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Reviews
Tenet (2020)
Brief, Non-Spoiler review
As this will be non-spoiler, I can't say too much about the story. However, what I can is this: Tenet's story is quite dynamic in the sense that you won't understand it till it wants you to. So, for the first half, your brain is fighting for hints and pieces to puzzle together the story. It isn't until halfway through the movie that Tenet invites you to the fantastic storytelling by Christopher Nolan.
Acting is beyond phenomenal, and I'd be genuinely surprised if neither Robert Pattinson nor John David Washington doesn't receive an Oscar nomination for best actor. It's also hard not to mention how good Elizabeth Debicki and Aaron Johnson both are. All around, great acting, and the dialogue amps up the quality of the movie.
The idea of this movie is damn fascinating, and while there are films that explore time-travelling, there's never been anything quite like this. It has such a beautiful charm and for the most part, explains everything thoroughly. It feels so much more complex than any form of time-travelling we've seen, and no less could've been expected from Nolan.
Oh my lord, the score for this film fits so perfectly. Every scene that's meant to feel intense was amped by a hundred because of how good the score was. Let me just say though, none of them will be found iconic, but they fit the story and scenes so well.
In the end, I walked out, feeling very satisfied. Nevertheless, I do have issues with the film that I cannot really express without spoiling bits of the story. There are definitely little inconsistencies that I found myself uncovering as the story progressed. However, I only had one issue that I found impacted my enjoyment. That issue was understanding some of the dialogue. No, not in the sense that the movie is too complicated, but more that it was hard to make out was being said at times. It felt like the movie required subtitles, but that probably was because, at a time in the film, there was far too much exposition.
Nevertheless, I loved this film, I'll be watching it at least two more times, and I think most of you in this group will enjoy it. I definitely suggest watching it in theatres if possible, just so you can get that excitement.
(4/5) & (8.5/10) for those that care about number scores.
The Society (2019)
Nope. Don't watch.
This show was recommended to me by a good friend who, for the most part, has really good taste in movies/shows. This wasn't one of those cases. So, I can't judge the show entirely because I only watched the first episode. Painful enough. The characters here are by far the worst aspect. Do writers really think that teenagers think or act this way? Who in their right state of mind thinks having a party at a church is a good idea? Mind you, nobody is able to contact or reach their parents/family. What to do? Party...? Some of the teens in this show are late teens, perhaps even older. Yet, they all act like absolute children. The concept of the show isn't a bad one. Being stuck in a small town with a community of people that are all basically teenagers, it's interesting. However, the show doesn't grasp well what teenagers really would do. The writers don't seem to understand the panic that most people would feel. We have a "villain" because of course we do. Towards the end of the episode, there's a meeting in which the teens decide how life will work now. This is when we get our villainy moment. Campbell, a douchebag of a character that is mad because he didn't get laid earlier in the ep. The first episode kind of spells out what to expect in terms of quality of writing, it's just bad. I feel like they wanted to make something similar to The 100 (good show) but didn't wanna make it too similar and just ended up screwing everything.
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019)
Interesting but flawed
Let me begin by saying I've never watched Pretty Little Liars so going into this show, it was completely new to me. I hadn't even heard about it until today and I thought I'd give it a chance. Like every teen-drama based show, the pilot has several moments that had me rolling my eyes but when the episode focused on the main story, that's when it shined. There's definitely potential here for the show to be a really interesting mystery-drama show rather than just a typical teen-drama. The characters are all quite interesting and they all have something to hide which makes them complicated at times. By the looks of it, the pilot does reference Pretty Little Liars a fair bit and when it did that, I found it hard to keep track. This is an issue that several spin-off shows have, the show needs not to rely on the original series otherwise there will be people who'll feel like they're missing something. The actors are all pretty decent, Sarah Pieterse in particular is quite good and I can see her doing even better with a better script. The script isn't the strongest link of the pilot, hopefully this is something they focus on improving but as of right now, it's not too good. The overall story is intriguing and the twist at the end of the pilot definitely had me curious as to what comes next.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Cool moments but a boring movie overall.
This is it. We're finally here, after weeks of backlash towards Brie Larson, after weeks of anticipation, weeks of wondering whether this movie will be good or bad, it's here. Is the movie bad? No. Is the movie good? Absolutely not. This is a very mediocre movie in the sense of its characters, story and the world in itself. Brie's portrayal of Captain Marvel is very bland, there are moments of hope where I thought she was becoming interesting but that hope is rendered false quickly. At no point does the movie make me feel sorry for her or love her and that's an immediate problem. Fortunately, the movie also has other characters, most noteably a young Nick Fury. Samuel L Jackson is great as usual but I have to mention this, the de-aging was done exceptionally well. The CGi didn't even look like CGi, it just blended and it looked perfect. Seeing Nick Fury here was different to what we're used to, he's more cheerful, fun and trusting of others. In that sense, it's a completely different portrayal and Samuel L Jackson does a great job. Jude Law did the best with what he was given. The character was written poorly with no real surprise to his story. Other characters in the movie kind of just fell into the background where they either became irrelevant or they never had enough attention for me to notice them too much.
The story. This is where the movie did half a decent job. The origin of Cap Marvel isn't just another "I lost my parents/family so I have to be a hero". I won't spoil or say too much but the story makes sense and there's one twist that I thought was done well. However, the movie also reveals how Fury lost his eye and it is one of the disappointing factors in the movie. It's made out as comedic relief and that's just ridiculous. Nick Fury told Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier that he lost his eye as a result of trusting someone. The way he loses his eye here isn't half as personal as he makes it sound. Unfortunately there's a fair bit of exposition in the movie as well. Instead of being shown how things turn out, you get told sometimes and it really affects the flow of the story. Also, there's a plot hole regarding the official name of SHIELD in this movie and that was a bit of an annoyance for me and the people I watched it with. Overall, the story made sense and it was okay but other factors in the story didn't stick too well.
The world and tone in this movie are kind of weird. I feel like the movie never really finds itself. One minutes is comedic and the next it's dark and serious. Even the colours used in the movie were dark half the time but then other scenes looked rather different and it always kind of played around with the tone. Black Panther or Thor: Ragnarok immediately make it know what kind of movies they are. This one is lost within itself and that's evident through the whole movie. The movie also relies on referencing stuff about the 80-90s simply because this movie is set in that time period, another thing is the movie also relies on references within the MCU. It's okay sometimes but other times I found myself enjoying a scene just because of that reason and not because the scene was really good.
The choreography here is honestly nothing special at all. Its just a bunch of people shooting laser beams at each other. When it does get to the hand-to-hand combat, the fight scenes are uninspired to say the least. The fight scenes in Black Panther, Winter Soldier and Civil War were greatly appreciated because of how fresh and exciting they felt. I can't say the same here. Other times Captain Marvel kind of just flies through stuff and blows them up. It's nothing we haven't seen before but it's also just enough to get you through the movie. It's not exciting but it's not horrible either, it's kind of just okay.
That's my problem with this movie. It always just feels okay. It never really "wows" me, I sat through the first act and I got really bored, halfway through it started to pick up and the third act was just okay. Some characters were okay but others were just boring or never given enough time. The fight scenes were uninspired but they weren't horrible. The movie always sits on the fence and never really does anything new. After so many Marvel Cinematic movies, the fans need something new and this movie doesn't give us that. It has fun moments and the post credit scene is really damn cool. Certain Easter eggs in the movie were pretty good but there's one that really annoyed me. The Stan Lee tribute was wonderful and a class act by Marvel and the people behind this movie. Going into this movie, I didn't give a care about the controversy around Brie Larson, I was open-minded and I was actually excited. The movie didn't live up to that excitement but it's just okay.
Legends of Tomorrow (2016)
What? Oh right, this show...
This is not a bad show by any means necessary. This is not a good show by any means necessary. This is a fun show and a little campy and weird. My advice to anyone who goes into this show, don't take it seriously. Look this show is weird and stupid because the writers want to have fun with it. The story is often sidelined by mindless fun episodes but I know that's not for everyone and that's okay. The script is pretty bad but the action is good, the story is bad but the characters are interesting. The show does something good and then does something else to mess up. The best part of this show is that you have this dysfunctional team travel through time trying to save the world but end up messing up more often than not. The show is pretty basic and it's not a perfect show but if you want to kill time, have a laugh and just have mindless fun then watch it. If you still don't like it then I don't blame you but keep an open mind when going into this show.
Arrow (2012)
Good, okay and bad.
The show could literally be summarised by those three words. The first two seasons of this show were remarkable. It gave us great family drama, good character development, exciting action and really good stories. Merlyn and Slade Wilson made for great villains but of course they did. Barrowman as Merlyn/Dark Archer was always going to be one of the best things in the show and Deathstroke was always a fan-favourite. The acting wasn't the best in the first two seasons but the cast definitely improved. You could probably watch the first two seasons and just stop there. That way you'll have watched Arrow at its prime and not go through the same disappointment that most fans went through.
Season 3 - the okay season with some really good episodes. This season gave us some really good episodes and with them, moments and scenes that will always be some of the best in the entire show. Episode 9 'The Climb' gave us one of the best fight scenes in the show, as well as the first confrontation between Oliver and the great Raish/Ra's Al Ghul. Matt Nable was actually good as Ra's. Unfortunately, he could only do so well with a bad script and a mediocre story at best. I don't blame him whatsoever for the way things went with his character because he really felt like Ra's from the comics. The season fell mainly due to its misdirection. The writers didn't know what to focus on. One moment they focused on Ray Palmer's metamorphosis to The Atom and then it focused on Oliver's relationship with Felicity. The season kept shifting focus and it showed... badly. Fortunately, the season is actually still decent enough due to some highlight episodes. If the season had focused primarily on the fight between Oliver and Ra's, this season would've been much better. The unnecessary drama, side stories and the inclusion of too many unneeded characters affected the season pretty badly. However, I'm a little biased to this season because I really believe this was the second last season when Arrow felt like Arrow. 7/10
Season 4 - the "oh my god, kill me now" season. This was just awful. God, just thinking about this season is painful. Damien Darhk was written horribly. Felicity was just the worst thing in this season and the writers managed to make Oliver so dumb. Mind you Oliver had just defeated Ra's Al Ghul one season ago but in S4, he was being defeated by street-level thugs. Even Stephen Amell doesn't like this season... that's how bad it is. You know you've messed up when the main actor of the show doesn't like the season. Just skip it. Don't watch this season at all, ever. The costume was really good in this season and I liked the team they had but other than that, this season was awful. 2/10
Season 5 - the season that made us all excited for Arrow once more. This was the last season (at least for me) where Arrow felt like Arrow. This was a good season and after the atrocious season 4, Arrow needed a good season. Honestly, I wasn't excited when it was announced there'd be a 5th season because of the sour taste that season 4 left. It wasn't just me, many people thought Arrow would be cancelled after S4. Somehow they managed to give us a GREAT villain (my personal favourite) and a compelling story. The characters went back to being written well and the drama was actually intriguing. That's not to say this season didn't have some bad. Felicity was still quite annoying and the show never truly went back to its roots. Yes, this season pays a lot of homage to season 1 and 2 but after losing its way in season 4, there was no way to get it back fully. Nevertheless, Adrian Chase was an awesome villain and he was primarily why I enjoyed the season. Unfortunately, the new team Arrow didn't stick for me. Rene was decent enough and I liked Ragman before they had written him off. Curtis was just bad and Dinah Drake was okay at the time. Thea was still there but she was mainly an advisor to Oliver who was Mayor at the time. I also didn't like that Quentin was also an advisor to Oliver but it made sense why he wasn't a cop after what happened in season 4. This season definitely upped the choreography and the story was more condensed in that it focused more on Adrian's hatred towards Oliver. This season also gave me the episode I consider to be the best in the entire show, episode 17 "Kapiushon", as well as the finale episode. 8.5/10
Season 6 - the one that was mediocre at best. This was not a good season. This season faced many issues but the worst issue it had was its villains. The main villains: Cayden James and Ricardo Diaz were written badly. Both of them were so bland and uninteresting that it was almost painful watching them. Furthermore, the story of team Arrow being divided due to "Oliver being a bad leader" was written possibly by a child. It didn't make sense and every character was just off, especially John Diggle. Fortunately, the team being divided led to a pretty good episode. Episode 19 "Fundamentals" was my favourite episode of the season and arguably the only actual good episode of the season. Personally, I also enjoyed the two-part Deathstroke episodes and I consider them to be the only other good episodes of the season. New Team Arrow characters were just awfully annoying, none of them were written well and they all acted like children blaming daddy Oliver for their own mistakes. This was the season that made me honestly hate Rene, Curtis and Dinah. This season also leads to one of the shows biggest gambles and that's having Oliver's identity be revealed to the world. Eh, overall this season was just so meh. It never had me excited or really interested. It was the season that made me put Arrow on but I was focusing on messaging or so on because it never caught my full attention. Sure, there were moments when I thought the story was probably getting better but then something stupid happens and it just wipes away any hope I had. Overall, 5/10 mainly due to the three good episodes and the choreography was actually pretty good. The crossover episode was also good but I don't consider that as part of the season's arc.
Overall? This show has had a LOT of ups and downs. At the time of this review, the show is halfway through season 7. So far season 7 has been pretty good and a massive improvement from season 6 but the roots of Arrow are absolutely gone. Anything that made Arrow what it was is tarnished. After it's 8th season, Arrow needs to end before it gets any worse. If you still want to watch this show, by all means go ahead. Just skip season 4 or watch a recap on YouTube because that was just awful.
Arrow: Past Sins (2019)
A good episode with some flaws
Can I just say that Queen family drama almost always makes for an entertaining episode. In saying that, Robert Queen's reputation has been tarnished more than Oliver's when he was a playboy. The past two episodes have not been kind to the deceased Queen and muchly deserved honestly.
Oliver finds that the person going after him is the guy that Robert kills on the raft back in the season 1 flashbacks. Bam, immediately the villain of the week has more an attachment/connection to our boy Ollie. I liked that a lot because it's much more interesting than some random villain. This guy had motive and I honestly understood his perspective here. The episode does well in allowing you to sympathise and that's pretty impressive when you consider that each episode is only 42 minutes (excluding ads).
I've been enjoying the Felicity/E-2 Laurel dynamic and it plays off even better in this episode. The two are fun to watch together, especially when Dinah joins in. Their relationships feel natural and don't come off as annoying. Also, hats off to Felicity as she's been really supportive to Oliver and Laurel.
I'm liking the dynamic between Ollie and Dinah working together. However, I'm hoping Ollie goes back to being Green Arrow and not working with the SCPD. I can see Queen and Dinah developing a stronger connection than the one Oliver has with Rene or Curtis and I'm totally okay with that.
Here's my problem with the episode... Curtis was just annoying. As well as the whole virtual reality thing. Curtis is honestly the most unnecessary character right now. I honestly hoped that he was actually dead when Diaz "snapped his neck".
Ghost/Suicide Squad is something I wanted more of this episode. Unfortunately, this episode only introduces the characters of the new team. I was a little disappointed we didn't get to see more of them or them interacting much. However, this does get me excited for what this season has in store for them.
8/10.
Sex Education (2019)
It's one of those shows...
Let me start off by saying that this is just another one of those "young teens generation" shows that Netflix have been obsessed with making. Otis... a 16 year old who basically finds himself in an odd situation where he gives sex advice. His mother - Jean, is a sex therapist. His two friends Eric - is gay and the other is Maeve - a rebel who has a lot of issues. By no means is this show horrible but it's also very mediocre. Its characters aren't bad for the most part except for when Eric is on-screen. His over-the-top personality is rather exhaustive to watch and is a little too exaggerated for me to invest into his character. The acting is decent, Asa Butterfield actually plays Otis very well, as well as every other actor. Thing is this show has no weight at all. Nothing that happens in the show seems to matter. In the first episode a video of Otis' mother is shared around the school where she is giving a tutorial on how to give a hand***. You could see this embarrasses Otis but within a few minutes the whole school forgets about it and there's no consequences to this. Another big problem with this show is its attempt to be different... this feels very recycled to say the least. There have been several movies/shows where a teenage kid has an embarrassing parentage and that somehow affects their social status at school. Put it this way, this is a good show if you want to waste a bit of time or even just put in the background as you go on your phone.
Supernatural: Fan Fiction (2014)
A gem and nothing less
This is one of the few times I write a review on here so let me start. This episode was and always will be beautifully epic. Everything about this episode felt so right for a show like Supernatural. The acting was on point, dialogue, action and even the side characters were great. In a way, this episode felt like a thank you note from the writers but more so, this episode reminds us all why we love it so much. Bringing back little things from the earlier seasons like the amunet necklace or the usage of the "Carry On My Wayward Son" song was beautiful. This episode also shows that the writers are self-aware of all the "ridiculousness" that they put into this show but more importantly, they address the fans of the show. Dean riding off into the sunset with his younger brother in the Impala, with the amunet hanging off the rear mirror... a beautiful episode and nothing short of perfect.
Halloween (1978)
Out-dated in 2018 but still a decent movie!
Well, let me start off by saying that I only really watched this because I wanted to get some context for the 2018 sequel of 'Halloween'. Do I regret watching this movie in 2018? The short answer is no I don't. You can tell that movies nowadays and even TV Shows of the same genre have taken a lot of inspiration from the formula and story of this movie. Look at Friday the 13th, Stranger Things, Don't Breath and more. All of these in some way have taken a fair amount of inspiration from this movie. The problem in watching this movie in 2018 though is simply that it is out-dated. Whether it's the acting, scenery, music and basically anything else but that's to be expected. If you go into this movie thinking you're going to watch something similar to the movies nowadays, you'll be disappointed. This is a movie you watch and shouldn't take too seriously, watch with a few friends and you'll most likely get a laugh out of it. It's a classic movie and honestly if you're a fan of the genre, you should acquaint yourself with it.