vh8686 Reviews

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live: The Last Time (2024) Season 1, Episode 6

Considering how bad the TWD was toward the end...

[7/10 · 1 April 2024]

Really, this was probably the best Episode when you think about it. Since TWD always drew things out until it was unbearable to watch, where no one really gave a damn about the leftover characters, and just kept friggin' going to the point where we were all screaming "JUST FREAKIN' END IT ALREADY!!!" -- they pretty much did us a solid with this finale and went for short and sweet.

Nothing fancy, nothing lofty and high faluting... just stab the guy, blow up the place, get on a helicopter see the kids and call it a day. Anything more and they probably would have been ruined it completely so Kudos AMC and whoever else was behind it all. Now if they could just wrap up all the other spinoffs with Negan and Daryl then we could finally turn the page on this franchise for good and gear up for the next geeky post-apocalyptic obsession, whatever that may be.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

The movie Spielberg should've made 15 years ago...

[7/10 · 17 July 2023]

I'm giving this a 7/10, but just to be clear, I'm rounding up.

Starting with the good, this one fixes some of the problems that its immediate predecessor had. It has a more grounded premise and a way less absurd McGuffin, it's got a much better villain, Nazis are the bad guys again, and no refrigerators get nuked.

For a short while in the beginning I almost felt like I could be watching a true classic Indiana Jones adventure... a very short while. Almost as quickly as the feeling comes it gets shooed away by over-the-top action sequences, one-too-many chase scenes, a lack of classic Indy dungeon crawling, some convoluted plotting and extraneous characters; pretty much all the other things that ruined the last Indiana Jones movie (and most action movies nowadays).

I think the worst thing about this is how the musical notes don't quite resonate. I hear the Indy themes playing but they're not really connecting in the moments.

All that being said, I still rather liked this one. There were makings of a good Indiana Jones movie here and I wonder how this might've turned out if they went with this premise back in 2008 instead of the weird alien stuff that George Lucas pushed on everyone.

With a tighter script; by streamlining some of the plot points and characters, I think this could have been really good.

I think James Mangold does a good job making the action Spielbergian, and that shouldn't be understated. You could believe it was him sitting in the director's chair.

I'm not going to touch too much on Mads Mikkelson and Phoebe Waller. While I like their characters in the movie, one is given too much to do and the other not enough. I'll leave it at that, but otherwise they make good supporting characters. Boyd Holbrooke was really downgraded as an actor. He's just a henchman... and not a very interesting one.

Had it not been for Crystal Skull lowering my expectations, this one would have been a real disappointment, but it's a step up if you ask me. I almost want them to make another one just because it would round out these latter films as it's own thing separate from the older ones... and in that respect they might be appreciated better.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Best GotG yet!!!

[8/10 · 9 May 2023]

I had low expectations for this movie given the caliber of Marvel films lately and some of the critic reviews hinted at it being similarly problematic.

However, I found this one to be the most emotionally engaging of the three. My opinion may change with subsequent viewings but these are my initial thoughts.

1) Great villain - not as iconic as Thanos or Loki but the actor's performance was engaging at times as were his motives. Given how cruel he is to animals surely makes him even more worthy of hating, but in a good way. The way in which you are supposed to not like the bad guy.

2) The characters are at their most familial - one of the critics complained that the characters too often are just yelling at each other, but this felt like real family dynamics where the characters are really expressing their frustrations with each other as you would see in any household. Thus when they have moments of vulnerability, it really sinks in.

3) Rocket's backstory serves as a much needed anchoring point for the story, something that the other films lacked a little bit as they were almost derivative of Dirty Dozen and Star Wars.

4) Though there are some highlights, the soundtrack isn't as good on this one... but not deal breaker.

5) I'm not sure if the ending stuck... the closing is fine, it's just that since none of the characters end up dying, despite expectations, I'm left wondering why exactly the characters are splitting up aside from the actors's contracts being up and James Gunn transferring to DC. The story doesn't really support them leaving one another giving how hard they all just fought to keep each other alive, but this is all typical Marvel fare setting the scenarios for future Marvel movies. Fortunately it happens at the very end when the movie can't be ruined anymore.

Hopefully this is a sign that phase 5 will be much bette than phase 4.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Starring Christian Bale would have made this phenomenal

[7/10 · 14 March 2023]

Don't get me wrong, Orlando Bloom still does pretty well given the weight of the character, but he is often quite muted in a role that demands a stronger screen presence. The world hadn't seen Christian Bale in Batman Begins yet and Bloom was fresh off the heels of Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean so its difficult to know who else the studios would have allowed to fill the role at the time.

I am of course referring only to the Director's Cut, as I remember being very underwhelmed by the original theatrical release. There are snippets of things making it into the CUT the probably still should have stayed on the cutting room floor, but the overall effect is that the film is much more nuanced and better paced. Its not hard to see this rivalling Gladiator with a few adjustments but I'll take it as is.

Edward Norton and Eva Green are perfect in their roles. Just as good are Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, and Liam Neeson.

The only other thing that could have made the film better would be if it were a little less obvious about its criticism of Christianity during the middle-ages. It just seems too easy to portray Christians as hypocrites and even though I'm all for a little religion bashing, I just prefer it to be disguised a little better.

Anyway, solid film 7.6/10.

The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023) Season 1, Episode 3

I'm gonna give this only a 7 for now

[7/10 · 31 January 2023]

I admit I still get a little squeamish seeing two grown men kiss on screen, and it was certainly surprising to see Nick Offerman be on the giving and receiving end of it. I had such a man's man perception of him. I gotta say though I'm glad they were a little more overt with it because I totally missed that Bill was gay when I played the game. I'm a working man with three kids so I can't just absorb all the nuances of the story when playing video games. I'm just plowing through it to get to the end before somebody flushes a cell phone down the toilet or some other child rearing disaster.

Anyway, I'm withholding judgment on this episode. It's well filmed and written. The acting is great. I just want to wait to see how it fits into the context of the rest of the series. Going back and reviewing some of the game on YouTube, I see now that Bill's character represented Joel's feelings on not wanting to warm up to Ellie. But Bill in the show is almost the opposite and represents a model of what Joel can have if he lets her in. So, I just want to see where this goes. If Joel continues to struggle with it despite Bill's advice that would be good. It's too easy for a Joel to be like, "ok Ellie, you're my special someone" just because Bill said so. I need to see how it plays out. The more it serves as a contrast and highlights Joel's emotional struggle, the better this episode will be. That's my take anyway.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Better than the first Avatar ( I think)

[7/10 · 21 January 2023]

Whether because it's novelty wore off after the second viewing, or because the general storyline had been done so many times, the first Avatar never really hit it home for me. With barely a passable script and some hammy acting, Avatar relied heavily on its groundbreaking visuals. Yet over a decade later, only being able to see it streaming on the small screen, it really seems to have lost all of its luster. It leaves me wondering what made this such a big deal in the first place that it broke box office records again and again?

Enter Avatar 2. After waiting a few weeks for the crowds to die down, I finally got to see it. Now suddenly I'm reminded (at least I think I'm reminded) of what made the first one so impressive. Was I being to harsh on that landmark spectacle? Did I just need to see it again in IMAX 3D? While I won't be clamoring to see the original in the same format just to answer these questions, I will say that the sequel does take away that feeling of 'meh' for the franchise.

Even in the same format I don't think the first Avatar looked as crisp and detailed. And somehow the rendering of the alien faces is much more developed as I found the character's expressions much more sympathetic than they were the first time around. Certainly Sam Worthington doesn't inspire as many groans as his acting did before. Dare I say I actually like his character now.

At three hours long, it can certainly be said that the plot is a little overwrought, especially towards the end. And there's little to suggest that the other planned sequels will be able to take off in any meaningful way... yet despite that lack of depth, there is still an emotional core to this movie rooted in the family dynamics of its characters. At times it can tug on the heartstrings forcing you to shed a tear.

All the conceptuality in this film was given to the art design and I must say I was quite surprised by how much I found interesting. Just some of the sets, creatures and technical concepts I found to be very creative. Even with the sound off, Avatar 2 could command your attention. It remains to be seen, if this will still be interesting a year from now streaming on Disney+.

Whereas the first film was the pioneer, the second one treads that same path much easier and so has the benefit of looking better and feeling better. Yet as sequels go, this could easily have been the last Avatar movie and no one would be upset. There are no loose ends, there is no suspense about what will happen next in the story. Without some greater purpose, (we will have to wait for 3 and 4 brings to the table) Avatar 2 is certainly no Empire Strikes Back, but then again Avatar 1 was hardly A New Hope either.

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

One of the most visually pleasing Marvel films

[7/10 · 18 September 2022]

I'm firmly of the belief that expectations are making this movie seem worse than it actually is. Ragnorak was surprisingly fresh and grew on you with repeat viewings. Love and Thunder I think will do the same. Watching it a second time was a more pleasing because I could pay attention to the shots and the editing, not having to focus on where the story was going. The nuts and bolts of the film are on solid ground. It is well put together.

The plotting is not as tight as Ragnorok, that's for sure and some of the joints are held together merely with cheesy jokes that aren't always funny, but it still has its moments.

To surmise, even if it doesn't quite meet expectations on the storytelling front. Visually it is one of the best to come from Marvel. Turn off the sound and give it another look.

Prey (I) (2022)

Could have been much better...

[6/10 · 8 August 2022]

The premise is intriguing for a Predator sequel, and it's shot decently, but the CGI is terrible, the Predator itself looks awful without the mask... and the action is very unrealistic. These flaws could have been avoided if it was done conventionally with practical effects.

Still, it's entertaining to watch, but don't hope for anything approaching the original.

P. S. I don't know why some other reviewers are complaining about wokeness. There's nothing "woke" here. This film is so one-dimensional that you'd have to be a real paranoid delusional would find political agenda in this film.

Lightyear (2022)

No worse than Cars

[6/10 · 20 June 2022]

I gave this a 6/10 which means to the average person this should be more like a 7/10 at least. I've always felt the Disney/Pixar films were overrated (except for the first Incredibles. If you can't see why that that one is their best then you just don't understand movies).

Probably the reason for the much poorer reviews on Lightyear has to do with audience members not properly managing expectations and some backlash against Disney in general.

Really, this movie is fine, not great but not terrible either. It doesn't overwhelm the intellect and it doesn't have the emotional depth as some other Disney/Pixar films... but honestly who needs it to? Most of the analytics in Disney films are born out of pseudo intellectualism anyway. Case in point, Inside Out is the furthest thing from how emotions and cognition really work. And It's about time they stopped trying to rip out my heart out ever year. Its to the point that I see these tear jerker moments coming a mile away, so much so that I start laughing hysterically in the theaters while the whole audience is trying to dry their eyes. Didn't you know it was a Disney/Pixar film? You knew they were going to hook you in with an amusing premise and then sucker punch you with a little bit of "life sucks don't it?". In that since Lightyear is kind of refreshing. Forgot your tissues at home? Don't worry about it. But if you were hoping to come and open a valve on that suppressed childhood trauma and or piggyback off some of that struggling adulthood angst, well then shame on you for calling yourself an adult and still having expectations.

Now, as for the hate that people seem to be having for Disney these days... save it. The whole best friend had a lesbian relationship and started a family was barely even a thing. It was really arbitrary and if it ruins the movie for you, I don't know what to say other than buckle up, because the next fifty or so years are going to be rough for you.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

It's not the worst Star Wars I've seen.

[6/10 · 29 May 2022]

Perhaps it is because I had low expectations, or it's because I've only seen two episodes and could see things getting potentially better... but I wouldn't agree that this is as bad as some of the other reviews I've read. I agree that the villain and Leia are annoying and that the chase sequences are lacking, but there are some ideas introduced that I find intriguing. That is enough for me to say at least that this is better than The Book of Boba Fett which I begrudgingly forced myself to get through until it became an extension of the Mandalorian. By the end of episode II we're are teased some interesting story directions.

They could still ruin it by then, and they probably will, but I'm not ready to judge it as a completely hopeless endeavor. BoBF had no purpose and story as far as I'm concerned, where as Obi Wan Kenobi at least has some conflict and drama to work with. That being said, if I never saw the remaining episodes, I wouldn't have any lingering regret.

The Batman (2022)

Better than the Dark Knight

[8/10 · 6 March 2022]

You might think I'm exaggerating or that I've got a screw loose upstairs, but you'd be wrong. It's time that we talked about how The Dark Knight was overhyped and bloated and that if not for Heath Ledger's performance and untimely death, The Dark Knight would have been heralded less of a masterpiece and seen for what it really is.

Unfortunately there are parts of this new Batman that are reminiscent of The Dark Knight's plot but that is because both were inspired by the plot of The Long Halloween and now I'm inclined to like The Dark Knight even less because it is taking away somewhat from this one.

The thing about The Dark Knight was that it always carried a slight bit of cognitive dissonance for me. The Joker's plotting was always too contrived and convenient, requiring more strain to suspend disbelief that all of these elements could come together as the Joker intended. Instead it just seems like the Jokers plot relied on blind luck that a car would turn down this alley or that, or that a criminal would get locked up in this cell and not that one, when there were always plenty of options. Instead it feels more like the work of the writer pushing characters along into the scheme not because it is inherent in their characters, but because that's what the writer needs them to do so that he can check off some boxes.

(And can I just say for the record, you cannot jam a pencil into a table to get it to stand straight up in order to slam a man's head down on it.)

Conversely, in The Batman, the Riddler's plot is much more plausible. Leaving clues following to the next and the next so that Batman admits they have no choice but to go along with it. Soon it becomes personal and in Batman's search for the truth regarding his past, the Riddler very plausibly can predict and prepare for the events that come next.

Then there's the whole arc of the character. In The Dark Knight there is no arc. Batman doesn't change nor does he have an epiphany. That all occurred in Batman Begins. Instead for the first hour and a half Christian Bale is just mostly mum, at times yelling not because his character is feeling something, but because Christopher Nolan told him to and it's not until the end that the writer tries to retcon the whole thing into the "hero Gotham deserves" crap, yet because it barely relates to the unwieldy plot its just feels too lofty.

Whereas in The Batman, the character clearly is changed by the events. He is motivated by vengeance only to find his loved ones were just as corrupted as the people he seeks to bring to Justice. His shortcomings are revealed in the end when the Riddler henchmen says he too is vengeance, causing Batman to realign his purpose. It's much more supported by the plotting of events than in the Dark Knight.

And then there are telltale signs of bad writing in the Dark Knight. The dialogue is too on the nose at times expressing what the theme is supposed to be yet not actually demonstrating it with the characters actions. There are times where an idiosyncratic line is used by more than one character (not heard by the other) to suggest a lack of development between the two i.e. "playing it close to the chest" is uttered by Bruce Wayne to Lucius and by Harvey Dent to Rachel but really this is Christopher Nolan talking though the characters. The Batman does not suffer from this problem.

And finally, we can talk about the tone and the visual elements. The Batman is clearly the winner on both with a much more darker and unsettling edge than it's predecessor. It's beautifully shot and much more visceral in its use of color and shadows. The music is more in tune with the characters and the plot bringing us more into the sordid world of Gotham and making us feel the heaviness and hopelessness of its destruction.

I don't feel anything when I watch The Dark Knight, other than annoyed at a missed opportunity.

Eternals (2021)

Eternals was fine, it's the audience who is lacking.

[6/10 · 30 January 2022]

So the big complaint for audiences I think is that Eternals is boring and not as fun as other Marvel films. Probably the reason that the critics didn't like it is, well it's a Marvel film. The director's attempt to make more of an art house comic book movie does feel flat, but the cognitive dissonance is due to the nature of the director's style and the franchise she was taking on, the two are waves cancelling each other out.

To say that this isn't the best Marvel film, who could disagree, but to say it's the worst and rate it so... I think that's a mere matter of inflating expectations. As the MCU goes on it will find most of the films introducing characters requiring a higher marker to please. There are only so many ways to structure an origin story in new and exciting ways.

One of the things that seems to be a no-no with audiences is that this film takes itself seriously. It has the occasional obligatory Marvel type self-aware humor thrown in, sure but that has become a tired gimmick if you ask me. Marvel movies are afraid to strip away their tongue-in-cheek witicisms, like a cynical, pseudo-intellectual teenager afraid to show emotion or vulnerability. Take away the wisecracking side comments and suddenly Marvel looks more like DC (Zack Snyders Justice League is crap by the way but somehow that's rated higher on IMDb)

Story wise, the Eternals' only mistake is that it doesn't lull the audience into a sense of "this is just for fun" for a few long hours before turning up the tonal gravity. It's true, Eternals is never really fun to watch, but then again neither is Schindler's List. So maybe what Eternals needs is to go all in with R-rated action and drama to make it more like Zack Snyder's Watchmen (His best if you ask me) but alas, Disney.

Now visually this is one of Marvels best works when you discount the CGI characters. Audiences and critics tend not to care about the photography in a film, but to me that alone raises Eternals above many of those that fans adore the most. Here there are more shadows and Picasso blues to give it a beautiful melancholy. Everything is framed to allow the environment to be felt, almost like a Terrance Malick film so even if you're turned off by some of the brighter Asian/Bollywood type scenes and costumes, there's still a lot of that rugged western cinema to take in.

Really, it might come down to the pan-earth diversity in the cast as the reason why some people don't like it. The people are represented here which, yes Disney is obviously pushing for more inclusive casting and culturally centered films, but unlike with the new Star Wars movies, this fits well here. Characters are spread out all over the planet... it'd be weird if all looked the same. How would you tell them apart? It doesn't fell like diversifying just for the sake of diversifying.

Anyhow, certainly not the best but certainly not the worst and still worth your time to see.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Deserves more fanfare

[7/10 · 10 January 2022]

Let's be honest here, modern horror movies are ridiculous and stupid. Just about every idea has been used and every new release is just a recycled bag of gimmicks to get the target audience of thrill and gore junkies back out to the theaters.

Thank the lord for CitW. Not only does it poke fun at its lame contemporaries with its self-awareness and farcical caricatures, but it manages to go a step beyond by rejecting and turning away from the same tired old premises and then blows everything up into an over the top circus that would make Frank Capra proud.

Whereas it was funny and clever in the first two acts, the ending kicks everything into overdrive by giving you everything you thought you weren't going to get, like a spoiled kid whose parents threatened he wouldn't get any presents for xmas, but then - BOOM! Look at all these boxes under the tree!

So anyone who finds this to be lacking is either a person too stiff to know that life is meant to be enjoyed, or someone who probably wants the adrenaline rush of being attacked and mauled by a redneck zombie slasher in real life. Otherwise, for the rest of world, this an enjoyable flick.

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

Second time writing a review

[7/10 · 12 April 2021]

Added Preface:

First of all... I understand the disappointment, but some people must understand that perfect endings don't exist and that wrapping up a series as complex and multifaceted as Game of Thrones would always be a difficult task, one the original author of the books still hasn't managed to do.

That being said it's clear that those who were penning these scripts weren't up to the task. It appears they struggled as soon as they ran out of published material to rely on... and indeed if one looks closely enough they can see flaws throughout the entire series where the show embellished or deviated from the books, but such is the nature of adaptations. It's challenging to envision words in a page and interpret them on the screen. It's difficult to manage for a two hour movie let alone a 75 hour series.

And yet despite all the flaws and disappointments, I'm still glad to have experienced this series even in its current form. I know that most of us who complain would hardly have done a better job. If you could have done better, you would be working in the entertainment industry. But none of you... especially you reviewers rating this a '1' could have ever conceived of a better way to do this without first having seen it the way it was already been presented.

It's easy to look at someone else's work and call it bad, and then say what you would have done differently, but the only thing you would have realistically done different is got up and gone to work in the job that you have in real life, a job that has nothing to do with writing or directing television series... and you would have said "gee, I could really use something interesting to watch on TV", because the only people who had the inkling to adapt this series and make it successful (spoiler alert, it wasn't you) gave us something truly extraordinary to watch even if it wasn't always consistently great from start to finish.

Now I just want to point out, that the last season of Game of Thrones was given some of the best production design and cinematography that we've seen in any television series and the work on this show continued to be recognized by others in the industry, including this season for acting and directing and even the last episode which was nominated for an Emmy for writing.

So, while I much appreciate that you all have feelings about the way Game of Thrones ended, I think it's safe to say that you express them as consumers and not as creators. Consumers, especially of art, are hardly experts in quality. Furthermore, without some experience in or knowledge of the creative process a consumer is nothing but a pseudo-intellectual when expressing their opinion about someone else's achievements.

With all that in mind I will now direct you below to the original review that I had posted for some of my own personally pseudo-intellectual thoughts on what I think would have made this last season better:

Original review:

This is not a suggestion on major deviations from the plot, i.e. Changing who kills the Night King or not having Danerys go crazy, but rather it would be a way to salvage the whole thing as I think mostly the problem is just pacing and a little shorting on development.

Episode 1 & 2 - No change. These episodes play well leading up to the battle.

Episode 3 - Cut out at the 1 hr mark. Instead of giving the whole battle in one episode, roll credits after the Night King raises the dead and the White Walkers enter Winterfell. This increases the anticipation for the battle's climax and leaves the disappointment that some people feel for how it ends for the next episode, making the The Long Night the greatest episode ever.

Episode 4 - After the opening, begin with the dead coming to life in the crypt. A few establishing shots will need to be added, but the rest of the battle can play out exactly the same. Whether you love it or hate it, doesn't matter. You would have waited a whole week to know what happened that you would be dying for a resolution, any resolution. Before you can digest it, though, the episode would progress through the bulk of The Last of the Starks, transitioning from the battle with the dead to Danerys's final conquest. Cut when the Hound and Arya leave Winterfell for King's Landing.

Episode 5 - This is where I think a few extra scenes should be added. Not to make any major changes, but just to flush things out a bit more. It does feel abrupt when Euron makes his attack and when Jamie leaves Winterfell. And though I enjoy subtlety I think Varys's turn to poison Danerys and her slipping into isolation are a little too muted. There could be a little more inserted here to build up to these concepts for the next episode. Danerys doesn't eat from depression following the death of Missendei, but perhaps before Missendei dies, we see Danerys refusing food for fear of being poisoned. Just an extra 20-25 minutes here and then we end where Episode 4 does.

Episode 6 - Plays out mostly the same as the original Episode 5, maybe show the girl getting caught trying to give the poison. Then continue on up until Danerys begins her slaughter. Cut around the 50 min mark when she begins to fly towards the Red Keep with extended shots of Cersei's forboding and a final shot of the dragon flying and shooting flames at the camera.

Episode 7 - Begin with the turmoil on the ground and showing Jon's perspective of the slaughter. Play as is all the way until Tyrion enters the Red Keep and finds Jamie and Cersei under the rubble. Maybe add an arbitray scene back at Winterfell to see what Sansa and Bran are doing for good measure and to help with the monotony.

Episode 8 - The full remainder of The Iron Throne. Probably the hate for this episode stems mostly from perceptions of Season 8 as a whole, but I would only add a few things and not take anything else out. Flushing out the middle of the season and fixing the pacing I think would greatly improve it and thus the series finale would have been better received. Some people would have preferred to see Danerys not become wicked and her and Jon both becoming King and Queen instead of Bran, but honestly that wouldn't have been keeping with the series. The plot is not the problem.

Perhaps some people think that each conflict should have been given a whole season, but what else is left to tell? Everyone is pretty much dead at this point. I don't care if there is more in the books that could have been thrown in. Books work like movies and television. Those would be very long and boring seasons. Now given these few but reasonable changes, Iron Throne becomes a much more fitting end to the series. It's not perfect, but its not off by much.

Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019) Season 8, Episode 3

Better after time.

[9/10 · 11 April 2021]

Season 8 as a whole got a lot of flack but I think mostly it had to do with the hype and the impossibility of meeting everyone's expectations, but after watching it again you appreciate how well done it is.

To back this up, most of the previous battles from earlier seasons were lauded even though they're no better than this one. There were plenty of implausible things in those battles but few people seemed to have the need to talk about them.

Given that level of hype, I think the mistake made was giving the whole battle in one episode. At the point where the night king raises the dead, and on the shot where the White walkers enter Winterfell, the episode should have ended. The audience would have been so revved up at that point with anticipation that they would have given this episode a perfect 10 and all the disappointment would have been left for the next episode.

Seriously, rewatch it and pause right at that part. Imagine the credits roll and the end music starts. Get up and walk away for a few minutes. Come back. Imagine the opening credits and then play the rest. Add a few establishing shots and the whole thing works better.

A lot of people complain about how dark it is but that's only a problem of watching it in standard HD. Watch it in 4K and you'll notice a difference. It's much easier to see what's going on and far more impressive visually and technically.

Another thing that people complain about was the overall pacing of the season. But after rewatching the first two episodes, it feels much more dragged out that you practically beg for this episode and by contrast it's much more compelling to watch.

Now, the rest of the season feels more compressed and jumps through time too quickly, this I still agree. But the first half of the season still works if you allow yourself to let of go of your previous expectations. It's just as good as any other battle, probably actually the best.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Best of the trilogy

[10/10 · 23 February 2021]

Typically a 10/10 review should be looked at skeptically and is only deserved by a near perfect film. I've seen this one so many times that I can barely watch it anymore but I still think it is deserving of a high score especially compared to the other two films in the trilogy (I'm not even gonna mention The Hobbit films).

FotR does a lot of things right and it feels the most structured. One could say that it is the easiest because it has the most linear story to adapt from given the source material, but it still has the burden of introducing all the elements in a time where CGI has really just learned to walk upright (and should probably not even be used for some things), and the latter two films benefit overwhelming from its success. Really ToT and RotK piggy-back off of this movie because most of what makes them great starts here. However, most of what makes them lacking is barely even present in FotR.

In fact, by picking apart their flaws, FotR easily becomes the better film. The ToT begins to meander midway through the movie and it really just loses focus of the character as it tries to build up towards the battle sequence, only to get outdone in RotK. ToT really becomes obsolete afterwards and, having made little inroads to developing the characters, it becomes the trilogies weakest link.

In fact, the characters often become silly representations of who they were as presented in the first film, and since they're was plenty to draw from in the books, there is really no excuse not to flush them out. Unfortunately the characters often become silly caricatures, glossed over in favor of larger cinematic sequences.

These problems persist into the third film, but fortunately a strong climax saves RotK and elevates it to a greater work of art, and by most people's accounts the best of the three. However, I think people tend to laud it for more superficial reasons and since it does suffer from a slightly dragged out narrative that harmed the second movie, and people tend to forget the impressive lift given by the first film.

Now onto the merits of FotR. First of all the prologue does a great job of expediting Tolkien history without turning off unfamiliar audiences. The tension building first act feels like a superb alternative to the gothic, Tim Burtonesque Legend of Sleepy Hollow, without feeling out of place in the grand scheme of things. Still impressive to me are the ways in which forced perspective is used in many scenes to account for the difference in size between the characters. A lot of other tropes that become tired and overused in the subsequent films, i.e. the eye of Sauron, and the shadow world, are at this point still ingenious visual representations.

As the second half of the film expands the story into the greater world, the film only becomes more refined. The sequence in Moria is intense and tragic, as is the final scene at Amon Hen when the characters are broken apart. What is of great importance though is how Peter Jackson is a little more subtle and restrained here.

As the trilogy goes on, and even as Jackson gets into directing the Hobbit films (okay, so I mentioned them), his action sequences tend to get more and more over the top. He tries to sneak in a little of the implausibly unrealistic action with the scene on the stairs in Moria, but it doesn't take away from the film and rather actually adds to the suspense in this instance. Later overtures of his tend to be a little eye-roll inducing, but here he doesn't yet get too carried away with himself.

Thankfully so, because the character deaths are tastefully done. Gandalf's fall into the abyss is truly a loss, only to be turned itself into an action sequence in the second film's introduction (though I must admit, it is a cool sequence).

Even more tragic is the death of Boromir, which to me is the highlight of the entire trilogy. Boromir's arc sort of demonstrates the inner conflict that all the other characters only talk about. In the latter films, Frodo and Gollum represent the same conflict, but by then they've fallen nearly into parody of it so its not as deeply felt. Here Boromir becomes an example of what not to do for the trilogy's real protagonist, Aragorn, a.k.a the one true King, but the movies lose sight of this the further they go on. More is drawn up about his artificial love life than his temptation with power, but I digress.

The point is, FotR really nails what its trying to be, but as the trilogy goes on the filmmakers aren't really sure what they're trying to say. "There's good in this world and its worth fighting for" " I am no man" " Hold me Ani, like you did on Naboo"... alright that last one was cheap, but honestly there are times when the message is overpronounced, even when it isn't something ever given in the books! In contrast the FotR concisely picks up on the Tolkien's themes about the temptation of power. Of all the films, it is the closest to matching the literary masterpiece that inspired it and so, in my humble opinion, it is really the superior entry in the Tolkien Cinematic Universe.

The Mandalorian: Chapter 10: The Passenger (2020) Season 2, Episode 2

My favorite episode of the series so far...

[9/10 · 12 November 2020]

I see some complaints that this episode was just a filler episode, and while that assertion is correct, let me just remind everyone that the whole series so far has been nothing but filler. Season 1 really only had four episodes that advanced the plot while the rest were merely isolated mission episodes. Rescue a village, Find an assassin, break someone out of prison, and then Season 2 started off with what was basically another Rescue a village episode.

At least episode was more thrilling and subtle to the point where Mando really had his hands full and seemed overwhelmed. As per usual though, the real allure of this show is how good the Star Wars universe looks. I could watch these all day with the sound off and not give two acorns about the story, which is really lacking on the whole anyway.

Give me more episodes like this and I will forget about wanting to know the Child's backstory and why the remnants of the empire want him so bad.

9/10

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Never makes it all the way home...

[7/10 · 17 December 2016]

This movie was pretty jarring emotionally. Being the hard ass macho man that I am I did my best not to let the waterworks run. Not an easy task. Watching this as a father is like watching Old Yeller on steroids.

However, as emotionally reserved as the main character was, I kept looking for a scene where he would just completely lose it; that I would finally be pushed over the edge and flood the theater with tears. Never got there. That may not be the case with everyone who sees this movie, but I was really holding it back and after two hours of gut wrenching drama I just needed to get it out.

But unlike the teenage nephew who finally gets his rocks off with the girlfriend, this round of heavy petting never reached a climax. I felt like I was stuck on third base with the team's best hitter striking out. Of course, that's what happens when you think about baseball.

I will have to see this movie again to truly evaluate it, but if you like sad sad movies, a new king has been anointed.