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Sisu (2022)
How is this allowed?
We have entered a new era, in which hate is condemned. Dehumanizing and mocking a race of people is not something we do anymore - or so we might hope. In this film, I could hardly believe the strength, the virulence of the anti-white sentiment.
You'd think it was 1943, and people were frothing at the mouth to crank out war propaganda against the Germans. These people do not deserve to be villainized and abused on film like this. I appreciate good action films, but this just turned my stomach.
If the western world is ever going to heal, the hatred and condemnation of the German people MUST END. The writers and film-makers should be held accountable for what is essentially a hate crime in the form of entertainment.
The Artifice Girl (2022)
Fantasy disguised as science fiction?
A story should be plausible enough to at least kind of convince you to suspend disbelief, at least long enough for its ideas to be transmitted to the viewer, right? At a certain point, you start to get where things are going, and that end point - that objective - is either going to be acceptable, or its going to break that bubble. You know, the suspension of disbelief.
It breaks because the storyteller has gone too far outside acceptable parameters, realism, or the very concepts it first established. Or maybe it becomes obvious that the story is a feverish desire of the writer. Perhaps even a ideology that excites them so much that they feel they must evangelize it.
By the 3rd act in this film, I felt like I was getting flogged by the latter of these things. The life of the characters, and the believability of their actions and words lost their plausibility entirely, and they became simple puppets, reading out the lines of the writer's narrative, which came across as an exhaustive Transhumanist lecture.
That wasn't all; it came with a gross presumption of how a synthetic intelligence would actually behave, and it was very disappointing. It was unfortunately not explorative science fiction, but rather something more like what a high school level writer would imagine. Considering the relatively strong beginning of this film, the later chapters were a real let down on this point.
The three stars are for production value, and a decent initial hook, but that is all. If you love to daydream about the possibilities of AI and synthetic life, and confine them to a whimsical and sentimental fantasy, then you will probably like this movie. If not, then bitter disappointment awaits. Breaking the suspension of belief.
Enys Men (2022)
Extremely rare gem
I had completely given up hope that films like this one would ever be made again. This is the kind of storytelling that cinema was created for, as it can take you beyond mere words, and into an experience which you can look at from many angles, and process at your own rate. Unlike a narrative storybook, there are things you can miss if you're not looking, which makes a 2nd or 3rd viewing sometimes as exciting as the first.
Mark Jenkin takes the capacity of film to its full extent, and has created an immersive experience that brings the silent observer on a journey through an ancient initiatory path the likes of which our ancient Pagan ancestors would have well understood, and practiced deliberately. It is because such a thing befalls main character unexpectedly, that we might call this a horror film. Yet it is not horror; in fact it is a very beautiful journey into another dimension.
The Men in the title refers to the Menhir, or standing stone, which appears throughout the film. This may not be obvious to everyone outside Europe. Aside from that, there are many very clear signs throughout the story that will show you exactly what is happening, and there are also some very nicely obscure Easter eggs for those viewers who are acquainted with mysterious subjects.
Give yourself a treat, and take 90 minutes of relief from the constant narratives your life bombards you with. This film will exercise your perception, and provide an adventure you won't forget.
Kyaputen Hârokku (2013)
What happened to Harlock?
I grew up watching Harlock Space Pirate, and got to know this character well. I liked this movie because it was an homage to and based upon the original series, and I wish I could give it the highest possible rating, but I really can't, and there is a good reason for that.
Harlock was uncompromising in his belief in the spirit of man, and their fundamental need for freedom and self governance. Under no circumstances would he ever do what he did in this story. It was completely outside of his character to do this, and it made it impossible for me to accept that this was indeed the same character.
What drives a creative team to alter a character in such a way that their piracy is transformed from heroic and liberating to depraved terrorism? This seemed more like a socio-political decision than anything else - a way of discouraging the image of what Harlock stands for: brave defiance of corrupt authority.
The events in this film could only have occurred in an evil parallel timeline in which the Harlock we know never existed.
Despite the character betrayal, the movie was very well done, and all other aspects of it were enjoyable.
Amulet (2020)
An authentic horror movie
Real horror isn't blood and guts or jump scares. Real horror sets you up for the unveiling of something horrible. This movie does that perfectly.
I have seen and read a LOT of horror, and there have been very few things that have ever gotten me to recoil. Certain points in this film had me crawling backwards in my chair.
The story is captivating right from the beginning, as strange details begin to accumulate, for which you have no adequate explanation. They are just enough oddities to prevent you from making a reliable projection, or feeling safe.
This disorientation continues, and the layers of it sink you deeply into the story, and prepare you for a proper exposure to the horror that awaits. Very well directed, and a very enjoyable experience.
Hellraiser (2022)
Definitely not what official ratings would indicate
This franchise could have had a reboot several times in the past, with real informed talent in charge of it. Unfortunately, the gatekeepers of Hollywood prevented them from touching this until it could be guaranteed to fail. Dreckner was the perfect candidate to make this happen.
This show felt strained. I could tell from the beginning that the director did not have a clear vision of the worlds that Barker has created. It seemed patronized, as if the minimum was done to qualify has a Hellraiser film, whose only value is being the vehicle for delivering an extra title into Odessa's portfolio.
Characters who were acquainted with the box and the phenomenon surrounding it did not handle this in a believable way, creating basically a theme park ride for an over-acted main character. It just got worse and worse.
If every rating for this movie had to have a comment, we would probably be reading countless repeats of bot-generated text just like we did with the starwars reboot: 'Abrams knocks it out of the park, with a perfect conclusion to the saga'. If you saw the data scraped from Rotten Tomatoes, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. The result of those kinds of skews makes a movie's rating look like Hellraiser 2022's.
This kind of stuff really throws user reviews under the bus, but oh well. It just means a bit of extra work for regular folks, who may not have a lot of extra time to sacrifice on getting duped into watching a poorly made film.
Deus (2022)
An interesting and relevant story
This movie is what I consider a true sci-fi story - it explored the future of science and technology, and applied them in a very fascinating way to speculate on issues that we see in our own world today.
This is what the genre does in its true form, and we can all benefit from it in ways that transcend mere thrills and entertainment. Scifi is mentally stimulating and should provoke thought and ideas, which Deus certainly does.
I won't spoil the story, but suffice to say, I think the sudden appearance of bad reviews here on IMDB is making a clear statement about how social credit and paid perceptions are deployed, rather than honestly evaluating the film itself.
PS: it was great to see Claudia Black in a space ship again! <3.