erimerdi Reviews

Damsel (2024)

Highly entertaining and totally satisfying

[8/10 · 9 March 2024]

Finally, I enjoyed watching a dark fairy tale with a deceived dragon, betrayal, lies, revenge, and a strong female character in the middle of it all.** I've been enjoying fewer and fewer productions in recent years. From what I understand from the comments viewers make on social media, in general, expectations for productions are too high to be met. Maybe this is because new filmmakers are constantly trying something different and out of the ordinary, and end up being disappointed at the box office. However, a good story, good acting, and a well-adjusted storytelling style will always work. Damsel is a good example of this. Unfortunately, it is clear that it will not please the generally dissatisfied teenagers or the overly artistic masses, but they have created an entertaining and watchable film by applying the formula I gave above in a classical sense. What was the general rule? You can't please everyone.

I don't want to be misunderstood, I'm not saying it's the best movie of the last few years and a masterpiece, but it's an entertaining and engaging movie that has what a movie should have and leaves a smile on your face when the "the end" credits roll.** The current generation, which has not experienced the cinema culture of the 80s and 90s, is quite ruthless and destructive in their criticism of films, as they are in everything else. They need to learn that they won't find the meaning of life in every movie they watch, and sometimes they just need to sit back and enjoy the moment.

Damsel is nothing more than a dark fairy tale of a young princess whose life begins enchantingly and unrealistically well, and then turns into a survival fight against an ancient and very powerful dragon. Damsel, like every fantasy fairy tale, contains intrigues, lies, and hidden agendas, and presents them to the viewer in an entertaining way. You can guess where the story is going while watching it, but that's not always a bad thing. Not every story has to have very clever twists. Sometimes you wonder how the ending will happen even if you can guess the ending, and that's honestly the case with Damsel.

As I wrote at the beginning, you will not find the secret of life in this film, nor is it a masterpiece that has a special place among the films made so far, but you will return to the fairy tales that we all watched, read, or our families told us in one way or another in our childhood years. If fantasy movies are not for you, then Damsel is not for you. Damsel, which has a well-adjusted, satisfying acting and a flowing story, features my favorite fantasy creature, the Dragon, and not only features it, but also shares the lead role. If you are into fantasy genre then give Damsel a chance.

The Exorcist III (1990)

A solid 9 for a masterpiece

[9/10 · 9 October 2023]

I've always been a huge The Exorcist fan. Maybe the reason for this was that I watched this movie at a very early age and was very scared. Without a doubt, it has always had a very special place for me. As I grew up and watched this movie at different times, I discovered new things that I admired. These kinds of discoveries are almost non-existent for me in other films. I remember the first time I saw 1990's The Exorcist III in theaters. I went to this movie with great excitement and expectation. Youth undoubtedly makes people make mistakes in many things. Failure in movie evaluation may be one of them. That's why many of us find many of the movies we watched and loved in our youth quite ridiculous when we grow up. The opposite often happens to us. Considering my story, I decided to watch this movie again, which I watched in 1990 and did not like, years later in 2022. Frankly, I didn't think I would like it. After all, The Exorcist was one of the best horror movies of all time, and all the sequels that came after it disappointed me. I actually didn't even remember the 3rd movie exactly. I watched many sequels of the series over the years, both in the cinema (except The Exorcist 2) and then gave them a chance again at home. I haven't reached any conclusions about any of them other than my initial conclusion. Years later, after I started watching The Excorsit III Movie once again, I realized what a big mistake I had actually made. I discovered that this movie, which I watched when I was a teenager, disliked it, probably didn't understand it, and constantly compared it to the first movie, was a little treasure. It was with this film that I discovered that William Peter Blatty is not only a talented writer but also a talented director. In this movie, Mr. Blatty chose to appeal to people's imagination instead of graphic scenes. I don't know if it's common for a creative and good writer to apply to a movie what he often does in his novels and direct that movie with the same success he achieved in his writings. In this movie, Mr. Blatty did exactly that and hit the target. There are indispensable exorcism scenes in the 3rd movie of the series, but until we reach these scenes, Blatty, who has masterfully created and successfully used psychological horror elements, allows us to exercise our imagination and visualize the events. In fact, it does this so successfully that the graphic scenes in the exorcism ritual, which you actually want to see in such a movie, bore you. You almost miss the scenes that go back and play on your psyche. These kinds of things are not things we see very often in a horror movie. In fact, when you look at it from this perspective, you understand that despite all the magnificence of the original film, it does not contain psychological horror elements at this level. If the original movie had incorporated the psychological horror elements captured in the 3rd movie of the series so well, it could probably have been the best horror movie in the world with its extraordinary graphic scenes. Everyone would have to accept this. Considering the saying that nothing is perfect, it is not a bad choice to have Father Karras, who died in the first movie, appear as the face of Pazuzu this time, even if the cliché exorcism scenes at the end of the 3rd movie, combined with its weak effects, detract from the general atmosphere of the movie a bit. After watching this movie and liking it so much, there is a question I can't help but ask: What kind of movie would it be if Mr. Blatty had directed the first movie instead of Mr. Friedkin? You should definitely give this masterpiece a chance, which is at least as successful as the first movie and even surpasses the first movie with its psychological horror elements.

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

A good film in the Excorcist Franchise

[8/10 · 9 October 2023]

First of all, I would like to start by saying that I have difficulty understanding many people's negative opinions about this movie. The Exorcist 1973 was an extraordinarily good movie. It was not only a well-made movie, but also brought to the big screen a very fresh concept for its time. In my opinion, The Exorcist was the best-made film about Demonic Possession, and everyone who came after has imitated it in one way or another. I don't remember a similar scene in The Exorcist that wasn't featured in other Demonic Possession movies that came after it. The Exorcist had it all, and more. It was a 2 hour and 2 minute movie and was quite slow moving. I say it's slow paced, but I don't think it's ever boring. On the contrary, this speed was such that it drew people into the story and made them watch the movie as if they were there witnessing the whole thing in person.

I think in many ways The Exorcist Believer imitates many of the characteristics of the original film. With its running time of 1 hour and 54 minutes, which can be considered a long time for a horror movie, and its slow pace like the original, it may have seemed boring to today's young people. Apart from some cliché scenes made as a reference to the original movie, in my opinion, the movie was a very impressive movie. I really liked the development of the characters in the story, the cinematography and the way the movie was told to the audience. I would like to point out that the acting is also quite good. In addition to all this, yes, there are cliché exorcism scenes that we have seen a thousand times in different forms in other movies in the genre, in this movie we see some of them too. If this bores you, you shouldn't watch a movie about being possessed by the devil.

Unfortunately, all these clichés and familiar and even predictable scenes are present in all such films and will continue to exist from now on. If you listen to real possession stories on YouTube, you will see that the events that are considered real include some of these cliché events that are often used in such movies also exist in real life. These events are the common points of these types of films. William Peter Blatty was inspired by a real event when writing the original The Exorcist story, and as a result of his research, he skillfully combined some real events with very well written fiction. William Friedkin, the director of the original film, also researched the subject, studied the book and shot similar scenes with a high degree of fidelity to the book. I say William Peter Blatty's screenplay also helped the success of the original film.

Since all these excorcism-themed films have a similar structure, The Believer cannot add any fresh ideas to the genre. If you are expecting a very different and innovative Exorcism movie, you are already making a mistake from the beginning. While the film, which is consistent within itself, contains all the usual clichés of exorcisms, it manages to add a few unusual little innovations to the story. After The Exorcist, we can accept that after a few movies based on the same movie, The Exorcist universe was formed. This movie is the second best movie of this universe, especially after the original. 1st If you ask which one it was, The Exorcist 3, written and directed by William Peter Blatty, was the most successful movie after the original.

I was very excited to see the mother Ellen Burstyn and her daughter Linda Blair, whom we know from the original movie, adapted to the story again and appearing before us after almost 50 years.

In conclusion, I think that the movie The Exorcist The Believer was treated unfairly by many people. The movie had everything an exorcism-themed movie should have, and it was a satisfying movie with its plot and acting. That's why my rating is 8/10.

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Fault is in the original

[5/10 · 5 October 2023]

No doubt The Exorcist was one of the most successful horror movie. Also no wonder it is considered as the scariest movie o all time and rightfully so. A sequel to this masterpiece had lots of risks. Usually sequels are not as good as the originals but at least it should keep the audience happy to consider them a successful movie at best. This one failed big time because of the massive expectations and enormous success of the original. The Heretic, by all means, is not a bad horror film. If it was an original probably people would have rated it around 5.5 maybe 6 at most but after The Exorcist this was / is a terrible sequel to the original. It had some great horror elements but overall far from being a sequel to the scariest movie of all time. The only good thing that shines with this film was the soundtrack. Even the Ennio Morricone's great music was of course not enough to save this movie. Richard Burton had everything the main character of this movie should not have. He just wasn't believable in this role. They probably tried to hire a star of that time but I think he was one of the reasons why the movie failed. An unknown would have worked in this role and just maybe people would not hate the film. Once again the Exorcist II: The Heretic was not a bad horror film. It was just a terrible sequel that was doomed to fail from the beginning.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

I hate the haters now!

[8/10 · 4 September 2023]

When the Dial of Destiny came out I read lots of negative comments also when a movie comes out I always check the box office openings and when I saw it ended up flopping I thought ok, they finally messed up a good thing too and I refused to go and see it in the movie theatre because I'm an Indiana Jones fan and I love the franchise. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a movie that I visit time to time and still enjoy watching it. Part of the reason is I didn't want to ruin the love and respect that I got for IJ franchise If the this last IJ movie did actually disrespect the franchise. Of Course, I knew I would watch it when it is on Demand. It has been a while since it came out and finally yesterday I watched it at home and I don't understand what's wrong with those people? They have been bashing the movie so hard even the fans got affected by them and for what?

I think the movie is made more believable in many senses. An almost 80 years old Indiana acts like an old man who had his time and adventures in his prime. I don't see any problems in that. I would feel like cheated if Indiana moves and fights like he is in his 40s so at hos 80s he acts like he is an old man who still got spark in him. The movie also got all the classical elements of Indiana jones movies. There are always some supernatural elements blend in with good adventure and action. This is stil the case with the Dial of Destiny. Bottom line is I loved the movie I don't understand why there has been so much hate for this final IJ movie. I enjoyed watching it and I will visit it time to time in the future.

Interview with the Vampire (2022– )

Please watch it without prejudice

[6/10 · 29 January 2023]

I'm a big fan of Mrs. Rice's work especially the Vampire Chronicles. When I first saw the interview with Vampire the first time I was astonished. That movie made me read Rice's books and I fell in love with the stories and characters. Although the 1994 movie was somewhat a poor adaptation of the book, since I had seen it before reading the book, I fell in love with it too. The Queen of the Damned was even a worst adaptation but I guess Rice's imagination was so great and she managed to create her beloved vampire characters so good it was watchable. At first, I convinced myself as if I was watching a vampire movie not related with Rice's work so in time I have learned to appreciate it but never actually have learned to like it.

When I first heard Rice's vampire chronicles is a possibility I was super excited. I guess at that time Mrs. Rice was alive and negotiating with the studios and she wanted to involve in the process. Nothing came out of it and after she had passed AMC picked up the entire Vampire chronicles catalog which was a great news until of course the details about the new IWV series surfaced. Just like most of the diehard fans, I rejected the cast, time period alongside the most of the story. Maybe the only promising aspect of the story that still resembling the original book was Lestat himself. I did not watch the series at all but of course the love of the vampire chronicles and the curiosity bested me. I decided to give it a try after all I was so sure that I will not be able to finish even the first episode.

Oh boy, I was so wrong! I instantly started enjoying the show and the characters were just great! The time period didn't bother me at all because everything crafted deliciously good the writers actually did a great job. Without any spoilers I want to say all the fans of the Vampire chronicles please watch it without prejudice. It's a good show and very well written one. Yes, it's not what Anne Rice wrote for the most part but when you start watching it you will fall in love!

Eternals (2021)

Waste of time and energy

[2/10 · 25 January 2022]

Marvel people usually handle thier heroes pretty good. Rarely they fail to deliver and this is one of that rare instances. When I saw the trailer the first time it looked really promising but honestly the trailer was much better than the movie itself.

First of all, the movie is one of the slowest paced movies I have ever seen. Hey this is a super hero movie so it has to be full of action, driving, catchy scenes right? Sadly no. It's boring and lots of flashbacks.. Maningless discussions and conversations. Boring acting and really boring super hero movie!

It's actually so boring that I had to turn it off twice and come back later to finish the movie just because I don't like to quite things and I had hope that maybe it would start picking up but it never did.

Usually I love Marvel's approach to making super hero movies but this time they failed big time. I can see why critics loved this movie. Whhenever critcs love and cherish a movie I stay away and this time I failed to do that and it cost me 2 hrs of my life!

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

A real dissapointment!

[2/10 · 27 December 2020]

Ok first of all I'm a DC fan and I always admire the way Marvel handles it's characters on the big screen. Down this path DC never pulls it off the way Marvel does. I always think it is WB that makes the wrong choices when it comes to DC and how it should be portrayed. WB did some good but mostly bad and Wonder Women 1 was a good movie but so sad to say that Wonder Woman 1984 is just BAD! It is infact so bad I could not finish the movie. Bad story, dull and full of bad characters, with bad acting, boring and waste of time. When we all are dealing with Covid 19 I could hope for a better entertainment effort from these people not torturing us with almost B rated like movies with big budgets. I hope WB sees the direction that they are going is a shame! Do yourself a favor and stay away from this movie. Just tune in your favorite streaming service and play Wonder Woman 1 and just skip this disaster.

Hereditary (2018)

The Exorcist is far way better...

[5/10 · 30 December 2018]

When I saw "this generation's exorcist" on the poster of this movie I had to watch it. When judged by today's standards "The Exorcist" is still a good solid horror movie but when it came out back in 1973 it was something else, terrifying to death and put a new standard for horror genre and rightfully earned "the scariest movie of all time" title. I think many horror movie fans would agree with my comment. Naturally I was expecting a horror movie in "the Exorcist" magnitude but sadly after watching Hereditary the "this generation's exorcist" claim is nothing but a balloon and a disgrace to what "The Exorcist" accomplished almost 50 years ago! Hereditary holds a solid drama character and I think it is a great drama movie than a horror movie. The acting, places, lights, ambiance, cinematography are great. It can reflect the sorrow of the main character's to the audience caused by the dramatic events. Sadly when the horror elements begin the movie quickly turn into a joke. Nothing is solid and consistent and it simply jumps all around different subjects of scary elements such as ghosts, cults, witchcraft, occult and you can't tell what everything is all about or what's going on. This is not a bad thing in most movies as it keeps the audience but Hereditary tends to loose most of them very quickly and even bore the audience with many inconsistent events. The end of the movie is even a bigger joke! I wish they kept it as a good drama movie and had not touched the elements of horror ar all. I give just 3 stars because of the first half of the movie and all the good qualities I mentioned above however as a horror movie it doesn't deserve even 1 star!

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Worst Star Wars ever!

[2/10 · 16 December 2017]

First of all I'm a die hard Star Wars Fan but not a blind fan. I coldn't quite feel the vibe when first I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2005) but I was hoping that the story will progress and the Episode VIII is going to be another classic afterall Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a new chapter and sort of an introduction of the new characters and what the Star Wars Univers has became. I think there were many inconsistencies in the story I was hoping to get answers of many of my questions as the episodes continue. Altough I couldn't shake the idea of Disney owning the franchise and could deliver something good out of it. I was ready to give a cahance to new episodes after all it was STAR WARS! I had high hopes for Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi and I couldn't help myself but to go to the first show of the openning week. I felt my skin crawling when the classic introduction text and music started to appear on the big screen of course there was no way of knowing this was the only exciting moment of the whole movie that was suppose to be another Star Wars classic!!! The story was terrible. Director and the cast were equially bad although the acting were not bad but not good either. Disney must learn just adding the millenium Falcon and all other characters of the old Star Wars movie can't make a good Star Wars movie!. With episode VII I thought Adam Driver was a joke and disgrace to all the sith Lords before him (especially Vader). With Episode VIII he even seems more of a disgrace. His character is terrible as well. Probably the worst sith Lord ever. Kylo Ren often times acts very childishly throughout the movie rather than a powerful Sith master or he is too weak of a character for even a sith apprentice. A big scratch on the villain . The other characters of the movie are just ok and even Mark Hamill is not quite enough for to save the day. Without getting into the details there were few interesting moments of the movie. As for that I gave 2 stars instead of 1. I think Disney should quit messing up with classical story and should focus on side stories and maybe never told stories as Rogue One was much better movie than Episode VII and VIII combined. I have seen many better B Rated Movies than this one. Disney spent millions on GCI and models but all of them are not enough to save this one. Never quite belive that I was going to say this for a Star Wars movie but this is a serious waste of time and money.

Justice League (2017)

I'm still trembling after 20 minutes seeing the movie!!!

[10/10 · 17 November 2017]

It's been just 20 minutes since I left the movie theater and I'm still trembling in happiness. First of all I'm a die hard Superman fan. What an awesome movie it was! I was expecting the return of Superman but I wasn't expecting this. I of course read some theories around how he will return and on who's side he will fight. This outcome pretty much covers it all. I almost left in tears when Suprman engages Steppenwolf and I was shocked how well crafted that moment with classical Superman theme. Overall the story is very good. The movie and the characters have good sense of humor. You feel like you get to know the characters more and discover their new sides. New additions to the team Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg have a very good introduction before their own movies coming up. Characters like Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman prove that they have much to offer in upcoming years. Just like Marvel Universe and Avengers I think we will get to see more team ups even in solo movies in the future. This is first in line and with more movies of other DC characters I think there will be more addition to the Justice League in the future. At the very of end of the movie Bruce Wayne and Diana pretty much have a conversation around the same topic. There of course some weaknesses but I can't wait to see the longer Blye Ray version of this movie. I'm very satisfied overall and I will watch this movie again.

The Exorcist (2016–2018)

This is no "The Exorcist"

[2/10 · 11 December 2016]

I have to admit that the first episode was really promising. I was expecting a very detailed and modern story of the stages of possession with all it's phycological effects on the victim and on the loved ones in a way a 2 hrs original movie can not offer. I also was expecting all the classical horror elements of the original movie and as the story goes on of course the tense exorcism scenes. Afterall this was I think a very good opportunity for to create a horror masterpiece which turned into a real joke! If we look into the story and the characters the old mean vengeful demon Pazuzu once again targets his old victim's family and possessed Cacy Rance who happened to be one of the daughter of Angela Rance, the mother, who was actually Regan Mcneil that forced to change her name due to the public attention after her possession case. Father Tomas Ortega is very much like Father Karras, he even looks like him, of the original movie but he has problems with his adultery commitment. Experienced Father Marcus Keane who is the closest thing to Father Merrin but he is more like a special ops soldier of Vatican who exorcise the demons with sheer force, guns and beating rather than pure faith. Chris Mcneil shows up in the middle of the night just like Father Merrin did in the original movie and quite frankly has nothing to contribute much other than her name and revealing the true name of Angela Rance. The father of the Rance family, Henry Rance is recovering from a brain damage and nothing more than a side character just like the other daughter of the house Kat Rance.

As the show goes instead of focusing on the victim and her family the show starts to shift and focuses on Demon Pazuzu's mean plans of destroying the church by assassinating Pope in NY not to mention that now Pazuzu has his army of catholic priests and very powerful friends in high places like chief police officer of NY who worship Satan and assassinate the key figures to make the plan work! Man If I were Pazuzu I would directly possess the president of United States why bother with the low ranking officials? We should expect some limited supernatural powers from the demon like cracking the ceiling, moving the furnitures around, shaking the room etc. but come on in this version of the exorcist, Pazuzu keeps possessing and killing dozens of people with just a single mean look, exploding ambulances and killing nuns in really gory ways like a bad unholy superman!!

All of these make the show really cheesy and nothing like the original movie. If you love pop culture horror flicks like Supernatural or The Originals you may love this show as in that category it is not a bad show but if you expect a masterpiece like "the Exorcist - the creepiest horror movie of all time" it will disappoint you in big ways. Just keep watching the original The Exorcist on every Halloween eve and do yourselves a big favor by staying away from this show. It is a shame to use "the Exorcist" title for this one.

Arrival (II) (2016)

Not an invasion movie

[8/10 · 11 November 2016]

I have just seen the arrival and overall it is a good movie. If you are expecting to see some serious fights and mind blowing action scenes between aliens and humans well this movie is not for you. The arrival is a very human movie around 12 alien space crafts showing up overnight and the events fallow the incident. It allows the audience to be able to see the human nature and all our primitiveness behind our technology and science. Throughout the movie one can see how hostile and paranoid we can be towards each other as humanity and as nations. We have very little faith in unity and almost every time we prefer fighting over reasoning. The story is good and catchy. Acting is also good. A good sci-fi movie with a story to tell...

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

It was worth to wait for.

[10/10 · 5 April 2016]

I don't understand how DC fan don't like this movie. Could it have been better? Absouletley yes however it is not a bad movie at all. Acting is good the story is good and there is a chronology in the movie where this one is the next chapter after MOS, ultimately leads it to JLA and from there and in between individual DC universe super hero movies like Cyborg, The flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman etc. Think of Batman v. Superman as an introduction of new super human characters and villains. I hope ,unlike Marvel and The Avangers, eventually the DC characters will evolve with the franchise and in the end DC and WB will tie all of them together in a way that Marvel could only hope for. I think this is why there have been some loose ends in the story in both MOS and Batman v. Superman because they have just started.

There are some weak moments in the movie and some mistakes but this is after all a new beginning which holds lots of potential. The million dollar question is; did it make me feel like a 10 year old again? Yes it did! Over the years we all have seen many super hero movies come and go and some of them were really bad and a total disappointment like 2006 Superman Returns. Batman v. Superman is definitely a masterpiece compare to those ones. Zack and the crew know what they are doing. I really loved the movie and it was worth to wait for. I can't wait for the JLA part I...

Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage (2014)

Waste of your time

[1/10 · 25 October 2014]

I wonder If I could write something different had I managed to watch the movie to the end. I had to stop watching it because it was agonizingly terrible! Yes the special effects some what were done in old school way however they are done so poorly it looks like watching baby TV trailers (the ones with the puppets in between the shows). The acting is beyond terrible. The story is not catchy and Sinbad is a joke. I wonder how some people ,if they are real people not some hired pens, compare it with old Sinbad movies! One said this is what Sinbad should be! Let me tell you this: this Sinbad is not only has no charisma, charm and the physical build but also looks like he is has no brain either. So please Do yourself a big favor and skip this one. Keep your hard earned money and time...