samwamburi Reviews

Black Panther (2018)

The greatness lies beyond the movie's end..

[9/10 · 1 March 2018]

The greatness of the Black Panther movie is in what it makes you feel for your culture as an African, especially the potential for greatness, long after the the credits are done. It won't go down as the best CGI manipulated movie or best action sequence, not even greatest acting in the Marvel jaggernaut. However what this movie has done that the others have failed is to lend a cultural vibrance and a sense of belonging, especially to Africans in our homeland (I'm from Kenya), and to see the greatness of our continent if it's resources were harnessed and used well. Yes it has political undertones, anti-colonial sentiment which of course triggers the race debate (which is where I suspect many reviewers got salty), but that's the point of BP. Of you read about his character as well from the comic books, he isn't a "fit" in the Avengers and has always been suspicious of the rest, as his first priority is protecting Wakanda. So, anyine watching this expecting just wham, bam and cheesy, predictable plots with no undertones, this isn't for you.

9/10 movie for me.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (2014)

Solid ending to a great re-make of Samurai X

[8/10 · 19 February 2018]

I've read a few reviews on here about how wishy-washy the action was and the twisting of the plot. As a super fan of Samurai X, I really see no other way of having recast this story without overkill of CGI and long meandering plots. I doff my cap to the producers of this as trying to remake the history up Battousai, leaing up to the final battle with Shshio, was no mean feat. The character replications are exemplary, the sword fights are memorable and even some of the remakes of Kenshin's signature moves are brought to life in the most realistic ways possible. Condensing a series that went 96 episodes + 4 OVAs each going on average 23 min (though up to the Shishio battle would be about eps 50 something) into a trilogy of 2hr 15 min each is not easy, especially while trying to build some level of intimacy and depth with the characters is not easy.

Cons: I' have loved them to develop some characters further, or give the backstory at least (Sojiro, Aoshi and some of the Juppongata) to create more drama and depth, as well as inclide some more epic fight scenes.

Overall: 8/10

The Flash (2014–2023)

Not another Smallville!

[3/10 · 3 November 2014]

The pilot of the show (episode 1) to be fair was good. And after watching episodes 2 - 4, unmasked the dummy that CW has sold us all. The casting is meeh (love Flash's crush - she's hot!), the effects are cool and that's where the positives end. The dialogue is mind-numbingly cliché, the plot is stupidly simple and it's an exact copy-paste of Arrow meets Smallville.

Long story short, this is the stuff when you go to visit your girlfriend and she insists on watching it with you for you to get some after.

Overall rating 3.5/10. Probably might rise to 4.

Kingdom (2014–2017)

Surprisingly very, very good.

[10/10 · 3 November 2014]

As an MMA fan, I thought I'd give this show a try and to be honest wasn't expecting much aside from the usual brutality which is stuff you'd get on Blackbelt TV or something, but hats off to the scripters for nailing this show spot on.

The choice of lead and support characters and their multi-layers, which continue to get deeper with each passing episode, plot and sub- plot..it is absolutely genius.

The simple premise on which the story is built and subsequent sub- stories and characters added on make the story telling angles just as juicy as the camera work and fighting scenes.

I'd love to see how far wide they can cast the story without losing the MMA base plot.

So far, excellent, RAW, watching. 9.5 out of 10 from me.

----------------------UPDATE---------------------------------------

having watched about 7 episodes now I can confidently say I await a 2nd season with baited breath. I usually hate giving off details that would ruin a first time watcher via the review so I'll keep it at that. The only close comparison I could draw with this is the movie "Warrior" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1291584/?ref_=nv_sr_1) which in a way tried to condense all the relational angles and fighting into 140min. Kingdom draws it out more, allowing the audience to identify with each characters'struggles, pain, triumph and emotions. The pure rawness and reality of the everyday struggles on fighting for relationships to work, making ends meet, pursuing your dream are captured all to well. And as someone said, you don't need to love MMA to relate to this.

Final verdict: 10/10

The Blacklist (2013–2023)

Can't wait for season 2!

[9/10 · 10 December 2013]

This is one of those series that just catches you like a magnet. It really does. James Spader does a great justice as the lead aided by Agent Keane in her bi-polar role of a smart yet naive profiler. The storyline is great, and whereas the crime-drama theme is becoming the norm a la Person of Interest, this offers a new twist, especially after probably the producers realized they needed to layer the characters of the support characters. The beauty with it is that the blacklist could be endless and as more and more criminal masterminds are unveiled, so the sub plots run deeper, making the audience just jump to the next episode.

All in all, I can't wait for season 2. Red Reddington has me on his list!

Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)

Just not there yet...

[5/10 · 8 January 2013]

Firstly I must admit my bias towards the Ruruoni Kenshin anime as my all time favorite anime. For me this was the real deal - forget Dragonball Z, Bleach or whatever else. This is as close to reality as anime gets. For those familiar with Ruruoni Kenshin, the story is told over 99 23min eps, the first 4 being his darker days up to when he gave up being a man-slayer. The latter 95eps tell of his battles both inner and outer to become the pacifist he knows he can be. Inject that with the usual anime humor roller-coasters, intense fight scenes, suspense and drama, and you'll see why I gave this a 5/10.

The movie is not bad per Ce, just quite rushed, or undercooked. The positives: Characterization, voices, wardrobes and cinematography are stellar. The negatives: hopeless dialogue (partly because the producers must have assumed everyone has watched the anime and therefore can infer certain references), shallow characters, missing characters and a rushed plot.

I agree it is hard to condense into 2hrs 15min what has been told for about 2000min. Same case as was the Avatar- last Air Bender adaptation. There is so much history and character development that is missed here and while they try to twist the story to gel how the characters meet and merge forces, it comes off rushed. If this was a part 1 of maybe 3, I'd be happy, but then again, it is not.

All in all, your better off sticking to the anime any day, any time. This comes off as just another Chinese martial arts flick with porridge substance. Good - but only if you've nothing else to watch.

Arrow (2012–2020)

A bit off target..

[6/10 · 20 November 2012]

Been a while since I reviewed a title but after the hullabaloo about Arrow, I figured i might as well after watching the first 5 episodes.

For starters, the trailer and pilot were BRILLIANT. The producers get you hooked in an instant. You have a well-ripped lead actor who is on a personal vendetta as an urban legend to right his father's wrongs.

I like the new spin on this show but that's pretty much it. It's nothing you haven't seen before. Simply put, it is a mash up of "Batman Begins" and "Revenge". From episode 3 you can tell the script is a bit watershed, with less and less action as the show veers off to a more "soap-opera" feel, which only serves to mellow the bad-ass nature the first two episodes promised and delivered. The dialogue is labored and the whole introduction of characters catching feelings for each other is recycled and tired. The use of flashbacks is clever but the slow unraveling of what happened to him at the island is TOO SLOW, given that the audience is expecting conspiracies unraveling upon each other. The compromise however has been in the shows failure to balance witty dialogue, a fast-paced storyline and action. Everything just seems too dragged and the action scenes over-edited.

On this trend I wouldn't vouch for a season 2, pretty much because if you have watched "Revenge" you wouldn't see the need to bother with this. Unless of course you want to ogle at Oliver Quinn's abs.

Safe House (2012)

Nice time passer...

[7/10 · 7 April 2012]

I guess it goes without say that any Denzel movie has high expectations of it to be a hit. His ability to deliver on a range of emotions and captivate the audience with masterful artistry is second to none. It is this same powers that are called upon to salvage this movie. The lead actors being him and Ryan as Frost and Weston respectively are able to deliver a memorable performance , conveniently papering the cracks over a watershed storyline, cliché plot and atrocious camera work.

The fight scenes are nicely intense with clever use of tight angled action shots and booming sound to make you feel as if you were in Cape Town itself. And really that is as good as it gets. For those looking for an overly complicated script riddled with sub-plots and nerve wrecking twists and turns, you will be disappointed. This is a movie simply for those who love a good, mildly bloody action thriller to idly pass time over the weekend.

7/10 for me.

Inside Men (2012)

A breath of fresh air..

[9/10 · 15 February 2012]

I stumbled upon this series by chance to be honest and hence my expectations were not high. I figured the cinematography would be interesting given it is a BBC production so I thought "Why not?!"

While it is too early to give a concrete review, having watched the first 2 episodes just leaves one yearning for more. The storyline at first glance seems simple enough..3 employees staging a heist of a lumpsum of cash. The aftermath is what unravels as the core of this series, with the use of timely back-flashes to give the viewer a feel of what transpired before. The delivery of suspense, and drama is excellent along with the character choices, played marvellously by Steve Mackintosh (I only remember as the weed seller in Guy Ritchie's "lock, Stock and Two Smokin' Barrels") as the lead. The character development doesn't seem rushed and the sub-plots and dialogue make sense - which is a far cry from recent suspense/thriller/drama productions which are all effects and zero punch.

For those that are intrigued by heists and the what they entail along with the drama revolving around each character, this one's definitely for you. Edge of the seat stuff.