Jarodaily Reviews

Extinct (2021)

Is this a chinese history class?

[5/10 · 5 October 2022]

I love the plot but I keep getting side tracked by informative sequences about chinese history. Could be better if it wasn't for "too much conditioning" about chinese history and more balanced with other historical timelines i feel like that part was off putting.

The animation is great and the characters are lovable and the villain was unexpected. Props to that. I think it appeals more to chinese audience than the general audience.

Given all that, I really enjoyed it but i found myself typing this review and ended up binge watching the movie instead - didn't last from start to finish. My cats loved it tho!

The Witcher (2019– )

Hmmm...must be a place of power

[7/10 · 26 December 2019]

As we all say "It's better than nothing". It's a brave take for Netflix to make this novel-based game into a netflix series especially that the lore alone is so vast and how zealous the Witcher gaming community is to their fandom. One mistake could lead into chaos. The first episode was even-handed as Henry Cavill did prove to everyone that he truly is so passionate in playing as Geralt of Rivia, knowing he's a buff-geek for the game himself. From how he talks, deliver every line and his poise - he truly is the Witcher (except the fact that he's too buff to be Geralt but after a few more episodes you'll be convinced & just get used to it). It's safe to say that the Director played it safe in introducing all the origins of the main character if we talk about the game it's mostly about Witcher: Rise of The White Wolf & Assassin of Kings. If you have only delved into Wild Hunt , there's still some treats for you here like "The Last Wish" main quest with Yennefer and some mentions about Vesemir and the three Witchers who passed their trials in Kaer Morhen. The fact that they even went in-depth with the "Fake Ciri" is impressive. Scoia'tael was introduced here but it's not merely for the noobs, only those who know the lore can instantly tell "Ah! yes those are Scoia'tael".

Further more if you continue watching the slow-paced story progression from Episode 1 - you'll find yourself questioning "WTF happened to the original characters?" but it's fine, diversity & alteration is just a marketing ploy for the know-it-alls. By finishing a couple more episodes, you'll clearly see imperfections VS. perfections and there are countless of them to point out.

Overall, I find myself asking for this series to be renewed for another season. It's worth giving it a shot than nothing at all.

Frozen II (2019)

More like a sluff than an avalanche

[7/10 · 28 November 2019]

It's been years since the first movie a lot has changed - from the details to musical scoring. You can watch this without watching the first movie since they did a quick recap of what happened. The new setlist of songs are just alright - it does not leave a lasting impression and not as catchy as the ones from the first movie. I doubt there'll be a third one and most likely it's just going to be a live-action remake which would be more exciting than another sequel.

The I-Land (2019)

Even the story looks a little lost

[3/10 · 15 September 2019]

At first they'll hold up to their premise that this is going to be inspired from the FYRE Island debacle. Episode 1 got me thinking it's more of like Battle Royale/Hunger Games until I got to episode 3 and my expectations went downhill from there that I never made way past that episode. It would've been better if they did not introduce the plot a little too early...

Skyscraper (2018)

Another "The Rock" movie

[5/10 · 11 September 2019]

Plot is cliché but the action is packed it'll leave you on the edge of your seats. If you're a fan of Dwayne jumping on rooftops and avoiding a falling debris then don't sleep on this.

It Chapter Two (2019)

Here comes Derry!

[9/10 · 7 September 2019]

Loved every part of this from story to transitions to color grading, I love that they never left Stephen King out of place in this sequel to its remake. First time to see a movie that uses color grading (or even LUTs) as transitions and this one pulled it off 10/10! To cut it short Chapter One is scarier than Chapter Two but the sequel has it all from creeps to quirks!

The Girl Allergic to WiFi (2018)

Vintage and superficial

[5/10 · 1 September 2019]

A big nod to everything old and vintage. Interesting plot but the choice of title is a bit deceiving, she could've shown finding during her CT scan that her brain reacts or "allergic" to radio signals. The story between Aries and his bestfriend is more interesting than the plot. There's too many vintage stuff and nostalgia in this movie that overshadowed the plot of a girl allergic to WiFi.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Down to the four realms we go!

[8/10 · 23 June 2019]

From someone who has not read the book, this is worth the watch. There are some dry parts and maybe that's why the critics have given this movie a low score but it's still better than A Wrinkle In Time's adaptation. It's fairly comparable to Alice In Wonderland, so if that's your cup of tea then you'll surely e joy The Nutcracker and The Four Realms. This is also one of those movies with an "a-ha!" moment when it comes to the villain (which caught me off guard) and I love the story for that.

What I enjoyed most is how the director did all the transitions from scene to another, it was flawlessly magical! Give this movie a go if you're a true hearted Alice in Wonderland fan - you won't regret it!

Toy Story 4 (2019)

There's a hero in every toy

[9/10 · 20 June 2019]

Toy's Story still continued to their story premise, that no toy will never be left behind. This sequel shows that every one (or this case, every toy) deserved to be loved and looked after. I find myself questioning how a trash like Forky be considered as a toy while the group of Andy's toy considers Forky as what he is while Woody, being our natural hero, reconsiders that a trash like Forky is still special in his own way. And the fact that I never knew that the plot is not all about Forky, don't believe what you see from the trailer. This movie also foretells Keanu Reeves' (aka. Duke Caboom) future in his upcoming project in the MCU since he is now under contract with Disney - which made this movie more exciting! There's also more ACTUAL toys that sparked nostalgia in this movie, Polly Pocket and Sky Dancers for example - that left me in awe.

I love a movie that's unpredictable like Toy Story 4, how I keep telling myself that they're gonna kill Bo Peep and ended up wrong. So for those wondering that they'll be leaving the theatre broken hearted, missing a limb or two (lol) this is very unlikely Toy Story 3's ending. What's questionable is how the next sequel will end up without Woody on the main gang.

Shazam! (2019)

Unexpected!

[7/10 · 7 April 2019]

DCEU is slowly picking up with MCU every movie and I am here for it! The story progression is perfect but halfway it became predictable and stereotypical. From introducing Shazam's superhero powers to rescuing his friends and family from the grasp of the villain, it's all deja vu. Until they introduce Marvel Family, I changed my mind from giving it a 6 to 7.8. It's a good thing they cut that part out from the trailer, it's a huge MARVEL surprise to all DC fans. Although I was really hoping for a Black Adam cameo or a quick cameo in Shazam's post-credits I did get a quick hint of how they'll include Black Adam on its sequel.

Major props for keeping Shazam! just as he is - quirky, fun, and childish. On a personal note, Instead of Shazam being compared to MCU's Captain Marvel I now feel like Shazam is a counterpart of Deadpool, you'll understand why if you stay to watch the credits.

If there's one thing I learned from this movie, it is not to pull out your phone when disaster strikes and put it online. Instead, take action and be a hero. That is a subtle way and a very obvious scenario you'd see in most scenes of Shazam!

Glass (2019)

A superhero movie in its raw form

[8/10 · 17 January 2019]

For someone who grew up from watching countless superhero films like Marvel and DC. This movie taught me a lesson that nothing is impossible for humans to hone our super-abilities that we can never learn from the norms. This is definitely a superhero movie in its raw form - "origins" in the words of Mr. Glass.

If you're looking for a superhero movie like Marvel/DC where there are tons of special effects, explosions like Michael Bay, and comedic banters of your favorite avenger - stay away from this. But if you enjoy a serious tone and a very deep storyline about superheroes, then this ones for you.

I suggest you watch Unbreakable & Split (in its proper order) for you to understand the characters even more. There probably won't be another sequel but if you're looking for one, you might enjoy watching the first X-men movie along with its whole timeline. Given the fact that there's a notable impression of Hedwig (The Horde) mocking Mr. Glass on a wheelchair about Professor X ability who James McAvoy played as in X-men.

For moviegoers who enjoys watching a superhero film and those who goes out of the theatre feeling like one - you won't gain a "special ability" from watching Glass but you'll gain respect for being unique and different. The last part was so special for me as an avid fan of superheroes - in believing that ordinary people can be extraordinary as to what is impossible can be possible.

There's also a short flashback of David Dunn (Unbreakable) that explains their Father & son bond from the first movie to Glass. All the characters from the first two movie (Unbreakable and Split) progresses here so you'll see all of them having a grand reunion/showdown in this movie. I love how difficult it is to tell who the real villain is but I swear to god it pissed me off - which is a good plot twist for this trilogy. The only disappointing part is I can surely see that there will be no sequel to this cinematic universe yet they can still make a spin-off out of the New World Order and the Gods among us.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

A trailer is nice but the trailer is not the film

[9/10 · 8 January 2019]

If you're very much new to watching a Mary Poppins movie then you might wanna watch the first movie instead of diving in to this topsy-turvy sequel. You're gonna miss a chance trying to understand what's going on and not being able to compare and contrast the young Michael Banks to the present version in this sequel. For me, it's a good thing they did not remake every single song from the first movie as having Mary Poppins alone is more than enough to feel nostalgic. I still find myself singing with a spoon-full of lyrics from its new songs (even if I have not even heard about its soundtrack before watching) that's pretty catchy to start with like "A Cover is Not A Book", "Can You Imagine That?" to the Leerie speak lyrics of "Trip A Little Light Fantastic". Don't start with me when it comes to its costume design, every seam is well-done and every design was spit spot! The dance choreography has a twist of modern my favorite was the one with the lamplighters which I must say like a kindergarten pole dancer of Magic Mike with a dash of Disney magic!

Never judge a film by its trailer as the trailer is not the film.

Aurora (IV) (2018)

It's an Art Film

[6/10 · 2 January 2019]

Cinematography & musical score is a good 10/10 for a local film. I consider this as an art film where you try to grasp and confuse yourself from its storyline. The film starts to boast its great cinematography and fresh take in color-grading - for a local film, that's very impressive. I find myself trying to think of ways to make Aurora a good horror/thriller film that will leave the audience shrieking for jump scares. Aurora has tons of eerie shots which is quite effective in one (literally just one) jump scare from the whole movie but I still think they could've done better.

The ending was confusing, it's one of those psychological films where they want the audience to create their own plot that leaves the story open-ended with a lot of "Hows" & "Whys". Overall it's a fresh new take in cinematography and color-grading when it comes to local films, I hope to see more local films like Aurora that's well executed everything is a 10/10 the only thing wrong with it is how they deliver the plot - it's a messy shipwreck.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

A true ABBA fan will enjoy it!

[6/10 · 18 October 2018]

It's a light-hearted movie but that picks up where the first movie ended, there are some backstory but it doesn't really explain a lot while you're being distracted by songs you can't sing along to (as a millennial who grew up to listening to my mom's cassette player with ABBA as her driving music). There are some parts that are funny I just didn't enjoy the selection of songs as much as the first movie as most of it are B-sides of ABBA.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

Coming from someone who has read all 3 books

[6/10 · 28 September 2016]

The first few parts of the movie lived up to its original story, introducing Jacob and the rest of the main characters, the peculiars and Miss Peregrine. But if you watch closely, you'll notice that Peculiars were hunted by Hollows and have their eyes taken. That's one thing that'll make you cringe in the first few scenes aside from the peculiarity switch of Emma & Olive. I already forgiven Tim Burton and understood what he has in stores for us fans if he switch the peculiarities of the two main character but then half way on the movie, you'd clearly be like...WTF because they missed out A TONS OF IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE STORYLINE/TIMELINE. They never even mentioned Hollows in human form as Wights, which is a big issue because there's like a huge difference between hollows and wights. Jacob never even gets to control Hollows in the movie but his peculiarity in seeing hollows is in it. There's some sort of a love triangle thing going on between Olive, Emma and JAcob that makes Enoch jealous. That was not even in the book. And Olive is a kid, watdaheck? I'd give this movie a 6 and this is an act of kindness and generosity. As a fan, after watching the movie, i felt so disappointed as it lacks a lot of important points in the book that SHOULD HAVE MADE IT IN THE MOVIE. Addison was not even there, they never even get into the part where Miss PEregrine got injected by some vaccine making her loose her ability to turn back into human form.... enough said, enough ranting. Good luck to those who have read the book and decides to watch this movie.