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actionalligator
9/10 - Excellent movie. Maybe one little problem holding it back, but that's it. Will enjoy re-watching multiple times, especially with friends.
8/10 - Great movie. A couple of problems, but nothing major. One I'd like to watch again and maybe show friends.
7/10 - Good movie. Nothing groundbreaking, and it certainly has issues, but I enjoy it. Might watch again one day for clarity or reevaluation, but it's not something that I get excited for.
6/10 - Ok movie. Lots of good things and a fair amount of bad things, but the former prevails.
5/10 - Mediocre movie. Basically, for every good thing, there's something bad.
4/10 - Poor movie. Sort of the inverse of a 6/10: bad outweighs good.
3/10 - Bad movie. A few good things, but mostly a bad time at the movies.
2/10 - Horrible movie. Maybe one memorable thing in a sea of shit.
1/10 - Abysmal movie. This movie shouldn't exist. One of my least favorite films.
Reviews
Oppenheimer (2023)
Almost brilliant, but too jumbled & lightning fast; it can be a struggle to keep up with the details
So let's just get this out of the way first: the movie was worth watching. I don't understand the people who say the movie is terrible. It most definitely isn't. There were a number of PERFECT scenes that were so exceptionally executed; the nuclear bomb test, for example; the speech Oppenheimer (played by Murphy) gives after the bombings of Japan; and a number of others. I was seriously emotionally moved from these. The acting, cinematography, and blah blah, all the other stuff you expect from a great movie were all there.
Having said that, there are two large (closely related) issues with the film that keep me from really being in love with it, I'm sorry to say: the amount of content and the pacing.
The movie admirably wants to do so, so many things that it ends up incredibly dense, both with characters and plots. It of course wants to properly layer the background of WW2 and the war with Nazi Germany & Japan; some light touching on the experience of Jews in America; obviously Oppenheimer's work on the atomic bomb; and some of the process behind the U. S. government's decision to use it; it also wants to show his personal relationships with other scientists, including famous ones, and with military personnel as well as a few of his romantic lovers; his rise & fall & redemption as a scientist; the Communism scare around the same time followed by the cold war with Russia; and his struggles with the FBI & other government entities.
For me, and perhaps others, even 3 hours evidently wasn't long enough to set everything up properly. Much of the movie, mostly the first half or so, is going lightning fast and throwing as much information at the audience as it possibly can. Some of it is absorbed, but too much of it is lost without context which leaves a good portion of subplots falling flat. On top of this, it also likes to time jump; where usually the past would be black and white, this time the future is. It was still quite confusing despite.
The amount of content the movie needs to get through doesn't leave much room for necessary pacing; I'm not really given much time to chew & think on things, or even to appreciate it. In the end, I find that I don't really quite understand nor care about a few things that are going on, including some moments that are supposed to be shocking reveals towards the end.
I wholeheartedly believe this would've worked so much better as a limited series. As a movie, it's pretty good. But as a series that could've been fleshed out to a much deeper degree, where the content would've actually had some room to breathe, I think it would've been absolutely brilliant. The next Chernobyl, in my heart. Oh well.
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
This Show is Good for the Soul
Just an fyi, I'm not familiar with the short stories this show is loosely based on, so I won't comment on that.
I just want to say, for those who didn't find much value in the opening material like I did, especially the 2nd episode which is by far the weakest: I highly recommend you continue, as the acting and dialogue only gets better and better.
This is easily one of my favorite works from Flanagan & co. And even one of my favorite things ever. The show is dripping with very compelling and interesting themes, subtext, metaphor, and characters that I will enjoy analyzing, probably poorly, for a very long time.
It's nice when a show feels like it actually has something to *say* instead of just mindlessly entertaining you with forced surface-level trivialities in service to the soulless goal of making tons of money for as long as possible; and it's even nicer when it's said from a not-quite expected, but still very interesting angle.
Many people will roll their eyes at this, but I am completely serious and am not trying to exaggerate for effect: this show (along with Midnight Mass) feels like a spiritual experience that religion no longer gives many of us. There are so many issues today that just don't feel like they're being tackled or will ever be tackled, and it is insurmountably heavy on the soul. This show confronts a piece of that cold, depressing subject matter in a full and satisfactory way that leaves the audience warmer and.. richer.. by the end of it. :)
Maybe others didn't feel that way by the end or maybe I just didn't understand it as well as I think I did. But, that's what I got out of it anyways, and it was wonderful.
M3GAN (2022)
Perfect, Dumb (but also intelligent) Fun
Well, if you needed any indication to how many morons 'review' movies on this site, just read some of them, especially the low ratings. So many people seem to miss the fact that this is satire... it's not meant to be taken super seriously. "This doesn't make sense" "that doesn't make sense" "it wasn't that scary", yeah... it's supposed to be a campy horror popcorn flick.. the movie makes sense within the silly universe it's setup, which is clearly communicated to the audience from the very beginning with that over-the-top toy commercial and then the over-the-top, unbelievable death in the beginning. If you can't see the movie's tongue in its own cheek at that point, you shouldn't be reviewing movies in the first place.. lmfao.
Also, it helped that I saw the unrated version... I can't speak for the theatrical release... so if you watch it, make sure it's unrated.
Anyways, so, I personally gave this a 10.. not really because it's a perfect movie, but because my enjoyment was through the roof. I got what I expected and more; it didn't overstay its welcome, knew exactly what it wanted to do and then just did it. Other people will definitely not feel the same, which is fine, just make sure you understand what this movie is *trying* to be and not assume what it *should* be.
And honestly, even though this maybe isn't a movie to be over-analyzed, it surprisingly has some interesting things to say about society and technology if you look for it. That's what makes this the best kind of satire for me: it's dumb and straight-forward enough to be fun and doesn't need or ask for your utmost attention to understand and enjoy it, yet if you want a little bit more from your movie, the relevant allegories are there. Some people may not find it to be the most original subtext, but I personally found it very satisfying.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Mediocre corporate treadmill show
Ok, so full context, I used to love anything Star Wars as a kid, loved the originals, even loved the prequels. Since I've gotten older, I've realized the prequels are terrible and unwatchable, but the originals (not the special edition, the ORIGINAL) thankfully still live up to scrutiny and are just all-around great movies. I don't really like any of the new Star Wars stuff, they range from terrible and boring (and vastly overrated) to mildly fun and enjoyable, but nothing I'd ever wanna watch again. Andor will be my final attempt at new Star Wars, and after that will give up completely.
Let's start with the good things in this show: it looks really good, the music sounds good to me, the atmosphere is great, it looks and visually feels like Star Wars should, it's short and not too long, and Ewan McGregor is great as always (he carried the prequels HARD).
I REALLY liked the setup of Obi-Wan towards the beginning, him losing hope and all that (yeah, not very original, but was still good enough and gave us an arc to start with). I also REALLY liked the juxtaposition of Obi-Wan and Anakin interacting and dueling in the prequel timeline (new shot scenes and looks surprisingly decent) vs them interacting in the current show timeline (and remember I HATE the prequels, so that's an amazing feat). And finally, I REALLY liked the idea of a character that was victimized by Vader as a child during Order 66; some of the scenes in the final episode or two were really effective in that regard (camera looking upward from a child's perspective towards Anakin's evil gaze in a flashback... very disturbing).
Other than that, everything else is painfully mediocre, woefully executed, and hopelessly assembly-lined like a droid or clone in the prequels... there's an attempt at heart and soul, but the writers can't cash the check.
There's no real attempt at internal setting/scene logic or believability in multiple sequences. For example, in one battle, you have rebels outnumbered by imperial troopers storming them and blaster fire going EVERYWHERE, and yet you have said rebels just standing in the open firing without a care in the world and not getting shot. As soon as those hangar doors open, I would've expected a large hail of blaster fire and a cluster of rebel soldiers just falling down... something with oomph and effect that makes me feel like I'm witnessing a real brutal battle. But nope, just shots of people shooting lasers and walking. I realize even the originals are guilty of this at times, but it could and should be better than that (and also the originals are actually good movies, so you can forgive the minor issues).
Most of the new characters and their arcs (if they have one) fall deathly flat and are PAINFULLY tropey and unoriginal. They even had one RANDOM pilot that we've NEVER seen die, and another RANDOM pilot that we've NEVER seen mourn him, as if the audience is supposed to care. We had some lame interaction between Obi-Wan and some new... Rebel captain smuggler guy or w/e "you don't know what the Empire is capable of" and some embarrasing response "they killed my FAMILY, so don't tell me I don't know what they're capable of", you know, that old tripe.
The acting ranges from great (Ewan's Obi-wan), to good (Uncle Owen & Tala aka sand snake from GoT), to bad (Kumail Nanjiani & Ingram's Reva sometimes), to LAUGHABLY bad (Sung Kang fifth brother)... so bad that I can't tell if the cheese was layered on for entertainment or if they're just that incompetent.
Moses Ingram is totally miscast for Reva. She's a great actress and I've been a fan of hers in a few other things I've seen, and her acting in the last episode or two can be great... but she doesn't fit at all. Someone like Danai Gurira (Michonne from Walking Dead, Okoye in Black Panther, etc.) would've been a far better fit for the acting style needed. Of course, it doesn't ultimately matter because the character is flimsy and only feels barely justified to exist by the last one or two episode's reveal about her past with Anakin/Vader; she was totally irritating for most of the previous episodes. As I said, LOVE the idea of the character, but the execution is terrible.
I would've preferred if they'd just left Luke and Leia out of it completely... child actors are hard to justify, and I feel this show is no different... they verge on bad or irritating sometimes (adorableness aside). Plus, the fact that Obi-Wan and Leia get so close in this series actually completely goes against the original movies... Obi-Wan and Leia have zero chemistry or interaction in those films and act like they don't really know each other, but only know OF each other (Leia asked for his help, after all). I guess their attempt at explaining it was some flimsy, throw-away line at the end "no one can ever know, or we'll get in trouble"... come on, really? It still doesn't make any sense with their situation in A New Hope. IF they really wanted to include Leia, the relationship should've remained distant and she should've gotten close with another character that doesn't appear in future films.
And finally, the plot "arc" between Obi-Wan and Vader was ultimately pointless... they left where they started, really. I guess the understanding is that Obi-Wan can let go of his guilt over failing Anakin's training, and I guess Vader sort of throws him a bone and releases him of responsibility... but doesn't that already basically occur sort of in the prequel finale? In Revenge of the Sith, the final battle, he realizes that Anakin is "truly lost" and is no longer the man he called friend. At least that's what I remember. It then happens again in this show's finale, but a little different. I don't know, regardless, it still feels ultimately empty and pointless.
Ok, this review is getting way too long and I'm sick of trying to think of the show's seemingly limitless flaws, so I'll leave it there. I do NOT recommend this show for anyone except Star Wars fans who LOVE Star Wars and can better suffer through the flaws to satisfy their curiosity.. and man children who really like to shill for franchises...
The State (1993)
Mediocre
I love lots of things that the cast of this show made or played a part in; Wet Hot American Summer, Childrens Hospital, NTSF:SD:SUV, Burning Love, Reno 911, Medical Police, etc.; but this is dead mediocre and its hard to find a laugh except sporadically. The Captain Monterey Jack skits are really the most memorably funny to me, I blank on most everything else.
I'm actually shocked at how high the ratings are and I'm thinking they're only this high because its biggest fans come on and review it while everyone else hasn't seen it, as I think it's probably pretty unknown.