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Reviews
Apparition (2019)
Antiheroes gone wrong.
I would have given this a five, because it was initially enjoyable, despite the kind of obvious formulation. Oh, and the prolonged prologue that should maybe have been interspersed.
Edit: Reading some other reviews, I am bringing my initial 3 to a 2, because they made good points. Especially on the autism thing.
The theme is so clearly "sins of the father." Which is fine...but...
One character dies off screen (or my screening didn't show it for some reason), with no explanation as to how they got separated from the group. (And I mean egregiously off screen.)
Meanwhile, the "app" is powered by a photo claimed to be an ancient picture found on the dark web.
Also, spoilers.... even if it was blatant...
1) Why are there so many dead kids.
2) Clearly, if there had been so many kids killed, the female protagonist's dad would have been involved, since he was "there from the beginning."
Into the Dark: Uncanny Annie (2019)
The game doesn't follow its own rules.
The only reason I'm giving this two stars is because it's kind of amusing. But not really. Watch this if you really have nothing else of interest to watch.
The verisimilitude is shattered when the simplistic terms provided suggest that refusing to play the game means they lose. And the first half delivers that, to a degree.
But then it gets formulaic. It's just bad writing to suggest that following the rules is required, when the antagonistic entity apparently doesn't have to. At that point, it's just.., lame. What do the rules even matter? It's a railroad without exit. Merely a poor storyteller's pointless drama.
At the very least, provide an explanation. I mean, even Dada was more consistent.
The Flock (2022)
Found footage at its worst
In brief:
-Camera is _ constantly_ shaky and fast panning. There's no need for that. In fact, one would think the characters who are filming would want to be less jittery. Especially during scenes where they are looking around and observing.
Too much interstitial filler. Walking, saying no5int, no character development, hollow echoes of maybe-motives. While Mr. Mc-constantly-shouting-shut up!-I-can-cut-your-tongue! Really apparently wanted silence... why? His whiny protestations were just grating and tension-less.
Time didn't seem to sync quite wrote either. Background-wise that is. Kid was stolen long ago but cultist recalls him recently coming in? Another talks about lifelong dedication... but only just met the "young wizened elder" relatively recently?
More egregiously, the antiheroes seem like they're acting against their actual wants. Maybe they should be more nihilistic, less emotional. Obviously Moloch wouldn't spare them.
And why cover mirrors if you WANT the mirror hopping entity's attention if you're doing it's bidding and think it'll spare you for doing so...
Not even sure what the heck to think about Shane's role. To be honest, he's just the quipping nobody until the end... but I suppose he's the viewpoint character who is the standin for the obvious.
To be fair, supporting characters were better on the whole. Probably because they had clear roles to play for the plot.
And really, the constant crap camera work just made it so much worse. Some shaky is ok. Some dark scenes were you can't see anything is ok. But too much, especially for plot-relevant information? Is it more important to be "realistic" or enjoyable verisimilitude?
If the former is your answer, we'll you're failing at that, even with the visually painful camera work.
Grand Star (2007)
Soookeeeeh! And it's fine.
Would've given 5.5, but no option to.
Honestly, it's a better than average sci fi show. The production value of the images is good enough, even if the overall setting fails to wrestle with its potential.
The delivery does lean CW/young adult fiction. But that's fine. It's ok that it's not for everyone.
The characters are both flat and yet at times, hint at depth. The relationships among the characters are hinted at throughout the series. But this show is not a character study, there's a bit of a predestination that colors the plot.
Is it the first sci fi show I would recommend? No. But it is better than so many other among the derelict bad sci fi show mill.
Every Secret Thing (2014)
Too Obvious & Blatantly Fat Shame-y
Even from the beginning, one of the mom's first lines to her daughter's friend is something like, "oh you have such a great figure!"
Motives are slap dashed at the end, and so utterly, obnoxiously just, "fatties shouldn't have kids and will steal others' babies.l meanwhile, the shaming that Alice was put through (even if only indirectly) had zero bearing on the crimes she committed. Because of course skinny white girl couldn't be to blame, beyond the (inexplicable) initial action.
Don't get me wrong, it's fine if fat people are culprits. Its just that this one was so... flagrantly casting shade on the one woman that to have such a simple resolution came across as loathing as opposed to any kind of virtuous or creative storytelling.
After Midnight (2019)
Promising becomes a repetitive nuisance with beer bottles @ every scene for an excuse
Spoiler: Chupacabra shows up at the end.
The rest of the movie is watching a guy mourning over his gf who disappeared for 4 weeks+.
Not that there's any indication of such. The character development occurs just before the end... if that actually registers.
Meanwhile there's a karaoke scene that wastes 10 minutes (at the end; it'd be more ok if it was like in the middle and included CLUES as to what was going on).
Instead, the authors decided to just repeat the drunk loss narrative on repeat as if that counts as suspense, leaving any possible hint of explanation to the viewer, in an almost criminal way. Personally, my brain had to rely on movies and books I had previously read.
This whole film should've ejected all of the acting and focused on the animated bit at the end.
The Bubble (2022)
A Comedy for Generation Y
TLDR: Probably most appreciated by a Gen Y audience.
-
Ok. Star studded cast from so many of my favorite shows/movies. Which is likely biasing. HOWEVER!
Goodness I found this movie so subtly hilarious. Was it Zoolander, Home Alone, the IT Crowd? No. But! It was a bunch of actors acting as awful, pretentious stereotypes of actors for an awful franchise churn-house.
But it also captures this moment of the pandemic. Of the cabin fever, especially among a bunch of arrogant self-declared auteurs.
And of course no commentary on the pandemic would be complete without reflecting on the soulless commercialism of the influencer industry. Everything for the clicks. Just like the most influential & prestigious news venues.
I'm guessing the negative reviews are mostly because it is a long movie. And maybe it is too context laden to be appreciated by certain audiences. Or too long for their attention spans; but as someone with ADHD, I somehow watched it through two sittings.