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Beetlejuice (1988)
It Has A Charm But Is Massively Overrated
Pros:
1. Michael Keaton (Betelgeuse) delivers an amazingly energetic and magnetic performance.
2. Alec Baldwin (Adam) and Geena Davis (Barbara) have incredible chemistry together and it's that which powers the first half of the movie along.
3. The set designs are well made and intriguing. They also help add to the overall charm of the film.
4. The practical effects, although slightly dated, still look great in addition to adding further charm.
Cons:
1. The special effects haven't aged well at all and are very distracting.
2. Betelgeuse doesn't arrive properly until about 47 minutes into the movie. The film definitely picks up when he arrives as it's a little too slow-paced before then.
3. The character of Otho (Glenn Shadix) is pretty much redundant. Most of what he does could have been done by one of the parents but he's given a lot of screen time.
4. A lot of the humour feels dated and stale.
5. How Barbara and Adam pass away is a little unrealistic and corny: there's no way a dog could have supported the weight of a car, and there's no way they would have died from that height.
Violent Night (2022)
It's All Over-The-Place
Pros:
1. The fight scenes are extremely entertaining with the very explicit gore adding extra fun and brutality.
2. Scrooge (John Leguizamo) is on the receiving end of a satisfyingly gory death.
3. David Harbour (Santa) carries the film. It's obvious he had a lot of fun playing the role.
Cons:
1. For some strange reason, Tinsel (Phong Giang) didn't shoot Santa when he had the chance even though he had orders to eliminate everyone that wasn't part of the main family.
2. Conveniently, no soldier overheard Trudy (Leah Brady) using her walkie-talkie even when in her vicinity.
3. Santa bemoans the waning belief in him even though he later admits he only delivers to people who believe in him. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.
4. The run-time is far too long. The movie is therefore inundated with filler scenes, usually of characters airing their uninteresting sob-stories.
5. The movie tries to ridicule Home Alone (1990) whilst ending up being a lesser, but R-rated, version of it.
6. The humour is so forced and juvenile that it feels as if the film was written for kids even though the ubiquitous gore and swearing would contradict that.
7. The movie is tonally all over-the-place. It's simultaneously dark, gritty, action-packed, juvenile, comical, and heart-warming. It can't decide what it wants to be.
8. The movie seems to have overlooked a major philosophical plot-hole: if Santa deems it morally acceptable to kill people on his naughty list, that means he's ordained himself judge, jury and executioner. Wouldn't that make him naughty? Or is he conveniently playing to his own moral code?
The Black Phone (2021)
It Utterly Fails At Trying To Be Impactful
Pros:
1. Ethan Hawke (The Grabber) does the best he can with such a poor script.
2. The mask The Grabber wears is pretty creepy and it's pretty much the only thing carrying the tension.
Cons:
1. There are so many irrelevant plot points that go nowhere: Finney (Mason Thames) getting bullied at school; Terrence (Jeremy Davies) being an abusive drunk; or Finney personally knowing the kids who have gone missing. They all feel like clumsy attempts at trying to force tension and care for the characters.
2. Max (James Ransone) is a completely pointless character. Nothing about the story would change if he was removed from the script.
3. The movie contains little horror outside of boring and predictable jump-scares.
4. There are moronic plot conveniences which just epitomises the lazy writing that the film suffers from: The Grabber allowing Finney to keep the same weapon he injured The Grabber with; or Max magically being deaf to The Grabber coming down the wooden stairs behind him.
5. Unsurprisingly, with the film containing a plethora of child actors, there are load of inconsistent and poor performances.
Bullet Train (2022)
Slick, Entertaining And Really Violent
Pros:
1. The comedy is so dark that it simultaneously makes you laugh and cringe - it just works.
2. The cinematography is really impressive. The camera follows the character's movements thus giving the movie a more dynamic feel.
3. The violence and fight scenes are both stylistically choreographed and hard-hitting.
4. Both of the 'deaths' of Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) are surprisingly touching and deftly handled.
5. The setting of the bullet train helps give the events a constricted feeling, which not only helps heighten the tension as there's nowhere to run, but it also perfectly mirrors the characters being figuratively constricted by their respective predicaments.
6. The differing stories and back-stories are woven together seamlessly into one highly entertaining and immersive story.
7. The pacing is really slick - you don't at all feel the 2 hour plus runtime.
8. The soundtrack is killer as well as perfectly blending Japanese vocals with Western instrumentals which compliments the setting and the characters in said setting.
Cons:
1. Brian Tyree Henry tries so hard to do an English accent that at times, not only does it slip, but it's also difficult to decipher what he's saying.
2. There's some strange and out-of-place anti-white dialogue from Lemon. It feels forced and unnecessary.
3. There are so many characters, and therefore stories, that not all of them get enough attention and inspection. This leads to some one-dimensional characters.
Migration (2023)
One-dimensional And Dull
Pros:
1. The film looks good. It's bright and colourful which perfectly mirrors the adventurous spirit.
2. Keegan-Michael Key (Delroy) clearly has a lot of fun with his role.
3. Mack (Kumail Nanjiani) goes through a compelling decent enough character arc, as simplistic as it is.
4. Uncle Dan (Danny DeVito) espouses a few funny one-liners.
Cons:
1. Mack is portrayed as extremely weak and pathetic in the beginning, to the point where he is openly disrespected by his wife, Pam (Elizabeth Banks), and his children. They could have shown his fears without showing him to be a weak loser.
2. The chef looks like he was designed by a 5-year-old; it's incredibly difficult to take him seriously. This lessens the tension.
3. The humour is mostly reliant on basic one-liners that only 2 year-olds would find funny.
4. Somehow the birds know how to engage in human activities like salsa dancing and yoga. There's no way they should know how to do those things and it seems like they were inserted for cheap and unfunny laughs.
5. Kumail Nanjiani delivers a really stale and boring voice performance.
6. Aside from Mack, every other character has no character arc or personal development. This makes it difficult to care for any of the one-dimensional characters.
Deliver Us from Evil (2014)
Sean Harris Deserves Better
Pros:
1. The practical effects for the gore are pretty solid particularly those applied to Santino's (Sean Harris) body.
2. Sean Harris and Chris Coy (Jimmy) are talented actors and they do the best they can with a terrible script.
Cons:
1. The cinematography is dross. The camera shakes almost constantly, the editing is lacklustre and lazy, and colour palette is bland and uninspiring.
2. Most of the actors, including Eric Bana (Sarchie), Olivia Munn (Jen) and Joel McHale (Butler), deliver woefully robotic performances.
3. The plot is cookie-cutter and wafer thin. It not only fails to keep you engaged but it doesn't do anywhere near enough to justify the almost 2 hour runtime.
4. All of the characters are extremely one-dimensional which makes it difficult to care about anything that happens.
5. The film doesn't know how to build tension and relies on poorly-executed jump scares in order to force the horror; they fall flat every time.
6. There are a few really bizarre and horrendous attempts to insert comedic levity into scenes via jokes. It's nonsensical and unfunny at best, unfunny and annoying at worst.
Scream (2022)
Incredibly Boring And Out-Of-Touch
Pros:
1. The practical effects are really well done with the gore helping to ram home the horror.
2. Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) and Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison) are on the receiving end of extremely satisfying deaths.
Cons:
1. In the beginning, somehow Ghostface (Jack Quaid/ Mikey Madison) manages to sneak inside Tara Carpenters' (Jenna Ortega) house even though it's only unlocked for a millisecond.
2. The 20-30 year old high-schoolers are really distracting.
3. The stock horror score is incredibly boring and imbues the film with a rather flat tone.
4. Most of the acting is ridiculously stale and uninteresting. It doesn't help you to care for any of the characters.
5. The movie bizarrely critiques fans for not wanting their beloved stories and characters to be corrupted and ruined, whilst upholding their high standards for said stories and characters. It even goes so far as to cast Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman as the villains, with their motive being that their favourite film franchise was being ruined. It's lazy, uninteresting and completely out-of-touch with reality.
6. The film mocks brainless slasher horror films only to be one itself. It doesn't mean anything if you're self-aware of how idiotic something is if you're that very same thing.
7. There's far too many tedious jump-scares and forced tension build-up.
Split (2016)
James McAvoy And Anya Taylor-Joy Carry This Pointless And Confusing Mess
Pros:
1. James McAvoy (Dennis) and Anya Taylor-Joy (Casey Cooke) give amazing performances, with both of them having to carry the film. James McAvoy, in particular, did an amazing job at portraying different people by altering his facial expression and vocal intonation.
2. The score helps to imbue the tense scenes with an uneasy feel and it's never overused.
Cons:
1. For some strange reason, The Beast (James McAvoy) lets Casey Cooke go because she's got scars from her cutting herself. The only explanation we get for this is because she is "impure" thus she is not worthy to be consumed. It's ridiculously ambiguous.
2. The Beast could have killed Casey Cooke near the beginning of the chase scene but conveniently decides to let her run away.
3. There are a plethora of needless flashbacks to Casey Cooke (Izzie Coffey). Not only do they pointlessly add on more runtime but they also decide to show her Uncle John (Brad William Henke) abusing her. It's utterly forced and head scratching.
4. Claire Benoit (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula) serve no other purpose than to take up scenes as their characters don't do anything after the first half of the movie.
5. The plot is completely ridiculous with Dennis suffering from a dissociative disorder which, with The Beast, somehow causes him to change his physiology to become faster and stronger - he somehow absorbs two shotgun blasts. It also doesn't help that his entire purpose is to cleanse via his pseudo-religious mission of devouring the pure - it's nonsensical and boring.
Freaky (2020)
Surprisingly Good Practical Effects - That's About It
Pros:
1. The practical effects are surprisingly well done and they make for some grisly kills.
2. Vince Vaughn (The Butcher) gives an enthusiastic and fun performance as a teenage girl trapped in a grown mans' body.
Cons:
1. Millie (Kathryn Newton) is supposed to an unpopular girl who gets bullied but it's a little too unbelievable as Kathryn Newton is conventionally attractive.
2. The basic horror/ action score imbues film with a flat tone.
3. There's a bizarre scene between Millie, when she's trapped in The Butcher's body, and Booker Strode (Uriah Shelton) as they decide to kiss with Booker Strode claiming he doesn't care what body she's in. It's obviously played for comedy but it just comes across as awkward and uncomfortable.
4. The police decided to shoot The Butcher just for slowly turning around. However, that is not standard police procedure at all for any criminal regardless of their crimes.
5. The insertion of Coral Kessler (Katie Finneran) as an alcoholic and over-bearing mother is both pointless and forced. It's done to kick-start the plot whilst it also tries to force emotion between Millie and her mum. It just falls flat and adds nothing.
6. All of the characters feel hollow and one-dimensional which dilutes the tension.
7. The awful soundtrack was chosen to try and be cool.
8. The last showdown between The Butcher, Millie, Coral Kessler and Charlene Kessler (Dana Drori) is utterly unnecessary as it obviously is supposed to function as a scene where the initial dysfunctional family works together and becomes one. Once again, it is contrived and boring.
Saw II (2005)
The Editing Will Burn Your Eyes
Pros:
1. The gore/ violence is gritty and raw which gives the film an uncomfortably grounded feel.
2. Despite the myopic plot, the pacing is great with non-stop action and plot progression which fills out the run-time nicely.
3. Similar to the first film, this movie beautifully pulls off a twist at the end. It also neatly ties back to the previous film.
Cons:
1. The editing is nauseating. There are so many cuts, slow-motion effects and image insertions that not only is it difficult to see what's going on at times but it's also headache-inducing.
2. The death of Jonas (Glenn Plummer) is unintentionally comical with the cartoonish sound design and vocals.
3. Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is extremely unlikable as he's shown to be a terrible father and is later shown to be a corrupt cop.
4. Why did Eric Matthews bring Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) with him to the house but didn't take him inside?
5. The stock action score adds nothing to the film and only serves to annoy you.
The Belko Experiment (2016)
Tony Goldwyn Being One Of The Only Good Things About The Film
Pros:
1. The film is remorseless in its sheer brutality. It offers up an uncomfortable truth about human nature.
2. The practical effects in regards to the gore are incredible.
3. Tony Goldwyn (Barry Norris) delivers an incredibly nuanced performance which helps to add depth, not just to his character, but to the story as well.
Cons:
1. How would Mike Milch (John Gallagher Jr.) know where they implanted the tracer/ bomb in his skull?
2. There are far too many characters that the film tries to focus on which leads to very little development or meaningful focus.
3. There are a load of very strange character decisions by the writers, like Wendell Dukes (John C. McGinley) playing a pervert or Marty Espenscheid (Sean Gunn) being a hippie - they add absolutely nothing to the story.
4. The editing during the death scene of Barry Norris adds an unintentional comical feel to it.
5. John Gallagher Jr. And Adria Arjona (Leandra Florez) have no chemistry together despite being the lead couple you're supposed to root for.
6. Somehow, even though they surveyed the entire building, Belko completely misses Mike Milch taking explosives with him.
7. The end reveal of the simulation being part of a simulation is utterly redundant and obviously serves to try and set up another movie.
Nobody (2021)
Really Fun During The Action But Bland Elsewhere, And Far Too Similar To John Wick
Pros:
1. The fight/ action scenes are choreographed well. The tight spaces they take place in help to make them feel more compact and impactful.
2. Bob Odenkirk (Hutch Mansell) plays a veteran tough guy immensely well. Everything from his voice to his stare is nailed on.
3. The soundtrack is used effectively to enhance the feelings felt by Hutch Mansell to help the audience feel them also.
4. The editing adds a lot of kinetic energy to the movie, particularly during the fighting and car chases.
5. The last fight sequence is entertaining, bloody and over-the-top. It's everything you want in an action film.
Cons:
1. There are really weak attempts at dark comedy that, for the most part, are so weak you don't even realise it was supposed to be humour until about a minute later.
2. As most of the films focus is on the action and combat, the surrounding plot is rather bland and boring. You're often impatiently waiting for the action to kick back in as those scenes play.
3. The story feels far too reminiscent of John Wick (2014), even down to how the protagonist unwittingly gets involved with Russian gangsters because of an altercation with a relative of the boss.
4. There is forced racial commentary with Harry Mansell (RZA) lamenting to Hutch Mansell about how he'll have to save his "white ass", or with the insertion of Pavel (Araya Mengesha) being a black gangster for the Russians. It feels like heavy pandering to the American audience.
Saw (2004)
Has One Of The Most Insane Endings But Ruined By Sloppy Plot-Holes
Pros:
1. The grainy cinematography gives the movie a gritty and grounded tone which helps to make the events feel realer.
2. The murders, and the torture games, are incredibly grisly, disturbing as well as strangely introspective. The gore isn't the main focus unlike most horror films of this genre.
3. The editing helps to imbue the torture and murder scenes with a chaotic and frenzied feel thus keeping you on edge.
4. The score is remorseless in its intensity.
5. Cary Elwes (Dr. Lawrence Gordon) and Leigh Whannell (Adam) carry the film which is impressive seeing as it's mostly just them conversing.
6. The last 30 minutes have got to be some of the most heart-palpitating, insane and mind-blowing bit of cinema ever created. The ultimate pay-off, paired with the shock twist, is amazingly built up to and then executed.
7. The movie offers an uncompromising, but truthful, view of human nature. Particularly how survival is hard-wired into all of us above anything else.
Cons:
1. Why didn't Detective David Tapp (Danny Glover) and Detective Steven Sing (Ken Leung) remove Jigsaws' (Tobin Bell) hood? Instead they kept allowing him to move with his hood still up.
2. How did Jigsaw survive both a bullet and a shotgun shell whilst just walking off with a limp?
3. Somehow Jigsaw was able to remain completely stationary for over 6 hours.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
A Good Film For Shutting Down Your Brain For Some Gore
Pros:
1. The setting of the apartment provides an appropriately constricted and trapped feeling as the survivors have little room to manoeuvre.
2. The practical and special effects are magnificent as they work in tandem to produce copious horrific scenes of gore and horror.
3. Alyssa Sutherland (Ellie) delivers a mesmerisingly evil performance. Her mannerisms and facial expressions are the stuff of nightmares.
4. The cinematography incorporates some incredibly creative and ingenious shots which really help to increase the tension and dread.
5. The final fight between Beth (Lily Sullivan) and the unleashed evil is insanely entertaining. It involves an extremely satisfying death with the classic Evil Dead chainsaw and a super gory ending.
6. It was a creative and interesting decision to introduce the film with the aftermath of the events of the actual plot. It immediately grabs your attention.
Cons:
1. The drama between Beth and Ellie in the beginning is utterly boring and pointless as it doesn't go anywhere and adds nothing to the plot.
2. It made no sense for Danny (Morgan Davies) to retrieve the book and vinyl record, unlike in the first film. It was obviously done to force the events to unfold.
3. Even though the movie is only 1 hour and 36 minutes long, there are still scenes that feel pointlessly prolonged with needless dialogue. Probably 30 minutes could have been shaved off.
4. Characters such as Caleb (Richard Crouchley), Jake (Billy Reynolds-McCarthy), Scott (Tai Wano), Gabriel (Jayden Daniels) and Mr. Fonda (Mark Mitchinson) clearly just existed to be killed off. They were thus given far too much screen-time.
5. The gore was a little tamer than I thought it would be which ultimately dampened the fun as it is an Evil Dead film after all.
M3GAN (2022)
Largely Another Bland Horror Film But Contains Relevant Messaging On Modern Technology
Pros:
1. The design of M3gan (Amie Donald/ Jenna Davis) is surprisingly well-done. M3gan, particularly with her large unblinking eyes, is freaky enough to induce horror but cute enough to realistically be sold as a doll to kids.
2. The sound design for M3gan is great and it helps to remind the audience that the lifelike doll is still a doll.
3. Violet McGraw (Cady) and Amie Donald deliver fantastic performances. Their characters' bond is what helps propel the movie forward.
4. The film does a solid job at highlighting problems with modern technology, mainly our overreliance on it and how it seems to be increasingly used as a substitute for genuine human interactions.
5. The scene between M3gan and Brandon (Jack Cassidy) is quite brutal which I didn't think the film would be willing to do.
Cons:
1. Ronny Chieng (David) gives a horrendously forced performance.
2. The pacing of the first half of the film is needlessly slow which makes it difficult to initially warm to the movie.
3. Pretty much all of the characters, with the exception of perhaps Cady and Gemma (Allison Williams), are exceedingly one-dimensional and uninteresting.
4. For some strange reason, Tess (Jen Van Epps) didn't bother to ring Gemma back when she saw she'd supposedly made a phone call to Gemma that she obviously didn't make. Either the character is a bit dim, which she obviously isn't, or the writers actually thought this would increase the tension.
5. The stock horror score used in every single scene where horror is supposed to be is just annoying and actually ends up deflating said horror.
6. Somehow Cady knew how to operate Bruce to defeat M3gan even though Cady had never used him before. The whole ridiculousness, and illogical nature, of the final showdown made it very difficult to take it seriously.
Smile (2022)
A Sympathetic Dive Into Trauma
Pros:
1. The camera-work is amazing. The camera floats around giving off an eerily off-putting feel whilst the centred shots force the audience to constantly be aware of the surroundings.
2. Sosie Bacon (Rose Cotter) delivers a wonderful performance. Her characters' descent into madness is both captivating and terrifying.
3. For the most part, the tension is built-up well via well-timed jump-scares and the slow panning of the camera.
4. The score is incredibly chilling and utilised to great effect in highlighting Rose Cotter's descent into madness.
5. The movie does a great job at showcasing the unrelenting potency of trauma. How it never leaves in addition to how trauma begets trauma.
6. The reveal of the demon is masterful. Both of its' designs are nightmare fuel.
Cons:
1. The movie, especially towards the end, devolves into a jump-scare-fest.
2. Most of the male characters are often treated with contempt and disregard which makes it really difficult to like the female characters - including Rose Cotter.
3. Somehow Joel (Kyle Gallner) knew where to find Rose Cotter at her old house even though she'd never told him where to find her. It's clearly a lazy plot device to keep the trauma demon going.
4. Because the demon essentially serves as a personification for trauma, it does make the story feel rather wafer-thin as it clearly comes second to the topic of trauma.
Don't Worry Darling (2022)
An Embarrassingly Convoluted Plot Just So Olivia Wilde Could Demean Housewives
Pros:
1. The score is unnerving and it helps to increase the tension by giving the film a suitably constricted feeling, which only increases as the film progresses.
2. Florence Pugh (Alice) delivers an amazing performance as she shows off her incredible range.
3. The movie is beautifully shot with the bright colour palette allowing for some stunning visuals (in addition to cementing the feeling of unnaturalness) particularly when paired with the 1950s aesthetics.
Cons:
1. Harry Styles' (Jack) acting is ridiculously inconsistent. Sometimes when he's supposed to be emotive, his vocal intonation and facial expressions are lot flatter than they should be.
2. The pacing is horrendously slow and as not much happens in the first part of the film, it really doesn't feel earned.
3. The plot is needlessly convoluted. Frank (Chris Pine) creates a fake world in order to trap women as housewives because, well, reasons. It's a lazy half-baked plot designed to push the false narrative that men oppressed women as housewives whilst manipulating and shaming the women into staying as housewives - it couldn't be more historically inaccurate if it tried.
4. Olivia Wilde (Director/ Bunny) clearly decided to cast herself so that she could turn up as the good person in the end (ironic as she imploded her real-life marriage whilst shooting this film).
5. At times, the editing is all-over-the-place with it constantly switching between shots which just leaves you with a headache.
John Tucker Must Die (2006)
A Stale Teen Drama
Pros:
1. The film does a good job at shifting the morality of the characters based off of their decisions which does help to add an extra layer of complexity to the plot.
2. The messaging of being yourself and not putting on a façade just to fit in, whilst overdone during the 90s and 2000s, hits home with firmness and clarity.
Cons:
1. There's so little focus on Scott (Penn Badgley) and his relationship with his brother John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) that you easily forget they're even related.
2. Scott is utterly useless in regards to the plot as just exists to be the brooding, musically-talented loner.
3. There's far too much reliance on pop-punk music. It plays in almost every scene. It seems to have been incorporated because that was the 'cool' music of the day.
4. The film is supposed to have a romantic bent however there's very little focus on that aspect as the vengeance plot takes centre stage.
5. The comedy is mostly invisible and, at most, will elicit a chuckle or two.
6. Kate (Brittany Snow), the protagonist, is incredibly bland and forgettable. Her entire personality consists of: no one pays attention to me; I wish they did.
Oppenheimer (2023)
A Non-Stop Tension-Fuelled Trip
Pros:
1. Cillian Murphy (J. Robert Oppenheimer), Benny Safdie (Edward Teller), Robert Downey Jr. (Lewis Strauss), Emily Blunt (Kitty Oppenheimer) and Jason Clarke (Roger Robb) are utterly phenomenal.
2. The score not only infuses every moment with tension and intrigue, but it also mirrors the atomic with its deafening audio thus locking in the audience's attention.
3. For the most part, the dialogue is intense and does a great job of bringing the story to life, particularly with the engaging back-and-forth between the characters and the ethical dilemmas proposed by the events.
4. The film is shot beautifully providing many gorgeous and awe-inspiring shots.
5. The detonation of the atomic bombs are handled deftly by the movie showing just how devastating they were, and the morality of dropping them.
6. The editing does an amazing job at adding dynamism to the scenes.
Cons:
1. The dialogue is never-ending which inevitably leads you to lose focus and attention at some points. As it's a 3-hour long film, there definitely could have been some breaks here-and-there.
2. The pacing is lightning quick, moving through plot points at breakneck speed which not only leads to minimal character development (outside of J. Robert and Kitty Oppenheimer), but it also leads to scenes blurring into one giving you little time to digest what you've just seen or heard.
The Change-Up (2011)
Does Ryan Reynolds Play The Same Exact Character In All Of His Films?
Pros:
1. The character development of both Dave Lockwood (Jason Bateman) and Mitch Planko (Ryan Reynolds) is somewhat solid in addition to feeling natural and earned.
2. The comedy is definitely at its best when both Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are firing off of each other.
3. The film gives an appropriately heart-warming message of accepting responsibility for your failures as well as the importance of taking care of your family.
Cons:
1. It seems that Ryan Reynolds plays the exact same character in almost every film he does. This character is no different.
2. The downbeat score that plays every time the movie wants the audience to feel sad or engage in introspection is overbearing and annoying.
3. The humour mostly relies on crude language, and poo and sex jokes; it gets boring very fast.
4. The character of Sabrina McKay (Olivia Wilde) is pointlessly shoehorned in to act as a device for Dave Lockwood to do some soul-searching, whilst providing Mitch Planko with a weak love-interest.
5. There's nowhere near enough scenes with Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds together which is a shame as they carry the comedy.
6. The sub-plot of Mitch's Dad (Alan Arkin) being disappointed in Mitch Planko is just plonked in to force some deeper emotion into the film; it fails miserably.
Top Gun (1986)
A Deserved 80s Classic
Pros:
1. Tom Cruise (Maverick), Val Kilmer (Ice), Anthony Edwards (Goose) and Kelly McGillis (Charlie) all provide incredibly magnetic performances.
2. There is electric chemistry between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, to the point where even the prolonged pauses between them sizzles with energy.
3. The jet fighter scenes are amazingly choreographed and edited masterfully to create a lot of tension and excitement.
4. The death of Goose is suitably heart-breaking particularly with the aftermath of it seeing Maverick being deeply afflicted and affected from the loss.
5. The film delivers an inspiring message of never giving up despite how tough it gets as well as highlighting the importance of learning to improve and show humility, even when you think you're the best.
6. The editing with its fast cutting helps to imbue the action scenes with more virility.
Cons:
1. The soundtrack is far too incessant.
2. Occasionally the dialogue is a little too cheesy and annoying.
Me Before You (2016)
Surprisingly Bittersweet, Surprisingly Better Than Expected
Pros:
1. Emilia Clarke (Lou Clark) gives a really warm and cheerful performance which helps to imbue the film with much needed light and brevity. Sam Claflin (Will Traynor) delivers a solidly emotive performance which is especially impressive as he could only use his face and voice.
2. The film handles the subject matter of sudden disability and all of the aftermath with tenderness and thoughtfulness.
3. The ending is surprisingly bittersweet which usurps the traditional cheesy and happy endings to romantic-dramas. It feels a lot more real and grounded than most of the others.
4. Both Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke have amazingly subtle, but soft and intimate, chemistry together.
Cons:
1. Patrick (Matthew Lewis) only exists to create a false love triangle as he's constantly portrayed as clueless to his girlfriend's wants and needs.
2. The score is annoyingly continuous as it tries to force emotion.
3. The editing is far too overzealous at times with constant cutting which is massive eyesore.
4. Emilia Clarke's crying scene is unintentionally hilarious; it's the only bad bit of acting from her.
5. Jenna Coleman (Katrina "Treena" Clark) is wasted as she's barely in it. When she is, she lights up the scene whilst providing more depth to Lou Clark. She gets given a half-baked sub-plot about her being a single mother thus prompting her to get back into education, but all of that comes across as an excuse to get her out the picture to just focus on Lou Clark.
Grown Ups (2010)
Warm And Light-Hearted Fun
Pros:
1. The film contains a heart-warming message to value family and family-time, in addition to not taking your loved ones for granted. Which is what you want from this type of comedy.
2. Adam Sandler (Lenny Feder), Kevin James (Eric Lamonsoff), Chris Rock (Kurt McKenzie), David Spade (Marcus Higgins) and Rob Schneider (Rob Hilliard) all have amazing chemistry together, it's obvious they're good friends off screen.
3. The comedy entails the friends ripping on each other. Not only does it produce hilarious moments, but it feels firmly grounded in reality as that's how male friends are.
Cons:
1. The stock score enlisted to ram home emotions the film wants you to feel is annoying and insulting as the film clearly feels the audience incapable of understanding context.
2. All of the main characters get together because of their high school coach's death, but after the first 15 minutes, it's quickly forgotten about. It's obviously used as a cheap plot device to get the movie going as it has no lasting impact on the movie.
3. Most of the soundtrack is stale and seems as if it was used solely to fill up the silence.
4. Steve Buscemi (Wiley) is criminally underused as he's just brought in as a minor side character towards the end.
5. The messaging, though commendable, is rather forced via its execution.
My Boss's Daughter (2003)
This Film Should Be Called, Why?
Pros:
1. If you decide to shut down your brain-cells, you can find enjoyment in the absurdity of the events that occur.
2. Ashton Kutcher (Tom Stansfield) tries his best, and seems like the only actor actually trying.
Cons:
1. The romance is utterly dead in this film, as Ashton Kutcher and Tara Reid (Lisa Taylor) possess absolutely no chemistry together at all.
2. The comedy is dreadful; it's forced edgy humour for the sake of being edgy. As someone who loves dark comedy, the desperate attempts to make jokes on sensitive and contentious issues just to get cheap laughs, are just annoying and cringy.
3. Jack Taylor (Terence Stamp) is presented as a ruthless, intelligent and highly perceptive man, but somehow didn't realise that his own son was involved in drug dealing right under his nose.
4. None of the character decisions make any sense. From Jack Taylor allowing a subordinate to house sit his home, to Tom Stansfield allowing strangers into the house because he doesn't have the gumption to tell them to leave, to characters randomly showing up for the sake of it.
5. The entire premise of the movie, wherein an employee agrees to house-sit his boss's house because he has a crush on the boss's daughter and then strangers show up for nonsensical reasons, is just wholly uninteresting. You can also tell the writers were struggling to stretch the concept into a feature-length film, as most of what happens is just filler.
6. Most of the characters are given nothing, or barely anything, to do and are clearly just there to prolong the run-time.
7. The commentary on strict and neglectful parenting is laughably shallow and boring.
8. Tara Reid cannot act to save her life. Now wonder she had to create her own production company last year to actually start landing roles again.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Messy and Inconsistent Plot Points, Over bloated With Teen Melodrama, But Pretty Visuals
Pros:
1. For the most part, the movie has exceptional visuals and produces some stunning scenes, especially in the water. This film definitely serves as a love letter from James Cameron (Director) to the ocean.
2. There are some touching scenes when it came to Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) caring for their family, and teaching them to care for each other.
3. There are some entertaining action sequences that are engaging.
4. The strong emphasis on family, and the importance to said family, is refreshing and a positive message to take away.
Cons:
1. Plot-wise, this film was pretty much a rehashing of the first one as the evil humans come to conquer Pandora, but are beaten back by the virtuous Na'vi's.
2. The run-time is far too long, and the script definitely isn't expansive enough to effectively fill out the 3 hour runtime. At least an hour could have been shaved off, especially with the boring teen-melodrama between the Jake's kids and the water tribes' kids.
3. There are moments where the animation looks a little janky.
4. Jack Champion (Spider) cannot act, and his character is both annoying and pointless. Spider just exists as a weak conduit to humanise Quaritch.
5. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and his marines are supposedly deadly and well-trained, but they pretty much lose every conflict, no matter how big or small, that they're engaged in. Moreover, the whole point of them coming back to Pandora as Na'vi was to infiltrate the world and get closer to Jake to kill him. However, they retain their marine get-up and weapons (which makes them stick out like a sore thumb), and their tactics used to flush Jake out, consists of them laying siege to Na'vi villages, torturing and killing the villagers, and then setting said villages aflame.
6. Jake is depicted as virtuous and brave as he decides to leave the forest to protect his people from Quaritch, but he has no problem in seeking sanctuary with the water people and putting them in danger. He just saves one people at the expense of others.
7. It seems almost every drama and conflict is initiated by Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) disobeying Jake. It quickly becomes a tired and overused plot device to move the story along.
8. The pro-environmental message is far too preachy and in your face. It also lacks subtlety in presentation like the anti-colonial messaging in the first movie.
9. There's no nuance at all. The humans, who have actually travelled to Pandora in order to seek survival for humans, are portrayed as unequivocally evil, polluting and selfish, whereas the Na'vi are noble, courageous and in touch with nature. A deservedly more balanced viewing of the motivations of the humans could have added a lot more depth and intrigue into the story.
10. This film ret-cons one of the most interesting plot points of the first movie, wherein the humans needed to link their live bodies to a machine which would transfer their consciousness to a Na'vi avatar. In this film however, it's revealed that humans have invented a microchip which allows them to upload their thoughts, emotions and personality traits to it. This not only now makes their second invasion of Pandora redundant as they're effectively immortal now, but it removes a big source of tension that the first movie had when Jake's human body was being hunted down by Quaritch. Moreover, as established in this film, they had invented this technology during the timeline of the first movie, so why didn't they use it?