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nkeehr
Reviews
The Watchers (2024)
Needed something more, but not more exposition
I wanted to like the movie more than I did. It was entertaining enough, but felt like something was missing. It was a slow movie, and not in a satisfying way, however. The premise of the plot sounded very intriguing. I have listed a few cons that will likely steer me from rewatching the movie.
Maybe it would've ruined the creepy, mystery element but giving us bits of lore earlier in the movie and spread out more, would have paced the story better. We just get a big dump of information 3/4 into the movie. For people who don't know Celtic mythology, I'm not sure if it was well explained. The movie needed to do a better job setting up its own rules (not taking about rules of the forest) so we know what to expect. It's fantastical in the beginning and then just becomes a movie about a dude in a bunker.
One big con for me, was the quiet. It wasn't atmospherical, or loud silence, it was just a lack of noise. It's like when you're at the zoo, waiting for *favorite animal* to pop out of its burrough and it never really completely does, leaves you staring at the hole, bored out of your mind, and waiting for anything to happen. A movie that does silence well is The Quiet Place.
I appreciated that the monsters were actually monsters, and that we got to see them. The creatures were pretty gruesome to look at; I always find shadow monsters creepy, so this was great. If they would've spent a little bitty bit more time on the eerieness of others in the world potentially being a changeling, that could have maybe saved it for me.
If we're going to spend so much time in the woods, can we get more backstory about how many have been lost out there or see more stuff from the caves/nests? Connecting with people would let us have the severity of their danger, set the stakes. The forest is a character, gives us more on that.
Also, please show and not tell, movie makers! Does this say more about the creators or our culture today that we can't be trusted to learn about characters without exposition. Nonverbals are so much more telling and an interesting choice than the characters giving an unemotional essay iny themselves-- at the weirdest of times. Did we really need the voicemail to know Fanning is running from family that love her? Why is her being a twin a twist? This could casually be brought up in conversation on many of the several days she's stuck with strangers for weeks. The guy randomly says his dad's an abusive alcoholic? Ok, that explains his personality, but lots of better ways to have told us. Ban unsolicited exposition! Give your audience some credit, make them pay attention. If you spoon feed us the info, why would we keep watching and not just fall asleep like my husband did, instead?
Thank you other poster who said the book was phenomenal compared to the movie, I will have to check it out.
Argylle (2024)
Cats, spys, and fun
I loved this movie! Being a cat lover, I was already hooked before I even got through the trailer. The movie absolutely surpassed my expectations, however. It wasn't as graphic as a Kings Man movie, so I was surprised to learn it was in the same universe. The fighting and choreography was just as fun, though.
Samuel L. Jackson did a superb jolly ol' character, per usual. My favorite part was seeing Bruce Dallas Howard in a role very unlike any of her previous ones. I thought she said she was retiring after Jurassic World? Nonetheless, this was a great movie to make an exception for. The twists within twists kept the movie interesting. Sam Rockwell dazzled us with his signature dance moves. The one setback was that Rockwell's character kept calling Howard's character "kid", yet they were supposed to be lovers. I found both actors to have strong chemistry with each other but the "kid" remarks ruined it a bit; it was too weird.
The "big number" was so gorgeous and cool to watch. This movie is hokey and isn't shy about its cheekiness. Again, I'll say it was a very fun, entertaining 2 hours. I'm so excited to see a series of these characters.
M3GAN (2022)
Better than expected
I grew up terrified of my dolls after watching Child's Play. I was expecting this movie to be a 2020s rip off of the same movie. It was, surprisingly, a fresh enough story. The tone of the movie was perfect blend of horror and humor. The special effects were great.
One would think that, even as a brilliant engineer, a toy maker would have done some preliminary studies of child psychology. They would want to know their target audience before marketing to them. Gemma should have been slightly less clueless about children.
One negative I must give the movie: No girl would ever be interested in a doll that doesn't have a change of clothes. That wasn't even considered in the marketing of this $10k toy? That's the super unbelievable part of the movie.
Paper Girls (2022)
Surpringly well adapted
I was confused when I saw this as a TV series since the graphic novels don't seem easily adaptable. However, it seems to work and the changes made somehow make the storyline flow better. The 4 lead actresses were very well casted; they're exactly as I imagined when reading the books. The adult cast is... meh. I'm sad Tiffany's husband wasn't written as goth like in the book (that is one the change that shouldn't have been done).
This tv series could've increased the black humor a tad more to match the comics.
Also, another vote here for people to stop complaining about a book (turned tv) series supposedly go into the future to steal the Strangers Things idea. Good grief. This show tells the story without the obnoxious, in your face 80s pop culture references.