miriam-seraia Reviews

American Beauty (1999)

A surprising turn on my book-cover-judgement

[7/10 · 18 February 2023]

I will say that upon seeing trailers for this movie and the description, I thought I just wandered on Nabukov's Lolita, and I hated that book so much I ended up skimming it to spare my brain the unnecessary crap o a p*do's rants and senseless excuses for his inappropriate attraction. But I digress... (spoilers below) .

. .

This movie started out as a story about a man who is having inappropriate thoughts about his daughter's 16 year-old friend, and then became an analysis on unhappiness and that burying secrets is a deadly - no, for real DEADLY - thing. I wish the story relied on other aspect to show what the rest of the movie showed (perhaps do away with the attraction for an underage girl, and just go with someone who was just 10 years younger than him). All in all, I could extract the idea they wanted to portray, and just "threw" away the rest.

Richard Jewell (2019)

Who is actually on your side? 2.0

[10/10 · 16 November 2022]

Richard Jewell is a man who suffered greatly at the dirty hands of the media and the investigative employees of the government. These people are not on our side. They are on their own side; they will do anything to get a fatter paycheck and if that comes at the cost of an innocent? Well, fudge them, right? (P. S. I had to edit out an already censored version of the word that stars with an F and is followed by a U, then a C and finally a K)

I feel so sorry for a man who suffered, a man who tried to help, a man whose innocence and belief in the justice system must have been forever changed after they falsely smeared his reputation.

We should all already know that the media is a disgusting and filth field crawling with people desperate for a front page, most of whom will do just about anything to get it.

The lawyer is the perfect example of what it can mean to a person when we treat them right. As well as, being truly present at your job and not just phoning it in. We can change people's lives by being kind and by being committed to our life's mission.

I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to wake up and smell the roses of reality; to quote another movie that showed us how much the powers that want to be care for us, "We protect us. We do. Nobody else. Not the companies, not the scientists, not the government."

Richard, I hope you're in Heaven, feeling that beautiful eternal peace and complete serenity.

P. P. S.: This is my second attempt at posting this review. Let's see if it will pass the watchful eyes of censorship.

Old (2021)

Potential was there...

[6/10 · 7 March 2022]

The actors were not that great and I'm sorry that this couldn't get executed to become the amazing concept that Shyamalan imagined it.

The reason I'm giving it 6 stars is because I appreciate M. Night showing us once more what humans would be capable of in the so called name of 'saving others' when in fact it's really elevating ourselves. The scientists in the movie went to extreme lengths to 'save people', at the cost of others lives. Who are we to decide who lives and who dies? Can we breathe life back into someone? No. Then why do we think it's ok to lie and fool people into doing things which only further our agenda? I really think he is asking some heavy questions with this film, and even if the end product isn't a rewatchable masterpiece, a one-time viewing should suffice if it raises these thoughts.

What If...?: What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? (2021) Season 1, Episode 4

What if... we stumbled in the dark?

[6/10 · 3 March 2022]

We see Strange become the sorcerer supreme and do these messed up mistakes after clearly stopping others from accessing Dormamu and the dark dimension. I'm not sure if this really fits with Strange's character.

And the fact that even when he saw Cristine getting destroyed and not wanting to exist like this, he didn't try to reverse his mistake. He didn't even ponder to discuss with her in one of the million scenarios, "Hey, Christine, you keep dying, and I'm trying to understand if I should even become really messed up; do you want to live/exist in the conditions where I'm no longer the man I was, and you are fated to die?"

We never see him thinking through her perspective once, and seeing as he is a doctor who is faced with the idea of people in the hospital choosing to abandon extreme medical measures to not further harm their loved ones, it seems ducked up (had to censor myself again, or this review wouldn't see the light of day, phew, congrats IMDb you really cleaned up the city on the account of that one swear word) that he never thinks of using that scenario as a method to try and move on. Maybe I'm just wildly off the mark here, but I guess grief can really break someone (and yet, he isn't like Wanda, so overwhelmingly grief-stricken that he just looses his marbles; he only lost one person, not four family members, a lover, and countless friends too. Which I guess sounds mean to compare how each person deals with their grief, but I'm just trying to compare the situations and see the sense of why he would go to such lengths of getting his timeline and everyone in it destroyed).

What If...?: What If... Thor Were an Only Child? (2021) Season 1, Episode 7

What if... we wasted a whole cast for another episode?

[1/10 · 3 March 2022]

I swear somehow this series manages to stumble in the dark of bad-plot land more than any other. Why would anyone waste 30 minutes on making a fool of one of the most strong and interesting characters the MCU has to offer? They made Thor sound like a ducking (had to censor that word or IMDb would not even let me know that's why my review didn't get published a few days ago) three year old who is scared of his mommy. Absolutely disgusting.

And then the fight with Captain Marvel too... to quote Steven He's dad, "What the HAIL?" is going through people's minds when they come up with this stuff? I'm fuming... don't they already know that most people hate Carol Danvers of the MCU? They could have used her in a way to make the character more likeable since we don't have to suffer through a performance by Brie Bore-son, but they somehow managed to make me hate Captain Marvel even more than before. Was that the goal? If yes, then congrats!

Seriously, was a waste of cast and characters, and of everyone's time too...

What If...? (2021– )

What if... we ask better questions next time?

[5/10 · 2 March 2022]

After watching and rating each episode individually (don't get your panties in a twist y'all!) I have calculated the average grade for the show. And so far, after Season 1, I give it a 5 star rating. If future seasons will be released, I'll come back and change my grade based on the total average for all seasons.

There were three episodes that really had me on the edge of my seat wishing this wasn't just an episode but a full movie. Other than those, most episodes aren't even mediocre, rather dull and the questions asked unbearably boring or unnecessary.

All in all, I hope if there really will be a 2nd season that they ask more worthwhile questions than the ones we got. I'd like to see more about Wanda, Loki and Thor in a way that doesn't make the characters look inept (I'm looking at you "only-child"-actually man-child Thor.)

What If...?: What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath? (2021) Season 1, Episode 9

What if... we ask an intriguing question and maybe for once execute it well?

[8/10 · 2 March 2022]

So we continue where we left off in the previous episode, with Ultron gaining multidimensional powers of interference and whatnot, except the Watcher decides to intervene in order to save the multiverse.

I was on the edge f my seat with some scenes. Except, if you have access to anyone across the multiverse to help why the hell wouldn't you enlist a sane Wanda who has access to her full powers? Like pick the one who has her family to lose in this war and I'm sure she'll be the most help. Why not get mature Thor to come in? An Eternal? So many options...

Anyway, much better than the majority of episodes.

What If...?: What If... Ultron Won? (2021) Season 1, Episode 8

What if... we finally ask another worthwhile question?

[9/10 · 1 March 2022]

Alright, where do I even begin? This episode was really suspenseful, and the first one where we see some cohesion between the previous ones we watched.

Now, to tackle the scene that has everyone's panties in a twist. How could Thanos be killed so easily? Well, while he had all the infinity stones, Thor almost managed to take him out, if only he had gone for the head And Ultron not only cuts him in two halves (his head also), but he also used the element of surprise, as Thanos was just arriving on earth when Ultron took him out without a second thought.

The only reason I detracted a point from rating it a 10 is because I'm not clear on why the infinity stones work in the Watcher's "lair". They were useless in the TVA, as they were "off-world", so shouldn't that apply here too?

Still. As entertaining as the zombie one for sure.

What If...?: What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark? (2021) Season 1, Episode 6

This is what we wasted a whole episode on?

[1/10 · 1 March 2022]

I'm sorry, but... there's just so much wasted potential. They still had access to Chadwick Boseman and this is what they wasted his voice on? A Killmonger episode that was boring? I actually fast-forwarded through the middle part of the episode. I'd have been more interested in something to do with Shuri.

What If...?: What If... Zombies?! (2021) Season 1, Episode 5

Now we're talking!

[9/10 · 1 March 2022]

Finally the lot thickens and my interest piques.

For the first time we ask a "What if...?" question and I like the answer. Actually, not that I love seeing my favourite heroes die, but this scenario makes sense and makes me wish for a full movie based on this question. I am so curious what happened upon their arrival in Wakanda. What would zombie Thanos do. And how would the end of this universe come about.

I 'hope' (there I go with my dad puns too, haha) to see/find out the continuation of this story sometime in the near future.

What If...?: What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes? (2021) Season 1, Episode 3

Potential finally found

[4/10 · 1 March 2022]

Now this is the kind of "What If...?" questions we should be asking.

I was truly intrigued by the plot of this episode, thinking that finally I have something interesting to watch and explore. Who was the person killing the avengers before they could even become avengers?

However, the episode lost me on the last act where we discover who the culprit was. Why would Hank Pym just go around killing people he didn't even know yet? Just to hurt Fury's feelings? Just to hurt SHIELD? I think that is very lackluster.

Now let's ponder for a moment. Thanos takes his time with the time stone and decides to ponder all the possible outcomes of the fight. And he realises that the only one in which he fails is due to the existence of the avengers. So he uses the stone to go back and eliminate all of them before they even manage to form an alliance. That would have made more sense in my opinion.

Alas, I guess we're not here to witness greatness, just mediocre scenarios of what could be...

What If...?: What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord? (2021) Season 1, Episode 2

Still a no...

[2/10 · 28 February 2022]

First of, Chadwick Boseman, this has nothing to do with you. You were a legend and I appreciate being able to hear your voice again.

Now, I thin I might end up reviewing all these episodes, because I jus can't seem to contain my opinions.

So you're telling me that the Mad Titan Thanos, part eternal part deviant, who decided to decimate half the universe population in order to prevent the birth of countless celestials, got convinced otherwise by a human? Come on!

Also, somehow that collecting got so strong he somehow got his hands on Hela's headpiece? How? How are Thanos' former army kids stronger than him? How did anyone think to greenlight this episode? I'm sorry, bu there were countless other possibilities for using T'Challa somewhere else, and they went or this one? Y'all... I hope there will be at least one good episode in this thing.

What If...?: What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger? (2021) Season 1, Episode 1

How bout no?!

[1/10 · 28 February 2022]

I never thought I'd write a review for a TV series episode, but here I am.

Very crammed, and Captain Britain is really superficial and annoying to me. Is she stronger than the Captain America we got just because she's a woman Did they have to make her so butch to represent how strong she is? Because that's just moronic.

How did she survive so long to be coming back in the 2012? They're lucky I'm a completist otherwise I wouldn't bother with this one.

The Encounter (I) (2010)

Sounds sappy and cliche, but it changed my life

[9/10 · 13 February 2019]

I remember first watching this movie on the first day of 2013. I was going through some issues with how I saw God. I was so preoccupied with how the world was falling apart that I was asking myself how can He just stand all around us and let us do it. That's when this movie came into my life. When I needed to understand how Jesus truly is. Now, I usually hate Christian targeted movies because they lack in quality, they are so cliche and they feel like they're trying to hit you over the head with a Bible. But this one is so simple and elegant. It touches upon many questions that non-believers and even believers alike have. I as left in tears (which does not happen easily) with every reply of Jesus. The actor who played the good shepherd was a good choice in my opinion as he exuded that peace and love that God has for each one of us. I do recommend this movie regardless of denomination and religious orientation if you want to understand what God really is like.

Spotlight (I) (2015)

A movie that qualifies as strong meat a.k.a. be ready to digest a lot of reality and face the true face of a world unknown to people living in a happy bubble.

[10/10 · 16 March 2016]

This movie undid something inside of me. It's that part of you that holds on to hope that people can be good, that there is hope for humanity. I knew the basics of it when I went to watch it: that it is about investigative reporters looking into a story of abuse in the catholic church. And it uncovered so much more than just that. Honestly, this movie should be seen by anyone who seeks the true face of the world. We don't live in a pink bubble of happiness. F*cked up things happen to people all the time; worst thing is when it happens to the innocent. The little ones who can't protect themselves. When they are robbed of their faith and their hope and their future. Sitting in the film theatre on the last row, I was brought to tears as in front of me a long list of places where victims spoke out was scrolling. I was both shocked and mad. I felt sorry that people can fail so miserably. "Mike Rezendes: They knew and they let it happen! It could've been you, it could've been me, it could've been any of us." Indeed. When we witness darkness and we shut up and we don't do anything about it, that's when we fail. A poet once wrote, "You can join the millions talking in the dark. Or you can stand up and scream light, out into the night." So choose to stand up. In your profession choose to eradicate the oblivion of evil. This movie is a masterpiece. From the dedication of the actors to their roles, to the script, the director and the cinematography. The score? Fantastic. Howard Shore did it again!