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paul-gibbons22
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Alan Wake II (2023)
The wait is worth it.
If Stephen King and David Lynch had a baby this would be it - It's creepy & completely bonkers.
I've not felt uneasy playing a game since P. T & the first few hours of Outlast, and this excels in that department, the use of sound, music and lighting to elicit fear is exceptional. & the occasional cheap jump scare I loved.
Writing, voice work, and combat is a massive step up from the first game.
A special shout-out to the episode "We sing" - absolute brilliant insanity and the use of lighting in this level *chefs kiss*.
It has a few minor technical issues as of writing this, with some scenes where lip syncing is out & a few bugs & no physical copy coming was disappointing.
I didn't think anything would get close to BG3 for my GOTY but this is running it close.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Udûn (2022)
Inject that right into my veins.
That was amazing, I would give it a solid ten if not for the very odd line that made me cringe a little!
Since episode 4 the quality has risen and this by far is the best episode, it's extraordinary for a tv show that was mind blowing. The action is phenomenal and weighty, every hit you can feel. It was filled with so much tension, and when you think it's eased it up the tension comes again, then you think you're safe, everything is ok and boom hit you with an even bigger thing. At 70 minutes long it flies by and leaves you with wanting more.
The cinematography is an absolute dream, has been throughout the series. And the score, some of the best work since thrones.
For the first time this series I am dying for next weeks episode.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
What a show!
When I first heard about it, was massively sceptical, saw it released on Netflix and thought I'll give it a go not expecting much at. How wrong was I.
Brilliant looking show, blends so well within the game world and being a fan of the game (which has been brilliant since the latest update) seeing locations I've already visited turning up in the show, the sounds, the music and little speed bumps in the road as they're driving was fantastic.
The characters are all so memorable, I mean Panam and Judy move over there's a new Queen in town and her name is Lucy. The amount of heart within the show was a massive surprise.
The only negative is there doesn't look like they'll have a second season.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Just Jen (2022)
Jeez, why?
Tease Daredevil, get a wedding episode.
It was not as bad as previous episodes, it had its moments but so much of the episode is recycled cliche comedy and scenarios that we've seen executed better 1000 times before. The obnoxious bride, the getting drunk at a wedding, the one nice wedding guest etc. The writing shouldn't be this lazy, you can't be going "well the situation is completely unique because she's a hulk", that cannot and should not be the one selling point. If they want to be unique give us something unique & not have this feeling like they're using a random word generator to put her into scenarios.
This week we are treated to some action but once again it's far too short.
CGI not as bad as previous weeks but still no where near what you'd expect from something that has the budget this show has and Disney's resources.
The good tho is finally seems to be a bit of a story arc, it's only taken 6 episodes but it's finally there.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: The Great Wave (2022)
Finally.
I loved the first episode but apart from looking beautiful at times I found 2 & 3 a little boring with scenes feeling unnecessarily drawn out, this episode however everything starts falling into place from the off. Once again we're treated to some of the most stunning looking tv but with an added bonus of great story telling, great directing and a fantastic score which makes one scene in particular (you'll know it if you've watched) not just exhilarating but a piece of art.
I'm really hoping the rest of the series sticks with this level of writing, this wasn't just the best episode of the season by far but one of the great single episodes of a fantasy show.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
My kinda weird.
I went in not knowing an awful lot about the movie thinking it was going to be some sort of sci-fi Kung fu action movie like those of the 00's, tho it does have elements of this, it was so much more. It was like watching one of the crazy dreams I have on a regular basis on the screen.
Acting, directing all great, the action sequences are brilliantly choreographed, dialogue is witty and funny. The acting is phenomenal by all, But the one thing that shocked me the most was how much heart and emotion the film has. Truly outstanding unique film that even tho it's over 2 hours long it flies by and has infinite rewatchability.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans (2022)
Why does it have to be so lazy?
It seems after the opener they decided "well right let's just downgrade all the CGI from here on out", not a single scene with Jen in hulk form looks good in this episode, and has possibly the worst looking scene in the season when she's coming out of court into daylight! It was another marvel unfinished rush job, I've seen tv shows/movies with nowhere near the budget this has produce something better looking than that PS2 era monstrosity.
Pug? I think his name is, suddenly he's speaking and acting like he's been kicked in the head by a horse, her other colleague Nikki? A character so devoid of originality we've seen it a 1000 times before, we now have the introduction of an insulting cliche costume designer. And still no season story arc other than she's a hulk who is socially awkward.
Tatiana Maslany is such a wonderful actress, she deserves better than this turgid lazy writing.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Finding it hard to rate.
I'm finding it hard to rate as there's parts of the movie I really enjoyed & I was never bored during it, the storyline itself is fantastic, cannot fault it at all and there's some scenes in there especially at the end that are great, but execution of the storyline is not always great, there's so much unnecessary silliness that at what first I smiled at soon wore thin, it's never ending, in moments that needed to be a bit somber or serious it's just there and rips you out of the moment.
Bale is great, creepy as hell and also found myself and I'd guess others too found a lot of sympathy for his character.
CGI is typical phone it in marvel phase 4 production, the little care they're showing it now I think is an insult to movie goers.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Is This Not Real Magic? (2022)
Better than last weeks.
Ok the cgi is still terrible, the support cast in their entirety are still forgettable (4 episodes in and I couldn't tell you a single one of their names).
BUT it wasn't that bad of an episode, it's the first episode where it felt as if most things worked, Wong was brilliant, the comedy didn't make roll my eyes, there was finally some action and just a generally fun episode.
The biggest issue I'm still having with the series thus far is there is zero stakes, there's no main plot other than she's a hulk, nothing to that makes you excited to come back the following week to see how it all pans out.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: The People vs. Emil Blonsky (2022)
How is it getting worse.
Wow I mean WOW that was awful! 3 episodes in and I'm struggling to figure out what the point of this show is? There's zero stakes to grip the viewer. What does it want to be? Who exactly is it aimed at?
The CGI felt so rushed and so bad that it became distracting whenever Jen was in her Hulk form. The one piece of action we finally get is over within second.
The 'Comedy' even for marvels recent standards is embarrassingly poor, Blonsky is now a joke and not a funny one at that, The whole subplot is so cringe, I still couldn't tell you a single side characters name.
I'm now dreading what they're gonna do with Matt Murdoch.
Truly awful episode.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Superhuman Law (2022)
A pointless filler by episode 2
Oh dear, after what I thought was an ok opening episode that set the scene it comes down with a crashing thud in episode 2, who is this show aimed at? How can you have a filler episode already? I don't know whether it's marvel fatigue or poor writing but whenever the typical marvel comedy elements pop up and there's a lot I can't help but sigh then roll my eyes - there seems to be no stakes - somehow the CGI that looked decent in EP1 looks rushed in ep2- and so far side characters are so uninteresting having just finished the episode just a moment ago I couldn't tell you the name of a single one of them.
Episode 3 needs to be a massive improvement from this.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: A Normal Amount of Rage (2022)
It's an ok starting point.
(It's not a 1* episode and it's definitely not a 10* episode).
Ok The good stuff first:
-Tatiana Maslany as no surprise is effortlessly charming.
-The CGI for a phase 4 production is surprisingly tight.
-The score is good
-Some of the comedy lands (more on this in the bad)
-Great to see Ruffalo back.
The Bad Stuff
-It's very uneven and clunky.
-Babies the audience with explanations about absolutely EVERYTHING.
-The end was very pantomime cheesy.
-It tries too hard.
-Like with a lot of the marvel stuff when the comedy doesn't land it's eye rolling inducing.
All in all, it's an ok start, not ground breaking or spectacular but sets the scene and hopefully it builds on from that.
Hawkeye (2021)
Better than TFATWS.
Ultimately it's just ok, the comedic moments are welcomed but they're largely hit and miss, action is your typical quick cut marvel technique that you can't always tell what's really going on. Characters are again hit and miss. But I think its largely better than TFATWS so far and is more fun than Loki was.
tick, tick...BOOM! (2021)
Andrew Garfield wow.
Never been a fan of musicals but decided to give this a try, and wow it's a really good movie. Andrew Garfields range as an actor is so impressive and he puts in one of his best performances that if he doesn't end up with at least an Oscar nod it would be criminal.
Eternals (2021)
Commits the greatest cinema sin of being outright boring!
I ignored reviews, even when I heard it was nothing like other marvel movies I honestly became far more excited as the marvel tried and trusted formula has become a little tiresome to me.
What I wasn't expecting tho is for it to be so unforgivably boring, somehow even the action scenes are dull. You get the odd bit of beautiful cinematography yet some shots even in the same scene are shot in imax where others aren't and it can be incredibly jarring. The acting is hit and miss but mostly miss, Angelina Jolie should have remained retired.
Save your money and wait till it's released to stream.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Shang-Chi and the tale of two halves.
The first 1/2 is fantastic, it's right up there with the best of the MCU, I feared the action would follow suit with previous marvel films with nothing but quick cuts and shaky cam but it doesn't and it's brilliant. Cast are fantastic Tony Leung the high point for me. At this point to me the film was an easy 8/10
Unfortunately, the second half isn't as tight, the story becomes a little too fantastical ending in a god awful CGI mess that has become all too common with the MCU bringing the score down.
It's a shame as the first half is generally fantastic, but I don't see myself rushing to see it again now.
Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
Shocking!
Shocks me this film is rated higher than homecoming on here, TBH both The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 which by large are pretty weak Spidey films are better than this.
Tom Holland and Zendaya have zero onscreen chemistry, Holland's accent is awful, his Peter is a full blown idiot and whines too much, the suits once again are meh, on large the CGI is terrible and worse of all the story is plain stupid.
It's a terrible movie.
Loki (2021)
Hit and Miss.
There's a lot of great things Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, & Richard E grant (series highlight for me) are great, episode one really good and episode 5 is stunning, the score is superb. Unfortunately that's where it ends, episode 3 I found to be incredibly boring with some god awful action & all the other episodes were just about passable.
I can't say I'm overly excited for a season 2 but hopefully with it they can add a little more vibrant colours to the show as it's quite dull and dark.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)
Not so much "masters" of the universe. UPDATE PART TWO IS EXCELLENT.
It's so frustrating as there's a great concept in there and some really good moments but so much ruined by this false female empowerment, cos this is not it! If anything it's more insulting saying the only way you can have strong female characters if you incapacitate the males.
Some of the voice acting is questionable, some of its great, a lot of the animation is great but why are the nipples so close to the armpits? I will give the score is brilliant. It's not the worst thing in the world but it could have been better as it's missing that little bit of fun and I can see why so many are riled up. But part 2 could end up being brilliant. Just don't advertise it as something it's not.
Originally gave this a six but Well, well, well part two righted everything that was wrong in part one, the writing, voice acting, characters and score are all just brilliant.
Fear Street: 1666 (2021)
A step back from part two yet better than part one (just)
Gone are the wonderful presence of Sadie Sink and Emily Rudd. Kiana Madeira is once again thrust back into the lead. She gives it a go is probably the only nice thing I can say about her acting ability, you know when someone has "it" and when someone doesn't and she most definitely doesn't so the film sufferers greatly for this. Had a more capable actress been the lead I wonder what could have been as the overall story is decent.
Fear Street: 1978 (2021)
Everything a slasher movie should be.
Apart from a brief appearance at the start gone are the annoying characters from episode one and in comes Sadie Sink and Emily Rudd as the two sisters who bring so much likeability to their characters even the side characters tho a little cliche at times are largely likeable. The kills are brutal and visceral, really good score and a great homage to Friday the 13th throughout. All in all it's light years ahead of the appalling part one and would quite happily watch again.
Fear Street: 1994 (2021)
Skip and watch the excellent part 2 instead.
I had been looking forward to this for awhile but wow it's not very good, It starts off strong with an opening that is very scream-esque which was great, but it quickly and dramatically dips in quality! The lead characters are far more annoying than likeable and incredibly selfish. Without giving away spoilers the plot especially the end is cliche & ridiculous, they lean into 1990's nostalgia so hard it leads to 90's rage and the acting isn't even B movie bad it's just s**t movie bad.
WandaVision: The Series Finale (2021)
Oh no!
Rewatched it over the weekend to make sure it wasn't just a reactionary opinion on it being bad, but on a second viewing I think it may be even worse. Its nothing short of a CGI mess, every other second it was like "oh boy here they go flying again" the stellar writing throughout the series went completely out the window, one of the worst received jokes in the whole marvel universe & some truly awful make up on Kathryn Hahn.
For me personally any rewatchability of the series in it's entirety went out the window with this episode which is a shame as from episode one I had been loving it.
WandaVision (2021)
Brilliant show until the finale.
Up until the finale it was an odd but truly fantastic show with acting master classes from both Bettany and Olsen, suddenly both characters got a chance to shine and show what the MCU had been missing by making them bit part characters, the mystery of what was going on was compelling, side characters interesting and seemed to get better with each passing episodes.
But then came the finale, oh dear the finale. It was one big CGI loud mess, full of eye rolling ridiculous moments and some really bad make up. Where everything else in the series had seemed so carefully planned out this felt rushed and unfinished. And for me personally ruining everything that came before it.
Black Widow (2021)
Pughs excellence couldn't save this dull affair
After the appalling FATWS tv series and mess of a finale in Wandavision I had high hopes Black Widow would be a return to form or least be a half decent affair, sadly it was not to be! When taskmaster was announced as the villain I couldn't help but be excited yet turned out to be yet another pointless villain. It's only just over 2 hours long which is average for a movie now yet somehow it feels too long, the action is just ok, the acting is largely passable apart from Pugh who is outstanding steals literally every single scene she's in but for me she was the only highlight of the whole film.
I'm becoming nervous for the marvel future for the first time. They need to freshen up their approach.