room102 Reviews

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Huge disappointment, extremely slow and boring

[2/10 · 20 February 2024]

The worst a movie can do is being boring.

I was looking forward to watching this movie. I had high hopes because Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast (2000)" is a fantastic movie and the subject of this one can be very interesting if done correctly, like in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)".

Unfortunately, this movie is extremely slow, extremely boring and extremely simplistic. It takes one minute to understand what the director was aiming for: Show the banality of the everyday life of the family of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss in contrast to the sadistic hell happening only meters away. Ok, we get that in the first few minutes. But then it goes on and on and on. Nothing happens.

I'm sorry but this is not good movie making. This is a concept for a performance art that may be good for no more than 10 minutes. After that it's just boring and it doesn't give you anything - not informatively and not emotionally.

* Minor spoiler ahead *

The bit at the end, when they show the banal cleaning of nowadays Auschwitz was completely out of place for me. It felt like a take on "Schindler's List" ending scene, only done badly.

* Minor Spoiler ends *

Poor Things (2023)

Highly recommend

[7/10 · 6 February 2024]

As a non-fan of Yorgos Lanthimos who watched 4 of his other movies, this is easily his most enjoyable movie so far.

Emma Stone is fantastic in her role and definitely deserves her Oscar nomination. Her performance reminded me of a combination between Frankenstein's monster and Edward Scissorhands.

Willem Dafoe is great as always and Kathryn Hunter is excellent as the brothel madame.

I hated the character of Duncan and Bella immediately running away with him was just out of place. Mark Ruffalo is the only Oscar nomination which absolutely is not deserving.

Excellent makeup by the excellent Mark Coulier with yet another worhty Oscar nomination.

I liked the costumes and the sets. Great use of miniatures. It gave a great atmosphere and reminded me that of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).

The cinematography was beautiful, although a bit pretentious at times. I both liked and hated the fish eye lens used ever so often and changing from shot to shot.

I heard criticism about the the amount of nudity. Although there's plenty of it (maybe a bit more than needed), I think itnwas tasteful and important for the movie.

Next Goal Wins (2023)

Garbage

[2/10 · 16 January 2024]

Next Goal Wins (2023) directed by Taika Waititi

It takes a special talent to make me give up on a movie within 5 minutes of watching, especially when it's a movie I was excited to see and has an excellent lead actor.

Taika Waititi managed to do just that. With awful makeup, dumb dialog and awful acting (especially Waititi himself).

I understand it's a comedy and it doesn't take itself seriously but I can't believe Taika Waititi isn't ashamed of his product. This comes from a guy who won an Oscar, directed a blockbuster and made a classic ("What We Do in the Shadows"). Shame.

1.5/10 Garbage.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Huge disappointment, don't believe the hype

[4/10 · 12 January 2024]

Sandra Huller is great in her role - and that's about the only good thing I can say about this movie. After all the hype and awards, this was a huge disappointment. Where do I start?

1. It's a 2.5 hours courtroom drama that leads to absolutely nowhere. I was waiting for a twist - even a punch line - and it never came. The ending was a huge letdown and made the entire movie pointless

2. The movie was way too slow and long, they should have cut at least 30 minutes

3. There were several sudden camera corrections/shakes/zooms that were obviously not intended for the final edit but were left in the movie anyway for no apparent reason. Didn't they have enough coverage? Were they left as an "art"? It felt completely amateurish and out of place.

4. There was absolutely no reason to incorporate several languages in this. Choose a language and stick to it. Don't jump from one language to another - it doesn't make your movie smarter.

5. The courtroom scenes were completely unrealistic. Perhaps they do things differently there but I'm not aware of any courtroom in which you can cross-examine more than one person at the same time and just ask anybody what you want at any time, it's ridiculous. Not to mention that people talked about speculations and other people's feelings and intentions without any of the lawyers objecting. It felt like it was written by a kid who has no idea how a trial is conducted.

6. There was nothing smart about the script. It just went on and on and gave more details which were pointless.

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023)

Skip it

[4/10 · 6 October 2023]

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023)

Henry Thomas, David Duchovny, Samantha Mathis, Pam Grier... What a waste of a good cast. Jackson White was also good as a young Jud, kind of reminded me of a young Matt Dillon.

But none of them can save this prequel. It adds almost nothing to the original story and it just drags slowly and aimlessly. It tells the story of Timmy, who came back from the war - the story Jud tells briefly in the original movie - but everything seems to be a bit off and it's pretty pointless.

Better watch the original classic or even the remake which actually wasn't bad.

4/10 Skip it.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Go watch it on the big screen in 3D HFR

[7/10 · 15 December 2022]

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

James Cameron proves once again that he's the best action director and film innovator and one of the very few still relevant after 40 years of amazing film making.

Visually, the movie is a stunning and manages to innovate once again. The CGI is flawless, especially considering the difficulty of everything involving water - and it's during the entire movie.

I really like Sigourney Weaver as a young character - probably my favorite character - and the way Cameron found a good way to bring back characters who died in the first movie.

I would say the weakest points of the movie are the plot (which partially rehashes the first movie) and the running time - you don't feel like watching a movie over 3 hours long but still it should have been a bit shorter. The final battle felt like dragging a bit too much.

This movie should easily win an Academy Award for visual effects and if there's any justice, they should give Cameron the Oscar for direction that was taken from him for the first movie.

I watched the movie in stunning 3D and couldn't tell which parts changed to HFR - it was flawless.

I give this movie 8/10 for the visuals and 5.5/10 for the rest.

7/10 Go watch it on the big screen in 3D HFR.

Don't Worry Darling (I) (2022)

So-so

[5/10 · 25 October 2022]

Don't Worry Darling (2022)

(I'll ignore all the drama behind the scenes which I don't know too much about anyway)

Good production design, good cinematography by the excellent Matthew Libatique. Good direction by Olivia Wilde, although the pacing is too slow and the movie should have been at least 15 min shorter.

Good tension and good visuals but the movie falls apart at the last part with its disappointing reveal. It seems too cheap, unoriginal and easy writing. It might have been original if it was made 20-30 years ago.

Good acting by Florence Pugh although her role seems too close to that of "Midsommar".

4.5/10 So-so.

Hellraiser (2022)

Total Failure

[3/10 · 8 October 2022]

I guess one should appreciate the fact that they didn't try to make a scene-by-scene remake of the original but that's about the only positive thing I have to say about this movie because it's a total failure.

The plot has nothing to do with the original movie. It's basically yet another sequel, with Pinhead replaced (again) by a new actor (this time an actress).

The first half of the movie is a borefest and the second half is just a mess. All the atmosphere of the original movie is just gone. Cinematography is basic and there is almost lack of music (except for hints and tiny cues of Christopher Young's original and superb score). The Cenobites are simple, non-scary and appear like a cheap TV movie.

The pacing is just awful and the plot is boring. By the time Pinhead finally appears - after more than an hour into the movie - I was already bored and from there it just got worse and I couldn't wait for it to be over.

I have no idea why people praise this movie so much. For me it was yet another failed and boring sequel.

Don't waste your time on this. Better rewatch the original or the first sequel instead.

Monster (2022–2024)

Recommended

[7/10 · 22 September 2022]

"Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" is a 10 episodes Netflix mini-series about Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer is easily in the top 10 most interesting serial killers. A very complex man and his prison interview was fascinating.

This is the third non-documentary movie/series I'm seeing about Jeffrey Dahmer and I think it's fair to say it's the most accurate. Evan Peters is doing a very good job as Dahmer and the production gave a lot of attention to details. I still don't understand why it's jumping back and forth in time instead of just telling his story in chronological order.

6/10 Recommended.

Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

Highly Recommended

[7/10 · 14 August 2022]

I always enjoyed watching this movie and never understood why people hate it so much. It's a light comedy, nothing to be taken seriously. Ivan Reitman did a good job. Harrison Ford and Anne Heche (RIP) are great in their roles. They have good chemistry and great sense of comedy. Randy Edelman's score is fantastic as usual and creates great light and adventurous atmosphere. The script is very well written, with plenty of good laughs, although it does loses some momentum and changes some shift on the second half. I would have preferred the movie without the villains angle.

Prey (I) (2022)

Boring and Pointless

[4/10 · 8 August 2022]

Probably the most "serious" film in the Predator series but might as well be the most boring one, except for the AVP abominations (if you consider them as part of the franchise). Even the awful "The Predator" has more to offer on terms of plot and excitement. I appreciate the filmmakers took the movie seriously and didn't make it the silly movie that is "The Predators" but that doesn't make this one good either. Sorry, I don't understand why people like it so much. I found it pretty dull and pointless. Also, the references to Predator 1 and 2 were pretty heavy handed.

Thirteen Lives (2022)

A very accurate reenactment

[7/10 · 5 August 2022]

Excellent reenactment of the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand. I watched the documentary a few months ago and the movie is very accurate.

Very well directed by Ron Howard, keeping schmaltz to a minimum and going straight to the point without the usual time wasting in the beginning.

My only complaint is that it's juat too long. It's 2.5 hours (including 10 min of end credits) and shouldn't have been more than 105 min. The last 30-45 min are just stretching.

Highly recommended.

Men (2022)

Recommended

[6/10 · 26 June 2022]

Written and directed by Alex Garland ("Ex Machina", "Annihilation"), from A24

Absolutely brilliant performance by Rory Kinnear, easily the best male performance so far this year. Good performance by Jessie Buckley.

Excellent cinematography with extremely shallow depth of field and beautiful locations.

Slow paced (in a good way), good atmosphere and extreme suspense.

Good makeup and interesting effects and visuals.

As for the meaning and message - these need more thought. Lots of symbolism and ambiguity, some make sense and others not completely.

And you'll definitely want to watch this movie twice.

Crimes of the Future (2022)

Good concepts, interesting visuals but a missed opportunity

[5/10 · 21 June 2022]

I remember waiting for David Cronenberg to make this movie when it was still called "Painkillers", 20 years ago. It definitely fits Cronenberg's period of "eXistenz" and "Spider" so it's better than any feature film he directed in the past 20 years but it's still lacking. Some good concepts and interesting visuals but it feels like a missed opportunity. A few concepts that didn't mash into anything substantial, which is a shame.

Good performance by Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux. Kristen Stewart was and still is one of the worst actresses and should never work in the film industry again.

Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On (2017)

Not just porn

[6/10 · 4 September 2020]

A follow up mini-series to the "Hot Girls Wanted" documentary. However, each episode stands by itself and has a totally different subject. I found the last two episodes to be the most interesting.

Episode 1 is about female photographers/directors in the porn industry.

Episode 2 is about a 40-year old guy from Las Vegas who basically wants to have sex with any female on Tinder.

Episodes 3-4 are the closest to the subject of the "Hot Girls Wanted" documentary and deal directly with the porn industry.

Episode 5 is about a webcam sex woman who goes to Australia to visit her long-time regular visitor. It should be noted that one of IMDB's reviews revealed more information about the cam girl that wasn't mentioned in the episode at all: Her husband, who is presented in the episode as being uncomfortable with what she does for a living, is actually a gay porn actor himself and apparently she herself did/does porn herself, not just webcam shows.

Episode 6 is about a Russian American who broadcaste in live stream the rape of her friend and is facing charges as a sex offender. Interesting case.

6/10 Recommended

Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman (2005)

One of Thimothy Spall's best performances

[7/10 · 5 June 2020]

The movie tells the story of Albert Pierrepoint, Britain's most prolific hangman. This may sound like the plot of a cheap exploitative movie but I can assure you this is a fantastic movie which respects the man, the profession, the people executed and deals with the conflicts this strange profession carries. Thimothy Spall, a fantastic and very underrated actor, gives one of the best performances of his career. I've seen this movie twice before and should definitely see it again. Highly recommended

What We Do in the Shadows (2019–2024)

The Vampires Mockumentary

[6/10 · 11 April 2020]

In 2005, New Zealand's Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi wrote and directed a short (27 min) film called WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. This is a mockumentary about a group of vampires who live in one house and try to adapt to the modern world. They played the lead roles along with the excellent Jonny Brugh.

In 2014, the short film became a full length film, with the same name and with the same cast of directors/writers/actors.

Following its success, the film became a TV series in 2019. Waititi was already busy with bigger projects - he directed THOR: RAGNAROK and JOJO RABBIT (he won an Oscar for the screenplay and was nominated in the best film category). Of the 10 episodes of Season 1, Waititi directed the pilot, episode 7 ("The Trial") and the final episode. Clement directed episodes 2-4.

In the TV series the cast is different and they don't play the same characters that were in the film but new characters, with the idea of the series continuing that of the film.

In episode 7 of Season 1, the three original actors appear as guests in the same roles from the original film, in addition to other well known actors who appear as vampires (whose name is the same as their name in real life) - all of them previously played vampires in other movies/TV series.

Another recurring role in Season 1: Doug Jones, who is already used to performing under heavy makeup, especially in the films of Guillermo del Toro.

Season 2 begins this week. Highly recommended.

1917 (2019)

Technically impressive, emotionally empty

[5/10 · 7 January 2020]

"1917" is technically impressive. The entire movie is filmed with some clever cuts in a way that makes it look like a single shot (similar to the style of "Birdman"). This style and the impressive sets give it a lot of realism. Unfortunately, the movie is emotionally empty (with the exception of the two scenes) and the plot is paper thin. 5/10

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Star Wars: The Rise of Dr. Channard

[4/10 · 19 December 2019]

Star Wars: The Rise of Dr. Channard is an empty movie that concludes the trilogy of fan service rehash movies. Its biggest problem is that it so obviously tries to patch all the problems and mistakes of the previous movie which itself ruined key plots of the first movie. Doing that, it ignores and contradicts previous stuff. For example: Rey's family obviously had significance in the first movie, but turned out to be nothing in the second movie, only to actually be of significance in the third movie. This is a result of a story that is written in patches without any planning at all. The second problem is poor dialog and characters. Finn might be the worst character in movie history. He should be named "Mr. Exposition". He's only there to do exposition and repeat stuff that other characters say or explain what happens on the screen. This is the problem with most of the characters in the movie but Finn is by far the worst. Basically, the dialog is intended for 3-year olds and feeds you everything twice. "They fly now! They flying now? They fly now..." (a dialog by three characters on a flying speeder, amazed by flying Stormtroopers). Beside having scenes that have nothing to do with each other, the movie is also full of clichés, most notably characters thought to be dead who aren't and characters coming back from the dead - most notably Palpatine, who is basically Dr. Channard from Hellraiser II in this movie. All in all, this is a fan service movie. Fans would love it. Anyone else should treat it like the silly popcorn-chewing blockbuster movie that it is.

The Irishman (2019)

The Irishman

[5/10 · 21 November 2019]

3.5 hours movie by Martin Scorsese for Netflix.

• Basically, it's "Goodfellas" minus the energy and the violence.
• Way too long. Should have been 105-120 min.
• Flashback within a flashback within a flashback. DiCaprio almost came to start edit some dreams.
• The makeup is fantastic. Both the digital de-aging and the real makeup.
• Joe Pesci is fantastic.
• Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are good. This is probably DeNiro's best role in the last 20 years. Hey, he actually tries to act!
• Harvey Keitel's role was too small
• Watching it after you woke up at 2am is not the best idea, but at least I managed to gain some sleep during the movie.

5/10 ok-ish

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Not great, not terrible

[5/10 · 12 October 2019]

A single episode story stretched to 2 hours. It's not bad and not boring but really adds nothing new and serves more as a vehicle to show some of the series' old characters, some of them for single scenes. If you're a big "Breaking Bad" fan, I guess you'll like it.

I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter (2019)

Highly recommended

[7/10 · 12 October 2019]

In 2014, 17-year old Michelle Carter persuaded 18-year old Conrad Roy to commit suicide. He died in his pickup truck from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Despite getting out of the truck and trying to abandon his suicide attempt, she encouraged him to take his own life and made him promise to go through with it.

In 2017 She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for manslaughter.

During the trial her text messages to him were presented. She texted him for hours until he went through with it.

The documentary is very detailed and revealed more stuff I wasn't aware of.

It's amazing how manipulative she was and how she prepared everything before and after his death.

Perhaps the most striking thing is how she sat with sealed face throughout the entire case and the first time she showed any emotion was when she realized she was found guily and felt sorry for herself. Too bad her sentence was so easy.

6.5/10 Highly recommended

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Not great, not terrible

[5/10 · 1 September 2019]

So what did we have? People driving, shots of Margot Robbie smiling to herself, shots of Margot Robbie's ass, endless masturbatory 1960's pop culture references a la "Family Guy", lots of B-movie expositions, stupid plot twist, incoherent story, pointless flashbacks and scene manipulation/recreation, and an ending which is both pointless and has nothing to do with the style of the movie and is only there as a Tarantino fan service. The entire Sharon Tate (non) story was pointless and was only there to serve the ending. I've seen worse and I wasn't bored but it's still pointless and contains endless rip offs/references to older movies and genres, like every other Tarantino movie. Verdict: 3.6 Roentgen (i.e.: Not great, not terrible)

Anna (II) (2019)

Highly recommended

[6/10 · 24 July 2019]

Take two Brits to play Russians and an Irish to play an American. What do you get? "Anna" - One of the better movies I've seen this year. Luc Besson totally redeemed himself. Good script, good cast, good direction. Helen Mirren is a blast with thick glasses and even thicker Russian accent.

Pet Sematary (2019)

Decent remake - recommended

[6/10 · 4 April 2019]

Just watched it on premiere day. Pretty good remake/adaptation. It's similar to the original movie - and hard not to think of the original while watching this - but it has some small changes here and there to make it slightly more surprising even to those of us who are familiar with the original. The kid (Jete Laurence) is very good in her role. John Lithgow is always good, although here he has a tough competition with Fred Gwynne who was excellent as Jud in the original movie. Jason Clarke (whom I'm not a fan of) is ok in his role. The wife is pretty much a side character and doesn't leave you with anything memorable. And Victor Pascow, who was a very memorable character in the original (which says something for such a minor part) is very forgettable in the remake.

Christopher Young is always great. His score is servicable for the film but not something very memorable. It's strange that the most prominent part is the kids' drum section heard in the trailer.

I think this movie is slightly more psychological and deals a bit more with death and loss of a loved one. Or perhaps it's just because I see this version as a 30 years older guy. I need to rewatch the original to judge.

All in all, this is a decent remake. Each version has its own advantages and I guess a mix of the two could create a movie better than both.

5.5/10 Recommended