xmhunter Reviews

Masters of the Air (2024)

Nothing special

[5/10 · 19 March 2024]

I love WW2, I love aviation, I was very excited, but at the end I was mostly disappointed.

It's way to slow, with very little action, with rubbish timeline (no spoilers so kinda like when it takes same time for a plane to return from a mission and for a person to walk from Berline to London).

It does give some new, uncommon perspective on aviators life in WW2. A little. It does provide some more in-depth presentation of their day to day routine and struggle. But honestly it could all be summed up in 3 episodes tops.

And overall the feeling this series gives is that US suddenly realised that big part of the world does not appreciate their effort on European front of WW2, and sees it as US were fighting Hitler mostly with money, rather then with actual weapons in hands, so something like this had to be made to tell the world yet another story of American heroes.

So it's a very nicely made, high quality waist of your time.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

First 2 minutes are exactly how the whole movie is.

[5/10 · 8 January 2024]

Yes, this first scene of a girl plowing field with an absolutely stunning view at the back is perfect representation of the whole movie.

It's cliche.

It has beautiful cinematography.

It's predictable and straightforward.

And 15 minutes in you know how it will end. With, maybe, one not completely obvious plot twist, which is still very predictable (in a way of "either this will happen or this is just overwhelming boring plot").

Overall it would be a generic Netflix kinda movie. Nothing but a time killer, but... it ain't awful. And honestly with new approach StarWars is getting, I would say this has much more potential.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)

An hour to long, and...

[4/10 · 26 December 2023]

Yeh, I finally lived to that moment when I did not didn't care about the cast.

Luch Gray, who, for some reason of always addressed by her full name even in the intimate scenes, is meant to be this... tender flower, with a tiny bit of teeth and thorns, but still a kind soul, nice girl in a bad spot, awakening kindness in heart of Snow... problem is, she's played by the same... girl, who's been going around telling about what a bs it is - girls in need of saving, and how she hates Snow White story, and how she's all powerful and all. And overall built a solid reputation of a b***h. Result - the entire movie of her "being weak and tender" I've been expecting the backstabbing, and not convinced by her act.

It would be a solid 6 if not for her. But would be still to long and to boring.

Extraction II (2023)

Very much like latest John Wick, but not as long.

[7/10 · 18 June 2023]

Everyone was all hyped up about Keanu going at it again, and sure movie was beautiful and picture was gorgeous and all, but it was way too long.

Now this one, is a very similar movie.

It's an action.

It is well made, sure picture is not so overwhelmingly awesome, but it is almost on the level.

It is intense, it keeps you, what's called, on the edge of your sit. To me it was even more intense than Wick. After all Keanu is going solo, and you thought out the movie you know - he ain't dying, not yet at list. Here you have a set of secondary characters who might go at any moment (and some of them do).

It also has a certain level of lack of realism. The kind modern youth is used to because of the games. And this game feel is yet another thing this two movies have in common.

The story is as stupid and as obvious. With depth level of Rambo or something, with cliche workout-recovery-preparation routine and whole set of "why?!" (like why would you go all the way down, instead of going up, when up is closer, the way to the helicopter and has less people to pew-pew.

Yes there is no Saint Keanu here, but there is all-mighty Thor.

But best part - it's exactly (or not) hour shorter. Closer to the end of last Wick's journey, I couldn't help but think to my self with every yet another fight "oh c'mon, not again", and was skipping ahead. Here - it ends right about when I had enough of it. Few more minutes could be tolerable. So the timing was great.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Beautiful but way to long.

[6/10 · 12 June 2023]

If only it would be an hour shorter...

It is absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful. Sometimes breathtaking.

Sometimes it's screaming CGI though, but whatever.

Sometimes it's way to... gameish, overwhelmingly unrealistic (duh, one dude taking out the entire universe of professional assassins, but no, it beats that, a whole two level club ignoring mayhem, shooting and killing, falling from a 5th floor and walking away... it's just to much).

But above all it's way too freaking long. To the point of last 30 minutes, I was just bored of all the fighting. Thankfully I watched it home and could just press fast forward and skip a part.

The storyline is dead obvious. You just generally wait for part to fall in their places.

The overall vibe of the move is kind of The Revenant. There is was a DiCaprio wondering the frozen wilderness in search of an Oscar, here it's Keanu giving a farewell tour. Although it feels like while they were planing the movie they came up with all the cool ideas of where and how Wick should fight, and how they going to film it, that it simple wasn't fitting in a single movie, but they had no more excuses to make the 5th part, so they had to make it extra long to cover it all.

Also, another cool touch is an absolute pointless appearance of Morpheus. In previous movies his character had a purpose, here it's just a nice gesture, to throw some money to an old friend.

Devotion (II) (2022)

Generally movie is just pushing 2020 agenda

[4/10 · 12 January 2023]

First I thought that maybe my disappointment is bias and unfair. But then I've read the caption of it here and understood that my opinion is legit.

You see I came up on this movie back when it was in the making in an aviation community, where people were hyped to get a good movie with aviators and war planes in a centre of it. People were more excited about this one then over Top Gun.

Caption says it's a move about pilots going into fight. Fits the expectations doesn't it?

Well the problem is, out of... 2 hours and 19 minutes the "action"/war/piloting/planes - take - about 19 minutes tops.

And the other 2 hours are not about storytelling ether. It's whining about how hard is life of black aviator. Don't take me wrong, I have no doubt it was nightmare, but is it really what you want person to be remembered? For his life being hard? And for whining about it? Not "no letter the obstacles he became an elite", not "no matter what he did his job and therefore he's hero". No. Whining. "It was hard for him so nothing special came out of him and then he died".

Image of main character is rubbish, not controversial, rubbish. First he is presented as an expert fighter wish his view on how things should be done and has no problem bending rules a bit to make sure he and one's around him get proper training. So basically a badass aviator with experience. Then he loses his cool over being deployed, gets to be only persons in squadron who can't land on carrier. Then he acts humble and accepts then new guy gets to command him. Then he goes rogue and acts against orders. But again being presented as an outstanding pilot. Then he gets hit, losses his mind over it, screws up and dies.

Wolf Hound (2022)

If you are into warplanes - consider it a bad comedy.

[1/10 · 5 June 2022]

Honestly I don't know who might like it. It's terrible. Cast, acting, plot, it's all bad.

Now if you are into a warplanes, and you think this might be a movie for you - it is not. Don't watch it. Following is for people who are into war planes:

Yes, there a beautiful P-51s, B-17, Spitfire, Hurricane, B-25 and BF109. But don't watch this, just Google some clips with this part of this movie. Cause you can probably forgove the P-51s hollywood-exploding mid-air, or the torturously unrealistic and stupid dogfighting, but the in the end, you will watch B-25 dogfighting a BF-109, and it will get on BFs tail, by diving low to the water, scaring BF off, and then getting on its tail. And that's after shaking BF of its tail and going in head to head. And yes, pilot picks B-25, to chase and shoot down B-17, cause... it is just ridiculous.