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Star Trek: Picard: The Last Generation (2023)
Thank You, Terry Matalas.
What a wonderful way to end a story that spans decades. I didn't watch seasons 1 and 2, but season 3 of Picard was fan service done right. From the music, cast, concluded plots, character development, and just telling an entertaining story, thank you.
Terry accomplished something anther long running and famous Sci-Fi space franchise didn't do. He got all the primary cast back together, not just for a scene, but all back to the original bridge, together.
Terry also wrapped up all the movies that proceeded the series, and brought the story of this crew back to the original series finale. Everyone gathering together for a game of poker.
I never realized how important Star Trek was to me, especially The Next Generation. To get to see this crew say goodbye like this means more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you, for this Terry.
Aillaendeu (2022)
Episode Seven Ruins the Series.
I'll try to write this review without including spoilers, and I'll stay a vague as possible.
So you're telling me all this could have been avoided if the monks waited an hour to enact their plan. The entire plot of the series revolves around this one incident; and the entire thing could have been avoided if they waited an hour to do something they could have done a day or even a week later. Besides it making no logical sense for them to enact this plan until they know the outcome of another even first. If they went through with their plan before the outcome of the other event is resolved, they'd be in an even worse position than they would be if they did nothing at all.
The entire series is the result of characters doing something so monumentally stupid, it destroys all suspension of disbelief. Episode seven, single handedly ruins the entire series. This is what happens when bad and/or lazy writers don't bother to justify characters actions in a logical and consistent manner.
What a waste of my time watching this series.
Aillaendeu: Episode #1.7 (2023)
Wait an Hour.
I'll try to write this review without including spoilers, and I'll stay a vague as possible.
So you're telling me all this could have been avoided if the monks waited an hour to enact their plan. The entire plot of the series revolves around this one incident; and the entire thing could have been avoided if they waited an hour to do something they could have done a day or even a week later. Besides it making no logical sense for them to enact this plan until they know the outcome of another even first. If they went through with their plan before the outcome of the other event is resolved, they'd be in an even worse position than they would be if they did nothing at all.
The entire series is the result of characters doing something so monumentally stupid, it destroys all suspension of disbelief. This episode single handedly ruins the entire series. This is what happens when bad and/or lazy writers don't bother to justify characters actions in a logical and consistent manner.
What a waste of my time watching this series.
Troll (2022)
You should likely Avoid this One.
I can appreciate what they were trying to do, unfortunately they lacked in their execution. They try to give the characters some actual characteristics and personalities. This shouldn't be worthy of praise, but many of today's modern characters are just exposition dumps and plot devices. They even try to make the monster sympathetic too. Though, the Trolls behaviour and its implied motivations are vague and inconsistent. They take the subject seriously, so expect a movie that's more akin to Shin Godzilla (2016), than the recent monster fighting Godzilla movies made by Warner Bros.
There are some nitpick issues, like digging up fossils in peat bog with a shovel. Then there are more serious issues that can only be considered plot holes. Like how medieval warriors riding horses and swinging swords could defeat Trolls, but semi-modern Leopard 2A4NO tanks, firing 16kg, high explosive IM HE-T cartridges that travel over 1km/s, and have an effective range over 4km is a mild nuisance at best. There's also a helicopter scene that's very reminiscent of one from Kong: Skull Island (2017). For me, these two issues destroyed my suspension of disbelief. Which isn't ideal in a film that's trying to take itself seriously.
The CGI is better than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. The pacing is fairly good, and it tries to keep you entertained. You can also follow the action, there's no bad editing with a cut per second every time the action ramps up. Unfortunately, one of the biggest issues with the movie is that the stakes seem rather low, or at least, ambiguous. Not sure if this is a narrative decision or a result of the TV-14 rating. The implied danger of the situation is hard to determine, which influences your investment in the outcome for the characters and the plot. How much danger was everyone really in?
This could also be the film trying to take the plot seriously too. With modern technology in tracking, surveillance, early warning and evacuation systems, etc. How dangerous would this threat really be? Likely, the devastation would be property damage, more so than loss of lives. The climax felt anti-climatic and predictable. While the final scene was also predictable, it was also infuriating because it damages the narrative of the entire film. It undermines the emotional impact of the film, especially the climax. There are other issues, but they would be difficult to go into without having spoilers.
I expected it to be worse, while simultaneously hoping it was going to be better. It has some serious issues, but it doesn't look or feel like a low budget, big monster movie. It also won't be confused for a big budget, Hollywood monster movie either. The sets, CGI, sound and music, cinematography, lighting, and almost everything else that goes into a movie was competent. But good ingredients don't guarantee a good meal. Worth a watch if the premise and genre is one you're usually not disappointed by. For everyone else, you can avoid this one without feeling like you missed out on something good.
In Isolation (2022)
All Dialogue is Dubbed.
Personally, I'll choose subtitles over dubbing every time. I adore the westerns directed by Sergio Leone, which are now over half a century old. Somehow, the dubbing for the dialogue in those films is more competent than this recently produced current day film. The simulated interaural intensity (loudness and frequency) and interaural time difference (arrival time) experienced when receiving audio stimuli with both ears is way off for this movie, especially the dialogue.
It's obvious the actors are delivering lines to a stationary microphone. Your eyes tell you the characters are moving around in their environment, but your ears tell you they haven't moved. Also, the intensity (perceived loudness) and direction of the dialogue doesn't change with camera positioning (editing) or voice projection in relation to the actors and the camera (turning away from the camera). It's really disorienting and distracting. The sound mixing and audio post production is woefully incompetent. All the dialogue was mixed to be mono, with only a few exceptions of stereo sound being used. Which means they didn't even try in post.
I know I haven't even covered any other aspect of the film is this review, besides the dialogue audio. That's because, this isn't an issue most films have, even low budget productions. I made it just over 20 minutes into the run-time before I stopped watching. Something very unbelievable happens just after the 20 minute mark, and no one in the scene reacts like a human being. Everything about the scene indicates utter incompetence, from the writing, directing, acting, audio, etcetera. That's when this movie confirmed that its issues went far beyond ADR dialogue, and it was only going to get worse.
Usually, I wouldn't score and review a movie I haven't watched to the end. Since this movie currently has no reviews on the site, I felt obligated to inform others about their potential wasted investment of time if they decide to watch it.
Turbo Cola (2022)
Like Clerks (1994), but Uninspired.
The title says it all. If you want to know what this movie is like, imagine Clerks (1994), but with way less interesting characters and even less humour. If you're unfamiliar with Clerks, so the reference isn't helpful, I'll describe this movie in one sentence. This is your average coming of age story with characters you'll instantly forget, much like the movie.
An intriguing plot can keep an audience engaged in a story, but usually it's the characters that catch and keep our attention. These characters are shallow and cliche, with dialogue and performances that won't leave an impression. They don't promote an emotional investment so it's difficult to care about them or their plights.
It's not a bad movie, it's just uninspired. With the exception of some slightly clever plot elements, the script is emotionally and mentally numbing. There's little to no humour in the script and the dialogue is shallow with no profundities to be found. There's no clever or intellectual insights provided beyond things change after high school is over.
It's a period piece set in the year 1999, and it's an average coming of age story with nothing new to say. What it does say, it says with a blasé script with banal dialogue. If you're feeling nostalgic or just want to watch a great coming of age tale set around that era, you'll find dozens of movies made in the 90's and 00's with more entertainment value. Many will actually reward your investment in time and energy by watching them.
Unhuman (2022)
Well, at Least They Tried.
This movie has cinematography and editing that's usually reserved for music videos. It utilizes some quick and peculiar edits, unnecessary uses of slow motion, and YouTube video style transitions. Unlike a five minute music video where such production techniques may work, it gets tedious in a full length feature film. Some of the dialogue, especially the feel good monologue near the end of the film wouldn't be out of place in a Hallmark made-for-TV movie or an ABC after school special.
All of the characters represent typical high school cliche caricatures. They try to add some characterization and depth to some of the characters, but it's anything but nuanced. They also try to do something different with the genre too. There's a twist in the third act that tries to subvert your expectations. Unfortunately, this twist doesn't really work logically. How did the perpetrators plan to actually get away with their Machiavellian plot once everything was over? The authorities would have a lot of questions, and you'd think anyone who put this much thought and effort into their plan would have considered this. The movie hopes you don't think about it.
The production value isn't that bad, surprisingly. There's some decent practical effects, and it doesn't look or feel like most lower budget horror movies. The movie maintains a fairly frantic pace throughout most of it's run time. The director subscribes to the J. J. Abrams and Michael Bay school of film making: where they try to keep the pace of the movie fast enough to distract the audience from actually thinking about the plot. It's obvious that those responsible for this production tried to make the best movie they could. There's effort put into it's production that elevate it above many low budget horror movies. The sets, lighting, cinematography, sound and effects, editing, and everything else that makes a movie are all in service of trying to entertain their audience.
Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. Any movie that destroys my suspension of disbelief by making me question the logic of the plot, characters, or the universe the movie exists in, has failed at being effective entertainment. Well before the twist was revealed I was already taken out of the movie because things weren't adding up. Once the twist happens, all immersion is broken when you realize it doesn't really make sense. How could they possibly think they'd get away with their plan, and once you ask yourself that, the narrative fails. The twist seems necessary, since the opening title cards say "Blumhouse After-School Special" and "Presented by the Student Teachers Division." Which explains the hackneyed morality injected into the script throughout the movie, and the necessity of that last cheesy monologue near the end of the movie too.
It's not an offensively bad movie by any stretch. It's got a fast pace, and it tries to keep its audience entertained. Although it's obviously made on a lower budget, nothing about it's production looks or feels cheap or lazy. It tried to do something creative within the genre, which is always welcome over the assembly line, paint by numbers productions that inundate most entertainment today. The cliche characters, nonsensical plot, and overt injection of it's themes and message just can't be ignored. Others may find the film more entertaining, but it didn't work for me.
Midnight Mass (2021)
Plot Inconsistencies and Contradictions, and Monologues.
I watched this series after it received critical praise from numerous people claiming this was a phenomenal series. These are people who built careers critiquing media and state consistent writing results in coherent characters, plot, and world building. I agree that these traits are paramount to quality entertainment media. This review was written because I was really disappointed by the series, primarily because others with a critical eye praised the writing. As I watched the series I instantly noticed a lot of issues with the writing. So I wrote this review while watching the series. I tried to write one paragraph after every episode. Which means some things may be repeated or not fully explained until later in the review when new information was provided. I apologize for this, but I only wanted to watch this series once and not forget or miss too many details.
In the very first episode it was already obvious who father Paul really was. By the second episode, what Paul (Pruitt) is, was as obvious as who he is. We're told almost everyone on Crockett Island has lived there their entire lives. So how does no one recognize Paul as being a younger Pruitt? The actor, Hamish Linklater is 46 years old, so if Pruitt was de-aged 40 years (from being 86 years old), that means anyone who's around 40-50 years old would immediately recognize Paul as a young Pruitt. Half the islands population is around this age too. If someone you haven't seen for 40 years knocked on your door looking exactly like they did 40 years ago you'd recognize them immediately. This is a major plot hole. People not immediately recognizing something unnatural has happened to Pruitt incites and facilitates the entire plot.
The local drug dealer Bowl (Bill) is killed in the second episode, and no one on the island noticed for over a month. The only supplier of recreational drugs on an entire island would be a popular guy. Yet, in this tiny town, no one notices when a man suddenly disappears without a trace. Even though he promised to check up on Joe "in a couple of weeks" on the same day he died. Someone doesn't go missing in a town with no traffic lights without people noticing immediately. This is also an island where the only way off is via a ferry, so someone can't really leave without a trace. His disappearance should be quickly noticed, and it can be confirmed Bill didn't leave by ferry and no boats were reported missing. A serious investigation should have been opened immediately, and people should be concerned about foul play. In episode five we're shown Bill's Mother at the police station asking about her son, which is about five weeks after he disappeared.
By the third episode we see that Paul is suffering the effects of his condition. Which, judging by the number of Sunday masses we've seen (or been cancelled) in the series thus far, means that about five weeks have gone by since he contracted his disease and returned to Crockett Island. Five weeks before he starts to suffer the side effects of his condition like photosensitivity. This is contradicted by the rate at which others who suffer from the same infection never suffer these same ill effects. They never have cravings, have photosensitivity, or spontaneously die. Also, Paul experiences all these symptoms before he dies and is turned, which doesn't happen to anyone else. Even those who've been drinking the infected wine for two months leading up to the Easter Sunday mass don't. Yet, Paul died from the infection after six weeks of exposure. The specifics of the contradictions are explained later in the review. The series own world building and internal logic is intentionally sabotaged to facilitate the plot.
Also, how does someone smuggle someone in a trunk across international waters from Jerusalem to the US? Any port that allows international travel across oceans isn't known for their lackadaisical security. Especially when you consider the countries involved in the international trip.
By the fourth episode Paul has had six weeks to gain the congregations trust and work his miracles. On the sixth Sunday since Paul's return to the island, Bev finds Joe's body in his house, and involves others in the cover up. Paul is graced with six weeks of living with the condition before anyone starts to get suspicious about his behaviour. Again, this contradicts the incubation period the disease exhibits in others, and Paul is the only exception. The plot wouldn't work if the writing adhered to it's own world building rules about the disease. Also, no medical practitioner would make a psychiatrist referral to a patient without first corroborating their story with their current MD about their medical history. Erin could have a serious malpractice lawsuit claim brought against Sarah depending on the evidence.
With the fifth episode we're given a more concrete timeline of recent events. Father Paul arrived and gave his first Sunday sermon the weekend before the start of Lent in mid February, and episode five occurs during Easter, which is the middle of April. So the timeline of the past episodes lines up with the events of the plot, which is around two months have gone by in total. The writers try to cover up this contradiction by saying Paul didn't fully turn and become photosensitive until he died in episode three, but that's contradicted by later episodes. Why is this important, because determining an accurate timeline illustrates the plot and world building contradictions.
Father Paul is able to walk in sunlight for over a month after first being turned. While Riley becomes fatally photosensitive within hours of being turned. We later find out it's because you have to die for the process to complete. Which means that Pruitt, an enfeebled elderly man lost in a sandstorm in the desert who's bitten and drained of blood didn't die in the cave that day. Instead, the younger version of himself randomly dies six weeks later in his home. How does Pruitt become Paul's age the next day after one drink as we're shown in episode three. Yet Mildred who was the same initial age took two months to de-age drinking the infected wine numerous times over two months. This is a huge plot hole, and the entire plot requires this contradiction or it doesn't work.
In the sixth episode we're told a lot about the disease, and some major contradictions arise. When Riley was killed and turned he took six hours to recover and regain consciousness. Yet in this episode Sturge and many others turn and regain consciousness almost immediately. Also, judging by the turnout for this mass with standing room only, there's many people attending who aren't regular attendees of mass. Why wasn't communion given at this mass before everyone was offered the poison. In an attempt to turn those who aren't regular church goers. If they were meant to be fed upon and not just die permanently after ingesting the poison, why weren't all the church exits actually barred before mass started, since some people not drinking the poison was expected. Besides some escaping, it's shown next episode that the entire town didn't attend the mass anyway. So why wouldn't you just invite the devout, and leave the others to be turned or fed on later without witnessing the event. They'd be stranded on an island without transportation, power, or phone services completely unaware of the situation.
It should also be noted that unlike Riley, when Sturge and the others are turned they aren't fed upon by someone who's already turned before they die. Which contradicts what Father Paul said to Riley in episode five, and what we saw happen to Paul himself. Paul explicitly says "...as you give of yourself for them to drink, as they eat of your body and drink of your blood, and you of theirs." It's explicitly said the transfer of blood must go both ways. Which doesn't make sense from a pathological and medical understanding of diseases. This maybe Paul injecting biblical traditions into the process, or just practical advice. Since being bitten by someone already turned isn't required, or it maybe evidence of a sloppy script.
Episode seven has some issues. It's hard to believe there was no respite from the sun anywhere on that island or on the multitude of islets we've been shown in areal shots that would be untouched by the fires. Also, the final monologue Erin gives about death and god is a topic all it's own. We're just the atoms our body is comprised of. Not our consciousness, our actions, our thoughts, our motivations, our memories, or the memories we leave with loved ones. It's a version of Carl Sagan's "we're made of star stuff", but it's trying to make a completely different and less profound point. Sure, some of it's true at a fundamental scientific level, but saying we're just atoms is certainly one perspective to have.
I'd like to comment on the frequency and length of the monologues in this series. Such monologues only exist in media, and it absolutely destroys my suspension of disbelief. When a character starts a five minute monologue my immersion is immediately broken. People don't talk this way, conversations don't devolve into people spouting five minute monologues at each other. It feels like vanity for the writer to write such dialogue and a director to direct actors to give such long scenes of dialogue. Nothing more. It's a heavy handed way to define characters, provide exposition, and develop themes.
The series has some great ideas, which is a rarity today since everything's been done before. It's got some serious plot inconsistencies and contradictions. The frequent monologues don't help the series either. I doubt I would have been as hard on this series if so many people who's opinions on media and good writing that I trusted didn't praise the series so much. It does a lot right, but it also does a lot wrong too. I wasn't impressed, which is too bad, because it could have been something I enjoyed if it had a better script and writing.
Eight for Silver (2021)
No Character Conversations for Plot Contrivances.
I'll try to keep this short and concise, without conveying spoilers. I am going to provide examples for some of the contrivances in the script.
The plot progresses because characters refuse to have conversations with each other and relay pertinent and vital information. So a character sees a loved one get attacked and possibly killed right in front of them. They don't provide the name of the perpetrator to their family or the authorities. The first thing out of this characters mouth once they came across someone else would be the identity of the assailant that attacked and possibly killed their loved one. This character also keeps the location of the weapon used in the assault a secret for half the film too. No possible explanation for suppressing this information could possibly be justified or rationalized.
Later in the film an investigator (pathologist) comes across a crime scene in front of a house, and given the context within the film, this suggests someone is fatally wounded or already dead. The investigator goes into the house, where he's charged himself with protecting the occupants, and says nothing. Instead, he quickly gets distracted by a different conversation, and forgets to follow up on the crime scene and the victim. The same way the script writer hopes the audience will forget about it too. As a result, there's now an investigator who forgets about a murder scene and dying or dead victim right after the attack occurs. Sure, that's a thing that happens. This forgotten indecent incites the entire later half of the movie and plot.
There's also another character that has vital information about the initial inciting incident that would certainly be useful for the investigator. Unfortunately, this character withholds the information long enough to result in more deaths and plot progression before relaying it. These details support the investigators hypothesis about the crimes, and confirm the correct course of action required to resolve the situation. There's an attempt to justify the rationality of withholding such information from the investigator. Though given the relationships of those involved, this character would have dispensed this information earlier. The life of a loved one is at stake.
I could mention more, but I am trying to avoid major spoilers, and keep the specifics vague. This is an average movie at best. Characters never having realistic conversations and withholding pivotal information from each other to advance the plot signifies a weak script. Characters need to act and react consistently and realistically, and when this is ignored to progress a contrived plot, the movie suffers for it. It tests the audiences suspension of disbelief and breaks immersion by making it apparent that something's not right. Scrips need to strive for logical consistency in their characters and world, and this script fails in this regard.
Dexter: New Blood (2021)
Lazy Writing, Please Show Don't Tell
This series is really lazy when it comes to delivering exposition, characterization, and narrative. The writers uses multiple hackneyed methods to tell the narrative to the audience. They rarely use competent or complex literary devices to construct scenes through clever situations, acting, and dialogue. All the while disregarding a writers greatest challenge: show, don't tell. It's a writers responsibility to craft an engaging narrative with effective writing techniques. Below are three examples of how these writers continuously choose the laziest options to deliver their narrative.
First, there's narration: Dexter always narrates every thought and feeling (or lack thereof) he has to the audience. No need to actually write a protagonist that expresses and defines their character through actions and dialogue. Just tell the audience. Why create scenes to deliver exposition, when a character can just narrate the information bluntly. There's no subtlety or nuance to narration, it's a writers crutch to lazily tell, don't show.
Second, there's Debra: a character of Dexter's imagination, so he can converse with himself. Within the context of the series, it's really just another version of narration. Like Harry Morgan from the original series, Debra is a lazy tool used to deliver the narrative. It's a risk free way to have Dexter engage in dialogue that doesn't influence other characters in relation to the plot. The fact Dexter has vivid visual and auditory hallucinations should impact the character and plot far more significantly. Unfortunately, the show doesn't take this mental health issue seriously or realistically. They just use it as an alternative form of narration, because effective writing is difficult.
Third, there's flashbacks: when narration and Debra can't deliver exposition, the series just does a flashback. Given the context of the series, one could argue the necessity for some flashbacks. Unfortunately, there's no restraint by the writers to sparingly use this writing technique. They don't try to construct scenes with defined characters, informative actions, and intelligent dialogue to pursue the narrative. Just break immersion and tell the audience what's important through a flashback.
All this culminates into lazy writing. Effective writing techniques are extremely powerful tools in story telling. The writers of this series disregard all these techniques, favouring the frequent use of blunt and uninspired methods instead. At every opportunity these writers continuously disregard the show, don't tell rule of writing. There's no mastery of the craft on display in this series. I don't know if it's a lack of talent or effort, but the end result is insulting to watch.
Edit: this review was written weeks before the final episode. I feel vindicated in my early recognition and assessment of the poor writing in this series. The ending of this series proves how pathetic the writing was, as they assassinated the character of Dexter in the finale. The actions taken by the calculating and anticipatingly concise Dexter was a joke. None of his actions in the second half of the finale display characteristics of the established protagonist defined by a decade of development. The writers wanted their ending, and their justifications for how they got there defies logical consistency of the characters and plot.
I also really hope this ending wasn't motivated by the show runners anticipating a potential spin off series with Harrison Morgan as the protagonist. It would fit the Disney Star Wars and fourth phase Marvell strategies of assassinating the beloved original characters to make way for a new cast of younger characters. There's effective ways to pass the torch to the next generation of characters to continue a franchise. The recent prevalence of having to destroy the original characters to elevate the new ones is a despicable trend in entertainment right now. How the writers wrote Dexter in this new series was atrocious, and doesn't honour the character or respect their devoted audience. It's likely just incompetence on behalf of the writers, and hopefully there wasn't an ulterior motive to making Dexter the antithesis of his established character. Time will tell.
Motherly (2021)
No Tension Without Stakes.
Within the first thirteen minutes of the film there is a long drawn out scene that lasts for four minutes. This scene tries to add tension, and set a tone for the film. Unfortunately, without any context as to why their should be tension, the scene just drags on. Which is woefully counterproductive to the emotional response intended by the scene. The film provides evidence that there was a past traumatic incident, and these characters have recently moved. These events aren't shown to have any relation to their current situation, and doesn't provide any context as to why they're in danger.
The scene: a character finds their front door open when returning to their house after rushing out into their yard. The character is terrified, grabs a knife from their kitchen, and then slowly walks into every room of their house. They check every corner, and the camera follows this character throughout the scene. While another character jumps into frame making a sudden sound, trying to provide jump scares multiple times during this prolonged scene too.
The problem is this scene accounts for a third of the current run time of the film up to this point. All this run time devoted to a door that wasn't properly shut in haste. Adding creepy music and numerous jump scares do little to provide dread when the audience has no idea why a character is behaving this way. At the end of the scene we see a brief shadow before an edit cuts away, suggesting something is amiss. Too little, too late.
I counted ten jump scares in the first thirteen minutes of the film. All without providing any context as to why the audience should be scared at all. The film doesn't get any better after this unfortunately. Having an insufferable child character doesn't do the film any favours in winning over the audience to continue watching either.
Don't Breathe 2 (2021)
Issues with this Film.
A list of nitpicks, plot contrivances, and plot holes in order of appearance, not severity. Many of these issues are technical or logistical nitpicks and contrivances, but they all add up to break immersion from the watching experience. Maybe you didn't notice, or maybe you don't care about such issues, but some people do. It destroys immersion and enjoyment when you're thinking WTF every five minutes in a film. Every movie benefits from limiting or removing such issues.
-The timing and positioning of Phoenix jumping over the upstairs rail is suspect. Judging by the time, distance, and positioning of Jim-Bob on the stairs, and when he walks into frame after the light switch is thrown. Jim-Bob should have already been up the stairs and facing Phoenix and the light switch when she leapt over the rail.
-How does Phoenix get into the spandrel (cubby under the stairs) silently? When Jim-Bob opens the doors the hinges are really loud. She didn't have time to quietly open and close those doors even if they could be manipulated silently.
-How do the home invaders shoot the dog, Shadow silently? No members of the home invasion crew have suppressors on their guns. Guns are loud, really loud.
-How does the Blind Man have the time or ability to glue the lips of Jared shut? Jared wasn't choked out, and there wasn't time to be chocked out and regain consciousness before Jim-Bob shows up seconds later. How do you subdue and healthy man half your age with one hand while being injured, and use a tube a glue with your other hand? Also, the Blind Man didn't have the glue tube in one of his hands when he attacked Jared, so he would have had to subdue Jared while picking up the tube too. How does the glue set in time without Jared breaking the glue seal? The blind man had seconds to jump out the window from the time of the gunshot to Jim-Bob opening the garage door. Jim-Bob was beside the greenhouse, near the back deck which is meters (yards) from the garage when the gunshot went off.
-Despite what movie tropes would have you believe, Pheonix would actually be fine if Duke put the exposed wire in the water. That metal box on concrete in a basement is grounded, and tap water is a poor to only an okay conductor of electricity. The second the wire touched the water the breaker would trip, and she would be fine. She would maybe suffer a minor jolt before the breaker tripped.
-A small propane tank expelling propane in a basement that large wouldn't be an issue for combustion unless the firearm was fired very close to the propane tank. Duke is far enough from the tank that this would never be an issue. The air would need over 2% to almost 10% propane to risk combustion. The 2.4 gallons of volumetric propane in that tank would do nothing in a room that large. A 3m x 3m x 2.5m (10'x10'x8') room has almost 6,000 gallons of volume for reference.
-Most of the propane would have harmlessly dissipated before the tank exploded. Even if the propane ignited, the tank would just spew flame, they rarely explode unless unique conditions are met. Plus, how much propane could possibly be left in that tank? If that tank released into a 1m x 1m x 1m (3'x3'x3') room it wouldn't release enough propane to make the air combustible at 1.2% concentration of propane. Since 2.15% is the absolute minimum required for combustion.
-That red cabinet full of water is around 140cm x 60cm x 90cm (4.5'x2'x3') in size. Which is around 760kg (over 1,600lbs) of mass. That's a conservative estimate of the cabinets volume and mass filled with water without including the cabinets own weight. A more realistic volume looks closer to 1,100kg (almost 2,500lbs) of mass. The Blind Man looks fit, but that's an accomplishment. Could he tip it over, impossible considering his hand and shoulder placement, and foot purchase. He would need leverage (feet pushing off the wall), and pushing from the top, not crouching and pushing near the middle and bottom like he is. Could he push it hard enough to make it slide on concrete, never. A 100kg (220lbs) man can generate around 1000 newtons of pushing force, which equates to 102 kilogram force. Disregarding wheels, pulleys, levers, gradient and friction (of surfaces) the general rules is, without acceleration you can only push as much as you weigh. This is why sumo wrestlers usually have significant body masses.
-In a life and death situation, you'd shoot the pitbull. The dog isn't the only danger in this situation. The dog barking is giving away his location to armed men who want to kill him. The attic hatch is the ideal choke point to shot someone trying to descend the ladder too. Good thing the home invaders decide to leave the house and sit inside their truck. They prefer to not confirm their kills, and just throw Molotov cocktails into the house and leave. The movie tries to convince you they don't think it's worth the risk or effort, but they know exactly where he is, thanks to the dog barking. The entire plot requires the Blind Man to not shoot the dog.
-The Blind Man can hear bells jingling inside a van from a significant distance. How are the bells moving, the windows are rolled up so it's not the wind. Unless the wind is forceful enough to move the entire van, in which case, wind is loud, especially with so many trees with leaves around. Also, why don't the bells make noise when he opens the door and leans into the van, and when he stands there with the door open? A little consistency goes a long way.
-They are wrong about needing to keep Phoenix alive for the heart transplant. Thoracic organs are viable for transplant outside the body 4-6 hours after death. The only requirement for transport is keeping the organ at 4 degrees celsius (39 degrees fahrenheit), and submersion in one of multiple readily available heart preservation solutions (HPSs). So a bar fridge and a container of solution would suffice. Which he would require anyway, since the surgeon still has to prepare the mother for the transplant after removing Phoenix's heart.
-Also, there's no way a surgeon would saw into Phoenix's chest without sedating, or at least restraining her. Cutting open a rib cage is a precise procedure, and I suspect a conscious and unrestrained patient would move around just a bit. Are they even trying to suspend disbelief at this point?
-Three cans of insect repellent make better smoke grenades than actual smoke grenades. Smoke grenades designed for smoke volume, generate around 1,100m cubed (40,000') of smoke per minute, for about three minutes That room with the pool is roughly 6,300m cubed (220,000') and filled with gas in seconds. Guess he got lucky on the repellent brand.
-6,300m cubed (220,000') room, and Raylan shoots the Mother centre mass. That's unlucky.
"My name is Pheonix" is way better than the "my name is Rey Skywalker" from Rise of Skywalker. So that's something.
Daeho (2015)
I Wanted to Love this Film, but...
There's one glaring issue with this film; it's not a fantasy or science fiction film about a fictional creature. It also doesn't have an unreliable narrator. There's no scene with a book opening up, and the words once upon a time being spoken. There's no grandfather telling his grandson a fantastical story with flare and embellishment. Instead, this is a highly fictionalized account of the Manchurian Tiger (the last Siberian tiger in Korea).
This film makes no real attempt to retell actual events. Most of the characters and plot elements are drastically different, or purely fictionalized. With the exception of the fact that the last Siberian tiger in Korea was hunted and shot, and the Korean tiger was hunted to extinction a century ago.
This film creates a real cognitive dissonance within it's world building. It wants to be taken seriously, and so much of the film does everything right. Most of the technical aspects of film making are superbly done. With the exception of the CGI wolves, they look okay, but their animated movement is obviously unnatural. The tigers look shockingly realistic by comparison. The real issue this film has isn't the look of the tigers, it's their behaviour.
I haven't seen a real world animal portrayed so unrealistically in a movie since Jaws 4: The Revenge. When a slighted shark (Jaws) somehow follows a family that took a plane from New England, USA to the Bahama Islands... to get revenge. This movie depicts tigers with a level of intelligence that would rival and even surpass most humans. While the humans often depict the intelligence of flora.
It's jarring how unnaturally smart the tiger is portrayed in this movie. As an example, the tiger risks it's life to protect a corpse, then drags the body back to the characters home to be mourned by a loved one. Which is followed by a scene where that character mourns the loss of the loved one that's heartbreaking to watch. There's no cutaway, there's no Marvel movie formulaic quip or joke to cut the tension and gravitas of the scene. Instead, it's watching a character mourn the loss of loved one in absolute anguish for two and a half minutes straight.
The unnatural behaviour of the tiger detracts from the emotional impact of other scenes by disrupting your immersion. For this movie to work it needed to be rewritten. Either introduce a stronger fantastical element to the tiger, world, and narrative, or make the tigers behaviour and intelligence more realistic. It doesn't help that the movie depicts a real world time and place, including story elements that actually happened in history. I couldn't ignore the tigers unnatural intelligence and extremely thick plot armour.
Playing God (2021)
Well Crafted for the Ending.
Like the storyline says: a group of con artists reunite to scam a grieving billionaire. The added twist, they're trying to con their mark into believing one of them is god, which is a lofty con to say the least.
The movie is well made, with solid writing and convincing acting too. The pacing is a little slow, and the actual con could have been a little more elaborate to keep things more interesting. Also, the subplot involving the pregnant couple had a purpose, but it's the least interesting parts of the film. It's not a boring film, and the plot is more complex than the brief storyline would lead you to believe.
There is one massive contrived coincidence that I am not sure actually exists. The fact one character mysteriously went into debt suggests the selection of the mark wasn't a coincidence. The character went into debt finding the mark, and the scene where they're given their implied random target was part of the con. Unfortunately, the writing and directing is too vague on this plot point, so even adding a throw away line to confirm these suspicions would have benefited the film greatly. But to avoid spoilers, no more details will be discussed.
Near the end of the film I had concluded this was a 5 or a generous 6/10. It's a slightly above average con artist movie, but nothing spectacular or memorable. Then the final scene concluded, and this movie became a 7/10. I rate movies by what they are. I'll rate a horror/comedy, monster movie by how competent it is as a horror/comedy, monster movie.
It's not as well crafted as Ocean's Eleven (2001), and it's not as flashy as Now You See Me (2013), but it's competently made. The ending reminds me of Hellowoo Goseuteu (Hello Ghost), a Korean film made in 2010. Both have final scenes that alter the tone, themes, and intent of their entire films. Turns out, this wasn't just a movie about playing god.
Many movies don't know how to end, this movie was written for it's ending. Between the two, the latter is always appreciated. The irony that this movie conned me into believing it was a completely different movie isn't lost on me either.
The Pit (2021)
This Might Have Worked as a Short.
This is a very low budget affair. With three cast members and a dog, and it's all shot in one location. It's also darker and more crude in tone than I expected, and it gets a little crazy near the end. There seems to be a script for the dialogue, but some of the lines and scenes feel ad libbed. It could also just be an issue with the editing, because lines of dialogue are being repeated after camera cuts.
Most of the exposition of the two primary characters is done through flashbacks. Though they do provide context for their relationship and history together, they could be cut entirely from the film. The scenes are jarring, and visually unpleasant due to camera focus, and after effects. These scenes are bloated and unnecessary, and the exposition added could have been delivered in more effectively ways.
The movie does make a clear distinction between a cenote and a sinkhole. With a cenote being formed in limestone, so you know the characters are surrounded by stone, and not soil. Which means they can't just dig themselves out. The issue is a real lack of continuity and establishing shots of the cenote size and depth. It's hard to get invested in characters, if you can't appreciate the situation they're in.
By far, the most perplexing issue with the film is seeing some really poor survival techniques on display. The twist ending maybe an excuse for these issues, but it still doesn't actually work narratively. When you have the Survivorman playing the lead, you don't expect bad survival practices.
A few such issues, without really going into spoilers is being severely pierced by an object, and pulling that object out of the wound. Using fire to cauterize a wound (this is one of those dangerous tropes), and the treatment used for a bite that is fatal in less than 1 in 1,000 occurrences.
The ending was a real disappointment too. This type of twist ending is one of the worst tropes in all of film and television. Without spoiling anything, this trope is a slap in the face of an audience, saying this was all a waste of time.
Super Hot (2021)
Almost Good, has a Few Issues.
This movie isn't bad, but it has a few issues. There's a lot of scenes of characters just talking, or jamming along to music while driving in a car. The scenes are shot well, and the dialogue is fine, but some of the driving scenes feel like padding for run time, and to save on budget. Sure, the background in a moving vehicle is slightly more interesting than characters just sitting in a room exchanging dialogue, but it's hard to ignore the fact that these scenes likely exist for the reasons mentioned.
This movie also some of the worst sound effects I've ever heard in a movie. It's perplexing how a few of these sound effects made it into the final cut, considering the quality of the rest of the film. Firearms have all the audible punch of a cap gun, and grenade explosions are even more lacklustre. The rest of the production is competent, from acting, writing, locations, cinematography, and even the other aspects of sound design, but the firearm and grenade sound effects are noticeably poor.
Also, there's one issue with the movie that made me remove one point from my rating. Near the end of the film, a shotgun appears in a characters hands after a cut, it's fired once, and then disappears in the next scene. It's a pivotal moment in the film, and it has an impact on the plot, so I'd consider this a plot hole, and not just a continuity error. The character clearly doesn't have a shotgun, and the weapon they're holding is ineffective. Then there's a cut, and suddenly they have a shotgun, and their original weapon is gone. Cut to the next scene and the ineffective weapon is back in the characters hands, and the shotgun has disappeared. It's a jarring and obvious mistake in an otherwise competent movie, and it can't really be ignored.
Otherwise, it's an alright movie. I've seen better, and I've seen worse. If you're a fan of the horror/comedy genre, you may find the movie worth watching. Though, be aware the movie is light on both the horror and comedy elements. It's competently made on what I suspect was a limited budget, but that didn't stop the people behind the production from making an alright movie. It won't become a classic, or even a cult classic, but it's not nearly bad enough to fall into the "so bad it's good" category either.
Why You Suck at Golf (2020)
Fake Reviews and Ratings.... Again.
So 13 of the 18 people who've rated this title, think it's a perfect 10/10. The other three reviews for this title are from accounts that only have the one review as their only account activity. Nope, nothing suspicious going on here, totally legit ratings and reviews.
Move along folks, nothing to see here. By that I mean both the legitimacy of the ratings and reviews, and the movie. Don't waste your time.
Katla (2021)
Everyone's So Nonchalant about the Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
I have just one question, have the writers of this series ever met a human-being before, because they sure don't write people like they have. It's insane how indifferent everyone behaves to the dead coming back to life, and doppelgangers existing alongside the original person. This series starts off with a mystery, and it quickly becomes apparent that the characters aren't really invested in solving the mystery. If the characters don't care, why should the audience?
We have a clone Gunhild that doesn't realize 20 years have past since her last memory, and she was taken to the hospital in a truck with a large GPS navigation system on the dashboard. Sure she's in shock and has hypothermia, but she should be curious about this technology she's never seen before. Then she meets Pol and Bergrun, who've both aged 20 years since she's seen them last, and she doesn't mention this to anyone, or think it's peculiar. She claims to be someone she's not, and Gisli doesn't take her fingerprints and a photo and run them through Iceland's and Sweden's missing person databases. She also gets an ultrasound on a machine that clearly isn't 20 years old, and doesn't ask any questions. In all the days she spends in the hospital and travels to the hotel and then Pol's home she doesn't come across an LCD TV or monitor, see a laptop or a cellphone, or a modern automobile? It takes 4 episodes before she finds out 20 years have past. How is that possible? She doesn't ask any questions, and no one asks her any questions.
We have Asa, who we suspect fell in a crevasse with her snowmobile, broke her leg, then crawled under the generator shed to try to survive the elements. First we see Grima pry up floorboards, and we see the body clearly buried under the soil, yet the body isn't buried in later shots. Then Grima and the clone Asa dig under the shed. They need shovels, and have to pull back huge stones to crawl under the shed. One question. How did Asa crawl under that shed with a broken leg and pull all those huge rocks and soil back against the shed? Also, Gisli isn't immediately suspicious about the identity of Asa's body. Obviously, a missing persons report was filed, and a detailed description of Asa and her clothing was recorded. Vik i Myrdal has a current population of 750 people, I suspect far less within the narrative of this show, since it's evacuation. How many missing persons fitting the description of Asa happen in a town that size, I suspect very few. At least Gisli does a DNA test on the body, so he's not completely incompetent. Though, when Rakel abducts Makael from the hotel right in front of him, he couldn't care less. Gisli is told who Rakel is by her husband Darri, and that Makael is an unknown child, but apparently this woman abducting a child right in front of him isn't cause for concern to a police officer.
There are many more scenes where it's apparent most characters realize clones are among them, yet most seem almost indifferent to the situation. Characters aren't running and screaming in the streets, in fact, they aren't even having conversations with other characters about these clones either. Grima's clone is having sex with her husband, Kjartan, and Grima says and does nothing. I guess that's not something Kjartan needs to know. By the final episode, there are so many doppelgangers and risen dead clones that the towns population has effectively doubled. These people are being invaded by the body snatchers, and no one seems be overly concerned about the situation. Until the seventh episode of the season, none of the characters even talk about the situation to each other. Even then, their reactions aren't proportional to the situation. There's an evil, risen from the dead Pet Cemetery child, Makael running around murdering people, and his father Darri is talking about studying rocks for a solution.
We're told these doppelgangers are a result of meteorite material being released by the volcano, and they're changelings from folklore. So these changelings are a result of an alien meteorite, so it really is an invasion of the body snatchers. Also, do these doppelgangers also assume animal forms, because clearly the raven with the white feathers is being cloned too. There's also some evidence to suggest that other animals are being cloned as well. Which goes against the whole changeling, shadow people narrative.
For this plot to work, the writers really needed to be more subtle with the whole changeling thing. Once the characters know that the invasion of the body snatchers is happening, the audience expects the military to get involved.
A Quiet Place (2018)
Suspension of Disbelief Tested.
How do blind creatures navigate and hunt without other sensory information? Bats have eyesight and are not blind as some people suspect, in fact, in low light conditions they can see better than humans. They also have some of the best hearing in the mammal kingdom, and would be able to hunt humans by the sound of our breathing alone. They also have echolocation to hunt and navigate that's so acute they can sense objects measured in fractions of a millimetre. Sure there are blind species of animals, but they all rely on some other sensory information to hunt and navigate. Also, there is no blind species that uses speed to pursue prey for a good reason. There are moles that use tendrils and smell, with their tendrils being the most touch sensitive organ in the animal kingdom. There are fish and salamanders that use water pressure, smell, and hearing. There are spiders that can sense with fine trichobothria hairs on their legs to feel, and sense chemicals on the ground left by prey they've specialized to hunt. There are crab, crayfish, and shrimp that use antennae to smell, touch, and taste when they graze. There are jellyfish and sea urchins that can sense light without having eye organs to perceive light.
A regular house cat can hear a mouse from 60 meters away. They can hear your breathing if they're on the same floor of a house as you, and can hear your heartbeat if they're in the same room as you. When compared to a human, their eyes require seven times less light to see, and their peripheral vision is over twenty degrees wider too. Their eyes can see in the ultraviolet spectrum as well. They also have a third, semitransparent eyelid, which means they literally won't miss something when they blink. A cat has the second best hearing (not echolocation) in the animal kingdom, just behind the porpoise. Yet, they also evolved to have very acute eyesight developed for hunting. Not including their sense of smell, and even touch. Those whiskers on their face and brow aren't just for show.
The creatures in this movie have no extrasensory organs to navigate and hunt besides sound. Which means they need to hear prey to locate it. You know what doesn't make noise? Buildings, parked vehicles, tree trunks, the ground. How can any organism traverse their environment this quickly, when they literally have no way to perceive their environment. Ever walk up or down stairs in the dark? What happens when your walking up or down the stairs and you think there's one more step than there is, or when you don't realize there's one more step than you thought their was. Now imagine this creature travelling at cheetah speeds, killing humans, while every step is an unfamiliar staircase in the dark. Now throw in tree trunks, fallen logs, parked vehicles, buildings, walls, fences, poles, cliffs, mounds, holes, etcetera.
Not only is it preposterous to believe this species could ever successfully evolve, but they surely wouldn't have a chance against modern humans and their military. I had to pause the movie because my mind was racing with all the possible ways I could trap, lure, detour, and avoid these things with only what I have in my home right now. I came up with dozens of solutions to deal with these predators off the top of my head. I won't even get into any other aspects of the movie, because the antagonist, threat, and plot relies on a ridiculous premise that makes the movie impossible to take seriously.
Run Hide Fight (2020)
Honest Observations: It's a Bad Movie.
A list of nitpicks, plot contrivances, and plot holes in order of appearance, not severity. This movie has one glaring plot hole too.
-Zoe shoots, but doesn't kill the deer. Todd does a monologue instead of shooting the deer. Also, using a stone to finish off the deer is illegal in North America. Its alarming Todd only raises an eyebrow at this.
-When the van drove through the window, no one was run over. Scene cuts back, two people were hit by the van. Later, we find out a third person was also hit by the van.
-Nobody hears multiple gun shots from a shotgun and other firearms outside the cafeteria. A 12-gauge is insanely loud at 150-165dB. With a perceived volume about sixteen times louder than the front row of a rock concert.
-It's a trope, but even if air ducting could hold someone's weight, it would be insanely loud when Zoe crawls across it. At least Zoe fell through the drop ceiling, some movies have people crawling on drop ceiling.
-Tristan lets the students call or text anyone. No one calls the police. None of the people the students called or texted contacted the police either.
-Everyone in that school would know what's happening right away once those first calls and texts went out. Once one person in a classroom knows, the whole classroom knows.
-The administration knows where and what is happening after Tristan talks to the office on the phone, so every teacher would know right after. All faculty in North American schools have a mobile group contact method just for such situations.
-There would be a lock-down announcement over the PA, or an alarm triggered to let all the other students and faculty know. The office woman would have contacted the police herself. Land lines may be cut, but obviously cells phones work.
-At the utility panel, Anna cuts the internet and network lines, not the phone lines. The BIX block with the phone lines was to the left of the network panel, which was the wires she cut.
-Everyone starts streaming, and again, the police aren't contacted and then respond in minutes. Also, Lewis is filming vertically. This is the movies biggest crime (yes, that's a joke).
-A security guard runs into the cafeteria armed with a nightstick, knowing armed assailants are inside. Also, he acts surprised for some reason, even though he's escorting the principle who's aware of the situation.
-Zoe finally pulls the fire alarm, which should have been the first thing someone did. Also, cutting the fire alarm after it's already triggered doesn't stop the fire department from responding.
-The amount of time that's passed before the police is contacted is over twenty minutes. Not that it matters, the police and S. W. A. T. only stand around in the parking lot anyway. It's a major issue throughout the movie.
-It also takes over twenty minutes for the school to do a lock-down announcement after knowing about the situation too. They say it's because the police have to be contacted before they can announce a lock-down, yet the office didn't call the police themselves.
-Kip places a backpack with a bomb in front of the administration office desk of a huge high school, and no one notices for hours. High school offices are high traffic locations, and that bag wasn't concealed at all. Also, on prank day, you'd think people would be more watchful of such irregularities.
-There's a live stream that started with over a thousand viewers, and it's now been live another fifteen minutes, and the police are still unaware of the stream. That's insanely valuable logistical information about the perpetrators numbers and locations, and their weapons, yet no one tells the cops, or even sends them a link.
-Zoe takes cover behind a locker door to stop bullets. The movie trope of anything providing cover from firearms continues. It shows the first and forth shot missing, but the second shot is blocked by the door, and they don't show where the third shot hits.
-After the first cop on the scene Tommy arrives, it takes another fifteen minutes before more police arrive. Even though Sheriff Tarsy told Tommy on the phone to wait, he was "only two minutes away". So, it took the police thirty five minutes to officially respond to a school shooting. This is ridiculous.
-Todd takes a whole deer carcass home, and doesn't start gutting the deer for hours. They shot the deer and were home before 8 a.m., and it's now the afternoon. We also know its summer too. No hunter would wait this long to start field dressing an animal, especially in those temperatures.
-They show the cops outside looking over blueprints when Zoe calls them. None of them are watching the stream, or the newscast showing the stream. Again, this is highly valuable logistical information, and it's an issue throughout the movie.
-Lewis filmed the van bombs on his stream, yet the police are still unaware. No one tells the police, also, the police would have combed through the live stream for all possible logistical information already, same with S. W. A. T. on the drive over.
-After fifteen minutes of a heavy police force being present, and them knowing the location of all the perpetrators via the live stream (two shooters, both in cafeteria, other two dead or handcuffed), they do nothing. They don't contact teachers with an exit strategy, and they don't go in to extract either.
-After Tristan gave Zoe the ultimatum, the police would have contacted Zoe immediately after. They would never let her go into the cafeteria under those circumstances. Also, I guess hostage negotiators aren't a thing either. This is another issue with the movie.
-After Tristan talks with Zoe, he shoots another person, while S. W. A. T. have arrived, and they do nothing. There's only two shooters left and they're on a live stream, in close proximity to each other, in a huge room with multiple access points, with multiple shooting lines. With such a high body count, plus the presence of that much explosives with no dead man switch. S. W. A. T. Would have acted immediately.
-Zoe and Lewis get away from Chris, when Zoe is limping like she has a peg leg, and Tristan is badly wounded. They get just over a ten second head start, then lay in the hallway for thirty five seconds, while only being one corner away from where Chris exited the cafeteria after them.
-Then Zoe and Tristan drag themselves into a classroom, and don't close the door behind them. Even though Chris should be right on their heels.
-After Tristan tells Zoe the van is rigged to explode, Zoe doesn't give one of the two phones she had in her possession to Tristan, so he can tell the police. They show Zoe having two cell phones in the gymnasium scene earlier too.
-Todd shoots Chris from a lower position, through glass, and closed vinyl blinds. Todd is also outside, on a bright summer day, using a scope, while Chris is standing in the middle of a large, unlit room.
-After Todd shoots Chris, S. W. A. T. know there is only one shooter left. They should also know there are a lot of explosives in the van too, and already be in position to take out any shooter in the cafeteria. They would end the situation immediately.
-A teacher is running around, still getting students out, one class at a time. So the police and S. W. A. T. are just letting a teacher run around getting students out one class at a time. Again, they don't contact the teachers and tell them where and how to exit, and they don't go in to extract them either.
-After the van explodes, we see a heavily armoured and armed S. W. A. T. team run towards the school. I guess they didn't acquire tactical positions yet. They've been there twenty five minutes at least, yet they're standing around with an entire parking lot full of vehicles between them and the school.
-So Zoe sees S. W. A. T. entering the school, but a limping, and unarmed Zoe is going to save the day. Yes, because people specifically trained for this situation with tactical equipment, body armour, and assault riffles would be useless against a high school student with a revolver. I know, Zoe wears her fathers military jacket, but I think she'd let the experts take over.
-Of course, Tristan just walks out of the already evacuated school, after having his face on every screen all day. I guess the police, students, teachers, parents, news agencies, S. W. A. T, and at least one helicopter we can hear must have missed him.
-Zoe doesn't tell anyone that Tristan left with another student before the van exploded, and the body they found burned wasn't Tristan. She's literally at a police cruiser, with police all around her, but she walks away to get the rifle the police didn't bother collecting. Again, don't tell the police, and let the experts in tactical equipment, body armour, and assault rifles take care of the situation.
-Yet again, Zoe goes after Tristan. All those people don't notice Zoe, someone who should be really popular right about now, go and pick up a huge rifle, and go limping off in broad daylight.
-Zoe picks up the rifle that Todd used to shoot Chris earlier. As Todd says "it should be right where I left it." You mean where four S. W. A. T. officers had arrested Todd earlier after he shot and killed Chris. Oh, that spot. I guess police just ignore a loaded high power rifle recently used to kill someone when they arrest the shooter. This is beyond stupid. This is one of the biggest plot holes I've seen in any film. It's insane how ridiculous this is.
-Then Zoe shoots Tristan, who's not even holding his revolver at the time. This is murder. I know Tristan is a scum bag, and Zoe would want revenge, but its still murder. All of this occurs so close to the school, we can see police cruisers in the background.
-Despite being within rock throwing distance of the school and hundreds of people, no one reacts to the rifle shot. No one shows up for the one minute and forty seconds that transpire between the time Zoe pulls the trigger and when she walks away while Tristan dies.
News of the World (2020)
I am Happy Movies Like This Are Still Being Made.
Movies like this, are the reason I enjoy watching them. It has a story to tell, and it knows how to tell a story worth hearing. The antagonist is a hero, a real hero. He's not a Garry Sue, or a modern antihero, he's someone willing to risk his life to do what's right. Stories about heroes are important, they move and inspire us, which is why the heroes journey is as old as humankind. If this film says one thing, it's this: stories are important. I agree. If you appreciate movies that tell a great story, you'll enjoy this one.
Quarantine Girl (2020)
Fake Reviews Need to Stop.
There are seven reviews for this title currently, and six of the seven accounts are recently created and only have this one review and rating to their username. The one account that's older, has reviewed over 100 releases, and rated over 250 titles, and has given every rating and review a 10/10. This is the worst type of reviewer, the dubious kind, they aren't just a member of the cast or crew. So, don't trust the reviews. If a title only has fake reviews, chances are it's bad. Obviously, this title is bad. Don't waste your time.
The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
No Coherent World Building
This movie has all the elements for a great horror film, except for a plot with logical and consistent world building.
So the devil is after the fathers soul, and slowly kills him after years of ailing from some degenerative condition. So far, so good. You have an evil entity that slowly drains the life from someone to get their soul. But here's the issue; this same entity kills everyone else with ease.
The devil kills Louise, Micheal, the mother, the nurse, the priest, and rips apart dozens of sheep too. So this devil can kill, but it takes years to kill the father, ...for reasons. It also haunts the mother for years too, yet Louise and Micheal for only a week. Why? It's never explained or even hinted at.
This is an issue with many horror movies, especially ones with a supernatural element. Why does the evil antagonist toy with the characters, when the desired goal is their death, and this can be accomplished with ease. Some movies explain why: like feeding on fear to gain power, or fear makes victims taste better when consumed, or needing time to manipulate characters to release or summon them, or one of dozens of other explanations within the genre. This movie does none of that.
The audience needs to know the rules in a horror film, that's what creates the tension and anxiety. Rules let the audience know what's possible and what's at stake. If anything is seemingly possible, like an unstoppable devil that can kill anyone with impudence, then what are the stakes. It's an unfathomable force that kills half a dozen other characters at a whim, yet takes years to drain one man. There's no rules and no motivation given.
If you edited this movie to just have the "scary" scenes left, nothing would be lost. Realistically, you wouldn't even miss out on any real plot or context either. No motivations, no stakes, no rules, no plot: just scary things happen for unexplained reasons, the end.
Busanhaeng 2: Bando (2020)
It's not Good, but it does One Thing Alright.
If you loved Train to Busan (2016), and expect more of the same in Peninsula (2020), you're going to be disappointed. The over the top CGI car chase scenes are poorly rendered, far too numerous, and go on for far too long. There are many other issues with the movie too, but that's not really the intent behind this review.
I really want to touch on one thing this movie does fairly well. This is the only reason I gave this movie a score of 5 out of 10, and not a 3 or 4. This is something that The Walking Dead franchise absolutely fails at doing. Despite The Walking Dead airing for 11 seasons, and Fear the Walking Dead airing for 6 seasons there's something neither of those shows has ever done correctly. That's put effort into taking the setting and characters seriously when it comes to a humans ingenuity and resourcefulness to survive. This movie takes the treat of zombies seriously, and imagines what people would do to survive such monstrosities.
The fact TWD has slow zombies, yet often has characters dying by ridiculous and contrived ways to their neutered zombies only magnifies the discrepancies. Peninsula takes zombies seriously, and write characters that think the same. The writers and director actually have characters that utilize their wits and intelligence to their advantage. After all, it's how humans climbed to the top of the food chain in the first place.
TWD has always tried to say it's the humans who are the real danger to mask their lazy writing. If that was true, then why do so many characters die to zombies in TWD and FTWD then? Imagine the characters from Peninsula existing in TWD universe, forcing writers to actually have to devise creative and interesting ways to believably get characters in compromising situations. It would show respect to the audience and their intelligence, and that they actually take pride in their craft.
I don't consider this movie a successful spiritual successor to Train to Busan, it's an action movie with little of the emotional gravitas of the original. But it does do something fairly well, something the more popular TWD franchise has never done correctly. They try to take a zombie apocalypse seriously by writing characters that take their situation seriously. Deaths by zombies feel earned, and narrow escapes feel rewarding. Having characters behave like they actually want to survive adds to the tension and atmosphere. It's unfortunate that many other aspects of the movie are so disappointing, and not taken as seriously. They didn't have enough respect for the original and it's fans to make a genuine sequel, worthy of being it's successor. Which is an all too common trend in entertainment recently.
Battlestar Galactica: Resurrection Ship: Part 2 (2006)
Thrace Defends a Psychopath.
The whole Thrace speech at Cains funeral was insane. Cain was a straight up psychopath. She's responsible for fifteen civilian ships being stripped of all resources, weapons, and means of escape; to die by the Cylons. Which means she's literally responsible for the death of tens of thousands of humans because they may have slowed her down, or been an inconvenience. She's responsible for the deaths of about half the entire human population that was left in the universe. She also executed her XO for insubordination, instantly, and in front of her crew, no trial, just an instant death sentence. She lets her crew repeatedly physically and sexually abuse a Cylon prisoner almost to death. I don't care if that's an enemy, a cyborg, or an animal, that's reprehensible behaviour for any civilized society, war time or not. She held a kangaroo court to execute two more crew members for stopping the rape of a prisoner. Yes, a wrongful and accidental death occurred as a result of their actions, but again, they were trying to stop a heinous war crime.
I can see some arguing about the treatment of a Cylon prisoner is justified, she's seen a toaster by some. Even though, no civilized human being, military, or society should ever act this way. I could even give you the execution of the XO. It's wrong, and monstrous, but fine. But this woman is responsible for the deaths of fifteen civilian ships full of human beings. Then to hear Thrace defend this woman is a little confusing to say the least. It seems like Thrace, someone who always had a conscience, is now defending a psychopath, while publicly chastising Adama for having a conscience and considering the repercussions of his actions before acting. Thrace may be a hot head who often acts without thinking, but she's always had morals she was willing to fight for. She's never been a psychopath. This feels like character assassination just to inject conflict into the plot. There's ways of having character conflict without making one character suddenly a psychopath. Besides, why would Thrace be speaking at Cains funeral? They had known each other for days. Not a fan of the writing in this episode.