Reviews

While many of the complaints are accurate (noisy kid trope in particular, mediocre script and acting), there are definitely redeeming features. The tension, once things get rolling, is well done and the sci-fi twist is one even the most hard-core fans may not see coming. Michael Pena is not great as a lead actor but with so many intervals of hiding and action sequences, you can almost look past him.

Unfortunately the so close yet so far quality of this movie diminishes what could have been a memorable foray into sci-fi film. But as disappointing as that is, this was still an entertaining watch that is just the right run time.

When you first watch the trailer for this film, you are promised action and gore. And while Sisu definitely delivers on that, there is so much more to it.

The cinematography of Sisu is easily some of the best ever done, conveying both the beauty of the Lapland and the horror of war. The style, along with the chapter titles, are very reminiscent of old westerns. This can be said for the music as well; a pairing of Ennio Morricone with Nordic tones.

The premise itself is fairly simplistic but that does not mean that the story is executed poorly. Avoiding the tropes of action/revenge films, Sisu brings powerful life to all of it's characters and immersing you in ways you never expected. The violence, of which there is plenty, does not feel gratuitous at all and will straight up shock those viewers who are no stranger to gore and depravity.

The performances of every single cast member of this film are totally on point and every moment of fear, pride or horror they express is completely believable. Jorma Tommila gives an extremely powerful performance that leaves you both rooting for him and afraid of him.

The one negative I can give about Sisu doesn't come from the film itself; it is that the trailer gives away too much of the film. It's as if they used the violence and ties to John Wick creators as a selling point when this film easily stands on it's own. Sisu is a beautifully brutal film.

Having never heard of Kai before this documentary, I was really interested in hearing his story. Through interviews with news reporters and television producers, we get a picture painted of a young homeless man with a hippie-esque mentality who became a hero through seemingly justified violence. But as Kai's story progresses, we come to see that he is a more unbalanced and unpredictable person than was originally thought. When police and family are interviewed, we truly begin to see behind the veil of Kai's homeless hippie hero persona.

While this documentary starts off well with lengthy, balanced coverage of Kai's rise to fame vis social media, it falls flat when addressing the crime he is currently imprisoned for. The murder of Joseph Galfy almost seems like an afterthought compared to the build up of Kai's meteoric rise through the majority of the film. Many documentaries covering crimes and convictions of this nature feature interviews with psychologists and legal specialists to better illustrate the antagonist's clinical mental state and history but little is done to showcase this, save for limited interviews with his mother and cousin.

While the story is interesting, this execution of this documentary fails to give a fully balanced look at the entirety of Kai's rise and fall, leaving you saying "Wait, that's the end?".

With so many bad sequels following Hellraiser I & II, it's definitely easier to give this addition a little credit. The design of the new Cenobites is definitely appealing and creepy, making them seem more like demonic creatures rather than just mutilated BSDM enthusiasts. And the new Pinhead adds a new level of eeriness to an already beloved horror icon. But that's pretty much where it ends.

The story is primarily about guilt, not horror and that's not the driving force or lure behind any Hellraiser film. It takes a long time for any of the iconic torture and gore to be shown in the film (aside from an out of focus scene near the beginning) which makes the plodding along of the story seem all the more tedious. When the gore is shown, average cgi somewhat diminishes the impact that was present in all the previous films using practical effects.

For most horror films, you can usually refer to one stand out moment no matter how bad the rest of the film is. There is literally nothing like that in this Hellraiser movie. It just plods along predictably, bringing very little to the table and leaving you with a very blasé feeling at the end.

It is no means terrible but definitely extinguished any hope devoted Hellraiser / horror fans had of a reinvigoration to the series.

Most wrestling fans imagine being a part of the wrestling world at some point or another. For Andy Kaufman, it was always his dream to be a heel. While many have heard of Andy's schtick wrestling women and then his rivalry with Jerry Lawler, few know the extent that those who were a part of wrestling respect what he did for their industry. By keeping the time honored tradition of kayfabe and having his heel character stem from some of the greatest old time wrestlers, Andy helped bring not only more awareness to wrestling but a certain legitimacy. Hearing the inside chats from Lawler and other promoters about how it was working angles with Andy and the commitment he brought to his appearances in wrestling really shows the impact he made on this industry. Even if you don't like Andy Kaufman, you will love this episode.

While medical professionals deliberately killing or maiming patients is sadly not unheard of, this story is still surreal. The performances by both Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne are absolutely staggering and truly immerse you in the story. However, there is something indescribable that makes the gravity of the story seem somewhat weak. It could be the pacing or bleakness of the production or that is doesn't have the intensity of similar shows like Dr. Death. Regardless, this film not only showcases the incredible talent of its two lead actors, but the ineptitude of American hospitals by prioritizing optics over the safety of patients.

This episode is all about heartbreak and it definitely displays it well. The performances by Essie Davis and Andrew Lincoln, both who have roots in horror films and tv, are very powerful. However, with the general theme of the horrifying and unusual in this series, this episode is kind of bland. Despite being beautifully shot on a set that just lends itself to the supernatural, the horror element is fairly trope-y in the scheme of things. It brings nothing new to the theme and is definitely short on genuine creep factor because of it. That being said, the episode featured some powerful acting and a story that almost better suits it being a standalone short film. Being a part of this series, which has already featured some grotesque and surreal horror, almost does it a disservice.

First off, the look and feel of the film (music, set design etc) are fantastic. Definitely felt like a 70's era horror film with a Brian De Palma / Dario Argento vibe. Having the iconic Peter Weller as the protagonist was the perfect choice and the rest of the cast were pretty solid as well. What starts off as a slow burn, continues as a slow burn and then fizzles with a mediocre climax that leaves you wondering what you just watched. While the obscure isn't necessarily a bad thing, this episode just strings you along to a very unsatisfying ending. Sure, the gore and violence was pretty impressive but after waiting so long for ANYTHING to happen, it didn't measure up. Definitely the weakest episode of this season despite it's cast, filming style and set design. Expect nothing from this episode and you won't be disappointed.

The premise for this film feels very much like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits and probably could have worked really well that way. But a seemingly endless drawn out scenes that do nothing to enhance the story make it a painful watch. There are a few great actors in the film whose performances are the only thing to elevate it but Zawe's performance is just painful; it seems simultaneously cliché and uninspired somehow. The creep factor is there to be sure but with such a long, tedious plod to get to each moment, it hardly feels worth the effort to watch. Definitely would have been the creepy, pseudo cautionary tale the director intended it to be if it was done as an episode of the above mentioned series.

While this show pales in comparison to Dark Side Of The Ring in many aspects, there is still much to be appreciated. Bringing former wrestlers, managers and promoters together to do a round table about their territories not only gives the audience great stories, but s real look into the fraternity/sorority of the wrestling world. These are bonds forged in blood, gimmicks, ribs and kayfabe. The only real drawback to the series is the narrator. While this person is apparently an established Podcaster, their narration sounds like someone paid to narrate, not someone who enjoys and respects wrestling. Regardless, it is a series every true wrestling fan should check out.

There can be no sitcom style happy ending to a story of this complexity or even one that is completely satisfying. But that is the point of The Patient. In this final episode, Sam faces his literal and psychological demons and eventually finds himself truly understanding himself on a new level. Alan has evolved into a man who finally truly understands himself and as such, can finally help both Sam and his own family. The performances of the entire cast in this episode are phenomenal; powerful and gut wrenching. While the last minute of this episode was initially frustrating, it speaks to the true message of this series: healing and self understanding through therapy is perpetual. Nothing in life is ever 100% resolved and this episode of The Patient reminds us of that.

The performances in this show just keep getting better and better as not only Sam and Allen's relationship, but every character's relationship, evolves.

While many people begin to progress emotionally through therapy on some level, this episode shows just how psychologically paralyzed Sam is. Despite Allan's best efforts, Sam's habitual anger and insecurity always push their way past any progress he makes. This is particularly obvious through Sam's terrible attempts and humor and meaningful socializing, even with those he loves.

Seeing the impacts Allan has made on not only Sam but Ezra in this episode truly shows how even the smallest gestures or comments can affect a person. Loving the continued interactions with Charlie and the references to Viktor Frankl.

At first, I embraced the dry dialog, noir-esque filming style and inconsistent audio as a style choice in trying to make this film seem like it was made in the era of MK Ultra. But as the movie progressed (or should I say plodded along), I realized that there was little to hold on to. Many of the actors in this film were fantastic but were given very little to work with script-wise. The editing of the film, particularly in the final scenes, seemed very disjointed and not as an artistic choice. The addition of historical footage (documentaries, interviews etc) was great but tended to be stretched too long, making things drag along. While many complain about the film being more about the main doctor than MK Ultra, that is not my issue. It was just a poorly assembled film as a whole, despite having so many great components. For a fascinating subject, this film felt like a cinematic lobotomy. Wanted to like it but I just can't.

Westworld rarely pulls its punches, whether it does it through cerebral mind games or staggeringly sudden violence, and this episode is no exception. With the return of the true Man In Black, Charlotte Hale's new world is shook to it's core with a winner take all makeover that pits all humans and hosts against eachother. Between all those who remain, they all have to decide just how much they want to sacrifice, be it what they want or what they know needs to happen.

This episode brings everything that made the first two seasons amazing: gritty violence where no one is safe, existential introspection and a venture forward into a world where anything is possible. This finale was definitely "sublime".

This season has been a long drawn out story that could have been resolved in half the time. However this episode stays true to what Discovery has always been about: relating to one another through emotion and finding common ground despite differences. This episode definitely felt a little less like the Michael Burnham show for a change, thankfully.

I didn't expect this movie to be good; I simply hoped that there would be some decent homages to the game (typewriters, Moonlight Sonata) and decent, gory creatures. And there were...sort of. The whole movie feels like a first year film student directing a soft core porn set in a horror genre...without the soft core porn. The acting is straight up atrocious (even the two decent actors in it couldn't pull off a good performance) and the characters were straight up destroyed; the script completely eviscerated the characters' personalities. One of the most iconic characters in the RE world is Wesker and he was reduced to a whiny, incompetent loser. And don't get me started on Leon. This movie also feels like none of the different departments collaborated at all. The cinematographer had zero idea on how to set up the shots to add intensity, the music never seemed to fit the scene, the direction was, well you saw the title of my review. Even the cgi was weak at best, covering all of it's creatures in a shiny texture that made them less believable (I'm sure the intent was to make the gore look more juicy but it ended up looking like everything fell into a vat of varnish). I will give this movie props for using the original Resident Evil font. But other than that, I now feel that Milla Johovich's Resident Evil deserves multiple Oscars. Friends don't let friends watch Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

It's no surprise that much of Star Trek Discovery is the Crying Michael Show more often than not. And that emotion, identity and trauma are more of a constant theme in these last two seasons than the previous ones. While this episode delves more into the former with minimal progression of the scientific plot line, it is by no means a bad episode. No Star Trek series has explored the discovery of both space and self simultaneously as Discovery does (although DS9 truly set the groundwork). This episode definitely lacks in a few areas but is not off brand for the new format of Discovery; not a memorable episode but not a bad one.

I kept trying so hard to like Black Summer. It's title focused episode structure was a great departure from traditional zombie films/shows and the interconnectivity of the survivors showed balanced and unique perspectives. There were a few great episode concepts, such as episode 3, but poor writing and directing made it hard to truly feel connected to any of the characters, no matter how sympathetic they were. Even the unsympathetic characters were just kind of "there". This is the first zombie show I've watched where the essential horror gore wasn't there and it's horror relied more on shock than anything. The more I watched, the more let down I was because the potential for this show is definitely there; they just fell flat.

This movie flat out does a huge disservice to the series. I admire the attempt to reinvigorate the SAW premise with a slightly topical story but Chris Rock and the other actors give performances so painful, you cannot connect with the characters on any level. The writing is disjointed and the editing makes that even more evident. The traps were very lackluster and it felt like some first year film student's attempt at a SAW ripoff. Nothing redeemable about this film; would have been better off re-watching any of the other SAW films.

The Rookie promised that this season, they would address systemic racism & police accountability and they did not disappoint. While this episode does seem to be very heavy laden in addressing BLM and police brutality, this is not a bad thing. The way this is handled, by the perspectives of the African American community, white cops and cops of color makes for a very balanced take on an issue few seem to grasp the gravity of. I will say that Brandon Routh's character seemed a little cliché to me but I can't say first hand what it's like to be on the receiving end of police treatment like that so that could be dead on for all I know. I've seen many people review this episode negatively given it's new "woke" agenda but most shows throughout history, comedy and drama alike, have addressed the issues of the day in their own times so this should be nothing new to those watching. This episode stays true to its' character's intents and emotions while still allowing them to evolve in a very natural way. The writing is still solid and the show delivers home both a powerful message and great entertainment. Black Lives Matter.

With the exception of a few movies in different genres, most sequels are disappointing when compared to the original movie. This is not the case with The Raid 2. Picking up right where the first movie left off, you are flung back into the extremely violent underground world of Jakarta and Rama's battle against the the underworld. Amazing fight scenes, brutal violence and surprisingly good story & acting make this movie a true credit to the genre and should set the standard for any action movies that come after it. If I have one complaint about The Raid 2 is that the actor who played Mad Dog in the previous film was not better utilized in this film. The new fighters added to this film were incredible and there was never a dull moment. It makes me sad that this movie and it's predecessor have reached so few people (the theater I was in had maybe 20 people in it). One of the best movies I've seen in a LONG time and I am seriously considering it again in the next few days. The Raid 2, I salute you!