FreedomWatchTower Reviews

Man of Tai Chi (2013)

Oldschool Kung Fu Flick hidden in a Modern Action Film

[7/10 · 20 December 2023]

A fun and simple ride I would recommend to anybody that's into Martial Arts films, that want to watch a Modern Film.

I remember seeing the film in 2014 at the theater, an not particularly liking it.

I thought it was full of clichés and a boring ass Story.

Now having rewatched it nearly a decade later on Disc, with a couple of people, I changed my Mind!

This film is a simple and Fun ride for anyone who loves Martial Arts, and especially Old school Martial Arts flicks from the 70s to early 80s.

It has the echoes of The 36th Chamber Series, Drunken Master, Enter the Dragon... And many more of those kind of Flicks.

It goes even so far as having the same kind of story, to save the Masters School, his apprentice breaks a rule of using his skills for profit, but he wants to save the school with it.

This film has some really nicely choreographed and shot Fight scenes!

The villain is nice too, and there are some familiar faces in the film too, also stunt and fight people from all over the film industry (even Ikow Uwais from The Raid is in it).

The film is about good va evil, profit, manipulation, responsibility, growing up, fighting your own demons, peace and tranquility and so much more.

This is not a perfect film, not by far, but in my opinion it should become a cult film, because those kind of films are about to be forgotten and aren't produced like that anymore.

Keanu Reeves directing debut is a nice Start, that I hope he will continue exploring.

Watch this film, don't take the plot to seriously and have fun, after that discover some kick ass 70s-90s Martial Art Flicks.

Sonne (2022)

An uncomfortable Film for the wrong reasons

[3/10 · 8 March 2023]

A Short Review:

This is the most uncomfortable film I have ever seen at a Cinema, but before it goes all down the negative some positive aspects.

The main actors where pretty good, it all felt natural and the chemistry between the leads was believable and pretty good.

The whole idea and themes that are dealt with is something refreshing and should be explored more in Movies.

The problems: This is a really ugly movie, and the story seems to go nowhere. Was it supposed to be Documentary style? Because the whole story just ends, open endings aren't always a good idea.

The was too much going on to understand where it goes, but it seems as this is a symptom of our times.

Cram as much stuff into a film as possible, so it can mask as complicated, but that doesn't make a good story.

It was the first time in my lifetime, that I wanted to leave after 15 mins, constantly did I think about leaving the room (there where many people leaving the film, some group started drinking alcohol and started to talk about other stuff because they where bored).

If anyone thinks that I am simply not into experimental cinema, I've seen quite a few films I enjoyed the most recent one was Memoria from 2022, which I loved every second).

I believe the problem lies in the script not being rewritten a couple of times, and not enough experience, which is a shame.

A big shame, because you can see that there are some really talented actors in this film, and the core of the story screams that it must be screamed from the roof... Felt like a first draft though.

The while movie felt like 5 Hours, and at the same time as if it was the first act of a film that just ends.

As you can see my review is as scattered as the film itself, and I dont know how to describe it propperly.

The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

Unimaginative Assembly Line Product

[3/10 · 19 April 2021]

After having seen David Finchers US Remake THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and being sceptic about it, I must admit that it actually is a pretty good Film, even better then the Swedish original, in every possible way (only Rapace is on the same level, just a different kinda Salander Version).

Like everyone I waited years and years for the Sequel, the reasons should be known by now (or look it up, its by now standard Studio idiocy).

What made Finchers Film so God D' good was that visually, Acting, casting, Soundtrack, Setting, Plot Structure, subtlety... it got all of thatlretty Masterfully done. The best thing about all of it, was that it took its time in developing all of its characters (if necessary) and especially all of its Plot points.

With all of the stuff going on in Finchers Film, youd imagine it turns into a highlight Reel of Plot points, but no it didnt.

Now imagine everything I have said goes into the exact opposite and in some cases reaches passage me quality. It turns me off to say this, but Spiders Web turns into one unimaginative assembly line studio trash Flick, it was so CNN competent, that after the first minute you were able to see where this is going.

The Music was just horrible, the while Plot sis mostly not make any sense, and by the end I didnt even understood what even was going on, which doesn't mean the film is clever...it is dumb and has Lita of scenes and characters that don't name sense.

This film felt like a poor Mans James Bond, or to make it more clear, it was exactly like: Bourne Legacy, Taken 3, American Assassin.. and whatever those run of the mill carbon copy flicks are.

Dont watch it!!!

Fantasy Island (2020)

We have to go Back! Or how i stopped worrying and love the Island

[5/10 · 20 February 2020]

As most of you probably did, i did not wait or thought much about this Film before going in.

It all began with an article during the summer of 2019, i read somewhere that some studio is rebooting "Fantasy Island" for the Big Screen (or probably for most on the small one).

The first thought was "wasnt this that show from way back???", and then all came back... I used to randomly watch some episodes from that show when it was on rerun (probably end 90s or early 2K's), that show which featured that Montalaban dude from Star Trek The Wrath of "Khaaaaan!!!!" & also that midget french guy from "James Bond The man with the Golden Gun". I never was looking for that show, it always was just on, so when i hadn't anything to do i watched some episodes. It always was quite entertaining, even though i dont remember any specific episode.

Let's skip couple of months from reading about that news during summer of 2K19 to February 2020. Some friends and myself wanted to go watch a film in theater, of course we watched what was on... Guess what. I everything came back in my memory, weird i thought again. How weird is it that Hollywood reboots some show most people remember, let alone know at all... An then as a Film???.

Having watched the Film i can say i was surprised in positive and negative, who was this for?. I remembered reading it was supposed to be Rated R and then hastily recut to PG13, the question is why?. For PG13 it was too dark, most parents wont go in that with their children, and for Rated R its too soft (it only hints at more)... I guess adults will think its some sort of mindless kids/teen flick.

Whatever they thought, i still liked it, it was fun and had some interesting ideas and shots... Even though the last act was a wishy-washy muddle till most of the end, which was a Mess... Besides the last 2 Mins (which i wont spoil, even though most people wont get the reference).

It was a beautiful fun semi mess, which i still will recommend. Fun ride like the original mindless Friday the 13th saga, without all-out violence and sex. Go watch it, its probably one of the best date movies you'll see this year (if you want to go to the next Base).

5/10 but still fun, its even more creative than what disney will produce the next years. Support Bloomhouse

Brightburn (2019)

BB: Son of not so Darkness (a Short Review)

[4/10 · 3 February 2020]

When I first heard of its premise I thought it was intriguing, especially in the Age Of Comic book Movies. A couple of months later I saw the Trailer for the first time on a Big Screen, I was visiting a Cinema.

First I thought it was some Marvel stuff, which was the intent, and then it seemed like those lame pseudo horror Conjuring/Insidious JumpScare festivals... In short I thought, nice idea but bad execution.

Roughly 6 months later I bought it on Blu Raz and was really underwhelmed by what I just witnessed. I read a lot of people say that the film is too short, I agree in theory, but the main problem is the script itself. The Film only hints at all the lore we became numb to (origins stories) but instead of capitalising on it it rushes through everything and even leaving out one main important thing: exposition, more time with all the main characters and even more mysterious mumbo jumbo (which we see like 2 times only, I'm not saying explain everything, but give us just more).

I could go on and on but I'll keep it short, besides Violence and uncreative l'âme boring shots, the film doesnt take enough risks to justify its existence, in the end its just like the worst kind of Slasher (watch Friday the 13th Part III instead). To be more precise, the film feels like some Slasher fan boys tryd to make an anti hero film for YouTube, which would have been dope if it actually was the case, but the problem is that it is not the case, it is a Film which cost lots of dough (not enough for what it aimed for).

If you want to watch an anti hero Film just watch Watchmen in its Ultimate Cut, Logan or even better Chronicle (which is exactly what this picture aimed for but failed).

Silent Trigger (1996)

A really bizzare and Surreal affair

[7/10 · 8 September 2019]

This is a Short and spoilerless Review:

I got this Film as a Blu Ray from a bin for a couple of bucks. I wasnt expecting anything and thought due to the Cover and Dolph Lundgren, this Flick could be mindless Action fun... Boy was I wrong.

What I finally got was one of the most bizzare & Surreal Action experiences of my life, and this Not necesserally in a Bad Kind of way. Its just about 10 mins ago I saw this Film, and for reasons unknown to me I cant get a full grip of what this Film was supposed to Tell me or what Its message was, if there Sven was one.

Was it about failed love, unable to get out of War in a matter of mindset, Not being able to get out of the Hitman profession for professional reasons or a f up psych, female empowerment???? What was the reason for that strange turned villain security guy??? I have no idea, maybe it was all a nearly two hour music Video. Who knows what it was, in the end what we got was what would have happened if Cronenberg, Ingmar Bergmann and David Lynch would symbiote and make an Action Film.

Visually this Film is really fascinatingly put together, Its wet rainy foggy and full of weird and seemingly out of place flashbacks that in the end result in a more puzzling Film that it should have been.

Whatever this Film was meant to be, maybe in a couple of days I get another grip of this Film, for now I van say that I really liked it but find it really strange for Its choices in every aspect.

Watch it and get entertained

Caprica (2009–2010)

Once promising, then downhill (short & sexy)

[6/10 · 2 August 2019]

After just having finished Battlestar Galactica i had that feeling you probably know, The one where you just finished a beloved and long story which leads to some sort of emptiness and satisfaction at the same time.

Lucky me i got the whole BsG package including Caprica and Blood & Chrome. After just having read roughly about what it was i started to get intrigued but still skeptical, so i just started the whole damn thing.

The Score is just as in BsG fantastic, same composer, dont expect it to sound too familiar. Visually it ia impressive, considering its time of release and compared to today modest budget. Some actors are great and the rest is mostly really good... Still there are some really bad choices, but later on that. To the point of the story... Well it has some fascinating ideas and some great moments, but thats that.

After having watched the pilot I was blown away and pretty sure this could be one of those gems that got cancelled way too soon which becomes cult in the next decades to come. Boy oh boy was i wrong, from my fresh after pilot rating of a 9 out of 10 i would now give a 6-7. But what happened?, simple, the lead actress who plays thw daughter of Daniel Graystone aka eric stolz is on a level of telenovela including the woman who plays the religious cult leader, also there are a lot of story choices that make you angry, which is a sham because the show still has a lot to offer and is actually pretty entertaining and in some regards even thought provoking. If you are an eric Stolz fan than you'll be lucky to know he went all in and gives a great performance. Dont get all of that wrong, there are still really good episodes after the pilot, just not on the same level, and for the final episode it has some really great moments too.. Especially the last 3 mins which make ypu angry that it got cancelled because it seemed as if the writers knew what went wrong and wenr therefore for full on course correction. Without spoiling anything, the last 2 mins are some sort of a montage that jumps some time, so that in some sense you can connect with a lot of fantasy the dots to what went wrong and lead to BsG.

Kids Return: The Reunion (2013)

An unnecessary Good sequel

[7/10 · 14 July 2019]

The first film has a big place in my heart for lot's of reasons, even though i have a totally different cultural background i could relate to its themes and Story of dealing with friendship and all the baggage that can come with & so much more. I knew relatively late that there was not only a sequel being made, but actually already released, so as soon as i found it by coincidence while browsing imdb (thanks for that) i first thought WTF??? What for and why?, the story is told!... Well even though those points are valid, even after having seen it, i also couldn't ignore it and just went on a path to hunt down the film (it was really hard and tedious to find it. Please Rights holder release it on Blu ray in English language territory already)... Gladly i found it and it took another half year until i was ready to watch it, as for the simple reason of me not wanting to waste the first view for when you're not ready.

Boy oh boy was i in for a treat, while the film has some Kitano style imitated it also goes its own path (just as its characters). The ending touched me deeply and fitted perfectly to the story, you could even say it mirrors in some sense it's predecessors, just with a slightly different heartbreaking outcome, one could even say that it may be predictable and or forthcoming, but it is the only ending that makes sense and has the biggest impact.

The biggest difference to Kitano is that while it stays true to its origin (its a collaborator and DP of kitano upgrading to Director) in terms of style and Kitano Humour, it also differs enough to be its own film that could also with its story be seen as a standalone film. Less humour and even more drama.

Id say i really liked the film and will probably enjoy it watching again. It won't beat Kitanos first, but it doesn't have to, so enjoy it for yourself and be surprised

Cymbeline (2014)

A tragedy in one Sit-through (a short and sexy review)

[3/10 · 16 February 2019]

As you are reading this review you probably already have read the sinopsis or just watched it and dont really know how to feel about this film, rest assured that im with you on this.

This film is a tragedy for me (pun intended), as for the simple reason of having an obviously Great cast and even pretty dope cinematography, some scenes even look more than good (they look great) and the idea of putting Shakespeare ibto modern times isnt anything new but can even make some sense. The problem with it all is that the dialogue seems to have been kept as they where written way back (some hundreds of years ago), and there in lies its biggest flaw. Thw aftermath of the dialogue makes it feel unnatural and forced, most of the times even awkward, because besides not fitting the scenary even the normally known great actors like Ed Harris, Ethan Hawke, Delroy Lindo etc, seem to struggle with it.

All in short: Great cast, mostly greatly shot scenes but laughable unfitting dialogue that destroys all of the film.

Ps there is one scene that is just laughably bad and awkward where its not because of the language but the just unfitting tone and catastrophic voice work, its a scene where the normally talented Mila Jovovich sings on a stage with a montage if violence followibg it... Had to laugh

The Last Minute (2001)

Don't waste your time, except Now

[7/10 · 6 August 2018]

A really weird, unknown and rare film that attacks you out of no where and strikes you to the bottom of the unpredictable downer pit.

Long story short, it is about a guy who is the new and hip guy, until he isnt and falls down to obscurity, including becoming a Junky. As you might already have written a couple of times about this film, there isnt much to read about it out there, it seems to be a semi autobiographical piece of work about its director Stephen Norrington (Blade, Death Machine, League of....), which even though i hope he didnt became an addict, who left directing & directing right after "League of... ", due to having again being traumatised and shattered by the studio system (you can look it up for yourself what went down). The film could and should be seen as a metaphorical dream turned nightmare turned re-awakening. Its themes of Fame, celebrety cult, creativity, ego centrecism, exploitation and much more couldn't be more relevant today, in the age of social media reality tv and talent shows where most of the western and eastern world seems to seek fame and attention like heroin addicts to an absurd extreme. We live in an age of people becoming famous for the sake of it without having any talents whatsoever and others for having video channels with millions of followers without doing anything more than reacting to other videos infront of the camera, people watching other people play video games and so on. The film indirectly predicts that obsession for attention and shows its aftermath that will come someday to whomever seeks that attention for whatever. What surprised me about this film was its sheer nihilistic madness and chaotic nature that until the very end doesnt quite seem to match up, by the end you'll understand and as only a few movies do this flick gets better the more you watch it.

Be warned this film ain't for the faint heart and especially is not for the traditional moviegoer, at times it reminded me of the spontaneous chaotic nature of Godard' s Breathless (make no mistake it is not near as good as Breathless). This film surely deserves more attention and a cult following, not many people have seen or do even know about that film, so i say spread the word for this bizzare and unique experiment called film

Oblivion (I) (2013)

Going average into the Oblivion

[5/10 · 1 August 2018]

I watched the Film half a decade after its release, mostly for the reason of it's Score Composers and of it's Sci-Fi origins (rare breed these days). My expectations where non existant for the simple reason for me not caring about this flick when it originally released to theaters.

First up the positive: you are mostly in for a visual treat, you have beautiful landscapes, sets and designs, this is especially fascinating because of its nature. Most SciFi films about a planet where War nearly eradicated most of its inhabitants tend to look destroyed and rather ugly (not in a cinematographic sense). The Orchestral Score is outstanding, especially it's Leitmotiv, french Electronic band (here Kosinski the director goes again, choosing a french elctro band as he did with Daft Punk on Tron) M83. Also some cool ideas, i won't spoil, youll get near the end of the story concerning the whole premise (which also is its weakest link at the same time).

Next up the Negative: You have not enough information about what is going on which results in you as a viewer just blindly follow the protagonists, which perse is not a bad thing if done right (Great examples 2001, Moon,.....). The saying "less is more" seem'ed to be the Mantra of Kosinski, because you get barely any information in the begining of what was going on before the Earth went exterminated and right after that you follow Cruise and his companion along the ride where you'll get tidbits of some random scenes which get explained in the end but in reality dont make any sense, because the character of Cruise doesnt remember them, so it just is for us the viewer which doesnt make sense because why show us something the main protagonist doesnt remember if we as a viewer dont know anything about what is shown to us if it only gets revealed in the end ?. If you set up scenes in the editing you have to take care that in the context they make some kind of sense for the character or the viewer, even both if the story demands for it, you cant just pull in some random scenes and in the end say "well that was the whole reason". As i said in the positive aspects of this film, the sparse story elements, which go down a pretty fascinating idea in the end, it also is its weakest link. The most interesting idea of this SciFi story gets revealed in the End and than it stops, Cruise saved the day and "kumbaya me Lord". If youd describe the film in short sentences it'll be "Cruise is rediscovering stuff on earth and gets objectives to hunt for some stuff, there is some stuff he isnt to touch or bring back and then he finds out the truth ...the end". Another big problem is the Action, while it has some cool action setups they also are pretty boring mostly, infact the whole film felt like a Video Game, but the bad kind of Game in which the variety of enemys is reduced to 1, it goes even further the Film reminded me a lot of a Game called "Destiny" (not my taste btw), the story has some similar elements and even pretty simmilar visual styles. The whole experiene felt flat with some ups but mostly downs, it felt like a franchise starter but the worst kind. What happened to the good old days where even if a film gets a sequel you still focus on making a great film and not holding of stuff for the Sequels (We'll guess we are in the Age of TV where even Movies are becoming big budgeted TV Mini Shows).

The Gunman (2015)

Some Random Review about a missed rather Random Movie

[4/10 · 2 March 2018]

.:Not a native English speaker:. After having seen the Movie for the first time after years of ignoring it, i finally gave in and bought myself the Film as Blu Ray, as for the shallow reason of the Cover and mention of Congo. When i first heard of the Movie it was said to be a possible Franchise starter and Sean Penn's take on the Old man taking back whats his, Taken/96 Hours formula. Boy was i on a ride of awkward disappointment of not having any expectations at all. When i bought the film it took about two months until i popped in the Disc and take on a ride where i never would have thought to speak this out loud, on what was an inconsistent near fatal mess with some rare great moments. Before i get to what was for me the personal, but undercooked highlight, i am going to talk about what on paper (depends on how you stand on Penn's political views, i guess) seems like a sure Win. The Cast surely is great, you have 6 great Actors forming the main protagonists consisting of Sean Penn, who has surely some great scenes and moments, Javier Bardem who again plays a great role as some kind of an ex best friend and colleague, Jasmine Trinca, who also plays her role really good and brings some interesting moments (even if there are few), Ray Winstone who, well he is Ray Winstone and has some fun dialogue to, even if his role is a bit of a cliche, Idris Elba which has some good acting but rather forgetable scenes (to be exact, a day passed since i saw the Movie and i cant remember any of his scenes), & Mark Rylance, who might be a great actor but in this Movie he has an awkward way of taling in a calm and rather quiet voice which makes especially later on an essential scene really awkward (Confrontation scene between him and Penn's character). The Film has some great Cinematography and beautiful colors from start to finish, especially the scenes that play in Spain and Congo. There are some cool Action scenes but some of them feel forced taked on the film, as for the reason of their context being rather, lets just say bizzare. Now to what where the two personal highlights that also show the two weakest links in the Film. The first is that the Film deals with the Political climate and corruption of the Congo, which sadly is of rare bread in our World, especially in Movies/TV Shows/Video Games. The film doesn't delve far enough into that field in my gusto, which makes the whole point or glue that holds the plot together more or less shallow. The second highlight and shortcoming is The Love Story, Love triangle between Penn, Bardem and Trinca, this is exacly the part where i thought and told a friend of that Film something like this "I never ever would have thought that i would see a Movie where the Love Story is far more interesting than the Action parts of this Action Thriller flick". I would watch in a heartbeat if there would be some form of reinterpretation of this Film with an emphasis on the Love part (im sure there already exists this Movie in some capacity), the personal surprise for me is that normally i do not like romantic Movies (with rare exceptions), but here it presented itself with best, most dramatic and engaging story of this lost opportunity. It deals with grief, broken promises, broken friendship, redemption, loss, giving up, anger and more. I guarantee you that most of you will agree with me. To be fair, one of the Action scenes that is the best and most inventive i have seen in a long time was after a tragedy that occurs after a dramatic firefight of emotions, which results into an actual firefight, to spoil as little as possible, it is a scene involving a shower, a Burning house and how to escape it the best way while being hunted by mercenary's. So long story short, half arsed mess with some exceptional parts that get drown by its weight

Infini (2015)

A highly ambitious trip to the Stars results into tripping down the stairs

[5/10 · 19 December 2017]

A Movie filled with known Story, Plot devices and Atmosphere, or as one Reviewer put it "The Crazies in Space". While this might be true in some fashion or another it oversimplifies the whole experience, if one would describe it with 3 Movies you could say it kind of is a mix of "Alien" (1979) (for most of the Atmosphere and corporate business critique on a Ship, and Sending a Team to check whats going on), "The Thing" (1982) (for its Paranoia between the main characters, and whose actions are driven by it) & "The Signal" (2007) (& Last but not least this little Horror Indie Gem, for its Signal that drives people into Psychotic Maniacs attacking each other).

The biggest complain i have with this Film is that while not being the most unique Film of its genre, it sure shows its potential, because you can see from the get-go that the Movie suffers from a way too tiny Budget. You can see it on the Sets, on the sfx and even hear it on its Score, but still with all the cheap looking sets you can see what could have been if the minuscule Budget of 800K was pushed to 5 Million. There are lots of Scenes where you can see the Beauty in Lighting and Color, Camera movements and even some acted out Scenes by the protagonists and their conflicts. Another complain is the Actor of the Main-Character, while he is not the best actor (and not that bad either) there still are a couple of scenes where he overreacts or simply reacts a certain way which does not really suit the Scene (this could also be put on the Directors corner), This Actor would have been better suited if he had a different Role.

Its not the most original Work, but it is hard to come by a decent Scifi Flick at this day and Age, so if you are a Hardcore Scifi Horror Fan, suit yourself and enjoy the Ride, as for my part i enjoyed the Film and em looking forward to what the Director is working on in the Future and hope that he will work himself up to a Point where he gets a Higher Budget to which he can better tell a Story.

Jason X (2001)

The X is Killing the Fun

[2/10 · 20 November 2017]

(I am Reviewing this Film in the Context of the Series and as mildly as possible as an actual Film on its own)

To quote a line from the Film itself which perfectly describes the Whole experience "This sucks on so many levels!". If one would want to describe the Whole Film in as sparse words as possible it could simply be described as "Jason in Space" or "Imagine Alien without the Alien but with Jason instead and much cheaper looking".

First a bit about the Background of this Flick, it had the Biggest Budget of the main series (1-10) and it was meant as an re-igniter for the franchise, for the reason of "Jason goes to Hell" being the introduction for the long planned "Freddy vs Jason" (which finally came to fruition in 2003), one of the writers had the idea of Sending him to Space so the series could get a fresh entry.

The problems of this sequel are to many to count, from unnecessary transition scenes that break the mood to a horrible and cheap sounding Film Score, Bad lighting, and and and. The Worst problem of this Sequel is that you can see and feel that the Sets got made cheap and fast and the CGI was worse than on most TV Shows that where made in the 90s and the Dialogues where laughable Bad (even for a Friday the 13th Film). There are so many scenes where you force yourself trough and think how in the F#@*ing Hell did this get green-lit. Some examples: One of the Characters gets grabbed trough a Wall by his throat and Jason Pushes his Machete through the Wall and his back, the character says something like "aah oh god, how could you think you can kill me like this" and Jason Punches another Sharp object through and the Character says "ah that's it two is better than one" and he faints. Or a scene near the End Where a protagonist gets sucked trough a whole and right before she falls trough she says "this sucks on so many levels". This Film made me angry as i was plowing through the Whole Series, which grew to my Heart even if most of them where Trash they at least where a Big Bumper Bag of Fun, this one is not. One highlight of this Flick was a Scene where trough VR technology Jason gets transported to the 80s Crystal Lake and kills two Chicks in old Classic fashion, and as a wink to one of his predecessors, he hammers a girl in a sleeping bag against a tree.

This Film was an affront to everything that was Fun to the Series, the other Films where made way cheaper but managed to look way more expensive. The Director didn't seem to have enough of Fantasy and Vision, as laughable as the Idea may be imagine a more talented Director at the Helm. Ugly, Laughable, Boring and a Machete to the heart to one or mostly many fans of the Series. Don't watch this Film!!!

Twin Peaks (2017– )

Helloo-ouh: A Spoiler (& plot-)FREE Review

[9/10 · 11 October 2017]

(Not a native speaker)

This Review is as the title suggests a Spoiler free review, which means i will not in any capacity talk about the plot in any direct or indirect way, because One thing is fundamentally important for the third Season (which should also be said about every other medium), the less you know the better you can connect your mind to the Experience of the third Season, and also forbid yourself to distract yourself by using a phone or else.

First the rating of this Show, i gave it a 9 for the Reason being nearly perfect, id give it a 10 but i believe a 10 should only be given to something if at least a decade later it still holds up.

In the 90s Twin Peaks revolutionized Television with its many characters, mystery, plot driven episode structure, drama, Native American Mythology, quirkiness, dark themes. After its cancellation a Prequel Movie followed (which should only be viewed after you saw the first two seasons), which was hated by most fans for the reason of being way to different, compared to the show, in its tone. It was much darker, which probably was the reason of Lynch not being controlled by the Network, who also where responsible for the Laura Palmer mystery being lifted way to soon (which will become crucial in this review, later on). The movie felt much more like a Lynch Movie than most parts of the Show. To be exact it felt more like Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway, a Neo-Noir'ish Surreal Mystery Erotic Thriller, which brings us right on course of the 2017 (Third) Season.

The Show does not feel like a Television Show in its best form possible, with its 18 episodes it feels like an 15+ Hours Film with only two elements popping up with its intro and something else on nearly every episode. There are lots of surprises and much more darkness. To keep it simple and short if you loved the mysterious surreal elements it will strike right to your heart in its best way. Do not expect anything and at the same time expect everything (could not be more cryptic). The Experience feels like it probably would have felt back then if Lynch and Frost weren't held back by Studio Executives, which also shoestrings a mystery much bigger till the end where you still are left with many questions, but in a great way only Master Art does, remember how you felt watching "2001: A Space odyssey" or simply most of Lynchs work. You are left with a feeling of uneasiness, mystery, awe and most importantly intellectually challenged. A reason for the "Show" not feeling like a classic Show is that Lynch & Frost wrote the Season as a Movie, which means you do not have the classic character development archs and patterns that start to feel familiar on every Show you watch, where it does not matter of how good or original it is, there is always some kind of feeling that what ever will happen or can happen you'll already know instinctively whats next. What i really appreciated about this Show was its unpredictable nature, which caused me to not know What the hell was going on until the 8th Episode which struck me like lightning and made me think for a couple of days (actually over a month after it still does, but for a reason that goes beyond the Shows supposed main Plot), after that episode i believed to have an idea which vanished right until the two final episodes which brought me right back to my thoughts of what i believed i witnessed. I surely as most people who watched the Show have to re-watch the whole Season fully understand what was going on.

With all that nonsensical cryptic babble from me you can see what this Show can achieve with its viewer, it probably is the most unique and smart Show on TV right Now and for sure in the next couple of years, and i do mean unique in its best intention and not in its overused way which everything is described today. In a World where every TV Show is a Table, Chair or a Sofa, this Show is a G*% damned Meteorite.

The Soundtrack is masterfully crafted and the original music is perfectly implemented. The only critique i had at the beginning was the cinematography/lighting of this Show, i thought it kinda looked ugly and not as beautiful as it predecessor (it probably was shoot digitally), but after 4 episodes it made perfect sense and felt right for its tone.

I which you a great ride and let me know what you think in the DM. I know this review is unusually written but i had no idea how to review this Show without any Spoilers.

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

The sad case of Less being More. Spoiler Free.. Keepin the Mystery Alive

[5/10 · 22 March 2017]

"Do you know what the cure for the human condition is?" A phrase we often hear in one form or another in this Picture, which Perfectly describes what this Film seems to be about, narrowed down to its Bone at least; totally in contrast to what the Official Synopsis says "An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps, but soon suspects that the spa's treatments are not what they seem." To tell you, the reader, as little as possible, if you are Watching this Film you are on a Hunt of a Visually Stunning and Sound technically Well crafted Film that sadly seem to lack Focus and feels way too long. What hurt my Love for the Cinema really Bad is that i was able to see through its flaws that this Film could have become a really good, even Great Mystery Horror Thriller, which i would have proudly given an 8/10 but due to its unforgiving longevity with many unnecessary "filler" scenes and over explaining where you don't need any explanation at all, Plot elements that could have been cut out of the Movie and an Introduction that would have benefited of being cut down to 5-10 Mins. With the Way the Movie has been Shot it either would benefit from being cut down to a Maximum of 110 Min's instead of 146, or becoming an 8 Part mini series, as for the simple reason that the film gives so much possibilities of where the Story could go but instead keeps teasing until the Unfulfilling Finally that looses its Impact for way to much going on before dragging us the Viewer to its Twist Ending that becomes weird when we are reminded of what was the whole Purpose our main character got to this mysteries Place, right before Finally hitting the Credits.

I Hope that someday the director has the possibility to re-cut the Film or one ambitious Fan Honours us with a Fan Edit that shortens and Cures this Film down to its Potential by loosing roughly 30 Min's of illness.

I give this Film a 5/10 due to its ambitions and Scope but failing due to its own weight and longevity