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Before (2024)
Groundhog day
The first episode had my hopes but now after watching episodes 2 and 3 I have to give up. There is so much repetition of the same few things it gets boring really quickly. It's like watching one episode over and over again.
The main lead guy seems to have been written like the most stereotypical emotionally stunted psychiatrist who prioritises patients over his own family. We've seen this too many times already. He wallows around passively and I felt worried for his patients as he is not really that smart or empathetic.
The boy actor does a really good job as psychologically tormented kid, it's just a shame this series is not up to his bar.
Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
OK
Folie a Deux is a different genre than the first Joker film. This has ignited a lot of dissatisfaction, which I get. I wouldn't call it a musical though. Or a bad movie by any means.
I found this film to portray perfectly how out of touch with reality Fleck is. Reality is too boring and too destitute, so he lives inside his head in elaborate fantasies (with a soundtrack, naturally!). Most definitely this has been his coping mechanism since childhood. We see a man who in real life suffers constantly. First in the hands of others and then with himself. But in his head he experiences whirlwind romance, success and meaning. He has a life. In his head he can imagine being happy. He was meant to be happy. Just like people are in those colourful whimsical musicals.
His condition makes him laugh uncontrollably during stressful moments - when he should be able to express negative emotions.
Fleck is small, fragile and powerless. Like an animal in the corner with no way to escape.
Joker is bold, confident and angry. Joker will express himself freely.
The ending was a surprise to me. And also the biggest disappointment in this film.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
Teenage drama
This movie made me miss Sigourney Weaver. Oh boy the feeling of seeing my first Alien movie ever. I was probably a bit too young, but I've been hooked ever since. I liked the movies up until Covenant. It grew so beautifully through time.
Romulus had no life. I might not be the intended target audience, but if you say "alien" in the header one will have certain expectations. Romulus met none of mine. It even looked cheap, taking into account how technology has developed in the last 7 years. Romulus is a teenage drama with unbearable characters with nothing in their heads. I feel bad for teenagers for being represented as such hollow heads.
Please revert back to 1986-2017. Looking forward to the next one, it could not possibly be worse than this.
Speak No Evil (2024)
Frustrating to watch
So if you like watching people pleasers with zero self preservation instinct, you'll like this.
It's a film about an infuriating inability to just draw a line, say no and leave when all your alarm bells are going off. That's what the title is about. Speak no evil. Keep everyone happy. Pretend it's normal.
McAvoy is superb as a psychopath like we all know. The best bit here. That's about it. The psychological games are so obvious it ruins the film for me.
They managed to recreate the original movie quite well. I prefer the original still. It's just that bit less frustrating.
Why did they do it? Because they let them!
Blink Twice (2024)
Mixed feelings
Firstly the much critisised comedic aspect of the film. In my opinion it was executed in a way that emphasises the absurdity of the events. And the confusion and cognitive dissonance the women experience. Humor and fun are also intentional smoke screens created by the organisers of this type of stuff in order to hide any and all horrors of reality. "But we had so much fun!" "But he's such a fun guy!" "It's just a joke, don't ruin it for everyone!"
I was however disapponted by the ending. Compared to the force and severity of the violence shown in the film the revenge taken on the perps did not bring any feeling of satisfaction. Getting shot is the nicest thing a person can experience after committing such horrific acts.
Sure the movie is well made. It looks good. Humour is spot on. Just that I would've expected more rage, like Tarantino style payback.
The Crow (2024)
It's ok!
I am aware that there is some other Crow movie from the 90's, but I haven't watched it. Based on some reviews it has a small but enthusiastic fan base, which was not impressed with this new version. I cannot make that comparison, so for me this movie stands alone.
Firstly, wow, Laura Birn, what a treasure! We gotta give her more screen time.
Skarsgård I think was a good choice for the lead with his scrawny physique and pearcing pale eyes. I didn't quite feel the connection between the two leads though. Maybe the whirlwind romance was supposed to be a bit unreachable.
The movie was surprisingly violent and blood was not spared. It all went well together with the Gotham-like dark city ambiance.
Give it a go, if you're not depressed enought as it is.
Trap (2024)
What happened to M. Night?
I've always had a special place in my heart for Josh Hartnet. My favorite one was Ethan Chandler in Penny Dreadful. A show I dearly miss!
Trap wasn't his best work, but he does good as a villain. A simple, average, kinda harmless guy who just happens to keep people locked up in his basement and then scatters their dismembered body parts around town. I think he would have what it takes for a more serious baddy role.
M. Night I'm afraid will not return to the quality of 1999-2019. Split was it. Trap is not it. I don't know what Trap is. A boring salad of mindless pop culture (she has a great voice though), simple jokes and poor attempts of thriller.
Longlegs (2024)
Supernatural thriller mystery
The marketing was very well done for this one, but as I feared the movie did not live up to the hype.
My expectations would have been fulfilled with a Hereditary type of masterpiece. Unfortunately Longlegs does not even fall under the horror genre in my books, but rather under a supernatural thriller drama.
In that genre the movie is good!
Plusses: cinematography, Monroe's performance and the unique bad guy.
Minuses: overhyped marketing, wrong movie category and unanswered questions.
If you make a sequel please dive deeper into the origins of the saga and the details of which many were worth further studying.
Twisters (2024)
Boringly mindless
The best part was the trailer.
A damn disappointment. Sure the CGI is awesome. There's the anticipated flying trains and complete havoc - multiple times! I did appreciate the realistic storm scenery. When I wasn't half asleep that is.
But oh my how bad the plot is! The characters don't have any character. They are more like caricatures of different types of annoying people. They even threw in a city vs country side negging.
I guess if your thing happens to be this specific genre of natural disaster movies you'd enjoy watching this mindless carnage. For me it's not enough to get my money's worth at the movie theater. I'll pick better next time.
The Boy in the Woods (2023)
True story
I had to write something because I was stunned at the low rating here on IMDB. The movie was for me waaaay better than current 5,4 stars (August 2024).
As fiction it would have not worked, but as it is a true story it hits differently. There are connections made to real life people and events. It's amazing what people have had to survive. And how little it takes to either continue or end generations. This is not a movie about atrocities of the Holocaust, altough they obviously are a the root of all that happens. I liked this one person survival perspective and this type of story that's rare in this context.
The boy lead does a wonderful job, as does his buddy in the film. There are some quite cliche types here and there, but then again I'm sure that's how they were, and I'll have to take in the film makers' vision.
I'm happy that I got to experience this story. Thank you. I will now research if I can find the documentary referenced at the end.
Detained (2024)
Mid
Abbie Cornish! A gem. I wonder why we don't see her more in A bracket movies.
Detained has an interesting premise and plot, but clearly it's a budget production. There are some really awesome scenes and twists, but you should pick this one if you need more of a pass time activity if you just want to sit down and nap, rather than hoping for something you'll remember the next day.
If a few kinks and cliches would've been ironed out, the film could've been very good. I was debating myself between giving 5 stars or 6 stars, but clearly there are better pieces in this genre to pick even on the budget side.
Looking forward to seeing Cornish in upcoming productions, she's really good.
Daddio (2023)
Gave me the creeps in a bad way
It's interesting how differently people define deep conversations. This movie did not contain any.
It is a movie of a young traumatised woman sitting in the back of a taxi driven by an old womanizer at least two times her age.
He feels worth something when he pokes at other people's intimate wounds and gets them to open about it. He remains closed supplying tiny breadcrumbs to create an illusion of two way intimacy. He aims to position himself as a makeshift emotional crutch for strangers he then drops off.
I was expecting her to pick up a wrench and commit homicide at the end. That would have increased my rating by one star.
Presumed Innocent (2024)
Unoriginal
This one was kinda messy. Gyllenhaal is great as a unlikable person, but that's about it.
I'm not a fan of the wifes who stay no matter what genre. The husband is obviously a pathological liar, he just does it better than most. There was more relationship drama than courtroom drama. Meh.
The whole season could have been a movie, as now it is too long with the endless talking scenes and make shift drama. The murder was portrayed as intentionally too sadistic for a wow effect, to make us wonder who this monster is, as if that could have somehow made this series more gripping. I knew by the fourth episode.
Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023)
Unique
Ok so first of all what a delicate piece of art.
Secondly what a beautiful portrayal of a woman somehow detached from her reality. Alone, but not lonely, I think. Going to work, doing her job, handling stuff, keeping a nice home and all that. She's in her head a lot. I think her office is full of neurodivergent folk, because they all seem to get along so well even though they're such different people.
Someone might call her isolated or shy. Clearly she is not. Guarded for sure, but life does that you sometimes. She's funny as duck, if you're on the same frequency. Empathetic and eyes wide open.
The guy is actually just a side quest. Which I'm happy about. He's a bit too simple and lacks emotional skills. But she gets that and makes use of it to maybe start letting other people know more things that don't matter about her.
The Commandant's Shadow (2024)
Heavy
Highly recommended reflection through the eyes of people who lived it, and their decendants who feel the weight of it. If you're not familiar with events of Birkenau, I recommend you watch a few documentaries first about them. Also maybe take a look at the 2024 movie Zone of Interest which is based on the Commendant Höss family living right on the other side of the fence from where masses of people were murdered. You will better understand the profound meaning of this documentary.
The elderly man in this doc was clearly too young at the time to understand the world outside of his immediate surroundings, the beautiful garden and his fathers uniform. I can't imagine the impossible task of trying to reconcile two opposites: a loving father and a criminal against humanity.
That is what I think this documentary is about. Looking the unphantomable in the eyes.
I'm in awe of the elderly survivor lady. She invites the son of her tormentor into her home. They have coffee and cake. It's a mindblowing scene. I don't dare to impose my requests on them to speak more about what happened and what they went through. I felt like I was imposing as it was. It's a miracle they're there.
It seems they are agreeing that it is time now to make sure sins of the fathers are left to those they belong to. It belongs to us however to tell the story. And to make sure it never happens again. Anywhere. Because it will. And is.
The Bikeriders (2023)
Tom Hardy in a biker jacket
Jodie Comer delivers a great role, she is so versatile.
Tom Hardy is believable as a torn leader worried about keeping the flock together in the midst of change. Just the kind of guy you'd let ruin your life just a little bit.
They would have had better chemistry as romantic interests too.
I just couldn't get a hold of this movie at all. It all felt so flat. No emotion. No passion. Except for those few scenes at the bar in the beginning of the film.
Or perhaps this movies had required a different mindset from what I went in with. I was expecting more riding scenes. Romance. The wind in your hair until you can't undo the knots at the back of your head. Not drinking and smoking at stale parties. Getting killed for nothing.
The Watchers (2024)
Light mystery thriller
I would not categorise this as horror at all. It has more fantasy mystery vibes than reaching the level of psychological uneasiness.
There's a bit too much thrown in the pot to make a balanced soup. If one would want to explore all of the interesting ingredients and tastes in a satisfactory way there should be a series rather than a film. Especially the folklore behind everything sounded interesting, but it didn't really get processed enough for my taste.
Some of the effects looked clumsy even though there were a couple of cool eerie scenes. I wish it would have carried throughout.
Also a bit too many illogical behavior choices from the characters, which always struck a bad cord for me.
Ezra (2023)
For the autism parents
So the movie focuses on how much of a hard time adults have with an autistic kid. And how little they really get it.
I know there's a lot of neurodivergent folk working in and on this movie, but meh. I guess we're not cut out from the same tree after all (with sarcasm).
The film kinda has a modern thinking spirit but I'll repeat it once more: you don't really have to teach a child to look into people's eyes and forcefully surprise hug them to love them, and to feel loved by them. You need to make schools and the world more accessible for different people, not just the boring majority. Start with attitudes.
I'd like to see neurodivergent folks in movies without the neurodivergent part being the center stage and root of all problems for everyone around.
Kudos to the kid though, superb job!
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
I watch it for the plot
I didn't even know there was a new Mad Max movie in the making so when I spotted this I went in totally blind. Not a big fan of the universe, but this one I actually liked.
First I thought the god awful CGI was intentional for the vibe, but it was so bad I guess the production was just rushed. There's better CGI in some 20 year old movies than in this one. I would've given one more star if those glaring glitches would've been smoothed out.
Anyway I liked this story a lot. Way less abusing women and way more interesting character development. I always love origin stories and this is no exception.
Big powerful vehicles, strange (and disturbing) cultural customs and ugly people with technological modifications. Plus a surprisingly awesome female lead. I loved her in Queen's Gambit and I love her in this.
Relentless (2021)
Truth is stranger than fiction
This documentary is the definition of truth is stranger than fiction. At some point watching this I felt this can't all be real. There are twists and turns you could not write in any drama without it seeming too much. Here it is not too much, it's just real life.
I take my fictional hat off for the main lady trying to help find the missing young woman. I am in awe of her genuine want to help and to see the good side no matter how bad it might look. In people, in situations, in hindsight... We need more people like her in this world.
One of the best documentaries way up there with Making a Murderer. I could have watched two seasons of this as I believe there would have been a lot more details to go over.
Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (2024)
A good one!
I have been aware of and fascinated by the terracotta army before, but this beautiful documentary gave me so much more context as to why and how this mazing archeological site originally manifested.
There are written records of related events, that are compared to the physical findings of the site. These dramatic events are depicted with wonderful acted scenes throughout the documentary. This style rarely works, but here I think they succeeded. It's visually of great quality and brings the story to life. It showcases unique cultural customs of the time and of that social status.
I'm looking forward to seeing more findings as the work on this huge site continues on. Only a small portion has been excavated! Very exciting.
This documentary is also a tribute to archeologists and many other people working on these sites for decades and bringing their findings to the public knowledge for joint understanding of our human history.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
Mild
A city couple encounters car trouble in a small town and gets stranded. They don't rent a replacement car, but instead rely on complete strangers to drive them to a remote cabin to lodge for the night. At the cabin they keep their door unlocked and have all the lights on. What could go wrong.
The thing I felt most scared of during this film, was the fire hazard of all the burning candles and the open fireplace. Movie just wasn't scary. It was too neat. The moon was so bright, it wasn't even dark outside, even in the woods. Reminded me of those slightly suspensful afternoon shows you can watch while slipping into a comfy nap.
I watched because of Harlin. I'll also watch Chapter 2. Because it's an easy watch and doesn't require any thought.
Steeltown Murders (2023)
Brits know how to do it
I just love how the Brits do this genre. Steeltown Murders is another example of that, and it proves that we don't need to see violence to be impacted by the story.
This particular piece got bonus points from me for the lack of violent scenes. I am quite exhausted with the trend at the moment where the depictions of violence either take too much space or is sprinkled on a bit too carelessly. Steeltown focuses on retrospection. The profound shock and grief. The impact on those close to you, wether you are the victim, the perpetrator or the detectives.
Philip Glenister is outstanding as Paul Bethel, the concious detective pushing to confirm who did it with a 100% certainty.
The Fall Guy (2024)
Easy to watch
Better than I anticipated based on the trailer. This is a very sympathetic, easy going film! No gore, nothing upsetting. Just awesome stunts and a pretty classic plotline with a romantic center. It actually reminded me of animation movies, it's somehow so heartwarming and safe. Wouldn't still watch with smaller kids.
The two mains actually have great chemistry. I don't know what happened or how, but I think I fell back in love with Gosling.
Action scenes are obviously amazing and I caught myself paying more attention to the details in them. All smiles for me. It's a skill to make everything seem so smooth and easy.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Would've been a good short film
The first 10 minutes got my hopes up, but I just couldn't get the idea of the film at any point after that. Usually I'm pretty content with the combo of british accent, dashing men and WW2.
Apparently the aim was some sort of heist comedy, but it wasn't funny or witty. Danny Ocean's granddad could've popped up any time, and I wish he would've for everyone's sake.
Buuuut if I have to find something positive to say it's the wardrobe design. Vintage is always enjoyable to look at. By the way it's always such a freak coincidence how many professional dancers happen to be at a random party, especially one for army officers.