praise I have for Dune: Part 2, I think Denis is being uncharacteristically sloppy with this film. First of all, Bautista and Butler feel like they're ripped from a different franchise altogether. Their over the top, cartoonish performances are more suited for something like Mad Max than the nuanced world of Dune. The bigger cracks start to appear when you look at the writing. The brief moments where the movie pokes fun at religious zealots through Javier Bardem's character, while funny, probably won't age very well. Like the first movie, it has a tendency to rely too much on exposition and handholding, a problem which might be worse here. I feel like a lot of the subtlety is lost in order to make the movie more normie proof, and that's quite annoying for a movie with artistic ambitions like this one. For example, there's this scene where Léa Seydoux seduces Austin Butler's character, and everything you need to know as a viewer is communicated through Butler's performance. Cut to the next scene, where Seydoux is all but looking at the camera saying "he's a psychopath, he's violent, he wants power, etc.". I just feel like compared to Villeneuve's precise work on Blade Runner 2049, he's consciously dumbing it down here. It's understandable and somewhat excusable for a complex story like Dune, but he occasionally takes it too far for my liking. Then there's the love story subplot between Chani and Paul, which almost entirely misses the mark for me. It feels rushed, there's no chemistry between the actors and some of the lines are painfully cheesy. Because of that, the emotional gutpunch their story eventually reaches during the third act did little for me. Finally, I'm a little dissatisfied with the use of sound. I loved the otherworldly score Zimmer came up with for the first Dune, however this film is so ridiculously bombastic and low-end heavy that it starts to feel like a parody of his work with Christopher Nolan. For the final action beat of the film Villeneuve cuts out the film's score, and it becomes all the more satisfying for it.
Overall, I recommend this film, however maybe temper those expectations if you're expecting a masterpiece. There's a lot to admire, but it's flawed.
6.5/10
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@jordyep damn why did you take everything that I wanted to write, now I'm not sure what to say about this film lol. Perhaps I'll just add the film is much tighter than the first, with a little bit too many subplots, and some depths unavoidably gets hit quite hard (the lack of chemistry between Paul and Chani is the most fatal one).
I also feel like the films has too many scenes that didn't get to be knit quite well, like the reunion with Gurney Halleck, and the Harkonnens' eventual demise. Unlike the first which took its time to get vieweres hooked into the atmosphere, this second film feels like it's rushing against its own run time.
6/10
Fair
Not bad but not good
it was all rather
unmemorable and very
forgettable.
The mother was super
annoying and that
daughter 15 my ass
try 22,23 terrible casting
choice.
The ending was
very anticlimax at best
and piss-poor at worst.
Worst episode of the
season.Verdict: weird
unstable mother and
a story that
ultimately
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@davy-endgame-x welcome to parenting, you'll be surprised how many parents like the mother are in real life.
Oh, boy. This episode had so much potential and I was honestly so excited for some kind of twist, but.. it just never happened. I even expected some great twist in the last five minutes ("Shut up and dance" pulled it off so well), but just nothing.
It's so weird because I felt like there was so much foreshadowing or hints, like at the beginning when the child was born she was just quiet and the doctors took her away for a minute and no one told the mother anything, then the way the camera showed how the girl was interested in the cat and scared of the dog etc. I thought something was wrong with the girl since birth and it would interfere with the device or she would start killing people/animals and take drugs as a child because she just never learned about it and got curious. Then we got the camera shot at the end where the mother saw herself from the back through her child's eyes and I actually thought she hung herself. Then a minute later I thought the safety switch might be turned on forever now. But nothing happened. In the end the child just got angry, beat up her mother and ran away. It was so anticlimatic. They kept me on the edge of my seat but never delivered anything.
So far this season is really hard for me. I disliked these first two episodes a lot, but I still hope I'll see something good in the next ones.
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@haibara "shut up and dance" is one of the worst black mirror episodes though. its only trick is in the twist, and a rather cheap one at that. make people pedo is a cheap twist trick, just like jumpscare is a cheap horror trick. the writing itself doesn't hold the candle. the kid in this eps hanging herself would be a similar cheap jumpscare trick.
For a movie that looked and started promising it quickly became a convoluted storyline with too many names and things going on at once to follow and eventually even care about.
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@cb-uppercut nothing about this is difficult to follow. you need to stop watching films with your eyes on the phone.
I'll watch this at work during break I said
If there's anything NSFW I'll just dim the screen and hunch over my phone I said
Gen V Episode 1 33 minutes 22 seconds: Challenge Accepted :smiling_imp:
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@bobdole12 should've waited until november
This has everyone involved play to their strengths. It's another tale of Scorsese deconstructing the myth of the American dream, but with a thematic approach I found quite refreshing for him. The way that the film tackles racism, and how it's tied to issues of money, power, greed, trust and systemic injustice, feels authentic and well constructed. It's a movie that's unsettling and will leave a mark on your brain emotionally, you should know that going in. De Niro has a lot of fun playing a sinister crime boss with a wholesome facade, it's a performance that could be compared to Giancarlo Esposito in Breaking Bad. DiCaprio is always at his best when playing a pathetic dumbass, and he also shines here. It almost feels like he's in Tarantino mode, it's not similar to any of the previous work he's done with Scorsese. Yet, despite both of Scorsese's go-to actors having prominent roles here, it's actually Lily Gladstone who ends up delivering the most emotional, subtle performance. Technically the movie is pretty much flawless. The production design, lighting, cinematography and score are all immaculate, and despite the long running time, Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing kept me engaged for the entire runtime. However, the pacing is still somewhat of an issue. As Scorsese has matured as a filmmaker, the choices he's making are becoming more and more understated. The tracking shots and montages are still here, but they're less energetic and he's relying more on pauses instead. There's nothing wrong with that, given that the substance carries the movie, but with a movie this long I want a little more pop. There's one scene involving fire that'll stay with me, as well as another couple of haunting moments, but besides that he's not turning up the intensity too much. It would've been nice if the movie ended with an extended courtroom scene where all the actors get to really show off with some incredible dialogue, for example. This movie still ends in a pretty weird way, having some creative use of what are essentially ending title cards, but it involves a major tonal shift that didn't work for me. Finally, I thought Brendan Fraser's performance was flat out bad, showing up for a small part and overacting every line. All in all, while I do recommend this movie, I don't think it's a masterpiece. Martin 'this is cinema' Scorsese would probably hate me for saying this, but given the pacing issues, there's an argument to be made it would've worked better as a miniseries.
7/10
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@jordyep good comment, agree on some parts but I don't think it would make a good miniseries. The strength of the film is experiencing it in one-sitting, the torturing hours of seeing King scheming and trying to get away with all the horrible things he's done, the ups and downs of the courtroom, the back-and-forth of Mollie's trust toward Ernest. it's slowly burning the frustration and anger in you. I agree with shortening the lengtht, but miniseries wouldn't work well.
This is why Elon is rate limiting Twitter. He should have done more ,such as reducing the reach of hateful content.
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@yudhir you're insane if you think Elon is reducing the reach of hateful content
Review by Jordy
VIP8Barbenheimer: 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
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@rodrigokiller yeah Tenet was fantastic. It was the culmination of Nolan's technical feat hitherto.
Review by Jordy
VIP8Barbenheimer: 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
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@jordyep I agree that without actually understanding the politics at the time, this film will not hit the right notes to most audience. But if you do understand history, this film is an impeccable montage of what led up to Cuban Missile Crisis - and the ending perfectly encapsulates that. As the film says, they're not ending World War, they're opening Cold War. Despite the title, this isn't a film about Oppenheimer. It's about the politics that surrounded him. Think of it like Fargo.
Boy. This didn’t “age” well, did it. Starting off with sensationalism - killing a kid (zombie kid, but still, is that what they need to capture an audience?), then going straight into misogyny, both as a joke and in earnest. Dang. People say this show is good, but how much do I have to fast forward until it gets there?:sweat_smile:
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@kyria-crosszeria how is this misogynistic in an earnest? You mean the scene with Shane?
As a big fan of Black Mirror, a big fan of video games, and a big fan of the old school Goosebumps choose your own adventures, this film is right up my alley. It surely shows some promise for being a first of its kind (at least that I know of), but it struggles with some choices and pacing. I don’t really feel the need to dive in again for another story. It also didn’t have the signature Black Mirror twist that we’ve come to know and love. I’m curious what they change in their inevitable second attempt.
Rating: 3/5 - 7.5/10 - Worth Watching
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@copeland1994 look up the "toy ending" and a guide to achieve that in IGN. I stumbled upon the ending after several accidents. It's the best ending to me personally, the "Black Mirror twist" as you put it, which makes this episode a really great one.
I don't get why the directors don't understand that we just want fast normal cars and a good story. Not flying cars, not space cars, not sub cars or jumping cars. Just regular cool and realistic ones.
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@helix not sure if you get the news, but Fast has long stopped being a normal race film since Fast V.
Make the film 15 minutes shorter and take out the pseudo-Eagle Eye AI and maybe it would be decent.
The tropes are tired, the stunts were just ok, everyone is afraid of an AI that somehow is terrifying yet doesn’t do anything the entire film. The fact that there’s supposed to be a part 2 to this is concerning. There wasn’t enough plot to sustain one full film.
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@bcstorey how does it feel have a world as binary as yours? Not every critique is a "hater".
Action sequences were fun... Tom and Hayley were surprisingly good onscreen... only watched for tom cruise... story was dumb. Ghost Protocol still remains the best for me
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@hermyown true MI enjoyer enjoys Ghost Protocol!
Pure garbage. He looks and acts nothing like Barry Allen. Hell, why didn't they just use Grant Gustin as the actor? Horrid acting from Ezra, crappy dialogue, and not even an appearance from Reverse-Flash! Why would Bruce Wayne even attempt electrocuting Barry Allen, when he'd think it'd kill him? It should've been Thomas Wayne like the comics. Ezra and Ezra just felt like a bad attempt at Bill & Ted, rather than a serious time-warping experience. The whole point of going back to the past is preventing his mother's murder by Eobard Thawne, but instead he just puts tomatoes in her shopping cart... How did that one thing prevent her brutal murder?
He's part of the Justice League, but has no idea where Wonder Woman would be? Why not contact the JSA? Shazam? Anyway, the new Supergirl was nice and one of the few redeeming parts of the movie. Rather have seen her in a solo movie than this crap. If you're a fan of Flashpoint, know this is nothing like the comics. If you're a fan of Barry Allen, know this Ezra is nothing like the character. If you're a fan of good superhero action, go watch Across the Spider-Verse. My greatest gripe with this movie is: Warner Bros chose to cancel a finished Batgirl movie, but decided to side with this pedophile abuser, Ezra Miller. Not even George Clooney, Christopher Reeve, or Michael Keaton could redeem his baggage. Whoever was in charge of this movie should be fired. The owner of Warner should be dismissed, and Warner should get actual DC Comics fans in place.
Seriously, why are Peter Safran and James Gunn even associating with the criminal? Toss Ezra out, and start fresh.
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@genesisx I think you're too attached with the Flashpoint source material. This is a comic book film, it will 80% deviate from the source material. Even Watchmen deviates. Get over the rage man.
Shout by V3RO
Why not cast Grant Gustin for the part? He is definitely the greatest Barry Allen ever, and a great young actor!
Edit 2022: OK, Ezra, move aside, it's Grant's turn!
I do not deny Ezra was good too, and that the last seasons of Flash have been week sauce (I do agree that most baddies are converted to good after a nice speech, nonetheless I'll keep watching it till the end, I'm that kind of viewer...), but Grant is an established Flash, great actor and apparently a calmer human being than Ezra at the moment. :P
Sorry, I'm team Grant! :)loading replies
@v3ro75 learn to read, Veronica Mars; I already said "top comment without being an actual review or commentary of the actual film."
You can do that of course, but should you? Do you think it's useful for others? It's like how some people in some countries say that child marriage is OK because according to the law the age of consent is 16 years old. It's technically not violating any law but it's still unethical.
You could literally edit your comment to say how the movie is shit or whatever and I'll stop bugging you. But you chose to be defensive. What for?
Shout by V3RO
Why not cast Grant Gustin for the part? He is definitely the greatest Barry Allen ever, and a great young actor!
Edit 2022: OK, Ezra, move aside, it's Grant's turn!
I do not deny Ezra was good too, and that the last seasons of Flash have been week sauce (I do agree that most baddies are converted to good after a nice speech, nonetheless I'll keep watching it till the end, I'm that kind of viewer...), but Grant is an established Flash, great actor and apparently a calmer human being than Ezra at the moment. :P
Sorry, I'm team Grant! :)loading replies
@v3ro75 geez, chill, do you have PMS? (Edit: in retrospect, I admit the PMS line is sexist. Sorry for this.)
That doesn't change the fact your comment is not a review about the film; it's useless, not adding anything to the conversation.
Shout by V3RO
Why not cast Grant Gustin for the part? He is definitely the greatest Barry Allen ever, and a great young actor!
Edit 2022: OK, Ezra, move aside, it's Grant's turn!
I do not deny Ezra was good too, and that the last seasons of Flash have been week sauce (I do agree that most baddies are converted to good after a nice speech, nonetheless I'll keep watching it till the end, I'm that kind of viewer...), but Grant is an established Flash, great actor and apparently a calmer human being than Ezra at the moment. :P
Sorry, I'm team Grant! :)loading replies
@v3ro75 how did you even get to comment 7 years before the film release? And a top comment without being an actual review or commentary of the actual film? Can we get this removed please?
A total mess. It's another example of contemporary filmmaking where making an actual movie is at the bottom of the priority list. It's pure corporate drivel that won't be remembered by anyone in the long run. However, for a brief moment, it tricked me into thinking that it wasn't going to be like that. In fact, I quite liked the opening action sequence. Sure, visually it's already not up to snuff, but the weird ideas and energy of the scene totally won me over. Once it gets into the actual story, it immediately flies off the rails and never recovers. To start off, it has a massive problem with delivering exposition, so much so that every crucial piece of information is repeated at least twice for the dummies in the audience. Ben Affleck and Kiersey Clemmons make a quick cameo in order to spell out the character arc of Barry in the film through clunky dialogue. It turns out the actual meat of the story revolves around Ron Livingston and Maribel Verdú, who play Barry's parents. A good movie would realize that this is the emotional heart of the story, the thing that should be the main focus of its multiverse/time travel set-up. Instead, this movie sets that stuff aside and turns into an exercise of branding and dopamine. Think Spider-man: No Way Home, but somehow it makes even less sense. So much of the pandering here comes off as pathetic and desperate. I like Michael Keaton's portrayal of Batman in the Burton movies as much as the next guy, but when you cut here from him flying like a plastic doll, to his stuntman kicking ass, to a close-up of old, wrinkly, post-Birdman Michael Keaton, I can't help but laugh. Let's turn his character into a joke and give him long hair for the introduction scene (in order to conveniently hide the stuntman), only to make him look like regular Michael Keaton two scenes later when barely any time has passed. Let's put in a beat where Supergirl leaves the group for one scene without any clear motivation. Let's make sure Keaton says the line about going nuts, who cares if it makes any sense. It’s all painfully stupid and hits one shallow emotion after the next. Sometimes it tries to be funny, there's a surprising amount of slapstick in this. It's different than the snarky lines and bathos we're used to in superhero movies, which is nice, but I only chuckled twice and cringed at most of the other stuff. The movie weaves in the origin story of Barry, which is a neat idea, but this means we get to spend time with the 18 year old version of Barry Allen, hands down the most annoying character you're going to see at the movies this year. It was pretty smart to retcon Miller's abysmal Justice League performance into a character arc, but both versions of the character here are still incredibly obnoxious. The performance is godawful, almost every line that comes out of their mouth sounds phoney and overacted (no, my personal feelings regarding Miller have zero influence on this). I can't really comment on any of the other performances or characters (Shannon, Calle), because their appearances are too brief to leave a genuine impression. Everything leads to a rushed third act that has no problem breaking its own logic in regards to time travel, and it goes completely nuts with the amount of pointless fan service. It even introduces another villain out of nowhere, all before wrapping up the story in a way that barely feels like a resolution for anything. The (clearly reshot) ending scene ensures that this wasn't entirely spinning its wheels, but a lot of stuff still gets no pay-off. In terms of filmmaking, this is also pretty disastrous. Yes, the green screen and PS3 graphics are terrible, but more importantly this movie isn't even capable of putting two Ezra Miller's on the screen in a convincing way, which is a type of visual trick that got perfected back in the 90s. The framing and lighting often enhance the visuals looking like plastic, and this gets particularly bad in the third act: the staging, blocking and editing are an incoherent mess. Finally, the music is unmemorable and sounds like a poor man's Danny Elfman. I don’t understand the decision to omit the Flash theme from the Justice League film, which was the only memorable bit from that soundtrack (and composed by Elfman, no less). Maybe the filmmakers wanted to distance themselves from the theatrical cut, but then why is this movie insisting that this is the first time Barry runs back in time? That’s already canon in the director’s cut. Just so many baffling decisions with this one. You should do yourself a favor and just (re)watch the earlier seasons of the tv show, there's nothing to be gained by investing your time in this trainwreck.
2.5/10
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@jordyep I bet it's not messier than your unparagraphed wall of texts... j/k. I think the film balances nerdgasmic fanservices in superhero films with actually competent normal film quite well. Enough fanservice, enough comedy (not the dumb quippy kind of MCU), enough drama. It's clunky here and there, and the Supergirl part is really weak, but it's not ridiculously bad like recent superhero films, ranging from The Batman to Shazam, Wakanda Forever to Multiverses of Madness.
Good but with have scored higher if the ending was better.
SPOILERSThe ending was a mess. Mother was killed but is alive. Woman had a purpose but we'll never know anything about it or her life. Girl opted for a life with brother, can she also create humans or will they just die out? What about the other robots?
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@moonkodi woman is the original daughter. 3 embryos were missing. 1 was said to have "failed" , not "aborted". That was the woman. She was there to test how the newest daughter reacts to stranger's intervention. Biggest giveaway is they both look similar.
The show had its up and downs.
But honestly I found the last season a high tick up in quality over the last few & it felt like a return to form, so I'm glad it ended in a bang (pun intended).One thing that did prevail thru the up's and down was the cast. They were the heart of the show and put their all into every episode. Many giving performances that are wave above & beyond cable TV. The show gets a ton of hate, but overall I'd say it was a fun journey & I'll definitely miss it.
Thanks for the wild ride & I'm excited to see what they do with TWDU.
P.S - Haters who comment on LITERALLY every episode, can ya'll please just NOT watch any of the other shows & b*tch non-stop no matter how good it is? It will make all of our lives a lot easier :)
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@mattdeezly1996 "when I hate something I stop watching".
^ What a quitter mentality. How are you supposed to know and fairly assess the quality of a show when you only know a portion of it?
I watch a show til the end and judge every episode based on its merit. If it's good it's good, if it's shit it's shit. I pay my subscription to watch the show, and I judge what I get from my money. I'm a consumer, it's a product. There's nothing personal about it. Stop dramatizing as if your mama cooked it personally for you.
The cynical side of me wants to call this Everything, everywhere all at once for consoomers.
The optimistic side of me sees Kevin Feige finally pushing the boundaries of his own franchise.
I guess it’s a little bit of both in the end.Undoubtedly, the best thing the movie has going for it is the Sam Raiminess of it all. His fingerprints are all over it; you’re getting the weird camera angles, camp, his sense of horror, etc. It definitely has more style than some other Marvel movies, though there's also still some of the usual blandness. I'll give it to Marvel for putting in a scene where a talking corpse gives a heartfelt, sentimental speech. There's more of a psychedelic feel to it than the first film, but every time it tends to get really interesting it feels like Raimi's being reigned it to adhere to Marvel's demands. Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberbatch are giving some of their best performances as these characters to date, and the music’s really well done. But ultimately the film’s Achilles heel is its own script, which is complete junk. The story is thin, messy, nonsensical, and at times flat out embarrassing. The set-up in the first act is very rushed, while the second and third act feel like they’re written by a Reddit fanpage (you just know for a fact that Marvel only went in this direction because of the 2 Batmen that have been announced for The Flash). It’s Marvel at its most ‘producty’, and it’s going to trick a lot of people into thinking the film is better than it is. Regardless, I hope Patrick Stewart got a big paycheck for ruining his own perfect send-off in Logan at the very least. A lot of the story beats don’t make sense either, with most of the characters arcs feeling rushed and nonsensical, even despite the copious amounts of exposition that are desperately trying to tie everything together. The choices made with Wanda in the third act are baffling, and I still don’t know what the takeaway is supposed to be by the end of the film. Her motivation is problematic in general, and I don’t like the use of the [insert plot device] corrupts the mind of the villain trope, which is becoming very overused in the MCU (Ant-Man, Winter Soldier) and just a lazy way of forcing a conflict where the villain stays redeemable. The new character (America Chavez) is a boring, underdeveloped plot device, while Strange himself doesn't even have a real arc. It's the kind of film where a lot happens, but very little leaves an actual impression. I’m not sure what happened, but I get the impression that a significant portion of this film was reworked and rewritten during post production. The action didn’t impress me whatsoever, but that’s been a case with these films for a while now (some of the stuff in Shang-Chi excluded). Some of the visuals look tacky and unfinished, the action’s a bunch of people shooting flashing lights at each other, shots don’t linger enough, people move like animated characters, it’s all the usual bs (and this is coming from someone who thinks the action and effects in the first one are still underappreciated to this day). Inbetween the first film and the sequel, Marvel has become a machine that’s now collapsing under its own pressure. If Disney would allow it, they really should go back to making 2-3 properties a year. The consistent mediocrity of their current output is killing their own longevity.
4/10
Oh, and your kids will be fine watching this. I’ve seen some uproar about the ‘horror’ and violence of the film, and it’s honestly not that shocking. There’s way more creepy stuff in some of the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones films (or just your average 80’s kids film in general).
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@jordyep this is the only review with common sense in the top 10 comment on this film here
@4qhdfire @-puma- @productofculture @goodguyjoey not for kids perhaps but it's certainly for edgy teenagers like this comment section suggests
I don't understand that David seem to like Lucy already for some reason.
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@jo_is_a_roof She's pretty and sexy, and David is a high school boy. It's easy to get attracted to girls in that age.
Assassins that hijack people's body to commit their murders. Interesting concept, though not revolutionary.
The main character is well portrayed, specially the dissociation that comes from her work, the way she trains when inside a new body, the way she tries to become herself again when back to her own. That's the most interesting aspect of the movie. Following the mission itself, while in the Colin's body is mildly interesting.
The killings are uselessly violent, I guess it serves as a tell sign that something is wrong with her, as she was supposed to do it cleanly and fast, but this aspect is never really developed.
The second part, inside Collin's body after she fails to come back to her own is less interesting. The I guess the conflict between the two spirits in one body is the whole point, but it does not really take.
Small role for Sean Bean (he dies), he's good (obviously). Jennifer Jason Leigh has less of a chance to shine.
Bonus points for taking over the child's body at the end, that's a good idea, however, as we've seen how the technology works, it seems like it would have been unrealistic to do. It seems like a last minute measure and/or a precaution, but that's not how it works. They can kidnap him long enough without the father noticing ? She would also have needed a long adaptation, specially with such a different body. Also it seems it must always end with the host's death, so what was exactly the plan here if it actually went well ? Get her back, and sorry we had to kill your child just to be safe ?
This whole things is basically an episode of The Outer Limits.
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@fly_ I disagree. The purpose of the violence is to slowly show the audience of her character. Initially she seems like someone having issues with dissociating from her work. But the ending shows that this is NOT the case. She wanted Michael to be gone from her life so she can focus on her work. Remember the scene when she told Colin exactly that.
But then the film asks again, whose idea that is? Still in the same scene when she told Colin she doesn't know if she really loved Michael or it was an idea she got from someone else. Did she want Michael to be gone because she has degraded to a cold-blooded killer due to her job? Or has she always been a violent person, as shown repeatedly that she takes pleasure being drenched in blood and doing gruesome murder? The violence is an attempt to invite the audience to such questions. Even the ending as the butterflies were put down, there's another question there.
Decent movie if violence and bloodshed is your thing. The confusing and extremely unclear storyline, however, made this very difficult to watch. I went into this blind, hoping the movie would be clear enough to realize and follow without the preconceived notions that reading a synopsis can often lead to, but wow... I know I'm clueless at times, and this movie was definitely one of those time. Going strictly by the film's title, I had an idea of what I was watching, but there was never any mention of what was happening, nor was there any offer of an explanation that would clarify what you were witnessing. I can't give this very high marks at all because it was so incredibly confusing and hard to follow. Almost immediately, you're jumping from one murder scene into a completely different story and you're left scratching your head wondering, "What just happened?" I can now say I watched it, but I can also say it wasn't worth watching.
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@hubes-0a31c592-8851-4ddf-8e72-a7a20966824a perhaps not the best movie for you. It invites the audience to think without overexplaining like typical MCU or blockbuster action movies.
Review by Andrew Bloom
VIP9[7.8/10] This is the most traditional Star Wars story of Star Wars: Visions so far, but that’s not a bad thing! It still reimagines the world to a significant extent. The episode pictures some tie where war has wiped out the Jedi, but there are a few remnants left in addition to a few Sith patrolling the galaxy. The idea of a last master, gathering the few remaining allies and potentials, to bring back the old ways, is a cool setup.
What I particularly like about this one is that, like The Force Awakens it’s an homage to A New Hope, but that like The Last Jedi, it remixes and reimagines that influence more than it simply retraces it. Kara isn’t Luke exactly, and her father and eventual master aren’t Obi Wan exactly, and the journey to the site of the action isn’t exactly the journey to the Death Star.
But it’s enough of an analog to feel familiar, while remixing things enough to feel fresh.Honestly, this is the episode of Star Wars; Visions that feels rife with the most potential for a regular series. We have some cool new characters in Kara, the neophyte who proves herself worthy in desperate times, her master, a clever man who uses a key moment to round up Jedi, his friend, who falls to the dark side temporarily but regains his way, and the young amsterless Jedi who kicks off the episode, another young hopeful with a strong heart in need of training. You can see this quarter working, especially in a part of the timeline/galaxy where the Order needs to be restored, and Siths and Jedi-hunters roam the land.
This is a particular tribute to the lightsaber as an almost holy artifact in the Star Wars galaxy. It’s what the master tries to reassemble as a first step toward reestablishing the Jedi as a presence. There’s the cheesy yet cool reveal that the resting comet jutting out on a beam of light from the planet below looks, from the right angle, like a giant lightsaber in the sky. And of course, there’s the clever conceit of the lightsabers du jour being constructed to commune with their wielder, thereby revealing the truth in their heart.
It allows for a clever reveal as to who the good guys and buys are, preserving the key twist of the short. It provides for a good way for the master’s friend to reveal that he’s fallen into darkness but is not beyond redemption given how his saber turns back to a good guy color. ANd Kara’s blank saber turning green when she rises to the occasion works as superb symbolism for the untrained but potential-filled warrior coming into her own.
Overall, this is another strong outing for Star Wars: Visions, with some cool lightsaber action, a great rendition of the franchise’s muthos and lore in an unfamiliar setting, and the intrigue and tension of one man trying to restore the light to the galaxy and requiring those implements that so many Jedi Knights are known for. If they do expand this one into a series, sign me up.
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@andrewbloom I agree with you that this is a potentially great episode for its own series. Only noting that the lightsaber mythos is incorrectly depicted here.
Lightsaber prowess and force power are two different things. You can be proficient in lightsaber combat without having any force-sensitivity (e.g. General Grievous Grievous) and you can be masterful in force but lacking in lightsaber feat (e.g. Jocasta Nu).
Lightsaber crystal also doesn't reflect the wielder's sensitivity to sides of the force. You can be a morally uptight Jedi wielding red lightsaber (e.g. Adi Gallia) and a sith wielding blue (e.g. Anakin after he fell to the dark side. Notice when he was knighted as sith by Palpatine his saber's color didn't turn red).
With a better familiarity with the mechanics Production IG could've made a great Star Wars series though, I agree. They have good script writers.
About 15 minutes was OK, the rest was like watching paint dry.
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@bcstorey someone is mad lol. You threw insult first, you got what you deserved.
