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Unfrosted (2024)
Is a LONG superbowl commercial. Just enjoy it.
I wasn't sure what to expect but within the first five minutes it was clear this movie is a don't take it to seriously kind of film. Over-the-top comedy j
packed with comedian cameos. Once you accept its silly it's easy to have a goodv time, maybe even turn it into a drinking game - take a sip every time you spot a new comedian or a pop culture reference.
It honestly feels like a Saturday Night Live sketch, or a Super Bowl commercial, that accidentally turned into a full movie. The writers seem like they were told just to have fun with it and call in every celebrity they know for a quick cameo. The constant "who's going to show up next?" adds a whole other layer of enjoyment. All in all, I had a surprisingly good time. Now this film is no Shakespearean Spielberg work of art, but it's still fun.
Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix (2023)
Went in blind, went out satisfied
TLDR: Retro cyberpunk mixed with 'in-game' pixel animations. Definitely different, but if you liked Cyberpunk 2077 edge Runner, you might find that you enjoy this.
I had NO idea what to expect. Not only had I never heard of Captain laserhawk, im not very familiar with Ubisoft as a whole. So it was like going in blind, with my ears covered. The opening scene made it very obvious it was going to be cyberpunkish, and about 10 minutes in, it was very obvious it was a campy cyberpunk ish with videogame elements to it. It was definitely enjoyable though. The Animation style and story telling almost makes it feel like its part of the cyberpunk 2077 universe, and thats mostly a good thing, as I really enjoyed that show. I dont really have anything bad to say about it except the really push the whole 'gilted romance' narrative. I have no issues with sexuality in general, but its a major plot point to the show when it feels like something that they are focusing more on a lovers quarrel than any other plots in the show for the first half. Almost like the rest of the story doesnt matter.
All that said, interesting show, very different. 6 episodes isnt enough.
Look Away (2018)
Great Ideas, just not executed that well
TLDR: This movie showed a lot of potential. It had a lot of great idea, but didnt quite stick the landing.
I found this movie on a whim. And I will say, its not bad at all. But the problem is, it feels like a really refined rough draft.
The issues I have is that, theres a lot to be left desired. The ideas feel a little disjointed. The relationships between people arent quite built out, the 'inciting moment' that starts the whole story feels not too well developed, a lot of plot points feel almost pointless or head nowhere, motivations feel all twisted up, and there didnt feel like there really was ever an end game. Ultimately, I feel like this movie was just 2 or 3 drafts short of a masterpiece.
What did work, this movie does a great job at building eerie and dark atmosphere. The tweenage acting was typical, I think the lead did well enough trying to carry the movie. I honestly dont feel like there needed to be as much nudity as there was in the film. Overall, I didnt mind the watch.
Kaleidoscope (2023)
Kaleidoscope is ultimately a failure
TLDR: Its not unwatchable, but definitely starts going from bad to worse at some point.
I'm always rooting for whatever I watch to be great. Kaleidoscope started off with all the right elements. A varied and amazing cast, some decent acting, some loveable moments, a show with a new take and interesting format, and some decent plot points. BUT it ended up being a badly written heist movie.
Somewhere in this mess is genuinely a really good heist movie that did not get its chance to shine. It feels like they ran out of money and just threw the rest of this movie together. It started off strong, but by the end of it, a lot of characters became unlikeable, purposely made bad decisions, weird and pretty lame plot points, and ridiculous motivations.
I only finished it just to see how it would ultimately end... I think I was less disappointed when I just stopped halfway.
Gen V (2023)
Its not bad, but definitely not as good as The Boys
TLDR: Its a decent spin off, but not as good as The Boys. Its not a 'The Boys College Years" like the ads suggest it was going to be, and thats a good thing.
I honestly went in thinking this was going to be bad. Not for any particular reason other than this being a "What if The Boys were college students... What wacky antics would they get up to", and the show definitely starts off that way for a tiny bit, but definitely better writing kicks in and gives the show some life.
Where this show is good as it allows us to explore the world of "The Boys" from a different, 'young' perspective. The Boys introduces us to a world where a group like "The Justice League" was owned by corporate america, and we've lived in that universe and how it mainly affect adults and their daily lives, but season 3 of that show introduced us to the concept of "teens and young folk" being made into super heroes.
Where the show falls off, is the main character of the show is not very likeable. She starts off as the tragic hero trying to write wrongs, but falls short of being a pleasant person. They try to redeem her as a girl who is just looking out for her family, but it really comes off as a women who MIGHT do the right thing, but mostly not if it benefits her. Not because shes clever, but because shes a narcissist, and mostly just oblivious to the outside influence. The main character who is actually driving the show is Andre.
They do have some 'check box' characters in terms of "millennials" and "diversity": The Tik tok social media blogger influence, the gender binary character who accepts themselves but their parents are still in denial, the person with the eating disorder who was brought on by their mothers judgment, but honestly, the only character that feels like the 'check box' character is the tik tok influencer. The rest sorta dont make a big deal of their tragic backstory most the time. I think Lucas (who isnt given that much time) did a phenomenal acting job.
Overall, this show DIDNT play out like a "The Boys College Years", and actually feels like a genuine story taking place in another part of the world of The Boys. It still lives in the shadow of The Boy. I wish they would dive deeper into cameos, "supe"-media Like Supe-pron.com and Vought-a-burger. Feels like they should have some Vought Social media site or something where the media is controlled.
Akazukin, tabi no tochû de shitai to deau. (2023)
Interesting take on a grimm tale.
TLDR: Its basically a japanese murder mystery drama told through a lot of narrative, with a fairy tale backdrop.
I love the name "Once upon a crime" so I had to dive in. While I'm not generally a fan of grim/fairy tales in general (even if told is some edgy new-age way), I gave this one a chance because honestly, I had nothing else to watch.
I was pleasantly surprise the spin they took on the 'Cinderella' story. The ending genuinely surprised me. You have your expectations of how these stories will end (both the fairy tale and the murder mystery), but this one had a decently good twist to it. Definitely something to watch if you're into Japanese type murder drama. Probably not something that would fly too well with American audiences.
Its fun, its whimsical, its different. Its okay.
Heart of Stone (2023)
Predictable, Bland, inconsistent, but good action scenes
I wanted this film to be good, but at the bare minimum I wanted to like.
What this movie did great were the stunts. This movie feels like they planned a series of some cool and creative action scenes, then attempted to write a movie around them.
The core concept of the movie, A super 'god mode' computer in the secret agent spy business, is kind of silly. Without given away spoilers, the core concept of the movie is just not a great concept. If you suspend your beliefs enough, you can imagine that computers like this exist, but it just doesnt make logical sense. A high powered computer cannot hack a mechanical system not connect to the internet.
It was easy to tell who the villains was about 30 minutes, the story just got silly from there. You have 1 hell bent on letting the world burn, while the other is the naive misunderstood villain.
I will say Gal Gadot played a fun secret agent, and the movie started semi fun, but slowly fell into mediocrity failure quickly. Nice attempt, maybe next time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
Very Heartfelt movie with the charm of a coming of age movie.
I honestly didnt know what to expect going in, but I can say everything I saw before the movie (mostly the trailers) turned me off to the film.
I decided to sitdown and watch it on a whim, thinking, itll at least be something to talk about. But I was definitely shocked how good for a movie it was.
Now it would be weird to say, this movie isnt really for me, it felt like it was made for someone born post 2000, but it had enough charm to make it enjoyable for anyone who was old. What they did well was the old school hip hop sound track that carried the movie, along with some genius casting choices, specifically Jackie Chan as Master Splinter, and Ice Cube as super fly. I felt like they both did so much for the movie, that if it werent for those 2, it would lose a lot of its charm.
The movie follows the turtles just wanting to fit in, but it tells that story in such a great way, it almost made me cry at some point. You see the need to fit in through so many eyes, you end of gathering empathy all around for the struggle that people go through.
The movie did feel long, but the pacing was on point, so the movie never felt slow once it got going. The very beginning somewhat felt like it was dragging for a bit, but the moment it picked up, it flowed pretty well.
On the negatives
I will say the Turtle kid voices annoyed the HELL out of me at first, and I enjoyed the art direction, to a point where I'm not a fan of asymmetrical designs. Other than that, the constant hip lingo and pop culture references now kind of annoy me; this movie feels like its trying hard to pretend its with the times. We get it. Tiktok, Memes, Beyonce, Uber, Harlem Shake...
The movie really felt like it was for a younger audience, but it well done enough where I didnt feel alienated. I'd give this movie an 8, and would say its a solid foundation for having sequels and/or spin off series.
Red Rose (2022)
Decent, but already done, concept.
I went into this show blind, I just like seeing new and different things. The show started off semi strong with the whole mystery of "why did she do this" attached to it.
The show feels like Black Mirror mixed with some element of horror, mixed with staking place in the UK (yes I know Black mirror is a UK based show), with a dab of Skins.
As I mentioned, the show starts of strong, and the plot/mystery is engaging throughout the show. But the actual cast of characters in the show are mostly annoying high school teenagers, most arent that likeable, and 2 of them look so similar, I still confuse them by the end of the show.
I feel like this show was a really good idea, and the execution was pretty okay, but they couldnt find a cast that you actually care about. For whatever reason, the cast they found just arent it. I hate to say, but by the end of the show I could barely remember anyone names except Taz, Rochelle, and Wren. I dont know what it is about the cast, but I found them mostly annoying.
I do think the show did an alright job overall, but by the end, the fear and mystery is mostly gone, and the ending felt rather anti-climatic. With most horror show, the way the people experiencing the horror handle themselves can either make or break a show. In in the universe of the show, they would have seen enough horror shows to make good or bad decisions. In this show, the people affected are constantly making bad decisions, not all that times, but often times. The audience is just expected to 'go with it', but theres a point where their decision making is beyond suspending your beliefs. I will say, if done a little better and creepier, this show could have been a ten.
Overall, interesting watch, anti-climatic villain/ending.
Haunted Mansion (2023)
Better than expected
I wasnt sure what to expect this time around. This would be the 3th Disney Ride (that I'm aware of) turned into a movie, and the first of those to be a reboot.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It managed to almost perfectly encapsulate a 10 minute ride and turn it into a believable plot/story that makes coherent sense. While I wished they would have focused more on some elements of the ride that people recognized, there was enough there to fully feel like they thought this out. Unfortunately this means I have been humming that darn Haunted Mansion theme in my head for a couple of days.
The cast the chose definitely felt like an oddball cast. It really feels more like a '7 random strangers stuck get in the wild' type cast, and ultimately thats what it ended up being, but they worked well together. Everyone one of them were able to bring the laughs, while a few of them managed to get me to feel real emotions. I do think some of the 'cameos' felt under utilized, especially Jamie Lee Curtis, but overall, it made of a fun group.
What this movie managed to do the best was create a story that almost perfectly captures the essences felt from the Haunted Mansion Ride. One part haunting, 1 part excited, 1 part thrilling, and 1 part mysterious.
The one thing that felt off about the movie was its pacing. It would go from thrilling haunted adventure, to detective work quite often. At one point they feel like they are trapped inside a haunted house with no escape, then at another point I feels like they are just hanging out in a news room looking up history books. The movie would go from this haunted house immersion to every day society almost too often, But the final act of the movie fully went all in on the haunted mansion.
I would definitely put this movie in the family fun category. If you feel comfortable enough taking your kids on the Haunted Mansion Ride, this definitely for them. The movie definitely deals with some mature elements like death and grief, but it manages to handle it in a way thats understandable. The movie brings together a comedic cast, and throws them into the mysterious haunted mansion in a cheesy and fun filled way.
While I definitely think this movie will be a 1 off, I could see this becoming a cartoon, Disney+ series, or spawn some straight to Disney Plus sequels. It was definitely enjoyable and left you wanted to live in this world a bit longer.
Ignore the review bombing.
3% (2016)
Started off a 10, I quit before I started hating it
I must say I love Netflix, because it gives chances to shows that would have never seen the light, and gives access to shows that would never hit my radar because they are foreign.
3% hits both on those notes. I started the show off as I do most shows, with an open mind, I'll give it 3 episodes, and see how it does. I must say I fell in love with this show by episode 2. It checks off a lot of the things I love about these types of post apocalyptic dystopian future type shows. A world that seems bleak with a promise to a better possible future. Except the game is rigged, and isnt all that it seems.
The show definitely starts off good, and definitely starts heading in an interesting direction, UNTIL it hit season 3. It felt like the show ran out of steam, because it felt like the show started repeating itself. If you've ever seen prison break, then you know that phenomenon. Season 1 was breaking free from prison, season 2 was staying out of prison, then season 3 was breaking free from prison. While thats not exactly what happened with this show, but season 3 started off with promise but became a different version of the first season. I gave up then, so I'll never quite know how it ends, but it was definitely a great ride up until that point.
American Born Chinese (2023)
Everything everywhere all at once less successful spin off.
I really wanted this to be amazing, especially considering the old school and new school chinese actors that were taking place in it, but its definitely a show without a focused audience. As result, there are some interesting and relatable moments to the show, then there are times the show feels like its not for my demographics. And I imagine it feels that way for most people.
A show without an audience? What does that mean? At the end of the day, the story is broken up into 3 different types of stories.
1 - A Highschool coming of age story with bad luck bryan becoming the unsuspecting Hero, like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars
2 - A heroes search for a long lost McGuffin thatll save the World.
3 - A show for a chinese audience, basically a retelling of the old school chinese Monkey King.
While some of those elements help the other stories along, they ultimately class with who wants to watch them. While some of the elements of that show I would find interesting, I definitely find high school dramas to be annoying at this age (in my 30s). But I did find the retro chinese drama episode to be fairly interesting. However; I imagine if you're really into the highschool drama part of it, then the retro chinese episode just wasnt for you.
This show has clashing story types. Not to mention storylines, characters, and build up that ultimately felt unsatifying.
For 70% of the show, a character is looking for something, but you never understand why really. Another character has motivations go completely unexplained until the last episode. And the 'consequences' of the story arent given any relevance to the story until the last 20 minutes. So you are basically watching the journey of 4 separate characters with no understanding why.
Also, some characters show up and disappear just as quick with no real impact on the story, making it confusing.
At the end of the day, I thought the show was just okay. I dont think it was bad, but if you told me the show was canceled, I wouldnt be shocked as it really didnt move me enough to recommend it to anyone. I think if they solely focused on the highschool coming of age story OR the retelling of the monkey king story, it would be a better show overall. Maybe season 2 will do that for them.
The Problem with Apu (2017)
Love that this is being review bombed, proves the point Hari is making.
This is a tale as old as time in America. There's something thats handled in a very problematic way, and when someone points out how problematic it is, they turn around and make you the villain, or claim some victimhood they are not entitled to.
So many examples to pull from. The confederate flag over city hall, The mammy depiction of Aunt Jemima. Etc. Examples that are clear as day to some people, but you're considered 'triggered' but not accepting of the bigotry.
An Indian guy tells his truth about how a character has created a bad stereotype for him and people that look like him, he gets attacked for it. This is almost "The Onion" levels of reality. Good Documentary, made me rethink how I saw the character.
Reginald the Vampire (2022)
Its an interesting and entertaining concept in search for a show
I first must say, I generally love Vampires and the dark universe genre that normally follows them, and when I clicked on the show after looking at the thumbnail, I already knew I was in a "Millennial/Gen-Z vampires" or a "Vampires in Southern Califonia gentrified" type story. And I embraced that concept, because I knew it would be worth a good laugh.
What I got was a mishmash of different story types mashed into one.
You got the badluck bryan looking for romance story cross paths with the vampire who is trying to avenge/atone for his unfortunate past story. These stories do not mesh well together and are very distracting from one another. As a result you get a show that tries to be funny while trying to be dramatic. Instead of mixing the two stories well, youre pulled back in forward between a comediac romance featuring a millennial vampire and a drama featuring a vampire trying to fight for whats right. True Blood meets Hotel Transylvania.
At the end of it, it just doesnt work, and I was definitely rooting for the show. It has some very good ideas, and Jacob Batalon does pretty well as the badluck bryan of the story, but there arent too many redeeming qualities to it beyond that.
Atlanta: Rich Wigga Poor Wigga (2022)
I would love an entire show of these type of episodes
I have been a been a fan of Atlanta and its story telling, but I definitely think I love these 'Twilight Zone' episodes. It takes race relationships, politics, and mashes it together in this extreme fashion, and tells a story about it. This one definitely had me on the edge of my seat wondering how it all ends. It somehow manages to mix comedy with psycho-type thriller, and make it work in the confines of today.
Let me know where I can sign up for an entire anthology of these type shows. It reminds me of the good elements of Lovecraft Country, Tales from the hood, And Watchmen TV series, with a bit of black mirror type design. Love it.
Wednesday (2022)
Pleasantly Unexpected HIt
Let me start off by saying, I've been a huge fan of Addams Familys since the black & white TV. The first DVD I ever bought was the Addams Family live action movies. While not all Addams Familys projects were a hit for me (especially the CGI movies). Wednesday is a HIT!
I wasn't sure what to expect when it started. Especially after I didnt hear the double snap in the intro, I almost felt like it wasnt going to be for me. It felt like it was going to be another "weird family trying to fit in" story at the very beginning, I was even thrown off by a 'thats so raven'-esque moment in the first 10 minutes. But it quickly transitioned to a COMPLETELY different type of show which can be best described as "Nancy Drew" meets "Hogwarts" meets "Monsters High School". While that sounds atrocious, with Tim Burton at the helm, it worked out great.
They took what was probably the most popular Addams Character since the early 90's movie, and made an entire story about her growing into her own. No longer is Wednesday a 10 year old girl, but a young woman.
The story itself starts off as a subtle 'who dunn it' mystery plot, but once it picks it does get very interesting. As someone who normally figures out the plot before reaching the end, this one definitely had enough twist and turns to keep us guessing until the very end.
Where I do feel baited and switched is the case that they got a lot of high profile talent for this show, only for all of them to play very small parts. Luiz Guzman and Catherine Zeta Jones feel like they make brief appearances, I wouldnt even be surprised if they arent in a second season (fingers crossed there is another season). It definitely feels like the rest of the Addams family (outside of Thing) was underused. But the show is called Wednesday, so this should be expected.
At the end of the day, I didnt know what to expect, but was definitely intrigues by the world the built, and enamored by Wednesday Addams herself. I thought this might end up as a tween-age highschool drama, which there were moments of that, but it definitely had Veronica Mars type deep mysteries that kept you guessing to the very end. There are times when you feel sad for Wednesday to the point of almost tears. With Tim Burton and Danny Elfmans added touch, this show is a winner.
Morbius (2022)
Genuinely like it, despite its major flaws.
I went into this movie with an open mind, but somewhat was expecting the worst.
The movie genuinely isnt as bad as the press made it out to be.
Where is shines is its unique was of doing action sequences that rival bullet time/Flash-time. The atmosphere they bring together is definitely top notch, and the style some of the shots are filmed in are great.
Where this movie definitely falls short is its predictable villain/plot line, lack of real character development, and overall character motivations that feel week. By the end of it you barely remember anyone's name or purpose. They are written so minimally and dull-like that by the end of it you end up not really caring that much for them. Also the movie has terribly slow pacing to the point I wouldnt be shocked if you fell asleep watching the film.
Overall, I thought they did a decent job at bringing Morbius to the big screen, even if the plot feels like it was phoned in.
Turning Red (2022)
Perfectly captures what it was like being young
I feel weird having to start of this review with a disclaimer, but I'm male, and in 2002 I was 18.
That said, I can almost perfectly remember what life was like for me and others around me at that time, and it perfectly captured a lot of it.
Beyond that, I loved everything about this movie. The pixar X anime type animation, the voice acting, the chinese asian representation, the retro-modern nostalgia for a simpler time. They managed to capture little details that really spoke to the time period they were representing.
The only bit I feel was lost in was the tension between the mom and the grandma. While they attempted to spell it out, it still did not feel like they fully represented the tension that was shown. Otherwise this was a great movie.
I do feel that the mature-ish themes will make the movie awkwardish to watch with some, and will hard to grasp for young teens the movie was trying to represent. But I think it would be a great film for children and adult who can remember what it was like when they were 13, or who was around to see the world in 2002.
Def an enjoyable film I'm hope to see more of in the future.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
What is even going on?
I only watched the first episode, but it was a COMPLETE failure on all parts. The first episode feels like you skipped an episode and were just dropped into the middle of whats going on.
It starts off like the typical fantasy show, tries to give you a 'bit' of what to expect. But from there, just goes on for about 40 mins. You're in a town, with peoples whose name you dont know, where random 'mysterious' strangers show up, but for an unknown reason. Followed by a cermony which has no explanation, then orge like being that reign havoc for who knows why.
By the end of the first episode, you feel like you are taking a pop quiz after missing a day of school. Then one of the characters decides its time for a cryptic data dump.
Who are these people? What is this world? What is going on?
The biggest problem I see so far is the show as done a absolute terrible job at world building. The first episode wouldnt of felt so bad if it had more explanation that went into world you're suppose to understand. By the end of the first episode, you're supposed to feel connected to 5 characters, whom of which you dont know their backstory, character, or even their names.
By the end of it the people you should known could best be identified as "dude that accidentally killed that girl, dude whose dad might of been a swordsmen? Girl who was with that other girl, and the bruno poor guy with the messed up parents? The elf looking girl, and the samurai looking guy?" because you literally still dont anything about anyone, nor why they need to go on this journey. I cannot believe Amazon watched this and thought "totally makes sense".
Outside of the complete failure of story and plot, the acting was fine, and the filming locations were nice. The other scenes were mostly okay. So if you ignore the story and just pay attention to eveything else. The show is just okay.
Don't Look Up (2021)
A good laugh, then you realize, we're screwed
This movie is going to down in history right next to Idiocracy. A cult film thats a social commentary on the stupidity of today and how we act as a society, mixed with commentary on corporation greed.
I imagine if you lean a certain way politically you'll absolutely hate this movie because it definitely pokes fun at specific types and groups of people. And its not hard to draw parallels between specific people and specific events that has happened in the last 2 years.
That said, I'm obviously on the side that not only 'gets it' but finds it quite funny. Honestly, I wish I was able to enjoy this in a packed house with others like me.
And even though the movie is quasi predictable, you are on the edge of your seat until the last moment wondering whats going to happen.
I give this movie a 10 because I found the movie just that enjoyable. Critically, its more of an 8. Story beats you over the head with some events to the point where they are annoying, and the movie does get confusing 'when' we are in the timeline. Its also annoying when a movie presents characters to you that almost purposely pick the wrong answer everytime giving viable options. That said, I really enjoyed watching the film, and look forward to seeing the many many analytical youtube videos, essays, web pages, forums about the film and its commentary.
Cowboy Bebop (2021)
Its not the anime, but thats not a bad thing.
I feel like whenever you make an adaption of something you fall into this super weird space of people wanting it to be something it literally cant be. Whether it be turning a book into a live action, a comic into a cartoon, a video game into a cg movie, you're going to find a big portion of people saying "its not the same as the original", and thats not a bad thing to me. Take the original work and do something else with it.
I definitely went into this with high hopes, and for me, it did not disappoint. I honestly feel like if I had never seen the original anime, i would have stll fallen in love with this. It captures that whole 'space western' the original anime captured.
I enjoyed the visual aesthetics are spot on for a jazzy kickback western. The soundtrack is relaxing smooth jazzy like.
I honestly dont understand the complaints on casting. They honestly all feel made for this, especially jet. Honestly never seen the actor before, but he kills Jet. John Cho as spike works. He feels a lil too old for the role, but he doesnt feel wrong. It just feels like he shoulda been given the role 5~10 years ago. The story feels the same as the anime just made live action, so if you didnt like the story before, its not significantly different. The thing I feel was a bit off was the choreography. Its the difference between having an actor do their own stunts and a professional stunt man doing the action. It just feels semi flat. NOT SAYING IT DOESNT WORK, but you can definitely feel the pulled punches, and the dumbing down of choreography so the actors can do it.
All that said, no its not the anime. Its a live action adaptation. Fingers crossed they at least finish out the season.
When the Street Lights Go On (2017)
Starts off with a bang, ends with a fizzle
This show definitely has a super strong start. Its a coming to age story set in a fictional 'retro-modern' 90s. Retro modern meaning its a specific time, but has the modern values of today.
The story sort of follows 2 characters, and how their lives are basically changes by a traumatic event that happens that affects the how town.
This show does a lot of setup in the very beginning, and begins to feel somewhat like a drama mixed with a mystery, but by the last 2~3 episodes, it sort of ends with this 'And life happens' vibe. It does not give any satisfying payoffs to everything the story setup. It feels like it semi lost what it was trying to accomplish early on.
The actors are great, the quasi-story is interesting, the world building is also pretty interesting. Its not so much the 90s I remember, as I mentioned, it has a lot of the modern day values (and tech in some places) but its a world that doesn't feel too far fetched, but it all goes no where.
I wonder if the Quibi format hurt this show, or if they ran out of money/steam. Watch it because it starts out good, but dont expect it to keep that same momentum throughout.
Enola Holmes (2020)
Its decent (7.8), had a lot of wasted potential
This 100% feels like a movie that was made with tweens in mind. As a result, a lot of what happens in terms of plot points, themes, story, and actions that happen are either ridiculous, impossible, or spoonfed to you.
This isnt to imply this movie is bad, just to say, its not made to be some award winning piece of fiction that changes the landscape of women in films. Its an enjoyable fictional tale of the sister of sherlock holmes. This fictional tale basically considered "What is Sherlock has a tween sister that was just as clever and interesting as her, but had to deal also with being a woman during the time where woman were meant to be seen and not heard". Its basically a Nancy Drew story set in the Sherlock mythos.
The story is overall fun and enjoyable. The cast they picked did the show justice, the story is somewhat moving, and somewhat interesting, and the character of Elona Holmes in an interesting one. Its a nice 2 hrs watch, with this over looming mystery of 'The Mother of Sherlock Holmes".
There are a couple of problems I have with the film. While I didnt expect it to be beyound exceptional, there were bits that really annoyed me. The 4th wall breaking is supposed to add something to the story. Maybe give the audience a look into the head of Elona, or maybe point out something that Elona noticed that we would overlook. What they use the 4th Wall Breaks for mainly is to spoonfeed the audience the thoughts, feelings, and story. As though the audience wasnt intelligent enough to understand whats going on, they had 4th wall breaks to constantly catch you up. And the story of the mother is built up heavily for roughly half the movie, only to somewhat abandon the reason they were building the story of the mother up. What they should have done was to build the mother's story a mystery the audience could look forward to in a future film. While this is still a possibility, there isnt any real desire or cliff hanger feeling to the mothers story.
Overall, its an enjoyable piece of fiction. But potential of an ongoing mystery series seems to already have been abandon. No lead into possible other films or possible other stories is even hinted at. The film plays out like a "I'm Elona Holmes, this is my story, and thats it. Thank you for listening".
Contagion (2011)
In 2011, this movie was probably meh, 2020, most important movie to date.
Wow... just wow...
Its crazy that this movie is from 2011. It almost like the writer of this film saw it all. So the pandemic, saw the panic, saw the riots, the curfews, saw the conspiracy theories, they saw it all.
I'm watching this for the first time as of June 15th 2020, and its crazy how on point this entire movie is. I feel like its only lacking about 3~4 things from our current situation. It does a lot to "Hollywood" the situation, and speeds up what would happen in real life, but this movie speaks VOLUMES to our current situation.
Space Force (2020)
Went in expecting the worse
When this show was originally announced, I had very little expectations of the show. I honestly thought It was going to be another lame political-satire that parodies some government entity. Something in the realm of Reno 911! with a mix of Office style of filming (both shows I'm not really fond of)
THEN I heard the early reviews kind of confirming my beliefs of what this show would be.
MAN, I dont know what show they were watching, but it wasnt this one. This show had me laughing out the gate. It somehow mixes this very dryish-slowish comedy with science and realism to the point where its just funny. The show takes the idea of "Space Force" as seriously as it can, and doesnt make fun of itself, but the situation overall.
The show takes the realistic clash of government, military, politics, and science. It feels like a more serious Futurama at times to me. And it manages to hit on a lot of key factors you see every day such as social media, and how it plays into the Space Force image.
Where the show falters is sometimes it doesn't really know what it is. Sometime its a show about "The Odd Couple" (The General and Scientist). Sometimes its a show about the under dogs. Sometimes its a show about a man trying to balance his family and his life/work. Sometimes its a show about the misfits overcoming adversities. Sometime's its all of those. There are some characters in the show they just dont know what to do with so they pop up, spend 6 minutes on screen and you dont see them again for awhile.
At the end of the day, its a slower lighter based comedy, but its hilarious in its self. I'm glad i didnt listen to the critics.