evansgc55 Reviews

Invincible (2021– )

Not Enough Focus. Minor spoilers, Absolutely Worth Watching

[8/10 · 16 June 2021]

I really like this show, but it suffers from serious problems in writing, plot, story, and character development Both with villains and hero's. The animation is also a bit 90's like family guy mixed with Archer.

The whole show just lacks clear focus, and a "mystery," that really isn't a mystery at all because you know what omniman did Immediately, it becomes about "why." Why was Great, but it took 7-8 episodes to figure this out, and tells me a problem. The Entire show revolves around this last 1.5 episodes, with the rest being filler per say. It feels like, to me, that the Entire Show was literally Written around this final confrontation, and I am not sure if the series continues it will get better, because of random villains with little backstory, random hero's with little backstory, incompetent "new" globe protectors that get beaten to Death against low-level Random villains, and so on. The show is not about 1 villain, but about Dozens that are not expanded on At All.

There Is No story whatsoever, just the main protagonist/antagonist Omni-Man and a bunch of underdeveloped characters that Literally Did Nothing at the end. They even said "we need to stay here because that's what we were told." What? That makes No sense, as just 1 episode ago they got Beaten To Death by lesser villains. And Who Was Metalhead or whatever? Who was the white tiger guy? Who Left by the way, after basically saying these hero's were pathetic (he's not wrong) and Not Worth killing.

So what should the future episodes do? Focus on a Specific enemy that is the main bad guy they are trying to defeat, with side villains that Support the Main villain. Like Joker using 2-face to distract Batman while the Riddler and Joker Trap Batman in some elaborate trap. Invincible, the show, has no strongly developed bad guy Other than the Viltrumites (that are impossible currently to defeat, as in 0% chance of winning). The series needs Strong villains that are addressed in-depth, characters that are not just braty teenage kids the Teen Titans could defeat with ease (meaning why Should we care that they Could win, which they can't), and Less Archer-style dialogue that mostly means nothing but filler to get to the next camera angle.

It had an Amazing ending, the latest 1.5 episodes were strong, made sense, well addressed, looked good, and had emotional impact that people could take seriously and remember; But, a lack of focus and no clear way of prolonging a series with sun-par hero's that are useless (especially duplicate like really guys, really?) with a 0% chance of defeating the Viltrumites conventionally. Invincible, the kid, is 10000 years undertrained and the Only way he could even Compete is with insane Plot Armor that makes Mark look like John Connor.

Edit: after watching it again multiple times since my review and picking up on more of the subtler details, I'm still affirmed that the Entire Show, as in 1-8, has enough filler and lack of establishment (in that every villain is only briefly addressed over 15-30 minutes each and then never again) to warrant a solid 7... However, that last 2-episodes, since the arrival of the immortal in 7 to the sad music-montage in 8, is Perfect, certainly up until before the medical scene montage. That approximately 40 minutes is sheer Cinematic Gold. It's perfect, and the Only thing it could do better is with higher FPS and animation quality, but the story, plot, cinematography, fight scenes, impact, Characterization, Framing, Voice acting from Omniman, and that Flashback Are Perfect. It is just a truly beautiful scene and it Really Shows the Brilliant writing potential that Kirkman Has. It's so good it's worth a full season watch Alone. It's much like the animated series Berserk 1997 in that the only thing it could improve are the frames of animation per second and more intelligent filler, of course written less like Teen Titans and more like Ghost in the Shell 1995.

Berserk (2016–2017)

Just No is the correct heading or this series

[2/10 · 1 March 2021]

There is a Lot of strange history about this show. An unexperienced director and writer that used to do kiddie-nonsense anime's, and so on, and it Shows the inexperience in this series. the Entire 1st season is badly shot, framed, scored, characterized, and on and on. the 3D animation is some of the Worst, and Ugliest, you'll ever see. The Pacing revs like a chainsaw and swings around like a hula-hoop. It's Bad, and they should have Seriously reconsidered their Entire strategy.

It's strange also that most of the guys that did the Movies Also did the series, and the Series used heavy blending of 2D and 3D: 3D for the action-intensive stuff, and 2D for most everything else, and it was Good. The Movie arc was a great addition, 7/10 for me, not as good as the 1997 version, but still good! Why did they Change something that was fundamentally solid and most everyone liked? I don't know 1 person that loves anime that would Ever say that 2D animation should be cut Completely from a show. the stark contrasts, the shadows, the realistic skyboxes and backgrounds... this was Art. Some would even use Paintings from Artists as backdrops and use 2D Over the backgrounds. There is No Art in Berserk 2016.

Filler Constantly, all the dialogue is terrible, there is no real connections with the characters or people, and you feel like you don't know Anything about them by the end. Quick, sloppy, awful. The Only reason it gets a 2/10 instead of a 1/10 is episode 4 where he has flashbacks of his time in '97, specifically the movie Arc series, but This is the blend of 2D and 3D that made the Movies so good. But, again, Quick, Sloppy. the entire second half is garbage and is almost unwatchable, But that first 15 or so minutes is just a callback to what it Could have been. Although, if the story was precisely the same I still would Not like it, because the story was just Terrible, nonsensical, and borders nonsense and stupidity. I did like the times he met certain characters he was searching for, and that battle in the swords was cool, but the show was just a Failure. It Failed because it had bad people at the helm that ran it into the ground. Such a shame.

Dead Space: Aftermath (2011 Video)

A Good Zombie movie, with Many problems.

[7/10 · 1 March 2021]

This is a good Zombie movie, and is unique in many ways; However, the 3D animation is some of the Lowest quality I've ever seen, on the bad-level of Berserk 2016. the 2D animation is Great, however, and this really diversifies itself with a unique "memory" twist. The animation Style actually changes depending on whom is Remembering, which is just great. It shows the juxtaposition's of the survivors and their mentalities, and brings into question what is true and what is false, when though there's actually not much room for interpretation. the voice actors did a great job, and they seemed to play their roles seriously. Of course this is a B-movie, certainly, as it is a Zombie film after all, and you can tell the 3D engine was rushed; even though 3D is actually Way easier than 2D (which gets stranger the More you think about it as just Why is 3D so awful? I still can't figure is question out).

The story itself is believeable and realistic, assuming you played the First Game, Dead Space, which is a 9/10 game on my scale with an excellent story. It plays directly on that canon, and makes some serious lore contributions. I loved the 2D animation in this, as gruesome as it is, and it is that great because you can tell they put a Lot of effort into the 2D. You will like the characters, empathize and sympathize with them, and you can see just how debilitating the effects of this artifact are. It also brings up Many hints for Dead Space 2, also a 9/10 game on my scale with a great story.

I rate zombie movies and games Higher than other films As A Genre because zombie films and games get Bad support, and are usually low budget and terrible. This film, however, is actually supported by a big wallet and is surprisingly well-done considering the bigger the company gets the Worse the Artistic products that come out of it are. If you Love Dead Space 1 and 2, then this film is a must-own, but I'd still say the First DS film, Dead Space Downfall, is the better of the two.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent (2013)

Inferior to the 1997 series, but still a good movie.

[6/10 · 28 February 2021]

The cinematography suffers in this film with a lot of close-ups and narrow framing, and the music is not great either and doesn't fit most scenes. The series was way better, and even the ending was in Purple rather than Red, which makes it less intense. Also the 3D is noticeably worse in Arc III, vs Arc I and II. And the Worst bits are a Lot of tie-ins to their own series, Berserk 2016, which is just a terrible, unwatchable, series. The original 1997 series played it close with the manga But Also had it be a confined story, even leaving the ending ambiguous about his survival. The movie just straight-up smashes it's own agenda into the narrative and it is distracting, because you won't know anything about these random scenes because they are totally disconnected with the presentation of the Arc trilogy. Overall, it's a good movie and a fine conclusion to the trilogy, with many things left to be desired. Not much of the friend characters again like Judeau and Corkus that the series had, not as inspiring nor impactful as the series, and all with questionable cinematography and cinematic decisions that reduce the overall spectacle. the 1997 series remains a 10/10 Masterpiece for me, it might even be Perfect with the only improvements possible in the FPS and animation Quality (details, more frames, etc); but the Movie series Overall, as in all combined, is definitely a 7/10 but certainly worth a spot on the shelf in a box-set. Also Way too much "magic" in this film, whereas the series was all physical and mostly realistic.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey (2012)

Amazing Cinema! But straightforward writing that doesn't compare to original series 1997.

[9/10 · 28 February 2021]

Just like Arc 1, the writing is straightforward. The writing leaves no room for awe or interpretation, and basically tells you straight, which is a shame. for example, Griffith says in the 1997 series "war stories, Barbarous as they are, would only Bore ladies such as yourselves." And in this movie he says: "tales of battle are barbaric, and you are so refined I am sure they would only bore you." The tone changes significantly from the series and the movies, and the 1997 series is just superior with its' writing. However, other than this, it fixes many problems of the 1st film and puts a Lot of weight on the important parts, cuts out some of the "filler" from the series, and covers them with class and refinement. You should read my first-Arc review for more specifics, but the scenes don't feel rushed nor breezed over. It slows down and lets things sit, and brings out lighter sides of characters such as Casca while dancing rather than always being harsh and stern, rarely seen in the series. The battles are also Excellent, and even though it skips the arrow-in-the-hand scene from the series, the cinematography is Fantastic. Again, only the lazy writing, probably a problem with translations and scripting from Japan (original version), is noticeable; however, the writing is never Bad to be sure. This film is Precisely how the 2016 anime Should have been. Why they switched to the abhorrent 3D in the 2016 series I am not sure, considering how Arc II is so professional and looks great; This animation style, in this movie, is top-notch, and if they kept things like this I'd say this is the Best of 2D/3D mixing up to now. Detailed, beautiful, and captures what 2D animation has always Strived for: recognized Art (research the history of Akira and why that failed if you don't know what I mean saying this). I will also add the movies cut out many flourishes, such as seeing the broken blade, the arrow in the hand, and most-importantly cuts most of the 3rd-string characters like Judeau and Pippin and makes them totally benched. Especially Judeau and Corkus, which had some of the Best lines in the series, and in perfect contrast to the main characters to give them that opposition, questioning their motives. It's unfortunate that these great characters were sidelined.

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King (2012)

An Excellent 3-Part Story, but this one was rushed.

[7/10 · 28 February 2021]

This movie is Short, whereas the runtime may be about 78 minutes but with credits and an opening "anime"-style intro, it's only approximately 70 minutes long. It's short, which Can work in certain films, the Main issue is that certain scenes that were Crucial in the overall Arc were rushed, badly. Especially one scene with Zod where this took up about 15 minutes in the 1997 series, a 10/10 series by the way, but the Movie made it seem less important than it was. Also, the lines are Very straight-forward, as in telling the audience exactly what happened with no room for interpretation. The Best way I've heard this described is "leaving no room for interpretation and just telling the audience what happened means bad writing," and there is a Lot of that within this film, compared to the series which is just superb. That being said, it is still a Great watch, especially if you like animation and anime-type cinema, and the story it goes on to tell is top notch... at least the 3 movie series and the 1997 anime which I recommend in English dub over the films; at least a first-watch. If the film was to be a 10/10, it would need to have edited the writing to make it more eloquent, extended the film to about 100 cinematic minutes Minimum, and certain Critical scenes needed to have been rewritten to be more obviously important rather than just line-dropping without time to absorb what was conveyed. Another great thing is many of the Original English Voice Actors Returned for this film series from the 1997 series! This is just amazing, as it was 15+ years and they came back. This is just Professionalism at its' finest.

Dead Rising: Endgame (2016)

A Great Zombie Movie, if not one the Best

[10/10 · 26 March 2020]

This movie was Amazing! The directors Learned from their 1st movie, and made it even better by taking all the best of the potential of Dead Rising and put it into this film! Whoever says this movie is crap Does Not Know What They Are Saying, because this is hands-down one of the Best Zombie movies on the list! It has awesome action scenes, a great build-up, sensible enough plot, and they don't make the ending a long montage about what happened! Definitely worth a watch if you want a zombie-action movie. I don't think the Very ending should have happened that way precisely, but it makes sense and I don't think it deserves any loss in score. Excellent job here, and worth the Shelf even if you don't watch the prelude movie! I'd rate this a 9.5 but I'll put 10 because it was just This great. Sure, every movie has some problems. This movie had an unlikely coincidence in the tunnels, the lady-ceo was Crazy-crazy which is (not) unrealistic, Dennis Haysbert could have had a larger role (but he is a General, not a Footsoldier), and the opening was a bit too coincidental; But That's About It. This movie has an Amazing action sequence at the end, lots of good cinematography, a quality story that ties in Watchtower (which is objectively Worse than this film in every way, so anyone saying it is better doesn't know what they are talking about), and a cool Dead Rising Cameo also! Jesse Metcalfe Nailed this role, and so did Keegan Tracey! This film is cool, makes sense, and the plot unfolds well and I have No problems with it overall. People who want to cry because it isn't a billion dollar super-action Marvel film are the haters on this film, because this film was Awesome. It also shows the direction of Dead Rising 3 And 4, with Direct References to DR1+2, so unless they played All these games then they don't know what they are saying about "not a good Dead Rising film," Which It Is. 100% worth a watch, and I'm adding it to my shelf. If I watch it 2 or 3 more times it Might go down to a 9, but that is the Minimum this film Deserves.

The game Dead Rising 1 is still well worth a play before (or after) this. Case West is also good except the last boss fight which the regular Dead Rising 2 did Way better if you get the full game ending. Dead Rising 1 and 2 are the "canon" preludes to both these movies while Case West is a spin-off but still a better game.

The Open House (2018)

Absolutely Absurd "Don't Go In There!" Horror-Comedy

[4/10 · 15 July 2019]

If you have never watched horror films in your life or are above 60 years old, then this movie might be for you. Otherwise, it is a tedious test of patience watching these mindless pawns move around the board, with Every viewer watching thinking the entire time "Seriously, what are you doing."

Skip this one in entirety. The Only good thing it does is set up a great atmosphere and a great serial killer that his utter silence is only matched by his criminal intelligence. Also an amazing scene with contact lenses but other than this it is just silly. Silly and Boring ultimately. +2 stars for that scene but sadly it only lasts for about a minute and is not worth watching just to see this 1-minute happening.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996)

Unsure what people were watching

[4/10 · 29 June 2019]

This anime has many "impressive" fight scenes, even though anime fights can make anything happen for any reason often throwing all logic and reason out the window to promote the protagonists... and this anime is No Exception. this anime is basically a long, overly-long, sob-story about a little boy who "doesn't want to save the world" and shows in almost every episode him crying about his problems of being a hero. It is Brutally melodramatic, and even the Characters In The Show let you know this same feeling, constantly telling this little baby to man up and do it to literally save humanity. And the ending, including the movies.. oh my god the movies... such a waste of time. I could recommend 100 anime's over this one, and if you like those types of anime's that are convoluted and confusing to the point of making no sense at all, if or when you actually do get it it makes you sick to your stomach that you didn't skip it entirely, and has anime fights that are added for padding just to promote the idea while allowing the main characters to be basically immortal while doing impossible things just to extend the plot into a movie "series," then Skip This. Just an awful "I hope this gets better" binge watch until you quickly realize in the last episode that the last episode is the Worst in the series, so brace yourself for that.