JottaH Reviews

Bird Box: Barcelona (2023)

It is the first movie all over, but worse.

[4/10 · 14 July 2023]

The acting is surprisingly solid, the effects are acceptable. The violence feels muted and rushed at best. Not lasting, emotional and gruesome enough to bear any real impact, nor flashy, gory and detailed enough to feel thrilling. The goal is a shelter and x amount of people die on the road to getting there... Sounds familiar? Putting the reusing of many elements from the first movie aside however, the biggest crime of this movie is its attempt to explain and put the beings in a box (hah), quite literally.

As all fans of horror know, mystery is what makes something scary or at least unnerving over a period of time. Remove the mystery, and it becomes either a jumpscare-reliant horror action flick, or as in this movie's case; Just a mediocre action flick. Bird Box: Barcelona is a mediocre action flick with supernatural elements

I do hope that when, if ever, we do get to see a proper sequel to Bird Box, they will be able to recreate what made the first one s o impactful.

Returning to it not being possible to grab and imprison the "beings" and conduct experiments on them, would be a good start.

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)

I can't believe that's not Adam Sandler.

[4/10 · 16 January 2022]

That's it for my thoughts throughout this movie. I have enjoyed the franchise for what it is, and this fourth outing simply does not live up to the standards of the first three, however low they were. Now, of course it doesn't have to be Oscars material building a movie like this one, but the story is vapid and does not utilize the potential fun in flipping monsters and humans. Such a shame for what should be an easily likeable franchise to go out on such a low note.

Still, I cannot believe that's not Adam Sandler voicing Dracula... Well done, Brian Hull!

The God Plant (2018)

This documentary has been vote-bombed by other interests.

[10/10 · 24 May 2021]

No doubt about it. It is a factually sound, well-produced documentary that's received an appalling rating by faceless voters, saying nothing to support their rating given.

This documentary can be seen on Amazon Prime right now, and it is pure truth in every sense of the word. It shows the historical uses of Cannabis, it shows how the bodies of mammals have evolved to work in harmony with the active components of Cannabis. It shows how the plant became prohibited (spoiler, racism and Capitalism) and it shows several accounts both medical and anecdotal of people having huge benefits of using CBD oil. Among other things, 3 studies carried out specifically to prove that "Cannabis causes Cancer". All of the studies showed the opposite, Cannabis FIGHTS Cancer, and they were all buried.

If we are allowed to use alcohol and tobacco as recreational drugs, then Cannabis should ABSOLUTELY be allowed at the very least for MEDICINAL use. The only thing stopping this development, is lobbying by Big Pharma and ignorance stemming from propaganda aimed at making Cannabis seem like it is "Satan's Plant".

It is not. It is a plant with considerable medicinal uses, and a far less damaging recreational use than Alcohol or Tobacco could ever hope to be.

Watch. This. Documentary. Learn how Hypocrisy is the name which runs like a red thread throughout the West's history with Cannabis prohibition, which also affected the practical uses of Hemp. Hemp, which could've saved Mankind from our dependance on plastics decades ago.

Your Honor (II) (2020–2023)

Shoddy writing coupled with the laziness of its ending strung us along until the final frame.

[4/10 · 15 February 2021]

We began watching this with 9 episodes out. Right out the gate, the show began to display glaringly bad/illogical writing in the behaviour of a 17-year old boy in the age of information. Couple that with a convoluted blend of storylines that could be pursued, but never truly are since this was always meant as a one-season show. We stuck with it thanks to Cranston and the promise of seeing the storylines established, come to a conclusion.

That does not happen. In the end, we have Adam, the single most annoying 17-year old of any media since forever, drowning "poetically" in his own blood from a stray bullet meant for Carlo, the other son of Baxter. The final shot was clearly aimed at causing shock in the viewer, but it fell flat in the face of having the show cut to black and the realization that that's it. There won't be anything else, that's where the story ends because the writers thought that was a satisfactory ending.

It's not satisfactory. It's not even poetic other than on paper that Adam dies, it's a waste of time and wasted potential. I'm only giving it some stars because I love Cranston and Stuhlbarg, so they get 2 stars each.

The drought of good shows over the course of 2020 and the start of 2021 could've been lovingly made up for by this show, but it failed. Spectacularly so.

The Defeated (2020)

Do not trust the negative reviews.

[10/10 · 4 January 2021]

People saying that it shows 1 group as good or others as bad, have either not seen all the episodes, or they're biased to hell and back. The show depicts villains and heroes in every corner. British, Russian, American, German, French... Perhaps it is a sign of the times that we live in that people choose to see just one side, but I assure you that it hits in all directions. It also shows humanity and decency from all directions.

This show is grand. It has mystery, the violence is realistic and used to great effect, the characters are well written and the connection to real events has a unique spin in that it depicts the post-war time of Europe rather than WWII. The set design alone is worthy of all the praise possible. So is the use of actual British, French, American, Russian and German actors. It would've been easy to just stick a bunch of Swedish and English actors into it all and call it a day. But they didn't, because this show is so clearly a labour of love. The one thing that confuses me, and surely others, is why it's called different names depending on region. To me as a Swede it is called, The Defeated, to others it's called Shadowplay. It causes unnecessary confusion for viewers, but those that do watch it all the way through tend to give it positive ratings.

Give it a chance. It is the first show I watched in 2021, and it set a VERY high bar for any upcoming shows to reach.

Dracula (2020)

At least he didn't sparkle in the sun...

[6/10 · 6 January 2020]

I was very hyped for this show, considering my long running love for Sherlock. I was expecting the writing and stylish qualities, but featuring the supernatural and no shortage of violence.

Sadly they didn't create much of anything. This show is not fun enough to be a parody, nor scary enough to be a horror. The settings in which the show plays out feel cramped, there is lots of talking only serving as exposition and to establish the liberties taken by the writers as far as the Dracula legend is concerned.

I am disappointed, I have to say. But at least I still have Castlevania, an excellent adaptation.

Crawl (I) (2019)

Unfairly judged by its female leading role? Absolutely, it's still 2019!

[6/10 · 29 December 2019]

Here you have a silly movie, a movie not setting out to be anything but a popcorn flick with some violence and some attempts at a story, yet it is receiving far more negative reviews than others of the same caliber. Why is that, you ask? Because, the lead ain't played by a muscular and slightly balding/entirely bald man would be my guess.

It is the read thread in most of the 1-star reviews that the biggest flaw of the movie, is somehow a woman daring to survive situations that in reality are far less extreme and unrealistic than say, what John Wick or any Jason Statham character goes through...

Meanwhile, she is not surviving anything that real life animals and even people, didn't survive before her. Look up Val Plumwood, for example.

This movie is not terrible, not great. It's short and to the point, the special effects are far higher in quality than what I expected, and the violence isn't done excessively considering the animals involved. I was expecting gators flying across rooftops and all sorts of shenanigans, and the lack of that sort of excess is probably why I could enjoy the movie as I did.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Literally has a hate campaign raging against it. Make up your own mind!

[8/10 · 27 March 2019]

Captain Marvel may at first glance seem like it's a dud in the MCU, but bear in mind that this movie's had fevered campaigns against it and its score would likely be way up there had said haters not bombarded this website with their reviews following a very visible pattern of many first-time reviewers, clearly by accounts owned by men, giving it a 1. Apparently, Brie's wish to have more seats for more diversity among critics translates to her hating white men, which obviously isn't true in any shape or form.

That didn't stop said crowd from rallying online and sending downvotes to every single website having reviews for movies. This makes it even more important for YOU as a viewer to watch it and make up your own mind! Moreso than otherwise, knowing that there are forces that don't want you to watch the movie for political reasons.

The movie isn't political, it's a pretty standard fare MCU-installment and has the action, humour, characters and story that others had before it. If you enjoy the MCU, there's nothing saying you won't enjoy Captain Marvel.

I am a fan, and CM is a strong 8 in my book. Not as great as others, but nowhere near as mediocre as some of the movies handling say, Captain America or Thor.

Captain Marvel's biggest crime is that it portrays an unapologetic female character, played by a strong, opinionated woman. The end.

Captain Marvel (2019)

True to the MCU magic!

[8/10 · 9 March 2019]

First, let's address the elephant in the room. This movie is getting review bombed by a certain crowd for the progressive ideals of the actress playing Captain Marvel. They not only review bomb by pressing the star rating, but also by posting seemingly well-thought out reviews giving the movie 1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars, anything to make the overall rating go down.

Don't believe the hate, this movie is EVERY BIT as much fun as other Marvel movies. Humor? Check. Well acted? Check. Lovely references? Check. Action-packed? Check. Heartfelt? Check.

I wouldn't place it at the very top, but it's a solid 8 when matched against others.

Going into more detail would mean spoilers and I believe that people should be able to see beyond the hatred coming from fragile egos. Just take it from this fellow fan of the MCU: Captain Marvel is just as magical, just as funny, just as worthy as any other title of this franchise. Go see it!

Widows (2018)

It has the Male Supremacy sphere up in arms, but that's about it.

[4/10 · 24 December 2018]

This movie is too slow, it has too much dialogue that doesn't really move things along and cares more about style than substance and good storytelling. Painfully slow pacing along with more questions being raised than answered made this one of my big disappointments of 2018. McQueen could really take a note or two from Quentin Tarantino when it comes to moving a film along with dialogue.

The plus side it has is that it really riles up the extremely toxic Male Supremacy-sphere, they're up in arms about this movie even existing, so that's at least something this movie does right.

22 July (2018)

They've failed miserably at portraying the horror.

[2/10 · 12 October 2018]

This movie deals with Anders Breivik's heinous attack as a "let's get it out of the way!", when that and that alone is the reason for WHY this story sent shockwaves throughout the world and Scandinavia in particular. This remains to this day the deadliest terrorist attack in our part of the world, and the makers of this movie made it seem like some amateur piece performance thrown together by some teenagers for a local movie festival. They didn't capture the absolute and utter cruelty, the many first-hand accounts for what Anders was doing on the island, instead they let him run in, throw some phrases around and coming across as a typical American pulp criminal from a Jason Statham movie rather than the cold, calculating monster that he is.

It irks me extra seeing as how they sold this movie as being from the minds behind other, quite well-portrayed real-life stories such as Deepwater Horizon. The moment I saw the shaky camera work, I instinctively knew that the Bourne director was involved. Then followed over 2 hours of a camera shaking even when focusing on immobile objects just for the sake of shaking. Can you spell epic nausea? I sure can.

I do not recommend this movie, in fact I'm disappointed that it didn't get the high quality treatment that Patriot's Day got in retelling the true story of a real world crime. The people behind this movie tried so hard to be genuine and not overtly profiteering from a tragedy, but in doing so they're literally glossing over the facts and downplaying the horror of what took place on that fateful day.

Watch a documentary instead, this movie is pure and utter waste of bandwidth.

Sweden Dying to Be Multicultural (2017)

This "documentary" serves as an example on angled media.

[1/10 · 12 July 2018]

The title already tells of the hyperbole, the heavily biased interview subjects, the bad production quality and the attempt by the creators to cash in on the bigotry and fear of certain political groups.

But actually watching the "documentary" also reveals their lazy attempts to present opposing views and facts, overshadowed by the use of silly music and heavy editing to only present what the creators want the viewer to see.

This "documentary" is nothing short of a propaganda piece. It has the production quality and journalistic integrity of Sharknado. And that's being generous.