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Corner Office (2022)
Great execution for what it set out to be
Without spoiling, this movie might be best described by saying it's made up of elements to of these movies/shows:
Office Space, The Office, Severance, Lars and the Real Girl, and American Psycho.
The trailer was giving an impression of the movie that might've steered people's expectations in the wrong direction. And I was worried when I saw some ratings that were very low. But then you watch it and it's perfectly fine. Better than fine, it's quietly captivating. The tone of the movie doesn't even demand much patience from the audience to "bear with it" while it hits its stride; you're inside Orson's head, hearing his thoughts and seeing his point of view, wondering if he's crazy or it's everyone else. I really liked this movie, it's subversive and strange in truly uncommon ways.
Carol & The End of the World (2023)
Chuckles and sighs in equal measure
This whole show ends up a bit charming at times, and a little clever. But also, it's frequently feckless, with arbitrary ideas that serve almost no purpose-even when you're sure they're going somewhere with it, somewhere poignant-but no, it's just a cul de sac and you're left feeling this great idea is being squandered. There are tender moments that are very human and they might also be absurd, ridiculous. Points for not being painfully predictable. I would've appreciated a bit more signs of progress or growth in the characters. What we got was a notion of feelings that were basically there all along, and a countdown to what.
Nuts! (2016)
Read the Book Instead
There's a lot of information being delivered from what seems like wild angles. Some text is a bit fast. The animation styles shift, which is a little distracting. There are interview clips and one is with author Pope Brock, who wrote a book about Brinkley called 'Charlatan'; it's infinitely more satisfying, and offers the information with more wit and narrative flow.
As the movie illustrates aspects and eras of Brinkley's life, things are just glossed-over or taken for granted without any proper build-up or proper explanation. The book adds so much more context genuine humor, while the movie instead went a little more wacky about it even when the subject itself is wacky enough.
There's so many more interesting and jaw-dropping details the movie doesn't bother to introduce. Too many to remember, but enough details about the sheer audacity of Brinkley will haunt your thoughts long after reading 'Charlatan.'
Paper Girls (2022)
Gag Me with a Spoon
Other reviewers covered everything about this that goes right and wrong. Don't trust a single person that thinks this whole thing isn't clunky, that it runs smoothly, or even makes logistical or dramatic sense (even for a weird show about time travel!)
This show had a lot to live up to, being based on an engrossing comic book series, but they really muddled the whole thing with clunky script, awful pacing, dialogue, and dropping random f-bombs to feign dramatic effect. Misguided directing was sometimes jarring. (A character is sitting, stands to have a reaction, listens a moment, sits down again to listen while uncomfortably paying attention of their shoulder.)
The music never fits the scene. It's all agonizingly shoe-horned in as an after-thought. And in the first few episodes there's frequently a sound-effect droning in the background, but not synchronized to any goings-on.
I'm so disappointed. Maybe they can make it more interesting in the next season (does it deserve one?) like 'The Walking Dead' managed to do, but without going too many seasons. (There's six trade paperback books that collect about five comic book issues, so everything was literally already storyboarded for them. Before they mucked it up.)
I wanted to love this. Whatever. I'll come back for season 2, but with re-calibrated expectations.
Note: No, it's not "woke" but it does touch on a few aspects of their respective eras in meaningful-ish ways.
Free Guy (2021)
Fun-ish.
Really pretty, really flashy production. Lots of goofiness. Not a heck of a lot more. Kind of like some bubble gums, the flavor doesn't last long enough.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
Fun, but also just about what you'd expect from the looks of it.
A bit too heavy-handed at times, story- and dialogue-wise. Mostly, you're getting what you expect from a movie that looks like this. But at times, the clichés are obvious, and make you wonder if those parts were uninspired, or just placeholder moments that they never tried to make more unique. There are times when the "plan" is a bit inane, and you remember you're watching an action movie that spent all its ambition in the first act. Still, it's fun. (Last thought, I keep hearing critiques about so many movies these days seeming like a "streaming movie"; I think this term replaces what used to be referred to as a "TV movie." This is one of those.)
Ratched (2020)
I'll take a lobotomy, please
Over on Rotten Tomatoes, 2 stars would give it, "Meh, it passed the time" but that seemed just a scratch generous, so I gave it 1.5 stars. (4 stars here, because it's weighted differently. The show is pretty, after all. Too pretty...) This show is agonizingly sloppy on plots. Or, more like Oprah giving away plots to everyone. Everyone and every thing got some time, no matter how undeserving. And sometimes I'm just surprised more by how important seemingly random things will be, no matter how innocuous. Other things might be sorted out with a brief explanation/conversation. Like the ending. The whole time I'm thinking, "This is what you get from a creator of 'Glee'." I hate this show. And I hate it even more because it looks expensive and much better shows were probably pushed out to make room. I take comfort knowing it's also going to dissolve at some point.
Swamp Thing (2019)
Clumsy as walking through mud.
Unfocused, clumsy, terribly written, 90% miscast (thankfully, with the exception of Andy Bean/Alec Holland and Derek Mears/Swamp Thing), and awkwardly played by almost everyone else, painted up in really bad "southern face" accents. There's a vine-tickle-fight with a bunch of random mercenaries. Plot holes and pointless acts. I went into this so excited, and half-way through ended up nearly "hate-watching" it to get it over with. This series wasn't cancelled only because it was "too expensive."
Great special effects, though. Seriously, this LOOKS great.
In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
Impressively underwhelming...
Impressively underwhelming, given its subject matter, and the ensemble telling the story. But, there was almost no chemistry between either, and that's what makes it even more appalling when you remember the director is Ron Howard. How could this have become so blasé? I'm taking a stab at guessing the studio interfered? Hoping that's the case? The special effects are generally adequate, or sufficient. Weird that from just 12 years earlier, 'Master and Commander' still holds up so well by comparison.
Watchmen (2019)
Absolutely Impressive.
Show's 1st season is nearly finished, and I'm consistently riveted. Initially, I watched the first teaser trailer casually expecting to find reasons why not to watch the show, to maybe avoid it for the sake of keeping my feelings about 'Watchmen' comic (and yes, even the movie) pure. But that feeling turned immediately into riveted intrigue, and it's been there ever since; this show has simply delivered for me. It's rare that a prequel or sequel (or whatever this technically ends up resembling) manages to pay dutiful homage and even fly off the handle in its own direction. Absolutely impressive.
The Irishman (2019)
Superb, Gentle Story about Gangsters
I let this one sit with me and marinate since the day it came out. Watched a few videos that functioned as supplements to understanding what happened, or supported ideas about it. I've always been a fan of Scorsese's films since I saw 'Raging Bull' when I was in high school, then 'Goodfellas', and so on. This is one of his best, and definitely needs the addendum of it being one of his most subtle in style; it's not like a typical viewing of a Scorsese film, and it's almost like a delicate, yet thorough form of storytelling from a completely different approach of his most famous source material. I think it's fantastic, and superb. But I'd reserve "spectacular" for 'Raging Bull' and 'Goodfellas', etc. This isn't glorified, but it is somewhat glorious.
Take Shelter (2011)
Watch with as little knowledge as possible
Fascinating, and honestly, very well-paced for a movie with so few moving parts. And each part was played very well by everyone in the cast. Glad I finally caught this movie 8 years late. I didn't know anything about this, just its title from awhile ago, and then some YouTube movie list channel mentioned it, reminding me I was interested. Thought it was superb.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Solid movie, palpable special-FX
Still holds up pretty well after all these years. You can point out its flaws, but it's still very compelling and effective. I love this movie.
It (2017)
Scarier before I saw 'It'
Felt as though the scares were as artificial as most the terror. Too-polished, CGI-heavy effects that didn't land like I thought they would; didn't feel very palpable, and it was jarring from the tension. Having grown up traumatized by the original movie, my anticipation of the remake gave me more anxiety that the actual movie. Also seemed as though it took too many liberties with its own mythos for me to take it too seriously. I'll watch the 2nd chapter, but now with a dash of salted skepticism.
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Over-the-Top type of western
Just about the right amount of "over-the-top" (except a moment that actually spills over), this is really, very genuinely entertaining. Not my favorite style of western, but it totally does the trick. (Which is why it took me so many years to warm up to watching it...)
The Boys (2019)
Pretty solid show
Pretty captivating and engrossing. Although, it somewhat fails to make some moments land or hit the mark, emotionally. Luckily, it's a totally superficial problem that's easy to overlook, because the pacing is executed well. (Can't help but wish 'Umbrella Academy' had this quality of writing and staging and pacing.) It's a show, but often watches like a movie, and it was very easy to binge this the last couple days. (Note: Not a fan of the title, but maybe it's illustrated as having a more poignant relevance in the comics?)
Kin (2018)
Came for the Music, Stayed for the Good Movie (no spoilers)
My rating might seem high-but, only just kind of-it's because I came to this movie to hear the band Mogwai's soundtrack for it, and then the movie ended up totally roping me in. There are aspects about the movie that are maybe a little predictable, and in some cases the acting is sufficient to further the plot (that's not to say the acting isn't also frequently good or actually proficient,) but I felt it never gave me any real snags with just letting it continue with the story. That is to say, wherever it's not great, it's also definitely not bad.
And the story felt unique enough, or rare enough, to be kind of truly cool. I don't know how to explain that it caught me in just the right way, and I'm pleasantly surprised that it resulted in a fun experience. Like in 80s movies growing up, when a kid gets to have an adventure all his own, but in this case, it's a bit more serious.
I imagine some people might be outright hostile about its lack of perfection, but it's a *pretty* polished movie, with GREAT Special FX. That is to say, they FX aren't overt, or distracting, much like (surprisingly, for me) the music! It all serves purpose and function, and lets the story just *be,* with a bit of style, design, and panache. You could even say it's "subtly sci-fi." So, if someone doesn't dig it, or craps on it, that's ok. I'd just take their negativity with a (handful of a) grain of salt.
This movie doesn't have it in it to become a big release, and that's a shame more people wouldn't see it, because if it were easy, instead of only in art-house or independent theatres, then enough people would see it to give it the praise it deserves, and not the crappy, disproportionate rating here on IMDb.
Before Sunset (2004)
and on the other hand...
It doesn't appear the above commentator has seen the first movie, which is difficult not to like, and that means the second movie won't have the same impact. True, you won't be lost watching this one instead of the other; there are several allusions as to what's happened previously, but "Before Sunset" wasn't meant to be seen without its older sister-movie "Before Sunrise."
If you don't like/love this movie, it would be better instead of bashing this movie for its simplistic design than to decide it's just not-for-you. The movie is brilliant and sincere and I don't even want to cheapen it by getting into it. See the first, see the second, love them both, and get over yourself. This movie isn't about you. It's about two people's (and infallibly many others') happenstance love affair they wish they'd had.