jespervanvoorst-83879 Reviews

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024– )

Mwah

[4/10 · 11 April 2024]

First of lets start by saying that you could better watch the animated series if you want to experience avatar as it should be experiences. This feels like a weird nockoff from wish or whatever.

As many people have already said before me the acting is not great, i cannot call it bad and it gets progressively better, episode two was horrible and Aang and Sokka are the main culprits here. In the later episodes it feels like it gets a bit better. I think the reason for the bad acting is a combination of the lines being too unnatural and exposition heavy and young actors acting almost completely in a studio infront of a greenscreen. It apparently creates for a very unnatural feel to the acting and line deliveries.

It's not all negative, for a live action series I think the CGI that was used was good especially Momo and Appa looked very good. Same goes for the bending and the fight choreography that went hand in hand with this.

I have also read some complaint about the costumes, that they looked too clean and felt like cheap cosplay, this I do not really agree with. It does feel too clean some times but I don't think the cheap cosplay look is justified, it just looks weird because it's accurate with the animated series, this is especially evident with Bumi.

I think that the music was done very well and they were able to convey the feeling the animated series really well.

So let's look at the story, this is where I have mixed feelings. While watching it I tried to separate this series from the animated one but it was too hard for me. From changes to the character of Aang, to change of other characters and the plot. The series felt too serious and Aang not as Aang. I get that some changes needed to be made but it felt forced and not thought through enough Character casting was also mixed with Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Suki great but Azula and her gang terrible.

Madame Web (2024)

Very bad

[3/10 · 17 February 2024]

This movie was terrible, it felt like two different totally not coherent B movies combined together, neither being a superhero movie.

Let's first say that the fact that Dakota Johnson was not really promoting this movie was already a red flag. The trailer made it look like a super hero movie, but while watching it I only saw someone running. No one really had any power the the one of madam webb were unreliable. In the end it felt more like a set up for a sequel,

I still think that some lines in the movie were just extremely lame, "when you take responsibility great power will come", did they wanna say the uncle Ben quote but were they not allowed to do it because of licensing or was this just a joke???? Same as with the baby name reveal, i know they were not allowed to say his name was peter but pls these 20 minutes are completely wasted and could have been added to another part where the movie was lacking.

The stupid Peru plot lead to literally nothing as well, she just left in the middle of the climax of the movie to just go to Peru talk to some guy and the just leave again without really doing anything.

Idk what to say about this movie idek if it was enjoyably bad. I did laugh a few times but idk if these scenes were meant to be funny. Didn't hear someone else laugh in the theater at all tho.

Maestro (2023)

Bad movie

[3/10 · 2 January 2024]

Boring movie that is literally Cooper in face prosthetics talking to his wive the whole time. It also kinda looks cheap in black and white to me, and sometimes Cooper kinda overacts. If he wins an Oscar for this preformance I would kinda get it, it feels like he does embody the character, but nothing interesting in the movie happens and it's only talking. I watched for about an hour but nothing in the movie gripped me at all besides some moments of excellent preformance by Cooper but these are also followed up by insincere overacting so it kinda always feels mawh. The shots in the movie do look really good but there is no story at as a Biopic Oppenheimer is a lot better than this one. Also I have no idea who this Bernstein is and this movie did not give me an introduction to who is guy actually is. It flashed out his wive almost better than him.

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

Not really fun and boring at times

[4/10 · 1 January 2024]

I did not really feel this movie at all. I liked the animation but I think for such a character driven story the characters and the back plot were not that interesting and engaging. The guy looking for his dad did feel realistic but on the other hand it was really slow and the pay off was lackluster. The only plot line that kinda played off in a nice way was the clubhouse story line but this one also was mwah. In the beginning of the movie the animation felt kinda robotic and stiff especially when they were sitting at the diner table. Later in the movie this happened a few more times as well but not as severe and also not as frequent. I think this is one of the worst movie Ghibli has produced. Throughout the entire movie I had issues with not looking at my phone.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Good fun movie

[6/10 · 1 January 2024]

All in all a lot better than I expected at first. I did not expect to like this movie at all with all the bad video game movies we have had, but lately is is starting to change. Like with sonic this movies stays close to what the video games is about and does not try to stray further away from it than necessary. The fact that this movie is actually an origin story to Mario(and donkey Kong too) was unexpected but narratively it made a lot of sense. With the addition of all the little Easter eggs and really good western style animation a had a good time watching this movie. The plot on the other hand was very basic but that is not really the reason anyone would watch a movie like this( maybe some movie critics that don't really get it). The movie stayed consistent with its characters and Mario had a nice little arc for himself aswell. Anya Taylor Joy, who is one of the best actresses of this, is not the best voice actress and I think she was really bad as peach, while the others were good.

Suzume (2022)

Good movie only a not much happens at some points

[6/10 · 1 January 2024]

Not a real fan of these types of movies but makoto shinkai always makes them worthwhile, from the superb animation, that will definitely make it an Oscar and gg contender, to a story with a real and contemporary backstory of anxiety for natural disasters in Japan. It creates a movie just shy of really good, but does put Shinkai at a position of one of the best directors of Japan. The addition of music in the movie is also really well done and the locations made me feel nostalgic to my travel to Japan. Sadly these movies their subtitles in English are never really good, and always miss the nuances that are added with the spoken word. My Japanese is not good enough to understand movies like this without subtitles but it is good enough to know that sometimes it's not too good. At certain parts the movie did feel like it dragged a bit to me. It could have definitly been 25 minutes shorter and been a lot more compact and easier to watch without picking up my phone which i did more and I'd like to admit.

Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Funny comedy

[7/10 · 30 December 2023]

I do not often watch Chinese movies and because of this i especially would not have expected to have understand the Jokes that were made in this movie but appearently some jokes land even when you do not understand the language and have to work of subtitels. From a very weird plot of a guy who wants to win a soccer competition from a rival in his youth to a hard felt love story between two people this comedy has both. The humor almost always lands and is very slapsticky. Acting is great and from a Chinese movie in the 2000's the CGI is also really good. All characters that are important get flashed out. All in all a movie i would recommend people to watch for a fun time. Sometimes the jokes feel a bit forced and the acting a little stiff on the other hand i do not speak chinese so i dont really know this.

Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

Mwah

[5/10 · 29 December 2023]

I don't often go out of my way to write an review about a movie but I needed to give my opinion about this one. This movie was not as bad as people made it out believe but it was still not good. Snyder is one of my favorite movie directors and because of this I wanted to give this movie the benefit of the doubt. And he sure as hell ruined it. From the weird references and blatant rip-off plot lines from, gladiator, Star Wars and Dune, to a weird and out of nowhere coming love plot line between the main character and a side character this movie is all over the place. Especially the in the later part the random mention that one person is in love with the main character came out of nowhere and felt extremely forced to me. Also why do all the bad guys look like a nazified version of Cillian Murphy? Weird that no one has yet mentioned that there is barely any representation of black people in the movie, not that I care but even I found it to be noteworthy for a movie in this day and age. Apart from all the bad things mentioned the movie did do it's cinematography really well and you can see where it took part form Kurosawa and applied it really well. Snyder is still a really good director but his last few movies were not his best and this one keeps up the downward momentum.

Record of Ragnarok (2021– )

Gets better

[5/10 · 31 January 2023]

Gotta credit where credit is due, the first season was a horrible slide show PowerPoint and ruined the Adam vs Zeus fight to some extreme measures for me. This great manga should not have had such appalling animation. But it appears to have changed in the second season as the animation is a lot better and does more justice to the story. I am happy that this has happened as I did plan on continuing to watch the second season, and just to give it a chance with the first two episodes. Most anime drop in quality after there first season but this one does not.

Hard to watch first season 4 Amazing second season 7 Read the manga instead.

One Piece: A Faint Memory! Luffy and Red-Haired's Daughter Uta! (2022) Season 1, Episode 1,029

Enjoyable

[9/10 · 16 August 2022]

Enjoyable cannon filler like this is what one piece needs more. The animation was also good so I don't understand why it's rated a 7. I liked it a lot and am looking forward to the next episode.

Money Heist (2017–2021)

Part 1 was good part 2 bad

[6/10 · 26 July 2022]

Started good but ended repetitive and boring. Was not the same series as in season 1 and 2. It also started leaning more in to shock value. And some villains/plot lines overstayed their welcome way too long. Series ruined by greed.

Part 1 8+ part 2 4.

Resident Evil: Someone's Little Girl (2022) Season 1, Episode 6

Weird series

[2/10 · 22 July 2022]

How can Billie her actrice be Asian in the future while she is clearly Latin American white in the past. Took my emmersion out immediatly. I should have stopped after two episodes.

Westworld: The Auguries (2022) Season 4, Episode 1

Great start hope they keep it up

[7/10 · 27 June 2022]

Seasons start of great. The new plot points are introduced in a nice way. Hope they can keep this quality up for the entire season. I do not expect this series to ever top season 1 but the seeds planted this episode could bring it close to season 1 of not better than season 2.

One Piece: Special Episode: Barto's Secret Room (2021) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

Don't waste your time

[1/10 · 29 December 2021]

Don't waste your time it's a stupid recap episode. Horrible that they still do this. No one likes it and I get that the anime is closing in on the manga but at least try to do something new this is trash.

The Promised Neverland (2019–2021)

Horrible ending

[4/10 · 27 March 2021]

This serie started amazing the first season is definitely one of the best seasons in anime. But, damn did it drop the ball in the second season. It was as if the studio did not want to continue doing this season anymore after the manga had ended. The manga although not perfect is by far the best version of this serie just read that. The last episode of season 2 had literally no animation it was just a slide show. It clean as day that the studio did not want to put effort in it. Also there is no writer credit in the last two episodes because they knew they did a horrible job.

Cobra Kai (2018–2025)

blown away

[8/10 · 6 March 2021]

I am just going to say that when my dad told me about this series i laughed at him. A karate kid series with the same actors in the future is this a joke? And boy was i wrong this is an amazing series. From the plot to the comedy everything feels so authentic to the original story. There are some amazing callbacks to the karate kid movies as well. But the best part is the actor of johnny and his character development. This show feels like a netflix original series and a disney channel series at the same time and it makes for an amazing ride.

The Queen's Gambit (2020)

amazing

[8/10 · 6 March 2021]

Such a well written story with attention to detail. All the chess sets are real moves that are done by professionals. Even though the serie is about a chess game there is a real tension. At first i did not know what to think about the premise but after two episodes i was hooked and have been happy that i started it.

The Boys (2019– )

Great series

[9/10 · 6 March 2021]

Started watching this series at the start last year. The first season had me hooked the entire idea of the super heroes being the bad guys was an amazing idea and the execution was just as good. Altough season2 takes some time to start it never slows down when it does and is an amazing ride too

High-Rise Invasion (2021)

enjoyable

[6/10 · 6 March 2021]

It is a good series when you turn your brain of and want an easy watch. Dont expect a series with an insane plot or amazing characters. The series itself on the other hand is internally consistent and the animation is great. Its only lacking a bit in the plot and character department

WandaVision (2021)

Great

[7/10 · 5 March 2021]

Great show with a lot of twists and turns and a plot that is kept really coherent in a very confusing reality. The ending although great was not as out of the box as I would have wanted, kinda marvel like. On the other hand the sitcomesque aesthetic was really nice and I personally liked how they did this and later explained it through a flashback. A lot of questions get answered. Although some remain open and that is probably my biggest comment about the ending. What happened to white Vision, what happened to wandas brother, is this the last of jimmy woo(hope not) ? I know this will probably get tied up in a next marvel installment but still I would have liked to know if the "Evan Peters fox X-men version of quicksilver" is now consider canon in the Disney marvel continuity. Some of these questions left unanswered are so big that I think they are left open on purpose, who knows. Another thing with the finale while they were in the house, when the walls collapsed, I think I could hear someone breathing in the mic or a very annoying sound that seemed like breathing. Really broke the scene for me.

In the beginning I did not really know what to think about the series but around episode 4 it picks up and never slows down. All in all something I would recommend watching and especially good for the first marvel series.

Over the Garden Wall (2014)

Worth a watch

[9/10 · 23 February 2021]

Amazing serie/mini serie/movie. I watched this back to back on advise of a classmate who knows I enjoy animation a lot. And I must say that this was a pleasant surprise. The series starts of with an episode that I personally liked but at the start didn't really give a sense of direction in the story. More episodes have this and although not a problem, smaller series to me are usually more plot focussed. But after seeing the entire "serie" all episode make "sense". That's what makes this serie so appealing. All the pieces to the puzzle come together at the end and make for a wonderful and satisfying ending, no question is left unanswered. Even the seemingly tiny subplot end satisfyingly (Frogs name). The animation and voice acting are also great. And the certain episodes with musical songs in it were fun. Aside from the story, the dark medival setting was done also amazingly. For such a short serie even the character development for the main cast(even partly for the comedic characters) was executed great. All in all this serie is worth a watch.

Lupin (2021– )

Bad plot

[4/10 · 22 February 2021]

After episode 5 i think the series has way to many plotholes to take serious anymore. The acting and production value on the other hand are great. The biggest issue i have is that although i understand that Assane is a master thief and escape artist some of the things that happen in the show are just asspulls. Some plot convenience is not an issue but too many things that Assane pulls of are too convenient. The 7 is mainly for the characters, visual quality and acting. The plot is really bad, i feel the 7 is even generous. Edit: changed to a six. Episode average was 6.6 but the second episode had such a nonsensical plot that i think this series is rounded a 6 and not a 7 although my average was a 6.6.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

meh

[5/10 · 1 February 2021]

Not an awfull movie but could have been so much better

The Midnight Gospel (2020)

Its actually an animated podcast

[7/10 · 1 February 2021]

After reading that this series was based on Duncan Trussels podcast i rewatched the entire serie again and everything started to make more sense. At first i thought it was kind of random and didnt make any sense. After that i understood the appeal of the series as an animated podcast. Very original and the animation is beautiful, as expected from the animator of adventure time.

Blood of Zeus (2020– )

worth watching but not great

[6/10 · 1 February 2021]

Although the character designs were great the animation was really bad, it felt like my tvs framerate sometimes dropped to 15fps. Every anime with animation like this series, would be dragged through the mud. The story was good and the fight scenes were also really good but at some points the voice acting was lacking. I also thought that they could give side characters some more screentime, as next to the zeus, hera, his brother there was not one other character that got a lot of screentime. They really dropped the ball on the warrior lady if you ask me.