Katerinapetrova1473 Reviews

The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (2022)

Netflix is an idiot

[8/10 · 2 November 2023]

Honestly, it was one of the best English language shown I have seen in recent years that come out of netflix. This and Lockwood & co. Were creative, innovative, very well made and well acted and eventually CANCELED because netflix honestly do not have any idea what their audiences want! This show had an uniquie premise, dark & gritty atmosphere matching the somber themes, with beautiful music, and well paced plot development. Except for one scene in the last episode the whole thing was water tight so it completely evades me on what could be a plausible reason to cancel the show since there is a lot of potential for a season 2. As usual netflix raising prices but giving us nothing.

1899 (2022)

6.5/10

[7/10 · 23 March 2023]

This had all the great elements and concepts but the execution and pacing was sloppy and inappropriate for a story like this.

I will not say I hated it but I also understand the people who said they did. This is nothing like Dark which was quite suspenseful even in the monologues and conversations while this felt...pointless. And finally when the point was revealed and the pace is picked up in the final few mins the season is over and evidently there is no way to what happens since netflix has canceled it. The saving grace could have been the characters and they spent the entirety of 8 episodes being lost in translation.

The story had promise which is why the 6.5 stars. But it was not enough.

Jung_E (2023)

Does not deserve the low rating it got.

[7/10 · 22 January 2023]

A heartfelt tale about a daughter's quest to free her mother: it certainly has flaws, but overall, it was done very well. The acting, the portrayal of limitless corporate greed, and the subsequent dehumanization which does not end even as human beings hang on to their last vestiges were dealt with well. The problem was when those themes were not fleshed out properly but rather embedded in the plot. I disagree with the negative reviews saying there were not enough action scenes blah blah blah. I guess folks with that type of complaints have probably never watched anything aside from Michael Bay's transformers movies. The ending is the reason I will not rate it higher. I felt the ending was not quite cathartic enough. It just did not hit the same way and felt like there is more story to be told which as a movie - whether there is a planned sequel or not- should not be the norm.

Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021)

Could have been better

[6/10 · 24 July 2021]

It's not overall bad. The acting is pretty good, the story makes sense, the dialogues are meh, pacing is okay, there are of course huge logical loopholes but that's to be expected.

Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021)

Strongest in the trilogy

[8/10 · 24 July 2021]

The best one so far. Excellent acting, a gripping emotional plot, and a sneaky twist in the end.

Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)

Neither good, neither bad

[6/10 · 24 July 2021]

The trilogy is entertaining as a whole and although 1666 did a good job on tidying up loose ends it still missed it's mark. The story is understandable but too predictable and not to mention, recycled from the 1st installment making it anti-climactic.

Also they missed some good opportunity to flesh out nick and ziggy's complicated relationship, when they could have paid an ode to the 2nd installment instead of making it redundant.

The Yinyang Master (2021)

NOT FOR WHITE PEOPLE APPARENTLY

[10/10 · 29 March 2021]

I watched Dream of eternity and I liked it but that pales by a million miles compared to THIS. Is this a masterpiece? No. But it also has a depth and complexity that was not present in the other movie. The special effects, fight scenes, acting, character exploration, story dynamics, was executed in a sophisticated coherent, but dazzling manner. This might be nothing for the Western viewers but for people accustomed to Asian and especially chinese movies/tv shows, this is huge. So if you are an Western audience who just stumbled upon this movie and is not a fan of the Onmyoji games or have any understanding of the context or the world then I suggest you steer clear of the movie and not needlessly rate it down for people who actually enjoyed it. You can be a fan of the world and still don't like it. But in that case you should have offered constructive criticism.

Instead of labeling qinggong as "chinese kungfu" and compare it to Justice league of all things. *eyeroll*

My original rating was 8.5 given the fact that I did not like how the last fight scene was way more mellow than expected when it should have been way more gruesome and rough. Seemed as if Qingming won quite easily at the end and his struggles were not highlighted more profoundly. That part of the story could have been more emotional, could have been dragged out a lot more in terms of his relationship with Bai ni and the symbolism it suggests.

But given the unfair comparison it is going through I will be unfair in my rating as well.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

Beautifully terrifying

[10/10 · 23 November 2020]

I can understand that the lack of gore and jump scares may disappoint some people but Bly manor's charm and horror is solely based on how it is possible to be haunted by emotional turmoil and past regrets. There was a line in the show where the main character says "Love is the opposite of possession" and we can see it reflected in the different love stories portrayed in there. It's equally beautiful, sad and terrifying to understand the depths of love. Be it a mother's love for her daughter, or the power of true, unconditional love between two people that is powerful than literal possession or even from being forgotten. Also how love can be twisted and be an ugly thing if not felt with the truest of emotions. At the end of the day, what can be more terrifying and haunting than that?

Shadowhunters (2016–2019)

I don't have enough words to describe how bad it is

[1/10 · 22 January 2018]

I am a big fan of the books. I love how Cassandra Clare created a beautiful, enticing new world full of gorgeous characters. When I watched the movie, I had my reservations and I didn't think they did a stellar job but it was fine. And I was really hopeful when they revealed that a tv series is gonna come out. I wasn't expecting much, trust me. From the trailer and what I have been hearing from people, I knew they were gonna make changes but I still considered giving it a shot. Imagine my absolute horror as well as an absolute urge to puke after watching the cringefest that was the first episode. OH MY GOD. The acting, the script, the direction. the dialogues...They didn't just butcher one of my favorite book series of all time. They defiled it. They made it almost unrecognizable. They absolutely vilified it in the name of creative license. All I could think of was "Why Cassie? Why?!!" I REALLY tried to give it a chance. I watched two more episodes and I couldn't just do it anymore. Not only they changed important plot points and introduced unnecessary stupid ones but they made it look so fucking cringey while doing that, it's unbelievable. I felt like I wasted 80 minutes of my life that I will never get back. I was like "Is someone behind the camera directing this thing or they are just rolling as they go?" Did someone even freaking write the script? Is that person directly hired from a kindergarten play or something because I feel as if high school theater production would have better direction than that. Better question, did someone even bother to read the FUCKING BOOKS? Understand them, try to get their essence. If they would have just blindly followed the book I would still be happy cz this "improvisation" was absolutely horrid. I don't know who in their right mind enjoyed the show. Even if I haven't read the books, there is no way I can like the show. I wouldn't even give the books a chance either if I watched this atrocity before I read the books. The only character I think was represented and presented true to the character was probably Magnus, and Alec but their screentime is painfully little. What is happening to TV shows nowadays? Esp teen shows? Vampire diaries and Originals, supernatural, pretty little liars- they have a raised a certain benchmark and what shows nowadays is trying to do is bring it down! There is zero character building, plot building, chemistry or much of anything that guarantees entertainment!! Between Riverdale and Shadowhunters I don't know which one is more lame in terms of acting and characters and plot... EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED. I would have given it a negative rating if I could. 1 is too generous in my opinion. If I had nothing to watch at all then I will probably give it another go. And I hope to God they don't even touch TID cz I don't think I can bear the defilement of that series too. And I sincerely pray for this abomination's demise. Please let it be cancelled. Please. If you cannot make something good then don't bother changing it. Follow the recipe.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Not very impressionable

[5/10 · 1 October 2017]

I watched it without any expectations but even then I felt that bad director effect that in my opinion had fantastically ruined the 5 harry potter movies. Yes, we fans would accept and love everything that is thrown at us and the director and Warner bros knows it, hence they just makes a movie with paper thin characters with zero plot or character development, all-over-the-place story, and anti-climactic effects. But since we are a sucker for the universe, the characters, the whole magical world we will just smile and throw our money at them. David Yates is one of the most horrible director who knows how to ruin good franchises much like Zack Snyder or Ron Howard and the fact that he is being allowed to reprise his role as a director for another franchise is beyond me. The HP movies were saved because of talented skilled actors who knew what they were doing. Same would probably happen to this franchise since there are even bigger names attached like Johnny Depp and Jude law and also the potter heads fanaticism would do the rest. WB would get hits after hits while the director just rides on the success of his mediocre direction. oh, and lets not forget the special effects which were pretty spectacular and did like 90% of the job, the creatures or beasts are great but their importance to the original story is just so minimal that its ridiculous. Trust me,this movie would have banked in the box office if it didn't take place in the Harry potter universe or the name would be attached with Harry potter.

Inferno (I) (2016)

Screw whoever-made-the-decision-to-change-the-ending

[2/10 · 15 June 2017]

No seriously. Like why make a movie when you are not even going to keep the gist of what made the book plot such a work of ingenuity. I mean, come on! The whole story made sense because of the twist in the end and they choose to leave that behind? For what? So that it will not hurt the fragile sensitivities of typical Hollywood public? I have NEVER in my life gave a movie such a low rating but I am compelled since I was so terribly disappointed on what they did. The only reason I am even giving a two is because they didn't at least cheapened out at the locations or anything. The acting was pretty horrible. Even a web series have better acting than this. Tom hanks looked tired and he is not even trying anymore. They took out some major things out but that's fine since even then it became 2 hours long but what I am mad about most is the ending. I never expected this from Ron Howard. Like really didn't.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)

Could have been way better

[5/10 · 10 May 2017]

The movie could have been way better if the director would have at least tried to give a story line. They assembled a lot of big names from different industries, most of whom I am well acquainted with like deepika padukone - one of Bollywood's top actresses, Nina Dobrev from the Vampire diaries and Kris Wu, former member of the popular south Korean band Exo and last but not least, Vin Diesel, the driving force behind the smashing fast and furious trilogy. I was really excited for the movie and even a basic, simple story line with logical plot line and screenplay would have satisfied me but obviously the people behind this doesn't know that every good movie needs a coherent story, no matter how much action or CGI u pile up. The characters were one dimensional. You can forget them as soon as you heard their name. Vin diesel tries hard to bring his Dom mojo to work on this movie too but fails after a certain period of time. And let's not talk about the blatant objectification of women for no apparent reason. I only gave 5 stars because it brought a lot of my favorite actors and stars together and the action scenes which deserves to be credited. Overall, if u have nothing else to watch and watch some mindless action for some time then give it a go.

Train to Busan (2016)

One of the best movies I have seen so far

[10/10 · 9 May 2017]

There are numerous Hollywood movies of zombies and a very successful TV show. Some of them are great with mind-blowing action, CGI, stories and characters. Most of them revolves around a main character who comes in to save the day or teams up with characters who are used to further the story of the MC. To my relief, Train to Busan was nothing like that. This movie is about survival. This movie portrays what people are willing to do to save their loved ones when a crisis breaks out- a very shocking, unexpected and terrifying crisis. How the worst in people and also the best is exposed when people need to survive. It's not the most perfect movie. There are flaws and plot holes but you can easily overlook them with the excellent directing and acting. The director did an excellent job on expressing the intensity and the grim atmosphere for the story to fully grapple us. lastly, Hollywood movies could learn a thing or two on how to represent emotional, human side of the movie in a masterful way.

The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015)

Boring

[5/10 · 29 April 2017]

So...I had this movie since forever in my laptop and since there was no WiFi I thought, well, what the hell? let's get it over with..I have already read the books unlike other people and I gotta say, the movie is even more boring than the books tbh... The only reason I gave 5 is because i REALLY liked Cate's portrayal of Jeanine...her scenes are the only ones that was memorable to me...Four, tris, Caleb- the characters are so one-dimensional, that there should be an award for who was the most one-dimensional of them all... will watch allegiant when I have nothing else to watch AT ALL... like seriously, my clichéd Korean and Chinese dramas are better than this since I go there with the expectations that it will be clichéd but with Hollywood movies I am used to having more expectations..

Assassin's Creed (2016)

don't hate it but...

[6/10 · 13 March 2017]

I didn't hate it...completely... and it's mostly because of michael fassbender...he portrayed the aura of the mysterious tough assassin of the assassin's creed but sadly, even he couldn't salvage a watered down script like this...the fight scenes doesn't have the dazzling attractive choreo that the games had... the plot holes are probably wider than the gap between the buildings that the assassins jumped... Like i said, I don't hate it since the settings and the bgm has been done really well but the plot was rushed and oversimplifed and I think that is a problem many of us who just knows the context of the games and haven't played them fully will have with this movie..