wasp8 Reviews

Bergen (2022)

6/10

[12 March 2022]

The life of Bergen is heartbreaking. The fact that the movie draws attention to her life and the injustice in violence against women is exceptionally valuable. It points out the absurd reality of a dangerous, unstable man, a murderer, not being locked up in prison today. I respect this movie for that.

However, there are some things that bother me with the movie. First of all, I don't think jumping from one scene to another was the way to go when making a biopic. We don't see the reasons behind Bergen's decisions. Regardless those decisions were wise or not, the filmmakers should have revealed her reasons and closed the gaps to let the audience empathize with her and not misunderstand her so that maybe we wouldn't have heard idiotic comments like "she had it coming". What made her change her mind? Was she afraid? Was she punishing herself for something? Everybody has reasons and unfortunately hers were not really included in her own biographical film. I guess some fictional and dramatic additions to her real story were more important than the reasoning. Second, I really wish they had gone for another actor for the main role. Farah Zeynep could not reflect Bergen's character and mannerisms well enough in my opinion. She is rather just herself dressed in 80's clothes but still acting and speaking like a complete millennial. I didn't see her capturing an emotion, she basically overacts everytime the character is happy, which keeps her performance from being realistic. Also, there is so much yelling in her dialogues with her mother that it actually hurt my ears.

Although the story could have been handled better, I think this movie is definitely worth seeing. I appreciate the producers and the crew for their dedication to draw attention to this story and thereby stories like this, which is what matters at the end of the day. I also think the makeup & costume department deserves a big credit. The accuracy of period makeup and hair was just spot on.

And Just Like That...: Hello It's Me (2021) Season 1, Episode 1

Could have been a good pilot

[9 December 2021]

Oh my god Carrie! Hasn't she heard of something called first aid? 911? I'm sorry but that last scene where Carrie just hugs him instead of reaching for the phone and calling an ambulance is pure stupidity and drags down the show to another level. It could have actually been a good pilot if it didn't end like this. Him having a heart attack during the intense recital was also pretty predictable. I just want to ask why.

The Ugly Truth (2009)

worst romcom ever

[29 April 2021]

I've never wanted to rate a movie 1/10 this much and I've seen "Date Movie". This is probably the most miserable thing made by humans in the entire film industry. Both characters are awfully cringe, sexist, shallow and pathetic - hence the movie.

Cape Fear (1991)

average thriller with awesome directing

[12 February 2021]

Amazing cinematography, horrible script. Why isn't any character familiar with something called a security camera? Just record that he is inside the house for crying out loud! He left like a thousand other proofs behind him as well but they can't even catch one before getting murdered. As much as I appreciate the background critisim of the sexist perception in the legal systems, it's just the story has so many logical mistakes that you can't pay your full attention to the movie because after a point they can't be easily ignored. Very weak background. Not enough reasoning. Lots of cliches. The only thing seperates it from a regular boring thriller is Scorsese's directing skills, which are accompanied by the perfect editing. 5.5/10

Ethos (2020)

Finally a Turkish show with an artistic vision

[12 November 2020]

This is probably the best series shot in Turkey since Masum. Acting is just on point, Öykü Karayel particularly nailed the role and her accent. But what I appreciate the most is the director's artistic style and vision. It's a realistic, captivating story with amazing cinematography and solid soundtrack.

By the way, I can't believe there are actually people who criticize this show because "there's lack of diversity". Sorry for being realistic? At least do some research on the country's demographics before claiming such thing. This point of view is no different than casting a black actor for Zeus on Troy. You can't be seriously expecting all countries to make shows according to the diversity in America. The world is bigger than that, you know.

Good Game: The Beginning (2018)

two hours long advertisement

[2 November 2020]

If you're interested in League of Legends you'll be disappointed because you'll barely see the game behind all the irrelevant drama. It is a complete waste of time unless you want to see two hours long product placement. In fact tickets should've been free in theaters considering the number of those ads. 1/10.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

too basic

[28 September 2020]

I've seen this movie twice, just in case there was something I missed the first time - an explanation for why people love it that much, but it's even worse than what I remembered. I haven't read the books but regardless whether they're great or not, the movie script is very basic and very shallow. As a matter of fact, there isn't even an acceptable script considering most of it consists of boring fight scenes between main characters, who never happen to die by the way unless they're shot by four arrows, and incredibly funny looking giant creatures that resemble cartoon villains. Speaking of, how does a 2001 big-budget Hollywood movie have such terrible visual effects yet is the all-time favorite of millions? To me the only thing to love here is the beautiful scenery and uniqueness of the Middle-earth, but can't see anything more. 4/10.

The Gift: Episode #2.1 (2020) Season 2, Episode 1

awful start

[11 September 2020]

It's sad to watch a promising scenario getting ruined by extremely weak acting and unqualified directing. I have to exclude Civan Canova (who is absolutely great), Melisa Senolsun and Metin Akdülger, but the rest of the cast seems to be half-hearted and they are just too difficult to watch or listen without cringing. I was actually curious about what was going to happen but I don't think I'll be able to complete this season.

Lucifer: Really Sad Devil Guy (2020) Season 5, Episode 1

bunch of cliches

[22 August 2020]

I don't remember the last time I was exposed to this many cliches in only one episode. You can almost predict everything that's going to happen and everyone is giving life lessons to each other nonstop. We don't need some random dead guy giving advice to Lucifer on what to do with his life, for instance. It's like all characters speak and act as if they're all the same person with the same point of view. Nobody watches this show for life lessons! I wish they focused more on the comedy and fantasy elements and creativity, which made the show what it is especially in the first season.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

cheap story

[25 July 2020]

This movie has: 1-awful directing, 2-characters without any depth that just do stuff for no reason while constantly conflicting with themselves (teenagers have depth, too), 3-nothing original--yes, even back in its time. it doesn't offer any ground breaking idea/perspective, any artistic approach or a brilliant acting. it offers nothing. most importantly, one of the girl characters is clearly harrassed multiple times and it's just represented as a normal teenage drama in which the girl ends up with her harrasser. i don't understand why its rating is that high. the breakfast club is just like any other hollywood highschool movie... or worse. 3/10

Mustafa (2008)

misleading & dishonest

[17 July 2020]

This is sadly too misleading. It does not touch even briefly on the conspiracy (apart from the murder attempt) organized by his former friends against Atatürk's government. Also, this so-called documentary makes Istanbul government and Vahdettin seem as if they encouraged him to start the National Movement (which was clearly against their interest), like anyone would ever believe such nonsense.

Not knowing the reasons behind someone's actions leads to misunderstanding. If Can Dündar truly wished people to understand Atatürk better, he definitely would have not avoided sharing the most important factors behind his decisions. That way, he would have not demonstrated one of the greatest leaders of all time as a vengeful dictator who wanted to supress opposition parties and punish them for absolutely no reason while implementing revolutions to "get back at hodjas". The ironic thing is that those opposed people preferred a sultan reign over a republic, but no, they were the democratic ones and Atatürk was the dictator...

I'm not sure how it's supposed to be a documentary, picking the most sensational quotes out of the whole circumstance and including rumors are more like yellow journalism. So I cannot sense a good intention in this production. 1/10.

Braveheart (1995)

too childish for an R-rated movie

[31 May 2020]

Cinema is supposed to be art but this movie is just like a tv episode, and a really, really long one. there are at least two major cutting/editing mistakes and the characters are so shallow like they came out of a children's book with their super predictible lines and all the courage related messages they are trying to impose to the viewers over and over throughout the entire movie. for me it was a waste of time

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

bad screenplay for such an amazing novel

[13 May 2020]

What makes the novel series so good and special is how each event intertwines with another event in a unique way. Though it is hard to maintain everything at once in an adaptation, this movie ruins the most important thing, course of events, just to keep the duration short. And then the already limited time is wasted on unnecessary scenes such as those with Niedermann, who only plays a small role in the original story while the Section is barely shown in the film. Not to mention the absence of some key characters and important details like the source of wi-fi in Lisbeth's pocket PC, which creates missing points for people who haven't read the book or forgot some of it.

The movie, as a result, is both shallow and complex at the same time - for the readers, it is not satisfactory; for others, it doesn't make much sense. I think it had to be split into two parts with a more carefully written script, because this plot deserved it.

Love 101 (2020–2021)

Not bad

[25 April 2020]

The storyline is quite engaging and the acting from the students is generally good I would say (also hats off to Müfit Kayacan as the vice principal). While there are some scenes that make zero sense and serve no purpose, that should be okay as long as you keep your expectations down, keeping in mind it's nothing more than a high school drama. The dialogues also feel mostly natural, they don't stand out for being over-the-top, which I believe was the main issue with earlier Turkish Netflix series like Atiye and the Protector.

I am however genuinely disappointed by hair and costumes. There seems to be no effort at all to make people actually look like they're from the 90s, which is such a waste of opportunity to authentically capture the essence of that era in Turkey and evoke some nostalgia. Especially when the story is a bit cheesy and not so original, the visuals and vibes are usually what keep a show going, so I expected more effort in this part.

As for the music, even though it has received a lot of positive feedback, in my opinion, this show has probably the hastiest soundtrack ever; it honestly looks like the producers tossed in all the timeless hits they know.

Charlie's Angels (2019)

Forced feminism

[13 April 2020]

I am a feminist and I was disturbed by this movie a lot in so many ways. They apparently tried so hard to stress the power of women and whatnot and to make all male characters antagonists that the movie has turned out to be something incredibly unrealistic, full of cliches, and constrained. Especially some scenes are like a very awkward "product placement" of girl power as all the lead characters maintain an unnecessary brave attitude all the time and keep saying cheesy and cringy lines. I feel like the producers are not actual feminists but rather a bunch of opportunists trying to make an updated woke version of the original prequels (which were a lot more fun by the way).

Another thing that bothers me is how this movie - like a ton of other Hollywood trash - insists on portraying Turkey as a non-secular country. People who shot the scenes obviously had been in Istanbul and they saw what people there actually look like. I really don't understand the point of and the motivation behind this extra effort to reflect it that way. 3/10.