After the terrible disaster that was "The Pentaverate" I decided to give Austin Powers another chance, just to see if it was better than I remembered it. It wasn't. This movie didn't make me laugh when I saw it as a kid and now it's silly puns have only become more outdated. Granted, there are a few clever ideas and nice cameos. Mike Myers however is the films greatest weakness, giving just a one note performance in two separate roles. Maybe it's just me, but I never found him funny after the "Wayne's World" movies. Elizabeth Hurley on the other hand is much better than her reputation and gives a rather nice performance in a very thankless part, but is completely sidelined by her co-stars rampant ego-show.
Reviews
27 Reviews
The Adam Project
(2022)
I had a hell of a good time
12 March 2022
Did this movie reinvent the genre? Well, no. Was the story original? Absolutely not, it's basically Back to the Future II combined with the Bruce Willis Comedy The Kid. Did I have a great evening with this film? Definitely.
The dream team from The Good Guy has done it again and when you enjoyed that film and like Ryan Reynolds, than you get exactly what you expected. No real surprises here, but luckily no disappointments either.
The action is really good, the effects are a blast, the use of songs perfect, it has a lot of heart and is very funny. That's a lot to pull off and just add to that a time travel story that never gets too complicated and actually make sense. Which is nothing short of a miracle.
Plus, the cast is a dream. Having 4 Marvel actors in one film is just great fun, even if Zoe Saldana and Jennifer Garner could have been featured a little more. But seeing Reynolds and Mark Ruffalo as a father-son-duo almost makes up for it. And seriously, the child actor they have chosen to play the young Reynolds is fantastic, often unexpectedly stealing the show.
The dream team from The Good Guy has done it again and when you enjoyed that film and like Ryan Reynolds, than you get exactly what you expected. No real surprises here, but luckily no disappointments either.
The action is really good, the effects are a blast, the use of songs perfect, it has a lot of heart and is very funny. That's a lot to pull off and just add to that a time travel story that never gets too complicated and actually make sense. Which is nothing short of a miracle.
Plus, the cast is a dream. Having 4 Marvel actors in one film is just great fun, even if Zoe Saldana and Jennifer Garner could have been featured a little more. But seeing Reynolds and Mark Ruffalo as a father-son-duo almost makes up for it. And seriously, the child actor they have chosen to play the young Reynolds is fantastic, often unexpectedly stealing the show.
Reacher
(2022– )
Unimpressive and uninspired
2 March 2022
I never read the novels by Lee Child and I don't really know if I even want to after just another uninteresting screen adaptation. Even the charisma of Tom Cruise couldn't save the two movies starring him from boredom and bad writing. Sadly, after a promising beginning that's pretty much all I got from watching this new show.
Alan Ritchson gives a good performance, but I never really started to like the character. He just acts most of the time like an arrogant jackass, so I had a hard time trying to empathize with him and his character arc remained rather uninteresting to me. And even if it may be unfair criticism, his way of walking or moving seemed sometimes a little weird to me, like he trained a little to hard for the part and now had to be careful that the clothes he wares don't explode from his body.
I really enjoyed seeing Malcolm Goodwin, Bruce McGill and Willa Fitzgerald again, since I enjoyed their performances in other shows. Obviously I can say little about the quality of the books, but the writing, dialogue and characters all feel like this would be the series version of a random cheap 80s action movie. If they did it exactly the same way back then, starring Chuck Norris or Dolph Lindgren, this might be even a good time. But from a modern day show I expect a little more.
Alan Ritchson gives a good performance, but I never really started to like the character. He just acts most of the time like an arrogant jackass, so I had a hard time trying to empathize with him and his character arc remained rather uninteresting to me. And even if it may be unfair criticism, his way of walking or moving seemed sometimes a little weird to me, like he trained a little to hard for the part and now had to be careful that the clothes he wares don't explode from his body.
I really enjoyed seeing Malcolm Goodwin, Bruce McGill and Willa Fitzgerald again, since I enjoyed their performances in other shows. Obviously I can say little about the quality of the books, but the writing, dialogue and characters all feel like this would be the series version of a random cheap 80s action movie. If they did it exactly the same way back then, starring Chuck Norris or Dolph Lindgren, this might be even a good time. But from a modern day show I expect a little more.
The best possible conclusion
26 November 2021
I laughed, I cried, I was blown away. This had simply everything and was made with so much love. Sometimes the animation style switched a little too much into anime during the battle scenes, but that is only my opinion and really didn't took anything away from the action.
This whole episode is one of the biggest, badass battles I've ever seen and I loved that it ended peacefully. And that it was really more about the women kicking butt than anything else. How anyone can not love this and wants thing to be like they were back in the 80s is beyond me.
As someone who grew up with He-Man I couldn't have possibly loved it more. And how cool is it that the cliffhanger ending suggests a sequel. Possibly even featuring She-Ra? I really hope we get to see that.
This whole episode is one of the biggest, badass battles I've ever seen and I loved that it ended peacefully. And that it was really more about the women kicking butt than anything else. How anyone can not love this and wants thing to be like they were back in the 80s is beyond me.
As someone who grew up with He-Man I couldn't have possibly loved it more. And how cool is it that the cliffhanger ending suggests a sequel. Possibly even featuring She-Ra? I really hope we get to see that.
Emotionally unsatisfying
20 October 2021
Sadly the trilogy gets weaker with every movie and ends on it's weakest note. Some of my favorite scenes are either missing or just don't have the right emotionally impact as they have in the book.
The end feels in many ways like a letdown, especially concerning the deaths of main characters and the unsatisfying ending to many of the plots storylines, which is never more eminent as in the hasty battle against Sauron and his all to sudden and easy defeat.
The movie is still good, the battles and action scenes are amazing, however the ending left me in many ways wanting for more. Because the movie spends too much of it's time on unnecessary elements (like the whole storyline about Alfrid witch is just a total waste of screen time), there is not enough time left to end all dangling story's properly, even in the extended cut.
All in all the movie is good enough when you just take it for itself, but a very disappointing ending to the trilogy, especially since it began so well.
The end feels in many ways like a letdown, especially concerning the deaths of main characters and the unsatisfying ending to many of the plots storylines, which is never more eminent as in the hasty battle against Sauron and his all to sudden and easy defeat.
The movie is still good, the battles and action scenes are amazing, however the ending left me in many ways wanting for more. Because the movie spends too much of it's time on unnecessary elements (like the whole storyline about Alfrid witch is just a total waste of screen time), there is not enough time left to end all dangling story's properly, even in the extended cut.
All in all the movie is good enough when you just take it for itself, but a very disappointing ending to the trilogy, especially since it began so well.
Mortal Kombat
(2021)
Another Movie, another Dissapointment
14 August 2021
I like the classic 90s movie, but I never felt, like it was actually a fitting adaption in all it's fun but dated cheesiness. And especially since the franchise grew so much with the last 3 epic games, I always hoped for a new movie or at least another TV show to do it justice. This movie sadly doesn't manage to make use of all the potential of the games saga. Instead it's pretty much "Legacy" all over again.
Just as in the "Legacy" Series you can feel a lot of love for the material by the people behind it, but that doesn't necessarily guarantees quality - or talent. The director may be a fan, but choosing a first time filmmaker to helm a project like this is simply ridiculous. Justice where Justice is do, he does a good enough job with the fighting scenes and the effects, but the movie immediately false flat in the dialogue scenes in between.
The camera is often awkwardly placed, the look remains blend and uninteresting all throughout, the mostly good acting ensemble seems a little lost at times and while there a some nice performances (particularly Josh Lawson steeling the show as Kano) they clearly lack the unifying vision of a good director to make their characters really come alive. As a result the characters seem mostly stale and liveless, definitely not interesting enough to care about them. Especially Liu Kang is reduced to a slightly whiny weakling, while Raiden is simply a dick, both seem particularly down powered from the games.
Just having some bloody deaths doesn't make up for a story you not only can't invest in, but that rarely makes any sense, inventing new concepts and characters instead of trusting in the strength of it's source material and in general denying the audience to see the actual tournament that's in the very title.
Just like in "Legacy" they constantly scale down the fantasy elements to make it more "realistic" aka cheaper, but also a lot less original. But in my opinion, if you can't make Mortal Kombat properly, why do it at all? This often felt to me like the old "Masters of the Universe" movie, taking the action out of the imaginative surroundings of the games, replacing a fascinating fantasy universe with dull and mundane real world settings.
Strangely, despite this being really a 50 Million Dollar production, it feels very much like a fan film or web series to me. There are some nice real world locations, but neither the director nor the camera man seemed to have known how to film them in an impressive or at least convincing way. The same is true for the costumes, which look great in stills from the film, but look simply unimpressive in the actual film. And clearly just having people in costumes walk around in real world locations doesn't make it look real.
I don't hate this movie, but with a higher budget, a proper script deserving that name and an experienced director, this could have been so much better.
Just as in the "Legacy" Series you can feel a lot of love for the material by the people behind it, but that doesn't necessarily guarantees quality - or talent. The director may be a fan, but choosing a first time filmmaker to helm a project like this is simply ridiculous. Justice where Justice is do, he does a good enough job with the fighting scenes and the effects, but the movie immediately false flat in the dialogue scenes in between.
The camera is often awkwardly placed, the look remains blend and uninteresting all throughout, the mostly good acting ensemble seems a little lost at times and while there a some nice performances (particularly Josh Lawson steeling the show as Kano) they clearly lack the unifying vision of a good director to make their characters really come alive. As a result the characters seem mostly stale and liveless, definitely not interesting enough to care about them. Especially Liu Kang is reduced to a slightly whiny weakling, while Raiden is simply a dick, both seem particularly down powered from the games.
Just having some bloody deaths doesn't make up for a story you not only can't invest in, but that rarely makes any sense, inventing new concepts and characters instead of trusting in the strength of it's source material and in general denying the audience to see the actual tournament that's in the very title.
Just like in "Legacy" they constantly scale down the fantasy elements to make it more "realistic" aka cheaper, but also a lot less original. But in my opinion, if you can't make Mortal Kombat properly, why do it at all? This often felt to me like the old "Masters of the Universe" movie, taking the action out of the imaginative surroundings of the games, replacing a fascinating fantasy universe with dull and mundane real world settings.
Strangely, despite this being really a 50 Million Dollar production, it feels very much like a fan film or web series to me. There are some nice real world locations, but neither the director nor the camera man seemed to have known how to film them in an impressive or at least convincing way. The same is true for the costumes, which look great in stills from the film, but look simply unimpressive in the actual film. And clearly just having people in costumes walk around in real world locations doesn't make it look real.
I don't hate this movie, but with a higher budget, a proper script deserving that name and an experienced director, this could have been so much better.
The reviews and ratings for this show are ridiculous
25 July 2021
After the first episode I was doubtful, but when Cringer made his speech they had me. This show is so full of love and respect for the old show it's crazy. The Animation is top notch, the voice cast couldn't possibly be more amazing or more fitting and the show is not just highly entertaining, but actually quite deep, meaningful and even introspective.
I was prepared for a lot, but not for how touching it is, how emotional it made me and how often I would have a tear in my eye. Especially the Orco-Storyline really got to me.
Of course the ending is a a shocker and many will simply complain because instead of a He-"Man" this show centers around a strong woman. No wonder many try to put the show down, but don't let that fool you. This is the best modernisation of one of my favorite childhood shows, that I could have hoped for.
I was prepared for a lot, but not for how touching it is, how emotional it made me and how often I would have a tear in my eye. Especially the Orco-Storyline really got to me.
Of course the ending is a a shocker and many will simply complain because instead of a He-"Man" this show centers around a strong woman. No wonder many try to put the show down, but don't let that fool you. This is the best modernisation of one of my favorite childhood shows, that I could have hoped for.
The Meg
(2018)
How to turn a super fun novel into the most generic movie possible
24 July 2021
I read the book back in the 90s when it first came out - and it said on the back of the book that this will be soon a major motion picture. Well, it took a bit longer than expected. And now I have to say that it wasn't worth the wait at all.
The book is a lot more fun to read than Crichton's Jurassic Park and is in itself a perfect 90s blockbuster, full of awesome scenes and thrilling moments. Sadly, almost none of it has found it's way into the movie. Instead they changed everything beside the basic story and a few of the main characters, which were also more fun in the book.
Overall they seemed to have made changes simply to make changes without any sense or inspiration. They didn't added any new ideas, concepts or anything original at all. The goal seemed to have been: This will be a shark movie for the audience of a Jason-Statham-Film, so let's make it as dumb as we can.
What could have been a rival to the Jurassic Park franchise ends up as nothing than a B-Movie with bigger names and better effects. The absolutely stupid script has any trace of logic removed and showcases a team of scientists and specialists constantly acting like absolute idiots. You get all the cliches, horrible dialogue, unfunny jokes, foreseeable jump scares and stereotypical characters that you could have seen in any other random shark film of your choosing. The only difference is that this shark is bigger.
Statham does a great job as usual in the hero role. The rest of the cast is great, but has little to do except constantly falling off boats, like this is one of the Jaws sequels. The effects and the underwater action are really good, but that is practically the whole fun factor of the movie.
The Meg is okay to watch on a Friday night, but barely enough to actually watch it till the end.
The book is a lot more fun to read than Crichton's Jurassic Park and is in itself a perfect 90s blockbuster, full of awesome scenes and thrilling moments. Sadly, almost none of it has found it's way into the movie. Instead they changed everything beside the basic story and a few of the main characters, which were also more fun in the book.
Overall they seemed to have made changes simply to make changes without any sense or inspiration. They didn't added any new ideas, concepts or anything original at all. The goal seemed to have been: This will be a shark movie for the audience of a Jason-Statham-Film, so let's make it as dumb as we can.
What could have been a rival to the Jurassic Park franchise ends up as nothing than a B-Movie with bigger names and better effects. The absolutely stupid script has any trace of logic removed and showcases a team of scientists and specialists constantly acting like absolute idiots. You get all the cliches, horrible dialogue, unfunny jokes, foreseeable jump scares and stereotypical characters that you could have seen in any other random shark film of your choosing. The only difference is that this shark is bigger.
Statham does a great job as usual in the hero role. The rest of the cast is great, but has little to do except constantly falling off boats, like this is one of the Jaws sequels. The effects and the underwater action are really good, but that is practically the whole fun factor of the movie.
The Meg is okay to watch on a Friday night, but barely enough to actually watch it till the end.
TMNT
(2007)
The perfect antidote after watching the Bay movies
24 July 2021
If you loved the old movies, you will surely enjoy this. Great animation, good story, fantastic cast. It's clearly done with a lot of love for the franchise, getting the characters very right and brings in a few nice ideas and additions of it's own. The action and fighting scenes are also well done. The score is great and the use of songs in several scenes works really well.
It's certainly very underrated and great fun. Fans that grow up with the Turtles and long for a more grownup version than the old cartoon will probably a great time with this film. I certainly did.
It's certainly very underrated and great fun. Fans that grow up with the Turtles and long for a more grownup version than the old cartoon will probably a great time with this film. I certainly did.
Mortal Kombat
(1995)
Not as bad as I remembered it
18 July 2021
I saw this once about 15 years ago and decided to give it another chance since I always liked the games. For a 90s video game adaption this stays actually in most part remarkably true to it's source material. The acting is also okay, not great but sufficient and at least always entertaining.
Christopher Lambert as Rayden is an absolute miscast, but he does a good enough job with the part - apart from that slightly creepy laughs. The effects are still okay for a film of that period and the fight scenes are enjoyable, but hardly spectacular.
I can't quite agree with others claiming this as the best video game adaption to date or as a under valued cult movie. It might actually be the best video game adaption of the 90s, but that is not saying much. In my opinion, this is in no way a must see, but I definitely had a very fun afternoon of 90s nostalgia with it and enjoyed it despite it's flaws.
Christopher Lambert as Rayden is an absolute miscast, but he does a good enough job with the part - apart from that slightly creepy laughs. The effects are still okay for a film of that period and the fight scenes are enjoyable, but hardly spectacular.
I can't quite agree with others claiming this as the best video game adaption to date or as a under valued cult movie. It might actually be the best video game adaption of the 90s, but that is not saying much. In my opinion, this is in no way a must see, but I definitely had a very fun afternoon of 90s nostalgia with it and enjoyed it despite it's flaws.
The Transformers: The Movie
(1986)
Surprisingly good
17 July 2021
I didn't expect much, but the movie is actually still very entertaining. The Animation is good, the story has some delightfully dark and serious elements, the voice acting includes some famous names and all of the cast are fun to listen to, especially the legandary duo of Cullen and Welker. The Villain is also great, only Galvatron is a bit of a let down, Leonard Nimoy is severely underused.
Of course the movie has aged significantly, but for me the only real problem is the soundtrack. The Songs are fine, but they are blasting in full force all through the movie, almost never stopping, which mostly destroyed the mood of the scenes. Quite often the Songs are also not maching the tone of the scenes they were put over.
Of course the movie has aged significantly, but for me the only real problem is the soundtrack. The Songs are fine, but they are blasting in full force all through the movie, almost never stopping, which mostly destroyed the mood of the scenes. Quite often the Songs are also not maching the tone of the scenes they were put over.
Fun, but sexist as hell
12 May 2021
Great atmosphere, fun episode, but the dialogue is often so sexist it just makes you cringe. Granted, it's Texas in the 50s, but they actually say it's unnatural for a women to live as a cowboy and not get married. Sam even suggests that there a some things women can do better than men ... "like having babies". However there are still a lot of nice moments in this episode, that make me put up with the annoyance. And I quite like the closing gag, as silly as it is.
Ava
(IV) (2020)
Complete waste of time
22 January 2021
The way the story is told it's absolutely impossible to develop any feelings for the main character or any other character in the film. Don't expect an action thriller, this is just a character drama. It's just the family problems of an unlikeable cold killer, with a little bit of Nikita thrown in, just so they can sell this as an action movie - witch it isn't.
Not even Jessica Chastain can save this boring and uninteresting film. It's just a worthless disappointment with no upside at all. And don't even bother to wait for the ending, because that is as unfulfilling as everything about this film.
Not even Jessica Chastain can save this boring and uninteresting film. It's just a worthless disappointment with no upside at all. And don't even bother to wait for the ending, because that is as unfulfilling as everything about this film.
Sphere
(1998)
The first half is quite good, the rest descendants into chaos
8 January 2021
I read the book several times and really enjoy it just the same every time I read it again. For me it is clearly Crichton's best book, as it is really a perfect, smart sci-fi-thriller, while in most of his other work he seemed more interested in the science and his opinions then the story or the characters.
The movie is disappointing, but it stays pretty true to the source material for most of it. And even though I always end up disappointed, I have also watched the movie time and time again, as it is really entertaining, despite it's flaws.
The casting is really great and perfectly matches the characters in the book and even if I never was a fan of Sharon Stone in this role (or any other honestly) she is actually a good fit. The problem is that her character is a bit of a cliche even in the book and at times a little annoying, especially since she is the only mayor female character and therefore has to play the part of the dramatic, emotional woman at times.
I really like the first half of the movie, as both the atmosphere and the visuals are really great and very promising. That makes the rest even more of a let down as the storytelling and the editing in the second half become more and more chaotic and unfocussed.
With a director totally unexperienced in action scenes, thrills, horror or special effects and a legendary meddlesome writer as one of the producers, it's no wonder the movie doesn't turned out as great as it could have been. Add to that the budget constraints, that made it impossible to show much of the space ship or show the giant squid at all and you can understand the problems, they must have had making the film.
I definitely would recommend this movie for a fun movie night at home on a Friday, especially as it's one of this movies best to enjoy when you not actually think about it too much. But I also really recommend reading the book, as it is not only superior, but also explaines some of the open questions in the movie and has more thrilling scenes, especially with the monster and other sea animals.
And also the best thing about the movie might after all be the fantastic score.
The movie is disappointing, but it stays pretty true to the source material for most of it. And even though I always end up disappointed, I have also watched the movie time and time again, as it is really entertaining, despite it's flaws.
The casting is really great and perfectly matches the characters in the book and even if I never was a fan of Sharon Stone in this role (or any other honestly) she is actually a good fit. The problem is that her character is a bit of a cliche even in the book and at times a little annoying, especially since she is the only mayor female character and therefore has to play the part of the dramatic, emotional woman at times.
I really like the first half of the movie, as both the atmosphere and the visuals are really great and very promising. That makes the rest even more of a let down as the storytelling and the editing in the second half become more and more chaotic and unfocussed.
With a director totally unexperienced in action scenes, thrills, horror or special effects and a legendary meddlesome writer as one of the producers, it's no wonder the movie doesn't turned out as great as it could have been. Add to that the budget constraints, that made it impossible to show much of the space ship or show the giant squid at all and you can understand the problems, they must have had making the film.
I definitely would recommend this movie for a fun movie night at home on a Friday, especially as it's one of this movies best to enjoy when you not actually think about it too much. But I also really recommend reading the book, as it is not only superior, but also explaines some of the open questions in the movie and has more thrilling scenes, especially with the monster and other sea animals.
And also the best thing about the movie might after all be the fantastic score.
Love Actually
(2003)
THE modern Christmas Classic
29 December 2020
If this movie doesn't touch you you are either dead or a psychopath. It's a complete mystery to me why this movie does not have a perfect score both here and on rotten tomatoes. It's right high up there with The Shawshank Redemption, Back to the Future or Ghostbusters as one of the perfect movies, that work every time, don't loose anything with age and don't have a single flaw or weakness, no line or scene or character is too much or too little.
This movie have saved me many Christmas Evenings, it's unresistable romantic and both true and magical, funny and touching. Describing this as a romantic comedy is as describing The Godfather simply as a gangster movie. It's one of the best movies, perhaps even the best, ever made about love.
This movie have saved me many Christmas Evenings, it's unresistable romantic and both true and magical, funny and touching. Describing this as a romantic comedy is as describing The Godfather simply as a gangster movie. It's one of the best movies, perhaps even the best, ever made about love.
The Hitman's Bodyguard
(2017)
So much fun
7 November 2020
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are just born to share the screen together. The movie is simple, straightforward and completely lacking any kind of surprises - and that's exactly why I had such a good time watching it. This is just the film to see on a Friday Night after a rough week.
Just Action, Explosions, Blood and 2 Stars on the top of their game with a killer chemistry. But the movie also has a surprisingly amount of heart and romance for a film with so many dead people.
Also Salma Hayek steals every scene as the hitman's sociopathic sweetheart. This totally anarchic love story makes Joker and Harley look pretty boring. And Gary Oldman does his best with a one dimensional part in making him as detestable as possible.
I also desperately want to see more of Elodie Young, who is just underused in this film, but leaves a strong impression. And as great as Reynolds is in his part, Sam Jackson is as usual the highlight of the film, adding another iconic and incredible cool character to his long resume.
Just Action, Explosions, Blood and 2 Stars on the top of their game with a killer chemistry. But the movie also has a surprisingly amount of heart and romance for a film with so many dead people.
Also Salma Hayek steals every scene as the hitman's sociopathic sweetheart. This totally anarchic love story makes Joker and Harley look pretty boring. And Gary Oldman does his best with a one dimensional part in making him as detestable as possible.
I also desperately want to see more of Elodie Young, who is just underused in this film, but leaves a strong impression. And as great as Reynolds is in his part, Sam Jackson is as usual the highlight of the film, adding another iconic and incredible cool character to his long resume.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(2014)
There goes my childhood
2 July 2020
The character design of both the turtles and Splinter looks terrible. The jokes are silly and the characters all unlikeable. Splinter is meant to be a loving father figure, but physically abuses his teenage boys. The Turtles have no real personality, except for Michelangelo, who is the most annoying character since Jar Jar Binks, but he has a dead ringer in Will Forte, being absolutely useless and profoundly unfunny in every scene. Megan Fox might not be a great Actress, but she is clearly the best thing in this mess.
At least the voice acting is good. And the action scenes are fun in the typical Michael Bay style, which is evident all over this, sadly especially in the humor. This reboot has nothing on the classic movies from the 80s.
At least the voice acting is good. And the action scenes are fun in the typical Michael Bay style, which is evident all over this, sadly especially in the humor. This reboot has nothing on the classic movies from the 80s.
Baywatch
(2017)
Sexy, not funny
16 June 2020
While this movie could have worked as a light-hearted summer movie with stupid jokes that it's starting out as, it really tanks in the second half when it turns into a boring crime comedy. The movie looks good, but it's just too silly, the characters are not really that likeable, the cast is giving a good job, but the humor is just all over the place and seldom manages to find the right tone or keep it for more than 2 minutes. I liked the idea of the female villain, however that's the only original thing about this film - but it's at least fun, even though it's often cringe worthy.
Can You Keep a Secret?
(2019)
Charming, but uninspired
13 June 2020
I mainly watched this film because of Alexandra Daddario, who is sadly (just like in "Baywatch" or "The Layover") the best thing about this unfunny comedy. Apart from being absolutely stunning, she manages to fill a badly written character with life, making her sexy, funny, sweet, adorable and relatable, despite a horrible screenplay. Tyler Hoechlin is not a very versatile actor in my opinion, but he is likeably enough for 90 minutes.
And it's not like he has to pull a lot of his acting strings, since he has no real character to portray. His role is nothing but your usual Prince Charming, as you can find him in many romances these days, completely without personality, depth or any kind of development during the story. He has to do nothing but be handsome and smile, as he is little more than a shallow fantasy.
The director has only worked for reality TV so far, which explains a lot, but at least the movie looks good. The screenwriter has himself directed and written 2 rather nice movies, but this one is nothing but cliche and overused genre tropes you've seen in a thousand different films and tv shows. The moral behind all the glamour is also questionable and old fashioned.
Of course the woman has to be emotional all the time, she is constantly portraited as verry week and full of self-doubt. And in the end she is being punished for being complex, while her one-note love interest acts like a selfish jerk - and she is the one that has to do a big emotional apology in the end, while he simply never opens up at all. He literally does nothing to deserve the girl, but he gets her nonetheless.
In the end this is a nice enough movie, if you don't think about the massage too much and can endure stale characters and humorless jokes. Quite ideal for a Sunday afternoon.
And it's not like he has to pull a lot of his acting strings, since he has no real character to portray. His role is nothing but your usual Prince Charming, as you can find him in many romances these days, completely without personality, depth or any kind of development during the story. He has to do nothing but be handsome and smile, as he is little more than a shallow fantasy.
The director has only worked for reality TV so far, which explains a lot, but at least the movie looks good. The screenwriter has himself directed and written 2 rather nice movies, but this one is nothing but cliche and overused genre tropes you've seen in a thousand different films and tv shows. The moral behind all the glamour is also questionable and old fashioned.
Of course the woman has to be emotional all the time, she is constantly portraited as verry week and full of self-doubt. And in the end she is being punished for being complex, while her one-note love interest acts like a selfish jerk - and she is the one that has to do a big emotional apology in the end, while he simply never opens up at all. He literally does nothing to deserve the girl, but he gets her nonetheless.
In the end this is a nice enough movie, if you don't think about the massage too much and can endure stale characters and humorless jokes. Quite ideal for a Sunday afternoon.
Titans
(I) (2018–2023)
Stupid, cheap, worthless
11 April 2020
The goal for this show seems to have been: how can we tell all those great storylines from the comics in a way that they make no fun at all and feature all the beloved classic characters in their least interesting version. It's amazing that this comes from big names like Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti. The writing is simply awful, the look makes everything seem a lot cheaper then I guess it was to produce and it's bleakness ruins every character design. And the fight scenes and effects doesn't look good either, not good for a superhero-show.
Brenton Thwaites is a really good actor, but his Dick Grayson is just an idiot, who always without fail makes the wrong decision. But pretty much all the heroes on the show are unlikeable and unrelatable idiots, totally missing any moral center. The whole concept is totally wrong, all the characters constantly act so stupid it's just silly and don't even try looking for logic in these unbelievably bad scripts.
I would have loved a good TV show about the Titans, I was hoping for something like this for years. But this has almost nothing to do with the comics. So stop kicking "Batwoman" down all the time, "Titans" is actually a lot worse in every way.
Brenton Thwaites is a really good actor, but his Dick Grayson is just an idiot, who always without fail makes the wrong decision. But pretty much all the heroes on the show are unlikeable and unrelatable idiots, totally missing any moral center. The whole concept is totally wrong, all the characters constantly act so stupid it's just silly and don't even try looking for logic in these unbelievably bad scripts.
I would have loved a good TV show about the Titans, I was hoping for something like this for years. But this has almost nothing to do with the comics. So stop kicking "Batwoman" down all the time, "Titans" is actually a lot worse in every way.
Midsommar
(2019)
Ari Aster needs some serious therapy
28 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Like his previous movie "Hereditary" i'm just not as excited about this film as apparently everyone else. I love horror movies, but this isn't actually a horror movie, just like "Hereditary". Instead the director again only uses the ways of the genre to give us an extremely disturbing look into his mind.
I'm really a big fan of directors like David Lynch and David Cronenberg, i Like it when a horror movie disturbes me or challenge me or dares to be surreal and open to interpretation. In that way the movie is very interesting and effective, the missing daylight is also a very interesting and unique effect. But just like the continuously pounding music in "Hereditary" it doesn't really help the movie, it actually makes the shocking scenes less scary and effective.
In the end Aster took his personal problems, reused a lot of the same imagery as in his last film (dark rituals, unusually long shots of mutilated body's in unsettling graphic detail, a strange child, up and emotionally unrelatable characters in hopelessly lost relationships), all culminating in a variation of the same ending, combined with the end of "The Wicker Man". His ideas, concepts and characters are not as deep or interesting as he thinks.
However the movie is very well directed and Florence Plough gives a fantastic performance as always. Jack Raynor is also very good in a rather thankless role.
It's an interesting movie, but it goes on far too long, since you can not really invest in the characters or feel for them and the solution is not very clever, you can see it coming long before the ending. I'm sorry, but for me Ari Aster is not a master of the genre, he is just someone with a worrying interest in images of gruesome mutilated corpses.
I'm really a big fan of directors like David Lynch and David Cronenberg, i Like it when a horror movie disturbes me or challenge me or dares to be surreal and open to interpretation. In that way the movie is very interesting and effective, the missing daylight is also a very interesting and unique effect. But just like the continuously pounding music in "Hereditary" it doesn't really help the movie, it actually makes the shocking scenes less scary and effective.
In the end Aster took his personal problems, reused a lot of the same imagery as in his last film (dark rituals, unusually long shots of mutilated body's in unsettling graphic detail, a strange child, up and emotionally unrelatable characters in hopelessly lost relationships), all culminating in a variation of the same ending, combined with the end of "The Wicker Man". His ideas, concepts and characters are not as deep or interesting as he thinks.
However the movie is very well directed and Florence Plough gives a fantastic performance as always. Jack Raynor is also very good in a rather thankless role.
It's an interesting movie, but it goes on far too long, since you can not really invest in the characters or feel for them and the solution is not very clever, you can see it coming long before the ending. I'm sorry, but for me Ari Aster is not a master of the genre, he is just someone with a worrying interest in images of gruesome mutilated corpses.
The Boys
(2019– )
Great show, but pointless
24 March 2020
The trailers had got me hyped for this show, even though I'm not a fan of the creative team behind it. And the fantastic first episode promised a lot, sadly the show doesn't deliver. I thought I would get a dark but fun show, showing likeable oddballs defeating smug supervillains, maskerading as heroes.
Especially Homelander is an amazing villain, but like many modern shows (like The Walking Dead) this is not a story about good guys against bad guys. The writing is good, the cast great, the performances are all fantastic. But I can't help asking myself what's actually the point of it all.
It's a great premise, but just not used the right way. It's not going anywhere interesting, it's dark, hopeless world creeps under your skin and they seem to be brutal simply for shock value. The show is really good, but it doesn't give me anything and was not fun to watch, instead especially the last few episodes were just stressful and depressing.
Especially Homelander is an amazing villain, but like many modern shows (like The Walking Dead) this is not a story about good guys against bad guys. The writing is good, the cast great, the performances are all fantastic. But I can't help asking myself what's actually the point of it all.
It's a great premise, but just not used the right way. It's not going anywhere interesting, it's dark, hopeless world creeps under your skin and they seem to be brutal simply for shock value. The show is really good, but it doesn't give me anything and was not fun to watch, instead especially the last few episodes were just stressful and depressing.
I was almost at the point of not caring about the show anymore, but this got me excited for the finale.
20 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
After finally taking the time to really deal mainly with Picard's Crew and seeing them growing together a little in the last episode, the first part of the finale continues to taking small steps in the right direction. Finally Picard starts sounding like Picard again, finally he returns to defending the moral grounds the Federation and Star Trek in general is build on. Sadly so far he stands alone, as no one else in this new dark Star Trek universe seems to have a moral compass.
But I don't won't to be so negative about it, as this is actually a very good episode with a strong story, interesting revelations and a promising cliffhanger. There are some nice little details for the fans also, even so I really didn't needed an evil Soji with Data-looks or having Brent Spiner returning, just to play another unlikeable version of Soongh. Still, it's starting to finally feel a little more like Star Trek, similar to what they did with the last two episodes of the first season on Discovery.
The cast is just great as usual, but even so they make an effort to connect the characters more, moments like Picard's revelation to his shipmates or Picard telling Rafi he loves her are just feeling a little forced and emotionally unearned. They just haven't really established the fundaments enough on which the writers are trying to build the finale and so much of it is just not mattering as much to me as apparently intended. And after the crew has bizarrely accepted Agnes betrayal and cold-blooded murder without problems, she just makes just another complete turn in character.
As I am actually quite a fan of Allison Pill, it's frustrating to see how her character was made more and more unlikeable with every episode, while Soji seems very week in this episode. In the end there is however a lot to like here, despite some flaws, it's not as frustrating and disappointing to watch as some earlier episodes and it made me looking forward to the season finale again.
But I don't won't to be so negative about it, as this is actually a very good episode with a strong story, interesting revelations and a promising cliffhanger. There are some nice little details for the fans also, even so I really didn't needed an evil Soji with Data-looks or having Brent Spiner returning, just to play another unlikeable version of Soongh. Still, it's starting to finally feel a little more like Star Trek, similar to what they did with the last two episodes of the first season on Discovery.
The cast is just great as usual, but even so they make an effort to connect the characters more, moments like Picard's revelation to his shipmates or Picard telling Rafi he loves her are just feeling a little forced and emotionally unearned. They just haven't really established the fundaments enough on which the writers are trying to build the finale and so much of it is just not mattering as much to me as apparently intended. And after the crew has bizarrely accepted Agnes betrayal and cold-blooded murder without problems, she just makes just another complete turn in character.
As I am actually quite a fan of Allison Pill, it's frustrating to see how her character was made more and more unlikeable with every episode, while Soji seems very week in this episode. In the end there is however a lot to like here, despite some flaws, it's not as frustrating and disappointing to watch as some earlier episodes and it made me looking forward to the season finale again.
Legacies
(2018–2022)
Starting out strong, getting a lot better
7 March 2020
I just finished the first season and to my own surprise this has developed from my weekly guilty pleasure to an actually good show. The premise is interesting, the characters are actually growing and changing during the season, the monsters are fun and sometimes creepy, the cast is not just good looking but also talented, the magical action scenes are well done. Most of all, while every other genre show out there is just bleak, dark and hopeless nowadays, this show doesn't forget to have a little fun on the way.
I was never a fan of either The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. As a guy, the whole "good girl falls for bad guy"-story is rather boring to me and definitely not enough to build a whole show on. And I never found some character to care for The Originals, as egomaniacal, self centered vampires are rather hard to relate to for me.
But after giving this show a try, I enjoyed it a lot more, especially since they widened the universe and didn't take themselves and their absurd storylines so terrible seriously all the time. It's not reinventing the wheel and not every episode is cleverly written, but it's very fun to watch and getting better and better during the season.
You also don't really need to have seen a lot of the previous shows to understand the storylines, so you can just jump right in. And it definitely made me want to check out these shows again.
I was never a fan of either The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. As a guy, the whole "good girl falls for bad guy"-story is rather boring to me and definitely not enough to build a whole show on. And I never found some character to care for The Originals, as egomaniacal, self centered vampires are rather hard to relate to for me.
But after giving this show a try, I enjoyed it a lot more, especially since they widened the universe and didn't take themselves and their absurd storylines so terrible seriously all the time. It's not reinventing the wheel and not every episode is cleverly written, but it's very fun to watch and getting better and better during the season.
You also don't really need to have seen a lot of the previous shows to understand the storylines, so you can just jump right in. And it definitely made me want to check out these shows again.
It's getting better, but ...
7 March 2020
I'm still very emotionally conflicted about this show. For the first time since the first episode they actually take the time to step back and develop the characters a little further, instead just running to keep up with the main story. Having Picard trying to channel some of his former self while trying to connect with Soji was definitely a step in the right direction.
We finally get the long awaited visit with the Rikers and when the 3 share the screen it's easy to see what they really should have done with this show: getting the band back together! Troi has a wonderful moment when she's lecturing Picard and Jonathan Frakes gives a great performance. And Lulu Wilson is clearly the star of the episode as the Rikers daughter. Just like with Picard's dog, you just feel sorry that they don't take her along.
Instead, after we've seen Seven come back only to learn how terrible her life has become, Hugh is tragically killed of, while the characters potential was totally unused. After looking like a badass in the last episode, Elnor seems rather useless here. And having the most likeable member of the crew turning out to be a traitor has made it really impossible for me to get warm with these characters or care for any of them, even though the cast is great.
It seems to me the show wants 3 totally different things all at the same time. There's the big conspiracy storyline that you want to move on faster to figure out what is going on. There is the character drama, where the show needs to slow down a little more, so you can have more time getting to know the new characters and explore Picard's inner life. In that way, this show is a very nice and needed change of pace. But then again that means another distraction from the main story.
And on top of all that, there is a crew that needs to grew together and start to be a team instead of a band of loners - what just isn't happening so far. So this feels more and more like 3 different series struggling for screen time, trying to pull the show in different directions.
There is a lot that's great about this series, but it will just never be the series I wished for. Maybe they will be able to fix this in season 2 like they managed with Discovery. But still, the concept is not working out, the tone is just not right and it's not feeling at all like the Star Trek I knew back in the days of the Next Generation. When you sell a series on nostalgia, you can simply not make something different in style and tone at the same time.
We finally get the long awaited visit with the Rikers and when the 3 share the screen it's easy to see what they really should have done with this show: getting the band back together! Troi has a wonderful moment when she's lecturing Picard and Jonathan Frakes gives a great performance. And Lulu Wilson is clearly the star of the episode as the Rikers daughter. Just like with Picard's dog, you just feel sorry that they don't take her along.
Instead, after we've seen Seven come back only to learn how terrible her life has become, Hugh is tragically killed of, while the characters potential was totally unused. After looking like a badass in the last episode, Elnor seems rather useless here. And having the most likeable member of the crew turning out to be a traitor has made it really impossible for me to get warm with these characters or care for any of them, even though the cast is great.
It seems to me the show wants 3 totally different things all at the same time. There's the big conspiracy storyline that you want to move on faster to figure out what is going on. There is the character drama, where the show needs to slow down a little more, so you can have more time getting to know the new characters and explore Picard's inner life. In that way, this show is a very nice and needed change of pace. But then again that means another distraction from the main story.
And on top of all that, there is a crew that needs to grew together and start to be a team instead of a band of loners - what just isn't happening so far. So this feels more and more like 3 different series struggling for screen time, trying to pull the show in different directions.
There is a lot that's great about this series, but it will just never be the series I wished for. Maybe they will be able to fix this in season 2 like they managed with Discovery. But still, the concept is not working out, the tone is just not right and it's not feeling at all like the Star Trek I knew back in the days of the Next Generation. When you sell a series on nostalgia, you can simply not make something different in style and tone at the same time.
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