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Reviews
Dune: Part Two (2024)
A Masterpiece
Dune: Part 2 is worth a watch. Multiple watches even. On the biggest screen with the best sound available. It is pure IMAX wonder. The cinematography is gorgeous, the music and sound eerie and unsettling at all the appropriate moments, the direction is wonderful, and the characterization brilliant, the plot follows the spirit of the books. If you are a fan of the books, there are certain critiques to be had, which are valid from a fan who knows what they're talking about. However, if you are to introduce a newbie to Dune...Part 1 and Part 2 here are a great way to do so. I can't imagine how many people will read the Dune series because of this film. Watching Paul's character arc is worthwhile and satisfying and the main thread of the film. The supporting cast/characters arguably steal the show, which says a lot about them because Chalamet did wonderfully. And yes, all the disappointed Zendaya fans from Part 1 for her lack of screen time, you get to see more of Zendaya in this one. There are twists and turns in the story that will keep you guessing and even leave you feeling deeply unsettled because, well, that's Dune's story. The fight scenes have intense tension, characterization, storytelling, and drama. This movie is a classic in the making, and a sight to behold! Bravo.
Fast X (2023)
It's what you expect, but not, and not it a good way
4/10 @best and that is being kind. It did at least commit to being an absolutely over-the-top ridiculous film, but it made no sense.
Here's my ten quick points on Fast X. Mild-spoilers.
1) The dialogue is utter garbage. Not even memeable jokes.
2) Too many characters. Dom plays his character straight. The women characters are played straight. The other male characters are tag-alongs or campy mccamp, especially Jason Mamoa, who may earn the Razzy for this performance.
3) Terrible writing, even for a FF film. I understand this is a FF movie, and I know to lower my expectations, but it seriously does not make sense. You probably have to watch all 9 films right before you go watch Fast X to understand what's happening. It is more of the "And then, and then, and then, and then" writing.
4) The editing SUCKS. This film was sliced and diced and sewn together with barbed wire. So many scenes have hard cuts to different angles where the characters are in mid-movement, change with jarring facial expressions. It is awful.
5) Queen Brie really seems broken by Hollywood. She's still as wooden as they come. How did this lady ever earn $1 billion at the box office and how did she win an Oscar. Zero charisma and zero gravitas.
6) The stunts were lacking and resorted to terrible CGI. Worse than even the most self-indulgent Michael Bay films.
7) There is a plot line with a kid that really just doesn't fit at all. It is cringe. The kid was fine. He acted like a kid. The situations he's put in by adults are stupid.
8) Too long. I started to feel tortured by the end. There is a mid-credit scene that will make your eyes roll into the back of your head and down your throat. NO END CREDITS SCENE.
9) I felt some resentment from the people who made this film. Not any of the actors. I legit think they tried their best with what they were given. But I think this was Hollywood saying "fine you want mindless entertainment. We'll give it to you, and you'll eat the absolute garbage tier we serve you." They are so bitter audiences don't want their dramas and politics shoved down their throats.
10) I will be shocked if domestic tickets sell very much. The only think that might save this film (and franchise?) is the international market.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
A good send-off to the Guardians
This film will receive very mixed reviews. Some folks with love it and say it's the best ever, one of the best, or good. I'm in the good camp. Others will walk away perplexed, confused, disturbed or disappointed. A few folks will hate this movie. It has a very whacky vision where the Guardians operate in an imaginative but disturbing part of the Marvel Universe. The team has good chemistry in this film and James Gunn really tries to pull at the audience's heart strings. You should go in very open-minded and ready for anything to happen. Chris Pratt was my favorite part of the film, but all the characters have a moment where they shine or are fun.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
A beautifully-shot sci-fi sequel
Avatar 2's positives: amazing visuals, a good dynamic between the main character and his family, and interesting world building to escape into. I didn't think any of the actors were phoning it in, and even the younger ones did a good job. This movie's visuals basically blow away any other's in the past 5 years, which is impressive. With all of the films using The Volume at Lucasfilm and Marvel, it was nice to see VFX/CGI that didn't look like a PlayStation 2 quality background or PlayStation 2 characters. The social messaging in the film was there, but it didn't beat a person over the head. It definitely should be watched on the Big Screen.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Overall, a waste of time and money
Spend the 2+ hours playing D&D with your friends instead of watching this film. Not even the charisma of Chris Pine can save this film. There was, as usual, an over-reliance on CGI. The party chases a MacGuffin. The stakes were incredibly low. There was no humor, and the comedy felt like reheated leftovers from a certain entertainment company whose mascot is a mouse. There is no DM and no people playing D&D. It's just really bad fantasy. It's not "Guardians of the Galaxy but DnD." It's not "The Princess Bride." It's not the praise that people are giving it. It's a celebration of the mediocrity that audiences who have been badgered, deprived, and desensitized by corporate-controlled studios and trained to seal clap for.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Phase Five has a weak start
Positives: Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, and Paul Rudd are good and familiar. They carry the film. Good chemistry between the family and traditional love.
Critiques: Many people will praise Jonathan Majors, but I thought he either talked too slowly or overacted when he was trying to be threatening or angry. He's another generic MCU villain, not a Thanos-level threat. His acting isn't threatening...just the fact that he can and has many copies of himself throughout the multiverse.
-M. O. D. O. K. Fans will not be getting what they want from this character. He's a clowned punching bag and looks really bad with the CGI.
-Cassie is annoying, mouthy, spoiled, and whinny. She also got typical Hollywood political values and is a girl boss. She looks and acts like a typical Gen-Z Disney actress. All the characters think and say "She's amazing" of course.
-There is an underlying theme of a socialist revolution where they mock cops, help the rebels, fight the empire, and "burn it all down." There is even a line about ants being highly developed socialists and that we humans could learn from them.
WandaVision (2021)
Liz Olsen is a risen star, but Disney's MCU is fading...
Liz Olsen and Paul Bettany are wonderful, especially when they are together. Agatha is entertaining-that wink! This is a hard to beat Disney+ MCU show compared to the others for several reasons...it's the first MCU show of its kind, it has good actors as leads, it took a giant risk, breaking away from the Marvel formula, and WandaVision progresses as a new decade of TV history, starting with the 1950s, for each of its own episodes, which was creative and enjoyable. Nevertheless, it is still a flawed show. The biggest problem with Disney Marvel is its ideology, which infects its character motivations and morality message. Wanda was wrong to hold an entire town captive to hold on to her own (false) reality of a happy family. You cannot justify such actions as moral or even excusable if you're going to be consistent. Wanda might justify them, but we the audience should not. What she did, no matter how justified she felt, resulted in the torture and suffering of hundreds of people, so she could escape her own grief. Yes, Wanda is broken. Yes, she is traumatized. Yes, she's been through so much that almost any normal person would crack under the grief and pressure. Yes, the chaos magic she gives off is sometimes outside her control. Yes, it was Agatha all along manipulating her. Yes, there are outside forces against her. However, Wanda ultimately made the choice to choose her false comfort and her imaginary family over reality and the freedom of others. This show also set us on the downward spiral 🌀 of the rest of MCU Phase 4-"dealing with consequences and grief." WandaVision, at times and with nuance, showed Wanda struggle with the morality of living in her dream world at a community's expense, but in spite of all that, there still were other times where I felt the overall POV was sympathetic towards Wanda to a fault. I do think the showrunners were attempting to make Wanda's demise a sympathetic tragedy, but it didn't totally land either bc it was too quick to shift the blame off Wanda's choices as an individual, mainly through how other characters responded to Wanda. Vision's response made the most sense until it didn't. Blaming everything else that brought her to that point of crisis was not a good take. Her situation and surroundings forcing her to choose the wrong decision was not acceptable. We know this because now hundreds of other people are damaged by her pain and grief. Wanda didn't make a sacrifice to set things right. She's not brave for what she did. She's a tragedy. She gave in to her own grief. She's not a hero for doing that. I can sympathize with her, but I shouldn't admire her either. If she were a hero, she would have made things right sooner when she realized that she was harming and controlling an entire community. Instead, she stalled and made excuses to be with her family. She stayed in denial and deluded herself. While this makes for an interesting story, where the morality message fails is how other characters respond to Wanda's actions. They should've not let her get away with what she did and been so dismissive. Peeking into the aftermath of this show with Doctor Strange 2: MoM, we see that the creatives at Marvel felt what Wanda did for her family and her grief was partly justifiable and "reasonable," according to Dr. Strange-"You set things right in the end." No, she didn't. Very bad choice-bad morals, motivations, and consequences. Doctor Strange should have challenged Wanda for what she did, given her a clear consequence, and the Vision should have also, which we sadly still haven't seen such a resolution between Wanda and Vision. What she did ultimately was wrong, and the message should have showed the audience more clearly that Wanda was becoming corrupted by her own desires, her own pain and grief, and later the Darkhold/witchcraft. I guess Dr. Strange 2 attempted to give us consequences for her actions, but within WandaVision the show itself, the consequences didn't fully make sense or weren't fully realized.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Live Olsen, Strange Magic, and Raimi moments, not much else
Okay, so the only reason I didn't give this film a 1/10 is bc of my love for Doctor Strange from the comics, "Raimi moments" in movies, and Liz Olsen as an actress. So consider this a biased review. I respect your opinion if you hated this film. It's still more rewatchable for me than Black Widow, Shang Chi, Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder, and the lameness on Disney+. It was a huge disappointment coming off Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, I enjoyed seeing just the weird and goofy Dr. Strange scenes and action on the big screen again. At times, it brought me back to the trippy comics. That in no way makes this a good film. In fact, this is not a good film objectively. But, I liked parts of it. I wasn't bored like I was during Shang Chi and Eternals. Liz Olsen is a good actress and carries ("Carrie's") her scenes, even if it doesn't always make sense why she does what she does. The morality and motives of characters in this film is typical broken, evil Hollywood-they don't know what makes a person a hero these days...or at least refuse to tell such stories. Nowadays, every villain is justified or sympathetic whereas the heroes are problematic and privileged. Stupid. Liz Olsen also looks wonderful. I love her costume. Beautiful! Benedict Cumberbatch is in a similar situation as Liz Olsen-good acting but odd choices from writing and directing aspect for his character. America Chavez is really bad in multiple ways, and I feel sorry for that actress. She took a job, and hopefully it doesn't hamstring her career. The other characters, including Wong, were wasted in this film. Only Liz and Benedict were the reason I kept watching. Wong would've been a reason to keep watching, but he's another sidelined male (same with Baron Mordo). They don't have character arcs and just appear for a Marvel joke moment or to thread along the unreavelling plot. The script, dialogue, and especially the plot/world building of this film is extremely weak, full of holes and inconsistencies, and breaks so much previously established in the MCU. As an MCU film and in regards to its continuity, I only think LoKi has broken the in-universe continuity more, so it's very destructive in that aspect. The other horrific thing to see is Wanda murdering the Illuminati, especially Mr. Fantastic. I hated that part. I guess it was shocking? Not worth the trade off though-kill off beloved characters for shock value...That was an awful choice and a backhanded "fan-service" moment. Thanks, Marvel, for hating your audience again. The creepy weird Raimi scenes-like Liz Olsen creeping like Linda Blair in the Exorcist from a portal, her chasing down the heroes in a tunnel, ripping apart doorways sealing off exit/entry points, like a psycho babysitter, mother-gone-mad, or Carrie film, and the Zombie Doctor Strange-all made me smile and felt very Raimi-esque. It's also always good to see Bruce Campbell, especially punching himself in the face. With that all said, the Multiverse was hardly there or made sense, it was full of madness in mostly bad but a few good ways, and it was incredibly...Strange. I want to like it, but I think it's best considered as one of those films where you either watch a few select clips or have it on in the background while you do something else. Of course, you could just watch Phases 1-3 instead if you're going to go that route, and you'd be better off. Doctor Strange destroyed this film and is far superior in every way to DS2: MoM.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Taika Waititi Broke His Career With This
As I've said for years...Taika Waititi is not a genius, folks. He just subverts whatever he's given-for better or for worse. He's an immature child trapped in an adult body who likes to break great things that others made and/or love, then point, mock, and laugh. Some would call that a bully. Taika thinks his audience is a giant joke, and when given full control of a franchise that millions of folks love, he actually didn't know what to do, got frightened at the responsibility, so he turned it into a giant parody to hide his own insecurity.
Christian Bale was wasted on this film, the Gore the God-Butcher arc was supplanted by other characters' stories that HAD TO be cast in this film because Disney has an agenda to force on the public (plus, Taika saw it as an opportunity to *cough* "get involved" with a certain cast member in his film-much like Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles did during the production of Don't Worry, Darling), and the jokes grew old very fast, destroying the consistency of tone with Gore's arc. It's a strict no-watch when Taika gets his hands on something. I'd rather watch a Michael Bay film.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
A depressing end to a disappointing Phase 4
Wakanda Forever did not work for me for a few reasons...1) It was too long...2 hours and 41 minutes 2) It was depressing bc it felt more like a funeral for Chadwick Boseman than a superhero film. While I liked Chadwick as BP and will miss him, this film as a grief processor for the director, cast, and audience was a real downer 3) They should've recast T'Challa to continue the franchise. Again, BP is bigger than Chadwick. He and his family wanted the character to continue after him. 4) Shuri, Akoye, and especially RiRi couldn't carry the film for me. The Ironheart armor looked awful. 5) Namor's story and characterization was a huge letdown for comic fans. It was clumsy and done to get around rights issues with other studios, not to promote diversity like Disney claims. 6) Typical Phase 4 MCU problems...if you know what they are, then you know...
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
This show missed the mark entirely...
This show will be remembered as the most expensive failure in the medium's history. Aside from plaguing controversies sparked by a culture war, the major takeaways are this show has a weak main character, horrible dialogue, and most noticeably, leaves the audience with a crushing feeling of boredom, bad story telling, all wrapped in a fake, shiny CGI wrapper. Tolkien's lore is broken in this show both in letter and spirit. It is riddled with clumsy allegory from our current-day controversies, which Tolkien himself expressly said he resented and despised being forced into his works. Another reason this show struggles is due to a lack of access to the proper rights in Tolkien's stories to tell a proper story about the Second Age. Why Amazon thought they could adapt Tolkien with so little access to the rights defeated them before they even started. The Rings of Power is better off left without Tolkien's name or the Lord of the Rings title associated with it.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
This She-Hulk is not Sensational
1/5 stars. I have all of the She-Hulk comic runs from Savage She-Hulk #1 to the present day run currently sold in your comic shops at the time this Disney+ show released. She is one of my favorite Marvel women and ought to be treated with high respect while having a lot of fun. But the MCU failed to capture the charm, fun, and heart of the lovely green lawyer from the comics. This show suffers from the same problems that the MCU Phase 4 has...it doesn't know what it wants to be, it has rejected its former audience that made it an epic success for an entirely imagined one instead, and it doesn't know where it is going. Specifically in She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law's case, it did not flesh out the characters well-enough to make the audience care. Who are these supporting cast members? Why are they so one-dimensional? Why should I care? Where are all the actual jokes? The parts where Jen is actually trying to be a lawyer for superheroes or talking in a court scene are the funniest, but in too many other areas it tries too hard to be funny. Some people will watch this show and never laugh even where it is trying to tell a joke, which is rough because this is supposed to be a comedy. It is too bad the insecurities of the writers were projected into Jen Walters. While the pot shots and zingers may make them feel vindicated in this world, it will most likely turn off audience members or just make them roll their eyes. The best advice I could give is remember and respect your audience, respect your characters, make things interesting, know where to start, go, and stop, and finally have some fun. This could've been great but sadly it is forgettable. Most people will struggle to watch through all the episodes once, and very few will ever re-watch them.
Santa Inc. (2021)
Cringe 😬 🤢0/10
Barely made it through the trailer of this abomination. I am officially inducting Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman into the "Failed Actors Guild." They are on par with Alec Baldwin, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, and Harvey Weinstein. If you haven't been doing so already, please avoid anything associated with Seth Rogen or Sarah Silverman. These two don't deserve any "celebrity" or "relevancy" remaining in their broken, narcissistic, corrupt lives. They are dead comedically and morally bankrupt. This show is better off being called SatanIc.
Loki (2021)
Boring show where Hiddleston doesn't star in it
Tom Hiddleston doesn't star in his own show, which is a shame because he is a beloved MCU actor and plays a beloved character. Owen Wilson was great when he was on screen but didn't have much of a part. This should have been a buddy cop show with LoKi and Owen Wilson's character. Instead, we got female LoKi's (Sylvie) sob story which was awful and boring. The plot revolved around sitting and talking about feelings. This show totally ruined the LoKi character that came into this alternate timeline. He never felt remorse or sympathy before he came to the TVA, but he watches his fate on a TVA screen and suddenly feels remorse? He just said so what to genocide a few days prior in his character's timeline and arrival at the TVA. Why would he turn into an empathetic person in just a few days? Silly. The supporting cast was abysmal. LoKi was neutered by stronger, smarter, more competent females. The writing and directing pitiful. And LoKi was the butt of so many jokes and got punched in the private too many times. The Kang reveal also was an actual clown act.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Good returning characters, lame plot, villain, and new characters
Sam Wilson/Cap and Bucky/Winter Soldier are good. Zemo also is fine. The preachiness in the show got tiresome. It gets 1 star from me though because of the terrible villain--Karli. How does a teenage/twenty-something girl defeat a team of combat veteran super soldiers and soldiers with the most advanced technology America can buy even one time? Let alone multiple times. Lame! Justifying or empathizing with the Flagsmashers' cause especially after they commit terrorist acts and murder innocent people also was silly. I was uninvested in the stories...only the characters who returned from Phase 1-3 films.
What If...? (2021)
0/10
This show is so bad. I can hardly stay awake while watching it. MCU Phase 4 is sub-par quality to Phases 1-3. The MCU needs to bring in its better known characters like the X-Men and Fantastic Four rather than Z-list unknowns and woke/feminist social commentary. I gave it 1 star bc it is the lowest possible rating, but it should be a 0/10.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Highly Overrated and Forgettable MCU Film
Shang-Chi is another bad and boring addition to Marvel's weakest Phase in the MCU (Phase 4). It made less money at the worldwide box office than Godzilla versus Kong in the same "pandemic era." The lead actor is boring in the film and pretentious outside the film...mocking fans, berating any constructive or genuine criticism, and spouting a bunch of foolishness on his social media that may get him canceled in the near future by one of the many angry Twittermobs. He basically is the male Brie Larson of the MCU. What could have been an action-packed, fun, exciting Kung Fu film in the MCU collapsed into a lame CGI-fest in the third act--think of the Dragon Ball Z or Avatar films that bombed at the box office. Once again, we had an overpaced origin story...watching Shang-Chi go from being an insecure valet, to getting kicked in the balls by his sister while shirtless in a cage fight with her...despite him being the "Master of Kung Fu," only then to "saving the universe" in the third act...all in his first film...while also confronting his feelings and emotional issues with his father. He learns how to use the Ten Rings in a matter of minutes without any learning curve, which is ridiculous, and duels an evil dragon with his own good dragon. The rings aren't even the Mandarin's rings from the comics, but rather ten mystical bracelets. The supporting cast is forgettable, and the jokes are dryer than cracker-juice. Even Michelle Yeoh's star power is wasted and forgotten--most people don't even know she's in this film, which is a shame as she has helped pave the way for these lead and supporting actors and actresses in the film. The supporting actress Awkwafina feels outdated already, even though she just seems to be breaking onto the film scene as "Marvel's Katy." There is very bad chemistry between Shang-Chi and Marvel's Katy...what could've been a romance with a different, more competent actor/actress pairing and writer was more of the "friend-zone" at best. You definitely don't root for these two to fall in love and wonder if they even would. No chemistry, no tension...fully neutered...or possibly closeted (for now) to pander to a Chinese audience whose government wouldn't show the film in spite of pandering to them. Finally, Shang-Chi's sister is the real master of Kung Fu because she managed to become a better fighter than him, start an entire fight club in another country, all by watching him train and fight with Kung Fu masters while the patriarchy in her culture prevented her from studying martial arts with her brother. She learned her fighting skills all on her own...in the shadows at night-time...welcome to the "M-She-U"...again...