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Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three (2024)
With just a little more care...
I waited until I had finished Part 3 before rating and reviewing because it is folly to view these as three separate movies rather than as a series.
Had just a little more care been taken, I believe this trilogy would have been cinema-worthy. The artwork looks like Archer, the pacing is terrible; Part 1, a story where the Flash races through alternate dimensions, should have crackled with energy. Instead, it has gaps of leaden silence, where stilled cells linger more than a beat too long. There are serious continuity issues, where it is impossible to tell where characters physically are in the 'multiverse', and I kept thinking I had missed a section of storyline.
It is interesting what DC have tried to do, here (even for the third time) using a storyline to repair what was a greedy boardroom decision, and the mature, subdued tone is appropriate. Additionally, the voice cast are fantastic, and this is the final chance to hear the Conroy/Hamill partnership. But, if this was such a big deal for the DCAMU, an extra three months of work would have raised it from an oddity to an epic.
Black Summer (2019)
Minimal and Brutal
Thought this was a great show, and a real departure from the genre in terms of its storytelling. As a simple take where survival is the only goal, there are no tedious love triangles, coming-of-age dramas, or redemption arcs. These are crisscrossing and overlapping tales of normal people running and struggling for their lives. Yes, the dialogue is bare minimum, but only because real people have no time to reminisce or share their dreams when civilisation has disappeared. Instead, we have tension ratcheted to breaking point, as split second decisions are made, the body count skyrockets, and we come to know our characters under the most brutal of consequences.
Yellowstone (2018)
Turn Off Your Brain
Yellowstone is pure soap opera, don't let anyone tell you differently. The only element that modernises it is the copious amounts of gratuitous violence. The Dutton family are a stereotype of Shakespearean structure and American fabulism, where gender and class roles are so exaggerated that every single character is minimised to a cartoon. Men are men, do not misunderstand that, and they prove they are so by punching each other's faces in, all the while holding back a single solitary tear. The clan patriarch is a negligent child-beater, moneyed to the hilt and with an amoral obsession with land he was bequeathed. And he is our 'hero', yessir. He has two sons, serial murderers, who are the apples of his eye, one son, the runt of the litter, who turns out to be, shock and horror, adopted, and a daughter who embodies the worst aspects of toxic femininity. The women of Yellowstone are the worst clichés; hard-drinking, competitive in near every aspect, and voraciously sexual, making homophobic accusations and casually castrating their menfolk.
Is it intellectual TV? Not at all.
But is it fun? Hell, yeah.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
It's Grand.
I felt compelled to write a review because of the overwhelming negativity towards this movie. The truth is that it is not bad at all. I actually enjoyed it a fair amount. I feel this movie suffered from increased expectations, being the last of the DC movies, when it is the much-needed conclusion. But Momoa is as charismatic as ever, Patrick Wilson makes for a great straight man, and there are brawls aplenty. It manages to wring plenty of fun out of old tropes, with a redemption arc and a message of eco-awareness. Yes, its morality and sanctimony are basic, but that IS the current state of the 'comic book' movie, with commercialism long ago having taken precedent over passion projects and auteurship. It's a solid 'aloha' to the franchise and signs off more successfully than any previous DC movie.
Plus, an octopus rides a seahorse.
True Detective: Night Country: Part 1 (2024)
Offensive and Improbable
In episode 1, a native girl is caught when she makes a sex tape of herself and a white girl, a white husband has to fight off his horny native wife, and a native cop sexually dominates her white booty call. Meanwhile, the white male cops are either incompetent or corrupt (taking gurning selfies with murder victims) and the townsmen are either drunks or wife beaters.
Are we seeing a pattern yet?
True Detective 4 is so cluttered with improbabilities, there needs to be some artfulness to the execution. However, the script is so clumsy, neither natural enough for realness nor poetic enough for profundity. There is no wit to the bitchiness.
A powerhouse like Foster is still watchable, though she is lumbered with such an unpleasant misanthropic character, a home wrecker, that it's hard to root for her. And the myriad characters who people the town, who wander into crime scenes and express no horror at a pile of naked corpses, are mere background noise.
I'm two episodes in, but I'm out.
Inside No. 9: The Referee's A W***er (2020)
Machiavelli would be proud.
Reading the reviews here, it seems like most of them missed the major twist in the final seconds of the episode. I've never sat through a football match in my life, but I found this episode to be excellent. Less about the sport, and more about how a man of principles will do whatever it takes to keep order. Some others seem distracted by their own homophobia (aren't some characters, too?), but Shearsmith and Pemberton have always been allies and poked fun at relationships of all kinds.
David Morrissey is stellar in this, gifted the star role by the lads, and everyone else is totally on form.
Smart, clever writing, the episode only gets better in hindsight. Machiavelli would be proud.
Ahsoka (2023)
Smug and Vacuous
By this point, I think Disney has mined the Star Wars franchise for all it's worth. But the real shame is seeing what an absolute mess they are making at every conceivable opportunity. The Mandalorian is an easy high point, but the crushing disappointment of the Kenobi and Boba Fett series really set an all time low. Now we have this weird, dull, charisma-free slog. I stuck with it to see what the fuss was about episode 5, but I'm done wasting my time. There is zero chemistry between the actors, feeling like they were in different places when filming their scenes, and then cut together. There is also a strange sexlessness to every character, as if Disney wishes to win over the Christian right and not provoke the ire of the online mob. Tedious, amateur, box-ticking and creatively bankrupt.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The Broken Circle (2023)
The Defining Klingon Traits are Cowardice and Stupidity?
I didn't enjoy this. After all the creativity and sensitivity in the recreation of Klingon culture, this episode really takes ten steps backwards. Back to being the idiotic blow hard stooges with no combat skills or intelligence. A real pity.
Add to this a ridiculously extended brawl with a doped up doctor and nurse kicking the lard out of legions of Klingons, a drinking competition scene ripped straight from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Spock mooning about like a lovesick teenager, and it all amounts to a very poor season debut.
I like these people, and am willing to keep watching, but I seriously hope it gets better.
The Sandman (2022)
Almost great.
Overall, it's a success. But the series strength and weakness both lie in its casting. For every spot-on depiction, there is a blundering performance to be forgiven. Sturridge is key to the series holding together, physically perfect and eerily aloof as Dream. The subtlety and restraint are balanced by brimming rage, and a believable arc. David Thewlis is a standout, too, with gravity and jaded menace. It's a pity, then, in the latter 'The Doll's House' part of the season, that performances are so amateur.
Still unproven, Gwendoline Christie is very unremarkable as Lucifer, while Howell-Baptiste is rather 'lifeless' as Death. It's most grievous error, however, is the swapping of John for Johanna Constantine, spoiling both spin-off and major characters. That episode, you can skip.
Dead Ringers (2023)
Not half the series it should be.
Yes, I really wanted to like this production, and had been looking forward to it, but I find myself unable to watch beyond 2 episodes. Of course, comparisons with the original Cronenberg movie are unavoidable, but this limited series fails entirely on its own merits. At the core, the issue lies with casting. Rachel Weisz has always been a compelling screen presence, capable of power and vulnerability, and her casting did raise my expectations. Yet, her performance is a thundering catalogue of failures. Plainly speaking, she's bloody awful. In efforts to differentiate the Mantle twins, both renditions are ridiculously over the top, with pantomime gurning and exaggerated affectations as blunt shorthand. Had the photography done her any favours, her stalking on all fours atop a table of leftovers might not have seemed so contrived and comical, yet it is only another improbable addition to a series of distancing 'tv moments'.
Of course the movie is better, infinitely so, in subtlety, theme, tone, and that amazing Irons performance. Seek it out, if you've not had the pleasure.
Krew Boga (2018)
Fascinating, bleak, and haunting.
A brutal tale, impressively told, this is a medieval tragedy of missionaries in foreign lands. Making full use of natural habitats and the elements, Krew Boga reeks of authenticity in its depiction of a pagan culture which realistically borders on the alien. The storyline examines the compromises spirituality makes once in alignment with politics, and the thin line between faith and delusion.
With convincingly intense performances, beautiful cinematography, and a haunting score, Krew Boga is technically impressive and bleakly beautiful. I cannot fathom some of the low scores, here. I can only imagine some people were expecting Braveheart or Vikings, the tv show. If this movie has any comparisons, it might be The Mission,1986, or Valhalla Rising, 2009. In fact, together, these would make a fascinating, if exhausting, triple bill.
The Last of Us (2023)
Not Good Enough
I really wanted to like this show, being a huge fan of the games, so I gave it four episodes before rating it.
It's just not good enough.
Though there are massive shoes to fill, I cannot understand how cut scenes from the game have better acting and script than this show, whose action sequences are bereft of intensity or peril.
Pedro Pascal does his best but Bella Ramsey is poorly cast, coming across as more petty and antagonistic than childlike and tough.
I'm aware that there has to be a difference between role playing as a character and being an observer, but the show feels like a careless remake, botching every emotional high point with poor edits and choices. I was excited for Mazin's 'Chernobyl' realism, but it looks like that standard will not be met.
The rave reviews are baffling.
You Won't Be Alone (2022)
Humanist Horror
I felt I had to write for this, as it's the best horror movie I have seen in a while. Although, the 'horror' label is reductive given the themes explored in this beautifully shot, acted, and scored movie. A character, a 'monster', explores what it means to be human over a lifetime filled with cruelty, love, misogyny and empathy. The period setting is brutally realistic, a credit to the production, and makes all performances, at the mercy of the elements, even more impressive. Though it will be compared to Eggers' The VVitch, You Won't Be Alone is much less conventional fare, enthralling and intimidating in equal measure. I eagerly await what first-time writer/director Gorman Stolevski will do next.
Malignant (2021)
This Was a Struggle
I came to this movie by recommendation from a friend who is a horror aficionado, and it has cast serious doubt on his sense of taste.
Overly reliant on sloppy CGI, the filmmakers play to the lowest common intellect. Every scene is a melodrama, with stock characters blundering about from cliché to cliché. The soundtrack NEVER LETS UP, constantly telling the audience how they should feel, never giving us a moment to take anything in.
I laughed a lot, and not in a good way.
Dashcam (2021)
Detestable Protagonist, Terrible Disappointment.
I don't know wha happened here. After 'Host' was such a tightly-made production, this is such an excessive mess. At its core is the most ill-judged protagonist I've ever encountered. The effect is a lack of audience empathy for anything that transpires. Where, at one point, it seems like it has something to say about racial paranoia, it disposes itself of any semblance to coherency and purpose by throwing every idea from a found-footage round table into the script. Every scare is the same camerawork framing, to the point it would be a comedy if our lead character were not such an obnoxious mouthpiece. Such a massive disappointment.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Storytelling, Not Sermonising
Very pleased with how the pilot episode went. It seems to be a return to the mission-of-the-week format, more so than the Poe-faced series-saga other Star Trek series had chosen. I gave up on Discovery after two seasons, finding its pandering and lack of subtext to be at the sacrifice of character and story. SNW seems to have its feet firmly back in traditional science fiction, with personality and positivity. Oh, and humour makes a more than welcome return.
Two words: Hit it.
Pig (2021)
Lovely, but devastating.
I was not expecting this to be so affecting. I thought it would be an action/ revenge vehicle, enjoyable but indulgent. Instead, it is an emotionally intelligent drama, meditating on loss and bereavement. Nicolas Cage, restrained and powerful, has never been better.
Y: The Last Man (2021)
TV Wasn't Ready
From the titles on, Y: The Last Man is carrying its sexual politics front and centre. In essence, that is the show. Yes, there is action, intrigue, even romance, but with this unsubtle a premise, the series explodes gender. True, there is feminism, politics and patriarchal notions at play, but the showrunners seem to be willing to take risks, analysing these concepts and exploring what it means when we must define ourselves by what we are, not what we stand for.
Anyone looking to be comforted by stereotypes is likely to be frustrated and, sadly, that is most likely the reason why this show was cancelled after a single season. It's a real pity. A show this daring, with a near-entire female cast, and created with such care and sensitivity will not come along again anytime soon. I guess TV just wasn't ready.
Read the graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan, and Pia Guerra.
The Education of Fredrick Fitzell (2020)
Ambitious and mostly successful.
I'm surprised at how low some of the ratings are here for this movie. Yes, it is definitely challenging and it easily skirts categorisation, but it packs an intriguing idea, an emotional whallop, and brilliant execution. I recommend it to any fans of psychological sci-fi and, if you just go with it, you will be rewarded.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021)
The Long Weekend
These adaptations, while fine, only prove what a superior format the comic books are. TLH moves along at a steady rate, and is unafraid to spend time developing character, but is missing tension and excitement. Ackles lacks gravitas, and I miss Hamill, but for the rest of the casting everyone does a great job. But for a storyline dependent on the passage of a year, the pacing is totally off. Without any discernment between seasons, and title cards kept only for the Holiday hits, TLH seems to take place over the course of a few days, not a year. As a result, Batman himself is short changed, bumbling from one crime scene to the next. The shift in focus from the rogues gallery to organised crime is a welcome shift. But the comic book was better.
Army of the Dead (2021)
Zombie King Will Have His Revenge On Hollywood
There is so little good to say about this movie. Dave Bautista is a trustworthy lead, but there are consistent bad decisions every step of the way, right down to the unforgivably bad CG. There are no horror elements nor any tension, shoddy action, and gags are shamelessly stolen from a multitude of better movies. The zombie rules are ill-defined, with so much inconsistency that it should not be called a zombie movie. Characters disappear without closure, and no decisions make sense! Then they screw up what could have been a redeeming finale.
And what the hell does a zombie horse eat!?
The Wanting Mare (2020)
Unconventional
This movie abandons traditional narrative structure and, instead, seems to read like a visual interpretation of a poem. Characters come and go, strain within the most tenuous of relationships, questions remain unanswered, and dialogue is spare to see the least. With each character sketched more so than developed, I can understand the hostile reaction of most reviews here. But 'The Wanting Mare' is a consistently beautiful and gentle experience and, if a western visual education can be abandoned, there is much with which to be rewarded.
Shirley (2020)
A lot to like.
Perhaps an engagement with Slow Cinema may gird a viewer, as 'Shirley' dispenses with mainstream narrative and focuses instead on a temporal portrait of parasitic relationships. Using the 'biopic' of author Shirley Jackson as a vehicle may frustrate fans eager to know her, there is more profit to be had in surrendering to the languid pace and oneiric logic. Far from perfect, it's intentions unclear, 'Shirley' is still fine if you're looking for a psychological drama. If you want a better understanding of the author herself, I recommend her short story collection.
Justice Society: World War II (2021)
Far from the worst, but...
I read some glowing reviews for this movie, so I was excited. But this feature is so clumsily made, it's a bit embarrassing. The ponderous pauses between dialogue, the poor detail, the awkward choices; Superman sounds like a skinny man, Nazis are 'evil', and then kaiju. It bungles along with plenty of cringe ('Sorry, I'm an American! We don't do surrender!') before ending in inconsequential fashion. There is always fun in seeing two generations of Flash working together, but an idiotic Wonder Woman and a petulant Superman do nobody any favours.
DC need to stop farming these projects out to cheap Asian animation houses, and take them seriously.
See (2019)
Stay with it
The majority of negative reviews here are dated just after the pilot episode and are, therefore, underinformed, even ignorant. I am behind, only on episode 4, and the tension is incredible. After generations of blindness, of course humankind would have adapted to a culture of sound and tactility, and this explains the exceptional senses the characters have. The choreography in this regard is wonderful, the violence meted out in full contact amid signalling with clicks and grunts, while Momoa is glorious to watch. Indeed, the characters can be irrational, but that is due to a return to Dark Age mentality of superstition and fear. Is it so far from our current era?
I encourage viewers to stay with it, and be rewarded.