lukas-ingel Reviews

Stranger Things: Chapter Nine: The Piggyback (2022) Season 4, Episode 9

Speaking about stakes

[10/10 · 2 July 2022]

First off, yeah, this episode is huge in scale and highly entertaining, and yeah, this show is afraid to kill off main characters. Now that the obvious is addressed because I think most will agree with that, I can't help but be like what, with the amount of people who wanted Max dead this episode to show "high stakes". Let us just introspect on that.

For anybody who has been following her character arc and the theme of it, it would have been absolutely ridiculous to drag her character through the mud and survive as a metaphor for her starting to escape the grasp of Depression... if she episodes later gets killed anyway in the exact same way that represented her Depression and the impending doom and what made her stronger. It would have been pretty ridiculous to not even let her reunite properly with Eleven, her best girl friend, who was a core part of the memories that saved her in the first place, and who has been missing in her life. And it would certainly be ridiculous for the character of Eleven's, to kill off her only girl friend who is helping her feel more normal, and who she has been needing the entire time this season, as seen in how she couldn't make new girl friends and lacked something to relate to even when she had Mike and Will.

To have killed her off would have robbed the show for all of that going onward, for what purpose? The purpose of "upping the stakes"? Just showing they can kill off bigger characters in general?

Then there's stuff like that if Max had died, she would've just ended up in the exact same position as Billy with him being killed during a brave sacrifice, so there would be zero progression between their situations, and Max would've been just a copy of what happened to him and Vecna would be right that they're the same, for no actual reason in the show, because Hawkins would've still suffered the same fate. I don't think Eleven would've gotten over that either, her only girl friend dying in front of her unable to save her, and then she's supposed to what, fight the biggest battle yet at the same time next season and if she does win, she'd no longer have anybody to relate to as the "human girl"?

The way they handled it, Max still clearly suffers serious consequences that are pretty dark but unlike Billy who didn't have any close friends, Max is still alive, saved and show that there was a purpose to all the progress she made and a continuous way forward with Eleven. I cannot see how killing her off would've been for anything other than the writers trying to prove a point and shock the viewers just for the sake of it.

With all of that being said, I can agree that somebody important does need to meet an end in the final season for the show to make a more significant impact, and this season probably would have benefited from it too. Eddie was another cool 1-season character, he had a very predictable arc with him no longer running away, and he still managed to die without seemingly making that big of an impact on what happened. So it would've been a harder punch if somebody else and more important hadn't made it out. I get that. Critiques can be made, we can acknowledge so-far every main character has been safe and that it is an overall issue as to making the threats seem more impactful.

But honestly, I think it is hard to deny that it makes sense why they have kept all the people alive they've kept alive so far. Also because it doesn't get too heavy with funerals before the final big battle, and this season finale was a bomb of action either way. Epic, cinematic, a roller coaster, perfect set-up for a season 5 plot without taking away from season 4 standing solid in its own story. I think it is also a much safer bet that at least one main character may die during the last season, where characters like Steve, Will, Murray would be more set up to meet their heroic end because if it happened here, it wouldn't be as significant and we'd lack actual stakes for the final battle because we all know most of the others are as safe as can be. We'll see what they do with the character most at risk and then we can judge I guess.

10/10 season finale, the plot made sense, super epic, had an amazing time with Vecna and all the stuff this season.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

Involvements and the new official Justice League movie

[9/10 · 21 March 2021]

*Don't let this distract you from the fact that they put in additional unneeded footage of Mera played by the known abuser Amber Heard*, who is also in talk to get her own show and has officially gained support from director James Wan (because he likes her...) to be included in Aquaman 2 and not have the role recast, etc. This is aside from several huge media outlets taking her side or avoiding criticism of the situation despite her actual abuse of actor Johnny Depp being public available material that everybody with access to the internet can look up. The severity of it is shocking, as is the support Amber Heard is met especially in continuing her role against what more than *1.5 million people* have wrote their signature in an official petition to have her removed from.

Since this is the newest footage of her in this role and nothing at all is being done about it, quite the opposite, I've taken space in this review to speak up. I hope you will go out and actively show your support to disallow abusers to get away with their behaviour unpunished by any system and by the people, and to hurt Warner Bros who actively supports her, where it hurts, in their money pocket, since that's the only thing that will stop their hypocrisy and poor, biased treatment of this case against Amber Heard. *Thus do support by boycotting Aquaman 2 with her in the role of Mera and any possible Mera television show per this happening, as it allows an abuser succesfully avoiding punishment by the public and gain even more success and popularity in the Hollywood business.*

If you are still in doubt about her actions or the severity of them, I can't do much here but recommend a quick Google search/YouTube search and look up photos, videos and articles showcasing the hard evidence, photos, videos, recordings which involve Amber Heard herself admitting to the abuse as well as Johnny Depp's severed finger, etc. The actual proof is there widely available, and your support will help bring justice. You've watched The Snyder Cut, you've watched these heroes, go take actions of justice yourself now, alright?

*At last, I will speak for the movie alone and not Amber Heard's role in it.*

The Snyder Cut has some of the most stunning visuals seen in about any superhero movie. It's where the movie is the strongest, when it combines its strong visuals with the depth Zack Snyder carves out for the characters.

Unfortunately, it's hard to develop all the characters very much in one movie (even when it's 4 hours long). This means some of the character moments and lines fall flat every now and then, and we miss a bit more backstory to make up for the highly dramatic elements.

Zack Snyder's Justice League still does a great job of fleshing out the story and the characters more than the cut that now nobody will watch ever again. Wonder Woman, Cyborg and the Flash are the standouts of this cut and bring a lot of heart and action.

In conclusion, I think the movie has an epicness and stunning quality that's impossible to deny even for the hardest doubter of the Snyder Cut, so all I can say is really... Go see it for yourself and enjoy.

Mank (2020)

Gold irony

[6/10 · 10 February 2021]

The real tragedy of Mank is that David Fincher after a career full of cult classics is finally getting Awards recognition for his work... But it's his least Fincher-like to date. Gorgeous cinematography aside and occasional interesting scenes and acting, the story seems to be one of the least interesting he could've possibly chosen to tell. There is just not enough juice. I fell asleep two times to the original Citizen Kane, this movie I had to play over several days just in order to get through. Much of the duration of the movie, there's nothing to save it from meandering conversations with a ton of old-school name-drops and personal affairs lacking in conflict, lacking in engaging in conflict and lacking in clever dialogue (any Fincher fan knows he likes every aspect of his films to do multiple things at once but, here it barely does one), creating a mostly dull movie I'm being generous with giving 3 stars out of 5 or 6/10.

I don't blame Fincher for doing what he has to do to finally get himself some gold. There is a certain irony in this, Mank's topic considered. He has a legacy, it's been overdue. It is disgusting that this is how it has to play out to actually benefit Fincher critically, going for Hollywood's own vanity but as it happens, that's the game. That's what you can take away from this film.

Hubie Halloween (2020)

Charming and festive

[10/10 · 17 October 2020]

By all means, this movie has its flaws. I'll be the first (actually far from) to point out that Adam Sandler's voice is TOO much of a change to the point where it becomes distracting and does more bad than good. This movie is so incredibly cheesy too, and simple and at points cringeworthy. But they know. What's really bringing an experience here, is the self-awareness, the self-ironic, meta charm and the constant celebrative festiveness. The characters are all recognisable and warm, and the intend behind it all is so pure, that I find it hard to reject at all. Just bring some popcorns and sit back and chill, it's definitely got some nice twists, turns and chuckles in between some of the predictability and corniness. Even surprised me good a few times.

My actual rating would be 7/10 for its enjoyability and strong character though lacking in several places, but 5.2 general rating here on IMDb? Looks like some of you got that mean spirit this movie tries to preach away, haha. Learn the lesson.

The Hunt (II) (2020)

Satire worth your time !

[7/10 · 9 October 2020]

The Hunt is a movie which has some serious moments, but is overall pure satire. So you could imagine my surprise reading professional and non-professional reviews critiquing that The Hunt is nothing but elevated stereotypes. Excuse me, Sir and Madame... That is quite literally what satire is.

The movie follows a very dark, surprising and gory humour. I could imagine that you would have to be into just some of that to enjoy this, since that's about 85% of what you'll get. The rest is a cleverly written portrayal of a character (Betty Gilpin's) who is unbiased, straight-to-the-point and tired of excuses, both others' and her own - something very refreshing to see when it comes to politically based movies. As much as The Hunt uses extreme examples to showcase some of the ridiculousness on either political side in America, it boils it down to a character who can bring all of us down to earth and just have a pretty good time!

As for why my rating may seem low considering I clearly enjoyed it a lot... Well, it's just that. It's very entertaining and has some of it cleverly written, and I'll probably watch it again with some friends, but it *is* sort of a popcorn movie. It's not a 10/10 blow-you-away or some extremely well-made, high quality production that will leave you with eye- and eargasms nor a deeply serious movie meant to provoke a lot of serious questions and make you think really hard politically speaking etc. That's what it seems a lot of people have misunderstood when it comes to it. The Hunt is a good time worth a bit of your money if you can't catch it somewhere on streaming in the future, and along with the entertainment, it may make you think "wow okay, maybe we *should* just take a step back from the politics, and watch what we are doing right now".

Bonus: The way they chose to film the main antagonist throughout the movie, without giving it away, is incredibly effective and serves very well in the end. You'll have to see it for yourself, it's some simple but inspiring filmmaking that shows once again that all that you need in order to build up anticipation and leave a great impact is actually being creative with your framework.

Black Is King (2020)

What royalty really is about

[1/10 · 4 August 2020]

I come from a country where we actually do have a thing such as a king and a queen, where royalty is viewed as something extremely special and representing of *our* culture and history. For that reason, and what the title of this 1 hour and half long "artsy" music video implies (that a race in and of itself can be linked to something superior), I am indeed offended by this choice. I think it's disrespectful to the meaning of my culture and several others, and a hypocritical nonsensical message, and as you've noticed by now, adds nothing but division after there are so many of us from every race supporting the whole Black Lives Matter movement with passion, and will strive to continue to do so. To remove all the humanity and make it about being supreme and "royal" is beyond me.

Of course, I think it's great to strengthen the bonds and the history and the culture and roots of people of color, especially with someone high profile like Beyoncé doing it thereby having everybody seeing it. But this is simply not it. There is nothing educational, barely anything artistic except for extremely glamourous shots and vibing music that ends up just being the background, as does the actual Lion King aspect which fades out quickly.

To the ones who keep defending Black Is King by saying that it's *Beyonce*, the "film" has no ill intentions, and we all don't have a right to feel offended or disrespected here (funny how that goes), you don't even have to watch the movie to get it. Just go straight to the trailer and they literally have the *only* noticeably white (male) in the whole thing stand as a servant in the background to a table full of fancy-dressed women of colour having a party. People have tried to furiously defend this but, quit beating around the bush. It's obvious that it's not there by coincidence, it's obvious that it's supposed to be some reversed sh* of what black people went through back when they were forced to be slaves and back when they weren't allowed bigger roles in films and tv and had to represent something like that there. But with its message in today's society, 2020 folks, reversed racism (well, racism), *really*? It's not alright. Not for the movement, not for the people, not for the cultures.

I actually happen to be a big fan of Beyoncé's music and art style (well, the previous), having loved and supported her since I was a kid when I first heard her, so to see her put out something like this... I can't even describe what I feel but it's such a letdown she would go this route.

She could've saved it all focussing on the beauty of the actual African culture and the roots and what it looks like in different places in Africa today, all the different people there, and cut that nonsense offensive title, maybe boost up her music so it doesn't feel like background as much and boost up the Lion King story, and it would've been so good. But that didn't happen.

It's like she finally took all the praise about her being a goddess with beauty and music out-of-this-world to her head and dropped it in one "film" and decided to promote it as African culture supporting all the people of color out there, giving their race a title of royalty and add in a few vain messages about strength and beauty and empowerment and that's it.

Beyoncé's status does not make her free from criticism, and this time she messed up. She deserves to know that and acknowledge she's really forced this whole movement two steps backwards in terms of adding to the discussion, and a lot of supporters of her and of the movement and in different cultures feel offended by what she put out. Please don't just hold her to another standard and let all the people offended by this slide by while you are trying to tell us none of what we think and feel is legit to this situation. We don't move forward by moving backwards.

EDIT/note: After making this review and gaining the huge likes/dislikes, someone has gone out of their way to dislike *all* my other reviews (50+). I know that for a fact since there are so many of them and several of them are just years old with previously 0 votes or some that has seen no votes for a while and are about lesser known pieces, etc.. To see this is unbelievable. I've also come across threads on Twitter dedicated to hanging out reviewers on this site, where you can actually see the usernames, speaking hateful about what is initially someone's bare experience and opinions on this film and what's surrounding it, and suggesting ways to downvote and change the rating etc. Is this the level of mob mentality and hatefulness we have gone to? As a reviewer on this site, too, I have no way of speaking back either to claim respect or do anything about it. Had to share this since it has gotten way too personal, not just for me, and you should never get consequences like this for speaking up your view and experience. I respect every single dislike and every single like on this review but I have to ask for you to be fair. That's all. Wishing good out there, and please ignore this segment while determining whether to like/dislike the actual review I have here. Thank you.

How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (2019– )

Toxic with terrible characters and glamourizing

[1/10 · 6 July 2020]

Stereotypes, stereotypes, stereotypes. Toxic masculinity, toxic friendships, very toxic character arc for female lead. (Can you say play with people's emotions until you make up your mind and in the end still come off succesful? The exact same arc of "growth" for the male lead except he actually meets a few consequences along the way.) Weird and completely immoral characters lacking of being sympathetic except a few annoying background-situations supposed to make up for their shi. Literally every character is an arrogant a-hole except for Lenny, the only person worth truly following. Imagine the show without him. It'd simply be unwatchable. This is targeted towards a teenage/young adult/new adult audience, and what terrible representation and toxicity to influence with. Every piece of entertainment does it, the influence is undeniable especially during the teenage age. The idea of selling drugs and taking drugs too is sold as cool and edgy throughout every single episode except for a few mentions of the actual consequences both short-term and long-term, where everything is happy ending nonetheless. Glamourizing it to a young audience is just the cherry on top for how toxic and unlikable this show is. The only things that makes the show watchable are 1) Lenny, who is the only likable and sympathetic character who does not bring constant toxicity, and 2) it is fast-paced and a fairly quick watch. Still, I would not recommend it at all. There are so many good shows out there not having all of the negative aspects and terrible characters and poor representation, and supporting all of this will only bring more shows with similar problems. You already see it with shows like Riverdale, Sabrina and Euphoria (one of which is obviously the more well-received), and they all have huge problematic aspects that people ignore because fast-paced cheap drama, "relatable" characters (they're just being terrible and edgy and you know it), a bunch of hot actors doing all the sexy job mixed with just a few average-looking ones usually being the outcasts, nice production and a hot topic among people. It's mindblowing to me that this is what is put out for teenagers as popular entertainment, and no matter this being an unpopular opinion, I don't see how you can dismiss all of these issues and say that this is worthy of so much positivity and popularity, especially when there are so many other shows out there with more quality and better influence. Consider your options when you have 'em.

Instant Influencer with James Charles (2020– )

Over in an instant, lots of good influence

[10/10 · 1 July 2020]

* It's free. * Well-made professional production and very nice camera/editing work. * Fun, very different sorts of challenges. Fast-paced, good for binge-watching and the show is over is a very quick watch. * Never loses its steam. * Good competition with interesting and talented contestants, several of whom you genuinely want to root for, no annoying drama from anybody (*Cough* hard exception being Benny and at one point, Indigo, but let's be honest, it's kinda funny). * You learn a lot about makeup and being an influencer from everybody being so constructive and explanatory on the subjects during the show, which is nice. Even if makeup and being an influencer is not your thing, it's very interesting and you can definitely learn a lot from the experiences of these people. * James Charles is an excellent host. Never had I imagined saying this, but the guy is seriously such a talented host understanding how to take charge and drive the show, bring the right guest stars and contestants in to get good energy and entertainment flowing, take harsh choices but with a lot of empathy, understanding and a focus solely on creative talent etc. and not drama or anything unnecessary. He brings so much humanity into the show and comes off very down-to-earth without losing the star power that got him where he is. Simply amazing. 10/10.

Out Stealing Horses (2019)

Beautiful visuals, poor story, unlikable characters

[1/10 · 6 June 2020]

Here's the movie for you explained in literally all there is to it.

• Very weird encounter with childhood figure with long, unnatural dialogue (*cough monologue) about the killing of dogs with unnerving reactions. You'll see slightly more of this sorta conversation throughout.
• Boy gets orgasms by the woods.
• That one time actually stealing horses.
• Grief makes you suddenly say incredibly weird uncomfortable noises and be disgusting smashing bird eggs and fall off of tree you just climbed up in.
• Boys are playing and one takes a rifle for fun and shoots the other one, because logic.
• Depression, depression, depression, beautiful commercial shots everywhere, *boy*hood, *man*hood, woman*hood* oh so sexy, beautiful commercial shots everywhere.
• Nude bathing in the rain. You've got to have that obligatory father-son bonding in the woods through playful nude bathing. No seriously, they're wild and macho-macho, we had to have this obligatory scene.
• Grieving wife cheats with macho-macho woods-man and macho-Tumblr-boy is kinda jealous cus he wanted some and also..sort of...had something going for a minute. Kind of. But never mind, they're all just fine.
• Cuckolded grieving husband? Pathetic. Irrelevant. No story. Same for the kids, kind of (you'll hear weird mumbling from one of the sons later, and please don't forget that it's in the premise of the movie). Bye cuckolded grieving husband.
• Saving someone who escape from the war situation. I can see how this could have added layers to the characters and the story and the purpose but no, it just happens and that's it. We are supposed to think these characters are all great now, right? Yes, that must have been the point. Or something. Just adding it in cus *drama relevant to the time*, and we definitely don't see it in other movies. No.
• Wait, he had a daughter, all this time?! I mean his screentime in the movie as an adult is probably 15 minutes even wrapping the story of his dead wife, which was introduced as the, wait, the wrapping and arc of him dealing with his wife and entertwining it with the relevance of the past didn't really happen and even the referenced new year eve at the beginning was just glossed over, oh. Actually he should probably just see his daughter more in the present and take it to heart to not be like the stereotypical depressed grandpa who lives secluded and gets weird. Like, maybe... Or don't, you do you, this is a fictional story.
• Old men having a story together... kinda... you both have parents and siblings making terrible decisions all over the movie. Like a lot of the random stuff we saw you doing throughout the movie where specifically your heart, main boy Trond, only really reached the two things that made you orgasm. The woods, and the grieving wife cheating with your macho-macho daddy. I feel no emapthy or sympathy.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why this movie sucks despite trying its best with the most gorgeous visuals from start to end. I did not find it to be slow. I like movies that are philosophical and know to deliver a theme, character stories, reflect life and make you feel. Boyhood and Captain Fantastic are just two more recent examples of that, although they are focused present day or closer to present day and this is not. This movie is just not hitting the mark, at all. And as someone who cried to all the sob-story movies and am a sucker for having movies making me feel, it was a mission impossible to feel *anything* for any of these characters and their journeys other than annoyance, disappointment, confusion, mild shock, and a desire for them to be more than stereotypical, one-dimensional characters in gorgeous visuals showing a range of human emotions because it's art and that means they can. I don't know whether to blame any of this on the book since I haven't read it, but now I'm certainly not going to read it. The unlikability factor alone of the characters and the pretty much non-existent or at least poorly developed and structured story is insane, and there are so many scenes just shooting you with weird over-the-top reactions or unnatural dialogue to appear artsy and meaningful and tell you what is going on rather than showing the development or humanity of it organically and naturally. And I can't stress it enough, the characters show nothing making them worth almost two hours for, certainly not the lack of empathy, stereotypes of manhood and womanhood, lack of natural dialogue and the romanticising grief, unfaithfulness and that weird encounter with the boy and the woman. The 1 star may seem harsh, but let's just say that the one star is for those visuals that seriously carried the movie and made it watchable. Because everything else was not.

Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017)

THE teen mystery/drama show

[10/10 · 24 May 2020]

This show is a classic. It's iconic, it's got so much heart...It is twisty with perfect mood-capturing score, sets, costumes, and there is always *so much* drama going on in the small town of Rosewood. The show is taken in many different directions and grows increasingly dark per season, exploring everything from murder and friendship to sexuality, eating disorders, peer pressure, perfectionism, idealism, being too naive or beeing too cynical, mental health issues, *various* family issues (oh this is a big one) and finding your way in life as a young adult. It is litteraly the perfect show to watch as a teenager (and older for that sake, if you're into that), and I am so grateful that I've had it in my own teenage years growing up. I found that even as a guy who cringe at most teenage drama and relationship drama in movies and television, it was at many points highly relatable, well-performed and entertaining. You come to care so much for these characters and the people behind them, and the way their stories unfold play with your emotions and excitement so hard. Now undeniably cheesy, over-dramatic and straight-up annoying *at points*, this show runs 6 seasons each with a mimimum of 20 episodes. You cannot expect better from such a long-running mystery-drama show for teenagers. I don't think you can. That is being proven right now with shows like Riverdale and 13 Reasons Why which are not even half-way there in terms of length yet losing much of their steam and quality, and in the past you've just not seen anything *quite* like Pretty Little Liars.

Despite its divisive last seasons, Pretty Little Liars *has* delivered, and now 3 years after it has ended, I think we are starting to see what a status it truly holds. Not just as a piece of entertainment but as a piece in television history. It has influenced a lot of other shows even outside its category (How to Get Away with Murder being a more recent and adult drama with many aspects similar to PLL) and will continue to be a great example of how to capture an audience for many, many years and consistently make them scream, cry, love and root for the same characters without fully losing its principles, relevance and entertainment full of genuine heart and excitement. Respect from here, and may the show live on our spirits!

Special mentions: Michael Suby made excellent scores for every single season that deserves much more credit, including the famous end credits one. The cast deserves a shout-out for their dedication to the show, the fanbase, the media, bringing a sense of family to us and a relatability so that we just don't see a bunch of extremely good-looking people run around a small town and solve mediocre mysteries *cough* Riverdale team *cough* I'm not trying to be shady *cough*. They were all (boys and girls, leads and supports) very down-to-earth and handled their job very professionally even in the most difficult situations of media coverage etc., always sticking up for everybody on the team and let the fans see all their best and worst moments as well as some of their private lives. That's much more than they had to do as actors. And last but not least, all the many people throughout the years who have built the amazing and iconic sets, costumes, hair and makeup, all that of which makes the look of the show SO incredibly memorable. It brings so many feels and is well-done. Thank you!

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010 Video)

That last line

[10/10 · 14 May 2020]

What an excellent movie with topnotch writing. Batman: Under the Red Hood delivers on a - dare I say - perfect balance between character and action, not one unneccessary movement, line or direction, a great almost constant flow. Everything has a purpose, and boy does it have a purpose. You know a story is strong when the villain makes you truly question the moral codex or the actions of the hero for real, and once again it's just impressive how the Batman stories can continue to hit deep time after time with only little tweaks and some seemingly innocent yet very uncomfortable questions. For its short run time, I just really recommend checking it out and I doubt you'll not at least find it to be well-made and enjoyable. I think it's some of the best I have seen Batman at personally, and I'm very impressed as a huge Batman fan. I also was not prepared for that last line. No worries, no spoilers. But brace yourself for it. It is very effective.

Quick mentions: The score is really energizing and mood-grabbing, and the voice acting is superb from all.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013 Video)

Justice League: The Easter Egg Paradox

[5/10 · 13 May 2020]

• We don't actually see or really know that Barry went back in time and saved his mother until the very end and that it's the reason why everything collapses. It's only very slightly hinted at in the beginning that it's what he is going to do. I personally had not read the synposis for the movie saying this is the plot because I wanted to be all surprised by the plot, and because Barry himself seemed surprised that his mother was alive etc., it took me way into the movie to figure why he ended up in the alternate reality and that he himself had gone back in time, saving his mother and then everything else happened. I don't know if this was fully intentional, but what a weird way to cover up an important plot detail when you could've just as easily shown Barry go back in time in the beginning and it would've made no difference storywise.

Also, are we supposed to believe that after all these years of Barry apparently having the ability to time travel and save his mom, that he as a responsible adult and superhero decides to go back in time to save her after his nemesis makes a threatening comment after having been caught? What the...? How about when he was a hormonal teenager more caught up by things? How about his nemesis actually seem threatening and give a solid reason for Barry to go back in time? I feel like zero of the whole time travel plot is even discussed. It's just used as a silly plot device and excuse to make all of these crazy alternate universe things happen.

• I refuse to believe the heroes could ever get so insanely sadistic because of the butterfly effect (flashpoint paradox). It's simply incredible the lengths that they go to for minimal reason, and basically their personalities are all different which in itself is weird when they were clearly in an age where their personality had already been developed when most of these events started to differ into an alternate universe. It's so implausible I just didn't feel it, and whatever death and villainous/heroic act between most of the alternate universe characters were so emotionally distant because 1) zero impact in the world we know, 2) most of these aren't near the characters we know, they're pretty much all new characters that are given no time to be actually explored.

• Too many characters. There comes a point where easter eggs are no longer easter eggs, and we're just adding a bunch of name-drops and character intros for the sake of absolutely nothing. I know most of the DC characters, I consider myself a pretty big fan and know many origins in different versions, but I seriously found myself being like "huh, am I supposed to know these?" several times throughout when a whole bunch of new people came on screen and had a scene where they got randomly killed off, and I've never even heard of most of them before. So, so much action with characters we haven't spent any (or much) time with and whom I barely know as a fan of the universe.

It's just crazy to me that they could cram in so many characters just for the sake of it. I even got excited about the whole Shazam squad being there until I realized they weren't gonna do anything. No actual fight scenes or more than four lines of short dialogue (including "Shazam!" twice), they just got killed off by Wonder Woman off-screen. Are you kidding, what plot is that? And God help anyone who might be fairly new to the DC universe, witnessing a bunch of magic kids getting introduced only to get randomly murdered without a fight. Ultimately it gets confusing, unneccessary and time that could have been spent better and more effective with the closer to main characters.

• The girlfriend waiting back home.

Are we just going to pretend that it's somehow good writing that Barry's girlfriend has zero personality? I mean, considering barely any of these characters get time for that, it's no surprise. But when Barry returned to her at the end, it really rubbed me the wrong way cus I swear we only saw her being the most uninteresting, passive character one scene at the start, then at the hand of another man, and at the end, Barry returns to his love object all home sweet home. Mm. Okay. I'd have let that pass, TFP, hadn't it been for all your other weak moments in the writing! Now, I'mma just be all pathetic calling out your laziness.

• Dialogue. I'm going to be real nice now and actually hand you some quotes to show just how bad, cheesy and cliche it could get.

Random villain: "Well, Flash. Once again, it looks like you're the bottom and I'm the top." EXCUSE ME *spits my holy tea* That'd be some Flash action we haven't seen. Lex: "I am smart, Captain. Very smart." Bro. First of all, weird flex. Second of all, your only mission was to locate and you don't even know where you are and in a minute, you have no idea what is coming for you and that all these scenes moved the story nowhere altogether. Flash: "We're alive Vic. And where there is life, there is hope." To be fair, this is later jokingly called a Braveheart speech but honestly, that doesn't even help. The entire monologue given around this could've been polished soo much to make it not be something cheesy we hear every action/superhero movie, and if the point was to make a joke about it...maybe make it a less serious tone when you're pulling it off? See, just one instance of what could've made it work. General Lane: "I'm afraid we don't have time for introduction, Captain Jordan." (Finally, they suddenly turned self-conscious and at this point, it's actually funny. Also, what happened to Jordan again? Oh right, his only role was to kill a random big sea monster that didn't turn up as a threat to Flash, his mission or anything big happening elseworlds (see what I did there?). And of course then, another string of cliche from our heroic Captain Jordan: "General Lane, all my life I have felt like something special was waiting for me. Something no one else on Earth could do. I think I just found it, so the last thing I am, is afraid." Way to go without your ring or character relevance, Lantern.

• Now that I'm in this pettiness, I might as well bash that here's another instance of showing just how ridiculous Superman is as not just a hero, not just as any type of character, but as a character seriously existing. Holding in a nuke explosion with his bare hand around it, his palm and the guy wearing the nuke in his belt completely unaffected? Hah. *Blows* Aquaman into a wall like he is nothing but a snowflake in the wind (while himself remaining the size of E.T.)? Cool story bro. Caught in a lab his entire life so that he looks like Jack Skellington with his unhealthily thin alien body flying around, yet remains this invincible superhuman with one thousand apple-sized bullets popping off his skin thicker than Wonder Woman's newly carved Mera tiara? Hand me some kryptonite, please.

His bare appearance continues to be one that can win about any fight, a guy so over-powered that they constantly have to come up with excuses as to have him leave and be moody by himself, not joining the fight. As much as he is a deadly popular and iconic character that people are going to hate me for saying this, the only thing entertaining by this insanely superior dude is their creativity of how they are going to leave him out as much as possible. And I mean... They did leave him out for most of the duration and even gave him no real purpose showing up at the end, so hey... Could be worse.

+ The alternate Batman origin is simply amazing. I wish it had been explored much more because it was definitely a highlight and a good plot twist making for a deeper side character arc.

+ Overall the visuals were pretty decent outside the big action scenes where more colours and interesting visual choices come to show. At the end, we get some very dynamic ones and the visuals when Flash ran through time to stop himself were simply gorgeous and made me *almost* forgive that we saw none of this at the beginning...almost.

+ Speaking of the beginning, it was a very promising emotional start to the story. It was well put together, and despite being no unusual superhero backstory, it was a great dive into Flash's core and the core of this story.

+ Wonder Woman slayed Aquaman. This was satisfactory. No, I'm not a sadist. I love both characters equally. But Aquaman, if you gonna pop some Wonder cherry, and your crazy ex try to kill the woman you've apparently just fallen in love with for some reason... You've got to expect some backlash (*cough* end of the world) if you didn't even protect Wonder or try and reason with her. Like, grow up. Stop flushing Paris down the toilet and threaten Princess Diana. You disrespected your first Queen, you really gonna do it to the next one as well? Bye mate.

Ultimately, I was quite excited to watch the movie after all the amazing reviews, and this beyond mediocre story caught me off-guard. No offence meant in this review in any serious manner anyway. If you are an ultimate DC fan more than me who know slightly more than the basic fan, you care more about excessive easter eggs, action and violent character deaths than *any* of the writing behind it (except a flash of Flash's backstory and an alternate of Batman's), and you want some decent pretty dull mood visuals with a few very good explosions of colour etc., this is for you.

Westworld: Crisis Theory (2020) Season 3, Episode 8

What just happened?

[4 May 2020]

This was like a mid-season finale, not at all the level of clearing key things up the way season 1 finale and season 2 finale did with their reveals, and you can feel that throughout as well as the answers we are given are mostly teasers or half-truths. It's the set-up to a plan we've been waiting to have revealed since first episode this season and now we'll have to wait two years to even see this continue in a new season. And can anyone actually tell precisely what the plan is about without sounding incredibly vague? Like, what are we even looking forward to in it except the concept of some vague new world with unclear who to root for next? I'm not exactly keen on the idea of all humans being murdered in explosions or whatever and replaced by robots just like that and what they did to the character of William in a post-credit scene is shocking to me. What the eff hahahah. I did like this episode a lot for the complexities of Dolores and her character arc. Simply the best we have seen her at and what a poetic way to end a powerful and unforgettable character, awesome moments throughout and a strong as ever performance by Evan Rachel Wood. I still cannot hide my disappointment though, seeing as this legitimately did not feel like it cleared up any key material and we are just left like... Ha, you wait another 2 years to know where you even stand! Jokes on you! Also, didn't they plan Westworld for 5 seasons or something? Surely they could have made it feel more like a full season with a well-rounded finale.

By the way, couldn't Dolores' end not have been totally prevented had Maeve listened to Dolores saying the exact same only slightly less compassionate monologue earlier? Surely Dolores knew almost everything amd everyone and was planning way ahead, so to get caught like that by Maeve for the third time (can't keep track with all them copies) and delivering same speech for the fourth time shows some sort of indication of character inconsistencies within Maeve (or Dolores, or both) that is simply not explainable from that they are just hosts with this or that going or whatever. Dolores got a beautiful end but Maeve could've totally spared her multiple times, the fact she even first realizes it as Dolores is ready to say goodbye... You know what, there is a lot in this episode indeed that baffles me. Happy next two years making sense of this.

Extraction (2020)

No

[1/10 · 24 April 2020]

Lack of plot and character depth, huge lack of cultural accuracy, hiring big named actor to carry out the action, which reminds the only "satisfaction" and selling point while sticking to a shallow movie. If you want a movie with similar plot lines and scenery based on a real person, actual complex characters with layered acting, decent action and lots of intensity and good twists in the plot, I recommend another Netflix original "Close" with Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and great supporting by Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief). It's criminally underrated for one being a female action drama/thriller which people will always be nitpicking about opposite movies like this one starting out at a solid 7.4. What? That's higher rating than Die Hard 2 and almost the same as Skyfall. Not to get started on "6 Underground" coming in with 6.1 solid stars with its big names not even making up for the lack of so many quality-based things, putting an emphasis on "empty action and looks". Really gonna continue to do this, are we? Watch this one if you want decent action and with a big-named celebrity, not really caring about anything else. Then you'll be satisfied for sure.

Train to Busan (2016)

Mostly very good

[7/10 · 20 April 2020]

Yeah so if you watch this movie, I think it's hard to deny how good it is. The action, production, acting combined with both horrifying elements and heartwarming and heartbreaking character moments throughout, it's quite the ride (pun intended). I really thought I was gonna like this movie a whole lot more up until the ending. Spoilers*! of course. There were a few pacing issues going back and forth between this big character moment and this big character moment and this big character moment, which honestly made me feel like watching a few insanely good episodes of The Walking Dead back-to-back (not to really compare the two in any other way as they are entirely different). So when it came to the ending, it didn't quite stick the landing for me. At that point, I was very emotionally invested with the characters and it felt kind of like cheating how they killed off the main hero like that and give him his moment and it just...The acting was insane (deserves way more credit than it even gets, especially the little girl), but I honestly had trouble feeling it as much. You just keep seeing this thing throughout the movie and the pay-off for the death is so minimal and such a cowardly low character to bring this faith to the story. (And I do appreciate what they were trying to say but I think the point came across more than once both about status and simply about being humane.) It honestly only upset me that it was what happened, and when we see a very iconic shot of the two remaining survivors at the end walking together, I couldn't help but feel like they definitely earned that moment but so did the dad, and I just didn't feel it as much cus my emotions had just gotten zoomed out. It's like hey, the team behind this movie wanted to do everything to make you cry and even put in shots of the girl as a baby, which could be fine, but it just wasn't quite earned and it pretty much messes up the satisfaction of that ending. Not that we need happy endings or even a bittersweet one but dang... Earn it, don't draw it out and suddenly kill off the hero like 15 other people with these moments because suddenly he can't throw this dumb person off a train in eight attempts despite what we just been seeing for 2 hours, resulting in a cut scene from Grey's Anatomy mixing newborns with melodramatic death scenes. Unfortunately, that just leaves me having not gained quite the impact I expected from the first and second act and not even half as satisfied as I were with them, bringing me to that I'll still call this a mostly very good movie... overall.

(I certainly hope there is not going to be an American remake of this ever, that'd be too bad. But with its great universal sale, upcoming sequel and high quality production matching some of the best we get from Hollywood, I hope and suspect that it won't be the case. This stands perfectly in its own roots.)

Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)

Fascination versus just taking it in

[10/10 · 4 April 2020]

I understand a lot of people are upset by the end monologue, especially the part questioning us viewers. But I think she really just meant to say that we have watched the entire documentary as a source of entertainment as much as enlightenment, and you know that's just the way it is, if we just wanted the facts we could have read an article or the wikipedia pages. So it serves more as a warning to not take it into fascination and glamourizing the things that happened, but rather face the cold hard truth that all of this did happen, it's real life, real people and not entertainment. I think it's fine that she picks it out mentioning her own guilt, because for sure we have come into an age of so many documentaries about abusers and killers and it's important to not go numb at the details and brutality and let it become more fascinating and entertaining than enlightening and a way to seek out justice of all the injustice that has been going on.

As to why I gave this 10 stars? You'd have to watch it to understand how great it is. The series never loses its momentum with the 3 episodes, an excellent use of editing and putting this story together, setting just the right things into focus at the right moments, always new and shocking stuff, and a lot of important, terrifying and unexpected stories being told. It's a major warning on so many fronts and very eye-opening as to what we should look out for and work on - the little details matter, the people who don't seem to be capable can be very capable, we're all in this together, and for goodness sake, just don't with cats!

Thoroughbreds (2017)

"Heathers meets American Psycho" indeed

[10/10 · 30 March 2020]

Truthfully, it is very appalling to see the characters be so emotionally distant and lacking of humanity and decency basically from start to finish. I couldn't help but feel bad for Amanda's mom despite her short amount of screentime as she felt like the only one genuinely trying to be there and be helpful and yeah it's just sad. But with gorgeous visuals, excellent, captivating acting, darkly humorous and sharp writing (indeed much like Heathers and American Psycho), Thoroughbreds gets away with it. Not only that, I completely fell in love with the movie within the very last lines. Without giving anything away, I think thematically it's a punch in the face of the viewer once you really read between the lines and figure that they are talking about us and them. (They are the horses, we are the ones rotting away.) Go see it for yourself, I thought the writing was very fresh, clever and brutally honest. If anything, watch it for some incredible performances and stylished directing worthy of much more recognition.

Widows (2018)

Stylish, bleak, HEIST

[10/10 · 29 March 2020]

I've watched this movie twice now, and liked it even better upon my second viewing whereas in my first, I was filled with so many impressions I would've probably given it an eight outta ten. The movie does touch upon many different themes, but having a more clear view now I think it only makes sense for it considering the characters and the circumstances within the movie, and at the end it's all wrapped up very nicely without saying too much. Which drives me to what I really like about the movie... It's real. It doesn't tell you everything. It's all the little things you see and hear about every day but don't pay enough attention to, it takes you behind the curtains of several political scenes with the pros/cons of each and it's bleak, it's gritty, and you get to see snapshots of so many different lives and how they are all entangled in this web, all with complex dynamics. You have no idea what's coming 10 feet ahead but it's probably not good, so be prepared. The movie is kind of a slow-burn but at the same time very intense. A lot of that has to do with intimidating characters in every corner, and you're just waiting for them to collide and see what the outcome will be. When it comes to the heist itself - no spoilers - this is without a doubt the most real depiction I've witnessed. It's not perfectly detailed, planned, realized because it really can't be. Suddenly you're just in it with what you've got, you can sense the dread that it can so easily go wrong but all that matters is moving forward - exactly how I could imagine it would be like to pull one off in real life. It's not over-the-top action and glamourous settings, it's not full of one-liners, and you don't see them carry everything easily. The duration of it all feels like it is a lot less than it actually is (about 15 minutes non-stop) because you're practically in it yourself, experiencing it just as they are. I'm very impressed with how it was carried out, great directing.

To me, Widows more than lived up to its premise, and I know for sure I'll have more viewings to come and love absorbing all the different themes and layers that it portrays with a bleak and honest style.

The Invisible Man (I) (2020)

Impactful and to remember

[10/10 · 27 March 2020]

Very intense atmosphere with great cinematography. Excellent performances. I was expecting nothing after the trailers but then some reviewers talked it up for me and said it was nothing like the trailers. As my curiousity lead me to experience, it wasn't like shown. You have actually seen very little of the movie, and the context, build-ups etc. are incredible. The trailer really makes you think you've seen the whole thing and that it's kinda cheesy, but I'm so glad that was not the case at all as I'd been told. One thing I really want to touch on is the writing... Having seen a horrible relationship up close where the guy would do the craziest stuff to keep her around while trying to control her, isolate her and make up insane lies about things and people from his own life, stalking, hiding around the house watching her and surprise her to see what she was doing etc., this movie just hit it right on. You cannot truly appreciate the writing and the meaning behind everything and how it touches upon it perfectly with not one moment misused, if you have not seen something like it happen up close. This story is a brilliant way of portraying this sort of dangerous, doomed relationship and trying to get out of it, and for that alone I'm glad it exists. Both as an obvious warning but also a powerful character played by Elisabeth Moss, a character I hope many will find aspiration in and will be remembered throughout the years. No feminazi agenda against men or making women superior for all the insecure people out there believing that. If anything, this movie encourages trust and fight together. Very good representation in all aspects and it doesn't rub it in your face, it all happens organically as it should. As a movie and a piece of entertainment of course, it worked brilliantly. I hear talk about plot holes and I've got to be laughing. Either the people neglect talking about what plot holes there is (because *shock* there isn't really anything to be talking about as much of the relevant material is shown in the movie or indicated), or they refer to stuff that can be easily explained such as how an invisible man can come from place to place... Ehm, watch the movie. A bunch of neckbeards are coming for The Invisible Man because things might get too personal for them or rather, too impersonal, but luckily it seems we are enough who can actually see the intent and are enjoying it. It truly does have Hitchcock elements and feels in terms of style, atmosphere and characters. A great homage and way to modernize a famous character, keeping a big present-day impact and showing not all monsters want the end of the world...but will go there if you try to escape them.

BONUS: Perfect use of film score from start to finish.

The Outsider: Must/Can't (2020) Season 1, Episode 10

Are you all forgetting? + This was meant for binge-watching

[10/10 · 19 March 2020]

First off, I feel sorry for all of you who waited week for week for this. I'm glad some of you still enjoyed it, but having just binged it over two days, I can say 100% that this show and with how its more quiet style of suspense and character drama/study goes and the way they dive into the myths and the history of the murders piece by piece etc., it's just meant to be watched back to back and not with weeks in between. Horrible choice, clearly not meant for the story. I can see too why a lot of you would feel like not a lot happened, but watching it all unfold one after another I honestly think so much happened especially looking back upon it, and I don't think this show would've been anything but rushed if they changed the pacing, cus this type of story demands a slower pace and attention. That's just how it goes, guys and girls. Maybe not for you, but that's how it goes.

Now to talk about the ending, I'm not sure what it means that Holly got scratched. I doubt that it means the "el cuckoo" or however tf you spell it returns through the scratch at least in full form, now that would be weird. BUT. Are you all forgetting that the dad to the son who was almost kidnapped got scratched too? Blood was running down his arm and all. I'm sure they didn't include that and the interrogation scene where he didn't mention it for nothing - so in a second season, I'm sure there'll be some big kinda thing about the dad and Holly having a relation to that el cuckoo, perhaps cuckoo will find his way back through them somehow. Like, I dunno? Why are you looking at me like that.

I will say that it was weird that they smashed the monster though. The explanation to how the original family's dad would get cleared was absurdly easy and then there is the fact that 1) they don't know if there are more el cuckoos and they just smashed the possibility of helping future victims, and 2) there is literally an innocent woman in prison! Did they forget this? They could have helped her. And god knows if this monster has been mentioned in all cultures throughout history...well maybe what do you think there is only one of them walking around and it's only in America! Lol. I'm surprised Holly didn't stop him from smashing it. But I guess it is true that it would be dangerous to hand all the pieces of the monster over to scienticists and it would get complicated too in many unwanted ways by trial and people and stuff, so what do I know. Maybe just don't smash his face or something.

Things I loved about the show:

• The score! Excellent, consistent and perfect mood throughout the whole thing
• The myth. Very interesting way to play up on something we all know and have heard about. Terrifying representation, although like all monsters it got less scarier the closer you got. But the suspense and danger helped out on that and also quickly coming to care about what happens to the different people, so cool!
• The characters. Iconic, well-developed, well-realized, full of healthy relationship dynamics (something you rarely see these days, especially represented in television, this is like first time I seen a whole season where all the drama came from outer sources and not in the relationships themselves, incredible and GOOD!), everybody had their quirks and dimensions and not one single stereotype, so that was amazing
• The suspense. Much like Sharp Objects, this has gotten horrible comments about its lack of suspense and plot, and I just don't think it's right. This is very much a character driven story, and maybe that's just not your thing. Then you could've stopped by like episode 3 when you found that out and had given it more than a fair shot. But don't go into it blaming the story for working its way around the characters and plotlines when it's you yourself who is not into that type of story that is being told. I said the exact same thing about Sharp Objects, and you just can't appreciate this if you expect it to be or deal with it as a high-drama with frequent action and a cop show, or whatever, when it's much more of a character study and character drama that is exploring the supernatural and the natural. If any of the scenes had been cut out, I truly believe it would've missed a good moment with the characters adding not only depth but subtext to the character and the plot and the theme, which was the goal. That's the type of story this is, like Sharp Objects. It was very well-written and well realized in that.

I thought myself that it was very suspenseful throughout the whole thing as it with the mood-setting score and cinematography would lurk around and you never quite knew how things would turn around. I was quite surprised by how many got killed off in the end, such as the lawyer whom I thought should have still been around to help, Holly's boyfriend whose death was terribly devastating they were so innocent and real with each other, and several of the other characters just went off like that with a bang. The brother too, ouch. Seeing the guy return to his brothers House was painful. I really appreciate what the show is trying to say about loss and the unexplainable though, making us look at it again - especially in this time where so many of us are atheists or questioning this and that. Interesting to see it be played with with such powerful moments and dialogue and scares. Surprisingly good hunour as well. When it was there, it really hit it.

• The style/cinematography. Honestly, it was both gritty and realistic in light and very visually striking. Many gorgeous symmetric and hypnotizing shots which makes it easy to get lost into the world. Loved it.

All around great experience with The Outsider. I think it's highly underrated here in the reviews section and very misunderstood as well. You know what's devastating? How many people sat through 10 1-hour episodes feeling bored through every single one of them. LOL. Sorry guys. I'm glad at least the show's rating is at a well-deserved 8.2, hopefully only to turn up higher, and I hope that lots of people who are into this type of story would watch it then so we can get a season 2! I'm dead excited (pun intended) to see where we would go.

I Am Not Okay with This (2020)

Enough

[1/10 · 28 February 2020]

These period-piece-styled genre-mixing stories, including every stereotype character ever going down a stereotypical route, is getting soo annoying. (Eccentric kid, daddy issues, being "not" normal, being "too" normal, the jock and the popular girl etc. etc. etc.) If you're going to do it, go somewhere original with it, maybe it'll turn out really great. Take a new route, and not just put genres together to make it "edgier" and "cool". But this...There's zero originality in the plotlines, even the sets and costumes and colours which are very pretty...we just keep on seeing them everywhere, making them less special and impactful. (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Lady Bird, Stranger Things, The End of the F****** World, Sex Education, The Carrie Diaries, Euphoria, The Umbrella Academy, Black Mirror, It Chapter 1 & 2, the new Wonder Woman: 1984, many of which are actually good or looks good but their style becomes so much less significant and impactful...and then there's Riverdale and Sabrina lol, but they're also latching on to the cool, edgy, retro cinematography along with some stereotype characters.)

I don't think this had anything important to say, and whatever it did have to say didn't come across in an original or well-rounded manner. In fact, it didn't feel finished. And that makes me question, should this even have been produced yet? It seems like a long and good look on the overall story, the characters and their arcs and each episode script would've serviced the story in multiple and very important ways.

This is a waste of talent, Hollywood. So much talent that could do so much better, which we have seen in the shows and movies that this is latching on to desperately. Several actors even come from the movies and shows they are latching off on, which doesn't help at all. You can produce whatever and have it look good with nice-looking decent-to-good actors, pretty sets and different genre elements to make it appear "compelling" and "edgy". But you can't go keep dragging on the same stuff again and again going nowhere original with it. Eventually the financial matters of these will start to fail because people lose interest (like the flops that are Birds of Prey and Charlie's Angels for movies with a centric strong feminist agenda, or Terminator: Dark Fate and X-Men: Dark Phoenix for remakes and sequels), and I gotta be honest, I have come to hope it'll be soon. For me, this is it, it's TOO much of the same and it's sad because it really does take away some interest and attention on the original shows and movies that succeeds with these styles even greatly. It's like, either we get full-on remakes of classics or we get original content that is remakes of two or three classics with a pretty, niche style added in. Go back to production, and make something more original. Enough with the same and the shallow.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

Breathtaking, A mix of family drama and horror

[10/10 · 17 February 2020]

Stunning, haunting and heartfelt. I feel that this show - this story - has been marketed very wrong. In the ad campaigns etc. it tries to come off as this terrifying *horror story* surrounding family tragedy, when it's quite the other way around. It's a *family drama* that uses horror elements and horror pieces to tell a tragic and introspective story. It's got a beautiful conclusion that I think you will only appreciate as much, if your expectations aren't that this is a horror story. At least not your typical one. And that's the beauty of it.

The Haunting of Hill House drives on its characters through rough family relations and many introspective, cleverly written monologues to set up scares and haunting sequences that will not just leave you. It's the type of story that we rarely see on the big or small screen, which is kind of a shame. It's nice to see a story really earn it's (jump)scares these days, and see kind of a mixed genre between the family drama and horror. We saw it in Hereditary too, but that one relied more on the horror whereas this relies on the family drama. A fresh breath, and one that will leave you with a lot going on inside you. Beautiful, breathtaking!

Parasite (2019)

A very bland and overrated film

[2/10 · 10 February 2020]

At this point - and I beg you, if you are not going to read all of my arguments, don't just downvote this so that others won't see it - Parasite has become highly overrated. It has got a lot of stuff going for it in a masterclass manner such as the editing and beautiful production design (as well as just people's curiousity, it being an acclaimed foreign film suddenly sky-rocketing in attention worldwilde). But overall the story is bland. It is extremely unrealistic, especially! at the end. Like, I suspended disbelief with a lot of stuff in this movie to enjoy it, and it's fine, we all do that sometimes. When that certain character was still alive at the end, being able to go out unnoticed by police or really anyone, and understand and perfectly read a huge monologue made by morse codes from a lamp. The amount of just-the-right timing and ignoring common sense in terms of movie logic and even character logic... It's insane. You can suspend disbelief and have a good time, but that is beyond ridiculous. And to be frank, it was unneccesary. The point the movie wanted to come across was already made at the climax, so giving us two long final monologues arguing them again was more than not needed. It's also shallow with its message, and missing the point of having something specific to say. At the end, the message becomes something like "plans are not good, you'll fail if you're from a low social class either way". Yet in the beginning, their clear laziness yet cunning way of corrupting the rich family is what got them into this mess. Not that lacking a plan and staying the same (feeding off of others) would've made it better. It's really just that the plan they did make was unbelievably insane and not very long-term sustainable. So, what is the point and message again, and how does it count here? I'm sure you can spend hours yourself coming up with some different things which are taken out of this scene and this scene and make sense, but the movie is just too unclear and too unspecific to really get it across overall as a story. Especially! since the situation these people make up (and weren't even forced into) is not really related to how low class people actually deal with stuff such as their place in opposition to the higher class. There's been cases of this, but it just doesn't fit with the point and have any moral or commonsense value. It seems more than anything than an attempt to make us feel pity for people who were low and somehow got themselves even lower. (Which, making us feel pity succeeds, but please, pity is one weak goal for a story when you leave behind the actual fight to get past it. Then what is the journey? For one, I don't like the Joker comparisons, but in this case the main character in that movie tried to get out of the pity before he became corrupt, hence making a point of the hopelessness; no matter how he did the right thing, he would've ended up like that. This?...) It felt like Suicide Squad writing in the way of moving from one point to another, an explosion here and a twist there, enough to keep you from figuring the whole movie out, but when one sequence is introduced (peach sequence) you quickly figure out that the end of that is going to be the whole family taking over, and these sequences keep happening over the course of the entire movie: *Surprise* *oh so this is what's happening* *Surprise* *oh so this is what's happening*. And it doesn't make for much organic, fluent storytelling overall, or delivers a message along with it, although the smooth and undeniably masterful editing and rhytm will try and convince you of that. The symbolism is also very in-your face and sometimes outright stupid. The whole going up and down stairs thing to demonstrate class system etc. is cool enough especially watching it as a brilliantly mood-grabbing visual, although obvious (and seriously unavoidable considering it's just how you go down into a basement, and rich people houses usually just live on the higher grounds). Throwing in a rock and leaving the audience to come up with something to say about it is, to me, disrespectful. I've looked up so many interviews with the cast and Bong himself, but they don't seem to know or care about explaining it themselves, they never dig into the actual symbolism, they just go "here, this is symbolism, it's great right?" and go to the next thing they love but appear humble about in their movie. A lot of saying that there is symbolism and meaning in everything, yet being very hollow about it, or it's something that is obvious and you'd do in most movies to get a point across. Then I looked up audience interpretations of everything from the rock to the weather and dialogue, and there's nothing mindblowing nor very impressive about it. Especially that rock and what they do with it in the movie, it's just...wow, thanks, makes sense. A lot of people are praising this movie so highly, yet it's a very decent film without anything too much to say, and an unbelievablity factor that's offensive at last. I don't know why people praise it so highly. If it's just the momentum it's been building up. Rated #22 movie of all time over Silence of the Lambs, The Green Mile, The Usual Suspects and a dozen of other classics which put so much more obvious work into their scripts and therefore the solids of their movies? Winning Best Picture *and* Best Director over 1917, a cinematic war piece you'll simply never see at the same level again, and Joker, a movie that was actually clear with its message - that there is a certain hopelessness in class systems no matter how hard you try? It literally makes no sense except for the momentum and everybody downvoting and ignoring anyone who has got anything negative to say about it. Scary stuff. Parasite worked on multiple levels, but to me, the writing simply tore much of that apart. It's very sad that other masterpieces were almost completely or completely ignored at the Oscars, while something like this gets away with not only the biggest prize of them all but also several other big ones (Best Director and even Original Screenplay), when there are major issues in all of those departments. That said, the Oscars are known for doing what it takes to stay relevant and out of too much danger, as well as voting with sometimes anything but commonsense. I hope that in time people will calm down, step down from their high horses and actually take in some of this. And I really hope that some of the other movies which didn't get the same amount of attention and praise at the Oscars, will live on greatly. A sad disappointment. Thank you sincerely if you've read this much. I appreciate it whether or not we've come to the same conclusions.

Birds of Prey (2020)

Leveling Suicide Squad up - and owning it

[10/10 · 7 February 2020]

Despite major criticisms towards Suicide Squad, it seems that DC wouldn't just let it be a mistake to leave behind and be embarrased by. They chose to keep a lot of the same elements (most of which were the ones highly enjoyed in SS) and elevate them and turn them into this crazy carnival ride, where Harley Quinn will find herself and gather a team next to her. And despite many people's worries, I think the movie does a great job of seperating the Birds of Prey from Harley. Make no mistake, this is obviously a Harley Quinn movie. But by the end, you'll see just how she managed to make something that will be able to stand on its own which is just amazing. Let's face it, that just wouldn't have happened on the big screeen in the next ten years without the help from the iconic Harley Quinn (movie) character. They could totally do a spin-off alone with the Birds now - or maybe still keep Harley in a smaller role (Gotham City Sirens leading up to?).

In the end, I think the movie succeeded in exactly what it wanted to be. It wanted to be a trip. It wanted to be a Harley Quinn origin story. It wanted to be a Birds of Prey origin story. It wanted to be a story about finding yourself after losing your identity (relationship, job, safety, vengeance road). Incorporating all of that means chaos...but that is the point of this Harley Quinn's character exactly. The movie is through her mind. And you just have to stick along and enjoy the chaos unfold in a delightful and sharp manner and explosion of colors... and other stuff.

Note: I've heard several complaints about this Harley Quinn character being so different or not as good as the comic book ones or the one(s) in the animated show(s), sidecharacters not being treated with respect etc.... Honestly, people, just because this is a movie and it's given a big budget, it's still just a singular version of the character(s). Like in any other platform. Why should it try to copy (which, it still does borrow a lot and pay homage several places)? You wouldn't say that if this was a new comic book series with Harley and the Birds of Prey, would you now. Anywhere you start new, you start new. You don't just copy. (*cough cough* Lion King remake *cough* I mean live action version.) Enjoy every version for themselves please, I'm sure they all have good sides and bad sides you can take something from, and the approach here is clearly working for what DC has been wanting to do with their cinematic universe. Which IMO we all are being way too hard on. You don't see the same kinda pressure with the often formularic Marvel movies (with all the respect to them and what they are trying to do), so it should only be fair to show some respect and mercy where more creativity and risks are the things being prioritized. Right? This is just one version, not more and not less credit to it than any other version - just more people will probably see it because it's the mainstream one. And this cinemac universe will keep expanding in all layers. Remember to have fun. The movie is very inviting of that.

The King (I) (2019)

Hmm

[16 December 2019]

Ironic the treatment that this is getting by so many, considering everybody was bashing Mary Queen of Scots for being historically inaccurate - for all the same reasons. At least they were obvious about it and didn't try to hide it like this one, which only people reading up on it will figure out. It is quite wrong, to the point where it's weird they wouldn't straight up say "inspired by real events" or "inspired by Shakespeare's fictional works" because a lot of important plot points and characters are fiction, and the general audience won't even find out. But I do suspect that the intense fanbase of the actors starring in The King, is much to blame for the many glowing reviews. Netflix' best? Try Roma, The Irishman (even though it came out shortly after this one to be fair), Mudbound, even Okja. I swear, they got more heart and realness, and don't rely almost solely on the popularity of the cast and the epic movie sets. That is just not good enough - not for history, nor for storytelling.