milosek Reviews

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Unnecessarily netflixed

[5/10 · 15 December 2023]

This could've been great if not for the common themes we might expect from Netflix.

A movie that truly builds on the tension and the confusion then adds several scenes that are completely out of touch and unjustified in the sense of what we know about the characters.

The director relied on really loud pop music to give excitement and enthusiasm to the start of the movie. But that could've been overlooked, even though that is a well from which this studio takes on a bit too excessively.

Then, by the end of it, the director sprinkled some good old fashioned netflixsms that everyone can recognize by now.

Also, the one's character big speech is written on a level of a mid-schooler too lazy to even use AI for his homework.

But this one is on me, why do I even watch anything this company makes. They just ruin good IP.

Stretch (2014)

Fun, funny, overlooked

[7/10 · 15 December 2023]

A cool premise, great world-building, manages to have memorable characters and all of that with a quite short runtime.

Rides the line between wildly insane and still somewhat believable for one to care about the protagonist.

Also manages to squeeze in a powerful enough and relatable enough theme in the end.

I'm quite surprised this isn't at least a cult favourite.

The B or even C storyline is a bit predictable, but this movie isn't trying to shyamalan anyone anyways. Alba's character could've been developed a bit more.

The music is present and builds the tension well without taking centre stage.

American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (2023)

It doesn't do a good job at anything

[3/10 · 18 November 2023]

Very weak documentary.

It doesn't do a good job at anything.

It doesn't present the first-hand experience of the horrors of that day.

Even though it was a massive event, they present a single case, without much intricacies in the depiction.

It doesn't do a good job of depicting the methodology of the investigation. It breezes past what was done. Barely explaining how.

It doesn't do a good job of showing the bigger picture.

It's selective about what motives it presents.

It barely covers important parts of the story like the college friends.

Or the Reddit craziness.

It takes a lot of time to play lip service to irrelevant figures in the matter like Obama.

You better watch the Walhberg movie.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

I have become hype, the average of biopics

[5/10 · 27 July 2023]

No human on the planet has a bigger cult of personality than Christopher Nolan. Not Trump, not Musk, not Messi, not Putin. No one.

His fans see everything he has done as a masterpiece. It's not just that he can't do no wrong, but that he can't do no average.

Yet that's exactly what this movie is. An average biopic.

Advertised as a visual masterpiece, it actually makes no difference whether you watch it in IMAX or not. Facial close ups and office meetings make up for 90% of the movie. Few desert shots and a very, very brief explosion scene don't warrant the price. Nor the hype.

Additionally, I'd say that the Terminator franchise presented the dangers of nuclear war far better and visually more stunning. Maybe even Stargate too.

Everything presented can be expected, many common character clichés are present. The runtime is another decision driven by Nolan's ego. The score was clever at times.

The spectacle is somewhat created by having a great actor fill every role, yet few are given any jobs that an average drama student couldn't fulfill.

I enjoy Nolan's work, bar Tenet, which was at least ambitious. Yet Oppenheimer is just coasting on reputation.

Tom Segura: Sledgehammer (2023 TV Special)

Lazy, once again. Live podcast at best

[4/10 · 13 July 2023]

Another lazy special from a man who delivered some great memorable bits in the past.

Yet now, for a second special in a row, he is just doing podcasting with pauses for easy name-dropping caused ovations.

Tom is just coasting on his fame and doing nothing of the actual stand-up work like coming up with premises, developing bits, making original punchlines. He is just telling a stories like any random person would. Followed sometimes by his signature and still funny noise making.

This would be trashed broadly if not for his developed and loyal audience that don't seem to acknowledge he isn't doing stand up anymore.

Armageddon Time (2022)

Everything seen before, but at once

[2/10 · 22 June 2023]

There is nothing new in this entire movie. It's just three or four different stories told 100 times before jammed into one slooooooow, rewardless, cliched mess.

None of the performances are memorable, no line of dialogue stands out. I truly don't understand how these type of movies get made in the first place. It's a lot of money for no one to say "this is not good... like at all" through entire time of making it.

A movie about a kid rebel that isn't fun even for a moment, that's an accoplishment.

Even the cinematography is so bad, needlessly dark, that it makes the viewing experience a drab on all levels.

Putting in needless real political personalities just to push the agenda even though the story doesn't require it one bit is another thing making it bad.

The Last Duel (2021)

Not what you hope it is

[2/10 · 17 June 2023]

If you're looking for a Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven, this isn't it. Not only there isn't the scale of battles or of history like in these two epics, it's just a slow, unexciting lecture no history fan is looking to hear.

No need to make this story or force this message with a massive budget. It's a waste of tremendous sets and costume and makeup. You could've done your agenda with a million dollars.

The story framing through differing viewpoints is not needed, barely contributes anything past the second act, and just prolongs this boring tale to needless two and a half hours.

Skip this one.

A Tree of Life (2022)

Amateurish

[2/10 · 15 June 2023]

The filmmaker truly dropped the ball on this one and failed to make this not just a compelling, but a coherent story.

Disregarding the chronology completely, spending too much time on trivial family matters and stories that don't matter to the main aspect of the event.

Not setting up the event at all, giving exposition in the start, none of that.

There isn't a good 25 minutes of story in this. It's like watching the news channels reporting on the issue but the channels switch randomly every five minutes.

In the end, it's barely about the event, more about the usual overall political American society. With a bias towards one side. Of course.

Daniel Sloss: X (2019 TV Special)

Preachy, funny forgotten or forced

[3/10 · 15 May 2023]

Too long of set-ups because of the constant preachiness, only to get to easily predictable punchlines.

Had pretty much same jokes done by Bill Burr and Louis CK. I get it if you perform similar jokes to people who are not established, it can happen, but these are two of the most famous comedians out there.

Also, there's nothing less edgy than constantly having to proclaim "I'm so edgy". Surely, it also doesn't go hand in hand with the Ted Talk-y style.

Which wasn't reserved for the last part of the special, as the comedian said so himself. That part was public therapy.

Had big hopes of him when he came up on the scene, yet he swam with the tide.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Not worth it as two episodes of the last season, let alone a movie

[3/10 · 29 October 2022]

Needless. El Camino adds nothing to the lore of Breaking Bad. Actually making the idea of Jesse's escape less exciting than it was as open-ended thread for the viewers to complete on their own.

The majority of the movie is spent on unnecessary flashbacks that establish things we already knew. Jampacking nostalgia with some iconic characters without any narrative needs.

Some actors look completely different compared to the finale and it breaks any sort of continuity.

I think the high IMDB rating is due to the show's legion of fans being blindly loyal, as a late adopter to the BB, this left a sour taste in my mouth. A waste of time. And potential.

Prince Avalanche (2013)

Impoverished, simple story, certainly not a comedy

[2/10 · 5 August 2020]

Once again a movie wrongly classified as a comedy hence becomes even more disappointing than if it was watched with a view that it's a drama. And the ceiling wasn't high in the first place.

A pretentious, cliche, "down-to-earth" story about two road workers in the Texas wilderness after a wildfire has devastated the countryside.

It's simplistic, condescending, snobbish view of how Hollywood imagines dumb people, which both characters are shown to be repeatedly. All while being the biggest stereotypes on different parts of the spectrum.

A montage with social media music doesn't make a movie charming, a single powerful scene that has nothing to do with the rest of the movie can't make it deep. Same goes for the dialogue at the peak of the laughable character arcs.

Tom Segura: Ball Hog (2020 TV Special)

Lazy

[2/10 · 31 March 2020]

As someone who watched Segura's previous specials more than once I was quite disappointed with Ball Hog.

Perhaps because of his frequent podcasts but Ball Hog just seems like it was a result of little effort being put in it.

The jokes are lazy, predictable, and written with the comic's satisfaction in mind. Not the audience's.

While Segura has always been immature and a breath of fresh air from the overly preachy and TED talk-like comedians who are popular nowadays, Ball Hog is more childish than anything. And that type of humour may work for a two minute bit, not a full special.

About an Age (2018)

About nothing

[3/10 · 30 March 2020]

I watched this movie because it came up on my Amazon Prime and I love coming of age stories.

Yet there's almost nothing in here to warrant calling it a story. Besides the last 10 minutes. Even though there's no tension leading up to it. While the omission of the plot is somewhat the point here, it's still produced in an awfully boring way. Coming of age stories should be fun, this movie wasn't. Not one good joke, not one smart, memorable moment.

The pace is off, the acting is often wooden and lines sound they are being read, not delivered. Don't expect an uncovered gem with this one, it's just a film-student level picture that somehow arrived on a global platform like Amazon Prime.

Outlaw King (2018)

New-school history epic damaged by a single scene

[7/10 · 17 November 2018]

Outlaw King does one thing more than anything.

It displays that movies should be made with the story in mind, not the viewers. Or how the viewers are perceived that is.

And director David Mackenzie followed that rule meticulously... until the mere end of the movie.

What is a carefully researched, executed, stunningly filmed, gritty, muddy history epic became blemished with the "movietization" of the conclusion.

A naive, unnecessary scene was jammed into the end to give a story more usual, uniformed ending, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth. A film that one couldn't wait to recommend to friends, became a "you could see it" type of movie.

A single scene almost did enough to degrade Outlaw King from a historical epic to a "sword and sandal" movie. If not for the perfect castings, inspiring cinematography, and state of the art modern filmmaking.

Another cut of the movie could save its legacy and turn it into a cult-classic among history enthusiasts.

American Animals (2018)

Fast, entertaining, relevant, and unique

[9/10 · 20 August 2018]

Talk about under-seen.

American Animals is 5% documentary, 95% a feature film, but you get proof throughout it that it's a 100% real story.

Smart directing with great transitions makes the movie dynamic, as does the perfect casting of the few characters that are in the movie. Evan Peters excels, once again, as does Blake Jenner and they really make the movie relatable and powerful. Also, funnier than most straight-up comedies.

Movies that have "American" in their title can be off-putting as it seems lazy, advertising-focused. But it's a valid, reasoned choice for this movie.

The great usage of music genuinely elevates the movie and shows that Bart Layton is an intelligent director who knows what he is doing. Even though his only other big film is a (gripping) documentary The Imposter.

You should watch this movie even if you loathe "based on true story" movies, as this one... isn't.

Force Majeure (2014)

Fair drama, definitely not a comedy

[5/10 · 18 July 2018]

If you come into watching Force Majeure expecting a comedy, even a dark or dramatic one, you'll be very disappointed.

It's not that the humor is too serious or dark for somebody's taste, it's just that it is not present. It's a case of false marketing.

Some scenes are terribly awkward, and terribly unpleasant, sure. But to laugh at these scenes or to find them amusing is to not have a grain of empathy, and the actors really evoke it as they give complete, subtle but powerful performances. It's not only about empathy, it's not about whether the characters deserve their predicaments, it's about the realistic possibility of the events of a movie happening in random lives. It's not Meet the Parents awkward, it's the it can happen to you life-changing awkward. Grounded.

As for the drama part, yes, the movie delivers on interesting themes, raising important questions yet somehow answering them too much on the nose each time. The pacing is too slow and there are parts which seem like are there only because the director wanted to cram as much of his ideas in a single movie.

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Remake bound to happen

[5/10 · 2 June 2018]

From its title, over its premise, to its casting, Bone Tomahawk is a movie that heavily relied on coolness, yet in the end, it didn't deliver it enough to make it a movie you'll end up loving.

Besides a single awesome trope, there aren't any original specialties about this western, leaving it without that sense of wonder a movie with this type of premise needs to have. That it somehow promises it will have.

It's like if Mad Max: Fury Road only had 5% of its weirdness, of its originality. And it seems like it could've been a Fury Road for westerns. Yet the makers didn't have enough creativity or bravery to step on the imagination paddle. Almost like they didn't care to.

Only one character doesn't feel like a stereotype, and while the acting is on point for the majority of the time, the generic sentences drown out the unique exchanges just with their sheer numbers. You do end up caring about the outcome, which is why the third act is so disappointing in the end.

Other thing that didn't help is that music is missing from the film completely, probably due to the director's inexperience.

This is a movie that will surely be remade in 20 to 30 years as it had mass potential but misfired.

Only for the hardcore western enthusiasts.