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marcquattromani
Reviews
True Detective: Night Country: Part 6 (2024)
Disappointing end... did not stick the landing
My wife and I really enjoyed episodes 1 to 5. Great characters, great mystery. But the conclusion just felt weak. The Navarro conclusion was okay although unnecessarily ambiguous. The conclusion to the main mystery was unsatisfying. Without adding spoilers, it seemed out of the blue and unsupported by earlier episodes, the sort of ending a hack writer tosses in at the end when they have to tie things up rather than something the writers knew was the underlying solution from the beginning.
Overall, very disappointing. 7 for the Navarro ending. 3 for the main plot. 5 overall.
Loved all the characters though. Wished they had a better finale.
The Last Duel (2021)
Interesting period piece and enjoyable characterization and view points
I liked this more than I thought I would. As a history buff wasn't quite sold on a hollywood history piece in this era but I think they did a decent job.
Not familiar with the specifics of this incident but from what I can tell with a little research, the screenplay is faithful to the broader history while taking a lot of liberties with the duel itself, which I think was a good directorial choice. The duel was, in the end, just a shedding of blood, a little artistic license to make it appeal to movie audiences does not change the overall story which was faithful to what we know of the overall situation.
It presents the three chapiters, each from the key protagonists' perspective. My first reaction was that this was a gimmick, but I think it really served the story and characters well.
Seeing the trailers and reading a little of the history, my first reaction was to be sympathetic to the lord and lady but the treatment made both more complex, while still retaining sympathies. The antagonist was also presented well- sympathetic in ways and yet in the end, a good way to ellucidate the me-too moment: you can sort of see how he may have believed it wasn't rape, even though objectively it is presented as rape. I do like how the three viewpoints were showed nuisance rather than just purely justifying each characters' viewpoint.
All in all, well done.
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017)
A lot of fun if you accept for what it is
High art? No. Fun? Yes
Take it on its own terms. This is a fun movie that I enjoy watching multiple times. The animation can be awkward and Machine perfect makeup is weird but aside from quirks like that it is actually quite true to the book and not bad all in all. Personally I'd like a sequel.
Transformers (2007)
Yeah... it' stupid but it's a lot of fun
This movie is a great guilty pleasure. Dumb, noisy, sexist... yes. But oh quite so watchable if you just enjoy it for what it is.
Great music, fun characters, human and machine. There are some cringe-worthy moments but overall, it's just a blast.
Do not watch if too woke. Otherwise, enjoy it.
Can't say any of the sequels did anything for me but the first one is awesome in its humor and even, a touch of pathos.
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
And yet... it was a great watch
The first time I watched this, I wasn't impressed. The second time was... meh. The third time... well, this is a great movie about a group of real marines in over there head.
Yeah, there's a few cliche's. It's still a blast and it has you rooting for the marines to the end.
Gimme a sequel!
Sputnik (2020)
Best Sci-Fi Suspense-Horror in some time
From the double entendre in the title to the ending, this movie was a treat, even charming, which is quite unusual for the genre.
It's not in your face horror like Alien or Apollo 18, almost more of a psychological suspense than horror film, despite the clear horror elements.
Well acted, interesting characters, nice plot. The characters and plot twists were, while not entirely new, well executed.
Would definitely like to see more from this crew.