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Dangermouse0
Reviews
Empress of Darkness (2020)
Not as good as Nova Seed
I loved, loved, loved Nova Seed! The originality, vivid palette, minimal dialog, vocally-made sound effects, and score are terrific and make it a must watch!
I eagerly anticipated Empress of Darkness. While the animation, sound, and score are still beautiful, I found the story was not nearly as engaging as Nova Seed.
I was bummed, quite frankly. I still enjoy Nick D's aesthetic and style and look forward to future work. Hopefully, the next feature will be better.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Deeper character, though Not as good as I was hoping.
I was very excited to see WW84. The first movie was pretty good. Although Patty Jenkins was at the helm, I felt Diana lacked dimension and that it was due to a writing team of men.
Knowing that Patty wrote and directed this time around, I was eager to see a deeper, richer character.
The opening sequence was very powerful for me. Getting to see women as strong, powerful, glorious, is beautiful and important! We need more of this!
While it seems Diana did have some greater dimension, there were so many tropes and unrealistic, silly moments in the action and story that take away from the experience.
Much of the dialog, especially that belonging to Max Lord, seemed forced and heavy handed. It's not natural or heartfelt, especially at the end with his son. It came across more as though one of the writers was dealing with their own issues and put it into the script like some sort of moral for the ages, albeit sappy.
I'd really like to know what went on in the creative process, and if there was any outside influence on Patty's decisions.
I do appreciate the commentary on sexism and misogyny, and camaraderie amongst women to stand against it. We ALL must stand against this culture. It needs to change! Thank you for this, Patty!!
Safeguard: An Electoral College Story (2020)
Propaganda of the Right, plain and simple.
After listening to a decidedly undiverse cast of speakers unanimously praise the electoral college while espousing some factual inaccuracies, I decided to do a little research.
The film is produced by Save Our States and the "cast" is comprised entirely of Republicans with ties to other neo conservative think tanks, organizations, and the Reagan and Bush administrations.
Many of these organizations, and by association the people within them, desperately want to maintain the electoral college for its continuing ability to give rural states, formerly slave states, disproportionate representation in Congress.
By doing so they can continue the glorious battle to make America white, er uh, great, again.
Tenet (2020)
Disappointing
I was eager to see Tenet, as I appreciate the excellent films in Christopher Nolan's oeuvre. This endeavor is not up to par.
The writing is not very good. It is quite ambitious and over-complicated. The dialogue is rather difficult to hear and thus, understand.
The acting is stilted, limited in range, and lacks chemistry. Often times it seems the actors are merely repeating lines to one another rather than embodying the characters and genuinely engaging each other. I think I understand why; the complexity of the script must have been challenging to recall, let alone to believe it and own it. Robert Pattinson may bring the most life to his character, yet is still hit and miss. Ultimately, however, poor acting rests on the shoulders of the director.
There are some bad edits that leave the flow choppy and in lack of continuity and coherence.
The finale sequence is the most interesting and entertaining part of the movie, then Pattinson and Washington kill the vibe by explaining the plot to each other in yet more painfully stilted, and somewhat obvious, dialogue.
There is much to unpack and the coding and puzzles are not lost on me, it just doesn't seem to be well executed.
I had high hopes but am ultimately disappointed.
ThunderCats Roar (2020)
A fun and whimsical take on an oldie.
I don't believe this show deserves all the low ratings. Its fun and campy, and doesn't take itself seriously. The animation style is similar to that of Gumball and Steven Universe, and I really dig the vocal sound effects, a la Nova Seed.
There's some decent humor and laugh out loud moments, and Easter eggs here and there for fans of the older shows like Silverhawks. I also appreciate use of the original '85 score.
I do feel sorry for poor Tigra. Guy can't catch a break...
Nice work folks!