takenistaken Reviews

Abigail (2024)

Nice CGI, mind numbing plot

[4/10 · 14 May 2024]

I have watched a bit of the trailer, but I still think this movie would've been pretty predictable either way. The CGI makes this a little fun, but other than that... it's not much more than you'd expect when a bunch of guys end up getting stuck in a house in horror movie. I did not feel for any of the characters, because for the most part they are pretty flat, nor did I feel much suspense because there wasn't much build up. I am pretty desensitized to horror films at this point, but I still like to watch for occasional clever ideas - sadly this one didn't bring much to the table.

It ends up feeling like a horror comedy, except I also didn't find it funny. Overall, it's not terrible but I wouldn't say it was worthwhile.

Yellowjackets (2021– )

It's intriguing

[7/10 · 1 February 2022]

Overall, I like the show. It's pretty twisted, as a horror lover I dig it... Good acting for the most part, pretty girls, some blood. The pace the plot is being uncovered is pretty good.

Only thing that bothers me about this show is the usual.. stupid decision making in horror shows/films, I refuse to believe even 18 year olds can be as dumb as is displayed in this show. You can discount some of it to age and desperation - but definitely not all of it, I would give some examples but I'm trying to keep this spoiler free.

But... this show still is suspenseful, interesting and .. fun, if you like horror. I hope they don't ruin it when more is uncovered.

The Last Duel (2021)

Great movie

[9/10 · 30 November 2021]

I loved it, the way you are shown the same scenes with additional context is brilliant and works very well.

Each point of view plays with and changes your feelings (in a good way) to each of the characters as the story unfolds. At first I found myself trying to decide who is right and who is wrong and why, it's only natural when you get to see the character's own motives and additional context to their actions. Until the rape scene comes and that renders Gris irredeemable, especially after you witness the suffering Marguerite was put through in her point-of-view.

At the end you are confronted with how... when people use faith to justify their misdeeds and power rules the world in the hands of immoral people, in short -in an unjust world: "The truth truly does not matter". It could just all go unpunished, ignored, there isn't any real justice in a twisted world, sometimes it is so in real life, even in this day and age.

But the consequences are real and true regardless. The suffering, the shame, the risk of death and torture.

Eventually 'justice' ends up being left to a coin toss, a final duel... A satisfying end that puts it all on the line.

And every time the likelihood of Gris winning appeared you feel angry and pitiful. Though even when it doesn't happen (Although I rooted for Jean... and enjoyed the brutality...), I personally still felt anger along with relief. Knowing that it just could have.

Dune (2021)

Pretty cool~

[8/10 · 21 October 2021]

Very nice movie visually, CGI/Costume design/Scenery all well done, plot and lore feels dense with depth as you'd expect from a movie based on a book series, and manages to be just different enough to intrigue. Mysterious atmosphere throughout the film works quite well and acting is also very good.

Overall I've enjoyed this movie and looking forward to the next one.

The things I have not liked are: -Pacing could be better, some scenes feel stretched without enough substance

-Fight scenes feel a bit awkward, also the visual for 'shields' is a bit distracting and I think could've been better.

-A lot of stuff introduced in the movie lack explanation, how shields work, why swords etc. As someone that didn't read the book I would've liked a bit more backstory throughout the movie.

The Guilty (2021)

Watch the original.

[5/10 · 2 October 2021]

Jake Gyllenhaal is a great actor, but sadly this is pretty much a 1 to 1 remake that's just not as good as the original in my opinion.

Malignant (I) (2021)

Trailer makes it look like so much more

[5/10 · 11 September 2021]

This movie is slow, predictable and badly acted, as far as I'm concerned it's clearly overrated.

Honestly I'm quite disappointed, the trailer made it look like a solid horror film, along with a decent rating - I thought this was gonna be a good watch.

However that is not the case... the acting is a little cringe and the only good about this one is pretty much only the CGI.

I'm not one to often get scared by horror films, I usually enjoy them for their twisted / clever ideas. But this one didn't have a single effective jump-scare.

To be fair I guess it does make you laugh a bit, and that appears to be intentional... but it just doesn't really fit together, it ends up feeling too in-between something like a parody and a movie that takes itself seriously and excelling at neither.

I would skip this one, unless you really have an itch for horror and have nothing better to watch.

You (2018–2024)

Season two is disappointing.

[7/10 · 27 December 2019]

I loved season one. Season two was a huge let down - hence the low rating. Season two was very promising, acting is great, twists and turns are fun, but the end was extremely disappointing. At the end of the show Joe ends up free of punishment and his 'love' turned out to be just as insane and even more immoral than him. All suspense that was built throughout the show about Joe being discovered is thrown to the trash, and the whole mess he was in is explained away with very cheap explanations.

Joe contemplated the morality in his actions throughout the whole show only for it to end with ' morality', true love is about accepting that your partner is a serial killer no matter what, a boy needs a father after all... to teach him how to make choices, who cares if the parents are both insane and deserving of punishment. No, just no.

Stranger Things (2016– )

Season 3 was great, the best one yet

[9/10 · 17 July 2019]

This throws you back in time and keeps things colorful and interesting, has great humor, thrills and cool cgi. Pretty good blend between quirk, fun and a sci-fi almost-horror type show. Acting is also incredibly solid.

Season 3 was pretty amazing in my opinion mostly due to it's pacing, it had Game Of Thrones type split scenes with different people in different places, keeping you interested as the episode cuts from scene to scene, it all slowly comes together leading to a pretty satisfying ending and a taste for more.

The Hunt (2012)

Made me very angry, enough to let out a few tears

[9/10 · 28 December 2018]

This was very powerful. I was very angry throughout the whole movie, how no one gives the accusation even a bit of doubt had me swearing at every single character. Everyone has acted very foolishly towards an maddeningly innocent man, and while it is very foolish... it is also very realistic, I can definitely see it happen in real life. The church scene and the visit by the main character's best friend once he realized how wrong he was made me shed a few tears. And then I was back to being angry again, seeing how everything is seemingly back to normal, all is forgiven, all too easily. I do not think I would be able to forgive in his place, nor would I be able to go hunting in the woods with those same blind hating people carrying rifles. I know it's been a year since - but I feel like a few scenes were missed to show what happened before everyone was acting as if nothing had happened. And well, while this movie had me angry and hurting, it was also a very well told story, very well acted.... that carries a very important message.

Seven Seconds (2018)

Good show, very bad ending, annoying plot holes. Frustrating, wouldn't recommend.

[5/10 · 29 April 2018]

This show was a good watch, until it's conclusion. I really like the two main characters - great acting and chemistry from both of them. But the way the investigation happened and the questions you are left with at the end, leave you annoyed and unsatisfied.

Spoilers start here First, why the hell did it take them so long to find out who is the driver, I mean... he hangs with the rest of the narc cops regularly, also... Nadine looked at the photo and ruled out all of the regular guys, wouldn't it make sense to check who is new and was not in the photo?

Second, the end.... seriously? bad guys win, okay. But... Nadine's -murder- is completely ignored?! (Even though they had an angle to show there was foul play) The fact Pete lied on the stand?! The main characters are shown to be smart but ignore some pretty common sense conclusions and paths they could've took. The ending is just frustrating and makes this show not worthwhile.. I feel pissed off. I wished for a second season at first, but I can't see how that would work... I wouldn't recommend watching this.

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

Disappointed

[5/10 · 6 February 2018]

I've really liked 10 Cloverfield Lane and I expected this to be on par, but uhh... no. It's all just too random, as this movie progresses it just throws random stuff at you. People dying in strange ways, chicks showing up in walls and some ship malfunctions. It just feels like a mess to me, doesn't build any tension and leads to a very unsatisfying end that leaves you feeling like "that's it?" everything is f*****, the end. It felt like an episode of Black Mirror in a way, a bad one that lacks structure.

tl;dr The acting and cast are both good, visuals and effects are cool, but the plot is a hot mess, and leaves you unsatisfied.

The Open House (2018)

It just led to nowhere

[4/10 · 19 January 2018]

This film has good acting and a solid foundation to be a good thriller, but it leads to nowhere. Besides being cruel - there are no hidden messages or twists, plot only goes one way where the family from the beginning of the film becomes more and more miserable, there isn't much to think about because they show you someone actually is in the house ~ he kills em' in cruel ways, the end. Are you supposed to be left wondering? I honestly wonder what the guy that wrote the script was thinking.

Anyway, a waste of my time.

Jigsaw (I) (2017)

Uhh.. No..

[2/10 · 14 January 2018]

It seems over so many movies, this franchise has evolved to nothing. This one features stupid people dying in gruesome ways along with some very cringey acting and decision making of the characters. All the characters give zero thought to situation and panic themselves to death. Meh.. I'll admit the twist at the end was clever and was foreshadowed properly, but the majority of the movie was just frustrating to watch.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Stale and strange, with nothing else to it.

[1/10 · 14 December 2017]

This movie is trying to make you feel 'scared' by throwing a couple odd scenes at you - mentioning periods and body hair, having all characters talk funny with random creepy tunes playing in the background, along with a very stupid plot ~ the decisions the main characters make make no sense and everything plays along to a predictable end.

Don't waste your time on this movie, I gave the IMDB score too much weight, it's a 3 at most, no idea who can like this.

Fargo (2014–2024)

Good,.but kinda overrated..

[7/10 · 19 May 2014]

I like this show overall. It's enjoyable. But.. The plot is pretty silly sometimes, especially because our main character isn't so smart and keeps playing into the cops hands in a sorta 'comedic' way. Which also sometimes makes this show predictable. And you have those moments that make me feel like "this couldn't happen in reality.. they cant be that stupid" or "Why couldn't they do that". While I am aware that this is a TV show and it doesn't have to be true to real life, sometimes those parts can be frustrating rather than funny. By that I mean, this show still does have good things going for it, But sometimes the humor just feels out of place and makes the story lose it's credibility and the 'thrill' of the case being solved, because it makes things feel more like a series of coincidences, rather than a well thought story.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Terrible.

[3/10 · 19 April 2014]

I don't even know why I watched this. I was bored. I knew it was gonna be the same old Spider-Man story, AGAIN.

Though I didn't expect it to be this bad. This movie is cliché, cheesy, and really really stupid. I really have tried to sit back and accept that maybe this movie isn't supposed to be serious.. its trying to have that comic feel. But no, acting is terrible and jokes are cheap, and it just constantly feels like the creators are looking down at our intelligence. (So many face palm invoking moments..it's just not funny)

The first movie franchise started very well compared to this, it had a much better cast and depth (as if this one has any) and- as far as I'm concerned this is an unnecessary, stupefied recycle attempt. If I had not known better I might have thought this is a bad parody. (Something like "Superhero Movie" but that was actually pretty good)

It's just sad movies like this are doing well. (But people are gonna keep watching it just because its Spider-Man)

Escape Plan (2013)

Not as good as I thought it would be.

[5/10 · 22 October 2013]

I left the theater disappointed. It's not a terrible movie.. I guess I just expected more.

Seeing the trailers and all you expect to see a sophisticated, clever movie about a breakout expert that has to breakout from the ultimate prison. But what you get is more of a normal cheap action film with a gimmick.. The beginning is nice, the way they don't explain how he breaks out of that 1st prison only to explain it later. But then the 'Big Breakout' is just not all that clever, or well planned.. its basically just a normal action film sequence that involves the main characters becoming bullet proof and explosions, running around etc While dumb action films are fun sometimes ... I thought of something else when I went to watch this movie.

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Decent movie, could've been better.

[6/10 · 11 July 2013]

This was a decent movie. I expected more ~ but I can't say it was bad. Story is nice and 'fun' I guess, some funny parts. But nothing spectacular.

I really think this movie had potential to be much better than it turned out to be if it didn't have so much of a 'cartoonish', too simple feel to it, the main character is a 'Pure Hearted' cliché Hero with a very basic set of principles, starts as a wimp, gains invincibility and then acts like a hero, surviving whatever and doing as he likes as things explode around him. The 'villian' in this is also a very simple character, a pure bad character that's just greedy, evil, does not act with any reason, and rather dumb. He even gives a speech a few times when he can just kill the hero.. earning time for things to happen, like classic cartoon villains showing off their brilliant plan thus letting the hero slip away, which I find really lame. And there's the damsel in distress that falls that is in love with the hero and Johnny Depp for some comedy.

So .. in conclusion I think this isn't a bad movie and is worth a watch if you're bored, especially for children. I just think it just lacks depth and is too predictable.