mark-23851 Reviews

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

Painful

[3/10 · 10 July 2020]

To say that being a Will Ferrell fan is challenging is an understatement. I've never laughed harder than in some of his films, and others I can't even get through. This one would fall into the latter category if not for the covid lockdown, but there just isn't that much else to do right now. You could argue that some of the supporting actors have good performances, the Icelandic cinematography is pleasant, even the songs aren't that bad (well, they're supposed to be bad, but they're good at being bad). You could criticize the film for plot or scenes that basically plagiarize other Ferrell projects (Old School, Zoolander). But ultimately, a comedy just needs to be funny and this is not. Other than one scene where he is yelling at some American tourists, there is nothing close to laughable in this film. Also, Will is looking awkwardly old for a guy who was supposedly the same age as his musical partner when they were children.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Riveting

[9/10 · 12 November 2019]

I can see by reading through the reviews here that this film begets a lot of anger in a lot of people. It's often said that the best art will draw a strong reaction from people, which is clearly the case here. I am one of those who found this film riveting from start to end. Ultimately the story may feel unresolved, but I think that is the point. The acting was great as was the soundtrack and cinematography. It is rare that I find a film so compelling that I will watch it in one sitting from beginning to end. My Netflix account is filled with half watched films that I will likely never finish. This is not one of those films.

Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019)

Credit outtakes almost make up for rest of movie

[6/10 · 22 September 2019]

It was watchable and had a few humorous moments throughout but I laughed much more during the credit outtakes than during any other part of the film. They probably should have just rolled that for 90 minutes.

Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus: George Clinton (2017) Season 2, Episode 1

Best half hour in a long time

[10/10 · 17 July 2019]

I saw this on a flight. Didn't know anything about the show but I like Mike Judge and I like funk so figured at worst how bad could it be. It had me laughing out loud for the entire half hour. And I learned quite a bit about the godfather of funk. Totally refreshing especially when lately I've had a hard time finding comedies that are actually funny. Now I just wish I could see the rest of the episodes somehow.

Polar (I) (2019)

entertaining but forgettable

[6/10 · 4 February 2019]

Overall this film seemed confused about what it was trying to be. Some of the acting was beyond bad, and other moments seemed genuinely intense. Then there were comedic moments, but some of the violence was disturbingly graphic and gruesome. The plot was essentially nonsense, but that's really not why you should be watching this movie. About halfway through I started to notice the soundtrack. Like everything else about the film, it didn't quite fit, but in my opinion it was the best part of it. Ultimately, the film has entertainment value and I enjoyed it. I wouldn't watch it a second time and will have forgotten about it a year from now. But whatever, if you like Tarantino-esque films and electronic music, you'll probably find it watchable. Kudos to Deadmau5 for making the jump to film successfully.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

Highly unsatisfying

[4/10 · 25 January 2019]

I really can't understand all the wildly raving reviews about this film. Based on the choose your own adventure theory, the movie has multiple paths that are directed by the viewer. However, the film producers failed from the outset to choose a main character that actually leads any semblance of an adventurous life. The protagonist is a video game coder in the 80's. He works alone, in his bedroom, only occasionally leaving to see a therapist. Many of the choices in the movie are incredibly mundane, like what cereal should he eat or should he talk to this person or that person. As the movie progresses, I found myself really just dreading the next choice moment, and wishing the writers had focused on just writing a compelling story, which in my opinion they neglected to do at the expense of the contrived choices. Towards the end, the story branches off in very different directions, some attempting to tie it into a modern day context. Again, these various endings all seem very outrageous and unresolved and feel like what a writer might throw away while developing the final script for a film. Frankly, I don't really want to see them. It's called editing. Ultimately, I wouldn't recommend this film and wouldn't ever want to watch it again. It wasn't the worst piece of film making I've ever seen, but I sure hope isn't a sign of things to come. I'm just left wondering why, but not in a thought provoking way, but in a why bother way.

Jason Bourne (I) (2016)

Absolutely dreadrul

[2/10 · 8 November 2018]

When I saw this title pop up on Netflix and noticed that it starred Matt Damon, I figured I'd check it out. I was a big fan of the original trilogy, and despite the bad reviews, I figured how bad could it really be? It's got some of the original case, as well as some new reputable actors. Well, as it turns out, it really is that bad. It's hard to believe they convinced Damon to come back for this, although it appears his acting is being done at gun point, and I'm not referring to the plot. Julia Stiles was so flat that I actually thought her lines were dubbed. Not sure what is up with Alicia Vikander's "accent", I just found it hard to understand what she was saying. The dialogue sounds like it was written by a thirteen year old. It would be interesting to count how many times the terms "asset" and "copy that" are used in the first thirty minutes. I wouldn't know beyond this because this is when I stopped watching. As others have mentioned, the shaky camera effect is really annoying and overdone. Despite the fact that I was watching this on a 4" iphone screen, I had to frequently look away because it was making me nauseous. I had a few laugh out loud moments, like when Vikander was somehow able to delete computer files using a landline telephone from the other side of the planet, or when the hacker character randomly just decided to attack Bourne for no reason. I guess the director felt like there couldn't be more than two minutes without someone getting punched or clubbed with something. If you like lots of explosions then the first thirty minutes should float your boat. Virtually every second of the scene in Athens has some kind of explosion happening, which even still can not distract from the fact that the plot and acting sucks. I can only recommend this film if you need to kill thirty minutes. If you have more time to waste than that, you really should find something more productive to do with it. The only reason I gave this film two stars is because I have seen worse.