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X (2022)
May the Lord Set Your Heart of Envy Ablaze
I saw the film last Friday and think it's pretty spectacular. As A24-distributed films are practically a genre onto themselves, the knowledgeable audience know what to expect and won't be disappointed upon experiencing the film.
The Batman (2022)
A Gotham for 2022
Was a new Batman needed? Maybe; maybe not, but the result is pretty damn spectacular.
Matt Reeves and the creative team construct a spectacular vision of Gotham in this film. All the cast do their jobs fantastically as well.
One small critique is that Pattinson doesn't bother to distinguish Batman from Bruce Wayne much, though it makes more sense from the character's POV, since this is just his second year into his vigilante work and as Alfred criticises, Bruce hasn't bothered to put his family fortunes to more productive uses.
Eight for Silver (2021)
Solid and Deserves More Attention
This is a horror film that tackles werewolves from an unique perspective with some social commentary. I saw it last weekend in a sparingly seated theatre. It's not a brilliant piece of work, but I feel it certainly warrants much more audience attention than it has received.
No Time to Die (2021)
A Superb Sunset for the Craig Era
I, too, love the film and hate the ending. The ending is definitely shoehorned in. The nanobots aren't airborne, so Bond can just be quarantined by MI6 while government scientists figure out a solution to reprogram the nanobots. Plus, the nanobots are designed to ensure quick and accurate mission kills, so I presume they don't have enough energy to function for an extended period of time.
Therefore, just wait it out at the worst, Bond! Are you telling me that after moving mountains to save your daughter and wife, you aren't going to grasp at any plausible possibility to safely stay with them? C'mon!
I hope that there's an alternate cut of the film where this scenario or something similar happens.
And yes, Ana de Armas is phenomenal! Her background of having only three weeks of combat training is clearly BS though, LOL. I don't know why she says that other than being a bit of a troll. Damn, she and Craig have great chemistry (Seydoux and his chemistry have also greatly improved, thankfully), so I wish she had more than 11 minutes of screentime (yes, I counted)!
The Protégé (2021)
A Stylish Spy Thriller with the Goods
I just watched it in theatres yesterday night and I like it a lot. The plot hole during the scene of Anna going to the mention the second time plus a couple of actions taken by Anna make no sense from an assassin of her calibre, but overall the film is pretty awesome.
Q and Keaton have phenomenal chemistry and their characters have great banter.
**SPOILER**
I think that Rembrandt is still very much alive by the end of the film. As much as he enjoys his time with her, he isn't just going to roll over and let her kill him. Also, the ending shot that pans from the moving silhouette by the second floor window to Anna walking out of the door of the building is too quick for the same individual to travel that distance.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021)
What Could've Been
The visuals of the film are great and I like the acting of most of the cast members. However, a number of factors weigh the film down: the plot is stupid, S. E.'s breathtaking hypocrisy on valuing people's lives (he has little problem stealing the MacGuffin for the antagonist, despite knowing it holds destructive powers, yet refuses to kill his father's killer), and the upside down fates of S. E. and Tommy.
Gekijôban Kimetsu no yaiba: Mugen Ressha hen (2020)
Spectacular All Around
The animation and action scenes are gorgeous; the characters are compelling; the emotions are real; and the ending credits music is so damn beautiful.
Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
Not as Stimulating as the Title Suggests
I enjoy the cast members' overall bodies of work, but this film is not good. Most of the performances don't feel natural and the action sequences are atrocious.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
A Very Well Done Installment in the HP Series
I'm glad that I saw this film in theatres for the first time last month. The directing is very inspired and I love the slow transformation of Harry and Dumbledore's relationship from a mentor-student one to a somewhat more balanced one. Also, this film shows once again that romantic relationship choices is not JKR's strong suit. Harry and Hermione have so much chemistry together (or at least Daniel and Emma)!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Still a Bit Magical
This is the first time that I've seen this film in at least a decade. Despite Harry's ongoing stupidity and mediocrity, Emma Watson's performance as Hermione still makes the film feel a bit magical.
Posted during July 2020
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
A Reexamination of a Classic German Folklore
This film definitely is not for everyone, especially (what I suspect to be) a large segment of the traditional horror fan base. This film's main focuses are conveying the atmosphere through its (slightly) oppressive and alien visuals and telling a story about female independence in the times of Middle Age Europe, when and where a young girl's choices in life were either to be a kitchen-bound broodmare or a nun (not all that fundamentally different in the Western world until one-and-a-half centuries ago, actually). Holding and practicing strong notions of self-pride and (insolent!) independence since before the film's story event starts, Gretel (Lillis) is determined to make her own way in the world.
I really like the film's reexamination of the morals and public perception of The Witch, Holda (Krige & De Gouw), for there is certainly some truth in many a feminists' complaint that (some) men fear powerful women.
Sophia Lillis makes for a solid lead actress, but I have to say that Alice Krige commands the screen better, if for no other reason than her longer experience in her craft. Sam Leakey (as Hansel) is okay, but just an afterthought, at least to me.
Where the film does fall short is relying too much on mood and visuals to stretch a pretty straightforward story to 87 minutes. As it barely contains any action scenes to speak of, I feel that 70 minutes would a more appropriate running time mark. Also, a few of the plot points are brought up without any followup, such as the things Hansel encounters when he wanders into the woods by himself.
To all the man-children whining about the film being too politically correct (PC) due to its title and other supposed indignities, I urge you to pick your shriveled brains and actually remember whom the protagonist is, because it sure ain't Hansel.
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
A Skippable Affair. Better Watched in Streaming or VoD
Hart's channelling of Glover is fine, but Johnson's channelling of Glover gets real old, real fast. In fact, after the third instance of dementia, I wished for both old men to be killed, immediately. And aside from some mildly amusing moments, the film is very boring. The fact that the entire plot hinges on Wolff's loser character unable to deal with the real world doesn't help either.
Charlie's Angels (2019)
Worth Given a Chance
I saw the film on a whim yesterday, because I had nothing better to do. The film is surprisingly decent. The actors do their jobs well; the three angels' dynamics and relationship are organic; and the actresses are gorgeous. However, the last act is so ridiculous and the blatant anvil dropping doesn't work at all. Despite that setback, I had fun watching it, and I give this film 3.5/5.
Ready or Not (2019)
A Bloody Good Time to Be Had
I see this film as a general attack on groupthink and dangerous justifications for preserving a status quo built upon a literal Faustian bargain. Attacking rich people for being rich is dangerous. The villains could've easily been a family of redneck cannibal Appalachians.
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
A Scathing Critique for the Present Time
While I won't call this film brilliant, I can certainly get behind his central narrative that we are all (or at least the most of us) slaves to consumerism and our passive acceptance of our roles will bring out our own destruction. Taking the POV of Swinton's more evolved and powerful alien under the disguise of Winston, I too would abandon the trash that are Homo sapiens to their overdue demise.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
A Film Truly Deserving of the Title 'Jurassic World'
I love this film and think that it does a fantastic job that transitions from the end of the Jurassic Park world (which includes the first Jurassic World film) into the dawn of Jurassic World, where dinosaurs have been set loose on the wider ecosystem by one person's unilateral decision.
The director has done a great job in taking the consequences and ramifications of genetically engineering extremely dangerous lifeforms to their logical conclusions, which is why it is so satisfying when Stiggy flings the arms dealers, megalomaniacs, and other piles of protoplasm that should babe been ripped out of wombs with coat-hangers in their fetus stages like ragdolls and the Indoraptor finishing almost all of the rest of the vile scum.
There are two scenes in this film that make me pretty emotional. The first one is of course when the Brachiosaurus cried out her last set of anguished breaths as she is slowly consumed by molten lava while the main characters watch helplessly from the ship they are boarded on; and the second one is watching baby Blue and her sisters empathising and bonding with their trainer/father figure Owen. Baby Blue is just so damn adorable that it should be illegal, which is why it is a little sad when Blue decides to reject Owen's offer of security and venture out on her own into the Californian wilderness.
While it is great (not the best word to use, but the action undertaken is necessary) that Claire is able to put aside her guilt and sympathy for the dinosaurs trapped in the gas chamber (lol) in favour of the security of the larger ecosystem, and I also understand that Maisie's action is necessary to set up the third installment of the franchise, I find it inconceivable that Zia and Franklin just watch her unilaterally change human history forever without any resistance or protest. While I can cognitively understand her emotional solidarity with the dinosaurs since they were all artificially created, no rational person can condone her action since she has now put innocent lifeforms at risk on a faulty premise. Two irresponsible acts do not make a right one. I would have firmly made the decision to let the dinosaurs die because the alternative is worse, all the while accepting the burden of committing a necessary evil.
I think it is very possible that Maisie is part velociraptor herself. She is extremely intuitive and smart, more so than other kids of her age bracket, has great predator-like movements, loves to hide and scare her "prey" like the raptors do, and attracts the unhealthy fixation from the indoraptor. The girl has obviously been through a lot in the film, but her solo and emotional decision to set dinosaurs loose on the general ecosystem is going to get her a lot of hate from a lot of people (and rightly so I will argue), and that's on top of the fact that her personhood is illegal under Californian law, as she was created as a clone rather than naturally.
Overall this is a great film and deserves far better than the shitty 52% Metacritic score. I cannot wait for the next installment of this very solid franchise.