matt_hew Reviews

The Tattooist of Auschwitz (2024)

Polished.

[5/10 · 18 May 2024]

We all know of the horrific events of Auschwitz, the trauma, the brutality and the unbearable suffering.

We've seen the footage, the photos, the documentaries, the tv shows and the movies which depict all of the above.

This show chooses to showcase a PG version of these horrors in what can only be described as a jumbled mess of production across the six episodes.

The unconvincing lead although being Slovakian sounding like he's come straight from Cambridge, who looks immaculate for the majority of his time at the camp (seriously looked as though he has his uniform washed & pressed each day) fails to capture the reality of the situation.

Time is also an issue. The show fails to portray the longevity of the suffering of the prisoners and how this factors into the story. This is conflicted by the sudden rush at in the final episodes where time becomes an urgent factor.

The biggest confusion is - for the most part - the unnecessary need for the jumps between present to past as rather than enriching the events became more of a distraction. This is further heightened by the need to show the (older) lead having different accounts of the events in the camp. It would have had more meaning if it was solely from his perspective, but as the show jumps around with implied events of the other characters throughout just distracts further. Why Melanie Lynskey was cast was a strange choice and her Aussie accent even more peculiar.

The show spends its entire run dipping in and out of events, cherry picking elements from characters to situations without seeing any of it through. Even the brutality of the camp seems piecemeal as a reminder rather than an actual reality.

Harvey Keitel as the older Lale Sokolov is remarkable and Anna Próchniak's portrayal as Gita is not only remarkable but the only reason you have to watch the show through to its conclusion.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Lacked Impact.

[5/10 · 21 April 2024]

Taking on a movie exploring the life of Oppenheimer would always be a complex and intense situation to develop and portray on screen.

There's a lot to unpack with regard to what aspects to explore, but ultimately it would always culminate on the development and deployment of the atom bomb.

And here's the problem, Nolan delves deep into Oppenheimer's life but (as usual) chooses to mix & match and jump around in time to show multiple points in Oppenheimer's life, in and out of context, some in colour, some in black and white (and random conceptual visuals) which unfortunately slowly degrades from the focus of the movie.

And when it comes down to what is one of the most important and scary moments in history, it's just neatly tucked away (in a belated phone call) to focus on the final act which seems to be more like the Lewis Strauss Show.

It gets messy and unnecessary and at a runtime of 3hrs becomes a bit of a chore. Cillian Murphy is exceptional (and well deserving of the Oscar - not sure why RDJ got one for what was a pretty generic portrayal) but for what should be an explosive movie just drops the ball (or bomb).

Road House (2024)

Reimagining the 80s cult classic (without the imagination)

[2/10 · 1 April 2024]

This isn't Road House.

This isn't a 'reimagining of the 80s cult classic' either.

Other than the name of the movie and the lead character, it hasn't got anything to do with the 1989 original.

It's just a bog standard, low rent action movie with little in the way of script or story which carries the 'Road House' title (which is bound to get it more viewings than it deserves.

There is no real story to get immersed in, to the point that one of the characters tries to literally shoe-horn in that it's a 'modern western'. The characters - including the lead - have no development (there's some flashbacks to Dalton's previous life but that is fleeting and pointless), you don't have much or any opinion on who they are, or what they are doing and everyone, bar Jake Gyllenhaal has little screen time.

All that's left is are the fight scenes which don't really work that well (partly due to CGI) and the introduction of McGregor as the nemesis just takes it down further.

If they really wanted to make something new from the classic, it would of been interesting to have focused on Dalton, his backstory or better still an origin story of Wade Garrett who was always the most interesting character in the original.

Echo (2023–2024)

WHY?! WHy? Why! why...! w h y ? !

[1/10 · 29 March 2024]

Awful writing.

Dreadfull script.

Weak acting.

Pointless, empty characters.

Too many unrelated ideas.

Incoherent story.

Terrible editing.

Massive pacing issues.

Completely underwhelming throughout.

Awful writing.

Dreadfull script.

Weak acting.

Pointless, empty characters.

Too many unrelated ideas.

Incoherent story.

Terrible editing.

Massive pacing issues.

Completely underwhelming throughout.

It's impossible to not echo this enough.

The only saving grace is that Disney only managed to make the show five episodes long (which is a stretch) so it doesn't waste too much of your time.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Mission ---------- Dead ----------

[2/10 · 21 February 2024]

An soulless, empty 2hr 43min which consists of a series of overworked, overlong and repetitive action sequences interspersed with overworked, overlong and drawn out scenes of the characters talking about how complex and bad the situation (& plot) is.

Tom Cruise just looked tired and bored throughout the entire slog of the movie.

His team mates have little purpose other than to over explain everything that may happen, is going to happen or what they will have to do to stop something from happening.

The new cast members are either pointless or stereotypes of the usual characters seen in these movies; and there's an antagonist who thinks and acts like a robot assumingly because of who he is working for.

I reckon Part 2 will be just as woeful.

The Kitchen (I) (2023)

Pot Noodle.

[2/10 · 23 January 2024]

Bland. Mucky & Pointless. Offers no value. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The movie is just too vague and low on ingredients (or a real story) to offer it's audience anything of worth.

The setting and timeframe feels stolen from a much better dystopian movie which offers nothing to the plot. The SciFi elements feel more like they are added to reinforce an idea which is already wafer-thin and feels hindered by budget to actually create any impact.

The story is more of a premise that hasn't been formulated into anything, which combined by the weak characters results in a complete lack of focus where no one really stands out, there is no one to root for and by the end you don't care about any of them.

And what leaves a bad taste in the mouth is that the trailer is deceptively misleading. You think you're getting something gourmet but it's just boil in the bag.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023– )

New Country. New Characters. Same Rehash.

[4/10 · 13 January 2024]

The opening scene of Daryl Dixon bobbing about in the ocean (intentionally or not) seems like an ideal metaphor for another rudderless Walking Dead show just treading water whilst wringing out every last drop they can from fan favourite characters.

The new country, new characters and differing environments are just another facade to cover up rehashing the typical Walking Dead tropes that the producers have been reworking for far too long.

With the exception of Daryl and Isabelle the remaining cast are all simply weak stereotypes of TWD characters we have seen over and over again. The only difference is that most of these are more annoying.

The only interesting part was Isabelle's back story which touched on the initial outbreak - Y'know the show we all wanted FTWD to be whilst it too was rushing to become another TWD clone.

There's enough for fans and tbh it running for only six episodes is probably a blessing as it was a struggle to get to six both for the show and the audience watching.

The Changeling (2023– )

OverWorked / OverActed / OverlySlow

[1/10 · 10 November 2023]

This show is a mess. It tries too hard to create something weird, magical, sinister but just falls over itself trying to do it.

It seems to want to confuse its audience whether this is from time jumps to showing scenes out of context or repetition and misdirection. It's by no means original for a horror show to do this but this show seems to want you to be confused rather than disappointed.

And that is what it is. All of the actors are very capable but seem to overact to the point of annoyance as if they're covering for something. The premise is intriguing but spends too much time over working every scene that it just becomes a chore to watch.

Slow Burn / Misdirection / Overacting - it's all fine if there's something to deliver at the end to make it worthwhile. But this takes more than a while to churn through and for little worth.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Rocket Deserves Better.

[6/10 · 26 October 2023]

Remember how awesome and refreshing GotG Vol.1 was? It stood up on it's own as a great movie ticking all of the boxes whilst still tying in with the MCU.

Remember how funny and character driven GotG Vol.2 was? It didn't quite stand up as well as the first but the development of the story and characters still kept it awesome.

And lets not forget the Awesome Mixtapes.

Remember how the GotG were still keeping it awesome in the Infinity War / Endgame movies? Still there wisecracking & providing some of the best moments even with the other thousand superheroes overstuffed into the mix.

Unfortunately most of the above is lost with GotG Vol.3. The overstuffed formula often associated with more recent MCU movies is there in abundance, the story feels more like a collection of ideas and moments to be included than a story that needed telling.

It was a 2.5 hour mixed bag of the things James Gunn wanted in the movie, from using his favourite actors to the soundtrack he wanted to include which mostly feel disjointed and forced.

So much of what was loved about the first two volumes has now been sidelined. The character development has been lost as have the story elements that was needed to close the Guardians adventures in space.

A lot of the characters don't have any purpose other than being in the other films, Kraglin is pointless and Groot who now looks more like a 'Mahogany Thing' is a background element for most of the film. Even the new characters like Adam Warlock are introduced and quickly sidelined.

The focus on Rocket (who spends most of the movie unconscious) and his backstory seems there more to make the audience feel emotional - and in doing so - feel more emotional about the final adventure rather than a necessary (and unnecessarily grim) story to be told.

It was a sad ending to the GotG but not for the way in which James Gunn had orchestrated it to be.

The French Dispatch (2021)

Anthology or Miscellany?

[5/10 · 26 October 2023]

If you were to freeze frame or isolate any of the visuals or scenes from this movie you'd see it as a thing of beauty.

Every scene looks beautiful, is wonderfully composed and meticulously shot. The attention to every single detail is so precise (even for a Wes Anderson movie) it's almost intense.

All of the Wes Anderson tropes are in there - in abundance - but this seems to be at the forfeit of the actual story.

'The Concrete Masterpiece' is the masterpiece of the film but from there the other stories get more convoluted and dull and by the end becomes a bore.

As an anthology it doesn't really work as a whole. It plays more like a series of ideas & visuals strung together which of the viewer becomes so much less than the sum of its parts.

Black Adam (2022)

Black Mark

[1/10 · 10 July 2023]

If any producers or directors want a blueprint of how to make a superhero movie than this anti-hero film is the antithesis of that blueprint.

From the outset you can just tell that it is going to be awful and the formulaic tick box clichés come thick and fast.

Starts with a very quick world building backstory exercise.

Jumps to present day and the mother / son dynamic fighting the good cause.

The double crossing 'friend' who is a relation to the original enemy of Adam from 5000 years ago.

A bunch of thugs who have teleporting hover bikes (just because)

The hero getting injured (although he could heal himself instantly) in order to connect with the family.

The hero subsequently having to question his own motives.

A bunch of other heroes to battle with and fill the required Superhero quota.

The creation of a new 'Big Bad' just in time for the finale.

And it gets worse. Marvel and DC in particular were known for stealing each others characters and creating their own versions. This movie takes it one step further with The Justice Society Heroes being too much like rejects from the Marvel movies. Hawkman is too much like Falcon, Atom Smasher is a mash up of Deadpool & Ant-Man, Doctor Fate is Doctor Strange which makes the film feel second rate.

Add to that the thin acting a typical, repetitive story, awful nonsensical editing & direction and the overuse of comedic one liners and CGI to fill in the cracks and you have Black Adam.

Ghosted (I) (2023)

Ghost this Movie

[2/10 · 18 June 2023]

It's not good.

It's simply a tedious and lazy carbon copy of both superior and awful movies which follow the same story &/or concept.

The producers have paid for a host of famous faces to be included. Unfortunately without his shield and Avenger buddies Chris Evans really struggles to play anyone other than a hero. So why they decided to put him in a role where he's the opposite of Captain America really doesn't work.

And then to throw more money for a bunch of his Avenger buddies to make cameos (for laughs) isn't really funny and just exposes the flaws of the movie and their need to make it work.

Even Ana de Armas who was kicking ass in James Bond and pretty much has chemistry with anyone, has more with the cactus than what is possible with Chris Evans.

Ultimately there is just too much trying to happen both in scene and with all the genres it tries to include and there is no amount of money that can effectively glue this wasted effort into something tangible.

Tetris (2023)

Level 1

[3/10 · 12 June 2023]

You know when you're playing the first levels of Tetris and the blocks are moving very, very slowly? When you just want it to speed up to the point when it gets more interesting and fun to play?

Well if the movie version of the 'True Story' of the game it is 'based on' (apparently this should be used loosely) is about capturing the slow tedium of the early levels then they've done an outstanding job.

It is a dull watch.

Apparently the filmmakers wanted to focus the majority of the movie on the lead Henk Rogers time in the USSR which again is dull and somewhat clichéd.

As is the acting. The movie is classed as a 'rue Life Thriller' but feels more like a comedy especially with the Laurel & Hardy antics / portrayal of the Maxwell family.

And once again Taron Egerton does another caricature parody of an actual person; only this time he seems to be playing a version of Leonardo DiCaprio playing Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.

The only interest in the movie is that it's based on a true story. But then you find out in reality that the majority was made up. With this being the case you kinda wished they'd made up a version that was watchable.

Creed III (2023)

3rd Rate with No Heart.

[3/10 · 12 June 2023]

"All those fighters you beat, you beat them with heart." - Adrian (to Rocky)

Rocky was always about having heart. Rocky was the heart of all of the movies - which was part of the reason people kept coming back as Rocky himself came back for more.

Rocky isn't in this movie (other than in name) and without him there is no heart. Instead of giving this movie heart they opted to replace it with a load of CGI instead. It was kinda interesting in the first fight but completely ruined the final matchup and felt like a quick fix to jump 10 Rounds.

No Heart.

The story is weak and repetitive as are the characters. You don't care for Adonis. You don'r care for Damian. The story overworks the family dynamic to cater for this (at times it felt more like a movie about learning ASL) especially when there were parts of the story that would've added the depth it needed.

These films are not (and never will be) rocket science, Creed (2015) was a rework/spin of Rocky (with Rocky). Creed II (2018) was Rocky IV and Creed III was a mash up of Rocky III and Rocky V and it's lack of originality and patchy plot very much resembles this mash up and is felt throughout.

As Rocky said: "Aint nothing over, till it's over."

This movie says differently.

Nope (2022)

The clue is in the title...

[5/10 · 2 May 2023]

Nope! A long, drawn out affair that really makes you feel its 2 hour 10 minute runtime as it slowly plods along like the lead OJ seems to throughout the movie.

The film tries to be deep and wants the audience to consider the concept of it being a 'spectacle' (both visually and literally) but wastes so much time in trying to achieve this (ie Gordy / Jupe scenes) it actually takes away from the actual spectacle of there being a UFO using their farm as its personal hunting grounds.

Most of the performances are both mumbling and understated which by contrast makes Steven Yeun's performance seem OTT and Keke Palmer is just annoying from the outset. Daniel Kaluuya's

But where this movie really falls down is in all of the plot holes and lazy choices it seems to generate throughout the movie. This is particularly frustrating as the film spends a lot of time setting the parameters of the experience only to drop them when they don't fit into a particular scene. This happens moreso when the final act tries to wrap everything up as quickly as possible.

The bits with the flags is cheap, as is the idea of eye contact making the entity attack - something which is used loosely throughout - which is a shame as Daniel Kaluuya use of looking & observing is one of the elements which did work really well.

So is this a good movie ... Nope!

Beast (I) (2022)

BEASTLY

[1/10 · 17 April 2023]

Where to start:

Awful story. Just a typical, nonsensical 'Survival Action Horror Film' (which works better with sharks)

Awful Direction, the movie feels all over the place as if they were making it up on a daily basis.

Awful Acting - Idris Elba shoulda stuck with his British accent, it wouldn't have made any difference to the film

Awful CGI - Looked like the budget went on the main adversary and there wasn't any left for the pride shots.

Awful Characters - Unlikeable characters making dumb decisions, some odd dream sequences that add nothing and let's not get started on the impervious lion made from asbestos.

Oh... there are some nice shots of the African landscape and the wildlife that live there - but that's not enough to save this behemoth mess.

The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (2023)

The Last Paycheck

[5/10 · 17 April 2023]

Was there any actual need for this?

The TV series worked as a (often slow paced / sluggish) series which focused on the life of Uhtred (son of Uhtred) and his journey during the 9th and 10th centuries against a backdrop of the wars between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons and the (eventual) birth of England.

The film throws this all away, using Uhtred as an anchor to focus on the birth of England side of the story. It doesn't work. The film takes on way too much for its 2hr runtime, is rushed and the passage of time (which was crucial to the series) is cast aside as it tries to sprint to its conclusion.

Most of the known cast from the series feature - but their point in being there is almost pointless as they don't offer anything other than familiarity to those who watched the series.

The story was repetitive and the 'epic' battles were embarrassing given the 'armies' consisted of about 30 people.

Other than a vehicle to make money, there really doesn't seem any point or need for this; it feels like an add-on and ruins the well structured conclusion to the series.

Bullet Train (2022)

B******** Train Wreck

[3/10 · 20 February 2023]

If you decide to watch this film, 10 minutes is all you need to realise everything you need to know about it's if you don't like what you see, switch off / over and find something else to do with the two hours you've just saved.

There's plenty of big names in there who feel as out of place in their roles as their woeful character accents. These are all crammed into a clichéd nonsensical storyline which copies much, much better movies and runs out of track with a predictable final act.

If you decide to keep going then good luck and strap yourself in for an overstuffed, pretentious, overworked, repetitive try-hard slog of a movie.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Thor: Trying Too Hard

[5/10 · 20 October 2022]

Following the wannabe 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie 'Thor: Ragarok', Taika Waititi goes all out with this over-the-top, try hard, jumping on the 80's revival bandwagon mess of a movie.

Of course it's a Marvel Superhero movie, it's supposed to be over-the-top but this movie tries soo hard to be soo many things at once, it just ruins the movie.

Thor has been transformed from being ignorant and foolhardy to a clueless, stupid idiot who's purpose in the movie is for comedy relief rather than action. This doesn't work when he is matched against the extremely dark and serious Christian Bale as Gorr (who's performance is too good for this movie).

It tries desperately to be on trend with the 80's look and Gn'R soundtrack that feels forced (GotG already did it ...better) and Australian actor Russell Crowe plays the Greek God Zeus as an Italian in what feels like a pointless comedy skit is cringey adding nothing to the story.

The Jane storyline is one of the most interesting parts of the film but is shoehorned into an already overfull, cameo heavy plot which is sullied for the constant need for more comedy and one-liners.

It is watchable but once is enough.

Memory (I) (2022)

Wish I could forget watching this...

[4/10 · 13 September 2022]

Another "Liam Neeson" movie. You know like all the other ones he's made since starring in 'Taken' in 2008.

A generic storyline which they've tried to make interesting with the memory issues of the lead character and the back story of the lead cop - who happens to be Guy 'Memento' Pearce.

The rest of the characters / cast are both poorly written and poorly acted which also bogs down the weak story.

The problem with it is that the plot isn't strong enough to work on its own and the memory element is randomly picked up and dropped throughout the film - as and when required - which results in a weak, forgettable experience.

The Challenger (I) (2015)

A Boxing Movie without the Fisticuffs

[1/10 · 29 August 2022]

Another (watered down) Rocky rags-to-riches clone including its own version of Mickey and a nonsense script which doesn't work across any level.

The most incredible thing about this 'boxing movie' is its avoidance of wanting to or showing hardly any actual boxing.

The sparring is sparse, most of the bouts are quickly summarised or avoided (he won, back to the weak back story) and all of the in ring action consists of a few shots quickly cut and blurred together with a series of close ups to disguise what little is actually happening.

As for the final matchup, the camera spends more time cutting to the audience or the announcers describing what is happening rather than just showing it.

It makes no sense to make a boxing movie only to avoid / leave out the actual boxing.

Keep Breathing (2022)

Don't Hold Your Breath

[1/10 · 25 August 2022]

Only watched the first 34min episode but that was both a chore and more than enough to not want to go back.

Awful plot, terrible dialogue, spliced together with a pretentious, revealing flashback storyline that you just can't care enough about as it's all too predictable.

The worst thing about it though is the characters. If the premise is about someone who is stranded in the wilderness - you've got to like them, care about what happens about them or want them to survive.

All of the characters in this are extremely unlikable and you just can't care enough about them to give them your time.

Reacher (2022– )

Reaching...

[6/10 · 25 August 2022]

If you liked the 'travelling adventure' shows from the 80's like the A Team then you will probably like this.

Thin on plot, weak characters, cheesy (out-of-date) dialogue and lots of action set pieces (which usually takes the form of three - always three - people taking on Reacher at once).

Oh, and they also do that thing where all of the 'good guys'. Have an equal 'bad guy' that they have to face off with before proceeding to the next season.

As a show it doesn't do a lot - and you start to crave the next punch-up (it's that thin) but I guess everyone is happy / or doesn't care because Reacher is now: "extremely tall, extremely broad, long-armed and long-legged" character they wanted (and no longer the 5'8" Tom Cruise).

Thirteen Lives (2022)

Incredible Feat / Mediocre Movie

[6/10 · 7 August 2022]

The 2018 Tham Luang Cave Rescue was an incredible feat of courage & resilience, seen across the world - so a movie was bound to happen. 'Thirteen Lives' is that with Ron Howard at the helm and Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell & Joel Edgerton taking the key roles.

So it seems odd that the result was so mediocre. There are pacing issues, the characters are all at odds and unlikable (why would you be a firefighter, cave rescue diver if you had such disdain for others?) not to mention the ropey accents from Viggo & Colin.

This is then juxtaposed against how this achievement was about people from across the globe coming together and working for a greater good. And maybe that was the reality, but from a viewers point of view it just diverted the attention away from its purpose; and over a 2 1/2 hour period made it feel more like a B Movie experience rather than a showcase of this amazing feat.

Mine (II) (2016)

Mine - is a Dud!

[1/10 · 18 July 2022]

So two soldiers walk into a desert.

Both step on land mines.

One gets blown up, the other stays still.

The punchline? No One Cares!

Even if you put aside the reality of someone surviving for days glued to one spot in the middle of an African desert with no supplies you still want a reason to watch it and this consistently fails to deliver on its concept.

Where there should be some focus on the situation / dilemma and the lead characters resolve / endurance to hook the audience there is none of that as its consistently broken up with a messy mix of backstories and visitors which maybe real or a figment of his reality.

But it becomes such an endurance test for the viewer to watch it ends up being a massive dud...