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Ash vs Evil Dead (2015)
Enjoyable and fun first season turned dull in the second season
This is more of a review of the second season, because I really liked the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead. It was everything I wanted with the return of this iconic character and series. It was gory, funny, didn't take itself too serious, had great practical effects, had a simple and focused plot and introduced secondary characters that actually were likable.
After the first season ended, I got super hyped for the second season, and I'm afraid that was a mistake. The second season just didn't grip me as much as the first one. It made a lot of choices I hated, for example killing off Ash's dad early in the season, which was the most intriguing new character. I feel like the show made it very misleading to market this new season with actor Lee Majors joining it, to the point of having Q&As with him in the panel, when he's barely in it. I for sure thought he would kick ass along Ash and his team for a majority of the season, but nope, he didn't get to do anything like that. Really wasted potential for just reminding us that anyone who isn't Ash in the Evil Dead world most likely will die. There are also a family of three annoying bland characters introduced that did nothing for me. Two of them die later on in the season and I just didn't see the purpose of them when three of our four main characters didn't even witnessed their deaths, and the one who did makes a quick "sorry this happened" remark and then it's never brought up again. It's such a horror movie cliché that I hoped Ash vs Evil Dead would not do, but it did. Although, to be fair, Ted Raimi's Chet character was fun, but because he actually was an enjoyable character, he's not in it nearly enough as he should have been.
Another criticism I have is that the interactions between Ash, Pablo and Kelly weren't as strong in the second season as in the first one. Even with the addition of Ruby, there were not a lot of action and interactions with them all together, and the bantering and jokes felt too forced and predictable compared to the first season. I also hated how they handled encounters with deadites in the second season. If you made a drinking game out of how our main characters just gets tossed around whenever a deadite appears in front of them, you would not last very long. This is not how you make entertaining action. It's also a bit annoying how unimportant characters will get killed off instantly during an encounter, while the main cast just gets thrown around. It's such a visible plot armor, with deadites being very selective who they choose to kill. It's really lazy, especially when the Evil Dead universe has an excuse to be silly and slapsticky. Instead of just tossing the characters around, there should have been a lot more creativity put into the actions scene by making the characters use their environment to maneuver attacks and kill off enemies. That's how you make proper horror comedy, and Evil Dead should know that, seeing how the series has succeeded in that before. The few times the show makes use of slapstick, it's great. I couldn't stop smiling during the over the top scenes featuring the morgue and the puppet. I wanted more of that stuff, incorporated into deadite fights.
There are more things I could nag about, but I don't want to sound too negative. I am glad this series exists and that Ash is back. I just felt the need to bring up some things in the second season that I feel like I'm alone in criticizing. I sound harsh, but it's because I want this series to improve and fix some things, because I truly believe it has the potential of being a perfect horror comedy show with some tweakings here and there.
It will be interesting to see what they'll do with the third season. Hopefully something a bit different.
Black Mirror: Shut Up and Dance (2016)
The most uncomfortable hour of television I've sat through recently
And this is not the first time Black Mirror has done that. There are a lot of shows out there that can create good tension, but Black Mirror is the only show that can evoke pure discomfort in me, probably due to its realism, amazingly convincing acting and because they're all stand-alone episodes. Knowing that the story that is unfolding right in front of your eyes has the conclusion waiting just a couple of minutes away is what makes it even more gripping, because it creates very little time for the viewer to speculate about how things might escalate.
About two thirds into the episode is when I hit the point where I uncontrollably started smiling like a madman. The execution of the absolutely horrifying situation and decision making that the two main characters had to experience was just perfect. I had to resort to grinning just to make sure I was still me and not them, I suppose.
Unfortunately, I got lost on the big reveal the first time around. Actually, I didn't think it was a reveal at all, but more of a misunderstanding. But with Black Mirror, there's always something enjoyable about not fully grasping the twist and the story's subtle hints right away. When you re-watch moments of episodes like this one, you'll notice a lot of details in dialogues and actions that really makes you feel dumb for not picking them up instantly.
Mr. Robot: eps2.4_m4ster-s1ave.aes (2016)
A ballsy move, and I loved it
Man, some people will absolutely hate this episode, at least the first 20 minutes of it. I personally grinned throughout all of it, but I tend to always like when a bleak and dark TV-show decides to suddenly switch on an humour button or do a complete 180 in style and mood, and this was amping it up to the max. I'll even admit that it went on for a bit too long, but I can see how Sam Esmail could have been like "let's troll the hell out of my audience and drag this out". That's why I give this episode a 10, because he actually went there, the dark comedy was perfectly executed, I found it incredibly amusing and it will definitely become one of those memorable episodes that will pop up in everybody's head whenever someone mentions the TV-show, whether you liked it or not.
As for the rest of the episode, the long one-shot scenes were amazing, especially with how they handled the music. Some will probably say there wasn't a lot plot progression, which is true, but it's unfair to call it a filler episode. I found the ending particularly to be a big moment for our two main characters. Let's not forget that character development is just as important as plot.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
This movie was great!
I had very low hopes for this movie, hearing how it originally wasn't supposed to be set in the Cloverfield universe. I imagined there would be only a few hints to the 2008 movie, because that's what the majority of reviews seem to bring up. Then the last 20 minutes happened, and I'm seriously baffled over how people completely dismissed this as proof that it indeed is a sequel to Cloverfield.
"That's not the Cloverfield monster!" So what, the only logical alien invasion to you is that it has to have only one type of creature roaming around? The first one even had smaller flying creatures, and seeing how that movie was shot in found-footage style, it would make even more sense that we couldn't see everything that was attacking the city. I personally liked that we saw something else in this movie, which now has expanded our knowledge of what the humans are up against, even though I agree that it wasn't as memorable as the monster in the first movie.
Besides this, I also liked everything else about the movie. The acting from everybody was superb, and the interactions between them felt very organic and believable. It was also fun to see a really smart, competent and badass female lead. I got Ripley-vibes from Mary Elizabeth Winstead towards the end, so I really hope the next movie picks up right after where this one ended, because I wanna see more of her survival journey.
The Walking Dead: Last Day on Earth (2016)
Oh boy
To be completely honest, I loved this episode and was expecting others to love it too. The acting was extraordinary good, and probably some of the best acting on a TV show I've ever seen, especially from Andrew Lincoln (he seriously needs to do more stuff outside of TWD). When the group got caught, I hadn't feel such dread and intensity since The Governor attacked the prison a few seasons back. I absolutely loved this Negan character. I smiled throughout his whole speech because I actually sided with him and his group, because I knew Rick's arrogance was gonna backfire on him, and it was so great to see all his confidence drop to zero in a matter of seconds. Don't get me wrong, I love the character of Rick, but I've been eager to watch a new ruthless character who's also not all black or white when it comes to their morality, and Negan seems to be just that. The thing is though, I know nothing about the comic, and after reading the criticism of the cliffhanger, I got very curious about how the scene plays out in the comic. I checked it out, and I instantly understood all the rage and dissatisfaction with this finale. It changed my opinion of it a lot too. They could have ended on a big bang that would have made the internet explode, but they didn't. I get the whole thing that the episode's focus was on how Rick's starting to realize he's not as powerful as he think he is. Good job, you nailed that part. Wanna know how you would have done it even better? By showing the one who got their head smashed in, and then slowly zooming into Rick's terrified face while the screen cuts to black. With this simple little decision, you would have left the last shot of the season with what you wanted to accomplish, letting people know that Rick messed up, AND it would have been shocking. Imagine how perfect that would be. I bet everyone would have given this episode a 10 if that was the ending. I sure would have.
Also, I believe it's a lie that the creators and cast don't know who died yet. Just look at the set up in that last scene. All those cars, headlights, extras and the main actors who apparently spent 15 hours on their knees working themselves up emotionally for the scene. It just feels like way too much unnecessary work to have to recreate that set up with 100% accuracy for next season's opening if it's only gonna be Negan and his people leaving while the group mourns. And I hope they have the balls to actually show a human's head getting destroyed in a cinematic way and with close-ups, because if that POV shot really was "the" death, I'm gonna be mad.
However, I don't think it's fair to give this finale one star only because of the cliffhanger. I'm giving it five stars, because the acting was amazing, but also because we don't everything that will happen in the first episode of season 7. Who knows, maybe it will be so amazing that it justifies this cliffhanger... or, it could be so bad that it turns out only a minor character died. But like many people here say, leaks and spoilers will tell, which is another reason why the cliffhanger deserves the criticism.
Z Nation (2014)
Fun, thrilling, gory, interesting and even emotional
I went into this show just thinking it would be the standard dumb low-budget zombie show with annoying characters that you just want to see die, but I was wrong, so wrong. To be completely honest, I find this show more entertaining and exciting than The Walking Dead, and I love The Walking Dead.
I got instantly hooked by the first episode, mostly because of the action and humor, but also by the fact that the show has both slow and fast zombies. It even has the balls to show zombie children, which is a nice touch of realism. As the series progressed, I noticed I got very attached to the characters. I didn't want any of our main characters to die, because they actually behave like real people with problems, feelings and fear of the apocalypse, while still maintaining a very upbeat spirit about it. These characters are actually hugging each other a lot when they either split up or regroup, and sometimes it can even be very subtle and take place in the background. This means it was very tense every time a characters life is on edge, because you know it will emotionally affect the remaining survivors, unlike some zombie movies/shows when people doesn't seem to care at all about their best friends dying. This thing actually makes me want to believe this could take place in the same universe as The Walking Dead, but we're just following a different group who has found a more "the glass is half full" way to cope with the zombie world. Now, there's also a key part of this show that makes it a bit different compared to zombie shows and movies, but I won't say what it is, because it's so damn refreshing to watch it slowly build up throughout the show. Also, in season 2, the show takes on different themes with each episode, which I thought was a really unique approach to the zombie genre. It's a really smart way to excite the viewer for the next episode, instead of just watching survivors survive in the same setting over and over again. I also have to mention the special effects in this show. It's mostly CGI, but sometimes they go practical when they bash in zombie heads, which is super awesome. When it is CGI though, I would personally say it's above average (as far as zombie gore goes), but even if you hate this kind of effect work, the kills themselves are really creative at times, and I'd pick hilarious deaths with decent effects over lame deaths with good effects any day.
Someone else could probably point out many flaws with this show, but that wouldn't change my mind about the entertainment I get from it, and now in a time when zombies are getting so blasé, I find it amazing how I could get this invested in a new zombie show, so I just have to give it a 10 for that.
The Walking Dead: What Happened and What's Going On (2015)
Definitely not good, but not necessarily bad either
So, the man who single-handedly took out a horde of zombies with just a hammer (without getting a scratch), gets distracted and meets his demise because of one zombie boy sneaking up on him? Hm, I smell some lazy writing here.
Sure, you could say the episode tries to tell that it doesn't matter how skilled you are in combat. One unlucky bite from a single zombie and it's either your arm or your life that has to go, but what annoys me about this execution is that Tyreese's death comes off as very lame. They could have easily just made him getting bitten by protecting Noah from a bunch of zombies, and that would have been much more suiting for his character. And as some other people here have pointed out, why did he struggle so hard to distance himself from the second zombie? Last season, he killed three zombies with his bare hands. Even though he had lost blood during the encounter with this zombie, I'm pretty sure the adrenaline would have made him crazy strong despite that.
Also, a minor thing that bugged me with this episode was the fact that Carol didn't make any appearance in Tyreese's hallucinations. While she's still alive and well compared to all the other people he saw, I found it weird how any thoughts about her didn't come into action, seeing how they shared a good amount of time and emotions together in the episode "The Grove".
So, what do I think this episode does well? While Tyreese's death was sloppy, it did actually took me by surprise. You can sometimes feel when a character is about to die (Dale, Shane, Hersel and Beth are some solid examples), and that's usually when an episode have been centered around them either the previous episode or the current one. It didn't cross my mind that this was a Tyreese-episode until he actually got bitten, so I thought that was unexpected and refreshing. While the hallucinations were cheesy as heck, everything else about Tyreese dying was beautifully shot and edited. They really captured a feeling of panic, paranoia and fever from his perspective, which I thought was cool. They almost made it look like it's a pleasure to die from a zombie bite, and I have to say that is quite a different thing to see in the zombie genre.
So overall, this episode has some huge missteps in terms of character writing and dialogue, but Chad Coleman still made a superb acting performance, and I would say that his performance saved this episode from being a total train wreck.
Evil Dead (2013)
Basically Evil Dead without Ash, which should sum it up for you
I am a fan of the Evil Dead movies (who isn't?) and I'm glad I didn't put my expectations too high for this. I can totally see why some of the old fans of the series like this reboot. It takes some new turns so it's not a complete plagiarism, and it still manages to set the setting completely right. I didn't laugh once though, which was a shame, because I found all the other Evil Dead movies to be hilarious (even the first one). This one therefore takes a much more serious tone, which is not bad... but I liked the fact that the Evil Dead movies could be so silly but it didn't take away the disturbing content in them. This one just abandoned that. But, it has tons of gruesome and disturbing moments that will please the fans of this genre!
So, why the low score then? Because Bruce Campbell. This was such a dumb idea to reboot, seriously. Ash was the character who made the movies so much more entertaining, and without him, this just feels like our typical gory teen movie with bland characters that could have used its ambition (which it does have in my opinion) on something else more interesting.
However, it's one of the more gruesome flicks I've seen in a while, so I give them that.
Hemlock Grove (2013)
A mess, but an interesting mess!
Hey, this is not as bad as I thought it would be! But I can say with certain say that nobody can watch the first episodes and say to themselves "Yeah, this is a proper introduction!". So if you feel completely lost in the beginning, just keep on watching because most (not all however) questions will be answered later on!
What I found really strong with this series is the characters and the acting. They feel very real and human. Everyone's got a motive and show a big variety of emotions, which makes us sympathize with everybody. At least I did. There's not one single character here to dislike, and yet, they all have their conflicts with each other. That's some great writing! And the actors are doing a superb job, especially Bill Skarsgård, Famke Janssen and Dougray Scott.
I don't want to spoil anything because the story is really interesting, along with all the secrets that are yet to be unfold. I'm really looking forward a season two, especially when it left on such a cliffhanger!
Mama (2013)
Finally, a modern horror flick worth watching!
I have to say, this was a surprisingly intriguing and well-made horror movie!
The story is a little different, and I think that's the reason why I really got into this movie. On top of that, I loved the design of "Mama". It reminded me of some kind of Silent Hill creature, blended with The Grudge and a witch, if that makes any sense.
The acting was great! The child actors did a very good job, especially the older one. It had some really touching scenes and I even got some watery eyes near the end. Almost crying, from a horror movie? Now that's rare.
But has the movie flaws? Yes, unfortunately it does. I would say the movie has seven characters. That's not that much, but the movie choose to focus on our main protagonist and the two children, which it definitely should! The problem is that the other characters don't get much screen time, and therefore they become less interesting, which means you don't care for them as much. I wanted to root for everybody with this kind of character development dammit! Oh well.
It also has some very predictable jump scares, and that bothered me because this movie would have been just as creepy without the jump scares! On a positive note, there were no cheap boo-right-in-your-face scares. Most of them had some sort of cleverness.
Overall, this movie did really satisfy me, both in story and thrill. It's not for every horror fan though.
The Avengers (2012)
Unoriginal, clichéd, silly... and I loved it to bits.
As you probably will notice from reading the reviews here on IMDb, this movie is quite the hit or miss.
I don't read the Marvel comics, but I have always been interested in the Marvel universe, the heroes, the foes etc. I actually like most of the movie adaptations, even if they're silly, predictable and poorly written sometimes.
But this one, this one became my favorite Marvel movie to this date. Why? It gave me the exact thing I wanted, heroes interacting with each other, LOTS of action and an epic finale.
If you're not a fan of superhero movies, hate action and can't watch an old concept without whining about it being an old concept, you will most likely not be entertained by this.
My only complain with this movie is that it should have had at least one more non-S.H.I.E.L.D. hero. It was kinda awkward with the whole superhero group-thing with just Iron Man and Captain America sitting there in one scene. Hopefully our team gets expanded in the follow-up!
The Last Stand (2013)
It sure delivers!
Wow, just wow. I must actually say this surpassed my expectations.
I don't want to spoil anything, because this is (as many others here state) a must-see for all Schwarzenegger fans, and who isn't a Schwarzenegger fan?
This movie has it all. Action, blood, drama, comedy, cheesy one-liners, chase scenes and acting above average (for this kind of flick).
And the pacing of the movie is incredible! It's seriously one of the best I've seen in a very long time. I first thought the movie would drag out with its 1 hour and 40 minutes, but it did quite the opposite, and that's an amazing accomplishment when you think about how much content this movie has.
I guess the only thing I feel is missing is some proper character development, but that's something most action flicks lack so it's understandable. It's the only thing however that prevents me from giving this movie a 10 out of 10.
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
Meh... at least it has some cool visuals!
Oh boy, I don't know how to feel about this movie. I saw it with low expectations because I didn't want to get disappointed. I actually regard the first Silent Hill movie as one of my (few) favorite modern horror movies.
So what did I feel like watching this movie? Kind of bored actually, but at the same time not... mad. I wouldn't go that far to say that the movie has destroyed the Silent Hill series, I mean... it's just a film adaptation.
Okay, let's talk about the bad stuff with this movie.
Jumpscares - Very predictable ones may I add. The first movie didn't use jump-scares, it actually managed to give the atmosphere life that made it creepy on its own.
Odd acting/dialogues - Sometimes the acting was convincing... but most of the time it didn't feel real, and I don't think that's the actors fault. The things they say to each other just happens so quickly that it feels a bit like... "this is your line, say it immediately as we start the camera."
Love - Heather + Vincent? Come on... I actually started bursting out in laughter at one point when they suddenly had this big chemistry that came from nowhere, and I mean nowhere.
Now, the changes from the original plot they made in this movie didn't really bother me. I expected some changes, given that it follows up the first movie that already had seed its own changes.
What I found really good with this movie were the visuals. They're very CGI, but they still look believable and instantly made the movie feel like a proper movie and not a school project by some Silent Hill fans.
And they seriously couldn't find a better actress to play Heather!
Overall, I think this movie is worth checking out... but only once.
Sinister (2012)
What a let-down...
And once again, the positive ratings here on IMDb tricks me into watching a new over-hyped horror movie that doesn't contribute with anything original or refreshing at all.
It's the typical family moves into house, the house is haunted, horrible stuff happens and the family has to leave-plot, now with Ethan Hawke as the main character. Hawkes performance is really great and convincing, as well as the young cop.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the movie's build up. It started off not too slow nor too fast and it introduced the movie's plot in a interesting way that made me curious about what's going on. The first appearance you see of the antagonist was really eerie and creepy, and he actually looked demonic and non-human. But sadly as the movie went on, he started looking more and more like an human and I got annoyed at how I only could think of him as Mick Thomson of Slipknot in the end.
Something I found really unnecessary in this movie was the nagging between the wife and the husband. Seriously, they went from caring and loving to yell-the-crap-out-of-each other from scene to scene. I have of course seen that kind of couple in movies before, but this time around, it just felt unrealistic and lazily written.
But what about the horror? Is the movie scary? No, not really. It does have jump scares, several cliché-ridden jumps scares that you know are coming but you twitch anyway because the sudden sound of "hoogabooga!" penetrates your ears. So if jump scares is your definition of scary, then yes, you will most likely find this movie very scary.
On a finale note, the ending must be one of the most boring horror twists I've seen in a long time. Something that started off really intriguing became the same disappointing mediocre effort we're already getting forced down our throats today.