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Vesper (2022)
Enough worldbuilding to fill a tv series, but not enough plot to fill a movie
The concept was cool and unique. It frankly reminded me of Cronenberg, but they completely squandered it.
It has so much potential if they actually delved into the awesome concepts, but instead they tried to make it a character-driven drama and didn't even flesh out the characters properly.
They gave us a glimpse of an intriguing world I'd love to explore and adventure in, but they chose not to pursue it.
It's a classic poor people are treated like vermin while the rich hoard all the resources, but the plot didn't even deal with it much. It was just a slow moving day-in-the-life of a girl and her father in an unfortunate circumstance, but with such a fantastic sci-fi setting it didn't really fit. It's like you got a small taste of both worlds but never got to enjoy either fully. The high sci-fi concepts detracted from the drama they tried to build, and the drama didn't allow us to actually fully explore the high sci-fi concepts.
All in all, I finished watching it, but found it pretty boring. Wouldn't recommend it or rewatch it.
Severance (2022)
Brilliant!
Writing this review after the finale of season 1!
Not going to lie, I was very skeptical going into this show, but it had me hooked and at the edge of my seat for the entire ride!
It's the best kind of sci fi that takes a deeper look into the real life trends of our modern work culture. Instead of having a futuristic and fantastical setting it's grounded in a setting identical to our times with one small technological advancement that feels realistic and even plausible.
The attention to detail in the filmography was spectacular where even the architecture was meticulously constructed to give you a sense of oddness. There are some serious a-list actors giving their all for the role. The story's pacing might start a little slow while the writers are sprinkling in little clues throughout to give you glimpses at the underlying rot, and when they finally reveal bigger pieces it simply pulls the carpet out from under your feet.
My only "critique" is that the final episode ended in the worst/best cliffhanger that will have you craving for 10 more seasons and crying about the void this show has left behind in your life.
Resident Alien (2021)
When the 30sec opening delivers more than an entire 40min long episode
The premise is fun, some characters (although tropes) were well written, but the show as a whole is nothing more than a family Christmas movie.
A lot of the plot is extremely obvious. The drama is meandering and is badly written. You don't get emotionally invested in the characters and their stories, so the drama just feels like an unnecessary crawl.
Although the opening sequence is bloody and funny, the show doesn't seem to want to commit to the more horror/thriller aspects of it. Which I think is bizarre, since it has enough dead bodies to not be suitable for children, but the story seems to be written like a family-friendly Christmas movie... So nobody wins?
The second-hand embarrassment is real with the alien trying to mimic and interact with humans, but the rest of the comedy seriously falls flat.
I'm really surprised the rating is so high for such a mediocre and boring show.
Old (2021)
The biggest waste of an intriguing premise!
There was a time when M. Night's films were a good and solid watch. Yes, he had the shtick of twist endings which made the films only worth watching once, but at least they were worth watching. But, he seemed to have completely lost his edge.
So, a simple breakdown of why this film was terrible:
1. Special effects: Very 90s film aesthetic. Completely outdated and even the CGI was poorly done.
2. Camera angles: One word - DISORIENTING! Even when two people are just speaking casually, the camera would circle around them non-stop to the point it made me feel physically ill. A good thriller can have quiet moments that don't need to utilize crazy camera angles to heighten its intensity. That's film directing 101 for you.
3. Plot: A lot happens at ONCE. Almost every scene has multiple reveals and various complications. It's just too much. Instead of spreading it out and having a solid pacing for the unfolding of the story's events they all just happen simultaneously. So you end up having a lot of moments where characters are just running frantically from one place to another without a moment to actually digest what's happening. It could be good to have one or more scenes like that in a thriller, some confusion can really add to the emotions, but because it's like that all the time everything just falls flat. The emotions never have time to arrive or resonate.
4. Dialogue: This is the clincher! THE DIALOGUE WAS ATROCIOUS! It sounded like it was written using google translate! Real humans don't talk like that. I know some of the actors in this film from other movies, and I know they can act difficult scenes, but the dialogue was so poorly written they sounded like actual bots! Just thinking that an entire room of writers actually fleshed out those lines makes me cringe so hard!!
5. Addressing Representation of Physical and Mental Illnesses: In order to keep this review spoiler free, I will only say that M. Night has definitely not done sufficient research regarding the conditions presented in this film and instead relied on outdated and toxic tropes that did nothing for the film and just made everything really obvious and cliched.
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Better than anything I've seen coming out of the US in a while!
It's like Get Out and Brazil had a baby and it's glorious!
Witty, absurd, nonsensical and captures the spirit of the times from all sides.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly triggering for debates.
Death Note (2017)
Make Nippon Great Again!
It's amazing to see the difference between what the Japanese view as a valedictorian to how the U.S. seems to view valedictorians... Taking only the premise and stripping away the content is a very typical American way of adapting a film. I wish Hollywood and the rest would start revering their audience as more intelligent. Especially when it comes to an audience with an appreciation to Japanese culture.