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Reviews
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Miller with just a hint of Tarantino
Given Fury Road we know where this story ends and approximately where it will start. And we have a bit of dread that it will just be a straight line between them
It is not a straight line
The movie is broken into 5 chapters (a la Tarantino) with each chapter going new places and giving world building. Where the Mad Max movies give us Max, sn environment, and Max fighting to overcome that environment, this movie gives us a whole world--geopolitics, survival tools, economy--and then throws in a sociopath trying to make it all hid
There are no good guys except the person we know cant win, which is surprisingly liberating as the factions square off
The wasteland debris turned weapon tech is fresh while not unfairly surpassing Fury Road (set in the future)
Allegedly george wrote this script to give Charlize background for Fury Road. This allows tremendous continuity between not only these 2 movies but the video game that came out near the time of Fury Road
I expected to be annoyed at replacing Charlize with Anya, but it was a good move. Not just for her younger looks but for the innocence that shatters through the movie
I loved every minute of this movie.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Visually stunning but weak story
The team put together a show rich in visual effects and spends a lot of time showing them off
The actual plot had so few twists and turns it could be condensed to a 30 minute window
The fights between different size apes, much less the humans, are quite terrifying and realistic
A few themes of trust are broached but never explored. They'll probably flower in the 3rd movie after we've forgotten the setup
3 errors in implementation ill say in a non-spoiler way:
Egg yolk
Smoke unseen
Water levels
I liked the ending, and will definitely see the expected sequels...which isn't surprising as I've seen every apes movie and tv show multiple times.
The First Omen (2024)
What movie were you remaking?
I'm going to rate this movie 7 but really give it 2 ratings
As a horror movie: 8
As an Omen movie: 2
Let me say first that the original Omen is my favorite horror movie. Rosemary's baby, for several reasons, is my most hated horror movie
What we have here is a good take on Rosemary's baby.
Let me explain without spoilers why this isn't an Omen movie. The signature of the Omen franchise is that the deaths occur with a Rube Goldberg clockwork precision (later incorporated in the Final Destination films) coupled with an Alan Silvestri soundtrack that conveyed intent and malice. In short, it was clear that Satan was watching over his son. There were also cumbersome rules about how a mortal could kill the antichrist, all making for great tension.
The preview for this film hinted at this with scenes filmed in reverse....not in the movie. The first 2 deaths pay obvious homage to the original movie but lack the malice and intent. Later scenes don't even try
The final scene appears to take place 3-5 years after the rest of the story, making the final line laughably obsolete
There may be a plan to implement a parallel series of stories even as Omen 2 and maybe 3 happen undisturbed out of sight. If so, that could be fun storytelling. But unless they retcon the retcon, they won't be Omen storys.
Madame Web (2024)
Yes it really is that bad
There are no consecutive 10 seconds of this film that will hold your attention. Whether by plot stupidity, bad dialogue, or clunky cinematography you will constantly be thrown out of the movie and back into the theater (and wishing you weren't there)
Every actor reads their lines as if English is not their native language
The villains lines are clearly dubbed, seemingly by Richard Dreyfuss with his balls in a vice
The grand evolution of Cassandra's powers allow her to helpful pat people on the back and say they'll be okay (that isn't a spoiler, I promise)
Does the final fight take place somewhere iconic like the statue of liberty? No. It takes place on a Pepsi billboard
Need a lead for your girl power film? Hire the submissive from 50 shades...
There was 1 good line in the entire film.
Out of Darkness (2022)
Bait and switch
Billed as a horror film, with the preview suggesting a haunted forest type of story. That is NOT what you'll find here
It's extremely low budget but I'm not downgrading for that. In general they had all the pieces for a fine movie.
I do downgrade when characters do things that are stupid and unbelievable, and fully 25% of the small cast do unbelievable things with every action they take.
Begin mild spoilers
A group of six separate from a larger group when food gets scarce, and go over seas allegedly looking for original home of one of the group. They land in Scotland, find no crops and no hunting and decide to stay.
They encounter an apex predator and get really certain they want to stay.
I haven't even gotten to the unbelievable stuff. And I won't, as I don't want to do major spoilers
Kudos are necessary though to the linguist. Taking the dialogue and translating it to an artificial language was very slick and made the cornerstone if what could have been a brilliant movie.
Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
Hidden gem
An Australian equivalent to Red Dawn, this movie captures the shift from quiet teen life to the need to fight beautifully
I particularly enjoyed that, unlike the American version. The antagonists are basically anonymous. Sure, they look oriental, but no concern is paid to whether they're Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. It doesn't matter--theyre invaders and they've imprisoned the entire town and they must be fought
I've watched this movie twice. First time I got interrupted and it was removed from streaming before I could finish. Getting the yen to watch it again and glad to see it's available. But I may buy a copy so it doesn't disappear on me again.
Mr. Malcolm's List (2022)
Ignore the haters
Ignore the people complaining about the race of the actors. It's a simple but well done Victorian romance. Mostly predictable but thoroughly enjoyable.
As for the race issue, the actors were clearly chosen for their acting abilities, not for a homogeny of skin tones. And the actors, up and down the cast, are superb.