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Reviews
Prey (2022)
Surprisingly, not as bad as I was expecting.
The original Predator is hands down, one of my favorite films of all time. It defies genre, and bleeds pure machismo wrapped up in an extremely tight, easy to follow script. I'll admit I had given up on the franchise, particularly in light of current era politics.
Watching this a few things went through my mind. First, how sad is it that this amazing IP is relegated to Hulu (absolute crud). Next, at least this edition of the franchise takes itself serious again, the last was all show and no go, with a million out of place jokes. The third thing I thought was, "how bad is it that my expectations are this low for a film I want to like?" Am I a Star Wars fan now, lol!!!
Many of the plot points are contrived, and Naru's plot armor weighs her down a ton in the third act, but overall I found it to...not terrible. Which is a step in the right direction for the franchise.
The next one needs to take place in Chaka Zulu's Africa.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Forgettable; the End of a Franchise
This movie was utterly forgettable. It's always a bad sign when I find myself tapping away on my phone instead of paying attention to the film. Perhaps because nothing felt earned, or because the characters actions are incongruous with what we know about them, this film commits the worst sin: rather than being frustrating, it is simply boring.
Don't waste your time on this.
Doctor Who: The Time of Angels (2010)
The first episode the Doctor goes full Beta
I absolutely loved the Weeping Angels in the previous series! I also really enjoyed the introduction of River Song as well, except that
Moffat seems to have completely changed Song and a character.
In particular, the way that she interacts with the Doctor completely switched from a capable professional who respects him into a cocky bank robber who woman-splain's everything to him.
To be fair, Smith's doctor seems more immature than Eccelston's and Tennant's and that could be his actual age or just subpar writing. Overall, this version of Doctor has lost much of his gravitas, and it seems like all the good ideas have been sourced to empowered wah-men.
Raising Dion (2019)
Villain is a straight, white male...REAL ORIGINAL.
So sick of the overarching theme across all media of straight, white males being cast as villains in what seems like everything since 2015. If that happens to be your personal belief then so be it, but you should be able to acknowledge that it's not interesting when it happens EVERY SINGLE TIME. Maybe, for variety, literally anyone else in a story could be the antagonist?
Doesn't it seem slightly offensive to every other race, gender, and ethnicity that writers seem to think they don't have the faculty to be villainous in popular media?
Deathstroke Knights & Dragons: The Movie (2020)
Great Source material; overall disappointed
When written by someone who actually cares about the source material, Deathstroke the Terminator has less to do with Teen Titans and more to do with being the shadowy scourge of 3rd world dictators and despots across the globe (for a hefty price). This is a character that can hold his own with Batman.
The story deserved better than cringe dialogue from the empowered when it's convenient ex-Wife. The tragic father routine loses all merit if you can't make the family dynamic in this story at least passable. Yet everyone's motivations seem completely at odds with with that end state. A strained relationship makes sense, but upon watching this you can't believe they ever cared about each other.
I know Greg Berlanti is the the DCEU rosters most consistent hit maker (except for Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, and late series Flash, and the unforgivable Stargirl), but a hard R rating is useless without a story to push it forward. Why is the script seemingly the last thing that people care about?
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
So amazing!
Where was this the first go around!? It really just goes to show that one singular vision should never be messed with. Joss Whedon (it turns out) is a horrible, sewer person who got lucky with the Avengers after he was given amazing material. I loved just about everything about this version of the film. Aside from a few inconsistencies, it was spot on. Definitely going to rewatch!!!