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tomoculus
Reviews
Paul Is Dead (2018)
Paul Is Dead (no he's not said Little Nicola)
I would like to give this movie 10 stars. So I did. The director/screenplay/actors did an awesome job.
Because they truly paid attention to what Paul Is Dead is about. And it's not about a Beatle, who living in the centre of London, somehow avoids the press, the media, EVERYONE for an entire two months. What Beatle can do this in 1966.
Well somehow he did.
But you're not supposed to pay attention to that. You're supposed to pay attention to what happened after. Where everyone kinda clocked something wasn't quite right. But it's not like they did not make it their main agenda to tell you "Paul is somehow different than the other 3." They told you that all along, and emphasised it in the artwork/graphics for their albums. It's all there.
My only suggestion, which should not give any plot away, is that he should have been in the bathtub, when found. This is where you go, if you're going to do wizardy things.
The Brink (2020)
It works. But doesn't.
I've just given this movie a chance, and though I don't think others would really give it that amount of time, I won't say there aren't things in here that aren't good. There are a lot of good things in this movie. Well, ideas. And certain scenes. As a film "nerd" I looked at what was done, and thought some scenes were right. Others I thought cut too quick. As far as the acting, it was kind of mixed. There were some that delivered lines really well. And there were others where it felt forced.
I don't know. I'm glad I watched it. There's some themes here that make a good film. If a film doesn't catch me in the first 5 minutes, I'm gone. But this film, well. I watched it the whole way through, because I wanted to see what happened. Not too many moments where I groaned at a character's decision, or a plot point that makes no sense. It mostly worked. I felt at moments like a coach for the director, approving of the right "film" moments, and saying argh you almost had it there with the wrong ones. The quick cuts after a line or portent. Some script lines should "hang in the air" so the audience can take in the weight of the statement, the gravity of the situation, and I felt at certain times, the quick cuts to another scene, were a little disappointing on a "film standard."
But then other scenes, that "lingered" were absolutely right,
I don't know. I wanted to be on set for this, and watch the scenes filmed, and say, okay, you've done this here, try going there next. And then film the scene again. But it's low budget, time constraints, etc etc. I just think there's a film here that has promise. It has potential. It is what it is, but there are moments that are really good. And some of the actors have that same potential. And I'm going to single out Chris Kaye as one of those actors.
1899 (2022)
There are Seekers, and There are Avoiders
I'm giving this a 10. I'm remembering that in the 1st season of DARK, I was not sure what was happening exactly. By season 3 it was answered what was going on, and I was satisfied in the way that answer was given. Artistically, aesthetically, thematically.
In 4 billion years or so, our Milky Way galaxy will collide with the immense galaxy Andromeda. Will it collide, or merge. Will anyone be around to see it. Us, here on a planet that the known Universe makes look subatomic. Here, where we say what reality is, and is not. And any series that makes you question what it is, surely is worth time. Investment. Thought. 1899 most definitely makes you question what is going on in this series, let alone in your own world. Do I guess yet where this is going? Do I dare, or do I allow the storytellers to say what they want to say. Knowing everyone who watches it, will receive a different answer to what they're seeing.
I mean no insult, but I guess that a majority of its viewers will never have heard of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. But it is suspected that those that grow angry or restless with the series, may be those avoiding what it may be trying to say. As said, I cannot guess what it is this series is about. Supression? Denial? How the mind categorises what is worth remembering, and what is best left forgotten? How pain instructs us to make certain choices, where intuition would serve us better. Faith. Hope. Love. Are they our guides, or do we pretend they are values we hold dear, until the truth hits us in the face, and we see who and what we really are. Are they our reality, or are they crutches we limp along with to get through the day. And what is Truth. What is "reality." Mine is different than yours. Yours is different from theirs. But we all play an integral part in defining it. And we grow fearful when others do not accept what we see. And we run towards those that see it the same, for collectively an idea held by many surely must mean it to be Truth. Otherwise, no one would believe it.
I'm giving this series every chance it has to tell me what it wants to say. I find the show fascinating, beautiful, thought provoking, and the acting by the entire cast to be of the highest standards. With the extra fact that many do not speak the same language in the script, so are forced to try and understand one another in an extremely stressful, and unexplained situation. It could be a simple allegory about the mind interpreting information it does not understand, and trying to facilitate and adapt to this information any way it knows how. It could be just a comment on communication in general. Who knows? Well, the writers do.
And I am sure their reasons for writing things such as this will be explained.
Some are calling this a "Dark" Lost. I couldn't stand Lost. To this day if i see any actors from that series show up in another series or film, an audible groan is made. That show literally played like they were making things up as they went along, once they had a hit on their hands. 1899 does not read this way at all to me. This series looks very well planned and thought out. Everything in it seems to have a reason for being there.
I'm positive the reasons will come to light.
The OA: Treasure Island (2019)
It's at this point
In the series I said, they're making it up as they go along.
If you're going to suggest that people in one dimension lead completely different lives in another dimension, Duran Duran's "Ordinary World" would most likely not be a song in this other dimension. Because Le Bon, Rhodes and the Taylors who are not related, would have made completely different choices in their lives, and not formed Duran Duran. If you're going to suggest that in one dimension the choices or circumstances that occurred, led to completely different lives.
By the end of series 1 I started asking, where is this show going. And do they know. By the start of series 2 I had my answer. No they don't.
Gisaengchung (2019)
A 10
I give this movie a 10. The director need not make any more movies. They have created a masterpiece. Every single line of dialogue and action undertaken in this movie leads to its inevitable conclusion. There is not one thing out of place, much like the house in which much of the movie resides.
The thing that stands out the most to me, are the dynamics of the families involved.
We'll start with the rich family. They live idyllic. Everything is perfect in their world. Everything is in its place. The father works very hard for his money, he is home to be with his kids. But there's a problem. But we'll look at the poor family why.
The poor family are thieves, con artists, morally reprehensible. They will deceive and cheat others within their vicinity. They will use whomever and whatever they can to get ahead and get something for themselves.
But not once does any member of this family put the other one down. Never. They are completely and utterly supportive of one another. No one is blamed for things going wrong. No one is told they did not do things good enough for the family. Everyone is appreciated for what they bring to the table. They are congratulated when they succeed at a task. They are told how amazing they are at the skills they provide. There is so much love in this family for one another, it is nearly possible to look away from their actions towards anyone else. They are a lovable family. They would not turn their back on eachother in a heartbeat. They express thanks for the fortune and opportunities they have been provided, no matter how they came to them. They thought of the people they had undermined, and their fates.
Go back to the rich family. The father is critical of the mother's housekeeping, cooking, general matriatchal skills. The mother is extremely impressionable and willing to cover up any discretion without a thought for the welfare of those affected. The sister criticises the younger brother for being a charlatan and fake. The brother shows open disrespect for his mother's commands and authority. He is showered with gifts rather than attention. They are willing to believe he is schizophrenic and prone to distraction than actually believe he "saw a ghost".
This is why the poor family's father, when hearing the criticism's the rich family's father has about his wife asks him "but you love her." Despite all her flaws that you have mentioned. Despite all your criticisms about her abilities in the kitchen and housekeeping skills. You still love her don't you. And you see that the rich man has to pause when delivering that answer. Does he?
You can see in the poor family that they are eachother's biggest fans. Not one word of criticism for eachother is ever uttered. Apart from the mother stating the father would run like a cockroach if discovered. He pretends to be angry with her. He fools the children into thinking he would ever strike her with a fist or open hand. He laughs at them for ever believing such a thing could, would or should happen. And they all laugh together in the end at what the mother replies. This family loves eachother unconditionally. They support, applaud, congratulate and openly tell eachother "I think you're amazing."
But they are con artists and crooks. Thieves and liars to everyone else.
And to get off for an evening the rich family's mother and father pretend to be "the morally reprehensible" for sexual kicks. Though they treat their help with respect, they find them beneath them as people. They find them dirty. And this gets them off sexually. Because that's what they really want to be, but they can't. Because they have surrounded themselves with everything that says they are supposed to be better. If they slip, if they fall, the facade will come crashing down. And it will show everyone else what they really are. No better than anyone else in the end. The same. And the poor family have a dignity and an integrity with one another that says they deserve the best of everything. But life has not worked out "as planned."
This movie is a masterpiece.
The Tomorrow War (2021)
The Tomorrow War Today
SPOILERS.
As long as you don't use your mind, this movie offers entertainment at least. I think other reviewers have covered the vast inconsistencies that rule this movie from beginning to end.
I got lost when trying to find the microphone the time traveling harbringer of future events used to amplify her voice so a whole stadium crowd could hear her. And why suddenly appear in a football stadium. I didn't think football was that popular in America the whole nation would be watching it. They refuse to call it football!
As others have noted, if there's less than 500,000 people left after the alien invasion in the future, and there's 7 billion people in the "present day", it means the vast majority of the population can be drafted to fight the alien invasion.
You'd think that some stronger weaponry would be developed to combat such a threat. You know, like a gun that has a bit more umph to it. I don't know. It's very obvious the guns that are being used don't have much impact on the white spikes. It just seemed odd that in all that time that had passed, guns were still just guns. And bullets were still just bullets.
When the aliens are found to be already on Earth in the present day, and a possible location for them, AND a method to get rid of them permanently so they pose no threat, why is it then refused to do anything about it? This is baffling. I mean, it serves a purpose in the "rebel with a cause" motif. But it makes no sense here. IF bureaucracy and politic prevented a public political figure from backing such an idea is understandable. But at least support the people that offer a solution that will save the world. You don't have to go public with it. But damn. The whole refusal to be involved when evidence is overwhelming that this is a viable solution to a major threat ....... it's just bad writing.
Another reviewer said, a better ending would be Chris Pratt being the cause of the aliens taking over the world, inadvertently. It's got a Twilight Zone / Outer Limits irony to it, creates a time loop inescapable to get out of, and seals the fate of humankind. It doesn't make for a happy ending with lots of hugs and love, but it makes for a decent story, AND something to think about when messing with time travel, destiny, fate, and choices. It would just be the kind of movie where cliche, generalisms, repeated themes are thrown aside to actually make a GOOD movie. Does every movie have to have a happy ending? Does everyone's life have a happy ending? I understand this is escapism and entertainment, but if you're going to spend that kind of money while people are dying and starving and doing all the nasty stuff that happens while living, at least make it thought provoking and well made. At least have it say something. At least have it make you question the ideas it's presenting. Does Chris Pratt's character change upon returning to the present day, causing his death 7 years later, which provokes his daughter to do the things she does? Is it that he watches her die in the future that causes this change, a future her 9 year old self cannot see. Does Chris Pratt still die 7 years later anyway? Maybe that's his destiny to do REGARDLESS of whatever choice he makes because of the future he's seen. So is that imminent death 7 years in the future now called off? Is it null and void? Is that now off the records because he saved the world and his daughter's future? Are we going to get a sequel set 7 years from now where Chris Pratt has to avoid his own death, so that if aliens come back again, he's there for us? I mean I don't see a sequel coming from this whatsoever. But I do think we shoudl get a short film set 7 years from now where we see if Chris Pratt's character still dies anyway.