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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Fun movie with a little drag in the middle
This was a very fun movie with satisfying action scenes. The action scenes can be over the top at times but it does not feel like a movie you need to take super seriously. I enjoyed every scene with the core five actors.
The movie does drag a bit in the middle of the movie. This is based on a true story so I get why it's important to see all the parts of the operation. However, there is a lot of dialogue and slow pacing in the middle. It focuses a lot on what I would consider the B plot.
By the end of the movie it ramps back up and you get a satisfying climax with all the parts coming together. Overall very fun laid back movie, especially if you are interested in history and WW2.
Civil War (2024)
Not the movie that I expected
I went into this movie expecting to see a core focus be on a civil war in America, and that is not really what the movie focuses on. The focal point of this movie is war journalism as you tour across war torn America.
You go from pit stop to pit stop seeing interesting aspects of how people are reacting and living in the current situation. However, this just makes for a very average plot and does not really pull me in any significant way. It almost seems like a bunch of side stories the main characters are witnessing.
The reason I give this review slightly higher is for the ending. Things pick up as we finally get a big piece of the action instead of small bits of the war here and there.
I really wish we got to know more about the civil wars beginning, about the major powers at play and their motivations. You kind of have to piece together and make assumptions about quite a lot. Go into this movie expecting a movie on war journalism and less about the actual civil war the movie is titled.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
Little tension, big beatdowns
I went into this movie just wanting to see "big monsters hit each other." There's definitely a lot of fight instances, however I found myself disappointed by a lot of them. Most of them were one sided beat downs some of which lasted seconds. I thought maybe it's okay because we are building up for one big epic finale fight, but that also felt very one sided and as a result a little boring.
Important to say the movie definitely had its moments. There were some good laughs and enjoyable moments between Godzilla and Kong. There was enough to make me smile that made me not rate this lower. Unfortunately the negatives outweighed the positives for me.
The inclusion of Godzilla in this movie did not quite feel right. He was kind of just there and almost just a plot convence and to pull people into the seats by having him in the title. The main focus is on Kong which is not a problem, but you would expect to see a little more than a few very quick scenes of here's where Godzilla is now.
The people scenes are the weakest parts of the film. Not that interesting, the comedic relief is not that great and some decisions seem nonsensical.
Lastly I am a firm believer of the suspension of disbelief and just accepting the rules of a movies world. I am super annoyed but this blue stick that magically controls the other "big bad" with absolutely no explanation other than "he uses pain to control it."
Overall if you are looking for big monster beatdowns where there's little tension and no fear for the heroes then check this out.
The First Omen (2024)
Great lore with a slow build
This movie definitely isn't for everyone. It has a decent amount of horror and definitely some very unsettling scenes. Where the movie shines is its lore and world building. I have not watched the original in a long time and I immediately left this movie wanting to regal myself with what happens next in the universe.
The beginning of the movie is definitely on the slower side. This seemed to drag and be detrimental at first, however by the end of the movie I most certainly did not mind as it added to the story of the universe and everything came together well by the conclusion of the film.
If you are looking for instant gratification with hit you in the face scares this is not the movie for you. I do recommend if you are into a slow build, mystery and very intriguing story crafting.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Disappointing and Nonsensical
A lot of this movie didn't make sense. It was very disappointing and I found myself looking at my watch a lot. Be prepared for a long drag during the middle of the movie and a rather boring ending that makes little sense.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Set proper expectations
Overall this was a good show in covering its core focus, but I wound up having a sour taste due to having completely different expectations than what the audience was given. Going into this show I expected it to be horror themed with a strong emphasis on unsettling and frightening atmospheres. However after completing the series I can say that's definitely not the core focus of this show. There are scenes with aspects I discussed above, and they are handled very well. But if you are expecting a majority of the show to be like this you will be disappointed.
Ultimately this is a show that deals with the trauma of a family, which is related to the haunting that is promised in the title of the show. This handling and overcoming of trauma is the true focus of the show. It was handled well but I kept expecting those moments of horror.
I also expected the last couple of episodes to have a strong focus on scares based off of the build up that had been occurring the whole show. These expectations were completely wrong as the last few episodes probably have the least amount of scares in the entirety of the show.
Come Play (2020)
Decent and interesting
This is a fairly typical scary movie with a somewhat interesting premise. There were some choices made for the plot that I really appreciated. It made the movie not as predictable as some of these other horror movies that are churned out.
Decent movie if you are looking for something to watch, but do not expect it to be anything that's going to blow you away.
The Last of Us: Part II (2020)
Great Gameplay with a Direction I Didn't Like
I will start by saying that I feel like the gameplay for this game is great. It significantly improved systems from the last game while adding a decent amount of new features to make it feel very good to play. The game looks visually stunning as well which makes the world feel more alive.
The story itself in the beginning I felt was decent. I felt that it didn't have the same quality as the first game, but I wasn't expecting it to be as good. As the game was playing out it made a direction choice about halfway through that I really didn't like. It's hard for me to put into words, but it felt like they tried to cram too much into one game and I feel it hurt the game a lot. By the end of the game it felt like a disjointed story with a clear message of that makes sense. While the message of the game winds up being clear and relatable, it was done in such a way that the story did not feel nearly as good as it should have.
It was disappointing coming off of the first game, but objectively looking at it the story was perfectly average. I feel like the story had some short comings mainly due to a poor core direction choice. The gameplay was good enough for me to give this game some boost to its rating.
Onward (2020)
Decent movie great ending
For most of this movie I felt the story was fairly average but not bad in any regard. It has an interesting world and some fun references that some may really enjoy. It was the last third or so of the movie that really stood out to me. The story picked up a lot for me and I really enjoyed how they ended the movie. The film also tied back to some aspects of movie that I didn't care as much for and gave those scenes a little more justification in my mind.
Overall the movie is decent for a good chunk of the movie, with the last few acts of the movie being pretty great in my opinion. I took my brother to see this movie and that honestly made the film a little more special for me based off of some the plot lines that you can expect just from seeing the trailers.
The Invisible Man (2020)
Creatively filmed and an enjoyable film
This movie was filmed in what I felt was an extremely creative manner. A lot of the shots create very suspenseful settings. The movie has a bit of a slow start as it builds up the suspense, but then ramps up a lot about half way through the film. Some of the plot and character choices didn't make as much sense as I would have liked, but ultimately it didn't bother me too much. I didn't care too much for the very end of the movie either.
It was definitely an interesting watch and I recommend to those who love suspenseful movies. Overall I felt it was a solid good movie that had some great high points, with a few parts that I felt didn't quite work.
Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)
If you like the TV show you will like the movie
I really enjoyed this movie and found myself laughing quite a lot throughout it. The humor isn't for everyone but if you like the TV show I am sure you will really enjoy the movie. The plot that ties the strand of challenges together is very cheesy but the challenges themselves are fantastic.
I had a very fun time watching this movie and would recommended seeing it.
Underwater (2020)
Average horror with some poor choices
This movie has a lot of good and bad mixed in with it. Sadly I feel like the bad pulls the movie down far too much.
In regards to the positives, I really enjoyed the setting. I have always liked movies with creatures lurking in the dark, ready to claim their next victim at any moment. The movie did this well and used the extremely dark ocean floor in interesting ways that I felt really made the movie interesting. I also loved the diving suits that were utilized in the film. They had a great design that was very satisfying to me.
There were two areas where this movie faulted for me. The first was in its character development and interactions. There was always something that seemed to be propelling the plot forward in a manner that felt rushed. Because of this it was hard to get any development that makes you feel for the characters in any significant ways. I felt this was a big drawback especially since it seems like the characters had potential to be very interesting. The second area this movie failed was in its last act. The movie has a drastic development that took me out of the movie. I really did not enjoy it and I felt it detracted from the movie greatly. I can see some people liking this development but I feel like the majority will not.
Overall this is an average movie that could be a fun one time watch if you cannot seem to find anything else. This movie could have been much better but I feel like it ruined promising potential with poor choices.
The Grudge (2019)
Boring plot with little horror elements
There are very few movies that I have wanted to leave in the middle of and this is one of them. This film takes a very basic plot point from the grudge movies and ultimately skews the plot significantly immensely. This resulted in what felt like a very different movie.
The characters are all very uninteresting and the plot is painfully dull. If you broke down all of the "scary" parts of the movie, you would probably only have about four minutes of film. The rest of the film feels like its maybe trying to be deep and mysterious and it does not come across well. It seems like there was a goal of building up towards a grand finale, but even that felt extremely flat.
I highly recommend people to avoid this movie. I cannot express how many times I looked at my watch, begging for the movie to end.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Solid movie for all ages
This was an enjoyable movie that made me laugh quite a few times. The plot is a bit generic which is not too surprising. The acting was superb and the characters had good chemistry with each other. When first introduced I was concerned over Jim Carrey's portrayal, but he quickly became one of the best parts of the movie. It is a solid movie and I recommend that people go see it. Hopefully a sequel will be made, because I find this world and its' characters interesting.