jakepassolt Reviews

Snack Shack (2024)

Easily a Modern Classic

[8/10 · 16 March 2024]

The Snack Shack like a modern Sandlot.

This movie is about two best friends and their schemes and shenanigans over a summer in Nebraska in 1991. One friend is the schemer who always has an idea and a plan for what to do next, and the other friend is the more level headed but very ambitious go getter. Together they execute these risky plans that might get them into trouble with their parents but venture to make money and have fun over the summer.

At it's core it might sound generic and formulaic for a coming of age movie but it shines due to the amount of heart and soul poured into it.

The acting is expertly done. The script allows for campy, comedy, and realism to flow through the characters. The jokes land and the physical comedy is well timed.

The movie is also able to juggle varying tone quite well and keeps the overall pacing solid One con I will say is that I don't know what the overall theme of the movie was supposed to be, or if there was supposed to be one.

Nevertheless the Snack Shack is a very heartfelt coming of age comedy that clearly had a lot of hard work and heart put into it.

The Killer (2023)

John Wick but without the comic book accents.

[7/10 · 6 November 2023]

The killer is a deep dive into the hitman killer type movie that have become so popular over the past 15 years.

The thing that the killer does different is that it doesn't pull it's punches and it doesn't have the Ludonarrative dissonance you would expect from the John wick movies

The killer is a fun story to follow because the main character is a complicated person who, despite killing people for a living, still cares about some people and is willing to hurt and kill for them.

This movie would easily be relegated to a John wick clone but the ambience and the storytelling portray a very different type of story.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Lots of potential, very little execution

[4/10 · 25 October 2023]

TLDR: This is a very simple story that dances with deep themes and complex narrative devices in the least nuanced way possible.

6/10 for wasted potential

I watched this movies because I was bored and after it was over it had me thinking about it for days afterwards.

The problem is it had me thinking about how uninspired this movie is.

Let me get the positives out of the way first.

The acting in the movie is mostly really good, the exceptions are one or two characters. The Alien design and effects in that first scene with them were surprisingly good. Frankly all the special effects were good or great. The movie portrayed the dread, trauma, and nihilism of facing an existential threat really well and was one of the most compelling parts of the movie. And that's all the praise I'll give this movie.

The primary issue with this movie is the writing.

This movie is full of clichés and predictable story beats. The writing has very little nuance to it and ends up feeling corny at times.

But the worst offender in this story is the time travel. Any story that deals with time travel is fighting an uphill battle and this is a prime example of that. It feels like the writers wanted to tell a very specific story and the whole time travel part was an afterthought. As a result there are plenty of glaring plot holes and inconsistencies that completely pulled me out of the story.

This is fine if you want to turn your brain off and watch aliens get killed but I feel like it could've been more than that.

The Green Knight (2021)

A hero's journey but by a real person

[8/10 · 30 March 2023]

The green knight has very decisive reviews and I don't get that. When you look at the movie, from any point of view, you'll see that it's a collection of challenges to the main character who eventually overcomes these challenges and succeeds in his (or her) journey.

The film sets up a protagonist who is inherently flawed (frequents a brothel) who aspires to be a knight. Given the opportunity, he tries to show his bravery by challenging the titular knight. This results in him going on a journey that tests his knightly qualities. All of which he fails until given the ultimate challenge in which he seemingly succeeds.

This movie is an exposé on what happens if a person that has realistic qualities has to go along with the hero's journey. They are hesitant, they fail, and they need a lot of help, but if the hero really is a hero they will show it in the end.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

A musical made right.

[9/10 · 26 December 2022]

Moulin rouge does a perfect job of mixing a story with music.

Ewan has an amazing musical talent and gives his all with very little (noticeable) computer interefearment. Nicole Kidman does an excellent job with Satine with her deception and vulnerability.

The contemporary music mixed with the original pieces show an ability to be relatable and traditional while also showing a familiarity that the audience can grasp and cling to.

Baz Luhrmann shows an excellent talent with crafting an extremely energetic and wild film. The shear energy that is available in this film can be film on multiple different levels. The writing, the editing (especially), and the performances show how unique and curious film can be.

Doctor Sleep (2019)

It shines all on it's own

[8/10 · 1 November 2022]

This movie is very different than the shining, and that's not a bad thing.

Doctor sleep is a character driven film, slow at times but well thought out and well done.

Danny Torrance is a deeply broken character and for good reason. Ewan McGregor is very good at playing hurt and broken characters and does that well in this. We get to see how the events of one's childhood can reverberate throughout a whole lifetime.

Kyliegh Curran as Abra is extremely well done. This is how I think a powerful character should be written and acted. From early in the film you are shown how powerful this character and even the villain is shows to be fearful of this power. You don't usually get this type of characterization, with an easier underdog approach taken, but Doctor Strange has nothing wrong with displaying how the shear power of a character is not the only thing that matters.

Additionally Rebecca Ferguson plays a great antagonist. I personally hate the idea of 1 dimensionally written villains who have no respect or care for their subordinates and that is the opposite of what we get in this movie. There is a clear care to Rose's tribe and they really do feel like a family.

Overall this movie is very different than The Shining but at the same time I think it stands on it's own very well with thoughtful writing and good acting.

Elysium (I) (2013)

Loved everything about this except the STORY

[6/10 · 14 October 2022]

Elysium has amazing aesthetic, excellent cinematography, realistic effects, a fun villain, and very amateur writing (that stupid healing pod).

Elysium does cyberpunk really well. The dirt, gritty, futuristic feel of this movie is done super well. It felt a lot like cyberpunk 2077, and I mean that as a compliment. The concept of having advanced tech and extreme squalor is mixed pretty well. I do think the city of LA should've looked more like the megacity from Dredd but that's just me being picky. Overall this is pulls off dystopian cyberpunk just right.

Some of the shots in this movie are masterfully done. There are a couple tracking shots that gave me shivers from how much I liked them. Additionally the slow-mo shots were done just right where they weren't overused. There are some more generic scenes early on but when the cinematography is needed it shows up.

The special effects are super good too. The robots use really good motion capture and are very nice to look at. The vehicle designs are a good mix of brutalist, sleek, or militaristic which adds to the wider feel of the world. The ring of Elysium is cool looking as well (not sure of the physics that allow it to have an open top but I suspended disbelief for that little detail). The view of Elysium from earth is really well done too.

Kruger is a really fun villain to watch. His South African slang and his two cronies work with him expertly, you can feel the history between these guys and their shared psychopathy. These guys are truly bad guys and pretty much irredeemable, which I usually find kind of annoying, but they are so enjoyable to watch I think it makes up for it.

The only thing I don't like about this movie is how awful the writing is. The characters are not very nuanced at all. The bad guys are bad simply for the sake of being bad. The good guys have really cliché motives and story beats are pretty predictable. It's just overall a very underwhelming story experience, and to make it worse it uses one of the worst writing tropes. Let me rant about the stupid healing technology.

For some reason the people on Elysium have access to healing technology that can heal you from pretty much anything instantly. That sort of thing is very dangerous to put when there are almost no rules to it. In Elysium the only rule to the healing pod is you need to be a citizen and your brain needs to be intact. They provide no reason why this technology doesn't exist on earth, especially because it's the primary reason that people want to go to Elysium. Overall this seemingly small detail kinda destroys the concept that any of the people on Elysium are actual characters and not just NPCs. The healing pod is a McGuffin but it's a bad McGuffin.

I understand that this whole story is an allegory to immigration in our current society but this film is written like a young adult fiction novel. The story is dumb, it's not thought out, and because of that the universe as a whole doesn't work, which sucks because everything else in this movie does work really well.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

What it lacks in action, it makes up for in acting and writing

[9/10 · 7 October 2022]

When I first left the theater I was admittedly a little underwhelmed by the lack of Tarantino's trademarked action and gore but upon multiple revisitings of film I know exactly what it's supposed to be and that makes it.

Fundamentally this movie is about cinema from the 60s, specifically the late 60s of Quentin's youth. From the studio politics of movies to the up and coming 70s style of filmmaking.

This film shows a behind the scenes aspect of Hollywood life from the late 60's and it absolutely strikes the mark. Rick Dalton is a very interesting character who definitely embodies Quentin and his current perspective but also that of a studio actor. Knowing that they peaked long ago but are still a bankable name to rely on. There is a very vulnerable side of Leo that we see. He goes from a stuttering has-been to a stern western villain seamlessly. And Cliff Booth is a hilariously Zen character who is equally at peace with his environment at all times and also completely aware of his surroundings and the consequences of his actions.

Combine these aspects with the historic Manson murders and you get a quintessential Tarantino period piece.

Additionally I will say that it is very clear that this Sally Menke didn't edit this film but it still shines bright nevertheless. If anything I feel like this movie was made not to be editted by Menke

Though slow at times, this film shows that Quentin is not done with filmmaking.

Hey Good Lookin' (1982)

Vulgar, dirty, and masterful

[6/10 · 24 September 2022]

This movie has some of the best dialogue I've seen in an animated movie in a long time. It feels very natural and the terrible mic quality actually adds a special feel to the movie. Both the main two voice actors do such a good job at voicing a couple friends that I am convinced they shot their lines together in a studio

The animation and tone of the film is very dirty, like most 70s/80s adult animated films so that's to be expected. But this really works on the darker aspects of the grease style film. There are many aspects of Italian/black gang life strewn in an the characters that would be associated and I really think it pulled together a lot of the 50s new york scene in an intersecting way

I personally think it does a great job at romanticizing and vilifying the era.

Halo 4 (2012 Video Game)

The Best of Master Chief

[9/10 · 2 December 2021]

A lot of other reviews bash the new art style of this game compared to the original 3 by Bungie but they don't talk about the story.

The original 3 Halo games tell an epic story about the mysterious Forerunners and saving humanity and the galaxy from the misguided Covenant.

After playing through all of the halo games in sequence I can say that none of them really dive into the character of Master Chief or Cortana with any depth. In Halo 3 we get to see a glimpse of the impression that Cortana has on Chief but even that is limited. If anything we get more character development from the Arbiter than any human character.

Halo 4 is the only game that actually focusses on Master Chief and Cortana. Master Chief is no longer a just a guy that says one-liners in cutscenes, he is a deeply damaged person who has ties and connections with people (or A. I.).

Halo 4 may not look like a Bungie Halo game but it's story rivals that of any single bungie halo title, except maybe Reach.

The King (I) (2019)

Historical immersion>Historical accuracy. This movie gets it.

[8/10 · 11 August 2021]

I see a bunch of negative reviews but all they talk about is how historically inaccurate this is.

This movie is incredible!

The acting is amazing, Timmy C. Does a great job with his character and the development that occurs throughout this movie. He goes from an idealist to a realist in a very natural feeling way. Also the dialogue feels old while still being comprehendible.

The side characters are fleshed out and give a very realistic depiction of late medieval-early renaissance politics and how confounded it can be. The archbishop being the main supporter of the war is a nice touch.

The action sequences are amazing. Not only the battle of Agincourt but also the duel and the siege. The duel really feels like 2 people in full plate armor fighting for their lives and you don't normally get that in movies. The battle of Agincourt reminds me of the best of Game of Thrones battles with long single shots and a touch of strategy mixed in.

The pacing of movie and the soundtrack also work very well . The movie can be slow but it doesn't feel like it's wasting it's time, it has a lot to tell and it does that in a good way. The soundtrack is eerie and almost cathedral and sets a great tone.

This movie may not be historically accurate but it's not a documentary or a history lesson, it doesn't have to be. This movie is more historically immersive, it shows how things were back then in an entertaining and relatable way. Like I said earlier, the acting, the characters, the world, the politics all feel real and in the right place. While the events did not take place, the actions of the film are not out of place, wars were fought and people died for nothing but kings disputes.

This is a movie before all else and this is a very well done movie.

The Lighthouse (I) (2019)

Dirty, drunken sailors hanging out

[9/10 · 27 July 2021]

I've heard a lot of explanations for what this movie is about and they are all valid. Are they stuck in purgatory? Is this a metaphor for the struggle between Prometheus and Proteus? You can look at this movie any way you want but at the end of the day it's a very engaging watch.

Like the title says, this movie is dirty and crisp. Everything about it seethes. As the story goes on things keep going wrong for our characters, and they certainly are characters. The relationship between the two Thomas's are a mysterious but nonetheless convincing and confusing. The setting is extremely well done and the acting is immaculate. Willem Dafoe give one of the best monologues I've ever seen.

This movie isn't for everyone but it's too niche. It's a good movie and there was a lot of work put into it. Go into it with an open mind and see what you think.

Uncut Gems (2019)

You don't have to like the protagonist

[9/10 · 27 July 2021]

Howard Ratner is not a likeable person and pretty much everything bad that happens in this movie is his fault but this movie is still really good. It's stressful and anxiety inducing. You want to hate Howard but at the same time you want to see his grand plans work out. The soundtrack is engulfing and the characters are interesting. This movie is not only worth watching but it's worth enjoying.

Spy Kids (2001)

A modern classic

[7/10 · 4 March 2021]

Robert Rodriguez made a campy kids movie which is funny, heartfelt, and defined the style of the decade to come.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

A Star Wars Story

[8/10 · 4 March 2021]

This show is a lot like a star wars movie. It has it's peaks and it's valleys. Not every episode is a hit but the ones that do hit are big hits.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Stylistic and Quaint

[8/10 · 4 March 2021]

This movie is a perfect example of Wes Anderson's style. The color, writing, and cinematography of this movie resembles that of Wes's other works, specifically the Fantastic Mr. Fox but also Life Aquatic. The story is cute and well rounded with the oddly specific characters you might expect from a Wes Anderson movie and the quippy dialogue. This is a perfect example of a good Wes Anderson movie