Reviews

A striking example of a series done well. Engaging characters, a strong female lead, with a strong backstory, lots of subtle relationships and good dialog, no gross or objectionable stereotypes, solid, clear direction.

Comparable to the more recent Netflix series from Ireland, Bodkin, which is another excellent example of to build an engaging mystery TV series.

From Wendy L. Schmidt: This series certainly surprised me. It starts off as a small-town detective-type missing persons/murder mystery. But it goes much deeper than the local disappearances. History and hauntings (both real and imagined) repeat themselves in this isolated area. Deep in the woods roams a legendary monster or are humans the actual monsters? Certain locals are connected to whatever is living/lurking there. The story turns mystical/supernatural and I wanted to know more.

10/10 Where narratively Avatar 2 was a remake of Avatar 1, This Apes is something new at every turn. Impossible for me to say if this movie was intended to comment on our possible 2025 Trumpian future. As the film stands, it inevitably, inescapably bears on a potential Trumpian future.

You can ignore critics claiming this Apes has no strong characters, no Andy Sirkis, blah, blah, blah. Kevin Durand as Proximus Caesar and Peter Macon as Roka knock their roles out of the ball park. Noa can't start off as a strong character; he needs an arc to grow into a leader. The human girl character, Mae/Nova, artfully embodies both humanity as a whole; and the instincts of our 2024 crop of celebrity billionaire monopolists. I've never seen this done before anywhere.

I did like Wes Ball's Maze Runner. This is a 100% successful hand-off from prior series helmer Matt Reeves to Wes Ball. It's also Weta doing its usual multi-leveled best.

I think you can ignore the bad reviews. If you liked other Netflix anime-to-film adaptations, this is one of the better ones in my opinion.

I have NOT seen the earlier anime nor read the comics. I probably have seen the Jackie Chan filmed version yet remember nothing from it. This is VERY GOOD Netflix television. The first act especially is non-stop crazy, stylish action in every way, plot, acting, shot-framing, action scenes and lots of girls.

I did like Parasite Gray and the Netflix filmed version of Avatar Air Bender. I could NOT get thru Netflix One Piece. I recognize the new One Piece has a ton of talent behind and on the screen.

When I put on my film critic hat, there is one big problem these anime-to-film adaptations struggle with. Their source material is from comics which came out 1985-1995. If nothing else, this means these shows have little to no relevance to the world of the 2020s, For example the cos-play (costume dress up) convention scene seems a bit dated; and yet, the expressions of the extras and how the scene plays out dramatically is wonderful--unless you already saw it in the comics and in the anime.

Netflix's City Hunter takes DNA from Jame Bond, comic books, anime, and other 20th century pop culture. Fortunately as in the best of Netflix's anime-to-film adaptations, the commitment behind and on the screen is 100%. In film dedication counts for much. As you undoubtedly expect, this is more well-produced, mindless, fun distraction.

I liked part one and have followed the making of content. I suspect the origin of Zack's Rebel Moon goes back to the 1990s and is his reaction to a narrative hole in the Star Wars films. WE all liked the Death Star blown up; we all liked the teddy bears taking down the Empire's walkers; and yet, no Star Wars movie offers a decisive ground-air combat win for eh rebel alliance. Rebel Moon, especially part 2 is the missing film.

Given that's the good news, it's easy to turn this around and say, "Nothing new here, same old, same old." I can see tha tpoint of view too. I still give it a 9/10 because both parts one and two are made with a whole hell of a lot of heart and good morale. As with many films running on familiar TV and movie tropes, they can still be good entertainment based on execution (like Wednesday and Heart of Stone on Netflix).

For comparison consider Argyle, made by Matthew Vaughn for Apple TV. I saw it in a theater because like the first two Kingsmen so much. However here we have a genuinely bad movie, based on on familiar TV and movie tropes, which even terrific execution could not save. All the sizzle is in the two minute trailer.

Arasyte: The Grey Five-part TV series If you liked Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan (2016), the live-action sequel Peninsula (2020), and first South Korean superhero film Psychokinesis (2018) then you are sure to enjoy his first live action TV series.

Parasyte: The Grey has the same creative writing and worthwhile surprises, committed acting, judicious use of music to good effect, and action galore. It's very watchable--and not too many drawn-out episodes.

As in Yeon Sang-ho's other films he commits to his trope, injects them with vitality and freshness; then, explores how many balls he can keep juggling in the air while he deepens the thematic issues.

I can think of few studios who thrive on tropes and make something better than expected from them (see also Skydance, a US studio: Heart of Stone (2023) on Netflix). Here we have four strong female characters, a small time hood who finds redemption and liberal use of tropes from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (without the Red Scare Communist subtext).

Three Body Problem on Netflix has more DNA from Jonathan Nolan's HBO Westworld than any other series I know of. Even tho I loved Jonathan Nolan's Person of Interest series, I did not care for the Westworld series. Why? It seemed pretentious; and, its narrative was disjointed to no benefit for viewers. These are typical signs of a project which has some good ideas and a big bugget; and yet, no deeply held conviction nor point of view.

1899 (2022) was an expensive Netflix flop. It basically repeated the same errors as Westworld.

Three Body Problem on Netflix has learned from Westworld and 1899 and corrects these exact errors. Thanks to the author Cixin Liu, the seemingly separate, disjointed storylines of the original novel can and do come together into a coherent whole. Success. It's very watchable.

2) A second big problem Netflix's Three Body Problem solves is the problem of Asian actors having insufficient emotional range and nuance to engage Western audiences. Have you noticed this? Many not all Japanese, Korean and especially Chinese movies and actors have no problem with anger, grief and sadness. However more nuanced emotions between and above these basic emotions often escape them. This review is not the place to compare-contrast the strengths and weaknesses of Eastern and Western European cultures.

Suffice it to say, ALL the leads in Three Body Problem do express a range of emotional nuance Western which can and does engage Western audiences. We even have two actors playing against type. BD Wong a hero in Marvel's Dr. Strange, plays a shlubby detective. BD has always had good range; he fits into this part very well. John Bradley, who played the comical conspiracy theorist 1899 (2022) was an expensive Netflix flop. It basically repeated the same errors as Westworld.

Three Body Problem on Netflix has learned from Westworld and 1899 and corrects these exact errors. Thanks to the author Cixin Liu, the seemingly separate, disjointed storylines of the original novel can and do come together into a coherent whole. Success. It's very watchable.

Eiza González, a Mexican actress, Jess Hong, a New Zealand actress of Chinese descent; and, Rosalind Chao (born in California of Chinese descent) are all more than capable of expressing a depth of feeling and nuance Western audiences are used to and will engage with.

3) The VFX for Three Body Problem display Netflix's usual high standards for both creativity and quality.

The broadly drawn tropes and characters are more for kids age 8 to 18. For adults who like imaginative fantasy, it's classic, handsomely produced Netflix TV. The narrative is a 100% inversion of the damsel in distress trope. Thanks god it's not overly feminist. Glorious to watch Millie-Bobbie go thru a very physical performance and triumph in the end.

This handsome, watchable mounting an visual storytelling is benefitted by previs by Third Story.

Courtney Lanning - @CourtneyMovies on Twitter: "Let's not overlook Shohreh Aghdashloo's role as the dragon. Top notch voice work and my favorite dragon voice since Smaug."

Dozens of many difficult, challenging CGI compositing shots are handled with grace and ease, by 4-5 VFX houses. As usual when 3-5 effects houses collaborate on a project, the visual storytelling keeps improving until the end of editing.

Even if not an oscar-winning film, everyone involvled can be proud of this effort. Cheers!

Way better than it needed to be or was expected to be. Pro critics mention catch most of the strengths and weaknesses. Two new points I can add: 1) Compare this to Wonka (2024) film. Where Wonka is ONLY for kids age 3-9 and their families, Avatar is for all ages. What makes this possible is the solid theme of internal balance expressed outwardly as a journey to balance four outer elements. The recurring topics of meditation and personal dedication, self-honesty and humility needed to excel at martial arts, for both genders, are timeless themes for all ages.

2) No one mentions how good these scripts are. Netflix TV series are a mixed bag. Not many of them manage to consistently use a 50 minute canvas with such art and intelligence, using surprise, quiet moments and character development to hold our interest. A master class in writing 50 minute TV series episodes.

Madama Web

THIS IS NOT A BRO-MOVIE. It's NOT crass, profane, or ugly. If you want a good Bro-Movie, go see The Beekeeper.

I address the deluge of negative reviews further below.

I liked The Marvels (2024). It's a celebration of healthy girl power, the power of female friendship. Mr. Google says most pages for these search terms are overwhelmingly pre-Covid, pre Ukraine, pre-Gaza. Marvel celebrating girl power in a big way was rare and delightful to me.

Madame Web is an ever rarer animal, a celebration of healthy WOMAN POWER, healthy feminine intuition; and, nurturant-protective parenting.

Madame Web goes all the way to celebrating healthy psychotherapy, how it can lead to dissolving abandonment issues you thought you had with parents. I dare you to name even one other movie portraying this in a positive light.

I hope and pray children growing up in 2024, have role models for these positive qualities.

Not incidentally, the script is EXCELLENT, a writerly concoction which drew me in (even better if you avoid trailers for this film). The script is clearly the work of many talented hands on the difficult theme of seeing the future; and, then having the balls to change the future if you dislike what you see. The future-seeing power is introduced with both subtlety and conviction.

Contrary to a negative professional review I heard before going, there is no deus ex machina contrivances. Character choices and outcomes all made sense to me (and I'm a writer).

ABOUT THOSE NEGATIVE REVIEWS Based on the negativity of professional reviews towards The Marvels, my guess was Madama Web would get the same treatment. I was not disappointed.

How can we understand an outpouring of hostility towards a film dedicated to positive themes and archetypes? If you ask me, here's what I say. It's easy to give lip-service to a positive future for the 99% of people and especially to children. It's easy to say, "We want nice things; and, we deserve nice things."

However in addition to our wishes for a positive future, there is another force who has authority to test our intentions and good wishes. We can call it the Tester. Some readers of this may now the fledgling discussion among film goes and critics about how the most positive and uplifting movies often attract the most negative reviews--especially from male reviewers. It's like a tug-of-war on the level of the collective choice we are making whether the physical-material future is a dystopia or Nature and child-friendly. Given this tug-of-war I invite you to think for yourself and support those films which even in small ways describe the kind of future you want for yourself and your kids.

If you like Pixar animation, this is a Chinese, near-Pixar story meant to explain-illustrate reincarnation. This is actually a serious attempt to reflect the Chinese belief in reincarnation. It stays true to this theme from first scene until the last.

Why might materialistic Westerners watch this? It's a near-Pixar Wonder Woman story. As with the US-made Wonder Woman movies, this is no perky Disney Princess. She's a full-fledged warrior female. It's full of magic, demons and luscious visuals; and, NOT full of Hollywood cliches and stereotypes. A lot of love was put into this, even into the visuals under the final credits.

To a Western pop-culture mind, Chinese movies and especially its animation are usually quite weak in how they conceive of emotions and depict emotions. Green Snake is way better than most Chinese movies in identifying and expressing the full range of emotions, from rage, thru grief to understanding, healthy Chinese culture experiences around reincarnation.

The must see movie of this genre is Fyodor Bondachuk's 2017 Russian movie, Attraction. It's on many streaming platforms. The 2022 Korean Alienoid seems inspired by Attraction. What Alienoid has going for it is very good on-set morale; it's fun. Its verve, snappy dialogue, committed acting and stunts and lots of creative scenes make it watchable TV.

The VFX are stellar. The middle part of Alienoid is a Terminator vs. Terminator battle in a city with impeccable post-production values. There's also a Mission Impossible stunt reference.

As with many foreign sci-fi and fantasy movies, even with very committed acting as you have here, a series of action scenes strung together, does not add up to a blockbuster. To really pop, the characters have to have an arc of development which fuels their passion.

Not for kids. This is closer to a parody of Mission Impossible films than to a serious action film. This is a:

• gifted director,
• gifted stunt crew,
• gifted drone pilot cameraman, and
• gifted green screen VFX compositors ......

riffing on and improvising on the theme of ONE SHOT ACTION TAKES. NO MORE NOR LESS. For this reason the film will be of more interest to filmmakers and fans of how films are made, not so much to action film fans.

The same thing happened with Hardcore Henry. If you liked the bus fight scene in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings--this is an entire film of similar action with cars, motorcycles, zip lines, trains, helicopters, you name it.

Better than Hardcore Henry (2015)! This is not a movie in the usual sense. All complaints about the plot are irrelevant. I found it possible to ignore the few scenes especially at the beginning in poor taste. Be warned the body count is in the hundreds but all the blood has been put in in post, just like John Wick. Both Henry and Carter take video-game gun and fighting violence to 11 in a succession of stunt team fantasies. It's often mayhem.

The plot and characters are negligible; yet, way better than Henry. The lead, Joo Won, is especially deeply invested in his character and therefore very watchable.

This is by far the best drone camerawork I can recall seeing. Never done better in my experience.

The Beekeeper's theme and moral ambition is a thousand per-cent clearer than 2016's Suicide Squad. Many of the same themes here, all much more clear-cut. This gives Japan Stratham strong moral momentum which wasn't possible in Squad. Perhaps the best Jason movie since Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw?

This is a movie where you can and you do cheer when the bad guys get their just desserts. The audience I saw it with cheered out loud at the end. Since the 1980s, screenwriters have mostly beat up on international drug cartel lords.

The Beekeeper suggests a better target. Beat up on internet hackers who prey on the public, amoral Tech Bros and anyone higher, whose allegiances are not "for the good of the hive," translation: for the highest good of the 99% of working families, not just for elite interests.

Jeremy Irons provides a valuable counterpoint to Jason. Jeremy is the older voice of reason; yet also, of the olf elite status quo. Jeremy is not the main villain. He represents the older generation who enable younger villains because it pays well.

I especially liked how the motivations driving five or six supporting characters were fleshed out; and, how their varied motivators came into conflict. This made all the characters more believable.

I'm ready for Beekeeper #2.

Nowhere near as original as The Creator, this is the most rousing sci-fi popcorn movie since Alita Battle Angel or the last Star Wars movie (and at a fraction of the cost).

I do see the negative pro and user reviews. What I believe they miss is to work with a "four quadrant" audience, blockbuster movies need to stay close to familiar archetypes and archetypal themes. The quality has to mostly come from committed and dedicated execution, in front of and behind the camera. Nothing cheap here at all. Rebel Moon has mountains of commitment and dedication so it works to engage audiences.

If you need more originality, go see The Creator.

This concerns fictional terrorist attacks in Holland. As often happens with sensational subject matter "ripped from the headlines." I was concerned this would sink to the level of US network dramatic tropes, "terrorist attack of the week" fare. It mostly does not. Nor does it follow the pattern of Keith Sutherland's 24 series; where, tension is artificially sustained as an end in itself.

What saves it is first, most of the good guys and girls are Afghanis. The main cast features three breakout performances by three newcomers(?). One supporting role, the young, female African police officer is also a breakout performance.

Secondly what saves it is an unusual script which arranges its chess pieces to sustain tension and suspense thru six hour episodes. This is unusually good scripting. Nothing cheap here at all. In quality, I compare it to the Night Agent (2023) on Netflix.

Congratulations to all involved in producing this effort.

Just saw it. If you liked Miyazaki's Ponyo (2008) (my favorite film of his) and, you wished he made a 100% dreamscape movie, then you'll like Boy-Heron. Heron also harks back to Spirited Away (2001), another child's hero's journey. Because Heron has far less narrative coherency than either of these films, I found my self bored on and off. Not only does it lack any strong narrative, it lacks an accessible theme; it lacks even story beats showing-telling us where we are going and why characters make the choices they make.

In retrospect, I think the first act is mostly wasted. Reddit has discussion on why the boy hits himself with a rock. About six possible explanations are offered. No consensus. The boy begins and ends as a traumatized cipher, a blank. At the end, the only change is he earns a connection with his step-mother. It's not enuf narrative structure.

On the plus side, the animation is lovely and non-corporate, a big plus.

Fighting yokai (demons) is a staple of Japanese YA fantasy pop culture. I'm no expert. I suspect this is the highest production value the genre has ever been given. This is based on a Shonen Jump (Japan) Yokai Spirit Detective graphic novel. Five episodes and no cliff hanger ending--thank God.

I consider Netflix's Alice in Borderland, One Piece (King of the Pirates) and Blue Eye Samurai in this class of high budget, colorful pop culture. Final Fantasy videogame fans will recognize in in Yu Yu Hakusho the close analogues of FF male and female stock characters.

Since the scripts are ridden with familiar tropes, I've wondered what makes these offerings so watchable. I believe the answer is DEDICATION. Both in front of the camera and behind it and in post-produciton, a level of 100% dedication is visible again and again. In Yu Yu Hakusho the four lead male actors endure much wire work and brutal stunt falls on cement floors, over and over again. I believe no stunt doubles were used; and, stunt double faces were not replaced. In Western films you primarily only see this level of intense dedication from Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible films.

The directing is also top-drawer. Episode five is almost all fighting. The look and feel is very much based on Final Fantasy boss fights. Everyone is so committed, it's easy to keep watching. The VFX work is so seamless, I can't tell what's real and what is CGI. The CGI is of Chinese quality, the highest CGI compliment I know to give.

The stunt work in the first two episodes connects with the great acrobatic-contortionist fast-zombie stunt work which started, I believe with Train to Busan (2016). The bullied kid, once he turns into a zombie, steals every scene he is in. Congratulations to all involved who made this.

It's Godzilla 1947 Japan, a period piece with AAA period detail thruout. It's also Godzilla-noir; The main character struggles over and over with survivor guilt from WWII. It's nothing like the more up-beat, Westernized Legendary Godzilla with the Monarch over-story. Where the Monarch Godzilla is more dramatic and imaginative, Godzilla 1947 is more about honoring Godzilla as an artistic Japanese creation. At the end, after Godzilla's takedown, all the sailors salute Godzilla.

It's great filmmaking; the script took three years to write. The inevitable Godzilla takedown is a collaborative effort of de-commissioned Japanese naval sailors, a voluntary group of citizens working against impossible odds. (An even greater, positive, collaborative group effort can be seen in the great Chinese film, The Wandering Earth (Netflix). The script took three years to write. It's basically a non-ironic re-make of Godzilla (1954) re-imagined with better plot, better human characters and better VFX.

It's too long (124 mins). Cutting 20-25 minutes would have helped it do better at the box office. It's also a Toho film

Washington Post: "Top Gun Maverick and this Godzilla show us there's an audience for movies which combine concise and creative action with emotionally resonant human characters." Yes as in the best of the Legendary Monarch Godzillas, the balance also works here.

Film Stage: "It's willing to stay in the quiet anguish of several characters for uncomfortable lengths of time so the ultimate release is all the sweeter."

Empire: "A refreshingly humanist and nostalgic reboot of the iconic monster franchise, Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One takes the atomic lizard back to his post-war roots, while making the most of the director's background in animation and VFX direction through convincing, tactile and classic design work."

You can believe the other positive reviews! This is an ensemble piece--meaning it's a disaster movie with a large cast of speaking parts. If you like disaster movies and Roland Emmerich movies, don't miss this one. I agree with the other critics the scipt is more than competent; it's compelling. It also has the good sense to end after four hours.

What sets it above most disaster movies is the focus is not on the horror but on the heroism of 7-10 railway men who sacrificed to get the correct aid to the disaster area; and, prevent trains crashing into each other since communications were down along the rails at Bhopal.

What also sets it apart is how committed and convincing the large cast of about 200 extras are. These are not Hollywoods extras. These are people of India honoring some of their their most heroic fellow countrymen (we also saw this in Schindler's List).

The series is also blessed with excellent direction and cinematography. One shot stands out in my mind. After the gas leak, the shot begins with a close-up of a 50 pound bag of grain gushing rice grains from a tear in the sack, As the camera pulls back on the unfolding disaster, we have an elegant show-not-tell of "time-is-a wasting."

The ensemble, the supporting cast, are all excellent. The villain Union Carbide, and its representative in the film, receives the scorn they deserve.

It's a savage, 1984 dystopian satire, on class inequality. Much of this comes from the unfamiliar and grand 1984 urban-scapes filmed in Poland and Germany.

From another angle, it plays more like like a horror film; you wait for each young kid to be killed to find out how. It's dark, not a young adult action flick like the original Hunger Games trilogy or the first Mazerunner movie. Would have done better at box-office released in October for Halloween?

Best acting is by an unrecognizable Viola Davis (The Woman King). She's a mad scientist supper-villain--yet, not over-done. If Donald Sutherland was 10/10 crazy, she takes "unhinged" to 11. Impressive. She commits to showing the ugliest and unpleasant aspect of dissociated economic elites.

Using title cards, the movie is divided into three acts. The end of the second act is the highpoint of the film. DON'T MISS IT! Brilliant and amazing filmmaking! Afterwards, I was half ready for the credits to roll. Yet it goes on for another 45 minutes to show us how young Snow became old Snow in the trilogy.

The King's Man (2021) had a similar problem. The film peaked at the end of the first act. For Hollywood blockbusters, both The King's Man and this film are original and narratively unorthodox. I believe the average male movie ticket buyer often perceives "original" movies as "problematic." The Creator (2023) also had originality audiences did not appreciate.

Joss Whedon's scripting maxim still applies, to be big hits, a movie has to announce its genre to audiences; and then, "stay within its lane," be creative with the tropes available to work with. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) took Joss's advice to good effect.

Spiritual Movie Alert ~ All the Light We Cannot See on Netflix

To me this is a PROFOUND artistic achievement. I think it's most similar to the 1942 film, Casablanca. Both films, thru character choices and actions--not character arcs--illumine the Light We Cannot See: courage, self-honesty, vulnerability, dedication, commitment, bravery, compassion, risk, daring and sacrifice. Both Casablanca and All the Light are driven by the female leads.

All the Light has 1940s "Gone With the Wind" set design and detailed sets. The filming is sumptuous--not too dark, not washed out, not dystopian--very close to the 1940s Technicolor color palette.

Not only is the cinematography luminous, so are the performances. A digression: The reason lower budget, quickly produced TV series look and feel cheaper, is scenes with actors delivering lines are shot in one take. To get deeply luminous performances, with vitality, vigor and depth, I estimate it generally takes 3-4 takes. Why? Because it takes a few iterations for actors and and director to gain insight into what the character is feeling and capture all this on film. This explains how All the Light We Cannot See has such such deeply felt performances, both the protagonists and the villains.

I'm confused about the many negative and lukewarm professional reviews. One said he really liked episodes 1 and 2 very much; then, he felt let down by episodes 3 and 4. One of the most common script problems is a failed third act. I wondered, could this be the case here?

To my eyes and ears, all four episodes have IMPECCABLE scripting and strong third acts, complete with cliff-hanger endings and an emotionally satisfying conclusion. I saw no let down. Why should there be? Shawn Levy is one of America's best and most innovative producer-directors.

I turn again to the negative and lukewarm reviews I read. The most common complaint is All The Light is "sentimental melodrama." Perhaps as a writer, it's easier for me to understand how All The Light was written. It is NOT about the characters. There are no significant character arcs; no one learns anything. Audiences younger than 18 will naturally bond more closely with the characters, their challenges, ups and downs. For adult audiences, this is written as a fable, pointing "above" the characters to the values each demonstrates in their actions. Not as a character piece.

I believe if many critics--and would-be screenwriters watch All The Light a second time, they will note a great and consistent effort to distance audiences from the characters per se, whether each lives or dies per se. Rather, the way the script is written, the focus is on the inner "light" of integrity, generated by choices to demonstrate courage, self-honesty, dedication, commitment, bravery, compassion, risk, daring and sacrifice.

I think we have the same majority of young film critics here, who were lukewarm or critical of Seven Spielberg's West Side Story and The Fablemans. Like All the Light, these two are films of incredible integrity, capable of moving audiences to feel authentic emotions, original art in the guise of commercial entertainment.

I'm afraid some younger film critics are also review bombing The Marvels, another film with originality, integrity and commitment--if less profound than than Casablanca and All the Light.

If younger critics the "turn a blind eye" to the beauties and majesty of the All the Light, the scripting, acting and directing of this Netflix series, to those who cannot see the Light Inside, all I can say is, "If God wants us to see something--we'll see it."

This series is FULL of the Inner Light we can't see: courage, self-honesty, bravery--all heroic achievements in the Inner Game of Life. Speaking of melodrama, I might say, "If you can't perceive The Light We Cannot See, I pity you."

Alex Kurtzman was a rising star producer in 2017. 2017 is when he was involved in both Star Trek Discovery and the Mummy reboot.

I like what he did with Star Trek Discovery. I think he learned from the errors of The Mommy how to do Star Trek Discovery in a less corporate, less dissociated, more heartfelt way.

The Mummy 2017 does NOT have the winning personality of The 1999 Mummy reboot with Brendan Fraser. Mummy '17 does have tight narrative and to-die-for VFX from Dneg. However the whole look and feel is corporate and pieced together, many good bits pieced together, not a continuous flow of narrative or any heartfelt moments or character arcs.

Also troubling is the intensity of the negative feminine archetype. This is as close as any non0horror movie has come to an inverse portrayal of the positive feminine archetype. This gives the movie at times an intense horror subtext which Mummy 1999 assiduously avoids.

Horror I think anyone who studies Star Trek Discovery as a writer can see these issues are given much more attention so the whole of Discovery is more than the sum of its parts. Good for Alex.

As TV on Netflix in 2023, Mummy '17 is terrific television.

This is literally the best animated series or movie I can recall. What makes it special is eh characters were made in Blender. They look like 3D sculptures. Then these sculptures are animated to conform to live models acting each shot. This is NOT common and is more work than moving the spine-bone of non-sculpture CG characters. The visual WOW effect is high here. High art, as many are saying. It was animated in France I believe.

It took me many episodes to get into it fully. What's missing for viewers who disengage is Arcane has no familiar genre to place it within. After watching eight episodes, I say the genre is 'class warfare epic fantasy,' the haves against the have-nots. On this theme it's also pretty terrific as the theme is always progressed thru characters and their arcs.

So if a class warfare epic fantasy interests you, this is your meat.

A stupendously competent and original sci-fi experience--with heart. Be prepared, this movie is unnecessarily dark visually--to no good effect I could perceive.

Other critics mentioned it borrows from Star Wars, District 9, etc. So I expected a patchwork sci-fi script like Elysium (2013). Instead I found a wonderfully coherent anti-Terminator theme articulated and resolved in wonderful fashion.

Where Terminator movies are AI taken to its worst extremes, The Creator is AI taken to its most positive extreme. Here Robots have feelings and personality; such that, many humans bond emotionally with their robot companions. All robots are bound by Asimov's First Law of Robotics, to support, not harm humans.

The VFX are quietly, unobtrusively spectacular. It starts with District 9-like effects of actors believably replaced with CG creatures. Then takes it up a notch with robots with holes in their heads you can easily see thru. I can only imagine shooting each shot with these robots twice to get the backgrounds seen thru the hole in their head.

The third act has a Death Star take-down sequence with amazing environments. I could not tell what was built practically and what was CG. Flawless to my eye.

The reason The Creator isn't making more of a public splash is probably explained by the Josh Whedon Rule: If within 5-10 minutes your audience cannot identify the genre your film falls into, your audience begins to fall away. The Carter has both no familiar-predictable genre (District 9 the same and received the same scorn from audiences); and, its overly dark visuals don't serve its theme or exposition well.

Note to male viewers ~ Erin Carter's ideal audience is women. The relationships and character's interiority is paramount here--unlike 99% of Hollywood efforts at depicting healthy female agency.

This is a surprisingly well-written, affecting psychological portrait of a woman on the run from her past and from her own essence.

Let's contrast this limited series with another recent Netflix release, Gal Godot, in Heart of Stone. I suspect Heart of Stone is the best female James Bond movie ever made. In contrast, Erin Carter is as good as almost any action-drama movie or TV has come to putting viewers inside the skin of a real character with real problems.

The series has several hours to work with, enuf time to show the unraveling of lives, Erin's life, her daughter's life, her husband's life, and the lives of two villains. The result is a narrative canvas used to create rare, believable, un-tropy 3D characters. Believable 3D character development--what a concept!

Given the extra hours, the depth of feeling Erin Carter is able to go to is remarkable and admirable, virtually outside of the usual predictable tropey Hollywood scripts (Mission Impossible, I'm looking at you). This depth and originality of character and plot development is mainly found only in good novel writing. Congrats to all involved in creating this.