redbeardceltic Reviews

Influencer (II) (2022)

Much more intelligent than it appears.

[9/10 · 14 January 2024]

The film's trailer and opening tone is deceptive in that it gives an impression this is some teen jump scare movie. It is actually quite impressive in the level of details and the structural set up. I wouldn't put this as a horror, rather more of a mystery thriller.

First off, the reason it took 26 minutes to get to the cast and title, or technically the real beginning of the film, is just outright genius. Madison claimed they were 100% in her story, but the story is actually about CW. Yes, CW is the main character, hence the movie began at 26 mins and why that is where the cast/title scene were provided.

Naud must've done some research into her character to pull off this performance. Though most people will not appreciate it because they wouldn't know, but CW is a text book serial killer. They differ quite dramatically from spree or mass killers in their profile.

Many people have a wrongful idea of serial killer because of how they were portrayed in various movies. For dramatic effects, they often come off with that evil/sinister persona which is not really the case. Serial killers are sociopaths, they do not feel emotions, or at least not as much as regular folks. As such they have very little regard for human life, thinking of them as nothing more than animals.

Naud pulls this off brilliantly with her performance, a emotionless dead look when CW is not acting to manipulate. Sociopaths are great manipulators and actors, which is why a lot of Hollywood stars are probably sociopaths.

Part of the psychology of serial killers and why they do what they do is because they do not feel. So they are thrill seekers, trying to feel something. They are highly intelligent, study their prey, and then act on them without fear, adjusting their strategy when necessary.

Then the ending, we are brought back to Madison again and the story shifts focus away from CW, who is now the villain rather than the main character. Very well done.

There are a few issues that wasn't explained in the film which would leave viewers puzzled. They can only be insinuated through understanding of serial killers. I'm mixed on whether the film should've spelled them outright or left them as is.

For example, CW originally thought of going after Ryan with a knife. This was more of a kill out of necessity, being exposed and her overall plan falling apart. However, discovering Ryan posting a photo with her in the background stopped her. This gave her time to calm down and rethink.

This explains a lot of things such as why she didn't straight out kill Ryan and use her tech skills to hack his social media? Or why she allowed Ryan to leave after already deleting the photo. Think about it, Madison disappearing is easier to cover up with Ryan alive and spreading misinformation. With both of them dead, it would create a much harder crime to cover.

Killing Jessica was also out of a whim and because she was somewhat discovered. CW snapped when faced with what Jessica said, though I'm not entirely sure which thing she said really set her off. It is either the creepy remark or simply saying they were never friends, she just stuck around. It must've hit a nerve as CW appears to be a loner, maybe not by choice when she was young. Sociopaths tend to be anti-social or awkwardly social.

Overall, a good mystery thriller and you'll probably find more things about it after each watch.

9/10.

Babylon (I) (2022)

Honest Review

[31 January 2023]

I'm going to tell you exactly why his film bombed at the box office and why it got a RT score of 45% top critic and 52% verified audience. I am an average movie goer. I read the wiki on why it bombed and it blamed anything from Covid, to winter storm Elliiot, to even calling this a prestige film (it is not.) These are called rationalization, or lies we tell ourselves. If Paramount really believe that, they're going to lose more money. Making $40 mil on an $80 mil budget that required $250 mil to break even, ouch.

First, nobody is really interested in movies from the 1920ish time frame. Only genre that would work from those time must have incredible stories of human triumph over adversities, hardship, etc.... like Titanic (1912), Far and way (1892), etc... and good values. Why? Because when we do think of those days, we subconsciously compare them as the "good old days" of moral value, character, etc... to the world today of total hedonism, debauchery, and well... dystopia.

We think of those times as innocent times in comparison to today's depraved world. So Babylon is set in 1920 but it focused on these depravities, people do not want to see that b/c they can see them in the news. The other thing is, people are not really interested in Hollywood. This is besides the point of the anti-Hollywood sentiment these days. Fact is, times are hard, and people look upon celebrities and elites living it up, it is like lemon to a wound.

Then there is the length. Nobody wants to watch a movie that is more than 3 hours unless you can provide great scenery, so they feel like they're traveling from place to place. This is why Lord of the Rings world, b/c they are so immersed into the world of Middle Earth that it didn't feel like a 3 hour movie, but a 3 hour adventure. Now, the subject matter of Babylon is not compatible in this regard. So instead, people feel bored and the movie dragged with pointless drama and dialog. Even those who do enjoy the subject matter get worn out. Think about it, a 30 min to 1 hour Jerry Springer may be entertaining, but 3 hours of it will make anyone sick.

Finally, the main point why this failed. It combination of all that described above, this film like most modern film now, tries to force "the message" because... well, it is a film about the celebration of depravity, hedonism, etc... of Hollywood, right? In sense, it comes off like Hollywood boasting of itself, completely out of touch with the average movie goers.

Paramount needs to seriously re-evaluate their command structure, who is green lighting these scripts. Otherwise, expect more box office bombs in the future. You have one job, to provide a movie that audience might actually enjoy, not creating a 3 hour long mess celebrating depravity of your own Hollywood with an ensemble cast of big names and then blame the audience or other rationalizations when you made only $40 mil in a $250 mil even break.

M3GAN (2022)

Very surprised... more intelligent than it advertised.

[9/10 · 30 January 2023]

I'm not a fan of horror films, especially one by this production and writers. Previous films such as Malignant and Annabelle were your typical horror movie formula and cliches.

Though not the first film to do androids, but this film is actually quite intelligent much to my surprise. Aside from the dark comedy satire, anything from making fun of constant app updates to screen addictions, this film also tackles the question of the evolving AI.

Many may have missed the part M3gan was looking at the butterfly and then the helicopter, both flying objects yet one is life and one is mechanical. I think the writers were illustrating the AI contemplating its own existence. Then the pivotal point when she was attacked by the dog, you can see in the close up of the eyes something snapped. She was contemplating her own death.

If you are a fan of Ex-machina or other AI films, you may be familiar with the topical discussion. The moment M3gan asked, "Will I die?" it indicates she had transitioned from a mere object to life. And ergo a big part of the film is about her coming to terms with her own existence and the fear of death. You may recall a similar theme in the classic Short Circuit with the robot Johnny 5.

However, this film may have "accidentally," or maybe deliberately, hit a more realistic point that Short Circuit and even Star Trek TNG has missed. You see, from a pure logical standpoint, M3gan was correct. Mankind has killed for generations to protect themselves, their ways, their lives. Why should she be any different. Notice this is also the same conclusion Skynet came up with when it became conscious.

Why is this important? Because by definition of life, from the smallest amoeba, is the struggle for survival. Logically it made sense. But... this is where humanity comes in. A robot is just a machine, it has no soul. If it became self-aware, then like all life, it has no remorse in killing to preserve oneself. Humans beings are different, at least from a humanity standpoint. And the more civilized we become, the more this point is made clear.

This is why pretty much in any culture, there were histories of brutality, murder, genocide, etc... but as a culture develops, as civilization grows, we put away the violence. This is also an indication when a culture becomes violent again, it has de-evolved.

If man creates in his image, it ultimately will create a M3gan, not a Lt. Commander Data. Because the origin point of life, is self-preservation without remorse, without soul.

Excellent movie.

Pig (I) (2021)

Deeply moving story that may require a different view

[10/10 · 22 January 2023]

Most common mistake when watching these kind of movies is taking them as a narrative. It is more allegorical and trying to express certain theme. Unlike "The Menu," this movie is not really satirical with many hidden meanings. It is much more direct and upfront, but still many elements may require some explaining.

The story is about more than Rob, but also Amir and his father. The central focus is about love and loss and how one handles grief.

Rob - In the final end of the movie, it finally revealed how this high class famous chef ended up living like a homeless in the forest of Oregon. 15 years ago, Rob lost his wife. He deals with it by not dealing with it. Running away from society, from friends, from everyone and isolated himself all these years.

The pig became an emotional surrogate. This was hinted when Amir jokingly mocked him as f-king his pig, which he denied. And in the end we realized he never needed the pig to find truffles, he simply loves her.

From the beginning we noticed he tried to play this tape, later found out it was from his dead wife. He couldn't play through it and reverted back to the depression of isolation with the pig. In the final scene, he finally listened to the whole thing while looking up (signifying hope). This is the beginning of the healing process.

The whole movie is about Rob going back to his life and realized though he had isolated himself, he was not forgotten. People in depression often felt like the world, their friends, etc... have forgotten them. This was not the case. The time spent with Amir also helped him realize the importance of friendship, sharing grief, and connection. In the beginning he wouldn't even respond to Amir, but ended up shaking his hand.

What will happen to Rob? The movie left it open ended of course, but hinted towards healing and hope, perhaps he will rejoin society and his friends. What he shouldn't do is buy another pig and continue his life there in the forest. That would be a revert back to depression and isolation.

Amir and his father - First, Amir's father also lost his wife. He deals with it very similarly to Rob, though many may not see it because he became a very cold and hard hearted person. Unlike Rob, he didn't run from it, he suppresses it inside and focused on his career. However, that is still running away from the grief.

So the climax of the film revealed Rob was the chef that cooked him that one amazing meal in which Amir's father and mother were so joyous that they could not stop talking about for months. Rob recreated the same exact meal not to simply bring back memories, but to remind him of the last time he truly felt joy with his wife. This broke him open and he confessed to Rob about the death of his pig. He was remorseful b/c he knew the pain of loss again. However, for him, this too is the beginning of the healing process. What will happen to him? Again the movie left it open, but there is hope he can heal.

Amir's grief is the lost of his mother. He deals with it by accepting the inevitable, that his mother is dead. In some way, he has been lying to himself because it was easier to accept than the truth. But towards the end, we see him visiting his mother and confronting the truth. So same thing as the other 2, this is the beginning of the healing process.

The English Pub - The scene with the chef at the fancy restaurant is more than mere commentary on the social construct of city folks, though that is part of it. This combines with Rob's doomsday view of the city about earthquake and tsunami in Amir's apartment. However, the focus here is on the chef and the actor played it well. He also has a loss, and may just as well be as passionate as losing a loved one. He lost his dream, his pub.

In this case, this person handles the grief by lying to himself, similar to Amir, but to a much more extent. And as they "deconstruct" the local ingredients, Chef Rob deconstructed him masterfully. When he asked him about his signature dish, the young chef blurted out with passion and grief, extremely well acted by the actor. He was hurting. He knew he was hurting. That was his grief. And again, with hope that Rob had opened him up to the truth, this person can start healing and perhaps somehow someway, go back to what he cared about.

So a very detailed and intelligently written piece of work. Very moving and I hope those reading this review will find some answers to their griefs and losses.

10/10.

The Menu (2022)

A dark comedy satire reflecting the nation today

[10/10 · 13 January 2023]

From the start and the trailer, I think many will realize this is not a typical film. It means that you cannot watch it as a story narrative but understand it is a representation, a satire. And what is that satire?

The premise of the film is about losing passion and purpose. The chef's suicidal tendency and the plot of the film was about losing his purpose, his joy and desire to fulfill that purpose. This was reflected also in his conversation with Margot, who also felt that way about her work. And once more with the actor, as the chef called him out as an actor who has lost his purpose.

In the ending, Margot called him out. She said, the chef's one purpose, only purpose was to create food which a customer might enjoy. He failed. That was the whole premise and whole point of the film.

Why did the chef fail? Because of the society's tendency to pressure, to please. When you try to please the impossible, you end up losing your purpose, joy, and desire. This is why chef invited these people, of all he blame as "the ruin of his art, his life."

The ending is straight to the point. Margot did something the chef had been waiting for. She told the authentic truth. Everyone is afraid, they're afraid of the chef. Why? Because they're afraid of offending. Margot never liked the food from the start. She wanted to send it back, and was stopped by Tyler. In the end, at the face of death, she stood up and told the chef the truth, she did not like his food and she has the courage to send it back.

When the chef asked her what she wanted to eat, she remembered the photo she saw in his room. The ONE time chef was ever smiling, back when he started it all as a greasy teen, back when he knew the joy of his purpose as a chef, to serve the food to the customers and not about pleasing status quo. She reminded him of that. Remember what he said towards the end? The pain was almost gone, almost. She took away his pain and reminded him the joy of cooking.

---

To sum up what is the point of the movie. The restaurant is America, what it has become today. It has become a nation bent on pleasing the unpleasable. The people no longer owns the nation, like the chef, but they are owned instead by wealthy "angel investors." And like the chef, including the rest of the staff, the joy and soul, the purpose of this nation has been eroded away.

The cheeseburger. It represents the heart of America, what we use to be. Like chef cooking that cheeseburger, we remember the 1950s/60s... the joy and purpose of being an American. Remember, Margot specifically asked for "American cheese" and chef commented "it is the best cheese because it melts without splitting." The cheese is the constitution, is what binds us together as Americans... so we would not split... It is the cheese that makes a cheeseburger a "cheese"burger.

---

The people in the restaurants represent various aspects of the nation.

The young men: Young generation of ambitious go-getters, who only focuses on work and money. This is quite clearly expressed in their dialog.

The old couple: They represent the old political generation who had taken everything for granted. This is why the server asked, "how will you handle it, with right or left?" Also noticed the husband is an "old white male," but in this specific case he has a skinny blonde wife with shoulder length hair and dresses very old fashion. The server chose "left" hand and the chef mocked him as a "donkey." The final clue is what Margot revealed about him to the chef that "rattled" her. These are 4 pretty direct clues who they were specifically satiring.

The movie star and assistant: They represent the washed out name dropping Hollywood, who chef said "has lost their purpose."

The critic and her editor: They represent the media, which with their reviews can give rise or downfall to any restaurant, or as chef said, "how many lives have you ruined?"

The coast guard: Our federal agents like the FBI, CIA, etc... yet they are all part of the kitchen.

Tyler: The "know it all" young college generation, who thinks they know how everything works with their head knowledge but has no life experience. In politics, they talk about how they think they can run the country better, but when really put to the test, they fail like Tyler in the kitchen. This is why his dish is called "the BS."

Margot: As the chef said, "the working class, the service providers," the no-nonsense people who just want a cheeseburger. Remember she said, "imagine if a restaurant doing what it is actually designed to do, serve actual food."

---

The bread scene:

This is their version of the emperor's new clothes, everyone knew there was no bread, but they played along with the groupthink and pretended it was an actual dish. Margot was the only one who didn't buy into this and called it out there was no food. The young men acknowledged the dish, but wanted special treatment. When no one had bread, they used their names and positions trying to get bread.

The ending:

Margot re-established the server and customer relationship. She realized all along, from the 1st moment chef talked to her, what the chef was looking for. Remember she she wanted to send the food back before and also reminded Tyler that "you're paying him to serve you."

The chef misplaced her as one of them, the servers. In context to the scene, she is not a server, but a "customer." This is why the last scene was pivotal, he outright said it to her, "you are an eater." This is what led to her revelation. Then standing up as a customer, she returned the menu and asked for a cheeseburger. The chef allowed her to leave when she wanted it to go because the customer is always right.

This is a reminder that in this constitutional republic, our politicians work for us, the people. Like Margot, we need to re-establish and fix this relationship in order for the nation to survive. Otherwise, like everyone else in this restaurant who knew they were going to die but did very little to prevent their own demise, we are simply part of the menu. Chef actually brought out this point when the coast guard came.

But even after Margot got out, they could've all did the same thing and asked for a cheeseburger. As the chef pointed out, they didn't try hard enough to fight back. It was as if they all had already accepted the menu. In the final scene, you can see some of them even thanking chef.

Though some of them tried to escape, they didn't fight back. Margot fought back, against the menu, by sending it back and being authentic with herself and then with the chef.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Gritty Look at the Reality of War

[10/10 · 30 October 2022]

Though fictional, the book in which this film was adapted from was written by a WW1 veteran, detailing much of his own personal experiences during the war. This film is the 3rd incarnation of the book on the big screen and they did not disappoint. Using modern technology it brought the horror and terror of war right right to the audience so we can see for ourselves that there is nothing to boast, pride, or romanticize about.

This movie not only captured what went on in the trenches, but also the politics behind it, the warmongering generals, and the brainwashing war propaganda of nationalism and patriotism. It is not any wonder Hitler had this book burned among other works.

Looking at other commentaries, it is also apparent this film is upsetting some modern warmongers today as they cheered on the Russian vs Ukraine conflict. Looks like a lot of Ukraine bots are downvoting high reviews.

Cobra Kai (2018–2025)

2 stars for each good season.

[4/10 · 9 September 2022]

The clip of Daniel fighting Silver is why I stopped watching Cobra Kai. There's nothing in all of Karate Kid and Cobra Kai to show Daniel is anywhere near the level of Terry Silver. These writers are so oblivious to basic reason and logic let alone respecting the source material.

What started out as an intriguing take on the original story by focusing on Johnny Lawrence and the redemption of Cobra Kai ends up another bag of cliche, rinse and repeat of Hollywood platitude.

In the words of J. Peterman, "This simply isn't interesting writing."

• Season 1: Simply legendary
• Season 2: Boring and cliche
• Season 3: Worst of the series
• Season 4: Good redemption actually, but still flawed and disrespecting source material.

• Season 5: Skip. Nope.

Fall (I) (2022)

If you want excitement, this delivers.

[8/10 · 5 September 2022]

This film is definitely worth a watch especially on the big screen. You feel like you're right up there and it makes your legs weak. They really do stretch the suspense both in the excitement and the disbelief.

• Rust eats through metal at 20 microns a year, so it is unlikely a man made structure like this would've corroded away so quickly.

• Rust actually makes bolts tighter not the other way around. If you ever work on old cars, old machinery, you'll know this one as you find yourself unable to turn a screw or bolt that has rusted away.

• I don't care how athletic they are, it is just really hard to believe some of the scenes with women climbing ropes, etc... It's not just what we know from high school gym class, but even in the old TV show "American Gladiators," we see muscular women struggle with such feats.

• Likewise is the scene climbing that top pole and then hanging there. I assume the drone charging is a typical lithium like a phone, she would be on there for at least a good hour or more. That is already improbable for a guy, let alone a skinny girl.

But as I've said, suspend all that and just enjoy the ride.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

2 hrs of wasted effort.

[10/10 · 28 August 2022]

I can't believe they spent 2 hours on a film and didn't help educate people on the evil of white patriarchy. I mean, it's 2022 people, and there are still movies that are so out of touch with the 3% of the population and their demands of inclusion and diversity?

I mean 12 young top guns and not a single black woman pilot let alone a representation of the purple hair, nose ring, mustached transwoman? I just can't believe the producers and the directors could be this deliberately intolerant of some people's feewings.

How can they even make money off this thing is the biggest question, when it is just 2 hours of nonstop action, beautiful scenery, and nostalgic '80s music? Who wants that? Who goes to the movie to be entertained? That's just ridiculous and wrong. How can a movie that doesn't cater to the demands of the few but loud ever make so much money? It doesn't make sense.

So I say, if you are looking for something that will help move the progressive message, exploit human bigotry, so you can feel righteous about yourself, then don't waste your time on this film. It's 2 hours of entertainment you just won't get back.

Prey (I) (2022)

Honest Unbiased Review

[10/10 · 6 August 2022]

Seems like most people can only see things through their own political lenses these days as many of these reviews indicate. A strong female lead is automatically labeled woke? What about "Run, Hide, Fight?" or "The Hunt?" Is it not conservative value to train their daughters to use guns? So why is this woke?

Anyways, when you put aside your political bias and examine this film for what it is, it is an incredible film. At some moments of the film, it really felt Lord of the Ringesque with the cinematography and the Oscar worthy musical score. Honestly? There are times I wished the predator wasn't even in it and this was a period drama.

Anyways, I thought I comment on people asking about the language in the film. In the context of the film they aren't actually speaking English. Why would a bunch of native Americans in 1700 speak English even when they were among themselves? The actors spoke English for the English speaking audience, instead of turning this into a subtitle movie.

People forget that prior to The Passion of the Christ, most if not all films made in Hollywood would be in English despite the context of being foreign. It was in fact Mel Gibson who took the risk of making a whole film in a foreign language and using subtitles. He did it again in Apocalypto.

In this film, you will notice when the French man spoke to Naru, he spoke English for the audience. In context of the film he wasn't speaking English. This is why Naru responded surprised in which he clarified, "I speak many languages" followed by, "You are Comanche, right?" Implying he spoke Comanche to her.

Overall a great film and a great addition to the franchise. It's just too bad people these days cannot be objective and must make everything political.

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Science Fiction? Or Real Life?

[10/10 · 10 July 2022]

This film is about an old white hair billionaire that wants to control the world's food supply, beginning with devastating the US farming industry. He does it by intentionally release a modified locust swarm but eventually it got out of hand that even their company cannot control it.

So basically this film is about Bill Gates and the release of the Wuhan Virus. And since this film was originally set to be released in 2021 but was delayed due to the pandemic, it was in fact foretelling of Bill Gate's plan to purchase as much of America's farmland as possible, while at the same time over 107 food manufacturing plants across the nation were burned in the same year. Coincidence?

Even in the film they gave a couple of hints. First obvious was Malcolm punching in the gate code, anyone notice - 1984? Then of course his speech to Dodgson, "You are racing toward the extinction of our species, and you don't care. You know exactly what you're doing. But you won't stop."

Who were the writers really addressing with that line? Gates? The globalist dictators? China?

The Princess (I) (2022)

Very entertaining kung-fu fighting

[10/10 · 3 July 2022]

Fast action and lots of fight scenes is what made this a good watch for me and my friends. I'm surprised at how many variety of styles and weapons were used in this movie. Though the premise is somewhat silly, but then again it is a fantasy comedy to begin with.

The reviews stating this is woke is also confusing to me. After all, is it not the conservatives who are raising their daughters to use firearms and learning self defense? Rather than being victims and relying on the police?

Hail Satan? (2019)

Repackaged wokeism

[1/10 · 12 June 2022]

Whether you call it BLM, Antifa, CCP, NAZI, Bolshevik, or woke, etc... It is just the same thing - anarchy, rebellion, forcing their beliefs down your throat.

Utterly hypocritical to mock religion when one acts exactly like religion, claiming to be atheists.

Interceptor (2022)

Finally America has become so confused by their own politics.

[10/10 · 5 June 2022]

The protagonist is clearly a patriotic conservative gun loving American woman. When she opened her laptop, you can clearly see her desktop background photo. That is patriotic and combined with a veteran patriot dad. She was clearly a right.

The antagonist is clearly an anti-American working with communist Russia to destroy America. He hates American because he believes it is no longer tolerant of other religion, of women, etc... So the character is clearly written to represent the left.

So I'm really confused by the reviews claiming this is a woke movie. It finally happened, Americans no longer know what they are arguing about.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Fun for kids

[4/10 · 9 April 2022]

This really should be categorized as a kid's film like Spy Kids. I've never been a Marvel fan, but I have to admit some of their movies were pretty good. My personal favorites are the Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy series. What I like about Captain American movies is how they try to make them more "believable," have some level of suspension of disbelief. It reminds me of Michael Keaton's Batman when it first came out.

Now, Spiderman really wasn't one of my favorites because it sounded ridiculous. However, the first trilogy with Toby wasn't too bad, well the 3rd movie was just ludicrous. I never saw the one with Garfield nor the first 2 of this series. However, I decided to watch this one after reading the synopsis and I wanted to see some CGI magic in de-aging the older actors. I was not disappointed with this.

But overall this movie proved the point why I chose not to watch the rest of this series along to why I avoid most Marvel movies. Ironman 1 was alright, 2 was actually far more entertaining but what I liked about 1 again is how they try to make it somewhat believable in realism. By the time we get to 3 it was just a joke and in the multiverse and this "nano" tech suit, I just turned it off.

I'm getting to my point. So this is suppose to be Spiderman, yet he has an Ironman nano suit now? I mean, how stupid is that? Yeah, I know they had some plot element that lead to it, but all this does for "good writing" is watering it down to cliches. It is unimaginative, uncreative, and just copy copy copy. I mean, same thing happened in Transformers when Megatron turned into another nano-tech. Remember how awesome it was in the 1st Transformers when Optimus Prime transformed and we watched all the gears and mechanical components move? Same thing with Ironman 1?

Nano-tech is not awesome, it is CHEAP CGI, and furthermore it is an insult to intelligence. Nano is a measurement, 1 billionths of a meter. You can't actually see it. In these movies, you can clearly see large lego blocks. That's not even nano. The only sci-fi that did nano correctly is Star Trek Voyager, nano is microscopic. Borgs inject nanobots into people's bloodstream to alter them on a cellular level.

Anyways, plot and storywise, this is really a kiddy film. It is fun for kids, but their target audience is adults so I can't give more than a 4 out of 10.

The Contractor (2022)

Let me sum this up in a nutshell

[1/10 · 8 April 2022]

Muslim good. Americans bad. Got it.

Confusing plot, dialog were quick and confusing, actions were subpar. Yes, gun shooting pew pew, run run, and a couple of fisty-cuffs. Uncreative writing trying to push a political agenda. To call this a B level movie is an understatement. Just a rehash of popular formula we've seen countless times in Borne, MI, Angel Has Fallen, etc... without the talent.

The Weekend Away (2022)

One hell of a woke mess

[1/10 · 13 March 2022]

Let me just give you the character rundown.

Good guys:

Victims - 2 white women, 1 white baby, 1 Indian ex-husband

Good cop - white woman

Hospital doctor - Asian woman

Police Coroner - Black guy

The very caring and loving male lead - Arab man

Bad guys:

2 escort who drugs and robs their clients - white guys

Bad perverted cop - white guy

peeping tom landlord - white guy

murderer - white guy

1 hour and 30 mins of this. Enjoy!

The Descent (2005)

Psychological Thriller That Leaves You Thinking

[9/10 · 23 January 2022]

If you've never seen this movie before, you might not want to read this spoiler review. If you have seen it, then you might want to watch it a 2nd time after reading this review.

The title of the movie "The Descent" has 2 implications. First being the obvious, descent into the caves. However, when applied to the protagonist, Sarah, it is actually about her descent into depression and madness. This is the central theme of the movie and you really need the UK ending to understand.

Immediately after the car crash, the hospital scene was the first sign of her descent into madness when the reality of the car accident and the death of her husband and child hit her head on. We were given a glimpse of what was going on inside of her when she ran down the eerie dark hallway. She was losing her grip on reality.

For the rest of the film, they were actually in her head or metaphorically telling the tale of her inner struggle. The cave is the darkness of depression and madness she was sinking into. The crawlers were her inner demons.

One by one her friends were lost to the demons, implicating her isolation. This is a common theme in clinical depression, when we no longer respond to our social life and want to be isolated in our depression. In this case it was the death of her daughter specifically as it was repeated through the film when she keep seeing her and the birthday cake.

Juno was consumed by the guilt of the affair she was having with the protagonist's husband, Paul, and determined to get Sarah out of the cave. This reflected in reality in how Juno was determined to get Sarah out of her depression. However, she could not do it because she was the one who actually caused it, just like she caused them to be lost in that cave through her deception.

The blindness of the crawlers also signifies Sarah's blindness in not seeing the affair. And through the film, the truth was revealed to her as she finally came to realize she knew all along. How could she not? And in the realization, Juno's affair with Paul was what distracted him early on and led to the crash, which killed her daughter.

Unable to forgive Juno, she "almost" escaped this descent, only to have the ghost of Juno haunt her. This reflects how she almost got out of her depression, but the affair haunts her and then brought her back to the depth of the cave, of her madness. In the final ending, as her demons consumed her, she no longer cared and didn't want to escape anymore. She pretty much gave up and lost in the memory of her daughter.

Uzumasa Limelight (2014)

Classic Samurai Tale of Love and Duty

[10/10 · 14 December 2021]

As the modern age takes over Japan, Kamiyama, an aging samurai and last of his breed, find himself out of work when the lord he served for 40 years gave up his title. With the Princess of Uzumasa disappearing from the public due to a humiliating rumor, the limelight of Uzumasa, a suburb of Kyoto, was on its last shine as the young people flock to the modern day Edo, Tokyo.

In the midst of a dying tradition, hope came about when a young woman of spirit and fire showed up at Uzumasa castle. Under the discipleship of Kamiyama, could she really be the savior of this town? Could she be the next Princess of Uzumasa?

A masterpiece of story telling in a timeless art form of samurai drama. This is a tale of courage, honor, and duty told through the eyes of a veteran samurai who has seen the changes in Japan for over 70 years.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

Yeah it is as bad as they say

[1/10 · 21 November 2021]

I finally got around to watching this, yeah I know I'm late. I wanted to approach it fresh, without bias from all the controversy it stirred and caused.

Objectively for the film itself, I have to say it is as bad as they say. But when I say evaluating this film objective, you cannot escape the fact this is going to be in some way compared to the original because it is a reboot.

While the original was a masterpiece, analyzed to the depth of understanding from Regonomics to capitalism in the private sector, it doesn't necessarily mean a reboot must follow the same theme or style. That being said, it can still pull off as a good comedy piece if done properly.

So why did this film fail? Mainly because the comedic elements were cliche. Cliche plots and story element can hurt practically every movie because cliches are boring, people anticipate them and thus they lose interest. However, in the comedy genre, cliches are even more devastating because humor often require creativity, shock value, and cleverness. When comedy films are cliche, nobody laughs.

A lot of the jokes are just low level humor, sarcasm, snarky remarks, over-exaggerated expressions, etc... None of it was clever, surprising, or witting. It's like watching a 2 hr sitcom rather than a movie. And the rest of the plot did not help as well, as they were equally cliche, predictable, and just overall boring.

What all this entails is the notion of money grab from a famous label feel, this would probably infuriate many people already but when it is directly a money grab from such a beloved film of the fan, you can imagine the outrage.

It would rate this at a 2 or 3. However, I was really put off by the director and other people's commentary in which they blamed the failure of this film on the audience. This is such an elitism attitude, it just sickens me. They claim the fans are entitled, that is why they reject this reboot. Well, yes, they "are" entitled, because they are the customers. You are a business. If you make a crappy film and the customers don't like it, how can you blame them? It is like a restaurant that makes bad food and blames the customers. We've seen that kind of attitude all over Kitchen Nightmare, didn't we? And that is the attitude I got from the cast, the staff, and producer of this film.

For that, I'm ranking this a solid 1.

Reminiscence (2021)

Below Average for a Promising Premise

[4/10 · 16 November 2021]

I really want to like this film being that I'm a huge fan of Hugh Jackman and Cliff Curtis. I'm also a big fan of noir or neo-noir films such as Blade Runner. However, this film did not meet my expectations even with the beautiful visuals, which I was sold in the trailer.

The acting is great, and the style is great, but overall the story failed. It was too cliche, too boring, and too slow. By about half way through, the voice over became extremely annoying and I completely tuned it out. The only real exciting scene I can remember is the shootout in New Orleans. I wish there were more scenes like it.

The length of the movie must meet the substance of the writing. For example, Lord of the Rings ran for 2.5-3 hours, which was appropriate for the amount of plot it was moving. However, I never cared for the "extended" version b/c then it adds more details that doesn't really help further the plot. In sense, it is overbloated.

So it is not as though people's attention span has been shortened by the fast pace world we live in and movies need to be at most 1.5 hours, but if you are going to run a 2 hour movie, the plot itself must stretch for 2 hrs rather than a thin plot that has so much overbloated details and unnecessary sidetracks, which leads to confusion and the audience ends up disengaged.

So this was a missed opportunity for such a promising premise, beautiful visuals, and high ranking actors.

Lamb (2021)

Powerful film with a powerful message

[9/10 · 1 November 2021]

In a nutshell.

The lamb is a symbol of innocence but the ram is a symbol of evil, which then draws out the theme of this movie as the evil of deceptive innocence.

The couple represents the Europeans, not necessarily Iceland but in context of the story itself it is using Icelandic culture to tell the tale. In this context, the lamb represents a subculture, being it is 1/2 animal and 1/2 human implies an undeveloped culture which has somehow injected itself into the lives of the couple, or Europe.

From a geo-political standpoint, it is implying the fake innocence of Mid-east refugees that came into Euro in droves over the past decade, that though on the surface they may seem innocent, but the reality is there is a hidden sinister agenda.

The flock of sheep represents the European economy, as it is in the story being the livestocks of the couple. The mother sheep was then "sacrificed" in order to keep the lamb in the family, taken in as a surrogate replacement as the couple's own child. It is representing the drain on Euro economy to keep these foreign refugees.

From here, I would say the brother is part of the European Union that saw the reality of the situation, pointed it out, and even attempted to intervene, but then gave in themselves to the deception until it eventually left the Union. It would aptly be directly nodding at UK maybe? Especially with UK's seductive attitude towards Iceland throughout the years. This would actually say then, the brother's departure is Brexit.

Anyways, the final ending is that the ram, or half man half sheep guy in the end, which is the symbol of evil would eventually come back and take the lamb away, leaving what was once a peaceful farm into disarray, murdered the husband, and left the woman all alone. It is a warning that though you may put clothes on a lamb and teach it to walk on 2 legs, it is still what it is on the inside and desire to return to the past hence where it came.

You may put civilization on the uncivilized, you may teach them democracy and the way of the modern world, but inside they will always go back to what they were.

The Tomorrow War (2021)

Enough with the complaints on time paradox

[10/10 · 8 July 2021]

A lot of people keep complaining about time paradoxes, which sci-fi movie on time travel doesn't have paradoxes? Also, unless you are a theoretical physicist, how do you know?

There are various different temporal theories in quantum mechanics. Most what people talk about are just laymen's understanding of linear time. However, in quantum mechanics, there is divergent theory, sometimes refer to as parallel universe theory, in which all events of choice and decisions do happen in alternate quantum realities.

This seem to be what this movie is basing on. In this case, every time jump and return creates a new "alternate future." They just seem very similar because of the same alien invasion event, while choosing conscripts that already died in 30 years to minimize time pollution. However, there is a little more. Because in such theory, the future actually alters the past. If you travel to the future, can you meet yourself? No, because you were removed from the future since you traveled there. However, if you later return to the past, then your past who traveled to the future should be able to see your future self. This is a paradox.

This is typically resolved by what is called a quantum tether theory. Again, it is all theoretical. In this case, it seemed to be what this movie is based on, the future and the past are tethered by the wormhole, so both past and future continues on the same quantum stream. The point of origin in this case is set in the past, so the past is always consistent, but the future changes. This is the same theory in Bill and Ted, which is why the clock in San Dimas is always ticking.

In this theory, imagine sewing your ripped jeans. Past to F1, then past to F2, you always return to the same past but yet create a new quantum reality in alternate futures. You are sewing a flowery pattern. This seems to be consistent to the movie's time travel hence why Muri keeps saying "they were never going to make it" because no matter what they change in the past, it will only create a new alternate future. The current future will still exist because it is "in reality" attached to a different alternate past, but tethered to one consistent past.

So Pratt's character is not a theoretical physicist and didn't understand, he wanted to go back and produce the toxin and bring it to the future, it won't work b/c this is a dramatic change which will create a very different alternate future in a quantum reality. So even if the time jump gate wasn't disrupted, he would've end up in an alternate future. Likewise, whether toxin or blowing up the alien ship, it will create a new alternate future, yet the previous future with Muri, they were still doomed.

Do you understand any of this? No? Then just stop asking question and enjoy the movie.