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Reviews
Oppenheimer (2023)
Couldn't take my eyes off the screen
This is one of, if not, the best that has come from Nolan. There wasn't a single moment where I had felt truly bored considering this was a 3 hour film with lots and lots of dialogue. The pacing was top notch, for what was 3 hours felt like 2.5 hours. Somehow 30 mins just vanished. Every scene felt like it mattered, I didn't feel any sense of a scene being filler.
Now there are a few, barely significant things that did take me out of the experience but these are just nitpicks. One being Cillian Murphy looking far too old to be Oppenheimer during his university years (which I can understand considering there wasn't any de-aging that could be done as the movie had no CGI), the score being present throughout almost the movie. There are only two scenes I can recall without the violins and cellos, the third being the dialogue mixing could have been slightly better as there were some instances where I couldn't catch a piece of dialogue. Now here are the great aspects of the film.
The cast is just, phenomenal. It is very easy to overshadow Oppenheimer considering the amount of talent that was present but thankfully it did not happen. Every single person was bringing in their A-Game. Cillian Murphy was fantastic, RDJ did amazing as Lewis Straus, what really surprised me was the intimidating and intense performance given by Jason Clarke as Roger Robb. If it had not been for how amazing Cillian was, I could definitely see an Oscar nomination go towards both RDJ and Jason for best supporting actors. It is a crime that Florence Pugh and Rami Malek did have hardly 5 mins of screen time but they played their parts great, especially Rami during the court scene with Straus. For almost every single character that existed in this movie, it is very difficult to see anyone else being played by another person.
The sound design was top notch. Watching it in IMAX, the bass in the scene post Trinity test was overwhelming and I love how it portrayed the stress and anxiety that it gave Oppenheimer. Every other scene that did convey these uncomfortable emotions was executed flawlessly.
The score was just, phenomenal. Ludwig Göransson is one hell of a composer and I could see him as an industry leader soon in the future. Even if I feel as if the score was present for a little too long, I cannot deny how amazing it was. It accented every scene in how it conveyed the dread, stress, anxiety and the weight of a situation.
Now thing I must commend the film's efforts on is the buildup towards the dropping of the bomb during its test. The tension was palpable, the countdown was anxiety inducing. And then, it goes off. The moment of silence before the shockwave hit is the moment that will stick with me for ages. The bright yellow/orange glow upon the faces of the scientists, the realization Oppenheimer experiences and the aftermath of what this bomb may cause. That first viewing of this moment is an experience I will never get.
Overall, this movie is a must watch and if possible, you have to see it in IMAX.
Tim Dillon: A Real Hero (2022)
Kinda expected more, just got some basic bits
I like Tim Dillon a fair amount, his comedy is very energetic and fairly creative at times. This special did not do justice to his standup as much as it should've. Americans fat, liberals are weird, Covid (which really dates the special) and so on. Granted these bits were still delivered with great energy but the crowd was lackluster, you can tell the editing team had to add in fake laughter. I won't say Tim's a hack but some of his jokes could've used some work. I found the experience more positive as there were moments that were genuinely funny which made my rating a 6 rather than a 4 or 5.
Mr. Robot (2015)
Great story and fantastically written characters
Honestly one of the best shows I have ever watched in my life. It is hard to find a truly dud of an episode considering how well it is written. Rami Malek was born to play this role and it is hard to envision anyone else taking his place. The darker tone of the series elevates the experience and the pacing is just great, even though episodes are 45mins in length on average, it never feels that long. Huge credit goes out to the writer and show runner Sam Esmail who did a wonderful job developing the world of Mr. Robot. If I do have any criticism is that Season 2 did have a plot which was a bit difficult to follow a times but never seemed to fully bog down the story and such. Also I wished that Tyrell Wellick was a bit more utilized in Season 2 but that is just a small gripe I have. I'm glad the show only lasted 4 seasons, short sweet and written super tightly.
The Sandman (2022)
Started good, ended in mediocrity.
(As a warning I have not read the comics in part so do forgive my lack of understanding the origins of characters and their comic counterparts.)
Upon finishing the series I find the whole to be (for lack of a better term) quite disjointed. I found up to episode 6 to be fairly good in terms of the show. I especially loved the concepts of episode 5 of honesty and 6 of how death works. I thoguht I'd give the show a solid 7 or 8. And then they introduce Rose Walker. From that point onwards the show which is supposed to be about Dream/Morpheus ends up becoming her story which is quite jarring. Finding out she is the vortex and how she combats it felt so dull as I didn't feel any investment towards Rose's character. In part due to her being introduced later in the story with a plot line that just killed the pacing for me. I enjoyed the slow pace (to an extent) and then this kid named Jed is suddenly vital to the story and so on and so forth. Any hopes on where the show would go got crushed.
Then Lyta is added to the story with her getting pregnant in her dream and its just feels under developed and placed in the story in the middle of nowhere. It was difficult trying to watch the show when those 2 characters killed the interest for me. The saving grace was definitely Corinthian whose actor did a marvelous job playing this charismatic killer. Also John Cripp was an interesting "antagonist" until he was defeated. It felt as if all the good ideas were put into the first half and made a huge detour towards the next half of the story.
I wish also the dream and nightmare characters were more fleshed out, or at the very least maybe expand upon the mythology of the show. All I ended up (in my viewing experience) was a series that had 6 good episodes and 4 others that didn't really interest me at all. As an added note I wished there were more philosophical moments in the show much like how I've heard how they were in the comics. This could've been a great show but left with the remiments of potentially great art.
Metal Lords (2022)
Rough around the edges but still fairly enjoyable
The movie was alright. It wasn't anything spectacular by any means but it wasn't horrible. As a nitpick I do feel this movie is more fit for the 90s/2000s considering its plot about battle of the bands and there being no real mention of social media and such but it is a small issue. In some areas the pacing gets dragged with cliched troupes we have all seen time and time again. As a metal head myself it is interesting that the movie doesn't bring up more modern bands (considering the time period is 2010s/2020s) and focuses more on those of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Overall it was alright, more positive opinions than negative about it personally.
Ronny Chieng: Speakeasy (2022)
Wasn't his worst but prefer the older material
It was repetitive to a point that it was a bit annoying, I understand where he was coming from with certain jokes and such but left me feeling somewhat uneasy. Did have good jokes but felt more worn out than some of his older work.