FKDZ Reviews

Easy A (2010)

Easy A

[7/10 · 11 May 2024]

Easy A, I was in for a fun little highschool comedy after the few recent movies I watched and this delivered more than I expected with some really fun and creative dialog writing. Combined with some great acting and you've got a perfectly fun movie.

Directing, if anything it's a pretty looking movie with most shots being at the golden hour, some fun little creative bits here and there. The pacing is great and it flies by as it should.

Writing, mostly dialog writing. It's refreshing to have a smart script here and dialog you actually want to listen to in a comedy of this style, as it's not the usual hur-dur but it actually have clever comebacks and smart jokes. The parent, oh wow, the jokes for the parent just hit it for me. The dad is incredibly funny and the delivery of the lines was just perfect. There's so many little ''throw away'' lines that jus click for me and made it really enjoyable. The writing especially makes our main character stand out from the bunch being a bit more geeky than ordinary. Which helped a lot for the story.

Acting and characters. Stone is fantastic, I have to admit I really have not seen a lot from here and it's bound to change because she shows quite the range and just ongoing charisma in this that is unmistakably infectious. Side characters just as good and do their part, special shout out to Tucci though, and Armisen was a fun surprise to see, always owns his roles. Church was fun to see too but his storyline was a bit meh and I don't think he did much with the character either.

Music, lots of it, almost never any downtime. Helps with the pace, but does veer into the territory of ''cheating'' and disconnects you a little from some more intimate moments or smaller moments. That said, it's a lovably nostalgic score that I've grown to like more and more. Power of nostalgia I guess.

Story, typical highs and lows, nothing groundbreaking. Romance is a bit forced but okay in the end.

Fun entertaining movie.

Dogtooth (2009)

Dogtooth

[7/10 · 11 May 2024]

Dogtooth. To say this isn't one of the more interesting movies I've seen this year would be an understatement. Now I'm not shy of these types of films, and especially because I want to start of with Lanthimos's filmography I went into this completely blank. Only having seen the Necktie short one random day.

Directing, meditative, intrusive and everlasting strangeness. The still frames, the way people's heads are not always in frame, allowing you to sit with the questions, there's so many things at play here. It's fantastic. I cannot overstate how the directing played a vital role in this not being a perverse or ''ugly'' movie intended for shock value. This' isn't that. Because you can tell there's so much more intent to tell and show. To challenge the viewer.

I've seen some review note it hilarious, I cannot find myself in that. Because I was entranced into this oddball little world these people were living in. And in my opinion, humor stood hand in hand with absurdity and ''incompatible'' moments.

As for story, there's lots to unpack here, but the general flow is not an overarching story, but a follow-through of decisions from individuals that lead to significant moments. Some more hastily chosen than others. There's really not much you can predict from these characters, they're bizarre devolved development make it all the more weird and in many ways sad. That said, it's not a movie you'll find hard to understand, rather hard to watch.

Music, crickets, lots of them. The only little bit we get and the characters get is almost as much of a joy for us as it is them.

Acting, utterly amazing. It's just there, it's real. No doubt. Everyone there nailed it and it would the thing to make or break but everyone is heavily committed.

Just, something special, something you probably see once. But special none the less.

Dream Scenario (2023)

Dream Scenario

[6/10 · 11 May 2024]

Dream Scenario, expectantly weird and interesting as it starts, with decent performances and alright directing. That being said, it's not the movie you dream it is, nor does it deliver with that surprise angle.

Going in blind, I was expecting the lonely many who dreams about a better life type of thing. Secret Life of Walter Mitty in a way but a little weirder perhaps. This ain't that, in fact it deals with a different subject and layers it in a underlying message of fame, infamy and how especially these days things can turn quick, just out of perception. If anything this is a movie that visualizes perception in a creative way. And that is interesting, for a while.

But the story and directing leaves lots to be desired in my opinion. Whereas the story falls a bit flat towards the end and doesn't really carry the movie enough, the directing doesn't excel at making the exciting scenes weird and interesting enough. It just falls a bit in the middle.

Acting, wow, this version of Cage I had to adjust to for a bit but he owns it. It's quite the shift and honestly I loved it, be he gives it his all, he's an entirely different person. Side character are fine, but nothing really notable besides Clement which was good with her scene.

Music/visuals/sound, decent enough but nothing that really sticked. The visuals are decent, none of them really stick out all too much but it is noticeable.

Generally, I just came into this wanting a little more from the main character, instead the writing sticks to a singular angle and doesn't really give much else of anything.

Monkey Man (2024)

Monkey Man

[7/10 · 3 May 2024]

Monkey Man, a first and foremost very strong directorial debut from Patel. Monkey Man is a engaging and aggressively dynamic action revenge film and doesn't shy from stating it being exactly that. In turn it gives a ton to enjoy with brilliant action scenes, interesting scenery and good acting.

Directing, the action scenes are fantastic, to the level of John Wick, but where John Wick action scenes tended to feel really repetitive after the first 30 minutes, Monkey Man adds so much more creativity to the mix and excellent pacing and music. The fact that guns play less of a role here helps that tremendously. The impact of the punches, the speed, it's incredibly enjoyable. And above all really well choreographed. The scene down the stairs that switched into POV, such a great switch up. The kills are creative and just satisfying overall.

Music is a strong factor because it carries every single action scene, applicably so, and it helps the pacing so much. This movie flies by. Whilst two hours for this type of movie is asking a bit much, it manages to just keep it paced good enough without having that lackluster dip. The movie takes a break, as needed, but gets back to it fast enough, and rewards you for that wait as well.

Acting, good all around, Patel is great, but this is less of a movie about great performances, it's just not that kind of movie but everyone does their thing and nothing failed to land. The dialog writing is alright, being a bit iffy here and there.

The story and editing, I put these together because they influenced each other quite heavily. First off, the editing, it's noticeable that this is a debut. Because a major weak point is the editing at the moment, it's fast paced and snappy, but at the cost of some abrupt moments that take you out of it for a little. The story is rather simple, but stays a bit wishy washy, and the editing doesn't help to try and piece things together, whilst the gist of it is obvious, the way scenes are shown doesn't always make sense. The mother is in two places at once and so are some others, it seemed like one scene, with two alternative scenarios, but both were shown. Also generally, the revenge angle stays somewhat flat. And the side characters are underdeveloped. Some just kind of show up for the scene and peace out. Also Alphonso's motivations are unclear. Why follow him, there's nothing to gain for him. Would make more sense if he had a bit more backstory.

All in all a worthy watch and a great debut. Hope to see more.

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

Late Night with the Devil

[7/10 · 27 April 2024]

Late Night with the Devil, I went into this slightly hyped, looking forward to it, going as blind as I can only knowing the creative premise. For that alone it's worth the watch because it's really well done. It sucked me right into the movie and didn't let go (for the most part).

I have to say the first half is fantastic, it's stays subtle and the underlying creepiness starts to set in more and more and you can feel it. The subtle spooks help even more and I was uneasy. The directing is fantastic and the film looks genuine, love the formats and color changes not being gimmicked. A great opening sequence, good editing for the most part. Really just for the concept it's really enjoyable and well executed.

That said, the later half starts to go off the rails and for me it was hit and miss. It started to veer out of the real world (that makes it scary) and become a fictional one more and more. And sadly, the VFX did not help with that, they're.. budget. And those parts, pulled me out more than I'd liked. I wished, really wished they kept the horror part more subtle for longer, and choose a more paranormal or disturbing angle than what we got. For me, this did not nail the landing. It's fine, but missed potential. The editing towards the end also gets quite creative, but not always with intent that made a lot of sense.

Acting, Dastmalchian is fantastic, love the stuff I've seen from him so far and this is no doubt a big showing from him. Everyone else is really good too, Bliss was a standout and the tough role for Torelli was good as well and kept me on my toes.

Music was good too, sound design worked well and was effective. Set design, perfect.

Scares/scare factor. It's got 1 or two good jumps, but it's not every scary, though the first half did make me tense up. Once it gets going, it quickly becomes entertainment and ''what is going on...'' than disturbing or scary. I just wish they didn't do the whole VFX thing at all, kept it simple and practical. There are some practical effects and they're pretty great.

The story, very much a underlying/background thing, that gets reignited in the finale, but doesn't really have impact. In turn, Lilly becomes somewhat unexplored even though she was build up as a more interesting character. She just kind of does her thing.

That said, very worth your time.

LaRoy, Texas (2023)

LaRoy, Texas

[6/10 · 27 April 2024]

LaRoy, Texas, a small scale, small town, crime drama with hint sof comedy that can make or break it. It likes to be silly as a harsh counterpart to the drama. The only issue here is writing and forthcoming characters.

Directing is pretty good, editing is just okay with some off beat cuts here and there but it looks the part and overall keeps a nice consistent style of a beatdown small town in a America. That being said, it's a surprisingly lively town once we go inside of places. Which to me felt odd. You are introduced into practically a ghost town, but the first diner and bar you walk into are full of people and have a pretty cozy/normal vibe to them. For the rest though, good enough, action directing not amazing.

Acting, overall great performances, though mostly quite one note. What irks me most though is the writing and the main downfall of this for me. The main character is intentionally written as a person not to root for, which is fine, if it also meant for a interesting and engaging story with his side characters and his own development. But not really. The character stays stuck in place so hard it becomes annoying to the point where you start to question the character even more, which also leads to a underwhelming ending.

Seeing someone mention Coen brothers, yeah, this is maybe something like that, it comes into that area of oddball characters and a main character that just kind of glides around them. But it lacks the writing (and dialog writing) to make it stick the landing. Only Zahn's character got a couple of chuckles out of me but that's about it.

It's fine, but tends to feel somewhat blunt and lacking.

Generation War (2013)

Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter

[8/10 · 21 April 2024]

Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter, or Generation Kill, is a strong and effective 3 part miniseries, to the point of feeling like a long movie that gives us perspective from the other side of the war. There's not much of that out there that does it in a true and honest way. But I think this show gets really close. And delivers a really effective look inside the minds and people of Germany during WW2.

It's story and characters all explore different sides of the war, the ones who stay, leave, are sent to leave, go to war. It manages to capture a lot in just 3 episodes.

Directing is strong, with great focus on characters, intense action and effective storytelling it doesn't ever miss a beat for me. It's story is filled with morrally grey choices, and things you can think about afterwards. It's not a easy show to watch and doesn't shy away from showing the horrors of war. It's main focus is on just the regular German citizen and soldier, not the camps, nor any special forces, nor the allies for that matter, who are shown in their true form just as much and not idolized into heroes.

It's a intentionally gritty and depressing series, how can it not be. But it takes no attempt at doubt combined with it's gritty desaturated colors and worn faces.

Acting is fantastic, you come to care for each character and their choices even though you still feel conflicted, all the time. Whilst some characters are easier to root for others are examples of the ones who tread and accept the darkness inside them. There's just a lot of complexity to explore making for such a good show.

There's more to say but for now, it's a fantastic series and I highly recommend anyone to see it even slightly interested in WW2 and getting it from a different perspective. Not the typical heroes/saviors versus evil.

Fallout (2024– )

Fallout

[8/10 · 21 April 2024]

Fallout, it seems that things are turning around for video game adaptions. Fallout manages to take the silly, gruesome, complex and chaotic world of the Fallout games and turn it into a compelling tv show. Not a small feat. If anything, the amount of switching in tone this show has it could've gone so much worse.

But it's delicate balance of funny, silly, awkward and gruesome is what makes this one of the more unique shows in a while.

As a big Fallout fan, especially New Vegas. I had set a low bar for this, how are they going to pull off such a massive world, and such a weird one too. Having Jonathan Nolan behind it gave me some hope. And Goggins helps, as always. But still, I gave it a low chance of succes. Behold my surprise when I binged it in a couple days. This is a genuinely good show. But it took some adjusting.

Primarily it leans into the silly *much* more, and it's foundation, art direction and tone of voice lies in the Fallout 4 game mainly. Which it a bit more silly than Fallout 3 or NV who in general are a bit more serious, gritty, and more depressing (as worlds).

Directing is great so far. I have some bad memories of Westworld action scenes, especially in later seasons, Nolan is not good at that because it was always a hilarious bullet fest that stood in awkward contrast to the rest of the show. But in Fallout, first off, the firefights and action scenes are perfectly good, and the bit of silliness that they have works because of the universe it is set in.

And that takes me to the bit that I needed to adjust to. This is by all aspect, a video game tv show, and it plays by video game RULES. As in it has a lot more comically unrealistic scenes. Whilst both being exceptionally gruesome and gore-y. Therefore it might just be the best video game tv show adaption ever. Because it's not trying to be real life, it's not trying to ground it in our realities. It 's creating a fictious world, and fictious rules to align perfectly with the fictitious rules of games and gaming in general. This is what I needed to accept and once I did I was really enjoying it.

Music, pretty perfect, the expected scores. Effective when used for sure. The oldies music really lands the show and puts it right inside the Fallout universe. I could sing all of them by heart. The fact it's the actual music you also hear in the games is icing on the cake.

The story is a great way to show the diverse and huge world of Fallout, and we've yet touched the surface. So much to explore and this gave a taste of each. It could go on for a good while.

Lore-wise minor changes here and there and mostly some creative choices in certain attitudes and portrayals, but it all made sense to me. None of it stuck out to me as betraying the games in terms of how things work. The BoS are a bit less cool than they should, and more incompetent here, but it's only a division of it. Not the entire thing, so it's easy to look past.

Also gore, man, they went all in. And I love them for it. Fallout games are gore-y and they don't stray one bit from that. That's what this show is, it's honest to the game, to an extend I've never seen before.

The pacing, it moves along fast, and characters do too, (fast travel..). What I didn't love as much was the coincidental nature of it all, it made the world feel very small and compact when everyone seems to meet up around some random corner every odd episode. If anything, that's my complaint so far, is that the world feels somewhat small. And everything around tends to feel like set dressing very quickly.

That being said, for now, Season 1. They really delivered a good time, and I can't wait for S2.

Immaculate (2024)

Immaculate

[5/10 · 21 April 2024]

Immaculate, a attempt at horror that fails to really make an entry strong enough to leave a lasting impression. It's religious themes are flat and underdeveloped, the antagonist is vague and unsatisfying. It doesn't really do anything beyond a very simple story that becomes more and more simple as the movie goes on.

Now for a short, easy horror, this should've been a walk in the park and enjoyable. But if Sweeney wasn't the headliner I doubt anyone would bother. Me included. She's great in everything I've seen so far and well, her in a horror I guess why not give it a try. Did I outright hate it? No. It manages to build up something interesting for the first 30 minutes or so but then really falls off. The plot with the red faces goes nowhere, it feels cheap and insufficiently thought through, and eventually distills to just one event that borders on absurd.

It just never felt like the movie tried to be something on it's own. The (jump) scares are just okay, some of them heavily inspired by others without the actual reasoning for them to happen. Just a bit of a mess of ideas.

Acting, perfectly fine, and the dialog too. Lots a screaming so be prepared. I was happy when it was over. I guess they used that as a ''horror'' element. Sweeney is great but doesn't show anything we haven't seen before. It's her typical, but very good, distressed state acting. Side characters felt odd and out of place, undeveloped, it felt like the entire story and it's side characters were forgotten towards the finale. Making for very weak moments and a somewhat chaotic ending.

Music was decent, but didn't last. Nor did it elevate necessary moments. I had more hope for this movie but alas, it's a mediocre horror, one of millions.

Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023)

Sometimes I Think About Dying

[7/10 · 11 April 2024]

Sometimes I Think About Dying, I think this is the first Ridley movie I've seen after her career in star wars, so.. quite a shift in tone. But a good film nonetheless. It allowed Ridley to show a lot more of herself and she deserves it because being tainted by a massive franchise is hard to break out of and really shape your own path.

Directing is something special here, and is what elevates this movie beyond it's subdued plot and somewhat lackluster story. But the beautiful meditative method of filming really sucks you into the world, but also the time and place, it just really slows you down. It's a very oddly relaxing movie. The into perfectly blends you into the little world you're stepping into. Just great. Paced well too, certainly didn't really overstay it's welcome but also didn't stick the land as much as I'd hoped.

The story and how it accentuates it with scenes like the poster, for me never really managed to capture much that the character was already doing day to day. It added another highlight, but not a layer or depth to the thought process. And if anything I wish we had more of that, more to explore. But it continues to be distant. Intentionally, in story, but also to the viewer.

Is this a movie that showcases depression that well. Nah. But it doesn't hurt it either, it's a perspective and I can appreciate the directing behind it. It has snippets of the real thing, also some blending of social anxiety.

Music was good too, used effectively. Sound design was excellent. Making dull quite rooms sound like dull quiet rooms isn't easy.

Good, but some potential left out.

Bottoms (2023)

Bottoms

[7/10 · 11 April 2024]

Bottoms, is a fun and rare these days no-frills comedy that pokes fun at stereotypes and the typical female empowerment. It's silly and doesn't act like it's more than just a comedy.

Directing nothing too special but it looks the part and is paced fairly well. In general it didn't feel like it dragged at any point and the diverse set of fun personalities helped in that. We have the typical highschool bunch in this and a few odd ones here and there to spice things up. Acting deserves to mentioned too, I only really know Edebiri from The Bear and she has quite the transformation here and shows off some good range in general, just a great chemistry as well with the two and you can tell for certain.

The story is fine, not very memorable but passably silly for a comedy like this. The show is surprisingly gruesome at times, which was a fun turn of events.

In terms of it being funny, it's to your own taste of course, but it definitely had some great lines, and a whole bunch of decent ones/moments. It'll get a chuckle out of you no doubt. Besides that, just a nice and entertaining comedy that we get less and less of these days.

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Sleeping Beauty

[7/10 · 31 March 2024]

Sleeping Beauty, continuing off Lady and the Tramp, the additional screen width really makes Sleeping Beauty shine as thus far in time one of the best looking Disney animations. A perfect story told well with satisfying visuals and music, but leaving some to be desired to make it a full package deal.

It's hard to pinpoint what didn't make me fall in love with it, as it deserves to. But I found it to be somewhat falter around the middle section and slump a little bit. It starts of excitingly strong. And has some lovely moments. But I guess for me it was missing that extra bit of fun. Something Pinocchio and Snow White does have. This is a fairly straight story, easy to follow. But I'm not yet complete on my verdict, I need to rewatch it.

Music, as enchanting as ever, the singing voice is just perfect. It adds so much to the feeling and moment. Simply very memorable.

Animation, as expected really just top of the line Disney work. Nothing beats it. The art as well, the backdrops and everything is just amazing, this and the other films are true works of art in as many ways as possible.

Not much else to add, I feel like I need to rewatch this with a fresh mindset.

Old Yeller (1957)

Old Yeller

[6/10 · 31 March 2024]

Old Yeller, a decent family movie that teaches enough traditional values to make sure you remember them, but a noticeably dark and quite serious Disney movie to contrast it's otherwise lighthearted dialog.

I don't feel too much coming out of this. Just that for a Disney movie it goes pretty far into some, to this day, harsh scenes, especially knowing the target audience. And I'm not even talking about the one scene this movie is famous for. But any scenes with animals. I'm not the typical kind of treehugging guy but this movie does feel cruel at times and you start to imagine how the animals have been treated. It took some of the joyfulness out of it for sure. Same with something like Song of the South, both these movies are very ''old school'' in their portrayals and actions. But the bear scene here honestly disturbed me a little. Not fun to watch nor funny (as was intended back in the day).

Also if you hate the sound of dogs barking, skip this right now. It becomes annoying and the sound effects are really overplayed, repetitive and harsh. It's almost strange, the characters and their acting feel like they are in a different movie compared to the rest. Also the teenage kid says some out-there stuff, guess it fit the times?...

Did this age well? Not at all. Is it worth a watch, not really. It's an odd one. Especially from Disney.

Acting etc, just okay, very typical straight delivery with very little subtlety. Music is nothing to remember.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Ghostbusters II

[6/10 · 24 March 2024]

Ghostbusters II, continuing on 5 years later the ghostbusters are back for more of the same, and little else. If anything, it's watchable and entertaining, especially for the fans, but also delivers poorly on story, continuity and writing in general.

Directing again is nothing to write home about. It's fine and does it's job, but it's never engaging nor creative enough with it's subject matter. The train scene, some repeat scenes, all just kind of meh in buildup and execution. Pacing and editing take the same route with really losing it's momentum a few times throughout. This is where the first movie works much better as it's really building up something. An aspect this movie is missing entirely and doesn't really replace with anything worthwhile. The love plot, is ambiguous at best and corny at times. If anything the comedic love plot of the other two side characters is a lot more interesting and fun. The whole 5 year in between gap has a few drawbacks due to the relationships and character development kind of being left behind and forgotten. The first half hour or so of the movie specifically felt odd to me, and in general this movie doesn't hold a very specific comedic tone. It's definitely not as funny and well written as the first.

Music is okay, but never reaches the heights in the first. There's some new music written for this but gosh... it's bad.

Acting, good enough but no-one is doing anything special here anymore. Though honorable mention to Moranis for just being great, always. Deservedly got more screentime. Zeddemore as a character still feels like a undeveloped 3rd wheel to the crew.

The story and writing was just okay, it certainly requires you not to really think about it all too much. The first movie has a interesting.. plot and so does this. This movie does miss a better finale. As it mostly falls flat.

It's not offensive as a sequel, but it also doesn't really have a right to exist as it leaves us exactly where we ended again in the first movie.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Silence of the Lambs

[8/10 · 23 March 2024]

The Silence of the Lambs, an expertly crafted psychological thriller, bordering on horror. This movie draws you in with two brilliant performances and a ever building tension.

Every which way Hannibal is portrayed feels impactful, from his stance to his demeaner but also the directors choice to choose certain framing, focusing on the eyes. Getting intimate in the scene but also as a viewer. A claustrophobic intimacy that excels in engaging the audience and thrilling to an extend.

Directing, loved it, creative in a few ways and very purposefully done. Some great and memorable scenes for sure. If only for the big moment with Hannibal, the action scene could've been more intense. Though now it takes a more slow and calculated approach, appropriate, but didn't fully satisfy me.

Acting, what hasn't been said yet. Hopkins is legendary and this is one of his must watch performances. That said, Foster was fantastic too and without both of them fully giving this movie their all it wouldn't have worked as well as it did. Being mainly about these two characters, it needed to be strong. The remaining actors were just as good. My only issue being the other villain needing more screentime, as he was great too.

Music is good, providing a great underlying theme that drags you through this movie somewhat subconsciously, it's present but never takes too much presence and becomes the leading role. Wouldn't say it's memorable but it does the job.

I always thought as a kid this was supposedly a really scary horror movie. No idea how that happened, this is great crime thriller.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Ghostbusters

[7/10 · 23 March 2024]

Ghostbusters, now without question this is a iconic movie deeply ingrained in almost everyone's head, if only for the iconic soundtrack. And as a movie, it's still entertaining to this day. But I guess I'm just late to the party, because I didn't really fall in love with it as much as I'd hoped.

First off as far as the concept goes, the production design and all the stuff behind it it's fantastic. It's props, the world, all great. The casting just as good with a perfect set of characters and actors put in place to fulfill a nice spectrum of comedic moments with each character and their unique traits. And as far as funny, this movie has some chuckle moments for sure. But I'm nowhere near crying of laughter, all subjective though. What this movie mostly has is some smart writing, and doesn't rely on too many gags. Making it age fairly well.

Directing, imo, visually nothing too spectacular, excluding VFX, which obviously show their age, especially the dogs, the beams still look great to this day though. But as for directing I don't find it paced all that well nor anything special. It doesn't get very creative even though the script has a lot of opportunity for it.

As a sidenote, funnily enough going into this movie I was expecting all these scenes where they build/design their car or equipment, but to my surprise there's none of that. It's just made off screen and that's that.

Acting, mostly great, Murray shines as the headliner in a now familiar type of role and character, everyone else does their role as well but no-one is giving top of their career performances here.

Music, the main soundtrack, obviously great. Everything else around it, pretty average.

Not much else to say really. I didn't do all too much for me sadly.

Masters of the Air (2024)

Masters of the Air

[6/10 · 16 March 2024]

Masters of the Air, I don't see it, I don't feel it. I'm heavily biased towards these types of shows, I'll rewatch The Pacific or BoB any day of the week. Because when I jump into those shows they remind what it feels to care for your characters. This is something MotA fails miserably at due to it's poor and diluted writing.

I've been really looking forward to this show for a while now, and have eagerly watched every episode from the first week. But what began as excitement transformed into annoyance and frustration more and more as I began less and less engaged in the show. I find it's directing, it's writing and general direction really misguided and poorly executed. Whilst sure the show looks the part visually (albeit somewhat overly stylized) it fails to engage me in any sort of way. And that's certainly also not due to the acting because it was good, great even with some.

That characters in this type of show die out of the blue is to be expected. But when a character dies and I think ''that's it, really?'' whilst we've had about 3 seconds of dialog and development of that character and the his final scene was made to look like we should really care.. I just scoffed at the intention to expect us to care. The only character that had me somewhat care about him was Crosby. But everyone else felt ''fake'' to a degree, written as caricatures just to spill out some predictable lines.

Then we have the storylines.. oh boy. What happened, what's with the fighter pilot sideplot that has some of the worst focus every, it felt like it was just rammed in there and then... uhh, nothing. Same with the whole Crosby love plot, where did that go? All these small plots felt just so barebones in execution. The bare minimum was met, and that's that. Unsatisfying as a whole.

If anything I rate it the way I do because I enjoy the aspect this show highlights, the flying. It's a perspective we've not had enough time with and was my main draw to keep watching.

The music is decent. The intro is uniquely long and imo, filled with spoilers for the show, why did they think it was smart to show so many crucial scenes in the intro? Sound design is great. VFX is great most of the times, here and there some shots look a bit iffy especially the planes.

Besides all this, this show feels sanitized. With just a few small moments where you as a audience need to gasp because they need you too. It all feels to clean, too directed. The city scenes feel like big Hollywood sets, nothing feel raw and depressing enough to emit the ambience of war.

Just writing, everything, dialog, story.. the biggest downfall of this show.

Ahsoka (2023– )

Ahsoka

[7/10 · 16 March 2024]

Ahsoka, for more star wars, it's good enough. For clone wars tv show fans and rebel fans, it's nice to see familiar characters and storylines continue, as a show it's entertaining for the most part.

I have to be honest, having seen the show in more of less a week, I can't really get myself to remember all too much from it that really felt.. memorable I guess. This isn't to say it's bad. But it lacks a bit of the magic the Mandalorian has, or just a couple moments that really shine. I think this is mainly due to how Ahsoka is written and acted. I really liked Ahsoka's character in the TV show and her dynamic with Anakin. It was a great story and narrative, and her character makes sense I guess from the last time we saw here in the final season. But to me she just feels so... dead inside. But then also there's nothing else to it. It's like spending time with your wise teacher but besides the lessons it's just silence and boredom. The show tries to liven it up with the side characters and that helps. But in general the show tends to feel somewhat dry and just a bit meh.

We get all the showpieces, lightsaber battles, the ships, the stormtroopers, some cool planets, some call backs and nostalgia hits. The Mandalorian template is there. But the characters surrounding it just aren't doing it for me to excel the show to the level of Mandalorian.

VFX, Music, all still really excellent, though the slightly lower budget is noticeable the VFX always looks good. That said, VFX is one part. Choreography is another, which I felt also was a weak point, might be just me but the lightsaber fights feel clunky and slow, and missing the speed and impact/danger that they should have. Even if it's very much a PG show, it just doesn't really have that excitement.

Acting, acting is decent all around, nothing to note. Writing is where it needs work though.

I hope S2 can up it's game a bit.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Dune 2

[9/10 · 16 March 2024]

Dune 2, a step up in almost every way from the first part, the second installment of this series once again exceeds expectations. Now with a bit more of the emotional pull the first movie might've been missing a bit. This is a must watch for any fantasy sci-fi fan.

Whilst Dune 1 was for the most part a lot of learning and set up in terms of getting the viewer to understand the world they're in. Dune 2 delves deeper into the society that surrounds it's main planet. And dives deeper into the main characters story and future. It is still heavy on the introductions of new things, and it never seems to stop adding moving parts to expand the world we're in. Dune 2 focuses more on character and the more human elements, whilst still giving plenty of action and lore. It's a mesmerizing spectacle. And that mostly due to the masterful directing. This series is becoming Villeneuve's magnum opus, and it has every right to be.

If anything, both movies have been a masterclass in directing, pacing and composition. It borders on every frame a painting territory but doesn't dwell and needing to feel pretty. It's stylized just enough to plant you in a unique world unlike anything else I've seen in a while. It does so at a LOTR/Star Wars level, that's impressive. I've made the comparison to Star Wars with the first movie but we've definitely veered off that feeling, it's becoming it's own thing now and all the better for it. The underlying themes are still present, here being religion and devotion. And allows for some extra reflection which is nice.

Acting is once again phenomenal, I already knew the main cast is incredible, and the newly added cast is just as good. That said, the casting. Specifically for the Emperor, I found lacking, neither did the accent fit in the world nor did it feel like a strong enough character to hold that position. It is the only casting I felt that was out of place. Even though I like Walken as a actor, like recently in Severance where he was great. I don't think he works here though. That said it's not present in a significant amount of the movie to really annoy me enough or degrade the experience.

The music, again. Incredible, the main theme is just so good and used surprisingly sparingly in full force. I do need to watch both movies again to really refresh myself on this.

And yeah, these movies deserve a second viewing. Though the best option is to see it in a nice theater with proper sound. Because then it becomes a ride you don't want to ever end. It took me a few minutes to get back into it, but halfway through I just wanted it to last forever.

Being said, as much as Dune 1 felt like a big set-up, Dune 2 follows the same thread, but feels more coherent as a singular movie. The risk of all these open ends is the future, and if they can hold this standard of quality.

All in all, this is what makes theaters worth visiting again and pay the current day premium for overpriced seats, drinks and popcorn.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

The Mandalorian

[8/10 · 3 March 2024]

The Mandalorian, three seasons in now I guess it's time to review now that it's found it's footing and knows what it is. The Mandalorian is a beautiful Star Wars simple adventure show that enjoy it's gimmicks, nostalgia, and fan references. It is a show for the Star Wars fan, but maybe not so much for the die-hard fan who looks for a little more than just the surface.

Directing, first off, this is a stunning show, season 1 suffered a bit from overuse of the technical innovations at play, aka the use of ''the volume'' aka StageCraft. Incredible tech, but can also feel limiting to the sandbox of filming. Which showed during season 1. Later on more and more physical sets are used but also they've gotten so much smarter with the tech that it's indistinguishable now. This is no doubt an incredible attribution to the overal visual quality of the show which never fails to exceed expectations. The production value is at a movie level. Visually, it never feels like a ''tv'' show. The use of puppets versus full CGI is also a fantastic decision that adds a much needed charm and imo lead to the incredible succes of ''baby yoda''. It makes it's real, even though it's less ''real'' than CGI. Some CGI is still used for certain scenes of course which is fine. CGI in general though is once again at a movie level.

Sound design, on par with the movies, especially as the seasons go on. Music, I did not fall in love with the score in the first season, but it has grown on me. And it's association with the show is now unmistakably Mandalorian, it's becoming iconic. The score evolves throughout the seasons and becomes even better.

Acting/characters. As for characters they're kept simple for the most part. Acting is good in general but never really great. There's some iffy parts in early seasons but it seems to have been cleaned up for the most part. It's also in due part to the writing some scenes just feel a bit forced and cheesy at times. But it doesn't last too long luckily.

The further we get the more epic the stories get and the set pieces, which is a nice way to keep elevating the show. It's gone way before just a simple bounty hunting ''western''. Which it definitely was at first. But it's started (in combination with Boba Fett and Ashoka) to become a bigger universe, intentionally, and more story driven.

Downside of this connected universe is that you will need to watch all of the shows to get the full picture. You could do without, but it would leave some parts unfulfilled.

If you approach these newer shows more casually, as a casual star wars fan, you'll love them. And I've started to really like them too. I wasn't too hot about them at first. That said, Andor showed another side of Star Wars that interests the hardcore fan in me. I feel by having this option and balance now it lightens my views a bit. Exception with the Obi-Wan show, that's the poorly executed stuff I rather not see again.

I've hear complaints S3 was somehow a huge step down. I do not see it that way. For me it's still a steady 8. S1 and S2 also had their deficiency's.

Tldr the start of the Star Wars cinematic TV universe, must watch for the fans.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Lady and the Tramp

[7/10 · 29 February 2024]

Lady and the Tramp, is a cute and simple love story seen through the eyes of dogs. It's charming with it's age but most notably it's visuals and animation. This is the first animation that seems to have a massive step up in beauty from the very first film, snow white. This is largely due to the full aspect ratio we are all used to now. But also the art and the backgrounds are just so nice. Just for the art alone this is a movie to watch.

Directing and animation was great as always. Disney excels at animating animals and specifically dogs and this is no exception at showing their mastery of the craft. The playfulness, the emotion in every bit of movement. This movie also becomes a lot more engaging if you ever had a dog. Because it has so many little familiarities to enjoy.

The story, the story itself is fairly simple but cute. It's very much a happy story and doesn't lean to much into some sad sections that could've been made more more emotional if they wanted to. It makes for a well paced small movie with some great segments and some surprisingly comedic sections too.

Music is great, though I wouldn't say as strong of a player as previous films. It's there, but very familiar. All in all a sweet movie and not one to miss if you're a fan of disney (animation).

Speak (2004)

Speak

[6/10 · 29 February 2024]

Speak, for a debut not too bad but visibly rough around the edges held up by good performances. A decent character highschool drama.

Directing, It's just okay, it doesn't do anything interesting and is fairly plain. And technically feels very weak with not being in focus all the time and generally a low quality feel. That being said, the edit and pacing were good and it felt good to watch, it never really struggled to get a long for me, didn't have scenes that overstayed their welcome, so it's certainly watchable. The only big flunk for me is the finale and character turning being quite weak and lacks the real euphoric/epiphany moment that it needed to elevate those scenes and the scenes afterwards. The final conflict scene was a bit out of the blue and somewhat awkward.

Acting, Stewart shows what she can do best, loaded emotionally closed off characters, she's got that down to perfection and carries the movie. Zahn was a great addition and I loved to extra depth within the character. The mother as a character felt underdeveloped, but well acted enough. Honorable mention to Burke for a great performance.

Music, fine, not very memorable but goes along well enough with the movie to keep the flow.

Besides this not much else to say, it's decent. Fans of Stewart will love it.

Thanksgiving (I) (2023)

Thanksgiving

[7/10 · 26 February 2024]

Thanksgiving, now this was a fun time. Eli Roth has managed to catch appreciation for his style of movies recently. As ridiculous as they may be and some decisions just always deserving of a facepalm, he never fails to make an entertaining movie with solid fundamentals.

This is how you do a good horror slasher comedy. It's very much like the Scream movies, and imo better than the ''new'' Scream we have at the moment. And it has a lot more fun with it. Is it a full on comedy, not by much, because it has some intense scenes sprinkled throughout. But as far as a teenage horror goes this hits the mark. It's got the teenage group dynamics, the final girl, the set up, the mystery, and a fun story to wrap it up.

Directing/writing, the pacing felt excellent for this, and fully sucked me in the first hour or so. The whole black friday scenes were done great and the characters in this little world are written with so much ''fun hostility'' it makes for really entertaining dialog scenes and even small random scenes in between are just so much out of left field. It's charming somehow. Directing was really strong, loved the timing with the car scene towards the store and the parade scene. The scares are decent as well but get weaker towards the end. And my main criticism is the last 30 minutes or so which I felt didn't live up the the build up throughout as much as it needed too. The dinner scene felt cut short, and literally leaves some characters to just sit and do nothing till the movie ends. So that build up fell a bit flat. It ends okay, but not that impressive.

Characters were good for teenagers and pretty genuine, though some a bit exaggerated of course. Couple little meta jokes here and there were fine too even though I usually find them annoying. Acting was perfectly fine, nothing amazing, but no way bad.

Music was great, build the suspense well and a decent score. Sound design was excellent. Gore and VFX were really good

Not much else to say, but worth any horror fan's time for sure.

Terrifier 2 (2022)

Terrifier 2

[3/10 · 26 February 2024]

Terrifier 2, rising from it's prequel and now cult hit Terrifier 1, Terrifier 2 is only here to give more of the same, and show no growth whatsoever or ambition into becoming a real movie. This has to be the most boring horror movie I've seen in a year or so. And I've seen a lot.

Art the Clown is a good design, and the main reason the first movie had a good impact and following, and of course, the one crazy kill. But it was appropriately amateur and poorly executed in many places. But it still had the decency to provide a mystery and some kind of suspense. I wish the director had the guts to just make T2 all about clown, his perspective and not add a normal person plot to the whole movie which is irredeemably bad. From the weird son and sorry.. No one in that family can act. It shows because to hope for any kind of flow in scenes between them they just put some music under it making it all feel extremely cheap.

That takes me right into the use of music and sound which was an immediate telltale sign that this director and the movie has not increased in quality (except gore) since T1. So many conversations that are just...awful, so poorly written and acted. And they last foreeeeverr. Combined with the blunt poorly mixed in music it's just a slog to get through.

Gore/what you're here for. It's plenty, it's good. If anything huge respect to all the make up artist, production designers and vfx artists because they're kind of only the great part of this whole series. There's some crazy stuff here and it's convincing but absurd as well so never really disturbing I guess. It's bordering comical absurdity, which this movie is really wanting to be outside of it's kill scenes.

The color grading improved thankfully but still insist on looking muddy and incohesive. Making everything dinghy and grainy doesn't always elevate horror, and this is the proof.

Story/etc, utterly lackluster. No point in caring. Another noticeable note is the movie's indulgence with Art, the dream sequence at the start is a showcase of how poorly it's paced and how much the movie is in love with itself, in a bad way.

Wish this movie was going to be the needed step up in all facets.. sadly it wasn't.

Barbie (I) (2023)

Barbie

[8/10 · 23 February 2024]

Barbie, late to the hype party but here I go, I still had some high expectations and thankfully, it nailed it. I went into this fairly blind, just knowing it had some great production value and is good enough for a bunch of nominations.

Directing, imo, I don't think many directors would dare to attempt to make a movie about barbie, because how are you going to make it work without it feeling nasty and cheap, front heavy and all that. It seems like a massive challenge to get right as it's so much easier to fail at. So far I only know Gerwig from Lady Bird, which was such a small movie and story but strong, this is on a whole other level. It is beautifully directed, the dancing scenes, the intro scene flow so well. The pacing in general is good, 2 hours for a Barbie movie seems long, you expect it to be <90 minutes, but it already gives a slight indication of what kind of movie it's going to be, because it's so much more than just the facade. I recently watched the Super Mario Bros, and at the end it felt just okay, it was as entertaining as fast food is filling. Super pretty, you got all the references, but it says nothing. Barbie is all the former, but none of the latter, because it has a lot to say, and a lot for it's main character to go through. I really liked the main story, setting the underlying-ish meta beside. I thought it was powerful and human, and annoyingly effective with the whole nostalgia/childhood/memories.. aka human condition angle that'll make you cry. It got me choked up a couple times but manages to snap out of it before it becomes a different movie entirely and brings in a joke or a gag.

Story and message, you have to be oblivious to not see what this movie is saying, but it's good enough at doing it that it doesn't feel like an attack at the male audience. It doesn't really do the whole ''men bad'' but more so the female struggles within and the perfections and imperfections of being human. Expectations, judging, anxiety, etc.

Edit/pacing, it's paced well and the edit is great, but it does tend to sag a little in the middle section, mostly a big part of the real world scenes, the car chase especially which felt like an ad. The one CGI shot also REALLY sold it as a ad because they aren't allowed to get a speck of dust, dirt or damage on the car. But it picks up fairly quick and resumes.

Production design,... work of art. It's all pink, but not the ugly pink, and not too much pink, it's so well balanced it's a treat to look at. Phenomenal.

Music, Billy Eilish's what was I made for hits all the right notes and solidifies this movie and all the deeper levels it talks about and evokes. It's perfectly emotional and contemplative. The rest of the score is great, it all fit, nothing felt out of place. Combined with the dance scenes you can't really go wrong either way.

Acting, both leads showed their best, in a Barbie movie of all things, it just shows it's so much more than the initial facade you imagine of this movie being. I honestly haven't seen that many movies with Robbie but I'm a fan. Gosling, he's great too, this character was made for him but it's also a fairly safe play for him. Everyone else perfectly fine.

Great movie, exceeded expectations even with knowing all of the praise it's gotten.