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Reviews
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
This has killed the MCU for me
Marvel movies are not only movies, they also drive the franchise. Just by itself, Dr Strange 2 is popcorn fun if you don't think too hard. But as a part of the MCU franchise, it has killed my interest in this cinematic universe.
You won't understand the story premise and many character scenes unless you have watched WandaVision. Rather than a Dr Strange sequel, this movie is the belated WandaVision series finale, closing Wanda's story arc.
Or rather, trying to close that story arc once again. WandaVision had an unsatisfying ending. While Wanda had a story arc of coming to terms with her past and letting off of her imagination, which tortures an entire city, she was not held accountable, there wasn't even a question of whether she was accountable. How many of the residents of Westview need trauma therapy? It's a glitch in the TV series and leaves an unsatisfying aftertaste.
Now all over again that same character arch. While Wanda's evil actions were explained by her mental breakdown, she suddenly has chosen to go fully evil. The sudden change in character is partially explained in one sentence that the Darkholm was corrupting her, and then the issue is never touched again. We are just supposed to accept Wanda turning into a murderous unscrupolous villain.
That broke my suspension of disbelief. This is bad writing on the franchise level. Such a massive change in character needs another movie or TV series on its own.
Maybe I should mention Dr Strange: supposedly the main character in the movie, effectively he's a sidegig with lots of screen time. Benedict Cumberbatch's acting is great and the character has got good scenes. Nothing much of an arch, so let me come back to that below.
Once the movie has started, once the characters are established, the movie does a decent job of letting them develop. Dr Strange fixes his watch manually, America stops running and uses her powers on purpose, and Wanda finally destroys der Darkholm in every universe. Again, it would have been great to see her actually evil in full 2 hour character focused movie.
The entire movie feels rushed, you can tell that some side stories have been cut (hello, minotaur guy). That being said, there aren't obnoxious lengths, the movie is fast-paced fun at the beginning.
I was expecting some colorful madness jumping universes. Instead, they just jump three universes or so, while the movie is driven by Wanda Maximoffs' story. Dr Strange, merely reacting, is a side side character in his movie.
This is the 'Age of Apocalypse' of the MCU. I'm done.
Black Widow (2021)
Fun MCU movie but way too late
The only thing that sucks about this movie is that it's way too late. We all know how Natasha is going to end, why didn't they immediately produce this before Endgame?
What sets Black Widow apart from other MCU movies is the funny family dynamics. Natasha and Yelena are the perfect pair of sisters, and the Red Guardian is just hilarious. Their humor is pitch black as it should be for child assassins. Can't wait to see more of Yelena.
We get a look behind the curtain what Black Widow does in her free time. Why didn't we get this earlier?
Other than that, the movie gives you the typical MCU action and you won't be disappointed. But why did this take so long?
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Beautiful Fairy Tale - and I'd like to see them as a Mortal Kombat DLC
117 minutes of a fantasy fairy tale with beautiful animation and action scenes, I enjoyed that movie.
The setting draws inspiration from a vaguely South East Asian medieval setting, just like Frozen was obviously inspired by ancient Scandinavia. Of course, inspiration does not mean faithful representation, it's just a fantasy setting.
The story follows patterns of computer games and animes. A lone adventurer tries to save the world, travels to assemble a party and collect magic items, and faces the ancient evil at the very end. The story isn't entirely predictable and has a few small surprises. The dynamic between the mistrusting Raya and the naively optimistic Sisu is fun to watch.
The overarching topics of this movie are trust and mistrust. The story portrays the fallacies of naive trust in a deceitful world and the corrosive damage of universal mistrust to the whole of society; it's refreshing to see a Disney movie make such a balance. On a broader scope, the movie is a child-friendly parabola about the dangers of global hostility and the threat of nuclear annihilation.
For a Disney movie, the fight scenes are quite fierce, though no blood is ever shown. It reminds me of Mortal Kombat. In fact, I'd like to see Raya and Namaari as a downloadable characters in the next Mortal Kombat. It must be fun to have them thrash each other.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)
You really need to be a Street Fighter fan
As a huge Street Fighter fan since childhood, I couldn't leave out this movie despite all the bad reviews.
The script is cringeworthy at times, but there is some surprisingly good dialogue still:
"as time went by I was getting further and further away from all I ever was, I felt lost chasing a ghost I might never find."
The Wrong Rock (2019)
A heartwarming story about the dreams of a ... mushroom
Who would have thought you could tell a relatable story about life, dreams, obstacles, being different, exclusion, and ambition with .... mushrooms. Mushrooms of all things. How marvelous is it that this idea plays out so well.
Elektra (2005)
Bad Script
Jennifer Garner's performance is pretty good and as convincing as it gets ... which isn't much because the bad writing is like a stone chained to her neck. She could have done a deep psychological portrayal if the script wouldn't be on such a high school level of writing.
The romance is not convincing, and the plot is completely silly towards the second half of the movie. The bad CGI in the final fight only makes it worse. I don't even know what the evil guys actually wanted to achieve in the end.
Whatever potential there was for a somewhat gritty and grounded Marvel movie that relied more on psychology rather than lavish world building, the opportunity is wasted and the movie isn't worth seeing even if you're aching for another MCU movie. I'm hoping 'Black Widow', another Marvel movie about a female assassin, will enjoy a better handling of the craft.
This movie is a lecture in how talent can be wasted by bad conditions.
Contagion (2011)
2011 had an eerie premonition of our present
This movie should be mandatory for high schools. We now know the movie realistically depicts how a pandemic may unfold, how institutions try to fighting, and how individuals make mistakes, big and small.
Apparently director Soderbergh had a crystal ball and watched 2020 back in 2011. Maybe that crystal ball was just plain WHO, CDC, and science, and we could all have been warned.
I'm not rating this as a movie, I am rating this a document of what is and could be. While the acting, script and execution of the movie is an 8/10 for me, Soderbergh deserves recognition for choosing a topic that out to be life-defining for all of us years later.
Man of Steel (2013)
Much better than its reputation (and the DCEU sequels)
This is not a Christopher Reeve Superman movie. This is an imperfect Superman just trying his best in an imperfect world. It's also not yet a DCEU movie: it stands for itself and on its own, and in contrast to its sequel BvS, this movie is not burdened with exposition of a cinematic universe.
We meet a Superman who is still learning how to use his powers for the greater good and is faced with situations and decisions that make him choose only the lesser evil. The entire world depicted here is fairly dark. This is not as child-friendly as Christopher Reeve's Superman and certainly not everyone's taste, but the tone is consistent and the movie stays true to itself.
In contrast to the chaos that was Batman v Superman (2015), this movie is not 50% advertisement for a cinematic universe. It would have loved to see the story of Men of Steel progress on its own. Too bad they over-accelerated the sequels instead of giving the story and characters time to grow.
One more thing: the movie is filmed with "shaky cam" for virtually every scene. For whatever good artistic reason that might be intentional, sometimes it's really annoying. And that's the worst I can say about this movie.
Would watch again.
Untouchable (2011)
Interesting glimpse into an Asian-American immigrant situation
I found this film because of then-future Star Wars actress Kelly Tran playing a minor role here. It's a low budget short film and intriguing enough to make me write a review.
We watch the situation of two siblings, supposedly orphaned daughters of Asian immigrants into the United States. They struggle to make ends meet and fear falling down completely. Grace (Teresa Huang ) works herself off as a massause at a local spa.
Kelly Tran plays a minor role. Given her performance, I can tell why a director would pick her to develop in further roles. The main actor Teresa Huang, however, is the one who carries this film. The story is realistic, and I am sure every single of its scenes has played out in reality hundreds and thousands of time. If you are not an Asian-American women, you might an idea of the circumstances that demographic group experiences.
Mulgoe (2018)
Fun Korean Monster Action Movie
I found "Monstrum" to be an enjoyable monster action movie. I happened to watch this movie on a transatlantic flight because I was bored with Hollywood material. That being said, it is clearly a hollywoodesque Korean movie.
"Monstrum" has a high body count, lots of blood and chopped off body parts, and the action keeps you entertained. The story is just enough to listen to while you wait for the resolution of the character arcs. Hell, I even felt like crying in the last scene because of the drama. Recommended if you look for monster action movie that doesn't play in the US but gives you a glimpse into a non-Western culture.