Change Your Image
infinitetyler
Reviews
The Penguin: After Hours (2024)
This Show is AWESOME.
Where to begin with this one? I rate it very highly, so maybe start with the negatives: it's not much of a visual spectacle.
Otherwise, this pilot was on-POINT. The story is well developed, the dialogue is GREAT, and the characters are extremely engaging.
Colin does an incredible job portraying both the earnest henchman and an absolute menace at the top of the food chain. He's entertaining to watch. The scenes between him and the kid reminded me of Samuel L. Jackson's Big Kahuna Burger scene in Pulp Fiction. The supporting cast is also incredible. The inclusion of the kid is smart writing because he not only acts as a blank slate that can change throughout the series, but he can act as the audience bearing witness to the insanity. I love how these guys play off each other.
We've seen various takes on Penguin, and I'm fine with the grounded Tony Soprano version. Obviously 'The Penguin' draws heavily from mafia movies and shows before it, so if that's not something you're into then the maybe it isn't for you. However if you ARE, then this show is a must-watch(so far, it's only the pilot).
Well done, everyone involved!
Agatha All Along: Circle Sewn With Fate / Unlock Thy Hidden Gate (2024)
Better
To clarify, this is not a comic book superhero show. This is a Netflix-style series loosely related to a character from a comic book. Do with that info what you will.
This episode almost got a couple of chuckles out of me, now that I've come to accept that this is the character we're getting for the next few hours (and not a hex). The acting is 'stage theater', which some people might find amusing. Personally I find it more annoying.
I'm puzzled by the tonal shift now that the show has morphed into a slapstick comedy. Imho it would have been smarter to start the series with this episode, since it's more engaging, and the last episode was mostly a reminder of another tv series; additionally there wouldn't be a shift from 'True Detective' to 'Schitt's Creek', which is a bit off-putting.
My general impression is that 'Agatha All Along' is somewhere between a CW show and a Netflix series; better than the former, but not quite as good as the latter.
...and that was going to be the review, but the power of manyy insists on an acapella number, a couple more dramatic tonal shifts, some explanations of universe rules (which seem arbitrary), and something inexplicable to generate intrigue for a week. Imho these things both added and detracted from the show about an equal amount. The 'musical' part turned out better than expected.
Agatha All Along: Seekest Thou the Road (2024)
Easily Forgettable
I like the darker, more ominous opening, it gives the show a more grounded, "grown up" vibe.
The dialogue is already... difficult. Maybe it's intentional, but it seems like characters can only speak in cliches.
I can't tell if I'm supposed to be laughing at the disgruntled stereotypical detective or taking her shtick seriously. A lot of shtick in general. I like Hahn A LOT, but the her character is a struggle to watch. Credit to her acting, the director and the writing for making such a delightful person this insufferable.
Speaking of wasted talent, Aubrey Plaza is here to not contribute any of her notorious quirkiness and wit.
Lol even the outro song is a cliche. Ugh, this is sad. Watch 'Agatha All Along', it needs your help.
Prometheus (2012)
Pretty Good, Hindered by Some Cliches
A 7 is a bit high imho, but a 6 seems too low... 'Prometheus' is obviously not a traditional Alien movie, but it does well at capturing Giger's aesthetics and presents several memorable sequences.
The production value is top-notch, the all-star cast brings their A-game, Scott lends the movie his veneer, the music is on-point, and the special effects are great.
The film has an intriguing premise that borders on overly ambitious, but struggles with some of the dialogue and predictable plot twists. What's more obnoxious is simply the way some of the characters act- they're supposed to be scientists working for the military but half the time they act like drunk college students on a nature walk, the other half like they're diffusing time bombs at gunpoint. It's inconsistent, but since the cast is good and the premise is interesting the movie gets a pass on dumb characters. The more I think about the characters, the more I think the movie is a 6, maybe even a 5, since it required a perfect storm of allegedly smart people all acting stupid simultaneously in order for the movie to happen.
'Prometheus' is worth a watch, but be prepared for something more like 'Interstellar' or 'The Martian' than a monster movie in space like 'Alien' or ' Aliens'.
Willow (2022)
Parody of the Movie
I'm not fooling myself that the original deserved Academy Awards, but there was an adventure story there. This is a teen drama series using some characters from the movie 'Willow'.
Credit where credit is due on the some of the production, the sets look good and the cinematographers shot some beautiful scenery. Costumes are hit-and-miss. Some of the VFX were creative, mostly around animation. The fights are all quick-cut Sam Rami on speed style, so it's difficult to tell what's happening; may induce seizures.
It's hard to say whether the acting, writing, or directing hurt this show the most. Characters talk and act like modern pouty west coast teens, in a fantasy series, which points to actors and directors making poor choices... but then again Marlon Brando would struggle with this dialogue, and the plot is just a standard string of 2020's cliches.
I saw the movie when I was probably too young, and this show definitely isn't for kids either, but for different reasons- they'd probably get bored from all the interpersonal relationship drama. There might be a home for this with The Arrowverse audience?
Predestination (2014)
Stunning, Brave, and Predictable
I have to give this movie props for pioneering a sub genre of film that we're now drowning in. For that reason I'm probably being more critical than it deserves, but it's also overrated imho.
The acting was good, and production value was serviceable for a low-budget sci-fi, but I think I was expecting more spaceships and lasers- it's not that kind of film. It's more of a slow-burn suspense/drama, like if Magical Realism replaced magic with science.
My largest criticisms are directed towards the writing. I guess the story has to be structured that way for the reveals to work, but at around 35 minutes in the story is nested 3 levels deep and kind of meandering, so it's like 'Where are we going with this?'. Then when it's clear which is the main story it becomes pretty easy to guess how the rest will play out.
I didn't hate 'Predestination', but I can't recommend it either.
Darkman (1990)
Some Stuff for Rami Fans
I'm not sure how a Sam Rami film starring Liam Neeson and Francis McDormand scored by Danny Elfman slipped under my radar for 35 years, but "Darkman" was like finding $10 in the pocket of an old jacket. Sure, it's not at $20, but it's something. You can probably buy a sandwich with it.
For me the novelty of a Sam Rami-Danny Elfman comic book movie wore off after 30 minutes, at which point it was mostly a cheesy-bad comic book movie with extra practical effects and gruesome makeup. It might be fun to roast with friends since the dialogue is bad, the effects are weird, and the action is over the top(no Stallone) in standard Rami fashion.
If you're a Rami die-hard then "Darkman" is a must-see. I like his other stuff, and I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I can also see how a lot of people would write it off for being too dumb and cheesy. Take it for what it's worth, the 6-7 IMDb rating seems pretty fair imho.
Eric (2024)
Is There Some Way We Can Make This More Slow?
There are certainly many elements of 'Eric' that are good. The acting is pretty great across the board, the sets and costumes feel accurate to the time period, and the practical effects are good enough to make the CGI appear lackluster.
The biggest flaw is in how slow and self-indulgent the show is. The writers borrow heavily from 'Breaking Bad', but in this case the plot twists are so anti-climactic and spaced apart that I started to feel like I was drowning in character development. When the magical realism finally came into play at the end of Ep1 it was like, "Oh yeah, there's a giant blue monster he's supposed to hallucinate about. Anyways...". The social and political messaging often felt like a forced distraction from the story.
House of the Dragon (2022)
S1 Thumbs Up, S2 Thumbs Down
Long story short, don't bother with this series. It's arguably one of, if not the best fantasy series of the 2020's, but that's a pathetically low bar to clear.
I was skeptical going into Hot-D initially because of how the GoT ending was butchered, and after an enjoyable but slow-out-of-the-gate first season I had reason to have similar expectations going into the second. Unfortunately S02 simply doesn't deliver, and on top of that it ends after 4 episodes of building up to a battle budgeted for S03, so if you want a resolution to the season you'll just have to wait a couple of years.
The show also works hard to leverage certain audience demographics, which gets progressively more distracting throughout the series. Hot-D just isn't for me I guess. I'd recommend sinking 16 hours into something else.
House of the Dragon: The Queen Who Ever Was (2024)
Hot-D Feels Like I'm Taking Crazy-Pills
Really? That's how you're going to end it, after 8 hours of buildup? On a cliffhanger following an episode that was basically a last-minute team-build episode? What have we been DOING this whole time?? I'm actually angry at this show now.
How many candle-lit mumble meetings and peasant lord inspirational speeches did we have to sit through to get to "To be continued..."? As an audience we've had to give the writers a lot of leeway bending the rules they-themselves set up and we've had to watch the characters evolve into more predictable and less entertaining versions of themselves, but what a bucket of cold water to end the season like that.
I cannot stress how overrated Hot-D is.
House of the Dragon: The Red Sowing (2024)
Is It Me or Does This Show Keep Getting Dumber?
I've gone through some ups and downs with this show, but I'm getting to the point of no return. This stuff with the dragon might be it for me because I feel like we're just making up rules as we go now. This episode is extra unfortunate given how visually good it looks and how much of the last few episodes were devoted to politics in order to budget for this.
It's all very "Avengers assemble!", but since I feel like I barely know any of these characters it's more like 'Joss Whedon's Justice League assemble!" There are some other aspects of this season which lead me to believe that this IP is no longer being made for me.
The Acolyte: The Acolyte (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: THE FINAL ROUND
Probably the most technically competent episode. Also the most lore-breaking episode, if that's still possible. The fight scenes looked good, the premises for them were bad.
I thought the mid-episode twist was a groaner, and the ending was eye-roll inducing.
Imho "The Power of Manyyyy" song should be added to every Star Wars movie and tv show from now on; nothing can go wrong with that.
May as well tease a new villain and end it with a setup for a second season. Two of the episodes could have been combined and two were filler, but having some loose ends compliments the nonsensical actions characters took to drive the story.
I'm happy this is finally over.
The Ward (2010)
In My Top 10,000 Movies
Well this film has certainly taken new meaning since its release. Like watching Kevin Spacey in 'House of Cards', but if Kevin couldn't act. Fortunately for Amber, she's pretty and looks good in jeans.
Other than that, 'The Ward' is a forgettable/mid horror film featuring scenes and characters most people have likely already seen in other movies, mostly released in the 90's. 'Girl Interrupted', 'Stigmata', 'The Craft', 'Shutter Island', 'Hostel', 'Disturbing Behavior', and many others come to mind. There's not much in the way of originality, in a genre saturated with low-budget content.
The cinematography is good, but I'd question some of the editing choices. The music is similar to Carpenter's other works, but somehow more drone-y and whiney, less suspenseful. The supporting cast does a pretty decent job for the most part. Almost the entire movie takes place in a mental hospital, so there's not much for sets, props and costumes.
'The Ward' isn't anything to write home about, but that being said, it's probably not bad if you're sick in bed or want something to play in the background while playing video games or getting some work done.
The Acolyte: Choice (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 7
They're 6/7 at nailing the opening shot of each episode, and Episode 7 is another good one. The scenery is quite nice.
The dialogue is ham-fisted, which is unfortunate since this is a tell-don't-show type of series that leans heavily on dialogue, and the physical acting is cartoonishly silly in this episode.
The spaceship/cave interiors look better. It's difficult to argue that lore matters to the writers based on this episode, since most of the episode is dedicated to redefining established rules of the Star Wars universe.
Uh, again with the flammable rocks. Episode 7 deserves credit for the Wookie fight, but cringe, the premise behind it was so dumb.
It's not just that 'The Acolyte' is bad, it's that it changes everything and acts like that's an edgy subversion of expectations, but it's not because everything is overshadowed by prominent incompetence. This is a "good" episode, relatively speaking.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Good by 2020's standards, Bad by Any Others
It's a big-budget blockbuster with an extensive all-star cast of both legends and rising stars, a menacing other-worldly threat, and it leverages an iconic intellectual property that brings nostalgia to an audience who grew up watching cartoons that bordered on marketing brainwashing, so hypothetically 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' has all of the elements for a great movie. Unfortunately it just isn't one.
It's not awful, but it's definitely not 'great'. The cast is bloated, so it feels like a series of SNL sketches cut together. The main plot thread, Phoebe, is probably the least interesting character they could have chosen for the lead plot line. The handling of her character was heavy-handed and pandering. Yes there were sex jokes in the old movies, but Bill Murray's romance stories in the originals were one of their least interesting aspects, and apparently my distaste for romance stories in Ghostbusters movies has not changed.
The effects, sound, music, cinematography and general production value are of high quality. The acting is across the board because there're a zillion actors.
'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' snatches defeat from the jaws of victory in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, leading to a forgettable middle entry to what is likely a string of movies that are already declining in quality at a predictable rate.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Still Holds Up
The one time I saw this movie was when it was released in theaters, and I remember the sound and visuals were so overwhelming during the D-Day scene that it was almost sensory overload. I made sure to turn the volume up for the re-watch but it doesn't do it justice, so if you see that 'Saving Private Ryan' is playing at local art house theater, GO!
The movie is a top-to-bottom masterpiece, and at this point there's nothing I can add to the discussion. It ranks 71 on AFI Top 100, which IMHO seems a little low, but it certainly deserves to be on the list.
A couple of surprises which did not have meaning to me 25 years ago: Vin Diesel is in the movie, and he has a completely different voice. Also Nathan Fillion of 'Firefly' fame pops in for a cameo.
If you haven't seen 'Saving Private Ryan', you should, because it's a cultural touchstone and a masterful piece of art. It attempts to portray the horrors of historical events accurately, so it's not for people who require sanitizing or are made uncomfortable by the challenges faced by people during war.
The Acolyte: Teach/Corrupt (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 6
I like to start off with something positive: the sets and props look better this time. Then again, the episodes tend to have very expensive looking opening sequences followed by discount-store looking next-20 minutes. The Unknown Planet looks leaps and bounds better than the forest planet. Some of the spaceship interiors look like they're from 1960's Dr. Who.
I'm so tired of this otter. I might have questions about who/what/why the otter, but things just kind of happen in this show without rhyme or reason, so who cares? They took the worst parts of the Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks and wrote them into this character.
I'm also tired of the faux-deep-meaning dialogue. The music is about 50% good, so sometimes it helps mask it a little, but it's impossible to ignore, even in the context of Star Wars. The characters lack purpose and direction; their motivations change without events prompting them to do so. Ugh, the acting is atrocious. Sol does his best, but he can't carry the show alone.
Between the acting, the story, and the dialogue, 'The Acolyte' is really difficult to watch. The most infuriating aspect is how self-congratulatory the show is whenever something basic is accomplished, like the ghost of Obi-Wan might pop up on screen and say, "Look! A STAAR WAARS!"
The Acolyte: Night (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 5
The acting is bad. The dialogue still horrific, even for Star Wars. The way the story is told is very linear, like "and then this happens, and then this happens, and then this happens"; there's very little cause-effect tying the narrative together, and therefore the characters seem to do things without reason. When a character's motivations are explained, it's usually in a ham-fisted way, like: "Why are you doing X?"
"I must do X because of Y"
"Ok".
The words of the characters do not resemble those of humans, like no one at any point ever asked the question, 'How would a person like this character respond to X?'. Instead, the narrative is decided, and then the characters are adapted to rationalize the narrative. It feels very unnatural.
Given the downgrade in sets/props/effects/music for Ep5, the fight scenes are the strongest feature, only undercut by previous breaks in canon regarding Light Sabers. I no longer believe I understand what a Light Saber is, or what one does. I'm also having a difficult time understanding everyone's power-levels. Characters go from over-powered to evenly-matched without rhyme or reason, sometimes within the same fight.
I expected a reveal in this episode, but I didn't expect it to be that lazy. Almost like it's designed to infuriate the audience or something.
I roll my eyes at you, The Acolyte.
Ahsoka (2023)
Self-Congratulatory Mediocrity
'Ahsoka' has good production value and a few decent actors, but otherwise there isn't much here for me. I know it's based on EU lore, so maybe being familiar with the books, comics, video games and animated spin-offs helps. Otherwise these characters don't really act like people, so I have a difficult time relating to anyone, and the story is pretty meandering. The few characters that are interesting to watch(including the titular character) don't get as much screen time as the smug, pouty, or generally insufferable ones.
I like some things they did with the droids and legacy characters, and the CGI only made me nostalgic for practical effects a few times. The music, sound, set, costumes and props are generally decent-to-great. It all looks expensive.
I didn't find 'Ahsoka' offensively bad like a few other recent D+ Star Wars series, but there's nothing to pull you in. The few entertaining ideas were never expanded upon and are spaced between hours of flat characters delivering flat dialogue.
The Acolyte: Day (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 4
Again, the first several seconds of video are always fantastic, each episode has featured really great opening shots. But then... forests that look like they're from the old Ewok movies. The makeup and costumes are horrific. The aliens are comical.
Dialogue is atrocious. Acting is overwhelmingly flat, to the point where you wonder if the actors knew the show would be this bad and are just phoning it in.
The writing is what really sets this series apart in terms of it being bad. The characters will say something to the effect of "I like X" and then 5 seconds later say "I must destroy X". It just makes no sense. And it happens in this show ALL. THE. TIME. Also things happen that defy logic, like where a character would have to be in two places at once for what's on screen to take place. The final draft must have been written in crayon.
They got a lot of the screen wipes and musical interludes right. The music is better than in Ep3.
Ugh, what a waste of time.
The Book of Boba Fett (2021)
Dumb and Pretty
I stopped caring about SW after Mando S2, but recent developments have renewed my interest in what will likely be known as either "trash-era SW" or "end-game SW". Needless to say, I went in with low expectations.
Production-wise, it's pretty top-notch. The sets are stunning, the costumes are mostly on-point, the props are eye-catching(to say the least), the lighting is pretty, the CGI is decent. The music and sound are generally well done, and the cinematography is fantastic. BoBF is, if anything, a visual spectacle. Unlike another series which shall not be named, "it feels like (Jon Favreau)Star Wars".
My biggest gripe against The Madalorian was that it felt like a lot of fetch-quests, which is fine, but it made the story a bit meandering and disconnected. BoBF ups-the-ante by turning fully into another show for a couple of episodes. It seems like the studio had a lot of ideas for a Boba series or season of Mando, but not enough for a complete story, so it ended up becoming a Frankenstein monster of characters doing things without any clear motivation, i.e., BoBF is DUMB. If they'd committed to one story or the other it likely would have come across as more coherent and less like nostalgia-bait. The actors themselves did a great job despite the dialogue being peak SW cringe.
I think I was right to put off watching "The Book of Boba Fett". I've seen cool landscapes in 'Avatar', and since it doesn't offer much in the way of story it's mostly a lot of key-jangling for the lowered-standards turn-your-brain-off SW audience.
The Acolyte: Destiny (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 3
THE ONE THAT RUINS STAR WARS, so they say. Let's find out...
I've read reviews trashing the sets and effects as being too CGI, but tbh I think the visual elements (mostly during an episode's opening sequences preceding 20 minutes of bleak caves or spaceship interiors) are the only place where competence and creativity exist in this show; probably because they're the things you can throw money at to improve($20 million per 30-minute episode!). The aliens are looking more Star Trek Next Generation than Star Wars as the series progresses. Costumes are meh. Music seems to have gotten worse.
The acting is objectively pretty trash. Even Trinity and Squid Game are turning in flat performances for this one. The focus is on the twins, as child actors. The direction of this episode is gag-inducing, particularly around the coven.
As most reviews have noted, where Acolyte REALLY falls apart is in its writing. The dialogue is afternoon cartoon-grade. Now that we've been given the backstory, the motivations of Evil Twin make even less sense.
I can't tell if this is stupider than 'The Star Wars Holiday Special'. It's definitely not morbidly fascinating like TSWHS. It's more like a bad YA movie like 'Divergent' or 'Maze Runner'. It's probably too dumb for the YA crowd though, so maybe the target audience is 7-10 years olds, like the Ewok movies.
So, DID IT RUIN STAR WARS? I would say 'No', because Star Wars was already at a historic low-point, and if the franchise is still viable in 10 years it will likely be from Ghostbusters2016'ing this thing and pretending like it never happened. Note the end credits read "BASED ON Star Wars by George Lucas".
The Acolyte: Revenge/Justice (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 2
The main actress is a lot better as the hero twin than the villain twin. She's just not very intwinidating(sorry).
This episode is slow, and I don't understand the point of most of the last episode other than to peacock the twins. The crew thinks Good Twin is killing Jedi, escaping from prison and blowing up ships, but they're still like, "She's basically one of us, /shrug emoji".
Wow. So dumb how the Bad Twin is able to kill Jedi. This is the second Jedi-are-chumps death. Sensing a trend.
None of these character dynamics work with what's been established by the narrative. Good Twin is making demands of the crew? Shouldn't she feel lucky she's not in handcuffs?
I gave up on Star Wars a long time ago, so I'm mostly watching out of morbid curiosity to see how bad Episode 3 is. So far this show isn't good enough to recommend watching, but not bad enough to recommend hate-watching either. It's High-End Mid.
The Acolyte: Lost/Found (2024)
Fan-Bait vs. Nostalgia-Bait: Round 1
Nice establishing shots, good set, good aliens, but then at 2:11 it's just like, "Why is this even happening? Use The Force." The fight choreography is good, but the opening sequence makes Jedi out to be chumps. Everyone on the internet correctly predicted how the show would open.
The sets, costumes and aliens look good, and at the rumored $20 million per episode, they'd better. It tests your patience with the premise for the arrest and how quickly that plays out, but then it's Ewok-movies-grade writing in the jail, and it gets to be a bit much. The acting is pretty good.
This episode fails at "but therefore" storytelling because the obstacles aren't logical or pre established, so it comes across as the writers just being kind of desperate to prove their worth. The entire middle act "could have been an email", the only thing narratively established is that she knows the Jedi.
It's not good, but it's better than I thought it would be. Palatable to the turn-your-brain-off entertainment crowd.
Pearl (2022)
Liked 'X', and Should Have Stopped There
I was skeptical of this movie when I saw the trailer after 'X', because it seemed like her character had developed over the course of that movie into a bit of a killer, so giving her a backstory as a killer seemed anti-climactic. And it was.
The absence of the stellar cast in 'X' is impossible to ignore, and Mia is left holding the show together pretty much by herself. She does great, but that's a lot to compensate for.
The sets, costumes, lighting, sound, etc. Are great, and TI West does an okay job directing, but it seems like he maybe shouldn't have filmed back-to-back because it lacks the energy of 'X'. The aesthetics of the film are its strongest feature.
My main criticism is that 'Pearl' is more of a slow-moving drama than a horror, the dark comedy didn't land, it's using a cliche premise, and the characters aren't particularly interesting. I watched it twice and got bored and started working on other stuff both times.
'Pearl' isn't a movie I particularly hated, but I was happier with just my memory of 'X'. I'd probably skip it unless it's for background noise.