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Reviews
Bullet Train (2022)
This was fun to watch
Action on a bullet train can be very interesting and they made it work here, guess I found my fix after loving train to busan so much (and never getting another one). A good movie has an uplifting effect on the actors featured in it as well, at least now I find myself with a higher opinion of Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson than before. Cute appearance by Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock as well, my my this is really Hollywood's redeeming act.
Not all actors bask in this glow however. Joey King's character, though written to be unlikable, is actually unlikable. There's a real missed opportunity to be more charismatic, but instead I was counting the minutes for her character to be killed off, so much so that the grand finale brought me less enjoyment than it should, and I only exhaled my breath when Lemon's truck crashed into her. Andrew Koji plays the stoic son too much, perhaps that was simply what was asked? But it felt like he was trying to do the holding back thing all the time it felt flat.
Still, generally very fun film, I enjoyed it.
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
The one thousand faces of Woody Allen
Giving it a 6 because I oscillated between a 6 and a 7 (really the average rating of 6.5 was very adequate), but in the end decided it was 6.
After watching so many movies, I always find that the more of an actor I watch, the more I see the actor themselves and not their character. So it always confused me when people mention "oh look at xx's great acting in that film!", nope don't see it, I can't look pass the traits of the actor themselves which are so apparent to me. But Woody here, he does something different. The more Woody Allen films you watch, the more all the actors blend into one. That is not to say they get to lose more of their individual trait and become more of the character...they just all blend into one Woody Allen. Every film, every character, regardless of age gender ethnicity, are all Woody Allen. It's actually quite Lovecraftian when you think about it, watching a film with the one thousand faces of Woody Allen. Wow, how does he do it.
Now this film in particular, is one of those rare occasions where the Woody Allen-ness is on a controllable level and other elements work enough to make it tolerable. That is rare, because I have nightmares about other Woody Allen films that are out-of-control in terms of Woody Allen-ness like looking into the petri dish of the next epidemic. It helps that the time setting of this film is something of interest to me, and I can tell the main leads (Emma Stone and Colin Firth) are trying to battle the blanket of Woody Allen-ness they must have been instructed to do to let a bit of their own charm through. The plot twist was kind of fun, though it does go downhill from there into the classic Woody Allen problem: there is a woman who is a charming charlatan, bad bad news that the protaganist cannot resist despite all reasons, and on the other hand the sensible, perfect, but boring other girl who readily waits on him and is rejected. Who hurt you Woody? Why always those stereotypes? That's rhetorical btw I don't actually want to know. Also, can we get the lighting under control please? Does it have to be dusk ALL THE TIME? It looks like dusk in the morning, in the afternoon, and even at dawn. The rosy filter becomes an eye-sore at some point.
Tl;dr: interesting time period and the effort of the two main leads save the film. Anytime we have less signature Woody is always a good time.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
A rare combination
First of all, this was fantastic. Less than half the way through I was already thinking "when can I watch this movie again", and that is not something to usually cross my mind. The first part sets everything up nicely, but this second part is really where all the amazing production truly shows off their spectacular energy. Also, please go see in a movie theatre, for this movie the big screen experience is incomparable. I haven't read the book so I came in with an open mind, overall the plot seemed alright (and that is becoming a rarity nowadays), even though I had some reservations about whether there really is a necessity for all the close-up one-on-one fighting (hello modern weaponry?), but OK can respect that. The most important thing is everything else anyways. The scene, the production, the world view, the music, they were all a lethal combination that made me think close to 3 hours of film was not nearly enough. In a global era where we've seen everything already, this is the kind of experience that still feels exotic and attractive. Very glad for Denis Villeneuve who has truly put himself on the map (I know he was sort of on it before), please make more excellent movies. Also the rest of Hollywood needs to take note, this is what serious movie making is like, where high-rating and box office are BOTH achievable. Put in the work to be original and attractive instead of regurgitating the same formula again and again. So give us less garbage and more interesting stuff please.
Geukhanjikeob (2019)
Good film
Overall I liked it, the plot was very interesting and quite full of twists. Unfortunately some of the twists come at the expense of plot holes, but it's a comedy so what can you expect. I did find some of the spots funny although not all the parts, I guess not being Korean meaning a lot of the jokes I didn't really get them. So in that aspect, I think it would have worked really well if there was more comedy in it that appealed to a wider audience (me), but I can see how someone who is Korean and does understand those comedy might like it. A lot of fight scene I also had a bit of problem with, because that just wasn't the style I appreciated (either more guns or better fighting?). Still, good enough film.
Talk to Me (2022)
Good movie. But so annoying. So, SOOOOOO annoying
First of all, good film. Not going to deny that. Not GREAT either, but not bad.
But the way it engaged me was not through riveting plot or ingenious execution, but rather, purely getting me annoyed, more and more as the minutes rolled by. Most horror films involve some kind of characters making bad decisions and getting themselves into trouble, but this film was ALL about characters making bad decisions and getting themselves into trouble. Every teenager is annoyingly stupid, but even setting aside THAT stereotype, the main character Mia is one of the most ire-invoking character I've seen. She had a traumatic experience with one of her parent's suicide, OK that's really terrible and I'm sorry to hear that. But it's absolutely no excuse for how selfish she acted at every turn. And you can argue that ever since she held the hand for over 90s she was doomed to be influenced by the spirits on some level, buuuuut no. She was mostly her when reacting and deciding in the selfish way she does.
Near the end I was counting the minutes for her to be killed off, and when she was pushing the wheel chair, I felt zero suspense for the big ending: either she does give into killing the little brother which makes her utterly weak and irredeemable, or the writers would come up with a (not actually) clever twist where she sacrifices herself (or can we really call that a sacrifice?). One does feel very terrible for her friend's family because, what in the world did THEY ever do to deserve this except by being kind? Lesson of the film, don't be kind, don't make friends, social distancing is still the best way to protect yourself COVID or not.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Forget about the force, this whole thing had been FORCED
I watched the whole trilogy in one go so I can feel how clearly my attitude about the films went from "looking forward to this" to "God just be over already" as the minutes ticked by. By the third movie I'm only watching for Reylo and trying to skip pretty much everything else as fast as I could because everyone else is Annoying. Finn, the resistance, the whole supporting cast, who could have been interesting felt lacking and irrelevant. How do you expect me to sympathize with the resistance when they are just running away by the fraction of a hair with plans that don't make sense at all? And they could have been more relevant had they been given some better PLOT to make them likeable, but that is a missed chance now. Not only do the things happening in this film feel FORCED, the character deaths are all FORCED. Starting with Han back in the first film, pretty sure they made him die because Harrison Ford was too expensive but OK, I can swallow that. And now Leia and Ben/Kylo Ren are dead too? But Chewie almost seemed dead for a minute until he was totally brought back fine? Watching that didn't just annoy me, it ANGERED me. Kylo Ren actually made a great villain, very charismatic, but it feels like someone up there had a problem with him, so they decided to make him go dark to build up Rey as the Skywalker. Why didn't you just make Rey born into the Skywalker family then? Oh no, but instead she's a Palpatine. It would have been much more interesting and not eye-rolling if she was truly a nobody OR actually going dark Sith! Rey.
Now don't get me wrong, I like Rey. Props to Adam and Daisy for carrying this trilogy on their back. I think the dynamic between Rey and Kylo Ren is what got me sitting through 3 films. Hence why I'm mad at the fact they make Ben/Kylo Ren just DIE like that so easily when finally, their relationship could turn into the next stage and there would be so much potential in that. After 3 films I just want to say, can we please go back to Kylo Ren ruling the galaxy? Honestly, I'm rooting for him now. I wasn't at the beginning, but when the "good" side is so boring and annoying I'm FORCED to grab onto him as my life line.
Cinderella (2021)
A great example of what doesn't work
Let's start off with positives: some of the sass was funny! Note that's some of them, definitely not all of them, I got lured in to watch this obviously poorly rated movie because of a video compilation of those moments that worked, but there were certainly many awkward cringe-worthy pauses instead of funny moment if you bother to watch the whole movie. I think this would have been way better if they worked more on that aspect of the script, bringing out the sass and fun. But instead, we got an endless list of music that doesn't work. Evidently poorly written (or arranged), this is not how a musical should be. No stars could save this show, and most of the acting was not great, it's like the actors knew how cringe-worthy the music numbers were and couldn't recover from it as it is often times too reminiscent of a hallmark movie.
Extraction 2 (2023)
Good action, meh story
The action, especially the first part, was great. The story itself, not so much. Can understand they are trying to build character and arc whatever for main lead (or just trying to get some excuse to fight), but going that much above and beyond for your ex-wife, and your ex-wife's sister's rebellious ungrateful son to the point of endangering and killing people who care about you is a big no-no. I doubt anyone on this job (and losing their lives over it) made any financial gain, but if you call it a job you've got to make something out of it, or why would people fight for it? Actually he even handed out $1 million cash to the family, and got himself and his associate/friend into prison (and probably she had her assets froze and taken). Yikes.
Devdas (2002)
Glorious music and choreography, but character is disaster in simple abundance
I'm giving a 6 purely out of appreciation for the music, choreography, costumes and generally amazing set. Otherwise, the only reason I finished this was to see Madhuri in all her glory.
The fundamental problem is that the main character, Devdas, is an annoy brat who doesn't deserve so much as a story arc, never mind a whole 3 hours long movie. He feels entitled to life when in truth, he doesn't deserve any of the wealth, status, and love that's been given to him. By the start of the second half of the movie, I was beginning to actually, physically feel nauseous from all the trembling wailing and choked crying from Devdas, something I don't ever recall happening when I watch a movie. There is a reason pain and suffering should be presented in moderation, and overexposure to his dramatics quickly wore out any (if they existed in the first place) sympathy one might have had. So he indulges in alcohol and the occasional violence, and his character never changes from beginning to end. During the final 15 minutes as he travels to Paro in his dying breath, I was expecting him to finally resist the calling of alcohol, but no, he must take it and burden his unknowing friend to the guilt of bringing him his death calling, as he pukes his heart out in the (disgustingly opulent) train cabin. His death is stretched with such drama and needless suspense, but I was just counting on him to get it over with and release me from boredom. Except of course, he had to burden poor Paro once again as that display would have made Paro's life at her husband's manor all the more difficult after.
Another annoying thing is, must Devdas' sister-in-law be villainous so blatantly? I've never seen evil portrayed in such simple abundance I don't know if it was the director's oversight or just poor acting (but at this point I'm willing to blame it on the director/writer whoever responsible for creating that). And after being thrown in the face with such pure evil, it is entirely inappropriate that we never go back to Devdas' family, see how the sister-in-law might have gotten some divine retribution, which overall leaves the audience unsatisfied.
All in all, I endured to see what the fuss is about, and while I liked some aspects of the movie, the shortcomings are just too wanting for the experience to be pleasurable.
Spirited (2022)
Brings back the charm of old musicals
I was not thrilled by the trailer and only started watching because it was a musical and I have a soft spot for those. I had low expectations going in, first 10 minutes or so just thinking "let's see how cliché this will be". But when Ryan Reynolds started his first number, it was done surprisingly well, impressive even, and I was glad to be wrong. In fact I have never been a big fan of Ryan Reynold's type of humour (appreciated it, just wasn't for me), but in this movie his character really worked well and there was just something different and made him charming. I also used to find Will Ferrell's humour a bit cringe-worthy too (it's a hit-and-miss depending on the movie), but he toned it down for this one, and their combo had good chemistry.
While I have long grown tired of most plots that simply try too hard to be upbeat in a naïve way, I can tell this one tried to jump out of the trope from time to time and it was tolerable. The big selling point for me is still the music, I loved that it had so many big dance numbers, and reminds me of a good old musical from old days. The main casts made it work and the enthusiasm of their singing does bring feelings of early Christmas to me. Overall enjoyed it.
Meari to majo no hana (2017)
The story doesn't make sense
When the headmistresses commented on what a foolish girl Mary is, that essentially summed up the plot. I wanted to like Mary but they've built this character such that her actions only served to push the plot in a way, but every move she made was inconsiderate and well, foolish. When you get to a strange place, instead of being careful you just bloat up from some stranger's praise? And leave them information about you (or in this case, people close to you)? Also at the end when they fly home on the fixed broomstick---neither of them had any magic left and Mary never used the last flower and throws it away so how were they able to power the broomstick? Makes no sense.