Change Your Image
tafhuc
Reviews
Yu yu hakusho (2023)
Stop comparing it to the anime
First of all, it appears all negative reviews are from people who saw the anime and wanted this to be a full, faithful adaptation. Based on the reviews, it's absolutely not. And that's fine.
Taking this as a standalone product, it's very good. The fights are dynamic, the characters are fun, and the special effects are decent (they won't blow you away, but they do hold up). If you want a fun, over the top, dramatic short series then give this a go. It's disappointing if you're expecting a full 100+ episode anime to be condensed into 5 episodes, so don't go in expecting that.
I will say though that the epilogue dragged on, I had to watch at 1.5x speed, but all of the fights are well structured and there are plenty. Plot is simple, don't expect many twists, but all in all it's a well structured mini-series. I hope for a second season, but it doesn't look like they have any source material to pull from so I won't hold my breath. Maybe I'll watch the anime instead. Maybe I'll come back in a few months to change my rating to 1 star.
The Mandalorian: Chapter 19: The Convert (2023)
Filler episode
An hour long episode is usually something to be excited for. Not this one.
Starts off where the previous episode left off. Then pivots to two other characters, one that has previously appeared in the show but was not significant. It then spends the majority of the episode following them, seemingly unrelated to the plot. Then it resumes the actual story. This episode could have been 20 minutes and if the subplot was important then it could have been summarised in one or two lines of dialogue.
Credit where it's due, some scenes looked great. The subplot characters weren't bad characters, they were just irrelevant. Some parts of the subplot were interesting, but ultimately the episode just felt like a waste of time. It's a streaming service, it can just make a shorter episode and I'm not sure why they didn't do that here.
If you're loving Mandalorian and need more content then sure, watch the episode. I hope you enjoy it. If you're only mildly interested in the series then you can just skip this episode and read the synopsis instead. You can then spend the hour you've saved watching what will hopefully be a better episode.
The Midnight Club (2022)
Doesn't go anywhere
Let's start with the good. There's some beautiful scenes in this. The drama is decent.
Ok, let's move on to the rest. It's not scary, there are many short stories and almost all just feel amateur. I know that's the point as these are teens telling the stories, but it made many of them feel cheesy and empty. Then, for the overarching story, it just... doesn't go anywhere. Many breadcrumbs are laid out to follow and then they just lead nowhere. Some of the mysteries are either obvious or never get answered.
Do not come in expecting a horror. Do not come in expecting the same quality as House Hill, Bly or Midnight Mass.
Resident Evil (2022)
No where near as bad as people make it out to be
A sci-fi horror drama focusing on a corporation conspiracy for some parts and then focusing on survival horror for the other parts.
Some of the acting is subpar, but the main character (who you'll be seeing a lot of) is a decent actor. Some of the other characters are also interesting and the dull characters do not stick around for long. In places, the atmosphere is suspenseful and you can tell most of the budget went on the monsters, followed by the sets.
The story does the same thing other series like Arrow does where it cuts between past and present. The past follows the teen characters understanding the truth of the corporation and effectively provides context to the corporation and eases you in to the characters. The present is a post-apocalyptic world where the main character is fighting to survive and carry on. Most dramatic bits are in the present, but the past is somehow more interesting.
It feels like the series doesn't pander to the fans and they hate that. The series isn't perfect (hence the score) but it's not bad. If you like this type of genre then go for it, it's not a slow burn. You can get right in. I wouldn't encourage anyone else to watch it but if you have some time to kill and want to start a new series then don't shy away from this one.
Injustice (2021)
Skippable, they completely dropped the ball
First things first, I'm a little bit biased because I've read the comics and played the game. I wanted this to be good, so badly, but it just did not live up. I'm a huge fan of this franchise, but I could have happily done with not watching this film.
If you checked the people involved in this, such as the writer and director, you'll be forgiven in thinking it would be similar to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War - that film is based at the end of a cinematic series that would be rebooted after the film, this film is a standalone. They had the option to hold nothing back, to let these characters have their full potential and not hold anything back because they weren't constricted to a sequel. But they didn't. The source material was happy to do whatever it wanted, as long as it ended up where the game started. This film did not do that.
Characters get killed out of frame and it's never brought up. Spontaneous plot points are added that just aren't interesting. Interesting stuff from the comic isn't brought over (which is forgivable, but disappointing to see them add new stuff instead). The pacing is way too fast. Characters morals are just stated, and then changed at a whim later on. The film takes lots of bits from the comics, merges them together and then makes up a new ending. It just feels like they ran out of time. Like they had an idea of what they wanted to do, realised it was too ambitious and then tried to rush it to make it work. And it doesn't work.
I also wasn't a fan of the voice acting, but maybe that's because I'm not used to them on their characters. Also wasn't a huge fan of the art style, but it wasn't terrible. It's probably a personal preference thing, so I'm not going to fault the film for it.
Why did I give it a 5/10 instead of anything lower? It was watchable, some bits were good. The basic story is there with its good concept, some of the action was enjoyable, but overall there are other things that do a better job. If you want a violent, all-out conflict between these characters then there's either Flashpoint or Apokolips War. If you want a "what if Superman bad" story, there's Invincible. If you want the Injustice experience, read the comics again. If you have 90 minutes to kill or you just want something on in the background, give this a watch.
Fear Street: 1666 (2021)
Ties up loose ends, opens up a few plot holes
It's difficult to review this without spoiling it, but the film is clearly split into two halves and they're practically different films. It carries on from the same quality as the previous two films, but tries to tie up loose ends. However, it leads to further plot holes. If you look past this then it's still a decent watch.
There is less of an emphasis on the serial killers this time, all of the focus is on Sarah Feir. If the serial killers were your favourite and you don't have much time, you could give this a miss but overall it was a decent conclusion to the trilogy. I'd love to see more from this director and for Netflix (and other studios) to also try this film approach of having three films being released in a short space of time. These films were always meant to be a trilogy and it shows.
I See You (2019)
Keep watching
At first I was rather unimpressed, seemed pretty simple and generic. But then more gets added on, and on, and it results in a brilliant story. All I can say is don't get put off but the first 30 minutes, it all pays off.