mackshaw-21332 Reviews

Marmalade (2024)

Eat your heart out, Ed Norton

[8/10 · 10 February 2024]

I thought this movie was absolutely terrific. It was fun, interesting, and refreshing, and any doubts or qualms I had with it in the beginning were resolved by the end.

In fact, a little ways into it I thought I had guessed then ending, and thought "wow, what a neat little concept." By the end, it had taken what I thought would happen and added a few twists, and really left me pleasantly surprised. I've seen plot progression similar to this before, but this really stuck the landing and left me wanting more (in a good way).

Some of the performances and character decisions do feel a little off in the beginning, but this makes sense at a certain point and becomes part of the charm.

As a directorial debut and possibly best performance yet by the rising Joe Keery, I have to go with a 10/10 for this one. I can't think of anything that would have enhanced it, and it all wrapped up in a satisfying, if not 100% original, way.

By the way, I only knew about this film because I follow Justin Long (apparently a friend of the director) on Instagram. Really curious as to how this gem slipped by with minimal promotion or recognition.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

A comic book as a movie, spectacular in every way

[10/10 · 31 December 2018]

I'll say what everyone else said: this is like watching a comic book come to life. The visuals are amazing, the storyline is innovative, the soundtrack is spot-on, the characters and their progression are flawless, everything just works. If you don't like this movie, it's probably because you don't get a lot of the references and subliminal jokes and jabs; I've been reading spiderman comics my whole life, and was delighted to see so many alternate versions of the spider person represented on-screen. I'm also an avid animation fanatic, and even animate some myself. To see so many styles and artistic designs fused together in a seamless, comic book way is breathtaking. I wasn't expecting so much from this movie, I honestly wasn't even excited to see it. But when the credits rolled, I pushed back from the edge of my seat, brushed the popcorn off my shirt, and said "excelsior". Thanks for a great movie, Sony. I'm in awe.

Upgrade (2018)

An AI horror story that's actually worth your time

[9/10 · 8 October 2018]

This is the first review I've ever made, and I made a verified account purely to review this single movie. I was entranced by this film the entire time it danced across my TV, and by the end I was fully at a loss for words. Very few times does a movie make my jaw drop at the surprising violent moments and plot propagating fight scenes, but this movie does so. In addition to the mesmerizing and almost humorous "martial arts", the acting and plot are both superb. I love watching a movie without a single A-list actor, and being rewarded with every single one of them absolutely knocking it out of the park. The plot is the kind which makes you ask questions of it without spoon feeding you, and then answers those questions along the way beautifully. The ending is both a happy ending and a terrifying ending at once, but without being sickeningly bittersweet. The special effects are incredible for such a low budget film, and I dont think I ever saw a scene throughout the film where I thought "ah, that could have been better with a higher budget". Its like they made the movie exactly the way it was meant to be made, and it ended up being inexpensive because it cost what it needed to. I want this movie to be bigger than the Matrix, better loved than the Terminator, and have a cult following like iRobot. Its automatically in my Top 10 list, and my number one film of the year so far. This movie deserves several Oscar's. Thanks for reading.