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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Disappointed... but still worth watching.
Kingdom could've been SO MUCH BETTER. It is easily the worst of the 4. Loved the Caesar mentions, trying to follow his "law".. but there wasn't really a story in my opinion. I can't really describe to someone if I were to sum up the movie in a few sentences without spoilers. Another negative is that the opening sequence was way too long. First ten to fifteen minutes hunting for eggs? It could've easily been cut in half. Also.. how are there generators and SATELLITES running again after 300 years? It doesn't make sense to me at all. Other than that, there were not many too negatives on my part.
Onto the positives: Of course, the acting and CGI was incredible, yet again. All four films amazed me on how well done the CGI is for these apes. Cinematography is outstanding too. Acting is outstanding too. Can be mediocre at times, but still overall great.
Overall: With the negatives of the opening sequence being too long and not really having a story, it was very average. If you are a Planet of the Apes fan, you might be disappointed in this movie. Still great to see.. but it was very very average.
The Last of Us: Long, Long Time (2023)
Filler episode
Yes, not all episodes have to be all about the action, but it was dragged a little bit. It was cool seeing how Bill was able to survive the military evacuation and him building off of what he had left in his small town. The story of Bill and Frank was unexpected.. I thought the song reminded Bill of his mother and *bam*.. they engage in a kiss. It was beautiful, seeing how they evolved and how Joel was able to meet him, even though it was different in the game. Felt like there could've been more action as all of that happened in the first 5 or so minutes and then somewhere in the middle of the episode.
All in all, it was a decent filler episode on two characters that were not really fully introduced and was only seen for a little bit in the game. Looks like next weeks episode is going to be action packed.
Players (2022)
Not a bad start...
Obviously I'll update my rating later as the series progresses, but its not a bad start. Minor spoilers below but its only from the trailer
From the creators of American Vandall, I was excited to see them create a new series in a whole new environment..the eSport scene. The mockumentary is good. Played from actors/actresses I never heard of before, they're not bad. Coming from a documentary perspective, its a good story so far of following a team that is struggling to meet its expectations from Creamcheese saying (as in the trailer).. seven championships. And coming from someone who has played video games and queued up in competitive gaming, its good to see a game that I haven't played (and one of the biggest) eSport leagues in action. There are some good laughs here and there.
For those who haven't seen any eSports action, I feel like this is a decent watch. It gave me a bit more of an insight on what esport teams are like and the process they go through for each game. Its definitely different than grouping up with a few people and putting your own individual skills to the test while communicating and grouping as a team. I feel like this has more potential. Its only four episodes and its off to a great start.
Host (2020)
A bit slow, but way better than I expected
Minor spoilers ahead... Going into this movie, I expected it to be as bad as Unfriended, a found-footage film over Skype, so I had low expectations. However, I did not expect it to be this good. Although the first few minutes of the film were a bit slow, it really picked up. The final 25 minutes of the short one hour film was intense and the best. For a low budget film AND the actresses/actors themselves being locked in quarantine and having to do this on their own, is very impressive. Very well executed jump scares.. even I jumped a few times for a horror movie junkie. Even the acting. For the actors/actresses I never even heard of, did a great job. Very little moments I thought it wasn't realistic.
What I liked about this is that during the final 25 minutes, the movie pulled off a gag from Paranormal Activity "flour bit" to see where the spirit is at. I thought that was cool. And wait until the credits at the end.. that was creative and actually made me laugh. Other than that, "Host" pulled off the style of Unfriended, but with Zoom, which none of us have never really heard of until the pandemic had hit last year.
There's some parts of the movie that I didn't like and that was the duration. They could've expanded the movie to maybe 90 minutes. We could've learned about more things, but we didn't. I hope there is a sequel, but for only a one hour film in a lockdown in a pandemic, it blew me away how they did this with the people in their apartment or themselves. Although, I do get the whole short movie because of Zoom's 40 minute limit over 3 people, but it is what it is. Like I said, the final 25 minutes really blew me away on how it was executed. If you have the chance, check out the film. I enjoyed it and was very impressed after seeing how bad Unfriended was, a similar movie like this, but Host took it on a whole new level.
The Gallows Act II (2019)
Decent Sequel (Minor Spoilers in Review)
After a below-average first movie, The Gallows Act II took a different approach from the first movie. What started out as "found footage" within the first two minutes of the movie, it turned into a theatrical experience which I liked. Unfortunately, the movie did start out slow as it didn't get into the "plot" until 15-20 minutes into the movie, which they showed the clip from the beginning of the movie but in Auna's (the main actress's perspective). From here on out, it started to pick up a little bit. The old classic jumpscares, predictable things, etc. However, at the same time, the main actress starts to go crazy as this "Charlie Game" is not what she thinks it is. Now, the last 15-20 minutes of the movie, were honestly the best. To avoid spoilers, I won't mention anything, but it was honestly the best part of the movie.
Honestly, other than the suspense aspect of the movie, it was definitely better than the first one, except for the slow movie for the first 15-20 minutes, the old classic jumpscares and predictable things. Overall, it was a decent movie.
Amazing Stories: Dynoman and the Volt!! (2020)
Not horrible, but okay.
This episode was cute. There's nothing much to say about it. It was a cute story, but it was predictable at times.
Truth or Dare (2018)
More Thriller than Horror
I think this movie was actually pretty decent. It goes to show how much you are willing to risk your loved ones. Not really any jump scares, but it's more of a Thriller/Mystery of trying to figure out how to get out of the game. Yes, some parts were cheesy, but overall, I think that it was actually a decent movie. It was a twist ending that I wouldn't have expected.
Happy Death Day (2017)
Happy Death Day
Warning: this review may contain spoilers
Happy Death Day - based on Groundhog Day, they did a really good job on doing a parody of this movie, expect the fact on the main character being murdered. The main character didn't really want anyone to know it's her birthday, until the first time she gets killed. After the "1st" day, it turned into a comedy. (Small Spoiler) At the party on the second day, it was a surprise party for Tree, the main character, and again, she doesn't like to anyone know it's her birthday. That's when things kinda took a turn forward. From the first repeated day (aka day 2) and on, it was funny. Some of comedy were sexual jokes, but they were interpreted in a good way.
What I liked about this movie is that not many movies are a Horror Comedy. I was expecting a lot more horror, but in this movie, there were a couple of jump-scares. Mostly, it was comedy. Now, I know you people think this movie is sucky based on how much a comedy it was. It isn't. You have to know Groundhog Day in order to sorta understand it.
I went with two of my friends. Both of them never seen Groundhog Day. The movie was also a thinking movie, along with being horror and comedy. You have to think back to the time where certain things happened. Now, without getting into further detail, the ending was definitely a plot-twist. She thought she killed the person, but it was the same day as before.
I didn't count, but I read in another review the cycle was 16 days before the day advanced. Not that bad compared to Groundhog Day, which was 8 years, 8 months, and 16 days. They sliced 8 years and 8 months.
Overall, Happy Death Day was a good movie. I wished there were a lot more horror, but it definitely had the aspect of Groundhog Day. There was hardly any cursing, mainly name calling, which includes words you hear in teenage lives. But overall, well worth the money.