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The Power of the Dog (2021)
Complete waste of time
This was easily one of the worst movies I have seen during the past year and this getting 10 Oscar nominations truly is a tragicomic illustration about the downfall of modern Hollywood cinema. My best guess is that the movie tries to paint some kind of picture about the toxic masculinity and its concealed core reasons (you are gay?). However, I can't tell for sure because it seems that 75 percent of the essential material was left on the cutting room floor. Now it's just a seemingly random collection of episodic events with people interacting with each other in a distant and inhumane manner. It's really hard to get involved with anything that is going on. There is no real plot, character development or anything even remotely interesting going on throughout the runtime. All of this is iced with a leading "suspense" music which is slapped on to this nonsense so that the audience understands that something important is supposedly going on. But it is not, because this movie is a waste of time through and through. It's like an overly boring abomination child of Valhalla Rising, Antichrist, There Will Be Blood and Brokeback Mountain. All the good stuff is just nowhere to be found and you are left to fill the blanks in your imagination.
Finch (2021)
Not that enjoyable
Did not watch any trailers or plot synopsis before watching this. Just saw a poster with a good old Tom Hanks with a doggo and a funny looking robot, so I expected a heartwarming little adventure with some comedic elements. But oh boy was I wrong, because this movie is right there with Viggo Mortensen's "The Road" what comes to post-apocalyptic adventure movies. It's very bleak and desperate throughout the runtime and to be honest, I do not understand what the creators of this movie were aiming at. At least movies like The Road and 12 Monkeys know that they are gritty, dark and hopeless, but this movie seems to have some kind of identity crisis with its overall tone. "The plot" it also kind of pointless, though Hanks gives a solid performance as always.
Dangerous (2021)
Bet this was patched together in a single weekend
This is the worst movie I have seen in a very long time. Everything in it is just so uninspiring, cheap and poorly made. Even though this has some decent actors, everybody is in obvious hurry to just get this over with. Every scene seems to be done with a first try without even reading the script, though I wonder if they even had a script to begin with as you are likely to see better dialogue in a kindergarten puppet show. I really don't understand why all these B-tier movies have to be so sub-par in every imaginable way. It's not about the money either, since you can make genuinely good movies with very little money. Just see "Upgrade" for example, they conjured up a solid sci-fi action thriller with mere 3 million dollars. On the other hand, this supposedly had a budget of 8-10 million dollars and literally nothing in it works. Actors, plot, script, direction, cinematography, screenwriting, set pieces, action sequences, special effects, comedic elements, music - all garbage. Seems like every single person involved with this movie just could not care less and thus, you should avoid it too.
Hypnotic (2021)
Yep, it's another stinker
Only good thing about this is the premise, but it's all downhill from there. Basically it's just a low-tier "Black Mirror" episode with an extended runtime. Stupid and underdeveloped on almost every possible level.
The Deep House (2021)
It's actually pretty decent!
There is just something unnerving about being underwater; it's murky and disorienting, your movement is cumbersome, voices sound weird, and you are unable to breathe without proper equipment. Now, when adding being in a enclosed space - like haunted house in this case - to the equation, there is so much that can go wrong. And indeed it does, when couple of social media glory hunters go scuba diving in the "The Deep House". To be honest, besides the underwater element, there is very little novelty to be found here compared to many other haunted house stories. Good thing is that everything is put together well enough for the most part at least. Actors do a solid job, directors seems to know what they are doing, cinematography is atmospheric, and the audio also works well. There is a couple of annoyingly confusing shaky camera scenes and jump scares, but guess that is kind of mandatory in movies like this. The main problem however, is that where most of the movie is genuinely scary and unnerving, it just does not come that well together till the end. Maybe more prudent and vague showcasing about the inhabitants of the house would have kept the tension up till the credits rolled. It's also very predictable, over-explanatory and there are some few minor additional annoyances which I won't give away here. Though running only at 1h 20mins, it's mercifully short so you are unlikely to get bored. For all it's worth, I would recommend this as there surely are a lot worse picks in the horror genre.
Old (2021)
Yep, it really is that dismal
As many already noted, interesting premise is thoroughly botched here with a squalid execution on every possible level. It really is bizarre how hit or miss type of movie maker Mr. Shyamalan is. How did the same guy manage to do The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Split - which were great - and now in "Old", literally nothing works? The premise of the movie had surely provided interesting results in more competent hands, but instead of giving us even the most simplistic contemplations about the tragedies of life and growing old, every introduced idea seems under developed and hastily put together. Dialogue is horrifyingly bad throughout the runtime, with acting being a perplexing mix of characters just apathetically staring into nothingness, or yelling without any apparent reason.
The involved actors clearly are not the ones to blame for this mess however, because the script gives very little room to work with. Shyamalan just clearly has no idea what to do with these characters. The movie even manages to be boring and feel rushed at the same time - it's amazingly amateurish work really. The compulsory twist at the end can be seen as a minor redeeming quality, but it does not offer a reward that scrumptious, which would justify all the previous suffering.
Small Engine Repair (2021)
Seems like the ending is from another movie
Even though this movie obviously is some kind of statement against "toxic masculinity" for what it's worth, it is pretty effective with its message. All the involved actors also do a stellar job and seem to behave pretty naturally throughout the runtime. No complaints about the writing, directing or cinematography either. It even manages to thrill you before the ending rips you away from any kind of reasonable catharsis. Not to spoil anything I will just say that - yeah, it is that bad.
Saint Maud (2019)
Pretty good character study of loneliness, mental health problems and religious lunacy
Even though the movie has a really somber and slow pace, it keeps things constantly interesting enough for you not to get bored. The movie knows how to build up menacing ethos and while doing so, it is one of the better renditions in showing how ones mental state is slowly deteriorating with horrifying results. Also, this movie can be taken as a statement against religious fundamentalism. Despite its overall grim tone, Saint Maud even manages to be somewhat funny occasionally and even the brutal ending has some comedic undertones behind it. Every actor does a stellar job, the cinematography is beautiful and the audio score fits well to the atmosphere. Good and interesting movie - would recommend.
100 Days to Live (2019)
Any random episode of CSI is better than this
I know, its done with a cheap ass budget, but that is no excuse to miss the mark in every possible category. We used to make better "movies" by ourselves when we were in grade school for crying out loud. This movie is supposed to be some sort of a thriller, but as the identity of the murderer is revealed in a very early stage, very little suspense remains as the story unravels. So, the movie flattens down to cheesy melodrama with attempts to give half-assed life lessons and throw in a few curve balls throughout the runtime. The problem here however is that as none of the actors involved cant actually act, script is dull, and the director lacks the required finesse for effective delivery, it all feels meaningless. In addition, pacing of the movie is all over the place, editing sucks, cinematography is bad and the "emotional" musical score sounds very cheap. I give one extra star for decent try, but I would advise everybody to skip this and watch any other horror/thriller/drama movie you can find.
Trading Places (1983)
Feels more like a theater performance than an actual movie
I was perplexed about the unnecessary theatrics as all the performances felt over the top. These theater antics were further enforced by these small pauses and sloppy editing between lines and scenes, like they were meant to give some breathing room for live performers and audience alike. In addition, the premise of the movie seems infeasible, as two greedy wall street brokers would never do such an "experiment" in the fear of losing money. Character development is also kind of non-existent, and the delivery of Akroyd and Murphy does not seem to resonate that well with the overall tone of the movie.
The Mandalorian (2019)
Mediocre series
Just because the reference point (new trilogy) sucked, it does not mean that this show is actually good, if its not equally as bad. I'm guessing people just got used to Star Wars being bad and when they actually managed to pull off a mediocre SW series like this, people had forgotten how good star wars can be in its true (original trilogy) form. Bulk of this show basically consists of Mandalorian doing side quests, with only story line worth mentioning is the mandalorians relationship with baby Yoda. But with this pace it is going nowhere and it starts to get pretty clear that the show runners don't know what to do with these characters.
The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
Not that good
The movie starts out okay and there admittedly is decently grim atmosphere present right from the get-go. The visuals are solid and the audio score works as well. Acting job also hits its mark. The horror in this movie is a mix of jump scares combined with more lingering imaginary of unexplained phenomenon. The problem however, is that it all gets a bit dull until the end, as all the horror elements pretty much stays the same throughout the runtime. Even though the film can be categorized as a slow-burner, it ain't exactly holding back with its delivery of spooks either. This means that all the scary stuff starts to feel a bit diluted. I kept on expecting some fresh elements and alterations of course, but sadly there wasn't any. There is one good "The Mist"-like scene near the end, but the actual ending is somewhat unsatisfactory.
The Vast of Night (2019)
Tedious nonsense, avoid at all costs
Usually I don't mind the slow pace and a good buildup, but this movie is just too much. The fact that literally nothing even remotely interesting is going on in the first 30 minutes or so suggests that this should have been a single episode of black mirror. Even then, it would have been heavily outclassed by superior storytelling. Though I have to admit I don't know what happens in the end since I couldn't stomach a single second more after the 40 minute mark. Furthermore, the movie tries to be artsy with its 50's TV broadcast style combined with long cuts and random 30 sec long black screens(?) I am so tilted for this movie wasting my time, that the first 1/10 from me is well deserved. If you want to watch slow sci-fi, just stick with "close encounters of the third kind" or "the contact". No matter even if you had seen those thousands of times - they are still far more entertaining than this insult of a science fiction movie.
Gisaengchung (2019)
Not a 10/10
Interesting, yet flawed movie. First of all the movie has 0 replay value, which I keep in high regard. Second, no explanation about the obvious masterful bamboozling ability of the Kim family is given other than ms Park is "gullible". The movie also has some significant problems regarding its emotional nexus. Everything feels distant and random at best. In addition, even though I liked similar rapid genre swap in Miikes "Audition", the trick does not work here that well. Still, a watchable, yet disposable movie.
Devs (2020)
Ambitious science fiction watered down by lead performance
Alex Garland seems to be the man when it comes to quality science fiction. "Devs" is another ambitious effort from him in the more science part of science fiction. Even though I am no particle physicist, I found the science legit enough to seem believable. You can see that they did some actual research about the matter instead of just throwing everything at it in the hopes that something sticks. The show represent something new and interesting with a good pace, though occasionally the tempo slows down too much. Maybe there is one episode too much and more generous editing would have done this show a favor. Another thing that annoyed me was the odd musical choices in some parts. I loved the general soundscape, but these "comedic" musical scores with vocals felt out of place every time they were introduced. Lastly, I also have to mention that the lead performance was pretty horrible. I don't know if they went with this mild Asperger/Autism angle with the character, but she was like sleepwalking through the series. Despite of this, I would strongly recommend this to any science fiction fan.
The Lodge (2019)
Brutal statement against religious lunacy
Without giving away too much, this movie is about coping with loss, fighting your inner demons and the potential harmfulness of religious fundamentalism. It is not horror per se, but rather a more subtle suspense drama type of deal, just like 2018's Hereditary. Though the movie can be quite a drag at times, the premise is intriguing and it gets enough things right to keep it interesting till the end. Actors also do a good job all around but the "artistic" camera angles annoyed me at times. One might also consider this too similar to Hereditary. All things considered, "The Lodge" is a good, yet flawed movie for mature audiences.
Aliens (1986)
Sublime piece of cinema
This is how sequels should be made. Take the essential themes of the predecessor and further develop those into something different, yet staying true to the original. The first Alien movie was great but in my books, this one is better. Hugely entertaining roller coaster ride of prime time cinema from an era where practical effects often looked better than modern CGI.
The Matrix (1999)
A modern classic
Easily one of my all time favorites. Innovative plot, good cast, solid special effects, great action sequences and all around smooth momentum throughout the movie. In addition, this one does not wear out even after multiple views and thus, all things considered, it is one of the rare 10/10 movies for me.
The Hunt (2020)
Average oddball
Got to give this movie points for trying to piss off just about everybody. However, that is not enough to make this movie good by any means. I know this is supposed to be a comedy of some sorts, but still, all the characters feel odd and devoid of any humane feelings. I mean hunting people for sport and getting hunted should bring up some kind of emotions, but this is not the case with characters in this movie. The main hero acts just like it's another day in the office while steamrolling through any resistance she encounters. Same goes with the baddies, they just act like nothing special is happening. Even hostel movies showcased similar situations with greater finesse. In addition, the movie in general is not that smart that it likes to think. Thus, the shock value is not enough to save this title from bottomless pits of mediocrity. The final cat fight is pretty good though.
Underwater (2020)
Better than expected
I like sci-fi and "The Abyss" and "Aliens" got to be among my favorite movies of all time. It would be easy to slam this one as a cheap rip off of those two (which it kinda is), but still, I can't deny the fact that I enjoyed watching this. There are some obvious drawbacks though: it gets to the point right from the get go. In fact, so fast that you don't care about any of the characters. The movie is also cut and shot in a way that half of the time you can't tell what the hell is actually going on. On the plus side of things, the movie is compactly short so you don't really get bored and the monster design is effective. Stewart also does decent job as the main protagonist. With little more attention to detail, this could have been great.
Uncut Gems (2019)
What a mess
I could only stomach this about half way through. Every scene is just total chaos with people talking and shouting on top of each other with excessively vulgar language. It doesn't make you Scorsese even if your script is mainly compounded of the word "f". There is no real plot either, things just happen in a seemingly random fashion. Irritating movie that serves no purpose and I couldn't care less how things worked out in the end for these annoying as hell characters.
Martyrs (2015)
(Un)suprisingly bad
As many people have already said, this remake is completely useless. It over explains and waters down the essential themes while lacking all the impact of the French predecessor. Although I have to give it some credit for doing things a bit differently. This kept me semi interested till the credits rolled. Someone might wan't to see this just for curiosity and comparison (like I did), but if you had to choose between the French one and this, just skip this nonsense and watch the original version.
Profondo rosso (1975)
Might be better with some LSD or Shrooms
Watching this sober was a real pain in the ass. Out of place musical score annoyed me from the start and this dumpster fire did not get any better from there. All actors were bad with over the top theatrics and their behavior and motives felt confusing to me. Comedic elements (if they were meant as such) were out of place and nothing made sense in general. I have to admit I did not even finish the film, so this rating might seem a bit iffy. However, very few films have got on my nerves to the extent I actually had to stop watching. So, 3 IMDB stars are well deserved. That said, I might have to give this one another try after intaking some psychedelics. Maybe then, it all starts to make sense.
Liu lang di qiu (2019)
Dumb sci-fi combined with uninteresting characters
Was expecting more from this. Even with ignoring all the troll physics involved with the premise of the whole story, it´s pretty goddamn bad. All the characters are paper thin, CGI is mediocre at best, cheesy sentimentality is annoying and it is all covered with these weird slapstick comedy elements distinctive to Asian movies.
Lords of Chaos (2018)
Semi enjoyable as a whole
Main problem of the movie is that every character in it is more or less unlikable. Other issue is that I really don't know who is going to go and see this black metal being a very marginal phenomenon. Therefore large population might not be interested in the topic and "trve black metal"- people seems to despise the movie before even seeing it because of how the characters (might) be represented, in addition to the lack of support (and original music) from associated musicians. Ok, we hear Freezing Moon from Mayhem, but if I'm not mistaken, that was it.
I suppose the movie tries to be some kind of growing up story but as such it´s only mediocre and as said, every character in the movie is unlikable with very little redeeming qualities. Based on interviews, the story follows actual events pretty truthfully, though some of the details are surely largely made up. There is also odd comedic undertone which occasionally feels awkward. I can understand that the black metal aesthetics might seem laughable to some, but still these comedic elements feel pushed as the whole story in general is pretty grim. I noticed same problem with Åkerlund's Polar. He does not seem to get the balance between brutal violence and "comedy" right.
Overall the movie is still watchable and maybe those not familiar with the story will get more out of this. At least the film moves with a brisk enough tempo for the 2 hours not to feel too long.