engelbrechtjohann Reviews

The Batman (2022)

Beyond expectations

[10/10 · 29 April 2022]

I was concerned Robert Pattinson wouldn't be able to pull this one off, but his casting was spot-on. His Batman is grittier, with much less experience than previous iterations, but his relationship with Gordon and the rest of the police are much improved Gone are the gadgets and assorted gewgaws we've come to expect from Batman movies in the past thirty-odd years, with the Caped Crusader having to rely on his wits and muscle more than anything else.

Riddler isn't just a funny guy spewing out random playground quasi-riddles, but has well-thought out multi-faceted riddles that nearly spell disaster for either a single character or the entire Gotham.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Meta to the max!

[10/10 · 29 April 2022]

What more could you want than Nick Cage in a Nick Cage movie about Nick Cage doing a Nick Cage movie?

This is my pick for the movie of the year thus far (April 2022). Nick Cage being encouraged to just be himself is awesome. Pedro Pascal is the perfect fan-boy meeting his hero for the first time, and the chemistry between him and Cage is beyond description. This is a character-driven movie, with the action-thriller bits punctuating the plot with exquisite perfection.

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds (2021)

Blast of nostalgia

[8/10 · 8 January 2022]

I loved the book and the original animated series. This movie manages to stay as faithful to the book as possible, and to the series as well. To do this, it had to cut many of the side-stories from the series, but that's to be expected. I had one or two niggles with some elements of the story, but that doesn't matter, the rest of the movie made up for that.

Major Dad (1989–1993)

Funny, with a twist

[8/10 · 23 April 2019]

The first three seasons are definitely the watch worth. The Costa Negra story-line in the first season is on the same level as the last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. If you don't get the reference, watch both series. It becomes quite clear early in Season 4 that they started running out of ideas. Most American series run into this at the same time, with many overstaying their welcome for several seasons too long.