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Reviews
Santa Inc. (2021)
Awful.
Yeah, no, this is awful. Like, bad bad. This is like walking into a San Francisco non-denominational Christmas, but also non-Christmas, party. It's sad to think that I would have found this even remotely funny ten years ago.
Booksmart (2019)
Franz Ferdinand was executed better.
I hardly, if ever, review films. I can tolerate a good deal of Marvel stuff without a peep because it's basically just inoffensive and bland.
This was offensive and bland.
Visually, the film is incredibly nice to look at with beautiful settings and a nicely composed vibrant atmosphere. The soundtrack is also pretty well put together and helps to convey the tone.
Aside from those two elements, the film is lacklustre and milquetoast, with lazy writing and most of the humour stemming from awkward moments which (while delivered well) stop short of a substitute for actual humour. Something which helps a film like Superbad, which this film directly copies. As two characters, one meek and one obnoxious and overbearing traverse from one ill-fated party to the next in the hopes of finding the one party where they can both end highschool on a high note. In Superbad, the characters are redeemed of their traits as after the fight over the exact same quarrel in the film is resolved. The obnoxious character manages to relax and comes to terms with the world around him in a holistic way as the more timid characters have a more refined depth to them. With character development missing, the main duo in this flick are fuelled by their own narcissism in a way that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Shots seem to linger on far longer than intended before cutting, without any purpose whatsoever. The side characters which are initially supposed to be mocked are infinitely more likeable and well rounded than the two here.
I hope that the alternative ending (if someone put that much thought into this project) shows the final car ride ending a la Thelma and Louise.
Save your money.
Captain Marvel (2019)
A true marvel...
I have just come home from the 8:40pm showing of Captain Marvel with my friends, the prelude to which was full of jubilance, food, drink and atmospheric wonder one would expect from a night out. This was brought to a screeching halt as the film started.
I have found myself sitting in the aisles of many a superhero flick over the past decade, but I found nothing as soulless, contrived and pitiful as this. Captain Marvel is what happens when a brand decides that they have reached its peak, that the inclusion of famous names and a recognisable IP is enough to fill seats. The plot was what one might expect when scriptwriting enters the realm of monotonous Nike-assembly-slave-labour, largely comprised of "and then" moments, which entail characters jumping from one plot point to another with seemingly tenuous links only glued together through pithy dialogue and humour about as forced as consent in Neverland Ranch. This skipped exposition, beyond what served to necessitate the progression of the story, instead ended up dancing from one CGI riddled fight sequence to another. I had heard a lot about politics, but that rarely if ever impacts a film to me. It didn't here either. The acting was solid across the board, but if I was presented with this husk of a film under any ordinary circumstances, I would have lit it on fire and stomped it out, leaving it on the doorstep of someone whom I truly, truly despised. Costume design might have well just retained the green glow prior to editing, the generic shade that eclipsed what could have otherwise been a nice touch to the acting might have added some semblance of decency if left untouched.
If this is what entertainment has come to, give me a 10 hour YouTube loop of something, there'd be more twists and turns, along with more depth and progression.
Save your money, please. I warn you now, because I no longer have that choice.