Reviews

There are so many hints spread out across the first 5 episodes (as well as one name in the credits), that I knew the show would turn in a completely different direction at one point, and I absolutely love how they did it. It didn"t make sense to make a show so formulaic, as the noir part of the show is, without something up its sleave, and unless you notice all the small (ingenious) hints, I can understand why some feel a rug has been pulled under them, and that the genre they are suddenly watching isn't their cup of tea. To me that is what makes this show stand out. The acting is superb, the characters are interesting, and the mystery about the missing girl, while formulaic and by the book, is interesting, because you soon realise that the real mystery is, who is John Sugar?

A complete mess of a movie, with a somewhat great, but criminally underused villain. The movie is filled with plot holes, predictable twists, poorly written characters and character relations. Every nostalgic move falls flat, as opposed to Afterlife, that was genuinly moving. But worst of all is the humor and tongue in cheek look of the actors whenever things get too scary or intense. Even Paul Rudd looks like he isn't buying into the mess he is in. I can't say I went in with high expectations, and yet I am deeply dissapointed that a Reitman was behind this movie. Oh, and don't get me started on the finale, where some of the most silly and contrived solutions against the big baddie are thrown in without any build up or believeability. It wont surprise me if this movie went through extensive re-shoots to try and save it.

This season has tension and overall convincing acting. Foster is great, as always. So far not much development in the mystery plot, and only two episodes to go. I'm curious as to how they will wrap this up. There are too many cheap jump scares and other b-movie tricks, for my taste, in what I feel should be a more refined show. I mean, they have managed to build up tension and atmosphere, but focus too much on what seems like irrelevant side stories - I know these stories are supposed to flesh out the characters, but they don't - imho. I would much rather they focused on the mystery and had a more refined approach to the character arcs.

I have connected faster to characters in 40 minute tv show episodes than any of the characters in this 2 hour and 38 minute feature film. None of the characters are likeable, none of the characters have clear motivations - except Snow's friend, who constantly tells us that something is rotten in the state of Panem, in case the audience fail to connect the dots themselves.

When the movie reached its conclusion, I had no idea what journey it was supposed to convey. If not for the pompous soundtrack (a dissapointing score by the otherwise great James Newton Howard - I think he struggled finding an emotional core in the screenplay) I wouldn't have known that the movie had reached the end, and our main characters journey towards evil was complete.

And what the hell is it with all those music acts?! I know they are part of the book, but in the movie they are just annoying, mainly because the lead actress performing them sings like some cocky, pitch perfect dixie chick with overly theatrical facial expressions - resembling Jack Black at his most exaggerated.

Katniss in the original movies felt grounded, real, vulnerable. Lucy in this one has no sense of purpose. She is just perfect, powerful and righteous from the get go, leaving no trace of dubiousness, no space for development, and thereby, no reason for the audience to connect with her. She feels like a plot device on Snow's journey towards darkness, with absolutely no chemisty between her and our antagonist to be.

What a waste of my time.

All of a sudden many of the regular cast from the original series is back, not really doing anything. Only there for nostalgic reasons I guess. Slightly confusing.

The plot is a bit far fetched, seen several times before in other tv shows, and is solved way too quickly and easy. Pretty obvious they are not using Connellys source material anymore. And don't get me started on the rapelling scorpion...

I will keep watching as I loved the original Bosch series, and have read most of the books, but it very much depends on the plots and how believable they are. So far, not so good.

Titus is great as always, even though he is more efficient as a retired cop in the books, and so are the main cast in Legacy. Production wise I got a feeling the budget is much smaller than on the original series, but it doesn' really show. I'll tune in for next episode. Crossing fingers they will hire better writers.

Went in with expectations low, and was very pleasantly surprised. Harrison Ford is very energetic and believable as the old archeologist. The story kept me hooked from the get go and actually reminded me of The Goonies in pure inventiveness and entertainment value. The treasure hunt is fun and exiting, and the main antagonist well defined, despite his sometimes magic ability to track Indys whereabouts. Raiders will always be my favorite, and the only perfect Indy movie, whereas the sequals all have flaws - Temple of Doom's with its screaming sidekick, Last Crusades overall goofines and Crystal Skulls... well, I just hate that one. Dial of Destiny works on so many levels and I really like the ending. Epic and moving. The final shot should shut up every critic claiming the movie is woke - nice little touch.

It is too early to say whether Secret Invasion will completely suck, but judging by the first episode, which in my opinion should always be a killer, my expectations are now lower than ever.

The episode pacing is sluggish, the stakes are none existant for any of the characters, and the plot is either too confusing or to weak, as it didn't grab me at all. I was bored all the way through.

And don't even get me started on the exposition. When Thalos starts explaining to Fury where Fury has been for the last couple of years, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. Lazy writing at its worst!!

Poor Emilia Clarke, has she picked yet another turd?

It is not like the intro was even remotely original, but the 60's segment worked really well in building tension, and the pre-apocalypse segment, with our main characters, also worked really well, all though the big surprise really wasn't that much of a surprise - even if, like me, you haven't played the game - as the press photos gave away, that one of the characters most likely would not be in the post apocalyptic world. So far so good, but then for some reason the episode lost its grip on me until it actually started to bore me - something I did not expect. The characters are hollow and lack motivation, and the storyline and world building leaves a lot to be desired. IMHO this comes down to poor writing and uninspired directing. The show simply doesn't have anything even remotely interesting to make it stand out from the plethora of apocalyptic shows coming before it.

I will give it a couple more episodes to convince me otherwise, but so far I am not impressed.

The first Avatar movie did not exactly break new grounds when it came to storytelling, so when Avatar 2 is pretty much a rehash of the first movie, something else has to stand out. Like the effects. Well, the effects are very impressive, but so were the effects in the first movie. An evolutionary step up indeed, but nothing truly revolutionary from a viewers point of view. To me, that leaves the characters to captivate the audience, and unfortunately they are as two-dimensional as in the first movie. Often marred by cringe worthy dialogue and klichéd teenage drama not even worthy of a late 1980's sitcom. It is as if Cameron once again caters for the lowest denominator to make sure as many people as possible are lured to the box office. I fully understand that, as a lot of money are at stake, but I miss the Cameron of old, willing to take risks and challenge us as an audience. Oh, but what about the movies messages you ask? As for the movies messages, which are obvious even to a 6-year old, I am sure most will agree on them, and yet, they somehow seem like low hanging fruit, with over the top antagonists lacking any redeeming qualities. With 1980's thematics instead of true eye openers. As a viewer you are left with an empty feeling of deja vu once the end credits start rolling, where you ought to feel rage and a desire to save the world based on a fresh perspective. Yes, we know indiginous people have been treated poorly whenever invasions have occurred throughout the centuries, but that goes for any invaded population throughout history and not just the so called nature people. We also know that whale hunting is bad from the perspective of those who does not base their survival on a species. But it all amounts to nothing new. Given the movies lack of substance, it is at least one hour too long, and I have no urge to revisit Pandora in the coming sequals, as nothing truly exciting seems in store for us. I will watch the sequals, off course I will, but mainly because it seems unlikely that we once again will be served the same dish in a slightly re-arranged manner. Crossing fingers!

GoT is still my favorite show of all time, even considering the light drop in quality from season 7, and rushed season 8 (which on second view actually isn't that bad). So, a spin off. Didn't know what to expect. But I am pleasantly surprised. With perfect pacing, brilliantly acted characters and an intriguing story line, I was hooked from episode two. What a well written show. The dialogue is GoT at its best with all the forboding and innuendo in even the simplest conversations. Supposedly written by the shows writing staff, as the book are more descriptive with less dialogue. Episode 6 did confuse me a bit considering the massive time jump, and only select cast members being replaced for older versions, where the male characters are the same. Some older looking, like the king, while others look exactly the same. I suppose there is a reason for this, will have to see how the rest of the season unfolds.

The lions in Beast are so impressive to behold that I actually questioned whether they were real or not. Truly impressive CGI, both in rendering and movements. Not once did my eyes catch any of the usual hints that you are watching something fake. In my opionion this deserves an Oscar-nomination for special effects. The movie itself is a well made drama with man against nature. Nothing ground breaking, but with believeable characters and natural dialogue. I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. Yes, the characters do stupid things, but do you know how you would react in a panic? At approx. 90 minutes running time the pacing is perfect. Definetely worth a watch. Recommended.

None of the storylines offer anything new or exciting - all though I'm slightly intrigued by the Galadriel storyline. The character build up is completely lacking - again, only Galadriel seems to have some flesh to her character. The surprises are seen a mile away - seriously, the build up to a character surprise is made up by an 1980's bar brawl to show how the character kicks ass (in a rather brutal way). Oh, and don't get me started on the hobbits!

I have been impressed by the settings and overall production value so far, but this episode has the worst CGI creature yet - you know it when you see it.

This is one sore missfire.

Wow, some movies just don't age very well. I remember seeing 28 Days Later back in the day and finding it rather entertaining, disturbing and original. Revisiting the movie in 2022 didn't do it any good. Slow, boring and with amateurish acting. The dialogue is cringe worthy; especially from the horribly acted soldiers. I am actually rather shocked how poorly it has aged. Besides the still impressive images of a deserted London, 28 Days Later has nothing going for it anymore. Sad. Dawn of the Dead from 3 years later, which I have also recently revisited, holds up much better with a more intelligent script, better acting and much better and more tense action.

The characters are compelling, the stories great (it is Michael Connely after all) and the production is perfect. Titus Welliver is such a presence and the chemistry between him and his fellow cast members is very organic. I hope it will run for years.

I think, like most viewers, I was disappointed by the lack of conclusions in the last episode of an otherwise intriguing show. That being said, the more I think about the show, the more I find it to be an allegory on alienation between parents and their children, where one minute you hold your newborn baby in your hands, and the next you look at this adult person, grown up to be a unique individual, that you don't really know. All because of the different paths you take in life, and the things you hold back, which prevents you from truly knowing your children. The whole time aspect in the show simply enhance the feeling you get of being sidetracked in your own life, where everything feels like it happened only yesterday and yet years have passed, and you are not really in sync with reality. Time is fleeting.

Unless you know European history or why The Great War began, you may miss out on how brilliantly The King's Man intertwine historic figures and events into its origin story. From the larger events to the smaller details of those events the movie seamlessly weave history and fantasy into a very satisfying concoction. Loved it! I never liked the sequal, but this prequel is on par with the first Kingsman movie and might even surpass it. Ralph Fiennes is great and so is the supporting cast, where especially Rhys Ifans shines as the malevolent Rasputin.

Do yourself a favour and read about the events and persons that led to World War 1 before you watch the movie. As with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where you would miss half the fun, if you didn't know about the Sharon Tate murder, I believe the same goes for The King's Man. Knowledge is key to truly appreciate the brilliant script.

How come this movie has such a low rating?! I remember laughing my ass off when it came out in 1993. The chemistry between the three leads is killer. "How long have you had yours?" 😂

I love the original Ghostbusters, but never liked the second installment. The freshness is gone, the tone is somewhat negative and the music, which has luckily gone into oblivion, is awful. And while the first movie was stupid in a good way, they turned it to eleven on this one, and not for the better. I believe both cast and crew have spoken against the movie on several occasions, as it is just no match for the pure magic of Ghostbusters (1984).

Dune from 1984 is by no means a great film, but the production and the characters were memorable. None of the characters, except for the witch played by Charlotte Rampling, stand out in this version. They all just feel too polished.

The slow pacing coupled with the intense music, which often does not seem to reflect what is seen on screen, works against the story where the character development is severly lacking. I felt indifferent towards every single character - even in pivotal "emotional" moments. The movie feels hollow.

The visuals are impressive, as you would expect, but somehow not as impressive or memorable as the 1984 counterpart. There is just something about the baroque visuals in the old movie that stands out.

I was not exactly bored while watching, but felt quite underwhelmed overall. The movie doesn't feel alive.

And yet, I will watch episode 2 when i it (hopefully) arrives.

No Time To Die is a movie of its time. Usually movies of their time are identified years or even decades later. Not this one.

The movie stems with every woke topic of later years, forcing it onto characters in what seems like a defensive move to avoid sh1tstorms from the ever growing population of easily offended, who would eagerly wage war against the conservative look on men and woman portrayed in Bond movies of the past. It feels clumsy and too eager to stay current where it could have felt subtle and contemporary.

Bond movies used to be pure escapism, but we are now faced with a sensible Bond. No longer a secret agent facing larger than life, memorable villains, but a simple action hero running around with a machine gun like any other action movie star. Nothing in the movie separates it from all the other generic action films of recent.

The opening 10 minutes are beautiful and evocative, with a great action sequence, and a nostalgic nod to the sweeping scores of John Barry, but from there on it is down hill except for a fun action scene in Cuba - with a very charming assistant.

The villian is diffuse, underdeveloped and forgettable, the plot is an unstructured mess and the one liners truly embarrasing - especially in concoction with the overly serious tone of the Craig era Bond movies.

This doesn't feel one bit like a Bond movie.

The logic of the plot does not stand to much scrutiny, and yet, I was very much entertained. The story is not nearly as far fetched, compared to other time travel novies, as some viewers complain about. I actually like the premise and was surprised by the storys emotional core, which gives way to some solid performances - especially by Yvonne S. The effects are also very convincing. Overall a great action movie with an interesting story and likable characters.

It is pretty obvious DC was hungry for some Marvel success, so they hired a successful Marvel director and gave him free hands. Bad idea! Gunn is in full rampage mode here and absolutely nothing works. At all. The action is noisy and tiresome, the plot is non existant, and the characters are utterly boring. Worst of all; the humor falls flat 90% of the time, being way to juvenile - which doesn't really match the excessive and gory violence throughout. There is a hint of satire buried in the mix, but it is lost in the stupid, kliché ridden plot. I was bored throughout the entire movie, and actually enjoyed David Ayers version much more. I really hope Marvel keeps Gunn on a tight leash during the making of GOTG 3.

Ah well, yet another soulless flick from Znyder, with a noisy audio and video side. I didn't care about any of the characters, the humor fell flat, the action was plain boring, and the story... what story?! Makes absolutely no sense. Oh, and see if you can spot all the iconic action scenes mr. Znyder has ripped of from Aliens (1986), with only the lightest moderations, like the ending... "Damn you, Bishop!" Pathetic. Boring. Overlong.