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Reviews
The Batman (2022)
The Dark Knight is everything The Batman wishes it was.
The Dark Knight (2008) is everything The Batman (2022) wishes that it was. The Batman is a 3-hour borefest with a terrible iteration of Catwoman, a shoved-in-at-the-last-second Penguin, and a Riddler that was modeled after the modern-day Twitter user.
It's just terrible writing. It is the Avengers: Endgame of Batman movies. A couple of great scenes, and it all ends there. It's all style, no substance. It's too long of a Batman movie, and the characters are unlikable.
What did I like about it? I liked the "gothic" appearance of Gotham City. The Batmobile also looked really cool, and the police station escape scene was interesting.
It reminded me of Batman Forever (1995), and that's a good thing. Not to mention, the fight choreography was on point. Certain elements of this movie were believable.
Batman fighting crime as a detective is vintage Batman. More importantly, I hated Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. His depressed, teenage look just didn't work.
Then there's Andy Serkis as Alfred. I personally think he's forgettable. Andy's Alfred has got nothing on Michael Gough and Michael Caine's Alfred. He tried his best, but it just didn't work.
This movie did a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong at the same time. It was like adding steak and eggs to a strawberry banana smoothie. The biggest killer for this film is the fact that it's 3 hours long. It's not a joy to sit through.
Dark Knight Rises (2012) went by faster than this, and it's 165 minutes. Let that sink in. Pacing can make or break a film.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood are carrying Hollywood
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One puts modern Hollywood to shame. It's a movie that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny wishes that it was. You can tell that Cruise does his own stunts in these films. He loves his fans.
If you liked Top Gun: Maverick, there's a good chance you'll like this Mission: Impossible sequel as well. There were also a few moments of comedy in this flick. Some jokes land while others don't.
However, it's mainly about the plot, characters, and action. We'll never have to worry about a new character outdoing Cruise in any of his films. The practical effects were on point. A lot of films these days use too much CGI.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is not the best film in the series, in my opinion. But it does the franchise justice. It's worth a watch. Needless to say, it would seem that Cruise and Clint Eastwood are carrying Hollywood right now.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Watch the first 15 minutes then leave the theater...
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a movie that no one asked for. However, the first 15 minutes of this film is worth watching. It's really a shame how the beginning opened with such a bang while the rest of it tanked.
Act I offered some of the best action sequences of the Indiana Jones saga. The CGI they used to create a younger Indy was pretty good, considering the lighting was dark.
After that, it's all downhill. You absolutely don't miss anything by walking out of the theater after the first 15 minutes. Helena ruined this film, and Harrison Ford is 80 years old.
I thought Ford was already too old to play Indy back in 2008 for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so that's saying something. This movie is just going to make people call Crystal Skull a masterpiece now, which it isn't.
These Star Wars, MCU, and Indiana Jones writers turned all of our favorite older male heroes into miserable divorced, isolated, and pathetic losers. They ruined Indy, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Eric, Thor, etc. This is horrible writing and a big turnoff.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Miles Morales is not Spider-Man!
I gave both Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) a chance, considering I've always been a big Spider-Man fan. After watching both movies, I've arrived at the conclusion that Miles Morales cannot be Spider-Man.
How come? Well, if anyone can get bit by a radioactive spider, survive it, and can become Spider-Man, what's so special about Peter Parker? He's not exceptional anymore. It's like having two Harry Potter characters or two Aragorn characters.
If Uncle Ben's speech about how "with great power, comes great responsibility" can apply to any new character as Spider-Man now, it ruins the emotional impact and significance of Peter Parker's story as Spider-Man.
If dozens of people can be Spider-Man, then that means no one is "the Spider-Man." You might as well change the title to "Spider-Men." It's the same reason why not anyone can become Black Panther. Wakandan Royalty is important.
In the minds of many, only Bruce Wayne is Batman and only Clark Kent can be Superman. A lot of us can't picture anyone else besides Steve Rogers as Captain America. Imagine another character besides Tony Stark playing Iron Man. It would be odd and out of place.
Additionally, there were a lot of interesting ideas regarding the multiverse featured in Spiderman: No Way Home (2021), but the MCU as a whole has taken a big nosedive since Avengers: End Game (2019). Throwing enough at the wall and hoping something sticks is a terrible strategy.
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) make for better video games and comic books, not so much quality Spider-Man movies. The problem is that fans refer to Miles Morales as "Miles Morales," not Spider-Man. Most people don't refer to him as Spider-Man. That's the problem.
World War Z (2013)
7/10 is the perfect rating for World War Z
World War Z is not the best zombie movie ever made, but it's definitely not the worst. These are the most intimidating and unstoppable zombies we've seen on screen since Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (2004), in my opinion.
I like how Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) injected himself with an unknown pathogen at the WHO headquarters facility. Lane had a theory that zombies would only pursue healthy hosts to infect.
Earlier in the movie, it showed zombies avoiding an old man and a young cancer patient. An illness provides a temporary camouflage to the zombies. At the end of the movie, the world mass produces vaccines for those who are still alive.
In the end, World War Z can best be described as "dumb fun." Most people would probably say that the World War Z (2004) novel by Max Brooks is better than the 2013 film. This is true. A lot of film adaptations are never as good as the books.
For another serious zombie movie I'd recommend, watch Train to Busan (2016). It's set in South Korea. Zombie movies I'd recommend from the comedy genre include Shaun of the Dead (2004), Zombieland (2009), and A Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015).
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
No Way Home is the best of the trilogy, but it still has problems.
No Way Home is like Homer Simpson's makeup shotgun. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this movie. Nevertheless, the film has its sloppy moments. Some ideas were better executed than others. Sandman (Flint Marko) returning as a villain doesn't make a lick of sense.
Flint was never evil. The only reason he stole money in Spider-Man 3 was because his daughter was dying from an illness. They also made him look like sand the entire movie. Sandman was still a human after his freak accident at the facility in Spider-Man 3.
Additionally, Tom Holland's Peter Parker made too many dumb mistakes in this trilogy for viewers to align themselves with him as a relatable character. It was a "comedy of errors," not simple mistakes. Our main characters need to be somewhat intelligent in a serious film. Otherwise, it makes for a lousy movie.
Why should we like Tom Holland's Peter Parker as a protagonist here? As a result of stopping Dr. Strange from sending all the previous Spider-Man villains back to their multiverse timeline, Green Goblin ended up killing Aunt May. It makes Peter look horrible as a character. I personally think the payoff was rushed and disappointing. It was just bad writing.
At the end of the movie, Dr. Strange casts one last spell to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. But during the cemetery scene when Peter was visiting Aunt May, Happy doesn't know him. It just doesn't make sense.
The memory-affecting spell is vague. If Happy ever dated Aunt May, he would have at least known Peter's name. After all, Peter was a friend of Iron Man, May is obviously Peter's aunt, and Happy worked for Tony Stark.
Everyone associated with SHIELD would have still at least known Peter Parker's name, while not knowing that he was Spider-Man. Only his identity as a superhero should have been erased from everyone's memories. That would have made more sense.
What was the best part about No Way Home? Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and previous Spider-Man villains being featured was the best idea for the MCU. So, that was a lot of fun. The Spider-Man trio have good chemistry. That's a plus.
I also liked the part when Tobey prevented Tom Holland from killing Goblin with his glider. In Spider-Man 3, the theme of the movie was forgiveness. Tobey's Spider-Man tried convincing Tom Holland's Spider-Man that revenge doesn't work in No Way Home.
It was good writing. Furthermore, Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man stopped M. J. from falling to her death in the same way that Gwen died in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It was a nice moment. And viewers could still see that Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man misses Gwen. All three Spider-Man characters made me laugh at times. It was an entertaining film.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Infinity War was better than Endgame
Avengers: Endgame is by no means a bad movie. It's a very entertaining film, and the conclusion was perfect for the MCU. However, Endgame is a 3-hour film! It felt like I was running a 10K marathon. This is coming from someone who watched Schindler's List (1993), Titanic (1997), and Zach Snyder's Justice League (2021). Act 1 was slow in this one.
I had to rewatch Endgame three more times to make sure I didn't miss anything. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) was the textbook example of quantity and quality. It was the perfect balance of both.
As for Endgame, there was more quantity than quality to be found. The time travel plot was convoluted. Not everyone liked fat Thor as well. Some have argued that his new look ruined his character as the God of Thunder. I'm on the fence on that one. Iron Man's sacrifice was perfect.
For a comic book film, the film's length for this grand finale is understandable. It's exactly why I couldn't give Endgame anything lower than a 7/10. The last 30 minutes of this movie offers some of the best superhero footage we'll ever see on screen from terrific actors and MCU writers. Simply put, it was exciting.
If I had to rank all the Avengers movies in order from best to worst, this would be my personal list: Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Love it or not hate it, Endgame was so messy that it made Ultron better by comparison. The second installment was less tedious to sit through. For many fans, Endgame marked the end of not only Phase 3 of the MCU, but the end of the MCU as well. Phase 4 was hot garbage. These movies aren't the same without Captain America and Iron Man.
Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)
Far From Home is much better than Homecoming
All you need to know is that Far From Home is better than Homecoming. It was never monotonous, Mary Jane finds out Peter Parker is Spider-Man, they finally kiss, and Peter battles Mysterio (Quentin Beck) by himself. He doesn't rely on a high-tech suit with voice commands in this film.
At least Tony Stark's glasses have nothing to do with Peter's capabilities as Spider-Man. Additionally, Peter designs his own suit at the end of the movie before fighting Mysterio.
Beck was an interesting villain, considering he relies on illusions to create fake monsters with drones in order to save the day from one city to the next. You can tell that the writers explored Mysterio's character more than Vulture's.
His motives were clear, and the jokes were better in this movie. It actually felt like I was watching a Spider-Man film with this one. I was never bored.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Most Overrated Spider-Man Film! Take the Blinders Off!
Spider-Man: Homecoming is not only the most boring Spider-Man film ever made, but it's also the most overrated. I've seen and read quite a few positive reviews about this film. In the end, it's meh.
There are no consequences for Peter Parker failing in this movie. He always received help from Tony Stark. It just didn't seem like much of a Spider-Man film. The new suit isn't even his. Is he saving up to buy a car? Nope.
What is he doing to make money? Nothing. What is he doing to become a more responsible individual? Uncle Ben wasn't mentioned or featured. Plus, there is no Harry Osborn in this trilogy. Peter ditched detention and destroyed the Deli. Who cares! Nothing happened to Peter for failing...
Vulture finds out Peter Parker is Spider-Man within 10 minutes of meeting him. It's anticlimactic. It's also bad pacing and just bad writing. There was a better setup and payoff for Peter and Norman Osborn in Spider-Man (2002).
Additionally, one thing great about Sam Raimi's trilogy and Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films is that past Spider-Man movies have nothing to do with the MCU.
They are each individual Spider-Man films focused entirely on Peter Parker and his character as Spider-Man. They stand on their own, and they stand the test of time.
These new movies are kind of childish. The social media references in the film are cringe. The casting choices for Aunt May and Mary Jane were just absurd. This film won't age well because it's intended for a younger audience. Raimi's Spider-Man films are for all ages.
Was Homecoming edited by 20 people? It somehow shows. We don't see Peter Parker until like 10 minutes into the movie. There's a serious problem when we're being introduced to Vulture, the main villain, first before Spider-Man in a Spider-Man movie.
Despite the title of the movie, the "Homecoming" dance does not even reach the 2-minute mark in length in the movie. I didn't expect it to be the focal point of the film, but I did anticipate better editing. These scenes were misarranged. To add insult to injury, Liz was a throwaway character.
If the writers' goal was to make Liz attractive with wooden acting, they succeeded. There's no emotional investment. Not to mention, Captain America was shown twice in tutorial videos at school. The ATM robbers also looked like Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor. It was funny at first, but after a while, these references become distractions. This isn't a parody film.
Other superheroes weren't featured in Iron Man (2008), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Ant-Man (2015), or Doctor Strange (2016). So, why do this to Tom Holland's Spider-Man? It makes his character seem less important and helpful in his own film.
I'd argue that Far From Home focuses more on Peter and his character as the superhero over any other film in the trilogy. It felt like a Spider-Man movie, not Iron Boy Jr. It's annoying to see our star protagonist get carried by another superhero.
Furthermore, No Way Home was just nostalgia bait. Take Doc Ock, the Green Goblin, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield out of there, and it's just an average comic book film.
Tom Holland as Peter Parker should never appear as a background character in his own stories. That was my biggest problem with Homecoming and No Way Home.
I never had that feeling while watching Spiderman (2002), Spiderman 2 (2004), Spiderman 3 (2007), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), or even The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), which has a lot of problems due to poorly-written Electro and Green Goblin.
I never felt bored watching a Spider-Man movie until Homecoming. That says a lot. If you're searching for a funny J. J. Jameson, an intimidating Flash bully, life lessons from Uncle Ben, or deep themes here, you'll be severely disappointed with these new movies.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Worst Jurassic Park movie in the saga
I can honestly say in good faith that Jurassic World: Dominion is the worst film in the entire series. And people thought Jurassic Park III was horrible. Jeez, this one here takes the cake. The plot has nothing to do with dinosaurs.
You don't miss anything by not watching it. Personally, Jurassic Park is the best film, followed by Lost World, Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Dominion. Yes, the films got worse with every new entry. I was least entertained by the previous two entries.
I can't help but feel this inconsistent, out-of-place trilogy deserves a quick comparison to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Jurassic World hits the same beats as The Force Awakens. Rehash anyone? While the setup is there and you can build off it, originality is nonexistent.
Then came The Last Jedi, which derailed the Star Wars saga. Fallen Kingdom was just boring. I can't consider it anything better than average. Its plot was nonsensical, and viewers begin to care less about our Jurassic World characters by the end of Act 3. That's never a good thing.
Now, Dominion is on par with Rise of Skywalker for being so fast paced, poorly edited, introducing new things (species) every couple of minutes, bringing back dead or old characters for nostalgia bait, abusing special effects and letting action scenes carry the film, etc.
Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) lost his charisma in this one. The only times I felt genuinely entertained was seeing Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) make subtle quips. If you want to see Pratt's potential, watch the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films.
You can skip Fallen Kingdom and Dominion and not miss anything. The story does not make a positive impact on prior films nor does it add substance to the overarching narrative, which is the study of dinosaurs. There's nothing of value here. Give it a few years for the die-hard fans to wake up. The Jurassic World trilogy offers very little re-watchability.
Girl Meets World (2014)
Girl Meets World was a massive disappointment
While watching each episode of Boy Meets World, the dialogue was witty and more down-to-earth in a sense. The jokes landed in practically every single episode.
Likeable characters are important, but a director/writer having a long-term goal for his or her show is also crucial for a well-written story.
Which audience was Girl Meets World written for? Older fans of BMW? A young generation of Disney Channel viewers? The writers probably couldn't even tell you.
The scenes were too goofy and neared high levels of ridiculous nostalgia bait. In other words, GMW is the textbook example of an identity crisis.
It's why the show only lasted three seasons. Personally, with a show title like that, all we needed was the direct opposite of a boy's life.
Show us how Riley learns the importance of responsible dating, obeying Cory and Topanga, caring for others, valuing friendship over materialism, and learning that evil exists in the real world.
Speaking of that, we don't need the word "world" mentioned 20 times in the show. It's almost like it was done on purpose for marketing or to fill a Disney quota. Ask yourself this question: when GMW ended, what did you learn? How much did you laugh? Dumb jokes will not age well.
Dumb jokes only work with funny, talented actors, such as Will Friedle, the one who played Eric in the original BMW. Unfortunately, directors cannot teach all actors improv. It has to come naturally.
Boy Meets World (1993)
Boy Meets World is a fantastic show, but it has a few problems...
This show got worse by the time it finished in Season 7. However, it's not because of some of the reasons pointed out below. Boy Meets World just didn't seem the same after Stuart Minkus was written out earlier on.
We see Minkus all throughout Season 1. Viewers then don't see Minkus again until one episode in Season 5. It was an odd decision to introduce a side character like that only to write him out of the next four seasons worth of content.
I had ideas of my own in mind. How about an episode where Shawn and Cory attend Stuart's birthday party instead of going to a popular girl's party? How about an episode in high school where Minkus and Cory fight over Topanga?
The focus still could have been on Cory and Shawn's relationship, with Minkus in some of the episodes. And that's just it. He didn't have to be featured in every episode. But his character was definitely done dirty.
Not to mention, the show regressed a little bit after the writers gave Mr. Turner a weak ending in the Season 4 episode titled "Cult Fiction."
The cool motorcycle teacher took care of Shawn Hunter for presumably a few years while he was in high school. Chet Hunter, Shawn's biological father, wasn't there for him. So, Mr. Turner let Shawn live with him in his apartment.
But the last time we see Mr. Turner is in a full-body cast, lying unconscious inside a hospital room after a motorcycle accident. I don't know. I felt the ending to Mr. Turner's story arc was disappointing. After "Cult Fiction," they could have brought Mr. Turner back for one more episode in Season 5.
They could have at least given him a final send-off episode where he gets married and moves away. Then, he has one last talk with Shawn. That ending would have been more believable and enjoyable.
Lastly, I personally felt the "Picket Fences" episode of Season 7 should have been the final episode of the show.
Cory and Topanga finally got married, they had their honeymoon, the couple received their own dorm room, their parents won't help them fix it, and Cory wants to save up to buy a house.
It could have been a two-part episode. Cory finally learns how to fix basic household issues, him and Topanga find jobs and Cory struggles to balance school and work. Plus, Shawn and Angela are back together.
At this point, the better story has already been told. I can't help but feel there were at least seven pointless episodes in the entire show. The 1950s, 70s and "we're going to war" episodes were weird. There was so much filler tacked on. Boy Meets World is almost perfect.