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martincigorraga
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You're Not a Monster (2019)
Bad, bad, BAD show -- HORRIBLE, actually! And not because of the monsters, I've to say
I'm always looking for funny shows like this, being a fan of The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, Family Guy / American Dad or Bojack Horseman -- to name a few.
So when I saw this show was being broadcasted for free to "celebrate Halloween" (and also sell the show, but they don't say that, of course!), I gave it a try.
Dude! This is unwatchable, LOL! The jokes ara ugly, the characters have no depth, no point of connection, the dialogues are pretty shallow... I think I was able to make it to the fifth episode because each episode lasts ~5 minutes, since I was waiting for the moment the kicked off, but that never happens.
The shallow boringness you see in the first episode is the one that sets the mood for all the next episodes to come.
Only watch this if you are in for some morbid time, ajj!
The Signal (2014)
Underrated genuine sci-fi must-watch film
It makes me sick in the stomach to see so many stupid reviews from people that crearle where expecting a CGI boom-boom big explosions Marvel-like movie because they obviously can't cope with the attention to detail that a good film requires.
From the moment the action itself begins (the movie takes its time to present the characters and unfold a preliminary mystery plot to set the mood, which by itself is quite enjoyable), The Signal kept me hanging all the way at the edge of my chair.
If you enjoyed Dark City, then this is a film you simply can't miss. And conversely, if you did like The Signal as much as I did, you know now what's next =)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
All shouting and hysteria although very few - if any - laughs
I'm on a mission on watching American films from the '40s to 1969 and of course I couldn't let this one out. That's why I was eager to watch this one, a classic "comedy" film (I love good comedies).
Said that, this movie barely made me laugh -- if anything, a bleak condescending Bezos' style smirk.
There's only one scene of about ten seconds duration in this three-hour movie that pull off an smile from me: the hand-shaking at the control tower scene (very much in the line of The Naked Gun and Hotshots).
Nonetheless, it was fun to re-live for a few hours what was like to be in America in the early sixties: the people, the streets, the shops, the cars, the cities landscape -- like, everything.
Oh, and it was nice to see the tribute to the three wacky fellas too :)
But overall this is a quite mediocre movie, all hysterical shouting and screaming that far from making you laugh out of the exaggerated acting (I believe that was the intention), it stuns you to no end making you thank to the heavens once the movie has finished for the much sought repairing silence.
I'd recommend everyone interested in watching this dull film get the extended version (ideally the one from CRITERION) as it fills some gaps with a bunch of very nice photographs taken on the set behind the scenes.
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
Jack of all trades, master of none
As many people told in these reviews, it seems they tried to do A LOT without the proper characters, timeline and contextual development: it ended up being something with a lot of potential but rather very poorly implemented -- which is by itself paradoxically mind-boggling as there's something very similar happening in the movie!
Best part - if only watchable one - is roughly at the middle of the movie; from there on is a fast and bumpy descendent into mediocrity, finalizing the story maybe even beneath the level at which it started.
After Earth (2013)
Beautiful near-perfect adventure-science fiction movie
First of all let me ask a simple question: what's wrong with the people giving such low score to After Earth!?
Oh, I see, it's the kind of people who use their head only to grown hair - everything becomes clear now.
If I were to describe this movie I will use just three words: POETRY IN MOTION.
After Earth is an amazing film that sports a background intelligent plot that reflects how we collectively feel today about our planet as how we are tearing it apart.
The background history is quite credible too: once we found an habitable place to call it home it's already occupied by another race that don't want us there - you don't have to look too far in our history to find out about that kind of things...
The movie itself is visually gorgeous showcasing a self-healed Earth after humans stopped poisoning - because their leaving - and how it possibly evolved over the years.
Unlike other wrong-labeled SciFi movies like Star Wars or Star Trek that should be called "Futuristic Fantasy", the science showcased in After Earth is certainly credible as it relies on pharmaceutical and material advances like we are seeing today in the nanotechnology field.
But the best thing about this movie is that it make actors _act_ again! In modern movies actors are (generally) limited to the script and they haven't much space to create their characters. In After Earth it's just *the contrary*: actors are the most important part of the film, not the FXs. They are given with all the space they need to develop their roles so is up to them how far or where do they want to get with their playing.
Take Will's character for instance: he's not only a military commander but the father of their only one ranger. He has to deal with the fact that the ranger that is in grave danger out there isn't only one of his soldiers but his own son that, by the way, happens to be a rookie who has to accomplish a task that only a veteran could accomplish. Couple that with their father/son background which involves the killing of Kitais's sister and his father blaming him for not protecting her and you have a complex relationship that unfolds onward as they heal them both and ultimately their relationship.
Sure, people who were expecting a brain-washed fantasy movie won't understand the subtle topics involved here - where are the fancy lasers man!?
This Science Fiction movie isn't about ugly monsters and weird technology, it's a story about a father and his son and how they heal their relationship, about growing up (both of the characters) and about overcoming one owns fears.
Yes, sure some elements might make some noise bringing back flashbacks of other movies but hey, that doesn't necessarily takes all the credits out of After Earth.
When I said this movie is all about poetry it's because this movie is just that: poetry. When in journey to his destination Kitai falls to the ground and is about to freeze because the sudden temperature change at night and he is saved by a giant eagle he discovers next day that the bird saved his life given its own in exchange like a father or a mother would do protecting their kids - hence the open wings metaphor: "I take care of you, I'll give my life for you to live", the ultimate sacrifice.
Another beautiful moment is when Kitai finally activate the help signal: granted is highly unlike for a distress signal to fire up like a light beam, but the reasoning behind that metaphor it's not only to shoot a distress signal but a sign of the personal conquest, oneself conquering his/her fears and goals.
Now, the moment that really blow my mind was when Kitai jumps the falls using his wing suit and is being chased by the giant eagle I talked earlier - that was looking for a decent breakfast for its offspring. Man, that surely was a chase!
This film isn't as much a SciFi movie like Oblivion is (another hell of amazing movie) but more of a survival adventure involving a complex father and son relationship with plenty of poetry and nice photography all around.
However there's something I didn't like: the old '60s-like spaceship interiors... come'on, sheets instead metal doors? One could think that it makes sense to design and build a spaceship as lightweight as possible and with the less mass possible, but sheets instead solid doors? REALLY? An spaceship is just that, a *ship* that navigates the space instead a course of water. As their earthly counterparts a spaceship should be constructed in a compartmented way so any danger should arise like firing or vacuum the affected sections could be effectively isolated from the rest of the ship to mitigate the damage. Indeed they went too far here...
There are plenty of moments worth of attention like when Cypher explains his son how to control fear, those are really powerful lines that in the end teach us to live the present and don't fear anything that is 'yet to come' - what doesn't mean by any way to disregard any real and present danger.
The final scene with Kitai rushing to his father's arms as Cypher salute him as a Ranger, and the final comments of them help us feel the gap that once divided them is finally bridged.
Does this movie deserve 10 stars? No it doesn't, may be it really deserves something between 7.5 and 9 but as it has received so bad critics by people who - I'm sure - have trouble realizing their didn't lose their head because it's glued to their necks, I give it 10 stars as an appreciation of how much I enjoyed it.
Take care.
Safe (2012)
Statham at it's best!
I never cease to amaze how brain-dead are most of the audience: 6.5 stars, really!?
It's been a while since an action movie hooked me this way right from the beginning without loosing it's pace to the end; in fact, "Safe" is a very good action movie that grabs your attention as story unfolds - and guns are shoot!
{Not a real SPOILER} Just a note: I've found two filming errors, very funny both of them. For the first one take a look at the interior of the truck that is hit by the bus at the beginning of the movie. I leave to you to find the second one :D {/Not a real SPOILER}