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godmschick
Reviews
The Iron Claw (2023)
What a disappointing film
Actors? Amazing... everyone in this film gave 1000%. Production? Fantastic. Cinematography? Couldn't ask for better. Hair and makeup? Nailed it. Costumes. Yes please. Direction and writing? Totally missed the boat. There were so many narrative misses in this film... so many emotionally wasted moments... lazy story telling that was unworthy of the overall narrative. This ended up feeling like poverty/tragedy porn for rich A24 audiences masquerading as a 'great film'. And no where in the film were the wrestling fans or the wrestling entertainment industry given any gravity. Which unfortunately made the whole family narrative land as pointless and cynical. Art house failure.
Argylle (2024)
Moira Rose is amazing... I think this could relaunch her career!
Ok... this is a very fun movie... and they definitely took shortcuts. But the cast is great and it's clear everyone's having a great time. That being said, it's not a great film. You'll predict 2/3rds of the lines. And you'll want to watch an episode of something (anything?) after because you'll still be in fulfilled. BUT, just think of this film as a Schitts Creek fan fiction exercise. In this scenario, Moira Rose is recruited as the authors mom... and then suddenly everything is 10x more fun! Put on your favorite Moira Rose wig/glasses/whatever and just have fun with this film. Also, Sam Rockwell is fantastic in everything so that's your plan B if you're not a Schitts Creek fan.
The Exorcist (2016)
I was so wrong to ignore this for so long
I instinctively ignored watching this show when it first came out. I was sooooo wrong. Finally watching and it's easily one of the best horror shows I've ever seen. It doesn't try to one up or clone the original content, but naturally evolves it in smart and disturbing ways. Pair that with a stellar cast (both A listers and supporting) and top notch production quality... wow... this ranks (in its own way) with the original movie and the third, while brining it's own strengths to the table. Highly recommend the first season. I'm starting the second season tomorrow. Really surprised this got canceled.
The House That Jack Built (2018)
A horror movie for people who don't watch horror movies
Lars Von Trier finally betrays his immense deficit of humanity in a genre that demands humanity to be effective. The best horror movies are scary because the writers and directors understand that to be truly horrific you must first understand what real people care about ( or whom they care about)... and then put that into extreme jeapordy under (at least) semi realistic circumstances. In this movie Lars makes it actually boring to watch a mother witness the execution of her children... literally. He just doesn't get it because he himself doesn't care or understand people enough to make us care about them on screen. I walked into this movie believing it would be devastating (and as a life long horror fan I was excited about it) and I left feeling like my time had been more wasted than a Walmart bin 5th iteration of a main stream franchise film... if anything, this film has shown the world that Von Trier really is a vacant filmmaker and not the person that delivered so many significant works from the 90s. Lars thinks he's a thing... but he's just another overly tenured European has been who thinks showing horrible things is the same as making a horror movie. Try again and do the hard work to make a REAL horror movie.
Bad Sisters (2022)
Bizarre moralizing of murder
They have a character who's a huge jerk, but the sisters are equally jerks in their own right. I don't get why this is ok. The whole show is about excusing terrible people about murdering another jerk... I don't think this is what the world needs right now. If the character roles were flipped this wouldn't be as entertaining. Which is worth considering since the sister in the toxic relationship lives in a western country with substantial laws around spousal abuse and a significant support system in place... this is just a messed up murder fantasy. A rare miss for Apple. This is a super toxic story line.
Blonde (2022)
Daring and brilliant and devastating
Honestly, the first 20 min should have been cut. The young Norma jean actress nails it, but the mother isn't quite there. But everything else about this film is new and different and worth watching... even when it doesn't work at times. And it mostly does. There are so many incredible performances in this movie it's hard to count. This is a very heavily fictionalized acccount of her life... but the framing of the narrative does it's best to appreciate the challenges, joys, and tragedy of Norma Jean and Marilyn Monroe writ large for every fane fueled and corporate authoritarian story told over time... this is a devastating and very watchable film. Also, I wish David Lynch was involved.
End of the Road (2022)
Confused... what does this movie want to be?
Soooooo it starts out like a solid thriller... and then it becomes a movie about people who have never left a big city making silly and bigoted assumptions about people who don't live in big cities... this normally would be fine if it was a horror movie, because horror movies often creates absurd extremes in order to amp the tension. And there's some evidence to believe the director was going for horror since they decided to employ the blue/purple lighting style (randomly) which has become a horror stylistic trope since Mandy. And there's enough nudge to horror that MAYBE that was the idea? It's just hard to tell? At the end of the day it's a confused movie that's super predictable that doesn't lean into any one genre... and is a waste of time because of it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
I'm sold... was skeptical but they are off to a great start
I'm not a JRRT purist... and from what I've been reading online, if you are a purist you probably should just keep re reading the books. But if you're looking for something new that takes a few chances in the world JRRT created, this show will likely pay dividends. Purely entertainment perspective this show is excellent. The first two episodes have several promising story lines, the characters are interesting and relatively complex, there's a great mix of innocence and foreboding, acting is above bar all around, and the production values couldn't be higher. I'm sold. Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
The Old Man (2022)
Started off strong... but clearly is the next Lost
Great premise and exposition, writing and cast... but this should have been a miniseries not a series. By the end of the last episode they have resolved nothing and opened up a million new storylines. No thank you. I won't bother with the next season. I just don't have time for this game. I'd rather watch reruns of other shows than get jerked around endlessly.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
The most cinematic and in my opinion, the best, Star Wars series to date
I initially didn't connect with this show for the first two episodes. Came back a couple months later to watch the rest and VERY glad I did. This is easily the most cinematic, best directed and best acted Star Wars series (it def helps that it's directly in line with the primary narrative). I'd watch this over some of the films anyday.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
The title is accurate
This is a singular, messy, fantastic, beautiful, human film. There are moments that are literally a dozen thing/feelings/thoughts/stories/histories all at once. The story is so universal and so essential with extraordinary performances by everyone in the cast.
Eight for Silver (2021)
Excellent gothic horror
Great production values, great acting, story is solid, production design and effects (aside from one unfortunate digital effect) are excellent. Def recommend. Not enough good gothic stories coming out.
The Gray Man (2022)
Eh... Just rewatch Jon Wick or Mission Impossible.
Nothing special here despite the mega cast and production budget. Some decent set pieces that get wasted on uninspired cinematography. Writing is robotic but that's not the end of the world for an action flick. Overall just way too long for too little delivery. Forgettable.
Resident Evil (2022)
A big thoughtless mess... and not in a fun way
At first I was really excited about this show. But then after watching it I was both disappointed and confused (I downloaded it for an 11 hour flight... otherwise I would have stopped after episode 3). It seems like the show creator didn't know what they were trying to provide. It's not scary. It's not fun. It's not good drama. Production values are decent. But the whole narrative of the show and the direction of the show are a great big forgettable mess. Despite the actors best attempts, there's nothing here I'd come back for.
At times it feels like they wanted to make a CW style show out of this... but honestly as horrible as that would be, at least it would be a 'thing'... this isn't anything.
Just rewatch the Jovovich films. Those were fun, spooky, cheesy, and had a direction. Netflix needs to get it together.
Spiderhead (2022)
Oh man... what a disappointment
This director got paid and that's all that happened in this film. It's in a bin at Walmart for $5.99 and you'll still return it. The actors clearly were doing the best they could, and the concept was great... but everything else was a joke and a waste of the audiences attention. When you watch this and ten minutes in you think "oh yah but it's gonna get better and more complex because wow this cast is amazing...." Just turn it off because it doesn't. It makes a McDonald's hamburger seem clever and surprising.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Missing a lot... but still fun
I never thought I'd say this... but Mads just isn't as good as Johnny in this role. Such a bummer. Also, this movie had a lot of narrative short cuts... some odd stuff. Still, mostly fun. Could have been way better.
Senior Year (2022)
Imperfect but fun as hell
I wish this was better... everyone in it was amazing... but the script just isn't 100%. That being said there are some great scenes and I love watching Rebel and the amazing cast make it work.
Eternals (2021)
Awkward, boring, joyless, waste of film making resources, talent, and audience
This movie is so poorly written and edited that frankly I'm stunned. The amount of talent in this cast and production should have been next level... but unfortunately, the writing and the character development is so joyless and superficial that it ruins just about any chance of redemption by any of these amazing actors. The tone oscillates between dour navel gazing, 'balanced' by poorly timed jokes masquerading as the 'super hero's are just like us' trope (did they just use a checklist to write this film?)
This was a massive missed opportunity to write complex characters existing with the wisdom and experiences of millennia... instead we got this movie.
My only conclusion is that this film was written by people who think writing fantasy and super hero stories is 'easy'. They are so hard to write well... as this movie sadly demonstrates. The best stories comes from fundamental truths, retold in fantastical and new ways. This movie tells us nothing. It's a collection of superficial self reflection one liners, delivered without greater meaning of purpose, lazy action sequences, and zero heart.
Antlers (2021)
Promising but ultimately boring
Great production values and actors... just a super boring and straight forward story. You literally know how it's going to execute after the first 20 minutes (but you stick around hoping there's a twist... don't wait). Missed opportunity to do something great with a talented cast and production team.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Like little shop of horrors, except super boring
Man this movie is tedious and boring. Way less entertaining than the first. And the plot is... pointless. The whole first half of the film sounds like little shop of horrors except you just know it's not gonna end up at all interesting. Please please please let anyone else own the next movie! They literally couldn't make it worse.
Emerald Falls (2008)
Great little film. We were pleasantly surprised.
Solid mystery with well developed characters and some surprisingly good acting (the son is above the cut). Definitely a film to watch on a week night.
We Need to Do Something (2021)
Pretty solid! Great low budget horror
Some great turns and performances. Writing could have been better but it doesn't really hurt it. Some really fun and crazy scenarios towards the end. Decent body horror elements.
But the bathroom set has got to be the ugliest bathroom ever conceived in a production... must have been a lot of fun to design/build :-)
Cobra Kai (2018)
Perfectly executed... everything works
Great balance between finding the spirit of the movies while also dealing with their humor and absurdity... and delivering on every level while bringing fresh ideas to the narrative. Love this show!
Silent Night (2021)
Awful... boring... unfocused... boorish... just awful
Don't be fooled by the cast, this movie is sad trash. The most insipid navel gazing with a way too late and meaningless twist. I'll add more only because my initial review was too short by IMDb standards.... This movie is a boorish waste of resources... ironic in a sense. But please don't waste your time (your resource) trying to figure out what that means.
Father Christmas Is Back (2021)
Not amazing but it's ok
Great cast... like... wow amazing cast... not sure where it went wrong but it's just off in several places. But some good moments! I rooted for the actors the whole time.