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Kai duan (2022)
Groundhog Day Whodunnit
Had my doubts but the plot is actual well written.
2 youngsters are caught in a time loop, stuck in a bus that is inevitably going to explode for some reason. As they keep dying and being reset, they unravel the mystery of the explosion and their deaths. The culprit appears to be among the bus passengers, but can figure out who it is and stop him/her before they are no longer able to reset?
Binged watched the whole thing in a day. Would have given the show a perfect 10 except for 1 later episode that is pretty slow paced.
Cowboy Bebop (2021)
Campy and Fun Adaptation
A lot of love and effort went into this adaptation. It won't please everybody, but for the most part I can see the creators have tried to be faithful to the important parts of the anime.
I admit I had my doubts about John Cho, but he plays a really cool Spike. Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda also deliver good performances as Jet and Faye. The dialogue is campy, but in a good way like the Kill Bill movies.
The episode plots are based on the anime, but also fleshed out a lot more. For example, in episode 1 of both the anime, they don't show exactly how Asimov survives the bar shooting, but in this adaptation he is clearly shown to be shot, but the bullet wounds aren't fatal thanks to RedEye.
Die hard fans will always fine something to complain about Netflix adaptations, but I for one am happy with this series overall.
Tokyo Revengers (2021)
Friendship drama disguised as time travel mystery
Tokyo Revengers starts out great - an intriguing time travel plot, interesting characters and murder mystery.
However as the story progresses, I came to realize the core story is about a group of friends who try to solve everything by fighting. Without the time travel stuff, it's actually a pretty straightforward drama about comrades in gangs.
Don't get too invested in this anime - having read the manga - the story doesn't really pay off in the end.
Kumo Desu ga, Nanika? (2021)
Much better than I expected
I expected a comedy anime with a simple plot. And while the first few episodes start out like most other isekai, the story suddenly grows in complexity and begins to be presented in a non-linear way. If Game of Thrones and Westworld mated and had a child anime, this would be it.
Black Widow (2021)
Better than expected
I was entertained. I know a lot of people will take issue with how Taskmaster is portrayed and underused, but still I enjoyed the movie.
Isekai Quartet (2019)
Great Crossover
This is a gem of an anime crossover, but it really requires the viewer to have seen at least some of the origin anime series to truly appreciate it. There are lots of insider jokes and references and if you haven't seen any of the origin animes, you'll probably won't enjoy it as much.
Rick and Morty: Rick Potion #9 (2014)
My favourite episode
Starts out wacky and hilarious, but becomes extremely dark and philosophical at the end. This is the episode I'd use to introduce someone to Rick and Morty.
Joker (2019)
Joaquin Phoenix delivers but the story doesn't
While I enjoyed the film, it felt pretty short. When "The End" appeared on the screen I couldn't help but think - "That's it?"
Joaquin Phoenix was fantastic with his new take on the Joker, and it's mesmerizing to see his facial expressions keep changing. And his Joker laugh is unique - sinister and full of Joker's madness.
However despite some minor plot twists, most of interesting bits in the film have already been shown in the trailers. Don't expect much action like in The Dark Knight trilogy. Despite the much hyped gun violence, there are less guns in this movie than in any other Batman flick.
This is not a bad film, but it's not a great one either. Watch it only for Joaquin's performance.
Russian Doll (2019)
Slow start, but ends on a bang
I wasn't impressed at first. The protagonist Nadia starts off very unlikable and I felt the 1st episode ended abruptly, with little hint as to whether the rest of the series would be entertaining.
However I'm glad I continued watching as the story became increasingly intriguing and I practically binged watched the rest of the series in a day.
After watching the finale, my opinion is that this is probably one of the best time loop stories ever told.
Subete ga F ni naru (2015)
Creepy. Intelligent. Beautiful.
TLDR: Slow first episode, but enjoyed the rest.
At first I wasn't impressed. I watched the first episode and the apparent slow pace made me lose interest.
But several months later I continued with the 2nd episode, which is when the murder actually happens. By the end of the the 2nd episode I was hooked and watched the rest of the episodes in a day.
This is now one my top 10 favourite manga/anime ever, along with Higurashi, Death Note and Liar Game.
I won't talk about the plot other than that it's primarily a locked room murder mystery. I recommend going into this series blind. By the end of the 2nd episode you should be able to decide for yourself whether to keep watching or not. Personally I loved all the red herrings and twists. There's enough clues for you to guess the truth before the big reveal.
I will however talk about the art. The only way I can describe it is "smoooooth". The animations are fluid and there are so many backgrounds and angles used. Unlike most of the popular shounen anime these days, every scene looks brand new and I don't see many assets reused. The character's movements flow from scene to scene, and their actions all carry a unique flair. For example, in one scene the male protagonist is waving his cigarette in the air in a dimly lit room, and the way the light trails his movements is beautiful.
Lost Highway (1997)
Another bizarre David Lynch film without a sane plot
First of all, if you like David Lynch's films, then you might like this. Personally they're not my cup of tea.
Lost Highway's story is bizarre, and there's a lot of build up, but the ending is just disappointing. People often criticize the TV series Lost for having lost the plot halfway through the season. Lost Highway surpasses it by having absolutely no comprehensible plot at all. But many people will give Lost Highway a pass because it's supposed to be a work of art. Poppycock! The film is way too long and mostly nonsensical.
Personally I wouldn't recommend this film to the casual movie goer. But I'm still giving it a passing grade of 5/10 because it actually has some good scenes with great tension and atmosphere, but it's a pity they weren't better used in a film with a more comprehensible plot.
The Oxford Murders (2008)
Smart Dialogue Driven Mystery Film
I had this movie in my hard drive for a while but waited to watch it because I saw all the negative reviews about how boring this movie was. So one sleepy Thursday night I decided to watch 5 minutes of it before I went to bed.
I ended up watching the whole movie.
What's the movie about? Basically a young American student, Martin (Elijah Wood), travels to Oxford, hoping to study under his idol Professor Arthur Seldom (John Hurt). However they encounter a series of strange murders that appear to be related to mathematics. As they try to get to the root of the mystery we meet several eccentric characters.
Why I liked this movie: 1) The dialogue. Much of the movie involves debates between Professor Seldom and Martin. These conversations are often mathematical and philosophical. From the reviews I have read on IMDb, many people hated these parts of the movie the most. Personally I loved them. Their conversations reference several interesting topics - Chaos theory, Truth, the Perfect Murder, Happiness, Greek History.
2) Great performance by John Hurt, who plays the eccentric Professor Arthur Seldom. He really carried this film. From the opening scene where he gives a lecture on mathematics and philosophy, he got me hooked.
3) The twist. A good mystery film needs a great ending and this movie has it. Without giving too much away, the movie is full of red herrings that make you keep guessing who the killer is.
I can see how many people would find this movie boring. In a way this movie is like the Da Vinci Code, but with less action and more discourse.
Who should watch this movie: - People who enjoyed these twist movie films: The Usual Suspects, Sleuth, Memento, The Last Of Sheila, 12 Angry Men, Witness for a Prosecution. - The Oxford Murders doesn't surpass the above films, but the plot's along the same vein and you should at least appreciate the movie to some extent.
Who shouldn't watch this film: - People who have never even heard of the Fibonacci series or Chaos Theory. - People who can't appreciate movies that are mainly dialogue-driven.