daniel-65836 Reviews

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023– )

So bloody bad

[1/10 · 24 May 2024]

As usual, another disappointing Godzilla entry. Nothing much needs to be said. Its a very unintelligent film, with a very unintelligent organization, being operated by non-intelligent people.

There is nothing about the characters to like, aside from Anna Sawai (same actress in Shogun). Noted her better acting skills before I even saw Shogun despite the lousiness of the series. Even so, her plot was pretty boring, started strong then toned down to become eye candy.

It seems a recurring trend that American sci-fi thrillers dont have a clue how to create likeable characters. They are only good at making vfx, but even those feel hollow due to just the overall lack of a tangible human feel in the show.

Contrast to Minus One, its literal day and night. The only standout was 1995's Godzilla, that had a plot to follow and characters to like, but perhaps the braindead general audience doesn't quite know what to appreciate. So bad studios, bad producers, and just audience with bad taste in general creating this bland repetition of uninteresting Godzilla films.

Reacher: Fly Boy (2024) Season 2, Episode 8

Much weaker S2..

[6/10 · 20 January 2024]

Given how S1 set such a high bar for good television, S2 is hella disappointing. It has turned into your generic, fast-paced action series. The focus has shifted away from quality dialogue and scene delivery to just punching and shooting and blowing up stuff.

At no point in the show was our protaganist and gang really tested. The hard part was only figuring out what the bad guy's scheme was. After that, it became just a one-sided beatdown that had very little screen value.

Alot of bad writing is present in this series. The car chase gunfight was absolutely ridiculous, Reacher and crew get stabbed, shot and still walk about like nothing happened. A. M. Was set up so well as a main antagonist, then for some reason had an extra's insignificant conclusion/ending. Langston and gang ended up just being average goons who should have pulled the trigger with the billion opportunities they had but instead talked too much.

The more I write, the worse this season sounds. But I will still give a 6* overall because it was still entertaining.

I will say this though. S1 delivered everything (except the finale showdown) in a way most action tv has forgotten. But looks like the showrunners have forgotten what made S1 good in the first place because there is nothing special about S2, just plain generic tv.

Gyeongseong Creature (2023– )

What every monster show needs to be (at least)

[8/10 · 12 January 2024]

Absolutely chilling and intense creature scenes that will leave you jaw dropped. Its something seen a billion times before but GSC just delivers those scenes so much better, so props to the filming crew/writing/scene development

Great acting the main leads, supporting cast, antagonist group.

Fantastic world building of the Japanese-occupied Korea in 1945.

Refreshing approach of periodic + sci-fi + romance + monster If you like Kingdom you probably will like GSC's approach to this long-saturated and stale genre thanks to low quality western shows. Looking at you Godzilla

Haunting opening credits, 10/10 idea to blend the creature's backstory into it

Mix of Japanese and old dialect Korean was surprising, but all the actors were very fluent ______

Some downsides, ridiculous plot armor takes away the show quality, and a pretty bad finale episode that had so many things didnt make sense. Other than that, the episodes without those elements present were a 9 or 10 out of 10 to watch.

Sweet Home (2020– )

What a senseless and dumb sequel

[1/10 · 1 January 2024]

Another L for monster movie/show lovers. Producers/writers/directors cant seem to get it right with this genre of shows anymore and every 10 shows made, 9 of them are pretty disappointing. Yes, I'm talking about the failure of Monarch Legacy of Monsters as well.

You want a good monster show? Watch Gyeongseong creature instead.

Sweet Home S2 was like, malicious defiance. They have source material to put to screen, instead they go offrail on this messy path where they try to make a sidestory the main plot. So only the first 3 episodes pick up from S1, then its a completely different story, they killed off most of the S1 characters that we want to see or took away most of their screen time, introduced more factions that add more confusion.

A lot of supposed critical parts of the plot are not explained. For example, what happened to the monsters now becoming generic, cookie cutter replicas, no longer the unique mutated human-monsters that we saw in S1.

The S2 cliffhanger ending was really bad, cliche and cringey and testament to incompetency of the writing/directing efforts (Why precisely that person, and the process was also not explained).

**Abit of spoilers**

The doctor also supposedly had a cure but it somehow became irrelevant, instead he brought a luggage out for no reason, randomly found a monster egg (?) when he wanted to poop, just nice had his empty luggage he brought randomly that had could perfectly fit the big specimen... You see how senseless it becomes.

Twisted Metal (2023– )

I love Anthony but wtf is this show..?

[1/10 · 20 August 2023]

People have lost their minds if they think this is good. The humor is bland, the antagonist's backstory is so pathetic, the clown ends up being a chatterbox who just talks way too much to the point its annoying. I have never seen a side character been giving so much dialogue in one episode yet basically say nothing at all. Did I mention the humor isn't funny? For a guy living on the roads his whole life, Mackie's character is so gullible. The switch and bait scene was just as predictable, something about the posturing of the shot gave it completely away.

I gave this show a shot and this is just terrible all round. I came in with no expectations other than remembering playing Twisted Metal on the PS1, seeing what kind of story they can have, and my god is it utterly plain. There's literally no one I wanna root for in the show.

It certainly follows the Last of Us's style of the yolo maverick bringing someone and travelling to a distant place across dangerous lands, but wow their two characters are worlds apart. Not that Mackie's character needs to be Pascal's Joe but there's not much depth to his character, just someone who wants a home and a sense of belonging, thats literally his motivation.

I expected it to be better and this was not it.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Simply Wow. Continues to exceed expectations.

[10/10 · 13 August 2023]

I had no idea what I was going in to watch, only that I've seen Into the Spider-Verse and it was really good. The top-tier story telling continues, old characters return and new characters are introduced. Very well-crafted plot twists. YES, with a plural. I dont know if this story is completely original or they are following comic material, but its brilliant and ties in to the first movie. Frankly it feels more like one long story broken down into three parts, and we're smack right in the centre. The finale chapter is gonna be brilliant.

Animation is returning to the spotlight. Spider-Man, Arcane, Invincible. Marvel dropped the ball on its live action but animation is carrying the legacy of comic superheroes right now.

Go watch it, you will not regret.

Black Mirror: Loch Henry (2023) Season 6, Episode 2

What is this episode even

[6/10 · 23 July 2023]

People are smoking hard copium trying to defend this. The theme of technology is almost not present here. Saying this is actual Black Mirror is such a reach. Typical Black Mirror episodes have this signature feel to them. In contrast, you can show this episode to a Black Mirror viewer but who hasn't started on season 6 and that person would not even realise this was part of Black Mirror.

Thank god episode 3 plot brings it back. But as far as 1 and 2 goes, it feels like they are relying more on the acting and big names to continue carrying the show than the immaculate writing the first seasons had. Its still entertaining to watch but its starting to feel less Black Mirrory and just generic fiction.

Bird Box: Barcelona (2023)

Pretty flat spin-off

[6/10 · 21 July 2023]

I will preface this by saying Bird Box (2018) was great. The horror genre has been wrung completely dry of any moisture. Then came Bird Box and A Quiet Place that smashed onto the scenes in the same year. Those were so intense to watch. It doesnt go for the cheap jumpscares scary movies try to do, because they simply arnt scary.

BB:Barcelona dropped the ball. Its categorised as a spin-off, but one major flaw you see from the start is that it changes the movie logic.

First. The beings are non-corporeal but they exist, just that they are invisible to the audience. In the fictional world, looking at them turns you suicidal. Barcelona warps this logic. When the outbreak started, people go randomly crazy, with no association whether the beings were present or not. In a room, one person could have commited suicide but the rest were alright. This is what doesnt make it feel like a spin-off and sitting through the rest of the movie just doesnt feel right when the director doesnt follow the spirit of the original show.

Second. Wifes death. Like wtf? Here I am to rescue the family but I'll leave my running car unguarded, then dash across the road without looking and get run over myself. Poor, poor writing.

Third. This "seers" concept. Like how did it even come about? What happened to the 2018 logic that only the psychopaths and mentally ill are unaffected by the beings suicidal effects? Again, another pivotal plot logic established in 2018 movie ignored so this movie can do its own thing.

Fourth. You cannot be more cliche making the supposed "bad guy" randomly show up at the end for a climatic confrontation that wasnt even climatic.

So Barcelona pretty much chucks the original plot out and forms its own rules albeit at heavily at its expense. The movie is overall pretty average. Acting, action and effects were pretty good. I found myself rooting for the german girl. But it fails epicly in calling itself a movie in the Bird Box universe. 6/10 overall because it was still somewhat entertaining, though the non-consistent plot made me feel like its a waste of time watching it at the early half.

Silo: Machines (2023) Season 1, Episode 3

Pretty awful episode

[4/10 · 16 July 2023]

Yes, you all know what I'm talking about. The Silo gets its first catastrophe level threat, the logic is clearly thought out with the chipped top and the steam situation explained in a way that anyone can understand. And they are working on an extremely tight timeline.

Then when the repairs go underway, it becomes so stupid. MC slides down stories of rope with just engineer gloves (you know how stiff those things are?) Like a fireman sliding down a metal pole.

The steam water scene. Like bro, when you hose glowing red metal, the steam will scald you alive. Not to mention the water that bounces back should be giving her second degree burns. Instead she was completely fine and just shouting for dramatic effect.

Its still a very entertaining show but I couldnt let this supposed climax pass. The logic of it is so stupid that I started wondering if I should watch it further. Its set up well but poor execution.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Ending on a emotional touch

[7/10 · 9 July 2023]

Grab your tissue boys and girls because the floodgates will open.

The story turns its focus to our favourite rabbit, Rocket Raccoon. You will see a side of him never seen before. Not spoiling too much, its the reason why he avoids talking about his past, that part we already know. And extending from this we are introduced to the main villian Mr High Evolutionary, also the centre figure of Rocket's past.

The story turns its focus to the supporting crew as well. Mantis, Drax and Nebula get more screentime and focus to develop their character. Gamora is not the Gamora we know, but still hella a sassy badass. In this show we see alot of the main characters finding their place in the universe.

But for how strong the emotional aspects are, the film does let down on the action side. High Evolutionary, basically a mad scientist that sorta rules over his own civilization, has incredible telekinetic powers that could even disable Adam Warlock, but there was no epic showdown, he kinda just hurled people around until he couldnt. Pretty easily taken down too. Felt alot like a bunch of ants just ran over Kang.

Adam Warlock, I dont know much about him but he is supposed to be really powerful, was kinda reduced to comic relief. I think he was too goofy. And with the trilogy ending we wont see more of him any time soon.

You get one fan-service action sequence near the end to see the full Guardians team in action, but nothing as solid as Vol 1 and 2 had. So yes to me, Vol 3 delivered on dialogue, story, character development, and emotion, but not on the action. Hence the 7/10.

GotG are the MCU's ragtag misfits that somehow end up constantly saving the universe. I still want to see more, but if I had to rank in terms of entertainment as a superhero action movie, 1 and 2 were the best. 3 is good.

Yellowjackets: Storytelling (2023) Season 2, Episode 9

Dull episode, didn't even realise its a season finale

[1/10 · 3 June 2023]

Season 2 is like the Yellowjackets' plane, malfunctioning and in decline. The focus has shifted to the adults, which honestly, was alot more boring. When there were forest bits, the girls were out of character, one moment being so against wicca and the next moment howling like an animal. Its puzzling as a viewer to watch what is going on.

And I have to get this out, but half of the adults look nothing like their younger selves. Obviously there's practical issues finding similar actresses but it breaks alot of immersion, and I can't ignore it.

I have no idea what the deal is with Javi. You bring him back then randomly kill him off. We get no answers to how he survived for so long, and looks like we arn't getting them at all. Except he left a cave behind. Oh and Coach just randomly burns the house and locks the girls inside after seeing them bring back Javi's dead body. Like.. What the actual F? Another out of character moment. And he runs off still on crutches into the snow like he knows he has plot armor to survive.

This season was REALLY bad.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Satisfying

[7/10 · 30 April 2023]

I'll get the bad stuff out of the way, I did not like the previous 2 movies, the plot was bad trying to be sophisticated, pulling in A-list actors is a chronic bad move repeated again and again, they did NOT shine in this movie or made it remotely better. Bryan Cryston, the mutant siblings, Millie B. Brown, They feel completely out of place in the franchise because of how star-studded they are. Its just a poor casting choice overall hoping their name would pull in their fans but ultimately it backfires. Unknowns would have done as good of a job.

That said, the action in GvK is top notch compared to previous installments. Its satisfyingly epic combined with actual creative camerawork. Godzilla 2014 and KoM did not capture the same vibe. They added the blue glow to Godzilla's eyes, it strays from the traditional Godzilla concept but on screen it looks amazing. As does the iconic Hong Kong landscape. Whoever designed that color splash, made one of the best scenes in the monsterverse.

This is the second time watching it as it aired on local network and I am still satisfied. I love the addition of the tribe girl and the thoughtfulness of the sign language. It created a piece that viewers can relate to. I wish Millie's arc intersected with the rest of the movie, it felt so cut-off from everything and the rest of the characters. Like the two girls don't even meet or share a scene throughout the whole movie and I think thats a huge waste, given tribe girl has a bond with Kong and Millie has a bond with Godzilla. They're cross globe infiltration mission is unrealistic and far-fetched. Its rreally just a plot vehicle to reveal the actual bad guy which was amazing but everything else in their journey sucked.

Its a 7/10 movie and worth watching if you're into kaiju stuff.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Marvel continues its trend of bad movies.

[5/10 · 25 April 2023]

I did not enjoy anything beyond MoM. They all have this trademark '10/10 dazzling effects but 1/10 plot'.

I pulled out a bag of chips to eat with the movie and it did not make it any better. And whats up with the Quantum Realm looking like parts of Star Wars? Kang's henchmen looking like those from Aquaman? For a multiversal conqueror, Kang got beaten pretty easily. This is the same dude who could conjure a sprawling empire and a massive army with just his suit (?), no explanation how. What were his soldiers made of that when they get hit, dissipate into black mist? No explanation how. How did Darren know how to manipulate Cassie's signal when he has no experience of Quantum technology? No explanation how. How did Janet control the engine core to open a portal back to their world so easily? No explanation how.

You get the point. This movie was dumb on so many levels, you would not believe the same studio started this whole MCU franchise.

You could see the flaw right from the start. Janet kept Kang's existence a secret so they will be some half-ass twist down the road. And Cassie was presented as already being a Quantum genius at her age having read Pym's notes, even being able to send a signal into the Quantum Realm. Like, you don't just become a genius reading notes, I think we all know that. Same with Ironheart, just some random Ex Machina inconceivable intellect for their age. But the rest of the movie, they don't exude the same level of genius. Their just bumbling around in a mediocre action movie.

So as usual, Marvel continues to disappoint severely. L&T is a joke, MoM comes in close second. The audience is sensing it. THe movies are just terrible now,.

The Night Agent (2023– )

Enjoyable Thriller

[7/10 · 17 April 2023]

Just finished the series, definitely a fun watch. The start was pretty flat in the sense that its very conventional, standard spy-thriller-ish. I wouldn't say the first episode would hook you. But the mid series twist did for me. The puzzle complicates, things are not as one dimensional as they seem. I like the focus on showing the perspective of the assassin/s. We see their face, we see them go about their lives, a touch of humanity behind those murderous hands. They're also people with beliefs, dreams etc. I like the involvement of the Secret Service bit as you'll see later. Camaradarie, loyalty, rebellion. The last episode went too Michael-Bay. Explosions for the sake of explosions. Didn't like it that much. The main antagonist's switch in motive was too drastic, didn't make sense, didn't tie into anything. He wanted to repent of sorts, then suddenly go all out with his scheme. The show completely failed to make that connection. This is after all adapted from a book if I'm not wrong. These two were the major downsides, but overall, stumbled upon this series as a break from watching something else, and I liked it still. 7/10, nice as something to pass the time.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Quite forgettable

[6/10 · 9 April 2023]

It's not a bad film, but hardly a great one. "Forgettable" would be the category Avatar WotW would fall in. I wouldn't even call it an entertaining movie. Its way too long to be enjoyable to sit through. Lots of people give it a 7, I'm giving it a 6. Because the movie clearly tries to be intense, but falls so disappointingly short. The storyline is so bland and boring. Dialogue is typical action flicky. No wit or smarts or funny banter that great shows written by great writers would exhibit. By 2023's standards that is really, really low, and thats not expecting alot.

Perhaps it put too much focus on the visuals of Pandora, which is really stunning. From the ecosystem to the creatures and all their intricate patterns to the badass futuristic tech of the humans.

But the formula is not there. Avatar 1 had the same thing but better, and truely I rather just watch a re-screening than the sequel and enjoyed myself more.

If you love Avatar, you would be really disappointed in this. I would only recommend this to people who have too much time or just want to see how the next chapter of the story is written and don't mind the disappointment.

Halo (2022– )

Surprisingly enjoyable

[8/10 · 28 January 2023]

The last few episodes were great. Amazing visuals for a tv show, everything from the ships to the sets to the Covenant lizard models looked stunning. The Spartan armor were incredible. I watched it all the way to the end and liked it enough to write a review. You don't need to know the franchise to enjoy the show.

The storyline is well told at a good pace with a good blend of action, main plot and side stuff going on. It won't be like Witcher trash that loses the viewers with its piss poor storytelling and presumption that its viewers played the game/read the lore.

Choice of actor was an odd pick as he was an unknown to me and had a very "ordinary" face, if you know what I mean. Having watched Mandalorian its also odd that he removes his helmet early, but after a few episodes it does settle in and the actor rocks it. You'll grow to care for him and his journey.

I thought the AI was amazing, terrific voice acting. The last two episodes were fantastic.

Overall, a great season 1, looking forward to more.

1899 (2022– )

Extremely boring

[2/10 · 4 January 2023]

I watched this side by side with The Devil's Hour. Probably why I realised 1899 is a shipwreck of a mess. This just pulls elements from all over the place but nothing really fits or connects to each other. One main character mysteriously appears dripping wet on the ship, no explanation where he came from, how he got there. The creators just hope you forget it by piling on more mysteries. The ship's captain was repeatedly given a command by HQ, never explained what it meant or why it was given. By episode 7, you still have no answers for mysteries early in the episode. Maybe episode 8 does explain it but I lost interest at this point. Bad shows get cancelled. This was a bad show sprinkled with the glamor of the Dark creators, which coincidentally I didn't watch past episode 2 cause it just failed to capture my interest. Maybe this show was for you but if you are puzzled why it got cancelled, the answer is pretty obvious; it failed in the mainstream.

Peacemaker (2022– )

Much better Ep 2 onwards

[8/10 · 20 February 2022]

UPgrading from a 6 to 8.

First episode starts of terribly. Crude sexual humor throughout, very uncreative. Opening dialogue was kinda meh. Lengthy but couldn't draw out the humor. Eagly had very awkward CGI, no chemistry with Cena. Unexplained why his home is relatively well-kept despite him been in jail for four years.

Second ep, you can feel the Suicide Squad reboot humor return, alot more enjoyable. The shape of the group finally takes form. A bunch of dysfunctional characters bumble together to execute a black ops. John Cena starts to shine as Peacemaker here. His just big macho old-school goofy silly dumb and he makes this weird combination somehow work. Love the stiff opening dance sequence and the old school flavor music tracks. Adebayo and Dyebeard also start to come on scene.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

Another flat adaption

[5/10 · 28 November 2021]

Never read the books, saw 7.5 on imdb, thought it might be good. WRONG.

Another flat book-to-screen adaption. First episode has the classic "if you never read the books these scenes wont make sense" syndrome.

Village attack scene was god awful. Village randomly hosts a festival, minotaur monsters randomly popping out. Morraine's powers were portrayed so dramatically yet she only takes out 2-3 at a time. Sfx look really weird too. Swirly white streams that were there to depict the flow of magic but it looks really odd. Extremely long scenes devoted to show the witch's channel animations yet the impact was so underwhelming. She summons for 10 seconds lightning from the sky only to take out 2 or 3 cows. All the cows needed to do was hurl a dagger since she doesn't move at all but we never saw that again. And zero blood on her robes in the aftermath. Like hello? Does scene continuity not mean anything?

This is at best a 4 or 5. Remind me of Witcher. THeres fighting, magic, high fantasy world, flashy stuff, but underneath that layer is a very poor, half-baked delivery.

You can pretty much watch the first episode and decide if you like it or not but from what Ive seen, first episode was terrible.

Squid Game (2021– )

Strong start, poor finish

[7/10 · 30 September 2021]

Very compelling opening episodes, but when the actual plot unravels it makes you go, "Oh, that's just it? That's kinda lame". Great acting still, amazing sets, overrides the glaring flaws of the series, an enjoyable watch overall. 7/10.

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Much better than the first

[8/10 · 17 August 2021]

Thank God for James Gunn in the director seat and rebooting this. FYI, its not a sequel. Suicide Squad (2016) could be wiped from existence and this movie need not even change anything. There is very little linkage to the first film apart from the title and 4 recurring characters. It pretty much starts anew, embarking on its own humor-infused adventure. Truely enjoyable, Gunn overhauled everything and made everything better. Idris Elba was surprisingly perfect for his role. The humor and the script are hella funny, probably the main difference from the first film which went dark, solemn, kinda boring. Can't wait for a sequel for this.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

Terrible Sequel

[5/10 · 21 July 2021]

Nothing like the first movie. This was flat, boring, lack of mood. It brought the actors and monsters back, it all looked the same, but it just felt so lacking underneath. Typical dumb movie decisions, hella boring opening flashback, everyone was freaking out before even processing what happened like they knew what the monsters were already despite having seen them for the first time.

The atmosphere was so lacking in this. Part I got you on edge from start to end, Part II had very little of that, and more of jump scenes.

5/10 hella disappointed.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)

Terrible movie

[3/10 · 1 June 2021]

Coming from someone who watched and loved the season 1 anime, Mugen Train did not live up to the hype or expectations. Season 1 was emotional, spectacular, magnetizing. Mugen Train is just a milking attempt. It's shocking this movie won awards. I guess they had no other movie to give in the covid year. Some of the prominently bad stuff:

First antagonist can basically be summed up as this. Supposedly powerful Lower One demon hires sick children who fail completely on all four of their assassination attempts, spams the same useless technique during the later battle, then turns into an giant, immobile entity with a huge, vulnerable weakspot and gets killed predictably. Even the lower 5's underlings gave a better fight than him

Second antagonist is basically a mindless Regen bot. Doesn't dodge, doesn't outsmart, just brute forces and insta heals any cuts he takes. Sure, he meets the bill of being an upper rank demon but if you are going to write a character as unimaginative as this, you need to be flatout replaced with someone who can do your job better.

Zero personality from any of the characters. One magic of the anime was that every character, big or small, good or bad, was memorable af. Each had their own personality, unique traits, distinct appearance. In the movie, that formula was gone. They don't carry the same personality their anime counterparts had. This is my biggest criticism for my 3/10 score. That magic was just not there.

Fight scenes had nice art style but didn't measure up to what the anime set.

WandaVision (2021)

To the idiot who said do people not realise it's supposed to be like old sitcom tropes

[1/10 · 31 January 2021]

People DO realise its sitcom. I know, surprising to you. And thats precisely why people are giving bad reviews. You personally enjoying it does not change the fact that many do not like it. Learn to be less of a bigot

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

I thought Covid was the worst to happen this year

[2/10 · 1 January 2021]

This shouldnt be called a superhero flick at all. It should be called Diana's Romantic Adventure. 90% of the focus of the film was on the romance, 10% on actual superhero stuff. And even that 10% was like half hearted. The only good thing about the movie pretty much was the golden armor. And the trailer. Which set me up for this major letdown.

Cheetah, was pretty much a one-dimensional letdown of a villian. You thought she would be a powerful villian on par with WW from the trailers. NOT. THE. CASE. And her motivations were so simple minded.

Pedro Pascal as villian #2 felt so awkward. You can't really tell wtf he really wants even when you know it. Its a character that has no direction. Chemistry with his son was awkward.

I switched off the movie in the middle of the final fight. It was kinda that terrible.

I feel this show was written for kids below 10. There is no way it caters to a semi-mature audience the way it was set up. The only other reason I can think of is Covid disrupted the production or something. Before you say everyone expected too much, thats a poor excuse to defend your opinion as this movie truly bad that I'd give a 2*. I rather watch any of the other DC movies than this.