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aleksandraradivilovic
Reviews
Death to 2021 (2021)
Painfully One-Sided
I'm a person with a mixed bag of political stances, some coming from the right and some from the left. I'd even say I lean a little more left. That being said, this was painfully one sided. It's a shame, because there were some genuinely funny moments, however it would have been nice to see equal mocking of both sides. Orange man bad is 20% of the mockumentary, but lets ever so lightly joke about Biden being old a few times. Even during the 'Taliban retaking Afghanistan' segment they lightly mock (if you can even call it mocking) Biden, and then proceed to somehow blame Trump once again. How about adopting just a shred of honesty and admitting there is lunacy to be found on both sides of the coin?
Don't Look Up (2021)
Isn't satire supposed to be funny?
No matter what your stance on the climate crisis is, this is just an unfunny, tasteless satire that lacks any kind of subtlty. The jokes, of which there are few, don't land. This film with very little substance attempt to hide behind a star spangled cast, but even the decent performances couldn't make this an interesting watch. I almost fell asleep a couple times.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Poorly delivered lesson on 'Trust'
This film feels like it's biting off more than it can chew, attempting to cram too much expansive world into under 2 hours. As a result nothing really feels fleshed out. None of the characters in our band of misfits get developed with exception of our main character and Sisu.
The message of trust is very ham-fisted, with Raya repeating the phrase "You can't trust anybody" at least 3 times. The problem is that the world has proven repeatedly that her distrust is grounded. And it doesn't help that at the most crucial moment, Namaari once again betrays her. To me this cements Raya's right to trust nobody, but the movie tries to convince me of the opposite. Namaari was in the middle of pulling the trigger, and Raya should have let her do it? Is the film's message that you should trust your enemy and stand idely by while they are about to shoot your loved one? The notion that it's Raya's fault for stepping in and not "trusting" Namaari is insulting, especially since Namaari has done NOTHING to earn this trust. You're right, lets teach children to trust the people that hurt them.
The ending feels rushed and forced, with the plot tying very unsatisfyingly. I could believe that the miracle of the dragons coming back could inspire the nations to unite. However this faith quickly dwindles when I remember that just moments prior Chief Virana was conspiring to seize all power instead of saving the continent. This is where a longer runtime would have been beneficial, to show more of the nations uniting and putting their differences aside.
The film is breathtaking visually and the band's misadventures were very indearing at times, it's a shame that the film's message felt so lost towards the end.
The Queen's Gambit (2020)
I still have NO idea how to play chess...
After finishing the show I can say with confidence I still have NO idea how to play chess, however, the story is so well crafted that it had me glued for the entire run-time with no breaks.
What stood out to me was how real the characters felt, with each one subverting my expectations of what I've seen from so many lazy plots. The mildly alcoholic housewife adoptive mother could have so easily been villainized as someone that forces Beth to enter tournaments to keep making money, but instead she's just a complicated and troubled woman who Beth grew to love and admire. Even the main opponent, Borgov, who seemed to be quite competitive and coniving, respected Beth for her victory and even hugged her in the end. After seeing the Russian villain trope in so many films I was pleasantly surprised to see how normal the depiction of Russia and it's people was in this show, especially with it being set during the Cold War.
And Beth herself, what a well written protagonist, I felt all of her struggles and motivations with her the entire journey. I'm happy to see they didn't put emphasis on her love life, and she didn't find fulfillment in companionship, heck it didn't feel like she found fulfillment in her victory, I feel like her true reward was finding her own strength and the support from the family she made along the way.
It just felt so real and meaningful, I'd recommend the show to anybody regardless of interest in chess. Speaking of chess, I have to go learn how to play it now...
RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular (2018)
Unadulterated Cringe
I know Christmas is all about the cheese, ugly sweaters, bad movies and dad jokes, but this is taking it WAY too far. I hate how fully curated and scripted the whole thing was, and it doesn't at all reflect what I really love about the show, what a shame...
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Cliffhangers can suck it
Admiring the CGI aside, I can't believe I just sat through all of that to not even get a proper conclusion or any answers. I'm sick of Hollywood pulling this bs all the time, can we get just one original, non-recycled/rebooted/sequelled story that doesn't come in 2 or more parts and has a satisfying ending? Luckily we got to at least watch the unlikable, emotionless love interest plummet to his death. What a disappointing film...
Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019)
I expected something terrible, and got something even worse.
After episode 3 of this season, I was fully expecting a boring ending with Dany and Jon sitting on the throne living happily ever after. What we got was perhaps the worst conclusion out of the hundreds if not thousands of possible endings.
As far as I'm concerned, the Night King won the battle at Winterfell and wiped out the rest of the planet, even that is a better ending.
Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019)
A shadow of it's former self
And so, the Night King is dead, and with him has died any glimpse of hope remaining for any kind of interesting conclusion to the story we have all followed and loved for so many years. A threat being built up for 7 whole seasons was taken out in one poorly written, plot hole ridden mess.
I have to give this collossal dissapointment at least a 6 for the wonderful efforts of the crew working on the production, but this is not Game of Thrones anymore. As far as I'm concerned, this season and the season before it (which was also abysmal), do not exist. I will be waiting for the last installation of the book series for the real ending to this beautiful story that deserves an epic, tragic and unpredictable conclusion.
The Mist (2017)
Fixing the rating - A Rant
My boyfriend and I used to rely pretty heavily on IMDB ratings to pick out a movie or show to watch in the evenings, so we know a little about the difference between a 2 and an 8. That being said, after watching The Mist and checking the rating, I felt like I had to write my first IMDB review. It's disappointing to see so many people giving this show a 1 just because they can.
Realistically, I would rate this show a 6.5 out of 10. It was relatively entertaining to watch, had some decent character interactions and some interesting themes and messages. It is nothing special, but it does the job.
Please stop being mindless sheep and jumping on the 1/10 wagon, these review sections exist so we can judge movies and shows as a whole and not on a couple of details that you find offensive.
So, I am dropping this review here is the hopes to counteract some of the mindless drones prowling across the internet.