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Reviews
Go with Me (2015)
Not Enough of This Being Made
I love this movie. How refreshing after all the soulless crap being produced these days. This movie is satisfying. Anthony Hopkins, in a later role, knocking it out of the park. A lot of grit and some earthy, outdoors hardness thrown in. A supporting character that surprises and exceeds initial expectations. My only complaint is the absurd shaky cam that doesn't belong in any era and is an abomination to cinema.
Everybody plays their roles well, and the story is engaging and moves along at just the right pace. If you have an admiration for wise, tough, older characters, this movie is for you. If you have an admiration for good guys going up against bad guys and the bad guys getting their comeuppance, this one is for you.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023)
The Current State of Entertainment
I dislike modern "movies" and television so much. They are soap operas hidden behind the guise of real storytelling. They consist of a bunch of B actors who couldn't act their ways out of paper bags, spending all of their time talking in ways nobody talks and doing things in ways that nobody does them, with a cameo by real actors thrown in here and there to sell the crap. Everything screams green screen, hastily thrown-together CGI, and writers who don't know how to write but have learned some formulaic tricks to make it seem like they do. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters perfectly embodies all of these aspects of modern "entertainment" that people are lapping up nowadays.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Very, Very Good
High production value, exceptional actors, great cinematography, and of course, Dracula!
When I originally learned of this movie, I found its summer release date completely bewildering. Who is thinking of vampires in the middle of summer?? Even as a Dracula fan, not even I was very motivated to go see a vampire picture in the middle of summer. But I have no doubt it would have performed infinitely better at the box office with a late September or October release.
I purchased it today on digital and I think it's fantastic. High quality. I've seen some folks complaining about turning the ocean voyage part of the Dracula story into its own, standalone, full-length movie. I disagree with them. It allows the filmmakers to flush out some wonderful atmosphere and tension and linger on some of these things. The visuals are great - dark and gritty. A real gem in today's world of shortcut storytelling.
The Flash (2023)
Cheap Fun
And by cheap, I mean the CGI was terrible. Recently saw the director trying to explain it away: 'You're seeing things all distorted from Flash's perspective while traveling at such great speeds' or some bologna like that. Oh really? So what's your explanation for the Atari-level graphics while Flash is standing still? There's no reason whatsoever audiences should reward such cheap laziness in this day and age. Otherwise, I was quite surprised by how invested I got in the story itself and how much I enjoyed it. The terrible CGI, unfortunately, is impossible to ignore or disregard when weighing the film in its entirety. I keep coming back to the point that there is absolutely no excuse for it in this day and age and can only be attributed to utter cheapness or indifference.
In my little one-horse town we have a Mexican restaurant that is about 20 years old. Service there has always sucked, and especially in the past 5 years, the quality of the place has just gone into the stinker hole. That is until this year - when word got around that a brand NEW Mexican restaurant was coming to town. Suddenly the owners of the old stinky restaurant seem to care. They've painted the place, bought new tables, remodeled, their menu has improved. All in preparation to compete with this new restaurant coming in.
See, they couldn't care less about indifferently shoveling crap at the inhabitants of the town as long as they know the money will keep coming in. It's only when that money flow is at risk do they begin to care. That's how I felt leaving this Flash movie. (See, you weren't sure I had a point.) I couldn't help but think 'They actually believe they can shovel that crap CGI at their audience and we'll just gobble it down and not notice or mind because of all the cameos and whatever else they threw in there.' Well, I think it's high time these studios start suffering some losses for it.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Grateful Films Like This Still Get Made
The Banshees of Inisherin is a superbly-made film. Sorry folks, no superheroes or fantastical, sappy love story here! Just very good, original storytelling of the sort that you've never seen or heard before, and a fascinating study of relationships, people, and life in a beautiful, natural setting.
I'm a lifelong lover of movies and of the potential they offer to tell riveting stories of value that keep you thinking long after, while transporting you into somebody else's life experience for two hours, and that's what this film is. The Banshees of Inisherin is the type of movie that is sorely lacking in today's lineup of offerings, having been overrun by huge, money-generating, bubblegum junk, featuring grown people dressed in ridiculous costumes doing ridiculous things very seriously.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good superhero movie now and again. But in a healthy and sane world, I wouldn't have to sift through 9,000 of them in order to find a single quality film, more anchored in real life, that doesn't rely on CGI to sell itself.
Many of the other reviewers complain that this movie is a waste of their time and it is disgusting and horrible and blah blah blah. You're right. For you, you're right. Go find something different. But I for one am very grateful that movies like this still get made. Yes, there are some really curious decisions and actions made by some of the characters in this film. That's part of the humanity of it that gets your mind asking questions like: Why? What must be going on inside of that person? What are they feeling? What's going on in their heads? Are there any situations where I might find myself thinking and feeling in similar ways? How would I hope to handle it? Ten Stars.