raven-11881 Reviews

Wicked Little Letters (2023)

Mostly unknown, but strong movie

[9/10 · 8 April 2024]

Last week I went to see "Wicked Little Letters" at the movies, right after "Godzilla x. Kong", which I only watched because it just seemed like a good idea. In any case, "Wicked Little Letters" was my highlight of the day and is likely to remain one of the highlights of the year for me.

My review is spoiler-free, I'll only briefly go into the initial plot in the first two paragraphs below.

It's the 1920s in England. Roose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) is an Irish-born woman who has emigrated to England and now lives in Littlehampton with her partner and young daughter. Roose is not particularly popular in her neighborhood, and if she is, then only secretly, because she doesn't mince her words, says what she thinks and also likes to use very vulgar and direct language. It is her casual and cheeky manner that makes us "modern" viewers laugh, but in the 1920s this is anything but funny for most people, because at that time it was not proper for a woman to speak like that.

One day, Roose's pious and devout neighbor Edith Swan receives letters in which she is insulted in a vulgar and foul-mouthed manner. At the beginning of the movie's plot, she receives her fifteenth or sixteenth letter (I can't remember the exact number). Edith's father firmly believes that the letters come from Roose, because they fit Roose's profile perfectly. So Edith officially accuses her neighbor Roose to the police. The investigation and the trial are the number one topic of conversation in the small town, but Roose maintains her innocence and is determined to prove it, while the police firmly believe she is guilty and don't think it necessary to look for solid evidence. But then Roose gets unexpected support...

"Little Dirty Letters" is a movie that knows how to convince on every level. The plot is interesting, exciting and varied and is both entertaining and thought-provoking from start to finish, making me root for Roose. I could really empathize with her situation, that's how well the plot was staged.

The movie also has a great cast, from the two main roles to every supporting role. But it's not just the cast that is great, the acting performances are also of a very high standard. All the characters seem to be taken from real life and I buy all the actors' roles. Jessie Buckley, however, stands out the most. Her character Roose has wit and charm and, despite her vulgar and direct pronunciation, is a really likeable character, mainly thanks to Jessie Buckley's great acting.

The 1920s setting in the small seaside town of Littlehampton is great and has been captured very well, exuding the charm and also the disgust of the time and the country. The sets and production design are also well done, although I can't judge the authenticity as I'm not a historian. But it all "looks" very authentic.

The background music is also extremely well done and always knows how to play with the viewer's emotions. The music gave me goosebumps time and time again.

The movie creates much more emotions than just joy and amusement. The movie also generated a lot of compassion and empathy in me, as well as a heightened sense of justice and anger at certain customs of the time, which were particularly detrimental to women and from which a "modern" woman like Roose suffers. However, it is also a great pleasure to see that Roose does not let herself be beaten down and always seems to be living life to the full. For her, the most important thing is her little daughter, and she will do anything for her well-being, something that many of her neighbors and accusers couldn't care less about.

Anyone who likes historical films of this period and dramas and comedies will certainly get their money's worth here. The movie is very life-affirming and generates many emotions, both negative and positive, with the latter absolutely outweighing the former. The film is titled a comedy, but again, I don't think this classification is really appropriate. The categorization reminds me of "The Banshees of Inisherin", which is also often referred to as a comedy, but is by no means one. The comedy that occurs here in the movie is pure situational comedy and definitely not comedy for the sake of comedy or laughter. Yes, you can often laugh, and there were many laughs in the movie theater, but at heart the film is more of a crime drama, and one that is based on a true story, which makes the plot even more interesting.

One of the best films of the year for me so far, and I can hardly wait to watch it again in my home theater. Even five days after watching it, I still often think about the movie and its plot.

Rating: 9/10 points

Re-watch value: High

Lasting impression: High

Emotional depth: High (joy, cheerfulness, humor, anger, compassion, empathy)

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Better than Part 1

[9/10 · 28 February 2024]

I've just come out of the movie theater. I had adjusted my expectations in advance so that I could have lived with it if "Dune - Part 2" had been like Part 1, with its strengths and weaknesses. In this respect, Part 2 completely disappointed my expectations... for the absolute better!

In my opinion, Dune - Part 2 makes up for every weakness of its predecessor(without spoilers):

• Part 2 has a much better pacing and has the perfect narrative tempo. Not too fast-paced and rushed, but also not as lengthy and tough as part 1. In addition, I wasn't bored for a minute of the 166 minutes.

• Part 2 offers much more emotional depth in terms of the plot and the characters. I actually empathized a lot with the characters here. The feelings I had throughout the movie ranged from happiness, tension, joy, worry, fear, indignation to hope and satisfaction. Great!

• Part 2 has much better background music than Part 1, where I wasn't always entirely satisfied with the soundtrack. Here, however, Hans Zimmer has once again demonstrated absolute class, almost on a par with Blade Runner: 2049 or Interstellar!

• Part 2 contains significantly more subtext and hidden or clear and obvious messages. There is a lot to think about in the plot and dialog.

• The amount of action has increased significantly, but not so much that you could call it a constant barrage of action. The action scenes that can be seen are absolutely superbly staged and perfectly mixed in terms of sound. A great soundscape with a great surround backdrop. The camera work and various shots are also great. You can always follow the action scenes wonderfully and have some great perspectives that ensure that the viewer always has an overview of the action.

• Overall, the visual presentation is much more varied and elegant than in its predecessor. The desert of Arrakis has also been depicted much better and more authentically.

• In Part 2, the actors/actresses have significantly more opportunities to breathe life into their characters, which makes them much more tangible and authentic.

Overall, I am absolutely thrilled with this sequel, which really puts Part 1 in the shade in all respects. My current rating shows me that I rated Part 1 too highly after all. "Dune - Part 1" would now only be a 7/10 for me.

With Dune - Part 2, Denis Villeneuve has truly created another masterpiece. Dune - Messiah can come!

Rating: 9/10 points Re-watch value: High Lasting impression : High Emotional depth: High.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

The perfect conclusion to the trilogy

[9/10 · 5 May 2023]

Two days ago I watched "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" in the cinema. Here is my personal impression of the movie. The review is absolutely spoiler free!

Plot / Storytelling / Pacing (spoiler free)

The plot is actually quite simple, but despite the simplicity there is a lot of stuff between the lines. On the surface, it's about the Guardians trying to save a friend in their own ranks and going up against the High Evolutionary in the process. Under the surface, however, it's about much more than that. It's about what friendship and trust mean and how far one would go for them. It's about sacrifice, about loyalty, and about genuine feelings between individual Guardians. It is also about the cohesion of renegades, outsiders and outcasts.

Furthermore, it is about what "life" means and whether there is such a thing as evolutionary perfection at all, that it is morally questionable to decide about life and death for the supposedly higher goal of the "perfect society" and to no longer value life itself as such, regardless of whether it is perfect or flawed. What is the use of striving for a perfect life and a perfect society, if one loses all empathy on the way there and does not even shy away from mass murder in order to achieve one's goals. Shouldn't one set an example for such a future oneself?

The film is so full of messages and it touches on many topics. Despite all these complex issues, the film still manages to come across as very light hearted, a lot of fun and enjoyable, feel good without, again, the drama also losing its power, which is also very strongly staged in some scenes. Here no eye remains dry and there are some scenes that have touched me deeply, shocked and made me gulp. Even two days after the viewing, I still have to think a lot about the plot.

It's also worth mentioning that this film addresses unanswered questions from the two predecessors and brings loose ends to a great conclusion.

To follow the plot, it is enough to know "Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2" as well as "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame". The latter two also only to know what happened to Gamora and that we are dealing here with Gamora from the past, who never came into contact with the Guardians until the events of "Endgame" and accordingly has a different relationship status with them.

Actors / Characters

The Guardians team continues to exude extreme charm in the third installment. The characters skillfully pass the ball to each other and one dialogue is better, more biting, funnier or more dramatic than the other. It's incredible how much fun it is to watch the Guardians, to sympathize with them or to fear for them. The actors/actresses behind Guardians know how to get me as a viewer attached to the characters and capture my heart. I fear for every single character. Of course, this is only possible because both James Gunn as director and screenwriter and the actors all seem to get along wonderfully on set. You can feel in every scene of the film how well the teamwork of the actors works with each other and with the director.

It's also great that every character is allowed to shine and there is no one who comes up short. Each character is allowed to develop (meaningfully!) and they all rise above. There are highs, there are lows, and each character contributes something to the team and to the victory. There is never a feeling that any of the characters are superfluous. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and these are used believably and ingeniously or woven into the dialogue and plots.

Even apart from the Guardians, the actors/actresses know how to convince. Whether Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as High Evolutionary or Will Poulter as Adam Warlock. Their characters are not particularly multi-layered or complex, but it is enough to generate feelings, whether disgust, anger and hatred for the High Evolutionary or sympathy for Kraglin or even hopes in Adam Warlock.

Setting

The settings are, as in the two previous films, diverse, varied and totally wacky. Whether it's the Guardians' ship, outer space, space stations made of organic matter, an Earth-like planet with alien species, Knowhere or the dark spaceship of the High Evolutionary, there's plenty of variety for the eye. The settings are always so extremely atmospheric that it's simply a feast for the eyes. The environment animations are also of the highest quality.

Camera / Editing

The camera work is once again extremely well done. The perspectives are varied and also very nicely captured. Even some of the perspectives in the Guardians' ship or at the beginning on Knowhere are a real eye-catcher. Slow camera movements and pans, so that you can examine everything nicely, without hectic or too fast cuts. In quiet scenes, but also in fast-paced action scenes, the viewer always keeps a good overview of the action. A fight scene of all Guardians in a long hallway is also ingenious. The camera work is just great.

I didn't notice anything negative about the editing either. No hectic or fast cuts that could throw me off while watching.

Action scenes / CGI

The action scenes are brilliantly staged, choreographed and great captured on camera. Every action scene is a hell of a lot of fun. The aforementioned hallway fight scene is also brilliant. Grandiose!

The animation quality or the CGI is on a very high level and can keep this high level from the beginning to the end of the movie throughout.

There are not suddenly extremely bad CGI effects here like in a "Black Panther" or "She-Hulk", but everything just looks top notch. Especially in sci-fi settings and in outer space, this makes a lot of difference and contributes to the atmosphere and immersion.

Music

The license music used is once again very successful, but overall it doesn't come close to that of the first part in my opinion. The soundtrack composed especially for the film is great, as always. Of course, the Guardians theme appears once or twice, and that always gave me goosebumps. Dramatic or dark scenes are also accompanied by appropriate music.

Humor / Drama

The humor of the film is just top notch. Almost every gag is right on the money and during the screening everyone laughed a lot, very loudly and very often. This is simply real situation comedy and spontaneous humor, no silly Waititi slapstick like "Thor - Love & Thunder", which just rarely ignites and is almost never really funny. No gag or joke is used inflationary often here. There is nothing like the screaming goats in "Thor - Love & Thunder", which were used ten times in the film. It's also great that the humor never takes the wind out of the drama's sails. Dramatic or tragic scenes are respected here and not torpedoed by gags or silly humor. Despite all the humor in the film, the plot and the film still take themselves very seriously and it often goes very heavy on the substance.

Personal conclusion

Chapeau to James Gunn! "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" is in my eyes the perfect conclusion to the Guardians trilogy.

For me, this film is directly THE most emotional MCU film ever, both in terms of positive and negative feelings! In the cinema, no eye remained dry with me. Heftig, as so some scene and so some moment has moved me deeply and touched and as I also equally much in this film laughed from the heart.

Also visually, the film is simply a blast, which is again underlined by the great camera work.

Before another viewing I do not want to praise too much, but as of now after my first viewing this is one of my five favorite films of the entire MCU and perhaps also the best part of the Guardians trilogy! This is what a good MCU movie should look like and nothing else!

James Gunn is a great writer and director, if not the best the MCU has ever had. Too bad he's out now, but good for DC and the new DCU! I'm excited to see what he does with Superman Legacy and am in good spirits.

Rating: 9/10 points

Rewatch Value: High

Lasting impression: High

Emotional Depth: High.

Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

One of the best Star Trek-series of all time

[9/10 · 23 April 2023]

Season 1

I really liked the first season. The story is exciting, the Star Trek feeling is good, there are some nostalgia moments, Picard continues to be great as a character and I find the theme of "AI" and "androids" in the center super.

9/10 points

Season 2

The second season unfortunately has a very tough start, because the first five episodes are pretty lame and hardly get going. Then again the journey to the present. I found that a bit uninspired. I did like the fact that Q was there again. In general, there is a lot of nostalgia here, too. But from about the sixth episode on, the season became much better and more exciting. The finale touched me deeply and was really good again. But I still liked season 1 better.

8/10 points

Season 3

The absolute best season of the series! A lot of nostalgia, a lot of emotions, some great new characters, especially Captain Liam Shaw, who was a real ass in the beginning, won my heart. I also liked Jack Crusher as a multi-layered newcomer. Seeing the whole old crew reunited was the absolute highlight, especially when they bring the old Enterprise 1701-d from Next Generation out of the museum. It was also great that many other old characters from the other series were back. In addition, the best music from the old series wei Next Generation, Voyager and the film First Contact. The finale is the ultimate! Absolutely epic! This ingenious third season alone makes this series "Picard" one of the best, if not THE best series there is to Star Trek at all.

10/10 points

Other comments about the series:

By the way, the sound quality of the series is on the highest level. Even for streaming it is almost movie level. Excellent surround simulation, the surround speakers are also used strongly and the action scenes have decent power and precision. Simply outstanding and a pleasure for the ears. With "The Mandalorian" they should have taken a leaf out of this book.

The picture quality is also very high, as is the CGI quality in space and in the ships and action scenes. Really great!

My opinion about the logic problems of the series: I don't find them really dramatic or bad, because logic problems within the Star Trek universe are countless. Every series and every movie had logic problems. I find it wrong to reproach this series, especially since the logic problems are negligible.

Overall rating of the series:

9/10 points.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Shazam! 2 is much better than I expected

[8/10 · 26 March 2023]

Yesterday I spontaneously decided to watch "Shazam! - Fury of the Gods" at the cinema. I expected everything, but not that I would like the film so much. I didn't regret going to the cinema.

First of all, the negative:

A few CGI effects look only mediocre or even bad. But not all of them. There are also effects that look really well done and great in my opinion, e.g. Spells like lightning or the dragon.

The second negative aspect are the partly annoying and stupid dialogues of the children-heroes and -heroines. That really got on my nerves sometimes. But fortunately that's not the case all the time, so it's not that dramatic.

That was it for me already at negative points. Sure, the antagonists remain pale and their motivation is never really explained. However, I find it good that the antagonists themselves carry out a conflict among themselves and that there are also two nice twists, which are hinted at in the course of the plot, but which I could not guess at the beginning.

I find the plot interesting and exciting, even if it is not particularly complex. But especially in the area of character development, the film is quite successful. The young heroines and heroes all go through a development and even the antagonists, as pale as they may be, go through a development. The film is also very emotional in between and at the end.

The humor is sometimes a bit silly, but here and there the film is also quite funny and made me smile. Nevertheless, the film takes itself seriously enough not to pass as a "Thor - Love and Thunder"-cut (the film is for me the new measure of lousy humor).

What I would like to praise highly at this point, however, is the excellent sound and great sound mixing. The entire soundscape is very spacious, punchy, dynamic and offers a lot for the ears. One thing you just have to say is that Disney / Marvel can NEVER hold a candle to the DC / WB films in terms of sound. It seems that WB and DC always put a lot of emphasis on the acoustics even with low budgets. For me audiophile cinema fan, this is really a treat.

I also liked the soundtrack and it even gave me goosebumps in some scenes.

A guest appearance by Diana Prince / Wonder Woman was also great.

All in all, "Shazam! - Fury of the Gods" is far better than I expected it to be and also many times better than the lousy Black Adam. It is also in no way inferior to its predecessor in my opinion.

Rating: 8/10 points

Rewatch Value: Medium

Lasting impression: Low

Emotional depth: Medium.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Great Fantasy-Movie

[8/10 · 26 March 2023]

Today I went to see "Dungeons & Dragons" at the cinema. I came out of the cinema grinning, smiling and very satisfied. The cinema hall was almost completely full. That made me very happy. And the atmosphere was great. There was really also a lot of hearty loud laughter.

My short review comes without spoilers!

I don't know much about D&D, but I have played at least some video games like Baldurs Gate 1 & 2, Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2, Planescape Torment and Pool of Radiance 2. There are plenty of allusions, but even if you're not familiar with the games, you should be able to get into the world very well. The film does an excellent job of picking up both connoisseurs and non-connoisseurs.

The comparison to "Guardians of The Galaxy" is not so far-fetched, because "Dungeons & Dragons" also manages the balancing act between really good humor, seriousness, drama and emotions. In addition, the chemistry between the group of heroes and the antagonists is terrific. Each character gets his or her screentime and story, and each good character(s) grows on me. I also enjoyed the acting of Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Sophia Lillis, Justice Smith, Regé-Jean Page and especially Hugh Grant. Hugh Grant, of course, once again dominated every scene he was in. His manner and charismatic charm are simply incredible. His role suits him perfectly. There was also a brilliant guest appearance, which I won't reveal here. But the scene is brilliant!

The setting and camera angles are beautiful in parts and the computer effects are absolutely great as well. Yes, you can recognize the CGI as such, but that can be seen here rather positive, because it is also partly based on video games and contains a lot of fantasy, and there are also strange creatures and magic, which do not exist in the real world and therefore it fits that this world and its computer effects just look different from reality.

I also liked the background music. Here and there some epic sounds could elicit goose bumps from me.

I also liked the story and it reminded me of video games like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and the like, but in a positive sense. The group gradually comes together, there are tasks (quests) to complete, so that progress can be made in the fight against evil.

Conclusion:

All in all, I'm really excited about the movie. It's a lot of fun, varied, offers good chemistry between the actors and characters, tells an exciting story, really makes you laugh heartily often and out loud, offers a great fantasy setting, a great look, good music, emotions and a lot of heart and is entertaining.

Rating: 9/10 points

Rewatch Value: High

Lasting impression: Medium

Emotional Depth: Medium.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Overrated Action-Movie

[7/10 · 26 March 2023]

Saw it yesterday at the cinema. Well, I can't quite agree with the praise.

The film is clearly too long, the action scenes all get out of hand and you only see more of the same killing scenes, which are boring and tough in the long run. Less would have been more here.

Attention, there are a few spoilers to a few fight scenes.

Chapter 4 takes the "nonsense" to the extreme again. I'm a fan of well choreographed fights, but not when it's just overplayed to the max. John Wick once again fights HORDES of assassins and walking fortresses, but they are all too stupid to hit John and always miss. It's also interesting that John Wick must think he's Neo, since he's constantly "dodging" bullets by ducking and taking slight sideways steps. By John being invincible, it's just not fun to watch him kill, because it's unsatisfying victory, kind of like a cheat in a game or some kind of god mode. It would have been much more intense and emotional for me as a viewer if John was significantly more vulnerable and if there had been more noticeable character development and motivation. It would have been enough to reduce the kill count from over 200 to under 20, but to stage the individual fights more brutally, more intensively and, above all, more realistically and credibly (e.g. As in Atomic Blonde or Mission: Impossible).

I also find these "armored" suit guys stupid. John often shoots whole magazines at these guys, and the bullets bounce off the suit as if the outer fabric was already made of 1 cm steel. But the fact that the suit guys are still very agile is even more laughable. And the suits are still as clean and intact as if they had just been bought and ironed. These suit guys don't have head protection, though, which is why I find it ridiculous that John imemr shoots at their bodies and not directly at their heads. He seems to be shortsighted, because he only ever shoots at the head when he's extremely close to the enemy. However, when enemies wear complete body armor including ballistic helmets, John strangely always shoots at their heads even from a distance, until after ten or fifteen shots he finally shoots into the helmet/head from below. If you multiply these kind of kills by 100, you have an idea of how often John kills hundreds of killers in the same way.

Furthermore, I find it very nonsensical that there are no police in the world who intervene at times.

The scene in Paris at this big traffic circle with several lanes is also totally crazy. John and the killers shoot at each other on the traffic circle for over ten minutes, and the "civilians" just drive on like robots at 50 km/h and just keep running over some killers and John, though John never takes any damage from it. But no one stops, gets out and runs away in fear. The traffic keeps flowing, despite wild killing by shooting and wild running over.

As for the staging of the action scenes: For every well-staged action scene, there are unfortunately three mediocre and boring action scenes that always follow the same pattern, see my comments above. And even the best action scenes are not necessarily as "groundbreaking" or "novel" and "groundbreaking" as some critics claim. I found a whole two action scenes very successful, once the much too short! (where all the others are way too long) chase scene in the Mustang and once the top-down fight scene. The highly praised staircase fight scene I found again much too long and also very 08/15, because John again makes his always same kills, while all the others always hit only the staircase railings or lanterns, but not John.

The story isn't worth mentioning and doesn't make much sense in terms of content. Interestingly enough, the nice dialogues and dialogue scenes are still one of the best things about the movie.

The sound is well mixed though, the camerawork is well done and the visuals are very aesthetically pleasing and there are a few nice references to Matrix (rain fight scene and the train station).

Now all of this sounds rather like a poor or mediocre rating, but that wouldn't do the film justice. It offers good entertainment on a technical level above mediocrity and Keanu Reeves is always fun to watch. Therefore I still give it a solid rating, despite all my reservations.

Rating: 7/10 points

Rewatch Value: Low

Emotional depth: Low

Lasting impression: None.

65 (2023)

"65" is a good Survival-Horror-Thriller

[7/10 · 11 March 2023]

I watched "65" yesterday in the cinema.

For what the film wants to be, a survival horror thriller, it can hardly be condemned. It's suspenseful, I was emotionally invested and the chemistry between Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt is good. I also liked the acting of both of them.

The plot is mundane and the character sketch remains fairly superficial, but it's enough to make me grow fond of both of them and root for them. Both have suffered tragic losses in life and thus have a lot in common. However, the plot is unfortunately also predictable in many places. The one or other moment surprised me and went differently than I would have expected.

The logic in the film can be questioned here and there. For example, the ammunition display of Mill's rifle does not decrease at all in the beginning and he shoots a lot with it. At the end, in the final battle, the ammunition gauge suddenly melts away from full to empty. Another criticism is that the famous comet can be seen in the sky both during the day and at night, which is completely illogical since the earth rotates. Either he is to be seen in the day or at night. Both is not possible.

The horror scenes are well done and are oppressive, but unfortunately the film doesn't make enough use of the scary factor. There are also jump scares here and there, but they could have been done without, because I'm not a fan of them. You can scare (almost) anyone, but creating real "creepiness" is much more interesting. I'm more a fan of creepy atmosphere than scary moments.

Another positive thing is the soundtrack by Chris Bacon and Danny Elfman. It is really well done.

I also liked the camerawork and various great wide shots of the landscapes. I like it when movies offer something like that. Of course you can also watch documentaries, but they don't offer an exciting "story".

All in all, I came out of the film quite satisfied.

Rating: 7/10 points

Rewatch value: Low

Emotional depth: Medium

Lasting impression: Low.

Flash Gordon (1980)

A cult film of the 80s

[8/10 · 4 February 2023]

After a long time I watched "Flash Gordon" again.

I love this movie. Yes, it is pure trash, the technology is completely outdated, the character developments and the dialogues are partly badly written and the movie is too short for such an epic plot, but despite all that the movie is an absolute Guilty Pleasure for me. It is cult!

The music of Queen is still fantastic today. And the actors all play their roles convincingly and wacky. I also like the wonderfully cool costumes and the absolutely cool 80s look and style.

For me, a film of my childhood that I will always love.

A high quality, modern, dark and very adult new epic movie trilogy would be awesome!

Rating: 8/10 points

Rewatch Value: High

Lasting impression: Low.

Plane (2023)

Solid action fare with Gerard Butler in good form

[7/10 · 4 February 2023]

Plane is a solid action film for in between. The story is flat and doesn't offer any real twists, which is a bit of a shame. Also, the drama is unfortunately very limited. The course of the plot is very straightforward and the end comes quite quickly. In the first half, the plot takes a lot of time to build up the characters and also the plot. I like this first half a lot. The second half is solid action fare and ends more quickly than I would have expected. So the second half isn't quite as strong as the first half, but still solid. Overall, however, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the plot.

The action scenes are neither particularly impressive nor bad, but solid and halfway respectable. Here and there, the CGI effects do seem very contrived, especially in the exterior scenes of the plane in the sky. The shootouts later in the film are cut in such a way that you can never make out very much and many shots look as if they went into the void. Only the use of a large caliber sniper rifle was quite nicely staged, if a bit unrealistic in terms of the impact of the bullets on people. However, when assault rifles are fired at the plane and nothing happens, I'm a bit surprised as a viewer, because such a plane is not armored, but is only made of light metal. In the action scenes, unfortunately, you notice that the budget was a bit lower here.

Gerard Butler is the best thing about the film. He plays his role with aplomb and is always fun to watch. The rest of the cast plays solidly and otherwise doesn't have much to do or much screentime.

The music somehow didn't stand out to me much, either negatively or positively. The sound mixing is also just average. Firefights seem relatively front-heavy and the surround sound is rather low key.

Overall, a solid action flick with a well-performed Gerard Butler, but with a relatively simple plot and no real twists and very little real drama. May as well give it a look.

Rating: 7/10 points

Rewatch Value: Low

Lasting impression: Low.

The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Historical Mystery-Thriller of a special kind

[9/10 · 8 January 2023]

Today I watched "The Memorable Case of Mr. Poe" on Netflix. Here's my short review of the film (spoiler-free).

THIS is a crime movie after my taste! Where yesterday "Glass Onion" disappointed me a bit compared to "Knives Out", today comes "The Memorable Case of Mr. Poe" and even for me puts both films in the shade.

The film is very suspenseful from start to finish, but always leaves the viewer enough room to think without rushing from one quick dialogue to the next. The film also offers a few really surprising twists that I would not have expected.

The plot is great and the script is super. The crime story seems autehntic and not overconfident or invented. It could have happened exactly like this in real life. The plot is very gripping, making it easy to follow every clue and investigation and dialogue. The characters all seem believable and so too could have come directly from real life at the time. High authenticity and a high level of believability.

The setting of 1830 in the winter snowed-in outskirts of New York is very atmospheric and offers some nice gloomy images with snow, fog, by day and by night.

The actors, led of course by Christian Bale as the investigator and Harry Melling as Edgar Allan Poe, performed very believably and convincingly. The supporting actors/actresses were also convincing in their roles.

The background music fits perfectly to the setting and the events. This goes under the skin and I liked it insanely well!

Overall, for me an absolutely excellent historical crime mystery thriller. That's how crime fiction has to be! Clear recommendation for fans of the historical setting and crime/mystery films.

Although I now know how it ends, I would definitely want to watch the movie again and maybe more after that. A new film for my 2022 top list!

9/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023)

Solid Action-Thriller without much depth

[7/10 · 6 January 2023]

This afternoon I spontaneously went to see "Operation Fortune" in the cinema. Here is my spoiler-free review:

This is once again a typical Guy Ritchie film. You just notice his signature, in a mostly positive sense.

The story is relatively simple, but in places it is told in an unnecessarily complicated way. I found that better in "The Gentlemen" and "Cash Truck". The former has a more complex story with some twists and turns and more suspense, but without being complicated. The latter, on the other hand, is kept very simple and is also told in a relatively straightforward manner. In "Operation Fortune", on the other hand, some dialogues are strung together very quickly, so that I sometimes couldn't keep up with the many names and changes of location. That was a bit too fast for me. I hardly had time to think and let my thoughts run free. I'm not quite sure, but in my memory two or three situations didn't make direct sense and it seemed illogical how the characters behaved in those situations. Emotions are also very rare here in the plot. In any case, I couldn't really sympathize.

This brings us to the characters: They all remain pretty pale and it's really only about the direct situational action. You don't really learn much more about any of the characters. They are quite stereotypical. Hugh Grant's character is the best, I think, because he plays his role very well and somehow he seems much more tangible and interesting than the others. In general, he steals the show when he's in the picture. Wonderful! Jason Statham plays his cool and tough agent character as usual. But that's all there is to it. It's also nice to see Josh Hartnett in a bigger movie again. His role is that of an actor and he is the one who always tries to be witty, but he is also the "coward" of the film. Then there is Aubrey Plaza as Sarah Fidel. She is the intelligent one of the agent troop and shows the men again and again that she can do more than they give her credit for. Finally, there is Bugzy Malone as JJ Davies. He is also an agent and he is the quiet type and sniper who acts more from ambush. But he also remains very pale. All in all, the characters don't develop much and everyone plays his role here and remains trapped in this corset from beginning to end without breaking out of it, which is kind of a pity because I couldn't build up an emotional connection to any of the characters.

The action scenes are solid, but often they are hardly shown, as if there had been a lack of budget. But the hand-to-hand fights with Jason Statham are fun as always, even if he's a bit too good for me, because he never really gets hit himself. He can have a few more weaknesses.

The CGI effects are good and if I'm not mistaken, many scenes were shot directly on real locations, which I liked.

The cinematography is solid, the cuts are also okay and didn't stand out to me either positively or negatively.

The humor in the film is well measured and mostly manifests itself in dry sarcasm and a few quips, which I liked.

The music didn't strike me as particularly positive or negative.

Overall, "Operation Fortune" is a solid, good-looking action-agent thriller that follows in the footsteps of Mission: Impossible, but can never reach its class. A viewing is worthwhile, however, and you will definitely get your money's worth, if you don't set your expectations too high. However, you shouldn't expect the class and style of "The Gentlemen". "Operation Fortune" will certainly not stay in my memory for a very long time. But since I was well entertained and could easily overlook the weaknesses, I award a solid

7/10 points - Low rewatch value.

The School for Good and Evil (2022)

An unexpectedly good film

[8/10 · 21 October 2022]

After an esteemed user of an esteemed community immediately threw in the towel, I had my doubts about the film. When I saw that the running time was 148 minutes, I was even more skeptical. Would I be able to sit through it? But I got curious and just started the movie, even though I actually wanted to go to bed. Well, what can I say? I easily made it to the end and in the end I didn't even think the movie was that long. Just now, as I was writing these lines here, I read the fresh review from my favorite movie site and was horrified.... by myself. Can it be that I like such a cheesy movie with partly bad effects? Am I abnormal? Even the ratings on IMDB say it's a bad movie. Well, I see it a bit different. But let's start from the beginning.

Yes, "The School for Good and Evil" is tremendously cheesy and full of clichés. Yes, the film is perhaps a touch too unserious. Yes, the film steals mercilessly from well-known films of the genre, especially a lot from Harry Potter. Yes, the supporting characters are superficial and sometimes annoying. Yes, the effects are sometimes bad and cheap. And yet ... I really like the movie. Now I'm sure everyone thinks I'm crazy. First I write how bad everything is and then I say that I like it. But ... why? The answer is short, concise and banal: Emotions and feelings!

Yes, I shouldn't really like the film because of the bad aspects. But who knows me, knows: Emotions and feelings are in films and series for me sometimes the most important. Yes, but where do these emotions come from? Are they hiding between all the kitsch, the stolen and the superficial and the bad effects? The answer is: No. They are not hiding at all. The emotions come straight from the center of the film: the two main actresses and their characters.

Sofia Wylie embodies Agatha, a brash but also deeply human and sympathetic teenage girl. She brings across Agatha's feelings and emotions in such a wonderful way that Agatha immediately grows on me. Cliché or not, I like her a lot and it carries me through half the film.

The same goes for Sophia Anne Caruso, who embodies Sophie. She is a sweet and kind girl who has the courage to stand up for her best friend Agatha and defend her. The friendship between Agatha and Sophie is strong and convincing. Sophie, however, wants to get away from the place where they live. She doesn't feel comfortable there, where everyone else despises her and Agatha and has only scorn and ridicule for them. So she is drawn into the magical world of the school of good and evil. Agatha, however, does not want to lose her and let her go, so she is pulled into this world with her. Agatha ends up in the good school and Sophie in the evil school. The reasons are mystical and fateful. The friendship of both is put to the test and there are forces that manipulate them both without them knowing anything about it.

Agatha and Sophie are the embodiment of beautiful emotions for me. This pulled me in so much that I was rooting for them until the end and even couldn't suppress a tear at the end. Friendship, trust, bonding and commitment to friendship are what it's really all about. The rest of the film is incidental.

The emotional depth of the story is further supported by the beautiful background music, which I really liked.

Aesthetically, I also find the film really successful and beautiful. The scenery is beautiful, I like the setting as well, and the costumes and sets are really great to look at.

All in all, the film was really worth it for me, and I really wouldn't have expected that after FlyingKerbecs' words. Definitely a film I would like to see again. Thus, I give the film a recommendation and award it

8/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

"Love and Thunder" could have been great, but weaknesses prevent that

[7/10 · 9 July 2022]

Yesterday evening I watched "Thor - Love and Thunder" in the cinema. Here is my personal impression of the movie (minimal spoilers to the initial situation of the story).

Briefly to the initial situation of the story (minimal spoilers to the first 15 minutes)

The opening scene shows Christian Bale as Gorr in a dry desert on an alien planet together with his little daughter. Both lack water and Gorr prays to his god to give water to his little daughter, which of course is not heard. More I do not betray at this point.

The plot around Thor begins at the point where Endgame ends: the Guardians of the Galaxy go on an adventure journey into space together with Thor and Korg. Unfortunately, this is only touched on at the beginning for the first ten minutes, until Thor and Korg say goodbye to Guardians to pursue their own goals, namely to follow a distress signal from Lady Sif, who speaks of a "Godslayer." At that moment, a rather adventurous (but also often silly) journey through space begins.

Plot / Storytelling / Pacing

The plot is very exciting and interesting from the starting point. I was hooked from the first second, which was due to the brilliant opening scene that grabbed me emotionally right away. Unfortunately, however, director Taika Waititi gives the plot too little time and scope to fully unfold. The same goes for the characters. There are a tremendous number of exciting and interesting character moments and developments, but unfortunately a lot of things are dealt with too quickly or even off-screen, e.g. The "emergence" of Mighty Thor, which is a shame. The same problem has already "Thor - Ragnarok". Waititi is simply not the right director or he wants too much and then makes it only half but nothing whole.

Another problem, at least for me, is the exuberant humor and the extreme gag density, of which unfortunately only half really ignite for me. Many gags and moments are genuinely funny and made the whole cinema laugh, but again many other gags hardly struck a chord with anyone in the auditorium. Also, too many gags often destroy great and emotional moments of action. Why is that, Mr. Waititi?

Overall, a much lower gag density would have done the film a lot of good, as well as a 30-minute longer running time to give the characters, their developments and especially the plot more time to unfold.

Actors / Characters

Thor is of course great as always and I just like him as a hero a lot. Chris Hemsworth simply IS Thor. This role is tailor-made for him. Unfortunately, Waititi makes him a joke in some scenes. Of course, Thor has always had humor, but this was in Thor 1 & 2 and also in Avengers 1 & 2 never exaggerated or inappropriate, but was used skillfully. Here, on the other hand, he constantly cracks jokes or he lacks for his age (1,500 years) far too often the words or he is "babbling". You just don't know this from him in such an extreme way from the first films. It's as if he sometimes lost his ego, only to find it again in the next moment, only to lose it again afterwards. Why is that? It disrupts the flow of the plot and his development tremendously.

Korg, as always, is rather THE jokester par excellence, which I don't really like. I would have gladly done without the character. Korg adds nothing to the plot and he is not important at all. He's seemingly just there to give Waititi an appearance in the film.

Seeing Jane Foster again is really great. And Natalie Portman's performance is better than ever. She plays convincingly and has really worked out really hard. Suits her and in the role of "Mighty Thor" I like to see her. The name though is just ridiculous. Her name is JANE! And Thor is called Thor! Mjölnir has nothing to do with that at all. Why can't she just be called "Mighty Jane"?

It's also great to finally see Lady Sif again. It's just a pity that it's only a very small appearance again. I would have liked to see Thor and her talk it out, since they haven't seen each other for years.

Zeus is again completely different than I had imagined him. And unfortunately his appearance is much too short.

Gorr, however, is the absolute highlight of the film. Christian Bale plays the role absolutely great and steals the show from everyone else. And what I find particularly good is the rather horror-like way in which his scenes and he himself come across. It gives you goosebumps, or at least it gave me goosebumps. I really like the fact that Gorr is also a very ambivalent and charismatic character.

Here we really have one of the best antagonists of the entire MCU. Unfortunately, we see far too little of him. If you already have such a strength to show, why not show more of him and give him even more space and screentime to develop? Once again, I can only say that Waititi has simply not shown a good hand for the plot and the duration of the film. It can simply be done better.

Overall, all the characters are great again, but unfortunately Waititi doesn't know how to make and get more out of them. He has the right ideas, but implements them far too clumsily and hectically.

CGI Animations / Action Scenes

The action scenes have been varied and well staged. There aren't any action scenes that made my jaw drop, but they're certainly respectable and varied, especially when Thor and Jane fight together.

The quality of the visual effects (CGI) are at the highest level, as they were in Eternals, Guardians of the Galaxy or Captain Marvel. Top-notch. I've noticed that the visual effects from "Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)" are always a lot better than those from other effects studios. Every time CGI quality didn't convince me that much, "ILM" was also missing in the credits. In any case, really great and very successful.

Camera / Coloring / Scenery / Editing

I liked the camera work. You always had a good overview of the action during fights and they were skillfully staged. But also apart from that the shots and scenery are sometimes really beautiful. It was also worked a lot with total shots, which I always find great. I also find the color scheme of the film fantastic, which covers everything from brightly colored to dirty and gloomy to black and white. I also love the contrasts, which are often a real eye-catcher. I'm curious to see how it looks on my OLED TV with Dolby Vision. That will certainly be a mega sight. There's a lot of variety for the eye here.

Music

The soundtrack is okay and sometimes pretty cool. Unfortunately, not every piece can convince me and thus the music leaves a split footprint in my ears.

Conclusion

As with "Ragnarok", "Love and Thunder" has the same weaknesses: The too hectic plot, too little character development and the far too high and often unfunny gag density. The film doesn't take itself seriously enough, especially Thor as a character is a bit too intentional for me here, but not skillfully funny. Thor is no longer the Thor from Thor 1 & 2 and Avengers 1 & 2, who took himself more seriously and who also talked less nonsense. Gorr as the ambivalent antagonist, however, is just perfectly cast with Christian Bale and, when he does show up, easily takes every scene for himself. I would have liked to see more of him. "Love and Thunder" could have easily used 30 to 40 minutes more running time, which could have been used to not let many actions happen "off-screen" and to give the characters and the plot more opportunities to develop and evolve.

Overall, however, I came away from the cinema extremely satisfied despite the weaknesses. I'm already looking forward to the second viewing and would rate the rewatch value as high. However, I can't completely ignore the weaknesses, because they make the film enjoyable again and again. Without the weaknesses, I would have easily given it the highest score. I look forward to the already announced sequel and hope that then again another director may turn it, who does not make such a silly comedy.

8/10 points - High rewatch value.

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

A strong conclusion to the Jurassic Park / World-Series

[9/10 · 11 June 2022]

Last night I went to see "Jurassic World 3 - A New Age" at the cinema. Here's my personal impression of the movie.

Briefly to the starting position of the story (minimal spoilers)

The plot begins three years after the events of Jurassic World 2. Dinos have conquered the black market and have spread around the world in this way. This has turned life around the world upside down and both humans and animals must now live in coexistence with the new "neighbor", whether they like it or not. Of course, this again calls both poachers, hunters and conservationists on the plan, but of course also corporations who want to make their profit from it or who take advantage of the dinos to make medical advances with the help of their DNA. But as always, there is of course more to a large corporation than meets the eye. This then also calls Dr. Ellie Sattler on the scene, who analyzes a new life-threatening plague: gigantic locusts, which were obviously created artificially and are spreading further and further and eating up all the food. She enlists the help of Dr. Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm to uncover a mystery. Meanwhile, Owen Grady, Claire Dearing along with Maisie Lockwood live in a deserted area in a forest cabin to hide and protect Maisie because she is still wanted. Some dangerous people are after her. So much for the beginning and the starting point of the movie. (End of spoilers)

The story is of course both trashy and rather flat, the characters remain quite pale, but that's what the series is known for. So I don't blame the film for that at all. I watch such movies because they are supposed to entertain and not because of their profundity, complexity or heaviness.

Actors / Characters

Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) is as likable as ever. I like his character and I like his manner. Pratt plays his role solidly as always. Pratt may be an actor who mostly plays himself and he's not as changeable now as a Leonardo DiCaprio, but he doesn't have to be. We also loved Arnie or Willis not because of their acting talent, but because of their style and their very own character. It's the same with Tom Cruise or Dwayne Johnson. And so it is with Chris Pratt. Owen Grady may be a flat and one-dimensional character, but such characters are also allowed (even must exist) in such trashy movies. Grady is simply the savior of the need, the helper who is always there when he is needed most.

Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is also as likable as ever. She is the animal/dinosaur protector par excellence and wants to prevent injustice to them at all costs. I buy this one. Otherwise, her character remains pale and superficial as well.

Then there is Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon), the artificially created "clone" of Charlotte Lockwood. She is quite possibly the most complex character in the film and you learn more and more about her and her creation as the plot progresses. This is interesting and exciting and adds to my interest in the plot. The fact that there are then dangerous people after her raises even more questions than it provides answers. Isabelle Sermon plays this role wonderfully believably and I really like this character. If more films are made at some point, I think she should take the lead role.

Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) is still the old and level-headed woman who questions many things and who takes a central role in the plot. Laura Dern still plays her character confidently and believably.

Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) assists Dr. Sattler in her investigation and is still the stubborn maverick. He and Sattler have great chemistry and you can tell they got along well on set as well. Sam Neill also still plays his character very believably and I always enjoy seeing him as an actor.

Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is of course also back in the cast and is once again allowed to utter wonderfully wacky, profound and philosophical phrases. He's still a great character with his wacky manner and charisma. I like him. And his scenes are always great and contrast with the serious situation.

Seeing all three of the old characters together again, and even as leads, is really pure nostalgia and was also sensibly integrated into the plot.

The antagonists are again just pull-off characters, but that's only half bad, because they serve their purpose to advance the plot and give the protagonists a task.

Then there's a new addition: Kayla Watts (DeWanda Wise). She is a pilot and smuggler/mercenary. Her character is quite pale, but also sympathetic. She's a bit like the female Han Solo in Jurassic World.

Also nice to have Omar Sy alias Barry Sembène back, who now works for the CIA.

Dinos / CGI Animations / Action Scenes

Dinos are common in this finale and and appear in a wide variety of species.

The CGI animations are very well done in my eyes and the dinos mostly look very believable and move really great. The integration into the moving image is very well done, so that only rarely the feeling of a "foreign body" arises.

Really great class is the much higher creepiness and thrill factor in this finale of the trilogy. In the second half of the film, the characters come up against dangerous and deadly dinosaurs time and again and have to hide from them, sneak past them, run away or face them. This makes for an enormous amount of thrills and suspense.

The first half of the film, on the other hand, is more dialogue-heavy, serving more to build the plot and show the new world. But to lighten things up, there are one or two fast-paced action scenes here as well. There is also a motorcycle chase with raptors through a city. I especially liked that one because it was so well edited, staged and filmed, and it's also just exciting and entertaining.

I also love how the new world where humans and dinos coexist was depicted and staged. Playing children being harassed by Compsognathus dinosaurs, sauropods interfering with agriculture or other dinos showing up everywhere or even attacking and eating humans at times. I really liked this depiction of the new coexistence.

Camera / Scenery / Editing

As briefly mentioned, I really like the camera work and there are a lot of great shots and takes. There isn't constant shaky cam, but the scenes were captured well and you always keep a good view of what is happening. Creepy moments were also captured great. I also liked the editing. Not too many hard and fast cuts, but often quite long cuts at a stretch.

Music

As always, the music consists of both old and new pieces. However, I was so captivated by the film that I didn't notice the music that much. I would therefore not classify it as particularly positive or negative at the moment after my first viewing.

Conclusion

Jurassic World - A New Age is in my eyes a successful finale, which offers a lot of variety. The big appearance of the old guard from JP1 is a feast for nostalgics, especially since all three of them have a supporting role in the film and are present throughout from beginning to end. But Owen Grady and Claire Dearing also continue to be the likable characters I've known and taken to heart since JW1. Maisie Lockwood is the most exciting character and offers potential for a new lead in future films, if there will be any. The action scenes are classy and variedly staged and it never gets boring. There are a lot of dinosaur species in the film, and there are also a lot of thrills and plenty of scary and thrilling moments that took my breath away. Suspense is guaranteed here, especially in the second half of the film. The CGI effects are great and the dinos look very good.

Overall, I am highly satisfied with the conclusion of the series and was able to leave with a satisfied grin. Even after a night of sleep I am still very convinced of the film and look forward to the second viewing.

9/10 points - High rewatch value.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Top Gun - Maverick is a grandiose and intense action spectacle

[9/10 · 26 May 2022]

Yesterday evening I watched "Top Gun - Maverick" in the cinema. Here is my personal impression of the film (spoiler-free and only minimal spoilers in the third paragraph, but I mentioned that again at the point):

First, a few words about the original 80's film: I'm not a big fan of the film, because it lacks that certain something to be terrific. Especially the inner logic in the story is a problem of the film. But even otherwise it is only solid to good from today's point of view. The soundtrack, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and the others, however, were convincing and I liked the film quite a bit.

"Top Gun - Maverick", however, simply raises everything that made up its predecessor to a whole new level. Action, suspense, staging, sound mixing, camera technique and acting performances are all on a very high level. Only the story is extremely flat and only serves to justify the film and its extremely cool production. For me, however, this is completely okay.

Briefly to the story (minimal spoilers): The enemy (not named/fictional) has a nuclear stockpile in a crater surrounded by anti-aircraft missiles and enemy fighter jets and a jammer. The Navy's best fighter pilots must destroy this nuclear stockpile. Maverick must train the pilots to do this and make the selection of which six of the twelve pilots will end up flying the mission. Goose's son is one of the twelve fighter pilots, which of course presents a personal challenge to Maverick. The enemy is shown only in the abstract throughout the film. There are no flags and there are no real visible people other than the enemy pilots. Therefore, the enemy image here is very abstract and impersonal. But this doesn't disturb the flow of the movie in any way, because the focus is just completely different. (end of spoilers)

Despite the flat story, the film is very exciting and intense, especially in the last third, when it really gets down to business. Emotionally, the film was able to pick me up and let me sympathize with the characters. The film takes the necessary time to introduce the characters and build the relationship between the characters. The film never feels rushed, but also doesn't feel stretched out or too long at all. At 131 minutes, it has just the right running time.

Tom Cruise plays Maverick, the eternal "Captain," better than ever. He convinces with his usual coolness, charm, self-confidence and charisma. He gets emotions across well in the film and shows more of them here than in his other film roles. As always, Cruise is simply THE star par excellence.

Miles Teller plays Goose's son "Rooster" very convincingly as well. The conflict between him and Maverick comes across well and makes for one or two emotional scenes. It is interesting that Miles Teller looks very much like Goose at the time.

Jennifer Conelly plays Penny Benjamin, a woman who seems to have known Maverick for some time, though she did not appear in the original film. There seemed to have been some brief flirtations between the two in the past. Conelly plays Penny very convincingly and is a kind of "anchor" for Maverick when he gets stuck or to give him courage.

Even Val Kilmer plays a short part here, and the scene is really extremely touching. I won't tell you more about it. A great tribute to the old star, who is unfortunately plagued by illness today.

The other actors/actresses are more supporting roles, but each of them plays their part well and believably.

The camera work is just insane. The shots in the cockpits, outside the planes and also the brilliant aerial shots from a distance are just a hammering sight. Frequently, long shots are shown, both on the ground and in the air, and that is always an impressive sight. Especially the shots that are so far away from the fast F-18s that they can be easily tracked by eye are really impressive as well.

The cuts are also good, if sometimes a bit too fast. But that's hard to do any other way in this kind of film, since things are fast and furious here, so it fits quite well.

The flying and action scenes are just unbelievably awesome and raise the bar for future movies that are about flying battles and planes to an extremely high level. The flying and fighting maneuvers are expertly staged and really press the viewer into the seat.

The sound mixing is probably on the highest level, but unfortunately our cinema can't quite keep up. It's time for an upgrade in the cinema in my country.

The soundtrack mixes new with old. A lot of the old film was used and a little polished up. One or two good new pieces are also included, including a good song by Lady Gaga. Overall, the music is still great and supports the feeling and atmosphere very well.

The style of the 80s was well preserved and cleverly combined with today. The film exudes the charm of that time as well as that of today.

Conclusion

Top Gun - Maverick is an action spectacle of a special kind. The flying scenes and combat maneuvers are simply a feast for the eyes and worthy of reference thanks to the terrific camera work, the sound is a feast for the ears (assuming a well-equipped cinema), the music is an ode to the 80s and the story is emotional on a character level. This film should definitely be experienced on the big screen with good sound equipment!

9/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

The Northman (2022)

Extremely authentic and atmospheric and exciting. Maximum intensity guaranteed!

[10/10 · 23 April 2022]

Watched "The Northman" at the cinema last night. What an incredibly powerful film! For me one of the best films I have ever seen. Here times my somewhat more detailed opinion, however, perhaps still incomplete, because I still wrote it tonight:

The Northman is everything I hoped it would be and more.

For me, the film was at no point tough or exhausting, as some claim. The film is pure intensity from start to finish and every scene just sits perfectly. Nothing here feels superfluous or pointless. Many things happen, and virtually all of it is extremely intense and gripping in its presentation, and every scene serves its purpose as well.

In many ways, The Northman also reminds me a lot of "Conan the Barbarian" in a positive sense, but also "Revenge of the Tracker (1987)" in parts.

The background music is also just PERFECT. So ingenious and so appropriate to the time, the mythology and the theme. And the mixing of the music (perfect surround backdrop) is also just terrific. If the music doesn't get an Oscar in 2023, I don't know what will.

The images are incredibly intense and powerful. The camera angles are just on point and the atmosphere is thick to cut. The film is extremely authentic and just everything seems as if it had sprung directly from this time period of the "Vikings" and not created in front of the camera. The cruelty, the brutality, the gloom of the northern land, the rawness and the martiality.... simply perfectly captured. Even the costumes (clothing of the different estates and the armor and weapons) look extremely authentic. Contrary to what some claim, there was not a single Northman walking around in the film wearing a horned helmet. The armament, clothing and armor are even extremely authentic. Here skins, leather clothing, wooden round shields and by a few also chain mail and nasal helmets are worn. Swords are rather rare and only worn by leaders, while the normal soldiers rather fought with hand axes or spears. Again, I see an extremely accurate or believable representation of the time.

Also, the mythology and extreme superstition of the Norsemen and Norsewomen is extremely well interwoven with the story and life here. Everything that you see supernatural, could just as well be the mental imagination of the people, which is only visualized to us viewers. This also reminds me a lot of the game "Hellblade - Senua's Sacrafice", for those who know it.

Acting-wise, the film is also a blast. Everyone plays extremely believable here, especially of course Alexander Skarsgârd as the main protagonist. So mega!

I would already call it a masterpiece. Rarely have I experienced such an extremely intense film. Maybe even the film of the decade for me.

10/10 points - High rewatch value.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

Fantastic Beasts 3 is simply fantastic

[10/10 · 9 April 2022]

"Fantastic Beasts - Dumbledore's Secrets" is already the third part of the Beasts saga. Briefly about me and my opinion of the first two films in the series: I belong to the group of people who already find the first two parts simply fantastic. When I watch these films, I am literally sucked into this world, so that I can completely forget my real surroundings for the duration of the films and am part of the magical "Wizarding World". With each viewing, these films even rise in my favor and by now I give both films full marks.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is no exception. From the very first minute, the film captivated me so much that for 146 minutes I hardly noticed that I was sitting in a movie theater. My imagination then runs away with me so much that I simply became a silent part of this story. Emotional and gripping probably sums it up best. Let's get to the details.

Actors / Characters

Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander plays as grandiose here as he did in the two predecessors. He convinces all along the line with a lot of gestures and facial expressions and despite Newt's shyness and introversion, he is simply an extremely likeable character.

Jude Law also embodies Albus Dumbledore very expressively and charismatically. He is the optimal choice for this role, which becomes really clear in this part because he is much more in focus.

Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald was a bit of a concern beforehand, because although I hold him in extremely high regard as an actor (especially as Hannibal Lecter), he can also play down boring roles unconvincingly every now and then. Here, however, I can give the all-clear. His acting as Grindelwald is simply on the highest level and reminds me strongly of his performance as Hannibal Lecter. Expressive facial expressions and posture, and especially his eyes manage to convey many different emotions, whether contempt, hatred and disgust towards Muggles or feigned sympathy towards his followers. His performance is on the same level, perhaps even slightly better, than Johnny Depp's.

Ezra Miller as Credence also again credibly plays the character torn by many emotions. However, his role is smaller than I assumed.

Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski is still my favorite character. Again, Fogler is absolutely outstanding playing the baker muggle and is always spot on with humor, seriousness and emotion. He just always knows how to put himself in the spotlight and steals the show from everyone, even Mads Mikkelsen. His role is again second only to Newt. Just a great character brought to life by a talented actor.

Alison Sudol as Queenie also gets some important scenes here, but still remains rather in the background. She continues to play her role well and believably and is convincing with her emotions.

Unfortunately, there is not much to say about Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, since her character simply has a very small role here (more of a guest role). I think that's a pity, because I really like her in the first two parts, but in the end this leads to the fact that other roles are allowed to come more into focus, which came too short before, like Newt's brother Theseus.

Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander takes a more important role in this third part than in the predecessor. Here he is one of the most important roles and also more in focus.

Now we have the newcomer Jessica Williams Lally Hicks. She also has a bigger role, but unfortunately remains rather pale and mysterious. Hopefully we will learn more about her in part 4.

Then there is Richard Coyle as Aberforth Dumbeldore, Albus' brother. He also plays convincingly and his character is very interesting and multi-layered, but unfortunately comes a bit too short. I hope that his role will be expanded and deepened in part 4.

Another newcomer is the German actor Oliver Masucci, who plays Anton Vogel, a chairman in the politics of the Wizards' Association. He also plays very convincingly and seems to be a multi-layered character as well. We may get to see more of him as well.

Last but not least, there is Victoria Yeates as Bunty Broadacre. She is Newt's sidekick and only had small roles in the first two films. Here, however, her role has been enlarged and you can tell that she is a complex and intelligent character who carries around some secrets.

Animal Beings

The animal creatures can't be missing in an "Animal Beings" movie, of course, and that's why there are some new animal creatures again in part 3, which this time are even an important part of the main story.

On the one hand there is the Qilin, a mixture of deer and pangolin and probably a kind of Chinese mythical creature. It makes its first appearance right at the beginning, and it's a very emotional one. This creature is very important and significant for the story.

And then there is a kind of giant scorpion and many small crab-like creatures.

Of course, familiar creatures like Pickett (the twig-like creature) and the Niffler (the mole-like platypus) can't be missing. They also get great appearances.

Story (without spoilers)

I won't spoil anything about the story, but I'll say this: It's twisty, exciting and emotional and it captivated me from the beginning. Part of the story is, let's say, a kind of confusion game against Grindelwald. This confusion game has the same effect on the viewer as it does on Grindelwald, which I think is brilliant, because it makes it hard to anticipate what will happen next. Every time I thought I had a clue, it turned out to be completely wrong. Great!

CGI Animations / Action Scenes

The animations can be seen for the most part, but every now and then you can strongly see the CGI as such, and I don't mean the animal creatures or the magic, but the environment in parts. That's a bit of a shame, but absolutely bearable.

The action scenes are very limited in mass, but when you get down to it, it's just great to watch the wizards casting spells and fighting.

Camera / Scenery / Editing

I didn't notice the camera work in a particularly positive or negative way. Even therefore, I see that as a positive, because there is no shaky camera or annoyingly fast cuts. The scenes and backdrops are partly really nice to look at, if only sometimes the CGI is too recognizable as such. Settings are mainly Berlin and the Himalayan mountains, now and then also New York and Hogwarts.

Music

The music of the film is, as in the two predecessors, an audiophile pleasure, which can also create and underline many emotions. Great!

Conclusion

Overall, I came out of the cinema highly satisfied. During the entire credits I still had to think about the film, as well as on the way home and in bed. Even today, I can't get the film out of my head. Thus, the film did its job very well in making me think and reverberate in my mind for a long time. The story is varied, twisty, exciting and emotional, the characters and their actors are great, the music is an emotional treat and everything else about the film has fully convinced me. There is almost nothing to complain about, except that one or two roles remain too pale and some CGI effects don't look that great. However, this does not diminish the cinematic enjoyment in any way, which is why I am happy to give this third part of the series the highest score.

10/10 points - High rewatch value.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Great Sci-Fi-Movie with great Cruise & Blunt!

[10/10 · 3 April 2022]

Watched "Edge of Tomorrow" for the fifth time today. For me, this is one of those special films and one of the best with Tom Cruise.

The story itself has not reinvented the wheel in 2014, because both the "daily greets the groundhog" principle and the theme of alien invasion are no longer new. However, the implementation, presentation and narrative structure are simply great. The pace is fast, it never gets boring and there is always something happening. And despite the repetitions of the day, I never have the feeling that it gets tiring, because completely new scenes are shown again and again from each day and real 1:1 repetitions are rarely shown. The variety is at a very high level.

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are an incredibly great screen couple. Tom Cruise goes through a really well-played evolution here from coward and deserter to war hero. And what I also like very much: The film gets along without a sex scene, which is a real rarity nowadays. It's great that the studio and Doug Liman dared to do that.

Sound-wise, the film (Blu-Ray) is on a very high level. The spatiality is great and the soundscape is powerful and clearly defined. The low tones are also really strong and go very deep.

Visually, the film has also been staged great. Here and there the cuts could be a bit slower and sometimes a more distant camera angle would do the film good, but that is criticism on a high level, because visually the film still makes a lot.

I also really like the soundtrack. The epic sci-fi battle music is just great.

And the ending of the movie is just great!

As for a sequel, I would really fucking love to see it. However, I would also be afraid that the great ending could be ruined and that the sequel might not reach the genius and quality of the first part. So I would also be satisfied if they just left it at the one film. But to see Emily Blunt and Tom Cruis together again would also have a lot of merit. Unfortunately, however, I recently heard that Warner Brothers in all its "wisdom" is now planning a series, and without Blunt and Cruise. If that were to happen, the studio would once again prove how dumb, stupid and dimwitted they are. Just a sap as far as decisions go. Sorry, just had to get that out.

For me anyway, "Edge of Tomorrow" is an outstanding film that I like even more with each viewing. I'm really glad to have experienced the film in the cinema back then. Repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat...

E.T. (1982)

I'm not a fan of E.T.

[7/10 · 2 April 2022]

After more than 15 years I saw "E. T." again. I was since my youth not a big fan of the film ehr. As a small child, I think I have seen more often and also prefer. Something about the film has me later but always disturbed and caused discomfort in me. Now times with today's eyes "new" considered. Well, the film just can't inspire me (anymore).

It already starts with the fact that the children are unsympathetic to me. Furthermore, the film celebrates that food waste is apparently perfectly okay. Elliot goes to the house with the pizza box, hears a noise outside in the garden shed, and goes into the garden WITH the pizza box in his arms. Why doesn't he just set it down on the table where he was standing when he heard the noise? But he then puts it down on the grass in the cold and wet garden. Well, okay, it's just stupid. But it gets really stupid when he then gets startled and accidentally steps on the pizza box. Okay, even that is not the crowning glory. The crowning glory is when the family is out in the backyard, opens the pizza box and sees that a little bit of pizza is slightly crushed and some toppings and cheese are stuck to the lid. Yeah, how gross! Can't eat it anymore, of course, so left outside in the garden. OLD! With scenes like this, I'm not surprised that people have been totally wasteful with food since the 80s and some are extremely sensitive. Iiiihhh, bah, someone stepped on the PizzaSCHACHTEL, the pizza is therefore no longer edible. What does a Mr. Spielberg actually want to tell the viewers of the film with this scene?

Then again this typical behavior of the youth to simply throw down bicycles. I'm not surprised that so many young people and children in this country do this and did it in my childhood/youth. I have always hated that. How can you handle your own bike like that? Again, I guess this movie has also had a little influence on the negative behavior of kids udn teenagers.

Okay, it's just one stupid scene. But unfortunately the film is also strange in other respects. Adults (except the mother) are never really shown in the first 70 minutes of the film, always only the legs or the back, but never the faces. Something like that annoys me!

The story is okay.

The music is the best part of the movie.

I give benevolent

7/10 points - no rewatch value.

Drive Angry (2011)

Great Trash-Movie

[9/10 · 1 April 2022]

Drive Angry is one of those Guilty Pleasures for me, as it is written in the book. Absolute B-Movie-Edeltrash of the very finest kind.

Actually Drive Angry is not a very good movie and absolute trash, but it absolutely hits a nerve with me. I love this movie because for me personally almost everything about the film is right.

Nicolas Cage plays an extremely cool pig in this movie and just does "his thing". Amber Heard plays a hot young woman who is also staged exactly like that, but also extremely tough and strong-willed. Billy Burke also plays the superstitious Satanist absolutely glauibhaft. You HATE this character, and we have Burke to thank for that. The secret star of the film, however, is William Fichtner, who has such incredibly awesome scenes and simply plays his role as the "accountant" with bravura and a lot of humor. Simply mega!

The film is a single action fest and one cool scene chases the next. The film contains a high degree of violence and is not squeamish with the death scenes. The running time of about 100 minutes is neither too long nor too short, but absolutely appropriate.

I also find the humor of the film cool, which just ignites with me 100% always.

Also, the film offers a lot of allusions to other famous action films, such as Terminator.

The story is not worth mentioning and unfortunately contains one or the other logic gap, but hey, forget it, because it is a noble trash film and B-movie. I'm not asking for a perfect script or a groundbreaking story.

For me, anyway, Drive Angry is a true film fest. I've probably seen the movie seven times or so, but I'm not getting tired of it yet.

9/10 points - High rewatch value.

The Adam Project (2022)

A really great and funny Sci-Fi-Adventure

[8/10 · 13 March 2022]

I watched "The Adam Project" today. The film surprised me absolutely positively. I'm always a little skeptical about Netflix movies, but here the skepticism was really misplaced.

A really great sci-fi adventure film. I especially liked the sci-fi elements, i.e. The futuristic spaceships, the weapons, the fights and the gadgets. The computer effects of the sci-fi elements were also great to watch.

I also really really liked the music. Epochal and soulful in equal measure. Really great!

Soundwise also pretty good for Netflix standards. Decent soundscape and rich bass and also a lot of surround sound.

Ryan Reynolds and Walker Scobell really both did a great job here and obviously had a lot of fun filming. I also really liked Mark Ruffallo here.

On the negative side, some of the typical Reynolds fecal humor could be laid out. Sometimes the jokes are a bit inappropriate. But the humor is kept in check. I expected worse. The film can be serious, too, and I liked that.

In addition, the film has one or two logic gaps. And here and there the actions of the characters are illogical, where I think: this could have been done much better in a different way.

Overall, however, despite the small weaknesses a really great and fun sci-fi adventure film for the whole family! In any case, a big recommendation for all who have Netflix anyway. I would have loved to see the movie in theaters as well, because it would have been worth it.

In any case, I will watch the movie more often, because the rewatch value is there.

8/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

The Batman (2022)

The Batman - Dark and exciting

[9/10 · 3 March 2022]

Yesterday I watched "The Batman" in the cinema.

Absolutely without spoilers!

The story is very dark, suspenseful and multi-layered. Narratively, the pace is slow and steady and for every scene and dialogue, the producers and Matt Reeves have taken the necessary time to make everything feel right. Basically, the film is a crime thriller with a small amount of action, which I really like the hell out of the combination and composition. In addition, this Batman contribution is much more down-to-earth than even Nolan's Batman, which already went the more down-to-earth route, but then also went extreme again in the action scenes and thus also often greatly exaggerated (not meant in a negative way). Matt Reeves "The Batman" is simply darker, more serious and more down-to-earth. Also the running time of 175 minutes doesn't seem too long or exhausting at all. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Acting-wise, the film has a top cast with many well-known and popular actors. Performance-wise, all the actors/actresses also play really believable and well, especially Robert Pattinson of course, who was really an excellent choice for Batman / Bruce Wayne.

I like the cinematography and editing extremely well. The camera is always steady, offering great perspectives and lots of wide shots. Even in the action scenes you always keep a good overview. Greig Fraser (who also directed Dune) did a great job here. And the cuts are not too fast and random, which also deserves praise.

The action scenes are rare in the film, but they are really brute, grandiose choreographed and staged and underpinned with perfect sound mixing. The spatiality and dynamics are simply a feast for the ears. The CGI effects are very respectable and offer no reason for criticism.

I also like the set design and the backdrop of Gotham exceptionally well.

I also really liked the soundtrack and especially the theme music sticks in my mind. Michael Giacchino has shown a good hand here.

The costumes are also all great, but I especially like the Batsuit.

I didn't notice any real weaknesses. The most I could criticize is that the theme music repeats itself too often and that the film (like Watchmen) is one of those that I don't watch every year, but definitely every few years.

This Batman movie definitely ranks up there with the best Batman movies for me. A really strong movie and definitely one of the best of 2022!

9/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

The Truman Show (1998)

The Truman Show - A real movie of emotions

[9/10 · 18 February 2022]

Today I watched "The Truman Show" again for the first time in a long time.

"The Truman Show" is probably the most unique movie I know. No other film (that I know of) compares to it.

The film touches me on several levels:

Once on the level of fear that something like this could become reality. Not to have a private sphere anymore, because you are always being watched. The thought of such a thing is somehow really scary and sick at the same time and makes me angry. This also brings us to the next level:

The anger at what is being done to Truman in the reality show. Christof (Ed Harris), the creator of the show, claims in front of all the viewers that Truman is "real," but how can his life be "real" if he is given the path, if he is even given the wife? This is a lie to the audience, to Truman and to himself all at the same time. Then Christoph also claims that Truman could leave at any time if he wanted to. This is also an absolute lie, and every viewer has seen this live. Truman is prevented from leaving by all means, even if Truman could die in the process. By doing so, Christoph would even accept Truman's murder. Fortunately, at the last moment, he had a change of heart, otherwise he would probably have been charged with murder. This brings us to the next level:

The level of satisfaction. It is a nice feeling to know that Christoph will get a fat lawsuit on his neck for what he did: Filming someone 24/7 without being asked and even influencing and determining and putting their life in danger and lying to them. Hopefully that will cost the media company billions in fines. Too bad there was never a second part about this.

In addition, the movie also makes me sad, because it is sad to see that Truman's "parents" who raised him, Truman's "wife" who married him and lived with him and had sex with him, Truman's "best friend" who grew up with him, all developed no real feelings for Truman at all. None, really none of them feel bad about this "lie" of life. That's really sad. Also, it's sad that the authorities in the world just haven't done anything about something like this all these years. It seems like Lauren is the only person on earth who thinks this is unfair, who developed real feelings for Truman, and who warned Truman and told the truth. This brings us to the last feeling the movie creates for me:

Joy that Truman manages to break out of this "mouse cage" (alive). And it's gratifying that he and Lauren finally get together.

Yes, "The Truman Show" is a real movie of emotions, and that's what really makes it so great. At the same time, the film is a memorial and finger pointing to the evolution of reality TV shows and the viewers who, like stupid sheep, watch all this crap as if there is nothing more important than watching the "posed lives" of others (see Big Brother, Dschungelcamp and other trash).

9/10 points - Medium rewatch value.

Eternals (2021)

One of the greatest MCU-Movies in my opinion

[10/10 · 6 November 2021]

Actors / Dialogues / Story / Logic

Background of the story and parts of the movie story (Attention: SPOILER!)

The Eternals were created millions of years ago by the Celestials to help implement the Celestials' "plan" in the universe. Celestials are implanted into the planet's core as a symbiote when new planets are created. The Eternals are then given the task of protecting life on the planets from the Deviants. These were also created by the Celestials, but were a "failure". Life on the planets must thrive, and when life reaches its peak, the Celestial awakens and devours the life or the entire planet. But this new Celestial creates again new suns and galaxies and makes the emergence of new life possible again. An eternal cycle, which lets the universe grow and keeps it alive. So far so "reasonable", if one looks at it from cosmic view. But since the birth of a Celestial extinguishes also the life of a whole planet, it is equally morally questionable from view of the already existing life to exchange existing life against possible life in the future. The Eternals are always on these planets as a group. Only the leaders know about the annihilation, all others are kept in the dark about it. These think the life of the planet simply needs to be protected from the Deviants. Once the Celestial is born, the Eternals return to the highest and first Celestial. There their memories are reset and the cycle begins again on another planet.

The fact that you finally learn more about the universe, the cosmos, and the Celestials and the Eternals here is something I like extremely well. I like this topic "cosmos" just totally and find that more interesting than always only the "little" people on Earth. Even Thor with Asgard and Norse mythology immediately captivated me back then, as did Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel.

The Eternals in this film arrived on Earth 7,000 years ago to awaken just such a Celestial on Earth as well. But the leader of these Eternals, Ajak (Selma Hayek), has moral qualms and loves humans so much that she wants to prevent the birth of the Celestial. She lets Ikaris (Richard Madden) in on her plan and her remorse. But then Deviants reappear in the present after centuries, and they seem to have become more dangerous and intelligent than ever before. And so Ajak is killed by a Deviant and Eternal Sersi (Gemma Chan) is appointed by the supreme Celestial as her successor. When she learns of the plans about the Celestial and the destruction of Earth, it is terrifying to her in the greatest degree, as she loves humans above all else. And so the Eternals on Earth, who separated centuries ago to live among the humans unrecognized, come together again to discuss what to do. Not everyone agrees, and each Eternal also has problems and concerns all their own.

The plot is actually quite logical in itself and I didn't notice any major logic errors. The story takes place in the present, but there are always flashbacks to the time between the arrival on Earth and the present. In this way, the audience gradually learns more and more about the Eternals and their peculiarities, their powers and their problems and worries. I really like that about the film. Not every one of the ten Eternals is given equal screentime. The focus is clearly on Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden), but Sprite (Lia McHugh), Thena (Angeline Jolie), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), and Ajak (Salma Hayek) also get enough attention for the audience to learn enough about all of them and get emotionally involved with them. The characters are the first major strength of the film for me, as they go through an interesting and exciting development. Each of them has their own problems to deal with. Of course, there would have been more if the film had been given an even longer running time. But Chloé Zhao really got the maximum out of the 150 minutes of running time (without credits). Emotionally, however, the film took me away completely.

All the characters are well cast and I find that they all play their roles credibly and wonderfully. The interaction between the actors and the Eternals as a team also works wonderfully. Each Eternal has his own idiosyncrasies, but still they harmonize well as a team, even if there are some differences among them.

I like the dialogues in the film very much, because they rarely seem forced or inappropriate. The film takes itself seriously (more like Captain Amercia: Winter Soldier or Civil War) and at no point degenerates into a silly comedy like Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man, Spider-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy. I read and heard in some reviews that Eternals, like Thor: Ragnarok, often comes across as way too silly and gags were squeezed into the most inappropriate moments and scenes. This is definitely NOT the case. I wonder if we saw the same movie or if some critics were daddling along. Overall, the film is one of the more serious representatives of the MCU. The humor has been interspersed decently and mostly very appropriately. Most of the humor comes from Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) and his butler Karun (Harish Patel), and the humor lightens the seriousness a bit, but never as intrusive as in Thor: Ragnarok, for example, where even sad scenes were ruined by inappropriate and silly gags and jokes.

A few words about the Eternals' superpowers: to me, the powers and the Eternals themselves reminded me most of the mutants of the X-Universe. Each Eternal has a special power or powers of his own. Ikaris, for example, can fire laser beams from his eyes and fly, while Ajak, for example, can heal himself and others quickly.

The Deviants as enemies remain relatively pale, but I like the basic idea that the Deviants have also undergone an evolution and feel betrayed by the Celestials. Unfortunately, not enough is made of this theme, which is why the Deviants never get beyond the usual Marvel enemy image. Unfortunately, some potential was wasted here.

One could also question why, for example, Doctor Strange never appears on the scene and helps the Eternals, since he is also as powerful as they are and protects the Earth from cosmic forces. The fact that he doesn't notice anything that happens in the present is very questionable. The same goes for Captain Marvel. It's logical that Thor can't show up, because he flew off with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Setting / Costumes

The settings change between Orient, jungle, European forest, coasts, space, lowlands and cities and are very varied. Also time wise there are scenes between 5.000 BC and today.

The costumes are not bad either. Each Eternal has its own style and I really like that.

CGI animations / action scenes

The action scenes are relatively rare, but then they really have it going on. The CGI quality is on a high level and the overview in the action scenes is always given. There is no shaky camera and no extremely fast cuts. As a viewer, you always keep a good overview of the action. The final battle is fortunately also exuberantly long and sprawling CGI battle with an overkill of action fireworks, but it is short and crisp. That's the way I like it, because there's nothing more tiring for me than drawn-out action sequences with endless and fast cuts. This is where Eternals absolutely stands out in a positive way.

Camera / Scenery / Editing

I really liked the camera work. Often the viewer gets to see grandiose wide shots, which also always gives you a good overview of many scenes. There are also many landscape shots from the air and great panoramic images to see. The editing of the film did not strike me negatively, here everything fit well. Long scenes and quiet shots are normal here and I really like that.

Music

The music is rather subtle and the sounds have actually always pleased me quite well, even if here now also only little has stuck. Epochal pieces of music that stick with me as in "The Lord of the Rings", "Pirates of the Caribbean" or "Interstellar", you look here in vain. But I really liked that the music of the first trailer ("The End of the World") also appeared in the film, even if unfortunately only once. That immediately gave me goose bumps. Great surprise!

Conclusion

Eternals is in my eyes one of the best movies of the entire MCU so far. It offers an exciting story and finally puts the focus on the Celestials and the Eternals and explains a lot about the cosmic forces of the universe. The focus is clearly on the ten Eternals, their character development over 7,000 years and the dialogues. Almost every character gets enough screentime and room to develop. Eternals is also one of the more serious representatives of the MCU and the humor is discreetly and appropriately interspersed and silly jokes or sayings never come at an inappropriate time (casting evil glances at Thor: Ragnarok). The action scenes are short but crisply staged and the cuts and also the camera shots are really great and provide a good overview of the action. The central theme of the film is a lot of moral issues about "right" and "wrong" and that it is just not always so easy to draw a clear line between the boundaries.

The running time of 157 minutes is not too long either, provided you can get used to the calmer style of the film and the focus on dialogues and character development and don't expect non-stop action. For me, at least, there were no tough stretches and boredom never set in. Eternals totally picked me up emotionally and took me on a great journey for 157 minutes. Even today, a day later, I'm still thinking a lot about the film, and in a positive way. I definitely want to see the movie a second time in the theater!

Despite the minor weaknesses, however, I am so incredibly satisfied with the film that I award it the highest score. It's rare that films sweep me away with such extreme intensity.

10/10 points - High rewatch value.