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Astartes (2018)
For the Emperor
This is one of the most powerfull animations you will ever see. It doesn´t hold your hand and not a single word is spoken, everything is conveyed with imagery alone and it´s excellent.
The attention to detail, the direction, the animation, the action, everythibg is really top notch, so much so, that it can put to shame most of what Hollywood spits nowadays as entertainment.
Coincidently, Warhammer is one of the most rich universes created and it is ripe for a cinematic experience, if well done, naturally.
I´ll just say that Warhammer has gained one more fan purely because of this.
I have bought over 30 books and fell in love with this universe.
Emperor bless the creator of this animation.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
The Gods must be laughing
The funny thing is, there´s actually a good movie buried somewhere deep in this mess. Thor has some entertaining value and there´s a couple of genuinely funny moments but it it´s not enough to redeem one of the worst movies of the MCU. The pacing is atrocious, there´s no depth to characters or moments, scenes cut and bleed into each other with no moment to spare for breathing or relevance. Theres this sense of lack of focus on the creative team, making the film unbearably light toned like it was made for 12 year old's. Taika´s style is still here but the story telling was truly a one trump card and on the 2º movie it all comes crashing down. Like thunder, not love.
Peacemaker (2022)
Gunns Unleashed is not always good
Peacemaker suffers the same design flaw as some of Gunn´s projects, it rellies too much on the nonsense and is too thin on the rest. He excels at putting characters in awkward situations wich compliments his visual storytelling backed by the soudtrack. But that shouldn´t be the base of the show, just the sugar coating. The problem is that 85% is just people spewing nonsense and frankly it´s not always funny and most of it lasts too long. Nobody takes anything seriously undermining that 15% when the show suddenly wants you to feel something, creating and unbalance between the tone that a scene requires and the vibe that the episode depends on. If you cut the goofy stuff there´s just not much there.
John Cena does a good job, the visuals are good and there is a goofy entertainment to be had.
More character growth and less babble wouldn´t hurt. They try too hard to be funny, the "type characters" are not very original. If you cut the eye candy that´s the goofy stuff, there isn´t much left.
Lastman (2016)
First at everything else
Lastman is one of those series that juggles different themes and even genres that might feel strange "on paper" but the creators knew exactly what they were doing.
Blending the type of noir storytelling with the action of the 90´s while adding mistery and fantasy, it´s on a league of it´s own and it is very refreshing. Backed with an excellent direction, animation, soundtrack, everything just works effortlessly to deliver a great adventure filled with just the right amount of character development, action and entertainment.
The show can be light hearted but knows how and when to be serious enough for you to feel engaged and deals with themes that are intended for a mature audience, while clocking at 8 mins per ep.
Angels of Death (2021)
The Emperor not always protects
Except for the writing and some of the voice acting, there is very little to laud in this project. The animation is blocky, unimpactful and unremarkable, the overall production is just weak. From the directing, to the sound, to the overall presentation and tone. A shame really, the fan made animation called "Astartes" puts this to shame and then some. Maybe GW should take their projects more seriously, this looks like it was made 10 years ago and only disserves one of the most potential universes to be adapted to the screen. This is some heretic work, indeed.
Black Widow (2021)
Black Widow´s family what?!
Marvel Phase 4 begins with a rocky start, concocting a very generic movie in all the sense of the word.
It´s an overall uninspired production, from the script to the cinematography, it reminds me of Stallones typical vehicle movies from the 90´s but with Black Widow, and surprise, surprise... the 90´s are long gone. It´s a movie that feels like they pieced together several ideas and add a story later just like in a check list. Exotic locals? Check! High speed car chase? Right! Generic evil organization? Check!
Boring Disney factory movie, reatreading of ideas and themes with zero creativity.
Chi-oe-beob-gwon (2015)
Where is my mind?
Korea has a couple of great buddy cops movies, but this one is nothing special.
The 2 actors were good in their respective roles but the story is just to childish and not well told. They actually deserved better!
The tone is comedic and not to be taken seriously but the story just unfolds withou much planning or consequence. There were a number of times that if the bad guys were just carrying a pistol, the movie would´ve abruptly come to an end.
The suspension of desbelief is completely shattered by ridiculous actions, decisions and situations involving the characters and despite it´s comedic tone the film is dragged instead of elevated by it.
If you want a good buddy movie watch "The midnight Runners" instead.
Mortal Kombat (2021)
Mortal Kombat - Again
Mortal Kombat is yet another franchise that stumbles to find the balance between the story and the things that make Mortal Kombat....well, Mortal Kombat.
The cinematogrphy is actually the best part of the film but beneath this guise lies a cheesy movie that never really finds it´s grasp between the lore and the story itself.
The other mortal kombat (1995) movie at the least embraced it´s "cheesiness", while this one tries to go for the "serious" aproach and fails miserably.
The fact that the main character carries his family around gives this "netflix family friendly" vibe that just seems off in a Mortal Kombat movie.
The choreographies are quite nice, portraying even some of the famous fatalities, but some of the acting and the special effects, are fairly bad.
Kano is definately a win, the guy really seems to be having fun, the rest of the characters are all pretty mediocre.
Another action movie to watch if you just want to disconnect a bit from....reality.
Entertaining, but uninspired.
Love, Death & Robots (2019)
Excellent Show
Excellent compilation of animated shorts, with a surprisingly wide range of stories and genres.
Quality is the word that I think of to best describe this production. The animation is top notch, the episodes are very well written making you will feel entertained and especially engaged throughout the entirety of the season.
Sure, some episodes are better than others depending on your personal taste, nonetheless the stories are so short and meaningful that is just a pleasure to watch. The themes are also extremely varied, episodes range from world dominating yogurt to self realizing robots.
If you are a fan of animation or just looking for some good storytelling, this show is for you,
Enjoy!
Invincible (2021)
Invincible is here and it is good
Invincible is an adaptation from the Image comics, that tells the coming of age story of Mark Grayson and his family in a world full of super people and tries to have another take at the super hero genre, by imbuing it full of drama, action and adventure.
Despite the colourfull cartoons and the juvenile setting, Invincible is pretty much an adult show.
The animation for the most part is pretty fluid and impactful and the story engaging and full of twists and turns.
I´m not a purist by all means but comparisons are inevitable. The structure of the story was tampered with and I still think that it was way better in the comics. I can apreciate the fact that the show screen writers tried not to simply copy from the source, however, the story ultimately suffers from these alterations by making it more standard and formulaic. In the comics the characters also have more depth and it takes the time to explore other themes and introduce everyone, but that´s understandable.
Most notably, the twist that comes in the form of the revelation of said character, in the animation it sort of happens as you are watching but in the comics the revelation is shown differently and comes with a big bite that scars deeply.
My only gripe with the show is that it fails to depict the parody that Invincible story telling was famed for. The fact that it didnt take itself too serious alowed it to show and toy with the clichês that the genre had popularized.
The "cartoony" art direction consolidated this further, so when the violence kicks in the contrast is very intense and everything worked in tandem to that effect. It elevated the series by differentiated itself from the overpopulated genre.
In the show it just looks like another world event like Marvel or Dc , where they take everything as serious as it can be expected, wich in this case makes the violence feel like an aesthetic choice, just to subvert your expectation, you konw, because this is a cartoon.
That said, it is a great show with lots of entertainment and full of promise.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Justice League a film with heart but no soul
Let´s get one thing out of the way, The Snyder Cut is a much better and cohesive movie than its predecessor.
It still tells the same story but this time (almost) everything fits quite nicely together.
If your not a Zack Snyder fan, this will just be another super hero movie, with lots of entertainment and a so-so story.
With a run time clocking 4hours, if this is the story that went to hell to be raised from the ashes, it´s just okay. It´s a good movie, it´s not the master piece fans have been "reviewing", it´s not bad by all means it´s just a "good movie".
If you´d cut the padding, the 5 minutes singing, some of the unecessary slow motions, the fan service that doesnt even serve this story, you could have a 3h movie.
For all the action and revelations, the film still suffers from the same problems as the previous Snyder movies. The story telling is mediocre as are the dialogues.
Being the 1ºs movie where we are introduced to several characters doesnt help either. The characters and their relations feel empty. They have this sense of unity but when you really think about it they barely know each other. Still there is this sense of duty towards a frienship, when batman really just spent a couple of hours with superman before he died. When Clark is finally with Lois, the characters say the right things but I feel I barely know them, there is this sense of strangeness. It´s like when a movie tells you the characters are best friends but it is never actually shown that to you, so when you see them together, you dont feel it. Of all the characters Cyborg is the only one who is fleshed out, whose personal story and character arc are seeded within the overall story, while the others are like, just there. Look I get it, the flash runs in order to save the world, finding his place in it and reedeming himself and his father by doing so. Aquaman has a gripe with his mother for abandoning him but not much is revealed beyond that. I mean I know this is not Schindler´s List but for 4 hours, it´s just to thin.
It´s funny how a movie called Justice League automatically makes its title obsolete by the time superman steps in.
The cinematography in general is great, some of the added scenes, not so good but it´s understandable.
Anyway if you have 4 hours to dedicate or you just want to get it over with, maybe you should watch this movie.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Fist resolving argument
As always in these movies the story is laughable and pretty boring, but they did deliver on the monster mash, and let´s face it, it´s the reason why we all watched it. Whenever the human part of the story is up you just roll your eyes. Sometimes boring, sometimes entertaining the film just goes through the same predictable motions, we have all seen it before.
It´s Godzilla vs. Kong, get the popcorn and get it over with!
I Care a Lot (2020)
They care a lot except for logic
This movie doesnt know how real logic or things are legally made, at least in the real world and that is very undermining because some of the actions the characters make that are suposed to be sofisticated dont hold a candle in the real world. This should be a cartoon
Hunter Hunter (2020)
Great movie
This movie wont win any awards, that said, it´is exceptionally well made, a clear case that with little, they did more. Good acting, the story will keep you engaged and guessing what is actually going on and the tension is very well thought out.
Be warned that some scenes might be disturbing for some viewers, but I recommend you watch this movie
Seuwiteuhom (2020)
Entertaining Nonsense
Another Netflix show where dispite the dire and apocaliptical settings the characters find themselves in, they still retain awesome haircuts and great clothing! This aproach speaks volumes of the show already!
This serie is entertaining, it manages to create some tension and despite being cartoony, you can relate with the charaters tribulations. It has a fairly good cinematography and despite the budget, they have created some elements that work well. That said, if you´ve come because of the featuring monsters, this is for you. The rest is just kind of bad. For the plot and the story itself are nothing more than junior soap opera filled with clichés and basically more of the same. By now we have seen these kind of dilemas a million times over, and they make no effort to put a spin on this take. If you don´t mind the setting, like some monster flicks, you could do worse than this.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Entertaining but Uninspired
Wonder Woman is a at its best a light hearted film that manages to be entertaining although it goes through the same motions that many of the superheroes films have already shown us by now..
We have already seen this story many times over and inevitably feels quite formulaic and Patty Jenkins brought it just a little too close to cheesy and cartoonish.
This time around the story is set in the 80´s, and emulates the vibe that some of the movies had back in the day, most notably the influence of Superman films. It goes for the "extra" campy vibe wich the cinematography compliments through the use of bright colors scheme, making the most of the 80´s theme.
Although Gal Gadot is no powerhouse when it comes to acting, she does have charisma and the filmakers make the most of it, contributing for the embezzlement of the main character.
Steve Trevor is also back but this time around he´s the one that fits the "fish out of the barrel" character, providing some comic moments even if the movie doesnt quite know what to do with him for the rest of his tenure. A pity also, as Chris Pine could have been used a little better and his character ends up a bit wasted.
The antagonists come in the form of Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig and dispite somewhat good performances, their characters ended up feeling too cartoony and while their ambitions are understandable, their motivations are quite bidimensional and lack a good dose of depth.
The story is quite simple and recognizable too but sometimes a bit heavy on the exposition and some scenes are presented in a childish manner, even for a family friendly movie like wonder woman, the writers still can´t see these characters outside their campy mood and it seeps into the dialogues making the already simple story feel even more outdated and uninspired.
Another consequence from this is the lenght of the film. Clocking at 2h30 hours and with such predictable story elements, there is the feeling that the only way the movie finds to convey a certain profoundness or even a conection for the audience to relate to the characters, is for us to spend a lot of time with them. There isnt much developent there and that is why the movie is 2h30 hours. Nonetheess everybody is pretty cutboard, 2d characters and spending more time with them doensn´t automatically translate into depth.
The characters themselves go through a certain amount of growth, but it is too basic and lacks more well defined themes for us to relate in a caring aspect. But by the second hour, as much engaging as the movie tries to be, we are just waiting for the it to end, because by 2020, it is too recognizable, too little and too thin.
The film has some light hearted and funny moments and some scenes are entertaining, but it hasn´t much to offer.
I didn´t think the 1ºs movie was "all that" so it came with no surprise that the 2º one would eventually "lift the veil" and show all the problems Patty Jenkins and WB´s project would entail.
Although a 3º film was already announced with the same team on the elm, the feeling of an uninspired production has already sink in. We shall wait and see...Or not.
The Witcher (2019)
A poor adaptation that completely misses the point
The Witcher is a poor adaptation that never really understood the uniqueness of the material that it is trying to adapt. With the potential to be as significant as Game of Thrones, the showrunners instead opted for a dumbed version, to be consumed as quickly as possible, without asking too many questions, just like stale beer.
From the dialogue to the cinematography, from the majority of the cast to the cgi, this watered version has some entertaining value but misses the mark in almost all fronts.
A clear case of the "right" series being handled by the wrong producers.
It´s a shame really, The Witcher deserved a lot better and so did we
Crisis Jung (2018)
Top Animation - Top Violence - Top Over the Top - Top!
Top Animation - Top Violence - Top Over the Top - Top!
Great homage to 80´s anime, full of over the top characters, nonsensical situations and brutal fights.
Another excellent example of what french animation can do, rivalling even with the best from Japan.
Great Show
Tenet (2020)
Overly complex but extremely creative
Nowadays with the current main stream cinema within hollywood, Tenet really feels like a breeze of fresh air and Christopher Nolan keeps proving that less conventional storytelling still holds its place and solidifies more than ever the importance that this type of filmaking is still very much alive despite all the commercial diversity and social justice tendencies most recent films are grounded on.
Nolan is well known for is non linear story telling and for trying to break the mold by using "out of the box" structures and unconvencional themes.
In that sense, Tenet feels like the culmination of this philosophy, in it´s most pure form.
This feels like the amalgam of what the director is trying to achieve with this type of story telling, as Tenet is very much a destiled product derived from his previous films, from style to form. We can almost "smell" the ingredients from his past movies added to Tenets recipe. From the high concept of Interstellar to the fighting scenes found in Batman, to the reversed structure like Memento and of course the multi layered story featured in Inception.
Despite all of this I did not find it an easy movie to watch, because of the rules and themes that the story engages and thats why it´s probably best understood through several viewings. The problem is that I have no desire whatsoever to watch it again, because it´s too demanding. There were times where I just felt burned and almost started disengaging from all the rules and techno babble going on because I was starting to feel tired.
The cinematography is great as to be expected but the characters and the story suffer in detriment of the concept and the heavy rules that it comprises and expects the audience to understand.
Personally, I´ve felt that the story and everything else for that matter, seemed secondary to the concept in itself. A strange sacrifice that willingly or not, seeped into the film. Some scenes take place in a manner that embelishes the pure proess of the concept but ultimately hurts the story, when characters are required to do some actions that revolve around the rules that Tenet sets but are almost done in a way that tries to assure minimal understanding by the audience of said rules and were only woven in the story itself later. It´s almost like they had to create such scenes for us to better understand the concept in wich it deals, while in the plots concern it´s just, protagonist as to go from "A" to "B", to retrieve "C" and ultimatly use it against "D". The fusion between these two elements in its majority gets lost in translation, not helped by the sheer effort we need to concentrate just to grasp it all, while the script does its best to avoid heavy handed exposition.
The characters themselves suffer from this prioritisation, embodied for instance in the form of "the Protagonist" once again. Through out the movie we get to know what type of character "Protagonist" is, as in, we know his profile but we dont know anything else. We know nothing of his past, his personal drive or motivations, besides the obvious "saving the world" category. He is a charismatic character, like others in the film but his role is basically "walk" with the audience and help us understand the ground rules as he himself is learning them.
The fact that "the real enemy" is never shown, consolidates this further as we the audience can relate to the stakes but can´t quite figure this invisible enemy, despite knowing who it is.
The film just feels overly complex, and in it´s complexity, creates room for error through its contrived rules.
That said and on the other side of the prism, the use of entropy and reversion seems an interesting topic to seed it´s premise and at the same time, sets the stage for an incredible visual use of time´s perception, and exquisite action pieces that make the most from these rules, elevating the film.
The rest of the subplots are designed to fit the premise but it never really feels significant enough, on the overall notion of things.
The final message also seems a little forced on the story as if it needed something more profound conecting it all but never really clicks in a way that you feel that everything was very well woven.
Nonetheless Tenet is one of the most interesting films of 2020, and if you are feeling up to it, I recommend you to see it
A Wednesday (2008)
Review from a cinematography stand point
I saw a review of this movie that made me want to watch it. I was in the mood for a "serious independent" film that was not "hollywood" or to popcorn-ish, and that was the starting point when I decided to watch this film.
The film isn´t great dispite all the reviews, for all it´s independent production "guise" lays a vehicle to political messaging, skipping the shades of grey of the morality it harnesses for it´s own themes, instead of being a film that is just trying to tell a story with a morality in it.
It has a certain fan made vibe to it, with some awkward editing and terrible sound production, but the pacing is good and has good acting.
The major problem is the fact that the movie tries to sell you a morality that in my opinion is just too one sided (I am not from india so I cannot relate the experiences to the extent the movie focusses on) but nonetheless it gets in the way of the storytelling. It "is" the point of the story, sure, but you can feel the gears of the machine behind the movie and it´s message.
It´s a "political" film that tries to be a thriller, and depicts the many problems the society it depicts is plagued with, from corrupt police, to the injustices perpetrated to the comom folk. And that is fine, but it is too heavy handed actually making it less interesting than what it thinks it is. The "action" scenes while clearly not the focus, are fairly bad and I was surprised to see the movie was made in 2008 because it looks like it was made in the 90´s, with some very outdated production choices.
Story aside, most of the characters are well written, with a good amount of depth and you can understand their reasoning.
It is an "okay" film but I imagine it wont resonate much for the non indian viewers
The Umbrella Academy (2019)
Overrated but still entertaining
Let´s get one thing out of the way, the series is way overestimated.
Does that mean it cant be entertaining? Of course not.
First off all it reminds me of Suicide Squad, but in series format and with a better story. It goes for the style over substance formula, with the quippy music and the slow camera.
It has a good direction and a nice photography, and it tries to be "the crazy kid in the bunch" but it never really knows how to achieve that, so it relies on stereotypical and generic ways of reaching out to the audience.
One major issue, is the fact that it doesnt know who the targeted audience is. It presents itself as a series with adult or mature themes and premise, but it doesnt quite know how to deliver these without being childish and a bit outdated. It is like a grown up show, developted by kids. It rhymes with the shows premise, if we the audience are like the umbrella teens and the show itself is the condescending scientist/father figure. Another problem is the dialogue. The characters just dont seem to be able to speak normally, without blurping exposition in meaningfull ways.
The casting itself is a bit weak, but that is just me.
The characters are all presented in a stereotypical faction, but we have already seen these types in other movies, but better written and with more depth.
For a show about mystery, it is really afraid that the audience isnt following, and it constantly holds your hand all the way through, wich is strange because the story, really isnt hard to follow. It´s like we cant fathom the awesomness of the shows tribulations, so they re-explain everything and make characters say and do things to this effect.
The series has a lot of potential but the execution is just laking.