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Reviews
West Side Story (2021)
Really amazing, but.....
West side story 2021 has so many incredible aspects to it. It has some jaw dropping dance sequences that are a sight to behold, the songs as to be expected are great, the film on a technical level is great with beautiful cinematography and lighting, almost all the performances a note perfect (Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zelger in particular), some pretty funny moments that make the viewing fun, some good emotional moments, and the story is good......for the first two thirds. As much as I want to gush over it like everyone else, there are 2 problems that keep me from that. Remember that I said "almost" all the performances are great because Ansel Elgort is the one exception, he is a hit or miss (sometimes he acts and sings well, other times he is dead on arrival especially in comparison to everyone else. But my main issue is that in the third act, there are some story and character choices that utterly baffle me. Not only do they place a light hearted happy song after such a big dramatic moment that feels out of place, but we have Anita saying that Maria is dead (why???), a attempted rape scene that is not needed because the point it wanted to make was already made so this rape scene was not really needed, and after all these big moments that have huge ramifications for so many characters and events, the fact that it just cuts off and ends is kind of frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I do really like this movie, most of what people say about it is true, and Spielberg did great for what I thought was a hopeless idea to remake this. It's just there are some things that keep me from loving this, but I can't deny that this is a really good movie.
Pinocchio (2022)
This is the worst of all the remakes.
Pinocchio repeats so many of the issues of the other awful remakes (just a rehash, shot for shot redo of the original with barely anything new and what they do change is made worse and questionable), but also suffers from god awful effects (150 million dollars to effects from 2004), a cast that is either bored (Cynthia Erivo and Luke evans) or just bad imitations (Tom hanks and Joseph Gordon-levitt), an insult of an ending (the whole point of the story being that Pinocchio himself becomes brave and sacrifices himself and then becomes a real boy, all of that is completely cut for an ambiguous ending that fails due to an abrupt feeling and bad narration from jimminy that felt like he didn't want to say it so he just got it over with as soon as possible), awful jokes that don't fit, and Robert zemekis thinking he is impressing us when really he is just self indulgent with his bad filmmaking. If I wished a star, I wished Disney stopped making these remakes because they just keep getting worse, and this to me is the bottom of that already crap laced barrel.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Can this franchise die now?
Dominion is everything wrong about the other bad sequels but triple down to make the worst film of the franchise. The writing is pathetic (filled with annoying remember this moments, coincidences and plot holes galore, and not focusing on dinosaurs on earth and instead recycles ideas from the other movies), the character are paper thin (either plot device or fan service), the visuals are absolute garbage, the editing is confusing and all over the place, the action is dull (terribly done and no tension because everyone is invincible), the acting is phoned in, the music is a poor John Williams imitator, the dinosaurs are an afterthought, the movie never addresses the Dino's on earth concept, and the ending is one big middle finger to the fans, Spielberg, and the franchise itself. Don't watch it for any reason. Stay with the first film. Hopefully this can finally make this franchise go extinct.
Interstellar (2014)
I don't get the love for this
Yea, interstellar is a technical achievement (deserves the visual effects Oscar) and the acting is good, but the rest sucks. The story is dull, it is way to long for what it's trying to do, the characters are paper thin, there is nothing that's emotionally effective, the dialogue is overly long speeches in a row, characters die and I feel nothing, the atm robot looks hilariously bad, the villain who is in it for himself is named dr. Mann (oh what a subtle metaphor), and the ending is a atrocious mess (for a movie about science they sure throw science out the window with that horrible excuse for an ending). A disappointment from someone who knows better than this crap.
Thor (2011)
Not terrible, but not very mighty either
Thor has a lot of great elements like the visual effects are great, the score by Patrick Doyle is epic, all of the scenes on Asgard are fascinating and written well, some of the acting is great (Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Anthony Hopkins bring their A game), the action is fun, and the movie is good looking. Where the problems come in is everything on earth sucks. Not only is the comedy there weak, but the characters on earth are boring (and badly acted by Natalie Portman). On top of that, it's the same fish out of water story that is very predictable, the Romance is uninteresting, and the camera work can get annoying with the constant use of Dutch angles in every scene. Not the worst but one of the weakest mcu films to me.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
A mess, but a fun mess
Iron man 2 is nowhere near the first film due to with your many sub plots, sets ups that are not as subtle or clever as other mcu films, hit or miss jokes, and tony stark can be really unlikable at points. But the film makes up for it with great acting (RDJ, Sam Rockwell, don cheadle, and micky rourke standout), jaw dropping sound and visual effects, great action scenes, and still has its funny moments. It is the weakest of the iron man films, but still a fun time.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Pretty good, if not a huge smash
The Incredible Hulk suffers from a bland romance that's isn't interesting, a love interest that is terribly acted by liv Tyler, jokes that don't land that often, and some dated effects at points (especially near the end with the abomination). However it makes it up with cool action scenes, great performances from Edward Norton, Tim Roth, and William hurt, a great representation of Bruce banner as a character, some interesting character moment, and great looks into the future. Not great and is one of the weaker films in the mcu, but still has some good things in it to make it noteworthy.
Iron Man (2008)
The one that started it all
Iron man begins the mcu with a huge bang. Even if the villain Obadiah stane is a little weak (although the iron monger suit is cool and Jeff bridges is great in the role), the movie easily makes up for that with impressive effects, great comedy, awesome action scenes, great character work with tony stark, and good performances (gwenyth Paltrow and Shaun Toub were standouts). But what makes this film great is Robert Downey Jr who absolutely nails tony stark (not only making him funny and likable but also showing the nice side in tony). A great way to begin the biggest franchise ever.
Morbius (2022)
WTF SONY
Morbius is another example that Sony has no idea how to handle a superhero movie without better people involved. The writing is broken (things just happen with no explanation or no purpose), the editing is awful where you can tell that scenes are missing (Matt smith just becomes a vampire and a murderous psychopath off screen), the visual effects look like the early 2000s superhero movies, the action is atrocious (ruined by bad cgi, horrible camera work, and no sense of tension), the acting is terrible (Jared Leto and tyrese Gibson look bored, jarred Harris is wasted, and Matt smith just overacts but not in a fun way), the music is either generic or rips off batman begins, for a vampire movie it is surprisingly tame and censored (either no blood or color corrected to look black instead of red even in broad light), and the post credits scenes are the worst in history that make no sense with how vulture would be teleported to the Sony verse, where he got his suit, how he found Morbius, why he would find Morbius interesting, why Morbius would be interested in anything vulture says to him? Just a waste of everything, I'll stick with the mcu and Sony can just die with this horrible hunk of crap.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The rise of disappointment
The rise of Skywalker is every single problem in TFA and TLJ time 10 to make the worst Star Wars film to date. While it is a well made movie and all the actors (especially Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, and Ian Mcdiarmid) try their best with what they are given, everything else is an insult. The writing is bogged down by fan service, video game side quests, retreading of the other movies, and trying to undo what the last Jedi did even though that was a way better movie because it at least focused on telling its own story not just trying to please everyone. On top of that, the score is pretty much the same themes we heard over again, the emperors inclusion in general is confusing and unnecessary, Kylo goes back to square one as a wannabe Vader rip off, the visuals while well done are not creative, and the ending is just one big middle finger to the fans by just giving them a unsatisfactory ending. I will defend aspects of force awakens and last Jedi, but this one I can't defend anything in this film.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
The matrix regurgitated
Matrix 4 is one of the most pointless sequels ever made. While the score is good and the actors try their best (especially Keanu and Carrie), however it can not make up for the horrible direction, lazy and confusing writing, meta commentary that's more frustrating then funny, characters that I don't care for, some characters are just plain horribly executed like Morpheus, horrible cgi that makes the other films look better in comparison, and the most shocking thing is the action sucks with mediocre choreography, lazy cgi, and shaky cam. Don't watch this movie. Unplug yourself from this franchise and free your mind of this crap.
Eternals (2021)
Good movie, with easy to point out flaws
Eternals has so many materials to make a great mcu movie. The visuals and cinematography is breathtaking to watch, the action is pretty good, a lot of interesting lore and history dealing with the celestials and the universe in general, some great end credits scenes, good direction from Chloe zhao, and fantastic scenes of characters interacting either for comedy or drama (my favorite scene involves druig not being able to save people from genocide). However, it is not a perfect film. While all the actors do their best and all give great performances (standouts are kumail nanjiani, don lee, Brian tyree Henry, and Angelina Jolie for me) the characters are not given much development and as a result I care less for (there were some I did care for but not many), the villains suck, some actors are wasted (selma Hayek and bill skarsgard especially), so many emotional moments (except one with don and Angelina) I felt nothing for, tries to do way too much in one movie, and while some of the twists sound cool on paper in execution the motivations to why they happen are not developed well so they don't have the impact they should. Far from the worst mcu movie and not even close to the worst comic book movie ever made, just a pretty good film with some undeniable flaws.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
The bottom of the barrel for the franchise
Age of extinction is easily the worst of the all. The acting is atrocious (especially mark whalberg and his daughter. They also waste Kelsey grammar, Stanley tucci, and Bosch), and the action is boring and incomprehensible because Michael bay can't direct a comprehensive action scene to save his life, the effects look even worse then the first 3 films, the plot is non existent, the jokes are painful, a surprising amount of mistakes (green screen monitors and random guy behind a wall exploding), plot holes a plenty, and it is 2h 45m for no freaking reason. Don't waste your time or money and stick to the cartoon.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Definitely an improvement, but not a masterpiece
The Snyder cut improves on many things from the original like the action is better, the effects (with some exceptions) are better, the acting is really good, the tone is more consistent, the music is way better, the villain has more of a motivation, and has genuinely amazing moments (everything with cyborg, flash turning back time, and the final battle). But the thing is, this could have been cut down hugely and still be good. There is a lot of scenes that either are pointless and add nothing or are mind boggling in the worse way (Martian manhunter raises so many questions, darksied is cool on paper but in the film he does nothing that warrants his inclusion, and the nightmare sequence is terrible from Jared Leto still sucking at being the joker to building something up that may never come true). I like it don't get me wrong and I'm glad Zack got to make what he wanted to make, but in my opinion this is not the masterpiece.
Infinite (2021)
What the hell was that?
Infinite sets a new low for antione fuqua with every actor miscast (Marky mark especially), the action is dull, the effects are terrible, the plot doesn't make any sense, a villain who is dull as a rock and wastes the talents of a great actor, and wastes what could have been a cool action flick. With an infinite amount of time, watch anything else.
Reminiscence (2021)
One memory I wish I never had
Reminiscence had potential to be a great mixture of sci fi and noir detective mystery, but it ends up being a unholy disaster with a mystery that is predictable and not interesting, a generic sci fi world, tons of melodrama (which makes all the actors give terrible performances), and absolutely insulting ending, a romance that fails spectacularly, and one of the most infuriating movie moments I've seen in a long time (Hugh Hackman finding a memory love confession from Rebecca Ferguson). One of the worst movie I've seen all year.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Dawn of disappointment
BvS has some good performances (Ben affleck and Jeremy irons especially) and some cool action, it's overshadowed by other bad performances (Henry cavill, Amy adams, and especially Jesse eisenberg), some terrible action at points (mostly due to bad effects), scenes that have no point to be in the movie (looking at you dream sequences), plot holes galore, Superman's death is wasted, doomsday is a joke, and the music is a hit and miss. Please don't waste 2h 30m of your life and just watch civil war again.
Dredd (2012)
Bloody and awesome
Although some effects don't look good and the story is cliche, dredd is a fun action film with brutal and cool action, a fascinating world, good acting, a fantastic villain, most of the visuals are good, and dredd as a character is just a complete badass (all due to Karl urban being so freaking awesome). Unfortunate this film bombed because it deserves to be seen by a lot of people.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
Even better sequel
John wick chapter 2 still suffers from a weak villain but does everything the first one did and did it better with phenomenal action, great visuals, fascinating world and lore, great side characters, amazing acting, and awesome ending, and so many badass moments. This is how you do a sequel right.
John Wick (2014)
Keanu is back and better then ever
John wick may have weak villains and an ending that feels kinda rushed but makes up for it with jaw dropping action, beautiful visuals, interesting lore and world, good acting from the side characters, and Keanu giving the best performance of his career. Good fun time, go watch it now.
Commando (1985)
The ultimate 80s action movie
Commando is stupid as hell and I won't defend it as something smart but is is such a fun movie. We got over the top bad guys, we got awesome one liners, we got Schwarzenegger being likable as always, good action, and is hilarious to watch. Want a mindless action explosion popcorn film, look no further.
The Expendables 2 (2012)
Way better in almost every way
The expendables 2 may still have bad cgi effects but in every other way is better then the first one with better action scenes, more time to all the expendables instead of just 2 of them, great new additions like chuck norris and Liam Hemsworth, a fun and over the top villain thanks to van damme, more funny moments, and doesn't take itself to seriously like the first one. The best one and a great throwback to 80s action flicks.
The Expendables (2010)
An 80s action movie, in all the worst ways
While the expendables has its moments with some cool action, some funny moments, great violence, and the nostalgia of seeing these action stars is great but we barley get some of them, it takes itself way to seriously for such a stupid movie, some action is awful with bad editing, shaky cam, and horrendous cgi, and bland and weak villains. Could have been a great throwback but it ended up as a big blunder.
Die Hard (1988)
Best Christmas film ever
Die hard is an action classic. It has everything. Amazing action, great heroes and fantastic villains (all played great by the actors), Fantastic one liners, great effects, an intense story, hilarious comedy, and has me on the edge of my seat all the way through. Puts me in the Christmas spirit every year.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Oh what a film. WHAT A LOVELY FILM
Fury road is not just one of the best action films in years, it's one of the best action movies in general with some of the best action in film history, jaw dropping effects, fascinating lore and characters, a great villain, Charlize and Tom kick so much ass, junkie xl's score is magnificent, beautiful effects and cinematography, nux is a really likable character thanks to Nicholas hoult's performance, and so many quotable lines. Do yourself a favor and WITNESS IT NOW.