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The Queen's Gambit (2020)
Ultimately quite shallow and pointless
The Queen's Gambit is a fictional story about an American woman who becomes chess grandmaster. Its set around the same point in time when Bobby Fischer dismantled the Soviet chess empire.
Contrasting Fischer's story with Harmon's really highlights a lot of the flaws of this show. Fischer was a flawed man who dealt with a lot of mental health problems, and eventually the politics and his own problems lead to a mental collapse. Harmon on the other hand, is nowhere near as interesting. She suffers from addiction, does this play a major part in the story? No. She was raised in a prudish, strict orphanage. Does this play a major role in her character? No. She's a female in a male dominated sport. Is this explored in an interesting way? Not really.
At the end of the day, it really just just seems like a self insert fantasy that a child might come up with. Its not a great plot, its not great character analysis. It just follows a fictional character as they become world champion. Honestly, there really isn't much depth beyond that. It is well shot, well acted, and so on, but honestly you could take the story of Fischer, or Kasparov, or numerous other chess players and it would be more exciting than this fictional story. Not to mention, it would be based on a real story.
Obviously the primary reason they chose to make a fictional story was to have a female protagonist, and women unfortunately have never come close to being world chess champion. Fine, but make it more interesting please.
Lastly, if you know chess, a lot of things in this show will make you face palm. Draws never happen in the show. The Queens Gambit (THE TITLE) is confused with the Queen's opening. And so on. Overall chess is of secondary importance in the show, as is character analysis, plot development... All of it secondary to just watching Beth go to the very top - which of course we knew was going to happen from the very start.
Positives: I did appreciate it wasn't a straight line up with no setbacks, as is usually the case in such self insert fantasies. And since this was shot before the current rampant russophobia, the last episode actually depicts the love of chess in Russia very well.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Fantastic visuals but below par in every other category
Pros:
Fantastic visuals: I will say, there is a difference in just tossing a lot of money to make something look good, and making something actually artful. Marvel's Avengers does NOT look nearly as good as Blade Runner 2049 after all, from an artistic POV. Rings of Power doesn't always nail skillful cinematography, but it does look good.
Halbrand's Plot: This is probably the best part of the narrative and is filled with skillful foreshadowing and the actor playing Halbrand does a good job. I'm not sure if the conclusion of this arc makes sense within the wider narrative of Lord of the Rings, but it is somewhat captivating.
Elrond and Durin: The other nice part of the narrative was the dynamic between these two characters.
Somewhat faithful to Tolkein: I was worried given the politics of Amazon that they would not be faithful to Tolkein's Conservative Christian leanings. But they were largely, and surprisingly, respectful of that and I appreciate it.
Cons:
The Writing: Across the board the writing really lets this show down. It is filled with plot holes and plot conveniences. Often it seems aimless. Often the character motivations are not explained or change entirely from one episode to the next. The most cringe moment in the writing came at the end of episode 7, when they had to convey something obvious by TEXT ON SCREEN.
The Dialogue: The dialogue quality is simply not as high as it should be to sustain its flowery character.
The Pacing: I'm okay with a slow pace. A lot of my favorite shows are slow burn (True Detective), because that pace allows for great character growth. That does not happen here. The pace is slow because we're spending too much time on subplots that dont drive the overall narrative forward nor do they develop characters.
The Characters: As I said, its hard to connect with characters when they deviate so absurdly one episode to the other. None of them are particularly deep either.
Diversity: I'm far from a Middle Earth purist, but can we do diversity intelligently? Its lazily done here. Numenor and the Southlands are on different sides of the planet. MAKE THEM DISTINCT. Game of Thrones did diversity by filming each location in separate areas with different architecture, climate, and ethnicities in each area. Here, every place feels the same, and its cringe because every single scene feels like there is some person making sure that every ethnicity is represented. Do diversity, but be smarter about it.
Overall this show is largely mediocre. Personally I thought it would be more disrespectful to Tolkein, but better in writing. I got something I didn't really expect, but it's not great.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Makes an excellent case for the best sequel of all time
The Empire strikes back is a complex movie to review. On the one hand, in terms of plot development and pacing it feels like a step back from A New Hope. Luke goes to train with Yoda, while his friends evade a Star Destroyer through the power of plot armor. Eventually he goes to save his friends.
However, it does a few things exceptionally well:
1. Expand the world building of the original film. A New Hope was largely a fairy tale story which could stand on its own. But Empire Strikes back grounds it in a believable universe. The death star is gone, but that barely made a dent in the power of the Empire. The nature of the force is expanded on. The emperor is introduced. Darth Vader isnt just some random bad guy anymore.
2. Subverting expectations done right. Structurally, the Empire Strikes back is kind of an odd movie, and its even more unique in that it ends on a pretty dark note. Luke going to save his friends doesn't really work at all. He instead gets his hand chopped off, almost dies and needs their help. But this subversion doesn't just come out of nowhere like a The Last Jedi gotcha, it actually makes sense.
3. The plot twist at the end is so well known that people dont really factor it in when reviewing the story 40 years later. But keeping it in mind, this really would be a shocking moment to anyone watching it the first time.
Also, with a better director at the helm, Empire Strikes back has better dialogue (slightly, its still not great), better acting, and better cinematography. John Williams even steps it up a notch with the music.
Overall, the somewhat weak plot development (it spends far too much time in asteroid fields, a cheesy romance, and training montages), still makes me think its a bit overrated. But its still the best Star Wars movie.
Star Wars (1977)
Shockingly impressive after all these years
Perhaps I've simply become so used to modern Disney trash that everything with a bit of soul seems exceptional, but having recently rewatched the original Star Wars, it seems better than ever. Lucas is somehow able to tell a perfectly paced coming of age/Heros Journey story while also expertly world building, laying the foundations for what is inarguably the greatest cinematic shared universe. Even every aspect of this film, from the sets, to the costumes, to the acting, and most especially the music, range from great to iconic.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Soulless, lazy, and devoid of any depth
Ah Disney... This was your opportunity. Do the math. Star Wars fans are old now, especially the ones attached to Ewan Mcgregor and Hayden Christensen. Your marketing worked. We came back.
But we didn't get the story we wanted. Picture a broken Obi Wan, already dealing with guilt, discovering his padawan is still alive, realizing that he could have stopped so many Jedis from being hunted by Vader, that his compassion was the weakness that lead to this, confronting his inner demons and the dark side, and eventually communing with Qui Gon to regain his courage and faith. Yes its been done before (Logan), but not in Star Wars, and its clear that a large part of the fanbase would have loved to see that.
However, Disney has made it clear, repeatedly and blatantly, that they do not care to cater to the Star Wars core fans. The Star Wars core audience should cater to Disney while they try to capture new audiences by promoting it to kids and people just wanting to watch a casual action flick. Indeed, Obi Wan soul searching in the desert would not have been particularly exciting for a child, or for a casual fan. And perhaps the market analytics that the big companies completely rely on projected that this childish action flick devoid of any depth would deliver more profit. And perhaps thats true, but you will never get me to accept such soulless garbage.
By the way, even evaluated as a childish action flick, this is poor. I genuinely don't want to be too negative, but the directing is awful. The acting is mediocre at best. The writing is filled to the brim with plot armor, leaps of logic, character inconsistencies, and lack of proper motivation. Even the music, for whatever reason, does not even bother using leitmotifs of the prequel or OT themes for the most part. The entire product just seems lazy.
But you know, Disney will just deflect all criticism as whining by racist and sexist men. The people responsible for this nonsense will keep their jobs, or get promoted. And this insanity will continue. But I'm done with Star Wars.
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
A dreadfully bland adaptation of a profoundly deep story
As a movie evaluated on its own merits, this isn't too bad. Its a fast paced, cheesy revenge, romance and fantasy story. The story has no depth whatsoever, its just an adequately done action flick and nothing more.
It is when you evaluate it against the book that it becomes subpar. 2 hours is certainly not enough to adapt a 1400 page novel, especially one as dense as the Count of Monte Cristo. Leaving out the incredibly complex revenge plot in the books can certainly be forgiven, even if it leaves the revenge part of the plot lazy and cheesy at best. But not understanding the core message of the film - that revenge can backfire and cause you to become a monster - is unforgivable. The Count of Monte Cristo is not a revenge story, quite the opposite. In the penultimate chapter of the book, the Count meditates on the distinction of justice and revenge. Justice is impersonal, it is not about deriving pleasure. It is through the regret of the consequences of his revenge, and his embrace of forgiveness after justice has been given, that the Count becomes Edmond Dantes again.
This movie does not capture that theme at all. And since it is utterly devoid of anything that gives the book any depth, it is far from a good adaptation, or a great movie in and of itself.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
An exceptional script but devoid of anything but nihilism
I can certainly respect this movie. As a form of art it is fantastically unique and masterfully eclectic. It is the epitome of a postmodern film - with no conventional story structure, no central conflict, no clear moral, achronological 'storytelling', and so on. It definitely needs to be appreciated for its incredible style.
But as with most postmodernist art, tossing aside everything that makes traditional art good sure stands out as bold and unique, but it comes with its negatives. And unlike most reviewers I don't think being 'unique' is a sufficient substitute for being devoid of the traditional things that make a film good.
For instance, this movie does not have great pacing. Partially a result of the lack of (conventional) plot development and story structure, but also partially a result of the often (deliberately) mundane dialogue. I realize postmodern art can often be very self-referential, but I personally can't see why a lot of this dialogue had to exist. It doesnt immerse you, it doesnt engage you, or advance the plot... its usually not even funny. So whats the point?
But what is the point in general? Pulp fiction meanders around without really giving any core messages. Perhaps right at the end in the epilogue scene, it says something meaningful and ties at least some of the themes together quite well. And masterful as Tarantino is, the scene is just ambiguous enough to keep people talking about what exactly it means.
So yes, this is a great movie to analyze and critique, but its missing too many ingredients that make a story great to experience.
The Family Man (2000)
A simple, touching movie with a great moral
This is just a really good Christmas movie with a simple script and a great moral. There's nothing exceptional about the script or the dialogue, but every part of this movie just works really well. At no part of it was I bored and its just one of those movies that teaches you great things. Not much else to say.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part V (2022)
Great fun if you don't look too closely
This is easily the best episode of the show so far. The flashback of Anakin's training plays throughout the episode and is used effectively as the show shows how Obi Wan can use his knowledge of his Padawan to exploit Vader's weaknesses. The action was much better in this episode too, and Disney finally has a proper villain to put fear in the audience. Its not a new villain, but whatever.
But when you look closely, the lack of quality in this show is still quite apparent, just less so than in previous episodes. The directing, cinematography, dialogue, music, acting are all still mediocre at best. The writing... Well, there's still inconsistencies in Vader's plan, in Reva's character, and so on. Also people just don't die from lightsabers anymore, and its getting absurd.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part IV (2022)
They cant salvage this show
Somehow I was ready to give this show a chance. Despite the clear indication that Kathleen Kennedy was leaning heavily on this shows production, I did not think that Disney's hubris would get in the way of spoiling their one last shot at capturing the Star Wars prequel fans audience.
But it did. They stuffed this show with actors, writers, and directors that simply are there for ideological purposes and not merit or suitability. And its just lead to a product that is failing in every conceivable way.
This episode shows that there is no hope left in this show. The writers are completely incapable of character development or depth or introspection. They are incapable of exciting plot development. The director is incapable of interesting action, atmosphere, immersion, or getting the best from the actors. The music is bad. The cinematography is bad. Somehow every aspect of this show is just terrible.
The marketing was really good, I'll give them that. They got me excited to see Hayden and Ewan again. And now I just feel sorry for them. They acted in movies that were flawed but had genuine soul, made by a man who genuinely cared about his creation. Now they work for a soulless company that can't seem to make a good star wars product to save its life. The only thing that Disney genuinely seems to care about his fighting Star Wars fans.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Say what you will about the prequels, they had a heart and soul. This is soulless, nonsensical, consumer trash
So you hired a hack director to direct the first movie of the trilogy. He decided to just repeat the first movie in the series, destroying the meaningfulness of the original trilogy, and set up some mystery box nonsense that was never going to have any satisfying answers.
Then you hired a director who's sole intention was to create a Star Wars movie that wasn't a Star Wars movie, and decided to derail any good work in the first movie due to his own hubris.
Then you bring the first hack director back to salvage the stupidity of having no real cohesiveness in the story of the first two movies, as well as all the missteps in both. He decides to basically attempt to recreate the final movie in the original series, because he's creatively bankrupt. That leads you to get nonsense like 'somehow X returned.'
But wait! You are Disney, and you can just pay reviewers to like it, right? But how are you going to appease the fans, who the reviewers despise? Maybe tread the middle ground. Maybe sideline the actors of color that the racist fans clearly despise, thats why the fans hated the last jedi right?
End result, everyone is pissed, and you somehow made a worse movie than the trash preceding this. Oh well, back to hating the fans for being racist and sexist. Its all their fault.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part III (2022)
People are nitpicking and being overly negative, this was a decent episode.
The writing might not be great, and the directing is still pretty bad, but this episode is more what people probably expected from this show, especially the second half. While I think that deep character analysis of Obi Wan would have been a different and more engaging route to take for this show, I'll take an Obi Wan and Darth Vader show down instead of Obi Wan chasing a little girl on rooftops.
For people complaining that Vader killed civilians... what?
For people complaining about the duel... Obi Wan hasnt used a lightsaber in 10 years.
This episode makes me realize that its hard for people to be objective anymore. For me, Im trying to be objective. I still think this show is pretty mediocre in almost every way, but this was at least an improvement.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part II (2022)
After a mediocre first episode, the series falters even more in this poorly written episode
In the first episode's review I mentioned that the writing was adequate but the direction awful. Here, the direction becomes even worse with that awful rooftop chase scene, and the writing gets even worse too, complete with a violation of canon. At times disney writing in this series seems to veer into fan fiction, and it does often here too, particularly with Reva. Its sad because I don't blame the actress, she does a good job in Queens Gambit. But here she just can't sell the character.
The episode does end on a really promising note so Ill give them that, but in a 6 episode series, having the second episode have essentially no character or plot development, but wasting time on jokes and an unneeded chase scene is just ridiculous.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part I (2022)
A really flawed start to the series that is the Last Hope of Star Wars
Its quite clear given the box office numbers and declining toy sales and interest that Disney is struggling with the Star Wars brand. After years of trying to appeal to the casual fanbase and ignoring the core, Disney, having lost the casual fanbase, is trying their best to revive Star Wars to SOMETHING by appealing to prequel nostalgia.
And there certainly is a lot of nostalgia in seeing Ewan Mcgregor back in his iconic role, and he's as good as ever. The character of Obi Wan carries himself really, and honestly, it would be really hard to mess this one up.
...Somehow they still do though. The script here is not particularly interesting. It sets up the primary villain and the world adequately, but thats all the praise I can give it. The direction is AWFUL here. With several scenes being cringeworthy bad. People are highlighting the poor performance of some actors and actresses but clearly its the fault of the director. The music is also very generic. The cinematography failed to immerse me whatsoever or develop any kind of atmosphere.
All the parts just dont seem to be functioning properly here. It seems rushed and bland. Is the magic really gone from Star Wars?
Severance (2022)
Extremely good premise. Good plot too but with pacing issues
Severance is a great show with a premise that is as fresh as any you can find on TV these days. Its well acted and well directed too, with a very bizarre and mildly disturbing style and atmosphere. By the final episode the plot too is tied up really well and leaves you really eager to watch the second season.
However, the journey you take to get to that point in the final episode is full of ups and downs. I dont think the show always uses its time effectively, with long periods of downtime where there is neither character nor plot development. Nor are the plot points always done well either, in particular the antagonism between MDR and Optics seeming rather forced, stretched out, and silly. At other points it feels like there's a lot of wasted opportunity for world and atmosphere building. For instance, it wastes time with a stupid bingo nonsense instead of using the opportunity to flesh out the corporate structure of Lumen and properly build up its dystopian workplace.
As a result, its hard to entirely recommend, but I did enjoy it watching it in my own way (skipping through slightly through the more soporific parts.) Rewatching it with my gf, who has a shorter attention span, I was a bit frustrated by how often it meanders and wastes time and loses the attention of its audience. Nevertheless, the premise and the last episode are so good that I think this will be an excellent show as it goes on.
Arcane: League of Legends (2021)
A flawed but surprisingly good TV show
Arcane is a surprisingly good TV show based on the universe of League of Legends. The show starts well immediately. The art style and animation are magnificent, the voice acting brilliant, the dialogue engaging, the characters all different and interesting in their own way. The only thing that annoyed me from the start was the music, and it kept irritating me throughout the show.
Despite the great start, I think the show rapidly flies off the rails with the flow and content of its plot. The flow is like a driver alternating between driving at 120 km/h and 0 km/h, instead of just driving at a smooth 60, if that makes sense. Sometimes it seems like time is not being used effectively, whereas at other times it seems like they are trying to cram together too many plot points and it feels disorienting. Game of Thrones early seasons are a good examples of how to advance different subplots concurrently. Arcane struggles to do that, and in the end I felt detached from the events in the plot, and was often a bit confused.
Another issue I had is that any mild knowledge you have of the video game will instantly remove all danger and character development from the character arcs. We know Jinx, Vi, Jayce, and so on don't die because they are in the game which takes place after Arcane. We also know there wont be any massive shifts in their character because that would diverge from League. Perhaps season 2 will be more interesting in this aspect.
Judging from the helpful ratings of other reviews here, anything below 8 will get downvoted to oblivion, but it is what it is. I will say though that the intensity of the fans and the fact that they make up the vast majority of people who watched this definitely explains its 9.1 rating.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Drawn out to start with, great at the middle, awful at the end
Haunting of Hill House is one of the greatest gift to horror fans in recent years. Its well shot, well acted and has an impressive script. As a horror TV show, it masterfully walks the middle line of being scary but without falling to the overabundance of tropes, lazy writing and jump scares that horror movies often end up with. Small details that connect various plot points are placed for the eagle eyed viewer throughout the show and I really appreciated that.
Its far from perfect though. It suffers from a few problems. First and foremost is the meandering pace. TV shows often seem drawn out to justify having more episodes and that definitely shows here. The content is often interesting but just as often it can be yawn inducing. A show shouldn't need 4 out of its 8 episodes being about introducing characters but there you go. I get that each episode revolved around the story of a particular character and how their childhood experiences in Hill House shaped their entire life, but did the episodes really need to be an hour long for that? The show suffers from a really slow start as a result of this stretched out pacing, and its only until the Bent Necked Lady episode where it really takes off.
But boy oh boy, what an episode that is. It features some of the most chilling scenes in all of horror as the full extent of the Horrors of Hill House are revealed...
...Until 3 episodes later where they completely reverse that and end on an oddly optimistic note that really makes no sense given what we witnessed in the show. It felt like a lame effort to try to add some mature overarching theme to a show that might have been better if it just stuck to being a fun horror show.
Even disregarding the ridiculous ending, the last 3 episodes each had declining quality as things started making less sense and the writing quality slowly but steadily declined.
Rating: 7/10
Scares: 5/10 (Bent Necked Lady 9/10, the rest 3-4/10)
Midsommar (2019)
A bizarre documentary of a commune that doesn't exist, with nothing much to say and nothing much to show
This must have been one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It focuses a LOT on the bizarre rituals of a pagan cultist Swedish commune, but does so in a way that is neither interesting nor ominous. I was mostly left with the feeling of 'why do I care'. Sure some of the scenes are quite gruesome but it takes more than that to unsettle or scare the viewer.
This movie cannot get dread and atmosphere right at all so its never scary. But is it fun? It wastes a lot of time behaving as almost a documentary for a culture that doesn't exist so no, its neither fun nor does it show you or tell you something new. Is the plot good? No its actually overly simplistic. Do the characters behave realistically? Definitely not, it takes the worst of horror movies and makes the characters act like imbeciles. Actually, in its final scene it goes a step further and basically makes the main character behave like a total clown.
Some people have compared this to hereditary but that movie was a masterpiece in foreshadowing, dread, and plot development. And so while the endings of the movies are quite similar, Hereditary is burned into my mind, whereas Midsommar was just yawn inducing. It doesn't help that its nearly 2 and a half hours long. Please spend your time elsewhere.
Rating: 3/10
Scares: 2/10.
Gisaengchung (2019)
Overrated
Parasite reminds me of those novels you sometimes read in English class or a literature club (ala Ulysses) and you had to appreciate all the intricacies, themes, and symbolism or risk looking uncultured. But those novels missed something really important, that gets lost in all the circlejerking about the symbolism and little details - whether or not its actually interesting to read. Whether it provides a good story, good dialogue, good characters.
Similarly, Parasite is a movie rich in themes and symbolism. What I particularly liked is the mature exploration of class dynamics. Its the obvious central theme of the film and its done very well. I dont think anything in Hollywood could ever manage to explore this theme with such nuance and maturity.
This movie is also a really good work of art. The direction is top quality, and it effortlessly goes from comedy, to family drama, to horror, to thriller, and then finally ends in a Tarantino-esque finale.
But the actual plot of the film? The dialogues, the drama, its all mediocre at best. What really happens in this film. What makes a viewer curious, interested, surprised? How do the characters develop, how does the plot develop, where and when is there interesting dialogue that pulls you in?
In my opinion, the overarching script of this movie is not particularly strong when you evaluate it in terms of core storytelling. And worse, it doesn't use its runtime well in order to tell whatever it wants to tell. And while a film critic might be impressed by its symbolism and the way it shifts in tone and genres, I think it actually detracts from the viewer experience if the primary aim of the viewer is to see an enjoyable movie.
I'm far from someone who merely enjoys popcorn fiction. There's a reason I hate Marvel movies. But I also think that a movie has to strike a balance, I don't think Parasite did that. I think it has benefited from collective overhyping that is partially a result of the heaps of praise by critics and partially because it is a decent movie released in a time of popcorn movie trash.
Hereditary (2018)
The greatest horror movie?
Horror movies have always had oddly low scores on IMDB, and watching this movie with the rating in mind, I finally figured out why. Horror movies are either good and don't have any horror tropes that many horror fans come for, or they are bad and have a ton of those tropes. There's nothing really in between. Hereditary falls into the former camp. This is a movie that deserves a better rating, but many horror fans won't enjoy its lack of tropes and cliches.
There aren't many of those here, but there is some of the most unsettling and depressing atmosphere of any movie I've ever seen. For a long time Hereditary is largely an exploration of the fear and grief of its characters, though its punctuated regularly enough with bizarre scenes and mysterious plot developments to keep you curious. By the time this movie reaches its final act, you will be very unsettled, and the final act is when hereditary finally delivers its horror scenes. And they hit really hard at that point.
I will say that while I liked this movie, I'm not sure I enjoyed watching it that much. The suffering two of the characters go through, and the insanely good acting, was really hard to watch.
Rating: 8/10
Scares: 7/10.
Sinister (2012)
Though riddled with horror movie cliches, Sinister brings enough unique things to the table to be one of the best horror movies
Sinister starts with one of the best openings you'll ever see in a horror movie, it perfectly sets the tone and the other tapes the main character finds throughout the movie further induce dread. Special mention to the audio tracks that play during these scenes, almost nothing in any horror movie has ever scared me more than those sounds. The mystery that surrounds these tapes is genuinely interesting. Unfortunately the movie is riddled with horror movie cliches, with the main character doing stupid things and experiencing ridiculous jump scares.
Soon enough these jump scares lead me to no longer be that immersed in the movie. As is often the case with many horror movies, you will find yourself thinking why the hell are the characters doing what they are doing. And the sad thing is that with Sinister it was so unnecessary. The tapes were enough to cause dread, the nightly jump scares actually derail the atmosphere.
Nevertheless, the film wraps up well enough and overall is an entertaining movie with some very scary moments.
Rating: 7/10
Scares: 8/10.
The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
A very impressive slow burn horror
In terms of production values, cinematography, acting, and script, this movie blows most other horror movies out of the water. I was instantly mesmerized by this movies incredible historical authenticity and cinematography. The latter brilliantly conveys the bleakness and hopelessness of the families situation, which eventually ties into the plot as they struggle to cope with the additional losses they suffer throughout the movie. A gruesome scene at the start induces dread, but that dread is perhaps lost somewhat in some overly verbose and drawn out scenes that follow. I don't mind slow movies at all, but I do think time should be used valuably, and often this movie doesn't do so.
It does begin to pick up pace in the latter half, and the ending is a magnificent way to end what is a more interesting and well thought out plot than horror movies usually have. By that point the viewer will be very unsettled by the events they have witnessed, and it accomplishes scaring you without resorting to any of the horrendous cliches this genre is known for.
Rating: 7/10
Scares: 6/10.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
A movie of two halves
I'm sure this has been said before, but this movie really has two very contrasting halves. The first half is largely only about the autopsy. Only subtle supernatural stuff happen during this part. However, the movie skillfully builds up extreme dread and curiosity with the increasingly grotesque and bizarre findings during the autopsy. During this part, I genuinely thought this could end up as one of the best horror movies I've ever seen.
However, the movie becomes a much more cliche horror movie in the second half. Jumpscares, crying, chase scenes, mediocre acting, nonsensical behavior, all the awful things about horror movies are fit into this movies second half.
The ending is quite brutal, but there isn't really any particularly deep plot payoff other than the revelation about the origin of Jane Doe.
Rating: 6/10 (First half 8/10, second half 4/10)
Scare Rating: 8/10.
Dune (2021)
Excellent worldbuilding and cinematography but little plot development
Dune is a great novel filled with worldbuilding and a compelling plot. The worldbuilding has been adapted masterfully here, the plot less so. That's partially because the primary events of the novel happen in the second half, which will all be in Part two. But alas, this movie must be reviewed as a standalone movie, and as a standalone movie its plot is really bad. The movie does not feature anything close to a proper storytelling arc. However, the biggest crime in this movie is that the director has not used the additional time provided by cutting the movie in half effectively. The plot complexity and characters could have been built up a lot better. A lot of time is actually wasted in this movie and that alongisde the lack of plot development makes for quite a boring movie.
Also, I'm sorry but Zendaya is a poor casting choice. Could Hollywood not have found a single Middle Eastern/African actress? Guess not.
Hamilton (2020)
Watching Hamilton, I felt like a millionaire
... But I'm not. So maybe thats why I didn't get what was so special about this. I mean, unlike a lot of people who didn't like Hamilton, I was not turned off by the diversity or rap music in this musical. This is obviously a modern take on Hamilton, and for the most part that works quite well. However, I'm not going to declare Hamilton as perfection purely due to the diversity of its cast and music. It seems like coastal elitists have promoted this movie so much in part because of that - due to their virtue signalling and white guilt. Well, I've never used any of that as a basis to evaluate the quality of a musical. Rather, I consider the acting, the writing, the music, the production values, and the message.
And for the most part, Hamilton is pretty solid all around. The acting and production values deserve special mention. The choreography and music, are solid but somewhat inferior to some other broadway musicals.
The writing, though, is a bit of a problem. As far as an adoption of Hamilton's life, the musical is neither accurate nor a very entertaining dramatization of his life. Furthermore, its upsetting that Hamilton doesn't even bother touching on some of the more interesting ideas Hamilton had, and how those could apply to the modern situation in the country. Obviously, such ideas would be uncomfortable to the millionaire coastal elites watching this musical, so they've been left out. But as a result of that, I at least don't view this as being very culturally significant. If anything, it is extremely inoffensive.