Change Your Image
shotglassanhero
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
A gem bottle that needs severe refinement
I went in with very little knowledge of the film and perhaps my expectations were still set too high.
I'm not saying that parts of this movie aren't very effective but there are essential issues with editing. Title-cards that appear irregularly, voice overs that are not needed and excessive, and overall a poor main story especially in the transition to the final act. The CG is barely passable for 2022 standards. Some effects are great while others left a lot more to be desired.
Some of these style choices can be written off as something that many modern films have succumbed to-so it's not that important to be too critical on this front. But it is sad to see how more dynamic real shots or more practical effects are missing in modern times. It would benefit the soul of a movie quite a lot. The opening shot looks like a CG shot of a plane and I would not have chosen that to start off a film.
It seems that films used to be art or aspire to be a work of art. And you can tell there is some gem buried in this unrefined yet passable showing.
Overall though the experience is still a positive one. I don't even believe the overall narrative or the transition to the third act; but the past stories of the Djinn are quite entertaining. It kind of reminds me of a worse edited Goodfellas. There is a sort of Scorsese-esque type of storytelling to it.
The Boys: The Instant White-Hot Wild (2022)
The Boys: The Video Game
The episode was going alright and the the train went straight off the rails. I like playing video games, not watching them. The first three episodes was a pretty big letdown in terms of quality, but the following four episodes sent it on a better path. This episode was over the top and extremely cheesy. From all the drama, dues ex machina, and no nonsense writing. Why would Noir go back to tower to a deranged lunatic (Homelander) who would act crazy if he found out he was Soldier Boy's son.
This season as a whole is riddled with worse cheesy satire than the previous two seasons. It probably could have been done more tastefully. The mark is so close and they almost nailed it with this ending. They just failed miserably to stick the landing. Some interesting scenes are sprinkled in so it isn't completely all bad. But honestly what good parts there are don't elevate it to where it should be.
Probably more like a 5/10 but I'm rating it 2 to adjust for fake reviews and those users who instantly give everything they watch a 10.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Film Enjoyers Rejoice. Grab your Licorice, Grab your Pizza-it's time for a masterpiece.
This movie reminds me a lot of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A well shot film depicting Los Angelos in the peak of american civilization (60's) in which characters feel not too overwritten, actors do not overact, and a smile or laugh might be brought to your face with good comedic timing. (Also nicely done 70MM if you get the chance to witness it's full glory-which if I'm not mistaken the last big 70MM feature was The Hateful Eight). Seems like only heavyweights like Tarantino and PT Anderson can bring something of this caliber to fruition. I throughouly enjoyed the plot, characters, comedy, and drama within the film. Nothing ever felt like a bore and also an interesting tale is told based loosely on true events. I'm serious when I say the same glow of effect of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood echoes in this film as they are somewhat closely related in subject material and shot so beautifully. I think it does a good job at showing how racist and sexist these times could be without having to woke pill you and strangle you by standing on a soapbox. All in all I throughly enjoyed the film and how it portrays an honest depiction of toxic femininity and masculinity. Ignore the pointless boycott, and go watch some well crafted cinema. Sure it's not There Will be Blood-but a well contained love story in 60's era aesthetic? Sign me up. In fact I'll buy two Soggy Bottom water beds please!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016)
Be opposed to corporate trash!
There is a specific kind of film you don't want to defile with corporate authority running the show. That kind of performance is Rocky Horror picture show. An annual tradition among theatre companies which turned into a cult classic film, back in a simpler time--people were crazy for Rocky Horror for the bad-good film factor and unforgettable soundtrack.
What looms over a sort of production like this is that it cannot do justice to the original. On top of which it is trying to usher in a new level of correction to the current state of identity politics. I get the feeling the producers understood that Rocky Horror was still hip with the kids these days and wanted to appeal to this generation as much as possible. With casting choices that would entertain certain people in the Marxist level liberal,self absorbed youth today. The classic music also does not match well juxtaposed with all the atrocious coloured hair and millennial-like makeup/beauty standards.
You can also really rake in the cash quickly by strapping together a very simple production made for TV in order to play ads to a larger group than normally. I'm all for seeing a theatre's take on Rocky Horror. It would be stale to see the same thing over and over. That's why I was excited to see last years live theatre production of BBC Rocky Horror. The film is a completely different experience. You want to see it again and again for same timeless experience. As soon as you want to strap a "soft reboot" approach with an awful TV made film translation, it all goes downhill.
P.S. It's fun to see the homage that Glee did (during the height of its success) because we know it can never replace the original. There is an added layer to following the story of glee and the clever tie ins between the TV show and the film. This TV remake is a shallow existence just to appeal to today's youth culture and diversity quotas.
The Good Place (2016)
The Good Place is not so good
You can usually know if a show is good or not with the three episode test. For sitcoms, if not most shows, it takes usually around the 2nd or 3rd season for everyone to get under their character's skin, the writers to understand where they need to tread. Unfortunately "The Good Place" is just not good enough and I don't expect it to get renewed for another season.
The problem is there is no charm in this series. NBC has this problem of creating shows that don't have strong starts. It's usually quantity over quality these days. We are past the better times of "the Office", "30 Rock", and "Parks and Rec".
The problem specifically with this show is that there is a quivering tone. It doesn't know what it wants to be or how to tell its story properly. There is this sarcastic sense about everyone and even the main character is openly sarcastic for the sake of the audience. It's difficult to comprehend when we have to suspend our disbelief that these are real people. The show doesn't clearly establish any rules or set up the setting well. The actions of characters are nonsensical and the delivery of lines are often not organic. Especially from our main characters. Kristen Bell most of all. It also employs excessive lighting and awkward editing.
Nothing special about this show. The premise is stolen from the classic "bad apple accidentally gets into heaven." Nothing creative about the story which is strange considering they are in a place with limitless possibilities. Of course the first arc that is put forth is to have our main character right her wrongs or at least try to be ethical. The problem is that a situational comedy needs have situations that are actually funny not just awkward drama with lightweight hijinks. The Good Place doesn't understand what it wants to be or how to apply good comedy.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
"Gone to that place where there's no pain or thought"
I could tell there was something wrong with this film just by the way it started. There is this sense in the air. A muddled script, nonsensical plot, confusing timelines...
Mickey Rourke looks so old in this film. I think one of the issues with making a sequel like this is that it took too long to be produced. Between the 8 years the former actor playing Minute died of a heart of attack in 2012, Clive Owen probably read the script for the character Dwight and presumably didn't want to reprise the role (which I don't blame him), and Bruce Willis shows up to play a ghost probably for a sweet paycheck. Jordan Gordon Levitt is also mistaking cast into this film who does a poor job trying to act.
I'm not even sure I can talk about the story because it's very incoherent. Mostly because if you haven't seen (or read) any of the chapters in the previous film recently, you are constantly trying to piece together how it all fits in.
The shock and awe that comes from the gory film noir and classic black and white canvas style shots are still here with a stunning return; but the violence is mindlessly carried out to excess without purpose. Some of the best kinds of tricks it can pull are pulled and run into the ground--into futility. Such as the touches of coloring. Look, coloring is a powerful tool in film--and Sin City is all about how tints, shadows, and light affect the picture. When they added touches of color it really sent a vibe to pay attention to that particular object. But in the very first 20 minutes an ongodly amount of light and color is shoved onto the portion of the screen that is the empty space and not the center of attention. It doesn't make sense thematically. Moreover, sometimes the color would annoyingly disappear and reappear in the same shot. Also, voice over is overused. There's no cadence to the words spoken anymore--it chokes up your ears and incessantly tells you what's happening rather than what the characters are feeling. Granted it sometimes does both now--but it's a crutch that doesn't need to be too gratuitous all the time, every time.
I'm not making this review to just talk about color and voice-overs--I'm just trying to make a point. The film-makers responsible here wanted to shove something out there that obviously was not meant to be. And you feel with a project like this they decided to put any type of creative spin to make it work. The re-casting of the former's roles do not hold up. The story is not as poignant or interesting as they were in the last film. And I feel as if they had just tried harder to make this sequel sooner rather than later--perhaps it would be a different story.
Then again sequels like this are mostly a cash grab but you get a sense that the filmmakers who let the former success go to their heads. Yeah, they want to make something good--but it's likely they wanted to make a sequel just because they like writing and directing movies like this. So when 'The Spirit' flopped and enough years passed, I'm guessing the studio green-lit this project which probably was in development as soon as Frank Miller saw more dollar signs in his future. Unfortunately our ride is probably finished with this franchise. I'm assuming it didn't make enough money back to justify any more of it. And with the forever aging, dying, and or negligent cast, along with poor critical and film audience acclaim, I'd bet I'm right. And you don't even need to blow on my coin for good luck.
XOXO (2016)
It a PLUR not life!
I've been to my fair share of raves but I never understood 'PLUR' lifestyle. It seems like a capitalistic and vapid culture. And I'd be hard pressed not to admit that a majority of artists follow suit. And many concerts are just an excuse to take drugs, dance like a crazy person, and possibly get intimate with strangers.
But before I go on a tangent on rave culture, lets decipher this movie. Do you enjoy films riddled with clichés? I mean constant ad naussiem clichés one after another. Here are some you will experience: The un-offensive popular new kid on the block that made it a big debut online, the over-exaggeration effects of drug use, disappointed father who doesn't believe in his son's potential, vapid slutty 'squad' chicks that are less than one-dimensional, jaded "true fan" that is holding on to the past but breaks free of his cynicism/nihilism, couple that is breaking apart due to relationship problems going to an event for a last hurrah, girl who believes in true love against all odds gets bogged down by the truth (but ends up with the right person).... Etc.
This is mixed with repulsive story elements. It's sets up a storyline of multiple perspectives with awfully written dialogue. Among all these people in the film the plot is stretched to thin to tell a story or make any good point. Every modern convention of film is shoved into this piece of garbage and even if some would work in another better film, the execution is the problem. Is this an advertisement for xoxo fest? It certainly feels that way from all the music and awkward crowd shots. The best part is when the couple decide to go down into a sewer to get into the sold out festival. Probably because they get covered in poop which is a good metaphor for what this film is.
Nothing seems to be redeeming about this movie. It's predicable, vapid, has no real point to make, and doesn't even have a memorable scene. This is starting to prove that Netflix will cut corners and shove any material out there is see if it sticks. It's certainly cheaper than hiring good talent or purchasing already good content to stream. Stay away from the sewage stained garbage.
David Cross: Making America Great Again (2016)
Cross not losing his edge; it's just rusty now
This is an odd thing to see. I don't mean Netflix producing a special for David Cross, but more so him doing stand-up. It seemed like his glory days were behind him and this sort of proves it. His topical comments on politics take longer to make people laugh compared to his last three comedy specials. You could tell the audience respected him as a comedy giant but the content was just underwhelming. His energy level is really low and keeping the audience engaged for an hour is just stretching jokes out. Honestly, I did enjoy watching it; but when I went to go listen back to his previous work, I was reminded on how skillful his edgy comedy was.
The tempo in his previous shows was at a steady rate. This time it doesn't live up to his career. There is always typically a time where an artist is at their peak. And it seems this is the point where he's climbing down. He's gotten quite rusty this time around. The only moment I actually laughed hysterically was one joke at the end. And what Cross does best is get people to laugh with his tone, cadence, mannerisms, and hyperbolic the minimalist bait and switch jokes. But you can't ride on that with just sub-par material. I liked some of the content, but at some point it was like he was riding a wave for too long without changing course appropriately. Usually David Cross' bits are very quick and the longer ones are multi-faceted or connect to another point to move the entire show along. The theme is extremely muddled and sloppy when compared to his previous work.
If you like David Cross but if you never seen/heard his stand-up before--I'd recommend that much more.
Doragon Bôru Zetto Kami to Kami (2013)
This film is so wrong BUT WAIT NOSTALGIA
Beware of spoilers are in this review.
Why I really despise this film, is its lack of consequence. Every part of Dragon Ball Z was suspenseful because the villains were evil; they intended to kill people, worlds, possibly even the universe. Now, this isn't to say that a villain must be portrayed this way, but it takes away from a universe where the Z fighters can literally do incredibly insane and powerful moves--which is fun to watch. We don't get any of that in this film, just a very tame fight between Bills the lord of destruction and Goku.
Now, a lot of people would retort that the concept of Bills/Beerus whatever these gods are called--is a nice change of pace to what we are used to, a slow build up of suspenseful talking and action that lead to either the destruction of earth and or the universe or chaos on earth (in case for the androids). Any ulterior motive of the villain to support the main idea of destruction. in this case Bills has no motive to fight Goku, he just wants to fight someone who could possibly put up a good match and has no real intention to destroy earth at all and would rather sleep for decades...blah blah blah Akira your movie falls apart so easily. The other argument I've been hearing to this is that is trying to be more comedic and approach a story in which DBZ could be a comedy. Why on earth would you change the tone of a series, the light-hearted joking, the extreme color pallet should not be the style for Dragon Ball Z because it doesn't work well with it. DBZ in its in nature is more serious in order to be more suspenseful.
Most of the film is setting up for the last fight at the end which ends up with no real repercussions, Vegeta has to dance, Gohan gets drunk, Emperor Pilaf and his gang are children and are carelessly shoehorned in the film to steal the dragon balls which are comically given out as a bingo gift at Bulma's Birthday party. I'm bursting out laughing except I'm not. No real development can be made between the characters and Bills wants to fight Goku after eating delicacies on earth. They are mentioned that there is a Super Saiyan god mode. Laughable already. Apparently you need 5 pure hearted Saiyans to call the god and turn one into super Saiyan god cheat mode. And the best art direction with this is Goku looking the same with red hair and some kind of red aura.
They originally can't find a 5th Saiyan until Gohan and Videl inform the group that she's pregnant. It would be really awkward to find out it isn't his by this ritual not working. Four grown Saiyans and a fetus that carries Saiyan blood are good enough. Goku gets the power and they fight, and here is where the film starts to try to show off. They start fighting in the city which Goku would never do if he didn't have to, it's alright because nothing in the environment gets damaged. The camera begins to swoop around them into some kind of 3D simulation to look more epic, but instead it just makes it look completely tacky and overdone. Fights are so much better when the audience has a grasp what both parties are up to and what they are doing. Then here is where the fight begins to start to get comical. They fight in the woods and rocky areas, then above the ocean, then under the ocean waves and in some underground cave. Goku loses his god power cheats and is still able to fight Bills even though it was established when they first met that he could effortlessly take out Goku at SSJ3 in one hit. Then they go all the way into the atmosphere/space where Goku shouldn't even be able to breathe. Bills throws this huge ball of energy at Goku turns his cheats on to absorb the blast. And at this point Bills is easily winning. And then Bills just stops fighting and nothing makes sense because no one has any motivation for anything.
I mean I can understand the Saiyan will to fight at any time, but what is the motivation for Bills except to find someone that is as powerful as him? So he can definitely say, yes I am a god of destruction in which I am the strongest in this universe. Apparently there are only 12 universes they are in the 7th. The fact that it's numbered makes already no absolute sense. Goku passes out He goes on to destroy the earth...he means it, and ends up destroying a piece of the earth--so basically just a rock. Which is coincidentally could be called earth, but being that Bills didn't really know about this planet, how the heck did he know the colloquialism that rocks could be called earth?
So they leave. I didn't mention Whis, because he's just there to do nothing. It's stated that he is the care taker and teacher of Bills, so not much difference in character, just some odd looking god that is claimed to be the strongest in the universe. Some god that so power he just sits around to babysit some other god because that god is the god of destruction. Oh dear god.
So in the end who cares, I'm rating this a 1 out of 10, not because it was that bad but I need to factor in all the people who are going to endlessly praise this film because of nostalgia and my childhood is back, Akira is back guise.
Anyway, this film slightly pays its respect to GT by saying it never existed and approaching this as canon instead. I'm definitely okay with that.
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Hit it out of the park, but somehow didn't make it to home plate.
OK. I was recommended to watch this film because I had a conversation about Wes Anderson with someone. I didn't know about his first film, Bottle Rocket, and my friend said she liked it because it was so laid back and appealed to her in some way.
While I think it is a good first attempt for a film, and a good start for Wes Anderson. Although, I have to say that I got a good amount of the Wilson Brothers from the entire film, I thought it was admirable.
It had it's moments and was shot decently well. There are a lot of problems with it. Motive for the story, the 2 dimensional characters with some important character traits, and a script that doesn't really work in the sense that it would serve to the story. This is long before Wes is making self aware quirky movies that pan to a certain type of trope or theme and it falls flat to deliver a solid movie with a plot that would make sense.
It is incredibly well shot in a simple way and doesn't hit you over the head with anything, the performances feel a little forced, but it still all feels genuine enough to be believable.
Once again, being that this is his first film, you can overlook a lot of the material and give him a pat on his back for what he was trying to accomplish. And he kind of hit it out of the park and began developing a style that some people would get under and truly respect.
Anyway, that's my lightweight review of the movie. I don't want to bring up specific details of the film that bothered me or that I liked, but I would definitely give this a watch if you are interested enough in Wes Anderson as a director.