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Anyar42
Reviews
Emesis Blue (2023)
A historic achievement of SFM storytelling
I wasn't sure what to expect going into Emesis Blue, but I have to say, it's beyond incredible. In the past, I've considered Spy's Disguise to be my favorite SFM movie and a standout in quality and production value, yet this blows it out of the water.
The animation is realistic, with characters having a real depth to them. Ludwig and Doe are excellent protagonists, with badass moments and moments of human vulnerability. Even the side characters have hints at their own stories, with their distinct models and personalities helping them stand out in their own right. While the movie clearly has its basis in canon Team Fortress 2 lore, it also has plenty of its own twists and additions, with cool and memorable characters that you won't forget.
As a surreal horror/mystery thriller, Emesis Blue performs extremely well. The imagery is haunting, in no small part thanks to the cinematic look and feel of the whole movie. Every frame's a poster (in fact, Fortress Films did actually release hundreds of 4K posters on their Patreon). The voice acting is superb, much better than you'd expect from a fan project like this (calling it that feels like a disservice at this point).
I'm able to follow the main gist of the story, yet there's still a great deal left to interpretation. Some people feel that the story is too confusing - I'd say that you're really not supposed to understand everything on your first watch. That would defeat the point of the mystery, no? What's important is that you understand the premise, and you can follow the basic plot as it progresses. You don't need a Ph. D. to tell that some messed up stuff is happening in the Slaughterhouse.
This movie is free to watch on YouTube, but if I had to buy an actual ticket to watch it at a theatre, I would've done it in a heartbeat.
Inception (2010)
Exciting action scenes > Plot development and philosophy
The idea was great. It makes you think, and the concept of inception is very refreshing. The film made you reflect deeply upon LIFE and question the very fabrics of reality and time.
Well, not really.
They sort of forwent that in favor of action. You know what I mean.
Military-style fortresses with an abundance of patrol guards that somehow miss the protagonists from a couple meters away. Lots of cutting it close with plans that would fail if they were delayed by a couple more seconds. Blood. Bombs. Guns. Plot holes.
I admittedly did enjoy the action, but I still feel a little cheated by how the producers evidently thought it was more important than the interesting premise. Still, they did expand upon the idea enough that it was a major part of the entire plot and certainly was quite a fascinating film anyways. I just think at least some of the action was a tad unnecessary.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Comedy and drama is on point
Despite how it might sound counter-intuitive, this movie was an excellent mix of comedy and drama intertwined. Suspension of disbelief is needed, but I was very willing to go along with it. I did find Jenny to not be a very likable character (though I did pity her downfall), and some scenes were somewhat confusing for me as a child and still confusing today (to a lesser extent), but they didn't ruin the overall enjoyability of the film.
The Maze Runner (2014)
Decent movie, may be confusing
This film adaptation follows the novel of the same name. There are some deviations that, in my opinion, were unnecessary and raised unanswered questions (especially the Griever Hole scene). The lighting was a bit dark at times, and the plot as well as characters could be confusing even if you read the book. Still, those aside, the movie is alright. The visuals of the Glade and the maze are fantastic, and the acting is decent too. Just try to suspend your disbelief until the film's over.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
What happened to the plot?
As a standalone movie, it'd be alright in terms of execution. Except it's not a standalone movie. It's a film adaptation of a popular book. And this does not resemble the book.
What made the Scorch Trials unique is now much less prominent. This is just another post-apocalyptic movie with zombies, an evil organization, and a rebel group. In making it a movie, it has lost its shine.
I don't have a problem with the acting, sounds, cinematography, etc.; mainly just the plot. Admittedly a bit of the character development seemed rushed despite the film's extended length, but that's not the main point.
I read the books first, so I viewed the movie based on a reader's perspective. And as I'm sure you know by now, the plots are nothing alike. Most importantly, they ruined the concept of Cranks.
Cranks are now nothing but zombies that can run fast. The original author didn't mention the word "zombie" a single time in his books, but that's what Cranks are now. In the book, the Flare (disease) could travel by air, but in the movie that's not the case, or else half the living people would be dead. In the movie, it spreads by Cranks/zombies biting you or scratching you, which one might notice as being just like mainstream zombies.Also, Cranks in the movie don't know how to form coherent words, even though in the book Cranks could repeat phrases or even speak somewhat coherently. This is all wrong. Cranks are supposed to be infected people battling lunacy with rare flashes of humanity, not just moaning braindead zombies.
WCKD is also, somehow, even eviler than in the book. And some of the main characters are changed (Teresa is a deluded traitor, Vince is another person entirely, Aris is actually useful).
It's been said that the last movie in the series, the next one, will keep the plot back in touch with the actual story. My hopes aren't very high, but I guess we gotta wait and see.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
What happened to the plot?
As a standalone movie, it'd be alright in terms of execution. Except it's not a standalone movie. It's a film adaptation of a popular book. And this does not resemble the book.
What made the Scorch Trials unique is now much less prominent. This is just another post-apocalyptic movie with zombies, an evil organization, and a rebel group. In making it a movie, it has lost its shine.
I don't have a problem with the acting, sounds, cinematography, etc.; mainly just the plot. Admittedly a bit of the character development seemed rushed despite the film's extended length, but that's not the main point.
I read the books first, so I viewed the movie based on a reader's perspective. And as I'm sure you know by now, the plots are nothing alike. Most importantly, they ruined the concept of Cranks.
Cranks are now nothing but zombies that can run fast. The original author didn't mention the word "zombie" a single time in his books, but that's what Cranks are now. In the book, the Flare (disease) could travel by air, but in the movie that's not the case, or else half the living people would be dead. In the movie, it spreads by Cranks/zombies biting you or scratching you, which one might notice as being just like mainstream zombies.Also, Cranks in the movie don't know how to form coherent words, even though in the book Cranks could repeat phrases or even speak somewhat coherently. This is all wrong. Cranks are supposed to be infected people battling lunacy with rare flashes of humanity, not just moaning braindead zombies.
WCKD is also, somehow, even eviler than in the book. And some of the main characters are changed (Teresa is a deluded traitor, Vince is another person entirely, Aris is actually useful).
It's been said that the last movie in the series, the next one, will keep the plot back in touch with the actual story. My hopes aren't very high, but I guess we gotta wait and see.