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Wipeout (2021)
Absolutely awful.
Captures none of the energy that made the original show so great, editing is awful, and production is extremely rushed. It's not funny at all, the hosts are given terrible dialogue on a teleprompter, and it fails on every single level. I absolutely loved the original series, but this one needs to be cancelled immediately and reworked completely. There's some potential here, but absolutely none of it was present in the premiere episode.
Calls (2021)
The most innovative television series I've seen.
Calls is the most innovative, absolutely brilliant piece of media put to television in recent years. It's endlessly fascinating to watch; every single episode was unique in every way possible. This medium in which this show is told is amazing. Every single episode is told through a series of very closely connected phone calls, which means that there are no actors involved at all. The graphics that are put behind the calls are breathtaking in either their simplicity or their symbolism. It's just a refreshing show because of how visually appealing it is. Another benefit to having phone calls is that actors can bring out their performances in even richer ways. The series seamlessly transitions between different emotions, and it's absolutely terrifying. Each episode deals with a new issue, whether that be loss, regret, or accidentally murdering your best friend. It's all very relatable when you think about it. Anyways, each episode is mind bending and simply phenomenal. I would recommend this show to absolutely everybody, and if this was anything like the short-form entertainment that Quibi had, I would have bought 100 subscriptions.
Chaos Walking (2021)
Reading the books ruins the ending, everything else is fantastic.
"This is the most painful score I've ever had to give a movie. Yeah, I know, an 8/10 seems like it's rather high, but future me, I hope you realize how much you loved the Chaos Walking trilogy, and understand why this score seems so low to you. This should have been a 10/10. It's a fantastic concept for a movie that fails because everybody gave up. This movie took 9 years to complete, starting with a script from Charlie Kaufman back in 2012, which I'm sure was better than what we ended up with. When the film was originally completed in 2017, it was met with horrible reviews from test screenings. My theory is that this movie stayed faithful to its book counterpart, The Knife of Never Letting Go, and ended with Mayor Prentiss taking over the town of Haven. 4 years later, we get a different ending. Mayor Prentiss falls down a hole, Aaron the Preacher burns to death (?? it was very confusing), we never learn the fate of Davy, and Todd wakes up on a ship from the new settlers with Viola, seemingly continuing on with their lives. The biggest change in the whole book comes from the fact that the ship arrived early, however, there are no people seen on the ship. I absolutely hate that this movie will never get a sequel, because ALL of these changes could be resolved with a second film. But without a second movie, we are left with an ending that is far too open to interpretation and a series of totally missed character developments, especially from the relationship between Todd and Davy. Anyways, I just read the script written by Charlie Kaufman, and oh my god, if the movie was this, it would be my favorite film of all time. I can understand the change of the ending, because if it ended in the hopeless way that the book did, it would be extremely disappointing. Like any book adaptation, this one has several changes from the books, and many of them are actually pretty good additions, but there are a few glaring changes. Let me go through them one by one. Firstly, the animals don't speak. This proposes some real problems with Manchee, because his death (which surprisingly is still in the movie) is much less impactful, and is only as effective as ""awe I hate when cute puppies die"". Secondly, Todd does not have nearly as good of a relationship with the Mayor as he's initially portrayed to. His feelings are much more complicated in the books, and it's a strange interpretation to make the Mayor this father figure for Todd when that's never what he was. Thirdly, Wilf and his scene are missing from this movie. Why? I don't really know. I remember reading the Wikipedia for this movie for months and seeing that Wilf was cast, but he seems to have been cut last second. Fourthly, the Spackle are underutilized. They only appear as semi-antagonists for a very short amount of time, and they skip to the scene where he attacks (in the book also killing) one of the Spackle, but then they NEVER appear. This was a very odd choice to me. Fifthly, there was a lot of missed opportunity with Aaron's death as well, because this was a fundamental scene for Todd and his ""I am not a killer"" mentality that is core to his character.
This all being said, there is actually a lot I seriously love about this movie. Firstly, the production design and music are absolutely fantastic, and there are some absolutely wonderful scenes that take place throughout this film. The first 90 minutes or so are absolutely a 10/10 from me. I love the romantic connection that Todd and Viola build, and I think there are plenty of hilarious scenes between the two of them. I've never been so happy at a movie before, and if the movie had kept this up until the very ending, it would have been my favorite movie of all time. I love the scene of Viola and Todd talking in the rain, because it's just so beautiful. The absence of Wilf's scene with the creatures described as the most beautiful Todd could even imagine might be missing, but there are some genuinely beautiful shots that I just fell in love with. Tom Holland getting butt ass naked was hilarious, and him and Daisy Ridley just have great chemistry in this film.
Now why is this movie going to fail? Well, first of all, because of the 5 reasons I mentioned above. It's a critical failure right now, but that could be solved if it gets a second movie. Everything could be wrapped up by a sequel (or two), and it makes me wish that this was a limited series instead, with 15 episodes covering all three of the books. Anyways, what the hell happened to the marketing of this film? Tom Holland (the star), Doug Liman (the director), and Lionsgate (the production company), all just gave up on the film. There was no marketing from any of them, and poor Daisy Ridley was left with all of the marketing, so the movie probably won't make anywhere near its budget back at the box office. I want this movie to do well there, because if it does, then we could possibly have a second film, and I would bump this rating up so fast. Until then, I'm left with a hole in my heart, and I feel absolutely defeated by this film. I'm disappointed as hell, but I can't wait to finish Monsters of Men (the third and final book in the series). Chaos Walking was my most anticipated movie of all time, and with it releasing, I feel strangely empty now. I guess that's life."
Kajillionaire (2020)
Really, really good.
Just like Friendsgiving (above), I came into Kajillionaire knowing virtually nothing, other than a 3/4 review from RogerEbert.com. But honestly, the not knowing is what made this film so fantastic. If I could ever describe a film as intelligent and quirky, without rolling my eyes, this would be it. The movie is weird, it's pretty indie, and it tries a lot of new things. This reminds me of the Florida Film Festival, because of how damn unique the whole film is. It's beautiful, and it's nearly impossible to describe, but I can give it a try. Old Dolio (yes, that is actually the main characters name) is an awkward, out of place 20-something living with her stingy, thieving parents. They do whatever they can to scam the people around them, while trying to make ends meet. When Old Dolio meets Melanie along on a "heist" (I use quotations around it because they aren't really heists, more on that later), she begins to realize that she doesn't belong with her parents, and that she might be living a lie. Mixed within the awkwardness of situations like waiting around an old man's house for him to die so the family can take his checking account hostage is a mellow, deeply thoughtful love story. The relationship between Old Dolio and Melanie is handled so unbelievably well, that it is genuinely one of the greatest romance arcs in recent memory. Something about the quirkiness about the film makes it so much more enjoyable, and it almost feels like the director weaponized the art of unsettling behaviors to make something darkly comedic, thoughtful, invoking, and beautiful. It's fantastic.
The One I Love (2014)
A one-of-a-kind Rom-Com.
The One I Love is genuinely one of the most interesting films I have watched. The basic plot follows Ethan and Sophie, a married couple who is having a rough time in their relationship. A marriage counselor suggests that they should go on a retreat to a luxury villa on the country side, to spend a weekend clearing their minds and becoming closer. Once they get there, they realize that inside the guest house lies the idealized version of their partner, but they can only see them one at a time. Later, it is revealed that they walked into a trap, and that the only way out was to impersonate the next couple that came along, drivign them apart, and leaving with the other partner. Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss are fantastic in this role, and they carry this movie to a much more elevated rom-com. There are only three actors in this movie, with Mark Duplass and Elizabeth Moss playing the clones of their respective characters, and Ted Danson playing the marriage counselor. The whole movie feels like an elevated episode of the Twilight Zone. It's compelling, it's unique, it's a mystery, a drama, and a comedy, all rolled into one. The ending leaves you off wondering what might have happened, and is a solid way to end a movie like this. I have very few complaints for this movie, it's very well done. The story is simple, but with that twist that makes it more interesting. But at it's core, Ethan and Sophie are a deeply developed pair, and the writing of the story is just phonomenal. It says a lot in the relationship when your partner is constantly going to the "better" version of yourself, and it's interesting to see how both Ethan and Sophie handle knowing that they were not talking to their real partner. The characters act like normal people, they aren't super psyched out about what's happening, but they are still curious in some respects. The description of the movie on Netflix gives nothing away about the plot, so it is genuinely a twist when you see what is really going on. It's very well done, and I have little complaints for this movie.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)
Flawed, but beautiful.
Let me preface this review by pointing out that this movie has tons of flaws. Some of the performances are awful (*cough* Bella Thorne *cough*), some of the special effects are seriously iMovie level, and the dialogue is some of the cheesiest I have heard in a while. Despite all of these flaws, I could not stop myself from loving this movie. Judah Lewis, Jenna Ortega, and Emily Alyn Lind are spectacular as Cole, Phoebe, and Melanie, respectively. Their performances take this whole movie to a whole new level. What I really loved about this movie is the romantic subplot. I honestly wish that we could get an entire movie about Judah Lewis and Jenna Ortega falling in love, because their relationship felt so genuine. The movie loves to be very real, and I loved how McG handled their relationship. The music is phenomenal, which is to be expected from this director. I thought that the ending was beautiful, and seeing B sacrifice herself for Cole and Phoebe was a uniquely satisfying ending. I didn't watch the first film, but I watched the Kill Count video which went in-depth about it. From what I can tell, this is an improvement on all fronts. I guess I just have to accept some times that a film with a lower quality in terms of production can get higher ratings on my list, as long as it has a lot of heart. The movie tries a lot, and it is very funny at times. It does a decent job with the horror-comedy genre, using an extremely dark tone, with tons of gore, while also being light and playful at the same time. I think that this tone went great with developing the relationship between Cole and Phoebe, because it mirrors, at times, a real high school relationship. A third movie was teased at the end of the credits, and if the next movie doesn't take itself too seriously, just like this film, then I will be extremely happy with the product. This movie is just too much damn fun to pass up, and is one of my favorite horror-comedies to date.
The Lobster (2015)
Totally awful.
So bereft of any human emotion, The Lobster sacrifices everything in an attempt to be "absurdist dark comedy", and fails in every single aspect. Most of the film consists of awfully written dialogue, unnecessarily long shots, and it tries so unbelievably hard to be artistic that it loses any sight of what a film should actually be, and is so ridiculously boring. The plot of the film is hard to describe, but it just pisses me off how often it tries to make the plot "interesting", by throwing in characters, or shots that are added just to confuse the viewer. Most of the film has cruel intentions, throwing people off of buildings, only to suffer to death, kicking dogs to death, and blinding people for seemingly no reason. This film is not funny at all. I laughed maybe once or twice, but only because the film was so bad. I hate this artistic garbage, and it seriously felt so preachy, boring, and unfunny. I dislike this movie so very much, because it's very bad, but it thinks it's so good.
Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan's Magnum Opus
Interstellar is the most powerful movie I have ever watched before. This experience is what should define the blockbuster entirely. A brand new idea that challenges the viewer to think, performances that can drive you to tears, editing that feels out of this world, and above all else, a music score that is endlessly watchable that perfectly captures every moment. The drama of this film does not come from a central antagonist, per se (although Matt Damon makes a brilliant villain while he is on screen), but instead, from the simple concept of time.
The writing of this whole film pairs with the beautiful graphics to seem extremely scientific, and I would not be surprised if these events could actually happen. So many of the scenes are masterfully laid out, and can be so dramatic. One of the best scenes is when Cooper is leaving, and Murph runs to her father, crying, only to find that he's not staying for her, even after she told him to go. This film is even more powerful later on, when we find out that the person knocking the books off of the shelf, telling him to "stay", was actually Cooper, in the future. As the music builds, Cooper is shouting and crying because he knows that this moment could have been prevented, and he would have seen his daughter grow up, but now he will never be able to do that.
This is a story about a man who sacrifices everything in his life, for everybody else's life. Learning that the mission was never supposed to succeed is a genuinely fascinating twist, and watching the betrayal on Murph's face as she finds this out is yet another brilliant scene. Matthew McConaughey is so unbelievably perfect in this film, and he seems so genuine of a person that it's hard not to feel bad for him. Every other performance in this music is so unbelievably good, even down to the minor characters. The twists in this movie are beautifully done, and make the movie shine as bright as it possibly could.
What absolutely sells the experience is the beautiful sound track by Hans Zimmer. Every piece of music is intense, tear-jerking, and unequivocally beautiful. This movie is an absolute gem and deserves many rewatches. How on earth this film was not even nominated at the academy awards is absolutely beyond me. This is the greatest science fiction movie I have ever seen in my life, and this is certainly Christopher Nolan's Magnum Opus.
Tenet (2020)
Yet another Nolan masterpiece.
For my first movie in a real theater since Knives Out, I got the cinematic pleasure of watching Tenet. I am proud to say that Christopher Nolan has not lost any of his talent, and it shows in every single shot of this film. Just like Momento, the story slowly unfolds, with more pieces of the puzzle fitting together as the story moves forwards (and backwards, it's hard to explain.). What Nolan does best is his complex use of time travel, or more accurately, time reversal. Our protagonist, only billed as "Protagonist", is brought into an organization known as "Tenet", tasked with stopping World War 3.
The film is intentionally vague about it's plot, which mirrors the limited information that our protagonist is told at first. Many details that happen early on in the movie get explored later, such as a car flipping over, backwards. We later see that our protagonist was driving this car, but in the "Inverse" state. The time reversal slowly makes more sense, and it all culminates in an extremely fun battle scene where two sides of the same army have to fight off an enemy, both in the normal time zone and the inverse time zone.
The sound design sells this film, and every music score makes the film much more than just a movie. I have to address the most gaping issue in the movie: the sound mixing. Just like most of Nolan's movies, the overbearing sound effects often drown out the character's dialogue. In a movie like this, it's a much bigger issue when the plot is so convoluted. This will certainly be a huge issue for many viewers, but I honestly had a pretty easy time understanding the story, and didn't need subtitles.
It's a total cinematic experience. Every actor sells their performance, especially John David Washington and Robert Pattinson (very excited to see him in the future!). The effects are absolutely stunning, and I'm sure that Nolan's insistence on using practical effects came in handy when making each action scene look authentic as possible. The story is intentionally hard to follow, but it shows nothing less than the complete mastery of its genre by Nolan. This is the most fun that I have had watching a movie in a long time. I will be recommending Tenet to every respecting filmmaker in the future, and I am happy to see that this is what the theaters are opening up to around the world.