supernaturali Reviews

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Watch for the music if nothing else

[9/10 · 26 June 2020]

I loved this movie, but I understand that the humor of a Will Ferrell project may not be to everyone's taste. Rachael McAdams, however, I think should more than make up for any ill feeling for the humor/writing as she is totally endearing in her role.

The music however is absolutely fantastic and some great background song choices in keeping with the Icelandic origins via Sigur Ros! Most of it is campy as you would expect from Eurovision (and I loved all of it) but there is some genuinely beautiful songs, especially one at the end (which I think will be obvious when you watch it). There was also delightful and surprising cameos from Eurovision personalities, along with some necessary scathing comments from the brilliant Graham Norton!!

All in all, this film had me smiling through all of it and it will definitely be one I watch again.

Little Fires Everywhere (2020)

Honestly just don't get it....

[4/10 · 3 June 2020]

I was with this for 7 episodes, I loved it, loved the drama, the story, the mystery, etc then the final happened...

I honestly don't really get what the message here is...Is it ok to steal babies as long as you love them the most? Are all white people just simply racist? If you think a certain action is OK are you then above any kind of repercussion?

Let's start with Mia, she took $12000 (putting a price on a baby, an action she later condemns) to carry a baby for an apparant lovely but unlucky couple, she had some hardships and some losses and instead of dealing with them and moving on she dissappears and tells the couple she miscarried the baby, before changing her name and living on the run with said child. All this is supposed to show that she's a good mother... no wonder she tried to justify what she's done by interjecting herself into a custody battle. She obviously loves Pearl, that's not the question, but she has lied to her daughter her whole life, stolen a baby, effectively faked her death and lived life on the run, then intruded on the Richardson's and friends lives and still she feels like she can look down her nose at everyone else because she's black and not as privileged as her white neighbours...

Next we have Bebe. A truely sad story, a young desperate immigrant alone trying to raise a baby with no help. Very sad yes, but she abandoned her child, a hard decision to be sure, but one no less illegal or horrific. She left her baby out in the freezing cold, unsure if she would be found, then came back a year later and tried to act like a good mother who can do more for her child, despite being in the exact same circumstances as she was when she gave her up. The best thing she did for that child was to give it away, even though she did so in the worst way possible. She comes back and tries to win the child through legal means from the family that have taken her in and taken care of her and when that fails she proceeds to kidnap the child and obviously begin to live a life on the run as a criminal, who also happens to be an illegal alien in a country that is not shy about what little empathy it has for people in that situation....How is this best for the child, which according to her lawer is what Bebe was after all along?

Then we have the Richardson children. All of these children are the worst examples of spoilt privileged white teenagers. Tripp is a typical jock character who has zero charisma. Lexie is a spoilt, popular girl who has planned her future yet has no substance and actually has to steal some from Pearl. Moody is a typical angsty teen who feels like he is more spiritual than everyone else he knows, he tries to use his family's money (that he later decides is horrible) to try and buy affection then when that fails he flips and turns into an aggressive, possesive bully. Finally Izzie, a teen going through a lot, it is true, but the way she goes about it is entirely wrong. I don't have any sympathy for characters who keep trying to push their parents and start acting like a victim when there is consequences. All of this is forgivable until the final episode, when they decide that because they have stressed their mother to what seems like a mental breakdown, they are going to fix their lives by burning the house to the ground....Like what....?

The best feature of the show was the music and remakes of old 90's songs. The only likeable characters in this entire show were Pearl, Elena and Mia's brother who we only see in a flashback, they are truely the only ones who show any kind of progression at all.

I haven't read the book but from what I can tell from other reviews, this doesnt seem to be a good representation. This show had such promise and I got so excited when I saw the trailer as I love Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon but I have not been so dissappointed in the climax of a show in such a long time

Detroit: Become Human (2018 Video Game)

You're Free Now...

[10/10 · 28 July 2019]

This game is one of those amazing games that gets into your head and will stay with you for days, going over and over the choices that you made and the consequences of them.

I have so far only played through this once but I definitely will be playing again to choose different paths. I tried to play the androids as passively as possible and it was brilliant to see how each of them progressed and gained the trust of their companions and society as a whole, etc.

Markus' story was I think the most stirring as it reflects (very obviously) the civil rights movement and allows you to be at the head of a movement that you eventually (or at least I did) start to really feel for (I liked the saviour idea around Markus i.e died a martyr and rose from the dead to free his people). All of the choices I made with him were for the betterment of the cause, i.e no violence, and the only thing that annoyed me about it was, even though you could see in the world that the humans became more and more supportive of android freedom, none really stepped in to join the cause, also I feel there should be more of a backlash on the government (again if you choose passive resistance) as they gun down hundreds of androids on live TV.

Kara's story was very emotional however a bit predictable. From the moment she opens her eyes and sees Todd you can tell what was going to happen and what had previously happened to Kara (and I'm not even going to mention the obviously creepy mansion with the obviously bad man they go to for help). Her relationship with Alice was touching but again very obvious. I made all the choices to get Alice to trust her mostly involving not committing any crimes or lying to Alice. When Luther came into the story it really felt like a family situation and I felt invested in helping them escape across the border.

Connor I felt conflicted over, I only really decided how I wanted to play him in the last couple of chapters in the game. Throughout the game he is shown to be conflicted as he is the only one with a "software instability" meter which changes depending on your choices and whether you deal with problems as a machine or more like a human. You can play him as either a committed machine only wanting to complete his mission or you can gradually make him more and more human. I played a bit of both before I decided to complete his story as more of a human. His relationship with Hank was very well done (though the friend storyline has been seen before in any buddy cop movie) and I like the fact that you can investigate the scenes of crimes and reconstruct what happened or jump to conclusions etc.

One part of this game that really stood out to me was the main menu and the hostess Chloe. I loved the fact that she was interactive and responded to how you played and the choices you make, it really felt like something fresh to me and made the experience better.

Graphically the game is superb, the motion capture and scenery were all captured perfectly and made it very immersive. The music is amazing (I have been singing the "Hold On" protest song since I finished the game) and it was a great choice to have three different composers for each of the main characters as it really made each feel like their own story (just like the three different gameplay styles and camera/scene choices).

Overall this game felt more like an interactive movie than a game, (in the best way possible) and I feel like it is something that I would love to see produced and played out on the big screen, (but only with the same actors) even though the same idea has been explored in movies such as "I Robot" etc, but in my opinion, you can never have too much of a good thing

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The Devil Wears Cerulean

[10/10 · 21 July 2019]

Now I want to preface this by saying that I adore this movie and always will (mainly because of Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep, but I think that everyone is the same), but there is something that really bugs me...

Andrea goes for a job interview at a fashion magazine, not knowing anything about fashion and apparently not doing any research about the magazine before the interview. If she had then she would have at least known who Miranda was and she also would have known to make a bit of an effort sartorially (I mean she turns up on her first day in that awful cerulean jumper) ((And seriously who doesn't know how to spell Gabbana)). Also I hate her attitude for the first half of the movie; that everyone at the magazine need to accept her as she is and they are all in the wrong and need to change. She is the one "invading" their way of life so why should they change for her? (This is the same problem I have with Ugly Betty, which again I love) Also she has the worst friends and boyfriend ever!

But aside from that this movie is perfection!!!!

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

How wonderful life is that this film is in the world!!

[10/10 · 20 July 2019]

I am a bit late in writing a review for this movie (like 18 years) but I don't really normally write reviews. But I'm watching it this evening and I just feel like I have to say that I have loved this film ever since I first saw it back in 2002, I wore out a DVD copy because I watched it that much.

Everything about it is sheer perfection, the sets, the lighting, the music, the costumes, the actors, the script, the coloring, the camera work...literally everything is just perfect to me. I cannot ever describe how much I love this movie but Come What May (had to slip in a song title somewhere) it will remain in my movie library for the rest of my life!!

Secret Obsession (2019)

Forever and a day

[1/10 · 20 July 2019]

I have literally felt like I just lost an hour and a half of my life watching this movie. Normally I don't leave reviews as I don't follow them myself anyway; and if I was going to leave a review it would normally only be for something I found exceptionally good. However I feel like I need to get the bile generated by this movie out of my system.

Now to start; the title. Not only did Netflix give away the entire plot in their entirely spoiler-full trailer, but even the title gives the entire story away. The title I gave this review would have been a million times more discrete and still relevant to the movie. But no they decided to give everything away before the movie was even released.

Onto the movie itself. The opening; did she climb over the top of the stall doors to slip out of the bathroom right past him? Who knows. Also why on earth would the witnesses leave out the fact that there was two other cars present at the accident? They weren't down the road or even out of eyesight they were 50 yards away from where she was knocked down?! Its laughable how stupid the plot is.

Then we get onto the hospital and how ridiculous it is that "Russell" was able to slowly jog all the way through the hospital to the ORs without being stopped until he conveniently found his "wife's" room. Then we have the terribly photo-shopped pictures which he must have used to prove he was her husband, can't even explain how that would be plausible. Also how did her operations etc get paid for without any ID or social security number (I'm not American so I don't entirely understand the healthcare system and insurance but I would think that would be necessary).

The character's were all very standard and predictable. "Russell" creepy from the outset, The police man with a troubled past chasing a ghost while trying to redeem himself in his own eyes, etc, etc (special mention, where did the guy in the black leather jacket come into it? Yes he was a "witness" or whatever but why was he hanging around the hospital being intentionally creepy and leaving flowers for someone he didn't know, only to get killed before his character had any real development (seemingly being left, not even, as an afterthought))

Even the ending was terrible and just felt rushed, Jennifer lost her husband, her parents, was kidnapped and nearly lost her own life all at the hands of a man obsessed with her and had to shoot that man dead, this would lead anyone to depression and PTSD but she rocks up a month or two later seemingly fine and moving on....

I could literally go through every scene in this movie and find issues, but I don't think my brain could handle how mind-numbing that would be. All I will say is this is an entirely predictable and ludicrous movie full of plot holes and easy and convenient solutions in a style so overdone I have no idea why this was ever commissioned by Netflix in the first place.

Literally the worst movie I think I've ever watched.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020)

Hail The Dark Lord!

[10/10 · 20 April 2019]

I've just finished watching the second season (after binge watching the whole thing in three days) I loved every aspect of this show from the actors who did phenomenally (always been a fan of Michelle Gomez) to the set designs and music.

I will admit some of the themes on the show feel a bit teachy (I.e the trans storyline and overarching feminism) but they are dealt with brilliantly and are not boring or dragged out and never overtly forced on the viewers.

This show left me wanting to sign my name in the book of the beast and join the church of night just to be in this universe that has been superbly crafted by the shows creators.

Community: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas (2010) Season 2, Episode 11

Best Christmas special I've ever seen

[10/10 · 20 January 2013]

This is without a doubt the best Christmas special of any TV show I've seen. Since I saw that it was going to be all in stop motion animation I was smiling. Loved it all the story was charming and touching and of course Abed's character was brilliantly portrayed by Danny Pudi (even though it was just through his voice) he really made the episode an emotional learning experience about the meaning of Christmas. The animation was very well done and the short songs were a great addition. All in all the episode had me smiling the entire way through and confirming that this is definitely if not the best then one of the best TV comedy shows on in recent years.