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Daybreak: FWASH-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! (2019)
Eli warned us about "schmuck bait"...
Excellent overall, but the tone, both literal and figurative, music and actors' expressions, of the last couple of minutes was a low blow by the producers.
If they had used happy ending music or even the show's theme, and had most characters except Josh kind of smiling thinking "yeah, this fits", it would have been basically "the end", but nooooooooooo, instead they do what Eli warned us about, they hit us with dark tones to turn the ending into schmuck bait, fishing for a season 2, making people think there is something dark about the ending.
That fishing is also why they didn't show Burr definitely, positively, completely dead, another bit of smuck bait-- I bet his fate is in Broderick's hands... if he signs on, Burr'll be back. about "Schmuck bait"...
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Well, I enjoyed most AFTER Supes and Batman battle
Spoilers, aren't most reviews? I enjoyed most that happened AFTER the heroes had their so-forced (by the writers, not as by Luthor) battle and when they fought Doomsday it was slambang and the characters seemed... themselves (even the miscast Gadot couldn't drag it down there)... well, I enjoyed all except for that forced "Superman Pietà ".. blarrrg, the crosses made it decidedly Hammy McFisty, like Snyder was saying "Get it? Get it? Get it?"
Enjoyed: Affleck, sfx, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Batmobile, Batwing, Batcave entrance, Fishburne, Doomsday battle, Flash dream
Not enjoyed: characterizations of Batman and Superman up until after they fight, characterization of Luthor all the way through (not Eisenberg's fault, of course, he does fine with the Lex "Joker" Luthor lines he was given), just plain stupid and unthinking things Batman and Superman do (really, batman, you need to lure Doomsday to the spear and more populated areas instead of TAKING THE SPEAR TO WHERE DOOMSDAY IS?), endless slo-mos (does this set a record?), endless bombastic Zimmer/Junkie XL music (quality music but headache inducing from too muchness, just never seems to let up), too many "it's-just-a-dream-sequences", rehashing Bruce Wayne's parents' deaths again, Gal Gadot miscast as Wonder Woman (so much for her "going to the gym"), Metropolis being just across a bay from Gotham and the multiple plot holes that opens.
A slight 6 of 10.
Oh well, Zach, we'll always have "The Watchmen"....
A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990)
Stan Winston was marvelous at Makeup SFX, however...
This film is one of those that makes very clear an adage, which is pretty important in any line of work, and especially in film IMO -- "Know what you know, and know what you don't know." Stan Winston very clearly knew Makeup Special Effects, and he was a master in that field. He clearly did not know film directing ( nor shot coverage nor overseeing editing nor,... well, several other knowledge gaps in his tool chest pop out when one views this movie).
The puppetry and facial animatronics in this movie are very good, but it falls flat in almost every other department (although I think there MAY have been a decent script initially).
Hitchcock didn't sing in films, he knew better. The Coens don't act in films, they know better. Daniel Day-Lewis does not write screenplays, he brings the characters off of the page as a master actor. Stan Winston knew Makeup SFX at a master level, but did not know film directing.
Sleeper (1973)
"Sleeper" is rock solid proof...
...that Joel Schumacher should've stuck with costume design. It's also the best Woody Allen movie that I've seen (seen about eight), other than maybe "What's Up Tiger Lily"... especially since it's not set in New York City, he doesn't bag a chick out of his league or young enough to be his daughter, and it's not too auto-whine-biographical.
Hobgoblins (1988)
The Passing of the Mantle of Terrible Direction
Ye, and it came to pass that The Crud Master Wood, friend of Bela and lover of cashmere, didst drink himself to a hasty grave, and his earthly vision did fall by this into oblivion. But lo, whilst his spirit did leave for Eternity, his mantle of overpowering lack of a cinematic clue did yet survive, and was handed down to his celluloidal scion, the Crud Master-in-Training Rick Sloane: behold "Hobgoblins," the heinous nightmare-work of the cine-ignorant heir apparent, the dauphin de Plan 9 ideals, the dunderkind director-scribe. Behold the insipidity at all levels of production...ALL LEVELS OF PRODUCTION. Behold, the film so cruddy that it has revealed to legions of proto-directors that maybe accounting, or verily hotdog vendorship, would make a better career choice for many of Sloanian caliber. And the audience didst wail and gnash teeth.
And so it came to pass... may it not pass again.
X the Unknown
Invasion: Earth (1998)
An ending so bad, you'll swear they just ran out of money
I'm not going to give away the ending, but I must say this is the worst ending of any film or mini-series I have ever seen. Even worse than the 2-hour "Twin Peaks" movie (the European movie version)... but the "Twin Peaks" movie ending was probably intentionally bad. What makes the "Invasion Earth" ending so bad is that I really enjoyed, oh, the first 98% of the mini-series. Then came the horribly lame "end." I may be harshing too much on it... maybe it was originally planned as a series and was cancelled, so they tacked on an ending to "wrap it up." I cannot express forcefully enough the total lack of catharsis in this mini-series... when the credits roll, you will be jaw-dropping shocked... "surely it can't be over?" Sadly and disappointingly, you will realize that it is finis.