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johnmk79
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The Art of Self-Defense (2019)
Unfunny & Pointless
How some movies get made is baffling and this is one of them. Utter nonsense from start to finish. Unbelievable, unrelatable, unlikeable characters. It wasn't smart or funny and labelling this comedy is like sticking a Porsche sticker on a Fiat 500. Nearly 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.
The Irishman (2019)
Overhyped TV movie
We all appreciate that Scorsese is one of the greats but there's nothing new here. Its a well made film but its not special or groundbreaking in any way. It wouldn't have surprised me to see this as 3 part mini series on TV. Time it seems, has passed Scorsese' work by leaving it nuanced & slightly old hat & it feels as though Hollywood's old boys club are letting us know they're all still alive & well & able to kick it with young bucks. Yes there is still a place for this sort of thing but sadly that place will be a quiet dusty corner of history as this falls well short in terms of story & relevance. Of course film critics will lap it up & fawn over Scorsese' greatness but length of film does not equal great movie & Scorsese should have left at least an hour or more on the cutting room floor. If it takes you 3hrs 30 mins to tell a story then there's something wrong.
Brightburn (2019)
A missed opportunity, bloody & flawed
Although this is a fantastic idea, the writing is pretty flawed, it smacks of a great idea formulated over a few years but then written over a lunchtime! It lacks real depth, its very superficial, far too gory and is rushed throughout. The 1hr 30min run time is not enough to fully tell what should be a complex, conflicted story. When given the choice of extra lens flare or extra runtime for storytelling, Director Yarovesky obviously went with the Snyderesque SPX. The main issue with the movie is it never explores Brandon's struggle with his change and basically says "ok you're bad now, do bad stuff". The film lacks any empathy as Brandon's feelings for his family, especially his mother would not have simply been wiped away. Here is a specific moment when a woman's opinion would've been appreciated in the writing process. Brandon should have been a conflicted alien who veered to darkness rather than the evil robot reboot we were given. While each scene has been created really well there is nothing holding each set piece together and whenever there are doubts as to what the movie is, any gaps are filled with plenty of gore to cover it up. While personally I don't have a problem with violence & gore, it should be there for good reason & herein lies the real problem in that there is no reason for Brandon to do what he's doing & no reason for the level of violence & horror we see.
Blue Iguana (2018)
Not the worst film I've ever seen but not far off
Terrible movie full of bad cliches and terrible jokes. The 2 crass Americans, the intelligent ugly duckling and a whole host of Mockneys add nothing to a weak, disjointed and pointless story. Don't ruin your evening, pick a different movie.
SMILF (2017)
Promises a lot but says very little
The first of a number of problems with this show is that it's just not a comedy. While it may have some mildly amusing moments at times, it is essentially ironic. The series starts with some interesting characters and we're obviously all rooting for Bridgette & Larry from the outset but as the series progresses you realise that Bridgette is pretty unlikeable as are most of the other characters with the exception of little Larry who, it must be said is the best thing about the show. The Bridgette is the early episodes is scrabby & optimistic which is something we all buy into but by the end of the series she's become annoying & a caricature with her optimism now just manefesting as stupidity as highlighted in episode 7. The writing seems erratic at times and we're never really sure where things are headed or why the characters do what they do. The timeline is strange, sometimes an episode is the next day other times we don't know at all. The continuous nudity seems to be a theme throughout with Frankie Shaw determined to show us her under crackers at every opportunity. Its needless and pointless most of the time. I couldn't really figure out Bridgette's Kimmy Schmidt & Jacqueline style relationship with Ally either. I'm sure she was added to the roster as the "even rich women have problems " character but again we didn't really care that much & she simply wasn't funny or interesting so what was the point. I'm sure the writers thought experimental filler episodes like 5 & 6 would be clever but they came across as smart alecky & self indulgent as so often these things do. By episode 8 you really just want the thing to be over. Bridgette has become so dense & incapable that she is completely intolerable and almost unwatchable. When we compare Frankie Shaw's character's inept struggles to those of a similar character like Von from Atlanta's relatable real struggles, we realise that the Bridgette character is really lacking in depth and personality. However credit to Rosie O'Donnell though who puts in a solid display as Bridgette's mother especially in the later episodes. Also in light of recent on set troubles and the departure of Samara Weaving, I do find myself questioning some of the scenes & how they came about.
Inhumans (2017)
Marvel's poorest effort
Sadly Inhumans is extremely disjointed, with massive plot holes and characters that are simply impossible to like. The pick of the bunch being Medusa who annoys and antagonises both her fellow Inhumans as well as us throughout. Long story short, there's no point recounting the story as its generally ridiculous. Setting the whole thing in Hawaii was very strange but probably did make a change from San Francisco or New York. Thankfully it didn't get a second run but it does also feel like a wasted opportunity.