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The Flash (2023)
Pretty much objectively bad, what's sad though is that it could've been saved
There has already been much said about what this movie did wrong, and I wouldn't be adding anything new to the conversation by repeating that, I had low expectations for the movie when it was announced and to say it had a troubled production would be the understatement of the century, but I went into it and did my best to see past the obvious flaws, I'll start by saying that the one thing I liked about the movie, which should've been the central focus, was the relationship between Barry (The Flash) and his late mother, him saying goodbye to her was genuinely a heartfelt moment at the end of a long slog of unmatchable garbage, and despite being the driving force for the main plot, it was hardly ever focused on, Barry wanted to prevent his mom from dying and after doing so he barely spent any time talking to her.
Other than them, I have to say Ben Affleck, who I'm usually not a fan of, did fairly well this time as Bruce Wayne/Batman, he was only in it for a short time but he didn't leave me groaning and rolling my eyes like the last few times, Michael Keaton was okay in the short amount of time he was in, Sasha Calle was also very good despite being shoehorned into the movie very late, George Clooney's and Temuera Morrison's cameos were also fun, in a movie chock-full of pointless cameos those were the only good ones.
Anyway, the rest of the film is abysmal, it's sad that there were small smidges of a potentially good plot being overwritten by the rest of the garbage, the CGI was bad but I could look beyond that if the rest of the writing and performances weren't just cloying and awful, aside from the news surrounding Ezra Miller after they did some truly despicable violent things in Hawaii, their performance as the two different versions of Barry was just awful, one of them was boring, the other was annoying and cartoonish, like something out of a bad Paulie Shore movie but actually somehow worse, not sure why there needed to be two Barries in the first place because aside from exposition (which could've been delivered numerous other ways) it really hampered the already pitiful story, which was a pale imitation of The Flashpoint Paradox, a comic book which has already been adapted into a movie several years ago, and much more successfully.
Part of the problem from the outset is, despite having multiple Justice League movies leading up to this one, the character of The Flash is sorely underdeveloped, and instead of developing him further in this film; they just cram in multiple Superman and Batman references in the hopes it will fool the audience into enjoying the movie, the worst of it had to be at the ending though, when the space-time continuum is collapsing and they kind of just create this weird muddled tone by shoving in multiple cameos of past Superman actors facing the screen, it really just had no point being there other than some Warner Bros executives saying "remember that we made this stuff too?" ironically that particular scene kind of reminded me of the mess that was Space Jam 2, the whole "Cinematic Universe" fad just climbs to an agonising halt in the attempt for film studio executives to show off their hegemonic grasp of someone else's intellectual property, nobody finds it entertaining, it's really morbid the more you see it, it feels like the death of cinema, and disrespectfully using AI/CGI whatever to recreate the faces of deceased actors is the cherry on top of that
To say the Flash is a bad movie is incorrect, it's barely even a movie, it serves no artistic purpose and it's not even a failed attempt at making a movie, it's literally just some weird self-congratulatory marketing pitch that was somehow stretched to movie length and it is purely just awful, I feel bad for the CG artists who were more than likely rushed and underpaid when working on this abomination, and the one person in the writing room who tried to include heartfelt moments about dealing with grief and the loss of a parent in an almost 3 hour mess of nonstop cameos and key-jingling,
Seriously Red (2022)
Unfunny, meandering, kind of queerphobic
Maybe I'm biased because I sat down to watch this after a long day at work just to see what it was about, but I just feel like there's so much negativity in this film that was probably supposed to come off as comedy but nah it just rubbed me the wrong way, the protagonist groped multiple people while dressed as dolly Parton and this is portrayed sympathetically from her side when she loses her job over it, she hangs out with this one guy who's supposedly her friend even though all he does is kick her when she's down, constantly frowns and says really mean discouraging things to her, the scenes featuring gay characters were really cringe, because it kind of just portrays all gay men as being really sexually aggressive (she performs as Dolly at a gay bar and several gay men try to grope her assuming she's a drag queen), lot of homophobia and transphobia that's kind of just slapped in there for no real reason, anyway I can see why Dolly Parton herself was not involved in this and I'm glad, meandering plot aside, it's just really unfunny and mean-spirited.
The Santa Clauses (2022)
Show still needs to find itself
There were a few funny moments, and I think most of the cast did well enough, Tim Allen's still got it, but it feels kinda detached compared to the three films it was based on, it's still early days and more episodes need to come out so I'm sure the show will find its own identity but feels a little shallow to me at the moment, I don't know it just feels like it's a sardonic take on everything and has none of the warmth, the original films had a good balance of both
And the few little bits of social commentary have regressed a bit from the originals as well, they went from "not everyone celebrates Christmas and that's fine" to "you can't even say merry christmas without being called problematic anymore" and that kinda whinging in the writing, but that's a whole different topic
in general I'm finding myself pretty tired of most producers nowadays trying to capitalise on Nostalgia rather than take bold steps towards making something new that will also grow to be iconic, there's no faith in originality anymore and that kind of saddens me, people are too afraid of taking risks so instead of going into uncharted territory with something that might be bad but original they just kind of follow a formula and it's pleasing but it's bland predictable mush, regurgitating beloved and successful IPs is good for profits but not for the audiences and the artists, not everything needs a follow-up or a remake too, it's okay to let a story end.
Disenchanted (2022)
Could've been better
My main issue with the film is it could've been better, there were some interesting ideas presented rather than just rehashing the original in a dulled down way as most sequels do, the cast were great although writing-wise the character development from the first film had basically vanished and the new characters were somewhat forgettable, still some funny moments but not as memorable as the original, similarly the songs were not as memorable as the original either, lots of abandoned plot threads and characters that had no role in the story but were just kind of there, it feels unfair to compare this to the original since that was over 14 years ago, time flies, but I just think there wasn't really a reason to make a sequel to the first Enchanted
Even so, as far as sequels go it's not the worst, the aforementioned positives stood out for me, the sets were beautiful and costume design was excellent, and I liked some of the ideas the sequel was leading into but the execution just fell flat for me, felt very rushed, sense of scale gone, the animated sequences were almost unnecessary this time as they didn't even involve much movement or expression, and it's a scathing indictment of both Disney's gradual attempts to abandon animation as a medium (despite it being so crucial to their past success) and the conditions animators have to work under, with very little pay or suitable hours, especially compared with the animated sequences of the first film.
All in all it ironically kinda lives up to the Disney tradition of making a memorable, iconic blockbuster film about a princess and then having the direct-to-video sequel being kind of underwhelming, I'd rate this a 6 or a 5 under other circumstances but because I feel like it was close to being a better film and just didn't reach that, and because it doesn't live up to the original, I think 4 is kind of appropriate, Disney needs to pick up their slack, they're becoming too complacent.
Warframe (2013)
Excellent world, game, story and characters but a lot of grindwork required to get there
My expectations adjusted rapidly with warframe, I had only started playing it because it was free and some friends had played it, the game works well as both single player and multiplayer, early on in the game was a lot of grindwork and repetitive mission structures and although the setting was kind of intriguing and the gameplay was fun and there were a few memorable performances (usually a lot of the antagonists, Vay Hek, Alad V, Tyl Regor, etc. All had wonderful chaotic performances) there was a lot of repetition and grindwork and I kind of aimlessly continued while my interest faded
Until I started The Second Dream, that was the point where the game and the story began to feel a lot more polished and fulfilling, the main character, the tenno, had merely been a vessel for completing objectives up until that point where we form an emotional bond with them and see them at their most vulnerable, and the second dream left a large impact on me as a person if I'm honest, despite the frustrating grind to get there it was well worth it and I'm glad that the moment had not been spoiled for me
All subsequent quests such as the war within, the new war, etc. Had followed this trend of being more cinematic, more emotional and more character-driven, but again they required a lot of grindwork and repetitive missions to get there.
There's almost no limit to this game, it's always being updated and expanded to add new features, and while the graphics may be dated in some aspects and not up to current AAA standards, they hold up extraordinarily well for a game released in 2013 and the art style is very strong, the developers are clearly still very passionate about Warframe as a project and intend to tell meaningful, important stories with it, and I'm glad they've stayed so dedicated to it.
Also probably some of the most customisation I've seen in a game.
Wendell & Wild (2022)
Decent but a little rushed
The movie was decent but could've been better, impactful emotional moments were usually rushed, some characters felt jarringly cartoonish compared to the others, almost like they were from two different movies, script felt a little bit overloaded and heavy on expository dialogue regarding the history of the town and the klax corps yet very little detail given to many other threads in the story, so it was a little bit uneven.
Otherwise, excellent animation, outstanding performances from Lyric Ross and Angela Bassett, some solid comedic performances from Key, Peele and Hong, I don't think this movie is an instant Halloween classic like some people say it is but it's a decent film nonetheless
tonally some parts are probably too scary or emotionally intense for younger viewers while others feel kind of immature and might be scoffed at by some adolescents, some may not be into the stop-motion style although it is by no means old-looking or outdated, very much up to the animation standards set by Coraline, but of course those are just my assumptions, kids can't all be painted with a broad brush.
Strong, cool, relatable protagonist, Raul was cool too but I dislike how the film tries to show that he's trans specifically with one instance of deadnaming and one of misgendering but still a lot better than most trans representation written by cis people in the past, Wendell and Wild had great chemistry but the eponymous characters had very little screen time in the actual film and their part in the plot didn't feel like it was as well written. Not sure if these are spoilers really but marking it yes anyway
But yeah, solid 6/10 flick.
The Pentaverate (2022)
Honestly the best thing Netflix has released in ages, finally a comedy that's actually funny
It's great to have Mike Myers back, he's at his best here, he's cut some of the crappy outdated parts from his whole schtick and he's honed in on that magic he used to have, he's also supported by a fantastic cast.
I don't know why Netflix has been so terrible lately, especially in the comedy department, for all the hype surrounding stand-up specials like the Closer only for it to be a 3 hour rant that bored me to tears, was worse than Nanette, to say nothing of Netflix's other comedy shows with the same annoying asinine teenage protagonists every time, so it's just nice to have Myers back, it's nice for comedy to be comedy again.
Hitmen (2020)
Unimaginative title but good show
Short episodes, quite funny, I wouldn't rate it as high as Mr. Inbetween but it's decent.
Holmes & Watson (2018)
Honestly, I've seen worse
It's not a great film, especially when you compare it to other adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, which have been much better, but I feel like people exaggerated how bad it was, it definitely has issues but I still found it mildly amusing, I've seen other comedies which failed to make me laugh or even chuckle just once, I mean as bad as it was; it's still better than the emoji movie.
The film has a lot of tiresome, cringeworthy and predictable gags but I'm not ashamed to admit that the odd one or two made me laugh.
Speaking of the emoji movie; this film itself is also an obvious cash grab and little thought or passion has gone into it, not to mention the fact it was stuck in development hell for nearly a decade, so I didn't have high expectations going into it, but I wasn't as disappointed as I expected to be. I think a 3 or 4 is fair, it's sub-par at best, slightly annoying at worst, but there are far worse films out there.
Palm Beach (2019)
Terrific Cast, Well-shot, but pointless meandering script
As I said, terrific cast, anything with Sam Neill and Bryan Brown together is going to be great, they're both veteran actors and they have terrific chemistry, however the writing is somewhat scattershot, most plot points are abandoned almost fifteen minutes after they're brought up, such as Richard E. Grant's character stealing one of their songs and using it for a jingle, they all seemed rightf pissed off about it and the next morning they all act like nothing even happened.
Legally Blonde (2001)
Just watch the damn movie, this is one of those movies that you have to watch at least once in your life
Not just a great movie, funny, well-written, moving, but it also dismantles some tropes that seriously needed to be dismantled.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
If you think of it as a comedy; it works better
Definitely not up to the standard or scale of the first film, plot was predictable but at the same time lacking believability, and I won't get into spoiler territory, I'll just say that there was a good cameo at the end.
Pretty average film, but if you're not taking it too seriously and you're just thinking of it as a comedy; it's a lot more palatable, that's why I rate it 5, if it didn't work as a comedy; probably a 3.
The performances from Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal were entertaining too.
Rush Hour 3 (2007)
One of the funniest films of all time.
Still remember seeing this one in cinemas, you have to watch it at least once, I would say that Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan's chemistry is stronger than it was in the first film, kind of on par with the chemistry they had in the second film, and there's a lot of amazing back and forth dialogue that kind of hearkens back to Abbot and Costello's "Who's on First?" a lot of great scenes like interrogating a French assassin and needing a nun to translate for them, "He's Mi and I'm Yu", etc.
At the time I first saw it; it did feel like the weakest of the Rush Hour films to me, but I've come to appreciate more and more as time goes on, the film is a classic just as the first two were, and so many people have tried to replicate the success of these films with forgettable, tedious results, I think the reviews averaging this at 6 are kind of low.
Only reason I didn't give it a ten is because of a very brief transphobic joke near the middle of the film about "if he's got anything bigger than a nine-iron in there; we're gonna beat his ass!" After Genevieve removes her wig, you might find the joke funny, you might not even notice it, but as someone who's experienced assault just for being trans and walking down the street; I just find the joke more disturbing than funny, just a skid mark on the corner of a Rembrandt painting, but all the other offensive jokes in the film are magnificent.
Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon (2008)
Still a decent game buried underneath the flaws
This game is notorious for not living u to the first two, plus there were developmental problems like THQ going bankrupt, Pandemic not being involved and the game only being available on PS3 in Australia, with that copy having less bugs and more content compared to the Xbox version. Still, better than Big Willy Unleashed, especially since Pox and Crypto are still voiced by Richard Horvitz and Grant Albrecht in this one.
The gameplay was very clunky, the character designs were kind of ugly and unfinished (aside from Pox), the general vibe feels like the vibe you'd get from the last two saints row games but trying even harder and falling even harder, mental abilities were too easy to upgrade while weapons were too difficult to upgrade, the plot is contrived, confusing, clichéd, too long in some parts and too short in others and some of the jokes are pretty lame, outdated, predictable and derogatory, it just pales in comparison to the forward-thinking critical, fun and ingenious humor of the first two games, and there's an eerie sense of barren loneliness once you've finished every objective in the game, I'm not just talking about a lack of replay value, but an actual stillness, lifelessness and overwhelming aimlessness to the game worlds.
But it's not a total trainwreck, I think it still did a handful of things really well, the relationship and chemistry between Crypto and Pox keeps the game alive, it's also probably the most emotionally charged the two characters have been, without giving crypto a human love interest or something like that either, this game felt like a good end to the story of crypto and pox, in the first game pox basically just barked orders at Crypto and he was snide and sarcastic in return, at this point in the series; you actually see how much pox cares about Crypto and how Crypto kind of struggles to deal with depression compared to blowing stuff up, that's not to say the game is sad or unfun though, there's still a great deal of comedic banter between the two of them.
Aside from that, character models are really nice and varied in terms of shape and animarions, textures suck but it's nice to see the variety in other places, the 70s aesthetic was done fairly well and the music by Garry Schyman is still excellent, some of the guns are sucky and useless while others are extremely fun, vocal perfomances from some of the random scannable NPCs are hilarious, and the temporal fist ability is a lot of fun to use, can also be used to break the game, and while some of the jokes aren't as good, the classic destroy all humans humor and observations aren't completely gone, there are still some very memorable lines in this one. The boss battles are kind of buggy but they are also really awesome.
I would only suggest playing through it once, and though it may feel tedious at times; there is still some great stuff to be found here. And again, it's much better than big willy unleashed, anyone who rates that game higher than this has obviously not played both of them.
Destroy All Humans! (2020)
Bringing my childhood back to life and introducing a classic to a new generation
There are some things this game does better than the original and some things it doesn't do as well, but it's a pretty faithful recreation and they did a good job considering the unpredictable state of 2020, which apparently interfered with the development of the game.
Pros:
- Graphics, lighting and FX are amazing
- General gameplay is much smoother
- ability to replay missions
- kept the same amazing soundtrack
- The option to skate/sprint with the jetpack is a very welcome addition that helps you cover ground much faster on foot than the original did
- Keeps a lot of the original missions and performances intact and adds some new stuff here and there that doesn't feel out of place
- the day-night cycle is a welcome addition
- skin selection/costumes were very entertaining
- makes the boss battles more challenging than they were in the original
- cutscenes are extremely well-edited and directed
- holobob/disguise is much better-looking
- locations have all been overhauled and they all look amazing, no complaints about the maps whatsoever, much better than the original, though I miss when Union Town had a dark blue hue; I also love the new dark green hue
- nice to see the concept art from the new developers
- probes look better
- NPC designs have been improved in terms of detail, animations and variety, the scientists in particular all look badass.
Cons:
- Psychokinesis controls are fairly limited compared to the original, also can't use psychokinesis while disguised
- New Cartoonish style took me some time to adjust to (more of a complaint amongst players of the original game, which attempted a more realistic style but with limited graphics), human character models tend to look better in gameplay than in cutscenes
- some bugs and glitches
- side missions/challenges suck, they aren't as fun or innovative as the original ones, they're repetitive, extremely difficult and they're a serious obstacle for players looking to get 100% completion
- missing voice and scan lines for some NPCs such as the robots and mutants
- general game and missions are too easy, especially after getting more upgrades, though that's subjective
- main menu/pox's ship isn't as immersive or interesting as the original
- retro atmosphere is still mostly intact, concerning the design of the humans, but some of the furon designs feel too clean, modern and out of place
- motion capture in cutscenes can feel awkward
- extras menu is limited compared to the original
- NPCs still have limited voices, not much variety to be congruent with all of the new designs (e.g. black, white and latino police officers all still talk with an irish accent, teenager in a letterman jacket talks like a middle-aged man, scientists used to have two voices, an eccentric german accented one and a nerdy american accented one, now it's just the german one)
All in all,
Destroy All Humans! (2005)
Terrific game, very few like it
Maybe I'm biased because this was one of the first games I've ever owned on the PS2 and it was such a blast to play through, but I thoroughly recommend this game, it is sorely underrated.
Surprisingly there very few pieces of media that cover an alien invasion from the perspective of the invaders, only this and Invader Zim (fans of Invader Zim will recognize the voice of Orthopox 13 as well), and that is so unfortunate because it's such a unique type of story, if you're bored to death of seeing alien invasion films from the humans' perspective and you just want to destroy everything; this is the game for you.
Unpregnant (2020)
A decent movie, strongest aspect is the actors and their chemistry
The movie is okay, not groundbreaking or great, not terrible either, a driving factor behind the criticism of the movie is that the topic of abortion is still controversial nowadays, therefore many negative reviews for the film seem to he based more on the topic than the film itself, calling it "abortion propaganda", which I think is ridiculous.
All I will say is that the actual abortion kind of fell by the wayside in the story, it felt like more of a destination or a plot point than something emotionally compelling, the abortion procedure isn't really cast in a positive nor negative light.
The protagonist, Veronica, has already made her decision as soon as she finds out that she's pregnant, mostly based on fact that her circle of friends were very unsupportive, her boyfriend was possessive and generally she just felt unprepared to have a child at the age of 17.
The main focus of the film was more about Veronica mending her friendship with Bailey and re-evaluating the other relationships in her life, the story feels kind of basic, it's a road trip movie, there haven't actually been many of those recently but it doesn't really break new ground in terms of what it does, it's a decent, solid movie, I wouldn't say it's a must-watch nor a mustn't-watch film, just more like something to check out if you want to and you have the time, I might be biased as I have a soft spot for road trip movies, and I've only laid out the premise, I won't go into the plot because I've probably already spoiled something.
Despite all of that; I will say that all of the actors in this film are fantastic, they all have such great chemistry together, they're all very talented, and they're definitely the strongest aspect of the movie, I have almost nothing negative to say about their performances, if it wasn't for them; I would rate the movie a 5 or a 4 at the most, but they carried their scenes well, so I think 7 is a fair modest score in light of that.
Soul (2020)
It's been too long since Disney made a film this good
I don't want to spoil anything, but pleasedo yourself a favor and watch the movie
Flowers (2016)
Best show I've ever found on Netflix
First season is terrific, Second season is a waste of time, apart from one or two episodes, just watch the first season as it has comedy and originality.
Aladdin (2019)
Pretty decent
Well for one thing; I want to put some people's fears to rest, Will Smith is a great genie, he's the glue that held this together, along with many great performances from the rest of the cast. But Smith really made it, you can't compare him and Robin Williams but I can't say he was much of a downgrade or anything, they brought some different things to the role but they both worked the role just as good.
All in all, I think it was good but it was a little bit hard to compare it to the original. I definitely love what they did with Jafar, he's a lot more threatening when he's got a similar origin to Aladdin (surviving as a thief and gradually working his way to the top) and it makes him craftier and more unpredictable, he's a better thief than Aladdin, he still comes off as a very sinister, not exactly as he was in the original but close, it's not like they totally tried to humanize him, but I do miss how they took away his little song number from the original.
I also like how he sort of has a reason for his desire to become Sultan that extends beyond 'I want to be powerful'; he sees Agrabah as wasted potential and wants to build it into an empire, take hold of the armies and invade the lands around them, he also isn't necessarily married to the idea of making Agrabah the hub of his empire; when Aladdin (in the guise of Prince Ali) and him meet for a second time; he actually offers him his assistance so he could become his vizier, presumably to expose weaknesses in Agrabah to him for exploitation, and to take over Ababwa, which doesn't really exist.
I also liked how they treated The Sultan, very different from the original Aladdin, he went from being the jolly, portly, oblivious, oafish ruler of Agrabah to a more stoic and tougher character who seems more like a proper leader who's had to make harder decisions, although I like how it worked out, even if it did feel awkward when put in contrast with the original. I kinda missed how Iago was in the original, he's not as chatty this time around, talks more like a real-life parrot, still he provides some good comic relief to break up some moments of Jafar's tension.
I think this is the best live-action Disney remake without question, the others like Maleficent and Beauty & The Beast were bogged down with extra characters, plots and last minute additions and revisions and while there are some additional characters here; they fit the story here very well, there's a good reason for them to be there and they don't feel forced or like they've overstayed their welcome; as a matter of fact, two new characters in particular: Dahlia and Prince Anders provide some great comic relief moments in the film, but Dahlia is also pretty integral to the story. I also like the new intro to the film, think it ties nicely together with Genie's story. Hakim is another new character, not focused on as much until Jafar's betrayal since he's the most senior of the Sultan's guards
I was slightly confused with how the start of the film was a blend of both Aladdin's "One jump ahead" song/intro and Jasmine's first foray into the streets of Agrabah, felt kind of rushed but the story evened out from there and it eventually worked.
I also felt like the relationship between Jasmine and Jafar was an improvement from the first, instead of lusting over her; he generally just wanted her out of the picture, wanted her silent because the Sultan listened to her, but on the other side of that coin; Jafar still flips around at the end and demands Jasmine marry him shortly after he becomes a sorcerer, and that felt like it just came out of nowhere, his reason not because he wanted to secure power or because he found Jasmine attractive but because he wanted to torture the Sultan, make him watch as he took away what was important to him.
Kinda sucked though how Jafar didn't turn into a giant snake thing, just as disappointing as he didn't get his Prince Ali Reprise, still does that same reveal of Aladdin but in a more dramatic and dialogue-driven scene.
That being said though, might be a good thing because some of the younger kids in my cinema were a little bit scared by the special effects in some scenes, they do look particularly dark and grim as far as Jafar is concerned, scariest things I'd list are the scene where Jafar pushes Aladdin off a ledge into the ocean and tries to drown him, the scene where Jafar chokes people with his magic, or at least I think that's what he was doing and the scene where there's sort of a carpet chase around Agrabah and Jafar transforms Iago into a sort of giant mangy-looking parrot.
Genie's FX aren't as bad, maybe a little bit uncanny in his introduction but they looked better as he went along, also kind of convenient they switch to his human disguise so he's not blue and huge throughout the film.
I'm guessing if you have younger kids it's probably more appropriate to show them the original, some scary stuff in that too but a lot easier to follow too.
The two new song numbers are pretty good too, just now I've forgotten the details of the first one but Jasmine's second new song is pretty great, Naomi Scott has a really powerful voice, and a really nice message behind it too.
Ending was nice too, Jasmine becoming Sultan, Aladdin and her still together and Genie's freedom sort of implies that he becomes human, he gets together with Dahlia and it nicely segways back to the start of the movie.
Some great choreography and costumes in this as well, one thing I'm really enjoying about these live-action remakes of Disney films is how well they've done costumes and choreography and still kept a really rich palette of colours in each scene.
I can't say it was necessarily better than the original but I think it's a pretty good film nonetheless and nowhere near as bad as people were concerned it would be.
The Maxx (1995)
Pretty great
I've only read bits and pieces of the comic and seen only a few episodes of the show but I liked what I saw.
Clone High (2002)
Hidden Gem
The concept alone is mind-blowing, but just wait until you watch the actual show. Pretty great.
TMNT (2007)
Heroes in a half-good adaptation.
There's a few things I have to say about this film and I'll try to be brief.
Pros: Excellent design and aesthetic style, puts other CGI Turtles to shame, turtles themselves have so much character in their expressions and designs, they have a hint of the charm of the 80s Saturday Morning Cartoon Turtles, but with just the right balance of grit that made the 2003 Turtles so entertaining, also the best-looking Master Splinter hands down in my opinion, several great designs.
At the time I was kind of indifferent to the treatment of April as a more capable and involved character but it's done fairly well. Really good use of CGI, especially in terms of dramatic lighting.
Excellent voice cast of both Hollywood famous and Cartoon/Videogame famous actors, I really like how the casting works because it sort of reflects the underground lifestyle of the turtles; main characters are voiced by celebrities like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Evans and Sir Patrick Stewart, while the turtles themselves and Splinter are voiced by equally talented but not as well-known actors such as James Arnold Taylor, Nolan North and Mako Iwamatsu. Also Lawrence Fishburne as the narrator.
I was pretty dissatisfied with the fact that this film takes place after the death of Shredder, who always completes the TMNT ensemble in my opinion, the Foot clan and Karai are still attached to the story, but I was missing Shredder throughout the film, but I will commend what a bold and deliberate choice this was, and how this simultaneously creates a scenario where the turtles are long in the tooth and out of shape, in the chain of command sense, the tension between Raphael and Leonardo is the best conflict in this film, moreso than the main plot.
Humor is pretty good, some jokes don't land or don't receive the proper treatment, others feel forced but generally a good sense of humor, better understanding of humor than this same director's movie adaptation of Ratchet and Clank.
Fight scene between Leo and Raph is one of the best scenes in TMNT history, aside from the elevator beatboxing scene in the more recent turtles movies.
Cons:
The writing could stand to be a whole lot better, I already mentioned some of the humor was slack, not all of it, but just enough to be noticeable.
Other aspects of the writing aren't great, I also mentioned the tension between Raph and Leo being pretty well-executed, but some of the lines and blows exchanged are kind of dumb, Leo kinda breaks character mid-conversation and all, also Leo's criticism of Raph trying to be a vigilante on his own when A) the turtles have ALWAYS been vigilantes and B) Leo ran off to basically become a vigilante in South America.
The whole vigilante aspect makes sense to the story and character of Raphael, but also feels kind of dated, you can tell this movie intersected with movies like Batman Begins, forcing grimdark vigilante heroes into everything, the name "Nightwatcher" also sounds kind of lame upon retrospect. Mikey and Donny have pretty good treatment though.
The Stone Villains started out fairly intimidating and mysterious until they start to have dialogue, since all of their dialogue is clichéd and predictable, Max Winters was a good enough villain on his own and I felt shortchanged when he basically got screwed over by his henchmen and they became the villains, even if the reason for their mutiny made sense.
The inclusion of 13 Monsters just feels kind of dumb, makes for great fights but feels pretty gratuitous and Macguffiny, I don't agree with criticisms about the plot being vague or too complex and confusing, but I do think it's unecessarily padded with monsters.
All in all, not a bad film, kind of underrated but there's definitely room for improvement, best aspects are aesthetic, such as the visual design/style and the quality of performances/actors.
Doom Patrol (2019)
Weird, Wonderful, Powerful
If you're into weird shows, check this one out, every time you've thought you'd seen it all; this show has a fresh surprise waiting around the corner. Don't be put off by thinking it's going to be like every other single superhero show you've ever laid eyes on, I was doubting it too, but it's been great.
The quality of each episode is frankly outstanding, only gets better as it goes on, the only criticism I have is that the CGI looks kind of cheap in the first few episodes, but this show is good enough to get away with sweded cardboard box special effects.
Even if you're not fond of weird shows; I still suggest checking this out because the writing, performances and everything else are on point, it's not *just* a weird show, it's also quite emotionally impactful. Perfect balance of the elements.
I cannot state enough how terrific the entire cast are, even the minor characters have phenomenal actors. I won't talk about the characters though as that might drift into spoiler territory. Also, very nice to see Brendan Fraser working again.
My only other complaint about this show is really just the streaming service it's aired on, watching episodes was kind of a challenge for people like myself who live outside of the states, so I'm hoping it gets released on Netflix soon enough.
If you're familiar with the Doom Patrol comics, particularly Grant Morrison's run; you will find a lot to love about this show, it's not a direct adaptation of Morrison's run though; it takes some creative licensing but I th
Us (2019)
Worth a watch for genuine horror
This film rolls out a little differently to Get Out (which probably set the level of expectations for most viewers), I found Get Out to be more of a thriller that created an air of suspense and sat with you, and while Us still has those lingering moments; it's got a little bit more attack a lot earlier into the film. Get Out sort of had the more horror-esque moments closer to the end while Us gets that started earlier.
If you are expecting Get Out levels of performance, creativity and direction; then you're in luck, because it is just as phenomenal in those required areas, there is also well-placed comedy to be found in it, just as there was in Get Out.
I also have to say; it's been a while since I've genuinely been scared by a horror movie, probably not since the 70s, but this film really has some well-shot terrifying moments, I don't want to spoil but something happened in the introduction that just had me on the edge of my seat in fear, it was such a well-shot scene, looking at the same scene broken down from behind the scenes; it wasn't as remotely impactful but in the film it definitely goes up there with some of the best classic horror scenes of all time à la The Shining (that wasn't an intentional reference to the Key and Peele show but I'll take it).
That's really one thing I love about this film; Jordan Peele understands how to create genuine horror without relying on Jumpscares or gore (though there is still gore to be had in this film), something that's inventive and not at all formulaic and very unpredictable, makes you feel genuine fear like something's not right with the picture.
Also want to give a hand to all of the actors involved; not only because of the quality of their perfomances, but also because they technically had to play two people simultaneously.