taz1004 Reviews

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan (2021– )

Incorrect History

[1/10 · 10 May 2024]

As a historian, I'd say this could pass as a cheaply made YouTube video. As a documentary on major OTT platform such as Netflix, it's an embarrassment. They didn't even bother checking any of the facts. Incorrect dates, incorrect names, incorrect events, incorrect insignia, incorrect weapons and attire... It even tries to pass folk lore as history. It's a joke.

For some average Joe who are not aware of the history, they might not care and enjoy this. But make sure you take this as a fiction. It is NOT history nor a documentary. I've actually seen fictional movies better than this.

Netflix should be ashamed for putting out such junk.

Gran Turismo (2023)

Was the Director Gamer?

[3/10 · 4 November 2023]

Director clearly is a gamer as he obviously has no clue about racing. Is it too much to ask for realistic racing movie? If it is based on true story, why not stick to the true story? Prototype cars passing GT cars in Le Mans is because prototype are so much faster and happens all the time. Not because Mardenborough is the best racer.

Jann Mardenborough was not a great racer. He only has one victory out of 40 Super GT races. His overall career is mediocre at best. And the movie trying to portray him as a great one backfires. At the end, he finishes 3rd but celebrates like he won. With everyone surrounding him.

One thing the movie has plenty of is Hollywood cliché. My fingers and toes cringed with all "It's not your fault" moments.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Highly overrated

[3/10 · 3 June 2023]

Yes I know what the franchise is about. I don't expect realism from John Wick movie. But some things are just outright ridiculous. How is it that their suits deflect bullets but they get hurt so bad by nunchuck? Don't tell me it's because they're hit on the head. They were hit on the arm and the back and still got hurt more than gunshots. I'm assuming that's supposed to be comedy? I wasn't sure as it wasn't clear.

In 2nd or 3rd one they said once the ticket is torn, there's no way back but now it turns out it's really easy to get back? Just had to kill a guy? I liked the first John Wick because the story was simple. But now the story is just stupid.

I guess the appeal is all the action scenes but they're soooo repetitive that it really gets boring. Especially if you watch all 4 in a row. No, I didn't binge all 4 in a row but watched 1 per weekend because my daughter didn't see the first 3 and wanted to watch the 4th. And it was still too repetitive that by the 3rd movie, I was ready to skip them.

Gravity (2013)

Cliche ruined it.

[3/10 · 2 April 2023]

When the movie started out by saying there is no sound in space, I thought I will finally get a movie that depicts space correctly. But only a few minutes into the movie, my hopes were ruined.

I'm not sure if realism is what the director wanted or not but there were very unrealistic moments to create a typical Hollywood cliche. Like "You have to let me go", "I'm not letting you go" scene we've seen so many times in movies. But they do this in zero gravity? They are both stopped. No momentum and no outside force acting on them. But one gets sucked into outer space like there's a black hole.

On top of that, the main character is frustratingly obtuse. She's keep talking about getting into the space ship to save Clooney but she actually doesn't move? Just keeps talking about "I'm gonna save you" but just stays there. When the alarm went off for debris to hit again, she's admiring the view? These are just bad directions.

Overall, it could've been a good movie. Ruined by bad direction.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022)

Hire better translator Netflix!

[8/10 · 19 February 2023]

Drama itself is excellent. I loved it. But if you watched this subtitled, then you missed at least 30% of the story.

Most Koreans wouldn't use English subtitle so they wouldn't know. Most English speaking audience don't understand the audio so they wouldn't know. But I'm Korean-American who lived 25 years in each country. I'm equally fluent in both languages but we turn the subtitle on for our daughter who isn't very good with Korean. And the amount of mistakes I notice is ridiculous. I am 100% certain it was translated by a Korean who never lived in English speaking country.

One example is the nickname of Kwon. They translated it to "Tactician Kwon". Which is actually a compliment. But the original Korean word used was negative. It should've been "Plotting Kwon". Because he always plotting something against someone. There are literally dozens of these wrong translations per episode.

Bong Joon-Ho's movies such as Parasite on the other hand are much better. I can tell he spends extra effort making sure translations are perfect. But Netflix Korean shows including Squid Game are horrible.

Come on Netflix, there are 1.4 million Korean-Americans who can do better job.

The Menu (2022)

I had to look up the director after watching it

[1/10 · 12 February 2023]

I had to look up the director after watching it and I will remember his name. So I'll never watch another one of his movies ever again.

Turn to Korean movies if you want mystery thriller. Hollywood have lost it. Ridiculous plot and idiotic characters. There was no character development at all and as such, I did not care when anyone died. I was actually yawning.

On one scene, the chef said the actor was invited because he hated one of his movie. That the movie ruined his Sunday and images of that actor in that movie still haunts him. That is exact sentiment I got from this movie and perhaps that's what the director was trying to do?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

I could've made better movie with my foot.

[1/10 · 4 February 2023]

I could have wrote better script with my foot. I could have directed better with my foot. I could have acted better with my foot.

This is by far the worst MCU movie to date and it make sense since MCU is getting worse and worse. And only make sense the latest be their worst.

Plot holes everywhere which I'm not even going to get into them all as there are too many but why would the enemy give them a week AFTER conquering Wakanda??? You conquer an enemy, kill the leader and then ask them to be an ally? Really??? People actually make money from writing this junk?

Letitia Wright's acting is so horrible as a supporting role let alone leading one. I guess they didn't have a choice but she could've took some acting lessons. Just talking quietly doesn't make a mourning sister. But acting everywhere was bad. Worse than Star Wars prequels. Yes, that bad.

All attempts at humor failed miserably. All emotional scenes were outright boring. Action scenes were ridiculous. I'm so glad I didn't pay to see it in theater.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Stop ruining Star Wars

[4/10 · 1 July 2022]

Before Disney, Lucasarts had a whole department keeping all stories make sense... from books, comics, cartoon series, games... That is one of the reason why Star Wars is biggest franchise. Because everything fit together and made sense which gave credibility to the universe. Now yahoos like Johnson, Chow and Abrams come in and write whatever they want to create more and more plot holes and ridiculous physics.

Uncharted (2022)

Casting matters

[3/10 · 29 June 2022]

I don't care if this is different than the game. I don't care if Tom Holland is a good actor. He just doesn't fit the role. Wahlberg would've been much better Drake. Holland has too much of good boy image and Drake is anything but.

Casting matters. Even if you disregard the adaptation factor, the actor has to fit the character. Would Holland be a good Wolverine? They can say it's not same as comic all they want but he can never be Logan. Likewise, he can never be Drake.

Director keeps saying this is not the game but then why use the names? Just to cash in from the franchise? Why Holland? Just to cash in from his ticket power? In the end, that's all this movie is about. Cashing in.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Plot hole as big as The Last Jedi

[6/10 · 14 March 2022]

Why didn't Strange erase memory of Thanos?

Dr. Strange suggesting and actually brainwashing entire population? Isn't that what villains do?

Spiderman is one of my absolute favorite Marvel superhero but MCU version is just annoying brat. He's supposed to be THE man. I mean the way he interrupted Strange's spellcasting, and ended up doing what they were initially going to do anyway? Only that aunt May had to die in the process? I do not sympathize with that Spiderman. I actually sympathize with Jameson that everywhere this Spiderman goes, there's "needless" destruction and death.

These two Avengers plotting to risk the fabric of the Universe for their personal gain. Those are villains. This is just bad writing.

And 3 Peters came up with cures for all of those villains in a few hours with whatever Stark left behind? Can't they do that for Banner? I'm pretty sure he actually wants to be cured.

This movie is just cashing in on nostalgia and it worked. But it left gaping plot holes thanks to careless writing.

Hawkeye (2021)

Weak story with tons of plot holes

[6/10 · 23 December 2021]

Story is... well... looks like the story is made up just to pass the torch. But the next gen characters are uninteresting to say the least.

Not gonna get into all the plot holes and I can live with a few but this has tons of gigantic holes. Some conflicting with other MCU series/movies.

Overall, just another series carrying MCU's coffin to the grave.

The Witcher (2019– )

Geralt too serious?

[6/10 · 22 December 2021]

I played the game and then read the books like Cavill did. And I don't know where Cavill got this version of Geralt from. He's all too serious all the time. Geralt I know jokes and likes to have fun. He wasn't all this serious in Season 1 but decided to take wrong turn for Season 2.

And all the episodes, the pacing is very boring with similar pattern in each episode. Maybe they're trying to string it out as long as possible for more seasons?

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

Very weak story and character

[3/10 · 13 November 2021]

I thought this was Legend of the Ten Rings but doesn't tell anything about the rings.

A lot of cliche and not-so funny moments but those will depend on viewer. What I'm unhappy about is the character development. I do not understand why Shang Chi is so upset at his father. I actually sympathize with the father. Shouldn't Shang Chi feel guilty for doing nothing and just watch his mom die rather than blame his father? And even after he knew his father was being used by the creatures in the dark, he says he'll kill his father???

Some good action sequence were also negated by bad dragon CG.

Finch (2021)

Uninteresting story. Full of cliche

[5/10 · 8 November 2021]

This is like "I Am Legend" plus "Wall-E" plus "Bicentennial Man" plus...

I was trying really hard to stay awake because I was not engaged in the characters. I didn't care for them... well maybe except the dog. Maybe because Tom Hanks character didn't care for anyone except the dog.

Tom Hanks constantly yelling at this "Self Aware" AI he created was getting really tiring and frustrating.

There are so many parts that doesn't make sense technology and common sense wise. Not even close to other movies this movie tried to copy.

F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

It's not that bad if you pretend it's a comedy

[4/10 · 7 September 2021]

Believe ALL the bad reviews. Bad story, bad acting, bad direction, bad action, bad CG, bad music... It's so bad that you will find yourself laughing. This is a comedy.

I mean... it has to be a comedy when you're talking about Pontiac Fiero in space right? But the funniest part is that it was hinting to another sequel.

Black Widow (2021)

Some entertainment but largely forgettable

[6/10 · 21 July 2021]

I really don't think I'll remember the plot in 1 year.

Painful memory, a new villain who wants to take over the world, same satirical humor altho none are really that funny.

Has some okay action but I really don't like all the camera shaking. It's sad because due to the pandemic, they had plenty of time to refine the movie yet it's still mediocre.

Loki (2021–2023)

Mind your own opinion.

[4/10 · 4 July 2021]

First of all, those people who are criticizing the negative reviews, mind your own opinion. I can tell you to ease the MCU hype too. My rating is based on all the episodes released to date. And I've been adjusting after each episode. And it's been going down after each episode. It started at 8.

Story is not very interesting, and some of the dialogues are downright boring. It almost appears as if the writer/director was trying to stretch the episode.

Midway (2019)

The movie itself is not bad

[1/10 · 30 May 2021]

The movie itself is not bad. A lot of people think some of the dramatic scenes are made up but they're not. They're actually historically accurate.

Reason why I give it 1 star is because of the end title where the director dedicates the movie to japanese sailors. Japanese back then are not same japanese today. They were war criminals who murdered women and children for fun. As a sport. They grabbed babies by their leg and smashed their head into walls. They do not deserve such credit.

For the director's ignorance, I give this movie 1 star.

Minari (2020)

I am Korean and this movie is overrated.

[6/10 · 1 March 2021]

I guess Korean and Asian movie is a thing now thanks to Bong Joon-Ho and Parasite. This movie isn't anywhere close to the level of Parasite. Just saying this so people would have lower expectation.

The plot itself is something all immigrant can relate. But the actual execution of the movie... I don't know who it's being presented to. American audience would have very little they can relate and it's subtitled. Koreans would find that the acting other than Youn Yeo-Jung are not convincing enough. In fact, Steven Yeon's accent is distinctively 2nd generation Korean. His English is too good and Korean is too bad to be 1st gen Korean. He should've studied and trained harder. And then the director can't tell the difference either as he is also 2nd generation Korean.

Will Patton however was excellent. He needs to teach Steven Yeun on how to prepare for a character.

And there's difference between open ended movie and movies that just leaves you hanging. This is the latter.

The movie had potential to be much better. But in the end, falls short of what it could've been.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Highly, highly overrated

[3/10 · 27 February 2021]

When the director wants to do something different... just for the sake of doing something different, instead of as a way of telling a story, this movie is what you get. The whole movie, you anticipate the confrontation between Bardem and Brolin. And they don't show it. I know what the intention of the director was. But it doesn't work for me. In fact, it ruined the first hour and half I wasted.

Tommy Lee Jones's character also seems like an after thought. Mostly shot separately to accommodate his schedule maybe. Established actors prefer non-physical roles with long dialogue which they can shoot in couple days. This was what Ben Affleck said they did when they wrote Good Will Hunting. To have a big name like Robin Williams so they can secure funding.

And Looks like that's exactly what they did with Tommy Lee Jones in this movie. But unlike Good Will Hunting, it doesn't work. Dialogues are boring and Jones wasn't very good at delivering it.

Nomadland (2020)

Not a bad movie but overrated.

[5/10 · 26 February 2021]

Emphasizes ugly side of nomad life too much. Can be seen as realism but it's unbalanced as not all nomads are old, in grief, no job and no interest. Many are not forced into that life like all the characters in this movie. Many chose the lifestyle to do the things they like to do. Mountain climbers for example. But none of those nomads are represented in this movie. All in this movie are old people who lost their jobs and grieving. Forced drama.

Also the director's choice of using non-actors doesn't work. I can see the intention to bring more realism but the contrast in dialogue between non-actors and actors are too great.

Logan (2017)

Disregard all previous X-men movies

[5/10 · 1 December 2020]

I hate movies that just resets everything and says "Everything before means nothing". And this movie is exactly that. X-men made no difference in the world and they all died in a very stupid way. Just for the sake of retiring Hugh Jackman from the franchise. How can Jean Grey die? The writer obviously has no understanding of the material. Not only that, has no continuity. How did Wolverine get his adamantium claw back from the previous Wolverine in Japan? What's worse is that the director of that Wolverine and Logan is same guy.

People just like this movie for all the gore and rated R content. Which I don't mind. But has to have a viable story.

Mulan (2020)

It wasn't that bad

[7/10 · 13 September 2020]

Those who say this is worse than the "original", the "original" is Chinese folk lore. And I promise you the "original" folk lore didn't have funny looking talking Phoenix. All Disney live action get worse reviews than the cartoon version because they saw the cartoon version first. And this movie is also a victim of that.

But as old as the "original" folk tale is there obviously are many versions. This live version certainly is different way of telling the famous story and I think it succeeded in doing so. They didn't try to turn it into a musical which I am soooo glad.

It's not perfect, they tried to mix Chinese action and Disney which didn't seem to work. But the acting was good in general and certainly was entertaining.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Can it be worse than The Last Jedi? YES!

[1/10 · 20 December 2019]

Disney can make a new space sci-fi, fantasy movie all they want. Just don't title it Star Wars. I can guarantee that nobody that worked on this last 3 movies have any idea what Star Wars is about... and that includes Kathleen Kennedy.

Some reviews said the movie should be at least 3 hours long because things go above your head so fast. I agree. But why didn't they? Money. They have less screening frequencies with 3 hour movie versus 2:20 movie. And that's what this movie is about. Cashing in. They include bits that fans "might" want as this is nothing more than really really bad fan fiction.

JJ Abrams was implying something when he made Han Solo say: "THAT'S NOT HOW THE FORCE WORKS!" As if he was saying it to die hard fans and George Lucas. And he made up his own universe. This is NOT Star Wars.

The Lion King (2019)

Worse... much worse

[5/10 · 1 November 2019]

Why make a remake if you're only going to do it worse in every way? I see what Jon Favreau was trying to do. It's set in Africa so let's use African American actors right? Well... animals don't care about race. Bad decision. Actor's voice have no character... other than James Earl Jones of course. You can't replace someone like Jeremy Irons with soft voiced Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Music were far far worse. You can't top Elton John. The Scar's iconic Be Prepared song is very downplayed. I didn't even realized it was the same song until the end.