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Reviews
Monster (2022)
More Propaganda
The highlight of the series is Richard Jenkins, playing the conflicted father who can't help loving his son no matter what dark deeds he has done. Other than that, things started off fine but slowly went downhill with more and more of the usual propaganda we get nowadays. What I found particularly irritating is a majority of the final few episodes features more and more of the supposed woman neighbour of Dahmer going through a lot of emotional "pain" and trauma, but she wasn't even a victim nor had any of her family or friends killed by Dahmer. What is this.. some kind of vicarious victimhood? Why spend so much time on her rather than on the actual victims' families who suffered real loss? I think this is very disrespectful and deserves to be roundly criticised.
Dodookdeul (2012)
Garbage
Boring, draggy and overly convoluted. Tries too hard to be cool and flashy but fails miserably. Overflowing with cringe-inducing accents. I used to be a big fan of Korean thriller movies like Oldboy, The Chaser, A Hard Day but there are many others just like this one, which have no emotion, no suspense, cheap attempts at comedy and feel dragged out for no reason other than to pad out a thin plot. I seriously wonder how anyone can like this snoozefest of a mess. Also, I don't understand why IMDB requires a minimum 600-character review. As if wasting almost two hours on a bad movie isn't enough, we have to waste more time writing an overly-long negative review.
Zhì chi (2021)
Great film
Excellent crime thriller drama. Yes, the characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, but overall the tone, directing, cinematography and acting were outstanding. Gordon Lam is seriously one of the most under-rated HK actors. After an alphabet soup of "Storm" movies starring the same-old same-old familiar actors in the lead, I had almost given up on HK cinema, but this gives me new hope.
The Foreigner (2017)
Fantastic
Gritty and realistic, this is the best Jackie Chan film ever, alongside the Shinjuku Incident. Without the usual comedy elements, he gets to show some serious acting chops. Brosnan was great as well.
Inuyashiki (2018)
Unusual superhero movie
I would say this is better than 85% of the stuff coming out from Marvel. Good backstory and character development. Not just mindless action and tiresome "jokes" which make a farce out of everything.
Kalifat (2020)
Fantastic
I don't think I've ever watched a Swedish series before, but this was outstanding. Some if the characters are so real you forget they are just acting.
Moh ging (2014)
Makes no sense
Cinematography is great. Dark and gritty with commendable performances, but the plot (if you can call it that) has holes so big an elephant could walk through them. I wonder how others can say it has a great twist. It's not a twist, it's a cliche ending that makes absolutely no sense if you really think about it.
Wang de Shengyan (2012)
A Masterpiece
A beautifully shot movie with an intricate plot that unfolds amid a brooding atmosphere. Stellar cast and great performances all around make this an epic to be savoured if you like films with substance. It's a shame that great productions like these receive so little attention on IMDB.
Shimmer Lake (2017)
Underrated
This movie deserves a higher rating. It's cleverly written, quirky and has a Fargo-like feel to it. Give it a shot.
Sangkar (2019)
A nice surprise
A fight movie with heart. No over-the-top and non-stop action, but has a decent storyline and some fine acting. I was pleasantly surprised as I didn't go in expecting much.
After Life (2019)
A Masterpiece
This is about as good as TV can get. Just brilliant. Watch it.
Black Mirror: Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (2019)
Not Black Mirror
This is NOT Black Mirror. I don't know what it is, but it felt like watching a cheesy Sunday afternoon teen matinee. If it were supposed to be that, I would give it a 4, but since I was expecting Black Mirror, it gets a 2.
Beoning (2018)
Overrated
Not bad but totally overrated, considering the rave reviews it has gotten. Just like Murakami.
The Neighbor (2017)
Unexpected gem
This is NOT a thriller, but a great drama which feels very true-to-life. Superb performances from the cast allow you to inhabit the characters. If you like nuanced films which explore the greyer areas of life, then this one is for you.
Bodyguard (2018)
Great until last episode
I am giving this 8/10 because it was really gripping right from the beginning until the penultimate episode. The pace and excitement were similar to the first season of Homeland. Unfortunately, it felt like the producer/writer didn't really know how to wrap it up and did a slipshod rush job in the final episode. What a shame.
Bloedlink (2014)
Very good.
Excellent movie. Superbly acted and tightly paced, the suspense throughout was palpable. It's a pity there are so many non-English language movies out there but most people will probably never watch them. This movie is available in HD on Youtube, uploaded by Thunderscreen. According to the description, it is a licensed upload, so do check it out.
Betrayed (2018)
Puzzled
I don't understand the high ratings and reviews for this movie. It felt really low-budget, dialogue was cheesy, acting was mostly bad, except for a few passable performances. Characters were mostly cartoon cardboard cutout cliches. It's a pity because the subject matter is so important.
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Pitiful
Pathetic and pointless. I can't believe people actually find this childish garbage funny. There's no hope for Hollywood film making if this is what sells nowadays. Marvel is just a washed out sellout now.
Sanpo suru shinryakusha (2017)
Waste of time
Good example of lazy filmmaking. Superficial and silly, with plot holes a mile wide. Watching this, one wonders if there is a limit to the depths of banality and nonsense to which a filmmaker/director will plumb.
Sense8 (2015)
What a pity
Season was so great. I'd give it a 9/10. Was so looking forward to Season 2. Then it all turned to crap. Full of mindless fluff, gratuitous sex, numbing slo-mo sequences and force-feeding of LGBT concepts, it felt more like a long, drawn-out, propaganda video that even Mao would have been proud of. Couldn't even finish episode 5. What a pity.
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Mixed
Cinematography is great. Music is good and serves to heighten the suspense in the right places. Pacing and direction are decent. However, except for the little girl and Mrs Cooper (most of the time), the acting is generally terrible and quite tacky. Dialogue is so cheesy, sometimes it felt like I was watching a spoof.
Overall, it felt more like a stage play. I don't regret watching it but no way it deserves the 8/10 rating it's currently on.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Way overrated
I think best comedy of the year should go to all the Hollywood awards people and critics. They managed to pull off the biggest pranks in awards history. First they hit me with "Moonlight" and now this. At least Manchester is slightly more watchable. Neither are even near Oscar material in my opinion.
Both Affleck and Ali did not deserve to win Oscars too. Not that they are bad actors, in fact I like them, but these two movies simply did not give them enough material to justify it. Sorry for doing two reviews in one, but I didn't want to waste more time on such mediocrity passing off as high art.
Enemy (2013)
Wanted to like it
After watching Jake Gyllenhaal's absorbing performance in "Nighcrawler" and Denis Villeneuve's amazing "Arrival", I came here expecting to be blown away.
I was sadly underwhelmed. The whole thing feels, to me, poorly (or dare I say lazily) put together. It tries too hard to be sophisticated and ends up a pile of pretentious, airy-fairy mumbo jumbo.
This film brings back memories of Spike Jonze's far superior "Adaptation", a movie which I put off watching for a long time but when I got round to it, easily became one of my favourites.