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Reviews
Manifest (2018)
A Promising Show That Deteriorated Quickly
Just finished binging this show. I am a fan of mystery and got hooked initially but my expectations for an original and quality sci fi story were cut short pretty much after season 1. It only got more disappointing with each new episode. Most of the acting was really stale, and what's with the excessive melodrama? It only diluted the plot and did not contribute any artistic value. The apocalypse references were boring, although Angelina's character was intense. I wish the show was better done with a fresher philosophical perspective. With a few exceptions, all I saw were overused biblical cliches. The ending is good if you have enough patience to get there.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
I can't believe it had so many awards and nomination
The cinematic interpretation of multiple universe concept appears to be quite challenging. I thought Dr. Strange and his confusing multiverse experience was pretty bad until I saw how it could go worse with this flick. My expectations and standards are low when I watch movies on the plane but I could not stand more than 30 min of this nonsense. I am giving it two stars because of Michelle Yeoh. She is an awesome talent indeed. Everything else was horrible, not entertaining at all, and very difficult to watch. I do not understand the positive critic reviews and the hype. I would rather strongly discourage everyone from wasting their time on this ridiculousness. Oh, and please do not give it Oscar for best picture! It would be an utter insult for all the great filmmakers out there.
The Lost Leonardo (2021)
A captivating but incomplete story
Habent Sua Fata Picturae. Pictures have their own destinies. I wanted to see an unraveled mystery about a fascinating painting. Instead, I spent an hour and a half watching a documentary fixated more on money and art market dark secrets than authenticity of Leonardo's work. The dramatic turns kept my attention and the cinematography was decent, albeit based mostly on talking heads and glitzy scenes. My major disagreement with the director's approach is about the lack of historical perspective. The starting point of the story is two art dealers purchasing a potentially valuable old damaged painting. What happened before that, where did Salvator Mundi come from, who were the previous owners? The documentary does not touch even briefly on how the world's most expensive painting ended up at an art auction in New Orleans. I did a little research and found articles on the topic in the WSJ and other sources. I am not sure why the authors decided that the painting should magically appear in 2005. While there are gaps in its ownership history, it was not exactly lost. Only nobody knew that it could be attributed to the Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci.
And Just Like That... (2021)
It is like seeing good old friends again
My expectation about And Just Like That were mixed, mostly because I could not imagine it without Samantha. I started watching the original show back in 2002 after finally realizing that it was about so much more than just sex and NYC. I am the same age as the girls and have experienced many similar comical situations. I got instantly hooked, saw all episodes as well as the movies, and really missed the girls. Now they are back, in their 50s, and still adorable! The 2021 show is actually better than I expected. Two things need to be improved in the future seasons (if there will be any): try to bring back Samantha and get rid of the fake and excessive woke garbage. Then it will be more like the great fun Sex and the City we all love.
Cobra Kai (2018)
Nothing more than 80s nostalgia
I love a good 80s nostalgic show but I am still not sure why I am watching this one. The idea is interesting just not well executed. Younger actors are actually pretty good. Both Zabka and Macchio could use acting lessons though. At least the character of Johny has some depth and potential to it. And what is with the choice of the actress for Samantha LaRusso? Could not they find somebody skinnier with a more athletic body type? The cute chubby girl with no muscle is quite antithetical to the kickass karate fighter she is trying to portray. I wish the show could improve.
Rogue One (2016)
Better than The Force Awakens
Last year's disaster of a Star Wars movie (TFA) left me angry and disappointed. I thought I would never like any of the new films. Rogue One is not great but I generally enjoyed watching it.
I cannot help but drawing a parallel between both. Rogue One is done with a different twist: it is more like a good war drama, rather than being a western-style sci-fi picture. What I find annoying about it is the choice of Diego Luna for the main character. While he is a fine actor, I am not sure who decided that he could be a convincing bad ass member of the Rebellion. He was equally as ridiculous as Adam Driver playing Kylo Ren in TFA. The rest of the cast did a good job. Felicity Jones was much better than the actress (or is she a female soccer goalkeeper?) playing Rey in the previously released movie.
The other parts that could have been done better: the dialog (and monologues for that matter). Too much explaining of what is happening and why, instead of showing it. This is a movie after all, not a radio play. And where was The Force? They kept talking about it but it was not given a chance to show itself...The story was quite boring as well but I guess it is not easy to right a good Star Wars script.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Truly disappointing
I had high expectations from The Force Awakens. Initially I thought that the decision to hand over the SW franchise to a new generation was great. The new faces, the feminist twist and even creating The Force Awakens as a remake of Episode IV were not necessarily bad ideas. They were poorly executed though. I question Disney's choice of movie makers because JJ Abrams did a terrible job with the story, cast, score and pretty much everything. And he has no excuses as I am sure that he had a lofty budget.
I also wonder if Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay himself or outsourced it to a 4th grader from an underdeveloped country. It looks like a nauseatingly cheap comic strip with so many gaps in the plot that it almost makes me want my money back from AMC theaters.
The new actors are trying hard but are unconvincing, unattractive, and unable to portray chemistry between the characters. The score is painful.
I feel sorry for the kids who are supposed to be indoctrinated with this garbage. We grew up with better Stars Wars and probably better dreams. I gave it 3 stars because they brought back Han Solo and Chewbacca although even Harrison Ford cannot save this bad movie. The CGIs were decent too.