Reviews

I recognize so much in this - the faithfulness demonstrated here to recreate the Fallout world is just astounding, and much of it with practical effects. That's not something you see often these days.

There's the right blend of expected humor and seriousness, with dollops of gore that are often presented humorously.

The music... oh, wow, this above all brings back the memories of when I played the original Fallout and being introduced to the music of the wonderful Louis Armstrong. I want the OST!!

The acting is on point. Everyone seen so far, including the background actors, has been excellent. Ella was well chosen, Aaron Moten has believability, Walton Goggins just shreds each scene he's in, and, as for the other well known talent...

I went into this relatively blind, and had no idea Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Emerson were in it! Sure, Emerson plays a stereotype role but, boy, does he do it well.

Is it perfect? Nah, there will be parts that people will pick over. For this Fallout fan, though, this satisfied me deeply. Ignore the inevitable YouTubers complaining about "girl bosses", they've shown their true colors.

I pray that Cavill's WH40k adaptation is at least this good.

47 year old bloke here, and I thoroughly enjoyed this.

In this era of DEI, ESG and that W-word, people (including myself) have been decrying the hijacking of popular franchises in an effort to drive an agenda. We say, "Make a new IP! Don't ruin existing ones!"

Well, here it is. And you're all still complaining.

Is it flawless? No. The pacing is too rushed at times and the father's lines at the beginning were lacking. But those are super minor issues - the cinematography, the dialogue, the motivations: all great in my eyes. Most of it was logical, except for the delayed "lie" discussion which I'll give a pass for.

The cast was excellent with a couple of weaknesses.

The protagonist *develops* and *grows*. She faces challenges and overcomes them. The start shows she has character and why she has some muscles - the rest comes through the story.

I put this on par with "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Maleficent" in terms of enjoyment and fantastic creativity.

I loved it, and I hope there's a sequel.

Let me preface this by saying that I am VERY forgiving when it comes to movies. I appreciated the ambition that was Eternals. I saw the inklings of a good story hidden inside The Marvels. I thoroughly appreciate Sharknado.

Also, I don't read comics so I don't give a damn about canon and I don't know what happened in them.

Watching this, I could only wonder at what was there before all the edits, as I believe those edits are responsible for much of the film's woes.

The acting, overall, was fine. Some of the talent really tried - perhaps those not in the loop regarding the overall script. I can't comment on the big bad guy, because I can't tell if that's really his voice or not. If it is, he needs to look into a different career.

The action was passable, but lacklustre due to poor cinematography and logic failures.

Yet again we have a studio trying to force-kickstart a franchise without bothering to do the hard work - DC tried it, Universal tried it. But, hey, Sony can't go wrong, right? Welp.

The shame is, this movie isn't just bad on its own. It dilutes and taints anything associated with it. Now Uncle Ben has prior knowledge of 'spider powers'. Now Spider-Man isn't so special. Now those spiders are effectively slot-machines, dishing out random powers to their victims. Peter getting his particular powers was just a random dice roll.

So, I guess that's on-brand for Marvel and Disney these days. Release some poorly thought-out crap that wrecks everything before and after because what possible tension can there be if characters like Captain Marvel or Rey exist?

I didn't write this to jump on the bandwagon. I wrote this because I'm just sad. I miss the good old days.

I deeply regret not seeing part 1 in an Imax theatre, and I made sure not to make the same mistake with part 2.

No regrets.

I've seen a LOT of movies, and this is without a doubt one of the best movies I've seen since Return of the King. Endgame comes close, but this beats it.

The cast is phenomenal. The returning cast repeated and expanded on their excellent work from part 1. Of the new entries, Lea Seydoux and Christopher Walken carried their roles excellently and with gravitas. I expect Florence Pugh to really shine in Part 3.

The standout performance, though... Austin Butler. Bloody hell, he creeped me out.

It's clear that Villeneuve used some of the same crew from Arrival - there are several nods and hints with the imagery and the sound design. Good choice.

I look forward to seeing Part 3!

... and I did. But not to the degree I was expecting.

It's fun, entertaining and has comedic moments. The leads did well - props to Chris Evans for stepping outside his stereotype, and props to Ana for her action sequences.

My core issue is with the peripheral acting. Outside of Cole's family, the talent was sorely lacking. Wooden line delivery (casting), and poor positioning (stunt/direction). A lesser but still secondary issue was the incidental music. It was odd at times and didn't really match the scene.

Some might complain about Ana's accent, but I had no issue with it. She's got a lot of potential and needs to really bite into a role that takes itself a bit more seriously. I still hold out hopes for something similar to her brief moment in No Time to Die.

Nothing needs to be said about the visuals and the sheer spectacle that this movie brings to the table, so I'll say my bit about the story.

It's heartwarming, exciting, magestic, awesome and well paced. Most of all, it's an excellent episode in the epic that the entire Avatar saga will be. The story widens the scope of the original and introduces a slew of new characters, concepts and regions. It brings back those thought long gone in ways that makes sense... though I was less impressed with this version of the antagonist than the first, as the original's form held a lot of that character's 'charm'.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It's a shame that so many wannabe critics feel the need to drive the rating down. James Cameron, bring the rest. I can't wait to see them.

I liked this. The show features teenaged protagonists (who clearly aren't teenagers, but whatever) but is clearly not intended for an audience too young. The physical damage shown to individuals eliminates that, unless the US ratings board has completely lost the plot in that regard.

The acting was decent. The writing and direction managed to convey a lot in the single hour.

Keep in mind that this is episode one. Its purpose is to entice and draw you in, so I fully expect the pace to calm down in the next episode. I hope it doesn't though.

Shows take time to get their legs. So do directors, writers and actors. It has potential, and it has Buffy.

Last week, I binged seasons 1-7 of GoT so those episodes are still very fresh in my mind and I am unaffected by rose tinted nostalgia.

I've just watched episode 1 of House of the Dragon.

How can I sum it up? So far, so good.

The music is sufficiently different to be fresh while remaining recognizable. The production quality and cinematography are as expected - fantastic, epic and awe inspiring, aside from a couple of excessively dark scenes that were over and done with very quickly.

There is gore aplenty. Nudity, vomit, sex and depravity. Incidental background humor. A promise of things to come.

The casting seems to be on point - I saw no issue with any of the characters, and the leads were well chosen for their roles.

The writing seems to be up to par. As an introduction, this episode was written and directed well. I want to see and know more - a good sign.

So far I'm pleased with this return to the land of Westeros. Valar morghulis!

As per the title, the choreography was excellent - an easy 9/10. There was some impressive drone work as well, which is obvious if you're looking for it - detractors will be happy that there isn't very much. As for everything else...

Sets: pretty boulevard scenery, good basements, and a shockingly poor set deep underground.

Story: rudimentary and predictable.

Dialogue: piss poor, mostly forced, and stilted delivery by the lead.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo stood out. I've never seen her before, and she did well in this with what she was given. I look forward to seeing more of her work.

Snoop... was just being Snoop.

Dave Franco was fun, but his character was an embarassingly obvious flip of the standard 80s/90s token black guy. I'm a non-American Asian, btw, so I have no juice in that game.

Overall, a watchable throwaway movie that could have been better.

Non stop action, some great dialogue. All of the leads pulled their weight, with some particularly great work by Gyllenhaal and Gonzalez.

There's some seriously impressive drone footage used in this - sure there were a couple of needless shots near the start, but overall they added to the movie.

Ignore the low scores. Some people think being super critical is a must. It's not. This is a very enjoyable movie that kept me engaged throughout the two hour runtime.

Holland was Peter Parker. No tangible difference in character.

Wahlberg reprised his role as whiny Elliot Moore from The Happening. That voice.

Sophia Ali tried but was constantly surrounded by those two.

Banderas was completely wasted.

The two standout performances were Tati Gabrielle and Steven Waddington. They were the only ones with presence and who piqued interest.

The rest was rote treasure hunt fare, complete with the requisite destruction.

... but it's not intended to be. It's intended to be a horror slasher, and in this regard it delivers.

In the context of movies overall, probably 6 is enough. As a horror slasher? An easy 8.

A good script, very well done dialogue, and some unnervingly long static shots with a good sprinkling of light comedy. Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler and especially Lumi Pollack were incredible.

I'm not American, but I'm well aware of the situation. This movie opened a window to the reality that many kids are forced to face on a seemingly regular basis.

... and that's it.

This review was written after episode 4.

This show takes the relatively high brow alternative history concept and gives it a low brow treatment. Logic is largely ignored. A myriad of truly intriguing "What If" questions are ignored in favor of the simplest, which are then told in narrow paths that often follow those set in the 'real' timeline regardless of the butterfly effect.

Root story points from the original timeline are ignored - such as the origin of character names - so that the dumb GA can understand better. Amazing one-shot jokes from the movies are crudely rehashed almost verbatim to serve as weak shoutouts.

This show was brought down by poor middle-school level writing, and does not meet anybody's expectation for a Marvel production.

What an incredible disappointment.

Edit at the end of the season:

This improved a good amount in latter episodes, curving up to "pretty good, actually" for me. Score raised to 7/10.

What a hugely pleasant surprise.

I went into this movie blind beyond the tagline. I was expecting something similar to "Buried" and got... this. Now that it's over, I see that it was directed by the man responsible for a number of other movies that I really enjoyed - Alexandre Aja. Well done, I'm going to see what else he's done that I've missed.

The production values were excellent, and highly appropriate for the scenario. There was nothing that screamed "low budget" to me.

Mélanie Laurent's acting carried this movie and she knocked it out of the park.

Bravo.

It's a movie spinoff from a set of movies based on an ancient toy line. Measure your expectations and just chill.

Shakey cam? Dunno. I didn't notice, so perhaps I'm one of the billions who it doesn't enrage. I enjoyed the combat scenes, so... yeah.

The lead was a miscast. Peter Mensah and Iko Uwais were wasted. Úrsula Corberó was an engaging performer, though, again, wasted. Samara Weaving was, as expected, good. But, again, wasted, though I trust that she'll have a larger role in future movies.

Haruka Abe did very well in her role, but she got a lot of screen time to work with compared to the others.

My only big complaint about this movie is that it predominantly consists of sword fights, but there is no blood. If you're aiming for a young audience, don't use bladed weapons.

As a mainstream movie aimed at general audiences, I give this movie 5/10. Maybe 6. For a movie aimed at kids in order to sell toys, I give this movie 7/10.

People give Megan Fox way too much needless grief.

The male leads were great, especially Brandon Auret. Jessica Sutton was excellent in her role and I think she's got a bright future ahead of her, and I really liked that last shot of Megan as she watches the antagonist get his due.

It's not an auteur movie by any means, but it's got a really good message, held my interest and entertained me.

I'm writing this review as a guy who just enjoys movies for what they're intended, and this movie was intended to be FUN.

It was FUN. Take a dose of early Pirates of the Caribbean, a spoonful of the Jumanji remakes, and a sprinkling of Indiana Jones. That's what this movie was.

The casting was on point. I had no idea Paul Giamatti was in this and he was perfect for the role. Emily Blunt was outstanding, and Dwayne Johnson fit his role like a tight fitting glove.

Cliches and tropes? Check. Do I care? No.

The comedic elements were varied, with some very subtle ones. It was all well timed, with nothing overdone.

Highly, highly recommended.

The Furious movies never paid attention to realism and were always about upping the ante. This delivered.

Sue me.

I stumbled on this after looking to see what else Devon Aoki had done other than Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift.

It's aimed at the teen age group, but has subtle themes and jokes that are quite adult. It made me laugh out loud a few times, and that hasn't happened for a good while.

Is this an Oscar contender? No. Is there a deeper message about the meaning of life? Hell no.

It was never meant to be anything like that, so don't review it as such.

This was exciting, engaging, and FUN. Generally above average acting, good fight choreography, and good effects. I think Beckinsale did really well in this role.

The cinematography had some really good moments, too, but overall the movie suffered from clearly being cut down to fit 90 minutes. Some of the cuts were jarring.

Jolt was like the love child between Hardcore Henry and Crank. I enjoyed it, and if you watch movies to have fun so will you.

Poor voice acting by obviously non-native speakers. Bad editing, with sudden jumps in time and location that have zero explanation which then lead to bad motivation changes. A disjointed attempt at storytelling with out of order flashbacks that just served to confuse.

They clearly cut content to save running time, but they cut the wrong parts.

All of the above made a story with potential turn into a bore fest.

The uncanny valley effect for Leon's and Claire's animations was just the icing on the cake.

Good hair animation, good creature design (they were proud of that, lots of lingering shots), and good... err, that's it.

In a world filled with predictable superhero stories cut from similar cloth, this was a breath of fresh air.

In many ways it reminded me of the Watchmen movie. It's a glimpse at the private lives of super beings and the conflicts behind their pristine public personas. They're people.

The story's focus is definitely not typical. Rarely do you specifically see heros defending the weak. Rarely do they answer a call. There's no world-ending threat.

People will draw parallels to The Boys. In that show, they are a product with sales goals and marketing. In this show, nobody really knows what they're doing. They're making it up as they go along.

The acting I found excellent. The writing above par. It's not a perfect show, only so much can be done with a limited budget after all.

It's worth a watch if you want something a bit different.

Honestly, there's not much one would expect plot-wise from this franchise. And that's okay. I'm fine with the plot.

It's the dialogue and writing, some casting choices and the editing that prevent me from awarding another star each. Just like GvK.

It seems that, for the majority of the movie's run time, one character got the lion's share of the dialogue... and he did a stellar job of carrying the movie for the first half.

It's a fun movie with huge potential for followups.