Change Your Image
unkinected
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The OA (2016)
The first season sublime, second a horrible mess
Finding it hard to review this show. The first season was wonderful. A slow-paced spiritual mystery that poses many deep questions but doesn't answer them for you in any satisfying manner, forcing you to think about the possibilities. Could Prairie really be who she says she is? Or is she just suffering from PTSD? The ending is ambiguous and can be debated wholeheartedly either way. The bond between the main characters is very strong and shines through. I thought the experience was moving and thought provoking. I fell in love with Brit Marling after this.
The second season, on the other hand, completely undoes the first. It answers all the mysteries of the first season immediately in the guise of a detective drama, and then introduces its own set of incomprehensible mysteries, and not the good kind. The second season is a mess, introducing too many plot lines and dropping most of them, changing the tone of the show, changing character motivations, completely changing the concept/promise of The OA, and generally suffering from trying to do too much. The mysteries are random and seemingly have nothing to do with each other or the main plot. It's a jumble of pieces from different puzzles...trying to be profound but ends up amateurish. And the end... the end started full of promise and was ruined by a completely random, cheap deus ex machina.
My advice is to savor the first season, but skip the second. The first season is like a classic intellectual film, and the second is a straight to DVD sequel. American Psycho vs American Psycho 2. I will choose to pretend it doesn't exist, because the first season left me with a sense of acute wonder, while the second made me angry at its handling.
The Monster (2016)
This is not a monster movie
This is a monster movie in the same way that Pan's Labyrinth is a monster movie; there's a horrible beast in it, but it is only secondary to the plot.
The trailer and description of this movie do it no justice. This is a movie about the relationship between an alcoholic abusive mother and her daughter, and it is at times difficult to watch because of the raw intensity in the scenes. I found the emotions and actions to be very realistic, and the love/hate relationship from both sides - but especially the daughter - is written perfectly; fans of child psychology will eat this up.
OK, so the monster is there. It is done very well, and the tension derived from the horror aspects are well handled too. With only a few jump scares, the movie relies more on the darkness and mood to cause you unease. There is some action around the monster that is too light in treatment, but remember, this is not a movie about the monster. And in that sense, the cursory treatment makes more sense.
The symbolism is obvious in retrospect, but it is a bit more literal than fantastical, unlike Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. You can very much take this movie at face value; as if the action is really happening. But there's an entirely other level to it if you want to take the leap. We all have demons, and these two characters have their fair share that manifest themselves in a few ways on screen.
I really enjoyed this movie and was moved to tears. It is bittersweet; at the same time horrifying, raw, and very dark in soul, but yet leaves you with a sense that one can still go on, despite enormous trials and tragedies. For those who've had difficult relationships with a family member, or have faced incredible loss, it is especially touching. It's a rare movie that can stir a full range of emotions. It's not perfect, but the talented cast and crew put together something that will stick with me for a long time. Kudos to them all.
H. (2014)
Interesting, but inconclusive
I'm not sure what to make of this movie. The atmosphere is great, haunting and cerebral. The acting is well done. The cinematography is gorgeous. But the story goes no where.
Don't get me wrong, it definitely sets up an interesting world. I was genuinely curious what was going to happen and cared about the characters. But then the movie ended. There was no conclusion to any of the story lines, and nothing to even lead the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions about the strange things that took place. This really was only 3/4 of a movie - I'm not sure the writer/director even knew what they were trying to get across, other than, "let's show some mysterious stuff on a screen."
So I wanted to like this movie, but ultimately it was unsatisfying. Watch it for the mood and the ride, but don't expect a revelation of any sort.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
A typical JJ Abrams Exciting Disappointment
Let's give this movie some credit. It was fun. It was pretty. There were some good humorous moments. And I can't help myself but be curious about two mystery characters (one being Luke Skywalker) and how they will play out in the next sequels.
And if that's what you want from a movie, great. JJ Abrams' polished lens-flare filled sleights of hand do not disappoint, and you will enjoy this movie.
But original cohesive plots he does not make. All of his recent movies are so riddled with holes and plot devices that they make me angry, but look, an explosion! Where was I...?
I was never a huge fan of Star Wars (always preferred Star Trek), but as a nerd I've seen them all multiple times and can quote lines with skill. This felt like somewhat like a Star Wars film...same universe, same characters, same ships, same plots. And part of me wishes I could experience the fanboyism running amok in nostalgia. But I was not affected by that, so maybe I can see a bit more clearly. Or maybe I'm missing something.
Where to begin...if you've read any other reviews, you'll know this movie is a retelling of Episode IV (with bits of V and VI thrown in). I mean a scene-for-scene retelling of Episode IV. It's all there, in the same order, with the same camera shots: the death star, the mysterious black-masked evil dude with a deep voice, the even more mysterious and more evil old dude in smokey haze, the force prodigy, the comic relief robot. There's the wise old man in the desert, the wise old man on a hidden planet. Han and Chewy. Stolen plans, an alien disco bar, the good guy falling off a catwalk into nothingness. And so on. There is literally not an original element in the movie (and don't tell me making the hero a heroine is original).
So much unoriginality it almost seems like a fan cut edit of A New Hope from YouTube.
So, OK, let's maybe give him a pass on that. Disney wanted to play it safe, I get it. Remakes for new generations happen all the time. And like Episode I, this seems to be remade for today's children.
But now we get to the bad (remake-y-ness is the ugly). The retelling of the story is absolutely horrible. It's like he was skipping scenes and forgetting details, like your grandpa relating war stories. Let me just point out a few glaring problems (out of a vast number):
- Why did the new deathstar not have any protection? The first two death stars had plenty of Star Destroyer guardians. Why is the single most important location for the First Order not protected? Literally six to eight X-wings blew up that whole planet.
- How does Rey (and Finn) hold her own in a lightsaber battle against the most powerful known Dark Sider in the galaxy? And after never having used swords. And just because she's handy with a bow does not mean she's a battle trained fighter.
- How did Kylo Ren force-sense Han Solo landing on a planet from thousands of miles away, but miss him when walking 20 feet away from him? And why was he walking on that catwalk anyway?
- How about the crazy coincidences? Han and Chewy finding the Millennium Falcon umpteen years later, exactly as Rey happened to steal it, even though it was super easy to find (according to Han); the discovery by the Resistance of the death star, arriving at the planet from billions of miles away, all with a plan cobbled together in 30 seconds, finding Kylo Ren, lightsaber battle, yada yada, *exactly* as the First Order is about to unleash the weapon (which all took 15 minutes in-movie time); Finn sees Rey being attacked in the market from 100 feet away and decides he needs to save her, when he's run from every other conflict in his life? And he's dying of thirst?
It's clear that JJ Abrams tries to dumb down - er - "open up" these sci-fi movies to a wider audience (as evidenced by the horrible Star Trek movies), but I think he overshoots his mark. He instead makes a movie that panders to an audience that will accept anything put in front of them, no matter how inconsistent it is. (It's like telling a child that Santa Claus can fit down a chimney because he had ninja training as a child. From Yoda. I mean, really?)
I'm not nitpicky. It's a Star Wars movie - obviously disbelief must be withheld. But when a movie falls in on itself so badly, it's hard to look past - look, an explosion! And unfortunately, I just can't be gleeful that years of development and hundreds of millions of dollars came up with something so superficial and illogical. This movie feels phoned in. And because of that it doesn't feel like a Star Wars movie. Feels more like the made-up story a primary school braggart tells to make friends.