Reviews

Does a great job of being a metaphor for fhe DC franchise, which is a sinking ship. The movie does absolutely nothing new, in the Aquaman franchise or in movie magic. It's under-written, under-acted and under-directed. The character arcs are repetitive from the first movie and take you nowhere. The movie has no identity and gets lost in its own design.

Every new role I see Jason Momoa in I am less and less impressed with his acting abilities , and his ability to pick good movies. I haven't enjoyed a role he has played since Dunkan in Dune.

Though I saw this for free on HBO Max, I still regret the time spent to watch this dumpster fire of a movie.

Because you're a dumb b**** Fun concept but felt like they could have done so much more with it... including casting better actors and having writing that didn't make you cringe at times Truly, the ending of this movie is so underwhelming and terribly delivered.

The single line delivered at the end of the movie ( you know the one) nearly ruined the entire movie for me. If you want to utilise this sacred "groundhog day" movie basis you better pack the writing punch to deliver on it. Happy death day just didn't cut it for me.

Aside from this flop, I'd say let's keep the comedy horrors coming as there have been some good ones to come out recently.

I appreciate this new genre of film that I can enjoy in October that gets me into the spooky mood without having to watch some demon posses a child and murder its entire family. Another movie that falls into this niche was "Freaky" with Vince Vaughn that hit the comedy and hit the horror.

Totally Killer had a great balance of both, and actually was quite gory and violent at times. It had a few fair jump scenes and a creative plot, which is something I struggle to find in your run-of-the-mill horror films. Granted, I'll watch an actually good horror movie if it warrants a view ("It Follows" or "Get Out"). Let's keep making more of these !

I enjoyed the original Shazam movie, my only complaint was the personality difference between Billy (Asher Angel) and Shazam (Zachary Levi). Levi was clearly having more fun with the role, and seemed like a much more fun 14-year-old than Angel performed as.

The problem with movies like Shazam (think the new Jumanji movies) is that the "younger" and "original" versions of these characters portrayed by sublime actors just can't live up to the solid performances that the "transformation" brings.

Though Billy (aka Angel) barely gets any screen time in the sequel to Shazam, I still found myself asking "is this really what an 18 year old would be like?" If anything Shazam got less mature in this movie, and his personality was closer to that of a 10-year-old than an moody young adult.

Angel and Levi should have done some better practice and alignment on their energy levels.

I left watching the Menu with great mouth feel. It's one of the first movies I've enjoyed watching in awhile, and breaks up the monotonous onslaught of super flicks plaguing theatres. The concept and pace hooked me right from the beginning and I couldn't look away as the night's events escalated for a selection of guests attending a unique and forever memorable meal on a secluded island. Hoult was a blast to watch and was truly one of the most demented characters, but Fiennes really stole the show as Chef. Fiennes and Ana Taylor-Joy had great on screen chemistry and the writing really allowed there characters to divulged in one humorous banter. If the question is the watch this movie, I say "YES CHEF."

I enjoy and appreciate how different this show is from the original GOT series. Even if people want and beg for more GOT, the writers tend to know best and we really do not want more of the exact same. House of the Dragon is largely focused on the tensions of family bloodlines, especially strained due to firstborn births of daughters in a male dominated middle age world. As a result, the plot is thick with dialogue around what I will broadly label as "family drama." Doesn't sound like GOT? Family drama + Dragons, so maybe a little more GOT now.

The focus around family and births and children and romances that are and are not occurring turns this show into a bit of a highly produced soap opera at some points. The writing for this soap opera is great, and it has dragons and death so that's an added bonus, but as with most soap operas the drama can be dragged out just a bit too much.

One thing I would like to call out separately is the sheer number of birth scenes in this show. I have never seen so many screaming, bloody births in one series of television in my entire life. Definitely could have cut the number of on screen births in half.

Overall, I enjoyed the first season and look forward to the second. I hope the writers stay true to the storyline and keep creating unique content that lives in the GOT universe but does not mimic the original story too closely.

Euphoria season 2 takes the outrageousness of season 1 and amps it up 10x. There are many standout plot points and characters in the second season that are worthy of highlighting.... But the greatest, and lowest, moment of the story is learning into Rue's act as our "anti hero." She truly becomes are hard character to root for, as she digs herself a deeper and deeper hole with her friends, family and self.

If you are getting frustrated with Rue halfway through the second season, you must stick around until the end. Truly a unique final two episodes and like nothing I've watched on television before.

I kicked off the show and after the first two episodes found myself getting easily distracted, the core conflict at the start of the story seems so small and insignificant in the broader world of "Star Wars" and the infinite worlds and species that it just seemed too small to care about. However, after taking a break from the show and coming back, I realize that the show took this conflict and snowballed it into an avalanche of consequences that reverberated throughout the rest of the series (and the galaxy).

I loved how the show was broken up into 3 episode arches, each with their own start, beginning and end that were all tied into the larger season 1 storyline. This show far outperforms Obi Wan and Bobi Fett in my opinion, and if not for baby Yoda it would rank even higher than the Mandalorian.

This show kicks butt, and so does Harley Quinn. Season 1 and 2 are creative and fun to watch. Lake Bell as Poison Ivy is great casting and she is the heart of this show. I'd definitely recommend watching as this is an easy, digestible "snack" show - but I did have to knock off a start on my overall writing because Season 3 definitely felt like it was dragging it's feet. The relationship between Harley and Ivy is growing stale and the lack of King Shark (everyone's favorite character) is noticeable. I'm ready for next season, but we need some new characters and a shake-up to this anti-hero squad.

I'm a sucker for this animated sitcoms, but it's pretty easy after the first few episodes to tell if a network has created a pile of steaming crap that assaults the audience with cheap jokes or actually delivers on a new concept while also being hilarious. "Little Demon" most definitely fits into the second bucket, and the casting of Aubrey Plaza as the Anti-Christ's mother and Danny DeVito as the Devil himself is just fantastic. Plaza steals the show with the most interesting character dynamic and the best lines. They definitely need to expand the depth of the plot is future seasons, but for an opening season the single-story episodes worked for me.

Plot Mode: Snooze

I thought Mark Walhburg and Tom Holland would make for some on screen chemistry.... I don't know if it was the low effort put into the writing, or if these guys were just here for the payout, but their performance felt stiff and awkward. I think the world is finding that if Tom Holland is playing a high-pitched teenager with spider webs coming out of his wrist - he actually is not a dynamic or skilled actor. It felt like these two were reading off the script to each other - the acting was just plane flat, stale and uninteresting.

Not much to speak for on the plot here... It's pretty much your good guys racing against bad guys to find the long lost treasure trope. I did enjoy the final action scene, and feel like this is where the production crew spent every single spare dime. But honestly, the final action scene and plot conclusion was not worth being dragged through the shattered glass that was viewing the majority of this movie.

Did you know this movie was the first to....

I do enjoy the classics, the old films where everybody talks funny (isn't it crazy that everyone used to talk like they had a wad of tobacco in their mouth and grew up selling newspapers on a New York street?). However, I think just because a movie is "the first to do... X" doesn't make the entire movie a home run. I'm sure the "vertigo" effect was mind blowing the viewers at the time, but the movie almost felt like Hitchcock found this new effect and tried to build a film around it, instead of having a plot first and finding the effect.

Not my favorite Hitchcock movie, but I did not see that TWIST coming at the end. The movie kept me off mine phone for the full two hours, so I walked away entertained and proud of myself for checking off another "classic" from my movie bucket list.

Mini Series Magic

Is it just me or is the mini-series becoming one of the more popular "styles" of TV entertainment? I can't remember watching a single mini series more than 3 years ago - now I'm keeping a sharp eye out for them since the likes of "Chernobyl" "Mare of Eastown" and "Black Bird" have all blown my socks off.

Taron Egerton is the shining star of his generation, truly a man of many talents. I've followed him since his breakaway role in Kingsmen and have enjoyed every single project I've seen him in sense. "Black Bird" was the first serious role I've seen Egerton in, and he proved that he can deliver across the TV medium, for multiple episodes, hooking the audience in on a character that he really made his own.

The story of Larry Hall is terrifying, a monster in our society that was caged and almost let go again. I was hooked from the first episode to the last, and by the end was wishing the series wasn't so "mini."

SEASON FOUR I have enjoyed "What We Do In The Shadows" immensely since it first came out. I continue to recommend this smart comedy to my friends and family that haven't heard of it. However... I might have to start recommending that they stop watching after the end of season 3 (which even seemed to slow down a bit to me in the middle). Right from the start, Season 4 started out with a jumbled plot and a stretched motivation for the characters that used to seem so natural. The actors were pushing the limits of their characters... But I do not mean a good "pushing" here. It felt more like when you've been hanging around friends for too long and some of their charming traits start fraying into annoying traits. The plot itself essentially goes in a big circle - and essentially nothing changes from Episode 1 to Episode 10... Which I get is "the joke" but instead of landing with a laugh, it received more of a yawn and a shrug.

I don't have much to add in here outside of what's already been shared by many thousands of other reviewers and viewers... This movie is a joke and doesn't take itself seriously enough for it's audience to suspend their disbelief and actually hear this dialogue without cringing. I love Waititi and almost all of his projects... But maybe there is such a thing as too long a leash even for the extremely talented directors? The core plot actually has the potential to make a great movie... The cast could have shone (Christian Bale as a god killer? Shivers) but everything failed to come together and I have blame the writing for that one.

What did I like about the movie? I don't remember. I tried to forget each cringe moment as it passed. Such a disappointment and another bummer for the Thor franchise and a sign that the Marvel Cinamatic universe is loosing it's touch.

SEASON ONE

Color me an American, but I don't watch or know much about Formula 1. That is, until I decided to dip my toes into the "Drive to Survive" series. I'm foaming at the mouth for the upcoming season. This show sucked me in and is a nonstop torrent of heart pounding races, characters that you love as much as the ones you hate and of course SPEED. Despite the show following seasons of F1, I started on season 1 with the release of season 4 just around the corner. I would recommend starting at the beginning even if you know the outcome of all the past year's races.

SEASON TWO

Equally thrilling, equally intoxicating and equally dramatic - season 2 delivered on everything you wanted from Drive to Survive. As someone who is getting into the show a little late in the game (season 4 is coming out as I am wrapping up season 2), I will say that it felt like the Haas section of this season dragged on a bit and didn't really end up going anywhere. Normally these episodes do a good job or telling small stories that fit into the larger picture... But the Haas stuff that occurred over the course of two episodes felt isolated and insignificant in the long run.

A classic serial killer thriller that I love returning to and showing my friends who have only seen Christian Bale as the Dark Knight. Though... you could say he is a dark knight in "American Psycho" emphasis on the dark and de-emphasis on the knight portion. Each time I watch the film I notice some small detail that was lost in the manic plot and in Bale's hypnotizing performance. This isn't just a cheap thrill, it's a mystery - a psychoanalysis of narcissistic behavior at it's most extreme... and it just happens to also be a great thrill to watch.

I found myself laughing at the abrupt contrast of Bale's murderous intentions and the unaware New York City nightlife around him. I do feel some of the scenes where Bale attempts to "belong" can be humorous... Because as the audience you know all to well that he does not belong in normal society.

Mission Impossible: Fallout, felt like the most James-Bond of the MI movies. A returning villain with an even more sinister ploy to destroy Ethan Hunt? Check. Love interests and betrayal? Check. Henley Calvill? Check. (Ok that last one is not a Bond requirement, but Calvill debatably stole some scenes from Cruise throughout the film). Some elements that make the movie less Bond-ish... Stunts and action scenes that go just a bit beyond defying the laws of Physics. Also teamwork.

I've watched all the MI movies in the past few months, and every new film just keeps getting better. Let's hope the upcoming "Dead Reckoning" does not break the streak.

"Only Murders in the Building" is trying to ride the relatively recent booming fascination with True Crime stories, specifically those told through the audio format. I did enjoy the first few episodes, the surprises and twists were well timed and kept me engaged.... And then the entire middle of the season slowed way down and I got bored.

Steve Martin carried the show, he did a great job and seemed to be having a blast in his role. Selena Gomez was enjoyable to watch as the New York Millennial, but goodness does she have a monotone voice (I'll never know how she's such a great singer with a talking voice that is as flat as Kansas). Finally, Martin Short... perhaps he was doing an excellent job - perhaps his instructions were "be the most annoying neighbor you can think of, so annoying that you even irk the audience." But either way, I did not enjoy him or his character in the show.

I'll stick around for a couple episodes of season 2. Or maybe I'll just listen to a True Crime podcast.

The show is about Mare-ders, not murders. I started Mare of EastTown a couple weeks after watching True Detective for the first time, so there was a lot of comparing going on in my mind between these two show, which I would advise not doing. The title really gives away what the show is about - Mare, all the murders are just an entertaining path for her to grow and overcome her traumatic life spoiler. Though a very different detective show form what I've watch in the past (aka True Detective) I did enjoy the twists and turns, and watching our gritty, somber main character open up - even if it was just a teeny bit.

The Fyre Festival of the late 90s... I enjoyed being told/shown the story of the disaster that was WoodStock '99. Clearly, history repeats itself with more recent festival disasters such as Fyre Fest - but Woodstock '99 was a beast in its own right. Something about that 90s rock dug into the souls of those attending and (along with a very poorly managed festival) brought out the worst in the crowd. That being said, when is the next Woodstock? Woodstock 2049? Sign me up.

The series continues to get better following MI2 (probably one of the worst action films I've ever seen) and embraces its identity as a raw action movie with innovative tech and fast pace action sequences. Ethan Hunt is fun to watch as he banters across the world... stopping a villain that has the most basic of agendas and is quite uncompelling as the big bad.

Though I did enjoy Rouge Nation, I feel its pace did not meet that of its heart racing predecessor. As usual, Tom Cruise's stunts are amazing to watch and it's a blast see him one-up each MI movie with a crazy feat of real action acting. I'm watching the MI movies back-to-back in an effort to build up to the new Dead Reckoning movie - one disadvantage of this viewing experience is exposing the very tired plot of "Ethan Hunt - exposed and on the run from the institution he was supposed to trust, now has to complete a solo movie with no resources and no help from the IMF..." Would it be so bad to have an MI movie where Ethan has access to IMF resources, support from the CIA and could all together just take on the bad guys without being branded a traitor? After the 5th time this plot tends to get a little frayed.

I had low expectations ahead of this movie, the ratings were in and it was not deemed anywhere near "fresh." That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the first half of the movie - not to say it was a homerun by any means.... Maybe a second base hit at best. Then things truly fell apart at the halfway mark. The movie failed to follow this large cast and give each character justice. The cutting/editing was noticeably sloppy (and I don't consider myself a movie snob), dinosaurs constantly appeared out of nowhere and characters seemed to teleport from one location to another. On a scale of No Dinosaurs to Plenty of Dinosaurs - I would say the movie had Enough Dinosaurs to keep me happy. The number of Dinosaur scenes wasn't the issue... The entire pacing of the movie was.

An eye-opening documentary about the events that occurred during the capital insurrection. Every single American citizen should watch this unfiltered film of the violent protests that were, without any doubt, incited by Donald Trump. The coordination between the interviews with both capital police, congressmen, and rioters with the video footage captured that day was very well done. On one final note... to the criminals at the capital that day... We do not love you, you are not special.