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Reviews
Galaxina (1980)
Upto modern films, this is comedy genius...
Not as bad as people seem to be reviewing.
No it's not the best film you'll ever see, but it's intentionally aimed at what it achieves - fun and daftness. If you like Spaceballs or Ice Pirates you might like this.
It does have some genuine fun moments, not a huge amount of huge belly laughs, but it's US comedy so for what it is... well it's not bad at all.
Homage/Rips into a lot of the old sci-fi and film tropes... that to this day hasn't changed, and obviously your mileage is going to vary to whether you realise how prominent these were back then.
Imagine an RPG session in space, and you're probably not far off the quality of this.
And the practical FX are great.
The Blue Star!
No, you're not going to belly laugh all the way.
It does have a huge amount of charm to it tho.
Can't find anything to watch put it on, accept it's not going to be great, and you'll get some enjoyment out of it.
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)
My mind is going, there is no question about it
Pretty sure this film has caused psychological and neurological damage its that stupid.
Yes the costumes look great, yes the special fx aren't half bad but damn... 7ish Samurais In Space Do Stupid Things....
The other thing that grates is the music. Tropey and painful.
The whole opening hook with the princess... Just shoot them all and there's no more problems but the plot armour saves these main characters but not the rubbish storm trooper knock offs who are bullet fodder galore.
I feel sorry for the actors for having to deal with this level of stupid, but I suspect they've learnt a lot of their paycheck so you know... Not gonna worry that much.
If you like Snyder other film you'll probably like this one. If you find yourself over encumbered with brain cells then won't.
Halloween Kills (2021)
Urgh how'd you get it so wrong after the first one?
Ok, it's not perfect but David Gordan Green first Halloween did a lot right.
Threw away all the rubbish post Halloween 1, which means the stupidity of 2.
And then reintroduces it in this one.
Wow - how to ruin it instantly,.
Whereas in the first one people are intelligent and die because Myers has the drop or size/strength factor (must be all that gym action at the Asylum) in this one they turn into the typical stupid people do stupid things and die. Ok, admittedly after covid we know the average person is borderline idiots, but... hey want something to relate to.
Actors do a great job, and the direction is great, but hell that story... derp.
There's a very halfcocked "Oh look at the danger of mobs" without it really doing anything - just killing some random you didn't care about anyway.
The ending is just stupid... nothing else to say about it...
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
He ruined the franchise before, lets give him another go...
Just move along, pretend this trash doesn't exist and just have H1,2,H20.
Wow... just wow - how much stupid can be in one film?
Halloween 2 was rubbish, so rubbish they rebooted the entire thing with the pretty good Halloween 3 Season of the Witch. There's a certain generation that absolutely cringe at the "x more days to halloween, halloween, halloween" and has had the London Bridge tune irrevocably changed.
So... what do you do when a Director/Writer manage to produce something good from the dead corpse of a franchise? That's right throw it instantly away with a cash grab piece of trash.
Halloween 8 - Resurrection is the WORST of all the Halloween franchise, and not only that an absolute trash pile of a film. They must have looked at H20 and decided that all the good will for that must be expunged from the series.
Everyone involved in the writing and direction of this should be ashamed they've made such an atrocious spit on the corpse.
Genuine idiots the lot of them.
Great to see Jamie Lee Curtis pushing back and refusing to be in this junk. She knew the score.
And her death is bilge of the highest order.
Anyone "just doing a job" are excluded but the Producers, Director and Writer should be barred from going near film again...
Wicked Little Letters (2023)
Glorious colourful language abounds!
YMMV if you are one of those who get offended by a bit of language. If on the other hand you realise that it's gloriously funny well... You're quids in.
Acting is brilliant.
Special shout out for the diversity without having to actually change the entire reality - just actors acting.
I'd pay good money to just watch all the cast just talk. Can tell they had a great time filming. How they kept a straight face I don't know.
Bit of human element through keeps it on track, with the characters being really well writtrn
Police are as inept as in reality, so all in all you can't complain.
Thoroughly enjoyed, but British and not living in the dark ages on language.
Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)
Great look and acting, awful story... but...
Ok... short and sweet as wasted too much time on this already.
The casting, acting, direction is all good.
The problem is the story is bilge, and grade a bilge at that... but the problem is that's what the source is. Nobody seems to want to admit that the game story is rubbish and the game mediocre because of this.
All points awarded go to the Actors who manage to carry this.
And +1 cause Matthew Lilliard can spin anything up a notch. He doesn't get a lot of screen time, but is fantastic.
Always great to see Josh Hutchinson get a chance -a true underdog with a shedload of talent. Always watch things with Josh, he'll make it better. Hope he gets a good chance to do something.
Lord of Misrule (2023)
Sturdy British Folk Horror
It's not a perfect film, but it does a lot right and is worth your time if you like this type of thing.
In line with what I expected from the director - the story is going to be a rehash and not perfect, but certainly nothing offensively bad.
Casting, Directing, general pace is all fine... I notice a few other reviews complaining about the pace - absolutely nothing wrong with it, it's building tension and the general meh of rural life.
The writing, as others have pointed out, is a bit... well traditional Folk Horror... but where is there to go with it? If you've read a few Folk Horror books you'll notice the same things coming up: Harvests and sacrifices - often unwilling. So... complaining that a Folk Horror contains all the required Folk Horror tropes seems a bit odd to me (which seems to be the running trend here).
It leans heavily into Christianity vs The Old Ways, and treats Christianity with a rare respect - the Vicar is not a overtly double standard kiddie fiddler for once, they're a sympathetic character that you can get behind. Some clever steps here: make it CoE and make the Vicar female. Allows an awful lot of legwork to be done in your head.
Does it want to be The Wicker Man, well obviously.
Is it The Wicker Man, well... course not - but what is? You can't compare a Michellin Movie with a midrange offering - you'd be a fool.
The casting is superb, not only Middleton and Ineson, but the supporting cast as well - they carry the middling story a very long way.
Monsieur Spade (2024)
Not Perfect - but a lot better than most things.
A solid 7.5 program. Not perfect, but not.
If you are able to enjoy the journey as well as the conclusion then you'll get far more out of this than many of the reviewers on here.
Clive Owen - an instant watch for me since his early days with Chancer at the turn of the 90s.
Set design, music, writing - all in - a good general quality vehicle for Clive Owen who is spot on for the part as the elder Spade.
This is a love letter written/directed by people that have a genuine love of the Dashiell books and not just a job. So many bad adaptions so nice to have a good one.
The beginning of Episode 3 is fantastic, a true show of what this show is about - hard boiled posturing... in France.
All the child actors throughout are great - due to it being full of euro-actors and not bad us child actors.
The Marvels (2023)
Not as bad as Captain Marvel, and better than a lot of the other Marvel Films... flawed, but not awful.
Ok... mixed bag.
Not quite as bad as everyone makes out and a lot better than Captain Marvel, or any of the other recent Marvel Films?
The Bad:
Fanfic scenes - super camp, super rubbish song and dance numbers: urghhh. Poor - not quite as arch and damning of this sort of rubbish as it needed to be. Delete the entire scene, and you instantly add 2 points.
Zowe Ashton - for someone that has acting ability there's little on display here. Feels very phoned in - suspect she hasn't read a Marvel comic in her life.
"Hey... wait a minute, isn't this just Guardians of the Galaxy vol 1 rehashed?" - yeah, sure is - big hammer bad person, blah blah skrull/skree whatever... yawn.
Some really dumb lines: "Captain Oh my Captain" - wept this really throws it all.
Brie trying to act upset... erm... not something she can do.
Goose - urgh... hoarding cats. Monica pretty much acts as the voice of good writing throughout these scenes.
Cats scene... -2, I know it sounds like a good idea but someone should have said "Nope"
The music... Cats... urgh... no... tacky.
The Good:
Ms Marvel - carries the film, a genuine star - pure and utter charm and charisma - not Disneyfied.
Professor Marvel/Monica - as with Wandavision, great - genuinely charming
Training montage - needed better music but the best bit of the film when all three get to shine together.
This whole section has something most of the marvel films have been missing some sort of emotional heft.
Brie Larson... appears to have had her ego checked and appears like she used to be.
Spaceman (2024)
Great 70s pre-Star Wars style sci-fi, if you liked The Fountain you'll like this. Don't Watch if you're an Arachnaphobe.
It is not objectively bad, or objectively tedious.
Remember when The Fountain was released and everyone hated on it? Know how it's got some recognition over the years as people worked out what all those that liked it in the first place liked about - the normal: trauma and the human condition.
This is what is happening with this film.
It's good.
It's cleverly written.
It's great acting from all - great to see Sandler allowed to flex his acting chops.
It's got great sets.
It's beautifully shot.
I believe it really comes down to whether you care to empathise with another character or not.
Yes, there's lots of "things" that you could nitpick - but that's what was written in the book, so you know... go with it. You put up with everything Politicians say so why not a giant talking spider?
Not for anyone that just wants whizzy bang bang, not for those that don't understand human psychology, not for those that don't like huge spiders.
Possum (2018)
Genuine Horror base don Human Trauma
Holness proved he knows horror - from the camp brilliance of Darkplace (one of the best comedy shows ever written, misunderstood by the masses), to his recent books and touring shows where he stays in characters throughout and chucks witty returns at a speed that would make Jimmy Carr nod in approval, and to this absolute lost gem.
Possum is NOT more Darkplace/Terrortome, there's no humour here... not even the pitchest black humour, just sorry and trauma.
Everything about this show's Holness should be given a ton of cash to do more.
The story keeps you second guessing, dropping enough hints to what is really going on in the background and even giving the viewer two options at the end.
Sean Harris as Philip once again shows him to be one of the greatest actors of the moment (Not his fault his character in Prometheus was rubbish, same for Rafe Spall, another great actor).
Backed up with the late and always fantastic Alun Armstrong - its largely a 2 man show.
It's slowness is going to annoy those who haven't got a normal attention span, and the lack of being told those who don't have a normal amount of wit to decypher things. This is a movie for those types that love reveling in the ambiguity and for those that realise genuine horror.
Sean plays the character with a lot of sympathy (i've seen reviews berating the fact that he's sympathic), as sufferers of abuse should be given. That "HE" is quite broken by what has happened in the past at the hands of his Uncle... and the painful human nature of replaying things to try and understand.
The final scene is brutal, laying the trauma Philip has undergone - one thing after another, which all trace back to Maurice.
If you don't come away from this feeling sympathy for Philip no matter what he's possibly done is a failing on the watcher, not on the direction, cinematography, writing, or actors.
Brilliant.
Dog Soldiers (2002)
Everything you want from an Action Film!
Squaddies, guns, werewolves, Attack on Precinct Scottish Highlands, some of the greatest dialogue in a movie ever, great premise, great acting, great bang bang boiling water. People not chuffing around and getting stuck in. No whining in typical horror movie nonsense.
If you're British this will hit home a lot more - the humour is very British, and all the better for it as it's brilliantly funny, with loads of wit and clever incredibly quotable quips!
The Actors make the dialogue shine, and scenes really come together. Pertwee, Mckidd, Cunningham, are the normal ones who get the most mention, but special mention to Morfitt as Spoon.
How Morfitt didn't become a more well known actor is anyones guess.
So why's it not a perfect 10? There's nothing deep here, just an excellent action film, and if you compare that to things like Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, Men, or Everything Everywhere All At Once, there's no depth to it... but damn it's good.
Marshall needs to get this team of actors back together and do something. Well to be fair put Sean Pertwee in anything please... man crush.
Days of Thunder (1990)
Genuinely fun film - better than Top Gun
This is peak Tom Cruise before the nutty religious twaddle happened to him. Thus he's cool, he's likeable... and unlike other films he's also still quite fallable - which makes him human and relatable.
Others seem to dock marks cause they love NASCAR and it ain't REAL bud! Well, I know zip all about NASCAR except they go fast, and only turn left. So, when you're not looking for expert knowledge faults this is a great film.
The casting is superb, not only Cruise but you got Peak Duvall, who turns some mundane scenes into character building scenes - showing that a bit of humour goes a long way.
Early Rooker, making it ridiculous that it took James Gunn to reinvigorate his career, managing to shine against Cruise - no mean feet. His turn as Rowdy Burns is brilliant - making him likeable, relatable, and sympathetic - his smile breaks some serious moments in the film, and the shared wheelchair and normal car races between him and Cruise is great. Genuinely fun, genuinely well written, and not just "these two now like each other" like most films these days.
There's character arcs all over the place and it's not only the main character going through them but many others. Duvall and Reilly bonding in the background and guilt he carries. Randy Quaid as the hugely likeable Money Man Tim, who pushes for Cole, then his replacement - before redeeming himself in the closing moments. Shame this isn't where he is these days...
Shout out to the OST, which is a classic, and early turn for the Superstar of OSTs Hans Zimmer - you can hear a lot of his motifs already formed here and getting David Coverdale to belt out the main song is inspired - easily up there with Danger Zone.
I could go on, because it is a great film, properly closing out the 80s, and massively underrated on all fronts but mainly overshadowed by the not as good Top Gun.
Beruseruku (2016)
It's not completely it's fault, but it certainly dug far deeper than the problems the source has.
Right, lets get some setup done... I watched the original series in the 90s, as it was part of the revival of Good Anime, after a long time of bilge Pokemon and Sailor Moon, and not a lot of Seinen anime. B1997 along with Cowboy Bebop were the pinnacles.
I kept up with the manga in the late 2000s for a few years, until another massive gap, and really... the quality drops considerably after The Golden Arc.
So, what's right with B2017?
It's sort of faithful to the story.
Unfortunately, it chooses not to adapt importatnt story arcs like The Count, and The Snake Lord. This is a real shame as The Count is the last GOOD bit of writing before it drops off quite severely into edgelord land, and reaches peak edgelord rubbish with the entirely peado-ee Lost Children. OMG!!! So Edgelord! Much Wow! Yeah, unfortunately I wasn't a teenager when I read this and saw it for what it was so all it did was raise an eyebrow of "Dude... this raises some serious questions"
It highlights the absolute bilge writing of Casca post Golden Age Arc. It's rubbish in the manga, it's rubbish here in the anime. It's not the anime's fault she's so badly written. Such a massive failure in writing female characters - this is what women correctly flag as a problem.
A major problem that nobody talks about as they go all fanboy is the source by this point is an ever-reducing quality of writing. Losing human's with depth and honest reactions, gaining Puck and Isidoro's unrequired and breaking stupidity, but that's also one of the good points... Isidoro! One of the few saving graces of post Golden Age.
An actual bonus for B2017 is we don't get to the Sea Cave part of the Fantasia arc, cause that is some exceptional fall from grace writing. Raising the crap humour vs a genuine story - it is frustratingly poor writing. But don't worry the unquestioning idiots will still love it.
So, what's wrong with B2017?
Well... apart from some of the basics above of adaptation (but hey could be worse could have been Disney adaptation)
Let's start right where it starts... the animation. For a manga beloved for the high quality drawing this is a weird very poor substitute - yes it had a high bar to meet, but this completely fails. It's not the worse, but the CGI weird drawn thing just doesn't work. While on this subject, and you won't notie for a while, but for some reason they animate Serpico with his eyes closed ALL THE BLOODY TIME... derp.
You'll then get to the voice acting. Hopefully you're watching the sub... because you know the now "historical phrase" of Subs Not Dubs, the issue that Dubs in the 80s and 90s (except the odd thing like Akira) was absolute bilge because the Voice Directors and Voice Actors gave zero crap about producing anything of lasting quality. Can you guess where we're going? Yep. The dub is absolutely atrocious - one of the absolute worst I've heard in years. Guts should be doing 80s action trailers, and everyone else appears ultra squeaky. Very bad. The Voice Director of this obviously did not care.
Then you'll get the OP music. Remember how B1997 has a fantastic soundtrack, to the point that "Guts Theme" has become one of the last 20 years meme OSTs alongside "Hello Darkness My Dear Friends" for introspective misery? Yeah... great ain't it? The awful but also amazing "Put Your Grasses On", yeah... great ain't it. Are we getting more? No quite the opposite - edgelord emo and absolute atrocious nonsense: a choir chanting "GUTS GUTS GUTS GUTS"... Genuinely some of the worst OST.
And then... when a fight occurs... what happens "KLANG!", and it's constant and makes no sense > chopping up Skeletons with nothing metal on them "KLANG!", chopping up humans or creatures with no armour "KLANG!", cause carving through meat always makes a KLANG noise: GENUINE IDIOCY.
Overall the series director of B2017 has EXCEPTIONALLY bad taste, lacks an understanding of what made the original manga and B1997 so beloved, lacks the ability to implement what needs to be done, and likely is an absolute edgelord.
I started out with 6/10, it's not unenjoyable but it's bad... and having written this I've reduced it to 4/10 due to the KLANG. Whomever put that in needs severely reprimanding.
The Kitchen (2023)
Solid Near Future Film - human socio-political oriented, not for switching your brain or heart off to.
If you want some whiz bang zero actual emotional content - move along, this is not the film for you.
It does sound like the idiots that make trailers have done their normal... urgh... learn idiots.
Note: If you haven't noticed this film is co-directed/co-written by the very excellent Daniel Kaluuya, and don't people this talented make you sick? Hats off to him and everyone else involved - thank you for something that felt genuine and real.
This is a very well written, well directed, and well acted story about the Near Future Fascist/Tory State of the UK. Yes, it's a little misguided in it's Black vs White in places and does not quite represent the truth of Classism that it is actually happening now.
At the beginning you are shown a glimpse of the community, and how it pulls together even in the face of the enforced us vs them, ensuring people get a fair share. Although the inhabitants are down trodden they show so much more grace than the state shows them. They show how we should act - pulling together, looking after each other, taking each other in.
It gets the gentle ribbing of UK friendships (and not the US extreme, deeply unkind and disengenuous "roasting" (get in the bin), which gets nasty people punched on live TV - no it's not just bants scum). A great example is when the Hard Man presenting member of the kids gang is cooking and discloses he's growing and trying to improve their meals with cardamom, a great passing moment that shows kindness and a realness to the writing that humans are complex things with many levels.
Everyone in this is touched in someway by their enforced circumstances, their histories, the pressures enforced by society.
From the utter toxic nonsense of "Alpha Male"-ism perpetuated from all angles.
Bow of respect to the young Jedaiah Bannerman, who plays Benji. Lets be reminded of all those pretentious and unlikeable US kids of a similar age where you just wish they'd burst into flame. Jedaiah is not one of these, likeable even in the face of Benji's character flaws: agressively squaring up against numerous people, already hardened by the realities of the supressed living conditions - pushing gradually to dog eat dog. Benji again is shown to have multiple layers.
I've seen complaints about the main character being sad throughout - of course he is, he's grieving the loss of his ex-partner, he lives in this world, he's had a child thrust into his orbit that may be his, and he's having to make decisions he's not happy with. He's in constant turmoil of doing the right thing as dictated by society and doing the genuinely right thing as dictated by reality. He's misled like so many today that since the 80s "Greed Is Good" through media etc that chasing your own dream at any cost is ok (people should read Berserk... and correctly as it's really quite the opposite of "chasing your own dream at any cost" but stupid be stupid).
There's so many nice scenes throughout which show how humans can be towards each other: kind, caring, communal. A light in these dark times.
Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021)
Has all the right ingredients but doesn't quite work
The overall problem is laziness, or lack of talent in certain departments. It's all ok, but like so many of the recent utter failures that Disney released (which they've had to review bomb up to get anywhere near 6 points) it fails to observe and learn from the past.
Is it the music?
Certainly not helping as it largely goes completely off-piste. The incidental music isn't bad - sure no Vangelis or Wallfisch great but it's not bad.
What is bad is every episode starts and ends with a terrible techno song, which is out of place to the existing universe, and really sets itself up to fail. Whack something a bit more Blade Runner on it and it would certainly gain a point or two back. Lazy.
Stand out on this is the blues/jazz diegetic numbers in episode 10. Also, the best episode - after all it has Emotional Content.
Is the animation the problem?
After years of watching animation and anime, and it being 2022 after all, it's certainly not the best. It only just passes the bar... and really expected more.
Is the story the problem?
Certainly a major issue - and remember this is Blade Runner after all, and all the released media films, game, books, animations have been top notch... and this is largely where it falls down. It's all nearly there, but the story is off, the pacing is off.
Groaned when the Blade Runner was introduced as "Marlowe".
The old no memory hook - lazy. The many coincidences that happen just to save Elle's life... lazy. Anime boy Joseph turning up to save her every time... lazy.
Crimewave (1985)
If you like Three Stooges this might be for you
There's a reason this isn't often spoken about - it's a weird one. In theory it should be one of the best films ever: Raimis, Cohens, and The Chin - but it just misses... and constantly.
Maybe it's just a bit too US Whacky for non US tastes I suspect - for those who get Three Stooges slapstick, unfortunately it's not for me.
The humour which worked well in Evil Dead really misses here, or maybe it's just missing something in the leading man > it starts well, he's likeable... but then bizarrely becomes unlikeable.
There's a lot of good here - the duo of Paul L Smith and Brion James (RIP both) is great. Brion James, the overdubbed Muppet voices although a bit odd at first do add to the performance.
All in all, not necessarily a bad film, but definitely for a niche audience.
Deadtectives (2018)
One of the rare successful horror comedies
Definitely worth your time if you have an actual sense of humour, and like horror. Well written, put together, and understands Ghost Hunting Shows as well capturing their full cheesy hokey made upness.
No it's not an original premise, but it's probably the only one that I've seen that actually succeeds with it.
The cast are perfect throughout, the fx are great, the lines are great...
No it's not a 10/10, cause it's not Evil Dead 2, there's no over the top blood going everywhere and there's no moments where you clap your hands in glee, but when so many other horror comedies fall short you've got to give respect when it's due.
Some of the other reviews are really confusing "this is great 6/10" - ignore them, it's solidly in the you won't be disappointed unless you've got bad taste.
Doctor Who: The Timeless Children (2020)
Wow... it can be that stupid
As the Featured Review from Chunklefunga says:
"I simply don't understand how this script was even written." I could apply that to many other things.
It's stupid through and through, and worse an insult to every other writer that came before. This is the sort of rot we see happening in the US with rubbish such as Last Jedi, Power of the Rings. These writers are prime examples of arrogant Dunning Kruger that make the world a bad place.
Chibnall has form for producing utter rubbish: do you remember Camelot? An Arthurian telling so wrong that it didn't even make it through the first series even with one of the best casts in years.
He also has form with Broadchurch... so it looks like although he's capable at drama (although not shown in his tenure at Dr Who), he's absolutely pish at fantasy/sci-fi. Which is a damn shame - imagine the quality of writing from Broadchurch brought to Dr Who or Camelot...
Everyone in the chain for accepting this script through should be kicked off. Dr Who, Star Wars, etc needs to have a writing room with a Genuine Archivist who will be that annoying fan who knows everything, but holds it all together and would have been able to veto this crap.
Hopefully RTD will have be savy enough to retcon this Timeless Child nonsense into the bin where it should have gone before it even reached the screen..
This is not any of the actors fault - they spin this -10/10 rubbish upto 1 star, but as the saying goes you can't polish sh..
Gamera: Rebirth (2023)
Fan Service does not a good anime make
There's a lot of OK about Gamera: Rebirth.
It's not necessarily bad - unless you're talking about the exceptionally poor CGI animation. Bring back Reboot all is forgiven! I'm sure some apologetics will describe it as edged or something, but its a failure as animation style.
For genuine fans of Kaiju this will be a non-event. Yes x, y, z appears, but it's all so lacklustre most of the time.
Could this be seen as "my first trainee Kaiju" - well, yes. It feels like it's aimed at a young audience: 10-12, and not aimed at a universal audience like the original films - which can be watched and enjoyed at any age. So it's a fail on the writing team... which is surprising when you look at them. But I guess they're adapters not writers.
Worth a watch, just... could have been better.
Flowers (2016)
Miss-sold as a comedy - astutely written generational damage
If you enjoyed the deeper themes of Everything Everywhere All At Once, then this is a series for you. If you have the depth of pea and take people on surface value move along.
A genuine 10 out of 10 program, and there's not many of those around > My Mister, Everything Everywhere All At Once - it's in very limited company.
Genuinely beautifully written by William Sharpe, who also stars as Shun - the very lost illustrator - who's manic desperate fish out of water behaviour to cling to happiness in the face of survivor guilt provides much of the light relief to the heavier themes of depression, generational grief, parental abuse/neglect.
In general, faultless - casting, direction, music, nothing to complain about... makes a change in these times where people are attempting to ride the coattails of their predecessors and make an absolute dog dinners of it.
S1 is pretty self contained, there wasn't really a need for S2, but ignore anyone saying to outright ignore S2. Yes, it does take some time to warm up, but slowly gets to the point - seemingly all just support for episode 5's various speeches and filling in some of the previous gaps and rounding it out. There's moments that ram home some of the points for those that haven't been paying attention.
The Incredibles (2004)
Pixar doing Spider-Verse 15 years earlier
Disney needs help, it's cultural drip after cultural drip - obviously they don't care about legacy etc, the dead horse they're flogging still makes money, and that's fine... if that's how you want to run your business that's your business, but it does make for a lot of great legacies being let done.
The Marvel Universe is pretty flogged right now, but with the odd exception - both Spider-Verses, charming, intelligently written - human, and... well come watch Incredibles again and you'll notice a lot of similarities... and who's going to complain about that?
Part of Pixar's famous run of knock-em off their socks genius run. A run that has probably kept Disney alive as a cultural thing and only now coming off the rails a little under Disney's supervision. Oh well.
But remember... NO CAPES!
(The voice nailed so perfectly by the director they were told not to replace it)
The Ice Pirates (1984)
Did exactly what it aimed to do - Silly Space Fun
As I wrote this I awarded it an extra point because of how much I enjoyed it.
Ok, it's not the best film ever, it's not the funniest Space Film (Spaceballs obviously, but if you loved Spaceballs then check this out), but it does do an awful lot right. This is what the 80s were about: FUN films, unlike the "fanfic content" we get now from the Big Evil Corps.
The cast put their all into it, and you'll recognise an awful lot of people that went on to bigger and better things. The FX are pretty bad, even by then standards, but who cares - lets go for a ride - it's a comedy film, and delivers.
I'm sure people will complain about some of the stereotypes - but for those that know they'll know that Bruce Vilanch was playing Bruce Vilanch in Space and have a riot with it. For those that don't know Vilanch is a super important person in the US's LGBT progression.
The story is daft and fun, the casting far more multicultural and realistic than all the modern crap, much like Star Trek The Original Series. And you'll come away loving the cowardly robots.
Stacked full of throwaway lines that are far more actively progressive than the crowbarred stupidness and the gaslighting that follows of current Hollywood.
"Why'd you make him black?"
"Cause I wanted him to be perfect"
Dolores Claiborne (1995)
The Great Stephen King adaption that gets forgotten
Stephen King is often either greatly adapted or badly adapted. This is one of the rare one's that falls into the greatly adapted.
There's not a lot to dislike about this film - except the filming quality itself, it's a little bit dark.
The acting from everyone is grade a - not a step wrong amongst the cast. Even the kid actor! (an early role for the sadly MIA Dead Like Me star Ellen Muth).
The adaption picks up on all the human psychology of the book - understanding how people work - the workhorse nature of Dolores, the broken nature ofJoe, the parental pass over of alchoholism to Selena... The subtle put downs of Detective Mackey towards Dolores... urgh, the arrogance of those that look down on the genuine hard working people.
Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005)
Beautifully directed, scripted, shot, acted, and as for that music...
Not many films are perfect, this is one of them.
Everything about this is spot on from the opening animation and theme music based around the eternally brilliant Vivaldi.
The script weaves, showing the grey characters, the privilege of beauty, and the stupidity of society in throw away lines such as "polkadot dresses were all the rage that year"... such is the fickleness of the stupid.
However, those same stupid people are the same sort that will not understand this film, filled with complex grey characters - twisted and broken by lifes events, forced into moral blackholes with no other ways out for them.
It gives you the backstories of the characters to show you the downwards spirals that leads to the fateful events... genuine human reactions - not just plot points.
It constantly hints throughout about things, through reactions, little flashbacks.
The subject matter and fact it's not at all Black and White means it's not going to gel with the large population of a certain large part of the globe that likes to simplifies reality and gets things massively wrong.
There's a reason this film is celebrated.