mr-michael-wood Reviews

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Starts well but ends poorly

[5/10 · 12 February 2024]

The opening of the movie is a bit of a change, the camera angles, score and characters make it a bit of an assault on the senses. It felt a million miles away from your normal box office movie and had me gripped. From there it slowly goes downhill, nothing much happens and nothing (except the most insignificant thing) gets resolved.

Some people enjoy complete and full closure to movies where we start out without the full understanding of what is going on. This movie, however, gives no closure to any events that happen within it which makes it seem like a two and a half hour set up or opening and then just stops.

It's hard to explain without spoilers but the basic premise is that an attack takes place while a family is vacationing in rural America. We don't need to know about the origin of the attack, why it's happening or if it gets resolved. So with that I want to point out that I'm not referring to this lack of closure.

Within the story there are several plot points that are started up and never concluded at all. The movie essentially finishes where you would expect the final act to begin.

The Killer (2023)

Slow burn but captivating

[8/10 · 21 November 2023]

I put this movie on randomly with the intention of working on a few jobs. I've had terrible luck concentrating on movies lately, often grabbing my phone and not able to finish a movie before turning it off.

After only a few minutes I was hooked, sat paying close attention. It's almost like a person who almost whispers to draw you in to what they are saying I suppose.

The movie itself was pretty slow but that seemed to be a good thing as I couldn't look away. It's also a pretty simple concept without much too it. Perhaps the lack of sensory overload that is common in other movies surrounding assassins had me caught off guard.

I went in expecting nothing and was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this movie as much as I did.

Mulligan (2023– )

Why?

[4/10 · 12 May 2023]

Like others have said, we've had final space and inside job cancelled with quite high ratings and while I'm watching Mulligan I'm just wondering what was going through the mind of the person who green lit this.

So far it's a four star from me, 4 episodes in and it's just a bit boring. It's a show that leans heavily on stereotypes as the basis of every joke, every situation is built upon the stereotype rather than having a funny situation.

Just be careful about getting invested, even if you like this show, it's a low-ish rated show and if they are cancelling highly rated shows then what chance does this have.

Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (2023)

Not as polished as you'd expect

[4/10 · 19 March 2023]

I find chris rock to be funny with his stand up and funnier when someone has scripted a role for him.

In this latest standup he never seemed to get into the flow, the rhythm was just not present. Going from topic to topic was poorly done, constantly repeating himself (I imagine for effect but it didn't seem to work for me or the audience).

Some jokes I didn't find funny at all, but it doesn't mean they weren't funny. Some I did but doesn't mean you will find it funny.

Maybe because it was streamed live his was feeling the pressure more than usual, but it was nowhere near his best work at all.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Unexpectedly good

[9/10 · 1 March 2023]

This is a weird movie to review, yet I know I loved it. I don't know if others feel the same but it's almost like witnessing a public event, one which you don't see the beginning or the end, yet it is interesting enough to talk about later with friends. Like getting on a bus and there is an argument between a couple and as you get off it is still going on. You will never know what started it or how they normally are and you will never see the end.

This movie doesn't show the past of this friendship, just that it the moment where it stops and you don't get a satisfying ending to the drama, instead you witness a part of the characters lives, and if you go in, as I did, knowing this then it's an enjoyable, beautifully shot and scripted affair that has you reflecting on life.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

A true addition to the ghostbusters legacy

[9/10 · 9 December 2022]

This movie hit the spot for me, I'm tired of old franchise names being dragged out of the past to be used on new movies that bear little resemblance to the original. They often use words like "reimagining" to describe such things and to each their own but my personal preference is to stay true to the original material or let it die. If you are like me and feel the same this movie may be for you, if you prefer some sort of reimagining then look elsewhere.

The movie incorporates so many elements of the original with the pace sped up for our modern attention spans (much appreciated as I'm now accustomed to much faster paced movies), the changes are subtle and brilliant. Obviously the focus of the movies has shifted from the original cast to a bunch of kids which was something I was concerned about going in but it worked really well, great performances and some genuinely tear jerking moments.

Mother! (2017)

A good art movie, not so much a good movie

[7/10 · 14 November 2022]

If you walk into this movie expecting something very coherent then you will be sadly disappointed. It's an attempt at a religious metaphor, the cinematography was excellent and Jennifer Lawrence and the rest of the cast gave great performances. However it was a slow burn and it perhaps took itself too seriously, rather like a teenager who thinks they are the deepest soul on the planet.

Seven out of ten is based on the performance and cinematography being great, the story being passable and in places quite clever, the let downs were that it felt a bit like an accident trip going bad all of a sudden.

I watched it twice, once blind and once to watch knowing the meaning that eventually comes so I obviously thought it worth my time. It's one for those times where you don't mind a slow burn.

Prey (I) (2022)

One of the better predator movies

[8/10 · 10 September 2022]

The first predator movie will always be my favourite and while others had more issues I enjoyed most of the sequels.

This instalment was far more enjoyable than I thought it would be and I was very pleasantly surprised. I went in thinking this would be another case of Hollywood inserting an overpowered, perfect female lead that encountered no strife. The so called "Mary Sue" makes for a boring story, as there's no growth of character or struggle to overcome.

This lead conversely grew quite a bit and had to overcome challenges set before her, I would actually love to see a direct sequel to this movie.

My only gripe was a line in response to someone asking her why she wanted to hunt, to which she replied "because you all think I can't", can we please get away from this. Let characters have proper motivation, I'm no writer so it's not like I could do much better but perhaps something like "when I'm alone out there waiting for my prey I feel free".

Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021)

Falls flat at the end

[6/10 · 29 August 2022]

This was a bizarre ride of a show, I enjoyed the slow burn and weird vibes throughout but the ending really let it down. I feel there was zero closure or wrap up, almost like they forgot to release the last episode.

Others may disagree with my assessment, there's a lot of love for this series and some may say there was enough of a wrap up with open ends for the imagination but it felt like a lazy finish with nothing particularly resolved. It's a shame there's no season two because it's a perfect cliff hanger of an ending but for a limited season it's let down.

Acting was great all round, cinematography was on point. The protagonist wasn't overly relatable and was very cold at times but that didn't detract from the enjoyment, very much Aubrey Plaza vibes.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)

Simply terrible

[1/10 · 26 August 2022]

The concept has so much potential, sadly the writers were completely incompetent. I can even put up with the bad CGI, it is bad but hasn't bothered me as much as others seem to be.

It's not cinematic gold in terms of acting but it's a Tv show, it doesn't merit the same level as the silver screen from the performances. The CGI is budget, same with most Tv shows and being CGI heavy it gets expensive. All this is, in my view, passable and watchable.

It's simply a brilliant example of how not to write a story, it's a shame. They had a good soapbox in which to convey a message of female empowerment they wanted to show but rather than elegantly dealing with the subject it was a ham fisted attempt. It misses basic elements of good story telling and should have the writers feeling ashamed to call themselves professionals.

The writing portrays our protagonist as successful in everything, easily able to brush off the mildest of criticism from a male coworker whilst being praised by a female coworker, pulling Bruce from a car wreck in a feat of strength 99% of people would require tools for, dealing with mildly persistent unwanted male attention. Being better in every way at being a hulk than Bruce.

The sad fact is this doesn't make for a good story, the mild criticism sets a bar of what she must deal with and later when she complains you feel a sense of "nah, it wasn't that bad". Nearly beating the guys giving her some mild unwanted attention seemed overkill to say the least. Being better than Bruce gave no feeling of watching someone grow as a person.

Essentially it felt like watching an empowered woman just become more empowered, you don't become invested in watching someone succeed if they are already starting from a position of success.

Think back on all the best superheroes from marvel, think of the growth in each story and then ask yourself if it was the growth of the character that had you hooked or the mere fact they got powers.

For me it was watching Tony wrestle with the consequences of his business venture and strive to make things right, Thor being a man-child and growing up, Steve Rogers possessing no strength but a good spirit being given the strength to match.

They either needed to start she-hulk from a much lower position, perhaps her male colleague hears her speech and steals it, perhaps one of the guys making advances actually grabs her otherwise it's a hollow overreaction while I'm sure some woman at home are wishing that the awful misogyny she-hulk ranted about was the worst they experienced.

The Great Escapists (2021)

It's silly fun

[8/10 · 5 February 2021]

I went in expecting a very grand tour/mythbusters crossover, however what I got was a bit of a sitcom with all the crazy mythbusters and grand tour elements without the detailed build segments. They aren't seasoned actors so don't expect high quality acting but it's fun and watching with the kids (10 &15 in my case) was a good laugh

Best Leftovers Ever! (2020)

Good concept but badly executed

[3/10 · 8 January 2021]

The idea is ok but the main things that let it down are:

Mismatched judges, Rosemary is more of a serious judge who seems slightly uncomfortable with the level of silliness from the other Judges. She's not afraid to give detailed criticism whereas the other are more fluffy. Needed one style or the other but not both.

The host is far too central to the show, rather than focusing on the food prep, allowing the audience to take away some tips or ideas, you are bombarded with constant jokes and singing from the host that really cuts into the time spent on the contestants and what they are doing.

The episode length is far too short to showcase what the contestants are doing. Sometimes feels like an advert for a show rather than the actual show.

The host picks up a guitar and delivers a song (only a few lines) at the end of each episode which is the weirdest part and really out of place. No idea who she is but guessing this relates to other things she does maybe.

Hard Kill (2020)

Just don't do it!

[2/10 · 14 December 2020]

The plot is beyond unbelievable, it's just stupid. I wish I could be more eloquent but the true is it's just dumb. The acting is awful, very reminiscent of mighty morphing power rangers on a bad acting day. The main bad guy actually remind me of the bad guys from Three Ninjas way back from my youth. If there was no kills or foul language this would have made a great kids movie.

Oh and Bruce Willis, well his performance is pretty good, at points I feel like he's uncomfortable with the lack of acting skill around him during scenes but I suppose he just thinks of the pay check and I don't blame him one bit

Black Is King (2020)

Awful

[1/10 · 2 August 2020]

This was the biggest self indulgence project ever. I always think that if we had someone who wasn't famous do a movie like this, would we all like it? Take away the fame and with the preexisting idolised vision of the person away from the viewer what would we all think then? A movie should be able to stand on its own, insulated from requiring people to have a preexisting connection with the actor in the lead role. Those who say it will be iconic for generations to come are simply wrong. Vanity at its finest!

Time Trap (2017)

Overall an intriguing movie

[7/10 · 29 April 2020]

Lots of people here are giving it 1 star, lots 6-8. I'm rating this a 7 simply because I saw it as a B-movie from the trailer but was absolutely sucked into the story. Actors were pretty good, writing could have been slightly better but it's far from the worst I've come across. Some saw the characters acted unbelievably, statements like "why didn't they just" are thrown about but honestly if you can't tell from the title it contains quite frankly unbelievable concepts that we all know don't exist, if you found yourself in their shoes and weren't having a panic attack then I would be very surprised. People act rashly or out of character in a car crash for example so not coping well or doing what they should have is to be expected.

The ending let me down, it could of used a bit of a wind down and character resolutions

Shadowhunters (2016–2019)

Delivery lacking

[4/10 · 13 January 2016]

After the wife and I saw the movie we were disappointed to find out they weren't going to make the next in the series for the big screen. Our woe was turned to hope when we learned that it would instead be turned into a TV series. Sadly the good news stopped there. The sets look good and the story seems to be staying loyal to the book (for the most part), but the major downfall is both the acting and the special effects. The acting seems like that of your average high school drama class, lines that need pauses between them are blurted out quickly and with sloppy delivery, even the body language is lacking in any real commitment. While some of the fight scenes look good for the most part the entire feel of the acting, fighting and effects can be easily summed up as power rangers. To touch quickly on the effects, while TV shows have much smaller budgets than feature length movies I feel some effects should have been left out in favour of old school tricks rather than cheap looking garbage. By far the worst part was seeing the Shadowhunters tech, mixing high tech gadgets with this magical world feels like Bilbo Baggins texting Gandalf for advice.

If even just the acting improves this show could really impress but for now it's underwhelming to frustrating