#Overall its quite a cheap movie

[kingkangyohan]

Ok I have seen Christmas Carol.

Jinyoung is insane, but damn that movie needs to come with 500 warnings.

Good for him to try something this crude and far from his usual pretty boy persona.

[amyjdewinehouse]

JUST WATCHED THE AMY WINEHOUSE MOVIE

I am going to start by saying that I do NOT think that this movie is made for Amy Winehouse's fans, but rather for people who barely know anything about her life and artistry — and still, the movie falls short in doing Amy even a bit of justice.

Let's start with some of my grievances:

They portray Amy as a very annoying and unlikable person. I think most people are going to leave the theater thinking of how annoying Amy Winehouse was: they portray her as being immature, a homewrecker, not very smart, toxic, disrespectful, and violent. Was Amy like that? Maybe she did have some of those traits (perhaps at the beginning of her career?) but the movie fails miserably in really counterweighting those negative traits with any good ones, making Amy appear so unlikable to the viewer.

The singing is NOT good. Marisa Abela sounds whiny. Some of the songs sound pretty bad, especially "Stronger Than Me," it sounds terrible! The only song that I think sounded pretty decent was Valerie.

Its timeline is very confusing. There are many BIG jumps here. For example, there is only ONE scene between Amy's performance at the Grammys (2008) and hear death (2011). There are three years unaccounted for in Amy's life. They didn't even bother to include Amy's collaboration with Tony Bennett, which was one of Amy's highlights of her career. This is only one example of many confusing jumps throughout the movie. It is very surface level!

Some of the wardrobe is way off. In this movie Amy was wearing Back to Black era clothing during the Frank era. They did a good job of recreating some of her actual dresses, skirts, etc., but implemented them wrong in the movie's timeline. For example, Amy wearing her iconic 2011 Fred Perry argyle long sweater... in 2004?!?! Like, c'mon

There is a nude scene... why?! There is absolutely no reason to have a nude scene in an Amy Winehouse movie. Period.

Now onto the salvageable things about this movie:

I personally think the Glastonbury scene was the best part of this movie. The recreation was quite good and the whole scene added a lot to the movie in terms of showing Amy's feelings towards Blake.

I have very mixed feelings about the last scene because on one hand the end was super rushed. In fact, the entire movie felt rushed but the end, in particular, felt rushed. However, the last scene (hint: Ava flies in paradise) made me quite emotional. I was almost tearing up. I thought it was a beautiful way to the end the movie.

Overall thoughts:

I think this movie shouldn't have been made not because I am opposed to an Amy Winehouse biopic, but because this movie does a disservice to her life and legacy. It is a badly acted and at times it looks cheap. Amy deserved a better dramatization of her life. I hope we'll see that one day in the hands of a good director.

My rating? 3/10

[horrorvisuals]

CANINE

CANINE is a first-person horror game with well-made, PSX-style wobbly visuals.

It tells the story of a boy looking for his dog kidnapped by an evil corporation running experiments on pets. In his search, he has to survive against a horrifying creature and escape.

Canine has stealth-focused gameplay where you survive against a stalker-type enemy. Think of the Xenomorph from Alien: Isolation or Mr. X from Resident Evil 2.

Surviving against this creature isn't the most complicated thing, but it can surely be tense sometimes because it can corner you quite easily.

You can use your trusty tennis ball to distract it, run, and hide in designated hiding places.

It has a B-movie type of narrative that doesn't go too much into detail while still managing to give you a compelling story.

Tomy, the boy's dog, is kidnapped by an evil corporation named Umbral. They conduct experiments on dogs to create the perfect demigod.

Throughout your survival inside this facility, you come across notes and environmental details to learn more about this harrowing story.

The game has PSX style, wibbly-wobbly visuals paired with a pretty good atmosphere. The sound design and the overall color palette really puts dread in your chest even before the game truly begins.

At its essence, the gameplay revolves around surviving against this creature while looking for switches around the facility. It's a place with smaller sub-sections that you go through while searching for these switches and other key items, of course, while also looking for Tomy.

Depending on the things you do in your playthrough, the game has two endings. It also has a scoreboard system that nudges you to try again and maybe speedrun the whole thing.

It has a generous checkpoint system, so it never gets annoying even if you're caught.

CANINE is great. I enjoyed this a lot and I'll probably go back to it to play some more, maybe go for a no-death run.

It's pretty cheap on Steam with Very Positive reviews. Confidently recommended.

Check it out here.

[thewarmestplacetohide]

Cryptic Commissions: The Wicker Man

I can be commissioned to do a mini review of any horror film of your choosing for $3/£2.36 on Ko-fi!

Remake of: The Wicker Man (1973) Year: 2006 Genre: Occult Rating: PG-13 Country: United States Language: English Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes

Director: Neil LaBute Cinematographer: Paul Sarossy Editor: Joel Plotch Composer: Angelo Badalamenti Writer: Neil LaBute Cast: Nicolas Cage, Molly Parker, Kate Beahan, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski

Summary: A detective searches for a missing girl on a pagan cult’s private island.

Review: A prime example of a remake that fundamentally does not understand what made its source material work, this is a dull, incoherent mess punctuated by occasional hilarity.

Overall Rating: 1/5

Story: 1/5 - Void of tension or scares, it exchanges the original’s commentary on the dangers of blindly following religion—be it Catholicism or paganism—for a weirdly sexist, plot hole-riddled mystery where Nicolas Cage punches a woman in the face while wearing a bear suit.

Performances: 2/5 - Most of the actresses give the same performance, as if the only way for a woman to be ominous is if she’s stiff, cold, and bitchy. Cage, meanwhile, comes off like an incompetent, hammy nutjob.

Cinematography: 3.5/5 - The movie generally looks quite good, with a strong framing and aerial shots, but it also feels just a little too polished and commercial.

Editing: 2/5 - Bizarre and unintentionally disorienting.

Music: 2/5 - Cliche.

Sets: 3.5/5

Costumes, Hair, & Make-Up: 2/5 - Some of it is serviceable but many of the islanders' outfits, meant to appear homemade and rustic, look like they came from a cheap party store.

Trigger Warnings:

Moderate but brief violence

Child endangerment and implied death

Misogynistic undertones

Animal cruelty and death

Insects

[burninglesbian]

I've written this review on letterboxd for the John Dies At The End movie (didn't really like it). I thought I would post it here as well in case people wanna add or disagree with something :)

It's not the worst movie-adaption, yet it's far from good. It's not really a John Dies At The End and more of a Jeff Passes Away After The Third Act.

The acting is fine. The two mains that play John and Dave have good chemistry and play their dynamic well.

The cinematography is decent on the surface-level but for a book as crazy and trippy as this one, it’s too simple. Even the scenes where Dave is high on the soy sauce it just looks a bit too regular and average. When the sauce material has monsters, alternate universes and sentient drugs that bend time and space you have the opportunities to be creative with the camera work. Sadly that opportunity wasn’t used.

The writing: I can’t give the movie much credit because pretty much all of the scenes are word-for-word copies of scenes in the book.

Practical and visual effects: While the third act looks truly cheap and cheesy, everything that comes before that is quite good for a low budget film. While not all the creatures look like the way they were described in the book, they seemingly use practical effects for the monsters for the most part, which I adore.

Comparing it to the book, however, truly highlights all its flaws. I was expecting some of the book stuff to be cut because a 500 pages long book doesn’t fit into 90 minutes. But I was negatively surprised to find out that two thirds of the book has been cut. Two of the best thirds, to be exact. And the things we did get were focused on the wrong things. While the book is hilarious, what makes it stand out so much was the perfect balance of horror and comedy. At times you feel like crying from laughter, and then you need to take a moment to breathe after the tension. Sometimes even at the same time. The movie was pure comedy and didn’t once try to be a genuine horror story, unlike its bookish counterpart. They have cut every scene that caused genuine tension and terror.

On top of that it feels like the movie didn’t understand that the story also explores deeper themes and can get dark and serious at times. The prologue scene is the perfect example of that missing understanding. The prologue, the funny take on the ship of Theseus philosophy, is a funny way to start the book and introduce us to the writing and the humour but overall doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of the story. Except that it does, because it’s direct foreshadowing to the terrifying final plot twist. Well, the movie started the same way, with the direct adaption of the funny ship of Theseus philosophy, only that the ending doesn’t include the gut wrenching plot twist. Why? Because apparently, the book lost the film makers whenever it got slightly beyond “funny monster shenanigans”.

The dry two-dimensional characters from the movie are also very frustrating. John is the funny frat-boy and Dave is the straight guy, that much they got right. The fact that they are so much more than that, and that John has a genuinely good heart while Dave has a very dark and twisted side to him, is nowhere to be found. And how come they merge the two female main characters into one (another questionable choice), and she still doesn’t have any personality? They managed to copy every scene directly from the book and still make it a badly written story just by the choice of what to keep and what not to keep. Which is a talent in itself, considering the book got away with so much bullshit.

Overall the movie is a very cheesy b-movie with questionable pacing and unexplained lore. It’s fine if you like that kind of stuff and is definitely not the worst thing I have watched. But if you’re looking for a good adaption for the book John Dies At The End this is not it.

Would I recommend the book to someone? 100%. Would I recommend the film to someone? Only if they really like cheesy b-movies. Would I recommend the book to someone and then the movie afterwards? No.

[zhabk4]

tag game: 3 books, 3 movies, and 3 songs

that changed your life or you just love.

@karinzany , thank you for tagging me <3

3 books:

"a wild sheep chase" by haruki murakami - life changing in a way of being my introduction to surrealism/postmodernism in literature. not my favorite murakami book but at the time i was amazed.. i'm pretty sure reading it changed my views not only on literature, but on life overall too

"bel-ami" by maupassant – i didn't like this book, i hated reading it and everything about its contents but that was in fact quite life changing (lol). "The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor former cavalry to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy women" - at the time i was still an inexperienced reader so i was quite shocked that 1. a character such cheap and shallow as the mc gets everything he wants in the most disgusting way possible; 2. succeeds without any punishment or judgement from the narrative (which is absolutely normal but kindhearted little me was mad lol); 3. the reviews though were the scariest and saddest part "i rooted for this guy and enjoyed seeing him fool all those naïve and stupid women🤣" ..........many such cases... disgustingly misogynistic

"a clockwork orange" by anthony burgess - a classic💯

3 movies:

i rarely watch movies and the ones i like are usually quite well known so nothing inch resting here, but if i had to pick the most impactful one it'd probably be "the danish girl".. the movie that made me think about gender and sexuality probably for the first time in my life (lol)

3 songs:

"endlessly" by muse - beautiful song that made me realize that music is in fact an art full of emotion

"you know what they do to guys like us in prison" by mcr - beautiful song that turned me emo (lol)

prelude in e minor from wtc1 by j.s.bach - beautiful piece that probably changed my life forever by making me fall in love with classical music

i'm tagging @shortpersonstruggles @skelabra @kurhanchyk @hotyka @grouchydonut @exrocist and whoever feels like doing this

and whoever doesn't feel like doing this please feel free to ignore!

=￣ω￣=

[pandoramsbox]

Sci-Fi Saturday: Loss of Sensation [AKA RUR: The Robots of Jim Ripl, et. al.]

Week 16

Film(s): Loss of Sensation [AKA Gibel sensatsii, Loss of Feeling; The Death of Sensation; Jim Ripl's Robot; Robot of Jim Ripple, RUR: The Robots of Jim Ripl] (Гибель сенсации, Dir. Alexandr Andriyevsky, 1935, USSR)

Viewing Format: DVD

Date Watched: 2021-09-10

Rationale for Inclusion:

When it comes to science fiction, I am a sucker for the sub-genre that includes robots or androids. R2-D2 and C-3PO in the Star Wars movies, Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Chip from the Not Quite Human TV-movies all were staples of my childhood. Discovering the existence of a 1935 Soviet film involving robots meant tracking down said film for this survey.

Finding a copy to watch proved a bit tricky though. Part of the reason is it has not fallen under distribution of companies that focus on distributing 20th century foreign cinema, like Janus Films or Kino Lorber, so a copy needed to be available via YouTube or small distributor of obscure films DVD-Rs. 

The other part of the problem is the film exists under multiple titles. On Wikipedia, the film in question is Loss of Sensation (Гибель сенсации, Dir. Alexandr Andriyevsky, 1935, USSR). The Internet Movie Database lists it under Loss of Feeling. The DVD-R transfer I wound up purchasing is titled RUR: The Robots of Jim Ripl. So what title is the most accurate to refer to this film as? I am going with "Loss of Sensation" as that seems to be the most widely used English language title for the film. 

Reactions:

Not surprisingly, like its comrade film Aelita: Queen of Mars (Аэли́та, Dir. Yakov Protazanov, 1924, USSR) and the only other film to include a robot in the survey thus far, Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927, Germany), Loss of Sensation concerns itself with the conflict between capitalists and workers. Unlike Aelita, which also provides a contemporary portrait of the early Soviet era in Russia, it takes place in an unnamed capitalist country that is presumably the United States. Atypical of most tales of automation and robots entering industry, inventor Jim Ripl (Sergei Vecheslov) altruistically believes his robots will lead to factory production becoming so cheap that capitalism will fail and die, resulting in better quality of life for humanity. Typical of these types of narratives, the workers are opposed to losing their livelihoods to machines, whilst the capitalists see the potential for increased profits and military use.

What keeps Loss of Sensation from becoming a stilted allegory is its sense of humor and whimsy. The robots are all remote controlled, and in a demonstration for his friends and neighbors of his Micron robot, Ripl has it operate a sewing machine. And since the remote mechanism to communicate with the robots can be done with a variety of radio and sound patterns, Ripl can cause his inventions to move via saxophone.

Yes, this movie features robots being controlled by a saxophone. This film deserves more attention for this fact alone.

Overall, Loss of Sensation is a middle-of-the-road cautionary tale, but has enough unique quirks to be worth the watch.

[keeganhogan]

The Burmese Harp

The Burmese Harp was a film in which I found similarities with Ugetsu. Specifically, the theme of critiquing the military’s use of bushido. This is most obviously present when Mizushima fails to convince the other Japanese troop in the mountain to surrender. Mizushima says blatantly that no good will be done by their deaths and that they are more useful aiding their war-torn country, something that Mizushima will soon dedicate himself to, but for Burma. The refusal of the soldiers to follow Mizushima is exemplary of the notion of honor in death as a warrior, and as we see with Mizushima being the sole survivor of that attack, their death was not honorable. They did not go out fighting, they were simply blown to bits once Mizushima’s time was up. The use of gore in this film was also very interesting. The close-up shots on the rotting corpses of soldiers and the number of piles of numerous dead bodies was something I was not expecting from this film. I believe this also goes to show the lack of honor in death. These men were killed and left to rot and be picked at by vultures. This promise of becoming an honorable warrior in death for Japan’s sake is put on blast, as we see how horrible and pitiful the death of these soldiers really was. Even the sergeant, before coming around to believing that Mizushima could be alive, says that to doubt his death is to dishonor his spirit. This saying that claiming a dead warrior is not truly dead would be disrespectful to the warrior who died honorably in battle.

Despite this critique, I couldn’t help but feel that the movie had a little too much empathy for the oppressor. There was almost no depiction of the crimes committed against the Burmese people, and the Japanese soldiers are all depicted as goodhearted men who only interact positively or neutrally with the native people. After reading more about Burma after the movie, this was certainly not the case in reality, and this depiction is relatively disrespectful to the events that did take place.

However, the overall message of the film is how war can change people, how music can be a powerful force to bridge the canyons created by war, and the duty of people in a postwar environment to ease these inevitable pains. To talk on the first point, Mizushima’s change in the movie is quite linked to nationality. Where he begins as Japanese, with a cheap harp, he slowly becomes one with the Burmese people, and his harp at the end of the movie is very fancy. His realizations of the horrors of war give him empathy with the Burmese people, but he also feels indebted to the Japanese soldiers left behind by their country. He feels he owes it to them to do better for them than their country did, and to do this, must turn to Buddhism and the people of Burma. The theme of music is one that I feel is strong at the beginning but loses its relevance for most of the film up until the end. Music obviously is the source of the comradery of the soldiers, but it also allows them to connect with the English troops at the start of the film too. That image of two opposing forces singing together was a strong one in the film. At the end of the film we see that Mizushima is still connected to his friends through music despite the changes he has undergone and the fact that he must leave them behind. Another gap between people created by war, they will always be connected by the music they shared. The final point about the cycle of war was something exemplified in the opening and closing shots of the landscape. The same quote about the soil and rocks of Burma being red appears, but at the end, Mizushima is there walking into the distance, where he wasn’t before. This cycle of war, blood, and red will always continue, as it seems man is doomed to do, but Mizushima’s purpose is to be there for his fellow man in these times and do all he can to ease that burden. He accepts that this cycle exists, acknowledges how awful it is, and dedicates himself to doing all he can in his power to help in the aftermath.

[miyakuli]

The Divine Speaker

The Divine Speaker is a BL visual novel set in a fantasy world in which we follow Raen, a young orphan who is about to discover the truth about the world around him, in the company of 3 men who will soon become his friends (and maybe more xp) and help him on his journey.

To be honest, I launched this VN without expecting much, just to pass the time. In the end, I found myself quickly becoming involved in the story and genuinely enjoying its characters, I'm even almost sad to leave them now that I've finished the game entirely ;v; It therefore remains a good surprise overall even if it remains only rather banal overall, with its strengths and weaknesses.

❤ The characters are all super endearing and this even more thanks to the work of the dubbing actors whom I warmly salute because really, they bring a real freshness to their roles and also a lot of humor (especially Jonah Scott and his perfect cynical tone ;D). Kudos to them! ❤ The art direction is very pretty, whether in the varied scenery or the charming chara-design, or in the illustrations, some of which are truly magnificent. ❤ For such a little indie game, I think the music is really good, with several pretty themes that are easy to remember.

+/- The game offers us 3 very different love interests in their interactions with Raen so each player can find their own personal tastes and their favorite route (humhumFawnobviouslyhumhum). There are even "hidden" routes with the secondary protagonists. However, I found them uneven in terms of chemistry and progression; some felt too rushed and underdeveloped. This is all the more apparent as the LIs' routes follow a similar pattern, the only difference being the scenes about their past and the few intimate scenes with Raen. As a result, once one route has been completed, the others will seem rather repetitive and therefore less impactful. +/- The scenario quickly grabs your attention and its universe is interesting enough on the whole, but everything is quite predictable and certain points of the story are resolved a little too easily for my taste.

✖ Although I said earlier that all the characters were endearing, I find Raen, our main protagonist, to be sweet as can be but far too bland compared to the rest of the group. He's definitely evolving, but he has much less depth than his companions, which unfortunately makes him a rather forgettable character on an individual level (because yes, as a couple he's still cute :p). ✖ Some of the transition visual effects look really cheap and unnecessary (like the old Windows Movie Maker effects from the 2000s lol). ✖ This is completely personal, but I think it's a shame that once Raen confesses his love to each of the LIs, the remaining illustrations become nothing more than sex scenes XD I've got nothing against that haha, but I was still pretty frustrated not to have any more SFW illustrations to at least conclude the routes in a soft way……but I've always been more fluff than smut, that must be why x)

The game has a good lifespan (18 hours for me) and I managed to get attached to the characters and their trials and tribulations right to the end, despite the fact that this visual novel is only more or less decent ; is it the power of this Divine Speaker I wonder….

➡ My personal VN ranking (in french) ➡ My Steam page

[escarlatafox]

Okay so here’s some more substantial kfp4 thoughts/opinions (Kung fu panda 4 spoilers!)

-

Overall, as a movie experience, I mean, I didn’t have high hopes going in. I carefully kept my expectations low, so it wasn’t like, a complete and total disaster imo but it certainly had its issues. I was someone who sincerely enjoyed the third movie and didn’t actually really mind the third movie’s pacing, and while the third movie showed certain cracks of lowering quality, they could be looked past well enough. Like, for me, the final fight/villain showdown etc with Kai in the third movie, him getting beaten by Po, etc, was all narratively really satisfying to me and I was chill with the pacing for it. This most recent movie was like, kind of decent in parts… but fell apart towards the end with the villain confrontation scene and takedown. I was fine with movie 3’s pacing but this one’s was off. While 3 was narratively satisfying to me, 4 wasn’t. There was insufficient build-up, and so much of it felt unearned. The final confrontation was too quick for me, it was just… not great. Didn’t really pack the same punch that 3 did for me.

As for them bringing past villains back… man.

What was Kai even doing there. Like, my understanding of 3’s ending is that Po obliterated him within the spirit realm, thus utterly erasing him from existence entirely. You could make an argument for him just being like, kaplowey’d into spiritual Bits which could eventually make their way back together again hence him coming back into existence, but uh yeah… His presence in 4 actually cheapens the final confrontation in 3 for me. Because Kai getting “destroyed” in 3 had this sense of finality to it. Death in general just feels cheapened – I know that the Spirit Realm =/= Heaven, and it’s only kung fu masters who go there, but like, if you keep bringing these characters back + even Kai’s death wasn’t permanent, it just feels kinda ???

I can imagine that Tai Lung fans would be annoyed with this movie, what with how he was teased (being on the poster and everything!) I was actually cautiously optimistic for a little while before seeing the movie about how Tai Lung’s role would be handled, but no. It felt off, and like, if they were gonna bring back the character, I really do think he should have played a greater role. He just feels like set dressing/weak fanservice and imo didn’t add much. His presence is/should be a big deal and it felt kiiind of cheap to me, idk. I just wish it was handled better. On learning that he + the others got their kung fu abilities taken away thus rendering them useless, that was a fun idea to me – it would render them quite ‘harmless’ and put them all out of sorts. I would have loved to see more of Tai Lung and/or the others struggling with the simple fact that their abilities have been wiped and they’re kinda ‘helpless’ (I mean, in the case of characters like Tai Lung, their still strong and imposing, but have none of the actual kung fu moves). I was misled into thinking Tai Lung would be ‘tagging along’ with Po or something like that within this movie, and while I was on the fence/worried about how it would be executed, none of that even materialised anyway. Why was he on the poster he was barely in the film and given so little to do…

Like. Seeing e.g. Shen there was just jarring as well cause he’s just There. He doesn’t do anything. And apparently he was a late addition to the film like they slapped him in there last minute and I’m just like. hm

THE VILLAINS BOWING was very egregious to me. I call bull. Unearned. Out of left field. They WOULDN’T! And even if they would. It was absolutely not sufficiently set up for THAT kind of payoff. You need to put in WAY more work to even try pull something like THAT off. Yeah, they were annoyed by their treatment from the Chameleon. They would be ‘grateful’ to be saved by Po or w/e but even THEN. I cannot see it. I was in utter disbelief when that happened I was just like… there’s no way. I saw Masha talking about how Shen would ‘never’ bow like that and I agree 100% I’m just like… Hello?

Again… For me personally the Tai Lung stuff just felt kinda awkward and unearned. Like, if they wanna do that, they gotta give him more screentime. They gotta give him more stuff to DO. Let him get free somehow and briefly fumble/awkwardly try to help out Po in the absence of his kung fu abilities idk (the enemy of his enemy is his friend, etc etc, he’s fed up with the Chameleon so he wants her taken down, and so on). Of course, part of this stuff comes down to the movie’s short runtime + poor pacing. And if it’s true that this was done very intentionally because ‘kids can’t watch long movies’ then man that is just so depressing to me. This movie badly needed a longer runtime and it could have done so much with it.

Okay random positive thing to end this off... I love the whole deal/concept with a building like, on the edge of a cliff and w/e and the lampshading of how much of a bad idea it is amused me (but tbh I do think there are in-universe reasons, like, the 'danger' aspect of it is part of the appeal/point of its establishment in-universe as well). I'm a sucker for fight scenes that make use of the idiosyncracies of the surrounding environment so that's always gonna be a plus for me.

The villain lady was cool she had a nice imposing atmosphere. I like her voice

It was like, not a disaster. It was fun. it amused me. But it wasn't satisfying in a way that 3 was for me. Movies 1 & 2 were perfect, no notes. 3 was still GOOD. 4 was like... :/ like it was alright. Just didn't hit the spot.

[tjreidwrites]

I used to have a movie review website. I also posted those reviews on Instagram back in 2020. I want to give some of those reviews new life on here. I��ll start with my favorite superhero movie, Spider-Man 2.

SPIDERMAN 2 REVIEW (2004)

Let’s be honest. The first Spider-Man back in the early early 2000’s was a fun time. Maybe a bit overrated though, right? Sam Rami takes what worked in the first installment, and adds amazing story telling, better action, better special effects, and truly realized characters into the fold. This is the first example of the way a superhero movie should be and holds up today. Nothing has been quite like it.

Spider-Man is revealed to be a burden in so many ways to Peter Parker. So much so, that its ruining his life. This movie does everything right when it comes to characters and character development. So many superhero movies before this took so little time with the people behind the mask. I remember even as a kid first viewing this movie, being taken on a emotional roller coaster I wasn't expecting. Peter’s problems become very real to us. The amount of time he spends as Spider-Man forces him to put his actual life on the back burner. This movie is charming, thought provoking, action packed and heart breaking.

Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is working on a dangerous experiment. He needs materials only Harry Osborn can provide. His experiment will either prove fusion can work as a cheap source of energy, or destroy all of New York. To handle all the moving parts, Octavius creates four super powered tentacles that are built into his spine and have intelligence of their own. The chip at the head of the contraption is designed to help him keep control of his thoughts. When the chip is destroyed, we welcome Doc Ock.

Peter Parker’s inner battle is easy to become attached to. He can't love Mary Jane, because her life would be threatened 24/7 from Spider-Man’s enemies. We watch as she gives up on Peter, who can't make time for her. Peter has a lot of heart felt moments with Mary Jane as well as Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), who has a lot of screen time. All while Peter has to deal with Harry, who likes Peter but hates Spider-Man with every fiber of his being. We want Peter to just tell Harry the truth about what happened in the first film, but sympathize with him for not knowing how.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Toby Maguire nails this role. Its true. Say what you want about the first film being cartoony, campy, this one Toby shines. In this movie, he is the true Peter Parker. He did everything right. This movie does an immaculate job keeping the dialogue just as interesting as the action. Sure, some sentences are just cheesy enough to remind us that we are watching a movie, but it works. The drama in this movie steals the show every time you watch.

Every character in this movie takes what happened in the first one, and grows as individuals so much. Mary Jane, Harry, Peter, Aunt Mae all have character arcs that pay off massively. Sam Rami nailed the mechanics of Spidey’s web slinging throughout the city. No longer looking cartoony, but instead honing in on the special effects of the time, and looking amazing on the screen.

I’ve watched this movie countless times and know I will watch it even more. The storylines weaving in and out, and the weight of the situation being more real than any superhero film before its time, they knocked this one out of the park. I love this movie and on an overall scale, It has to be the best superhero movie of all time. I think there's an argument to be had on the topic, but there isn't anything wrong with this film.

[abusedog]

i been thinking a lot about the roy entertainment production company lately and especially on what kind of movies would it produce ( considering roman's tastes , his lack of understatement of the masses and also his lack of training in the movie industry ) and i've come to realization they probably started making " so bad it's good " kinda movies , b-list hits like sharknado and birdemic . they made money with them , as they were cheap to produce and people seem to love to see them and laugh at their screens , but he refused to be butt of the joke for too long , so he started to dedicate more of himself to the craft of cinema to raise the studio's standards and end up with more tarantino-esque movies , slightly violent and irreverent but overall better crafted , something like kiss kiss bang bang or snatch . but during this time something else happened , the studio produced a critical acclaimed movie . a taxi driver or a scarface , and suddenly the weight of releasing critical darlings became a little too much and he almost quit , but luckily , his niece ( shiv's daughter ) was just around the age of being able to sit through a whole movie in one go , so he took a detour from " serious " cinema to produce some family friendly films , adventures mostly , things that would've look like journey to the center of the earth and the chronicles of narnia , which pissed of some of its audience , but he couldn't actually be too bothered .

the studio honestly does not has a particular editorial " flavor " after that , as he grows older he mostly does things that interest him , that resonate with him , is very personal in that way and he hopes it never changes .

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Banana Splits Movie (2019)

No one was doing anything with The Banana Splits so I don't think anyone will be upset when they learn the "beloved childhood property" is being repurposed as a horror comedy. For those who want that Five Nights at Freddy’s film adaptation, this should keep you at bay for a little while, though you’ll be eager to ditch it once something better comes around. That shouldn’t be hard.

Although he’s considered too old for the show, Harley Williams (Finlay Wojtak-Hissong) loves The Banana Splits: a children’s television series featuring a band of four anthropomorphic animals - dog Fleegle, gorilla Bingo, lion Drooper and Snorky the elephant - and their human co-star Stevie (Richard White). On his birthday, Harley is given tickets to a live shooting of an episode. He, his half-brother Austin (Romeo Career), his classmate Zoe (Maria Nash), his mother Beth (Dani Kind) and his father Mitch (Steve Lund) all go, never suspecting a malfunction will soon cause the animals to go on a killing spree.

There are laughs throughout, which means The Banana Splits Movie is a successful horror-comedy. Before the blood begins flowing, the characters are so broad and cartoonish it’s hard not to chuckle. As soon as Mitch opens his mouth, you know his days are numbered. Same for Stevie. Same with the annoying Instagram-obsessed couple (Kiroshan Naidoo and Celina Martin). You can probably predict everyone who will die, and in what order. You can predict most of the plot, in fact. What the love plot will be like, what will trigger the Banana Splits to become murderous, what certain characters are up to when they’re lying, etc. It’s a by-the-numbers slasher film with some pretty good child actors but plenty of clunky dialogue. As for the adults, most of their performances will make you wish for a prompt death. Needless to say, the selling points of The Banana Splits are the kills and the central gimmick.

Horror films are notorious for working on a tight budget. Unfortunately, Canadian director Danishka Esterhazy (previously responsible for the excellent Black Field) just doesn’t have the resources to make this film look good. Right away, the badly-written story stretches plausibility to its breaking point. The Banana Splits are obviously actors in suits but actually, they’re highly-sophisticated robots covered in fake-looking fur to bring a children’s television series to life. Seems like a waste… but without the setup, there’d be no movie, so fine. Is it too much to ask for the film to get the basics right? When Austin walks away from his family to pursue the show's hostess, Paige (Naledi Majola), he disappears for the entire length of the shoot but his family hardly notices. Strange considering once the filming is done it’s pitch black outside and the studio lot is deserted. I guess Austin was gone for 8 hours then? As for the kills, there are a couple of neat ones but overall, they’re only ok. Mostly, they’re unconvincing, don’t fit the premise, or don't excite you. Needless to say, you’ll never come close to being scared.

The Banana Splits Movie comes off as a couple of random ideas stitched together, as if writers Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas had a script for a Five Nights at Freddy’s movie that was repurposed with a property that kind of fit but not really. I’d love to hear what fans of the original ’68 television series think of this take on the material. Everything about the production screams “cheap”, down to the story. I’ll remind you it doesn’t cost much to give your text one extra pass to make the characters smart or interesting. Often, this film just doesn’t care about very much at all. Still, I did find myself laughing quite a bit, particularly during the beginning. Although severely flawed, the novelty of The Banana Splits does keep you invested enough to look past the numerous flaws and keep watching until the end. (On DVD, March 30, 2020)

[erikaogrady]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movies Ranked:

10)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

I didn’t watch this in theaters despite it coming out at the peak of my Turtles obsession. I only recently watched it in anticipation of Mutant Mayhem, and while there are a few good things in it, overall I wasn’t really missing much.

It’s been talked about to death but these designs really don’t work. Realistically the Ninja Turtles would probably look kind of gross IRL, but on film it really doesn’t work if we’re supposed to like them. Michelangelo especially is really hard to look at (his face is way too human with his weird turtle lips).

The Shredder is really over designed and under characterized. It’s really clear that Eric Sachs was intended to be the Shredder, and with reshoots making them separate characters the Shredder becomes really generic (not that I would have liked them whitewashing the Shredder).

I actually really like this version of April, she’s incredible unhinged. Megan Fox is definitely putting in bare minimum effort (which I can’t blame her for) and there is a lot of gross over sexualization of her (I did not need to hear Mikey talk about how she’s giving him a turtle erection). But overall she was one of my favorite parts.

There are also a few cute moments of the Turtles being brothers, like the elevator scene. The rivalry stuff between Leo and Raph being so central to the movie is kind of disappointing because thats so overplayed in Turtles media and its not particularly well done here.

9)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Out of the Shadows is definitely an improvement on the first film, but I wouldn’t call it a good movie. It’s really stupid, but also very fun.

Bebop and Rocksteady are a pleasure to watch, and they’re actually really well designed. Most of the jokes with them land well, and the fight scenes with them are generally pretty good. It’s a shame that they’re positioned as Casey Jones’s rivals however, because this is by far the worst version of Casey there’s ever been. He’s really whiny and a cop for some reason. The whole movie actually has some weird copaganda going on.

The Shredder is definitely more of a character in this one, but he still isn’t that interesting. Krang is well designed and cool to see in live action, but there’s nothing all that interesting done with him either.

I actually really enjoy the main emotional through line of the movie with the Turtles considering whether or not to become human so they can be accepted. There are definitely parts that don’t work (Raph destroying the mutagen isn’t probably built to, the Turtles deciding not to take the credit for saving the day at the end doesn’t make a ton of sense), but the emotional stuff is pretty good. Mikey’s reaction to the police considering them monsters is an excellent scene.

8)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

This is another one I hadn’t seen until very recently because I had always heard bad things, and honestly I think it’s sort of underrated.

I really like Mitsu and Yoshi, and their bonds with Mikey and Raph feel really real. Mikey wanting to stay behind at the end feels earned.

The costumes really let this movie. After the amazing Henson Turtle suits in the first two movies these really look cheap and break the suspension of disbelief. The humor also relies a lot on slapstick that doesn’t really land.

I imagine that if I had seen this movie as a kid (like I did the previous two live action movies) I would have ranked this a lot higher, but as is while I didn’t hate it like most people seem to it also didn’t stand out much and wasn’t all that memorable.

7)

Turtles Forever

Turtles Forever is a ton of fun. It’s actually the first TMNT thing that I ever watched. It doesn’t quite live up to the highs of the 2003 series, but it’s also definitely better than most of the final two seasons.

There’s a lot of really fun references in the movie, and seeing the drastically different animation styles side by side is a lot of fun. Adding in the mirage turtles at the end is an excellent addition, and I like that it pokes fun at all three different versions of the characters.

Where things fall apart a bit is the lack of any returning voice actors from the classic series. I know this is because the 2003 series in non-union while the original voice actors are all union so it was a legal thing, but it does make the 80s Turtles feel a lot less authentic. The replacement voices are pretty good matches though (other than Leo’s). The writing for the classic Turtles is definitely kinda off. I’ve only seen the first two seasons of the 80s cartoon but I know that the Turtles were never quite as goofy as this movie characterizes them. The 2003 Turtles are also at time a bit overly cruel to the 80s Turtles.

Overall while Turtles Forever is really fun it doesn’t have much substance beyond being a fun celebration of Turtles History. I don’t think that’s a knock against the movie, but it does keep me from ranking it any higher.

6)

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Batman vs. TMNT is pretty similar to Turtles Forever in that it’s a ton of fun and full of references, but isn’t especially deep.

I absolutely love the character designs for both the Bat Family and the Turtles (these are actually probably my favorite designs for the Turtles besides Sophie Campbell’s IDW versions).

I kind of expected that I’d rank this one a lot higher, but while I have a ton of fun watching it I don’t really have much to say about it, and it doesn’t have the emotional depth that the movies higher up on the list have.

5)

TMNT

TMNT is a bit of a mixed bag. It has some things that are absolutely excellent and others that are incredibly average.

This is another movie that has the Leo/Raph rivalry front and center, but this movie handles it so well. Their rooftop fight in the rain is both beautifully animated and emotionally fulfilling. This isn’t a case of Raph just angsting for angst sake or Leo just being a boring stick in the mud, they both have interesting character flaws that contrast each other in really compelling ways.

While Raph and Leo are handled really well, Mikey and Donnie don’t really have anything to do here. And while I understand the parallels the movie is trying to make between the Turtles and Max Winters and his brothers, it doesn’t quite work because Winters and the generals are incredibly generic.

4)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

Secret of the Ooze is a very silly movie. The changes they made from the first movie because of parent complaints are very clear, so this movie is definitely missing the gritty atmosphere that the original movie had.

I really like that this movie puts Donatello in the lead role. Pretty much every other movie (TMNT 3 being the only exception) focuses on Raph or Leo. The emotional core of the movie is really well executed. The scene of Donatello lamenting the fact that they were created by accident and Splinter reassuring him that their origins don’t change anything about who they are is really good.

A lot of the silly humor lands for me, which could be because I watched this so much as a kid, but that keeps me from being too bothered at the tonal shift between this movie and the original.

3)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

This movie is sort of the platonic ideal of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Honestly all of the top 3 are really close in quality and I could see myself swapping around the order depending on the day.

Considering the budget on this movie the Turtle costumes are incredible, and the fight scene choreography is so good considering how heavy and cumbersome those costumes must be.

While Raph and Leo definitely get most of the focus in this one Don and Mikey definitely get a lot of fun stuff to do. I love how much focus on family this movie has, and it does an amazing job of contrasting Shredder and the Foot with Splinter and his sons. This is one of my favorite versions of the Shredder and the Foot, both in terms of design and characterization.

April and Casey are both great here as well. They have good chemistry together and they both feel like real people.

I really like how small scale everything is, it allows the focus to be on character and is a nice change of pace compared to most superhero movies made today.

2)

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

Rise is definitely my favorite TMNT series. It makes a lot of changes to the characters and lore, but to me the best part about this franchise is how much things are allowed to change and evolve.

I love this version of Leonardo (this is one of the only versions of TMNT where someone other than Mikey is my favorite Turtle) and his arc in this movie is excellent. He goes through so much trauma in this movie and it’s incredibly emotional, and he comes out the other side so much more mature. His relationship with Raphael is also super interesting and such a good subversion of their typical dynamic. Their fight toward the end of the movie is so good and emotional.

Mikey and Donnie also get a ton to do, and I love how much emphasis is put on Donatello’s soft shell and how it’s treated like a disability. This version of April is definitely my favorite and it’s great seeing her get to do some reporting and continue her trend of using construction equipment.

The Krang are absolutely terrifying in this movie and really feel like a threat. There’s a lot of genuine suspense where the Turtles feel like they’re in real danger.

Overall this is a great ending for my one of my favorite versions of the Turtles that allows them all to grow as characters and come together as a family.

1)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

I came out of Mutant Mayhem with the biggest smile on my face. It might be recency bias that I have it as number one, but I also have not been able to stop thinking about this movie since I saw it.

I really love these versions of the Turtles. It’s awesome seeing the Turtles actually be voiced by teenagers, and their dialogue always feels natural. They also really feel like brothers both in how they make fun of each other but also in how they show their love for each other.

I just said that Rise April is my favorite but this April is definitely a close second. I always like when April is portrayed as weird and kind of a freak and this version definitely feels like someone whose only friends are mutant turtles.

I like how much emphasis is put on the Turtles wanting to fit in. It feels like a much better version of what Out of the Shadows was trying to do. It also makes a ton of sense for these more authentically teenage versions of the Turtles. I like how Splinter and Superfly tie into that as well and how they act as foils to each other.

I really wasn’t expecting the Turtles to actually end up being accepted by humanity by the end and I actually really like how they did it. The way that regular people played a role in the final fight was super cool and gave me Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man vibes.

I’m really excited to see the series and sequel, seeing the Turtles go to highschool sounds really fun and seeing these versions of the characters who are so young and inexperienced at ninjitsu go up against the Shredder is gonna be really interesting.

[theviceadmiralswife]

NETFLIX. LIVE ACTION VS ANIME

I have said it before I don't trust Netflix or their adaptation of one piece... its the dreaded curse of the live action movie adaptation and I witnessed the horror massacre that was Dragonball Evolution.. I have such a sinking feeling....

In a previous post I stated the Marines uniforms to be utterly insulting for THE military force of the one piece world...

So here is a comparison WHO WORE IT BETTER.... ACTORS VS COSPLAYERS and I think this might surprise or not.

Currently so many puff pieces of articles are flying around calling Netflixes live action adaptation the curse breaker of anime to live action movie/series however this remains to be seen.

I personally believe you should leave live action versions of animes to cosplayers. And quite frankly its very much a situation of what you bought on WISH vs WHAT YOU GET .

Here is a comparison picture of the Marines uniforms from Netflix vs Cosplayers guess who's the winner!

And I know the caps worn by the cosplayers aren't 100% accurate either but very much they fit and are looking to sit tight on the head. Have you ever been at sea or out with a boat 🚢 if your cap doesn't sit tight the wind blows it off in no time.

And if you think I pick on the Marines only nope I don't I find Nami looks rather cheap too with that wig and yes orange has been done before and better check out this.

Which set of hair looks more natural with orange hair.

Overall we will see what 31. Of August brings we know Netflix is in trouble and the one piece fandom is split about the live action series.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Half Baked (1998)

CW: Dave Chappelle, dated stoner humor

----

Half Baked (1998)

Rated R for pervasive drug content, language, nudity and sexual material

Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-half-baked-1998.html>

Score: 2 out of 5

The biggest problem I had with Half Baked, a problem that I imagine I'd have with a lot of other old stoner comedies from my childhood and earlier, has nothing to do with the film itself. It has a great cast comprised of comic actors from that period at the top of their game, most notably a young Dave Chappelle, who co-wrote the film with his future Chappelle's Show collaborator Neal Brennan. It has quite a few moments that got some good chuckles out of me, and overall, it should've worked.

No, the problem became clear as I was walking back to my car from a 25th anniversary 4/20 screening by the Laughing Gas Film Festival at the Classic Gateway Theater in Fort Lauderdale. Between the theater doors and the parking lot behind the building was a street where I walked by a medical marijuana dispensary and, further down, spotted a sticker on the wall with a QR code for a "420 Company". This may sound counterintuitive, the kind of idea that one would think you'd have to be high to come up with, but I believe that the process of destigmatizing and, in many parts of the country, outright legalizing cannabis use has ironically made it harder to enjoy stoner humor. A lot of these movies were counterculture flicks made during the War on Drugs, a time when weed was taboo and flatly illegal and could get you thrown in prison for years if you were caught with it. People who smoked it thus had an aura of rebellious cool, and stoner imagery, be it from hippies or hip-hop, was an easy way to mark yourself as a free thinker who didn't live by the silly rules that mainstream society wanted to impose. A film like Scary Movie could just throw in a stoner character where the whole joke is that he smokes a ton of weed, and score plenty of cheap laughs from the mere mention of illegal substances.

Unfortunately, that whole attitude doesn't work in an era where the taboos surrounding cannabis have largely broken down and the War on Drugs, particularly the prohibition of marijuana, faces growing mainstream pushback. Even here in a fairly conservative state like Florida that's legalized its medicinal use but has kept its recreational use criminalized, it's not hard to get a prescription for it. People who still define themselves as pot smokers are no longer considered cool, but fairly cringy in a society where "stoner culture" is just normal grown-up pop culture and suburban parents (at least in more liberal states) casually smoke weed the way they drink wine, with Neighbors nine years ago probably being, in my opinion, the canonical snapshot of how that attitude was changing in real time. The victory of the pro-legalization side of the argument meant that time was not kind to movies like Half Baked in which most of the joke revolves around how wacky and edgy marijuana and the people who smoke it are. It's oddly appropriate that this film stars Chappelle and Jim Breuer, two '90s/'00s Gen-X comedians who, to put it as nicely as possible, have not aged gracefully in the last several years, because this movie suffers from a lot of the same problems that they do. If I were born maybe ten years earlier and saw this film when I was in college, I imagine it would still be a nostalgic classic for me, as it is for a lot of people who were college kids and twentysomethings in the Y2K era. But watching it for the first time now, in 2023, I often found myself bored and waiting for the film to get to the point.

The plot is mostly an excuse to get to the pot. Chappelle plays Thurgood, a janitor at a pharmaceutical laboratory whose favorite pastime is getting high with his friends Kenny, Brian, and Scarface. When Kenny gets arrested while out on a munchie run that ends with him accidentally killing a police horse, he's held in prison on $1 million bail, forcing Thurgood, Brian, and Scarface to find a way to get him out. Their solution arrives when Thurgood discovers that the lab he works at is doing research into medicinal marijuana and has a huge stash of extremely high-quality pot, which inspires him to steal some of it from the lab so that he and his friends can sell it on the street and raise money for Kenny's bail. There are subplots involving Thurgood falling in love with a staunchly anti-drug woman ironically named Mary Jane, a drug kingpin named Samson who wants a cut of the protagonists' action when he finds out what they're doing, and an old inmate known only as the Squirrel Master (played by Tommy Chong) protecting Kenny from prison rape, but most of the film is a parade of drug humor and celebrity cameos from the likes of Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, and a pre-Daily Show Jon Stewart as some of the people who buy weed from Thurgood and his friends. Again, I outlined my problem with a lot of this humor earlier: a lot of it is dependent on the assumption that smoking cannabis is a daring, dangerous, and inherently funny thing to do, an idea that was pretty much dead and buried five years ago when Elon Musk, one of the wealthiest men alive and nobody's idea of a radical (no matter how much he likes to pretend otherwise), smoked a blunt with Joe Rogan live on the latter's top-rated podcast. It's like a 2000s Seltzer and Friedberg "reference movie" that, instead of using the protagonists' intoxication as the setup for greater escapades, mistakes weed references for weed humor.

If the humor doesn't click, then the film needs to have a real story to fall back on, which it unfortunately doesn't. Samson's villainy is only introduced in the third act to up the stakes with little foreshadowing, the film lost interest in Mary Jane around that same point and only wrapped up the story of her relationship with Thurgood at the very end, Kenny's only role in the film is to serve up jokes about prison rape, and overall, it just felt aimless and easily sidetracked, the kind of movie where wondering if Chappelle and Brennan were high when they wrote it isn't a compliment. Even at just 82 minutes, its runtime felt padded with extra scenes that didn't move the story along, flesh out the characters, or make me laugh all that much beyond just a few chuckles. It felt like a "sketch movie", the kind of movie that a lot of sketch comedy stars and writers in the '90s made in which they took popular characters from their shows and gave them a feature film to bumble around in, whether or not the material was suited to more than a short sketch. This movie may not have been adapted from anything out of Saturday Night Live, MADtv, or anywhere else, but Chappelle and Brennan's past and future in stand-up and late night comedy was clearly visible here, and in this case, those talents didn't translate to the big screen.

The Bottom Line

The title really says it all: Half Baked feels, well, half-baked, like it needed way more time spent on the plot instead of packing in as many "edgy" weed references as they could. It's a film that I'd argue is kept alive chiefly by Gen-X/millennial nostalgia and Chappelle's later success causing his fans to rediscover it, as it has lost its edge over the years.