Change Your Image
nathesnake
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Hustle (2022)
Basketball hustle
Although I rated the movie 6/10, it was still a very fun sport film to watch and I'm glad I watched it. The rating is low due for the lack of originality, plain and simple. I have seen this movie multiple times already, and it does not feel VERY different from the others. Although there are a few unique elements on which the movie gets some personality.
1. I personally very appreciated the fact that real NBA players were involved for big acting roles in the film, as well as other players, former players and commentators to make simple appearances. It really makes the movie much cooler when you get to recognize so many faces during the whole film.
2. Adam Sandler is the second item that really makes the movie personable. Sandler's acting, in funny moments, sad moments, and all the hustling when training the kid, was really impressive and it elevated the film to another level.
While this film does not much change the basic premise of sports movie, it is very enjoyable. A good 2-hour pace that will keep you watching.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Keeps the fans subscribed...
I'd like to begin by saying the I have no hate against Disney. Of course a corporation is going to try to profit from purchasing such an enormous franchise, who wouldn't? But quickly enough comes the question: how do you create new content that both pleases the current fans, while also gaining new ones, and all of that without re-creating the exact same recipe that worked in the first place. It's easy to complain about Disney, but we shouldn't forget that these cinematic universes englobing a enormous array of stories from films, tv series and even video games is still pretty new to both Hollywood and the film industry as a whole, and with the sucess of Marvel, we are likely to see even more of those, but we are still in early iterations, it's still unclear what can be done with these franchises in terms of new content.
Lots of fans loved this Obi-Wan series because it brought them back to the prequel movies, nostalgia at it's core, and they barely cared about the cringe kids moments, the weird villains and all, it just pleases them when they see new scenes with obi-wan and Darth Vader (and that's very okay). This show is an example of not trying anything other but to keep what you have, Disney definitely kept their fans subscribed to Disney+ with this.
To me, however, a big fan of the overall vibe and feeling of Star Wars, was still very displeased, as I care more about the quality of content than seeing actors reprising roles I loved... In how many star wars movies have we seen the good guys infliltrate a imperial base disguised as imperial workers? Way too many times for me that's for sure. Also the Leia character is so poorly written that my gf (who wasn't watching but working on the desk besides the TV) kept laughing every time she talked, it was just very cringe how they tried to make this 10 years old be this great hero with great values, courage and intelligence, it just didn't work at all on that end.
Without even going into plot details, and without trying to find the 'why' I did not like this show, it just seems like it wasn't interresting, I kept looking away, or going on my phone, which is something I very rarely do when watching movies or shows, and while some might blame me for that, I don't, I think a show you be responsible of keeping you interrrested.
I think Disney knew very well what it was doing, it's called Risk Management: Obi-Wan is a sure thing, people are going to watch it, just get characters they know, create a couple of new droids, spaceships and villains, and cash in, work is done. Other things, such as The Mandalorian, or the Rogue Squadron film that is coming next year, are much riskier, as they have to embrace new themes and values (not to typical rebellion vs empire, everything is at stake kind of plot), and those are the interesting new places where star wars could go and where they have potential to get the audience excited like the original films, not as cheap nostalgia.
Severance (2022)
Masterpiece
I personally had pretty much given up on TV series in the last year, I switched to movies as I got tired of content for content's sake, finally gave a try to this show and it was absolutely worth it.
I saw some negative reviews regarding the first couple of episodes, and I agree that the episode 4-5-6 were getting lenghty and constantly opening up new plotlines. I can understand the frustration but I actually think that this was part of it. I believe the beauty of TV series is the attachment the viewers gets to have with the characters as they go through their development. Those 2-3 episodes you thought were a bit boring or going to too many places at once, were in reality handled masterfully with incredible writing and clever connections to MANY areas of the plot, in addition to making you truly care for these characters and the MDR department as a whole. You could slowly and smoothly feel, around episode 6 or 7, where the season was heading and it was exhilirating to see them team up to a very satisfying culmination point at the end.
The last 3 episodes were so thrilling I could barely think about anything else until I saw the next one, especialy the last 2, I was scotched to my TV without blinking for the whole runtime with my heart beating at 500 bpm. Took me about 2 hours to loosen up after the finale as I was still stressed by it.
The acting of ALL cast members, literally all of them, and there are so many of them lol, was GOD tier. Special shootout to Milchick who stood out a little bit among this superb cast. The writing was also excellent as there are many of these dialogues and lines that will stay in my mind for a long time.
This is a 10 if there ever is one.. I don't know if I'll ever get that feeling watching a film or a series ever again to be honest.
Ojing-eo geim (2021)
People pleasing, no innovation
The show made me cringe on so many levels and so many times. I feel like I've seen that show many times already and the characters as well as the actors behind we're subpar, typical and very predictive.
Doing a show around this kind of concept where humans are subjected to man-made situations of violence and survival, similar to hunger games, is attractive to viewers, for some reason, and it was to be expected that there'd be weird explanations on why this kind of situation even takes place. So for this part I don't blame them.
What disappointed me was the VERY poor characters, their development and interactions between them. Some characters, like the bully who led it's mean boys clan, or the girl who didn't name or child and ended up with the bully, only to get ditched by him, wow that was bad acting.
I know people will still be entertained by it, I just wish they'd put some more giving this kind of show more personality than the stereotypical good guy, bad guy, etc.
The Society (2019)
Entertaining, gets you to wonder a little bit, but just not much real quality
The society has definitely an interesting take, asking the question about what would happen if teens were left to rule a society by themselves. Its a great sociological question and quite honestly has the potential to be a great show (even though I heard there are other shows really similar to this one, but I don't get how this would matter in the review anyways?).
I was pumped to watch it, the teaser trailer was cool and all, and I dont usually watch teen dramas, but the politics in here interested me. However, the show just didn't came through.
The acting first was really disappointing, I don't get how they select actors that just don't match at all the characters they are supposed to play, it's rushed and it just doesn't work, I could not believe in a lot of characters (Ally, Cassandra, Will, and Campbell were the worst, I'm sorry I just don't get how they were thrown into these personalities). I guess that's a risk you have to take when you watch a teen show with mostly inexperienced actors.
And the characters themselves were really not worked or developed (Lexi was an interesting one though) but the villain Campbell, all of Ali's crew are just there being who they are without any real development, which is boring when the show spent so much air time showing us the characters' mistakes and love stories, but they are just super basic and don't seem to be headed anywhere.
Overall I am not 'dissatisfied' by this show, and I could definitely suggest people to watch it, but it's not better than 6/10, in terms of realization and production. I expected it to be max a 7/10 and there is no harm in that, I watched it anyways and wasn't a waste of time. It's a Netflix show that wants its audience to relate and get attached to characters, its not a television novelty, but its entertaining.
Fyre (2019)
Unique story and awesome production
I watch lots of documentary but never really review them since they all feel the same, but this one is unique, better than Hulu's version and definitely worth a watch. The story is already interesting, but they way the doc was produced made it feel like a movie with real life footage.
The fact that there was so much real life footage of the production made it feel so real and so close to the sorry. This feeling of proximity and truth that the documentary presented was something I never really saw.
An important part of the story was the use of social media, Instagram mostly, and that part was integrated super smoothly, as we've seen Netflix do a couple of times. Anyways, that plus commentary from the team that actually worked on it, and so many footage of this disaster actually happening, wow really.
I also really like the way they presented them as marketing geniuses and brilliant entrepreneur, but none of the authority were actually managers, no organization at all. Anyways go watch this, worth it.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Gold piece
I am a true believer that there is no movie genres better than others. I believe there can be good, great movies in any genres. However, some genres have thousands of goods movies while some genres only have a few.
This is horror, definitely, but this is great horror. There were so much meaning and thinking that actually went behind that production. This was chosen to be a show rather than a movie, but quite honestly it has the feeling of a movie with extended cuts to show each character's viewpoint from the story (not saying they weren't good or necessary though).
The acting definitely was good. I am usually tough in judgment of acting but this show was decent. Must also be said that this show must the most difficult production they ever had to make since most scenes were made of extra-long speech and by-heart, intense and serious moments, one after the other by the camera following them. Each character at least once at to do those scenes and it really surprised me that the direction chose to go this way. Loved it though. It felt real.
I never watch a show twice unless I believe there is still a lot of value left in the movie that I haven't understood yet, and this is one of them. The way scenes were placed, the way character talked, the way every piece of that psychological puzzle came into place at the end, wow. There is much work to be done by the audience to really appreciate the value of that movie.
This story is an incredible story, and the fact that it was so well produced into a show is masterpiece contender. Did not received 10/10 because I felt holes sometimes, and I think the fault here is that the show is 10 episodes of about 1 hour, that's too much. But eh nothing's perfect.
Venom (2018)
Definitely deserved those critics
I watched this movie with the expectations of a low-rated marvel/superhero movie, knowing the movie received masses of negative reviews.
At this point I have watched lots of movies, and lots of superhero movies, and I can say this is truly a bad movie. This movie had no creativity, no charisma, nothing that felt new or special or anything really. The visuals of the beast were definitely well made but other than that I can't believe this movie had blockbuster money.
The plot in itself was terrible. This movie was not thought through like nowadays blockbusters are. The thirty-something guy with the good life, success, good wife, wants to do the right thing but eh there is is this bad evil corporation that is recognized and the simple fact of questioning them made him lose his job, and then his wife-to-be dump him and get herself a new doctor bf within like what, a week? This is cliche, way too similar to the amazing spider-man (same director btw), in terms of giga bio-company being led by an evil CEO.
This movie is also the proof that a good actor always needs a good character to actually perform. Because really, Tom Hardy was okay at best, it was just weird and we couldn't really see or feel anything in the character, her ex-gf and his new boyfriend were even worse, uncomfortable to watch.
Some people critique the critiques, but if this movie had received good reviews, I really would have lost hope in any movie evaluations. The direction and production of this movie took no risk at all, this movie was plain, and this is why blockbusters have bad reputations, because there are too many movies like this one; Lots of money, nice visuals, big-name actors, but no risks, no creativity, no new feelings, this is recycling.
Compare this to recent Marvels and this is kid game. The acting, the lines, the interactions between characters and even the plot at this point sounded like a 2005 movie, where the simple fact of having incredible computer effects could give an amazing movie, but no, 2018, we've seen this thousands of time, you actually needs some thinking to produce a good movie. I am not saying you cannot enjoy it, because anyone can enjoy any movie at this point, but this is mediocre filmmaking.
Peaky Blinders: Episode #1.1 (2013)
Great Intro
So this episode is the 'pilot' in which we're supposed to be introduced both main and secondary characters as well as a tease at least of a coming or up-and-coming plot. This is what I expected from Episode #1, plus I wanted to experience the great setting and visual realization from this show as it looked amazing from the outside.
So we're introduced the setting, poor neighborhood in England right after WWI, causing solid post-war (mental) consequences, industrial revolutions, working strikes, gangs and mafias, sport betting, government vs. groups, etc. Those are plenty of subjects that will probably be addressed throughout the show and have actually been in this episode. We are also shown the group separation that was extremely important back then, as Italians, Industrial Workers, Communists, Asian, etc. all live their own separate life trying to avoid problems between each other.
Both Shelby brothers are performed by extremely good actors (especially in this episode) and really fit well into this performance.
I must say this episode is still a pilot, and since this show is not based on any apocalypse or in need of a direct explanation of the current setting, a pilot is not supposed to get any shocking/touching moment, we just want to get a sneak peek of the plot plus a solid introduction to characters and their purpose.
I love the characters already and I expect good character development on this show, all chasing their own personal quests with own personal motives, this will be good.
We get the smart gangster with his violent & pressured older brother defending their group the 'Peaky Blinders'. We get the interesting Communist leading groups to strikes, in a relationship with the Blinders' sister. Then there is the even more interesting villain, the police officer alongside his sexy, strong partner playing the bartender. I don't know as this is just the first episode, and I realize as this is an historic show rather than a fictional show, our love for characters is what matters. Character development, visual, thrilling moments and historical references are what the criteria I will be looking for this show, this is what it must offer us.
Lost in Space: Impact (2018)
Off to a real bad start
This is the pilot, the goal of this episode is to make the watcher want to watch the rest of the show and to introduce the concept and characters, well this episode was off to a extreme rough start.
I have watched dozens of shows and quite honestly in most of them, the first few episode's acting is always mediocre, so I won't take too much of that into account. Out of the five main characters, I have honestly disappointed by all of them, they did not make believe in what was happening, I was distanced from the show because the acting was so bad.
My second point is the plot of this episode that I can't believe was planned to be put in the pilot. The crash in itself of course, but the girl getting froze out, while the mother's leg is broken and the little guy dropped out of nowhere and abandoned there because the other sister's problem was not alarming... what is this really? I did not feel emotionally attached to any of their (life-threatening) problems and we can see the producers actually try to make us feel that way but simply failed.
For example the scene where Penny (the older girl) has to cut into her mother's leg to fix it, she is stressed and this moment has to be intense, whether she'll be able to do it or not, but no, no music, no momentum, just her saying few bad sentences that makes everyone watching just feel 'what was that, were we supposed to be engaged, stressed about that?'
The setting, the ambiance in general is mediocre and so not acclimated to the plot. They are lost! in space! There is unknown weird stuff and they have 6 hours until they freeze to death, 5 hours until the lil sister has no more oxygen, oh and Will is somewhere else far away, but everything's chill eh? Lets talk about how we feel. No momentum, no music that made us thrill a little, and 100% clear images, we saw EVERYTHING, no suspense about what this robot thing is, we saw it completely in two minutes and stopped scaring us in 2 seconds, how can we ever be attached to such intense but unacclimated plot with bad acting from characters? Visuals were, as most Netflix's show are, but as other Netflix shows, acting was poor, as I will watch episode 2 in the coming days, I just hope the actors are going to make me feel the story more. Plot can always be weird and irrational, but with good acting and good background production, it usually still gets the watcher involved and entertained, this episode did not.
13 Reasons Why (2017)
Season 1 good, Season 2 is meaningless
I did not review the first season of '13 Reasons why' when I watched it, but I have to say the first season was good. It was an original concept and made the watcher understand the step-by-step process Hannah went through to get to the point of taking her own life. I liked the idea where the producers tried to put the blame on everyone, why also putting the blame on no one, every did things they shouldn't have for Hannah's sake, but the show explicitly explained why they behaved such a way, which brings us to the point that preventing teenage suicide to happen is way more complex than people seem to think so.
Anyways season 1 brought new concepts and themes that were never really exploited in other high-budget shows, which I liked, and even though the characters are obviously important in season 1, what made it a success was the theme and original concept. Season 2, oppositely, focus more on character's storylines which brought much lesser meaning to everything that actually happened. Simply put, Season 2 of 13 reasons why takes the characters of an interesting, meaningful story, and develops them 'Degrassi new generation' style. The original concept was such a success that the whole world emotionally cared about those characters, so Netflix just created an added bunch of stories to keep this audience entertained, but the truth is Season 2 is not unique, is not special in any way, it is just the follow-up of teen dramas. The fact that the focus is a lot more on the character made the actor play much more important, and this is were I realized the quality of the show, actors (except the guy playing Tyler) are not incredible and there is nothing in this show that cannot be found on any other teens channels with high school dramas.
The content showed in the last episode is obviously extremely shocking and made people talk about it and thus promoting the show. It is exaggerated, I see people trying to say this is realistic and we must understand that it is happening in schools and stuff, but no. This kind of thing may have happened in real life but is extremely rare and showing this in such a mainstream TV show has NO other purposes than to make people talk about it. There is no such thing as 'raising awareness' through this kind of scene' and it is hypocrite from Netflix to try to sell this as 'trying to pass a message'. This scene was extreme and over the line of morality from the part of 13 reasons why producers.
13 Reasons why has gone from an good idea, well-themed show, to a bad acting, badly-themed, high-budget show. When understanding this, it snot surprising marketers have tried to pull a 'shocking' scene, when the show as no other value.I put 7/10 because season 1 would have 9/10 but season 2, 5/10.
Black Mirror: Metalhead (2017)
Good acting, but not enough psychological 'controversy'
If there is one reason why Black Mirror became so popular is because the production team succeeded in making the show both entertaining and psychologically appealing. They make us ask ourselves questions about where the world and our society are heading, and that's why I watched and savored every single episode. But those questions are easy to see, and understand, everyone feel it, but on this one most didn't feel the message
Metalhead definitely brings the suspense part, like they do it most episodes. As usual the acting was impressive, movie-like, it really was the script
that lacked, the wonders they tried to create in the viewer's head was not where they should have been. They were hidden, way too hidden for such a high-audience production. It is the kind of episode you can watch 3 to 4 times before understanding completely the meaning, but I really don't want to do so, because the entertainment part was not there. It was a boring hour watching a dog trying to kill someone.
No doubt they brought some interesting psychological questions, and execution was there as well 10/10. But I don't get how can reviewers give a 9 to 10 grade when it was not entertaining. It felt like suspense for the sake of suspense, and other than 'future technology will be independently able to threaten our lives', statements were hard to get, and this is probably why the audience gave such low ratings, it required too much effort from the viewer to feel what they wanted us to feel. Just imagine a novel with extremely well thought statements that required concentration and 'dedication' to understand, but characterization and the plot of the story don't deliver, is this going to be a good novel? Nah its good idea but not greatly introduced to literary devices.