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skull4400
Reviews
Sisu (2022)
One Bloody & Entertaining 90 Minute Ride
Sisu is bloody and violent in all the right ways. There's something about watching an aging, silent, one man army brutally murder Nazis that's incredibly satisfying. Who knew?
The plot is simple and straight to the point, no trailing off into a pointless or forgettable subplot, no delving into the character's origins. It's point A to point B and the runtime is perfect at a satisfying hour-and-a-half. I don't think an extra 15 or 20 minutes would have been unwelcome, but it's best to leave us wanting more than wanting less.
Most of the action is well shot and the fights are all entertaining if over-the-top. There are a few times that the camera gets a bit to close and the character's movements get lost, but not every movie that's John Wick-esk can be shot wide and long like John Wick.
One major issue that did pull me out of the film a bit, was the lack of German dialogue. This is an issue I have with a lot of films: people not speaking their own language to their own people. When I see a German Nazi Soldier talking to another German Nazi Soldier, I expect to hear them speak German. Watching an entire film where the antagonists, the Germans, speak little to no German, was slightly offputting. Having people speak in their real language adds so much, it adds authenticity and makes it feel real. I can't imagine that anyone watching this film would have an issue with watching it with subtitles. Decisions like that can feel lazy. Whether that was the fault of the director or if it was mandated by the studio is hard to say, but I felt that it took away from the film.
But this film is a blast overall, If you get the chance to see it before it leaves the theater, I would definitely reccomend it. I think this has the potential to be a franchise with either a sequel or a spinoff (no spoilers on who lives and who dies).
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Katanakaji no Sato-hen (2023)
A Worthwhile Experience, But Not Quite A Film
Seeing anime in a theater is a special experience in the United States, because you know that everyone who's joining you loves the genre and is just as excited as you for what they're about to see.
This special event was no exception, and it was well worth the trip to the theater for anyone who is a fan of the series.
As far as the content of the special, it is presented as you would see them on TV... as episodes. They keep the intros, the end credits, the songs, and the episodes end as they normally would, just without the ad breaks. That would be my one and only critisicm of this event. I believe it would have felt just a bit more special if the studio had removed those openings and end credits, and made some adjustments to the sound and footage to string it together as a film, that way the audience would have a slightly more unique experience than they would have, simply binge-watching the episodes in one go at home.
That being said, the episodes are fantastic. Amazing fight sequences and animation, a subplot that nearly makes you cry, and of course getting viewers excited for the upcoming season. Absolutely worth seeing in the short window that it will be in the theater.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
A Delightful Slow Burn With A+ Performances
I've very much anticipated this film since seeing the trailers, I found the basic concept fascinating and was excited to see where the film would go on such a simple premise.
Firstly, the acting is fantastic across the board, Colin Ferrell and Brendan Gleeson are excellent in the film, but Barry Keoghan stood out in particular with a great performance as the village screw-up, he adds so much to his character.
The concept for this film starts out with the simple premise of a man who decides he no longer wants to be friends with another man, and throughout it escalates, it becomes more intense and even a bit unsettling, that is no doubt in part due to the setting. Living on a very small island (Inisherin) where everyone knows everyone and word travels quickly can make change very awkward for everyone. One small slip, one bad encounter and suddenly the entire village will hear of it. But the build up is very well done and you really feel for Colin Ferrell's character as he comes to grips with his best friend suddenly deciding he no longer wants to be a part of his life and the entire town having their own opinions on the matter. The ending is not quite what I expected, and perhaps not what I was hoping for as far as the resloution goes, but an interesting ending nevertheless, I certainly didn't dislike it.
My two gripes with this film would be that there are decisions made by a certain character that feel a bit extreme and even counterintuitive to their supposed goal, so it was a bit odd when they make those decisions, but I won't spoil it.
The second is that the film feels too quiet. There's very little ambient sound, meaning the ocean, the wind, animals, people in a crowded pub, it was missing or very faintly there for almost all of the movie. All of the audio is focused on what the main speaking characters were saying and all the rest of the surrounding sound is turned down, which I felt took the realism out of it to a degree. I want to hear what's around the characters, what they would be hearing to be immersed in their environment, and unfortunately that was a bit lost, which is a shame, because the film looks beautiful.
Overall I would highly recommend the film, it's a very engaging, wonderfully performed & beautifully shot, well worth watching.