mace8704

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Genuinely loved it. I was totally engaged for the entire 2.5 hours. Transitions well between the bizarre, juvenile humor, heartfelt family drama, and martial arts action sequences. I felt the full whirlwind of emotions from tears to laughter to awestruck at the creative action sequences. I could see some criticizing the immature humor, but after seeing Swiss Army Man, I had a good feel for the directors humor going into the film. If you have an aversion to old school Asian martial arts or female leads in action movies, you may have not like the action sequences. There are some portions that require reading subtitles. You’ll also need to open minded to some absolutely, totally bizarre, way out of left field scenes. Overall none of these deterred any of my enjoyment. Most fun I’ve had in a theater in 2022 by a large margin. The wife enjoyed it too. Not particularly violent, but there was some fairly crude humor and strong language at times if you’re planning on attending this with family. Strongly recommend

I wouldn’t recommend this movie in theaters or on HBO Max even if you’re a casual or die hard fan of any Matrix film. It’s just not worth your time. It very well may be one of the most meta films I’ve ever seen. Often times, the film feels like a vehicle for Lana, the director, to vent about her frustration with the film industry and Matrix fan base. The Matrix narrative is advanced very little after Matrix Revolutions, but what little is new, is often bizarrely meta or predictable. The action sequences are often heavily inspired if not near recreations of earlier films in the series. My expectations were very low after my disappointment in Revolution, but this film still disappointed me. Easily the worst film in the entire franchise. Avoid altogether.

Really enjoyed the film. The cinematography, score, acting, and costume design is all top notch. The decision to change the opening from the novel to a battle sequence involving Fremen and Harkonnen followed by a introduction of Caladan does a better job of setting up what’s at stake and the complex political background. I still have concerns those who haven’t read the novel will be totally lost. Oddly enough despite being 2.5 hours and over the first half of the first book, certain pivotal scenes felt very rushed. Major plot points involving the Duke Leto almost feel glossed over because there’s no time to reflect on the significance of what just happened or how it affects other characters before rushing on to the next part of the journey. Lastly, there were a couple visual touches I found distracting. The body shield creating both blur and a color change upon contact took me out of the combat sequences and made it difficult to follow the fight. Also as a guy who appreciates a healthy amount of blood in his action movies to compliment the violence on screen, Dune’s combat felt very sterile to the point of bordering on PG end of the PG-13 spectrum instead of R. A must see in theaters for those who enjoyed the novel. I’d encourage fans of plot driven sci fi to also see in theaters, or sci fans interested in seeing a novel put to screen that had a huge historical impact on the genre. If you’re a fan of action heavy sci fi, you may find yourself bored. The kid next to me fell asleep and started snoring despite being in the front row of an 8:30 showing. Please go see in theaters not HBO Max so we can get a sequel!!

Phoenix gives a captivating performance. It very well may be the best mental breakdown ever captured on film. The violence is rare, but hits with a really hard and brutal punch. The class warfare aspect of the film feels a bit heavy handed, and portrays the rich as villains in an almost cartoonish way. This is not a fun film to watch, but is a great character piece. Strongly recommend

Based on the trailer, I was expecting a very different movie than what I got. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but let's be very clear here. This is an abstract, cerebral, sci-fi film that offers very few concrete answers. To understand the film with any degree of depth, I had to go online, and read fan interpretations and explanations and the directors commentary. This film is not self contained, and is highly open to personal interpretation, which some audience members will inevitably find frustrating. I'd recommended going to see in theaters if you're looking for an abstract and contemplative film about human nature. I'd avoid if you're looking for a film that is light, fun, or scary.

I want to emphasize this greatly. I didn't watch a single trailer, or read a single review prior to watching The Last Jedi, and I do **not** mind social advocacy messages in a film. I only heard vague sentiments that critics loved the film, which undeniably excited me, but holy moly, I could not disagree more with the critics reception. First off, many of the interesting plot threads created in the Force Awakens like who are Rey's parents, what happened to Luke Skywalker, the greatly anticipated return of Luke Skywalker to the resistance, and developing Phasma and Snokes into a menacing antagonist are all fumbled here to my great disappointment. To my shock, the director and writers instead chose to pursue new and much less interesting subplots involving Finn, Rose, and how the crew of the resistance flag ship handles an 18 hour chase sequence when low on fuel. I would strongly discourage anyone other than dedicated fans of the series to see this in theaters and rent this film. It's simply not worth the price of admission.

A true Blade Runner sequel that shares both the strengths and the flaws of its predecessors. Beautiful cinematography, ambiguous character motivations that leave a lot open to personal interpretation, slow ****, that's the ol' Blade Runner. I'd strongly recommend this to any fan of the original film. **IMPORTANT** The film does a poor job of catching newcomers to franchise up on important plot details. It assumes you are familiar with Deckard and Rachel. To appreciate the narrative, you must be at least mildly familiar with the original 1982 Blade Runner film. I'd recommend the Final Cut version of the film. There are also 3 short animated prequels to 2049 that will help you understand the setting more. Strengths: Amazing cinematography, Great acting from the female supporting actresses and Gosling, ambiguous plot that will leave you debating with friends. Weakness: Poorly acted and written antagonist. Narrative is NOT self contained and demands a sequel and some familiarity with previous lore, slow pace.

Dark, depressing, and mature. For better and for worse, this is arguably the least 'fun' I've had with a Star Wars film. The first entry in the anthology series creates a darker tone intended for older audiences hoping to have their nostalgia itch scratched as opposed to younger audiences hoping for an upbeat and fresh narrative. Personally, I'm in the camp that thinks Star Wars is currently in a state of narrative stagnation. We've seen the death star multiple times with both Lucas and Abrams. We've seen the orphan narrative with Luke, Rey, and now Erso. We've seen the comedic droid with C3P0, R2-D2, BB-8, and now K-2S0. It gave me an odd feeling of deja vu. Haven’t I seen this movie before? It’s indicative of either a concerning lack of creativity, or a fear of experimentation due to the sacred cow status of the Star Wars franchise. Rent if you’re a fan of the original trilogy. Avoid if not.

13th blurs the line between an advocacy film presenting a specific perspective that goes unchallenged, and an honest historical account of the transition to mass incarceration in the United States. Personally, I was hoping for a strictly historical account, but when push comes to shove, the documentary clearly chooses to be an advocacy film that runs loose with the facts. Allow me to give you one very specific example. At 33 minutes into the film, the documentary is discussing how George Bush used crime and **** to appeal to white voters. At 33:29, he states, "Never mind the fact that the history of interracial **** in this country. That record is far more marked by white **** against black women than of black men against white women." The documentary then cuts to the **** scene from the film 12 Years a Slave.... Not a presentation of crime statistics from that year...a **** scene from a film about slavery. The assertion that interracial **** is disproportionately white men **** black women is simply not backed in any way by the FBI's Uniform Crime Report which is available free to anyone who can be bothered to Google: Interracial **** statistics + FBI. Is denying the existence of racial disparities in violent the best way to tackle violent crime? I have my doubts, but it appears many critics don't. You very well may still enjoy the film, but make sure you're prepared for an advocacy film rather than a historical documentary.

With the original trilogy, I loved the villains/empire. As a kid, the empire was truly terrifying and cool. So while I enjoyed the addition of Finn and BB-8, Kylo Ren, Phasma, and Snoke were all huge let downs. Kylo Ren comes off as another angsty teen and lacks the intimidation and mystery of Darth Vader. Phasma is underdeveloped and does practically nothing the entire film. Snoke is a CGI character which I've always struggled to connect with on a personal level. To make matters worse, Rey, the new protagonist, was laughably phenomenal at everything with no training. Need a pilot? Rey can do it. Need a mechanic? Rey can do that too? Need to take down a New Order genocidal maniac? Rey will close her eyes for a few seconds and take care that lickety split.. Don't get me wrong. The film is fun, but lacks the creativity and strong antagonist of the original trilogy. Still an improvement over the prequels, but I was expecting more.

Addressing the "misogyny" of The Hateful Eight: Prior to viewing the film, everyone should be well aware that Tarantino has created yet another film that the politically correct, social justice advocate may find in poor taste. The film contains gratuitous violence, excessive racial slurs, battery of women, discrimination against Mexicans, and worst of all for the social justice advocate, Tarantino did not include a strong female protagonist like in Kill Bill. In fact after creating one of the most powerful female characters in cinema (Beatrix Kiddo), the female lead in the Hateful Eight, Daisy Domergue, is a disgusting, manipulative, racist who spends the majority of the film in cuffs. How dare Tarantino! Did he not get the Hunger Games and Star Wars memo that benevolent female protagonist that are good at everything are in?! Daisy advocates for the genocide of an entire town. Daisy tries to seduce a black man to free her even though she's a racist. Daisy takes advantage of benevolent sexism. After all, should the fairer sex ever be executed by the hangman? To our social justice friends, the physical abuse Daisy receives primarily by the bounty hunter is evidence of Tarantino's hatred of women. What they fail to realize is that Tarantino is highlighting the ugly, morally reprehensible, and HATEFUL behavior of those living in post civil war America. Does every film need a Katniss or a Rey? Does the creator of Beatrix Kiddo/Kill Bill hate women?

Poor pacing and an inconsistent tone really hindered my enjoyment. The film starts off fantastic. Showing the deplorable behavior of Black Friday shoppers with pleasant Christmas music in the background. The jarring dissonance between the soothing music and aggressive actions shows how far we've strayed from the 'true' Christmas ****, I can't wait for Krampus to harshly judge these characters....except He takes his sweet demon time getting there. For approximately the first 45 minutes of the movie, barely anything scary or suspenseful happens. The movie leans heavily on its comedic elements at these points. It's hit or miss comedy inspired by the 'nightmare family relative' cliché. Unfortunately at several points, the movie isn't funny or scary. It's overly sentimental garbage. When the 'horror comedy' finally kicks in, 4 different characters are battling 4 different types of 'monsters' in 2 different locations in two separate locations with fast cuts back and forth. Really? Nothing happening to everything happening. It's more cartoonish than over the top violence like I was expecting. I'm a pretty jumpy guy, and I didn't even flinch. Would NOT recommend seeing while in theatres. Wait to rent or skip altogether.

This is on par with Quantum of Solace, and that is not a compliment. The motivation of the villain is poorly developed. The romantic pacing between Craig and the two Bond girls is so hap hazard that I almost laughed in the theater because Craig will go from coldly threatening them to passionately kissing them in literally seconds. The action sequences had a lot more CGI and reminded more of Brosnan era Bond than Craig's previous work. Maybe that's a good thing for you, but it's not for me.