AnotherMrHolland Reviews

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian (2022) Season 1, Episode 5

Some nice elements but brutally slooooooooooooooooow and boring.

[6/10 · 16 May 2024]

Looked awesome, sounded awesome, loved the characters and all the references, yet...

First, this was not a Boba Fett episode. Not as if the Boba Fett episodes were especially outstanding (despite the actors being awesome), but what exactly was this doing here?

Second, there was not much story. Sure, there were some revelations, but a coherent plot, real action leading to real consequences, dramatic arc and stuff like that? Without scenes of Mando walking wounded for what seemed like forever, and over ten minutes (!) of putting together a fan service ship with the help of a fan service droid, during which ten+ minutes practically nothing happened? (OK, we learned the chatty old lady dated a jawa once. I would've preferred not to know that, thank you very much.) Well?

Nope.

Seriously. Make no mistake, I loved that ship and am a fan of the BD droid of JFO fame too, but having them onscreen for over 10 painfully slow minutes as filler? They were wasted. And so was my time.

Whoever wrote and directed this should, imo, be taking a lesson or two from their colleagues who did Andor and Rogue One, to name just some more recent, awesome pieces in the franchise.

YMMV, obviously.

True Detective: Night Country: Part 3 (2024) Season 4, Episode 3

Some good scenes, some boring, inexplicable musical choices

[7/10 · 29 January 2024]

First of all, this won't be a regular review, sorry. I wouldn't even be writing it if it weren't for my utter puzzlement by the inexplicable choice of songs in these episodes.

Wait, I'm not saying they're bad songs. Though most of them aren't my cup of tea, I'm relatively open minded and can accept that some like and love songs like these. They're not terrible to listen to. I mean they would not be terrible to listen to in a melancholy romantic comedy or in an arthouse movie, or in a supermarket, or in an elevator or something. They're, in my opinion, totally out of place here, though. Whenever there's some nice build up of tension or something, a beginning, suddenly some mellow, slow, wailing lady or a cheery pop song or something like that comes on, and destroys the mood, the horror, the immersion, and makes me wanna either fall asleep or quickly switch to a different radio station. I'm sorry, but that's how I feel. Your mileage may vary, and I do hope it does, because in that case you're getting more out of this show than me, which is fine.

Seriously, give a listen to the title sequence. Who the heck thought that song would evoke even a fragment of the dread and the cosmic horror the corpsicle and all the other weird stuff and all tries to build... and why? And why did they get a job on this show? No, I'm not wishing them anything bad, it's all subjective and all. I just am truly puzzled, and would love to understand.

Otherwise not a bad show, though a far cry from season 1, but not worse nor better (so far) than, say, season 2. (No blood-curdling, though. At all. And it's partly the music that's responsible for that.)

Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Cut and Run (2021) Season 1, Episode 2

Where's the fluttering singing birds?

[5/10 · 30 November 2023]

Expected the "Bad" (or is it Dad) Batch and everyone else to break out into song half the time, with birds fluttering about. I'm sorry.

The other half of the time was great, but would've been far, far better without Omega. I don't know who she is or what makes her special (logically she'll turn out to be a Force user clone or something, a "twist" and concept half the fandom has been entertaining for literal decades), but she's frustrating to watch. It would've been awesome if she left with that foster family for safety, really, to be brought back later (much, much later), as an adult.

Seriously, who is the target audience here? Is this show for kids who accidentally-coincidentally also love '80s war/action movies like Rambo and Commando? Is this trying to repeat and follow the formula of Grogu? Boring, sorry.

Huldra (2021)

Predictable, but still works as a moody dark, modern take on a folktale

[8/10 · 16 November 2023]

A well made, low budget, short, indie, folk horror movie. Sure, it is quite, quite predictable, and is therefore not exactly scary. Despite that, I still found it entertaining. It manages to build an oppressive mood through its gloomy visuals and music, its choppy yet weirdly rhythmic cuts, and its actors, of course.

Mind you, coming to think of it, this story proved kinda surprising in a certain respect, after all. I'm anything but an expert on Scandinavian folklore, yet I've read a bit about the huldra previously (that's why the title caught my eye on one of the streaming services) - and what we get here in this short movie seems to illustrate a less emphasized aspect of theirs. I wouldn't want to spoil what that is, though, so I'll just recommend googling "hulder" or "huldra" (and checking Wikipedia's entry on them at least) after you watched the movie, and seeing it for yourself.

Again, I think this short film is well made, and it does work, though not as a horror story, but as a dark folklore adaptation, primarily. This is subjective, though, obviously. If you're not a horror fan and scare easily, this may also be frightening for you, no promises otherwise.

Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with this project or its creators in any way.

Altrimenti ci arrabbiamo (2022)

Definitely a far cry from the brilliant original, but not terrible

[5/10 · 25 August 2022]

If you've seen and loved the original with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, you will not miss anything if you skip this.

However, if you consider that this is not exactly a remake but a strange and mostly unnecessary sequel to the original, with the heroes closely related to the original Ben & Kid, it's kinda watchable on a boring Sunday afternoon.

It does feel like a glitch in the Matrix, with events and history mostly repeating themselves, though not exactly. It's way less funny than the original, but if you don't go into it hating it outright, it may even make you smile here and there. It does pay tribute to the original, and tries to respect it. And it shows that the leads do respect Bud and Terence, and know that they're facing an impossible task trying to live up to them.

Anyway, one thing is sure: watching this will make you want to watch the original ASAP. Even if you haven't seen that. Why? Because you'll wonder why that one gets all the praise. You'll have to see it for yourself. For the first time... or for the thousandth.

Demons of the Mind (1972)

An underrated gothic horror masterpiece

[9/10 · 5 December 2021]

Do yourself a favor, and watch this without reading the reviews and plot summaries and so on, and decide for yourself. I can't promise you'll like it, at all, but if you like classic gothic horror (literature more than movies) and its tropes, chances are you'll appreciate this in its unsettling quirkiness. A lot.

The Last Mercenary (2021)

A fun French spy comedy with some high-octane action.

[8/10 · 1 August 2021]

Don't go into this expecting a serious Hollywood action movie. It's not that, and you'd be disappointed.

There's plenty of faction, sure. Van Damme still knows how to fight. It's a comedy, though, and a truly French one at that, dressed up as a spy - well, an ex-spy turned mercenary - movie revolving around a pricey high-tech gadget and somewhat broken family ties.

Taking all that into account, it's a truly great Sunday movie. The comedic acting is actually fun. The action looks real cool but it's totally irreverent. The jokes are generally fun - even if some of them are somewhat self-embarrassing, though obviously on purpose. The plot is okay. It won't shock you with astonishing surprises, but it's quite well put together for the genre.

Watch this if you enjoy light, action-packed French comedy, and movies like (the very English) Johnny English, (the very French) Taxi, and so on.

My rating reflects the above, and is to be understood within the genre.

Lucy (I) (2014)

A great experimental movie... that doesn't even want to be sci-fi

[9/10 · 26 June 2021]

Criticizing this movie for not being scientifically accurate is like criticizing Superman's ability to disguise himself with a pair of glasses or like holding a TED talk about why Star Wars is stupid because spaceships should't make any noise in space.

This is like huge music video full of flashy action yet centered on a central artistic idea bordering but not really turning into philosophy. There's not much story, and there are no well developed characters either, but this movie is simply not about those. If you go into it expecting them, you'll be disappointed. So don't go into it like that.

The Block Island Sound (2020)

Slow and great Lovecraftian horror

[9/10 · 14 March 2021]

Slow, psychological and Lovecraftian horror, but of the muted kind. Google cosmic horror if you don't know what that means.

Don't watch this movie if you're looking for a monster flick full of gore and jump scares. Don't watch it if you're bad at picking up (barely) hidden clues and piecing together a very simple puzzle.

Watch it if you like gloomy, atmospheric, well acted scenes, sprawling shots, ominous, majestic soundscapes, and stories and movies about the human condition, our effect on nature, and, in turn, our (in)significance in the universe.

(Seriously, I don't get those who didn't get what was happening and who didn't understand the ending.)

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

I must be from a parallel dimension because I liked this...

[8/10 · 21 February 2021]

...or maybe it's because I read a ton of reviews (mostly here), and went into this not expecting a good movie at all.

I think I understood the plot (yes, there is one), I think I understood how this relates to the other Cloverfield movies (but no, don't expect this to be a giant monster movie or something.)

I don't think understand why some people expected this to be hard scifi. I don't think the main protagonist was insufferable. She's a human, with her own weaknesses and strengths - and here comes what's important - in a "sidequel" of a giant monster movie/universe. I'm not sure a lot of other reviewers have taken that into consideration. I'm not really sure why they expected this to be a new 2001 or something.

The actors are great, their acting was good (for a movie like this), the effects and visuals were def cool, the music was also cool. And yes, the story was OK for what this movie aimed to be - not too original, not unpredictable, not super surprising, but OK.

If you go into this with proper expectations, it's quite a fun space horror movie to pass a lazy afternoon or evening with. No, it's not Alien, or (again) 2001, sure. Why did you think it would be, seeing Cloverfield in its title?

I'm giving this an 8 to balance out all the super low scores a bit.

The November Man (2014)

If you like spy movies, it's your loss if you skip this one

[8/10 · 26 November 2020]

Stop reading the reviews already, and just start watching the movie. It's a solid one, and chances are you'll wonder what the negative reviewers really watched and how tired or something they were when they watched it.

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Simple plot, great actors, cool action

[8/10 · 18 November 2020]

After 570+ reviews I don't think there's need for one more extensive review.

If you've seen and remember the previous Bourne movies, you'll understand this one perfectly. There's nothing complicated in it.

If you haven't seen the previous episodes, watch them. They're great, and without them this one will seem like a mess, even though it isn't. It's just not really a stand-alone movie.

Otherwise it really boils down to a simple plot, cool action, great actors, and a sideways, slightly (bio)futuristic glimpse into the world of the Bourne storyline. That's what you get, and what you get is a fun spy action movie to watch some evening.

I'd be happy to see these two new main characters meet Jason Bourne in some future story.

Alien: Specimen (2019)

A fun, low budget short story

[8/10 · 7 November 2020]

Something's amiss in a remote extraterrestrial greenhouse staffed by a woman and her dog.

This short movie is def worth the watch. Sure, it's obviously a low budget piece, but if you set the drawbacks of that aside, it's a fun, well written and well acted 10 minutes window into the Alien universe.

My only more serious gripe is that the music the heroine listens to for a while doesn't really suit the tone of the setting and is a bit immersion-breaking. I understand it's supposed to create contrast, but it's a little too out of place. They should've went for something like the radio songs in Alien: Isolation (check that on YouTube, search for "alien isolation radio", listen to a few songs.) YMMV, though, obviously. And despite this, this short gets an 8 out of 10 from me.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

A single star at the 4 minute mark, three stars by the end

[3/10 · 6 July 2020]

At around the 4 minute mark something happens that fully negates everything T1 and T2 were about and everything the protagonists of those movies achieved and fought for.

Yeah, I'm barely 4 minutes into the movie, watching it for the first time ever (on HBO GO). I stopped playback when that thing happened, switched over here, gave the the movie a single star, and am writing this.

I'll switch back to the movie and watch the rest of it. But this movie is dead to me, 99.99%. Maybe if they undo that thing at/by the end, I'll come back and edit this.

I'm not expecting to have to do that, though.

UPDATE: So over three evenings, I finished this after all. I pity all the creatives who did a really great job on this, and I pity the actors who did their best to bring these shallow characters to life. The story remains terrible, and it butchers everyone else's work and effort.

This movie should not have been made.

Curon (2020)

Slow, dark, and moody, in the vein of David Lynch and Stephen King

[9/10 · 17 June 2020]

Watch this if you like relatively slow, dark, moody, and psychologizing shows, in the vein of David Lynch and Stephen King. To be clear, I'm not saying it's on the level of these two masters, no - but if you like them, and you're open to the genre they're working in, chances are you'll like and appreciate this. Even with its predictability. Yes, it's relatively predictable. Unpredictability, twists and turns are not the dominant focus or aim here, though. It's the relationships and the mood that matter most.

Don't watch this if you're scared by lesbians. (There's barely anything of them in here, but some people run away screaming even if they're mentioned. If you're one of those people, skip this.) Don't watch this if you get scared if some women try and stand up for themselves. (If you're like that, never watch Ridley Scott's Alien or the original Star Wars trilogy either.) Don't watch this if you hated the final episodes of Harry Potter. Don't watch this if your definition of horror equals only blood and gore at every turn and constant jump scares. Don't watch this if you don't like shows that try and make you think. Don't watch this if you need everything explained right away.

I'd give this 8 stars, but seeing how many myopic reviews it got with low ratings, I give it a 9, to balance things out a bit. It's a good show. Let's hope it will get even better.