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Paranormal Prison (2021)
Not a Found Footage Film Nor Horror
How did this garbage even make it to ANY streaming platform?! Let alone it wouldn't even pass as a good enough video to watch on YouTube. Looks like a high school student made it. This is not a Found Footage film nor a Horror film in the slightest.
So apparently the premise is a prison with a lot of history and ghost sightings. We have Matthew, Jacob, Ashley and Sara. They are filmmakers/paranormal investigators that decide to go explore the prison, and capture footage for their YouTube channel. So what entirely happens? Well I'll tell you so that you can save your time and not have to watch this.
They have a permit to film on the prison and the prison guard lets them in. The first 45 minutes is literally the annoying prison guard pretty much babysitting them and touring them around the whole place. All the are lights on! It is not an eerie feel or ominous setting whatsoever. Therefore, the prison doesn't look creepy at all. After 45 minutes, you start seeing the supposed ghosts prisoners, which oh my goodness, how much corny could they have looked?! The jump scares were the worst I've ever seen and the effects looked so unprofessional. We don't get any of the green nighttime filter in this, that we usually see in Found Footage. The recording layout from the camera only shows a battery symbol. That's it! No numbers, no timer, no date or other settings to make it look like it's a live recording camera. Some of these effects I noticed came right from IPhone apps! There was no screaming, nobody was really scared, but the dumbest thing that was missing in this was that NOBODY DIED. Everyone gets a happy ending?! Are you kidding me?! That is NOT a Found Footage Film. In a Found Footage Film, normally EVERYONE dies or were just left with one person. I would've at least thought someone or a couple of others in this would die at some point, but nope!
If I had been the writer or director of this, I would've scratched out the prison guard, made the prison completely abandoned, have no power in there, have the crew go sneak in there, have their green nighttime camera filters on, have no music, have scary ghosts, have slow burn tension and nobody would live. Plus, leave the viewers with a bunch of questions and thinking. THAT would actually make a good Found Footage Film. The person that made this had no idea what they were doing and clearly knows nothing about the Found Footage/Horror genre. This film maybe could've had some potential, but instead was painted with rainbows and unicorns.
And I'm only giving this atrocity a 2, because of Sara. She was the only good actress in this and the only one that was kinda keeping me through it. Paranormal Prison will make you feel like you're in a prison of your own if you were to watch it. Which I highly recommend you don't! Go watch or do something else.
Gokseong (2016)
Will make me ponder for awhile.
The Wailing, is one of those rare movies that will leave you feeling the need for so many questions, so many guesses and so much pondering. I have never seen such a Horror movie that can really play tricks with you and makes you want to put together the puzzle. Nevertheless, this was one of the greatest slow burn movies I had ever watched and it's length was perfect for how it was being executed. If it had been a shorter run time, it probably would've been rushed. Luckily, we're deeply sucked into the world of a policeman father, Jong goo, who goes on a hell of a dark, peril journey to save his daughter Hyo Jin, from an powerful, plague spirit. The question still remains though: Who was really behind the sickness? The Japanese Man or the Woman In White?
Gen V (2023)
Fun, Dramatic and Ridiculously Good
So I decided I wanted to wait to write my review until after Season 1 was fully finished, unlike most others who apparently wrote their reviews already based off of only the first 3 episodes that were out? Whatever I guess. Gen V is equally as fun, violent, gory and dramatic like The Boys.
Gen V takes place at a College University, called Goldkin, for Super-humans. We have Marie, who is our main character, that adapts to her blood powers, but has to live on with the regret of accidentally killing her own family. She meets others at the University and slowly builds certain friendships. She struggles to find her own purpose in the world, but realizes she is much special and unique than what she actually thinks of herself. Sam, Golden Boy's brother, was trapped under a facility with other Super-humans under the University. Marie and her team later uncover secrets and meet people they would have never imagined.
Golden Boy and Professor Brink seemed to be two major characters that I thought we would be seeing and would grow with for the rest of the Season. The like Father like Son relationship we could tell was there. Unfortunately, they both die in only the first episode. We do see Golden Boy make some appearances in a couple of episodes, including Brink, but killing them off in the first is something I wish the writers didn't go with. Other than that, I'm glad we did at least see them again as hallucinations and we understood their goals with the University.
Emma aka Little Cricket, was the comedic and fun character of this show. I loved seeing how she had to deal with her powers in ways that she personally didn't enjoy, but went along with herself, knowing that they are of some use. It was obvious that her and Sam were going to get together.
Andre, was someone we cared about, along with the complicated relationship with his own Father. It was predictable he would be Cates boyfriend after Golden Boy killed himself. It made it even more suspenseful when dead Golden Boy was finding out what Andre was doing with Cate all along. He did admit that he loved Cate, even when she was with Golden Boy.
Jordan, was somewhat interesting, but I think could've had different powers. The relationship between "them" and Marie is strange at first, but it starts to grow on you a bit and in the end you realize they really do have each other.
Cate was a well written character. Little did we know she would end up being the superior and evil one in control. Although, most people could tell that was ultimately up to something and it turned out that she was. Her past relationship with Golden Boy kinda makes you wonder if she was hiding secrets or things behind his back. Things that Golden Boy probably never knew about. I know for a fact that this has yet to be confirmed....
Soldier boy, Homelander and Butcher make their appearances in this show. Which was incredibly awesome to see! I'm not going to tell you which episode. You will just have to find out yourself and be surprised.
I don't understand some of the hate on Gen V. If anything, the show itself definitely doesn't deserve a 5 or below. It has a new take, with new characters, in a new setting, and is in the same world of The Boys with underlying, inner connections. So it baffles me that some couldn't give this a chance. I mean, if you think about it, it could've been a lot worse and could've had absolutely nothing to do with The Boys. If you're someone that really enjoyed The Boys, then you're going to really enjoy Gen V. If you're someone that hated The Boys, then you're not going to like Gen V. Now is Gen V better than The Boys? Absolutely not, but it lives up to just about the same ride and vibe as how The Boys was. All in all, very good first Season and I'm glad to say that I'm looking forward to Season 2...
Overwatch (2016)
So fun, but we'll never get this one back.
Overwatch for me personally was one of the most fun games I had ever played of the decade. The years of its popularity, rise and prime were from around 2016-2020. After Jeff had left, things unfortunately went downhill quickly. However, the worst thing they ever did was to COMPLETELY get rid of Overwatch and instead completely make a new Overwatch from scratch and just place the number 2 beside it. I can never forgive the developers and department for doing that. Ever. All they did was come out with a campaign and special improvements. These aspects literally could have all been ADDED to the first Overwatch. What sucks even more is that people that love Overwatch or those that have always wanted to play Overwatch or have never heard, CAN NOT go back to play the first one ever. So basically in todays world now, it's an awkward conversation of someone asking "Hey is Overwatch cool?" Then there's a reply of "Yeah! Overwatch 2 is cool!" "No. The first one is what I'm asking about." "Oh...there is no first one anymore. It's just Overwatch 2."
If Jeff had still been around, maybe none of this would have ever happened? I don't know, but the mere existence of Overwatch is just gone forever now. The only thing you can do now is reminisce and remember the good ole days you had with the first Overwatch. Hence why I'm writing now about how great it was, because it is the only thing I can do!
I will say this. If you wanna play a game that has similarities to the first Overwatch, I highly recommend playing Paladins. It is way more fun than Overwatch 2! The best part is it's FREE!
In conclusion, Overwatch, does not simply exist anymore. Such is the fate of an amazing game that was brutally reaped of its benefits. We had fun with it though while it lasted! Rest In Peace Overwatch....
Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)
Not the best and not the worst
Five Nights At Freddy's is exactly what you would expect. The sole purpose of coming to watch this movie is simply for the sake of the animatronics and because you're familiar with the games. So the story and the characters are not exactly the motivation for you to see this. Basically they don't matter to you. I'm sure most of us can be honest about that. If it wasn't for the animatronics at all, then why else would you be coming to watch this??
It indeed was good to see Josh Hutcherson. Of course him being a B list Actor, we know him mostly from the major works of the past he was in such as: The Hunger Games, Bridge To Teribithia and Zathura. For him leading this movie, he did good. He's never been a person that overacts. It was also good seeing Matthew Lillard, whom we know as Shaggy from the live action Scooby Doo and Scream. The rest of the cast did their parts good as well when it came to acting, but the thing is...for me personally...I didn't seem to feel enough sympathy for either of them. I tried really hard to, but with the story not being the most engaging to me, it was hard to pay attention and really care for the characters. Plus, a lot of moments in here are quite predictable.
The animatronics on the other hand were very well done! They executed the look of each of them perfectly! They look exactly like they are from the game and what makes it even better is that none of them are CGI. They are all real standing, moving animatronics. So hats off to that team for actually making them come to life! The Freddy FazBear Pizza Place in itself is also well designed. They managed to create the same look of the place, along with the classic monitor watching that we very well know of.
While this is a film I probably won't watch again, I came to see it for the fun of the animatronics. And if you're coming to see this movie specifically with that mindset, then you'll have fun with it. But if you're coming to see it not for the animatronics, then I probably wouldn't bother with it if I were you. Therefore, I wasn't expecting this to be the best nor the worst. So it sits right in the middle just about where it should be. My real rating for this is a 5.5, if I had to grade it by letter, definitely a C+.
Ballerina (2023)
Didn't do it for me.
When it comes to South Korean movies, most of the time, I'm heavily invested, impressed and enthralled. However, some can't be the greatest I guess. Like Ballerina for instance, it just didn't work for me...
The movie does have cool lighting, great action sequences and cinematography. These were really the only things I loved about it. The plot doesn't make sense and is kinda stupid. I couldn't feel any sympathy or care for any of the characters. Most of the time it dragged and it didn't seem to know where it was exactly going. Halfway or more than halfway, I didn't even know what was going on anymore.
The last 20 minutes are the best part of the movie. I gotta give it that.
If you're looking to watch a great South Korean movie, find something else. Ballerina isn't all it. You're not missing too much here.
Broken Swords: The Last in Line (2018)
This whole film is Broken...
So...I only came to watch this movie, because of an actress in this I personally know and I worked with in a past feature film back in 2014. Kellie Carroll, it's Jax aka Sam Sunflower from The Town Inside, if you happen to be reading this at all, you did a great job! I'm also proud of your acting journey and how far you have come along since!
Anyways, on to my review of this. Ooo Yikes. As someone that loves Medieval or Medieval Fantasy films, this definitely could've had some potential. I enjoyed the costumes, the special effects were very well done and the indoor setting. But in something like this, that's all you can really enjoy here.
I can't necessarily blame the cast. They were just given on what they were supposed to work with, but for what they were given was absolutely terrible. Their dialogue was all too modern, so it's hard to even make you believe or feel like they were back in the Middle Ages.
No story at all. No strong character development to even care or root for anyone. We couldn't see what or who they were fighting against. What was their plan? How long have they been fighting? How long have they been traveling? Where exactly are they trying to get to and why? What is their main purpose in this? Why are they having to stay in this shelter? Which by the way I end up finding out that this whole entire movie takes place IN the shelter. No other indoor or outside locations. I hate to say, but unfortunately I had to fast forward through this, because I was just so bored to death and the time was definitely dragging.
No action either. If you're gonna make any kind of Medieval or Medieval Fantasy that is, there HAS to be at least SOME action involving sword fighting or something. There was only like 3 minutes of archery in this movie. That's about the only action you are going to see. Plus we would have to be shown what or who they are fighting.
I'm not sure if this was filmed in a big studio or a place somewhere on location, but geez, I would've thought they could've at least gone outside somewhere to film a scene or two. Tight budget? All they could work with? Couldn't find the locations they were looking for? Permit problems? Who knows. But I think that kind of effort needed to be put in more before actually finalizing the script. Therefore, you could tell it was rushed.
If you don't know anyone in this or don't know anyone personally, then I highly recommend to please pass on this...
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts (2003)
Best Hunting Game In History
I've been playing this game for 20 years. There is no other hunting game that will ever compare to Cabela's Dangerous Hunts. You got 3 different game modes. Quick Hunt, Action Zone and Career Hunt.
Quick Hunt, is a free for all mode, where you can hunt any animal you want, in any region you want, in any season you want, and on any difficulty you want. If you play on Easy, you'll find the animal too easily because of a red dot you'll follow. If you play on Hard, you will NOT know where the animal is at all. And this just makes the experience even better, because you have to be aware of what could be behind you, beside you or in front of you at any time. Nevertheless, any mode is scary. All you hear is the sound of your own footsteps and the nature around you. Which this makes the most realistic hunting experience you could ever play.
Action Zone, is a fun mode where you basically have to go through rounds, where you have to kill a certain number of predators in order to move on to the next portal to get to the next region.
Career Hunt, is a mode that is very direct and specific based. It'll tell you what animal you have to hunt, what weapons you need to have, and some things you have to do with these animals. Think of this as the story mode, even though this game has no specific narrative or main characters, which I like, because our focus should be on the hunting experience alone. That's it. Not the story, not the characters. You, your gun and the animal you're hunting.
If you have a PS2 today, I recommend getting this game! Or if you're someone that really misses this game, but doesn't have a PS2 anymore, then get yourself a PS2 off EBay for a reasonable price and get the game for like $10-$15. Trust me, Cabela's Dangerous Hunts is a MUST have for any gamer....
Smite (2014)
An Addictive Mythological World
Smite, is one of the very few games I know of where can play as just about ANY mythological god or goddess. In total, there is like 60 different ones. You got Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Chinese, Egyptian, Hindu, Babylonian, Polynesian, African and Authoritarian. I mean what more could you ask for?! I love how each one you click on, you can read about their lore, check out previews of their unique abilities, listen to their voices, check out their skins, and so much more. If you wanna purchase a god or goddess, you do have to pay with the amount of gems or tokens you have. The more you save the better. Or you can be one of those people that is totally cool with paying with their real money to pay for the gems to unlock a character. Whatever works best for you! The game modes are very fun. I love the graphics. Keep in mind, it is a strategic game and not the easiest. But what keeps me playing is when I get Victories, I level up faster, get chests, get gems and such. A Defeat once and while will happen obviously. You'll become so comfortable with the characters you feel the best with. It's honestly a better game than League Of Legends.
Dojeok: Kalui Sori (2023)
Great show, but terrible finale!
Song of the Bandits is a Korean Version of the American Wild West, to sum it up pretty much in that way! It was interesting enough for me to learn some History, the fact that I didn't know the Japanese were occupying Korea, along with ruthlessness, lawlessness and violence with Bandits. You begin to love and be interested in all the characters. The fight choreography is kick-ass, the kills are great and the Action is cool for the most part. Soundtrack is beautiful, especially with its main opening theme, reminding me of something like The Last Of The Mohicans. The authentic early 1900s setting, costume design and props is also well done. Now out of all 9 episodes in this, 2 of them are not very good. Episode 7 was not the best. I thought "Well ya know what, that's not a problem! We're nearing to the finale with just two episodes left and the finale should be the best one!" Now normally in most circumstances, you would think the Best would be saved for Last. Unfortunately, the show had to end with its finale being the Worst saved for Last. And when you have a finale that leaves you disappointed after watching a show you really liked, it's hard to stay motivated to even look forward to the next Season. I don't like it when TV shows do that to us. Nobody does. You always want to end your show with a memorable finale, one that sparks people and keeps them talking about it. So it's a shame to me that the finale of this is perhaps...forgettable. By all means though, Song of the Bandits does deserve a good rating and I still recommend the watch. After all, it is a Korean show and Korean content is always so entertaining!
The Nun II (2023)
ZERO REASON to even have a sequel
Let's face it. The first Nun was the best one and it should've been just left to THAT! The first had far better scares, a far better storyline and sent off an unforgettable ending to where we understood how Valek came to the Warrens in America years later. With The Nun 2? I saw absolutely no reason as to why there should've been a second one, because we knew that Maurice became possessed in the first, the footage at the end showed us that he was older when he was with the Warrens and Maurice is honestly not a great character that you can count on to carry most of a movie. Which unfortunately, he did mostly lead it in this one, as the focus was mainly on him and everything was just super repetitive in this. It was dumb and not scary at all in the slightest. Although Valek is Valek, the actress, Bonnie Aorons, has always done a good job being this imposing figure and I've always respected her performances as Valek. That's that, but still doesn't the change the fact that this was stupid. You couldn't root for Maurice nor root for others. Hell not even Sister Irene you could root for. THIS was most of the movie: Let's run to a dark corner, then there's a lame scare. Lets explore with our light in the dark, then there's another lame scare. Let's run away while being chased and nothing else happens after that. Let's talk about how we can stop Valek. Let's look at something, then someone jumps out. Let's talk more about how we can stop Valek. Let's hide, think that we're safe, but then another ridiculous scare. I'm actually surprised I managed to get through this movie, because I really wanted to stop on the halfway mark. Luckily I wasn't watching this at the movies. Rats....just wish this had never been made.
Retribution (2023)
Ehhh wasn't even decent.
I know that Liam was just being Liam and it obviously isn't his fault that this movie was not the best. But dang, I would've at least thought it would be decent. The cast was fine. The story was just hard to follow, to actually know what was going on and the action sequences weren't all that exciting. In fact why am I even saying action sequences? There was barely any action in here. Nothing really but him driving around the whole time with his kids in the car and trying to figure out a solution to the bomb under the seat. The writing, if I can describe it at best, is just simply boring. It's nothing exciting or new or different in the slightest. If only they had given Liam at least a few stunts to do in this, but they gave him nothing to do at all unfortunately. I know for a fact they could've somehow incorporated a couple of stunts in here that he could've done. 1hr and 30 runtime? It felt like more than 2 hours of a drag to me. If you're looking for something to watch Liam Neeson in, it's definitely not Retribution. I'll tell ya that! He has a ton of other better movies out there! Please pass on this one. You're not missing anything...
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
A Haunting I Stopped Watching
When I noticed I had been 50 minutes into the movie, nothing was happening from the start. No action, nothing scary, dialogue that wasn't keeping me interested, mellow acting, in fact Michelle Yeoh was really the only one that had kept my interest on the screen until she got killed off so early. She gave an amazing performance at least, but that doesn't change the fact that this movie had way too much talking and it didn't seem to be getting anywhere whatsoever. I didn't care, I didn't know what was going on anymore, and I felt like I was wasting my time honestly. Thank goodness I was watching this in the comfort of my home instead of being at the movies. The 3/10 is for the location itself, the 40s look and the cinematography. Other than that, I wouldn't suggest watching this even if you were bored. Please go watch something better.
Blue Beetle (2023)
Definitely could've been better.
Blue Beetle was something I had been awaiting to see. Not because I know much about the hero itself, but mainly because I was looking forward to something different other than The Flash or something that we've already known about for so long. Blue Beetle I knew from the Injustice video games as a playable character. The trailer itself had looked pretty cool to me and I honestly had some hopes about it. However, ehhh, it wasn't all what I had really expected it to be.
The cast of this movie is fine. The effects are cool as well. That's really why I am giving it a 5/10. That's not my problem. I had a problem with how long the film was. How much it seemed to drag for me, as there wasn't really much of an engaging story to keep me focused throughout the movie. Plus, it got super annoying watching Blue Beetle the whole movie, being completely clueless on how to use his powers and running away like a scaredy-cat all the time. I would've at least thought that after the beginning, we see Blue Beetle adapt fully within himself and then become this ruthless, badass hero that we would've love to have seen. I mean, was this the actual intention the writers wanted with this character? To be lost throughout the whole 2 hours?
Kinda glad I watched this movie in the comfort of my own home when I was in boredom. I couldn't have imagined seeing this on the big screen. If I did, it would've made me even more disappointed. Other than that, Blue Beetle is something I would most likely not be watching again. And the post credits weren't all that exciting to me either. So I can say for myself that I don't have anything to be looking forward to.
Hidden Strike (2023)
Cena and Chan actually make a good duo!
While this movie didn't have a very understandable or amazing story, there was plenty of enough action and humor to keep me on the edge throughout. Plus, it's not too often I see Chan in movies these days, nor do I ever see Chinese production companies involved with movies of mostly a Chinese cast. With that being said, it wasn't all too bad!
I don't think many people can go wrong with Chan in movies. The guy is still jumping around like a spider monkey, doing fast energetic stunts, at the age of 70! Which he's still in incredible shape and it looks like age hasn't entirely hit him that much either. Cena, on the other hand, not the greatest actor, but man he was hilarious. It was also entertaining to watch him do a bit of his wresting stunts, along with him and Chan just saying the cheesiest things to each other at some moments. It kinda reminded me of Rush Hour a little bit, just because of the chemistry between the both of them and the fact that Cena can actually SPEAK Chinese haha. Most of the action and fights are so cool. I was mostly like wooow some of the time. So I will have to say the choreography is actually well done. It's not John Wick level great, but it's still awesome. The bad guy was just okay. Not a very memorable antagonist honestly. I think his character could've been written better or something else, I'm not sure. Does not mean the guy that played him was a bad actor though, because I have seen that dude in other stuff and he's good. Hidden Strike is definitely a ride! I recommend giving it a go!
Talk to Me (2022)
Talk To Me Disturbed Me
It's not everyday I hear about Horror films that were made in Australia, made by Australians and with an Australian cast. I did hear about this film a couple times. It's funny, because when I first saw the trailer one day in the previews I was like "Oh cool. Looks not bad." Then after hearing and seeing all these incredible reviews of this movie, I couldn't help but to go see it and well, I can say now that Talk To Me is easily the best Horror film of 2023 and the best Horror film since Smile from 2022. Talk To Me executes the Horror that we all need back in the Horror genre. Not jump scares! Horror as in a deep, engaging, horrifying story and realism that pushes its limits so far that you can't help but be completely jaw dropped and uncomfortable. Which was exactly how I felt throughout most of this movie. In simple words, the movie teaches you to just never, ever play with dark mediums of any sort. Whether people think that stuff is real or not, it's extremely dangerous. But to go into more depth of this movie, I liked everything about it. Sophia Wilde, a phenomenal actress that owns this movie and including the other cast that did a good job as well. The unsettling soundtrack that seemingly crawls up your spine. The cinematography is on another level. The incredible writing. The horrific imagery is pretty eerie. The scenes that leave you feeling so many different emotions. This movie reminded me of Get Out, Hereditary and Smile. Except Talk To Me goes even more beyond the limits of Horror than these three that I mentioned. And not that they are bad movies, they are great too. But Talk To Me, is a perfect example of a rare Horror gem. There won't be anything quite like this for awhile. Congratulations to Australia for showing us what REAL HORROR IS....
Dead by Midnight (Y2Kill) (2022)
Like a modern version of Creepshow
I heard about this from a personal friend of mine who is actually in this film. It's not too often these days where we have a film about a host that shows different stories to us, especially the sub genre of Horror Comedy itself I feel being uncommon these days. There are several stories and they are each about 10 minutes or so. Some are hilarious, bloody, bizarre, disgusting, surreal and flat out weird. The creativity, the mix of some Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, it's use of incredible 80s nostalgic practical effects, crude humor, comedic writing and monsters is enough for Dead By Midnight Y2Kill to keep you quite entertained!
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (2017)
A classic that'll never get old!
I've had Shadow Of War since 2019 and it is probably one of the most addictive games I have ever stayed grinding on. There's so much in this game that makes it a very deep, engaging experience. The amount of story quests you play, the amount of powers you get to unlock, the amount of upgrades to your character, the amount of locations you get to go to, the amount of people you meet, the amount of creatures you run into and especially the numerous amount of ORCS that you meet! Which I personally think the Orcs are the BEST thing about this game. They are the ones that keep you coming back!! You meet one, they talk to you, they kill you, you go back to try to kill them, but a different meets you, then that one kills you, then you recruit one, it fights for you, but then it betrays you later and so on! It is endless! I've probably met at least 500 different orcs so far of all different powers, voices, sizes, heights and weapons. What makes it even better is that every SINGLE ORC has a story behind them! Meaning they each seem to come from a different background, everytime you listen to them talk to you. At times it can be so upsetting, challenging, annoying, but that's what makes it so damn enjoyable. I still have to play the other two expansions. There's no doubt I'll get my hands on those when the time comes. I really wish more people played this game. It is too extraordinary to miss out on...
65 (2023)
It lacked so much that I stopped watching
Adam Driver is a great actor, but I can tell he really didn't want to do this movie. He had to have been offered a good million or so for the role alone. While the effects, atmosphere and dinosaurs were solid, there was zero story and zero character development. We don't know much about our main character. We don't know much about his family. We don't know about the girl that much either, whom was his sidekick on the adventure. We don't even know all their names! 65 million years ago on Earth? Is it Earth that is warped back in time 65 million years ago?? Did the asteroid belt have a portal? What was the main timeline everyone was in currently before the crash happened? Where we're the so called "passengers" on the ship? Where was he originally flying away to before he crash landed? What exactly was he doing for his family? What is Planet Maris?? The amount of questions I have here about sums up the amount of rewrites this script needed to have. This movie was going absolutely nowhere. I know it is not the fault of the cast, they were just doing their job. But for the writer or writers who thought the script was ready, clearly needs to be fired. Don't waste your time with this. That's why we have Jurassic Park to go watch instead.
Arctic Void (2022)
Pretty odd, but not enough explanation.
Arctic Void is what you would call a slow burn film. Meaning the suspense builds up and up and you're always wondering what exactly is going to happen. In the Arctic Circle, two American filmmaker friends, Ray and Alan, aboard a tourist ship, with many others from around the world. Strange things immediately begin to happen out of nowhere and before you know it, Alan, Ray and another dude are the only ones left behind.
The acting wasn't the greatest, but these guys managed to carry it alright. The scenery was gorgeous. And the soundtrack is very unsettling. However, there was not enough explanation to what exactly happened, who or what was causing it to happen and why it was happening. I had so many questions and still have so many questions. The ending is forgettable. From the amount of peril in this movie, it definitely needed to be a little bit longer. Maybe as an audience we are left to be questioning? I don't know. Who knows. I just wish stuff in this could've been unraveled, but all in all, it's not entirely a bad watch I guess...
Overwatch 2 (2022)
Overwatch should've stayed as just Overwatch!
When I say that Overwatch should've stayed as Overwatch, it means they didn't have to make a complete, separate game! Alllll the things they had in this 2nd one, could've literally been added in the 1st one. That's all they had to do. Overwatch 2 is NOTHING different nor special in the slightest. Except for a campaign, but that's all you get really. WHY in their mind would they completely get rid of the 1st one?! Now nobody can go back to that game anymore. It just doesn't make sense. "Hey guys we gotta sequel now, but let's get rid of the 1st one for good measure." Like what??? Leveling up is not the same as it was, in fact you're not even leveling up at all. It feels empty. It feels like after you play so many hours, you don't feel accomplished, you don't feel like you're progressing, you don't feel like you're moving up in the ranks. Plus, loot boxes don't exist anymore. Now you have to buy coins if you want anything. Plus this game is FREE now? It's so stupid. In Overwatch, you actually felt like you had a place in the game. You felt like you were getting somewhere. You were proud of how far you came to reach your first bronze, silver, gold, platinum or diamond. You competed with your friends. You felt great about receiving loot boxes to see if you would get coins or skins or anything else. Overwatch is dead....it has been dead. And it unfortunately will never come back to the way it originally was. Let's be real here, 2016-2019 was where it WAS REALLY AT.
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Didn't know it would be THAT amazing!
When it comes to Disney live action remakes, for one, I'm never usually crazy about them. For two, they always turn out just decent. But here, with The Little Mermaid, I was completely blown away and my expectations went far past than what I originally thought before I was going to go see this. They really, really went all out to make it so similar to the original cartoon version. Halle Berry is beautiful as Ariel, what an angelic, incredible voice! Melissa McCarthy is as evil and nasty sounding as Ursula the Sea Witch, making a great antagonist. Sebastian was hilarious. Others including Flounder, Skuttle, Prince Eric, and Ariel's Father were also entertaining to watch on screen as well. Each of the songs were right on point and perfect as could be! This movie has a bit of everything in it. Laughter, darkness, evil, heartbreak, heartwarming, happiness, freedom, drama, emotional moments. And the eye candy visuals are all very gorgeous as well. It's not too often we get to see underwater movies these days. Other than all this, I don't have anything else to say, but to just tell you to go see it for yourself. Not a movie you'll regret...
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Too much power can lead to total destruction...
It's funny how I never watched this film when it came out 10 years ago. Why? I don't know haha. But I was very curious about it and it's storyline of an entrepreneur who got obscenely rich off of stock fraud with his buddies. Considering I've been getting into entrepreneurship for the past month, it was inspiring in a way, that taught me what NOT to do with all your money or the consequences that could happen if you get rich illegally.
Despite its overly used content of sex, nudity, foul language, drugs, etc, it is a VERY engaging storyline. The moment the movie starts, you are immediately sucked into the life of Jordan Belfort and you are continued to be sucked into his story throughout the whole 3 hours. THATS something! Especially the fact that I never got bored once or even looked away from the screen. Martin executed this perfectly as a director! And let alone DiCaprio and the rest of the cast manage to give outstanding performances as well. Cinematography gave powerful shots, to make us feel the power these people have. The dialogue sells it well! Enough great dialogue throughout that can make you feel overwhelmed and hooked.
For me personally, the 4 main things this movie showed me were: How money can't solve all your problems. How money can't always buy your happiness. How money can be a temporary pleasure of greed and desire. And how money itself can be an addictive DRUG. It is an important movie I think everyone should see. You'll question about yourself. "What would I do if I had THAT much money?" "Where would I end up life if I was THAT rich?" "What do I need to do to be more careful on my spending."
Of course I'm not saying to be exactly like Jordan Belfort! But just watch it and LEARN from it.
The Whale (2022)
The hardest movie I've watched in years....
The moment I knew Brendan Fraser was back in another film, with a big breakthrough role, I just couldn't say no to this. In fact, my expectations were pretty high about this film before going in. Let me tell ya, those expectations went to being overly powerful and left me in such a state of just..."WOW, I don't know what to say right now...", as I was walking out with my best friend after it ended. This was an entirely different film for Brendan Fraser, compared to many of his typical action, comedy movies he usually did.
The film deals with so many realistic situations that families go through. Cheating, divorce, money, father daughter relationships, mother daughter relationships, friendships, taxes, school, stress, anger, depression, but the #1 of all in this, which was very hard for me to view, even though I'm not obese, was the consequences of STRESS eating and how it can affect your entire life. I'm not going to say much more, but after you watch this movie, it's gonna make you not only think about life, but think about yourself.
One more thing. BRILLIANT WRITING.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
The Way Of Being Way Too Long And Zero Depth...
Not entirely sure where to start with this. But it's obvious to say though that the visual effects were magnificently gorgeous and I owe a hats off to the visuals effects team themselves for all the hard work they did on every detail of everything! THAT is only the reason it is even getting 5 stars....luckily....
Compared to it's predecessor, which kept the game simple, this one just has too much scrambled eggs together of things that make absolutely zero sense, cliches that we've already seen from other things before, with a bunch of overdone "bonding", drugged eye candy to where eventually your eyes get tired of looking at everything, a rehash of everything that happened in the first one, and top of all that, ZERO depth to anything. Which basically means zero emotional depth and you just don't care about anyone it seems. Zero story. If I could even call it a story itself, but sitting there watching a bunch of creatures fly, swim, crawl, etc is not a story. This could've been a completely different story and it probably would've been pretty solid with a different formula. Great visuals alone DO NOT MAKE A GREAT MOVIE. So agonizingly long too. Easily could've been 2 hours or less. My goodness. I was about to shoot myself.
It's crazy to believe we waited 13 years for something to turn out not so quite good unfortunately. Not the sequel that we wanted. You would think for that long of a time, that they could've came up with a completely strong narrative, and an engaging storyline. They had PLENTY of time for rewrites and discussions. How did James Cameron not see that so many things were missing in this? Seems he went too far into his world of things and pretty much ignored everything else. Seems to me they gave him the right ideas or idea, but he just threw it away and instead wanted to focus on only Pandora. And I bet ya that is exactly what happened! His ego really led him astray.
I think it goes to show that he forgot how to make narratives. And by all means, he is a fantastic director, but after seeing this? I don't know man, I think his time might need to be done. I just don't see how anyone can be so excited for the other Avatar movies to come. Because I'm absolutely not...I know...ouch.
Avatar, your time is done. It's Game Over.