Change Your Image
tcmekanik
Reviews
Berlín (2023)
Pubescent adults
I was looking forward to this, because Berlin (Andres) was one of my favorite characters from the original series. And although it starts promising, every episode becomes more and more a clutter of pubescent adults and their cheesy love stories. I mean I get it, Berlin is a man of passion, poetry and the finer things of life etc. Thus, he would struggle with decisions, yes. But why do all the others get entangled in the most stupid stuff too?
Towards the end meaning, the last 3 episodes or so I hit the fast forward button more than watching. This is not a TV Show about a brilliant heist, it's a hijack of mind and patience.
Time Trap (2017)
Fresh, surprising and binding
I rarely start reviews with a "wow", but this is one of them. Time Trap works on so many layers and it's so good watch. Now, I don't know what the budget for this movie was, but I can imagine things were tight and yet, they've used it very very well.
The movie starts promising and I was hooked from the first minutes on. Then, things start to happen and it felt like every scene is a cliffhanger for the next. No longwinded blabla, no time consuming irrelevant stuff, just a good sci-fi story stepping from minute to minute without losing pace.
Of course there are few problems, but any story dealing with time in its essence does. There's also things that are missing like some sort of an explanation. Not necessarily every detail, that's fine, but some depth (literally) about that cave, about the people that came in touch with it etc. Would've been nice.
But all that doesn't decrease the fun watching this movie. Big kudos to all the people having made this movie possible. And yes, there's a lot room for a sequel as well. So guys, you know what you have to do.
Bandit (2022)
Bandit the candid
This is one of those movies that makes you continue to watch because every little chapter leaves you on the edge. Josh Duhamel delivers which is one of the main reasons you're on his side from the very first moment on. Mel Gibson surely is the heavy caliber in this but unfortunately has not enough screentime for my taste. I just wished he was involved a lot more in the story, since his role is actually crucial.
However, there are some little problems with the story. All that Robert pulls off looks too easy, too much of a "kindergarten" deal. So in this regard, the realism could have been taken a bit more seriously to make the story more believable thus, this movie falls under the category funny-crime story. But all in all this is worth a watch and have good two hours.
The Killer (2023)
Not Fincher's top work
The Killer offers a visually stunning cinematic experience. Fincher's signature style is evident in the film's cinematography, which captivated me with its dark and atmospheric aesthetics.
Michael Fassbender's portrayal of the protagonist falls short of creating a strong connection with viewers. The character appears shallow and fails to elicit the empathy necessary for a compelling assassin-centric story. This lack of emotional depth made it challenging for me to invest in the protagonist's journey.
Although narrated by the protagonist throughout the film, something was off with this guy which hindered me to resonate on many levels. Because Fincher is my favorite director, I found this work not his best and to be perfectly honest, I was disappointed.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Besides the first one, this is the best one
Wow, once again Tom Cruise means business with MI-Dead Reckoning Part 1.
Before the movie was released there were these "Behind the camera" videos on the internet, Tom jumping off a cliff with a bike. I mean, that stunt executed by a superstar himself is an unreached level, but believe you me, there's even better stunts and scenes in the movie which left me in sheer awe.
In some areas MI7 stays true to itself when it comes down to the fun and humour part with Benji and Luther. But then there's new elements to Ethan Hunt, Ilsa Faust and the villians. Are they really villians? Or are they vigilantes? Or is somehting else behind all this?
This is what MI7 does with you. It plays with your sympathy and empathy and it's simply fantastic. This is rather being actively in the story than passively watching an action flick.
The only point of criticism I have is the duration of the movie. Almost 3 hours is too long for my taste. I think some of the chasing, running, fighting etc. Could have been shortened. But that's first world problems. Besides that, Tom and his team once again did an amazing job.
Tschugger (2021)
Fresh. Different. Fun
I watched season 1 without any expectations but was greatly surprised how well it was written, acted and produced. Then I went for season 2 and was blown away. It was much more mature, had great visuals and the humour simply was fantastic. But besides all the fun stuff there were also the serious parts which I absolutely didn't anticipated.
David Constatin (Bax) has a great sense of humour and understands how to reach out to the rest of the nation although using native Canton Valais language (accent), local traditions and mindset.
At the same time though this makes "Tschugger" which stands for Cop/Police a Swiss series for Swiss people only. Because as soon as you dub this into another language it loses 80% of it's humour. This is not meant as cirtique, it's just what it is.
Also, congrats to Dragan (Pirmin) and the rest of the cast and crew who simply did a stunning job. I so enjoyed Tschugger and can't wait for season 3.
Chillwave Bax.
Dune (2021)
Pictures as a sleeping pill
I am very glad that i did not see this movie in the cinema, because there I would not have had the chance to fast forward the first 90 minutes. The movie is incredilby long winded and actually, there's no reason for that.
Nonetheless, I gotta admit, some scenes were shot beautifully and had a unique style. That part liked very much. But Dune is definitely not my cup of tea when it comes to being liked as a holistic movie experience.
There are too many things I found pretty much annoying like mentioned before regarding the long winded storytelling, the noisy weird sound and the uninspired acting. I don't understand the hype on this movie at all.
Sure, it's not your average cinema sci-fi flick but it's certainly not
a masterpiece either. And as for the ucomping Part Two; No thanks, I'm not gonna waste another 2.5 hours of my life for such a nonsense.
Confess, Fletch (2022)
This is not Fletch
First off, I like Jon Hamm very much and think he's a very decent actor. But him playing Fletch is not working. Actually, no bit of the movie is working.
I mean I didn't expect Jon Hamm to be another Chevy Chase kind of Fletch, since he's a very different kind of actor. The story and storytelling is the problem. Everything is too far fetched, the characters are freaks (even the two cops) and the movie tries to be funny at all cost but it's not working. And that soundtrack? What kind of a joke is that? Come on. Besides everything at least they could've gone with Fletch's narration, but no they even killed that.
I'm not saying this is a terrible movie. It's a OK movie to watch on a rainy sunday afternoon but this is not Fletch.
Köpek (2015)
Good cast, weak story
The movie starts off very promising by telling three independent stories. But after a while things flatten out and the movie starts to get boring because everything is told in a very long-winded way. While waiting for true dialogue shallow and superficial words are being spoken and I don't know why. Towards the end one gets the feeling they've forgotten why they started telling the stories in the first place, which is a pitty.
It's a shame because I liked the cast very much, escpecially Baris Atay whom I think is a great actor and also Cagla Akalin who fits the role perfectly. The kids were alright and setting too, although of course it's only a fracture of Istanbul's complexity.
I guess what annoyed me the most was the missing depth of the characters and the way of their storytelling. To me it just didn't make any sense.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Great visuals, great names but...
Well, it took me 30 years to see this movie. Back in the day a lot of my friends had seen it and they were very impressed.
I am too, but not with everything. Actually, not with a lot of things. As many wrote, the setup, the costumes and cinematography are impressive. But unfortunately that's not the whole pie.
Let's start with the storytelling. The movie starts very promising when portraying the pain Dracula goes through. But from that point on, the story starts to jump from one point to another and to be perfectly honest; very soon it starts to suck.
The characters, maybe except Dracula are very shallow, I think the problem here is, there's to many of them too close to the story so there is no real focus on anything really.
The editing is terrible. Plain and simple. I mean you have this fantastic compound and chop up the scenes and create a trash-sort thing.
The acting, well, some people said it: Keanu Reeves, whom I like very much, doesn't belong in this movie. Winona Ryder is ok, yet not her best performance.
And then there's Gary Oldman. That guy truly got this and I have to say he's the most convincing in this movie. Anthony Hopkins' performance is more a comedy appearance than anything else, sorry to say, but I found him the most annoying in this flick.
All in all the movie isn't bad. Absolutely not. I just don't think it's well scripted, directed and acted piece of work, especially when seeing all these big names.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Everything you would expect
Top Gun Maverick starts like a sequel 36 years later should start like. The first incoming scenes, the sound even the movie fonts are perferct. By the way, the fonts are from the original.
What then happens is exactly what should happen: Maverick is one of the last "best of the best" pilots and is being asked to help the Navy for a delicate mission. I'll stop here in order to prevent spoilers.
The movie has a solid storytelling, the characters are well chosen and Tom Cruise, you know, is Maverick. The transition from the old to the new Top Gun era is spot on.
And then there's the powerfull air-combat scenes which I honestly didn't expect to be that good. The merge between real flight scenes and CGI is simply brillant. As viewer you have no idea what was filmed in the air what's produced by the computer.
Also, there's the right amount of homage to the spirit from the original and its characters like Iceman or Goose obviously. Even though at some point things get a bit sentimental, there's also always a portion of humour in it.
I gotta say, I loved Top Gun - Maverick and think it's very worthy sequel. Congrats to Tom Cruise and everyone involved in this project.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Worst movie of the year
As so many of the reviewers I (still) am a huge fan of the original film The Matrix. The sequels then took a different direction, which I hated but after having seen Resurrections, I gotta say Reloaded and Revolutions were masterpieces.
This movie simply sucks at all levels and with a heavy heart I gotta say, this is the worst movie this year.
I like Keanue and Carrie-Anne so much and seeing them in such a disaster of a movie makes me feel very bad for them.
But despite everything: The biggest loser in all this tragedy is Warner Bros. A couple of idiots who have absolute no taste in nothing financed something terrible because their greed told them to do so. Well fine, this is the receipt for it.
Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics (2020)
Trip for wasting time
Actually the topic is an interesting matter but this ain't a documentary. It's more like a bad informercial where some famous people talk about their trip The subtle glorification of their experiience taking all sorts of hallucinogenic stuff doesn't add any value to the matter. At some point I started to think it's more like a satire show but then again the smart funny elements are missing.
The only thing I liked where the visual effects and transitions, so thumbs up to the editors.
Joker (2019)
Very very good
After Heath Ledger's Joker performance the question was: Who dares to write a script about THE villain and who could even come close to the Joker we know from The Dark Knight rises?
Well, there's no spoiler in this review but let me tell you this: They don't even give you any reason to compare the Joker from this movie with the one from mentioned above.
Joaquin Phoenix not only is a super fine actor, he also portrays the emergence of the Joker in an unbelievable depth. That might be because 95% of the movie he is Artuhr Fleck and experiences some tragic stuff. At the same time we get a very close insight in his thinking, feeling and everyday life.
This movie was pure pleasure to watch although at times I gotta admit, some scenes were too long-winded. The story took me on an emotional roller coaster ride between having empathy for this guy and being disgusted.
The cinematography is top notch pitchforking Joaquin's performance to another stratosphere. I was very very impressed by this flick. At the end I just thought: I hope the sequel's coming soon.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Once upon a time in "Boredom"
As much as I love Tarantino's previous works, with Django and Inglorious Basterds being my absolute favorites, this work is simply a 3 hours waste of time.
Bet let me start with the good first: The cinematography is good, not great, just good. The cast of course is a fine bunch of the finest actors, I mean you got Brad Pitt, Leo Di Caprio, Margot Robbie and even Al Pacino and even Luke Perry (RIP).
And then, there's the not so good stuff. What's the story of this movie? Anyone? Oh and please don't come up with "well you gotta figure it out for yourself".
To me it just looks like Tarantino somehow got the financing together, had no real idea or clou what he was gonna do, packed these nonsense blabla lines into some retro looking picture and voila: Once upon a time in Hollywood. I was bored to death the first two hours and towards the end I thought, alright not bad, but still very very mediocre.
As mentioned before, the actors are great. The Brad/Leo team rocks, the story sucks and never ever does this movie come close a shred to Tarantinos other movies.
Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019)
Terrible Episode
I don't even want to waste too much words on this episode. It just was terrible.
Very bad scripted, very bad told and tiring in every way. I'm absolutely disappointed.
The Man from Earth: Holocene (2017)
Nowhere near to the first one
Sequels always have hard game for sure, but then again, there's dozens of sequels that outshined the original one e.g. Terminator 2, SW - Empire strikes back, Godfather 2 etc.
A few years back when I watched Man from earth, I was blown away by its interesting characters, intriguing content and smart dialogs everything happening in a room.
This one has nothing of all that. A shallow story, terrible acting, "doesn't make sense twists" etc. I understand the budget was tight and hard to find. But small budgets don't mean your story has to suck. But this one really does.
I'm very disappointed and hope, if there's gonna be a 3rd one, they learn from their mistakes and these comments.