toaster-72599 Reviews

Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

Entertaining and uninspiring

[6/10 · 14 May 2024]

This movie is beautiful, from the cgi to the set design everything is great to look at. Intriguing worldbuilding helped keep my attention, it would have been nice to see more of the universe that serves as this movie's backdrop. It also has a great cast that did their best with what they were given. And there ends the positive things I have to say about Rebel Moon.

The dialogue was predictable, shallow, and just oh so weak. Speeches meant to be inspiring left me feeling slightly embarrassed, it really is as if they were written by a teenager, and not one of the talented ones. The plot was flimsy at best, the motivations of most characters took an extreme suspension of disbelief.

And the terribly unimaginative clichés! The Korean sword master from a fishing village? How could they proudly display such little creativity?

Overall, I'm glad I watched this movie but I would never recommend it. It's good to watch on a lazy day, the action and visuals are pleasing, but please don't watch this movie expecting to feel something deeper than entertainment.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024– )

Better than the movie

[7/10 · 26 February 2024]

Being better than the movie is a low bar to clear. The live action adaptation is enjoyable, the graphics are certainly good, but it really suffers from the condensed eight episode format that is standard these days.

Most noticeably in the end, Kamara goes from novice to master in eight episodes, including the two she spends in a coma. We don't the consistent build up of her practicing a couple minutes every episode we just see her suddenly be adept and it just doesn't feel as meaningful.

Other areas, like Zuko's persistent hunt, get overshadowed by the Main Plot and also don't seem to mean as much by the resolution.

Overall, it's worth watching, it's only eight episodes after all.

Wonderwell (2023)

What just happened

[2/10 · 15 November 2023]

I'll start off by saying that this movie looks gorgeous, the visual effects and the costuming and the set design were all on point. And that's as far as I can compliment it.

The writing felt like a five year old's meandering word vomit, so many plot points were started only to not really go anywhere. There was no real resolution to anything of significance, no explanation for what did happen, and no real moral point. The character growth was unnatural, the dialogue was embarrassing... With how long this movie took to make there's really no excuse for it turning out like that. So yes, it's beautiful, but otherwise frustrating.

The School for Good and Evil (2022)

A palatable take of good and evil and everything in between

[8/10 · 20 October 2022]

A beautiful movie, from special effects to scenery to choreography, written to be enjoyable by a younger crowd but still worth the watch for those of us advancing in years. This movie was well thought out with clear intentions that it makes no effort to obscure, good and evil is never as black and white as it is in fairy tales.

If you like fantasy and love then this is a movie worth watching, if you like visuals that are pleasing to the eye then this is a movie worth watching. If you're looking for the next citizen Kane then look elsewhere, this is not cinema aiming for awards, this is a fun and enjoyable entertainment that isn't ashamed to want to make you smile.

Settlers (2021)

Disappointing, kinda gross

[4/10 · 9 May 2022]

The concept of colonists trying to survive on Mars is appealing but this movie missed the mark. In essence this is a story of abuse, and not a good one. I found myself liking it less and less as the story progressed, the acting was good but the characterization was off-putting, motivations were either unclear or inconsistent and I just couldn't get over it.

Some movies deal with uncomfortable scenes in a way that makes them worthwhile, this is not one of them.

The Colony (2021)

A dark Waterworld with none of the life

[5/10 · 21 February 2022]

Not a terrible movie but nothing remarkable. Good acting and cinematography but bland and illogical writing. The lead character, the only one given enough screen time for potential depth, is inconsistent depending on the needs of the plot and experiences virtually no character development. I wanted to like the movie but it gave me nothing to hold on to, at least it looked nice.

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Color blind attitude detracts from otherwise fantastic film.

[6/10 · 19 January 2022]

Overall I loved this film, it was creative and intricate and beautiful but for the life of me I can't imagine what possessed them to use prosthetics to make Weaving and Sturgess look like they belonged in Korea. It was so distracting and entirely unsettling, I just couldn't overlook the tone deafness. Still worth a watch but yikes.

Intersect (I) (2020)

I want to believe this is parody

[4/10 · 4 December 2021]

Right away I will admit this is not a good movie... but honestly it has so much potential. It's like someone wrote a great movie and then deliberately dropped the ball at every opportunity. Somewhere in there is an original and thought provoking movie that's just too far below the surface to be clear.

It's not a good movie but I still enjoyed it, I can't recommend it in good conscience but I don't regret the two hours I spent on it at all.