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jsauri
Reviews
3 Body Problem (2024)
Troubled but entertaining attempt
I did not read the source novel, so it's difficult to figure out if some of the bad writing is from the novel, a bad translation, or just Benioff and Weiss still thinking they can write. It's frustrating because they can put together a great looking show. They are excellent producers. But they are terrible writers, terrible storytellers.
If you overlook the shabby edges, it has an interesting story to tell. Just don't expect too much from it.
For example they slice up that boat the get the information they need after dismissing gas and swat teams and all other attacks. No, nano wire is the only thing that can work despite the near certainty that anything they hoped to recover would be either sliced up itself, sink in the canal, or burned in the inevitable fires. Just the communication equipment they were using would have been as valuable as the notes. But they somehow find the few fragile pages they need in tact. And after blocking the entire Panama Canal with the stunt, the whole world would know what's going on.
But the whole slicing scene looked cool, so don't overthink it.
The Pacific (2010)
Disjointed mess with some graphic battle scenes
Obviously comparing this series to its predecessor Band of Brothers is unfair. It would have been difficult to receive that magic. And the show runners were at a disadvantage following a couple individuals, instead of a whole company. It really feels like a bunch of random scenes with little plot or theme. It's difficult to figure out what they are trying to say in any given episode other than, war is hell.
On the plus side it's well acted. The filmmakers capture the relentless monotony broken by graphic battles. The cinematography is excellent. But I question the writing, editing, and directing. It's like they had a great production team from Band of Brothers but just didn't know what to do with it.
Into the Wild (2007)
Entitlement meets reality
This story has always bothered me. McCandless was such an idiot. I don't see the attraction. He's the equivalent of someone dying while trying to take a selfie on a cliff edge: someone so wrapped up in themselves they are oblivious to everything around them. His death isn't even the end of this tragedy. Many people just as stupid as him continue to recreate his journey with similar results. If this was supposed to be a cautionary tale it is not working, as it continues to drag more people into the same tragedy. With all due respect to his family, this story takes a way too sympathetic view of a reckless and irresponsible person.
The Expanse (2015)
Great series, fumbled ending
Like many others here I agree the first few seasons were the best. The last two kind of dragged. Naomi being trapped for so long was a slog knowing that the series wouldn't have enough balls to kill her off. Her relationship with her son distracted from anything else interesting in the series. The casting overall was uneven with some very strong performances in many of the main characters but too many supporting roles being kind of weak. The quality took a noticable dip when it moved to Amazon. But that's where I first discovered it. It would have been a shame to have ended after its SciFi run. So I'm glad they had those extra seasons. The series ended well enough for me, and it felt like it ended just in time. The later seasons might have been seemed better if not for the contrast against the early seasons. But I feel like you could say that about almost every series these days.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Joyless rambling story
The whole awkward ex thing played itself out the first five minutes. But they doubled down on it by doing a whole other ex thing with his hammer. I ended up having to fast forward through most of the dialogue. But the action scenes were just as boring with no real threat as they joke their way through faceless armies of studges. None of the main actors have any chemistry. I feel bad for Christian Bale who wasted a performance on this garbage. Russell Crowe also entertained with some much needed actual laughs. Any hope of Thor developing any character even after the genocide of his people in earlier films is gone. He comes off as a clueless man child with nothing compelling to watch.
Men in Black: International (2019)
Not much for the casual fan
I guess they were trying to breath new life into this franchise. But Hemsworth and Thompson had zero chemistry in Thor, and even less here. Although Tessa Thompson is pretty terrible in everything she does. They take turns alternating between being competent and complete idiots. The plot is somewhat predictable. The special effects are decent, but no real plot or character development to frame it. Or maybe there was, and I was just too bored with it to pay attention.
World War Z (2013)
Action without story or character development
This would have been a better music video. The alleged plot had so many holes in it I just couldn't get into it at all. It just jumps from one CGI setup to another. Totally devoid of logic.
Proof of Life (2000)
Enjoyable but problematic
Why they needed to shoe horn in a lake romance between the negotiator and the wife beats me. There was no basis for it, they just kinda started hinting that they're hooking up. And it had no impact on the story, other than to make both of them unlikeable. It would have been a much better movie of they just stuck to the kidnapping.
Dave Chappelle: The Closer (2021)
We get it already
Dave Chappelle has all of the indignation of your racist grandfather complaining about why he can't call black people darkies anymore. It's like he doesn't get the difference between satirizing power structures and picking on marginalized groups anymore.
Torden (2020)
Poor casting, poor writing
Nat Wolff doesn't really have any screen presence at all. He took away from the emotional depth of the story instead of adding to it. I don't know why they made the character half American. I guess it was just to speak English for an American audience? Or to justify using some American diplomat as the antagonist? But it just seemed laughable to have an American ordering Norwegian snipers around on Norwegian soil. It wasn't terrible. I'm sure it got an A for someone's film class. But I can't say I'm very interested in a sequel if this is supposed to be an origin story.
Jolt (2021)
Maybe I expected too much
Beckinsale earned her action movies bona fides with the Underworld franchise, so I was looking forward to this movie. But we only kept watching because we couldn't think of anything else to do that night. The funnest part was calling the plot twists 30 minutes in advance and then feigning surprise when it happened. Much of the humor missed the mark for me. It just seemed like it was trying too hard to emulate better movies. But some okay action if you just want to watch some fights, although nothing terribly original there either.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Season 2 decline
I have to admit I really liked the first season and gave the series a 9. But the second season was so utterly unrealistic, I couldn't take it seriously. I shutter to think what season 3 will be like. But definitely check out season 1 if you are a fan of the Ryanverse.
All the Money in the World (2017)
Slow ride to nowhere
It was difficult to get into this movie as none of the characters are particularly likable. It has excellent production value for a long and boring movie. By the end I really didn't care what happened to any of them. The commentary on wealth and privilege was stale.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Standard action movie
This is about as formulaic as you can get. The family man down on his luck who is more motivated to save his daughter than the entire world. Nonsensical motivations and cliches. An army of faceless monsters that are alternately near impossible to kill or barely an inconvenience depending on the plot beat. Plenty of plot holes. But at least it doesn't take itself to seriously. They clearly are more interested in getting to the action than making something original, and that's totally fine.
Battleship (2012)
About what you'd expect
There is plenty here for those who like simple action movies. Lots of explosions and pretty people and flag waving. But there's really not much here outside of standard cliches. It's not particularly original, engaging, nor memorable. Everything in this movie had been done better by better films.
Spotlight (2015)
Boston at its best and worst
Having grown up catholic in the Boston area, this is a difficult subject for me. The film dealt well with the extent to which people will protect the church, but also with what Boston considers its people versus outsiders. If you go along with everything and protect its institutions, you are one of us. If not, you are an outsider.
Like the other scandals that broke out all over the world after this, it's easy to see why some people will try to protect an institution they choose to believe is good. But it also does an excellent job of showing how once the scope of those mistakes becomes clear that you realize you are not protecting the good, but enabling the evil.
The Post (2017)
Money, politics, and the press
Some have fairly criticized the downplaying of the NY Times role in the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. But this is a story about the Washington Post, not a full telling of the Pentagon Papers. As such, it gives an interesting view of the inside of the decisions being made and what was at stake for that paper.
Meryl Streep of course does an excellent job in portraying Catherine Graham at a pivotal point in her life. Only having recently taken control of the paper, Streep displays the level of self doubt and resolve that Graham struggled with in a male dominated world. Although certainly not a coming-of-age story, it does show Ms Graham becoming the woman she would be known to be.
Personally, it's difficult for me to watch these films that champion the role of the press press in democracy, having watched what news agencies have become in the world of 24 hours news cycles and the substitution of retweets for investigative journalism. But it makes a good argument for the importance of the press and the necessary courage it takes to truly make an impact. The degree of accuracy with which it does so, I will leave to other arm chair researchers.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
Bad script, bad directing, bad casting
I cringed when Sophie Turner was first cast as Jean Grey. Her poor acting ability was not as prominent in the last one, but I was very wary of her taking on the central role in another affront to the Dark Phoenix Saga. The contrast between her talent and Michael Fassbender is stark. I won't go into the writing or directing too much as I don't want to give away spoilers, but I will certainly avoid anything further from Simon Kinberg. Days of future Past is not enough to make up for Last Stand, Apocalypse, and this debacle.
The best thing I can say about this is that I'm glad the X-Men are moving to the MCU. However that turns out, no one will miss this declining franchise. The increasingly bad movies couldn't apparently, but at least corporate greed can.
Hunters (2020)
Not what I was expecting
The trailers for this highlighted the moments of drama, graphic violence, and a compelling plot. However, the show has a very cartoonish, faux-blacksploitation veneer, riddled with very cheesy attempts at humor that fell very flat for me. The writing and direction undermine some good performances from (some of) the actors. Maybe I'll give it another try when I'm in a better mindset for the type of show this actually is. But I don't know if I'll be able to get past how desperately it tries to be fun. It just seems to rehash tired tropes from better genres in an attempt to see original, but lacks its own sense of style to pull it together. It's like someone threw a bunch of random ingredients in water and called it soup. But they never let it simmer enough to create a real broth.
Longmire (2012)
Shaky Cam ruins this show
I've been trying to watch this series, but had to give up because of the gratuitous use of shaky cam. I'm not talking about hand held cameras, I'm talking about full blown shakiness a la Blair Witch Project or some Michael Bay crapfest.
It's a shame, because the characters appear to be well developed, and the plotlines seemed to be well thought out. I like Katee Sackhoff, and was warming to the other actors in the show. I want to watch it. But it is literally unwatchable for me, solely because of the need to make the viewer feel like he is black out drunk.
If your stomach can handle the shaky cam style, I highly recommend it. It's probably great. But if you don't like the feeling of your eyes rolling around in your head, then you may not enjoy this show.
Watchmen (2019)
It's okay to hate it
This is not an adaptation of the original Watchmen graphic novel. This is a continuation. So yes, it has a very different look and feel than the comic and the previous movie.
This is very politically charged. The original graphic novel was, as well. Although they had to tone it down for DC comics to publish it, Moore and Gibbons created it as a backlash to politics of the time. They used an alternate universe setting to make it more palatable for readers. But if you missed the subtext in the original graphic novel, please read some interviews with Moore about his view on it.
In my opinion, this series embraces the spirit of the original graphic novel's commentary on current power struggles in America. Just as the original was set in the time period it was published, this is set in a mirror of our current time period, extrapolating how the previous world would have evolved.
It's okay not to like it. Fans of the graphic novel may not like it because it's different. People who are easily triggered by racial politics will definitely not like it. But if you enjoyed the bleak brutality of the graphic series, and are not afraid to see a different view of what America could be in a completely fictional and hypothetical alternate universe, then this is a well crafted example of world building.
First Man (2018)
Well done, but not for me
I am not a fan of topical Hollywood movies. I like brooding dramas and think pieces. This movie should have been right up my alley. But I could not stay awake through it, and don't really feel the need to see what I missed. I find Ryan Gosling to be very wooden when he tries to do drama, so maybe that's what tuned me out. If you're looking for an exciting movie this is not it. If you want a good historical drama and have a cup of coffee, it may suit you.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
I'm sure there's meaning somewhere
It's hard to write a review when you can't stay awake through the whole thing. But I guess that's its own comment. I loved the first one and was excited for this one. But after watching it a few times I still remember almost nothing about it. It literally puts me to sleep every time. I guess Gosling is trying to play a wooden emotionless replicant but he just comes off as bored. The whole pace is slow. It's difficult to remember why we're supposed to care. It has none of the energy, emotion, or urgency of the original. I'll just add that being a huge fan of Vangelis' original score, the music here was sorely disappointing.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The One Who Will Save Us All (2018)
Finally giving up
I've been struggling to keep watching this show. The character development, plotting, writing, all seem to have been on the decline for a few seasons. The amount of self referential jokes they constantly use, makes it seem like the show doesn't even take itself seriously anymore. (See: lampshading)
Additionally, I cannot really tell whether the more frequent political references are ironic or sincere. But either way, they are unwelcome. Whether it's Mack interrupting someone to make it clean, "First of all, there's only one god," or General Talbot complaining that the Confederacy is like a bunch of democrats, I'm just tired of it. Maybe if the show had some actual insight into politics, it might be interesting. But instead, they are just trolling the audience in an effort to fill airtime, since they don't actually have anything to say.
Half way through, I shut off the episode and canceled my season pass, and have never felt better about quitting a show.
The Birth of a Nation (2016)
Great music and locations, not much else
I frequently caught myself pulled in to the location settings and music, working together to create an immersive feeling. However, Nate Parker is not a talented actor, writer, nor director. All of his contributions lessened this movie. The overall quality and tone of this movie would be excellent for a middle school project, but lacks any real perspective on the events transpiring. The white slave owners come off as more of villains in a 70s blacksploitation movie, than the institutionalized evil they represent. The lack of substance is alluded to in the title itself: an attempt to link this work to something older and more infamous. It tries to assume a place in the debate by namedropping, rather than offering any ideas of its own.