Mesuzah Reviews

The Boys (2019– )

Starts off great, bait'n'switch towards the end...

[30 July 2019]

The first four episodes are just downright amazing, reminiscentt of the times prior to all the PC/SJW nonsense. I had the time of my life throughout episode four, haven't laughed that hard in ages. Really great up until episode five.

Episode five itself isn't all that bad, but you notice that the tune of the series turns around from humor to darker and worse preachy. Yes, the PC crap slowly finds its way back sadly in to the series. Characters whine more, cry more, sorry for this and that, by the end of the season the humor is stale, stilted, rough and not in a good way as there can be funny rough humor but that wasn't it. You then start to have those token 'gay relationships' that has to be there to make that look normal as well like all other 'PC' series.

Not to spoil anything but the series opens up with a really funny moment that for a PC crowd may be hard to swallow, and regular folk laugh like crazy but this does not go unavenged sadly and we're back to the script of the past twenty years.

Not sure what happened, maybe producers, investors or otherwise saw the material up until episode 5+ and said it was too much out of line with the mainstream narrative and it had to be brought back in line or if this was the plan all along, to bait people to start watching then go back to regular PC 'programming'.

I started watching this series because of the humor element, and the return to saying and doing anything without having the make excuses for it later in some form of punishment for characters or constructed morals and that failed towards the end. For those that speed ran the series, reflect on this and rewatch it and you will eventually notice that the tone changed utterly from what it started as.

Cast itself, as you can see from the first four episodes, are really well put together and are able to deliver when they have great material. Karl Urban carries the show to some extent, but it is a team effort and the others do really well too.

My wish for season two, if I am ever to watch it, is that they go back to unapologetic delivery like they started off with, back to humor being front and center, and consequences of such be darned.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Classicly done, a pleasant surprise!

[7 March 2018]

Since Hollywood started using itself as a liberal propaganda machine I stopped watching movies coming out of there and rather watch International productions instead, but 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' was a fresh breath of the good old times with no politics, pc all that crap, just pure and classic fun.

Most people seem to enjoy this movie by the looks of it, though I think 'Gamers' will enjoy and understand the twists, puns and jokes for the extra star. It's not an epic movie, but it is very good, it's silly but in a good way and not cheesy, it's classic but not cliché and it makes fun of a certain group of people that's been zombie'ing around society with their phones for years.

Story is straight up, on the rails but what some fails to understand that this is the story of an old video game thus you were herded quite hard in to a certain line of action and you just had to go with it without much freedom. Humor is funny and the actors compliment each other quite well, good crew and good directing.

For those of you that are weary of today's Hollywood I can wholeheartedly recommend this movie as it'll make you feel the past two decades didn't impact it at all. Great, light, fun with lots of laughs. Enjoy. :-)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Not by a long shot...

[26 December 2017]

When you compare the first movie from 1982 with this, the first movie still rules on all levels. It captures everything perfectly accompanied but tailor made ambience and music.

It is not a terrible movie but 2049 struggles on all levels. Acting is very stale and slow to a point where you stop believing in then as characters and start to see the actors and then you can no longer be immersed in the story. Story is thin, no "scientific" backing up and just-is and you think ok why not but it's more like lets get on with it and see if the movie will deliver.

They've used models instead of CGI for many of the shots which to begin with looked refreshing but the shots were so poorly made that even the first movie and movies like the first Star Wars movie gets it better. Felt like flying through a Lego-landscape.

Movie has no 'life'. The first movie was bustling with extra casts, sounds, you could even picture the smell of the food in your mind. 2049 feels like it was shot at 6am in a place where a handful of people live. Yet another thing that makes you not get immersed.

There's very little music, or ambient background noise at all, just a lot of wind and silence. They should've used filters to deepen and darken the picture, it's too crisp and too bright and you feel a bit like you're watching people in a hospital for many of the indoor shots.

This is not a bad movie, nor is it really good, it's one of those you put on when you need to pass some time and watch something sci-fi-ish. The first movie, and then the original cut with the voice-overs which are true to the noir genre, will still be my favourite as even today it is masterfully made. Perhaps there will be a directors cut of 2049 where they make up for what didn't come of the original version. There's always hope.

Runaways (2017–2019)

Finally something fresh that gives hope for the future of television

[24 December 2017]

For decades now we've had the political correctness bile spew out from television and the big screen and finally there's a direction change as the young generation today ain't nothing like the soft generation that went before.

When I first heard about Runaways I thought 'oh no, not another one' but watching there is a lot of subtle and even direct kicks at what has been the political climate in Hollywood for a long time and making good fun of it. This alone is worth 8 stars.

Cast, playing young people, holds up pretty well and there's not all this over-acting that we've seen earlier with all the emotional crap. The older actors does their job well, and the intrigues and plots are well formed for such a television series. Borderline intelligent, thus fresh.

As always with tv series it's up to the writers and director(s) to make the most use of the actors but if they can continue writing like this for the future this tv-series should be very well welcomed by the upcoming generation and older people that were missing the old days of good and un-apologetic television.

Dunkirk (2017)

Fails to capture the grand scale and drama of what happened

[6 December 2017]

This movie should've been called "What happened to a handful of men at Dunkirk" and be labelled a documentary at best and History Channel would've made a much better documentary of it. I guess they tried to go down to a up close view to intensify but it just falls short. It's too slow to captivate, there's too few things happening considered the grand scale of the Dunkirk operations. It feels like a few hundred men were trapped on a beach and a dozen boats that came to rescue them. I can not even begin to describe how disappointed I am in this production, the only relieving factor was it not being longer than 1h 39m otherwise my head would've imploded.

The Punisher (2017–2019)

Finally a TV series done right

[20 November 2017]

Doesn't matter to me if it's close to canon or not, this is a TV series done right. There's absolutely no political correctness here, which is an amazing breath of fresh air and at times it even gives more than one middle finger towards such cretins that subscribe to that.

The violence is epic, on a level you can understand as a human being that embraces all our natural emotions. Episodes are well written, directed and the cast is coming together from the get-go. A big surprise is Daniel Webber, he plays his role perfectly and then some.

This is how TV should be made, how it used to be made, story and no political agendas what so ever. It's such a breath of fresh air that I actually have some hope again for the future of TV series.

Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024)

Nothing short of treason

[26 September 2017]

The season start was nothing short of jaw-dropping, and not in a good way. First off they've made the proudest race in the whole ST universe, Klingons, look like a mismatch between the Alien-creature and the Elephant man and their language reduced to something you'd hear from a slow speaking muppet with something stuck in their throat. I was outraged by this alone. Then it got this whole liberal touchy-feely bullshit all throughout as well, what's next? Gender politics in space? Secondly, the CGI was the absolute worst I've seen for 2017. Even Babylon 5 was better, and that was 20 years ago made on Amiga. I felt like I was watching someone play some space-game on a console (because you don't get this level of s*** on computers) and they even dared to change the iconic colours of federation guns and torpedoes.

I reckon this series will not survive season one, though they might push two seasons to not lose face. It's a show made for the millennials and those only, and still many of them reject it. This has absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek, it's tantamount to treason to even suggest it. Even if this had been a different show with a different name, it could never have competed with even Canada-based sci-fi shows.

Thirdly, story. There is none, and the characters are so stale it felt like watching stage-acting. Even Enterprise shone brightly compared to this.

Shame on the people who created this crap, but what goes around comes around and it will most certainly hit them in the rear at one point.

Dark Matter (2015–2017)

The "new" Firefly

[21 July 2015]

We've been moaning about Firefly being shut down and the gap it left behind for ages and finally a worthy show comes along and fills that gap and it's pretty similar as well which in my view does not hurt at all.

I can not understand why people complain about Dark Matter, compared to previous success-series like Firefly, Babylon 5 and even Farscape to name a few. Remember the first episodes of those when we first saw them? Took a while to digest and then they grew on us, immensely. A show some times need a full season to mature and in my honest opinion Dark Matter deserve a full season and a second to show what it can be capable of.

Where Firefly used three hot chicks to draw people in at the beginning, imho, Dark Matter does not even need this. A lot of potential, and my wish for Santa this year is to let this show at least get a second season before any decision is made about its future. Pretty please, with sugar on top.

Actors, writers, directors and staff need time to mature with the show.

EDIT: Season one is over and what a season it was. I am so happy to see that season 2 is already cleared for next year. Awesome show, a big thanks to those everyone involved in making it!

Once Upon a Time (2011–2018)

Absolutely a brilliant fairytale for grown-ups

[14 January 2012]

As an adult, fairy tales have more of a sentimental value than when we were kids. But seeing this TV-series, well first of all I felt like I was just that kid again even though the stories told are more for the grown-ups.

It's intricate, intelligent, subtle and just when you thought you had something figured out it takes a twist and you are pleasantly surprised. Again and again.

The presentation is not too light, and not too heavy. It is so well balanced and thoughtfully executed that I'd almost call it art.

This series is definitely a keeper.

Skyline (2010)

Good movie but not for everyday people

[12 December 2010]

For those of you that likes happy endings to their sci-fi flicks, you'll probably want to avoid this one.

As mentioned in other posts this one tries to portray a more "realistic" view of what actually might happen if we were to get invaded by an alien force. Not in the way the aliens might look or behave, but how superior they really might be compared to us, how inferior and hopeless we'd feel.

It follows ordinary people, no heroes, who try to figure out what happens and find a way if even possible to avoid what seems to be inevitable.

I'd give this one a 6.5, which it deserves. The ending was a bit abrupt though, but leaves an opening for a second movie though I fear it may never see the light of day because of the undeserved poor ratings it has gotten.

Battle for Terra (I) (2007)

Simplistic yet elegant

[11 September 2009]

Some may say that this looks like a children's movie, but that ain't so. Given, it doesn't have many gory details when the fighting is concerned but yet it is violent enough not to let your youngest watch.

While writing this it is still some time until Avatar is on the big screen, but this felt like a preview albeit a animated family version.

Even though it is animated, the movie was beautifully made effect-wise. It is both simplistic and elegant at the same time.

There's no time for idle reflections, it goes almost straight to the action. Normally I wouldn't like that, but it worked well for this movie. It was short, and to the point.

I will keep this in my collection along with Akira, Final Fantasy, Princess Mononoke amongst others. A small but bright gem.

Shuttle (2008)

A serious movie

[27 March 2009]

Well, it seems many people don't get this movie. This comment will perhaps contain some spoilers of what it is all about.

There are countless of people abducted in the world, especially young women. They are sold in to sexual slavery, preferably to a country far far away from where they came. Girls from eastern Europe gets sold to the US, Turkey, China. Chinese girls are sold to Hong Kong, Middle-east, US. US girls are sold to China, Russia, Middle-east. And so on.

This movie was to show us how one scenario that these people could use to get away with such an horrendous act. This is not a horror movie per se, but a document to those that families and friends lost. And to those girls that lost everything, and quite possibly their life in the end.

It reminds me in a way of Lilja4ever and Holly, which portrays similar events in eastern Europe and Asia. These are sad stories to tell, but people need to wake up and realize this really happens. These films, if well made, are important.

Pride and Glory (2008)

Feels like a dull re-run

[11 January 2009]

This movie brings absolutely nothing new to the table. There's 100 on a dozen of the corrupt cop movies, and it was just as predictable as most of the others.

The acting was OK, Edward Norton did is his job to excellence. Colin Farrel played his psychotic, stressed out and angry role as best as he ever can of course. The best acting in my opinion was from Jennifer Ehle, but she only has a minor part in the story.

The filming, sets and locations where pretty much bog standard. There is not a single thing about this movie that make it stand out over the countless others in its genre.

I guess if you are a novice to movies, and have not watched a lot of them yet that you can find this exciting.

The Gene Generation (2007)

OK cyber-punk movie

[21 December 2008]

This movie is quite OK as a cyber-punk. It is not Oscar material, but I found it totally enjoyable on a quiet Sunday.

The story admittedly is a little thin, and some times too emotional but still it was nice to watch. The actors are doing an OK job, and the lead actress is a beauty.

The CGI is OK, and the sets have that dark gloomy mood to it. The action sequences was OK choreographed as well.

If you like CP movies, then why not. Just don't expect Bladerunner, though even that was deemed doomed in its day. This is a paced action flick, with some love and emotion in to it.

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008 Video)

Could have been, would have been

[14 August 2008]

This movie is a strange puppy. It is not great, it's total crap many times but still there are some moments. The premise of the story ain't bad, but the directing sure was.

Some characters were OK, others were just misplaced and totally out there. And for the most part the humor did not work. There are some good action sequences though.

I can't but think that with a better director, and some adjustment to the cast this film could actually been OK.

I gave it a 5 for trying, and it sure was better than ST2. See this movie if you got a craving for sci-fi and have some time to kill. But don't expect too much.

Red Eye (2005)

Utter predictable crap

[3 September 2005]

How people can rate this movie with anything above 2 stars is beyond me.

It starts off pretty OK with the character build up at the airport while they wait for a delayed flight. So far it looks to be an interesting movie. It continues to be interesting a bit into the flight as well.

After that it just goes downhill. There are at best weak attempts to bring other characters in to the story to build up tension and distraction, but they could've just left them out entirely as they just did not serve any purpose at all.

Then we have the so overused threat scenes where "if you do not do as I say I will kill someone". Followed by a somewhat weak attempt for a chase scene when the plane lands. And oh yes, when she tries to use her cellphone to call guess what? First there's no signal, and when she finally get signal the battery is almost dead.

I had to concentrate not to cry out in pain after seeing this movie, it really hurt my eyes and really insults any person with a shred of intelligence.

The actual length of the movie is 73 minutes, if you deduct the credits and all. Yes, that's right 1 hours and 13 minutes.

If someone tries to drag you to see this movie, they mean you no good.

2-stars, just because the opening was nice.

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

A very good film, Donnie Darko-ish

[6 April 2004]

Never mind the upstuck people giving this film a hard time, this is indeed a good film. I doesn't have any particular famous actors, you just seen them around, and that is good. The acting quite good, and the plot is mesmerizing and fun as it twists and turns. I can in some ways be compared to Donnie Darko, but unfortunately it doesn't have Donnie Darko's excellent music. It does however deliver some scenes that are quite on par if not a bit better than what Donnie Darko was. Watch this move with a bunch of friends, then break out the redwine and discuss existential and scientific view on life, our movement through time and you'll have one freakin' cool evenin' ahead.

X.

Dreamcatcher (2003)

For the mentally challenged people only.

[14 March 2003]

This movie has absolutely no substance what so ever,the acting is poor, the script is ridiculous and there is absolutely no horror or thrill what so ever. It is so predictable you know the end only a short way into the film. This is clearly a movie for the mentally challenged or those that just does not have a clue. Save your money and rent a copy of 'The Thing' instead, that one is at least a good one.

X.

xXx (2002)

James Bond meets Mission Impossible, good flick!

[13 October 2002]

Just came back from viewing it and I must say I liked it. Ofcourse it had its clichés, but what action flick doesn't. Finally there's a bad-ass action hero that does it better than Arnold, Stallone and Willis (which kinda's like elevatormusic compared to Vin Diesel). The humor is funny, though some times clichéd. Ford Fairlane-ish in a way, but not too much to make it annoying. Stunts are as good as it gets, adrenaline all the way. James Bond is for the "older" audience, Mission Impossible is ok but lets face it, Tome Cruise ain't much as actionhero goes. This film takes the best of those two worlds and makes a modern day american James Bond agent, that should appeal more to the "younger" audiences aswell as the old guard. But ofcourse we get the standard american flag on a parachute, which is getting a bit old ;) Not too much love here, and that is a good thing imho. Lots of action, good movie and a *real* James Bond ending ;-) If you want something to think about, go see a french movie. If you want entertainment and fun this one is definately worth the money! 8 out of 10 on this one!

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Windtalkers (2002)

Guns, guns, guns and crap.

[8 July 2002]

This movie reminded me of another crappy movie, Black Hawk Down. Very thin story and honestly too much shooting. In the end one just wishes the movie to end, and some even left the cinema before it ended. Even the attempt to include a lovestory fails, the acting was ok I guess when you consider most lines were "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!", "I'm hit!" and other memorable frases like that. If you wanna see a well made war-story then get hold of Band of Brothers, now there is a golden egg for you. If you on the other hand want mindnumbing, idiotic entertainment then by all means it's your money. Me, I wished I'd set fire to my money and watch it burn, would've been way more entertaining.

X.

Revelation (2001)

Utter boredom

[8 June 2002]

Well, nothing much to say really besides that this movie is utter boredom. The idea is old, mystery around a relic. Evil forces vs. good. And some have succeded in making a good movie out of such an idea, but this is certainly not it. Acting is poor, the movie is so predictable you know what is going to happen ages before it does. This film is for the easily amused and nimwits. If you consider yourself intelligent don't watch this film, had I known I'd rather take poison.

X.

Eye See You (2002)

Actually pretty good....but

[24 April 2002]

Well, this film will keep you in perfect suspense for about 85% of the movie. Then, just when the badguy is announced, it all comes a bit apart. It's like they wanted to wrap the movie up too fast, something was missing, what's and why's that kind of dropped this movie from a 9'er to a 7 for me. But like everything else, everyone has different meanings and views. As a movie to keep you entertained, sure....go see it. It is worth the money, but don't expect an Oscar.

Resident Evil (2002)

Sloppy filming and sloppy action

[17 March 2002]

I've played the games and I had high hopes for this movie, though I didn't expect them to be 100% true to the games. First off the whole mood was lessened by the darn microphone that kept bobbing in from the top middle of the picture a 20-some odd times, very nice... Second, it seemed like this was a well over 2 hours movie that had been cut down to 90 minutes by someone very drunk. This movie could've been so much better with just a little more work, but it was sloppy. Is it worth the money for a cinematicket ? No. Is it worth renting as a video later on ? Maybe, if you're hung over. Is it worth watching for free ? Sure, why not.

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