christiananderson24 Reviews

The King's Man (2021)

Unnecessary origin story that strikes a more stiff, less fun tone than its predecessors

[6/10 · 23 December 2021]

I really liked Kingsman: The Secret Service thanks in part to its great action, charismatic characters and clever humor. Kingsman: The Golden Circle was not as good as the original, but I still found it enjoyable and thought it shared a lot of the same qualities as the first. I thought The King's Man was decent enough, but it is definitely my least favorite of the series and is a disappointing origin story.

It really differs in style from the other two: Where the first two were unrestrained and fun, this one takes itself more seriously than I would have liked. There is a huge drop off in humor compared to the other two, and when the movie does attempt to be funny it falls flat. The lead protagonists are very admirable and responsible people, so much so that they are also a little boring and their dialogue is at times corny. With the exception of Rasputin, the cast as a whole is fairly bland. There are a couple of memorable fight scenes, while others are more cliche. The movie also tries to do a lot and is rushed to get everything done in a film that feels a little long.

Perhaps I am being unfairly harsh on The King's Man- it is not a bad movie and has some things to like. I guess my disappointment comes from feeling that this movie is stiff and lacks the unapologetic edginess that made its predecessors so entertaining.

Midnight Mass (2021)

Intriguing Start, Boring and Pretentious Finish

[5/10 · 29 October 2021]

I thought Midnight Mass got off to a good start in episode one and then it gradually declined from there.

None of the characters are very likable. This isn't to say that there aren't characters who are admirable people because there certainly are, but I did not think that any particular character in the show was that endearing, and charisma is basically non-existent. There are some characters that you hate and then other characters that you cheer for with emotions just slightly greater than indifference. This is part of the reason I thought the show (and especially the last episode) was boring at times- because pivotal things are happening to important characters and it was hard for me to even care.

I watched this show with my wife and two of our friends, and we all couldn't believe how many sleep-inducing and pretentious monologues there are in this mini series. There were plenty of scenes that caused me to zone out, but one of the most notable scenes is in the middle of the mini-series when two characters take turns sharing their ideas of what they think will happen to them when they die. I couldn't bring myself to care about what either of them said, all I know is it was one of the most boring scenes I've endured in a long time.

I didn't think it could get worse than that scene, but at the end of the last episode there is another monologue on that same topic that was equally as dull, yet presented as part of a self-important climax.

There were other smaller things that bugged me- like inconsistencies with some of the characters- more specifically forced and underdeveloped character evolvement/ decision-making. Christian hymns played with creepy undertones at first were clever and eerie but ultimately become repetitive.

I still find the story to be quite fascinating and creative, but it didn't deliver due to the above mentioned reasons, most of which I think can be attributed to shortfalls with some of the writing. I like Doctor Sleep and Hush, and I have heard great things about Mike Flanagan's other mini-series, so I was left disappointed by Midnight Mass. In this day and age there are plenty of shows more worthwhile.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Well-Acted, Intense, & Obnoxious

[7/10 · 26 December 2019]

Uncut Gems is a well-acted, intense, and obnoxious movie. The main character Howard Ratner is a shady gambling addict who neglects his family and gets himself into all sorts of trouble with loan sharks. I had hoped he would be a more likable character, but I ultimately found myself only wanting him to succeed simply so that he wouldn't get killed by the loan sharks.

There really isn't a redeemable male character in the whole movie with the exception of perhaps the wealthy but harmless man in the hotel suite who obliviously helps Howard's mistress, Julia. Howard's wife Dinah has every right to hate her disloyal husband, and Julia is surprisingly the most likable character in the film.

The stakes are high and the director really drives that fact home with what feels like non-stop yelling through out the over two-hour run-time. Characters are constantly shouting at each other and it became quite annoying. I understand that it may be realistic, but there are plenty of movies with high-stakes and a lot less screaming.

Something I will give the movie credit for is it does seem to be a true cautionary tale. Unlike other movies that glorify illegal activity, Uncut Gems makes the darkest aspects of sports gambling look very unappealing. Regardless, I am an Adam Sandler fan who was excited to see this movie, but I left disappointed. I am not saying it isn't well done, but it wasn't a film that I enjoyed or will plan to see again anytime soon.

Point Break (1991)

Entertaining but Stupid

[6/10 · 3 November 2019]

I will admit that I was thoroughly entertained by Point Break. It's a fun movie and Patrick Swayze's character Bodhi is by far the best character in the film. However, I found Keanu Reeve's character Johnny Utah to be unlikable. Johnny did multiple things through out the movie that I thought were painfully stupid. I know movies won't always be realistic, but I can't stand when the protagonists are incompetent like Johnny is in Point Break. In fact, it made it hard for me to cheer for him and part of me wanted him to lose. When he tosses his badge into the ocean at the end of the film, I like to interpret that as his acknowledgement that he didn't have what it takes for the FBI.

When the Game Stands Tall (2014)

Movie made with good intentions, but was poorly made nonetheless.

[5/10 · 25 August 2014]

Having played against De La Salle in football during my high school years, I can understand why people would want to take my review with a grain of salt. But I think someone who knows movies and sees "When the Game Stands Tall" without bias will still agree with me that this is not a good movie. Without a doubt the movie is made to be uplifting, and there is a lot of good principles that are taught during the movie- I'm not arguing against that. I guess my issues with this movie boil down to three main points- 1) Bad Acting- I don't need to say more, but the acting in this movie is corny and unbelievable. Scenes that should be taken seriously can't be- such as the classic story of the Dad who takes high school football so seriously that he takes out his anger on his son whenever he makes mistakes in the game- something that should be sad but I found amusing because the acting was comical. That is just one of many examples of lousy acting in the movie. 2) Bad Dialogue- the movie tries so hard to be powerful and uplifting, but it doesn't succeed with the dialogue being corny and completely over the top. If you enjoyed 'The Blind Side' then you might enjoy this movie as well, but I think the two are similar in that the dialogue is completely silly at some parts and tries too hard at other parts to make you cry. 3) Undeveloped Story Lines- there are way too many story lines that are started and then just fade away, some of them never to return and others to suddenly reappear at the end of the movie with a conclusion that we didn't see develop through out. I was confused as to exactly what the main focus of the movie was meant to be. As opposed to being it's own movie I felt that it tried too hard to pull ideas from other football movies which of course gave it an unoriginal feel. I could get nit-picky about other things that I didn't like but I'll end with this: while the movie does teach principles that are meant to help us become better people (something that I respect), the over-all quality of the movie left me laughing afterwards as opposed to feeling uplifted.