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Reviews
Haymaker (2021)
B-Masterpiece: This Film Deserves More Viewers
I loved this film. A B-flick Masterpiece that feels more like A cinema.
This film does not deserve a 4.0!
As a cis-gendered hetro male, i first heard about this film at work where we printed posters and other marketing promotional items. I watched the trailer and thought it looked interesting, but was unsure if this would be a great film... the trailer was well structured.
I finally watched the film this evening, dec 29 2023, and felt it was a sincere, well directed and acted film with beautiful cinimatography. The leads played by Nick Sasso and Nomi Ruiz had an amazing chemestry, that i was left wanting to see more of.
In the trailer, the scene were he questions the pic of a young boy, and Nomi says "its me" was a perfect introduction to this character as trans. It was not drawn out. Nics reaction was perfectly flat but accepting. Beautiful scene.
The muy thai training scenes were well done and fun to watch, and was perfectly acted. The main fight was a huge surprise for me.
All the party scenes were perfectly filmed. Excellent soundtrack, and colorful witty characters to fit the mood.
Haymaker is a beautiful, hypnotic film that drew me in immediately, and want to see more of these two characters in a sequel.
At 83 minutes, the editing is tight and the film feels more full than its runtime. There is a lot of story in those 83 minutes.
Although this may be a directoral debut, it did not feel as one. I loved this film so very much, and watched all the credits. Both Nick Sasso and Nomi wore many hats making this film, and this passion and skill shows in every minute captured.
Need more from you both!!
Hellraiser (2022)
10/10.GREAT REBOOT. FITS COMFORTABLY WITH I&II... Jaimie Clayton is Perfection
I am a Hellraiser & Hellbound Hellraiser 2 fan since their release in 87 and 88. I was completely obcessed with the first two films as a child of 12yrs and on, and viewed H1 30x and H2 over 50x. When H3 was released I was disappointed greatly and unfortunately, never saw another masterful Hellraiser film, Until Now.
Hellraiser 2022 is a beautiful film: Jamie Clayton is great as the Hell Priestess (pinhead), and as a trans woman, for me the casting is perfect. Her and most Cenobite designs are excellent, and acted well (though The Gasp speaks a litte too much). Besides The Priest, The Masque was an awesome idea fleshed out on the screen. Can not wait to see a followup with Jamie Clayton and all, return in 2024(?)(asap). Jamie Clayton's lines are written perfectly and spoken equally well. I will easily watch this masterpiece 20x.
Loved that The Gasp had so much involvement, and used wire to torture her victims, instead of chains with hooks.
The Lament Configuration is a great device, with many different stages of configuration, not just a wooden box: it is completely mechanical. Beautiful Job!
Yes, Jaimie Clayton's casting is perfection! 10/10.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Target Audience: Low IQ Adults and Children Under 8
To start, Chris Pratt did an excellent job with this film: he is the only detail of this production that carried my attention (oops sorry I didn't know how this machine worked--middle finger joke). At a length of 2 hours, I found myself stretching, and uncomfortably shifting in my seat, because I did not feel captivated by the trash before my eyes. Too much flashy CGI, and not enough character, intelligent dialogue, or a story worth watching.
The story adds another chapter to the Marvel universe, as it seems every Marvel film is all tied in to a greater over-arching story, dealing with infinity stones, and control over the universe. These films created by Marvel, and now especially this film, Guardians, are nothing more than over budgeted daytime drama, like Days of Our Lives, Bold And The Beautiful, etc. The scripts of these daytime serials seem to carry the same story for years straight, and so do the scripts for the Marvel serials.
Guardians of the Galaxy could easily have an hour edited from its run-time and placed on Saturday Morning TV as a made for television movie for children. My 6.5 year old son loved this film. My wife (who enjoys Marvels Avengers) fell asleep in the theater, and I found myself enjoying watching my son laugh, only, hoping for this film to end.
To Marvels credit, the Thor films are incredibly entertaining, but are almost ruined by the lead character Thor.
So, the only reason to see Guardians of the Galaxy, is to watch children laugh, because this is the level of comedic and script writing talent that exists for this trash for cinema.
Vampire (2011)
Beautiful, Hypnotic, and more Disturbing than All About Lily Chou Chou
I write as a fan of Shunji Iwai's cinema: he is a master. An auteur.
The slander written of this film, by previous reviewers, should be ignored. What has been crafted is unique, cerebral, and very disturbing. A must see for fans of cinema, especially followers of Shunji Iwai.
The story, casting, cinematography, and editing, all feel like his previous outings, but the one difference is the obvious: the topic on display is not one routinely viewed in American cinema, which makes this film all the more important.
Vampire belongs in-line with the great films Hanna and Alice, and All About Lily Chou Chou.
No need to explain the storyline, because this film should be watched carefully.
-RJZII
The Last Airbender (2010)
Excellent: This Film Does Not Deserve the Critical Slander It Receives
I avoided this film because of the terrible reviews it received from everybody I have read on the internet.
How wrong I was to listen to all the slander that exists out there.
The Last Airbender Film far exceeded the Nickelodeon animated series(which I did almost enjoy for five minutes before I had to turn the channel). The film proved to be excellent from the beginning, and when the film ended, I was pleading for just one more hour. The final battle, the Princess sacrificing herself for the continued life of the Moon Spirit Fish, and The Avatar receiving the acknowledgment of both water and fire nations in the north after "showing the power the ocean holds" was awesome.
This film could have easily continued for two more hours. It was that beautiful. The young actors who played The Avatar and the Prince were excellent throughout, and I am anxiously awaiting Part 2.
I am a fan of M. Night Shyamalan. All his films, and his vision in filmmaking grows more unique with every passing year. I Can not think of another film out there like Lady in The Water. M. Night Shyamalan is a great cinematic artist, and I want more from him every year. Looking forward to the announced Will and Jaden Smith sci-fi spectacle.
The Last Airbender is an excellent film. Beautiful in every way. This great director does not need to be sent back to film-school: He already holds a very important position in film history.
A genius, equally as important as these other great living directors: Steven Spielberg, Ki-Duk Kim, Zheng Yimou, Sion Sono, Peter Greenaway, Kar-Wai Wong, Atom Egoyan, and David Chronenberg.
-RJZII in NYC
Kaboom (2010)
Gregg Araki thankfully returns to the teenage Doom storyline
I have been a fan of Gregg Araki since Doom Generation, and I have to mention, his End of the World teen angst films are the best continuing storyline of any auteur making films today. I love the "teen apocalypse" trilogy, and Kaboom feels a logical continuation to the brilliance of "Totally F**** Up", "Doom Generation" and my favorite "Nowhere".
Kaboom was an excellent addition to a very genius series, I only wish James Duval would return as Dark, after the events of Nowhere (His dreads were cool in this film though). He was the best character/actor in all of Gregg Araki's films, and I look forward to more. Kaboom was a great film for fans of the apocalypse series. Little more in line with "The Living End". Excellent cast. Excellent Story. Ending...
-8/10 RJZII in NYC