Change Your Image
robmonroe-79219
Reviews
Lessons in Chemistry (2023)
Barbenheimer comes to reality...
You did read it right. A strong, resourceful woman who is also a talented scientist who is looked down upon right at the aftermath of World War II in the 1950s. I did find the premise interesting, however I was sort of let down by the writing.
Let's start off with the bad. First off, the writing is not nuanced and natural. All the dialogues seem too forced and contrived, as if the writers are trying too hard to sound genius in chemistry or whatever. They also try to upstage Elizabeth too hard over anyone else, hence kind of making her unlikeable in some aspects. But the writing shines sometimes, especially in the most intimate and personal scenes. It did feel like the writers were trying to please both adults and child audiences at the same time, and it felt... off.
Second problem, I know everyone will be coming for me for this take, is Brie Larson. Now is her acting Captain Marvel-level bad here? Obviously not, as the story of this show is not as dank as that travesty of a film; and she is being served with half-decent script to work with here. But I do think that spending too much time in big-budget spectacles like Marvel or Fast & Furious for four years straight have kind of taken their toll on Larson's dramatic performance. She seems emotionless and apathetic in scenes that really need her to shine and be emotional and expressive. Sure, she does well in some emotional scenes, but her mechanical dialogues always hold her true talent down. In fact, if I want to see a Brie Larson project where she is a single mom struggling with her kid in the world, I'd see the 2015 movie Room. That is the one that got her that Oscar and once you see it, you'll know why.
The good aspects of the show is of course, the performances of the co-leads and the 1950s aesthetics. Some of the B-plots, for example, the Black neighbor of Calvin Evans, needed some polishing. Lewis Pullman seemed great as Calvin and I wish he got more screentime in the show. Overall, I'd call this a half-decent show you can watch on a lazy Friday afternoon.
The Gamechangers (2015)
You forget a thousand things every day. Make sure this movie's one of them.
If anyone understood what the title of the review meant, then congrats.
I'll get right down to the meat here. I grew up with GTA. In fact, I was only seven when I first played San Andreas. I finished GTA 4, its DLCs and 5. So you can see I'm a GTA freak. So when I heard Daniel Radcliffe was in a movie about the making of GTA 3 (gotta admit, didn't like that game that much), I was effing hooked. Until I wasn't.
Allow me to elaborate. This movie's inaccurate in so many places. Sam Houser might have been the producer of modern GTA, but the mastermind was always his brother Dan, and he's not in the film. Many of the stuff is made up and that justifies why the film came out on TV, not in theaters. I agree with Rockstar Games' claims about this movie and I think it was only fair they tried to diss BBC about it. Did the writer really think GTA is made in America? Then what is Rockstar North?
3 stars go to Danny Radcliffe. He'll always be my Harry no matter what movie he's in.
Werewolf by Night (2022)
That was a treat, for sure.
Kudos to composer Michael Giacchino, he really has a bright future behind the camera! The violence was surprising, as I expected a Moon Knight-level PG-13 violence, and that I really don't have high expectations for the MCU anymore. But this was both a trick and a treat for us fans who have long grown tired of the "too safe" nature of Marvel. The color palette was questionable a bit, as it kind of hid the true gore effects, but I think Marvel Studios is slowly getting to that stage where we will finally see Kingpin chopping a guy's head off with a car door like the Netflix days.
However, I also have some reservations with this short, the quips. Yes, this Halloween short is not free from the cursed Joss Whedon-ish quips that has been around the MCU since April 2008. If the dialogues were polished and complex and the setting was truly terrifying, maybe this deserved a 10 rating from me, which is a surprising feat for the disappointing Phase 4.
Bravo, Michael! Keep it coming! And Marvel, you seriously need to up your game. Make more R-rated movies like this.
The Princess (2022)
The most movie of 2022.
The film had a script, a director and actors who did a job. All these combined, comes the most movie of 2022. Here's hoping the movie dethrones Avatar to become one of the movies ever made.
P. S.: Absolutely LOVED the scene where Morbius joins the final fight and morbs the bad guys.
Ms. Marvel (2022)
This... this is peak Hollywood.
I kneel myself before the almighty Disney and Kevin Feige, to give me a reason to keep on living by this TV show. I literally marveled in every single wow-ing scene. Every scene, every dialogue is crafted beautifully (chef's kiss). No one, I mean no one, not even Stanley Kubrick himself, could make something like this. Truly one of the TV shows of 2022.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Should we call for #ReleaseTheRaimiCut?
I don't know, man. The movie felt like a 126 minutes long teaser for... something. They should've let Sam Raimi do his thing and release the actual cut of the film. Raimi himself said his version was around 160 minutes, which is necessary for a movie of this scope.
This is why I think the MCU should've hit the brakes after Avengers: Endgame. I know it was a bit disappointing, but was an ending nonetheless. Not every single Marvel comic book out there has be filmed.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Disappointing... Hope the Snyder Cut saves us.
I expected so much from Patty Jenkins, but the film hillariously failed. The first film was so lovable that I was able to hate (Marvel's) Captain Marvel. But this... whew.
Dramatic moments are necessary for character buildup, but there are too many of them here, like way too much. I'll give them 4 stars for the effort. Hope the Snyder Cut lives up to the expectation.
#TheSnyderCut
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020)
I enjoy this film...... NOT!!!
After watching this overrated sequel, I decided to watch the first film. A sharp contrast is visible between the two mockumentaries. Why did they have to make it so political and cringeworthy? Where the first one felt fresh, this one doesn't just work out. There are even scenes which made me forget that I was seeing a mockumentary and became too dang serious and dramatic.
So if you want a good laugh, I suggest you see the Oscar-nominated first one again. That was a good laugh, though. Worth-watching.