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Reviews
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Wonderfully acted, heartbreaking film
Listen, I don't know what Colin Farrell did to go from a handsome mediocre actor to this thespian powerhouse but I'm really glad he did it. His performance as Padraic, a simple man wanting nothing more than to live a simple life, is so nuanced and so heartbreaking one almost drowns in its subtleties and Farrell's prowess with deftly delivering levity within the dramatic.
Balanced against Brendan Gleeson's tightly bound Colm, a man who wants and needs more than his life has to offer, Padraic's optimism seems almost obscene. They are strange bedfellows and when Colm suddenly ends the friendship the only person surprised by it is Padraic.
So begins their descent into enmity (that includes self-mutilation, accidental death, exposed secrets, escape, and tragic realizations) driven first by Colm disparaging Padraic's "dullness" and sustained by Padraic's ever-diminishing idealism.
Comedy my arse. I cried through 80% of this film. It's beautiful and tragic.
The Batman (2022)
Good, slow burn
Been reading Batman comics for 30 years and I was not excited about this film. The trailers made this movie look boring as hell. **It's not.** It's very much not. It's like binging a four episode season with no commercials or credit breaks. And it's a good season too. Full of interesting characters, action, intrigue, and a beautifully written curvy plot. Yeah, it's 3 freaking hours long, but you're never bored or annoyed with it. Pattinson's Batman is observant, tightly wound, driven, and soft in all the right ways. So far, he's the only Batman who gave good maskface. From his slow, deliberate movements to his rapid-fire fighting style and stellar intellect, you really would not think "innit that Bruce Wayne?" looking at him in the suit. His Batman voice is chef's kiss. Kravitz's Catwoman is the most believable to date. It's nice to see this character portrayed as a real person instead of a campy sexual plot device. The whole cast puts forth 209% and there isn't a weak link in the bunch. Colin Ferrell, who to me is usually mediocre, was amazing. Director Matt Reeves really did his homework. This is an incredible noir film about the early years of the world's greatest detective, not a bloated action cashgrab about an angry rich man in a stylized battlesuit. There is depth here and plenty more story to tell. I'm excited to see where next they go with this incarnation.
Eternals (2021)
This movie has no reason to suck this much.
If you've seen Aquaman, then you know how beautiful a bad movie can be. Eternals is much like that. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and that's all. The plot is overly convoluted and poorly written. There are lot of unnecessary and badly delineated time-jumps. Absolutely no character development or arcs. Something important is happening to Thena, but since we don't now a single thing about her, it's hard to determine if she's just Like That or if it's a plot point. And guess what? It's neither! There's too much exposition about the wrong things, no exposition about wtf is actually going on. The characters are nothing more than avatars- the only personality trait available leans a little too far on the Sassy Sidekick trope to really count.
I cannot comprehend how so many talented actors turned out performances that were wooden, stilted, and dull. I don't know why Chloe Xhou chose this iteration rather than using Gaiman and Romita Jr's much more exciting (and narratively sound) updated version. It makes no sense to hire the amazing Ramin Djawadi to score the film and then mix the music down so low that you can't hear it. Dane needed more scenes to establish any kind of connection with the audience so we give a crap about what he's doing at the end of the film. Actually, that's true for almost everyone in this flick. The more I think about it, the more stuff I find to dislike. This movie has no reason to suck this much.
Cowboy Bebop (2021)
It tries hard but doesn't quite make it
Kudos to the wardrobe and set designers because the clothes and the settings are chef's kiss perfect. The story and casting ...well. John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda are nearly perfect as Spike, Jet, and Faye (with Pineda doing the best job of the 3). They were soooo close. I don't know what happened when they got to casting Vicious. It's a hackneyed, ham-fisted temper tantrum of a performance. There's none of the cold, calculating, blue-flame hate and rage of the character from the anime. What a missed opportunity.
I'm not going to comment much on the cameo at the end because Netflix still has time to fix that (Dear Netflix, you NEED to fix that.) But they really can't undo the mess they made of the story. There's too much of Jet's kid, not enough of Spike eating, way too little Ein, and Faye's backstory is wtf from beginning to end. Vicious isn't scary at all and Julia makes you hate her. Why they did what they did to Gren is a complete mystery to me. I like the new version - that's a fierce a$$ queen, yes - but he ain't our fave sax player. He and Faye interact for a literal 15 seconds in the whole season. Another missed opportunity.
I wasn't expecting it to be the anime frame by frame, but it would have been nice to see some of those episodes played out instead sliced and diced into this weird narrative. There's a little Hakim here, a little Asimov there, a casino for a bit... None of it really ever pulls together, it never feels cohesive.
Is it watchable? Yes. Especially if you've never seen the anime or read the manga. But when someone - who was so excited about this adaptation that they actually broke a blood vessel in their eye after hearing about it - falls asleep several times while trying to watch it? That's not a good sign.
Not sure I'll stick around for season 2. I might just go rewatch the anime and read the manga instead.
Reservation Dogs (2021)
Hilarious and heartfelt
This show balances comedy, culture, angst, and tragedy so well for its first season. It has nowhere to go but up. Paulina Alexis (Willie Jack) steals most of the show, but the cast works so well together it's almost like watching a documentary. It doesn't feel like scripted TV. It's funny and interesting and heartbreaking and surprising in all the ways real life is. It's easy to fall into the lives of these kids, get familiar with the people around them, learn more about their culture, pickup their hilarious vernacular (skoden sh!tas$), and mourn their heavy losses. We're given so much in just 8 episodes.
Eat Locals (2017)
Fun and funny
This flick won't win any awards for cinematography, but it's a laugh-out-loud fun film to watch. What it lacks in character development and story arc, it makes up for with witty dialog, spot on comedic timing, and performances by actors who are obviously having a blast. And it's so screamingly British, it has bad teeth. Loved this film. It has strong "What We Do in the Shadows" energy.
M.O.D.O.K. (2021)
It's pretty terrible
MODOK has all the potential to be as funny as animated Harley Quinn if they'd just had him enacting hair-brained schemes against various Marvel heroes and running amok with a handful of faithful AIM lackeys that die in every episode.
Instead, he has a wife and two kids that are so boring I kinda wished something bad would happen to them so I could dredge up some care from Lake Give-a-crap.
The jokes, if that's what you want to call them, are not funny. (They weren't funny the first time we heard em on Robot Chicken 10 years ago, Seth Green. Stop writing these lame a-- jokes.) The voice cast is actually pretty good but you can't make an unfunny joke funny with a pretty voice. But they try, they really do.
I made it through 3 episodes before I called it quits. Really, there's no long, philosophical reason why this show sucks. It's just boring and not funny.
Superman & Lois (2021)
Surprisingly good
This started out with typical CW trash vibes and then morphed into something of much better quality. Tyler Hoechlin is giving way more than what we saw in Supergirl (or Teen Wolf) and Bitsie Tulloch is a more believable Lois Lane than Amy Adams. Just when you think the show is diving headfirst into a trope, it makes a sharp right or left turn into something more interesting. Would have given this 9 stars except for the fact that it lacks diversity and all the bad guys are Black so far. Do better CW.
Torden (2020)
Hidden gem
What a shame this magnificent film was released right as the pandemic poop hit the fan. This unique twist on an origin story is beautifully shot and solidly acted. There's great attention to detail throughout, making this a movie you can enjoy even more the second time through. It's a slow burn to an exciting and surprising end. I'd love to see a sequel.
Little Joe (2019)
Meh
This movie is 1 hour and 46 minutes of prologue. I kept waiting for it to get going, but it never does. What it does do though, is repeat the most headache-inducing high-pitched noise whenever Little Joe is about to blow pollen. I almost turned the movie off just because of that. The explanation of what the flower does was akin to a small child's understanding of how antidepressants work. Somewhere in here is a really good idea. It just isn't fleshed out in this film. Ultimately, I was more disturbed by Emily Beechum's chronically chap lips than I was by the flower that makes you fake happy.
Lovecraft Country (2020)
A Little Bit of Everything
It's interesting to see other reviews give this groundbreaking series a low score because they don't "get it." The point of this show (and the book it's based on) is not to sell you something you don't already know. Racism is bad. Love is powerful. Sexism is man's downfall. Magic is dangerous. Monsters are real and take many, many forms. The great thing about Lovecraft Country is that it conveys all of these nuggets of knowledge to the audience in a way that never ceases to be entertaining and continually surprises. It doesn't preach but remains emotionally moving, artfully blending American history with speculative fiction. It seemlessly fuses the visual aesthetic of 1954 with the auditory intensity of contemporary hip hop music. Its characters are relatable, no matter your race, gender, orientation, age, or origin. But above all the wonderfully refreshing takes Lovecraft Country has of the American midwest, magic, monsters, and all the scientific wonders inbetween, this show is simply well-written, well-produced, and well-acted. There is not a single weak link or mediocre episode in the lot. It is one of the best things on television right now. It is firmly placed on the short list of shows that truly have a little bit of everything.