topdog-64841 Reviews

7500 (2019)

Realism and immersion

[8/10 · 25 March 2024]

This is probably not everyone's cup of tea but for those who enjoy a different sort of movie, one where you are fully immersed in every bit of a violent airline hijacking, along with all the emotions, all the long pauses to reflect on what is happening, then you will really enjoy this movie.

From a pilot perspective, it's really neat seeing the detail and realism they have cultivated in this film. And the acting is quite good, perhaps one of JGL's best? The soundtrack was pretty good too.

All in all, so many movies follow a fairly scripted sequence and scenes are shot and developed in a somewhat formulaic way. This breaks a lot of those molds and it does so in a pleasing way imo.

Cheers!

Dune: Part Two (2024)

A very rare perfect film

[10/10 · 11 March 2024]

Absolutely incredible... there are almost no words to describe this sequel to perhaps the greatest sci-fi movie ever created. Going in to this one, I knew I had to lower my expectations because how could it possibly be on the same level as the first. I was very, very wrong.

From the opening scene, Dennis once again pulls you bodily into the deserts of Arrakis, captivating your senses of sight, of sound, feeling the rumbles from the bass, your sense of anticipation, of a steady buildup of energy, emotion, and awe as the movie progresses, each scene somehow gripping your heart even more than the last. As my friend said - "THIS is sci-fi." So much care and attention to detail. It's like each scene could be portrayed 1000 different ways, the camera angles different, what they focus on, the lighting, the sound, the acting, the dialogue, and 999 of those ways are inferior to what is found throughout Dune 2.

A very rare 10/10 film imo. If this doesn't win best picture, we can finally bury the axe in Hollywood because it has died lmao.

Sicario (2015)

Of course this is Villeneuve

[9/10 · 22 January 2024]

I had forgotten. You know why he's so good? Because he usually makes family-unfriendly films. He makes films that you aren't going to ever find on the top 100 films to watch after a breakup, or the top 100 summer fun flicks. Nor does he resort to over-the-top gore and mutilation. What he does is artfully find the dark reality of human existance and paint it with masterful strokes. He takes you into his world with the seriousness of a criminal being led to trial. You take in every sound, every image, every detail as you are being inexorably led to the conclusion.

Such is the case here. As a thriller masterpiece, you are quickly enveloped in the world of hardcore narcotics and the most brutal of drug cartels. You think you are going to another American town? Wrong - straight into Mexico and immediately there are bodies hanging in broad daylight from an overpass and no one in the vehicle is surprised except the main character and you and you are both wondering wtf you are getting yourself into.

Who are the bad guys you ask?! Who could do such a thing? But then again, who are the good guys? Lines blur. You falter to hold onto something familiar but each scene rips you back into discomfort. She finds a possible love interest? He's a cartel hitman. She feels valued as a part of a drug team? She's being used. She starts to trust this Del Torro character as being a specialist on the good side? He shoots her and reveals he is operating and being allowed to operate by the US govt completely illegally.

We all suspect or know the level of atrocity that the Mexican cartel carries out. But do we really know what goes on? Do we really have any idea who the good guys and the bad guys are? How do you fight against pure evil? How do you maintain your innocence and return to a normal life? What lines are you willing to cross or watch others cross?

Once again, a fantastic film by Villeneuve and superb performances by the main actors and actresses. Soundtrack as always in his films is haunting and inspired. I almost never give a 10 but a 9 is for fantastic films that I remember weeks and months later. Cheers.

Firefly (2002–2003)

Just good in every way

[10/10 · 28 December 2023]

Firstly, everyone rips on FOX (for great reason of course) but I will say that FOX did allow Universal to buy the rights and make the movie Serenity, which was enjoyable and at least a concession.

Now, I honestly tried really hard to give it a 9 because it can't be perfect can it? But what other sci-fi show is above it, let alone any show? The show Dark was incredible, also OA, first season of Altered Carbon, and perhaps the one to beat it is The Expanse, however, it was given 6 seasons to build upon... Many shows have episodes in a season that are great and if the whole season was like that, it could beat Firefly (like the first x episodes of Lost were damn good!), but....

The short of it is that Firefly never seems to disappoint or bore you in any episode, they're all bangers, and the renegade/western flavour fits perfectly here, while the characters are actually very skillfully developed and nuanced yet also making an atmosphere of welcome lightheartedness.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

Highly entertaining - don't listen to the haters

[8/10 · 19 December 2023]

Did it have Jennifer Lawrence, no. Did it "add something new" like someone pointed out - actually, kind of, but I don't think that was the main point. This movie was as much about the unfolding drama between the main characters as it was about slowly building the foundations piece by piece to show how the games themselves could come about - that they aren't as ridiculous to imagine in this context. And I thought they did a wonderful job! I haven't read the book btw.

Also I thought the acting was pretty good for people I didn't know - I especially liked the thoughtful yet brooding energy from Tom- Snow and there were several scenes where the writing and his acting really hit the mark- such as him seeing the picture of him and his now dead friend and bursting into tears but then calling out "I'M SORRY!" which isn't something you'd want to cry out in the barracks as it sounds suspicious, but it's something that I feel would naturally escape you in that moment of anguish. Also Rachel - Lucy was quite interesting to watch (and hear - what a voice). Music was great too.

TLDR: was interesting, good acting, refreshing, and adds depth to the Hunger Games universe. Easy 8/10.

Hypnotic (2023)

One of my lowest ratings

[3/10 · 25 November 2023]

They must have spent all their meager budget on the actors and had a couple hundred left over for the writers... It's so bad! The writing is horrendous, like when there's a writers strike and the director has to fill in; it's formulaic to death as if they grew up only being allowed to watch summer blockbusters.. and then suffered a multitude of grievous head injuries... and then made a deal with the devil whereby they would fire anyone who came up with so much as a half-interesting idea... And I'm a sci-fi guy with a decently low bar for sci-fi plots but the idea here was not even that good... but it could definitely have still worked if the script had been written by at least an elementary school kid who has enough brain cells to smash his transformer toys together, imagining they are fighting.

Affleck no..... come back to the light! You are not washed up yet! There's still hope! If you need money, we can crowd source that s*** just DON'T give in to Sadfleck... Go back to sulky steroid-batman or anything else! Just not this.

Cheers.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

What a movie!

[9/10 · 13 September 2023]

Nolan is definitely my favourite director. And while his latest film has strayed from my favourite genre, sci-fi (Interstellar... just phenomenal), I realized a while back to go with the flow and let Nolan take me on his artistic journey, and I've enjoyed every movie of his immensely. He understands what good art mixed with good storytelling can achieve and I often criticize other movies for their lack of expression and daring because the predictable is the safe path. I mean, this is a biopic! And he manages to inject pure art into it with incredible scenes that help capture the moment.

And the acting is so well done. It's obvious the actors really enjoyed their roles and gave their all for this movie, Cillian of course shining as the main character, somehow managing to fill the shoes of one of the most impressive people in centuries.

All in all, a fantastic film, and in a genre I don't normally watch. I'm excited to see what other amazing adventures Nolan has for us! Cheers!

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

Couldn't finish it

[2/10 · 27 July 2023]

I learned a long time ago to not spend any more money on transformers movies, but here I am watching another one and man is it bad....

What was the point of most of the beginning of the movie?? To remind everyone yet again that there are a lot of socioeconomic issues still, that white people are still in power and are generally dumb, lucky, a-holes, while their non-white subordinates are honest, intelligent, hardworking, kind individuals trying to struggle against the system and the evil white people? I honestly don't care if this is your viewpoint or not, just tone it down in the movie! Movies are usually meant to be entertaining and an escape from everyday life. What a let down.

To Catch a Killer (2023)

Good movie, woke agenda

[6/10 · 24 July 2023]

The plot and actors drew me into watching this and in all honesty, it ticked off a lot of boxes for a "catch a killer" type movie. And the FBI lead, forget his name, such a great actor and nice to see him in a rare protagonist role.

However, one definitely has to wade through a never-ending barrage of liberal/social issues, which, if that's your jam, then you probably gave this movie a 9 or 10 after nodding along every 10 minutes like "yeah, damn right! The injustice!" It felt like a lengthy, police-version episode of New Amsterdam lmao. Sometimes I just want to enjoy a good movie and take a break from politics, ya know?

All in all, I recommend this if you enjoy crime/detective type movies but it's flaws are holding it back. Cheers.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

"When you stand before God

[9/10 · 1 December 2022]

You can not say, "but I was told by others to do thus," or that virtue was not convenient at the time."

What a movie.

Firstly, the directors cut is the one I watched mistakingly but I cannot for the life of me understand what would be in the shortened version as this is a movie of massive proportions and depth. Anything less is... sacrilege.

This movie is on the same field as other sweeping epics - Gladiator (also Ridley of course!), Braveheart, The Patriot. And it delves into everything that makes us human and more.

Underlying the hauntingly beautiful music, the poetic dialogue, the breakneck action sequences, and the complicated character interactions are deep themes running like ancient rivers through the movies landscape:

What kind of person are you? Are you virtuous? Do you believe in God? Do you love? What would you die for?

We can choose to live apart from these questions but I wonder what would happen if we truly embraced the quest to discover the answers.. and ourselves.

Cheers!

Black Adam (2022)

Meh, mostly same old with a little razzle dazzla

[6/10 · 18 November 2022]

The special effects were on point, I'll give it that, as well as the humour - there were some pretty funny one liners and jokes. The Rock is actually pretty funny as a deadpan humour type of actor.

But the plot was so typical of DC - it's so predictable and same old same old, and everything just kind of works through the sequences like we've seen so many times before.

And the realism fell apart sometimes, like immediately a slave finds unobtanium or w/e that substance is and holds it up proclaiming its name and then tries to hide it... Later Black Adam falls to the Earth with a speeder or something and ends up sliding into a house in the middle of large fields and mountains - a million to one landing. And the worst was when the bullet is moving in slow motion towards the kid WHO IS TURNING HIS HEAD AS FAST AS THE BULLET IS MOVING!!! Come on team! Pull it together!

It could have been so much better if they had better writers (also for character development - I mean, did anyone really care much what happened to the characters? Not really..) and a better director. Shout out again to the special effects team though! And the Rock was fairly decent as a superhero. Oh and costumes GJ Cheers!

One Shot (III) (2021)

Satisfying if you play COD

[6/10 · 28 April 2022]

The action sequences were for the most part very well done. The interplay of seeing the same fight from the good guys perspective and then it shifts to the bad guys is quite something. Choreography was immaculate.

That being said, there were a number of plot holes (unlike the hole that should have been in mansouris chest after a RIFLE round was discharged into his bullet-proof vest at close range...). The biggest flaw was when they were defending the compound and the enemy IQ somehow dropped below 50, like before they were clearing rooms with stun grenades and real grenades, checking around corners, but oh now that there are some tough enemies who are killing your buddies ahead of you, you're just going to charge around the corner and get killed as well? It makes the star trek red shirts or the movie stormtroopers look like elite fighting units!

To sandwich the criticism, I loved some of the unique scenes brought about by one-camera "continuous" filming such as when Mansouri had to change into the soldiers uniform but it took SO LONG, like it would in real life, and there was this anxiety about it that other movies fast forward. Or the scene when the good guy is being cornered amongst the trucks and he just disappears as they look around. It for sure had it's moments!

Cheers.

The Harder They Fall (2021)

Could of been pretty good

[5/10 · 27 April 2022]

But they turned up the woke.. "The devil is white" - can you imagine if the line was "The devil is black" spoken by a white person? The double standards are still festering, reminding me of Black Panther's "Don't sneak up on me colonizer!" And that got nominated for best film... So shameful. And racist AF

Otherwise was enjoyable. Idris Elba of course is amazing (would love to see him as the new bond).

Cheers.

The Outfit (2022)

Not just the superb acting of Mark Rylance

[8/10 · 24 April 2022]

Take into account that the entire movie is shot in the tailor's... It's quality over quantity. The film itself has been crafted with the same care that a suit is supposedly crafted. The character that Mark plays has been so expertly camouflaged in the plot that even his name is not overtly consequential - "English." And yet he has everything to do with what happens. And interestingly in the end, he is wise enough to realize the pursuit of perfection, not perfection itself, is the goal. What a unique, wonderful movie!

Cheers.

Ambulance (2022)

If Icarus was Michael Bay

[6/10 · 23 April 2022]

I was wondering why this movie TRIES SO HARD to be something more and then I saw the credits list who directed it lol... "Jake Gyllenhall teams up with an ambulance autobot!" It had some scenes that were good, not great, but good. Action was mostly good. Plot holes were screaming around like Will Smith defending her honour. Big budget and decent acting; I'll watch anything with Jake in it!

Could also sum up the movie as "a first responders circle-jerk" - I was actually impressed with the precordial thump and proper compressions that the paramedic was doing. Bay obviously listened to the advice of medical professionals.

Cheers!

From (2022– )

Captivating plot, gaping plot holes, and meh acting

[6/10 · 18 April 2022]

FYI have only watched 3 episodes so far but...

For the love of God, the townspeople KNOW that these things TORTURE and extend the suffering of victims before BRUTALLY murdering them. And YET, they are all ok with someone choosing to do this, and he says he is thinking CLEARLY. It's BS. I won't go into EVERY other plot hole such as why not manditory boarding up of childrens windows, putting locks/bars on windows, etc., or why not have a lookout for newcomers to see where they suddenly appear so as to put up warning signs, maybe stop people from entering??

Acting is not great, but better than B-movies or Green Arrow.

Cheers.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

More satisfying than not.. if you like sci-fi..

[7/10 · 14 March 2022]

This movie is like the nerdy chick who is also very hot and knows it. And she invites Michael Bay to the party.

Enjoyable. Has its moments. Also plot holes as big as the racial divide in America.

Cheers!

Skyggen i mit øje (2021)

Very heartfelt, beautiful, and tragic story.

[8/10 · 13 March 2022]

This hits a lot harder given the events in Ukraine right now. Excellent acting, the video work was very artful, music was captivating, and directing on point. I don't watch many foreign films but this was well worth it! Character development was also excellent and I really cared for them as they went through the story. I give it 8.5/10.

Cheers!

Kimi (2022)

Yikes

[5/10 · 3 March 2022]

"Shut your mouth b****."

Such good writing... When you can see the authors hand repeatedly, it takes you out of the story and likely ruins the experience, such that this plot gave. Shallow characters, shallow plot, shallow music, shallow visuals. Slow. I don't know why I'm even giving a 5...

The Card Counter (2021)

It's deeper than it appears

[9/10 · 8 February 2022]

I would have given it an 8 but I have to balance out the lowball ratings from people who likely missed the subtleties in this movie. This is the first time I've done this btw, so please hear me out.

On the surface, it seems like a semi-typical rags to riches story where a man leaves his shameful destructive past behind and learns how to pick himself up again and create order from chaos. He starts mentoring a kid who he feels he can help, and starts a romantic relationship with someone who has also overcome a chaotic past and rebounded. Things are moving in the right direction.

But throughout this whole movie, you are time and time again lolled into a sense of security, of order, and routine, only for it to break - for example, a traumatic nightmare, reliving the past, and another poker player who defies order (the American) but still wins, and an admission that even himself "can tilt" at poker, as a torturer, and in life really. He hasn't really let anything go. He has done his time in prison and society has forgiven him but he says that "it feels the same when someone forgives you as it does when you forgive yourself, so why pretend otherwise?" Because he hasn't forgiven himself. There are too many analogies about life, forgiveness, relationships, revenge, etc, etc. It honestly requires 2-3 viewings probably. Even the way the melancholy music, both ragged and beautifully haunting, continues to play over actors lines without dimming, carrying Isaac along into the chaos of poker that he is trying to order, is almost reminding us that there is no escape from the inevitable conclusion that is hinted at earlier in the film. If there is order, it is in this.

Cheers!

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

So much potential....

[6/10 · 29 December 2021]

Honestly I quite enjoyed the first 60-70 min of the film! There was mystery, intrigue, a decent explanation for similarities (unlike Star Wars 7-9 where everything was linear and based in 1 reality), and perhaps new questions about reality and the matrix itself. What was Neo's role really? What are the machines up to now? And the humans? Why are things this way? It was setting up beautifully until......

The plot is everyone is fine, but Neo wants to risk it all to go for Trinity, and everything apparently revolves around the 2 now, which is why Neo isn't "the 1." Wait what?!?! There were so many other directions to go in!!!

Beyond that we have boring locations for action sequences (a warehouse, a bathroom, etc, vs the interesting locations of 1-3), boring fight sequences (repeating the Smith vs Anderson fight? We needed like a 5/10 nostalgia, not 8/10), dawn of the dead meets M. Night Shamalayns The Happening meets the Jedi force street sequence, and then possibly the dumbest part with Trinity floating Neo above the city (It didn't even look good LOL it looked like she was suspended... palm face).

What they should have done is have a larger plot, like I don't know, the machines are still at war with eachother and threatening to destroy the planet, while one side of the machines maintains the matrix illegally and Smith has gained control of the other side or something - I spent 2 minutes coming up with that and it sounds way better, at least to me... And have the love story be a secondary but still important thing again - Trinity is going to die because the tower is in the war zone, and she needs saving, etc. It's not hard! At least Star Wars' plot was similar to Thanos' in that a significant portion of all living beings was about to be destroyed...

Anyways, I enjoyed being back in the Matrix universe for a bit, it was neat. It should be over now though. Wrap it up. Hopefully someone will make an animated series or something.

Cheers!

No Time to Die (2021)

Not really a "Bond" movie

[6/10 · 7 December 2021]

It had it's moments, don't get me wrong! Eg. The beginning chase/fight sequence, the bar/town fight where they keep doing shots for some reason, and the stairwell fight (super badass!).

The problems are numerous though.

A) Failed, overly drawn out attempt at making a deep relationship between Bond and Madeleine, which I don't feel deeply about, nor do I want Bond to do (almost as bad as insecure, burned-out Tony Stark in Iron Man 3) B) The whole movie I was afraid they were going to make the next line of 007 feature the Black female agent, not cool (if you want a black female secret agent, make another movie franchise) C) The seriousness of the movie didn't feel real - scenes felt forced D) The villain was one of the worst. Didn't feel much for him. I thought at least when he was wearing the Judo Gi that he was going to start going martial arts on Bond - that would have been awesome! But alas... E) Why bring back Blofeld...? Just why.... You lost your shot with him. As someone else said - this Bond was the ultimate example of what Daniel Craigs Bonds have become - a storyline (different from previous Bonds) - except it just got twisted up into a bunch of characters and plot lines and scenes that I just don't really care about.

6/10 because it's better than Spectre. I'd still put this at 4th best. QoS was better in my opinion - was WAY more "Bond" than this one. What sticks out for people is probably that the ending of QoS sucked whereas the ending of No Time was pretty good - beginnings and endings are what people remember!

Cheers!

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Surprisingly good

[8/10 · 28 November 2021]

I'll be honest - Marvel movies are not in my top 20 or even 50 but within the Marvel "Universe" I would say that Shang-Chi is in my top 5. I know, it's blasphemy and all that but think about it - is it better than Iron Man? I would admit yes - it's origin story is arguably better, and it's characters are a lot deeper. The Mandarin is a conflicted man, with evil but good as well, like real life. Is this movie better than The Avengers or Ragnarok or Infinity Wars? Hard to say, which means it's right up there with the best (of Marvel) in my opinion.

Plus, I'm a sucker for Chinese movies with the Chinese language being spoken - 1 of my favourite of all times, if not my absolute favourite, is of course 'Hero.' The Chinese language and the artistry of it's culture are magnificent.

All in all, well done Marvel, director Destin, and all those who worked to make this movie a reality. This is not just your average summer action movie; it's close to being a Masterpiece. And the humour is pretty swell too!

Cheers.

Richard Jewell (2019)

Finally a movie holding the media responsible

[8/10 · 9 November 2021]

A great movie with real heart showing a true hero to the world. Eastwood nails another classic and one of the best things about is to expose just how damaging media can be, whether it's with inflammatory articles like "White cop shoots black teen" when the investigation has barely begun, or more recently with the pandemic, spreading all sorts of potential misinformation without nailing down what's truth or fiction, leading to many lives lost as the public is misled. The media has to be held accountable for the power they wield, as much as any government, law enforcement agency, activist group, etc. Apparently, "innocent until guilty" means very little when social justice can strip someone of their life worse than jail can.

Anyways, rant over! Great movie all around. Loved the acting too.

Cheers.

Southpaw (2015)

Fighting: 4/10. Everything else: 7/10

[6/10 · 4 November 2021]

I love Gyllenhaal and Whitaker, don't get me wrong - they were great! But I had a number of problems with the movie. The fighting was not good, and I'm a casual boxing fan, and a moderate mma fan, so I may be wrong, but I mean come on - 95% of shots thrown hit the target with almost 0 blocking. Outrageous fouls not even being commented on. Almost no clinches. Etc, etc, etc. Every time I saw a fight scene it made the movie worse....

Otherwise, I enjoyed the drama, even though it was fairly cliche and predictable, the acting was pretty good and there were still some good moments, like with the child protection visits and rekindling the relationship there. Hoppy dying came out of nowhere and I thought it was unnecessary. And finally, I really wish that Jake stopped the fight after his eye was bleeding and his daughter was worried. Because the whole movie could really be boiled down to the relationship he has with his daughter and if he walked away from the final fight showing that he didn't need revenge, didn't need the title, didn't need the acclamades, but that all he needed was his daughter and good friends, etc, I feel like that would have made a lot of sense but they kind of missed it and "made the hero win" and all that. I dunno, it wasn't nearly as powerful as say "Warrior." Still decent enough and again, I'll watch almost anything with Jake Gyllenhaal :)

Cheers.