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matthewlineham
Reviews
The Flash (2023)
Ezra shines
So I went into this movie having read some of the reviews on here prior so my expectations were moderate. I was also away how much of a train wreck Ezra Millers life has been personally.
Now putting that aside when I watch a movie I watch it for the experience and acting. What has happened "outside" the movie doesn't resonate with me.
Put simply an absolute bravura performance from Ezra Miller. The amount of screen time he occupies in an almost 2.5 hour film where it is predominantly just himself as the actor on screen for almost the entire time - and to pull it off in compelling and endearing fashion is a gift.
The movie absolutely surprised me to the upside. 9/10. Would watch again. And will.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Taika Waititi is indeed the egotistical hack you suspect he is
As per title. Nothing but Taikas ego and vanity on full display. Doesn't care about prior MCU narratives or how the films "feel".
Too busy making everything slapstick comedy like he does with every film he ruins.
Dudes a hack who has overstated his welcome if ever there was a welcome to begin with. Christ I hope he never touches Star Wars.
Yellowjackets (2021)
Tale of 2 storyline's....one good. One boring.
Put simply the teenage version where they are lost in the woods is actually quite compelling to watch. There is an entire season or more worth there that they could have done a different "lord of the flies" type thing.
When they are adults things grind to a boring halt tbh.
They should have done the entire season on when they were young girls lost in the woods and doubled down in the whole Occult/demon thing tbh.
Missed opportunity.
Invasion (2021)
4 episodes in to not show actual invasion???
Basically as per title. 4 episodes in now and the concept of "invasion" hasn't even begun. So far it's just been families having family issues.
Seriously if you take this many episodes to get to A purpose maybe you buggered up your storyboard.
Apple. Doing not the best job as usual. They really are not doing well on their chosen TV shows.
A new franchise needs a WOW factor from episode 1-2 to capture attention. They didn't even do that. We are on Ep4 now and almost nothing has happened.
Dune (2021)
Dune v Dune
I've read the books. I've seen the OLD movies and TV shows. Whilst my memory is a tad rusty I remember more than enough not comparison material to comment.
The new Dune movie is thick on spectacle and excellent actors. Yet despite having those 2 key ingredients both are done mediocre.
Frankly I think Dune best survives as a TV series. The info and backstory is just so THICK a movie cannot do it justice.
I could say more but I won't. Suffice it to say I think they have done a respectable job building a ground floor of interest given the actors they employed and the visuals.
Negative from me:
1) Chani should have come out WAY earlier in the movie. We were all waiting on the Chani/Paul storyline.
2) Baron Harkonnen was atrociously under-utilised
3) Was Dave Bautista even in this movie bar a few seconds? Same enquiry goes for Josh Brolin and Duncan Idaho as well.
Put simply it's like they couldn't decide if they were going to go with visuals and battle. Or character building and dialogue. And it ended up being a dogs breakfast Of both.
Funny the original Dune movies do a far better job of establishing who is Emperor Shaddam and who is Baron H and who is Duke LA.
In short it was an acceptable job wherein we HOPE the second movie pays off significantly on the promise. But I suspect it won't and both will be mediocre.
Unfortunately it's the worse Denis V movie I've ever seen. It felt like he couldn't decide to be visual spectacle or character substance and ended up halfway in between and satisfying nobody.
Dr. Death (2021)
Deeply Disturbing
Put simply this is a very underrated TV show. I won't give a deep review other than to say it prompted me to come here to say GO WATCH IT.
It's easily one of the most unsettling shows I've seen in a really long time. Makes you feel physically unwell at certain stages. It's really unsettling and well done.
The Chair (2021)
Surprisingly excellent
Really gets going around episode 3. It's bizzare that each episode is a short 30m though and only 6 of them made.
Guess it was a test pilot. But after episode 3 begins you can see this show has real depth to it and is making some social commentary on today's outrageous "PC" culture crap and how it's literally holding out society and institutions to ransom.
Putting that aside though it is a very good TV show and it would be great to see a second season with 10 fully fleshed out episodes.
Man of Steel (2013)
Underrated. Potential Future Classic
I saw this back when it was first released and was a bit "it's ok" on it at the time.
Re watching it again in 2021 it hits different. This movie is superbly well done, showing an emotionally complex Superman going on his personal learning journey. Not being "perfect" and like a God etc.
The end where he is clearly deeply shaken by having to kill General Zod is superb. It's a deeply emotional film to my surprise on a second rewatch.
Amazing piece of cinema and I am now very concerned the movie studios won't keep this darker tone superman gping. Instead it will be a return to a "god like" superman who's likely black to appeal to a different audience etc.
Henry Cavill is superman and he needs to come back. We don't need another reboot. Henry's superman is the definitive version absolutely.
Beckett (2021)
Pay check? Or horrible Director
This will be very brief but it's basically as per the title. Either John David Washington was offered a fat pay check to star in this and he phoned in his performance.
Or.
The director is legitimately amateur hour.
This movie at so many points contains poorly shot scenes that feel amateur. Dialogue and responses that lack urgency or feeling like a real person would behave that way etc.
The way the main character behaves despite his girlfriend being dead and being aggressively pursued is laughable. Zero sense of urgency, no sense that he's legitimately terrified etc.
It just kind of lurches from scene to scene and theee is no impact and it feels like it was shot on the wrong film or lens. Feels super amateur hour.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Paul Danos ANNOYING humming voice
So being honest I'm sure it's a well acted movie. Dano is a very solid actor as is Daniel.
However it's hard to stomach movies that resort to a constant overlay of "weird music" to make things seem edgy or profound.
I'm 15mins in and it's been almost nothing but a constant orchestral overlay of Paul Dano humming or singing children's tunes.
How the Director failed to notice that his voice in that capacity is like nails on a damn chalkboard I'll never know.
If they wanted to make a movie about descent into madness on an island in a serious or funny way they didn't need to have it done to the constant children's orchestral lullaby of PAUL DANOS VOICE.
It distracts and offputs everything. It's a compelling movie but the constant break of immersion due to this hideous sound track is atrocious.
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Poorly executed
For this reading keep in mind I'm halfway through EP2 at this point. Also this kind of series is the type I adore to watch always.
I'll reserve judgement until later but GOOD GOD who decided upon the production decision to make the ENTIRE first episode about "a before the events of this series" little girl episode?
The entire series is supposed to be about Anya Taylor Joy as a chess player with mental issues. Yet rather than a carefully curated 10-15 minute explainer of how she was as a child.
We get a full blown repetitive and extremely dry 1 hour episode of her being a pill popper as a child. This is the introduction that is supposed to keep viewers hooked?
I'm stunned at the idiotic decision makers who thought that was a great way to introduce a fairly cerebral TV miniseries to the audience. I'll keep watching to see if it improves but the first episode is undeniable horse droppings.
How they thought the first EP would draw anybody in to want to watch more is beyond my understanding.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Self indulgent crapfest
I have watched most of his movies purely on the face of it because everybody always says they are great. Each time I"m disappointed and I honestly don't get his appeal at all.
Its another "retro" styled movie of his. Oh wow so many big name actors pursuing literally no storyline etc.
Its basically like how he does almost all his movies except Kill Bill. He just flags a bunch of well known actors and they talk onscreen following a loose boring non-inventive plot and people scream "Wow he's a visionary".
Seriously I'm 50mins into this movie and its just gone nowhere. 100% last movie of his I ever bother to see. I have no idea why people think this stuff is good, its not new, its not inventive, its a bunch of well known actors dumped together on a loose plot with good filming, good shots, nice "environmental atmosphere" and everything feels legit to that time period.
But substance? Missing as usual.
For All Mankind (2019)
Joel Kinnamen
They get this guy who is pretty stellar in most TV shows he's been cast in. I love anything space related and the first 1-2 episodes were quite legit and it just devolved rapidly into this Unconesive mess.
I'm not one to be the "it's too Pc" I honestly couldn't care about that much. But having said that this show smacks you in the face over "issues". I genuinely don't get it. It feels like this loose facade of space and history with a twist but it's just about.....nothing.
It's an utter mishandled mess filled with great actors. The script is run rampant which can be fine if it's entertaining.
Some might say Marvels Black Panther movie (was it called that if it wasnt my bad) was Pc. But who cares? It was a great movie. It was entertaining and well done.
This is hardcore with none of the entertainment factor. I wouldn't care a whit if they made this show entirely about women and it was fun and drama to watch. But it's stale. It's just.....crap.
I give 6 stars because it's well shot and good actors and I love space but it's just a complete mess. No cohesion and......I've no idea what Apple was thinking.
See is crap. This is crap. Morning Wars is a better version of this. Quite but I find it entertaining although Steve Carrel again is underused just as Joel is in this.
I genuinely don't get who the hell greenlit this mess to production.
The Great Hack (2019)
Not what it seems - Epic levels of narcissism & ego
Ok so overall my opinion of this documentary if it can be called that went from very good in the first 30-40 minutes and downhill beyond that point resulting in 6 stars from me. Maybe 5.
Why? The main guy (who's name I've forgotten because that's how immaterial he becomes to the narrative as times passes) wants to know what's happened to his data, how its being used etc. Basically the only guy in this entire Doc that comes across as having a genuine motive.
The rest of the Doc is basically a Brittany Kaiser/Kim Kardashian follow around blow hard piece. The more you watch Brittany Kaiser feign shock or any of the other "I'm a real human woman" emotions she displays on screen the more irritating this Doc becomes and the more you come to the conclusion she's vapid and incredibly vainglorious.
Its originally presented as her "Stepping Forward" because she realises FB/CA/What she did was just evil and needed to be stopped. As time passes watching the Doc its blindingly obvious it was nothing of the sort.
She was a willing participant who loved the spotlight, money and access she had. As soon as that house of cards looked shaky she bailed out and found her next "cause" that would pay her money.
This Netflix Doc is a very very poor attempt at real analysis of this subject and Brittany Kaiser comes across as somebody clearly obsessed with her own ego.
I challenge anybody to watch this Doc and come away with an alternative impression about her. She's opportunistic and absolutely LOVES the cameras on her and this Doc and she's almost borderline name dropping names or subjects every time she gets the chance to show how important "she once was".
Vainglorious and irritating but good portions of the Doc had quality but in no way should she have been its focus. She's just as guilty and vapid as the rest of them and it shows.