Change Your Image
domonkos-horvath
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Star Trek: Renegades (2015)
A lot of potential completely wasted on abysmal writing and staging.
I have absolutely no difficulty ignoring every single shortcoming of certain audiovisual aspects of this production that can all be explained away with one of two words: budget and copyright. What I can not ignore however is the amateurishness of several other aspects that do not require a high budget, only talent in writing and staging. The beginning is rushed, the dialogues lack substance - mostly because choreography is almost non-existent, people just stand or sit around awkwardly wherever -, the succession of some scenes is very mechanical - consecutive scenes inorganically delivering mandatory backstories in a manner that is violating rules of writing as basic as "show, don't tell" -, while others have absolutely no relevance for the plot, they just serve to deliver awkward one-liners.
All in all the entire delivery of the plot falls so flat, it fails to convey even a modicum of suspense, danger or urgency despite all the efforts of all those professional actors. Their characters are believable. What happens to and around them is not. If I wouldn't have seen some of the original actors reprising their former roles and some others who played favorite characters in other franchises, I doubt I would've stuck around for more than half an hour, and through all of the first episode (of two?) only four scenes brought forth an emotional response out of me that wasn't indifference or disdain, but actual resonance with the portrayed events.
Then there's the fact that the ever present moral dilemma each and every classic Star Trek episode came with is completely absent here, save for the last few minutes of the episode, which makes it a meaningless footnote instead of a source of tension shaping the episode. Therefore I'm sorry to say, but this is not just not a good feature length film/pilot/whatever, it's also not good Star Trek.
The Dwarves of Demrel (2018)
Perfect combination of skills that can not be quantified by "budget"
Money can't give you an aptitude to excel in a skill, in short, "talent". Talent in writing, talent in acting, talent in setting up character-centered scenes. The word "budget" becomes meaningless, when your movie's only location is a cave, instead of grand visuals you have to put your faith in the talent of your costume designer, the actors, the writers and they all did a flawless job in this one.
If you want to turn your brain off to enjoy CGI destruction on a grand scale featuring 2-dimensional characters in an action flick without a hint of anything that makes a story well-written, watch one of those 300+ mil comic book adaptations.
If you enjoy good acting, well-written dialogue, and in general, movies that are driven forward by their characters instead of CGI city blocks exploding in your face, you will definitely want to give this one a chance!
Big Hero 6: The Series (2017)
An utter disappointment!
One of the few animations I was hooked on almost immediately upon watching was Big Hero 6, but this serialized version is horrible. The drawing style is too simplistic, the animation is choppy like it was some flash game, some of the voice actors are different, but all of them sound weird when they speak... there is unfortunately nothing to like about this version of Big Hero 6, at best you can tolerate a couple things, so it's a complete disappointment.
You could argue that it looks like it does because of budget reasons, but more than 3 years passed since the movie and I don't think I need to go into great detail how much computer technology can progress in 3 years. Then there's Dreamworks Animation that creates very good serialized 3D animated cartoons (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Dragons: Riders of Berk / Defenders of Berk / Race to the Edge, etc.), so I don't understand why a megacorporation such as Disney can't do the same with a serialized sequel, so it appears more similar to its predecessor.
Stargate Origins (2018)
Stargate (1994-2018)
If this is the best thing MGM can come up with, the Stargate needs to be buried and stay that way forever.
The Stargate is of course CGI, because they probably already destroyed or auctioned off the SG-1 prop, but it's so blatantly fake looking as the chevrons are locking, it's like I'm watching something rendered 20 years ago, but then I see the event horizon and it's even worse looking than that of the original movie 24 years ago. This is not the only indication that the budget was some exec's lunch money for the week, the runtime, the sparse sets, the amateurish actors are all making this look like a fan featurette.
I would be entirely capable of judging this production on those terms, if it wouldn't fall short even on that scope. Not only is there a giant production company behind this, but there are low budget webisodes of popular franchises with noname production companies behind them that are orders of magnitudes more watchable than this one, and their story isn't based on a premise that directly contradicts the established lore of its source. Dragon Age - Redemption comes to mind.
All things considered, Stargate Origins is not a sci-fi prequel on a budget, it's a farce.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
A better Guardians of the Galaxy than Guardians of the Galaxy. Shame it shouldn't be.
Main characters are dying left and right, and you just can't give a damn no matter how hard you try, because they are dying in a CGI buffed stand-up comedy. Even Guardians of the Galaxy knew when to take a darker tone if it needed to, this movie is just an action flick that lacks all seriousness and emotional impact from the first minute to the last. This movie wouldn't have looked or felt any different if they had replaced Chris Hemsworth with Aziz Ansari. All of it feels very out of place.
I give it six stars only because all those elements the comedy runs into the ground are actually good, and would need no change at all if this was an actual, serious movie about the end times of Asgard. The characters have depth, their motives are believable, they all have their little backstories that make the main plot that much more colorful.
This could have been the best Marvel movie of recent years if it wouldn't have been designed to be one big out of character superhero comedy.
Justice League (2017)
Needs more of just about everything.
This movie is a two hour long visual orgy with absolutely no story behind it. You could write all of it down on a napkin with a blunt crayon. The CGI is way overdone, the physics ridiculous - just like in Wonder Woman -, the action gets boring fast, and since there is no story, there are no plot twists, no surprises, no character development, nothing. Just CGI characters fighting different CGI characters in a predictable succession of different scenes, the end.
This movie is missing three quarters of what make a movie a movie and the last quarter is not without its own faults, as aforementioned. In short, it's a complete fail.
Star Trek: Discovery: Context Is for Kings (2017)
Is this the United Federation of Planets or the Terran Alliance?
The general consensus seems to be that this episode is better than the pilots, but as so often in the past, I take a stance contrary to the popular opinion. I already rated this episode a 7, days before I intended to write a review for it, and now I honestly think I'd rather give it a 6, because I finally figured out why I found this episode lacking from the first minute I've seen it.
The Shenzou was a well-oiled machine, up until Michael's mutiny every crew member we've seen was fitting in. They did their job, the entire crew was a perfect example of people working in unison towards a common goal which is completely in sync with anyone's expectations based on former Star Trek titles.
Then comes the third episode...
It immediately starts with a scene where the only goal people work towards in unison is to antagonize Michael, so the show immediately creates an atmosphere of hostility, which is maintained through the entire episode. This however is not the only problem. It's understandable that people wouldn't be friendly towards a criminal convicted of serious crimes, but nobody seems to get along with anybody. The interpersonal relationships on the Discovery stink, everyone is selfishly putting their own needs before the needs of others, and that kind of selfishness is completely against the principles of Star Trek.
Star Trek was always about like minded people working together for a greater purpose. The camaraderie we've all got accustomed to in previous installments - and even seen an example of just last episode - is completely gone, their work relationship is anything but civil. They bark at each other, lie to each other and belittle each other sometimes for no apparent reason; they simply don't represent the utopian society of the United Federation of Planets as people.
If this keeps going on, I don't think I will be able to enjoy the show. No matter what the story will be like, acted out by these people with this attitude it won't feel like I'm watching Star Trek, and this is coming from someone who rated the show a perfect 10 after seeing the pilots.
Currently it feels like I'm watching the early days of the mirror universe Terran Alliance more than anything else.
The Orville (2017)
flat sci-fi script with decreasing amounts of comedy as bait
With fewer humorous moments from episode to episode this show quickly devolved from a capable sci-fi spoof to an utterly boring futuristic abortion of a comedy with the narrative complexity of a comic book in just four episodes. I would give it a 7/10 if it was in that format. As a TV show, in light of the alarming decrease in quality each week it doesn't deserve more than a 5, because it's just mediocre in every way.
Young Sheldon (2017)
Not the train wreck the trailers implied but still troublesome.
After watching several trailers I wasn't very enthusiastic about watching this show, but I'm glad I did. Sort of...
Scenes that had no emotional effect on me whatsoever in the trailers worked very well in the context of the entire episode, scenes I've already seen gave me a couple good laughs. There are two things crucial to the entire substance of the show I don't like.
1. It's foreshadowing more drama than comedy. Don't get me wrong, I don't generally dislike dramas, but I can't get behind a drama as a prequel to a sitcom. I shouldn't have expected anything different, I already knew from The Big Bang Theory that Sheldon was constantly bullied, his father turned into an alcoholic etc., it's just that being confronted with this side of Sheldon head on makes me feel very ill at ease.
2. Sheldon's portrayal is wrong. Granted, Iain Armitage is a child actor and I can't expect the same level of acting skills from a child than an adult, but his portrayal of Sheldon is a complete failure. The actor's portrayal of Sheldon is way too wooden, older Sheldon is enthusiastic about everything he says, he prides himself on his knowledge and revels in imparting that knowledge, he's all giddy when he talks about his interests or pursues one of his hobbies etc. Iain Armitage's Sheldon is just a robot. There is no emotion, no conviction behind anything he says or does and that's just not Sheldon.
I'll have to watch more episodes to see where this is going before I can rate it but the pilot episode was a 6 at best, and with more episodes this show could easily turn into a 4.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
Star Trek is finally back after Deep Space Nine and Voyager
If people would stop judging this series by its similarity or rather lack thereof to a collection of series antiquated in both visual design and storytelling, they would discover a solid sci-fi, doing its namesake justice not by some anachronistic regurgitation of the same, half a century old tropes, but by delivering an immersive sci- fi experience incredibly strong in narrative, emotional depth, and tense action at times, which is everything that Star Trek stood for at its core since the beginning.
The visuals and pacing were updated to 21st century series standards flawlessly, while retaining all the elements of the established Star Trek universe so far that are important in providing that unique Star Trek feel along with some subtleties we have learned to know and love with the previous series. Because of this, Discovery feels way more Star Trek than any J. J. Abrams movie ever did. While it's too early to tell whether we'll get the original sense of scale - something the J. J. Abrams movies completely ruined - there's something about the way this story is being told that already makes it feel vast.
As an avid Star Trek fan of nearly 3 decades, I am fully satisfied with this series, after only having watched this prequel to the Discovery story-line it's already my third or fourth favorite series of the franchise and I have no doubt it will only continue to grow on me as I watch more of it.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Another Suicide Squad level movie.
The first and last 15 minutes of the movie are worth watching, it's the tedious middle part that completely ruins everything, but even the good parts are not without issues.
Done to death one liners delivered with an annoying accent by an annoyingly naive character - all of this wrapped in a flat performance - but Instead of a cold hard reality check, reality is distorted to entertain the delusions of this woman, whose entire scope of knowledge about humanity comes from 3 thousand year old Greek fairy tales.
The script is even more mediocre than usual, the issues presented are entirely unrelatable, thus failing to engage the viewer - or at least this viewer - on any level. Whenever I am presented with something that is supposed to get an emotional response out of me it eventually feels like a botched effort for various reasons. One instance fails to be impactful, so I feel like I'm watching a seminar where some statistics are mentioned, another is stating the obvious so plainly, I feel like I'm watching a recap of the movie instead of the movie itself. There's one distinctly Greek thing this movie doesn't have, but should have adopted before anything else: the makes of a good drama.
I have a particular and very subjective criticism about one thing. When German people talk among themselves, they speak English with a blatantly fake German accent. This is not Assassin's Creed, where half of the movie ended up being Spanish, in this movie it would have been perfectly fine to hear authentic German language and read subtitles for those 10 minutes.
And last but not least: The last time CG physics made me chuckle like this was when I watched Tyrannosaurus Azteca, a 2.9 rated movie on a $2.5 mil budget. Now that movie is so bad it's good. This movie is just bad.
Warcraft (2016)
A masterclass in adaptation.
I've got bored with the Warcraft strategy games a long time ago and developed a hate for World of Warcraft the MMO years ago (due to the multiplayer experience, not the game), even when I was playing I found zero appeal in the horde.
This movie made me forget all about that.
They took the essence of what I knew and loved about the games and fused them into an almost uninterrupted sequence of consecutive scenes overwhelming me with nostalgia. 10 minutes in I highly doubt I was blinking even once until the end of the movie. While the story could've been a tiny bit more multifaceted, and certain characters could've been more involved in it, I can't say for sure I could have enjoyed the movie with a different story more than I already have. I admit I am completely incapable to look at this movie from the perspective of someone who has never played any Warcraft title, but only because this is the best movie adaptation of anything I've seen in my 3 decades of being on this Earth, and with the late surge of DC and Marvel movies, that's saying something.
If you like fantasy movies in general that's not an assurance in itself that you will definitely like Warcraft the movie, but if you are curious what the Warcraft universe is all about, you most assuredly will get the genuine Warcraft experience with this movie. I judge it for what it is, an adaptation, and on that front it delivered 100%!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of the same in the sequel.