Squirrel_the_Grip_1 Reviews

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Wasteland Warrior: The Redux

[7/10 · 29 May 2024]

Though a cohesive story from George Miller, the revenge story of Furiosa was good, but it felt like it needed to be made more for episodic television with its 5 chapters within a 2.5 hour movie. Anya Taylor Joy did a great job as Furiosa, but Chris Hemsworth stole the show as Dementus. The only drawback I have with this movie is that it relied to much on CGI whereas Fury Road did primarily practical effects which made it special. Overall a great action movie with some new characters (and some added from a connected story with the Mad Max video game) but overall a good story. Just feels like it would have been better suited for episodic rather than one movie.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Absolutely Incredible

[10/10 · 29 February 2024]

Absolutely incredible story and one of the best sequel movies that comes close to The Empire Strikes Back! Visual stunning thanks to the cinematography of Grieg Frasier. The visual effects and sound designs were amazing and shook the theater. The character dynamics between Paul and Chani from being star crossed lovers from different worlds slightly matches from the book but some story changes were made from the book as well, however it kept with the consistency with the narrative of the first film. Denis Villeneuve has crafted a magnum opus of a film and I'm hoping that he gets greenlit for Dune Messiah.

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

A Masterpiece Retelling of a Classic

[9/10 · 1 December 2023]

Godzilla Minus One is an amazing spectacle on a retelling of a classic Kaiju movie from the prospective of a post-war Japanese veteran who leaves one horror for the next while making an arrangement of "friends and family" along the way. The story was so compelling that it didn't feel like two hours past and I was craving for more. The classic Godzilla sounds design, masterful cinematography, along with the original score from Akira Ifukube made this movie an absolute masterpiece on storytelling! The visuals of the Godzilla update made him more memorable and menacing for the citizens of a distraught Tokyo. Highly recommended!

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth.......NOPE!

[6/10 · 22 June 2022]

Jurassic Wold Dominion felt very lackluster despite it being the last movie of the Jurassic World trilogy. From my watching of the movie the dinosaurs, which the movie was supposed to be the main focus, took more of a backseat this go round. They were more of a obstacle much like a wall than an adversary to the cast and were just kind of present. This was supposed to be the finale in which the phrase from Jurassic Parks banner "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth" was supposed to come full circle and it fell HEAVILY on its face. Though more entertaining than its predecessor, Fallen Kingdom, I think it was because it was the return of the orginal cast members that lightened the mood. Though some of the jokes were extremely forced by Jeff Goldblum's Dr. Ian Malcom, it was B. D. Wong's Dr. Wu that I loathed the most out this entire movie. How do you go from being a the villian who can see no wrong of two movies, to weak and humble on the last one.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Its Like Poetry, It Rhymes

[8/10 · 22 June 2022]

Kenobi as a whole felt like it was bridging the gap between the events of Episode 3 and Episode 4. It was a time of galactic turmoil and the Jedi were being hunted to extinction by the Inquisitorius and Darth Vader.

What Kenobi did right was filling in the massive holes that the dialogue from A New Hope had, by giving showing some exclamation of some key plot elements from prior events on why somethings said were important.

What Kenobi did wrong on the otherhand was try and condense a vast story into 6, 45 minute episodes. To be fair 2 more episodes past episode 6 to explain things a little further and add more of an epilogue would have been better in the long run that how it ended, but thats my personal opinion.

Overall, Kenobi hit all the notes that fans of Star Wars love.

Metal Lords (2022)

High School Musical of Metal

[6/10 · 1 May 2022]

Metal Lords felt like a dirty version of High School Musical. Though the social commentary of outsiders trying to win the attention and affection of their peers, the whole time it felt very one dimensional. The "this is metal because of this" felt very cliche from what people think metalheads listen to metal for. I've been a metalhead my entire life and listen to a lot of it, its not like that. Though the young actors performed decently, Adrian Greensmith felt like he was reading everything from a cue card. Not to mention all the dialogue is coming from post Game of Thrones writers D. B. Weiss and David Benioff as executive producer, so I wasn't expecting the best dialogue to begin with. Yes us Game of Thrones fans still havent forgiven you guys. Overall it was watchable, but I wouldn't watch it again or recommend it.

The Northman (2022)

The Northman: Beautiful Brutality

[8/10 · 23 April 2022]

What can I say about Robert Egger's third film. An bloody, epic revenge story that threw you through the loop over and over again keeping you guessing. Though there were some slow moments they became quickly overturned with bloody violence of Norse battle culture and mysticism of winding fates. The beautiful scenery with just absolute carnage as a orphan boy avenges his father, rescues mother, and kills his vile uncle, The Northman will keep you wanting more.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

Secrets of Dumbledore: Trying to Trudge The Story

[6/10 · 23 April 2022]

Another number in the Wizarding World franchise that comes up just a hair from its preceding film Crimes of Grindelwald. Though there was a more magical creatures in this one than the last it felt very conflicting on what exactly the story was trying to tell the audience member. It felt like parts Ocean Eleven, some parts mystery thriller, and then an actual Harry Potter film. Though Eddie Redmayne is always always quirky as Newt Scamander, the chemistry on screen was stolen by Mads Mikkelson who plays a very charasmatic Grindelwald compared to Johnny Depp's, and Jude Law's Albus Dumbledore. The last duel between those two was probably the best in the series since Deathly Hallows Part 2. Though all over the place, it was a fun movie to just sit and relax too but their beating the dead horse trying to tell the story of the first Wizarding War under the name of Fantastic Beasts.

The Batman (2022)

The Worlds Greatest Detective Returns to The Dark Knight

[8/10 · 27 March 2022]

The Dark Knight, The Batman. What can I say about this movie that wasn't a treat to watch. Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle had such great chemistry it felt like it was ripped from the comics themselves. As for story, it was a very much more dark and reality based Batman in which Batman faces the enigmatic and psychotic take on the Riddler, played by Paul Dano, who uses the power of social media and viral videos to lead Batman on the hunt for him with the help of James Gordon played by Jeffery Wright. The cinematography of Grieg Fraser is fantastic bring the Caped Crusader to life in his year 2 outing as Batman and every frame felt like a painting.

Personally I felt this to be a little long with how big the story was but it needed to be told this way because for years Batman has been all action with very little detective work. His monicure is the Worlds Greatest Detective after all. I wasn't a fan of Colin Ferrell's Penquin because he felt like a wanna be Italian gangster without actually being intimitating but rather annoying.

Don't Look Up (2021)

Idiocracy: Part 2

[5/10 · 28 December 2021]

The political social commentary of the film very much outweighed the comedic effect of the film even though it was satire but unfortunately it's very much a real thing in the United States which is very sad where the truth is downplayed until the very end when it's too late. Though there were some funny parts to the end of the world, it overall dragged the narrative of thinking it's satire and rather was trying to be in the vein of Black Comedy. The performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence we're good, it wasn't enough to keep me focused on the movie.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

Entertaining but Lackluster

[4/10 · 23 December 2021]

That's the best I can describe the newest installment in The Matrix series. If you're looking for something new and innovative with the newest iteration of the Matrix, this isn't the place. While entertaining with the Cyberpunk Gun-Fu, the story is lacking what the character of Neo's One by using the same tropes of being trapped in the Matrix and escaping it in the first film while using plot points from the other films as well. Unfortunately this brought nothing new to the table nor really changed anything we already knew about the previous Matrix films.

"Free your mind" Morpheus once said, why not make something new rather than a soft reboot/non-reboot of your property.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Welcome again to the spider-verse

[9/10 · 19 December 2021]

I highly enjoyed Spider-Man: No Way Home. It was a great culmination of all three properties of the Spider-Man franchise blending Sam Raimi's Spider-Man universe, along with Marc Webb's Spider-Man universe, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe into Marvels famed "Multiverse". My only real quarrel with the film was that it spent too much time re-introducing the characters we already knew from previous movies and now timelines. All the character performances were superb and endearing.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Ghostbusters for the young and old

[8/10 · 24 November 2021]

Absolutely fantastic film to finish off the trilogy of the ghostbusters. Fantastic portrayals of new characters introduced along with the original cast members. The cinematography was absolutely beautiful by cinematographer Eric Steelberg and captured the very essence of the first two Ghostbusters movies. Though it lulled in some parts, The overall movie was an enjoyable experience and contained a touching tribute to the late Harold Ramis.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

To Much Nostagia, Not Enough Orginality

[5/10 · 20 December 2019]

So I just got done watching Rise of Skywalker. As I promised I wouldn't give out plot details or Spoilers, but my honest opinion is that I didn't like the movie. It recycled a lot of elements from Return of the Jedi with some extra plot points which should have been introduced in earlier films rather than the finale. Much of the movie to me felt catered to fans this time around and took a lot of pop shots at The Last Jedi. Overall cinematography by Dan Mindel was great and the acting was great, but they could have gone and did their own ending rather than carbon copy. So I'm going to give this one a 5/10 for me. They had so much potential but failed to deliver the finale they promised. To quote "It's easy to digest, but not that filling or memorable."

Honey Boy (2019)

Power through Pain

[9/10 · 15 December 2019]

Just watched Honey Boy. What a powerful story from Shia LaBeouf with the help from director Alma Har'el depicting his life as a child star with his relationship with his father. The film gave a unique perspective on Shia's life and conveyed a strong sense of sympathy and empathy for him as he struggled with his pain from his childhood. The cinematography from Natasha Braier and the lighting design gave a sense of unease and tension but also used a lot of natural light. I have to give this movie a 9/10 because of the power it has, and if you look into the backstory of why it was written you will understand.

The Lighthouse (I) (2019)

H.P. Lovecraft meets a modern day Prometheus

[9/10 · 11 November 2019]

Wow! What a serious mind game of a movie. A gritty tale of two men going into a descent of madness stuck together tending to a lighthouse with both men holding dark secrets. The cinematography and the lighting was superb giving a huge throwback to early cinema while being shot on 35mm in black and white while maintaining a 1.19:1 aspect ratio (near perfect square) with harsh lighting design giving high contrast and shadows keeping you wondering what was going on. Though some parts are slow, the overall tone of the film hit it throughout

The Happytime Murders (2018)

Love, Drugs, and Puppets

[7/10 · 11 November 2019]

So my review on The Happytime Murders, Don't listen to critic scores on this one. The movie is well crafted by Brian Henson and his team at Henson Alternative (HA!) with over 120 puppets and puppeteers making this film. Though the film has raunchy, vulgar, and foul mouth puppets deep down the movie is a noir film about a P.I. puppet and human detective tracking down a murderer in Los Angeles. I thought all the acting done by both puppeteers and humans were fantastic and kept me engaged with the story. Jokes were hit and miss but solid story. As a disclaimer: THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR CHILDREN!!!

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Comedy through Tragedy

[10/10 · 10 November 2019]

Excellent movie! The story of a young boy discovering who he really is during wartime Germany is amazing. The comedy of Taika Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, and the cast nailed a perfectly paced story. The cinematography, lighting design, and costuming was amazingly well done. Though the story gets slow by Act 3, the story kept me involved from start to finish. I highly encourage anyone to see this film!