fericirea Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022– )

This is surprisingly good. Don't believe the hate.

[8/10 · 30 September 2022]

This is a really solid series, so I don't really understand its somewhat low IMDB score.

This show is well acted with great production value, and the story is set up with plenty of mystery for fans to theory craft, especially if you're familiar with the lore from the source material. It doesn't follow the lore to the letter, but it does a great job at taking liberties to fill in the gaps while presenting plenty of references and tie-ins to the source material.

Production and tone match the LOTR trilogy well, and I'm digging the younger Galadriel as a character.

I went in thinking it'd pretty average given the IMDB score, but the series so far has exceeded all my expectations.

The Gray Man (2022)

This is a super solid action flick

[8/10 · 23 July 2022]

Very good action sequences, very well paced, and very well acted. Not sure why people are grumpy about this film. It's a super solid action flick and worthy of a sequel.

Pachinko (2022– )

Sometimes we ask what stories are worth telling

[10/10 · 25 May 2022]

This story is worth telling. And so beautifully told it is.

Korean and Chinese series can be especially adept at the slow-burn slice-of-life genre when they want to be, but this one has the touch of extra production quality, supreme acting, nuanced writing, and perfect pacing to make it stand out among even the great ones out there.

A masterpiece.

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

A surprisingly fun trip down memory lane

[8/10 · 22 May 2022]

If you were born in the 80s and 90's dominated your childhood, then this movie will just put a huge smile on your face from start to end.

It's very well done and way better than I expected.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

An entertaining but ultimately failed mashup of two movies

[6/10 · 14 May 2022]

There are two movies in this movie. I'm not sure which movie was the original idea, but the end result is a mashup that doesn't work. Spoilers below.

The whole Book of Vishanti and Universe 838 sub-plot along with "Dr. Strange why do you always have the be one to hold the knife" convinced me that 838 Wanda would end up "holding the knife", if you will, and save the day.

At the end of the second act, 838 Wanda wakes up right next to the Book of Vishanti, which all the characters were chasing after for the entire movie. At that moment I was convinced that Wanda would use it defeat her 616 counterpart, who had fallen beyond redemption. I thought that maybe universe 838 would also undergo an "incursion" (why else would they mention this concept earlier in the movie), initiating universe 838's destruction, which would force 838 Wanda and her children to permanently move to the "main" 616 universe, becoming the new Wanda. With her knowledge of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, she would help support MCU's expansion into those two franchises.

But nope. Instead, 838 Wanda wakes up right next to the Book of Vishanti, looks around for a second, and just leaves as if she's late for an appointment. She doesn't try to help, she doesn't act a hero despite her powers, she doesn't even seem to have a single thought. The Book of Vishanti becomes immediately irrelevant without even being used, despite it being so important up to that point in the movie, and Dr. Strange eventually saves the day by becoming a zombie.

Also, the conflict between Dr. Strange and Scarlett Witch was an immense opportunity for very creative fight scenes. Scarlet Witch has reality-shaping powers on a planet scale, and Dr. Strange has the mirror dimension along with extra-dimensional powers. Strange, then, that 90% of the fights relied on slinging around what amounted to different colored fireballs. Dr. Strange didn't try to separate Wanda's physical form from her spiritual form, he didn't fight her in the mirror dimension, and Wanda didn't shape reality to win her fights. They just shot yellow and red fireballs at each other.

And then there was the Dr. Strange vs. Dr. Strange fight. You'd expect it to be at least as amazing as the Ancient One vs. Kaecilius battle, perhaps featuring epic fractal battles across multiple dimensions, but it was just the lamest, lowliest wizard battle of slinging small music-shaped fireballs at each other in a small room.

The movie wasn't terrible. But it was terribly disappointing.

Moon Knight (2022)

A super refreshing turn for the MCU

[8/10 · 28 April 2022]

I came into this series with no idea what or who the Moon Knight is, and I have to say that the series as a whole is definitely the right step for the MCU for this new phase.

It's weird, it's random, and it's different! Mostly importantly, it works, and Oscar Isaac outshines pretty much every other actor in the MCU to date with an incredible performance.

I really would like to see more of Moon Knight in the future.

Aziz Ansari: Nightclub Comedian (2022 TV Special)

Short and sweet

[8/10 · 28 January 2022]

This is a low production, almost impromptu recording of Aziz doing 30 min at the Comedy Cellar in NYC. What makes it worth it is that this time Aziz gets personal, authentic, and genuinely thoughtful about the how the world has broken down since the days of flip phones and Nokia bricks, all the while staying light, clever, and often times hilarious. Definitely worth the watch.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

The first act is great, then it just falls apart

[6/10 · 23 December 2021]

The first act is a clever and tightly edited setup that does a great job at hinting that there is a larger idea behind this movie, an idea about the state of the world post trilogy that needs Neo to return.

Then the movie hits an almost literal wall. It just stops. People start expositing, a lot, and it's awkward, obtuse dialog too, often in complete silence like a homemade movie without a score. Characters act, but, with the exception of Neo, we don't understand why. Interesting developments about the post-trilogy world are introduced, but just as quickly as they're mentioned they cease to matter. From this point forward, good guys are good because they're good, bad guys are bad because they're bad, and they play their parts like hollow automata around Neo trying to reach Trinity.

This transition between the first act and the rest of the movie is black and white. A real pity.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

A lot to love

[9/10 · 22 December 2021]

Yes, Tom gives his best performance yet as Spider-Man, and yes his on-screen chemistry with Zendaya is palpable because they're a couple IRL as well, and yes Spider-Man has, for the first time in this trilogy, real personal stakes on the line.

But those are not why you should watch this movie. If you're a fan of Spider-Man, you should watch this movie because it will give you what you love, and a lot of it at that.

Couldn't ask for a better holiday treat from a superhero movie.

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020 TV Movie)

A final statement from Sir Attenborough, 94 years of age

[10/10 · 19 December 2021]

There is nothing for me to add that hasn't been said in other reviews.

This is Sir Attenborough's most personal and most final attempt at imparting the summation of the wisdom he has accumulated over the course of his long and extraordinary career as a natural historian and commentator.

It's an incredible watch.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)

Fan of the anime, let down from the hype

[6/10 · 5 December 2021]

I enjoyed season 1 of the anime, and this movie's IMDB rating and reviews got me very excited to watch this.

However, this movie was a pretty big disappointment for me. From an animation perspective, the 3D work on this movie was passable but really quite mediocre, and paled in comparison to the hand-drawn 2D aspects of the animation.

The biggest offender for me, and what got me to almost quit the movie before it ended, was the terrible, atrociously poor writing. It felt like 80% of the movie was the various characters laboriously telling and retelling what they were thinking and how they were feeling. There was pretty much no attempt at "show instead of tell" when it comes to character struggles. It was just .... a constant barrage of "This is what I'm thinking right now."

Compared to modern animated productions and cinema in general, this aspect of the movie was a huge fail and gratingly annoying.

Arcane (2021–2024)

I've never given this rating: 10/10 Masterpiece

[10/10 · 1 December 2021]

From the animation to the storytelling to the voice acting to the character development to the score to the cinematography and directing and virtual camera work, this show executes perfectly. Every frame is a painting.

My wife, who doesn't play video games and doesn't watch animated series, who saw the show's poster on Netflix and said, "I already know I won't like this", loved it.

Flash Point (2007)

The seminal post-90s HK martial arts movie

[8/10 · 12 September 2021]

While Donnie Yen will always be more remembered as Ip Man or "that guy from Rogue One", when it comes to Donnie's roots in classic HK martial arts action, Flash Point, whose action was directed by Donnie Yen, is likely his best work ever.

It is also an extremely significant work in its genre, since it is the first of its kind that truly showcases MMA in the context of the rich history of HK/southeast Asian martial arts tradition. The respect and love that Donnie has for martial arts and his growth as a practitioner is on full display in this movie.

Godless (2017)

Quite possibly the best series I've ever watched

[10/10 · 9 August 2021]

I saw this a couple of years ago and remember being completely overwhelmed by how amazing this series is. Now I'm taking the time to leave the 10/10 review this series deserves.

Hauntingly beautiful in the way this was shot, composed, acted, ugh.

Mortal Kombat (2021)

An unfortunate disappointment

[5/10 · 24 April 2021]

Pros: I can see how the script does a decent job at pulling off the impossible: wrangling a collection of characters with loaded and crazy backstories into a narrative that at least for the first half felt somewhat realistic and sensical.

Cons: The direction was amateurish and the casting/acting was... eesh. The film opened as a 7/10 or 8/10 and remained at least a 6/10 or 7/10 until the "temple." After that, the film briskly devolved into a superficially entertaining dumpster fire.

Honestly, despite its cheesy moments and dated action choreography, the 1995 MK film is a better film. Sadly, this MK reboot will not age well.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

A first of its kind, magnum opus, and resounding success

[9/10 · 30 March 2021]

I had never watched Man of Steel, BvS, or the original Joss Whedon's Justice League, but due to the buzz around this cut's release, I actually watched all three of Snyder's DC films back-to-back, starting with Man of Steel and ending with this movie on HBO Max.

And what a movie it is! Having never watched the original cut, I cannot add to the chorus of reviews out there extoling how this cut is a radical improvement over its predecessor, but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every sequence in this movie. Even my wife, who is wholly disinterested in super hero movies and action flicks in general, sat glued to the couch through what can only be described as a unique viewing **experience**.

The movie isn't perfect, which my score reflects, but this movie is groundbreaking. From its runtime to its auteurial idiosyncrasies bleeding out of its every frame, this is a kind of movie that hasn't, doesn't, and won't get made again. We don't come across such distilled auteurial realizations like this outside of independent art houses, but what we have here is basically a director's vision wholly unencumbered by commercial realities while also being produced from a Hollywood blockbuster budget. It's kind of an unbelievable combination that will likely secure this movie, along with its very unfortunate predecessor, as an incredible case study in film schools everywhere.

Reflecting back on the MCU movies, Nolan's Batman trilogy, Tim Burton's Batman movies, and Christopher Reeve's Superman movies, I can with confidence say that Zack Snyder's Justice league is an operatic, auteurial epic of a film that also happens to be one of the best super hero movies ever made.

Ne Zha (2019)

Kind of unbelievably good

[8/10 · 19 June 2020]

The Chinese cinema scene has had many gems, but historically these gems could only be found in relatively small budget independent productions. Diamonds in the rough, if you will. The Chinese blockbuster scene has long been... bleak, to say the least. But here we are, and it is in this context that I find the quality of this film to be kind of unbelievably good. The narrative structure, characters, writing, and animation are all astonishingly well done, and I was left particularly impressed by the very original interpretation of a classic folklore tale. The story of Ne Zha has been portrayed numerous times in the history of Chinese storytelling, yet this one did not obviously rehash them, which is a remarkable decision for a Chinese production. This film is a towering achievement for Chinese cinema.

Tomb Raider (2018)

Easily the best film adaptation of a video game

[7/10 · 17 June 2020]

Overall, I found the movie solidly entertaining, carried by a strong performance from Alicia Vikander as the rebooted pre "Tomb Raider" Lara Croft. There are a ton of reviews here comparing (unfavorably) this Lara to Jolie's Lara, mostly flabbergasted about how this Lara is younger, less capable, and adopts a bow instead of her signature double pistols. Ignore all of those reviews, as they make painfully apparent that those reviewers have no idea what's going on. If you played any of the Tomb Raider games that have come out in the past 7 years you'll find Vikander's depiction of Lara accurate and satisfying.

A strong performance from Vikander and a solid narrative structure are dragged down by mediocre directing, writing, and supporting cast. I think this film is a solid 7.0 and well worth the watch. I'm excited about the sequel, which will come with a directorial change for the better.

Train to Busan (2016)

A story about what it means to be a father and a hero

[9/10 · 5 June 2020]

While on the surface, this film is a excellent zombie thriller, there is a rewarding underlying tale of personal redemption that's remarkably well integrated. One of the best films I've seen in a long while.